the journey

Happy Halloween

 

Originally uploaded by buddhasstyle.

Be safe,
watch out for excesses,
and unnecessary risks.

Have a fun evening with friends.

pax,
meb

Technorati Tags : Flickr, Halloween

The God of war

The moral & ethical complexities that often become matters of present-day conversations were of no concern to the people of ancient Israel.  Instead, they seemed mesmerized by (and identified themselves with) a God who "saves his people without their needing to act."   To them YHWH was One who was willing to fight for them. 

 

Having said that, however, I feel compelled to share this thought:

 

Ever since Marcion, the picture of the God of the ancient Israelites as a God of war has been an occasion for caricature and embarrassment for Christians. That is one reason why both Christians and Jews have developed ways to read those stories that might avoid ascribing to God qualities that we do not praise in men in women.

 

Source: The Politics of Jesus by John Howard Yoder, pp. 77, 86.

 

Technorati Tags : John+Howard+Yoder, The+Politics+of+Jesus

Banker's hours

This an excerpt from a thought-provoking article by Spener Burke:

What about you? Have you moved to blaming “consumerism” for the problems in your church? What changes have you made to accommodate the changing needs of your constituents? Have you tinkered with your ministry by investigating video venues or tape-delayed services? Has your church been preoccupied with maintenance and survival rather than mission? If you’re not sure, answering this question may help you decide: How do you feel when congregants search out answers or teaching from other sources? Do you perceive it as a mark of spiritual maturity or a threat to your job security? Now consider how your church interacts with people. Is your focus continually repackaging the teacher (tweaking details of the main event), or is it equipping people to teach themselves and apply what they’ve learned?

Read the entire article here.

 

Technorati Tags : Spencer+Burke, The+Ooze

Re-brand us

You mark us with your water,
You scar us with your name,
You brand us with your vision,
and we ponder our baptism, your water,
        your name,
        your vision.

While we ponder, we are otherwise branded.
Our imagination is consumed by other brands,
        --winning with Nike,
        --pausing with Coca-Cola
        --knowing and controlling with Microsoft.

Re-brand us,
        transform our minds,
        renew our imagination.
That we may be more fully who we are marked
        and hoped to be,
we pray with candor and courage. Amen.

Source: Prayers of Walter Brueggemann, p. 88.

Technorati Tags : Walter+Brueggemann, prayer, prayers

Hunt for RED October

After blowing three World Series chances in the past 25 years, my St. Louis Cardinals finally redeemed themselves with a 10th World Series crown.  Yep, it was ugly & largely unpopular in the the Nielsen Ratings, but it was a shot-in-the-arm for my home town.  And I can go for that!

 

Go Cards!

 

Technorati Tags : MLB, World+Series

Blogging break

 

Uploaded by leadbetter74.

I'll be taking a blogging break for a few days.

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

Source: Numbers 6:23-27 (NRSV)

Technorati Tags : Aaronic+blessing

Oprah & the (RED) campaign

Oprah & (Red)™ campaign
Originally uploaded by L i n.

Get your RED on for Africa!

Save lives while you shop! Oprah and Bono hit the Magnificent Mile in Chicago to launch the hip, new (Red)™ campaign to help eliminate AIDS in Africa.

Click here to learn more.

If you'd prefer to bypass the purchases & have cash donations sent through the Stephen Lewis Foundation, click here.

Here's the official JoinRED.org web site.

Technorati Tags : RED, Oprah, Africa, AIDS, Bono

"ONE Vote" TV Spot

Something timely from One.org:

 

.

 

And this word from the ONE campaign:

Less than two weeks before the election, there isn't much that the Democratic and Republican parties agree on, but earlier this week they found something. Together, they rose above party politics and featured our new TV spot on their homepages.

The national parties made it clear that the fight against global poverty is more important than everyday politics, now you should find out where the candidates in your area stand on the issues. Give them a call and find out.

Visit ONE's Voter Center and make a couple of quick calls to candidates in your area.

Source: One.org

 

Technorati Tags : One.org, poverty, AIDS

Flickr Fridays

The children of Nickel Mines
Originally uploaded by Tampen.

[Click on photo for larger view.]

These are the children of Nickel Mines who have just buried their dead.

Somber attire, striking expressions, great composition. Additional photos from this photostream are available here.

Technorati Tags : Flickr, Amish, Nickel+Mines

The Daily Scribe re-opens for business

The on-again, off-again escapades of The Daily Scribe have apparently been resolved. That means, I'll be wearing my Scribe Blog Badge & secret decoder ring sometime soon (as soon as I figure out the <code>). :-)

If you're unfamiliar with The Daily Scribe, you might want to take a look at their "about us" page.  Included in this on-line tribe are a variety of religious blogs across the spectrum of religious, philosophic & political beliefs.

I'm very pleased to be a part of this "evolving compendium" of religious blogs.

Tags: The Daily Scribe