If the oppression of women is what Allah demands, then that conception of Allah deserves nothing but contempt. Let me elaborate here. That Afghanistan is a nation of starving people barely makes the news anymore. The suffering was horrible two years ago, and appeared to worsen last year. They are now deep into their cold, cold winter months with a large percentage of the population down to absolute zero in resources. On top of being ruled by the Taliban, a group... Read more
The mending kits showed up first as I searched for thread in the same color family as the pillowcase. Perhaps they are metaphors of grace, ways to redeem everything we do. Fevers and chills Illness has invaded here. My husband spent the night alternately sweating and freezing. He felt a bit better this morning, and I’m somewhat recovering from whatever I have, so decided to strip the bed down to the mattress and give everything a good wash. As I... Read more
With the privilege of retirement, I awaken slowly many mornings and enter my morning ritual. I stay quietly in bed, beginning the day with prayer and some moments of meditation. These days, I particularly consider the fact that, daily, that morning ritual is accompanied by the comfort of a decent bed, comfortable bed linens, and a quiet, temperature-controlled environment. My thoughts then move to the people of Ukraine, with innocent civilians relentlessly bombarded by Russian ruthlessness and subhuman cruelty, coupled... Read more
The big question: Why aren’t there more liberal Christians? I remember when I begin my own move from the very conservative religious world into a progressive, more liberal, freer religious world how terribly frightening it was. I couldn’t find a roadmap. The rules were unclear. I had to make too many decisions. It was exhausting to have to think for myself all the time. Agreeing to disagree is a truly terrifying stance as one has to let go of absolute... Read more
The research was thorough and worldwide and the results clear: Religious beliefs matter AND religious people hate to be stereotyped. As in, stop doing that. It doesn’t help. Why religious beliefs matter so much The Faith and Media Initiative conducted the study using an impressive set of participants from countries around the world representing multiple faith groups. The full report can be found here. But the summary is fairly simple: for multiple reasons, the media does a truly awful job... Read more
If we really want to protect children, for heaven’s sake, ban the Bible! And, for sake of consistency, keep those kids away from church. There’s a lot of talk these days about removing certain books and restraining teachers from speaking of various subjects that might cause “discomfort” in their students. Most of these restrictions are driven by a group of people who generally identify as Christian. From what I can discern, these parents don’t want their children to have the... Read more
I was in London when Queen Elizabeth celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, ten years ago. I never stopped admiring her. At that time, my oldest son, now a British citizen, had an office on the top floor of a six-story building that overlooked St. James Park and the Thames river. We gathered there for snacks and Pims, waiting for the royal regatta to pass while watching the TV footage of the celebration projected on a large screen. It was a typical... Read more
What Does The Bible Say About Politics? Absolutely nothing . . . and absolutely everything. If we want to use a narrow definition, i.e., the politics of democracy with a secular government elected by the people in the 21st century USA, then the Bible has zip to say about the current situation. Certainly, the idea of a democratic system of governance has been around a long time—the Greeks tried it in the sixth century B.C., managing to keep it going... Read more
I treasure life and think the female role of being the bearer of the future of humanity is a position of unbelievable privilege. Note: see the first part of this post: Women Who Abort Are Murderers: Lock Them Up. So, should we label women who undergo abortions as murderers and properly prosecute them? This is the sad but logical conclusion of the anti-abortion stance that any product of conception, even in the earliest zygote stage, is fully human and should... Read more
Let’s handle this situation with real justice: if abortion is murder, then women who abort are murderers. In the civilized world, murders must be punished. In other words, lock them up. The rationale behind the anti-abortion movement states that from the moment of fertilization, the zygote is a person, independent of the gestating woman, and thus endowed with all the rights that come with personhood. Part of me wants to quibble with this definition since obviously no zygote/embryo/fetus can develop... Read more
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