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Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Several weeks ago, David Cortright wrote about a petition being circulated by active duty and Guard and Reserve service members who are opposed to the war in Iraq. Now, the Appeal for Redress is gaining mainstream news coverage. Last Sunday, the lead story on CBS' 60 Minutes featured a panel of service members discussing why they supported the Appeal. Watch the video report here. The lead-in to the story was: Americans in the military have been asked to make extraordinary sacrifices in recent years, particularly in Iraq, where the casualties are mounting, the tours are being extended, and some of them have had enough. One of those who initiated the Appeal, Marine Sgt. Liam Madden, explained their motivation: "Just because we volunteered for the military, doesn't mean we volunteered to put our lives in unnecessary harm, and to carry out missions that are illogical and immoral." This morning’s New York Times ran a piece on the Appeal, calling it “a small but growing sign of dissent.” The story noted that since Sunday’s 60 Minutes report, 300 more have signed, bringing the total to 1,600. The Times also quoted a soldier: "There is a sense of betrayal,” said Specialist Linsay Burnett, 26, who recently returned from Iraq with the First Brigade combat team of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee. The division is readying for its third deployment. “These soldiers stand up to fight, to protect their country, but we are now on the fifth reason as to why it is we are in Iraq,” added Specialist Burnett, who has served as a public affairs specialist and as a military journalist focusing primarily on the infantry. “How many reasons are we going to come up with for keeping us over there?" As the debate over the war and how to end U.S. involvement grows, let’s remember those who are on the front lines ( the 3,158 U.S. soldiers who have died, as well as hundreds of thousands of Iraqis). The best way to support them, as the Appeal says, is to “respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq.”  Duane Shank is Senior Policy Adviser for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
 This bathroom evangelism clip is from the January/February 2007 issue of Outreach magazine. This material is better than any religious satire I could pen - sometimes truth is funnier than fiction. On a slightly more serious note, in this same issue, they published their list of the 25 most innovative churches in the U.S. Mostly all-white clergy, all male-led, and mostly megachurches. Is this the church of the 21st century? If so, what makes these churches innovative? If not, then what are some examples of innovative churches you've found?  Becky Garrison is Senior Contributing Editor of The Wittenburg Door and author of the Amazon Short My Memorial, a creative non-fiction piece based on those 9/11 volunteers who find they are unable to move forward.
The latest news on regional diplomacy, immigration, church-state, stock market, Iraq, appeal for redress, terrorism, homelessness, Darfur, civil rights. and sexualization in the media. Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »Full news summary:
Stock market. Wall St. Tumble Adds to Worries About Economies- "Stock markets around the world plummeted yesterday in a wave of selling set off by a plunge in China that was reinforced by worries of weakening economies." China market plunges, Dow follows. Now what? - "One of Wall Street's ugliest days in recent years actually started in Shanghai, where a massive sell-off in Chinese equities prompted a global market downturn exacerbated by fears of a slowing U.S. economy."
Regional diplomacy. U.S. to join Iran, Syria in Iraq talks - "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the United States would join high-level talks on Iraq with the country's neighbors, including Iran and Syria, in a move that may signal a new U.S. willingness to expand diplomacy with two adversaries." In a shift, U.S. to join Iran, Syria in Iraq talks - "In a significant diplomatic shift, the Bush administration announced that it will join Iran and Syria at the table during a "neighbors conference" in Iraq to discuss how to stabilize the security situation there." U.S. Will Join Talks With Iran And Syria - "The United States agreed to join high-level talks with Iran and Syria on the future of Iraq, an abrupt shift in policy that opens the door to diplomatic dealings the White House had shunned in recent months despite mounting criticism."
Iraq-Congress. War bill divides Democrats - "Democratic lawmakers, who earlier this month nearly unanimously backed resolutions condemning President Bush's plans to boost troop levels in Iraq, are struggling to agree on what to do next in their drive to bring the war to an end." Iraq Bill Vexes Democrats - "House Democratic leaders offered a full-throated defense of their plans to link Iraq war spending with rigorous standards for resting, training and equipping combat troops, saying that they would hold President Bush accountable for failing to meet those readiness tests."
Appeal for Redress. Service Members Sign Appeal Calling for Troop Withdrawal - "In a small but growing sign of dissent, a group of active-duty military personnel and reservists, including many who have served in Iraq, is den
ouncing the war and asking Congress for the prompt withdrawal of troops. The service members, who number more than 1,600, have sent an Appeal for Redress to their Congressional representatives," GIs Petition Congress To End Iraq War - CBS Sixty Minutes report on more than 1,000 military personnel sign petition urging withdrawal - Watch the video story.
Terrorism. U.S. Sees New Al-Qaeda Threat - "he new director of national intelligence said that the United States is "very concerned" that Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda leadership are attempting to rebuild their terrorist network and establish training camps in a region of northwest Pakistan "that has never been governed by any power." Afghan Bombing Sends a Danger Signal to U.S. - "The audacity of a suicide-bomb attack on Tuesday at the gates of the main American base in Afghanistan during a visit by Vice President Dick Chency underscores why President Bush sent him there - a deepening American concern that the Taliban and Al Qaeda are resurgent."
Immigration. Kennedy, McCain try again on immigration - "Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John McCain are set to introduce a revised version of their sweeping plan to overhaul the nation's immigration laws, in a bill that's likely to restart a tense debate in Congress." White House pushes immigration overhaul - "For weeks, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has waged a clandestine charm offensive on behalf of an immigration overhaul. … Today, Chertoff launches a higher-profile effort to win enough votes to pass a comprehensive overhaul when he testifies at the first Capitol Hill hearing on immigration legislation since Democrats took over."
Homelessness. HUD gets new view of who's homeless - "A groundbreaking survey of homelessness being released today found that 704,000 people nationwide sought shelter at least once in a three-month period. Families with children accounted for one-third of those seeking emergency shelter or transitional housing between February and April 2005, the most recent period studied."
Darfur. 2 Face Trials at The Hague Over Darfur Atrocities- "International prosecutors on Tuesday designated their first suspects in atrocities in the Sudanese region of Darfur, selecting a government minister and a militia commander to bring to trial." Sudanese Pair Accused of War Crimes - "The International Criminal
Court's prosecutor in The Hague outlined what he called operational, logistical and command links between Sudan's government in Khartoum and horse-mounted nomadic militias it recruited and bankrolled to carry out mass killings in the Darfur region," Darfur war crimes suspect defiant - "Sudan's humanitarian affairs minister, accused of war crimes in Darfur by the International Criminal Court (ICC), has said the move against him is political. Ahmed Haroun said he "did not feel guilty", his conscience was clear and that he was ready to defend himself."
Civil rights. Justice Dept. to Revisit Civil-Rights-Era Killings - "The Justice Department announced that it is partnering with civil rights groups to pursue the killers of scores of black men and women slain by white vigilantes in the South decades ago." No indictment in Emmett Till slaying - "The murder case of Emmett Till - one of the most infamous slayings of the civil rights era - appears to be drawing to a fruitless close 52 years after the black teenager whistled at a white woman, then turned up dead in Mississippi's Tallahatchie River."
Sexualization in the media. Sexualization of Girls in the Media Is Harmful - "The American Psychological Association (APA) suggests that the proliferation of sexual images of girls and young women in the media is harming their self-image and development."
Church-state. Test for faith-based programs - "After six years of debate, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in a case that poses the most blunt challenge yet to the activities of the administration's faith-based offices." Church-state question before justices - "The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation has sued to get rid of crosses in city parks, to end Good Friday public holidays and, most vigorously, to thwart President Bush's faith-based initiative. Now, the group that for 30 years has sought a firm divide between church and state will be at the Supreme Court today in a case that could affect taxpayers' ability to challenge - and government's ability to defend - a multitude of public programs that involve groups with a religious affiliation."
In essence, what Jesus imparted to his disciples was that they must strive for true justice on earth as in heaven, as their righteous service to God; that they must honor God by doing indiscriminate justice, by lifting up "the least of these" on the altar of God's justice and mercy; that they must set into motion a revolution of love and holistic spirituality that demonstrates love for God by treating the needs of even the least of God's children as holy. -Obery M Hendericks, Jr. excerpt from The Politics of Jesus.+ Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
I have a lot of heroes, but Cal DeWitt is high on the list. Before anyone else, he was at work building the religious environmental movement in this country, and he has never wavered – the fact that evangelical leaders from across the theological spectrum last year signed a statement of concern about climate change owes more to his leadership than anyone else's. So he was one of the first people I turned to when we launched Stepitup07.org. He immediately sent a letter to 60 evangelical seminaries and colleges, and wrote a post for our blog that ended like this: I am pleased to join you in taking one spring day and use it to reshape the future. Science is on our side; and the deep ethical and moral fabric of America is on our side.
We now need a movement – one that will produce the largest rally ever to address – seriously and NOW – the great emerging crisis of global warming and climate change! And with his help that's just what we're delivering. Parts of the faith community are stepping up to the challenge with real vigor. Not only evangelicals but also Unitarians, Presbyterians, Orthodox Jews, and everyone else who can feel the horror of the de-creation we're now engaged in. (Since I'm an old Methodist Sunday School teacher, I'm always glad to see one of those Wesleyan congregations signing up on our Web site.) One group has even launched an interfaith walk across Massachusetts in the early spring to draw attention to the cause! But we need more religious involvement, because it's one of the ways we can show wavering congressmen and women that this isn't an "alternative" movement – that instead it comes straight from the heart of America. And straight from the heart of the gospel tradition, with its paramount call for love of neighbor. At the moment, the 4 percent of us in this country produce a quarter of the world's carbon dioxide – once you look at maps of rising sea levels and spreading mosquitoes, you realize that we've probably never figured out a way to hate our neighbors around the world much more effectively. That's got to stop – and with your help on April 14, we will take the first big steps to making it stop.  Bill McKibben wrote the first book for a general audience about global warming, The End of Nature, way back in 1989. His new book is Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future .
I've attempted to distill the most helpful elements from the rather heated comments on Tony Jones' post on Mitt Romney's Mormon faith, much of which focused on this sentence: "I'm skeptical of a religion that admonishes its adherents to wear sacred undergarments ... that didn't allow non-whites to be clergy until 1978, and that follows the teachings of Joseph Smith, whose scriptures I find highly dubious." The strongest objections came from blogger Faithful Progressive, who has repeatedly asked for apologies from Tony and Diana Butler Bass for what he considered "mocking," "insensitive and ultimately intolerant remarks," though he has since moderated some of his original criticism. I've defended Tony's post as honest inquiry - especially since he bracketed his questions with a confession: "My ambivalence stems, I suppose, from my ignorance," and an acknowledgement of the strangeness of his own beliefs: "I know that much of orthodox Christianity is irrational, too: I eat flesh and drink blood every Sunday." Many of the most balanced and insightful comments came from Mormons themselves: Unfortunately I have met far too many people who seem to imagine that Mormons worship Joseph Smith (or even Satan), using that as a basis for their arguments against our being Christians. Aside from that, I wasn't trying to beg into the club. I am proud of our doctrine, its materialism, its progressive nature, its undercurrent of gnosticism, its belief in a God who is willing to extend ALL his blessings and glory to his children. …
Also, for the record, I found out about this post thanks to Faithful Progressive. I'm afraid he made it out to sound worse than it was, and I wish he could have toned down the rhetoric. Diana's comment could easily be read in a positive light, depending on your opinion of Stanley Hauerwas. Many of us in the LDS church (myself included) have ancestors who were tarred and feathered, forcibly relocated, even hanged from their own porches on account of their Mormonism. Some of us can feel small in comparison to these heroes in our past, and will look for persecution anywhere we can get it. Perhaps it is an attempt to prove our mettle. Though not without some pointed criticism: As a Mormon and a liberal I was disappointed in Tony Jones' comments. I can appreciate that some Mormon thought is "out of the mainstream" but one should keep in that the fundamental belief of Mormonism is in Jesus Christ as Savior and Redeemer. Tony is right; he is ignorant of Mormonism. But ignorance should in thoughtful Christian people motivate an effort at greater understanding instead of disrespect. As I've reflected on these comments it's occurred to me that from a Mormon perspective, such questions, however intentioned, can be offensive when they're perceived through the lenses of those who've endured patterns of ridicule or condescension. And as a member of the majority dominant culture, I generally want to give extra credence to the testimony of those who've been marginalized in these ways. I felt a creeping double standard as I reflected on my own words regarding the Biden blow-up: Choose your words carefully, and be aware of how they may be interpreted. And if challenged, be honest with
yourself about your own prejudice - the prejudice that infects all of us. I am the chief of sinners, and confess that I constantly grapple with the stereotypical fears, lowered expectations, etc. that I've inherited from a society permeated with prejudice. This may seem unfair, but it is the responsibility of those who have been given unfair privilege and power by that society to go the extra mile. While I still think it's inaccurate to call Tony's comments "mockery," insensitivity may be the fairest criticism. I get the sense that between the two of us, he'd rather err on the side of candid inquiry, and I'd rather err on the side of sensitivity. He's volunteered to grow a thicker skin for these conversations - I'm just not sure it's always fair to ask that of the minority in any given situation. But above all, I believe we both want to strike a balance between honesty and sensitivity while walking the tightrope of true dialogue. Ryan Beiler is the Web Editor for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
The latest news on Afghanistan, Iran, Genocide-Darfur, Genocide-Bosnia, Iraq, children's health insurance, presidential politics, working and the poor, Jesus tomb???, immigration and select op-eds. Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »Full news summary:
Afghanistan. Blast occurs while Cheney visits - "Suspected insurgents set off a blast early today outside the main U.S. base in Afghanistan while Vice President Dick Cheney was visiting, killing as many as 20 people, officials said. Cheney was not injured in the explosion outside Bagram air base, north of Kabul, the capital, the U.S. military said." Cheney OK after attack - "The Taliban said the vice president was the target of a blast that killed 23 in Afghanistan."
Iraq-US. Majority in Poll Favor Deadline For Iraq Pullout - "With Congress preparing for renewed debate over President Bush's Iraq policies, a majority of Americans now support setting a deadline for withdrawing U.S. forces from the war-torn nation and support putting new conditions on the military that could limit the number of personnel available for duty there," Democrats taking aim at war budget request - "Seeking to exert greater authority over the nation's war chest, Democrats plan to slash billions of dollars from the Pentagon's emergency budget request for combat in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Iraq. Iraq's Cabinet Backs Contentious Oil Measure - "Iraq's cabinet approved draft legislation that would enable the government to manage the country's vast oil resources and distribute revenue throughout the country … But in a reminder of Iraq's continuing instability, Adel Abdul Mahdi, one of the country's two vice presidents, narrowly avoided assassination Monday morning when a bomb exploded inside a crowded third-floor conference room at a government ministry in Baghdad's Mansour district." Iraqis Reach an Accord on Oil Revenues- "The Iraqi cabinet approved a draft of a law that would set guidelines for nationwide distribution of oil revenues and foreign investment in the immense oil industry. The endorsement reflected a major agreement among the country's ethnic and sectarian political blocs on one of Iraq's most divisive issues."
Children's health insurance. Child Health Care Splits White House and States- "Governors pressed President Bush to provide more money so they could guarantee health insurance for children, an issue that some members of both parti
es said was as important as money for the Iraq war."
Presidential politics. Document shows Romney's strategies - "The 77-slide PowerPoint presentation offers a revealing look at Romney's pursuit of the White House, outlining a plan for branding himself, framing his competitors, and allaying voter concerns about his record, his Mormon faith, and his shifts on key issues like abortion." McCain strategy courts middle - "Sen. John McCain is playing both sides against the middle as he supports sending more than 21,500 additional troops to Iraq while trying to distance himself from President Bush by labeling the war a "train wreck." McCain firm on Iraq war despite cost to candidacy - "At stake in Iraq is not only President Bush's legacy but also the 70-year-old McCain's last hope for the White House. In a crowded field of candidates, he is the only full-throated defender of the increase in U.S. troop levels and the war itself."
Iran. New threats and overtures on Iran's nuclear program - "U.S. and other leading diplomats prepared to consider possible new sanctions in the standoff over Iran's nuclear program, even as Iran's top nuclear negotiator again signaled that Tehran would be willing to engage in "constructive and logical" negotiations with Washington." Diplomats to Begin Drafting New U.N. Sanctions on Iran - "The coalition of six world powers that has been trying to get Iran to rein in its nuclear program will begin drafting a new United Nations Security Council resolution to ratchet up the pressure again," Iranian Scholars Denounce Conference That Denied Holocaust - "A group of Iranian academics, writers and artists has denounced the Holocaust conference held in Tehran late last year, calling it a move that endangered peace and hurt the reputation of Iranian academics." Ahmadinejad under fire in Iran - "Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, came under fire from domestic critics yesterday for his uncompromising stance on the nuclear issue as the US and Britain launched a new diplomatic effort to agree harsher UN sanctions they hope will force Tehran to halt uranium enrichment."
Genocide-Bosnia. Serbia guilty over Srebrenica - "The world court acquitted the state of Serbia of responsibility for genocide in neighbouring Bosnia in the mid-1990s. But in an unparalleled case concluded at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the UN's supreme judicial authority delivered a damning verdict on Serbia's role in the 1992-95 war, finding that Belgrade did nothing to prevent what the court described as an act of genocide at Srebrenica in 1995." Court Declares Bosnia Killings Were Genocide- "The International Court of Justice for the first time called the massacre of Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995 an act of genocide, but determined that Serbia itself was not guilty of the enormous crime."
Genocide-Darfur. Court names Darfur suspects - "The international criminal court in The Hague today named the first two suspects wanted for allegedly committing war crimes in Darfur." Court names Darfur war suspects - "Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have named a minister and a militia leader who they suspect of war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region."
Working and poor. In N.Va., Let Down By a Rising Economy - "a growing underside of the vibrant, rapidly shifting economy of Northern Virginia, where the high cost of housing and the unpredictable nature of the job market can plunge workers into poverty and homelessness. Although Northern Virginia has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, tens of thousands of its jobs are contract work, where moderate income employees … are at the mercy of employment that can end suddenly and disappear forever."
Jesus tomb?? Crypt Held Bodies of Jesus and Family, Film Says- "The claims were met with skepticism by several archaeologists and New Testament scholars, as well as outrage by some Christian leaders. The contention that Jesus was married, had a child and left behind his bones - suggesting he was not bodily resurrected - contradicts core Christian doctrine." Tomb of Jesus, son found, film reports - "The Academy Award-winning director behind "Titanic" and "The Terminator" is challenging fundamental tenets of Christianity by suggesting that Jesus may have been a father whose body was buried far from the Jerusalem tomb where believers say he rose from the dead."
Immigration. Texas talks tough on illegal immigrants - "a growing chorus of Republicans and some Democrats is pushing some of the harshest immigration-related measures in the United States - laws that would not only deny public services to illegal immigrants but strip their American-born children of benefits as well." Cashing in on immigrants - "Critics are still fuming over Bank of America's plan to offer credit cards to people without Social Security numbers or credit histories, characteristics common to illegal immigrants."
Op-Ed. Congress should repeal its authorization to use force in Iraq ( Joseph R. Biden Jr., Boston Globe) - "Opposing the surge is only
a first step. There needs to be a radical change in course in Iraq. The pressure is building on Congress -- especially Republicans -- to act if the president will not. The best next step is to revisit the authorization Congress granted Bush in 2002 to use force in Iraq."
For [a king] delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.
- Psalms 72:12-14 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail
As an act of love, prayer is a courageous act. It is a risk we take. It is a life-and-death risk, believing in the promises of the gospel, that God's love is indeed operative in the world. In prayer we have the courage, perhaps even the presumption and the arrogance or the audacity to claim that God's love can be operative in the very specific situations of human need that we encounter.
- John E. Biersdorf
excerpt from Healing of Purpose. + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail
Monday, February 26, 2007
 My friend Chuck Gutenson, professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, has written an excellent piece – “Constantinianism of the Left?” – on his Imitatio Christi blog. He explains the history and meaning of the term “Constantinianism”: In 313, the emperor Constantine, who had recently become a Christian, issued an edict making Christianity the official religion of the empire. In so doing, Constantine tightly bound the survival of the empire with that of the church, and the church went from being a marginalized, disempowered group to occupying a central place in the corridors of power. In exchange for this new-found power, the church was expected to serve as a cohesive force within the empire as well as to give religious cover to the emperor. Many consider this "an unholy alliance of religious and political power." In our contemporary setting, when someone is charged with Constantinianism, they are being charged with too closely uniting these two - religious and political power - so that the church begins to see the state and legislation as a way to accomplish its goals. He notes the charge often made against progressive Christians engaged in politics is that, in attempting to come up with some solutions to social problems through legislative and other political activity, we are putting too much faith in the state. (Something which is also true of conservatives.) And, he says, we may be guilty of the charge: Too often, our presentations emphasize so much the need to change public policies and institutions that it is entirely understandable that our critics would think we have forgotten we are members of the church first and of the state second. We can easily sound more like advocates of a particular political agenda than advocates of the Gospel of Jesus. The focus, of course, should be that we are advocates of the Gospel of Jesus, but that commitment to the Gospel leads to a particular kind of political advocacy. Second, we must also own that, by and large, our use of Scripture is rather slipshod. Frequently, when you read pieces on the Christian case for progressive politics, they read as if we have arrived at a particular set of political positions on other grounds and that we have then gone to Scripture in search of passages that give the appearance of supporting our case. (Of course, the same can be said of those of more conservative political leanings.) I sincerely believe that the folks I know who are active in progressive politics are firmly committed to the Gospel of Jesus and I believe that their political activism grows out of their faith. We must, however, do a better job of making this evident. If we do, we will go a long way toward undermining the charge that we are merely engaging in a “constantinianism of the left." It’s a useful admonition, and Chuck goes on to suggest four steps that can more seriously ground political activism in faith. They are good and important suggestions. I commend Chuck’s piece for thought and reflection.
Last week, I caused a bit of a dust-up by wondering aloud about Mitt Romney's LDS faith, including an admittance of my own ignorance about particular practices and beliefs therein. It seems to me that Romney has been less that forthcoming about his commitment to LDS beliefs and practices, and he will be compelled, as the presidential race goes forward, to honestly confront those questions: Is he a "high priest" in the LDS church? Does he consider the words of Prophet Gordon Hinckley inspired and infallible? Private concerns these are not, particularly for a presidential candidate.
However, I'm more interested today in responding to the criticism of my last post. Faithful Progressive (FP) repeatedly castigated me for referring to the sacred undergarments worn by many Mormons, calling me everything from "bigoted" to "immature." While I am predisposed not to respond to anonymous criticism, I will make an exception in this case, for I think the difference between me and FP points out a major philosophical difference.
Call it globalization, postmodernism, or a "flat world," we live in a radically pluralized society, and it is only becoming more so. As the U.S. pluralizes, we become increasingly aware of the "otherness" of those around us. The Other looks, talks, and worships differently than I do. And, case in point, we've got a woman, an African-American, and a Mormon as leading contenders in a presidential race, a situation unthinkable just 50 years ago.
We face three choices when confronting our increasingly pluralized society. The first is the traditional conservative response, alternatively called ethnocentrism or fundamentalism. Proponents of this tactic build walls, both figuratively and literally, between themselves and the Other. Whether it be the attempt to move millions of evangelicals to South Carolina, or to found a Roman Catholic town in Florida, the desire to "conserve" a previous state of affairs leads to cultural withdrawal at its most innocent (see M. Night Shyamalan's movie, The Village, for a disturbing portrayal of retreatism), and to purgings and pogroms at its most dire (Fox TV's 24 is dealing with these pressures this season).
Just the opposite is the traditional liberal response to radical pluralism. FP and other liberals posit that we secularize. That is, he wants us to avoid talking about some of the very core practices and beliefs that differentiate us in an attempt to keep the peace. But arbitrary rules that attempt to avoid offense end up gutting the heart from real, robust conversations about the beliefs that many of us deeply hold and about the practices that guide our very lives. Sen. Obama, in his otherwise excellent speech to Sojourners last June, fell into this trap himself when he said, "Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values." By my lights, the ecumenical and inter-faith movements of the 20th century were failures for just this reason: they endeavored to have lowest-common-denominator conversations, and thus talked about things that weren't of much interest to anyone.
The third,
and I believe superior strategy for public conversation about religion, is the truly postmodern one: recognize the difference of the Other, even as you are robustly and distinctly yourself. To enter inter-religious dialogue, I've got to grow a thicker skin, for I need to be ready to answer penetrating, and even prickly questions about what I believe and how I practice it. I can neither be hypersensitive about what I'm asked, nor should I be expected to walk on eggshells when talking to others.
On the very day last week that I was receiving e-mails from FP demanding that I apologize to Mormons, I went to dinner with a bunch of friends. We all had black smudges on our foreheads, and we were compelled to describe to our waiter the increasingly foreign practice of the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. Likewise, I will unashamedly ask a Sikh man next to me on a plane why he ties his beard over his head and covers it in a turban, a Hindu woman why she wears a dot on her forehead, an orthodox Jew why he wears tassels, an old-order Mennonite woman why she covers her head, or a Mormon the reason for the sacred undergarments.
Over the past year, I've had the good fortune to make friends with some rabbis who gather under the auspices of Synagogue 3000. In our inter-faith dialogues, we have committed to speak candidly and frankly about what we believe, and not to shy away from asking each other difficult and pointed questions. We've endeavored to always give one another the benefit of the doubt, to think, "I assume he's asking that question out of love and a desire to understand me better," rather than, "I assume he is mocking my deeply held faith." This very assumption has led to some of the most enlightening conversation - and some of the most moving worship! - in which I have ever been involved.
Pluralism demands a new tack. Various "centrisms" are disastrous, and secularization is a dead end. The vast majority of human beings are deeply faithful, and as we come into closer contact with one another, we're sure to get bruised and even cut occasionally. But we need to grow thicker skins if we are going to live together in something approaching harmony and peace. Better understanding comes from asking the hard questions, not from placing some questions off-limits. 
Tony Jones is the National Coordinator for Emergent Village.
The latest news on Children's Health Insurance, Povert, Iraq, Iran Presidential politics, slavery, Church-state, North Korea, Sudan, Venezuela, and select Op-Eds. Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »Full news summary:
Childrens Health Insurance. Governors Worry Over Money for Child Health Program - "As the National Governors Association began its winter meeting, 13 governors expressed alarm on that they were about to run out of federal money for a popular program that provides health insurance to children. They appealed to Congress and the Bush administration for swift action to protect hundreds of thousands of children who could lose benefits."
Poverty. U.S. economy leaving record numbers in severe poverty - "The percentage of poor Americans who are living in severe poverty has reached a 32-year high, millions of working Americans are falling closer to the poverty line and the gulf between the nation's "haves" and "have-nots" continues to widen." Welfare State Growing Despite Overhauls - "The welfare state is bigger than ever despite a decade of policies designed to wean poor people from public aid. The number of families receiving cash benefits from welfare has plummeted since the government imposed time limits on the payments a decade ago. But other programs for the poor, including Medicaid, food stamps and disability benefits, are bursting with new enrollees."
Iraq-Congress. Murtha Stumbles on Iraq Funding Curbs - "The plan was bold: By tying President Bush's $100 billion war request to strict standards of troop safety and readiness, Democrats believed they could grab hold of Iraq war policy while forcing Republicans to defend sending troops into battle without the necessary training or equipment." War Critic Faces Test on Iraq Spending Bill- "Mr. Murtha faces an extraordinary political challenge over the next month, and some Democrats are already worried about his handling of it." Congressional Democrats Wrestle Over How to Force Bush to Alter Iraq Policy- "Congressional Democrats, divided over how to press President Bush to alter his policy in Iraq, are wrestling over whether to use the power of the purse to wind down the war, and they seem headed for a confrontation among themselves, possibly as early as next week, over a proposal to revoke the 2002 resolution authorizing the war." McConnell Threatens to Block Bid to Repeal War Resolution - "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned that a new Democratic effort to repeal the 2002 Iraq war resolution would meet the same fate as two previous efforts to limit President Bush's authority: blocked by procedural obstacles, unless Democrats relent to GOP
terms."
Iraq-military. Cleric predicts security failure - "Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr predicted that the U.S.-backed security plan for Baghdad would fail because of the involvement of U.S. forces, raising the possibility that the country's biggest militia will return to the streets to challenge the new U.S. push to secure Baghdad." Governors warn of troop buildup's impact on Guard - "Republican and Democratic governors meeting Saturday warned that President Bush's "surge" of additional troops to Iraq would put added pressure on National Guard units already stretched to their limits."
Iran. U.S. Says Raid in Iraq Supports Claim on Iran- "A raid on a Shiite weapons cache in the southern city of Hilla one week ago is providing what American officials call the best evidence yet that the deadliest roadside bombs in Iraq are manufactured in Iran, but critics contend that the forensic case remains circumstantial and inferential." U.N. calls U.S. data on Iran's nuclear aims unreliable - "Although international concern is growing about Iran's nuclear program and its regional ambitions, diplomats here say most U.S. intelligence shared with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency has proved inaccurate and none has led to significant discoveries inside Iran." Iran defiant on nuclear programme - "Iran will not go back on its controversial nuclear programme, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says. A day before leading UN members discuss further sanctions against Tehran, he compared Iran's programme to a train with no brakes and no reverse gear."
THE REDIRECTION - (by Seymour M. Hersh) - "In the past few months, as the situation in Iraq has deteriorated, the Bush Administration, in both its public diplomacy and its covert operations, has significantly shifted its Middle East strategy. The "redirection," as some inside the White House have called the new strategy, has brought the United States closer to an open confrontation with Iran and, in parts of the region, propelled it into a widening sectarian conflict between Shiite and Sunni Muslims." US Generals 'Will Quit' If Bush Orders Iran Attack - "SOME of America's most senior military commanders are prepared to resign if the White House orders a military strike against Iran, according to highly placed defence and intelligence sources."
Presidential politics. Vilsack Ends Bid for Presidency- "Former Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa ended his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination, saying the crowded field had made it impossible for him to raise enough money to remain competitive." Vilsack, First Democrat In, Is Quickly Out "This process has become to a great extent about money -- a lot of money," Vilsack said. "And it is clear to me that we would not be able to continue to raise money in the amounts necessary to sustain not just a campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire but a campaign across this country. So it is money and only money that is the reason that we are leaving today." Christian Right Labors to Find '08 Candidate- "A group of influential Christian conservatives and their allies emerged from a private meeting at a Florida resort this month dissatisfied with the Republican presidential field and uncertain where to turn."
Slavery.Sharpton's Ancestor Was Owned by Thurmond's - "The Rev. Al Sharpton, the prominent civil rights activist, is descended from a slave owned by relatives of the late senator and one-time segregationist Strom Thurmond, a genealogical study released Sunday reported." Virginia Apologizes for Role in Slavery - "Meeting on the grounds of the former Confederate Capitol, the Virginia General Assembly voted unanimously Saturday to express "profound regret" for the state's role in slavery. Sponsors of the resolution say they know of no other state that has apologized for slavery."
Church-state. Ban on Prison Religious Program Challenged: U.S. Judge Ruled Evangelical Rehabilitation Effort in Iowa Is Unconstitutional - "Rooted in evangelical Christianity and supported by more than $1.5 million in public funds, the method of the rehabilitation program is clear enough. A key question is its constitutionality. A trio of appellate judges, including former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, is reviewing a lower court's decision that the program violates the separation of church and state."
North Korea. North Korea invites U.N. nuclear monitor - "In a fresh sign of easing tensions, North Korean officials invited the chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency to visit Pyongyang next month to develop plans aimed at dismantling the nation's nuclear weapons program."
Sudan. Sudan's Extremes Symbolize Rifts - "The ruling party in Khartoum, they say, hoards power and wealth at the expense of the rest of the country, physically the largest in Africa. And in the past several years, the new oil wealth and investment pouring into the city of 6 million have sharpened the contrast between center and periphery."
Venezuela. Venezuela Spending on Arms Soars to World's Top Ranks- "Venezuela's arms spending has climbed to more than $4 billion in the past two years, transforming the nation into Latin America's largest weapons buyer and placing it ahead of other major pu
rchasers in international arms markets like Pakistan and Iran."
Op-Ed. Diplomacy, Not War, With Iran - (Bill Richardson) - "Saber-rattling is not a good way to get the Iranians to cooperate. But it is a good way to start a new war -- a war that would be a disaster for the Middle East, for the United States and for the world. A war that, furthermore, would destroy what little remains of U.S. credibility in the community of nations. Abetter approach would be for the United States to engage directly with the Iranians and to lead a global diplomatic offensive to prevent them from building nuclear weapons."
Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, "When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat." The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. ... I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day. - Amos 8:4-10 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail
To a nation bent on violence, anyone who claims to be speaking for God's kingdom and who advocates non-violent means as the way to it is making a very deep and dangerous political statement.
- N.T. Wright
From "The New Testament and the State" + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail
Friday, February 23, 2007
 Yesterday we had a meeting at the Iranian Foreign Ministry headquarters, in some of the most beautiful and historic buildings I have ever visited. I wish I were able to send a picture to show you all the beautiful architecture and attention to detail in the craftsmanship of the building. Our meeting was with the Deputy Foreign Minister for Europe and the United States, a very senior level official in the Iranian government. The meeting was held in a grand ballroom of the main building at the Foreign Ministry, and we were told that we were the first American delegation to have an official meeting in this building since the Islamic Revolution in 1978. The meeting did have a certain formality and historic feeling to it. The amazing thing was that the Deputy Foreign Minister spent over two hours with our delegation, both making statements and asking questions. There were a couple important lessons that I took away from this meeting. First of all, the Deputy Foreign Minister is just a few months younger than me, so I felt an immediate connection with him. As he spoke of the history of relations between our nations, it was clear that the narrative and experiences he was speaking from were very different from my own. For him, the relationship between Iran and the United States begins in 1953, when the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) helped to overthrow their elected leader (Mossadegh) and install the Shah. For Dr. Jalili and most of the Iranians we have spoken to here, there is a great deal of pain associated with the 25-year reign of the Shah that ended in 1978 in the Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini. The Shah was a very oppressive dictator who ruled with an iron fist. As he was telling this story, I was reminded of the tour we had been on the day before of the Shah's "summer palace," where we saw opulence and grandeur beyond description. That image was contrasted with the home where Ayatollah Khomeini lived before and after the revolution and up until his death. It was a very small home with simple furnishings. Quite a contrast between the two most recent leaders. Dr. Jalili talked about his feeling as a 14-year-old, being set free from the oppression of the Shah during the revolution. For him, the revolution was a momentous event in his life and the history of his country, a day worthy of celebration and thanksgiving.  As he told his story, memories of the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979 began to flood my mind. I could see the images of American citizens being held hostage, with blindfolds, paraded in front of televisions cameras. I remembered seeing Ted Koppel on "Nightline" every night, starting the show with "The Iranian Hostage Crisis: Day 123," and continuing on for 444 days. I can still remember the yellow ribbons on trees, cars, and buildings all over the country, and prayers being offered up for the American hostages every time we were in church. I don't think I have ever realized how traumatizing those events were for me, and how seared into my memory and psyche they are. How they serve as a filter, even today, 28 years later, to the way I (and I surmise many other Americans) see Iran. It is the narrative that informs my thinking about Iran today and the relationship between our nations. What I have been thinking about the last few days is not whose narrative is right and whose is wrong. In this case, I'm not sure the facts of these past events are as important as the ways Dr. Jalili and I experienced them. The truth is they are both right, because both of us have a right to tell our own stories. What is clear to me, however, is that we must find a way to tell our stories and to have our stories heard. And then we must begin to write a new narrative together
. One that comes out of humility, mutual respect, and shared understanding. I am convinced it is the only path for a true and lasting peace with justice. May God help both our nations and peoples to begin the healing and reconciliation process so we may avoid war and build that lasting peace. Jeff Carr is the Chief Operations Officer for Sojourners/Call to Renewal. Learn more about this delegation at http://www.irandelegation.org/.
 "Rocking the Boat," on the ordination of Catholic women in the March 2007 issue of Sojourners magazine, was an article I’ve been wanting to write for years. The ceremony was held by the international organization Roman Catholic Womenpriests, which has held five ordination ceremonies since 2002.
As you may have heard, Catholic women can’t be priests.
I’ve never been a Catholic made in the image and likeness of the Pope. I’m a failed Catholic, a proud Catholic, a free-thinking Catholic, a dogged Catholic, a confessional Catholic, an angry Catholic, a cradle Catholic, and a Catholic woman.
I come from generations of Catholics – with great-great uncles who founded Catholic parishes, an Irish Catholic great-grandmother who was barred from entering through the front doors of businesses, great-great grandparents who were French and Spanish-speaking Louisiana Cajun Catholics.
I could no more change being Catholic than I could alter my DNA. Nor have I ever wanted to.
As a Catholic and a woman, I’ve wrestled with my church’s custom on women in sacramental ministry. I’ve fought it. I’ve preached against it. I’ve studied its history. I remain biblically, theologically, and (let’s just say it) genetically unconvinced that the “ontological” difference between women and men establishes women as secondary to men or prevents women from carrying out the sacramental ministries of the church.
So, for me, it was a profoundly spiritual experience in July 2006 to attend the first ordination in the United States of Roman Catholic women to the priesthood and diaconate. In doing so, the Catholics present aided in breaking canon law 1024, which states, "Only a baptized man validly receives sacred ordination."
I was honored to meet the ordained women and especially enjoyed speaking with the women bishops – Patricia Fresen, Gisela Forster, and Ida Raming – who have risked so much for the future of the church they love.
Many non-Catholics may not realize that Catholics are forbidden by the Pope to even speak about the issue of women’s ordination. While there clearly is disagreement on whether Catholic women should be ordained (and for a short, rigorous, debate of the sides by two excellent women see Ordaining Women: Two Views), ecclesial gag rules are rarely the right tool for advancing human dignity.
Rose Marie Berger is an Associate Editor and Poetry Editor for Sojourners magazine.
The latest news on Iran, Iraq- in the Senate and on the home front-, immigration, East Africa, and New Orleans. Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »Full news summary:
Iran. Iran's nuclear effort in high gear, U.N. says - "Iran has accelerated its program to enrich uranium and defied a United Nations Security Council deadline to suspend nuclear activities, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said. The report by Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed that Iran recently began installing the first of 3,000 gas centrifuges in a heavily fortified, underground chamber at its Natanz plant and that it planned to "bring them gradually into operation by May 2007." Rice Warns Iran It Risks Further U.N. Sanctions - "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran that it will face further punishment and isolation if it forges ahead with efforts to develop a uranium-enrichment program, but she said the United States and other powers are prepared to restart talks aimed at ending the standoff if Iran suspends its most controversial nuclear activities." Iran Expanding Nuclear Effort, Agency Reports- "In open defiance of the United Nations, Iran is steadily expanding its efforts to enrich uranium, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported Thursday. In response, the Bush administration immediately pressed for more severe sanctions against the country, at a moment of greatly increased tensions between Washington and Tehran." US intelligence 'wrong' on Iran - "Much of the intelligence on Iran's nuclear facilities provided to UN inspectors by American spy agencies has turned out to be unfounded, according to diplomatic sources in Vienna."
Arab States, Wary of Iran, Add to Their Arsenals but Still Lean on the U.S.- "As fears grow over the escalating confrontation between Iran and the West, Arab states across the Persian Gulf have begun a rare show of muscle flexing, publicly advertising a shopping spree for new weapons and openly discussing their security concerns."
Iraq-Senate. Senate Democrats move to limit the US mission in Iraq - "Determined to challenge President Bush, Senate Democrats are drafting legislation to limit the mission of US troops in Iraq, effectively revoking the broad authority Congress granted in 2002,"Democrats Seek to Repeal 2002 War Authorization - "House Democrats have pulled back from efforts to link additional funding for the war to strict troop-readiness standards after the proposal came under withering fire from Republ
icans and from their party's own moderates." Senate Democrats Keep Pressure on Bush With Plan to Limit Iraq Mission to Counterterrorism- "Senior Senate Democrats, stepping up their confrontation with President Bush over Iraq policy, are preparing legislation that would limit the role of United States troops there to counterterrorism efforts and prohibit them from interceding in sectarian violence." Skip to next paragraph
Iraq-the home front. Long Iraq Tours Can Make Home a Trying Front- "… chaos and loneliness of wartime deployments are one of the toughest, least discussed byproducts of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and loved ones have endured long, sometimes repeated separations that test the fragility of their relationships in unforeseen ways."
East Africa. U.S. Used Bases in Ethiopia to Hunt Al Qaeda in Africa- "The American military quietly waged a campaign from Ethiopia last month to capture or kill top leaders of Al Qaeda in the Horn of Africa, including the use of an airstrip in eastern Ethiopia to mount airstrikes against Islamic militants in neighboring Somalia."
New Orleans.In New Orleans, Progress at Last in the Lower Ninth Ward - "The first new houses built in the Lower Ninth Ward since Hurricane Katrina were turned over to their owners on Thursday, creating a small island of hope in a sea of ruin."
Immigration. U.S. charges immigrants, janitor firm - "In a sweep across 17 states and the District of Columbia, immigration officials descended on popular eateries like Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood, arrested almost 200 illegal immigrants working for a janitorial company and filed criminal charges against its top three officials."
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.
- Luke 6:36-38 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail
Those called by God to proclaim the good news need to be both faithful and courageous. Our prophetic call, however, does not come without a cost. Managing the enmity of foes and friends requires a teachable spirit and contentment with failure. We are not usually in a very teachable mood until life has whipped us into an attitutde to learn and a willingness to change; then God can get our undivided attention. - Charles G. Adams excerpt from "The Priestly Faithful and Prophetically Courageous" (essay). + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail
Thursday, February 22, 2007
 We have been keeping quite a schedule here in Iran, meeting with various religious leaders, government officials, and visiting historic and cultural sites. We have had two dialogue sessions with Muslim clerics in the last two days, both of which were very interesting. The first dialogue was at the Center for Islamic Culture and Information headquarters, in Tehran, and a significant number of media outlets were in attendance. It operated more like a theological conference, with three presentations made by each side. It was quite formal, but I was particularly fascinated by how well Muslim religious leaders understood Christianity. They quoted liberally from the Bible and made many links to corresponding verses from the Quran.
One of the leaders said that he had read the Bible from cover to cover 10-20 times in the course of his study, but he wondered if any of us had ever read the entire Quran. It was a fair question, and one that actually made me feel somewhat guilty. As I began to think about the primacy of the role of religion in Iran, and how much of their nation's value system comes out of the Quran, I began to think about whether or not you can truly understand a people if you have not read their holy book. Could people truly know me as a person, and understand me, if they had no real knowledge of the Bible? These conversations, as well as many others, have also made it clear that the Iranians are very interested in being respected, but feel like they have not received much respect from the West. Everyone we have talked to has expressed this pain and frustration, and yet they have been so gracious, and continue to want to reach out and build bridges with us, in spite of feeling disrespected. It's a value I think we as Christians in America could learn from our Islamic brothers and sisters in Iran, and it's a value that would go a long way in helping us solve some of the differences between our nations. Jeff Carr is the Chief Operations Officer for Sojourners/Call to Renewal. Learn more about this delegation at www.irandelegation.org.
 On Friday, Jim and I are hoping to take Luke to see the new movie Amazing Grace, which tells the story of William Wilberforce, John Newton, and the overcoming of the slave trade in Britain. It seems that Lent is an appropriate time for its release, because on Ash Wednesday we are called to humble repentance. We are asked to reflect on our inadequacies, our weaknesses, our temptations, the areas in which we fall short and fail – even historically. But ultimately, we are asked to do so in the light of God's grace … amazing grace. What can be very difficult in Lent is the wilderness. The wilderness within, or the wilderness we find ourselves in. We may be led quite involuntarily into the wilderness … and not just in Lent. What we call in spiritual speak "the time of testing" can actually feel like desperation, a loss of hope. We may cry out, "where is God?" in the face of random or meaningless suffering, immense stress, depression, illness, debilitating grief, war, and tragic death. Reading about the temptations of Jesus, his "time of testing" in the wilderness might offer some guidance. All of Jesus' replies to the devil come from Deuteronomy 6-8 and each temptation is a temptation to sin against the great commandment in Deuteronomy 6:5, to love God "with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." Firstly, we read that Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread. There's a great humanity about this temptation. You have to remember now that he was hungry, he was exhausted; he hadn't eaten for 40 days! This was a temptation to security. Immediate gratification, the quick fix, the easy answer. My kids know all about that temptation! So do I. In my constant efforts to be efficient, I am always looking for the easy instant solution. On a purely domestic level, it's so tempting to buy the ready-to-serve juice pouches, the individual applesauce pots ... but all that excess packaging! Much of life is like that. We go to great lengths to have an easy life. It can be a daily temptation for us not to discipline ourselves in areas of greed, materialism, or even sensuality. Health and wealth – we want it now. We want God to speak to us now, to guide us now, to heal us now. And Jesus is saying: No, have patience. Be in the wilderness and discover how to rely on God. Simplify your lifestyle, reject the easy answers, and the wilderness journey will start to teach you something about trust in God and how to serve God with your heart, your soul, and your mind. The second temptation was to power and wealth over and against loving God. Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and said, "I will give you their glory and all this authority." He's promised of "all the kingdoms of the world" – if he will only bow down to the voice behind the principalities and powers. This is a particularly American temptation, the notion that America is indispensable, the one remaining superpower that is needed by the world. George Bush has given us plenty of reason to believe that he puts his hope in America rather than God and indeed can confuse the two. In his address delivered on the anniversary of September 11, he quoted from John's gospel, "And the light shines in the darkness. And the darkness has not overcome it." The trouble is that he was not referring to the light of the world, Jesus Christ. Rather, he was referring to America and its ideals of freedom and democracy as the light and hope of the world. It's easy to apply this to the administration and to George Bush, but we should also consider how it challenges us – this is especially true for the third temptation. The third temptation was to the spectacular. Satan took Jesus to Jerusalem, placed him on the pinnacle of the temple and said, "If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down … the angels will bear you up." This is the temptation to fame, or to the spectacular. Almost four years ago to the day, as many of you were working very hard to stop the war in Iraq from happening, the official Pentagon language was that an attack would leave Iraq and the world in a state of "shock and awe." Three thousand bombs will be dropped in the first week. It doesn't matter about the weather, we'll amaze them with our technology ... And America did the spectacular. But it was the devil's temptation, and so much more evil abounds right now because the administration succumbed to that particular temptation. God's way of transformation is not spectacle, but the patient enduring of the wilderness and the cross. As I said, this temptation can hit home personally too. We can all be tempted to seek God in the spectacular and not in the struggle and the suffering. It's also a challenge for Sojourners, particularly in the face of success, to remain humble. In his Lenten reflection last year, Jim said, Humility is difficult for people who think they are, or want to be, "radical Christians." Humility is difficult when you're always calling other people – the church, the nation, and the world – to stop doing the things you think are wrong and start doing the things you think are right. Humility is difficult for the bearers of radical messages. When we're always calling other people to repent and change, it's not always easy to hear that message for ourselves. I want to suggest that there is a real and very deep tension between humility and the prophetic vocation.
We can be tempted by the idols of materialism, power and spectacle, in the forms of war, wealth, prestige, and celebrity, just to name a few. But Jesus said, "Away with you Satan! For it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only God.'" Then the tempter left him, and will leave us, too, if we stand our ground passing with Jesus through the wilderness. 
Joy Carroll Wallis was one of the first women priests ordained in the Church of England, and is the author of The Woman Behind the Collar , published by Crossroads. She is married to Jim Wallis and is the mother of their two young sons, Luke and Jack. This article is adapted from a message she delivered during Sojourners' staff Ash Wednesday chapel service.
 Adam Taylor recently reflected on his " Pilgrimage to the Lower Ninth Ward," and I've been wanting to tell my own story since October, but the timing has never seemed quite right. Now, with Black History Month coming to a close, and much attention focused on the recovery progress of New Orleans because of Mardi Gras, it seems like a good moment to reflect on attitudes toward racial tensions and disparities at home and abroad, most recently revealed by Hurricane Katrina. Readers of SojoMail may remember that in July 2006 Sojourners/Call to Renewal sent a team of volunteers on a rebuilding mission to Biloxi, Mississippi. You can see images and stories from that trip in my Voices of Katrina presentation. I was able to take another trip the Gulf Coast in October, this time with a team from my church in support of an amazing ministry in New Orleans called Urban Impact. I've incorporated photos from that trip into a new presentation titled Songs of Hope.I'm one of those people who's been on half a dozen short-term missions trips but worries that they're often little more than high-priced field trips for wealthy church folk. Often the image of the white missionary attempting to bring "hope" to "dark" corners of the earth prevails. Any reputable relief and development organization could take that money and effort a lot farther though local churches and partners. Many people who sponsor such trips are honest enough to admit that much of the benefit is for the gringos (or muzungus, depending on the continent): to have their horizons broadened, their comfort zones stretched, and their dependence on God deepened. These are good goals, but I still want to vomit when the most profound insight gained from the whole experience is, "It really makes you appreciate what we have." It should make you question, just how did we get all that we have? Could it have anything to do with a history of exploiting, oppressing, and actively impoverishing the very countries where we're now doing missions? One also hopes that we could find just as many opportunities for service within 100 miles of home. Yet in spite of my critiques, I've participated in several such trips - to Honduras after Hurricane Mitch, to the Ugandan border with Sudan - always for what I believe is the best reason to enter such places of suffering: to listen, learn, and be informed by these places, and then to bring back stories that will inspire others to support sustainable development and ultimately justice - not mere hit-and-run charity. Mennonite Central Committee has even promoted the more honest concept of "Learning Tours" - which is how I traveled to Colombia in 2003.  All of that to say, that the Gulf Coast region after Katrina is a very different scenario. With such vast devastation - and more than year later, it's still plenty devastated - what is really needed are thousands of pe
ople to make a national pilgrimage of repentance to help rebuild. Whomever you prefer to blame, our nation failed these communities, both historically and in this moment of crisis. And as was so starkly seen on rooftops and in arenas, communities of color were disproportionately affected. Sending money to organizations already working there is good, but materials and local contractors are so expensive that infusions of eager volunteers are far more appropriate on the Gulf Coast than in a more typical overseas mission context. In this case, your money generally can't do more than your actual presence. Without many of the typical barriers of language and culture found in overseas projects, real exchange and real relationships are that much more possible - as opposed to a clique of church teens jetting to Peru and back in a bubble of privilege. Certainly, there are still issues of cultural sensitivity. Privilege is problematic in any context. People who've lost everything do not need lectures from well-meaning, middle-class suburbanites about how to responsibly spend their FEMA emergency funds. They need solidarity, and a listening ear. And God forbid you should try to pull a James 2:15-17 - we need you to get your hands dirty. On this trip in particular, Urban Impact provided several moments of teaching, educating our group about the government response to Katrina (or lack thereof), the history of inequality in their community, and their desire to seek God's justice based on Isaiah 58 and Jeremiah 22:16 - all the while modeling a multi-ethnic congregation based on loving your neighbor. (I'm sure it's not perfect - no church is - but it provides a real challenge to many of our more complacent congregations.) I anticipate comments about the life-transforming experiences that are only possible internationally, and about how many missions organizations are providing the kind of teaching I've just described at Urban Impact. Wonderful. Both my finacée and I would cite such experiences abroad as being pivotal points in our pursuit of God's call to do justice. I just really, really, really want everybody to go to New Orleans, Biloxi, or anywhere on the Gulf Coast where people are still in need, and see that folks much closer to home are just as worthy of your time and money, and in this case, your work and presence may actually be their best - or only - option. + Click here for the new multimedia presentation, Songs of HopeRyan Beiler is the Web Editor for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
The latest news on Iraq-National Guard, British troops,- immigration, Iran, democratic candidates, immigration, Menchu to run for president, hunger, Wilberforce movie, and select Op-Eds. Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »Full news summary:
Iraq-British troops to leave. Britain to Trim Iraq Force by 1,600 in Coming Months - "Prime Minister Tony Blair announced Wednesday that up to 1,600 of the roughly 7,100 British troops in southern Iraq would begin to withdraw in coming months, a sharp contrast to the continuing American troop buildup in Baghdad." Ally's Timing Is Awkward for Bush - "As the British announced the beginning of their departure from Iraq yesterday, President Bush's top foreign policy aide proclaimed it "basically a good-news story." Yet for an already besieged White House, the decision was doing a good job masquerading as a bad-news story." Why the British are scaling back in Iraq - "Britain's decision to pull 1,600 troops out of Iraq by spring, touted by U.S. and British leaders as a turning point in Iraqi sovereignty, was widely seen Wednesday as a telling admission that the British military could no longer sustain simultaneous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The British military is approaching "operational failure," former defense staff chief Charles Guthrie warned this week." Weakened Blair begins Iraq pullout - "Prime Minister Tony Blair's announcement Wednesday that Britain would begin bringing its troops home from Iraq is less a reflection of progress there than part of Blair's choreographed departure from Downing Street, according to politicians and analysts."
Iraq-National Guard. National Guard May Undertake Iraq Duty Early - "The Pentagon is planning to send more than 14,000 National Guard troops back to Iraq next year, shortening their time between deployments to meet the demands of President Bush's buildup,"
Democratic candidates. Clinton, Obama slug it out early - "In a sudden, and early, flash of negative campaigning in the Democratic presidential campaign, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday demanded that Senator Barack Obama of Illinois denounce one of his top fund-raisers, entertainment mogul David Geffen, after Geffen called Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, practiced liars." Clinton, Obama Camps' Feud Is Out in the Open - "An increasingly acrimonious competition between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton to enlist the Democratic Party's leading fundraisers and operatives burst into the open yesterday, overshadowing what was
billed as the presidential campaign's first gathering of candidates in Nevada." Democratic Rivals Push Positions on Iraq War Into Spotlight - "Two Democratic presidential rivals of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton applied more pressure on her over Iraq on Wednesday, extolling the virtue of admitting mistakes about the war-which she has not done-and comparing politicians who do not with President Bush."
Immigration. Senate illegals bill near complete - "Senators and lobbyists are putting the final touches on a comprehensive immigration-reform bill that includes an easier citizenship path for illegal aliens and weaker enforcement provisions than were in the highly criticized legislation that the Senate approved last year."
Iran. Still defiant, Iran advances nuclear work - "Despite the threat of new sanctions, Iran is advancing work at its largest nuclear facility and has informed international inspectors in writing that it will not comply with a United Nations order to suspend the program," Iran defies uranium deadline from UN - "Iran on Wednesday called for talks with the United States but, despite a UN Security Council deadline, did not budge on council demands that it mothball its uranium enrichment program or face harsher sanctions."
Menchu to run for president. Peace prize winner to run for president - "Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu on Wednesday announced that she will run for the presidency of Guatemala in the country's September elections, a move likely to fuel talk about an Indian resurgence in Latin American politics."
Hunger. Group pushes to feed the children - "The number of kids going hungry in Ohio is on the rise even though there's money to put food on their plates, according to a nonprofit group that studies child hunger in the state. … The Columbus-based group released its annual report on child hunger in Ohio, showing that more than 300,000 schoolchildren who ate federally subsidized lunches did not get subsidized breakfasts or summer meals and snacks during the last school year. That left about $84 million in federal hunger aid untapped,"
Wilberforce movie. Evangelicals rally around - and disagree on - 'Grace' - "In the 1780s, a Briton named William Wilberforce had a religious conversion that led to his life's crowning achievement: persuading Parliament over 20 hard-fought years to abolish the slave trade. Today, Wilberforce's fellow evangelicals in America are recasting their hero's faith for a 21st-century audience - and stirring debate in the process."
Op-Ed. Short on questions of faith (Paul Waldman, Boston Globe) - Listen to candidates talk about religion and they seem to be following two rules:
1) Profess that nothing is more important to you than your religion.
2) Be as vague as possible about your religion."
Nonviolence confronts systematic injustice with active love, but refuses to retaliate with further violence under any circumstances. In order to halt the vicious cycles of violence, it requires a willing acceptance of suffering and death rath than inflicting suffering or death on anyone else.
- John Dear excerpt from "Living Peace: A Spirituality of Contemplation and Action." + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Kos, you have responded to my post on the Left and religion from yesterday by saying, "Huh?" I have no idea what Wallis is talking about. Isn't his point exactly what I wrote? Maybe I'm missing something, but it's as if Wallis didn't bother reading my post and merely heard about it second-hand.
Atrios likewise expressed frustration: As I always want to scream when Wallis writes, WHO ARE THESE DEMOCRATS and how did they ... "manage to appear hostile to faith and to people in faith communities."
It seems like we're talking past each other, so let me try to clear up the confusion. Kos, of course I read your post. I liked it and that's why I responded. Yes, I think we agree on 99% of this issue and I'm glad we're mostly on the same page here, which is why I said: I read your piece, Religion, values, and politics, and liked a lot of what you said. But I have a few responses to it. You and I have discussed this before, and you are clearly not attacking religion per se, as too many secular progressives have done for a long time.
I was trying to make a distinction between those, like you, who are doing a better job regarding religion, and those who are not. Perhaps I should have been more clear, but I was simply asserting that not everyone in the secular Left agrees with you, and that the problem is the more strident fundamentalist elements on both sides of the secular-religious divide – those in our respective camps with whom we have influence. And we each have a responsibility within those camps – which is I lump myself in with the religious folks who can appear exclusive while proposing my deal: How about if progressive religious folks, like me, make real sure that we never say, or even suggest, that values have to come from faith – and progressive secular folks, like you, never suggest that progressive values can't come from faith (and perhaps concede that, in fact, they often do).
It's unfortunate that my post has been interpreted by some as personal criticism of you and by extension the entire Left blogosphere. That was not my intention. I've been asked to name names of the worst secular fundamentalist offenders that I'm complaining about, but I have done my best to take the high road – which is why I addressed my post to you, someone I consider to be an ally, especially for creating faith-friendly spaces like Street Prophets.
However, we both know that there are powerful voices on the Left that have no tolerance for faith. As I said, I won't name names, but here are just a very few specifics: I've been attacked publicly by leaders of major progressive organizations who've said that the Left has no need for religion. They've said that religion, "whether conservative or progressive" should have no place in politics. "It's still religion," they say. I remember one particularly lovely comment from after I'd done a talk at a progressive political gathering (with me still in the room), saying that the kind of religion I subscribe to
"puts signs out in front of churches that say 'Jews and gays need not apply – just white Aryan men!'" That kind of diatribe says much more about that person's own experience and view of religion than it does about my track record over three decades. Friends on the boards of major progressive publications tell me they have fought this kind of intolerance of religion for years. A few brave writers in those magazines, who aren't even religious themselves, have labeled this "shooting ourselves in the foot," which is where I got the title for my response to your piece. Friends who've tried to help the Democratic candidates understand religion have been marginalized and disregarded – until after embarrassing losses. I've had Democratic members of Congress who are people of faith tell me for years that they felt marginalized within their party as people of faith; that they were not really allowed to speak as who they were as people of faith. And for those who don't think the Democrats have appeared hostile to religion, read the polls. That can't just all be blamed on Fox News. Gratefully, much of that is now changing, and dramatically. The media is now featuring more diverse religious voices, including progressive ones. "Progressive evangelical" used to be thought a misnomer, but now it's becoming a movement, as a new generation of evangelical pastors and students leave the Religious Right. And, very significantly, the Democrats are doing much better at connecting issues with values and faith with politics. In the House, for example, Catholic Democrats have defended their progressive agenda on matters like poverty by directly citing Catholic social teaching, etc. But even here, some of the progressive religious activists who have been working hard on helping the Democrats in changing their attitudes toward religion, and doing so successfully, have also now come under attack from secular progressives who clearly don't want Democrats to be more "faith friendly." And when Barack Obama gave one of the best speeches this capital has ever seen on how faith can enter the public square in ways that are entirely consistent with and respectful of our democracy, pluralism and diversity, he was pretty harshly attacked by the Left blogosphere. I think that is unfortunate, and frankly, it makes religious progressives mad. My post in response to yours was an effort at peacemaking, mutual respect, and better collaboration. That is has been interpreted otherwise makes me sad. Let me conclude with a story. I was asked to address the annual meeting of the Democratic state party chairs, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, just a week or so after the election. Howard Dean welcomed me warmly and said we and other religious progressives had really helped the party by addressing the religion and "moral values" issues, that they had listened to us. I spoke to the group about how the outcome of the election was more an "opportunity" than a victory, because the things the American people voted for and against had yet to change. I strongly urged a clear populist and progressive agenda, and spoke against a soul-less centrism that many others seemed to advocate. The response in the discussion period and in personal conversations afterwards was almost like a "camp meeting" with Democratic officials eager to say "I'm a Presbyterian," "I'm a Baptist," "I'm a Catholic," "I'm a Jew," "I'm a Unitarian." Everybody was "testifying," as we say. The level of comfort about being "religious" for these Democrats was very new according to almost everyone there. But here is the relevant thing for our dialogue: Several people spoke in the general session and came up to me later to say that they were "secular" and not religious at all. Each one said, "The way you talked about this subject didn't make me feel left out, or just kicked to the curb.
You called for a moral discourse on politics, not just a religious one, and said we were all needed for that." Kos, I hear that virtually every time I'm out speaking, where "secular" progressives always show up. Consistently, they thank me afterwards for making them feel included too. That is very important to me: Sojourners has been building bridges between religious and secular progressives long before there was a blogosphere, and I have never wanted to "insult our secular progressive allies" as somebody accused me of on your site. My intention in responding to you was the exact opposite – to continue to dialogue and help the process of healing between progressive religious and seculars along. If there were ways my wording failed to do that, I am genuinely sorry. And I certainly wasn't coming after you, as some of your readers thought who rose up in your defense. I suppose it all just shows how important this dialogue is. As recent campaigns show, these realities are changing significantly, but only due to the efforts of folks fighting an uphill battle against entrenched attitudes and popular perceptions. I'm glad for the efforts of folks like you and the progressive religious blogs I have on my blog roll, but I think we can all acknowledge that there's still plenty of work to be done.
 This week, Christians around the world begin Lent – the 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and repentance leading to Easter. In seminary, one of my friends eagerly awaited his yearly celebration of Lent, calling it his “favorite church season.” Since Lent starts with a morbid reminder of human mortality – “remember you are dust and to dust you shall return” – I always wondered if he needed therapy more than ashes on his forehead. As Christmas faded into fond memory, I dreaded Lent’s approach. Only it stood between Easter and me. Forty days of guilt whenever I ate chocolate. A few years ago, I stopped struggling with my bad attitude toward Lent. I gave up Lent for Lent. I skipped Ash Wednesday, made no promises to God, and instituted no rigorous prayer schedule. I wanted to enjoy one March with no onerous spiritual obligations. An odd thing happened, however, during my Lenten non-observance. I began to understand and experience Lent in new and deeper ways. When freed from expectations and requirements, sermons and scriptures spoke to my soul. By the end of Lent, I found myself willingly attending extra services, including two Good Friday liturgies. On Easter Sunday, the resurrection broke over me with unexpected power – with love joyfully overcoming the intense introspection that built during my non-Lenten weeks. Giving up Lent for Lent taught me a paradoxical principle found in many faiths: that which we give up returns to us. When we cast our bread upon the water, it comes back multiplied. Jesus taught that to save our lives, we must lose them. The last shall be first in God’s Kingdom. The meek shall inherit the earth. Scoffers and believers alike have often misunderstood these teachings. For a secular person, giving up to gain might appear as either reverse self-centeredness or stupidity. And believers sometimes treat this paradox as a magic cure-all, a kind of spiritual excuse to avoid practicing justice. (After all, the poor can look forward to heaven; why help them now?) But both miss the point. When we cling tightly to our own desires, we struggle and suffer. When we let go of these desires, God can move us toward deeper spiritual understanding and compassion. Our desire melts into God’s desire for shalom. This spiritual paradox was enshrined by 19th century evangelicals – and later borrowed by Twelve Step groups – as “Let Go and Let God.” When I was younger, I heard this spiritual catch phrase in church and thought it superficial. Through the years, however, I have learned the essential truth expressed in this oft-repeated mantra. To give up, to surrender to God, is neither popular nor easy. And you cannot make someone else do it – that is oppression – and has often been misused to control others. But surrender is a truthful way of life, the way that Jesus preached and modeled, the way that he called his followers to. Buddhists have sometimes enacted this principle better than Christians, teaching that attachment is the source of human suffering and detachment is the path to fulfillment. When I gave up Lent for Lent, it become clear that I needed to give up the idea that certain religious disciplines would bring me closer to God. This belief had plagued me since I was an evangelical teenager struggling with my congregation’s expectation for a “daily quiet time.” Never able to maintain this program of spiritual rigor, I felt like a Christian failure. When I finally admitted that I could not do it, I experienced a new freedom in prayer. Giving up led me to a richer and deeper connection of God in prayer, and led me to practice prayer in ways that resonate with who God has made me to be – unique, meaningful, and transformative. Not a program, but a way of being. Lent tempts Christians to try to fulfill other peopl
e’s expectations of what spirituality should look like, usually related to some sort of religious achievement or self-mortification. But Lent is neither success nor punishment. Ultimately, Lent urges us to let go of self-deception and pleasing others. These 40 days ask only one thing of us: to find our truest selves on a journey toward God. Giving up Lent for Lent meant giving up guilt. Although I have been back to church for Ash Wednesday many times since I gave up Lent for Lent, that year freed me from spiritual tyranny and helped me understand Easter anew. The journey to Easter is not a mournful denial of our humanity. Rather, Lent embraces our humanity – our deepest fears, our doubts, our mistakes and sins, our grief, and our pain. Lent is also about joy, self-discovery, connecting with others, and doing justice. Lent is not morbid church services. It is about being fully human and knowing God’s presence in the crosshairs of blessing and bane. And it is about waiting, waiting in those crosshairs, for resurrection.  Diana Butler Bass ( www.dianabutlerbass.com) is the author of Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming the Faith (Harper San Francisco).
 OK, I'll be honest. I'm ambivalent about Mormonism, and, be it Mitt Romney or any other Mormon, I'm ambivalent about the idea of voting for a Mormon. And I'll bet that a lot of Christians, if they're honest too, agree with me. My ambivalence stems, I suppose, from my ignorance. I'm skeptical of a religion that admonishes its adherents to wear sacred undergarments (Andrew Sullivan caused quite a dust-up when he blogged about this last December), that didn't allow non-whites to be clergy until 1978, and that follows the teachings of Joseph Smith, whose scriptures I find highly dubious. I don't agree with the Mormon teaching that Father, Son, and Spirit are three distinct gods and that the Father and Son currently have bodies, nor with the teaching that only those who achieve the "Celestial Kingdom" will be united with their families in eternity. There's a lot to be dubious about. But listen, I get it. I know that much of orthodox Christianity is irrational, too: I eat flesh and drink blood every Sunday. As Andrew Sullivan has written compellingly in his recent debates with atheist Sam Harris, orthodox Christianity does require faith, but it does not neccessitate an abandonment of reason. So I'm walking a fine line between what I consider reasonable (orthodox Christianity) and what I consider unreasonable (orthodox Mormonism). What does require an abandonment of reason is biblical literalism, a.k.a., fundamentalism. And, as with any religion, there are literalist Mormons and non-literalist Mormons - I've met some of each. The non-literalist Mormons tend to roll their eyes and say, "No, of course I don't believe that dark-skinned peoples are cursed by God, even though the Book of Mormon says that." That's pretty much how I respond when someone asks me if I think that homosexuals and adulterers should be put to death, as stated in my holy book. So this is the question that Romney will have to answer: Are you a literalist in your reading of the Book of Mormon? Thus far, I haven't heard him answer that question. People will ask about his underwear, his view of "dark-skinned people," and his view of homosexuality. What they're really wanting to know is, are you a fundamentalist? It's basically the same question that JFK was asked about his relationship with the Vatican. When Romney was heckled last week, he responded by saying, "We need a person of faith to lead the country." For that, he received a standing ovation from his audience. But that statement is nearly meaningless, for even Sam Harris is a person of faith. Strident, angry, atheistic faith - a faith in human reason alone. We all have faith; it's part and parcel of the human condition. So, indeed, a person of faith will be our next president. But, what fashion of faith? Strident fundamentalism or thoughtful centrism? P.S. I picked this interesting poll and commentary off of Moby's blog: a recent gallup poll asked americans how likely they would be to vote for a qualified
presidential candidate if they were black, latino, gay, female, etc. here are the results:
Black 94%
Jewish 92%
A woman 88%
Hispanic 87%
Mormon 72%
Married for third time 67%
72 years of age 57%
A homosexual 55%
An atheist 45%
so, basically, 94% of americans would happily vote for a black candidate for president, but only 45% of americans would vote for an atheist.
the reason this is kind of funny is that the 3 leading gop candidates are:
a-a mormon(mitt romney, 72% of americans would vote for a mormon)
b-72 years old(john mccain, 57% of americans would vote for someone 72 years old)
c-twice divorced(rudy giulianni, 67% of americans would vote for someone who was on their 3rd wife).
Tony Jones is the National Coordinator for Emergent Village.
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? - Isaiah 58:6-7 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail
The helping of others, the giving of alms, and all external goods don't calm the arrogance of the heart. Humility of the mind, the pain of repentence and the breaking of the will, however, humble the proud spirit.
-Elder Joseph the Hesychast
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The latest news from Iran, homelessness, Iraq-UK troops, and Dems-, Anglicans, Libby trial, and select Op-Eds. Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »Full news summary:
Anglicans. After Anglican meeting, Episcopal Church on notice - "Holding to goals of unity and reconciliation, the leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion have taken key steps that buy time for healing in the deeply divided global body. But they also served notice on the Episcopal Church, Anglicanism's US branch, that it must give convincing proof of an intent to abide by traditional practices with regard to homosexuality." Anglicans in 'free-fall'- "Tensions between the worldwide Anglican Communion and its liberal U.S. branch, the Episcopal Church, continued as both sides fell to arguing over the requirements listed in documents released by the top bishops of the 77-million-member Communion." Many Episcopalians Wary, Some Defiant After Ultimatum by Anglicans- "In interviews yesterday, some liberal and moderate leaders who constitute a majority in the American church voiced everything from confusion to serious misgivings to defiance."
Iran. Iran defiant over nuclear ambitions - "President Ahmadinejad promised Iran would press ahead with its nuclear programme, irrespective of the consequences. His statement came as the UN atomic watchdog prepared to declare Tehran in breach of a resolution calling for an end to uranium enrichment." Tehran defiant as deadline nears- "Iranian leaders yesterday vowed to defy international pressure on the eve of a United Nations deadline demanding that Tehran halt its suspect nuclear programs or face new, harsher sanctions."
Homelessness. The homeless get counted - "In rickety encampments from Los Angeles to here in Garner, N.C., an estimated 800,000 homeless hunker on the fringes of cities and towns, often struggling with poverty, mental illness, or addiction. This year's count, judging from early indications, will show that a government-led race to end chronic homelessness by 2011 is far off the pace."
Dems and Iraq. For Democrats, war is front and center - "The Democrats seeking the White House may be united in opposing the war in Iraq. But that hasn't stopped them from fighting over the conflict. It is a skirmish over judgment, character and political mettle." War debate fuels advocacy groups - "Grass-roots organizing on both sides of the war issue has been galvanized by debate and anti-war resolutions in the Democrat-controlled Congress, and it appears the advocacy will grow more intense."
Iraq. Joint force weighs move on Sadr City - "But as the new security crackdown enters a second week, they face their most sensitive challenge: whether, when and how to move into the Shiite-dominated slum of Sadr City, stronghold of the Al Mahdi militia."
Iraq-UK troops. Blair announces Iraq withdrawals - "Tony Blair declared that "the next chapter in Basra's history will be written by the Iraqis", as he announced that 1,600 British troops would be withdrawn in the coming months." Blair announces Iraq troops cut - "He said the 7,100 serving troops would be cut to 5,500 soon, with hopes that 500 more will leave by late summer." Analysis: An exit strategy? - "Tony Blair's long-awaited announcement on troop withdrawals from Iraq may inject a note of optimism into the biggest "legacy issue" hanging over his looming retirement."
Libby trial. In Closing Pleas, Clashing Views on Libby's Role - "Defense lawyers and prosecutors in the perjury trial of I. Lewis Libby Jr. made their final summations, offering the jury two starkly different ways to evaluate the evidence presented over the last few weeks." Libby 'Told a Dumb Lie,' Prosecutor Says in Closing Argument - "Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff lied to investigators about his role in leaking a CIA officer's identity in order to keep his job and protect the White House from political embarrassment, prosecutors told jurors yesterday in the closing arguments"
Op-eds.
British abolition's faith-based roots (Joe Loconte, Los Angeles Times) - "In the fierce struggles of the 19th century to abolish slavery, Abraham Lincoln remains the mythic American champion. In Britain, however, that honor belongs to William Wilberforce, the Christian activist and member of Parliament who thundered against the slave trade for 20 years. Friday marks the 200th anniversary of his legislative triumph - a campaign rich with lessons for modern-day reformers."
Why I Oppose the Death Penalty (Martin O'Malley, Governor of Maryland, Washington Post) - "Did this one relatively humane execution balance out a violent murder -- much less three violent murders? Can any execution really be said to "even the ledger" for the taking of another's unique life?"
A passing to note.
Rev. Joseph Hacala, 61; Assistant At HUD - "The Rev. Hacala, who in recent years was president of Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia, served as special assistant to HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo and director of HUD's Community and Interfaith Outreach from 1997 until 2001. Before working in the federal government, Rev. Hacala was executive director of the Catholic Campaign for
Human Development at the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference. From 1984 to 1990, he was director of the National Office of Jesuit Social Ministries at the National Jesuit Conference in Washington. His career was steeped in social services work. His first assignment after his ordination in 1975 was in a poverty-stricken corner of southern West Virginia." [An editorial comment - Fr. Hacala was a good man who I was privileged to know. May he rest in peace.]
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
 We arrived in Tehran, Iran, at 1:30 a.m. on Monday morning, nearly 24 hours after we left Washington, D.C. In some ways, the long distance and the considerable time needed to get to Iran is symbolic of just how far apart our countries seem to be when it comes to our understanding of one another. One of the interesting things for the women in our delegation was that as we were descending into Tehran, the pilot came over the loudspeaker and announced, “… by order of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, all women need to cover their heads for their own protection.” It was a stark reminder, especially for the women in our group, that we were about to enter a country very different from our own. As we got closer to landing, you could see the lights for miles and miles, and I was reminded of flying into Los Angeles, Calif., at night and the urban sprawl that the lights displayed. Tehran is a very similar city in terms of urban sprawl: The city is home to over 15 million people, has horrific traffic, and serious air quality problems due to the tremendous number of vehicles and coal-burning power plants. We were met at the airport by officials from the Foreign Ministry and whisked down a ramp into a waiting bus, avoiding the terminal altogether. We took a short ride to a building where we were served tea and greeted by Ali Akbar Rezaei from the Foreign Ministry. He is a young man in his 30s who participated in the Summer Peacebuilding Institute at Eastern Mennonite University in 2000. Rezaei has been a tremendous contact within the government of Iran, sincerely wants better relations between Iran and the U.S., and is truly the driving force behind our trip. He told us that we were the first “official delegation” from the United States since the revolution in 1978. His children are 7- and 3-years-old, so we had a good time talking about life with young kids. That's something that transcends culture and national identity! We waited to get our passports processed, for the representatives to retrieve our luggage, and then we traveled to the hotel. This took over two hours, so we didn’t arrive at the hotel until after four o'clock in the morning. After a few hours of sleep, I started out the day by going for a walk around downtown Tehran. Things were bustling on a Monday morning, as people were headed to work, shopping, or on their way to school. I had read that over 65% of the population is under 25, and I saw many young people on the streets. Our first “official” meeting was in the afternoon with the Archbishop of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Iran, Sebouh Sarkissian. He gave us a short history of the Armenian people in Iran, which dates back to the 5th century B.C.E. Depending on who you talk to, there are between 80,000 and 150,000 Armenians in Iran, largely concentrated in Tehran and Isfahan. It is a thriving community that seems to have a better relationship with the Islamic government than some of the other religious minority groups, probably largely due to the centuries they have lived in Iran. They have two elected representatives in the Iranian Parliament. The Archbishop spoke English very well and was very warm and excited about our visit. He was very interested to connect with us as Christians, and we discussed the tensions between our countries. He said he believes tensions can be reduced by dialogue between religious leaders, and that we “need to move quickly to increase our understanding and overcome our animosity.” We went to one of the important seminaries, toured the mosque next to the seminary, and then met with one of the most influential Grand Ayatollahs in the country: Grand Ayatollah Kashani. He serves on one of the 12-member advisory councils (made up of six clerics and six magistrates) that reviews every law that
the Parliament passes, and either approves or denies it. The council is partially appointed by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. He talked a great deal about the common ground between Islam and Christianity, and wanted to make sure we knew that the Iranian people have no problem with the American people, only our government. This has seemed to be a theme that we have heard from everyone here so far, and I suspect it will continue. They clearly are able to distinguish between the aspirations of the citizens of a nation, and the government of a nation. I think part of the reason they are able to do this is because this is what they do themselves. There is a great deal of openness and critique about the Iranian government officials, including the current president. I did not expect much dissent, but there really is quite a bit. We topped the night off with a dinner and reception with a number of Ayatollahs who are religious scholars from Qom, which is where we will be heading later in the week. One of the fascinating events of the evening was a rumor circulating about a statement Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made regarding U.S. relations with Iran. According to our hosts, she said that our policy has not worked over the course of the last 25 years, and that the U.S. needs to try something different. Our hosts seemed hopeful that maybe this was a signal by the U.S. that they would like to de-escalate the current tensions. Unfortunately, we tried to confirm this statement by looking at U.S. and British news sites, and could not confirm this report. It made me wonder if they really had heard this, or if they were signaling that perhaps some statement like this might help pave the way for better relations. We shall see. Khoda Hafez (good-bye). Jeff Carr is the Chief Operations Officer for Sojourners/Call to Renewal. Learn more about this delegation at www.irandelegation.org.
Apparently there was something about Jim's tone in his last post that struck a nerve within the progressive faith blogosphere. From Pastor Dan: ...there's a whole constellation of faithful people in the netroots who have been working these issues out while Jim Wallis has been insulting our secular allies. I think it's terribly insulting to you all to have Wallis lecture Kos (and by extension the entire blogosphere) without even so much as a nod in your direction. It's not clear to me why addressing issues of liberal intolerance of religion, without mentioning all the good folks who are doing the good bridge-building work among progressives that Jim is asking for (including those, as Pastor Dan mentions, we promote in our blog roll), is a problem or an insult. Re-reading Jim's post, I found the tone mostly conciliatory. So I'm genuinely confused by this response, but hereby give a shout-out to all progressive faith bloggers like Daily Kos' own Street Prophets. We're glad that lefty powerhouse blogs like Kos have given people of faith a home there. For a list of many of them, again, I recommend our blog roll. But I would like to offer comment on one minor point: How about if you realize that there are other people in the religious grassroots working carefully and productively to make common cause with secular progressives - they've been doing it long before you came on the scene, and they'll be doing long after we're both gone - and how about if you save your patronizing lectures. I'll assume by "on the scene" he means the blog scene, to which I'll admit we're relatively new, and not always the most savvy. But Sojourners and Jim have been working hard among the religious grassroots since long before there was a blogosphere. Ryan Beiler is the Web Editor for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
Dear Kos, I read your piece, Religion, values, and politics, and liked a lot of what you said. But I have a few responses to it. You and I have discussed this before, and you are clearly not attacking religion per se, as too many secular progressives have done for a long time. As a progressive Christian, I always wondered why many on the secular Left felt it necessary to cut off potential political alliances with progressive religious people, to alienate most of America with nasty anti-faith diatribes, and to choose to ignore the history of most of the social reform movements in this country, where religion often served as a powerful motivator and driving force – as in the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, establishing child labor laws and social safety nets and, of course, the civil rights movement. In recent years, the Left and even the Democrats managed to appear hostile to faith and to people in faith communities. Regardless of what one’s views of the divine are, that’s called shooting yourself in the foot. And nobody has been more critical of the Religious Right and their “perverted” use of biblical texts, as you rightly put it, than progressive religious leaders themselves. But the mainstream media and the secular Left appeared to have one very odd thing in common. They both seemed to want Americans to believe they had only two choices: the Religious Right OR the secular Left. There were always millions of religious moderates and progressives who didn’t fit either category, and felt left out of the discussion. My book, God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, served to bring many of those folks out of the closet. A book about progressive faith in America became a best-seller only because it revealed what was already there – lots of unrepresented people, including a new generation of evangelicals who now had a broader agenda than just two issues. But, frankly, the response to the book has been mixed in secular Left circles. Some are quite pleased that the Religious Right’s political dominance was finally being challenged, and Tim Russert and Jon Stewart were now featuring other, more progressive religious voices. They also saw the electoral results of Democrats learning to make the connection between issues and values, as you suggested they should, and from becoming more faith-friendly. But others felt, and still feel, quite threatened by all that, fearing any kind of faith talk among progressive people, and objecting to Democrats “getting religion” – something they regard as foreign and hostile to their political agenda. I’m also on record against Democrats' “getting,” using, or manipulating religion for political purposes, simply mimicking what the Republicans have done so shamelessly. I’ve continuously said that “ religion has no monopoly on morality,” agreeing with your point that “morality and ethics don’t have to come from religion.” But values can come from religion, and it’s important that Left seculars really embrace that reality too. I’ve said that religion must be disciplined by democracy, and publicly expressed in ways that are consistent with both pluralism and diversity. That means you don’t say (as the Religious Right often has) that this is a Judeo-Christian country and so we get to win! Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. never did that. He invoked Jesus and Isaiah as the roots of his political convictions and held out his spiritual vision of the “beloved community,” but then made moral and political arguments (not religious ones) on behalf of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and a Voting Rights Act in 1965. He had to persuade all Americans, not just the religious citizens, that civil rights legislation was best for the common good, not just for the black Baptists like him. When we get to the public square, religious communities and candidates motivated by their faith must make a moral turn, and speak in a language accessible to all of our citizens, religious or not. You said it well; the real political conversation is one about values, no matter what their source. Indeed, the country is hungry for a new moral discourse on politics – it’s one that we all need and are all needed for. Nobody gets kicked to the curb. But for some, faith is part of “what makes a candidate tick,” as you put it. And that has to be okay, too. You were pretty tough on Harold Ford, and seemed to blame his faith for his views that you don’t like. I disagree with some of Ford’s views too, but don’t think his faith is the problem. You like Tester of Montana and Webb of Virginia better, and seem to suggest their lack of expressed faith gives them better views. But I like Barack Obama too, and he and I have been talking about the connection between progressive faith and politics for 10 years. And I recently met Tim Kaine, also of Virginia and a strong person of faith, who seems to be at least as progressive, if not more so, than Webb or Tester. My point is, agree or disagree with a candidate’s positions, but don’t blame their faith for them. The same day your piece came out, The Wall Street Journal (of course) ran an editorial castigating secular leftists one more time, suggesting that those who disagreed with the Religious Right were showing their hostility to religion. Again, the assumption was that the only choice is between right-wing faith or militant secularism. And yesterday, I battled with Tucker Carlson on MSNBC, who once more insisted that the real moral issue is still abortion, and the Democrats will always find that to be the obstacle to becoming truly religious. It’s time to change the conversation on all sides. So Kos, let’s made a deal. How about if progressive religious folks, like me, make real sure that we never say, or even suggest, that values have to come from faith – and progressive secular folks, like you, never suggest that progressive values can’t come from faith (and perhaps concede that, in fact, they often do). If we progressives, religious and secular, could stop fighting among ourselves (shooting ourselves in the foot) and join together on some really big values issues – like economic fairness, health care, and a more just foreign policy – think of the difference we could make. How about it?
The latest news on the Mideast, arms control, war and rural America, Anglicans, Iraq, Iran, VP Cheney, immigration and select Op-Eds. Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »Full news summary:
Anglicans. Anglicans Rebuke U.S. Branch on Same-Sex Unions- "Facing a possible churchwide schism, the Anglican Communion gave its Episcopal branch in the United States less than eight months to ban blessings of same-sex unions or risk a reduced role in the world's third-largest Christian denomination." Anglicans seek a middle way - "Leaders of the 77-million-member Anglican Communion - deeply divided over the biblical view of homosexuality and other issues - ended a contentious six-day meeting in Tanzania with the first steps toward a set of core principles spelling out who is truly Anglican and who is not." Anglicans tense but not split after talks - "The five-day meeting ended with a joint communique and without evidence of an immediate schism in the 77-million-member global church, which many had feared."
Arms control. East Europeans welcome US missile shield - "The worst arms control dispute of the post-cold war era was taking shape yesterday when Poland and the Czech Republic displayed their keenness to host facilities for the Pentagon's missile defence shield, Russia threatened to target the central Europeans, and Germany denounced the US moves as potentially destabilising." Russian general warns against US missile bases - "In a statement reflecting the growing distrust between Moscow and the West, a top Russian general warned that Poland and the Czech Republic risk being targeted by Russian missiles if they agree to host US missile defense bases."
Mideast. Mideast Talks Conclude With Little Result- "An American-sponsored meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders meant to start a new peace initiative after six years ended with little more concrete than a promise to meet again." Rice's Mideast Talks Yield Little Except a Promise to Meet Again - "Rice's role was intended to signal her deepening commitment to helping resolve the conflict, but the talks demonstrated the difficulties ahead. Neither Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert nor Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accompanied Rice when she met with reporters after more than two hours of talks." Rice calls Mideast meeting 'productive' - "Olmert and Abbas reaffirmed their support of the U.S.-backed diplomatic blueprin
t known as the "road map" and discussed how to begin reviving it, Rice said. The plan, which lays out a step-by-step path to an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, has languished since it was unveiled in 2003 because neither side has fulfilled even initial commitments."
Iraq. Brazen Pre-Dawn Attack on U.S. Outpost in Iraq Kills 3, Injures 17 - "A U.S. military facility north of Baghdad was targeted Monday by suicide bombers and other armed men who killed three American soldiers and wounded 17 in an unusually brazen attack." Iraqi Militants Launch Attack on U.S. Outpost- "In a rare coordinated assault on an American combat outpost north of Baghdad, suicide bombers drove one or more cars laden with explosives into the compound, while other insurgents opened fire in the ensuing chaos,"
Iran. Russia Will Slow Work on Iran's Nuclear Plant - "Russia contended that Iran had not made the last two $25 million monthly payments, in a dispute about whether it could pay in euros instead of dollars." Iran 'six months from mass uranium enrichment' - "Iran could be as little as six months away from being able to enrich uranium on an industrial scale, having mastered the technology since last August, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog warned in an interview published today. However, Mohamed ElBaradei, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general, stressed that Iran was still years away from developing a nuclear weapon." Tehran seeks unconditional talks - "Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said he wants talks on his nation's nuclear programme, but only if no pre-conditions are imposed."
VP Cheney. Cheney's Influence Lessens in Second Term: Administration More Pragmatic in Foreign Policy, Dealing With Congress- "There is no evidence that Cheney's close relationship with Bush has been lessened. But there is also little doubt that the causes he has championed -- a tough skepticism of negotiations with dictatorships such as North Korea and the forceful exercise of presidential authority -- are being rethought within the Bush administration,"
Immigrants. Debit cards for immigrants - "Aparicio applied for a special debit card created for immigrants who don't have Social Security numbers, which are required to open savings or checking accounts. They're also for people who just don't trust banks. A nonprofit worker center here called New Labor, which helps immigrants learn English and find jobs, in November became the first in the nation to offer the Sigo card - combining "go" with Spanish for "yes." The center has distributed 300 cards. The program - affiliated with MasterCard - is underway at eight other worker centers across the country,"
War and rural America. Rural America hit hard by war - "Nearly half of the more than 3,000 U.S. military fatalities in Iraq have come from towns like McKeesport, where fewer than 25,000 people live, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. One in five hailed from hometowns of less than 5,000. … Many of the hometowns of the war dead aren't just small, they're poor. The AP analysis found that nearly three-fourths of those killed in Iraq came from towns where the per capita income was below the national average. More than half came from towns where the percentage of people living in poverty topped the national average."
Op-Ed. The Antiwar Rallying Point (E.J. Dionne, Washington Post) - "Two things are now abundantly clear about the future of U.S. policy toward Iraq. First, majorities in both houses of Congress have lost faith in President Bush's approach to the war. Second, the president will do all he can to resist changing his strategy by trying to split his critics into ineffectual factions."
You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, "You shall not murder"; and "whoever murders shall be liable to judgment." But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, "You fool," you will be liable to the hell of fire.
- Matthew 5:21-22 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail
Monday, February 19, 2007
Jim Wallis recently wrote a column for Time magazine declaring, "The Religious Right's Era Is Over." Read the full article on Time.com (where at the time of this posting it was their #2 most popular article), but here are some key quotes:As I have traveled around the country, one line in my speeches always draws cheers: "The monologue of the Religious Right is over, and a new dialogue has now begun." We have now entered the post-Religious Right era. Though religion has had a negative image in the last few decades, the years ahead may be shaped by a dynamic and more progressive faith that will make needed social change more possible. In the churches, a combination of deeper compassion and better theology has moved many pastors and congregations away from the partisan politics of the Religious Right. In politics, we are beginning to see a leveling of the playing field between the two parties on religion and "moral values," and the media are finally beginning to cover the many and diverse voices of faith. These are all big changes in American life, and the rest of the world is taking notice. ...
It's time to remember the spiritual revivals that helped lead to the abolition of slavery in Britain and the United States; the black church's leadership during the American civil rights movement; the deeply Catholic roots of the Solidarity movement in Poland that led the overthrow of communism; the way liberation theology in Latin America helped pave the way for new democracies; how Desmond Tutu and the South African churches served to inspire victory over apartheid; how "People Power" joined with the priests and bishops to bring down down Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos; how the Dalai Lama keeps hope alive for millions of Tibetans; and, today, how the growing Evangelical and Pentecostal churches of the global South are mobilizing to addresse the injustices of globalization.
I believe we are seeing the beginning of movements like that again, right here in America, and that we are poised on the edge of what might become a revival that will bring about big changes in the world. Historically, social reform often requires spiritual revival. And that's what church historians always say about real revival — that it changes things in the society, not just in people's inner lives. I believe that what we are seeing now may be the beginning of a new revival — a revival for justice.
The latest news on Iraq-House and Senate, poverty-, Anglican Church, Mideast, Iran, minimum wage, presidential campaign, and the religion gap. Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »Full news summary:
Iraq-Senate. Senate Rejects Renewed Effort to Debate Iraq- "The Senate on Saturday narrowly rejected an effort to force debate on a resolution opposing President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq, but Republican defections emboldened Democrats to promise new attempts to influence the administration's war policy." Iraq Vote In Senate Blocked By GOP - "Senate Republicans for a second time blocked a symbolic attempt by Democrats to reject President Bush's troop increase yesterday, but GOP defections were higher than before," GOP blocks Senate vote on troop resolution - "Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic effort to pass a symbolic resolution opposing President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq. Democrats, who hold a narrow majority in the Senate, fell four votes shy of the 60 needed on a procedural vote to consider the nonbinding resolution." Democrats Consider New Ways to Limit Iraq War - "Thwarted in their attempt to formally rebuke President Bush, Senate Democrats shifted their focus to narrowing the U.S. military mission in Iraq."
Iraq-House. House Rebukes Bush on Iraq - "Capping four days of passionate, often angry debate, the House yesterday delivered President Bush its first rebuke since the Iraq war was launched nearly four years ago, voting 246 to 182 to oppose the administration's planned deployment of 21,500 additional combat troops to Iraq." A Divided House Denounces Plan for More Troops- "The rare wartime rebuke to the commander in chief - an act that is not binding, but that carries symbolic significance - was approved 246-to-182, with 17 Republicans breaking ranks to join all but two Democrats in supporting the resolution." A Symbolic Vote Is a Sign of Bitter Debates to Come- "The symbolic House vote on Friday opposing the American troop buildup in Iraq was an act of Congressional defiance that lays the groundwork for an even more bitter and ultimately more consequential clash over whether and how lawmakers might restrict President Bush's authority to prosecute the war."
Mideast. Cloud over Mideast talks - "Differences over how to deal with an emerging Palestinian governing coalition of Hamas and Fatah clouded preparatory talks for a three-way meeting Monday be
tween Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the Israeli and Palestinian leaders." For Rice, High-Stakes Shuttle Diplomacy - "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday shuttled between meetings with Palestinian and Israeli leaders, seeking to lay the groundwork for a successful three-way summit Monday in the face of Israeli anger at a new Palestinian government that includes the militant group Hamas." Rice Tries to Hold Together Plan for Mideast Talks- "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice struggled Sunday to hold together her ambitious plan to restart Middle East peace talks, even as arguments continued over a new Palestinian unity government in a signal that the Bush administration's renewed peace push might have arrived at a bad time."
Iran. Iran alleges U.S. link to militant attack - "Bullet cartridges bearing a U.S. insignia and English lettering were among the weaponry seized last week from Sunni militants suspected of killing 11 members of Shiite-dominated Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, Iranian officials said Sunday." Iran shuts down website critical of president - "An Iranian website fiercely critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been shut down in an apparent fresh crackdown on anti-government dissent on the internet."
Poverty in Iraq. One-third of Iraqis live in poverty - "A third of Iraqis live in poverty, according to a study released under United Nations auspices, dire findings for a nation that enjoyed widespread prosperity less than three decades ago. The report, produced by a division of the Iraqi government and the United Nations Development Program, examined access to, and the quality of, a wide range of basic needs."
Minimum wage. Familiar Problem Stalls Minimum Wage Bill - "after six weeks in power, the Democratic-led House and Senate have yet to agree on a final bill. The obstacle is the same one that stymied Republicans time after time when they had control: paralyzingly thin margins in the Senate."
Presidential campaign. As Clinton Runs, Some Old Foes Stay on Sideline - "conservative fund-raisers and organizers acknowledge that the grass-roots hatred for Mrs. Clinton and her husband has subsided substantially since they left the White House." No Retreat on Iraq Stance, McCain Insists- "Senator John McCain arrived in Iowa on Saturday to begin testing one of the biggest questions so far of his presidential campaign: Can he win as an all-out supporter of the war in Iraq?" Obama Takes First Campaign Trip South - "Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) took his presidential campaign to the heart of the Deep South for the first time this weekend, tailoring his campaign message to associate himself with the civil rights movement." Romney Supports 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' - "Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R), who once advocated allowing gays to serve openly in the military, said that he does not think the Pentagon should change its "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the midst of the Iraq war."
Anglican church. Archbishop of Canterbury Appears to Chide Faction of Anglicans - "Facing a possible church fracture over the issue of homosexuality, the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion reminded bishops of the need for humility as church leaders gathered Sunday for services on the island of Zanzibar." Anglican Seeks to Ease Church's Conflict Over Gays - "The Anglicans' spiritual leader, faced with a deepening rift over homosexuality and scripture in the worldwide Anglican Communion, called Sunday for humility among bishops as the conflict threatened to fracture the church."
Religion gap. Narrowing the Religion Gap? - "What a matchup between churchgoing Democrats and secular-minded Republicans may supply, though, is welcome moderation in our debates over issues like abortion, gay marriage and stem-cell research. God knows, both sides of the ideological divide have fundamentalists in need of taming."
Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. - 2 Corinthians 8:7-9 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail
Friday, February 16, 2007
As we continue our preparations for our delegation's trip to Iran, one of my Mennonite colleagues (director of the MCC Washington Office and member of my local church), Daryl Byler, has written an Open Letter to President Bush about our trip. Daryl articulates clearly my hope not only for our trip, but also my wishes for our own government and leadership by President Bush. I hope you will take the time to read his letter. Here are some key points: "I know you have concerns about Iran’s words and actions. That’s precisely why it is so important for you to talk with Iran. Middle East experts from both political parties are urging you to do so. The recent bipartisan Baker-Hamilton report called for direct U.S. talks with Iran. Prominent members of your own party are encouraging your administration to engage Iran. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., wrote recently in The Washington Quarterly that the United States should be willing to begin bilateral negotiations with Iran. “A good
starting point for U.S.-Iranian relations would be to treat them as equals for the purpose of negotiations,” wrote Specter, who has a long history of holding conversations with adversaries. Similarly, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., have called for direct U.S. talks with Iran. In the House of Representatives, Rep. Wayne Gilchrist, R-Md., recently sent you a letter signed by 18 other members of Congress urging your administration to open up direct diplomatic channels with Tehran."
Plus, a spoonful of sugar for this medicine: "I commend your administration for the recent talks with North Korea. They have proved fruitful. The world will be safer as a result. I wish you were talking to Tehran, too."
Jeff Carr is chief operations officer for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
 This latest contribution to The Washington Post/Newsweek On Faith online discussion responds to the question: “Why do you think some religions have regarded sex as sacred while others have regarded it as a sin?”Well, that’s a funny way to put the question: Is sex sacred or sin? In the Bible, and most religious traditions, sex can, of course, be either. The divinely intended purposes of sexual intimacy are of course very sacred and deeply satisfying in the context of committed relationships. And the degradation and commodification of sexuality in the media, for purposes of advertising, and in exploitative or manipulative relationships is indeed sin, because it can be so abusive and destructive to the human spirit. The real question is whether sexuality should be regarded as basically covenantal or just recreational. Sexuality is meant to be enormously enjoyable and fulfilling, but the context of the relationship and the commitment or lack of commitment it contains is of obvious religious importance. And that religious importance is because of how fragmenting or integrating sexual intimacy can be for human beings - dependent on the context of the relationship. Are Sex in the City and Desperate Housewives our reigning cultural paradigms now when it comes to sexuality? Or is the reconnection of sexual intimacy with commitment a future worth fighting for? That’s the question I hear most often from a new generation of young people. Perhaps surprisingly, many are moving back (or forward) to committed intimacy rather than serial sexual dating. The quality of the relationship is indeed the critical factor that distinguishes whether sexuality is sacred or profane. And covenantal vs. recreational may be the clearest and more understandable way to ask the right questions.
 As I mentioned on Wednesday, I will be participating in a delegation of 13 religious leaders who will be leaving tomorrow, Feb. 17, for a trip to Iran. Our delegation, which is being led by Mennonites and Quakers, will be meeting with a variety of religious leaders (including Christians and Muslims), civil society leaders, a group of female members of parliament, former Iranian President Khatami, and current President Ahmadinejad. The purpose of the trip is to deepen dialogue among religious and political leaders in the hope of defusing tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
If you could ask President Ahmadinejad one question, what would it be? I plan to check your comments before meeting with him. UPDATE: Thank you all for your suggestions and questions. I was reading them tonight during a break in our pre-trip delegation meeting, and your input helped me frame some of my suggestions for our visit and meeting with the president. For security reasons, as of right now, we don't know exactly which day during our visit next week we will be meeting with the president, but we are working on our thoughts and strategy for this meeting already. I look forward to updating you all as the trip unfolds. Jeff Carr is the chief operations officer for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
To find and acknowledge one’s goal and meaning in life as something beyond oneself, beyond one’s own survival, is to experience liberation from the crushing burden of that desperate fear of death. - Monika K. Hellwig, from Jesus: The Compassion of God (The Liturgical Press, 1983) + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail
 Following my interview with “Left Behind” author Jerry Jenkins for The Wittenburg Door, I was placed on Jerry's press list. Just about every time some apocalyptic action transpired albeit in modern day Babylon (Iraq), Israel or Louisiana, I'd get a news release announcing that Jerry and Timmy were appearing on a particular national news outlet. With a childlike glee, they'd brag about how this particular event can be interpreted in light of their Revelations inspired road map that predicts the onset of Armageddon. Like many raised as a mainline Protestant, my knowledge of this book was pretty much non-existent. Even at Yale Divinity School, this book received only a cursory reading. Hence, my critique of this group has been limited to making satirical asides that I doubt Hillary Clinton, Adolf Hitler or Saddam Hussein represent the Beast, and that the concept of white robed believers ascending to heaven en masse strikes me as more cult-like than Christian. But during Trinity Institute's conference titled God's Unfinished Future: Why It Matters Now, I discovered what for many of those in attendance was a fresh scholarly approach to the Book of Revelation thanks to Barbara Rossing, professor of New Testament at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and author of The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation. While Dr. Rossing did not focus her talk on her recent trip to Israel and Palestine, she mentioned this trip to highlight how her critical reading of Revelation differs radically from those seeking signs of Armageddon based on events transpiring in the Middle East. (As a sheer coincidence, we were on two separate trips to Israel and just happened to attend the same Sunday service at Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem. Small world.) As Dr. Rossing reminded us, while the sensationalist and “nutty” Left Behind books have grabbed the media spotlight and made the bestseller lists, their depiction of the bloody and violent end times differs from how scholars throughout history have interpreted this book. I found much food for thought in Rossing's reflections on how the Greek words for earth are used throughout the Bible. As she notes, many of the references to the word 'earth' in this final chapter of the Bible is translated from the word okumene, which means imperial violence. The other words for earth, which are translated as gaia (dirt) and cosmos (world) are used when the biblical authors reference God's creation Using these translations of the word earth, Rossing illuminates how in Revelation Chapters 17 and 18 the imperial world that will be destroyed when the Second Coming arrives. She adds that this critique of imperial violence includes violence against the world through our own neglect of God's creation. If as Rossing observes the word apocalypse means “pulling back the curtain,” what do events like Hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq and global warming reveal for us? How do we read those signs as a people of faith to ensure that no one will be left behind? According to Rossing, the term prophecy doesn't mean prediction. Rather, prophetic books such as the Book of Revelation serve as a wake-up call of what will transpire if humanity remains oblivious to the telltale signs from God that something is amiss in our world. So what is in God's plan for this world that he created? Quoting a Jewish scholar, Rossing asks, “did God so love the world that he sent World War III?" Or did God so love the world that he sent his only son, Jesus as the lamb of God to die and be resu
rrected into new life so that all should have everlasting life? As I sat in a neighboring coffee shop preparing these reflections, I observed a firetruck near Trinity Church. Apparently, shortly after the conclusion of Rossing's speech, the FDNY was called to Trinity Church's offices to extinguish a small fire. Coincidence? Log on to Trinity Institute's website, listen to Rossing's lecture and you decide. Becky Garrison is Senior Contributing Editor of The Wittenburg Door and author of the Amazon Short My Memorial, a creative non-fiction piece based on those 9/11 volunteers who find they are unable to move forward. If you're interested in further reading and study on this topic, Sojourners offers a PDF discussion guide titled, "Christians and the Apocalypse." + Download yours today!
the lastest reports on Afghanistan, climate change, Iran, Iraq in the Senate and House, the Mideast, Sudan, nuclear treaty with Russia, children's health insurance, and Anglican talks Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »Full news summary:
Afghanistan. Pressing Allies, President Warns of Afghan Battle- "President Bush warned that he expected "fierce fighting" to flare in Afghanistan this spring, and he pressed NATO allies to provide a bigger and more aggressive force to guard against a resurgence by the Taliban and Al Qaeda that could threaten the fragile Afghan state." Bush: Strike at Taliban - "With the expectation that Islamic militants are preparing to mount a major offensive this spring, President Bush called on NATO allies to send more troops to Afghanistan and allow their soldiers to take greater responsibility for fighting the Taliban."
Iraq-Senate. Reluctantly, the Senate's Weekend Warriors - "After four years of fighting in Iraq, and two weeks of trying to force senators to debate the conflict, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yesterday wheeled out the ultimate weapon. He ordered his colleagues to work on Saturday. To the average American, this would be an inconvenience. To a senator, a Saturday vote is a hardship reserved for national crises." Senate set for a new clash on Iraq rebuke - "As rhetoric heated up in the House over a measure to protest President Bush's buildup of U.S. troops in Iraq, Senate leaders moved toward a new showdown over conducting a similar debate."
Iraq-House. Democrats face a struggle over war strategy - "Congressional Democrats quickly and easily united behind a nonbinding resolution denouncing President Bush's plan to send more U.S. troops to Iraq. But after the measure's expected approval in the House today, party leaders will confront more divisive questions: how to force a determined president to back down from his plan, and whether to push for a complete withdrawal." Pelosi Backs War Funds Only With Conditions - "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) linked her support for President Bush's war-funding request to strict standards of resting, training and equipping combat forces, a move that could curtail troop deployments and alter the course of U.S. involvement in Iraq." Bush, Congress Could Face Confrontation on Issue of War Powers - "President Bush has not been shy about asserting robust powers for the presidency in waging war, but lately he has seemed to concede that Congress has a role to play as well. Lawmakers, he has indicated, are within their rights to try to cap total deployments o
r limit where troops can go in Iraq." Broad Swath of GOP Defecting on Iraq Vote - "From the moderate suburbs of Delaware to the rural, conservative valleys of eastern Tennessee, House Republican opponents of President Bush's latest Iraq war plan cut across the GOP's ideological and regional spectrum. Numbering a dozen or more, these House Republicans have emerged as some of the most prominent opponents of the plan to increase troop presence in Iraq." Iraq Troop Boost Erodes Readiness, General Says - "Outgoing Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker said that the increase of 17,500 Army combat troops in Iraq represents only the "tip of the iceberg" and will potentially require thousands of additional support troops and trainers, as well as equipment -- further eroding the Army's readiness to respond to other world contingencies."
Iran. Pelosi challenges president on Iran - "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that President Bush lacks the authority to invade Iran without specific approval from Congress, a fresh challenge to the commander in chief on the eve of a symbolic vote critical of his troop buildup in Iraq." Defense Chief Again Says U.S. Will Not Wage War With Iran - "Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said that the United States had no intention of attacking Iran and that any American military efforts against it would be confined to Iraq to disrupt the smuggling of bomb-making materials over the border."
Mideast. Mideast summit holds particular promise - "A planned visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for an Israeli-Palestinian summit Monday comes at a potentially promising moment in the region, after last week's agreement between the Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas to form a coalition government."
Sudan. U.N. Chief Presses Sudan to Allow Team to Visit Darfur - "Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday that President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan had broken a personal pledge he made last month to give entry permits to a United Nations human rights team, and Mr. Ban urged the Sudanese leader to reconsider." UN warns of Chad genocide - "The violence in Chad could turn into a genocide similar to that in Rwanda in 1994, the UN refugee agency has warned. The UNHCR says the killing tactics from neighbouring Darfur in Sudan have been transported to eastern Chad in full."
Nuclear treaty. Russia may pull out of nuclear arms treaty - "Russia warned the United States yesterday it might pull out of a Cold War nuclear arms reduction treaty because of plans by Washington to build a missile shield in Eastern Europe. General Yuri Baluyevsky, head of the Russian general staff, said Russia cou
ld unilaterally withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF treaty),"
Children's health insurance. Illinois congressmen push child health plan - "Reps. Rahm Emanuel, a Chicago Democrat, and Ray LaHood, a Peoria Republican, don't always see eye to eye on issues. But when it comes to children's health care, the Illinois congressmen have found common ground. They will team up with other House members on Friday to support bipartisan legislation that would reauthorize and dramatically expand a federal-state program providing health-care coverage for children who would not otherwise have it."
Climate change. Global leaders reach climate change deal - "Leading world politicians and industrialists have reached a new, non-binding agreement at a meeting in the United States on tackling climate change. Delegates agreed that developing countries would have to face targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions as well as rich countries."
Anglican talks. 'No talk of schism' at Anglican conference - "As leaders of the world's 77 million Anglicans gathered here amid fears of a split in the church over divergent views on gay bishops and same-sex unions, a spokesman said the first day of discussions was characterized by "intense listening." A Move to Heal Anglican Rift, but Short of Conservatives' Goal - "The Episcopal Church in the United States has taken steps to heal a rift over homosexuality that threatens to fracture the worldwide Anglican Church, but it has not compromised as much as conservative Anglican leaders have demanded."
For [God] who worked through Peter making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me in sending me to the Gentiles, and when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do. - Galatians 2:7-10 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail
Thursday, February 15, 2007
 I want to alert our whole constituency to a development of major importance. Since 2001, a conversation has been quietly taking place among American church leaders from all of our church families about what it would take to come together in common fellowship, common unity, and common voice on the most important issues of our time. For many years now, the churches of the United States have been divided, with evangelical, pentecostal, mainline Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Black, Latino, and Asian Christians all gathered in different organizations and around separate “tables,” often even with multiple tables within each group. While there has been cross-fertilization on projects, campaigns, and issues, there has been no genuinely “ecumenical” or “inter-denominational” organization in the United States that crossed all of our dividing lines – until now. In Pasadena, California, last week, Christian Churches Together (CCT) was formally launched after almost six years of conversation, fellowship, worship, and prayer together. Thirty-six churches and national organizations from virtually all of the key U.S. church groups formally joined with one another over meetings on February 6-9, culminating in a powerful worship service with the church “families” visibly coming together. A consensus was been reached on the key importance of evangelism and the biblical imperative to overcome poverty – and those two most basic commitments will shape the new fellowship. In Pasadena, each of the “five families” – Evangelical/Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, Racial/Ethnic, Historic Protestant, and Orthodox – each shared their interpretation of Jesus' “mission statement” in Luke 4:18, and asked, “Is Jesus’ proclamation our proclamation?” The convergence on the meaning of evangelization today was quite incredible; a strong emphasis on “discipleship” and “the kingdom of God” was central to all the presentations. Bishop Stephen Blaire, from the Catholic Diocese of Stockton, Calif., expressed our common understanding that the root of evangelism is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And that relationship to Jesus is the foundation of our witness in the world. In a statement on poverty, the leaders said, “Our faith in Christ who is the truth compels us to confront the ignorance of and indifference to the scandal of widespread, persistent poverty in this rich nation. We must call this situation by its real names: moral failure, unacceptable injustice.” The leaders of CCT declared, “We believe that a renewed commitment to overcome poverty is central to the mission of the church and essential to our unity in Christ.” Dr. William Shaw of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc., one of the founding “Presidents” of CCT, said that poverty "will not be redressed without intentional and painful effort by the total U.S. community. CCT calls the country's conscience to that effort and commits itself to being a part of that redressing." The next meeting of the church leaders will be in January of 2008, in Washington, D.C., in the heat of a presidential election campaign. In the nation’s capitol, the church leaders from across America’s theological and political spectrum hope to both re-commit themselves to the mission of eliminating the “scandal” of U.S. domestic poverty and to call upon the candidates from both parties to put poverty near the very top of the nation’s political agenda. That, my friends, is a big deal. “Seeing the leaders of all the participat
ing churches and organizations standing and praying together in their commitment to this vision was a powerful, visible sign of hope,” said Wes Granberg-Michaelson of the Reformed Church in America, who was the first moderator of CCT. “We have said from the beginning that our purpose is to grow closer together in Christ in order to strengthen our Christian witness in the world. In Pasadena we all experienced how this is truly happening and this fills us with joy for the future.” In a service of commitment and celebration to formally launch CCT, Bishop James Leggett of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church urged us to follow the prayer of Jesus, “That all might be one.” Dr. Shaw, Bishop Leggett, Rev. Larry Pickens, Father Leonid Kishkovsky, and Bishop Richard Sklba of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (representing Cardinal William Keeler of the Archdiocese of Baltimore), the first presidents of the five faith families of CCT, joined in lighting candles as a sign of unity. Quoting a statement from his mother, Methodist Rev. Pickens said that the wisdom that will keep CCT together is to “remember that you belong to God and God does not belong to you.” Rev. Kishkovsky of the Orthodox Church in America said, “CCT is good news for American Christians. Our gathering of the wider spectrum of U.S. Christian churches is succeeding in building mutual trust and overcoming stereotypes. Our common hope and expectation is that CCT will enable our churches to offer a strong and united Christian moral voice and vision in the public square.” And for the first time in ecumenical gatherings, four national Christian organizations were also invited to a place at the churches' table: World Vision, Bread for the World, Evangelicals for Social Action, and Sojourners/Call to Renewal. This is all a very hopeful sign and one can only imagine the impact of all these churches' constituencies joining together in both more common fellowship and voice – especially as the idea of CCT spreads down to the congregational and community level of the churches' life. That is now the next step. God is good.
 Asra Nomani and I have a “e-relationship.” I first heard about her in 2003 when she and her mother, Sajida, entered their mosque in Morgantown, West Virginia, by the front door and prayed in the same room with men. By gender-integrating the mosque, they broke a practice on the rise in many mosques in which women are forced to pray behind partitions or in basements. I e-mailed Asra right away to send my support and find out more about her and the movement of progressive Muslim women that she’s helped to shape. We’ve been “e-friends” ever since.
Nomani, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, has been very generous in introducing the readers of Sojourners magazine to the progressive face of Islam. In the latest issue of Sojourners, her article "A Faith of Their Own" highlights another aspect of the gender jihad - namely, Muslim women reforming male-controlled Islamic jurisprudence. Also listen to Amy Goodman’s recent interview with Asra on "Democracy Now!" Rose Marie Berger is an Associate Editor and Poetry Editor for Sojourners magazine.
The latest news on child welfare, Iraq, U.S. prisons, Iran, 2007 budget, Libby trial, Darfur, and global warming. Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »Full news summary:
Child welfare. U.S., Britain fare poorly in children survey - "The United States and Britain ranked as the worst places to be a child, according to a UNICEF study of more than 20 developed nations released Wednesday." US, Britain ranked last on child welfare - "One of the study's researchers, Jonathan Bradshaw, said children fared worse in the United States and Britain, despite high overall levels of national wealth, because of greater economic inequality and poor levels of public support for families. "What they have in common are very high levels of inequality, very high levels of child poverty, which is also associated with inequality, and in rather different ways poorly developed services to families with children."
Iraq. 11 more Republicans get behind Iraq rebuke - "In a striking display of dissension, a group of Republican lawmakers broke ranks with the White House and embraced a resolution opposing more U.S. troops in Iraq - airing their criticism even as President Bush publicly defended his plan." Bush to Congress: Give new Iraq strategy a chance to work - "President Bush, facing a congressional vote of protest over his escalation of military force in Iraq, confronted a growing challenge to his presidency with complaints that members of Congress are pressing for a symbolic vote without allowing his new strategy a chance to restore security inside Iraq." GOP Looks Beyond War Measure to Fight on Funding - "With Republicans speaking out against President Bush's war policy on the House floor, GOP leaders and the White House conceded defeat on a resolution opposing sending additional U.S. troops to Iraq and began looking toward the coming battle over the war's funding." Bush: Redeployments to Iraq don't hurt troop morale - "Bush said that he did not believe morale of troops in Iraq had declined because of repeated deployments to the war zone, saying his commanders on the ground would have informed him if any problems existed."
Iran. Bush Declares Iran's Arms Role in Iraq Is Certain- "President Bush said that he was certain that factions within the Iranian government had supplied Shiite militants in Iraq with deadly roadside bombs that had killed American troop
s." Iranians Aid Iraq Militants, Bush Alleges - "President Bush bluntly accused Iranian agents of providing sophisticated explosives to kill U.S. troops in Iraq but said he did not know whether they were acting on orders of the Islamic republic's leaders and denied using the allegations as a pretext to go to war with Tehran." Tehran's Iraq role unclear, U.S. now says - "U.S. officials from President Bush to a top general in Baghdad said that there was no solid evidence that high-ranking officials in Iran had ordered deadly weapons to be sent to Iraq for use against American troops," Skepticism Over Iraq Haunts U.S. Iran Policy - "The specter of the war in Iraq -- a war the Bush administration denied it was planning, supported by evidence that turned out to be false -- looms large over administration policy toward Iran."
2007 budget. Senate Belatedly Passes Spending Bill for 2007 - "Four and a half months after the legal deadline, the Senate gave final approval to a 2007 spending plan that funds almost half the federal government and averts any chance of a government shutdown."
U.S. prisons. Growth spurt projected for America's prisons - "Get-tough policies that lock up offenders for longer sentences are propelling a projected increase of nearly 200,000 in the nation's prison population in the next five years, according a private study."
Libby trial. Saying He Was Misled by Defense, Judge in Libby Case Puts Some Evidence Off-Limits- "The lawyers defending I. Lewis Libby Jr. against perjury charges rested their case, but not before suffering a series of defeats in rulings by the presiding judge. The judge, Reggie B. Walton, expressed in the strongest terms yet that he had been misled by the defense team about whether Mr. Libby would take the stand in his own defense." Defense Attorneys Rest Libby's Case- "Attorneys for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby rested their defense in his perjury trial after giving jurors a stripped-down version of their case that the vice president's then-chief of staff was too preoccupied with sensitive national security issues in 2003 to remember conversations he had."
Darfur. Peacekeepers poised for new mission in Chad - "The UN security council is due to decide in the next few days on dispatching troops to eastern Chad to try to prevent the Darfur crisis spilling across the border and triggering a regional conflict and further humanitarian catastrophe." L.A. cit
y, county move to divest funds from Sudan - "Joining a growing backlash to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, Los Angeles city and county officials are taking steps this week to cut financial ties with companies that do business with the Sudanese government."
Global warming. Debate over global warming is shifting - "With Democrats controlling the environmental agenda in Congress, a panel of international scientists saying there's a greater-than-90 percent chance that humans contribute to global warming, and former vice president Al Gore calling climate change a moral issue, many besieged global warming skeptics are starting to tone down their rhetoric."
Shall one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn one who is righteous and mighty, who says to a king, "You scoundrel!" and to princes, "You wicked men!"; who shows no partiality to nobles, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of [God's] hands? - Job 34:17-19 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
The neo-cons running this administration’s foreign policy are like most ideologues. Rather than allowing the facts to determine a course of action, they have their predetermined opinions and then shape the evidence to match. On Sunday, a group of anonymous senior United States military officials held a press briefing in Baghdad to present their case that Iran was supplying weapons to Shiite groups in Iraq. They displayed mortar shells, rocket-propelled grenades and an explosive device capable of blasting through an armored Humvee. According to The New York Times, The officials also asserted, without providing direct evidence, that Iranian leaders had authorized smuggling those weapons into Iraq for use against the Americans. The officials said such an assertion was an inference based on general intelligence assessments. One senior defense analyst said, The Times noted, that “direction for the operation was ‘coming from the highest levels of the Iranian government.'” The reaction was skeptical. The British Independent wrote: The United States is moving closer to war with Iran by accusing the "highest levels" of the Iranian government of supplying sophisticated roadside bombs that have killed 170 US troops and wounded 620. The allegations against Iran are similar in tone and credibility to those made four years ago by the US government about Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction in order to justify the invasion of 2003. The London Financial Times called it a “Dodgy Dossier,” and noted: The much-postponed presentation of the case that Iran is arming opponents of the U.S. army in Iraq finally took place in Baghdad on Sunday. It was unconvincing and resembles, albeit in a minor key, Colin Powell's misrepresentation four years ago to the United Nations Security Council on Iraq's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction. The former secretary of state's allegations were not borne out by the facts, but they did smooth the path to invasion. And, then, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, disagreeing with his analysts, said: We know that the explosively formed projectiles are manufactured in Iran ... What I would not say is that the Iranian government, per se, knows about this. ... It is clear that Iranians are involved, and it's clear that materials from Iran are involved, but I would not say by what I know that the Iranian government clearly knows or is complicit. So which is it? It reminds me of the old television show Dragnet with Sgt. Joe Friday and his signature phrase, “Just the facts, ma’am.” Is that too much to expect from our government? Having once taken the country to war on non-existent evidence driven by their ideology, we must not allow them to do it again. I don’t want to hear “assertions” and “inferences." Just the facts.
 It's been in the works for quite some time, but yesterday we announced my participation in a delegation of 13 religious leaders who will be leaving this coming Saturday, February 17, for a trip to Iran. Our delegation, which is being led by the Mennonites and Quakers, will be meeting with a variety of religious leaders (including Christians and Muslims), civil society leaders, a group of female members of Parliament, former President Khatami, and current President Ahmadinejad. The purpose of the trip is to deepen dialogue between religious and political leaders in the hope of defusing tensions between the U.S. and Iran. As I have been telling people in the last week about my impending trip, I have been getting a number of interesting responses. Some people are worried about my safety (including my wife), because they have vivid memories of the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979. Others have offered words of encouragement and support, as they are worried that we may be on a course with Iran similar to the tack we took in Iraq, and they hope our trip might help de-escalate some of the tensions between our two nations. Last weekend I met an Iranian couple here in Washington, D.C., at an event and mentioned my trip to them. They were, of course, very interested about the purpose of my visit, and shared with me some of the beautiful places and sights I should visit while in Iran. But after this somewhat superficial exchange, our conversation began to deepen, as they expressed to me their sadness that the American people don't really know and understand the Iranian people – that we only know them through the prism of their president and the media images that are beamed through our televisions. And then the woman became even more serious, and with deep sadness and concern in her eyes asked, "Do you think the U.S. will attack my country?" Though she phrased it as a question, the look in her eyes revealed the hope she had that the answer would be no, but also the real fear that it just might be possible. And then she said, "I'm so glad you are going, and I hope you are successful. When you return, please tell the American people what you have seen and how different the Iranian people are than what the media portrays." While I am sure there will be stories to tell about our meetings with high-level government officials, religious leaders, and members of civil society, I do hope to be able to spend time talking with average Iranian citizens: people who, I suspect, have the same hopes and aspirations for peace, security, and prosperity that we have in this country. We have met with a number of government officials here in Washington, and everyone has been encouraging about our visit during this highly tense time. We met with Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) yesterday, who has been trying to visit Iran since 1989. He gave us some advice and questions to pose to President Ahmadinejad, wished us well, and said we should always be willing to talk with our enemies. It seemed like a fitting send-off for a group of Christians. After all, we have been called to be peacemakers, and without dialogue it's hard to achieve reconciliation and peace. I'll be blogging here on this site about the trip from February 18-25, while I am in Iran. I hope you will join me on this journey and pray that our delegation will contribute to Words, Not War, with Iran. Jeff Carr is the Chief Operations Officer for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
 In mid-January, a few of us launched a Web site: stepitup07.org. We didn't have a big group behind us, and we didn't have any money – just an idea, that the time had finally come for Americans to move past concern about global warming and on to real action. We'd organized a march across Vermont last summer, which was a great success – it convinced all of our congressional candidates, from socialists to conservative Republicans, to put global warming front and center in their campaigns. But the final day of the50-mile pilgrimage drew 1,000 people – and we were shocked to read in the newspapers that that represented the biggest demonstration about climate change in American history. So we picked a day – April 14 – and asked people around the nation to organize demonstrations: on church steps and in city parks, and anywhere else that seemed appropriate. We sent out a bunch of emails. And then we waited. But not for long. In the course of a month, more than 600 groups have signed up to host StepItUp rallies on April 14. It's going to be one of the biggest environmental protests since Earth Day 1970. So far they're planned in 47 states. And more to the point, they represent a fount of unbelievable creativity: Scuba divers are organizing underwater demonstrations off the endangered coral reefs of Key West and Maui; climbers are planning to hang banners from some of the country's greatest rock walls; people will gather on the levees in New Orleans, and along the someday-tidelines in many of America's coastal cities, painting blue stripes to show where the water will come unless we take action; musicians are sending in songs; and one artist organized 800 school kids in Utah to spell out StepItUp with their bodies on the school playground and then took a picture from a helicopter. And all this without, so far, one single story in the conventional media. The information is just online. Why the response? Because people understand what a crisis we face, but have felt overwhelmed by it. Just by issuing an invitation, we've given people a chance to act on their deep love for creation, their deep love for the people (poor people, mostly, at least at first) directly threatened by this greatest of crises, and their deep love for the future. I didn't know if people would respond, but I know now. What a wonderful feeling to click on the website every day and see the spirit at work. Bill McKibben wrote the first book for a general audience about global warming, The End of Nature, way back in 1989. His new book is Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future .
The latest news on Iran, Libby trial, climate change, Iraq-Congress, Romney announces candidacy, North Korea, immigration, church-state, and select op-eds. Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »Full news summary:
Iraq-Congress. House Begins Debate On War - "The House plunged into a heated, partisan debate on President Bush's war policy, with Democrats challenging lawmakers to take a stand against the deployment of more troops to Iraq while Republicans accused their political foes of emboldening the enemy with their symbolic resolution." Iraq war debated in House - "The House began a heated debate on President Bush's plan to send 21,500 additional combat troops to Iraq as Democrats pushed a resolution that would mark the strongest and most formal rebuke of the administration's conduct of the war." Parties put their vets out front for Iraq debate - "Democrats offered a display of military force as the House began three days of debate on a resolution expressing disapproval of President Bush's decision to commit 21,500 more troops to the war in Iraq. Eleven military veterans, whose service stretched from World War II to the current conflict in Iraq, were among Democrats speaking in favor of the resolution." House debate: Prelude to a faceoff? - "Deep into the night, a parade of lawmakers from both parties drew on philosophers, generals and former presidents to make their points. They talked of wars long over and those that haven't begun."
Iran. Pace questions claim on Iran - "Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the discovery that roadside bombs in Iraq contained material made in Iran does not necessarily mean the Iranian government is involved in supplying insurgents." Doubts raised on linking of Iran to US deaths in Iraq - "Security analysts and critics of the Bush administration are questioning the quality of intelligence presented by three unidentified US officials in Baghdad on Sunday to demonstrate the Iranian government's ties to sophisticated explosives that have killed 170 US soldiers in Iraq." Disputes Emerge on Iran and Roadside Bombs - "The disagreements have laid bare a fundamental tension in intelligence analysis: how and when to draw firm conclusions from battlefield intelligence about the motivations of foreign leaders." Pentagon denies politics behind
claims Iran supplying weapons - "The U.S. military said that its decision to go public with allegations that Iran is providing militants in Iraq with weapons was not politically motivated or orchestrated by the White House.
Romney announces candidacy. Promising a 'new American dream,' Romney formally launches White House bid - "Promising to build "a new American dream," Mitt Romney launched his bid to become the nation's 44th president by casting himself as an optimistic and forward-thinking Washington outsider with the experience and vision to lead the country into a new age of innovation." Romney joins '08 race for GOP nomination - "Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney formally joined the race for the Republican presidential nomination, saying he had the innovative skills of an outsider whose conservatism would lead the nation past the "talk and dithering" that preoccupies Washington." Romney Joins the 2008 Race - "With a call for "innovation and transformation in Washington," Mitt Romney formally stepped into the Republican presidential field, portraying himself as both a political outsider and an experienced executive who would bring efficiency to the White House."
North Korea. Outside Pressures Snapped Korean Deadlock- "It is hard to imagine that either George W. Bush or Ki, Jong-il would have agreed even a year ago to the kind of deal they have now approved. … But in the past few months, the world has changed for both Mr. Bush and Mr. Kim, two men who have made clear how deeply they detest each other. Both are beset by huge problems, and both needed some kind of breakthrough." U.S. Flexibility Credited in Nuclear Deal With N. Korea - "The six-nation deal to shut down North Korea's nuclear facility, four months after Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear test, was reached largely because President Bush was willing to give U.S. negotiators new flexibility to reach an agreement," Pact With North Korea Draws Fire From a Wide Range of Critics in U.S. - The deal that could lead North Korea to shut its main nuclear reactor came under criticism from both ends of the political spectrum immediately after it was announced." N. Korea nuclear pact marks major shift for Bush - "The tentative international nuclear agreement with North Korea marks a fundamental shift in direction for the Bush administration, which for years had sternly demanded that the country's leadership abandon its nuclear program before receiving any rewards."
Libby trial. Libby Defense to Rest Without Testimony by Him or Cheney - "Attorneys for I. Lewis "Scoo
ter" Libby said that he and Vice President Cheney, his former boss, will not testify in Libby's perjury trial, leaving the defense preparing to rest its case today after barely more than two days of testimony." Libby and Cheney Will Not Testify, Says the Defense- "The decision could be viewed as a sign that Mr. Libby's lawyers are confident that the prosecution failed to make its case."
Immigration. Banking on illegal immigrants - "Bank of America said that it was issuing credit cards to Spanish-speaking immigrants who may not have Social Security numbers, triggering complaints that the nation's largest retail bank is tacitly endorsing illegal immigration."
Climate change. Energy CEOs encourage emissions caps - "Corporate CEOs do not usually come to Capitol Hill to lobby for more government regulation. But that's what a group of executives did, urging Congress to cap emissions blamed for global warming."
Church-state. Appeals court considers prison ministry program - "An evangelical Christian prison ministry program in Iowa should be allowed to continue because it succeeds at modifying inmate behavior and reducing recidivism, an attorney for the state said."
Op-Ed
Finally, Obama's ideas getting some air time (Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune) - "I hope Sen. Barack Obama remembered to send Australia's Prime Minister John Howard a Valentine's Day card. The prime minister has done the Democratic presidential hopeful from Illinois a tremendous favor: He has treated Obama's Iraq ideas seriously."
We can never have enough of nature. We must be refreshed by the sight of inexhaustible vigor, vast and titanic features, the sea-coast with its wrecks, the wilderness with its living and its decaying trees, the thunder cloud, and the rain which lasts three weeks and produces freshets. We need to witness our own limits transgressed, and some life pasturing freely where we never wander.
- Henry David Thoreau
Source: "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau. + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Sigmund Freud would have something to say about the ways in which we evangelicals seem to be fixated on homosexuality. That fixation became abundantly clear to me recently when I was doing radio interviews upon the publication of my most recent book, Letters to a Young Evangelical. The book has 21 chapters, yet on every one of the two dozen interviews that I had on Christian radio stations, I had to spend at least 80 percent of my air time concentrating on the few pages that dealt with homosexuality. The primary focus of the questioning during these interviews focused on my assertions, based on my own research and a survey of literature on the subject, that nobody has come up with a conclusive explanation of what causes a homosexual orientation, and that it develops so early in the bio-physical and social development of children that it's practically impossible that it could be something that is deliberately chosen. It seemed to me that the interviewers were not willing to accept what I had to say, and wanted me to commit to one of two other options that I believe to be erroneous. The first was the suggestion that the homosexual orientation is the result of poor socialization. This is the commonly held belief among those evangelicals who head up ministries that propose to “deliver” homosexuals and make them into heterosexuals. The most cited version is that a boy overly identifies with a dominant mother, while his father is either absent from the household or is a somewhat weak personality. This theory puts already upset and confused parents of gays on unnecessary guilt trips. The other theory often proposed in these interviews was that being homosexual is somehow the result of trauma resulting from the gay person being sexually molested as a child. The reasons for these beliefs were all too obvious to me. If either of these theories had validity, then it could be said that homosexuals who wanted to change could do so by making the decision to be open to the work of God in their lives and getting some good Christian counseling. When I questioned such conclusions, the interviewers usually came back at me by claiming that if I did not accept what they were saying, then I must be implying that the homosexual orientation was inborn. That, to them, was unthinkable because accordingly, this would lead to the assumption that God created homosexuals the way they are, and that we should accept them as such. Over and over, I would have to repeat that nobody knows definitively what establishes same-sex attraction in persons - and again I would have to assert that what we do know is that it is practically never the result of any conscious decision. The interviewers immediately sensed that I was suggesting that there are no easy answers that we evangelicals can offer to gays and lesbians who ask us about changing their sexual orientation. I added to their anxieties when I went on to say that it is very rare that sexual orientations ever do change. I never say “never” because with God miracles are always possible. I make it clear, however, that barring miracles, we evangelicals have little to offer in the way of positive suggestions for those who are struggling with being homosexual in a homophobic world. In reality, we only have two proposals - celibacy, which is my answer; and monogamous partnerships, which is an answer posed by my wife. In my book, Letters to a Young Evangelical, I point out that there is an emerging new generation of young evangelicals who are still conservative on their views on homosexual behavior, but refuse to make gay marriage the defining issue that it has become for older Christians. Instead, these young people are more concerned with such issues as poverty, the AIDS crisis, the environment, and war. It is no surprise, t
herefore, that they take Bono as their model for Christian activism. This rock singer who has raised their consciousness about the crisis in Africa is working hard to eliminate Third World debts. Bono is committed to the causes that young evangelicals deem significant and they are joining with enthusiasm in his crusade to “Make Poverty History.” In many instances, those in this new generation are even reluctant to accept being called evangelicals. They sense that the label “evangelical” is commonly thought to be synonymous with right-wing politics and suggests a gay-bashing, anti-environmentalist, anti-feminist, and pro-war mindset. Instead, they are increasingly calling themselves Red Letter Christians. This name, of course, associates them with those verses in scripture that record the words that Jesus spoke, which in many Bibles are printed in red. That I affirm this designation and promote this new label in my book often greatly disturbs my interviewers. They quickly remind me that Jesus never mentioned homosexuality. “That’s right!” I respond. “He most likely maintained ancient Jewish laws on the matter, but condemning gays was not on His big-ten hit list, while attacking judgmental religious people was.” In Letters to a Young Evangelical, I call young people to move beyond the preoccupation with sexual issues that have so absorbed the discussion of the over-50s crowd and coalesce into a new movement that is committed to also include a whole range of other crucial social justice issues. I let them know that while they ought not to neglect sexual issues, they really must move beyond them and overcome the fixation on homosexuality that I found so evident in my recent radio interviews. Embracing a Christianity that deals with the broad spectrum of social concerns that are relevant to living out love and justice in the 21st century is required for an emerging church of young evangelicals. Any other kind of Christianity will prove irrelevant to them.  Tony Campolo is founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education (EAPE) and Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Eastern University.
Because Jesus' teachings are so challenging and radical, it is much more comfortable to focus on a quiet, private, personal relationship with him than it is to follow his teachings that call for a public prophetic witness. - Alvin Alexi Currier + Sign up to receive our quote of the day via e-mail
 This past week I stood with hundreds of black clergy as the sun rose over a memorial site constructed in the lower 9th Ward to honor the thousands of lives that were lost in the waters of Katrina. The vigil was organized as a part of the third Samuel DeWitt Proctor conference, a conference that draws together nearly 1,000 black clergy, seminarians, and leaders from the across the country in order to strengthen the network among the African American faith community and its leaders, and to increase the community's capacity to address the needs of those it serves.
The rising sun provided a powerful metaphor for the new New Orleans that is struggling to arise from the water-soaked ashes. We stood on sacred ground, in the middle of a neighborhood that has become a symbol of Katrina’s wrath and the persistence and pervasiveness of poverty in America. Pastors from across the still-devastated city spoke passionately about protecting the right to relocate. The very survival of many neighborhoods rests in the rebuilding and revitalization of these anchors of hope and community empowerment. Joe Givens, a lifelong resident of New Orleans and a former community organizer with PICO (People Improving Communities through Organizing), is leading an effort to pair New Orleans churches with churches outside the city for prayer, solidarity, and financial support.
Seventeen months after Katrina hit shore, huge swaths of New Orleans still resemble a ghost land and a disaster area. Empty lots and dilapidated homes appear to be tombstones, marking where lives have been uprooted and shipwrecked by the breaking of the levies. The only visible human activity is the occasional group of volunteers, groups that continue to pour in from across the country to provide the backbone of labor in gutting and repairing houses. In Lakeside, a more affluent and predominantly white neighborhood, the chances of revival are high due to strong and active neighborhood associations and civic organizations. The lower 9th Ward lacks the same degree of civic power. While the machinations of city and state-level politics unfold, neighborhoods are in a race against time to attract enough residents back in order to prove that their neighborhoods can once again be viable. If they cannot prove this, neighborhoods will either die or be resurrected through the hands of developers. The clock is ticking.
On our tour of four neighborhoods I found the biblical references to be profound and haunting. Givens described people displaced as being in a practical exile, waiting and hoping to return to the promised land of their birth. Yet most lower-income families can barely afford the bus ticket back to the city, let alone afford what are now astronomical rents while they go about the task of gutting their homes and starting the arduous process of rebuilding. While the federal government has allocated $4.2 billion to assist these families, only an estimated 400 families have benefited thus far due to red tape and government delay. The "CNN effect" of media attention seems to be passing by the storm of rebuilding that has followed in the aftermath of the storm. Isaiah 58 calls us to be “the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.” Will the church take up this spiritual vocation in the face of the gulf coast recovery? We can be repairers by assisting churches that are trying to rebuild one brick and one family at a time. We must also raise a prophetic voice to interrogate failed public policy surrounding the rebuilding effort, ensuring that the former residents' right to return is protected and that monies actually reach those most in need.
 Adam Taylor is Director of Campaigns and Organizing for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
The latest news on North Korea, Iraq- Congress, strategy-, health insurance, Iran, politics- presidential, climate change, and select Op-Eds. Sign up to receive our daily news summary via e-mail »Full news summary:
North Korea. N. Korea Agrees to Nuclear Disarmament- "In a landmark international accord, North Korea promised Tuesday to close down and seal its lone nuclear reactor within 60 days in return for 50,000 tons of fuel oil as a first step in abandoning all nuclear weapons and research programs." North Korea agrees nuclear deal - "North Korea today agreed to take the first steps towards nuclear disarmament in exchange for energy aid, marking a diplomatic breakthrough after years of confrontation." In Shift, Accord on North Korea Seems to Be Set- "The United States and four other nations reached a tentative agreement to provide North Korea with roughly $400 million in fuel oil and aid, in return for the North's starting to disable its nuclear facilities and allowing nuclear inspectors back into the country."
Iraq-Congress. Congress to debate Iraq - "Speaker Nancy Pelosi will lead the way Tuesday as the Democratic-controlled House embarks on an extraordinary debate over the Iraq war, declaring that the public has decided that President Bush's policies "have not worked, will not work and must be changed." House to Take Up Resolution on Iraq - "The House will begin debate on a simple, tightly worded resolution opposing the deployment of additional combat troops to Iraq, even as Democratic leaders move forward on binding language that would curtail those deployments and begin to bring troops home." House Democrats Unveil Measure Denouncing Iraq Buildup- "The nonbinding resolution, two simple clauses that also express support for the troops, is expected to pass with overwhelming Democratic support but also with a bloc of votes from Republicans increasingly disenchanted with the administration's Iraq policy." House initiates anti-war motion - "House Democrats introduced a war resolution condemning President Bush's plan to send reinforcement troops to Iraq, but their anti-war supporters say it misses the point because it doesn't simply cut funding for the war."
Iraq-strategy. As US focuses on Iraq turmoil, will it miss the bigger picture? - "In a littl
e over a year, the US mission in Iraq seems to have narrowed dramatically. Instead of the lofty goals of fostering a democracy that could serve as a regional beacon, the US now aims to curb the violence, especially in Baghdad. This narrowing gives the American venture in Iraq more focus, while preserving hopes that the administration's long-range goals can be achieved, analysts say. But some warn that it is also dangerous if it becomes an end in itself, causing US policymakers to lose sight of the bigger risks and objectives in the Middle East."
Iran. Skeptics Doubt U.S. Evidence on Iran Action in Iraq- "Three weeks after promising it would show proof of Iranian meddling in Iraq, the Bush administration has laid out its evidence - and received in return a healthy dose of skepticism." Ahmadinejad puts faith in 'people in US' to avoid war - "Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, yesterday shrugged off the threat of a US attack and said accusations that Tehran was arming insurgents in Iraq represented an attempt to find a scapegoat for American "defeats and failures". Iran seen as key to untangling Iraq - "Iranian officials Monday U.S. accusations that Tehran is arming Shiite militias in Iraq with tank-piercing explosives "unfounded," and said that Iran was committed to joining a regional effort to halt the tightening spiral of violence." European Officials Agree to Widen Economic Sanctions Against Iran Over Nuclear Program- "European negotiators, yielding to pressure from the United States, have agreed to widen a ban on financial transactions with Iran and the export of materials and technology that Iran could use to develop nuclear weapons."
Politics. Rove strikes conciliatory note at GOP luncheon - "Top White House adviser Karl Rove told local Republican leaders Monday that it was essential for the GOP to accept and work with the new Democratic majority in Congress but said the party should not become timid or surrender its conservative ideals."
Climate change. Time to begin 'adapting' to climate change? - "last week's release of a report on the science of global warming - with its projections of warming based on emissions already in the air, as well as on potential future emissions trends - has helped underscore the need. "Climate change is here and now," notes Ian Noble, a senior climate-change specialist at the World Bank. "We have to adapt."
Politics-presidential. McCain, Romney Vying for Support Of Conservatives - "But McCain and Romney have significant hurdles to overcome if they are to win the support of conservative Christians, who by one estimate make up a quarter of the electorate and at least 40 percent of the Republican base." Beltway support could boost Romney- "Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who had a limited national profile just a few years ago, is matching the better-known Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) step-for-step in the race to round up support from an important audience: members of Congress and Washington lobbyists." Will Mormon faith hurt bid for White House? - "In a diverse 2008 presidential field that includes a woman and an African-American on the Democratic side, polls show being Mormon is a handicap. In a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, 72% say they would vote for a qualified nominee who is Mormon. That compares with 94% for a black nominee and 88% for a female nominee."
In anti-war N.H., Obama separates self from rivals - "Bringing his opening campaign swing to the site of the influential first-in-the-nation presidential primary, Sen. Barack Obama sharpened distinctions with rival Democrats on the Iraq war even as he offered an apology to military families who might have been offended by a comment he made a day earlier in Iowa."
Health insurance. States and U.S. at Odds on Aid for Uninsured- "In the absence of federal action, governors and state legislators around the country are transforming the nation's health care system, putting affordable health insurance within reach of millions of Americans in hopes of reversing the steady rise in the number of uninsured, now close to 47 million. But the states appear to be on a collision course with the Bush administration, whose latest budget proposals create a huge potential obstacle to their efforts to expand coverage."
Op-Ed. Litmus Test for Hypocrisy (By E. J. Dionne Jr., The Washington Post) - "Why is it that abortion, a subject on which political candidates often claim to be expressing their most deeply held moral convictions, is often the issue on which they seem especially opportunistic and unprincipled?"
But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
But as for you, follower of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.
- 1 Timothy 6:9-11 + Sign up to receive our social justice verse of the day via e-mail
Monday, February 12, 2007
 Thanks for entering the 2008 presidential race. I know a lot of people feel as I do: After several elections where we felt we were left to choose between tired and uninspiring candidates with little fresh to offer except new twists on old electioneering techniques, it seems that in the upcoming primary elections, at least, we will have several exciting options. In both parties, in fact, we may get to choose between a number of fresh, creative, and substantial candidates instead of settling for the lesser of famliar disappointments. I hope that we will feel the same way when it comes down to two candidates in the 2008 presidential elections as well. No doubt you'll be getting a lot of advice and requests from a lot of people in the coming weeks, and the only reason I think mine deserves to be heard is that I know I'm expressing what a lot of people feel. So I would like to make this request at the beginning of your campaign. Please don't lie to us. Please forego both the repulsive, deceptive, and twisted lies and also the flattering lies we like to hear. For example, I heard a fellow candidate recently trot out the tired old line, "America is the greatest country in the history of the world." This makes Americans feel good and gets applause. Maybe it wins votes. But it is a lie. Yes, we are the richest country. Yes, we have the most weapons. Yes, we dominate in many fields, from sports to pop music to movies to pornographic websites to resource consumption and waste production. But the seductive lie of superiority is bad for any nation, including ours. Any nation that keeps telling itself that it is the greatest will become a proud nation (if it isn't already), and pride, I have it on good authority, comes before a fall. Pride makes nations, as individuals, unpleasant and ugly neighbors, and so candidates make a bad long-term decision when they seek to coddle pride in exchange for votes. If they win, they will preside over a country that their rhetoric has made more ugly and more likely to fall. Instead of telling us this lie of American superiority, please tell us the truths that we need to hear. Tell us, as you just did in your campaign-launch speech, inconvenient truths – that we and our leaders have a habit of making mistakes and blaming others – whether it's in New Orleans or Baghdad. Tell us the truth about our past – from our own original genocide and ongoing apartheid regarding the Native peoples of this land, to our profoundly unacknowledged and unhealed legacy of slavery and racism, to our failure to care properly for this beautiful part of God's green earth, to our desperate and shameful violations of our own principles and ideals around the world, from Congo to Chile, and from Central America to the Middle East. Those who say, "Those things are in the past, we should just move on," would never say that about, say, September 11, 2001. Tell us the truth that we have unfinished business, recalling the old proverb that says the one who hides his transgressions will not prosper, but the one who confesses and forsakes them will find mercy. South Africa discovered how a different future is possible when a nation tells the truth about its past, and you could help us have our own time of truth and reconciliation. And of course, please tell us the truth about the hope that comes through truth-telling. You and John Edwards and several other candidates have already begun inspiring many of us with your hope – audacious hope regarding poverty, environmental healing, and peace. Because, as you say, another world is possible. Many of us dare to hope that, and if you don't tell us the old political lies and instead tell us the inconvenient truth, then our shared emerging hopes can become a dynamic new reality. All of us are cynical at times, but in the launch of your campaign, I feel more hopeful a
nd inspired than I have in a long time. Thank you.  Brian McLaren ( brianmclaren.net) is an author, speaker, Red Letter Christian, and serves as board chair for Sojourners/Call to Renewal. His most recent book is The Secret Message of Jesus, and his next book, Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope, will be released later this year.
Several readers responded strongly to the title of Jim's post a while back | | |
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