Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but righteousness is one who believes in [God], the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask for help, and for freeing slaves; and who establishes prayer and gives zakah(remembrance); those who fulfill their promise when they promise; and those who are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous.- the Qur'an (translation), 2:177
I’ve often noted that a major problem with the modern conservative movement and the Republican Party is that they put ideology before reality. As I recently noted, this can be seen in their rejection of science, including their views on evolution and global warming, their disputed claims about Iraq such as the presence of WMD and a connection to 9/11, their promotion of alternative history with their denial of the nation’s heritage of separation of church and state, their views on the near-absolute power of the Executive Branch, and in promoting what previously was called Voodoo Economics. Megan McArdle gives another example of how conservatives place ideology over reality on economics:
A conservative publication, which I will not name, just spiked a book review because I said that the Laffer Curve didn’t apply at American levels of taxation, even while otherwise expressing my vast displeasure with the (liberal) economic notions of the book I was reviewing. This isn&rsquo
:: Kommentar görs med fördel på svenska:: THE SWEDISH CHRISTIANITY has begun to discover EC, MC and the post-modern church through BRIAN McLAREN and his books, especially A Generous Orthodoxy. The Swedish traditional churches are not that familiar with the message. Though many are On in this issue. Among others all the folks in the Swedish House Church movement and other Christians are pondering about the post-modern issues. The book is translated by Mattias Agnesund and its Preface by Emil Mattsson. :: EMIL MATTSON'S PREFACE is a real good introduction to the book and the topics. Therefore MXp gives some extracts from his Preface. See: Brian McLarens bok "En generös radikalitet" med Förord av Emil Mattson (på svenska)Technorati tags: Emerging Conversation Emerging Conversation Emerging Church Missional Conversation Missional Church -- Andra bloggar om: emerging church, emerging conversation, missional conversation, missional church, post-traditional church ::
I'm sure this has already made its way around the 'net, but I just saw it for the first time today. Here are my results:Left Wing Modern Orthodox: 7%Right Wing Modern Orthodox: 45%Left Wing Yeshivish/Chareidi: 64%Right Wing Yeshivish/Chareidi: 84%This means you're: Right Wing YeshivishTry it out....click on the image to get to the quiz.
James ossuary. Possibly the brother of Jesus.Whether or not we have discovered the DNA of Jesus in the Talpiot Tomb or not, the theological question has been raised. Does the Christian affirmation of Resurrection depend upon the bones, corpse, spleen and what not of Jesus coming back to life? If beyond a shadow of a doubt, it was determined that Jesus died and that his corpse rotted in a grave somewhere just like the corpse of every other human being including that of you and I someday, does that in itself nullify faith in the Resurrection of Jesus or of Resurrection at all?What is the meaning, value, affirmation, mystery, and joy of Resurrection or Easter Faith?I really don't like the terms orthodox, heterodox, heretic and so forth. We have had a bloody history involving those categories. Read James Carroll's Constantine's Sword. I don't need to go into all of that here. Yet the term orthodoxy or orthodox Christianity is with us. What is it exactly? Is orthodoxy as na
