Christianity

Homodoxuals and Heterodoxuals in the Church

By |

Can homodoxuals and heterodoxuals find a way to get along, sit in the same pew, or is schism the only answer? My friend, the Rev. Jim Burklo, just sent me his latest “Musings” post from the Center for Progressive Christianity, and I immediately knew I had to share it (with his permission of course), with all of you! Musings by Jim Burklo
www.tcpc.blogs.com/musings for this and previous articles
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jtburklo
5/19/10
Homodoxuals and Heterodoxuals in the Church
(Lately I’ve seen many uses of the term “heterodoxy” in my reading about current trends in religion in America, referring to people who mix a variety of religious traditions and beliefs in their spirituality. That got me to thinking about what its opposite would be: “homodoxy”. This struck me as an ironic twist in language, since so many “homodoxual” people oppose homosexuality, and so many “heterodoxual” people are open and affirming towards gays and lesbians.

Culture

"Los Suns" Bring Basketball to Spiritual Progressives' Arena

By |

Can you recall a time when American athletes have come out in solidarity to support a particular political viewpoint? Indeed, it’s rare when American politics becomes intertwined with sports, and when it does, those events are usually premeditated, oftentimes-brash actions by individuals. However, on May 5, the National Basketball Association’s Phoenix Suns banded together to protest Arizona’s new SB1070 bill in one of the most beautiful political statements in my recent memory, for it simultaneously spoke to immigrants’ rights, political news organizations who could care less about sports (and vice versa), and proponents of the idea of basketball as a “team game,” and perhaps, American government included in that idea. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t an individual Suns player who publicly cast the first stone. Center (and half-Cuban) Robin Lopez, sixth man (and Brazil native) Leandro Barbosa, or the former NBA Most Valuable Player and well-known Iraq War protester (and Canada native) Steve Nash, shown above, may have first come to mind.

Culture

Who Is Responsible?

By |

I’ve been watching the nightmare of thousands of barrels of oil and gas pouring into the ocean and the spectacle of pundits and lawmakers trying to decide whom to blame for the mess. In the midst of that, I happened to pick up a book of poetry by Abraham Joshua Heschel, written before he was 26 years old in 1933. This particular poem, Forgiveness,  struck me as one of the ways that I am different from many other people. I resonated with it strongly and I would guess that others, who think quite differently from me, would think it utterly absurd. Read on and let’s discuss it!

Christianity

Infiltration and revisionism in Texas

By |

The New York Times ran an engrossing and very timely look back in February at the momentous yet curiously under-reported battles that have been waged for decades in the Lone Star State over the religious, scientific and political message of its school textbooks. The stakes are a lot higher than you might guess. Given the endless complaints one hears on the Right of the tyrannical hold on American intellectual life enjoyed by liberal “cultural elites”, you’d never guess that in matters of curriculum most schools in America are far less affected by multiculturalist educators in the Manhattan or San Francisco than evangelical activists in Dallas or Austin. Yet, according to the Times article, thanks to the state’s buying power and the difficulty other states fortuitously have in adopting natural rival California’s exactingly customized curricula, Texas finds itself unexpectedly the national trendsetter in the domain of public school textbooks. The issue of Texas’ influence is a touchy one in education circles.

Christianity

Holy Fathers

By |

The global Catholic Church is confronting an extraordinary crisis not faced since the Reformation, which began with sharp criticisms of the Church and ended with a schism out of which emerged the establishment of a separate Protestant Church. Today, sexual abuse allegations against priests are surging in a startling array of nations: the United States and Canada, New Zealand, Australia, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, Belgium, Bolivia, Mexico, Brazil and Chile. New abuse scandals erupt daily. The John Jay School of Criminal Justice estimates that, in the U.S. alone between 1950 and 2002 hundreds of thousands of children have been sexually abused by Catholic Clergy. In fact, the Catholic Church has a 2,000 year history of sex abuse.

Empathy

Dialogue Across the Divide? How Can Liberals and Conservatives Start Talking?

By |

Cross-posted on The Fearless Heart. Since I started writing about empathy between liberals and conservatives, (April 5; April 10) I have been thinking about facilitating dialogues between the two groups. As a first step I wanted to meet people who identify as conservative. This past Monday I had the good fortune of meeting Peeter, who identifies as a “dye in the wool” conservative, and who is a sympathizer of the Tea Party movement. Whether or not this meeting will lead to the dialogue I am wishing to establish, I learned a lot, I was surprised, and my heart was touched.

Empathy

After the Attack on Rabbi Lerner's Home: What You Can Do to Help

By |

Many people have expressed their concern for Rabbi Lerner after the recent vandalism of his home and have wondered if there’s anything they can do to help. Tikkun has released a statement asking readers to contact the media and ask them to publicize this incident in meaningful and thoughtful ways. Below I’ve taken some excerpts from the full statement, which you can read on Current Thinking. So what can you do? You can help us demand of the media that they publicize this incident and, equally importantly, the meaning of the incident for Americans and for American Jews.

Culture

Dear Mom

By |

Gosh, it has been nearly three years since you died and I really do miss you. So much of who I am is because of who you were. Here we are again, Mother’s Day, and I can’t send you any flowers, or call you on the phone, or surprise you with a visit… But I can think about who you were and do something you used to love to do… tell a few stories that will make people laugh.

Culture

Cute Video to Honor the Mothers Around Us

By |

As we struggle daily in weighty political analyses and the mundane toils of maintaining a voice for peace and social justice in a highly contested public space, it’s easy to neglect our capacity to be light-hearted, goofy, loving, and connected. This Mother’s Day video made us laugh, and what better connection to share as we honor and celebrate mothers. We’re sending it along in case you want to share it and connect similarly with all the mothers in your life (click on the picture below). The first principle of our Spiritual Covenant with America calls for a society that promotes rather than undermines loving and caring relationships and families. Any occasion that legitimates the public expression of genuine love and gratitude deserves to be continuously re-created and made real in our lives.

Love and generosity can and should be the foundation for all of our politics — that’s precisely what we have in mind when we talk about a New Bottom Line.

Empathy

Bay Area Jewish Agencies Jointly Condemn Criminal Acts Against Rabbi Lerner’s Home

By |

I am gratified to share this announcement with all of you, sent by the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Community Relations Council, The Jewish Federation of the East Bay and the Northern California Board of Rabbis on May 4, 2010. We appreciate their swift condemnation of the attack on Rabbi Michael Lerner and Rabbi Debora Kohn Lerner’s home in Berkeley, California yesterday. Obviously, many people on all sides of the political spectrum are deeply affected by what happened. “We unequivocally condemn criminal acts perpetrated against Rabbi Lerner’s home. Political disagreements must be resolved in a civil manner, and not by resorting to violence.