Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

Reclaiming Our Voices Conference: Progressive Religious Values Promoting Liberty and Justice for All

A fellow by the name of Dan Check e-mailed the other day about the upcoming "Progressive Religious Voices: Religious Values Promoting Liberty and Justice for All" conference which will be held May 7th in New York City. Interfaith Voices is the sponsor. There will be a lot of good speakers and if you’re a progressive person of faith and in the area this is clearly the place to be on May 7th.

Is Rush Limbaugh On Drugs Or Something?

Faithful Progressive has a post up about Rush Limbaugh’s latest assault on progressives. In the wake of “Justice Sunday” he is saying "the religious left in this country hates and despises the God of Christianity and Catholicism.” Crazy. And when did Catholicism become a separate religion apart from Christianity?

To Preserve And Strengthen Social Security: Religious Organization Statement Of Principles

One of the most critical issues facing our nation is the future of social security.  This week a diverse group of religious groups issued a statement of principles for Congress and the president to consider as reforms are developed.  Many of the policies adopted by the current administration have hurt those in poverty - and the elderly often fall into this category.  Christians and Jews share a religious tradition rooted in the Hebrew scriptures in which God calls us to do justice.  Taking care of those who benefit from social security is clearly a concern of religious people. 

To Preserve and Strengthen Social Security:
Religious Organization Statement of Principles

We the undersigned religious organizations come from diverse religious traditions, yet our communities speak with one voice on the importance of providing compassionate care for the elderly, widows, orphans, and persons with disabilities.  It is the birthright of each person to live a life with dignity and with access to the basic necessities of life.  It is because of our deep moral concern for the most vulnerable in our society that many of our organizations actively supported the creation of the Social Security system in 1935 and many of its later improvements.

Today, we celebrate the tremendous success of the Social Security system.  For over sixty years, it has provided the foundation for a compassionate society by providing basic economic security for all participants.  Its present overall structure--universal, compulsory, an earned right, wage-related rather than means-tested, and protected against inflation--has served our country well.  In 2004, the combined programs of Social Security provided benefits to 48 million people B including retirees, survivors, and eight million people living with disabilities.  Survivor benefits supported more than five million children.

Without this basic income security, over 50 percent of women and 40 percent of men over age 65 would likely be living in poverty.  The Social Security system has demonstrated the positive role that government can play in advancing the common good.  Future generations deserve nothing less.

It is our common concern for the economic well being of future generations that brings our nation to its current discussion of the future of the Social Security system.  It is a timely and appropriate discussion.  It warrants careful reflection concerning the basic principles upon which the present system was founded and the moral values which bring us together in common purpose as a nation.  We seek to contribute to this discussion by offering the following principles, informed by our moral beliefs and religious experience, as a basis for evaluating proposed changes to the Social Security system.

Compassion.  As citizens and residents of this country, we have a collective responsibility to care for one another.  The federal government should continue its important, effective, and efficient role promoting a compassionate society through the Social Security system.

Economic security.  Social insurance should remain a basic part of our society. Disability and survivor insurance must be maintained.  Security for the elderly, survivors, and persons with disabilities should not be left to the vagaries of fragile family support systems, voluntary charity, or economic cycles.

Equity, fairness, and progressivity.  The present overall structure of the Social Security system --universal, compulsory employee and employer contributions, an earned right, wage-related rather than means-tested, and protected against inflation--should be preserved and strengthened.  Overall, the costs and benefits should be distributed progressively in proportion to each person=s ability to pay and level of need.  Care must be given to assure that segments of the population are not systematically disadvantaged due to gender, race, or marital status.

Savings and pensions.  Social Security is intended to be the third leg of a three-legged stool, the other two legs being personal savings and employer-provided pensions.  Congress should encourage personal savings and employer pensions in addition to (not as a substitute for) the current system, and, especially, it should explore ways to help low- and middle-income households save more for their future.

Stewardship of the public trust.  Congress has a moral obligation to fulfill its trust responsibilities to those who have contributed through their payroll taxes to the Social Security trust fund.  Congress must also assure that future beneficiaries will receive benefits sufficient to meet their basic needs, that trust fund revenues and expenditures balance over time, and that future generations will not be unfairly burdened by this generation=s debts.

We believe the strength of our country is measured best by the compassion we show to one another in our times of greatest need and vulnerability.  In the months ahead, we will continue to look at new proposals to modify the Social Security system through the framework of our moral beliefs and religious experiences.  We will seek to engage with members of Congress and the public to help discern the best way to strengthen and preserve the Social Security system so that future generations may continue to benefit, as we do now.

Organizational sign-ons as of April 26, 2005

African Methodist Episcopal Church
Call to Renewal
Church Women United
Episcopal Church USA
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Council of the Churches in Christ in the USA
National Council of Jewish Women
NETWORK:  A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office
Union for Reform Judaism
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society

Related Post:  Protecting Social Security:  Our Biblical Obligation To Support the Elderly & Ill

United Methodists Reinstate Lesbian Minister

A decision defrocking Beth Stroud from her position as a United Methodist Church clergy person has been reversed. Stroud had been convicted by a church court of being lesbian. The official United Methodist position – widely opposed by many United Methodists – is that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christianity.” United Methodist New Service reports:

BALTIMORE (UMNS)—Irene Elizabeth "Beth" Stroud, who was found guilty of violating United Methodist church law and had her clergy credentials withdrawn last December, won her appeal in a decision announced April 29.

Stroud had appealed the clergy court’s Dec. 2 decision to the Northeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Appeals, which met at a hotel near the Baltimore-Washington International Airport April 28-29.

The clergy court had found her guilty of violating denomination law, which forbids the ordination and appointment of "self-avowed practicing homosexuals." Stroud had disclosed that she was living in a committed relationship with another woman.

The appeals committee upheld part of the trial court’s finding but overturned the verdict based on legal error. The committee’s 8-1 vote means Stroud is automatically reinstated as a pastor.

Click here to read the full story.

The issue of whether or not United Methodists will ever allow gays and lesbians to serve openly as clergy is not resolved by this church decision. Outside groups funded by political conservatives – such as the Republican-party aligned Institute on Religion and Democracy – will continue to spend enormous amounts of money undermining efforts to allow the full participation of gays and lesbians in the life of the United Methodist Church. But this church court decision is a good, hopeful, and faithful response to God’s call that Christians be open and affirming.

Related Post: United Methodists Defrock Lesbian Minister The Same Week United Church of Christ Launches God Is Still Speaking Television Commercial

Related Post:  Homosexuality and the Bible

Arson likely cause of damage at 'Stillspeaking' UCC congregation in Florida

By J. Bennett Guess
United Church News Director

April 28, 2005

Arson is the apparent cause of an estimated $50,000 in damage to St. Mark's United Church of Christ in Valrico, Fla., where some are speculating that the congregation's enhanced public visibility from the denomination's national advertising campaign could be a motivating factor.

"At 1 o'clock last Friday morning (April 22) their large 'God Is Still Speaking' banner was slashed with a broken glass [and] gasoline was used to encircle their parish house/office building and ignited," said the Rev. C. Jack Richards, Interim Florida Conference Minister, in an e-mail. "No one was hurt but about $50,000 dollars in estimated damage at this point was created."

Heidi Adams, the church's office manager, said the detached garage was destroyed by the blaze and the church's parish house, which contains church offices and Sunday School rooms, received smoke damage. Church records were salvaged, she said.

The sanctuary, which is in a separate building, was not affected.

The 100-member church, founded in 1983, is located about 15 miles east of Tampa. The Rev. Garry Scheuer, interim pastor, who is out of town and unavailable for comment, was in town at the time of the incident and met with investigators shortly after the fire was reported by a passing motorist, Adams said.

"We don't know if [the church's participation in the Stillspeaking Initiative] was tied in or not, or if that was just coincidental," Adams said. "But apparently there was some specific evidence. We don't want to say anything until we know."

Adams confirmed that the banner was vandalized in an act separate from the fire.

"We don't know how, but [the banner] was destroyed," she said. "People are upset and want to know answers, but we are also grateful that it wasn't worse."

The case is under investigation by local authorities. The story has not been covered by Tampa media outlets.

"At present it is classified as arson but may turn into a hate crime, given how the banner was so violently attacked," Richards said.

The congregation has experienced increased exposure, including newcomers, due to active participation in the UCC's national identity effort, Richards said.

"[The pastor] said they have had a number of people come to the church because of our 'God Is Still Speaking' Initiative," Richards said.

Expressions of support can be sent to St. Mark UCC, 2914 Lithia Pinecrest Road, Valrico, FL 33594-5627.

In June 2004, several homes in Valrico were spray painted with racial slurs, profanities and references to the Ku Klux Klan. Community residents responded by expressing support for the victims and joining together to paint over the offensive words and images. Three juveniles were later found responsible for the 2004 incident.

Live On The Radio

If you live in eastern North Carolina you can listen to me this afternoon on the program Viewpoints on WTKF107.3 and WJNC 1240 at 5:30 pm ET. The topic: “Justice Sunday.” The stations broadcast all the typical conservative shows. I’m guessing I’ll be their sacrificial progressive Christian.

Hate Crimes Up Against LGBT Community; Religious Right Must Take Some Of The Blame

On Tuesday, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs released a report documenting an 8% increase of violent attacks across the United States against gays and lesbians. This increase in attacks came during a period where gays and lesbians were often vilified during political campaigns. Over 2,000 violent incidents were highlighted in the report. Religion News Service reports that one well know gay rights activist knows just who should be blamed:

"The literal blood of the thousands of gay people physically wounded by hate during 2004 is on the hands of Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, Tony Perkins and so many others who spew hate for partisan gain and personal enrichment," said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

He issued the statement Tuesday (April 26) in response to a report by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs that showed a 4 percent increase in crimes against gays and lesbians from 2003 to 2004.

Falwell, the chancellor of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., joined Family Research Council President Tony Perkins and Focus on the Family chairman James Dobson in a "Mayday for Marriage" rally on the National Mall last October that opposed same-sex marriage.

Ron Godwin, president of Jerry Falwell Ministries, called Foreman's words a "false representation" of the biblical convictions held by Falwell and other leaders.

When you preach hate there are consequences and violence against others can be one of them. Those on the religious right who preach hate dishonor God. Seattle preacher Ken Hutcherson deserves to be on this list. So do all those who comment on this blog that they “love the sinner but hate the sin” and then rush to the voting box to endorse anti-marriage amendments and to vote for candidates who have made opposition to hate crimes legislation a center piece of their campaign. Jesus must weep each and every time violence occurs against gays and lesbians – God’s own creation – and every time preachers distort the Gospels into lessons of hate and prejudice.

Related Link:  United Church of Christ Coalition for LGBT Concerns

Related Post:  Homosexuality and the Bible

The Daily Show With John Stewart Covers Justice Sunday

Comedy Central's The Daily Show With John Stewart offered their take on "Justice Sunday" on Tuesday evening.  The video is now online.  Click here for part one and click here for part two.

Related Post: Justice Sunday Event Concludes After Advocating For Radical Judges With Records Opposing Civil Rights

Interfaith Response to “Justice” Sunday and Senator Frist

The Interfaith Alliance held a press conference on Monday to offer reaction from religious leaders to the “Justice Sunday” event held over the weekend. “Justice Sunday” was sponsored by conservative religious organizations in concert with the Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist with a stated intention of painting democrats and those who oppose the president’s judicial nominees – most of whom oppose basic civil rights protections for minorities – as “people against faith.”

Moderated by the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of The Interfaith Alliance (www.interfaithalliance.org), the panel included the Rev. Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, President of the Chicago Theological Seminary (www.ctschicago.edu); the Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Jr., Senior Minister, The Riverside Church in New York City (www.theriversidechurchny.org); Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (www.rac.org); and the Rev. Carlton Veazey, President of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (www.rcrc.org).

"Make no mistake, that in the debate now underway in this nation, nothing less is at stake than the vitality of our democracy and the integrity of religion," Gaddy said. “Senator Frist had an opportunity to disavow himself of the message of Justice Sunday; instead he implicitly gave his stamp of approval.”

“I was shocked at how sacrilegious the event was,” Thistlethwaite said. “The radical religious right turned a sanctuary into a political platform. We are the religious mainstream. We support the Constitution and we will not turn a church into a political action committee.”

Gaddy said that the religious right believes in the inerrancy of the Bible and they equate that with a belief in the inerrancy of the Constitution. Unfortunately, he said, they believe that only they know how to interpret the Bible and the Constitution.

“I don’t doubt the sincerity of Albert Mohler and other fundamentalist ministers who say that the Bible is the inerrant source and that they and they alone know what the Bible says and means,” Veazey said. “But most of us don’t go along with this. Christians have strong differences of opinion on the meaning of scriptures and we don’t want to see a particular brand of Christianity held up as the only real Christianity. We certainly don’t want a particular brand of Christianity enacted as the law of the land.

“Justice Sunday was not about religion; it was part of an ongoing power grab to take over the courts and reverse decades of progress for minorities, women, the environment, workers’ rights, and other issues and groups that have been relatively powerless,” Veazey said. “We must not compromise on our rights and freedoms.”

You can read the full press release issued after their conference by clicking here or listen to the audio of the conference by clicking here.

Religious Groups To Gather for “Justice Wednesday” Pray-In on Budget; Call for National Day of Prayer on April 27

Press Release from the National Council of Churches

Washington, D.C., April 26, 2005—As Congress prepares to vote on the fiscal year 2006 budget this week, a coalition of religious and community groups is asking for a budget “that is more reflective of the moral values of our nation” than the budget resolutions passed by the House and Senate.

Let Justice Roll: Faith and Community Voices Against Poverty is asking people of faith nationwide to stop what they are doing at 2 p.m. EST on Wednesday, April 27, to pray for a budget that does more to support children, the poor, families, the elderly, veterans and persons with disabilities.

At the same time, a group from the coalition will gather outside the Senate Hart Building for prayer before going to the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and the offices of other key Senators to pray for a more just budget. The group will first go to Senator Frist’s office because he has the power to stop the budget from being passed.

The coalition hopes that by calling this “Justice Wednesday” they will highlight the definition of “justice” outlined in biblical texts, particularly the words that inspired the name of the group, which were spoken by the prophet Amos to the people because of their misplaced focus and because they taxed the poor unjustly, “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Amos 5:24).”

According to Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches USA, the proposed budget “is a slap in the face to anyone who believes in justice.”

“There is no moral justification for cutting spending on services that benefit the poor, children, families, the elderly, people with disabilities, and impoverished communities while extending tax cuts and adding new ones for the wealthy,” Edgar said. “There may be political and economic justifications but definitely not moral ones.”

This is not the first attempt by the “Let Justice Roll” coalition to urge Congress to pass a federal budget that reflects the moral values of the nation. The group released a “Vision of Hope & Justice for the FY 2006 Budget” in March and sent a letter signed by more than 40 local, state and national organizations to the House and Senate leadership earlier this month expressing its opposition to the budget resolution (see list of signatories below).

“Most troubling to us is how cuts in services for those in desperate need are being used as a solution to cut the deficit while wealthy populations receive additional tax cuts. This is immoral and reflects a fundamental imbalance in addressing our nation’s debt,” said the letter. “We call on you to support policies that reflect the moral values of our country more than the economic comfort of the few.”

The “Let Justice Roll: Faith and Community Voices Against Poverty” campaign is sponsored by the National Council of Churches USA and the Center for Community Change, as well as a host of national, state and local religious, faith-based, and community organizations (see full list below).

Related Post:  Let Justice Roll Campaign Will Keep Rolling On

Related Post:  Would Jesus Cut Pass Tax Cuts For The Rich And Leave The Least Of These Behind?

UCC Seeks Nominees For Justice Awards

Message from United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries

At this year's UCC General Synod XXV in Atlanta, GA (July 1-5), the Board of Directors of Justice and Witness Ministries will present five awards at our JWM Dinner to individuals who have done exemplary work in the area of justice. The five award categories are Local Church, Clergy, Laity, Grass Roots Organization, and Youth/Young Adult.

If you know a church, grass roots organization and/or a person who has done commendable work for peace and justice, fill out the web form below and send it to:

Amritha Perumalla Email

[email protected]

Fax: 1-202-543-5994

To download a PDF version of the form to print and fax, click here.

Portland Christians Respond to "Justice Sunday"

Richard Allan, a member of Portland's First United Methodist Church, sent me an e-mail this afternoon about his thoughts on "Justice Sunday." He gave me permission to post his e-mail here:

A small group of Portland area Christians gathered outside New Hope Community Church in peaceful witness for a different view of faith than what was seen on the local telecast of "Justice Sunday" (which was hosted by New Hope). I hadn't participated in a protest in a long time (as Dr. Balcomb points out, a "protest" literally means to "witness for", not simply to be opposed). But I am tired of feeling like I have to apologize for being a Christian -- that I have to explain to people that I do not believe Jesus stands for war, gun rights, the death penalty, and cuts to social service to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. So my sign read "When Did Our Savior Register Republican?" One gentleman stopped his Mercedes sports coupe long enough to tell me: "Jesus isn't Republican, he's just moral, like Republicans." He didn't wait for a reply before pulling into the church parking lot. I'm trying to figure out how someone can believe that one political party can corner the market on morality.

What I find particularly troubling about "Justice Sunday" is the implication that Christians, conservative or otherwise, are greatly threatened by persecution in this country, i.e., "those liberals want to keep godly judges off the bench." It seems to me that American Christians are far less likely to be persecuted by power than they are to be seduced by power. The "religious right" seems perilously close to believing that it can use political power to make this a "Christian nation." But in attempting to gain, and retain, political power, they will poison their own movement. I am as convinced of that as I am concerned by their vision of what a "Christian nation" would be. And I would be satisfied to let their efforts run the inevitable course to corruption and failure, but for the damage their misbegotten campaign will do to millions of innocent people.

Richard H. Allan

We should be thankful that so many religious people all across our country protested this terrible event.

Justice Sunday Event Concludes After Advocating For Radical Judges With Records Opposing Civil Rights

The controversial “Justice Sunday” program is finishing-up in Louisville, Kentucky.

Speakers are telling their audience on satellite television and the internet that President Bush’s judicial nominees are being opposed because of their Christian faith. America’s “godly heritage,” they insist, requires that Bush’s nominees be voted on without opposition or the use of the filibuster. The truth is that the Bush nominees are opposed by many individual Christians and Christian organizations.

Ironically, convicted criminal Chuck Colson, who was sent to prison for his involvement with the Nixon White House, was the first speaker pleading for Bush’s nominees. Colson is now a born again Christian and favorite of the religious right because of his service to Republican Party leaders.

Judge Charles Pickering, appointed to the federal bench as a recess appointment by the president but not confirmed by the Senate, lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Speakers have been claiming their fight against the filibuster is in the tradition of the civil rights movement for African-Americans. Pickering was opposed by civil rights groups for opposing court decisions in favor of granting minorities equal treatment under the law. Many of the people involved with “Justice Sunday” were vocal opponents of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s.

Focus on Family leader James Dobson, another one of the keynote speakers, used his time on the program to defend Tom Delay’s comments threatening judges. Delay, said Dobson, “has had the courage to put his neck out and been vilified. And I think it’s time to get off his back.” Many Christians, however, have criticized DeLay’s comments.

Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, who has come under fire for calling Catholicism a “false religion,” attacked court decisions on civil rights for minorities and women. Mohler praised Roman Catholic court nominee William Prior in an effort to deflect criticism of his own views on the Catholic faith. Prior, however, is an extremist who has no business on any court. People for the American Way reports:

Pryor is a leading architect of the recent “states’ rights” or “federalism” movement to limit the authority of Congress to enact laws protecting individual and other rights. He personally has been involved in key Supreme Court cases that, by narrow 5-4 majorities, have restricted the ability of Congress to protect Americans’ rights against discrimination and injury based on disability, race, and age. Worse, he has urged the Court to go even further than it has in the direction of restricting congressional authority. Just last month, for example, the Court, in an opinion by Chief Justice Rehnquist, rejected Pryor’s argument that the states should be immune from lawsuits for damages brought by state employees for violation of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

Pryor has also advocated the view that the Constitution should not apply to some of the most critical issues pertaining to individual rights and freedoms — including reproductive choice, gay rights, and school prayer — and that these matters should be decided by the states, based on majority vote, regardless of whether constitutional rights are violated. Pryor’s ideology would effectively create a balkanized America in which individual citizens may have fewer constitutional rights depending on where they live.

William Donahue, president of the radical Catholic League (who has actually called my site anti-Catholic), called Roman Catholics like Senator Edward Kennedy anti-Catholic for opposing court nominees who oppose abortion. However, the Roman Catholic group Pax Christi USA criticized the event in a statement that reads in part:

“There is a huge problem when politicians and religious leaders manipulate the teachings of their faith to force people to vote a certain way,” said David Robinson, executive director of Pax Christi USA. “What we’re seeing in ‘Justice Sunday’ is a partisan attempt by religious conservatives to declare war on judges that don’t rule in accordance to a right-wing political agenda. Shamefully, in their attempt to bring down those they label as activist judges, they are also branding as unfaithful anyone who disagrees with them. This is disingenuous and dangerous, and an insult to people of faith who view many of the positions supported by the right-wing – whether it be death penalty, the war in Iraq, or economic policies that favor corporations over people – as contrary to their moral values.”

A video taped message from Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist was played mid-way through the program (the video is available on Frist's web site). Over 450 leading religious leaders from across the country asked Frist not to take part in an event which questioned the faith commitments of religious people who disagree with the agenda of George W. Bush and the Republican Party.

The National Council of Churches and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism held a press conference on Friday critical of Frist for taking part in this event.

Frist failed to use the opportunity to reject the message of “Justice Sunday.” His appearance before this group was a great disserve to the nation. Frist used part of his time to advocate in favor of the nomination of Priscilla Owen to the Fifth Circuit. Again, Owen has a record fighting against civil rights.

Not only do Justice Owen’s rulings show her willingness to shape the law in her own mold; they also define an ideological agenda that threatens many of the rights citizens in the Fifth Circuit now take for granted.

In several cases, Justice Owen has dissented from rulings by the Texas Supreme Court affecting the rights of employees, including the right to be free from invidious discrimination. In one such case, Owen embraced an interpretation of a key Texas civil rights law that would have effectively rewritten part of that law and made it much more difficult for employees to prove discrimination. In another case, the majority explained that her dissent "defies the Legislature’s clear and express limits on our jurisdiction." Justice Owen’s dissenting views in these cases were rejected by a Court majority that included justices appointed to the Court by then-Governor Bush.

No one who opposes the president should be accused of not being religious simply because they do not share his view of policy – or theology. Those who sponsored “Justice Sunday” will be remembered for dividing our nation on religious lines in an unprecedented manner.  That will be their lasting legacy.

Update:  DriveDemocracy has information up on their blog about the counter event they co-sponsored in Louisville with the Clergy and Laity Network.  Make sure you read how progressive religious leaders responded to "Justice Sunday."

TalkLeft: 'Justice Sunday' Hypocrisy Revealed

The religious right now argues that the Senate filibuster is Satan's tool - meant to oppose "people of faith."

But when Bill Clinton was president the sponsors of "Justice Sunday" thought the filibuster was a tool on the side of angels.

Link: TalkLeft: 'Justice Sunday' Hypocrisy Revealed.

Evangelicals Want To Remove Sitting Judges

Judicial appointments are for life. Evangelical Christians working with republican leadership in the US House and Senate are hoping something a little shorter can be arranged for incumbent judges now hearing cases. The LA Times reports:

WASHINGTON — Evangelical Christian leaders, who have been working closely with senior Republican lawmakers to place conservative judges in the federal courts, have also been exploring ways to punish sitting jurists and even entire courts viewed as hostile to their cause.

An audio recording obtained by the Los Angeles Times features two of the nation's most influential evangelical leaders, at a private conference with supporters, laying out strategies to rein in judges, such as stripping funding from their courts in an effort to hinder their work.

The discussion took place during a Washington conference last month that included addresses by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who discussed efforts to bring a more conservative cast to the courts.

Click here to read the full story. These are the same evangelical leaders supporting “Justice Sunday.”

If you do not yet believe that our system of government is under attack from religious extremists bent on replacing democracy with a theocratic system of government than you’re either drunk or in denial. As a Christian preparing for ordained ministry in the United Church of Christ, I am sickened that others who call themselves Christian would misuse our faith to push their own extremist political agenda.

David Horowitz Makes False Claims Against The United Church of Christ

Truth-challenged conservative activist David Horowitz is attacking the United Church of Christ for considering proposals related to divestment from Israel. He falsely claims the resolutions that will be considered this summer have already been adopted. Horowitz writes:

The Association of University Teachers in Britain has announced a boycott of Israeli universities because Jews in Israel have the temerity to want to resist Palestinian terrorists who are trying to obliterate them. The United Church of Christ has announced its support of the boycott. Shades of the Thirties. What decent human being, regarding the 50 year Arab war to expunge the Jewish presence from the Middle East, would not be revolted by these anti-Semitic English academics and their supporters in the United Church of Christ?

His source for the misleading information? UCCtruths, of course. UCCtruths is a small group of individuals – many of whom belong to other denominations – committed to defaming the UCC. It comes as no surprise that such undistinguished Americans as Horowitz (a man who equates progressivism with terrorism) use their site as a reference.

Are the resolutions being considered anti-Semitic?  No.  They do, however, target the pro-war policies of the governing Likud party.  There is a huge difference between being anti-Semitic and anti-war.

Click here to learn more about the resolutions under consideration.

Link: MOONBAT CENTRAL: The revival of British and Christian Anti-Semitism.

Louisville Baptist Leaders Tell Highview Baptist Church: Cancel “Justice Sunday”

17 Baptist ministers in Louisville, Kentucky held a press conference on Friday urging Highview Baptist Church to cancel “Justice Sunday.” The event – being held this weekend at Highview – is sponsored by conservative evangelical Christian groups and Republican Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist with a stated intention of painting democrats and those who oppose the president’s judicial nominees as “people against faith.” The Courier-Journal reports:

A group of ministers representing about 17 Baptist churches in the Louisville area and a national Baptist committee that supports separation of church and state yesterday called on a Louisville church to cancel its planned "Justice Sunday" tomorrow.

"We see 'Justice Sunday' as part of a larger effort to link church and state in ways not seen in America since the Puritans were hanging Quakers on Boston Commons and exiling Baptists to Rhode Island," the Rev. Joe Phelps, pastor of Highland Baptist Church, said during a news conference yesterday.

But there are no plans to cancel the event, said the Rev. Kevin Ezell, senior pastor of Highview Baptist Church, where the national Christian telecast will be based.

The religious right is trying to highjack Christianity for partisan political purposes. Their assault on the judiciary threatens the very foundations of democracy.

Related Post: Religious Leaders To Senator Bill Frist: Drop Out Of “Justice Sunday” Or Risk Dividing The Country

Religious Leaders To Senator Bill Frist: Drop Out Of “Justice Sunday” Or Risk Dividing The Country

This morning leading national religious figures held a teleconference calling on Senator Bill Frist, the Republican Majority Leader, to withdrawal from an event this weekend billed as “Justice Sunday.” Justice Sunday is sponsored by conservative religious organizations in concert with the republican leader with a stated intention of painting democrats and those who oppose the president’s judicial nominees – most of whom oppose basic civil rights protections for minorities – as “people against faith.” I was able to listen in this morning and hear these progressive religious leaders take issue with this cynical attempt to manipulate Christian faith for political ends.

Bishop Vashti McKenzie, the first woman bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, took part in the teleconference and reminded those listening that many of the same conservative evangelicals decrying the courts for being “too liberal” today, including The Rev. Jerry Falwell, also claimed in the 1950s and 1960s that God would have opposed court decisions like Brown vs. Board of Education that desegregated schools and other public institutions.

The Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) stated:

It is important for people of faith to express convictions on public issues based on their faith. But at the same time to have an environment where public officials do not denigrate those with differing views on issues of the day as working against people of faith or being ungodly. We would like to urge Senator Frist to reconsider supporting such movements. We believe that this is a time when religious people need to come together and not to create a climate of divisiveness. And it is certainly not a time in which we turn political disagreements into religious conflicts.

Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches (NCC), said:

The National Council of Churches USA is saddened by the events of the last week. Not only has the Family Research Council developed an ad campaign that attacks Christians who do not agree with them as being against people of faith and anti-Christian, but Senator Bill Frist who supports this effort has refused to meet with us and other religious leaders – including RAC – on numerous occasions this week. Time and again we were denied access to even have our voices heard on this issue. Surely none of us can miss the irony. Even as we fight for freedom and religious liberty in countries around the world in America – the self proclaimed land of the free - an anti-democratic mentality is raising up before our eyes. No longer do we have healthy dialogue in the public square where we can express our differences and work together for the common good. No longer are we allowed to freely express our views in opposition to the majority political party without being accused of being anti-Christian – against people of faith – and un-American.

Click here to read the statement concerning Justice Sunday that Rev. Edgar first released on this site earlier this week.

Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, remarked during the teleconference that:

While the Family Research Council has every right to hold an event with a message of their choosing, the Majority Leader of the Senate must not lend credence to an event whose message is one that inexcusably lashes out at thousands of America’s faithful, and tears at our country’s fabric of religious tolerance, pluralism, and inclusion. Senator Frist should withdraw from participation in the “Justice Sunday” event or, at the very least, use the opportunity to repudiate the notion that anyone who does not endorse a particular political and legal agenda is anti-religious.

The New York Times offered a story this morning on the criticism Senator Frist is facing from many religious leaders for taking part in the event. An mp3 of the press conference is available on the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism web site. Rabbi Saperstein moderated the teleconference this morning.

Evangelical preacher Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners Magazine, e-mailed a statement on this issue yesterday. He told supporters and friends that:

Behind these activities lies a fundamental assumption by Republican operatives and their conservative religious allies that they own religion in America. They demand that religious people vote only their way. They claim that "values voters" in America belong to them, and they disrespect the faith of those who disagree with their agenda. There are better words for this than just "politically divisive" or "morally irresponsible." For these are not merely political offenses, they are religious ones. And for offenses such as these, theological terms are better - terms such as idolatry and blasphemy.

We should bring our religious convictions about all moral issues to the public square - such as the uplifting of the poor, the protection of the environment, the ethics of war, or the tragic number of abortions in America - without attacking the sincerity of other people's faith, or demanding that we should win because we are religious. We must make moral arguments and mobilize effective movements for social change that can powerfully persuade our fellow citizens, religious or not, on what is best for the common good.

The Clergy and Laity Network will be holding a protest this weekend outside the Kentucky church where Justice Sunday is being held. The Interfaith Alliance plans to hold a press conference on Monday morning with additional religious leaders speaking out against this betrayal of faith on the part of Senator Frist and the majority of republicans.

Related Story:  Dobson can't decide whether anti-Catholic bigotry is ok

Related Story:  Salazar, Focus escalting salvos

Related Link:  People for the America Way On "Justice Sunday"

Liberal Oasis Takes On The Republican-Party Aligned Institute on Religion and Democracy

Liberal Oasis has a good post up today highlighting the activities of the Institute on Religion and Democracy. IRD is a project funded by Republican Party activists to discredit mainline churches.

Related Post: Republican Party-aligned Institute on Religion and Democracy Keeps Up Attacks On United Methodist Church

Related Post: Institute on Religion and Democracy: Just Another Right-Wing Group Working to Malign Christians Working For Peace and Justice

Tell Senator Bill Frist To Stop Abusing Faith

United Church of Christ Action Alert

It is deeply disappointing that Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) has decided to polarize and divide the nation by joining with the Family Research Council to promote "Justice Sunday" on April 24th. The telecast event is intended to send the message that anyone who disagrees with President Bush's judicial nominees and anyone who supports the Senate filibuster rule is "against people of faith." Sen. Frist's support for this campaign moves the public dialogue to a new level of mean- spiritedness.

To suggest that faith and morality is only on one side of any policy issue severely damages public dialogue in our country. It runs counter to our country's cherished tradition of religious respect, tolerance and pluralism.

In an April 20th UC News release, UCC General Minister and President John Thomas notes that, "With all that threatens to divide Christians today, we don't need U.S. senators driving a wedge between us for self-serving political gain."

It is incumbent that people of faith urge Sen. Frist to reconsider his participation in "Justice Sunday", and to encourage all elected officials to uphold the values of fairness, integrity and mutual respect for differing viewpoints which are essential to a healthy democratic process.

To contact the office of Sen. Frist and urge him to reconsider his participation in "Justice Sunday" click here.

NOTE:  The e-mail link provided by the UCC is not working.  However, Sojourners also has an action alert on this issue and their link works.  Click here to send Senator Frist a message.

United Church Of Christ Will Debate Resolutions On Israel And Gay Marriage During General Synod

Today the United Church of Christ made public the resolutions that will be debated before General Synod this summer in Atlanta.

General Synod is the biennial meeting of the United Church of Christ. Delegates from Conferences, Covenanted Ministries, and a broad range of interest groups meet every two years to consider the business of the church and its relationship with the wider world. Because every UCC congregation is self-governing, its resolutions speak "to" but not "for" the local church.

Many of the resolutions will be cause for serious and critical debate. Two of the resolutions relate to the possibility that the United Church of Christ might urge divestment of resources from Israel to protest the policies of the Likud party now in power. One of those resolutions calls for further study on the issue and the other calls for selective divestment from companies profiting from the occupation of Palestine. Click here for an earlier assessment of the issues involved.

There will also be resolutions on the table concerning marriage. United Church News is reporting today that one resolution could make the United Church of Christ the first Christian denomination to endorse full marriage equality for gays and lesbians.

"Ideas about marriage have shifted and changed dramatically throughout human history, and such change continues even today," reads the opening line of the proposed resolution, which goes on to spell out historical, theological and biblical rationale for affirming both civil and religious recognition of same-gender marriage.

It marks the first time the church's General Synod has been asked to address the issue of marriage equality outright.

Asked for comment, the Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC's general minister and president, told United Church News he would not make a statement about the proposal until he has had an opportunity to listen to different perspectives from within the denomination.

In past years, the General Synod - which speaks "to" but not "for" the UCC's nearly-6,000 congregations - has sidestepped the issue of same-gender marriage, even while it has affirmed the ordination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons; called for full civil rights and equal protections; and blessed the idea of "equal rites in covenant life" (or holy unions) for non-married couples.

Another proposal, however, asks that the church reaffirm that marriage is between one man and one woman. This proposal – and another critical of the UCC’s God Is Still Speaking Campaign – have been introduced by members of the Biblical Witness Fellowship. Click here for some background on this group.

Click here for a full list of the resolutions. A discussion forum has been established on the UCC web site for members of the church interested in debating the different issues.

Interjection of religion into judicial appointment debate is evidence of 'dangerous effort to divide,' says United Church of Christ leader

Press Release from the United Church of Christ

Joining other prominent religious leaders, the leader of the 1.3-million-member United Church of Christ today (April 20) called upon Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to distance himself from recent efforts to interject religion into the debate over federal judicial appointments.

The Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC's general minister and president, said Frist's planned participation in an April 24 telecast to churches - sponsored by the right wing Family Research Council - "represents one more highly public and dangerous effort to divide this country by falsely accusing his opponents on the issue of Senate rules and judicial opponents of not being faithful."

A front-page story and editorial in The New York Times on April 16 underscored how Frist is equating those who support the filibuster to block judicial appointments as being the same as opposing people of faith. Thomas is one of many national religious leaders planning to send a letter to Frist on Thursday, saying, "It is simply not truthful to assert that supporting the filibuster amounts to an attack on people of faith."

"Since the election we've seen an intensifying of efforts by the religious and political right to dismiss and demean the faith and the moral commitment of those who disagree with them," Thomas told United Church News. "With all that threatens to divide Christians today, we don't need United States senators driving a wedge between us for self-serving political gain."

Sandy Sorensen of the UCC's Justice and Witness Ministries in Washington, D.C., said her agency is asking members of its Justice and Peace Action Network to "flood Frist's office with calls and e-mails" through use of its advocacy website <ucctakeaction.org>.

"[Frist] has moved the public dialogue into a new arena of divisiveness and mean-spiritedness where religion is being used as a weapon," Sorensen said. "It's incumbent upon us to respond when he says that people of faith in good conscience can't disagree on issues."

Thomas said it is dangerous when political leaders label differing political perspectives as unfaithful.

"The fact is that while conservative and liberal Christians disagree on many important matters," Thomas said, "they share faith in Jesus Christ, cherish the Bible as the guide for living, and care deeply for the moral values of strong families, justice for the poor, compassion for the vulnerable, and sustaining a safe environment."

Diane Masters, a member of First Congregational UCC in Fremont, Mich., said she is disturbed when politicians use faith as a divisive tool.

"I think it's very insulting," Masters said. "The Family Research Council certainly has the right to do what they wish, but to have our politicians backing them is certainly disturbing."

Related Post: Justice Sunday: Bill Frist & The Religious Right Go Nuclear

Related Post: Statement by The Rev. Robert Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches USA, On "Justice Sunday"

My Story In Arthritis Today

When I was first diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis (a condition so similar to rheumatoid arthritis that I sometimes just say that is what I have to avoid prolonged explanations) there were many decisions to make regarding treatment and concerns to process about the future. One of my talents has always been in promoting causes – affordable housing, peace and justice, etc. – and it made sense to apply that same talent here. Not many people know about autoimmune diseases and the sometimes debilitating problems they can create. I’ve written about my own condition a few times on my blog to educate about the issue and to encourage research. It was from those postings that a reporter (ironically living on the Oregon coast) who had been reading my site contacted me about an article she was writing about the relationship between arthritis and stress. The article just came out in Arthritis Today and some of my story is told throughout. I’m hoping that by sharing my story more people will learn about the disease. Click here to read.

World Religious Leaders Greet Election Of New Pope With Prayers And Concerns

Christian leaders across the globe are greeting the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church with prayers, good wishes, and expressions of concern over the new pontiff’s commitment to ecumenicalism.

The General Secretary of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), the Rev. Dr. Keith Clements, has issued the following statement:

The Conference of European Churches greets the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church with heartfelt prayers for the blessings of God's strength, guidance and wisdom upon his pontificate. The cardinals who have elected him have chosen a person of forceful personality and intellectual ability to lead their Church into a future which poses many challenges within that Church, in relations with the other Christian Churches and in the world at large.

As Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI has long been known to ecumenical circles, in Europe and beyond, as a strong proponent of the traditional Roman Catholic self-understanding of his Church and the view that the search for unity must be grounded on conviction of the truth. The Conference of European Churches comprises Churches - Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and Old Catholic - which are no less committed to the centrality of Jesus Christ and the Gospel as enshrined in Holy Scripture and the Ecumenical Creeds. Equally they believe that the way into deeper apprehension of the truth lies in dialogue that is honest, humbly respectful of the positions and insights of others, and open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit who, as promised by our Lord himself, will lead us into all truth. As the Charta Oecumenica states, "There is no alternative to dialogue." We therefore look for a further stage of the ecumenical journey and in the coming days will welcome every sign and assurance from the Roman Catholic Church that we can walk together on that road.

At this historic moment, we in the CEC particularly greet our partners in the Council of Bishops' Conferences in Europe (CCEE) with our assurances of love and prayers as we journey further together towards the 3rd European Ecumenical Assembly to take place in Sibiu, Romania, in 2007 under the theme "The Light of Christ Shines Upon All - Hope for Renewal and Unity in Europe." With that goal in mind our prayer for Pope Benedict XVI, for all our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters and for ourselves in the Conference of European Churches, is that there may be fulfilled in us the most profound test of truth, integrity and faithfulness, found in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

A press release from the World Council of Churches echoed many of the same themes:

In congratulating the newly-elected pope, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia prayed for "renewed commitment" to "ecumenical openness" and "a dialogue of conversion".

Describing Benedict XVI as a man "known for his theological integrity and ecclesial loyalty, his evangelical simplicity and pastoral sensitivity," Kobia expressed his hope that his pontificate will "constitute a time for the Roman Catholic Church to apply, in a renewed commitment, the teachings and the spirit of ecumenical openness exemplified in the Second Vatican Council to the life of her faithful and of the whole Church."

In a 20 April letter from Geneva to the newly-elected pope, Kobia also emphasized that the ecclesiological vision of the Second Vatican Council has been "open to all ecclesial values present among Christians of other traditions," and therefore "has prompted, encouraged and strengthened the commitment of the Roman Catholic faithful to the journey towards encountering their sisters and brothers in Christ and experiencing the real, though imperfect, communion with them".

"We pray," says Kobia, "that your Pontificate become a blessed time of dialogue between churches, of dialogue in truth and love, of dialogue as an exchange of gifts among Christian churches, a dialogue of conversion".

Why is ecumenical dialogue so important? “The biblical mandate is clear: the church should be like a body in which one part cannot say to another, ‘I have no need of you.’ History is also clear: the divisions of the church undermine our witness to the good news of God’s reconciling love made known in Jesus Christ,” states the web site of the Protestant group Churches Uniting in Christ. The Roman Catholic Church represents the largest body of Christians and how they view ecumenical relations matters. Cardinal Ratzinger’s views on the issue have been worrisome.

Related Post: Not All Roman Catholics Happy With Choice Of Ratzinger As New Pope

Related Post: Statement From The Rev. John Thomas, General Minister and President Of The United Church of Christ, On The Selection Of Cardinal Ratzinger As Pope Benedict XVI

Disciples nominate new leader

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a 770,000 member denomination, has nominated a new general minister and president to be voted on during their General Assembly to be held in Portland, Oregon in July. Sharon E. Watkins is an Oklahoma minister and lifelong Disciple. She is the current senior pastor of Disciples Christian Church in Bartlesville, Okla. Disciples World has the full story of her selection on their web site.  Watkins would be the first women to serve in this capacity.

Members of the United Church of Christ should always take notice of events in the life of the Disciples of Christ because of our special relation. From UCC.org:

In 1989 the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) approved a historic partnership of full communion. The two churches proclaimed mutual recognition of their sacraments and ordained ministry.

Though remaining two distinct denominations, the UCC and Disciples have committed through their partnership to seek opportunities for common ministry, especially where work together will enhance the mission of the church.

The partnership is a unique experiment in U.S. ecumenism. In every setting of the two churches, UCC members and Disciples are serving Christ side by side. There are now more than 30 "federated" congregations affiliated with both denominations, and it is now common for Disciples and UCC ministers to serve congregations of the other denomination. The Common Global Ministries Board, formed by the UCC's Wider Church Ministries and the Disciples' Division of Overseas Ministries, unites the international mission work of the two churches.

Click here to learn more about the UCC- Disciples ecumenical partnership

Not All Roman Catholics Happy With Choice Of Ratzinger As New Pope

This post has been updated

Roman Catholics across the globe are reacting to the announcement that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany has been elevated to become Pope Benedict XVI. The National Catholic Reporter states this evening in an online article:

He is a hero to the conservative wing of the Catholic Church, a man who had the toughness to articulate the traditional truths of the faith in a time of dissent and doubt. To Catholic liberals, on the other hand, he is something of a Darth Vader figure, someone who looms as a formidable opponent of many of the reforms of which they have long dreamed.

It was Ratzinger, for example, who in the mid-1980s led the Vatican crackdown on liberation theology, a movement in Latin America that sought to align the Roman Catholic Church with progressive movements for social change. Ratzinger saw liberation theology as a European export that amounted to Marxism in another guise, and brought the full force of Vatican authority to stopping it in its tracks. He sought to redefine the nature of bishops’ conferences around the world, insisting that they lack teaching authority. That campaign resulted in a 1998 document, Apostolos Suos, that some saw as an attack on powerful conferences such as those in the United States and Germany that to some extent acted as counterweights to the Vatican.

It was Ratzinger who in a famous 1986 document defined homosexuality as “a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil.” In the 1990s, Ratzinger led a campaign against the theology of religious pluralism, insisting that the traditional teaching of Christ as the lone and unique savior of humanity not be compromised. This effort culminated in the 2001 document Dominus Iesus, which asserted that non-Christians are in a “gravely deficient situation” with respect to Christians.

These are perhaps the best-known, but hardly the only controversial declarations of Ratzinger over the years. He once called Buddhism an “auto-erotic spirituality,” and inveighed against rock music as a “vehicle of anti-religion.”

Click here to read the full article.

Dignity USA, the gay rights organization made up of Roman Catholics, released a statement that read in part:

The new Pope is seen as the principal author of the most virulently anti-gay, anti-GLBT rhetoric in the last papacy. The elevation of Cardinal Ratzinger is being seen by many GLBT Catholics as a profound betrayal by the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and betrayal of one of the most fundamental teachings of Jesus Christ as the loving Good Shepherd who reached out to the ones separated from the flock.

The pro-choice group Catholics for a Free Choice also weighed in:

Catholics for a Free Choice is deeply concerned that the election of Cardinal Josef Ratzinger as pope is a strong indication of continued dissension within the church. The cardinal’s historic role as a disciplinarian means the tradition of the punitive father is maintained within the Roman Catholic church.

As we move into a new era for the church, we look to the election of a new pope as a starting point for the critical work that must be done to make this church a home for all Catholics, particularly those divided from the church during the last quarter century.

Today, Pope Benedict XVI has both an opportunity and a mandate to set a tone for the future of his papacy and to redress wrongs done in the name of the Vatican. Simultaneously, he must span the divide widened during the last papacy between clergy and laity, men and women, north and south, right and left, gay and straight. As Pope John Paul II exemplified the spirit of reconciliation and relationship when he sat face to face with the man who shot him, the new pope should extend the same courtesies, coupled with a genuine spirit of invitation, to those who have been most hurt by church policies over the last years.

You can read the full press release on their web site.  A direct link is not available.

Reuters reports that there is concern over the selection from many.

"Ratzinger is a polarizing figure to many, who seems to prefer combativeness to compromise and compassion," Mary Grant of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said in a statement. "It's ... crucial that the new pope follow the words and views of John Paul II who said 'there is no place in the priesthood for anyone who would harm the young."'

Another quote from the article reads:

Sister Donna Quinn of the National Coalition of American Nuns said her group hopes the new pope will work for the participation and partnership of women in the church.

In a 2004 document, Ratzinger denounced "radical feminism" as undermining the family and natural differences between men and women.

Asked if there was anything in his background that gave her hope that Ratzinger would build a stronger partnership with women in the church, Quinn said: "We always hope for miracles."

There will certainly be more reaction in the days and weeks ahead that will be worth considering.

Related Post:  Not All Roman Catholics Are The Same

Update:  CNN released a poll on Wednesday conducted with US Roman Catholics.  74% of Roman Catholics questioned said they would leave decisions about major moral issues (such as birth control and abortion) up to their own conscience and not the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and/or the new pope.  Click here for the full story.

Update: Sister Joan Chittister, writing this week from Rome for the National Catholic Reporter, has an article published on Wednesday in which she says there may be some hope for this pope.

The questions may be difficult but the answers are even more unsettling. They read like an inquisition–and a conviction-- of their own. Is there any possible hope to be had here?

Did anyone really think such an election could happen at a time when the church is apparently more in need of openness than intransigent resistance in the face of so much new information and emerging new questions? Answer: No.

Does anyone know why the Cardinals of the church elected as Pope one of its most polarizing personalities? Answer: No.

Is anyone sure what will happen to church unity now if the oppression of thinkers and the suppression of questions becomes a papal norm? Answer: No.

Is it possible for a disciplinarian of the church to become its universal pastor? Answer: God willing.

And therein lies my hope.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI is said to have taken the name ‘Benedict’ to indicate that the model of his papacy would be the great Patron of Europe, Benedict of Nursia. If that’s really the case, I can’t think of anything more hopeful for the church.

Click here to find out why.

"Has the Religious Right Gone Off the Deep End?"

FaithfulAmerica.org is offering another opportunity for us to send letters to members of the US Senate protesting Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist's decision to take part in a political rally (put together by the religious right) charging those who disagree with President's Bush judicial picks as being "people against faith." Click here to send your letter.

And Clergy and Laity Network sends along this message:

SOCIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY * April 24, 2005

You are invited to a Public Gathering of Progressive Religious Communities and Progressive Community Groups:

2:30 PM Sunday Afternoon, April 24

Central Presbyterian Church 318 W. Kentucky St. (the corner of Kentucky St. and 4th St.) Louisville, Kentucky Phone: (502) 587-6935

Progressive Religious Communities, our leaders and our community friends are gathering to witness:

OUR OUTRAGE over the attempt by the Family Research Council and its radical Christian Right colleagues to highjack the judicial selection process for their politiclal/theocratic agenda

OUR DISMAY Senate Majority Leader, Senator Bill Frist, is lending his name and influence to the Family Research Council's claim of universal support from "people of faith" for its strategy, thereby giving false religious credentials to a thinly veiled political agenda

OUR POSITIVE COMMITMENT to defend and strengthen our social context in its commitment to fairness for all people, free of biased religious doctrines and prejudiced attitudes which are inimical to a mature religious understanding of the standards of inclusiveness and justice in American life AMONG THE SPEAKERS:

• Rev. Dr. Nancy Jo Kemper, Executive Director, Kentucky Council of Churches

• Rev. Dr. Robert Franklin, Professor, Emory University, Atlanta, former President, Interdenominational Theological Center, ordained minister, Church of God in Christ

• Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell. Director, Department of Religion, Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, New York

• Emily Whitehurst, Director of the 100 year old ecumenical council in Austin, Texas

• Rev. Dr. Albert M. Pennybacker, Chair and Executive Officer, Clergy and Laity Network (CLN), former NCCC Associate General Secretary for Public Policy, former Professor, Lexington (KY) Theological Seminary

• Local and State Religious Leaders Please share this invitation with progressive people For more information please visit Clergy and Laity Network (www.clnnlc.org), DriveDemocracy (www.drivedemocracy.org) or Building the Beloved Community (www.buildingbeloved.org).

Related Post: Justice Sunday: Bill Frist & The Religious Right Go Nuclear

Related Post: Statement by The Rev. Robert Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches USA, On "Justice Sunday"

Statement From The Rev. John Thomas, General Minister and President Of The United Church of Christ, On The Selection Of Cardinal Ratzinger As Pope Benedict XVI

"With Christians around the world I join in praying for the newly elected Pope Benedict XVI that he may have the strength and wisdom sufficient for the leadership he is now called to exercise in the Catholic Church. Today as the conclave announces its decision, the offering of prayers for this new pontificate is the most appropriate response from other Christian leaders.

"Nevertheless, I acknowledge that I personally greet Cardinal Ratzinger's selection with profound disappointment.  Cardinal Ratzinger's long tenure in the Vatican has been marked by a theological tone that is rigid, conservative and confrontational. The harsh treatment received by many gifted Catholic theologians over the years from the Cardinal's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has been profoundly troubling. His interpretations of the ecumenical vision of Vatican II have been narrow and constrained, and he has persisted in describing the ecclesial status of non-Catholic churches in ways that have been insensitive and demeaning.

"To many of us who have watched his ministry during John Paul II's papacy, [Ratzinger] has lacked the warm pastoral heart that is so central to the ministry of bishops, including the Bishop of Rome.

"In other times the Holy Spirit has surprised us with  gifts and graces we could not have anticipated from new popes at the time of their election. I pray that there may be similar surprises in the coming weeks and months."

- The Rev. John Thomas of The United Church of Christ

(via United Church News)

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany Now Pope Benedict XVI

Breaking News

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany has been named Pope Benedict XVI of the Roman Catholic Church. He is a polarizing figure within Christian circles who has showed distain for other denominations. This week he delivered a sermon before the Cardinals where he restated some of his most conservative beliefs.

From Beliefnet.com:

A staunchly conservative figure within the church, Ratzinger, from Bavaria, was the longtime leader of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees Roman Catholic Church orthodoxy, up until his resignation in April 2005. He is known for his tough and often controversial statements on topics such as homosexuality, which he called “objectively disordered,” and the validity of other Christian denominations.

This new Pope will have to earn the respect of Christians outside the Roman Catholic tradition.

Visit this site later for additional information and reaction.

Related Post: When Catholic Girls Go Wild (or "Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Collaboration of Men and Women in the Church and the World")

Related Story: Papal hopeful is former Hitler Youth

Statement by The Rev. Robert Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches USA, On "Justice Sunday"

A few days ago I contacted Bob Edgar and asked if he would write something that could be posted on this site in reference to the plans by Senator Bill First and the Family Research Council to hold a rally where Democrats will be portrayed as being "against people of faith" because of their opposition to a small number of Bush court appointments.  Rev. Edgar provided an excellent statement.  Please send it around to your friends.  Thanks, Chuck Currie.

Response for Chuck Currie Blog:

We are both surprised and grieved by the Family Research Council and Senator Bill Frist’s involvement in organizing a campaign in which they claim that those who disagree with them on President Bush’s judicial nominees are "against people of faith." This campaign, which they are calling "Justice Sunday," should properly be called "Just-Us" Sunday. To claim -- as they do -- a narrow, exclusive, private lock on God's Truth is a divisive and malicious tactic. It serves only to further polarize our country and demonize people who hold beliefs that differ from theirs. They have clearly gone too far.

America is a democracy, where everyone is entitled to a personal opinion. To suggest that Democrats, or any other group of people, are "anti-Christian" simply because they differ on political issues runs counter to the values of our faith and our Constitution. The National Council of Churches encompasses more than 45 million Christians who are committed to work together on issues important to our society. If they disagree with Senator Frist, are these 45 million believers now considered "anti-Christian"?

We believe that God has called all Christians to a ministry of reconciliation not fragmentation, of edification not destruction. In the spirit of 1 Timothy 6:3-5, we urge Senator Frist and the Family Research Council to reconsider this action. We call on them to truly promote "justice" this Sunday, April 24, not "just-us." We will be praying for them with the hope that the Lord will minister to them and change their hearts so that they will not continue to go down this destructive path.

Peace,

Bob Edgar, General Secretary, National Council of Churches USA

www.ncccusa.org

Related Post:  Fight the Republican's "Shameful Declaration of Religious War"

Related Post:  Justice Sunday: Bill Frist & The Religious Right Go Nuclear

Fight The Republican's "Shameful Declaration Of Religious War"

Angry about Senator Bill Frist’s plans to take part in a fundamentalist Christian rally that declares Democrats are “against people of faith” for opposing George W. Bush’s court appointments? So are a lot of people.

The New York Times called Frist’s participation in the rally a “shameful declaration of religious war” on the part of the Republican Senate Majority Leader. The Washington Post declared that Frist’s participation would be a “distressing new low in the debased debate over judges.” The Klan-like rally being planned by the religious right is a gross distortion of Christianity.

You can send a letter to your Senators voicing objection to this attack on American principles of democracy. Click here to do so (thanks to the Shalom Center).

The Rev. Daniel Schultz, a United Church of Christ clergy member who writes the blog Faith Forward, is also collecting stories from people who want to share with the Republican leadership their own stories of faith. “It is time for us to state, simply and directly, that we can affirm faith while disagreeing with the Republican legislative agenda,” he writes.

Visit here on Monday for a statement on this issue from the National Council of Churches USA and more reaction.

Tom DeLay's Well Armed Friends

House Republican Leader Tom DeLay, under fire for making threats against judges and for serious criminal ethics violations, had this to say yesterday about his predicament in a speech before the National Rifle Association conference:

“When a man is in trouble or in a good fight, you want to have your friends around, preferably armed. So I feel really good."

I’m hoping that well armed jailers will be the only people with guns around this guy after they lock him up for being the criminal he is.

Progressive Christian Bloggers Unite

Chris Tessone (author of Progressive Protestant) and Dwight Welch (author of A Religious Liberal Blog) came through St. Louis today with their partners and stopped off to have lunch with me and visit the Eden campus. Both write great blogs so make sure you drop by and visit.

Roman Catholic Group Wants Changes; United Church of Christ Head Reflects On What The New Pope Will Bring

We Are Church was profiled today in The Washington Post. The group states that their mission is to work for “the renewal of the Roman Catholic Church on the basis of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the theological spirit developed from it.” They have brought leading Roman Catholic “dissidents” together in Rome to press for changes in the church as Cardinals gather to select a new pope. Leaders of the group want more progressive stances from the church on issues ranging from birth control use to the ordination of women.

"Suppression of thought, loss of ideas, closing down of discussion -- that's not an act of faith. That's not of the Holy Spirit," said Sister Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun from Erie, Pa. "Unity is good, but it has a dark side."

Critics of the late Pope John Paul II say he stifled debate. Over 100 theologians were sanctioned by the pope for disagreeing with him on difficult theological issues. Many Roman Catholics believe the church must become more open to debate.

The Rev. John Thomas, general minister and president of the United Church of Christ, published an essay today reflecting on the changes taking place in the Roman Catholic Church after the passing of Pope John Paul II. He outlined his thoughts on the current difficulties in ecumenical relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant denominations:

During this papacy many of us in the Protestant community have sensed a waning of commitment to the ecumenical enthusiasm of the Second Vatican Council. While important agreements were reached and historic personal encounters took place, and while most of us personally enjoy significant collegial friendships with Roman Catholics, many episcopal appointments, a number of statements from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and a pulling back from important liturgical agreements have been troubling. I yearn for a pope who can revitalize a more open and hospitable Catholic ecumenical engagement both at the international and local levels.

Protestants must understand the inherently conservative character of theological work in the Catholic Church. Its work is carried out with a very different understanding of the relative weight of Tradition and contemporary context in theological inquiry from that of the Reformed churches. Nevertheless, there has been a disturbing trend marked by celebrated early confrontations with theologians like Hans Kung, Leonardo Boff and Charles Curran and continuing throughout this papacy that has increasingly limited the parameters of acceptable theological investigation in the Church. I yearn for a more intellectually venturesome pope willing to encourage the creativity and risk-taking of the Catholic theological community.

Throughout John Paul's papacy the Catholic Church's readiness to hear the voices of women among the baptized has remained limited. To women who have testified to their sense of God's call to ordained ministry the Church has spoken a consistent "no." I yearn for a pope whose devotion to Mary is matched by a commitment to the bold claims of the Magnificat that upend convention, for a pope who might help the Church begin to recover in the ancient texts of Scripture and the earliest experiences of the Church an affirmation of the ministry of women and of their equality in the Church, texts and experiences all too often obscured by centuries of patriarchy.

Churches throughout the world are torn by disagreement over the membership and ministry of gay and lesbian persons. With many other churches, the Catholic Church has tried in vain to express compassion and care while at the same time voicing traditional theological judgments that demean and exclude. I yearn for a pope prepared to risk for the sake of inclusion, who will ask the Church to enter into a time of self-reflection and pastoral listening with its gay and lesbian members that might shape new and welcoming moral and theological understandings.

Protestants should not yearn for a "Protestant Pope." What we should yearn for is a "catholic" pope in the best sense of that word, a pope with a universal horizon of compassion and commitment, a pope attentive to the widest range of voices yearning for a place of responsibility and discipleship in the church, a pope loyal to the whole historical sweep of Christian faith and practice, not just to certain aspects of it. Above all, we should yearn for a pope committed to living out the ancient title of "servant of the servants of God," a vocation to which John Paul II throughout his papacy was so deeply and wonderfully devoted.

Click here to read his full essay.

The We are Church web site contains a statement adopted in 1998 by over 140 Roman Catholic organizations outlining some of the qualities they hope a new pope will have. Make sure you check it out.

Related Post: Not All Roman Catholics Are The Same

Justice Sunday: Bill Frist & The Religious Right Go Nuclear

(Update 4/24: Click here to ready my entry following the conclusion of the Justice Sunday event)

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is set to attend an April 24th telecast where Democrats will be portrayed as being “against people of faith” because of their opposition to President Bush’s judicial choices. The telecast – called “Justice Sunday” - is sponsored by fundamentalist right-wing Christian groups and will also include “Dr. James C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family; Chuck Colson, the born-again Watergate figure and founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries; and Dr. Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,” according to The New York Times. This purely political event disguised as a religious event is the most obscene use of religion in a political context since the Republicans declared last fall that Democrats planned to ban the Bible.

Congress is currently debating a plan – often called the “nuclear option” – that would allow Republicans to do away with the Senate’s filibuster. Fundamentalist right-wing Christian groups (like the Republican Party-aligned Focus on the Family) support doing away with the filibuster to move the president’s judicial nominees forward. Many Christian organizations, however, oppose the president’s nominees. It is disgusting to suggest that Democratic Party leaders – most of whom are people of faith – are somehow against religious values because they oppose the president's right-wing agenda. The Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, recently wrote Senate leaders:

As you know, one source of the Senate’s great power is the guarantee that every Senator has the right to filibuster a piece of legislation or even a particular judicial nominee. Our entire system of checks and balances depends on a full debate in the Senate. In the confirmation process, the filibuster was meant to be used sparingly to promote accountability and compromise. Throughout our history, both political parties have benefited from the opportunity to utilize the filibuster. The “nuclear option” of eliminating the filibuster would destabilize our system of checks and balances and set a dangerous precedent that threatens other important issues. This would leave the majority with the power to reign with absolute tyranny over everyone in both the minority and dissenting majority. Recognizing that power in both houses of Congress has repeatedly changed hands over time, we are concerned that your rights as a Senator, to speak for your constituents on this issue, would be lost if the unprecedented “nuclear option” is enacted.

The Family Research Council has released a statement explaining the intent of Freedom Sunday:

A day of decision is upon us. Whether it was the legalization of abortion, the banning of school prayer, the expulsion of the 10 Commandments from public spaces, or the starvation of Terri Schiavo, decisions by the courts have not only changed our nation's course, but even led to the taking of human lives. As the liberal, anti-Christian dogma of the left has been repudiated in almost every recent election, the courts have become the last great bastion for liberalism.

For years activist courts, aided by liberal interest groups like the ACLU, have been quietly working under the veil of the judiciary, like thieves in the night, to rob us of our Christian heritage and our religious freedoms. Federal judges have systematically grabbed power, usurping the constitutional authority that resides in the other two branches of government and, ultimately, in the American people.

The United Church of Christ is among the Christian bodies opposed to the “nuclear option.”

Clergy and Laity Network and DriveDemocracy announced today that they would be holding a prayer vigil to coincide with the April 24 Republican telecast:

A coalition of progressive religious leaders and organizations today expressed outrage that Republican leaders are attacking the faith of Democrats and progressives in a cynical, partisan effort to win support for a handful of extremist judicial nominees.

Such an action is immoral, deceitful, and beyond the pale of even politics as usual. We call on Senator Frist to immediately cancel his plans to attend the event, and we urge all elected Republicans to condemn this wholesale attack on the religious practices of their political opponents.

According to the New York Times, Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist will join an organization called "The Family Research Council" in a national telecast on April 24. They are calling it "Justice Sunday." They are saying Democrats want to use the Senate filibuster "against people of faith."

The Clergy and Laity Network and DriveDemocracy.org will sponsor a national prayer vigil on April 24 and urge citizens of all faith traditions to protest this unprecedented and intolerant act by a few misguided, extremist elements.

The CLN and DriveDemocracy are the coordinators of a national coalition of more than 60 progressive religious organizations. Their national "Breaking the Silence" campaign kicked off April 4 at Riverside Church in NYC and is continuing with a national barnstorming tour of America. Details of these and other events can be found at www.clnnlc.org and www.drivedemocracy.org.

Don’t be fooled into thinking Bill Frist or his right-wing allies represent Christianity. What they truly represent are political hacks willing to misuse Christian tradition for their own political agenda. The president wants to pack the courts with people who have opposed civil rights legislation, worked to limit health care options for women, and who support intrusive governmental powers to pry into our personal and political lives. We cannot allow them to succeed.

Interfaith Leaders Respond

Today I contacted prominent interfaith religious leaders and asked for their response to this issue.

Statement from Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs and Dr. Nazir Khaja

In seeking an understanding of ethical-moral issues that now face us in a technology-driven society, we the people of faith are finding ourselves increasingly disadvantaged. This is mainly because of how political power is being used in Washington; it is not by any means caused by a lack of moral courage and conviction. The continuous assault by those who wish to impose their own values on how others must think about these complex issues is very much exemplified in the latest foray by Senator Frist. In total disregard of the best traditions of our faiths which emphasize tolerance and respect for others, he is using the bully pulpit to coerce and further divide us. We shall not have this happen.

In our traditions, we are told that the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by hatred between one human being and the next. The Quran also admonishes people against sowing dissension and obfuscating truth.

Sen. Frist is on dangerous grounds in setting one American against another. He disgraces all faiths and the work that we have done in the interfaith community to establish "common ground" that leads us to higher ground, regardless of one's political affiliation or faith.

People of faith, Republicans and Democrats, have expressed disgust with Sen. Frist's disturbing power play. People of conscience, Pro-Life and Pro-Choice, know they are being manipulated. The "Culture of Life" should affirm the dignity of every human being. The Senator negates this.

Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs, Temple Kol Tikvah Woodland Hills, CA

Nazir Khaja, M.D., Chairman, Islamic Information Service, Los Angeles, CA

Statement from Rabbi Jack Moline

It is a measure of insecurity when advocates attack the messenger. It means they have no confidence in their ability to respond to the challenge of the message.

Progressive people of faith have a profound respect for the varieties of belief. We have had our activism kindled and nurtured by the very religious devotion that impels us to resist the imposition of a particular faith perspective on others. It is not by sufferance that people of differing faiths -- or no particular faith at all -- are participants in American society. It is by right, by law and by principle. And while we acknowledge -- even insist -- that faith must inform the public service of judge, legislator or average citizen, the only righteous standard of conduct when representing the government of the United States or the individual states is the law of the land, drawn from our foundational documents.

Our founding fathers were people of faith whose combined wisdom kept specific religious language out of the the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. They appealed for rectitude to universal values and natural law. Had their intention been to establish a default tradition -- Judaic, Christian or otherwise -- they most certainly had the skill to have crafted a less ambiguous way of declaring it and constituting it.

Denominational rallies for unnamed nominees who judge with a Bible in one hand and a gavel in the other strike me as not much different than public demonstrations by organizations promoting racial, ethnic or religious superiority. My grandparents came to this country to escape societies that celebrated that kind of prejudice. My faith in God and in the United States compels me to shine a light on the shadow message of those who would demonize dissent.

Rabbi Jack Moline

Update:  Fight the Republican's Shameful Declaration Of Religious War

Update:  Statement from The Rev. Robert Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Church USA, On "Justice Sunday"

Updates: Oregon, Tom Delay, Darfur & The Pitstop Ploughshares

The Oregon Supreme Court today voided about 3,000 marriage licenses for gay and lesbian couples. Multnomah County started issuing the licenses last year. Voters approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage last November. Oregon’s governor and a group of bi-partisan legislators are vowing to enact civil union legislation. Worldwide Pablo has the story.

Tom Delay issued an apology of sorts for making a statement that many took as a threat on the lives of judges involved in the Terri Schiavo case. After weeks of attacking those who criticized his remarks he said he was sorry for making them but that people needed to understand how upset he was that judges starved Terri Schiavo to death. America’s most ethically challenged politician just doesn’t know when to quit. Let’s hope the voters of Texas wise up and show him the door.

The humanitarian crisis in Darfur continues. Bi-partisan legislation in Congress – called the Darfur Accountability Act – calls for additional sanctions and international pressure on Sudan. Click here to send a letter to your Congressional representatives alerting them to your support of the legislation.

A mistrial was declared last month in the case of five members of the pacifist Catholic Worker Movement in Ireland accused of disarming a US war plane involved in hostile activities in Iraq. A retrial for the group – known as the The Pitstop Ploughshares – is now scheduled for October.

NBC’s “Revelations”

NBC’s “Revelations” aired tonight (hear NPR's review). The program immediately reminded me of the 1970s film the Omen. It turns out the same writer put pen to paper for both. Many Christian fundamentalists are lauding the show – very loosely based on the biblical book Revelation (more fully known as The Revelation To John). God’s enemies in “Revelations” are disbelievers and judges and state officials hoping to pull a brain dead girl off life support (see Terri Schiavo). Those behind the mini-series offer a traditional millennialist interpretation of the biblical text. The world is set to end and only true believers will survive the apocalypse. This view of Revelation – re-enforced by NBC’s program – has dangerous implications.

Oregon State University biblical scholar Marcus Borg writes that those who subscribe to the millennialist interpretation of Revelation are those who believe the text speaks to an “imminent second coming of Christ.” Generation after generation of Christians has used this interpretation to argue their own time will be the one in which Christ returns. Cults have even formed around the idea. So far they’ve all been wrong. Yet this view of scripture has an important impact on how many Christians view our current period. Borg writes in Reading the Bible Again for the First Time:

The gospel (if it can be called that in this context) becomes “the good news” that you can be saved from the soon-to-come wrath of God by believing strongly in Jesus. The focus is on saving yourself and those whom you love (and as many others as you can get to listen to you) from the fate that awaits most of humankind. The message also has striking effects on our attitude toward life on earth, including issues of social justice and the environment. If the world is going to end soon, why worry about improving conditions here? Why worry about preserving the environment? It’s all going to end soon anyway.

Many fundamentalists argue that public policy should be based on the millennialist interpretation. This is seen most clearly in the advocacy of Christian fundamentalists for policies in the Israel that have the effect of increasing conflict. Vincent J. Schodolski writes today in The Chicago Tribune:

Modern interpreters of Scripture sometimes speculate that current events are signs of ancient prophecies coming to pass. Some view the United Nations as a vehicle for the modern Antichrist. Others see the European Union in that role.

There were those who even singled out the late Pope John Paul II as the Antichrist. Others have cited former President Bill Clinton or former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, notably for the mark on his forehead. Some theorists see that as the "mark of the beast."

Part of the biblical interpretation indicates that a re-established Israel--within its biblical boundaries--must precede the end of the world because that is where the battle of Armageddon is to take place.

As a result, there is a relationship between these conservative Christians and Orthodox Jews in Israel. Some of these Christians support efforts by Israelis to occupy lands not part of the modern state of Israel because, in doing so, the Christians believe the Israelis are hastening biblical prophecy and thus the end of days.

The support is welcomed by some Jews, though there is a paradox in that these Christians hold that any Jew who does not convert to Christianity will be sent to eternal damnation by Christ upon his second coming.

How we understand the Bible matters. A literal interpretation of Revelation can do great damage. It can, as Borg notes, allow Christians to abdicate responsibilities laid out for us in other texts like Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. A literal interpretation can even allow people to advocate policies that can lead the war (surely the opposite of Jesus’ teachings). The Bible is not about death and destruction. God does, however, call us to do justice and even that theme is prevalent in a critical reading of Revelation (though critical interpretation is a no-no in NBC’s program). So what is Revelation actually about?

The book was written by an author named John. Most biblical scholars reject the idea that this John is the same John who authored the Gospel and Letters of John (The Harper Collins Study Bible, p. 2307) and instead advance the theory that the author was an early intenerate preacher. Revelation is a series of letters to early Christian communities living under Roman occupation. The author intended the material to be used by these communities and could not have imagined that 2,000 years later people would have claimed the texts as prophesizing the outcome of our time. Borg writes that there are three themes that run through Revelation:

Despite appearances to the contrary, Christ is Lord; Caesar and the beast are not.

God will soon act to overthrow the rule of the beast and its incarnation in Caesar.

Therefore, persevere, endure, be confident, take heart, have faith.

Christians can find much in Revelation to learn from. The dominant economic system of our modern time oppresses and wreaks havoc in much the same way Rome did. God calls us to oppose these systems the same way God called early Christian communities to oppose the oppression of their time. NBC’s interpretation of the Bible misses the core message of the faith – and all for money and ratings. There is an irony in that NBC is one of the two networks that banned the United Church of Christ for airing television commercials the network claimed other Christians might find offensive because of their progressive theological message. Nothing could be more offensive than twisting the fundamental message of the Bible for profit. Does NBC simply not understand the theological implications of their show or do they simply not care?

Oregonian Nominated To Head United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries

United Church of Christ Press Release

M. Linda Jaramillo, a seasoned lay leader in the United Church of Christ and a longtime justice advocate, is being recommended to succeed the Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson as executive minister of the UCC's Justice and Witness Ministries and as a member of the UCC's five-person Collegium of Officers.

Jaramillo, 57, was chosen by a search committee and her name was forwarded to JWM's Executive Committee, which affirmed the recommendation last week. Her candidacy became public today (April 13) in a letter by Rose Lee, JWM's board chairperson, to the covenanted ministry's full board of directors.

"Linda Jaramillo is a distinguished member of the United Church of Christ, serving in a number of leadership capacities," Lee said in her letter. "In her professional life, she has extensive management experience [with more than] 30 years in state- and county-funded programs in Oregon, including Head Start, migrant services, Hispanic services, violence prevention, HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, and adult community-based education."

Jaramillo now must receive a two-thirds majority vote of JWM's board, which will meet just prior to General Synod 25 in Atlanta. If affirmed, she will then need the approval of General Synod delegates before beginning a four-year term on Oct. 1.

Although eligible, Jackson -the first and only executive of JWM since its founding in 2000 - announced last fall that she would not seek an additional term in office.

Jaramillo has served in numerous capacities in every setting of the UCC - as a member and moderator of Ainsworth UCC in Portland, Ore.; as moderator, vice moderator, treasurer and search committee chair in the Central Pacific Conference; as a member and committee chair of the Executive Council; and as assistant moderator of General Synod. In 2002, she was a UCC delegate to the World Council of Churches Assembly in Harare, Zimbabwe.

She received a B.S. in Business Administration from Portland (Ore.) State University in 1990 and will graduate with a Master of Divinity degree from UCC-related Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif., this May.

Jaramillo, a Chicana who is fluent in both English and Spanish, is poised to become the first Hispanic to serve as a member of the UCC's Collegium of Officers. She is a former president and vice-president of the Council for Hispanic Ministries and co-convener of the Council of Racial and Ethnic Ministries. She has served on the board of the U.S.-Mexican Centro Alberto Rembao Theological Study Center and as a visitor to the Latin American Council of Churches Assembly.

With offices in Cleveland, Washington, D.C., and the historic Franklinton Center in Whitakers, N.C., JWM is the successor organization of several justice-related church agencies, of which Jaramillo had extensive involvement. She is a former board member and committee chair of both the Commission for Racial Justice and the Coordinating Center for Women.

Jaramillo is a member of the UCC's Coalition for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns and has been a member of its Open and Affirming Task
Force.

"On various occasions, I have been described as a person relentlessly seeking justice, passionate about peace, and ready to challenge powers and principalities that threaten equality for all. I consider it an honor to be assigned such labels," Jaramillo wrote in her letter of application for the post. "Kinship with God and each other requires that everyone be treated with dignity and respect - nothing less."

Jaramillo told United Church News that her friends and family view her candidacy as the culmination of lifelong preparation. For her, she says, it comes with a strong sense of God's call.

"I believe discernment is not a personal experience, but a communal experience" she said. "I had this sense of call, and people around me have been saying, 'This is what you've been preparing for.' Now I think I know what God is telling me - and telling the church."

"Never Place A Period Where God Has Placed A Comma" - Gracie Allen

The United Church of Christ has adopted the “comma” as a symbol of our theology as part of the UCC’s “God Is Still Speaking Campaign.” Comedian Gracie Allen is credited with saying: “Never place a period where God has placed a comma.” What does that mean? For many of us in the UCC it means that God still has more to say to us than just that which was written in the Bible. Over 400 people gathered this weekend on the Eden Theological Seminary campus to celebrate the success of that campaign by forming the world’s largest human comma. The UCC’s effort has drawn considerable media attention and resulted in many visitors to UCC congregations across the country.

Liz and I were there with the twins. 

Fellow Oregonian and Eden student Scott Elliot was there with his daughter Forest.  Even Pastor Dan's parents were on campus for the event.  It was a fun time.  The credit for putting everything together (and for the comma photo) goes to the good folks with the St. Louis Association of the UCC.

Stop Abuse of Power

Action Alert from United Church of Christ Justice & Witness Ministries

For over two hundred years, our nation has functioned with a system of checks and balances, so that no one person or political party can hold total control over the government. Among our democracy's oldest and most important checks on the power of the majority is the Senate filibuster rule. The rule allows 41 or more senators to stop legislation or nominations that they strongly oppose. A final vote can be taken only if 60 senators vote to end the filibuster. The filibuster rule protects the rights of the minority and promotes compromise.

This important democratic protection could be lost if the Senate majority leadership acts on its threats to exercise what is called the "nuclear option." The "nuclear option," so named because it is an extreme departure from Senate rules, is actually a series of procedural steps that would be taken to eliminate the filibuster. It would most likely be set in motion by an attempt to filibuster on a judicial nomination, which could come at any time during the next several weeks.

By a nearly two to one margin, Americans across party affiliations believe this important check and balance on power should be maintained. A diverse group of organizations and individuals from all sides of the political spectrum recognize the importance of protecting the rights of the minority and have declared their opposition to the "nuclear option."

Rep. John Lewis, a renowned civil rights advocate, has remarked, "Our nation has been made stronger, more just, more fair, more true to its own destiny through the voices of those who have spoken in opposition. We do not want the voices of dissent to be stamped out in the U.S. Senate, because we know it may be the minority that saves us from ourselves."

Contact your senators and urge them to oppose any effort to eliminate the filibuster. To send a fax or e-mail message to your senators, click here.

The Minutemen Project: White Supremacists Gather In Arizona

A group of anti-immigration advocates with ties to white supremacist groups have organized themselves as “Minutemen” to patrol the Arizona border this month looking for illegal immigrants. Many are reportedly armed. Their web site states that they undertake these actions because: “Historians will write about how a lax America let its unique and coveted form of government and society sink into a quagmire of mutual acrimony among the various sub-nations that will comprise the new self-destructing America.” The Minutemen Project denies direct ties with white supremacist groups but their language and agenda clearly promote the agenda of racism. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports:

Minuteman organizers say they have carefully screened applicants to weed out members of white supremacist organizations. In late February, they boasted they were even "working with the FBI on background checks," but then backed off that claim when the FBI stated it was false.

"Whatever the Minuteman project's peaceful assurances may be, this is a volatile situation," says Mark Potok, director of the Center's Intelligence Project. "There have been many documented cases of other vigilante patrols violating human rights on our Southern border, and the prospect of armed extremists searching for migrants in the desert is scary. The potential for violence is real."

Numerous white supremacists have claimed in online postings to be registered as Minuteman volunteers. One who posted to the Minuteman Project forum on the major white power website Stormfront wrote: "While this project is not a White racialist event, per se, it's a project that deserves backing from the White Nationalist community in general."

A self-professed member of the white supremacist organization National Alliance posted to the same forum: "While Minuteman is not affiliated with 'Hate Groups' (like the ones you or I belong to), most of the volunteers smell smoke and know there's a fire that needs putting out. This is a good opportunity to reach out to people who are 'half awake' and help them the rest of the way. I'm a missionary for racism and I see fertile recruiting ground!"

Their web site shows photographs of “Minutemen” volunteers holding up Confederate flags. Right-wing radio talk show hosts have trumpeted their cause. CNN’s Lou Dobbs gave them considerable air time earlier this week on his program.

Christian Peacemaker Teams has also sent volunteers to the area to help monitor the “Minutemen.” “CPT provides organizational support to persons committed to faith-based nonviolent alternatives in situations where lethal conflict is an immediate reality or is supported by public policy,” reads their web site.

A right-wing movement calling themselves the Minutemen claims to be bringing hundreds of anti-immigrant activists to do "civilian border patrols." The Minutemen militia, while maintaining their activities will be nonviolent, are expected to be heavily armed and have ties to white supremacist groups. US officials and Border Patrol have publicly described the Minutemen's planned activities as unhelpful.

In April, CPT Arizona will participate in monitoring the activities of the Minuteman Project. "We're prepared to engage in active non-violence and provide emergency medical attention or intervention when vigilantes and migrants are roaming the desert together," explained CPTer Scott Kerr.

Last week residents of Douglas, AZ, awoke to find flyers distributed overnight throughout town by a white supremacist group called the National Alliance. Flyers compared current immigration trends to a non-white "invasion." This, combined with the presence of the anti-immigration Minutemen militia, have people noticeably anxious. Today rumors circulated that unknown people were knocking on doors inquiring about individuals' immigration status.

Throughout April CPT will also help facilitate nonviolence trainings for volunteers collaborating with legal-observer projects monitoring the Minutemen, an initiative set up by the Arizona Civil Liberties Union and the American Friends Service Committee.

Armed white supremacists marching along the American-Mexican border should be a concern for all Christians. We are called to welcome the stranger, to serve the least of these, and to seek justice. These are all biblical mandates that must be taken into account when considering immigration. Vigilantes arming themselves against “sub-nations” dishonor God. Support the Christian Peacemaker Teams with a donation to help their important work.

Related Link: United Church of Christ Refugees Ministry

Linking Tom DeLay and Eric Robert Rudolph

American terrorist Eric Robert Rudolph will plead guilty to bombing the Olympic Games in 1996, a lesbian dance club, and two women’s health centers that provide abortion services. The plea agreement comes during a month when two leading American politicians – Tom Delay and John Cornyn - have issued veiled threats of violence against the judicial branch of government. Rudolph became a folk hero to many in the religious-right. His plea agreement will allow him to escape the death penalty. People like Rudolph draw their courage from remarks like those made by these two congressional leaders.  DeLay and Cornyn have done great damage to the United States with their recent statements. If new terrorists from the religious-right emerge the law should hold these two accountable for inciting violence.

Gay Catholic Group DignityUSA Marks the Death of Pope John Paul II

Over the last week I’ve posted reflections on the death of Pope John Paul II from religious leaders representing the World Council of Churches, National Council of Churches USA and the United Church of Christ. There is widespread sympathy for the Roman Catholic people during this time of mourning. Every voice, however, deserves to be heard during an occasion like this. DignityUSA, the gay and lesbian advocacy group for Roman Catholics, also issued a statement this week. Their voice and story are important and should be considered in any account of the transition now occurring in the life of Christianity’s largest denomination.

Washington, DC – The leadership of DignityUSA, the organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) Catholics, marked the death of Pope John Paul II with prayer and reflection and called on DignityUSA members and Catholics everywhere to hold the Pope and the Church in prayer during this time of momentous change.

The leaders praised Pope John Paul II for his admirable efforts in inspiring unity and social justice for some of the poor and oppressed of the world and expressed gratitude for his consistent call for peace among nations in our violent world.

But during Pope John Paul II’s long papacy GLBT Catholics were demonized by Church leaders and made the scapegoat for weakened family structures in Western societies and for the sexual abuse scandals that rocked the church in the United States and in Europe. Under Pope John Paul II, the Vatican issued the now infamous “Halloween letter” in 1986 that resulted in the expulsion of DignityUSA chapters from Catholic churches, social halls, convents and other properties.

“While we join millions around the world in earnest prayer for the Pope’s eternal salvation and the future of our Church, we remember that this papacy has used harsh and derogatory language such as ‘objectively disordered and intrinsically evil’ to describe gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people,” said DignityUSA president Sam Sinnett. “This Pope led the Church in teaching damaging misrepresentations about the health and holiness of our loving relationships — calling them part of an ‘ideology of evil’ — and about the raising of our children while covering up the real abuse of children and related abuse of power by some of John Paul II’s brother bishops and priests.”

The leaders of DignityUSA and other gay rights groups note that John Paul II also used his unique authority and power to advocate denial of equal civil rights and full legal protections for GLBT people in many sovereign nations, including the United States, Canada and the nations of the European Union. “He also misused his authority to stop even fellow cardinals and bishops from speaking for the obvious moral good of using condoms in the prevention of the spread of HIV,” commented Sinnett.

“We are saddened that John Paul II has left this life without having used his personal faith, intellect and authority to learn how God is speaking through GLBT people to spread the Gospel,” continued Sinnett. “We believe GLBT people have much to offer our Church in terms of our spirituality and our lived experiences and we will continue to offer those gifts as John Paul II offered his gifts to the Church and humanity.”

The Next Pope

Looking toward the future, Sinnett continued: “We believe the next Pope must address the sexual theology of the Catholic Church in light of current science and research. The Church's teachings on sexuality and personal responsibility are arrested in a juvenile stage. They show no respect for the moral development of individuals nor for God’s work in each of us in the development of our consciences and spiritual lives. It is time for Vatican leaders to move beyond the limited view many hold of GLBT people. In this regard, we believe they must fully inform their consciences as moral law requires by seeking to understand the spiritual lives of GLBT Catholics, by considering the ongoing works of theologians and social science researchers knowledgeable about GLBT issues and relationships, and by exploring the genuine Gospel call of Jesus Christ to love and inclusion. We join Catholics everywhere as we pray that the Holy Spirit will continue God’s work in the world as the next leader of the Catholic Church is chosen.”

On behalf of DignityUSA members, the leaders of DignityUSA pledge to continue their witness to Catholic Church leaders in this country, to the Vatican and to our sister and brother Catholics in the pews that our lives as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Catholics can and are being lived in keeping with the teachings of Jesus Christ.

DignityUSA is the nation's foremost organization of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholics, their families, friends and supporters. Founded in 1969, it is an independent nonprofit organization with members and chapters across the country. DignityUSA works for full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in the life of the Church and Society.

Visit the DignityUSA web site for additional information.

Would You Want To Live In Missouri?

The New York Times has an article today profiling the city of St. Louis and the difficulties faced by this midwestern city. Writer Kirk Johnson notes that St. Louis’ population had declined from 850,000 people in 1950 to only 348,000 in 2000. Economic develop in the downtown core has met with limited success. When we moved here one of the first things we noticed was – unlike Portland – how empty the streets were even during rush hour. Will St. Louis ever rebound? Johnson suggests the obstacles may be as cultural and religious as they are economic:

The city is an island of Democratic voters in a sea of increasingly conservative rural and suburban ones. It suffers from a reputation as a dangerous place, which tends to keep many outsiders from venturing in. And the recovery effort has partly been led by members of a group that is not popular in many parts of Missouri: gay men and lesbians who have renovated neighborhoods and opened new businesses in recent years.

In August, voters across the state overwhelming voted yes on an amendment to the State Constitution banning same-sex marriage. St. Louis, in a lonely dissent, voted no.

Missouri is an odd place. The religious right reigns supreme in this part of the country. Newly elected Governor Matt Blunt took the oath of office on not one but three Bibles this January (one for the unborn child his wife was expecting). This same governor – who pretends to be a defender of the “culture of life” – has used his first months in office to advocate huge cuts in health care programs for the poor.

Missourians don’t (for the most part) value public education. Schools here are a terrible mess. Economic development in downtown St. Louis isn’t being used to help lift up the city’s poor residents. "What's happening now is not designed to hit the low-income people. It's designed to hit the mobile, professional, upper-income class," Jesuit priest Bill Hutchison, founder of the Northside Community Center, told the paper.

Outside of St. Louis the biggest issues are opposition to abortion, trying to get creationism taught in public schools, and stopping stem-cell research. Reducing poverty and promoting social advancement are not on the agenda. St. Louis, notes the article, has a problem if it hopes to attract new residents:

Asked whether the city might suffer if Missourians came to see St. Louis as too different in its politics or too accepting of diversity, one senior city official said the risk of opprobrium was really the other way around - that potential newcomers, drawn to a resurgent St. Louis, might not be so keen on the rest of the state.

"I'm not so worried that they won't tolerate us," said Jeff Rainford, the chief of staff to Mayor Francis G. Slay, referring to Missouri residents outside the city. "I am a little afraid that the folks we want to come won't tolerate them."

We’ve enjoyed living in St. Louis over the last 2+ years for many reasons. There are some really wonderful neighborhoods. I’ve come to admire the many religious leaders who speak out here forcibly on social justice issues. You’ll find brave pockets of progressivism in this state (this was after all where Harry Truman was from). There is real beauty and character in the people and communities of Missouri. But it is hard to imagine raising a family in a state led by Matt Blunt’s backwardness and the religious right’s values of division. Missouri has defined itself by what it is against. Wouldn’t you rather live in a state that defines itself by what it is for?

(Thanks to Alice Smith - my mother-in-law - for e-mailing us this article)

Religious Groups Highlight North Korean Human Rights / Humanitarian Crisis

The BBC ran footage this week of returning North Korean refugees being shot and killed as "enemies of the state." News reports in several papers detail the BBC story (which is not currently on their web site). The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism took part in a press conference today and released the following statement on the plight of the North Korean refugees:

Statement by Rabbi David Saperstein, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

In North Korea today, a totalitarian regime subjects its citizens to unspeakable human rights abuses. We pray for an end to the abuses in North Korea. But until the day that this brutal repression of the North Korean people ends and human rights are respected in that country, bordering nations, especially China, have a special role to play in caring for those seeking refuge.

While we cannot tell from the tape exactly who the people executed really were, what we do know is that those caught trying to flee or those returned by China face the mockery of a judicial system depicted here: the prospect of imprisonment, torture and death.

We come together today to join with this diverse array of religious and human rights organizations to urge the United States to make caring for these refugees a foreign policy priority and to condemn China’s refusal to allow the UN High Commissioner on Refugees access to the North Korean refugees seeking haven there. Towards that end, our Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism has joined with the National Association of Evangelicals to disseminate to the entire Congress the painful and alarming recording of the public execution shown here today. We join in sending the attached letter to Congress depicting our common efforts. We know that for the members of Congress, as it has for so many across the globe, this footage will dramatize both North Korea’s human rights abuses as well as the consequences of China’s treatment of refugees fleeing this oppression.

The UN Convention on Refugees, to which China is a signatory, states that: "No contracting state shall expel or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion." Yet China has refused sanctuary for these refugees, continuing to insist despite all evidence to the contrary, that they are economic migrants, not protected by the UNHCR. As the UNHCR is consistently denied access to refugees, China continues to send people back across the border where they and the people facilitating their flight, face the public executions that we bear witness to today.

As Jews, we know well the plight of refugees. In two weeks, we will be observing Passover, remembering both our ancient experience of oppression and the desire and determination of the oppressed to flee to freedom. Throughout the centuries, Jews facing persecution and discrimination were forced to flee from land to land. All too often nations closed their doors to us as we fled oppression, leaving us to the mercies of those whom we were fleeing. Our past experiences make us particularly sensitive to the plight North Koreans face today and makes us particularly troubled by China’s response.

The Reform Jewish Movement has expressed concern over China’s human rights record in the past when China persecuted religious minorities and we do now when it sends those seeking freedom back to prison, torture or, as the video shows, death.

And so we call on China to protect refugees fleeing the brutal totalitarian regime in North Korea.

We call on all members of Congress to join Senator Brownback and Representative Wolf in voicing concerns about North Korean refugees and making their plight an urgent concern of U.S. policy.

And we call on the United Nations, particularly the UN High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR), to redouble its efforts to address China’s illegal refugee roundups.

We call on all those who value human rights and human life to join together today to say, in the words of one of the central songs of the Passover ritual, “Dayenu” – enough. “Dayenu” – there has been enough oppression. Dayenu – there has been enough inhumanity. Dayenu – there has been enough killing. Dayenu – there has been enough silence.

###

The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is the Washington office of the Union for Reform Judaism, whose more than 900 congregations across North America encompass 1.5 million Reform Jews, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, whose membership includes more than 1800 Reform rabbis.

Human Rights Watch has a section on North Korea available on their web site that details the human rights crisis faced each day by that country's citizens.

Church World Service and the National Council of Churches USA also have material on the web that considers the humanitarian crisis faced by the people of North Korea with recommended actions for the United States and other international leaders to consider.

American Catholics Want Changes

The process for selecting a new pope will begin April 18th. Contenders are reportedly campaigning for the top position in the Roman Catholic Church. American Catholics are looking for changes from a new pontiff. A new Associated Press poll finds that 60% of US Catholic hope a new pope will support the ordination of women and allow priests to marry. Progressive Catholic leaders are not hopeful. The Boston Globe reports:

''I don't look for much change. Given the pool of likely candidates, with two exceptions they're all pretty much textbook conservatives in the John Paul mold," said the Rev. Richard P. McBrien, a leading liberal theologian at the University of Notre Dame. ''Any progressive Catholic who would expect the new pope to come in and suddenly be saying he'd like to open ordination of women for study, put obligatory celibacy on the table, or rein in the curia . . . they're just being unrealistic."

McBrien, however, does hold out some hope.

When Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II in 1978, he put a halt to many of the most dramatic departures from traditional teaching being pushed by advocates of radical change. During his papacy, he reined in priests advocating ''liberation theology" in the Third World. He definitively declared that ''the church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination of women." He said same-sex couples do ''grave damage" to children. And he oversaw a crackdown on theologians who strayed too far from doctrinal orthodoxy.

But McBrien, like other commentators, noted that John Paul II did not fit easily into American political categories -- although he was conservative on a variety of doctrinal matters and questions of sexual ethics, he was liberal on other issues.

''John Paul II was a strong liberal on immigration, war and peace, social justice, and human rights, and if the next pope is at least as socially progressive as John Paul II, that will be a plus," McBrien said.

The Rev. Dr. Susan Thistlethwaite, president of the United Church of Christ-related Chicago Theological Seminary, writes today in The Chicago Tribune about how some of the pope's more progressive policies made him popular with some Protestants.  "He endeared himself to liberal Protestants in his outspoken opposition to the attack on Iraq, trying hard to persuade the United States and Britain to refrain from military action. He has been blunt on the critical importance of environmental protection and has explicitly linked environmental degradation to overconsumption, especially in the United States as well as other western countries," she writes.  Click here to read her full article.

Related Post:  Not All Catholics Are The Same

Do Tom DeLay and John Cornyn Hate Democracy?

US Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) joined the ranks of the insane yesterday with remarks before the Senate in which he suggested recent courthouse violence was a result of public distaste with liberal judges. The Washington Post reports:

"It causes a lot of people, including me, great distress to see judges use the authority that they have been given to make raw political or ideological decisions," he said. Sometimes, he said, "the Supreme Court has taken on this role as a policymaker rather than an enforcer of political decisions made by elected representatives of the people."

Cornyn continued: "I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection, but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. . . . And I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters, on some occasions, where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in, engage in violence.

You can view the remarks by clicking here.

None of the recent high profile incidents involving judges – like the tragic shootings in Atlanta last month – had anything to do with controversial political issues.

Cornyn made his remarks while criticizing the US Supreme Court for outlawing the execution of juveniles. Many Christian leaders hailed the court decision for stopping an unjust practice.

House Majority Tom Delay, Cornyn’s Republican colleague from Texas, made news last week after making statements that many took to be threats against judges involved in the Terri Schiavo case.

These remarks should be taken as direct threats to American democratic institutions.

Dr. John Kitzhaber Explores Congressional Hypocrisy In Terri Schiavo Case

Former Oregon Governor and emergency room physician John Kitzhaber writes today in The Christian Science Monitor:

As an emergency physician and former governor, I am struck by the towering contradictions - and indeed the hypocrisy - in the controversy over the tragic plight of Terri Schiavo. On the same day that the US House of Representatives voted to involve the federal courts in her case, it also approved a 10-year $92-billion cut in Medicaid funding - $30 billion deeper than the cut recommended by President Bush.

The relationship between these two decisions - virtually unreported by most media - goes to the very heart of why we're unable to resolve the growing crisis in our healthcare system. While involving the federal courts in an attempt to save the life of one highly visible individual, Congress made a fiscal decision that will deny thousands of other Americans timely access to healthcare, some of whom may die as a result.

Click here to read the full story.

The proposed cuts in Medicaid funding – made at the urging of Republican leaders in the House – would go to help pay for tax cuts for the richest Americans advocated for by the president. A report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that while the Senate version of the budget will also hurt low-income Americans it is preferable to harsh House budget. Several moderate Republicans in the Senate refused to go along with the most draconian cuts in social service programs advocated by the president and his Congressional supporters. Several Christian organizations have announced that they oppose the president’s budget plans. The Christian Century Magazine quotes Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, as saying recently: “The prophets said God doesn’t judge us on the eloquence of our preaching or the beauty of sanctuaries. God will look at the condition of the poor in our midst and judge the quality of faith of God’s people. And based on this year’s budget, God would find us guilty.”

Related Post:  Interfaith Group Critical Of Bush Budget Plans

Sayings Of Pope John Paul II

No one will question that Pope John Paul II was a social conservative. The pontiff was, however, also greatly concerned about justice issues concerning war, economics, and the death penalty. Conservatives liked to ignore or even criticize the Pope for his opposition to war and economic injustice (FOX News’ Bill O’Reilly told viewers in 2003 that the Pope’s opposition to the Iraq invasion showed the pontiff was “naive and detached from reality”). As the Roman Catholics mourn today it is appropriate to lift up some of Pope John Paul II’s sayings on justice that some would rather we just forget.

"Social justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create." -- July 3, 1980

"This determination is based on the solid conviction that what is hindering full development is that desire for profit and that thirst for power already mentioned. These attitudes and 'structures of sin' are only conquered - presupposing the help of divine grace - by a diametrically opposed attitude: a commitment to the good of one's neighbor with the readiness, in the gospel sense, to 'lose oneself' for the sake of the other instead of exploiting him, and to 'serve him' instead of oppressing him for one's own advantage." -- Pope condemns excesses of capitalism, December 30, 1987

"We cannot pretend that the use of arms, and especially of today's highly sophisticated weaponry, would not give rise, in addition to suffering and destruction, to new and perhaps worse injustices." -- Pope opposes Gulf War, Message to George H.W. Bush, January 15, 1991

"A disconcerting conclusion about the most recent period should serve to enlighten us: side-by-side with the miseries of underdevelopment, themselves unacceptable, we find ourselves up against a form of superdevelopment, equally inadmissible. because like the former it is contrary to what is good and to true happiness. This superdevelopment, which consists in an excessive availability of every kind of material goods for the benefit of certain social groups, easily makes people slaves of 'possession' and of immediate gratification..." -- On the shortfalls of consumerism, March 13, 1998

"Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform. I renew the appeal I made most recently at Christmas for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary." -- Pope speaks out against capital punishment, January 27, 1999

"The Holy See has always recognized that the Palestinian people have the natural right to a homeland, and the right to be able to live in peace and tranquility with the other peoples of this area." -- Pope calls for a Palestinian State, March 22, 2000

"NO TO WAR! War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity." -- January 13, 2003

"When war threatens humanity's destiny, as it does today in Iraq, it is even more urgent for us to proclaim with a loud and decisive voice that peace is the only way to build a more just and caring society. Violence and arms can never solve human problems." -- Pope condemns Bush's invasion of Iraq, March 22, 2003

Thanks to MichaelMoore.com for putting this list together and to Danny Fisher for sending it my way.

John Paul II, Superstar

The Rev. Vince Isner, director of FaithfulAmerica.org, has posted his personal reflection on the death of Pope John Paul II on the FaithfulAmerica.org blog.  Vince writes powerfully on the "superstar" quality of the late pope.