Thursday, March 31, 2011

Ben Witherington is continuing to review Rob Bell's book, Love Wins, chapter by chapter. In his post about chapter five ... ‘FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS….’ CHAPTER FIVE: DYING TO LIVE .... Ben posts a neat quote from the book. Ben writes ....

I particularly like p. 134, which, among other things, stresses “When people say that Jesus came to die on the cross so that we can have a relationship with God, yes that is true. But that explanation puts us at the center. For the first Christians, the story was, first and foremost, bigger, grander. More massive. When Jesus is presented only as the answer that saves individuals from their sin and death, we run the risk of shrinking the Gospel down to something just for humans, when God has inaugurated a movement in Jesus’ resurrection to renew, restore, and reconcile everything ‘on earth or in heaven’ (Col. 1). Just as God originally intended it. The powers of death and destruction have been defeated on the most epic scale imaginable. Individuals are then invited to see their story in the context of a far larger story, one that includes all of creation.”

This is a good correction on an over-emphasis on the human benefits of the work of Christ, and particularly his death and resurrection ....


It's nice to be able to read such a thorough review of the book since I doubt I'll be reading the book itself.

Speaking of books I probably won't be reading, all around blogdom I've seen posts about Elizabeth Johnson's book, Quest for the Living God, due to its critique from the US Bishops (see Fr. Martin's post about this at America magazine's blog). Strange - I'm a feminist but I've not read a book on feminist theology.

I haven't looked for anything new that's theology-related lately. I still have a few books I bought some time ago that I feel I should try to finish first ..... Karl Rahner and Ignatian Spirituality by Philip Endean SJ, Radical Orthodoxy: A Critical Introduction by Steven Shakespeare, Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God by Marilyn McCord Adams, and The Big Questions in Science and Religion by Keith Ward. I find this stuff pretty hard to understand so I end up just reading what seems to address my concerns, and so I miss a lot of books.

Which reminds me :) there's a a funny article at the Telegraph about books not read ... Not the 50 books you must read before you die.



Political myopic eye doctor now turned Senator Paul

It applies to religion and politics as well

Political Masturbation hit this Teabagger in the face when she lost the election

I consider myself a passionate supporter of progressive and liberal causes. It is also no secret that I am gay and will confront anyone who tries to deprive me of my rights; I will be even indignant and intolerant. But let us not confuse the issue here; that is being passionate because if someone comes along and shows me data, evidence, charts, proof or otherwise a reasonable explanation I am willing to listen.

On the other hand; those on the far right and those Fundamentalist Evangelicals are so closed minded that even if you hit them across the face with a two by four with evidence, facts and reason they will still reject it and embrace their ignorance and superstition. That in my book is being fanatical. When reason, logic, scientific proof, charts, evidence fail to convince someone that they are wrong that to me is fanaticism.

How can anyone for example, in this day and age still believe in Creationism when we have at our disposal and in plain view that the world is older than 6,000 years. The same holds true for the Republican-Teahadist ideology: “Government is the problem”, “Government is too big”, “Trickle Down Economics” and in general acting as the surrogates for the very rich and the corporations. But when you confront them with evidence that their ideology is flawed; when you show them facts and charts they still cling on to those askew ideas.Or when you tell Mormons their religion is fabricated and Joseph Smith was a con artist, a drunk and a misfit they will not listen.

What is detrimental to our society and the well-being of the American people is that these groups, both the Fundamentalist Evangelicals and the Teahadist-Republicans are not just hurting massive groups of people but they are destroying the nation in the process. That means a destruction of that very Constitution they so often claim to defend and love; that includes the annulment of democratic processes and the blatant disregard for the commonwealth.

So, I ask you: Are you a passionate person with an open mind or a fanatic with a closed one?

The Dear Leader Reagan still has a following even after most of his ideas have been proven wrong and his ideology debunked

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

A post at dotCommonweal - Roy Bourgeois to be Booted from Maryknoll ....

NCR reports the expulsion of Roy Bourgeois from the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers unless he recants his position on the ordination of women. His deadline is Saturday, and he says he has no intention to recant .... This from the homily at his concelebration of the ordination of Janice Sevre-Duszynska, the event that started all this:

"Conscience is something very sacred. It gives us a sense of right and wrong and urges us to do the right thing. Conscience is what compelled Franz Jagerstatter to refuse to enlist in Hitler’s army. On this day, August 9, 1943, this humble farmer was executed for following his conscience. Conscience is what compelled Rosa Parks to say, “No, I cannot sit in the back of the bus anymore.” Conscience is what compels Janice Sevre-Duszynska and the other women to say, “No, we cannot deny our call from God to the priesthood.” And it is our conscience that compels us to be here today. How can we speak out against the injustice of our country’s foreign policy in Latin America and Iraq if we are silent about the injustice of our church here at home?" ..........


A priest in the Maryknoll order, Roy Bourgeois was excommunicated latae sententiae for attending and preaching a homily at the ordination of a woman in 2008. Here's what Wikipedia has on him - it's well worth a read ....

Bourgeois was born in Lutcher, Louisiana in 1938. He attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in geology.

After graduation, Bourgeois entered the United States Navy and served as an officer for four years. He spent two years at sea, one year at a station in Europe, and one year in Vietnam. He received the Purple Heart during a tour of duty in Vietnam.

After military service, he entered the seminary of the Catholic religious order or the Maryknoll Missionary Order. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1972 and sent to Bolivia.

1972-1975 Fr. Bourgeois spent five years in Bolivia aiding the poor before being arrested and deported for attempting to overthrow Bolivian dictator General Hugo Banzer.

1980 Fr. Bourgeois became an outspoken critic of US foreign policy in Latin America after four American churchwomen, Sister Maura Clarke, Jean Donovan, Sister Ita Ford, and Sister Dorothy Kazel, were raped and killed by a death squad consisting of soldiers from the Salvadoran National Guard.

1990 Fr. Bourgeois founded the School of the Americas Watch or (SOA Watch), an organization that seeks to close the School of the Americas, renamed Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) in 2001, through nonviolent protest.

1998 Fr. Bourgeois testified before a Spanish judge seeking the extradition of Chile's ex-dictator General Augusto Pinochet.

2008 In August 2008, Fr. Bourgeois participated in and delivered the homily at the ordination ceremony of Janice Sevre-Duszynska ......

[Awards he's been given ... * Pax Christi USA Pope Paul VI Teacher of Peace Award (1997), * Thomas Merton Award (2005)


If interested, you can read the text of a letter sent in 2008 by 100 nuns from 22 religious congregations to the Vatican about Fr. Bourgeois here.

Is Roy Bourgeois really the kind of person the church can do without? Does the primacy of conscience actually mean nothing? How the anti-Semitic Vatican II-denying SSPX bishops be un-excommunicated while Fr. Bourgeois won't be? How can pedophile-protecting Cardinal Law be promoted while Fr. Bourgeois is dumped?

:(




Saw Robert Fludd ((1574-1637) mentioned by Liam and in looking around for him came upon a couple of interesting posts with illustrations at BibliOdyssey - The Temple of Music and Fludd Returns.


At the very least prosecute them with the same vigor as you do undocumented immigrants.




And why not? Bankers and Wall Street speculators caused one of the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression. Their greed, lack of ethics, speculative neo-criminal actions have caused millions of people a lot of misery and sent our country into a precipitous fall to ruin while undocumented persons only work for peanuts and don’t do much harm to society.


President Bush and the Republicans thought it would be a good idea to bail out their buddies and they gave them billions of dollars, saving their asses and allowing them to part with very generous severance packages and bonuses…not prosecution which is what they deserve.


On the other hand, the racist element in our society is so threatened by us Hispanics that they are trying every way possible to humiliate, disenfranchise and if the case applies persecute and prosecute those without legal immigration papers. What a crock Republicans, you are a bunch of hypocrites and racist xenophobes. And yes, they are TAKING AWAY YOUR AMERICA because it wasn’t yours to begin with - it belongs to all of us, the people. The Constitution doesn’t say we the WASPHROMS (White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, Heterosexual old men)


Next time you go on one of your persecution of Hispanics tirade just think that we are 50 million strong and we vote; right now I know that all these racist xenophobes are shitting in their pants after the census figures came out and we now know that Hispanics or Latinos numbers have increased over 40% to number 50 million. Oh, GOP-Teahadists, I forgot to tell you that Blacks, Gays, Seniors, Pro-choice women, Labor Union members and all the other minorities you have repudiated…they too vote.


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