I totally agree with my friend Brian here: In the end if they break ways with Christ’s teachings we are required to break with them as well and speak truth in love http://indefinitedefiniteness.org/2012/09/07/politics/ And saying such things just scares the bejeebies out of so many of my “secular” friends. They just can’t seem to grasp the idea that the “theocracy” ideas Continue Reading
It’s true we must guard against becoming devoted to the “brand”. “Occupy” as a brand is not the aim; it’s not the point to see that this name survives as the main narrative title. If the media succeed in discrediting that, then the aims and goals still remain. We simply need to articulate it and present it through new actions Continue Reading
I blogged on this a couple weeks ago, as I recoiled at the inane thesis of a WIRED article about “conspiracy theories” such as global warning. The modern belief by evangelical Christians in the rapture, which does not exist in biblical literature, is no less fantastic, one that at once allows for the denial of global warming and of evolution Continue Reading
Chris Hedges , in reviewing a book by Dave Eggers, describing the Saudi kingdom (“A Hologram for the King”), sounds very accurate re: an alarming percentage of the Religious Right in this country: outward religiosity and piety mask a moral and physical rot that fits seamlessly into the world of globalized capitalism http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/the_mirage_of_our_lives_20120827/ This “seamless fit” is exactly what the Continue Reading
This whole rape can’t cause pregnancy thing has me thinking abou the tentacles of this current of “God will protect us from ourselves” mentality of the right wing (both the political and the theological). The notion that God won’t let pregnancies happen from rape is a form of this. The “free market fundamentalism” is a form of this (and also, Continue Reading
Brian Merritt has written an excellent OccupyTheology sermon. The only thing I dont like about it is that there are too many great things in it I want to quote in full. I am told by a prepackaged and consumeristic society that there are non-threatening and easy answers to societal’s ills. The reality is that recycling will not save the planet, voting Continue Reading
Franklin County (Columbus) GOP Chair Doug Preisse : I guess I really actually feel we shouldn’t contort the voting process to accommodate the urban—(read African-American)—voter-turnout machine http://www.thenation.com/blog/169454/ohio-gop-admits-early-voting-cutbacks-are-racially-motivated# Apparently, Mr. Priesse seems to think that the “voter turnout machine” is somehow a form of cheating, since he doesn’t consider them worthy of “accomodatation” to vote. He baiscally is defending the idea of Continue Reading
So, whenever you hear people talking about Ryan’s deficit reductions, bear in mind that over the first decade all of the alleged deficit reduction comes from revenue and spending numbers that are simply asserted, not the result of any policies actually described in the “planâ€. via What’s In The Ryan Plan? – NYTimes.com. It’s just as Krugman says here. When Continue Reading
As a Christian who realizes that American politics is a horrible model or template for anything that would help us understand , in theological terms, what the Kingdom of God looks like, I am also , at the same time, drawn to the news (and lack thereof) about the the platform(s) and articulated aims of the GOP choice, since Continue Reading
Ever since #OWS began, I have grown particularly attracted to Chris Hedges’ columns , often peppered with scathing observations about the professsionals who run and enable and tweak the systems that have led to the increasing inequalities and insane denials of the effects of “human progress” on all of our ecosystems. In our present day media environment, such scathing Continue Reading
in this video, Chris Hayes talks about the way elites and their clubs stick together vs even the people they ostensibly are there to serve (priests in Catholic Church vs their parishoners, or the government and corporations vs thier constituents and/or customers). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDaFVjaZr7w&feature=plcp This is a good angle also for the financial system, and for a headlong dive into many Continue Reading
I asked Lisa Sharon Harper of Sojourners about her thoughts on the Occupy Movement, and she said something we don’t hear much amidst all the uproar about the “middle class” being under assault. While the economic figures about the shrinkage and stagnation of wages in the middle class make for a wider audience from which to garner movement support, what Continue Reading
I will vote for Barak Obama, but I have trouble these days calling myself a “supporter”. I explicitly deny that designation when it is suggested that I am. But I find it hard now because of the way he handled the banks, the way he has extended and built upon the “security” measures undertaken in the Patriot Act, and the Continue Reading
This kind of blows their image as having Catholics on their side as well. The nuns represent the “live it out” segments of the church. Republicans, especially the right-wing chairman of the House Budget Committee who inspired the tour in the first place, are generally dismissive of their pleas http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/07/12614620-this-week-in-god This is what the GOP has been doing for 30+ years. Continue Reading
John Locke, the guy synonomous with “Reason” with revolutionary words “Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power,†wrote the philosopher John Locke, “they put themselves into a state of war with the people who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.†http://dgrnewsservice.org/2012/07/05/chris-hedges-time-to-get-crazy/