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The Return of the King, the final film of the three-part Fellowship of the Rings, is winning a lot of Oscars tonight. Peter Jackson was just named Best Director. And now the film has been named Best Picture. Wow. What a night for Mr. Jackson and company. These films represented something special in film making.
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Liz's dad Chalmers celebrated his 75th birthday this weekend in San Francisco. Liz was there and now her pictures are posted. Check them out.
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Today I saw The Passion of the Christ. It was, at times, moving. I was most taken with how the film portrayed Mary’s witness to the death of her son. On the whole, however, I agree with critics who charge that Pontius Pilate was depicted as reluctant to harm or kill Jesus. It was only the Jewish leaders and their crowds of followers who forced Pilate to crucify Jesus. Not to crucify him would have meant a Jewish rebellion. In Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ it is clearly the Jews who are at fault for Jesus’ death. This film is not an accurate portrayal of the Gospel stories or history.
A note on the violence in the film: it is gratuitous. The New Testament accounts of Jesus’ death are obviously violent. But this is Gibson’s made up version. It is his vision of what occurred. You can tell the star of Lethal Weapon wrote and directed this film.
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Last week the Union of Concerned Scientists issued a report charging that the Bush White House has censored important scientific data in the pursuit of right-wing policy goals. Here’s more proof:
President Bush yesterday dismissed two members of his handpicked Council on Bioethics -- a scientist and a moral philosopher who had been among the more outspoken advocates for research on human embryo cells.In their places he appointed three new members, including a doctor who has called for more religion in public life, a political scientist who has spoken out precisely against the research that the dismissed members supported, and another who has written about the immorality of abortion and the "threats of biotechnology."
So much for integrity in public policy. Read the full story in The Washinton Post.
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Deborah Kafoury ended her tenure this week as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives. During her years in Salem she was a fierce advocate for programs to combat domestic violence, to build affordable housing, and for economic policies designed to help lift communities out of poverty and neglect. These days serving as a public official brings little thanks and much criticism. Deborah deserves the thanks of the community for a job well done.
Since Liz and I are friends with Deborah (Liz and Deborah have been close friends since college and I worked for Portland City Commissioner Gretchen Kafoury) we’ve seen up close the long hours and hard work she has put into representing her House District. It is hard to believe but there were actually people who questioned during her first campaign if she would be a progressive enough voice. No one could question that now.
Two good candidates are running to replace Deborah. We’re backing our friend Tina Kotek. Tina took Liz’s job as the public policy director for Children First for Oregon when we moved. Before that she was defending hunger relief programs while serving on the staff of the Oregon Food Bank. Tina knows how Salem works and would quickly become regarded as one of the most effective legislators.
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George W. Bush first opposed the creation of an independent commission to investigate the 9/11 attacks. Then his administration dragged their feet when the commission needed important documents and testimony. When the commission asked for additional time to complete their work the President said no, then ok, but let his Republican friends in the House drag their feet some more before giving the additional time. Now the President and Vice-President have finally agreed to meet with the commission. Sort of. They’ll only meet with the chair and vice-chair and only for one-hour. One hour is all the President has to give to the families of the victims and their quest to gain information on how the attacks were allowed to occur. Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore, on the other hand, have agreed to meet with the full commission for extended interviews. The disrespect shown by Bush and Cheney to the 9/11 families is inexcusable.
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A recent gathering of the National Spiritual Council of Churches of Haiti (CONASPEH) concluded with the following statement on the political situation there. The full statement can be found here along with other resources on the crisis. Below is part of the statement that seems important to distribute today.
We were approximately 3000 at the National Theatre of Port au Prince, praising, sharing, reporting, teaching and discussing at a completely particular political moment. Three days of reflection with people living in the same place, same country ignoring momentarily the true problem of their reason for being and their unfortunate situations. It was the moment for us to read the situation which prevails in Haiti so that member pastors and invited guests could understand the reality of the crisis dating back two centuries.The political situation in which we live, which includes division, egoism, distrust, traditional practices and international politics applied in poor countries, leads to class struggles, exclusion, exile, overthrown governments.
From 1986 to 2004, we have known 32 overthrown governments and two elections. The problem is not within the mass population, but the dominant class represented by the bourgeois and the traditional institutions such as the Catholic Church and the Protestant Federation that brings together churches founded by foreign missions.
The upper class, which for 200 years has dominated and controlled the political and economic power and which has become rich off the poorest of the people, has never contributed to the development of the country nor to the progress of the people who struggle and this dates from long ago. Having lost its control and privileges after 7 February 1986, this class has tried by all means to recover its place.
The middle class coming from among the ranks of the poor and who, to a certain limit, governs today is also resisting so as not to return under the yoke of servitude. Those in this group possess hope for a better tomorrow and do not intend to pack their bags and go into exile nor do those without access to an immigration visa intend to return to a hidden life in the bush. In this class and in this struggle one finds the grass roots Protestant churches, which are also threatened by the traditional mainline churches and institutions that are struggling for the rights of the well off.
1. The church is a part of this continual social crisis which knows no end. The political struggle constitutes a true concern for all the sectors of society including the churches. The poorest of the poor find themselves without shelter, bread, education, health, water, electricity and do not know to whom to cry or where to go.
One knows only civil war in certain parts of the country, notably among the poorest of the poor, who are used by politicians distributing weapons with the goal of creating panic and the destabilization of the government in place. Some of these areas are Cite Soleil, Delmas 2 and 3, Gonaives, Petit Goaves, Grand Goaves, Pernal, and others. There are also former military officials who force hospitals to close their doors.
While that which contributes to the survival of the poor is closed - factories, co-ops, NGOs, missionaries, orphanages-the bosses are turning into political parties with the goal of giving a reply to the people who voted for Aristide by firing them for their political ideology. Even if these workers refuse to participate in the demonstrations sponsored by their bosses against the government in power, they are victims of dismissal. So, economically speaking the situation is disastrous. Beggars are increasing, HIV/AIDS cases have grown, misery is seen right before one's eyes whereas the people are asking for one thing - an end to this political struggle and the beginning of the construction of the country through elections, as indicated in the constitution of 1987.
2. In this chaotic situation, the church is called to play her role, where the truth must question policy makers and political parties and call for dialogue, compromise and negotiations. This is the message we are calling our churches to preach to the people and what we insist on from the government and the opposition parties. Besides, we have asked the international community, particularly the Caribbean community and the Organization of American States that the Protestant grass roots churches be allowed to attend the next negotiating meeting, in order to know and to understand from where the truth and the lies are coming.
3. Our position is clear - the accompaniment of the poor in their choice, their struggle and determination. The choice of the poor is to see the installation of unity, peace, food security, social and political stability so that the class struggle, oppression, and exploitation cease and for once a plan be established to benefit the neediest of the Haitian people.
The opposition is no longer, Lavalas is not yet.
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Draft of a Constitutional Amendment to Defend Biblical Marriage
1. Marriage in the United States of America shall consist of a union between one man and one or more women. (Gen 29:17-28; II Sam 3:2-5.)
2. Marriage shall not impede a man's right to take concubines in addition to his wife or wives. (II Sam 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chron 11:21)
3. A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed. (Deut 22:13-21)
4. Marriage of a believer and a non-believer shall be forbidden. (Gen 24:3; Num 25:1-9; Ezra 9:12; Neh 10:30)
5. Since marriage is for life, neither the US Constitution nor any state law shall permit divorce. (Deut 22:19; Mark 10:9-12)
6. If a married man dies without children, his brother must marry the widow. If the brother refuses to marry the widow, or deliberately does not give her children, he shall pay a fine of one shoe and be otherwise punished in a manner to be determined by law. (Gen. 38:6-10; Deut 25:5-10)
7. In lieu of marriage (if there are no acceptable men to be found), a woman shall get her father drunk and have sex with him. (Gen 19:31-36)
Taken From:
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The Portland City Council decided that Dignity Village is a camp ground. This in response to Lars Larson's attempt to get the city to shut-down the homeless camp that moved from place-to-place until they moved to their current location. The The One True b!X's PORTLAND COMMUNIQUE has the full story:
The One True b!X's PORTLAND COMMUNIQUE: City Council Designates Dignity Village Site As A Campground
It's a good victory for Dignity. Erik Sten gets credit for all the work he has done to support the village. Even Vera Katz wins my praise on this one.
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The New York Times profiled former United States Senator Max Cleland today. What a great choice he would make for Vice-President on the democratic ticket. Republicans would fall apart. I'd love it if the veterans look on the chicken hawks of the Bush Administration.
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Our twin girls - due this summer- will be joined by twin cousins. Liz's cousin Paul and his wife Amy are expecting twin boys the same week our girls should arrive. My twin sisters should be happy. So should my cousin Bryan's twin girls. And Liz's mom and her twin sister, Liz's aunt. We are now the official family of twins. Congrats Paul and Amy!
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The new issue of United Church News, the newsletter of the United Church of Christ, is now online.
It includes a story on a new advertising campaign the denomination will launch March 1.
The debut 30-second commercial stars two muscle-bound "bouncers" who stand guard outside a fabled, picturesque church where they discriminately choose which persons will be permitted to attend Sunday services. Then a tag line touts the UCC's different approach: "No matter who you are, no matter where you are on life's journey, you are welcome at a United Church of Christ congregation."
I’m excited to see the new spots. Hopefully, they will help more people know the inclusive nature of our denomination.
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Today is Ash Wednesday – which marks the beginning of Lent and the start of the Easter cycle. My church – like many Protestant and Catholic congregations – will be marking Ash Wednesday with a service this evening. During the earliest days of Christianity Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of a period where people would prepare for the rite of Baptism by hearing Biblical stories and learning the history of the faith over a 40 day period. Baptism would then occur on Easter morning. It is also considered a time of repentance for Christians. One of the Biblical passages often heard during Ash Wednesday services comes from Psalm 51:1-17.
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. 5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me. 6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. 17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Today we often consider sin to be something personal in nature – an individual failing. God also talked about sin as being the responsibility or the failing of the community. It is a sin that people in our world starve while others amass wealth, it is a sin that we spend our resources on weapons of mass destruction designed to destroy God’s creation, and it is a sin that we have misused God’s message of inclusive love and open table to discriminate against those we see as the other. These sins we need forgiveness from. In a world of war, hunger, and poverty there is room for us all to take responsibility for sin.
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Someone named (or going by the name) Russ Few left a pretty nasty comment on my site today. This wasn’t the first nasty post I've gotten this week on gay issues or my postings on The Passion film. I’ve banned this guy from the ability to make future comments on my site, but decided to keep the statement he made today on the site as an example of what our gay brothers and lesbian sisters face on a daily basis. He was responding to my post "Sign-Up for Gay & Lesbian Rights." It’s ugly out there. I would encourage people not to respond directly to Mr. Few. To be honest, I wouldn't be able to come up with anything nice to say. Keep the faith!
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First George W. Bush’s Education Secretary called teachers terrorists.
Then George W. Bush kicked off his re-election campaign by questioning the patriotism of Democrats.
"It's (the election) a choice between an America that leads the world with strength and confidence, or an America that is uncertain in the face of danger."
Now he wants to amend the United States Constitution to enshrine discrimination against gays and lesbians.
"Not since the days of Jim Crow segregation has our nation faced the prospect of discrimination written into law in such a shameful way," said David Tseng, executive director of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. "Millions of Americans are disappointed that their president, George W. Bush, has bowed to political pressure to support the codification of hatred into our beloved Constitution."
No President has done more to tear apart the social fabric of America since Richard Nixon. It is not only the Presidency at stake in the 2004 election. George W. Bush just made it an election about the preservation of the US Constitution.
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Education Secretary Rod Paige knows who the real terrorists are in America: public school teachers.
Education Secretary Rod Paige says he chose poor words in calling the nation's largest teachers union a "terrorist organization," but he stands by his claim that the group uses "obstructionist scare tactics" in its fight over the nation's education law.Paige used the terrorist reference Monday in a private White House meeting with governors while answering a question about the National Education Association, which has 2.7 million members. His words startled members of his audience, triggered outrage from prominent Democrats and deepened the divide between the country's top education official and its largest union.
Included in 100-word statement that his staff characterized as an apology was Paige's assertion that "the NEA's high-priced Washington lobbyists have made no secret that they will fight against bringing real, rock-solid improvements in the way we educate our children regardless of skin color, accent or where they live."
It should make us feel safe to know that when real terrorists are planning attacks the Bush Administration is fighting teachers. Warms your heart.
Of course, my wife is a teacher. Right now though she is working to help defeat George W. Bush in the fall election. Hmm. Does this make her a terrorist? I'll have to ask her tonight. I'm sure Bush would say yes.
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The author of the OCA's new anti-gay ballot measure - that's who. Big surprise.
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Howard Dean issued a statement today on Ralph Nader.
Ralph Nader has made many great contributions to America over 40 years. But if George W. Bush is re-elected, the health, safety, consumer, environmental, and open government provisions Ralph Nader has fought for will be undermined. George Bush's right-wing appointees will still be serving as judges fifty years from now, and our Constitution will be shredded. It will be government by, of, and for, the corporations - exactly what Ralph Nader has struggled against.Many of my supporters urged me to run as an independent, but I judged it the wrong thing to do. There is still time for Ralph Nader to stand with those in the Democratic Party who are building a progressive coalition to defeat George W. Bush. But time is running out. We can win only if we are united.
You can read the full statement here:
Blog for America : Governor Dean's statement on Ralph Nader | February 23, 2004
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Rabbi Michael Lerner has an excellent essay in Tikkun urging Christians to respond to Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ with what he calls the Gospel of Love. Lerner takes the view that the issues raised by the film are much broader than just anti-Semitism.
So let's understand that the attempt to revive Christian enthusiasm around the part of the story that is focused on cruelty and pain is not only (or even primarily) a threat to the Jews, but rather a threat to all those decent, loving, and generous Christians who have found in the Jesus story a foundation for their most humane and caring instincts. It is these Christians who are under assault by Mel Gibson's movie, and by the particular form of Christian evangelicalism that it is meant to stimulate. Yet, in a deeper way, the Gibson movie is likely to stimulate a broader assault on all of us who seek to build a world based on caring and love, cooperation and generosity, by giving strength to the part within each of us that despairs, the voice within each of us that tells us that cruelty is what is "really how the other is, really how the world is," the voice inside each of us that feels that there is no point in struggling to transform the world because it is too hopeless and too dominated by craziness (and that is the point of the Jews in the Gospel calling for Jesus to be killed, because it is saying "even the Jews, his own people" do this, because evil is dominant in the world and always will be, and the only way out is to believe in Jesus and find salvation in another world, and despair of changing this one). So, part of the struggle is to reclaim and reaffirm the Jewish Jesus, the Jesus who retains hope for building love right here, the Jesus who unabashedly proclaims that the Kingdom of Heaven has arrived (which is to say, that it is here on earth, that the world right now can be based on love and kindness, and that we don't have to wait for some future time or "the end of days" as described by Isaiah, because it is here now, we can make it happen right away by the way that we live our lives). And it is this voice of Jesus that The Passion movie seeks to marginalize or make invisible.
This is another article worth the read.
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The current issue of Sojourners arrived in my mail box last week - the online version has just been posted. This issue concerns the environment and our faith. I’ve been up to my ears in reading for classes and haven’t had a chance to finish this issue, but I urge folks to pick it up.
While we’re on the topic of Christianity and the environment…
The National Council of Churches has a special project on the subject. You can find the web site here.
One of the best faith-based environment projects I know about is sponsored by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. EMO’s Interfaith Network for Earth Concerns has a great site filled with information.
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My grandfather Rock is still in Oregon and Washington visiting my mom and the rest of the family. This is a photo of him with some of his great-grandchildren. More photos are here.
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Statement by the Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar
General Secretary, National Council of Churches USA
New York, N.Y., February 20, 2004
Speaking on behalf of the National Council of Churches, I condemn in the strongest terms the recent anti-Semitic remarks of Hutton Gibson, father of film producer Mel Gibson, including his bizarre assertion that the Holocaust did not occur. The Holocaust is a tragic historical fact.
The elder Gibson’s comments are offensive in the extreme, not only to Jews, but also to all persons of good will. I understand that Hutton Gibson has made similar remarks in the past. However, the controversy surrounding Mel Gibson’s film “The Passion of the Christ” now has attracted substantial media attention to his father’s vitriolic tirade and it must not stand unchallenged.
The leadership of the Council’s 36 member denominations, who are the spiritual leaders of some 50 million U.S. Christians, deplore hate speech of any kind. Along with them I work toward a nation in which interfaith harmony and understanding among all our people may grow and flourish.
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O Perfect Love, whose compassionate power transforms sin into health and temporal dust into eternal glory: grant us a gracious faith, so that like Joseph, when he was sold into slavery, we may face our trials with confidence, and become a blessing to friend and enemy alike in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Here's our new photo of Liz - now at 17 weeks. We have our next ultra sound one week from Monday. You can see a collection of postings regarding the twins here. Below is a photo of me at 17 weeks.
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Over 60 nationally known scientists – including several Nobel laureates – released a statement this week through the Union of Concerned Scientists charging that the Bush White House has censored important scientific data in the pursuit of right-wing policy goals.
“Across a broad range of issues, the administration has undermined the quality of the scientific advisory system and the morale of the government’s outstanding scientific personnel,” said Dr. Kurt Gottfried, emeritus professor of physics at Cornell University and Chairman of the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Whether the issue is lead paint, clean air or climate change, this behavior has serious consequences for all Americans.”“Science, to quote President Bush's father, the former president, relies on freedom of inquiry and objectivity,” said Russell Train, head of the Environmental Protection Agency under Nixon and Ford, who joined the scientists in calling for action. “But this administration has obstructed that freedom and distorted that objectivity in ways that were unheard of in any previous administration.”
The Union of Concerned Scientists released a report called Scientific Integrity in Policymaking that documents examples of censorship and distortion that the White House has been involved with.
One example cited in the statement and report involves the suppression of an EPA study that found the bipartisan Senate Clear Air bill would do more to reduce mercury contamination in fish and prevent more deaths than the administration's proposed Clear Skies Act. “This is akin to the White House directing the National Weather Service to alter a hurricane forecast because they want everyone to think we have clear skies ahead,” said Kevin Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists “The hurricane is still coming, but without factual information no one will be ready for it.”
You can read more here. National Public Radio also covered the issue.
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The whole concept of Audblog - where you can post brief voice messages to your blog - sounded like fun to me. But so far it hasn't been. Their site reads:
...for an initial low subscription rate of $3 a month you can create 12, four minute audio posts.
When I signed up they charged me $9 for 12, two minute audio posts.
And that's not all:
By mistake I first signed up for the service where Audblog sends you a link to your voice-message, which you then have to post. This is instead of the service where the voice-messages are posted directly to your blog.
In any event, I tried contacting them for a week asking for help in making the change and none of my e-mails have been answered. Maybe they are too busy with other projects and don't have time for customers.
I still like the concept, but I cancelled my $9 subscription. Maybe I’ll try again later when I hear back from folks that the service has improved - and is really only $3. From my own experience, I could hardly recommend Audblog to anyone.
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George W. Bush used another recess appointment to name a court appointee this week. William Pryor, Alabama’s Attorney General, now sits on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Pryor is a strong foe of abortion rights for women and voting rights for African-Americans. His views on the courts are best summed up in one of his own statements:
“God has chosen through his son Jesus Christ this time, this place for all Christians -- Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox -- to save our country and save our courts."
Apparently, the courts are only available for Christian Americans.
“With this appointment, this president is endangering America’s commitment to religious liberty and civil rights and is once again showing his contempt for the Constitution’s separation of powers,” said the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of The Interfaith Alliance. “The president seems to be more concerned with shoring up his conservative base, which, according to an article in today’s Washington Times, is eroding.”
Groups like the conservative Christian Coalition have been advocating Pryor’s appointment as part of their Take Back America campaign.
Read more about William Pryor's right wing agenda.
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"A Jewish and Christian Response to Mel Gibson’s The Passion"Featured speakers:
Rabbi Mark Shook
Senior Rabbi, Temple Israel-St LouisDr. Steve Patterson
Professor of New Testament, Eden Theological SeminaryThursday, March 11, 2004 * 7:00 p.m.
Eden Theological Seminary, Schroer Commons, 475 East Lockwood Avenue
Sponsored by
Interfaith Partnership of Metropolitan St. Louis
4144 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108Eden Theological Seminary
475 East Lockwood Ave., Saint Louis, MO 63119-3192
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Tonight NBC’s Dateline aired their program “The Last Days of Jesus.” I was at a church gathering tonight discussing John John Dominic Crossan’s book Who Killed Jesus and only caught the last 15 minutes of the program. From what little I saw Crossan and Marcus Borg did a good job of discussing some of the myths involved regarding the role of the Jewish people in Jesus’ death. I’m getting a lot of hits tonight from people looking for information on the program. If you saw it please leave a note in the comment section and tell us what you thought.
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Aaron Roberts, another one of my seminary colleagues, has a website online. He and his wife Carrie, along with their son Paul, have become good friends of ours. Aaron was with me on our seminary-sponsored trip to India this summer. Check out his site.
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Ralph Nader will announce his intentions on seeking the presidency this Sunday on Meet The Press. Indications are he will run as an independent in the 2004 fall election. Nader’s campaign did incredible damage to the country in 2000. He argued that there was no difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush. The last four years have clearly proved otherwise. Running again this year – against the wishes of women’s groups, environmental groups, civil rights groups, labor unions, etc. – makes it clear that his campaign is designed more to feed his ego than to fix the country. Read what some of his former supporters have to say by clicking here.
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United Methodist General Board of Church and Society Action Alert
S. Res. 276/H. Res. 479, a bipartisan resolution introduced in the Senate and House by Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Rep. Lois Capps, applauds the efforts of Israelis and Palestinians working privately toward a new peace agreement and urges President Bush and Israeli and Palestinian leaders to embrace the efforts. Sen. Feinstein is a leading Congressional voice for Israel.
The new peace agreement, known as the Geneva Accord, was negotiated by former Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin and former Palestinian Authority negotiator Yasir Abed-Rabbo. It is a detailed blueprint for a resolution of the Middle East’s most destabilizing conflict. The Accord seeks to overcome the chief defect of the Oslo peace process and President Bush’s Road Map to Middle East Peace by settling the most difficult issues right away, rather than putting them off to “final status” talks. Thus it calls for a two-state solution based on a near-total withdrawal from the Palestinian territories, a division of Jerusalem and the resettlement of most refugees in the new Palestinian state. The agreement also calls for an international force to guarantee implementation and oversight.
It is imperative that American voices support this courageous peace effort by prominent Israeli and Palestinians leaders. It puts pressure on President Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestine Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to end the conflict with a comprehensive peace based on a two-state solution. Urge your Senators and Representative to cosponsor S. Res. 276/H. Res. 479.
Background
As the Bush Administration has disengaged from leadership in seeking implementation of the ”Road Map to Peace in the Middle East,” public and political attention has shifted to the unofficial initiatives from prominent Israelis and Palestinians that lay out solutions to the final status o f issues. These initiatives include the Geneva Accord (see at www.cmep.org), a comprehensive model agreement for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which was signed in Geneva on December 1, 2003, the “People’s Voice Initiative,” a statement of principles that has generated grassroots support in Israeli and Palestinian communities, and “One Voice,” an initiative that seeks to develop broad-based consensus among Israelis and Palestinians on the disputed issues.
United Methodist Church Position
United Methodists are committed to the objective of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace agreement that would bring recognition and security to Israel and national and human rights to the Palestinians. (2002 Book of Resolutions, p. 757.)
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Psoriatic Arthritis is one of those illnesses you hope to avoid. Most people know about psoriasis – a skin condition that runs the gamete from mild to extreme. A small percentage of people suffering from psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis. That is what has happened to me.
Psoriatic arthritis can develop at any time. On average, it appears about 10 years after the first signs of psoriasis. For most people it appears between the ages of 30 and 50. It affects men and women equally. In about one of seven people with psoriatic arthritis, arthritis symptoms occur before any skin lesions.Like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis is thought to be caused by a malfunctioning immune system. Psoriatic arthritis is usually milder than rheumatoid arthritis, but some patients with psoriatic arthritis have as severe a disease as patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Psoriatic arthritis can start slowly with mild symptoms, or it can develop quickly. It is very important to have as early and accurate a diagnosis as possible. Left untreated, psoriatic arthritis can be a progressively disabling disease. In fact, half of those with psoriatic arthritis already have bone loss by the time the disease is diagnosed.
There are worse illnesses you can get, but this one leaves a lot to be desired. Before I was diagnosed, I ended up in the emergency room twice last year. I couldn’t get out of bed by myself. The swelling I receive is normally in my hands and feet, but tests have also shown some degeneration of my spine. Put all together it hurts like, well, hell comes to mind. The treatment I’m on now consists of one injection a week of something called a biological response modifier. The plan is to fight the PA into some kind of remission. There is no cure, but the good news is that the medicines being developed are getting better all the time.
I’ve been meaning to write about this for several weeks, but my medicine was delayed in January and I felt pretty awful. Writing more than short posts was out of the question. Now I’m starting to feel a bit better. If you ever get the opportunity to support efforts to fight arthritis please do so. I used to think arthritis was something that slowed old people down on shopping trips. Now it slows me down on bad days when I’m trying to walk down stairs.
Learn more on Psoriatic Arthritis by clicking here. There is a online support group you can visit here. Finally, you can visit the Arthritis Foundation and help them out.
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First San Francisco. Now Chicago? When will the gay wave hit Portland, St. Louis, or Miami? These are happy days for our country. People are getting their civil rights and that's the way it should be. Let's hear it for the Mayors. Note to Vera and Diane: Jump on board and get busy.
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The state of Israel faces many legitimate security concerns. Unfortunately, since the Likud (conservative) party took power Israel has moved away from a process of finding common ground and peace with Palestinians and other Arab neighbors. The most visible sign of turning away from the peace process has been the building of a wall to separate Palestinian citizens from their Israeli neighborhoods. The World Council of Churches has a new document on their web site called Security or Segregation: The Humanitarian Consequences of Israel’s Wall of Separation.
….the Israeli government has completed the construction of the first section of a physical barrier between Israel and the West Bank. Extending approximately 145 kilometres, this section will eventually become part of a barrier that – judging from recent Israeli confiscation orders on Palestinian-owned land – will encircle approximately 40 percent of the West Bank, which Israel plans to allot the Palestinians as part of a final settlement of the conflict.According to Israel the wall is meant solely to prevent suicide bombers from entering Israel from the West Bank. However, the wall does not follow the 1949 armistice line, the so-called Green Line, which constitutes the unofficial border between Israel and the West Bank. Instead, in most places the wall runs or will run deep inside the West Bank. The completed portion runs up to six kilometres east of the Green Line, whereas the planned route includes, among other areas, the settlement of Ariel some 20 km east of the Green Line. Finally, and even more disturbing, judging from the confiscation orders, the wall will eventually be extended to separate the future Palestinian enclaves from the Jordan Valley, thus completely surrounding the territories supposed to constitute, in the words of the Quartet Road Map, an independent, viable, sovereign Palestinian state.
Humanitarian groups have been concerned over how the wall will impact the lives of the Palestinian people. There is also opposition to the wall from political parties in Israel fighting the extremist Likud government. You can now read the full report online.
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We've had snow and ice on the ground here for a month now. But there are signs of spring. We all need the sun to come back and get us moving again. The sooner the better.
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Mel Gibson’s dad, Hutton Gibson, made new comments today arguing that the Holocaust either never happened or was greatly exaggerated.
In his interview on WSNR radio's "Speak Your Piece", to be broadcast Monday, Hutton Gibson, argued that many European Jews counted as death camp victims of the Nazi regime had in fact fled to countries like Australia and the United States.
"It's all -- maybe not all fiction -- but most of it is," he said, adding that the gas chambers and crematoria at camps like Auschwitz would not have been capable of exterminating so many people.Gibson's father had made similar claims in remarks published in a New York Times article in March last year.
In a television interview with Diane Sawyer that was broadcast Monday on the ABC network, Mel Gibson accused the Times of taking advantage of his father, and he warned Sawyer against broaching the subject again.
"He's my father. Gotta leave it alone Diane. Gotta leave it alone," Gibson said, while offering his own perspective on the Holocaust.
The elder Gibson went on to charge that Jews were plotting to create a world religion and a world government where they would control all facets of life.
Hutton Gibson and Mel Gibson are both “Traditionalist” Catholics who have rejected reforms in the Church that began with Vatican II. Those reforms included statements making clear that Jews were not at fault for the death of Jesus. Critics claim Mel Gibson’s new film may inflame anti-Semitic feelings.
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NBC’s Dateline program this Friday will be on “The Last Days of Jesus.” Could be good. Could be bad. But one good sign: John Dominic Crossan is interviewed. The show comes shortly before the release of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.
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I don’t know if Katie Hnida was a good football player or not. Up until today I’d never heard of the former woman placekicker for the University of Colorado. She made the news this week because of allegations that she was raped and sexually harassed while on the team. Her allegations come after other women have stepped forward and accused Colorado’s football program of fostering an atmosphere where sexual violence is tolerated.
How did coach Gary Barnett respond to these latest allegations? He complained to the media that Hnida was just a bad athlete who didn’t garner the respect of her fellow male team members.
"It's a guy's sport, and [the men players] felt like Katie was forced on them," Barnett said. "It was obvious Katie was not very good. She was awful."
Like I said, I don’t know if Hnida was a good player or not. I don’t know if the allegations of rape are true. What I do know is that Barnett doesn’t deserve much respect for dismissing the allegations. He ought to be fired.
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Howard Dean is doing the right thing by ending his campaign. Hopefully, he'll stay involved in politics. Don't count him out. It took Ronald Reagan 20 years to become President. We may get a chance to vote for Howard Dean again.
Blog for America : A Beginning not an End | February 18, 2004
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For over a year I've been telling everyone who would listen that Howard Dean should be president. But now it is time for the Governor to exit the stage. There are other ways he can contribute to the future of America, but being President will not be one of them. The campaign needs to end now with honor. Moving forward with any kind of campaign for President would be a mistake. I love Howard Dean and what he has done for America, but I no longer support his running a campaign.
Blog for America : In Wisconsin: We Are Not Done | February 17, 2004
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[Episcopal News Service] A reflection guide to Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ," offered by the National Council of Churches USA, has been endorsed by the Episcopal Church's ecumenical and interfaith officer as a helpful guide to parishioners and congregations viewing the controversial film.
The guide is available on the NCC's web site at http://www.ncccusa.org/pdfs/passionfilmguide.pdf
"This study guide is very good and consistent with our approach to such matters," said Bishop Christopher Epting, deputy to the Presiding Bishop for ecumenical and interfaith relations. "We don't believe in censoring such things, or advising our people not to view them, but to reflect on them within the community of faith. I would encourage Episcopal congregations to consider making this material available."
"The Passion of the Christ," set to open Ash Wednesday (February 25), already has generated both rave reviews and controversy. The NCC Interfaith Relations Commission, which issued the guide, does not comment on the film but offers Christian viewers a framework in which to see the film and to discuss it in their families and congregations.
Tragic history
According to the NCC, the guide recognizes that the story of Christ's Passion is deeply meaningful to Christians and that dramatic depictions of the Passion story can be a powerful experience of faith--but that such depictions also have a tragic history, sometimes leading to labeling of Jews as "Christ-killers" and to acts of violence against Jews.
"Many Christian and Jewish leaders are concerned that this movie might set back decades of Jewish-Christian relations," the guide notes. The NCC Interfaith Relations Commission expresses its concern about the possible rise in anti-Semitism and its desire to foster genuine and constructive Christian-Jewish dialogue.
The guide addresses the question "Who killed Jesus?" and reminds its readers that Jesus was born a Jew and lived as a Jew to the end. It encourages Christians to read at least two Gospel accounts of the Passion along with commentary on the religious and political context of the gospel writers.
When Jesus prayed from the cross, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do," what did he mean? the guide asks. Movie viewers are asked to discuss how the movie portrays Jews, and to consider specific steps to build or strengthen relationships with Jewish people and institutions.
(Thanks to WWP for sending along this story. Other NCC resources on the film are available here.)
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So far I haven’t been able to find a transcript of Mel Gibson’s interview with ABC that aired last night. Plenty of people have been visiting my site looking for it. If anyone saw it post a comment and let us know what you thought.
Some comments that Gibson has made recently are drawing renewed concern over his intentions in making the movie. Here are a few examples of his view on the Second Vatican Council and his Christian beliefs.
"[Vatican II] corrupted the institution of the church. Look at the main fruits: dwindling numbers and pedophilia." - Time, January 27, 2003"[Scholars] always dick around with [the Gospels], you know? Judas is always some kind of friend of some freedom fighter named Barabbas, you know what I mean? It's horseshit. It's revisionist bullshit. And that's what these academics are into. They gave me notes on a stolen script. I couldn't believe it. It was like they were more or less saying I have no right to interpret the Gospels myself, because I don't have a bunch of letters after my name. But they are for children, these Gospels. They're for children, they're for old people, they're for everybody in between. They're not necessarily for academics. Just get an academic on board if you want to pervert something!"
- The New Yorker, September 15, 2003"There is no salvation for those outside the Church…I believe it."
- The New Yorker, September 15, 2003"Why are they calling her a Nazi? …Because modern secular Judaism wants to blame the Holocaust on the Catholic Church. And it's a lie. And it's revisionism. And they've been working on that one for a while."
- On criticism of Anne Catherine Emmerich, a nineteenth-century nun whose writings influenced his portrayal of Jesus' death. The New Yorker, September 15, 2003"I want to kill him…I want his intestines on a stick. . . . I want to kill his dog."
- On New York Times reporter Frank Rich, who wrote an early article about The Passion of the Christ. The New Yorker, September 15, 2003
You can read more of Mel Gibson In His on Words by clicking here.
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At least one Portland couple got married this weekend in San Francisco (thanks to WWP for the link). This is good news. Read all about it.
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Former United States Senator Max Cleland, winner of the Silver Star for his service in Vietnam, has been attacked by political allies of George W. Bush from the Heritage Foundation. Writing for their web site, Ann Coulter accused Cleland, who lost three limbs in a combat operation, of losing “three limbs in an accident during a routine noncombat mission where he was about to drink beer with friends.” The truth is that “Cleland lost two legs and an arm in Vietnam when a grenade accidentally detonated after he and another soldier jumped off a helicopter in a combat zone.”
Cleland is under attack by Bush’s friends because the former senator, who was defeated after the White House ran ads comparing him to Osama bin Laden, has raised questions about the President’s service in the National Guard. Coulter, who has used her position with the Heritage Foundation to make anti-Semitic statements and to accuse Democrats of being traitors, is a strong supporter of the Bush reelection campaign. Many of Bush’s White House staff worked for the Heritage Foundation and Bush himself has spoken at their events. Coulter is also a news analyst for FOX News.
The congressional citation he received reported that under:
…heavy enemy rocket and mortar attack Captain Cleland, disregarding his own safety, exposed himself to the rocket barrage as he left his covered position to administer first aid to his wounded comrades. He then assisted in moving the injured personnel to covered positions." The citation concluded, "Cleland's gallant action is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.
The irony of Bush’s allies attacking veterans is hard to comprehend. The Bush White House has cut funds for veterans at the same time they are attacking the patriotism of leaders like Max Cleland.
The Center for American Progress is asking that people e-mail the Heritage Foundation and FOX News demanding that they stop using Ann Coulter as a resource. George W. Bush also owes Senator Cleland and the nation an apology for using his supporters in this manner.
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Our seminary e-mail system seems to be offline more these days than online.
After months of problems (and lost e-mails) I’m changing over and using my ISP provided e-mail address.
You can now reach me at:
Please make the change in your address book.
Thanks.
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This morning Dr. Susan Pace Hamill preached at Grace United Methodist Church, the congregation where I’m doing field study this year.
Dr. Hamill’s thesis paper while working on her Masters of Theological Studies was titled “An Argument for Tax Reform Based on Judeo-Christian Ethics.” Alabama’s republican governor, Bob Riley, read Dr. Hamill’s paper and in response proposed sweeping reforms in the state’s tax system. Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners Magazine, wrote last year that Governor Riley proposed a :
…tax-reform package that included higher property taxes, higher income taxes on the wealthy, and no income taxes on the poorest people. The plan raises the threshold to pay income tax for families of four to $17,000—paying for it in part by raising corporate taxes on the timber industry. "I have spent most of my life fighting higher taxes," the governor explained, "...but I believe we have no other choice."Why the governor's change of heart? It turns out that he is deeply Christian, and he realized that his faith had something to say about the budget and tax situation. "According to our Christian ethic, we're supposed to love God, love each other, and help take care of our poor," he was recently quoted by CBS News. "And this is a step in the right direction." Here is a conservative Republican governor who has been reading his Bible and decided to put his Christian faith first.
The plan was defeated by the voters after a campaign waged by Dick Armey (the former Republican House leader who just helped defeat Oregon’s Measure 30) and the Christian Coalition. The plan was, however, supported by many Christian leaders including Methodists, Presbyterians, Southern Baptists, Episcopalians, and Catholics, along with Jewish leaders, according to Wallis.
Dr. Hamill turned her thesis into a book, The Least of These: Fair Taxes and the Moral Duty of Christians, which is worth a read. I picked up a copy and plan to use some of the material for one of the papers I have to write this semester.
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