Benazir Bhutto - violence begets violence

U2 have a song called 'Peace on Earth' which I take as a song of
frustration at the lack of peace at a time of year when we see those
words on Christmas cards and hear them in church services the world...

The following article has been posted to various Usenet newsgroups since
1995, and usually creates quite a stir!

It addresses one of the two or three most-argued-issues between
Christians and non-Christians on the Internet, and between Christians
themselves...

Some object to the idea of an imaginary interview with Jesus about
anything. But 'dialogues with Jesus' / sermons on 'What would Jesus
do/say?' are common homiletical devices often used by Christian
preachers and theologians. (For example Jacob Neusner's 'A Rabbi Talks
with Jesus' is a well-known imaginary dialogue between Jesus and a
sympathetic Jewish scholar).

Many (most?) conservative folks seem to have a visceral homophobic
tendency to shut their minds to any possibility of changing their
deeply-held prejudices and paradigms.

This is too brief, probably simplistic and somewhat tentative. Those of
you to my ideological right and left will want to modify some of this. I
invite your critical comments.

*Sightings* 12/17/07

On Global Warming

-- Martin E. Marty

The images and prophecies connected with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
in the biblical book of Revelation seem horrifying enough. But in a
"you-ain't-seen-nothing-yet" spirit, Philip Jenkins in December 10th's *New
Republic *warns of disastrous implications for religious conflict after
studying the results of climate-modeling by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change.

The Church has wrestled with a dozen major paradigm-shifts in its
history. The first had to do with accepting Gentiles. The Protestant
Reformation was built on the radical proposition that we are saved by
faith purely on the basis of God’s grace, and that we can trust ordinary
folks to read the Bible. Then there was slavery, charismatic renewal,
women in leadership... Conservative groups have recently wrestled with
issues like dancing, divorce, Sabbath/Sunday-behaviour, dress-codes, and
rock music.

And now the Big One: Homosexuality More...
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/20558.htm

(Review: Anthony Venn-Brown's 'A Life of Unlearning: a Journey to Find
the Truth', 2nd edition, New Holland Publishers, 2007.)

--
Shalom/Salaam/Pax! Rowland Croucher

http://jmm.aaa.net.au/ (20,000 articles 4000 humor)

Blogs - http://rowlandsblogs.blogspot.com/

Justice for Dawn Rowan - http://dawnrowansaga.blogspot.com/

Funny Jokes and Pics - http://funnyjokesnpics.blogspot.com/

Centrist governments cover all the bases, and conservative politics has
begun to wither away.

The issue of the future, coming down on us now like a steam train, is of
course the environment, the double hammer blows of climate change and
peak oil. Energy, weather and human misery are the factors that will
define our lives for decades to come. You can cancel your newspaper,
those are the only four words you need to know.

So what will be the new polarity in future elections? It's the ecology,
stupid.

More... http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/20573.htm
--

Shalom/Salaam/Pax! Rowland Croucher

http://jmm.aaa.net.au/ (20,000 articles 4000 humor)

Blogs - http://rowlandsblogs.blogspot.com/

Justice for Dawn Rowan - http://dawnrowansaga.blogspot.com/

Funny Jokes and Pics - http://funnyjokesnpics.blogspot.com/

A friend wrote:

My response:

Yesterday I had my weekly special-time with our two-year-old
granddaughter. I do the weekly shopping with her, and part of our ritual
is for her to eat a couple of beans, a few grapes, (how do I pay for
them at the register? Check-out chicks have an interesting time with
that :-) a cheese-stick etc.

Yesterday she wanted more beans: how many beans should a two-year-old
eat at one sitting? I said 'No' and began talking about numbers. She
soon accepted my 'No' and was smiling and chatting again...

Now, naughty me, I over-rode her freedom to eat what she wanted. What
kind of grand-father does that make me?

Here's an imaginary interview with Jesus about homosexuality, posted
sporadically on these newsgroups over the past dozen years. Some of the
statistics/aetiology issues need updating, but generally I'd still
affirm this general stance. (Expect in response 'corrective' - that's
the softest word - opinions from others either to my ideological/
theological left or right :-)

Rowland Croucher

****

Interviewer: Jesus, you had a reputation for hanging around with those
on the edges/margins of society. But some of my homosexual friends and
clients wonder why you said nothing about homosexuality, even though it
was rife back then. We're in a 'bi' bar in San Francisco... why are you
here?

# Jesus: Hi! I was invited by a friend. Remember when Matthew threw a
party for his mafia-type mates? I was enjoying myself before the
religious leaders gate-crashed it.

More... http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/12135.htm

--

Shalom/Salaam/Pax! Rowland Croucher

The Seeds of Wrath

Governor T has ruled Luang Prabang province (LPB) for 20 years, during
which Lao Christians have been jailed, tortured, deprived of jobs,
schools and health. His cruel administration has closed all LPB...

Reaching Young Adults

In 1994, a commission convened by the Center on Addiction and Substance
Abuse at Columbia University, with Joseph A. Califano, Jr. as chair,
issued a rather alarmist report, "Rethinking Rites of Passage...

AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER

* CHINA REACHES AN OFFICIAL FIGURE OF 130 MILLION
CHRISTIANS

* REPORT ON ASIAN REGIONAL PRAYER SUMMIT

* KIWIS STAND UNITED IN PRAYER AT SOLEMN ASSEMBLY

* INCREASING NUMBER OF DOCTORS IN THE UK REFUSING TO PERFORM
ABORTIONS

* AFRICAN CLERIC SAYS CHURCH HAS A PROPHETIC ROLE AND MUST
NOT REMAIN SILENT

* MILITANT BUDDHISTS SEEK TO ELIMINATE CHRISTIANITY IN
LAOS

-----------------------------------------------

CHINA REACHES AN
OFFICIAL FIGURE OF 130 MILLION CHRISTIANS

China's top religious official Yie Xiaowen has rejected decades of
ambivalence toward religion by declaring that "religion is one of the
important social forces from which China draws strength." He also
admitted that the number of Christians in China has reached 130
million, including some 20 million Catholics!