The monologue of the Religious Right is over and a new conversation has begun! Join the God's Politics dialogue with Jim Wallis and friends Brian McLaren, Amy Sullivan, Diana Butler Bass, Tony Campolo, Obery Hendricks, Noel Castellanos, Robert Franklin, Shane Claiborne, and others.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The latest news on Children's Health Insurance, Povert, Iraq, Iran Presidential politics, slavery, Church-state, North Korea, Sudan, Venezuela, and select Op-Eds.
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.
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"
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.
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.
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).
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 powerand 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.
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.
You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing; when you bear witness in a lawsuit, you shall not side with the majority so as to pervert justice; nor shall you be partial to the poor in a lawsuit.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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 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.
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).
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?
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.
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.]
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.
...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.
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?
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."
Whatever may be the tensions and the stresses of a particular day, there is always lurking close at hand the trailing beauty of forgotten joy or unremembered peace.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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."
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
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.
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.
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?
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 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.
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.
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."
Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation say evermore, "God is great!" But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!
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.
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.
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.
What part of the ongoing, ethnically-targeted rape, displacement, and killing of civilians does Natsios not understand - and when will the U.S. get serious about pressuring Khartoum to stop the genocide? See Africa Action’s response for a reality check.
Elizabeth Palmberg is an Assistant Editor for Sojourners magazine.
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.
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.
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: God Hates Inequality (also featured in SojoMail). Here's a representative example:
I was very disappointed to read an email from Sojourners that began with the phrase "God Hates." Yes, I believe that God is greatly disappointed in the manner in which humans treat one another. However, plainly and simply, God is a God of love - not hate. While I understand the message you were trying to convey, I think the "God Hates" phrase was an extremely poor choice and sends a message that it's okay to begin stating: "God hates this" and "God hates that".
A quick Bible search reveals several passages in the Hebrew scriptures that describe God hating this or that.
The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates the lover of violence. (Psalm 11:5)
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family. (Proverbs 6:15-19)
Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. (Isaiah 1:14-15)
Of course, as Chief Wiggum of The Simpsons once said, "the Bible says a lot of things," and the fact that in these passages God hates things that good progressives disapprove of as well (I can't stand new moons or appointed festivals either!) does not resolve the thorny theological issue pinpointed by another reader:
The Old Testament is filled with incredible hatred and unspeakable vengeance and cruelty. I thought Christ tried to put an end to that. I don’t understand how the word “hate” can be attributed to God. Not if God is love.
As Stephen Colbert might say: "God hates or God loves? Pick a side – we're at war." Or is such black-and-white, either/or thinking offensive to the nuanced and paradox-embracing mind of the progressive intellectual Christian? Discuss.
The latest news on Iraq-Congress, veterans-, Iran-weapons, nuclear program-, Obama announces presidential campaign, Arab tensions, North Korea, Putin accuses U.S., Harvard's first woman president, Episcopal church, Hungry in Ohio, and select Op-Eds.
Iran-weapons to Iraq.U.S. makes case that Iran arms flow into Iraq - "U.S. defense and intelligence officials sought to bolster the charge that Iran was providing arms to Shiite Muslim militants in Iraq, displaying munitions and weapons fragments that they said constituted evidence that Tehran was contributing to Iraq's violence." Military Ties Iran To Arms In Iraq - "Senior U.S. military officials in Iraq sought to link Iran to deadly armor-piercing explosives and other weapons." U.S. Says Arms Link Iranians to Iraqi Shiites- "After weeks of internal debate, senior United States military officials literally put on the table their first public evidence of the contentious assertion that Iran supplies Shiite extremist groups in Iraq with some of the most lethal weapons in the war." Target Tehran: Washington sets stage for a new confrontation - "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."
Arab tensions.Sunni Arab states fortify against Iran - "Alarmed by the progress of Iran's nuclear program and the prospect of a military clash between its Shi'ite regime and the United States, Persian Gulf leaders intend to use billions of dollars of oil revenue to purchase a huge array of military hardware." Across Arab World, a Widening Rift - "The growing Sunni-Shiite divide is roiling an Arab world as unsettled as at any time in a generation." U.S.-Iran tensions stir fears in Iraq - "Analysts now say that the U.S. and Iran could be at the start of the same sort of "proxy war" in Iraq, perhaps the first such conflict in the new era of warfare since the end of the Cold War."
Iran-nuclear program.Iranian leader says nuclear work will advance - "Tens of thousands of flag-waving Iranians converged on Azadi Square on to voice support for Iran's bid for nuclear energy, as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed to press forward with the nation's uranium enrichment program." Iran Softens Tone, Declares Readiness To Resume Talks - "Facing the prospect of broader international sanctions, Iran's president and national security chief offered to resume negotiations over their country's nuclear program and eased up on some of the contentious rhetoric of the past," No News From Iran's Leader on Nuclear Program- "he stopped short of making a promised announcement about "good news" in the country's nuclear progress, raising speculation that domestic political pressure and technological glitches may have put off a milestone in the government's efforts to begin mass enrichment of uranium." Iran reformists want U.S. to tone it down - "But many Iranians say the international dispute over Iran's nuclear program has become a rallying point for a president who otherwise would be facing substantial public dissatisfaction over soaring inflation, rising unemployment and widespread censorship."
Iraq-Congress.Iraq war debate shifts to the House - "As the House this week launches its first major debate over the Iraq war since the November elections, Democrats are counting on many Republicans to join them in passing a resolution opposing President Bush's troop buildup" Iraq debate shifts to the House - "House Democrats say they intend to keep it simple. Their resolution, to be announced Monday, is expected to have two parts: One affirms that Congress will continue to support US troops who have been committed to the war in Iraq; the other affirms that members do not agree with the proposed escalation." GOP Expects Defections as House Debates Iraq Resolution - "One House Republican close to the GOP leadership spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to be blunt. "This next week is going to be a very tough one for us to get through," he said. "The Democrats know that. We can sit back and hope they overplay their hand, but I don't think they will."
North Korea.Nuclear Talks on North Korea Hit Roadblock- "Negotiations on a step-by-step deal that the Bush administration hopes will lead North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program appeared near collapse over North Korea's demands for huge shipments of fuel oil and electricity before agreeing to a schedule for turning over its nuclear weapons and fuel." North Korean talks extended 1 more day - "Deadlocked over energy aid to North Korea, envoys to six-nation nuclear talks decided night to give themselves one more day to come up with an agreement."
Obama announces presidential campaign.Obama Joins Race With Goals Set High - "Illinois S
en. Barack Obama formally opened his campaign for president, invoking memories of Abraham Lincoln and challenging a new generation to help him transform the nation." Obama Formally Enters Presidential Race- "standing before the Old State Capitol where Abraham Lincoln began his political career, [Obama] announced his candidacy for the White House by presenting himself as an agent of generational change who could transform a government hobbled by cynicism, petty corruption and "a smallness of our politics." Obama's a huge draw, but a work in progress - "Soon enough the novelty will end, says Barack Obama. But not now. Not this weekend."
Putin accuses U.S.Gates Counters Putin's Words on U.S. Power- "Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, disputing a lengthy critique of American power by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Saturday, said Sunday at a European security conference here, "One cold war was quite enough." Putin Hits U.S. Over Unilateral Practices - "Russian President Vladimir Putin, in some of his harshest criticism of the United States since he took office seven years ago," Putin Says U.S. Is Undermining Global Stability-[Putin] "accused the United States on Saturday of provoking a new nuclear arms race by developing ballistic missile defenses, undermining international institutions and making the Middle East more unstable through its clumsy handling of the Iraq war."
Iraq veterans.Told to wait, a Marine dies | VA care in spotlight after Iraq war veteran's suicide - "When a clinical social worker called the next day, Jonathan, 25, told again of his suicidal thoughts and other symptoms. And then, with his stepmother listening in, he learned that he was 26th on the waiting list for one of the 12 beds in the center's ward for post-traumatic stress disorder sufferers. Four days later, on Jan. 16, he wrapped a household extension cord around his neck, tied it to a beam in the basement, and hanged himself."
Harvard's first woman president.Governing boards approve Drew Gilpin Faust as next president of Harvard - "Drew Gilpin Faust, a Civil War historian and Harvard University dean, grew misty-eyed yesterday as she declared, "I can imagine no higher calling, no more exciting adventure than to serve as the president of Harvard." Drew Gilpin Faust: Coming of Age in a Changed World - "Sunday, through the convergence of grand changes in higher education, her own achievements and the resignation of Harvard's previous president under pressure, she became the first woman appointed to lead the Ivy League university founded in 1636." Faust points Harvard forward - "Congratulations to Drew Gilpin Faust. In July she will become Harvard's new president. A historian and dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Faust has made history. She is the first woman to run the university."
Episcopal church.New Episcopal Leader Braces for Gay-Rights Test- "This week, Bishop Jefferts Schori will represent the Episcopal Church at a meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with the presiding bishops of the 37 other provinces in the global Anglican Communion, the world's third-largest church body. Some of those bishops, known as primates, have broken their ties with the American church after it ordained an openly gay bishop and permitted the blessing of same-sex unions."
Hungry in Ohio- "The job and wage stagnation that have long plagued the northeastern and southeastern regions of the state seem to be reaching central Ohio, said Laura Holton of the Fairfield County Department of Job and Family Services. In her Lancaster-area community, the number of residents receiving food-stamp benefits was up 190 percent over the same six-year period. … "A majority of these families are working families, and I think the public really needs to hear that," Holton said. "Our unemployment rate might not be that bad, but the wages just aren't enough."
Op-Eds. Where's love in the budget? ( Donna Brazile, Washington Times) - "Looking at President Bush's budget for fiscal 2008, I can't help but conclude that the only things he cares about are the war in Iraq and protecting the bank accounts of America's wealthiest citizens. Certainly, the president, who once campaigned as a compassionate conservative, has overlooked the poor, those living on fixed incomes and even the middle-class."
The danger of a 'chosen' nation (Oliver "Buzz" Thomas, USA Today) - "Israel holds a sacred place in the words of the Old Testament. But does Christian doctrine give that country a free pass at the expense of peace in the Middle East?"
A road map out of Iraq (Zbigniew Brzezinski, Los Angeles Times) - "The war in Iraq is a historic strategic and moral calamity undertaken under false assumptions. It is undermining America's global legitimacy. Its collateral civilian casualties, as well as some abuses, are tarnishing America's moral credentials. Driven by Manichean impulses and imperial hubris, it is intensifying regional instability."
Nations must enforce Darfur peace agreements ( Omer Ismail And Colin Thomas-Jensen , Boston Globe ) - "Accountability for crimes against humanity will build much needed leverage, but punitive actions such as targeted sanctions must be accompanied by a more vigorous international effort to rebuild a
peace process that can produce a durable agreement."
Keep walking, though there's no place to get to. Don't try to see through the distances. That's not for human beings. Move within, but don't move the way fear makes you move.
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.
I hope it isn’t entirely frivolous to take note of the untimely death of Anna Nicole Smith – although I suspect some God’s Politics readers might think it odd for a Christian blogger to pay respect to the passing of a former Playboy centerfold and tabloid celebrity.
On most days, it probably would not have occurred to me to think about Anna Nicole’s death theologically. However, as it happened, yesterday was not “most days” in the Bass household. February 8 marks the anniversary of my daughter’s baptism. Nine years ago, we stood at the altar of Calvary Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tennessee, and claimed the promises of grace for our newborn, bathing Emma in the water of God. After the service, dozens of friends came to our house for a party and showered her with small gifts to remember her baptism. Every February 8 since, we have held a “baptism birthday” party for Emma. We light the baptism candle and read the baptism liturgy together.
As we recited the baptism liturgy, I was struck by the final promise. The minister asks, “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?” The parents (or the candidates in the case of adult baptism) respond, “I will, with God’s help.”
Christian tradition connects justice and peace with the practice of respecting the dignity of every person. The idea that every creature is dignified, related to God, formed in love, and connected to the whole of the universe forms the center point of Christian theology and ethics. Respect for each person in the web of creation supports the work of justice and peacemaking. Without a profound spirituality of human dignity, practices of justice and peacemaking may slide into the realm of power politics. The baptism liturgy strongly implies that without respect for human dignity, there exists no motive to strive for God’s justice and peace.
Anna Nicole Smith’s life serves as a kind of reverse parable of baptism vows – what happens to a person with little respect or dignity. Indeed, she had become a cultural joke, the stripper turned gold-digger turned reality TV star. Estranged from her family, using her wits and her sexuality to survive, she turned the world’s lack of respect inward – creating a distinctly undignified persona as the pathway to riches and love.
But lack of respect does not create stable identity – as was obvious with Anna Nicole’s problems with illness, depression, and drugs. Both justice and peace proved elusive. In her final interview, she told the reporter that everyone she knew had “stolen a piece” of her. She died alone in a casino hotel, with her final taped conversation a tortured reflection of the confident sexual icon she attempted to be.
As the television blared every detail of Anna Nicole’s life and death, titillating viewers with lurid tales of her paramours and drug use, I could only think of those baptism vows. A woman dies. A mother leaves behind a child. She was not a joke; she was a wounded sister in the human family. Yet even in death, she is offered little respect for her innate dignity, her humanity.
The latest news on health insurance, Iraq-prewar intelligence, war, Congress- Palestine, Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, Sudan, Africa advocacy, Libby trial and select Op-Eds.
Iraq-war.Signs of security plan seen in Iraq - "U.S. and Iraqi troops handed out candy in a Sunni neighborhood, guarded a midtown hospital and swept through a heavily Shiite enclave as Iraqis reacted with skepticism to the first signs of a security plan billed by some as a last-chance effort to secure the Iraqi capital." Iraq, U.S. Advised To Avoid Offensive Against Militiamen: Maliki's Influence Seen in Report- "Iraqi and U.S. forces should not launch a military offensive against the militias -- most of them Shiite -- that are a major source of turmoil in Iraq, but should instead rely on nonviolent steps to bring militiamen into the political fold, according to an Iraqi report that draws largely on the views of prominent Shiite politicians."Iraqi insurgents offer peace in return for US concessions - "For the first time, one of Iraq's principal insurgent groups has set out the terms of a ceasefire that would allow American and British forces to leave the country they invaded almost four years ago."
Iraq-Congress.On Iraq rebuke, House aims for concise, direct approach - "The House of Representatives next week will confront President Bush with a short, straightforward resolution expressing opposition to his plan to boost troop levels in Iraq". House Democrats Reach Accord on Debate Over War Resolution - "House Democrats agreed to debate a straightforward, nonbinding resolution that rejects President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq, but they will also allow Republicans to bring their own war-related measure to the floor." Democrats Set House Debate to Rebuke Bush Over Iraq Policy - "Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other party leaders met privately for more than an hour with other Democratic lawmakers. They sought to reassure Democrats that the symbolic, nonbinding resolution devised to rebuke Mr. Bush was a first step - but not a final one - toward asserting Congressional powers on Iraq."
Iraq-prewar intelligence.Probe faults Pentagon's `alternative' intelligence - "A special unit run by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's top policy aide inappropriately produced "alternative" prewar intelligence reports on Iraq that wrongly concluded Saddam Hussein's regime had cooperated with Al Qaeda," Pentagon aide's prewar work faulted - "A Pentagon official who was a prime architect of Bush administration policies that led to the Iraq war presented policymakers with allegations of links between Iraq and Al Qaeda that did not accurately reflect the views of U.S. intelligence agencies." Official's Key Report On Iraq Is Faulted - "Intelligence provided by former undersecretary of defense Douglas J. Feith to buttress the White House case for invading Iraq included "reporting of dubious quality or reliability" that supported the political views of senior administration officials rather than the conclusions of the intelligence community."
Iran.Iran's Leader Warns the U.S. About Carrying Out Any Attack - "Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned the United States that Iran would retaliate against American interests worldwide if it was attacked." Iran's top leader has fighting words for U.S. - "Speaking to a gathering of air force commanders, Khamenei said, "The enemy knows well that any invasion would be followed by a comprehensive reaction to the invaders and their interests all over the world."
North Korea. North Korea Nuke Talks Resume With Hope - "Six-nation talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program resumed Thursday, buoyed by signs that North Korea is ready to return to serious negotiations."
Afghanistan.Bombing campaign intensifies in Afghanistan - "The Pentagon is ramping up its bombing campaign in Afghanistan as it plans a major offensive against the resurgent Taliban in the spring. Close-air-support missions flown by U.S. Air Force pilots increased nearly 80% in the first five weeks of 2007 compared with the same period last year," General wants more troops in Afghanistan - "The new American commander of NATO presented a revised list of military requirements for Afghanistan that includes a request for more combat troops for the country's restive southern provinces."
Sudan.Frist Joins Evangelist Graham on Trip to South Sudan- "He had traveled to the group's far-flung health clinics before to operate on patients who, he granted, often had no idea who he was. The mission this time was a meeting with leaders of the semiautonomous region that only recently emerged from one of the bloodiest and longest-running civil wars on the continent."
Africa advocacy.New Advocacy Group Aims To Point Up Atrocities in Africa - "Veteran Africa activists, f
rustrated by the slow response from Sudan's government to international demands to ease the plight of refugees in Darfur, are regrouping to take their fight to the next level. A new group, calling itself Enough, has joined the growing list of non-governmental peacemaking organizations. Its aim is to tap into the grass-roots awareness and sense of rage generated by the Darfur crisis and create a social and political network that can identify potential wide-scale atrocities, particularly in Africa, and stop them before they occur."
Palestine.Palestinians Reach Deal on a Government- "It remained unclear whether the new government will meet conditions laid down by Israel and international donors to fully restore funding to the Palestinian Authority that they cut off after Hamas's victory in January 2006 parliamentary elections." Accord Is Signed by Palestinians to Stop Feuding- "The main rival Palestinian factions agreed late Thursday to form a government of national unity aimed at ending a wave of violence between them and an international boycott."
Libby trial.Russert tells jury he never told Libby of CIA agent - "Meet the Press" moderator Tim Russert testified that he never gave former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby information about the wife of a Bush administration war critic, directly contradicting the premise of Libby's defense of perjury charges." Prosecution Rests Case In Libby's Perjury Trial - "Prosecutors rested their case in the perjury trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, completing a methodical portrait of a top-tier presidential aide who they say diligently scrambled to defend the White House against an early critic of the Iraq war and then lied to investigators about what he had done."
Health insurance.Wal-Mart, Union Join Forces on Health Care : Alliance's Goal Is to Improve Coverage - "Two once-implacable foes in the business world found common ground, at least for a few minutes, as they publicly pledged to work together for the first time to fix what they called the nation's health-care crisis by 2012. At a news conference on Capitol Hill, Wal-Mart chief executive H. Lee Scott sat at one end of a table and vowed to put aside differences to "drive this debate forward." On the other end was Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and frequent Wal-Mart critic, declaring he had made a "tough choice" in the goal to improve coverage."
Op-Ed.Budget Games That Hurt Children (E. J. Dionne Jr., The Washington Post) - "The cutbacks in health coverage for lower-income working families are among the most egregious of the president's fiscal choices. And it's not just Democrats who are saying so."
Through everyday actions, on everyday issues, we are creating living economies, living democracies, and living cultures. Diversity alliances, cooperation, and persistence are our strengths. Service, support, and solidarity are our means. Justice, human freedom, dignity, and ecoligical survival are our ends.
- Vandana Shiva Excerpt from "Earth Democracy: Justice Sustainability, and Peace."
When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
It’s not fair that we lost the brilliant political wit of Molly Ivins at a time when we need her the most. But, when one of us goes on ahead into the bluebonnet fields of the Lord, the rest of us have to pull on her boots and raise a ruckus ... or in this case ... pour liberal praise on that unique and quixotic creature: The Texas Baptist.
The Baptist General Convention of Texas, largest of the state conventions with more than 2.3 million members, decided in November "that we advocate for sound environmental policies in the public square." "I do not believe God wants us to continue to pollute and cause the world to degenerate the way it is," said Mary Darden, a Baptist deacon and president of Keep Waco Green.
Keep Waco Green? God sure has a sense of humor and she’s just getting funnier every day. It reminds me of the old joke about the infamous aridity of West Texas (even before global warming): Texas is so hot and dry that the Baptists have taken to sprinkling instead of baptizing and the Methodists are just wiping em down with a damp cloth.
May God bless the Baptist General Convention of Texas and may the blessed Molly Ivins guide them on their righteous mission.
Rose Marie Berger is an Associate Editor and Poetry Editor for Sojourners magazine.
For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written, "The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little."
In a new book being released this week – NOT for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade – and How We Can Fight It – my friend and colleague David Batstone turns a spotlight on one of the greatest moral scandals of our time. Many of us believe that slavery ended with the Civil War, but a look at reality in the 21st century quickly reveals otherwise.
He begins the book:
Twenty-seven million slaves exist in our world today. Girls and boys, women and men of all ages are forced to toil in the rug looms of Nepal, sell their bodies in the brothels of Rome, break rocks in the quarries of Pakistan, and fight wars in the jungles of Africa. Go behind the façade in any major town or city in the world today and you are likely to find a thriving commerce in human beings.
In writing the book, Batstone traveled to Cambodia, Thailand, Peru, India, Uganda, South Africa, and Eastern Europe, investigating the situation and interviewing hundreds of people whose stories the book tells. In poorer countries of the world, poverty and inequality create the conditions that lead to slavery. From destitute parents selling their children, to young rural women looking for work in the cities, to people being trapped in debt with no way out – the pool of potential slaves continues to grow. The International Labor Organization estimates that the work performed by trafficked individuals generates $32 billion a year. Stories of these horrendous injustices have been trickling out over the past few years, but now somebody has put it all together, describing both the magnitude of the problem and the solutions that could really stop modern slavery.
Two hundred years ago, British parliamentarian William Wilberforce and his group of friends profoundly changed the political and social climate of their time by taking on the slave trade. Wilberforce was a convert of the religious revivals that transformed 18th-century England. His life and his vocation as a Member of Parliament were profoundly changed by his newfound faith; he became a force for moral politics. His mentor, John Newton, worked in the slave trade before he became a minister, and became well known for writing the beloved hymn “Amazing Grace.” Later, Newton used his influence as a religious leader to lead the battle against slavery. In light of his efforts, we can read his immortal words, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me,” not merely as a testimony of private guilt and piety, but also as a turning away from the sin of trafficking in human flesh. His conversion produced a social and political transformation as well as a personal one. And that’s what Batstone is calling for today.
That kind of conversion became true in the life of Wilberforce, who first heard Newton speak when he was young but regarded his real conversion to be confirmed following a series of conversations in 1785-86. At the conclusion of their conversations, Newton said: “The Lord has raised you up for the good of the church and the good of the nation.” Two years later, Wilberforce introduced his first anti–slave trade motion into Parliament. It was defeated, and would be defeated nine more times until it passed in 1807. It was a historic and moral victory, but Wilberforce wasn't satisfied until slavery was abolished altogether. Finally, in 1833, the House of Commons passed a bill abolishing slavery in the British Empire, and Wilberforce died three days later, his work finally done.
A new film about to be released, Amazing Grace, tells the story of William Wilberforce. On February 18, “Amazing Grace Sunday,” churches around the globe will sing "Amazing Grace" and pray for the end of modern slavery. On February 23, 2007, the movie opens at theaters across the country. Click here to watch a trailer of the film.
Dave Batstone has been converted on the issue of modern slavery, and is now calling for our conversion. Today, as then, there is a growing abolitionist movement: heroic individuals who are rescuing slaves and creating a modern-day underground railroad to carry them to freedom, and organizations that provide social services and legal advocacy for victims of human trafficking. Batstone’s remarkable book tells the story of this new abolitionist movement. He ends his book with a chapter on “ending the slave trade in our time.” It begins, “I believe in the power of individuals to change the world. Social movements take root and blossom when enough individuals take personal action.” The chapter then offers creative ideas for becoming an abolitionist, and a listing of the major abolition organizations. A new campaign is being created around the book – the Not for Sale Campaign. It’s time for all of us to join the campaign.
Recently, I was preaching at an evangelical Christian college in the American Midwest. I called for a new generation of Martin Luther Kings and William Wilberforces. Afterward, two young women were waiting to talk to me at the end of a long line of students. When they finally got their turn to speak, they looked me straight in the eye and said, “We are going to be the next Martin Luther King Jr. and William Wilberforce, and we just wanted to tell you that.” I told them I was glad to meet them now, before they became famous! But they were serious, and so was I. The history of earlier centuries can inform a new generation of Christians in their struggle to reunite faith and social justice in our own time.
David Batstone has been getting ready to write this book for a long time. His broad experiences in global issues, business ethics, and Christian social justice movements have all been forms of preparation for this work. When he talks about the modern slave trade, I can hear and feel the passion in his voice. Wilberforce was almost obsessed with slavery, and Batstone can’t let go of it either. He has seen too much now: He has talked to too many victims, and thought often of his own kids, who are about the same ages as the children he’s met who are being trafficked. Dave is on a mission, and invites us to join him. Read his book, see the film, and join the campaign to abolish slavery.
The latest news on Iraq-Congress, war, resistance -, Iran, family policy, the budget, North Korea, Columbia, Libby trial, Sudan divestment, predatory lending, and select op-eds.
Iraq-war.Copter Crash Kills 7; Security Plan in Place - "On the day the U.S. military announced that American and Iraqi forces had begun implementing their long-awaited security plan, a U.S. Marine transport helicopter crashed northwest of Baghdad," Copter Crashes Suggest Change in Iraqi Tactics- "With two more helicopter crashes near Baghdad, including a Marine transport crash on that killed seven people, the number of helicopters that have gone down in Iraq over the past three weeks rose to six. American officials say the streak strongly suggests that insurgents have adapted their tactics and are now putting more effort into shooting down the aircraft." Tensions high as security operation begins - "Baghdad's streets were electric with tension as US officials confirmed the new security operation was underway. US armor rushed through streets, and Iraqi armored personnel carriers guarded bridges and major intersections."
Iraq-Congress.7 GOP Senators Back War Debate - "Senate Republicans who earlier this week helped block deliberations on a resolution opposing President Bush's new troop deployments in Iraq changed course and vowed to use every tactic at their disposal to ensure a full and open debate." GOP senators push vote on troop buildup - "Seven Republican lawmakers threatened to tie up Senate business until a resolution opposing President Bush's planned troop buildup gets a vote, saying they will try to attach the measure to future legislation." House Sets Path for Iraq Vote, but Must Decide What to Say- "As the House prepares for three days of debate next week on Iraq, Democratic leaders sought to reconcile deep differences within the party in order to shape a symbolic resolution denouncing President Bush's troop buildup plan." Veterans Group Speaks Out on War - "When Iraq war veteran Jon Soltz accused Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) of "aiding the enemy," the Democratic senators gathered around him yesterday did not wince. Nor did Democrats object when Soltz, the chairman of a group called VoteVets.org, called President Bush and Vice President Cheney "draft dodgers." War foes will not hurt morale - "The Defense Department's top civilian and its top military officer, undercutting the White House and other senior Republicans, said Congress doesn't endanger troop morale by voting on nonbinding resolutions opposing President Bush's Iraq reinforcement plan."
Iraq-resistance.Mistrial for Officer Who Refused to Go to Iraq - "A military judge on declared a mistrial in the court-martial of the Army officer who called the war in Iraq illegal and refused to join his unit when it deployed there last June." Mistrial declared for war objector - "1st Lt. Ehren Watada's court-martial for refusing to go to Iraq falls apart after the military judge questions the case's factual stipulations."
Iran.Dissent grows in Iran - "Iran's leadership is facing mounting public unease and the seeds of mutiny in parliament over the combative nature of its nuclear diplomacy."
Budget.Weapons that aren't ready dot Bush's war budget - "President Bush's proposed war budget includes many high-cost weapons that won't be operational for years, using a funding request aimed at supporting the troops to seek money for some of the Pentagon's favorite projects."
North Korea.Nuclear Talks on North Korea Set to Resume in Beijing - "Negotiators on will resume the long-stalled talks aimed at North Korean nuclear disarmament amid tentative signs of a possible breakthrough in a diplomatic process that seemed shattered four months ago when Nporth Korea tested a nuclear device."
Colombia.Killing haunts Colombia's peace plan - "Yolanda Izquierdo received death threats, but her pleas for police protection went unanswered. When she was killed last week, it delivered a devastating blow to Colombia's tortured peace process. … She was leading a group of 800 displaced families trying to regain possession of land seized a decade ago by right-wing paramilitary groups."
Libby trial.Russert Testifies in Libby Case: Journalist Says He Learned Plame's Role After Leak- "Tim Russert, the Washington bureau chief for NBC News, swiftly and firmly rejected I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's assertion that the journalist revealed the identity of an undercover CIA officer to him during a telephone call in the summer of 2003." Russert tells jury he never told Libby of CIA agent - "Meet the Press" moderator Tim Russert testifie
d that he never gave former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby information about the wife of a Bush administration war critic, directly contradicting the premise of Libby's defense of perjury charges."
Sudan divestment.University stands pat; activists take aim - "When the anti-apartheid movement swept U.S. college campuses more than 20 years ago, the University of Chicago stood out. Unlike dozens of universities that quit investing in companies that operated in South Africa, U. of C. officials argued that if the administration took a political stand on apartheid, the discussion of controversial ideas would suffer. Now, the university faces a similar situation with Sudan."
Religion & politics.Mormon Candidate Braces for Religion as Issue-"As he begins campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, is facing a threshold issue: Will his religion - he is a Mormon - be a big obstacle to winning the White House?"
Family policy.US Family-Oriented Job Policies Weak - "The United States lags far behind virtually all wealthy countries with regard to family-oriented workplace policies such as maternity leave, paid sick days and support for breast-feeding, a new study by Harvard and McGill University researchers says."
Predatory lending.Predatory mortgages labeled 'crisis' - "Loans called 'greatest threat' ever to minority wealth - Predatory mortgage lending, fueled by an explosion in high-cost, subprime loans, is creating a "crisis for millions of American homeowners" that requires action, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said Wednesday."
Op-Eds.
How Not to Inflame Iraq(Javad Zarif, Iranian ambassador to the UN, NY Times) - "Now the United States administration is - unfortunately - reaping the expected bitter fruits of its ill-conceived adventurism, taking the region and the world with it to the brink of further hostility. But rather than face these unpleasant facts, the United States administration is trying to sell an escalated version of the same failed policy. It does this by trying to make Iran its scapegoat and fabricating evidence of Iranian activities in Iraq."
Stand up against the surge in Iraq (Molly Ivins' last column, Chicago Tribune) - "We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous. Make our troops know we're for them and trying to get them out of there. Hit the streets to protest Bush's proposed surge. We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, "Stop it, now!"
The Iran Option That Isn't on the Table (By Vali Nasr and Ray Takeyh, Washington Post) - "U.S. policy has buttressed the Iranian regime, which has justified its monopoly of power as a means of fending off external enemies and managing an economy under international duress. More than sanctions or threats of military retribution, Iran's integration into the global economy would impose standards and discipline on the recalcitrant theocracy."
Global warming report: a call for all to care for God's creation (Joel C. Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, Christian Science Monitor) - "Every major religion has a moral mandate to take care of the Earth. For those who look to the Bible for instruction, it is the first responsibility given to man: "The Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep [protect] it" (Gen: 2:15, NASB). Our moral obligation, then, does not depend on the rate our planet is warming, or even whether the main cause is human activity. We are to refrain from harming God's creation - period. Few Christians or persons of other faiths (or no faith) would disagree with that statement."
Okay, I may be a PC thug. I care less about good intentions – and more about the effects on the targets of those intentions. Not only am I offended when well-meaning white people patronizingly and redundantly call highly-educated black people holding public office "articulate," I'm also offended when women's bodies are decapitated and covered with violent slogans to fight breast cancer. (Not literally decapitated – just sliced and diced in the manner perfected by the advertising industrial complex to make sure you focus on the body parts that are really important to them – the parts that don't talk or think.)
But, for the record, let me be absolutely clear: Just because I think this anti-breast cancer ad is bad, I am not pro-cancer.
I walk past this bus shelter ad every day on the way to work, and knew that I couldn't be the first person to be troubled by the combination of its sexually provocative pose and violent words. Another DC blogger, techne, describes an experience of the ad similar to mine:
I first saw the ad from across the street. Squint and you’ll get an idea: a young female torso with a heckuva lot of violent words splashed across it. I didn’t see anything indicating what the ad was about until I had crossed the street. It got my attention, so I guess it’s a good ad. But it did so by making me think about violence towards women. Is that really what they want out of their ad campaign, do you think? ...
As both a feminist and a photographer, this ad’s goals and its implementation could be a LOT more aligned than they are, and could be far more pro-female. The full text (as opposed to just the text that’s readable from a distance) tries to create a vibe of edgy aggression around the fight against breast cancer, and aims it at younger women. Well, here’s a suggestion: to create an edgy aggressive vibe that will engage young women, show a young woman doing something edgy and aggressive. Don’t use a woman’s body as a passively comely billboard for violent words. [emphasis mine]
The full text of the ad, visible when you're standing about three feet away:
When we get our hands on breast cancer, we're going to PUNCH IT, STRANGLE IT, KICK IT, SPIT ON IT, CHOKE IT, AND PUMMEL IT UNTIL IT'S GOOD AND DEAD. Not just horror movie dead, but really, truly dead. And then we're going to tie a pink ribbon on it.
And am I a hypocrite or dupe for reproducing the ad in question on this blog? Maybe – though I've been careful not to mention the organization responsible for these ads, because that would merely reward the geniuses who decided that "edgy" and "chesty" would get more attention. But just because I am choosing not to promote this particular anti-breast cancer organization, I repeat: I am not pro-cancer. To prove it, here's a link to the top-rated cancer charities according to the American Institute of Philanthropy, which rates organizations on transparency and financial responsibility – not politics. I encourage you to support them. (Conveniently, the organization that sponsored this ad isn't even on the list ... hmmmm.)
And if you think raising breast cancer awareness is a laudable end that justifies the questionable means, please reconsider. Sinking to this form of communication is, as techne suggests, negligently uncreative and lazy on the part of the agency who created them an
d the organization that paid for them (with money raised from donors whose attention is caught by eye-catching campaigns, ahem). If it's cultural pollution when objectified bodies are exploited to sell beer, clothes, diets, or dating services (yes, we've noticed some of those Beliefnet-hosted ads that we would prefer not frame our blog) then it's cultural pollution when it's used to sell cancer awareness.
Am I overreacting? As some have suggested with Sen. Biden's comments last week, is intent what matters most? Or do words and images have power beyond their surface intent – power that folks whose job it is to use them wisely must carefully wield, and immediately repent when legitimately challenged – and not just offer a non-apology apology? (Again, with fear and trembling I invoke James 3:1-12.)
And why am I wasting time picking on "good" people instead of the "real" bigots like Virginia State Representative Frank Hargrove, or real pornographers like Victoria's Secret and Abercrombie and Fitch? Because though the worst offenders should also be challenged, I want legislators with civil rights records like Joe Biden and organizations that claim to empower women to do a better job at what they claim to be about, for all of our sakes. And when it comes to dismantling racism or sexism, we can all do better.
Ryan Beiler is the Web Editor for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
The administration’s FY 2008 budget was delivered to Congress yesterday. Depending on who’s counting and what their definitions are, the total for “security” spending – including the Defense Department base budget, Homeland Security budget, Iraq/Afghanistan war budget, and an additional war supplemental appropriation for FY 2007 – appears to be in the neighborhood of $750 billion. This is, as The Washington Times reported,
an increase of 4 percent from the current year and the largest sum in inflation-adjusted dollars since 1946 after the end of World War II. Including national security programs of other agencies, such as the Departments of State and Energy, the United States would spend more on security next year than the rest of the world combined. [emphasis mine]
By contrast, all non-defense/security discretionary spending comes to around $400 billion. A number of key social programs are slated for elimination, while others have their funding cut, and still others receive a reduced rate of increase that will not keep up with population growth and need.
I am reminded again of a section from Dr. Martin Luther King’s 1967 speech at Riverside Church. In Beyond Vietnam - A Time to Break Silence, Dr. King spoke of the ongoing struggle against poverty and what was happening to it:
There is at the outset a very obvious and almost facile connection between the war in Vietnam and the struggle I, and others, have been waging in America. A few years ago there was a shining moment in that struggle. It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor – both black and white – through the poverty program. There were experiments, hopes, new beginnings. Then came the buildup in Vietnam, and I watched this program broken and eviscerated, as if it were some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war, and I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube. So, I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such.
This time, a war in Iraq – but the same point. The war is an enemy of the poor and America will never invest the necessary funds or energies in combating poverty as long as wars take the people, skills, and money. Dr. King concluded:
A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.
Forty years later, those words ring as true as they did then. The "demonic destructive suction tube" continues to lead to our spiritual death.
Duane Shank is senior policy adviser for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
This latest contribution to The Washington Post/NewsweekOn Faith online discussion responds to the question: International scientists have raised a new alarm about the dangers of global warming. Should care for the environment be a major priority for people of faith? Why or why not?
It already is. The “greening” of evangelicals in particular is the major new development. The Religious Right tried to prevent this from happening, but they failed, and in so doing lost control of the evangelical political agenda. Key establishment groups like the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) are now firmly committed to “creation care” and to the issue of global warming in particular. The best line in the last few years on this subject came from Rich Cizik, Vice President for Governmental Affairs at the NAE, who said, “I don’t think God is going to ask us how he created the earth, but he will ask us what we did with what he created.”
In February 2006, a full-page ad appeared in The New York Times heralding a new “Evangelical Climate Initiative” that was signed by 86 evangelical leaders, including 39 presidents of Christian colleges. The statement was released over the objections of two dozen of the most prominent Religious Right figures in America (all the usual suspects) who said evangelicals should stick to abortion and gay marriage. The Times ad was headlined “Our commitment to Jesus Christ compels us to solve the global warming crisis,” and the statement said, in part, “Love of God, love of neighbor, and the demands of stewardship are more than enough reason for evangelical Christians to respond to the climate change problem with moral passion and concrete action.”
The concern over global warming, in particular, is even stronger among a new generation of evangelical young people who have made environmental stewardship mainstream; it's virtually a consensus issue among their peers. Evangelicals tell me that global warming is a “life issue” for them and a fundamental part of Christian ethics. I’ve spoken to many secular leaders of environmental organizations who are beginning to realize how the new evangelical environmental movement could perhaps provide a “tipping point” for our response to the urgent crisis of global warming. If both the scientists and the evangelicals made this a common cause, there’s no telling how much could happen.
The latest news on the budget, U.S. troop deaths, immigrants, court martial, Iraq-Senate, Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, politics, inequality, Sudan, Africa, religion in China, death penalty, and select Op-Eds.
Court martialUS opens case vs. officer refusing Iraq service - "The US government began its case against an Army officer being court-martialed for refusing to fight in Iraq by accusing him of making disgraceful statements and abandoning his unit." Dissenter derided at court-martial - "First Lt. Ehren Watada "brought shame upon himself, his unit and the U.S. Army," a military prosecutor said at a court-martial for the Honolulu soldier, whose refusal to ship out to Iraq has made him a hero to some and a coward to others."
Iraq-Senate.Senate Leaders Continue Squabbling Over Iraq - "Senate leaders squabbled over how to consider resolutions opposing President Bush's plan for more troops in Iraq, but the quarrel did not stop lawmakers from launching an informal debate on the chamber floor over the war." Many Voices, No Debate, as Senate Is Stifled on War- "At a time when even President Bush acknowledges that the war in Iraq is sapping the nation's spirit, the Senate has tied itself up in procedural knots rather than engage in a debate on Iraq policy." Troop battle may shift from Senate - "House Democrats threatened to take up a resolution next week to oppose President Bush's controversial troop buildup in Iraq, cranking up the pressure on Republicans who have blocked a vote on the measure in the Senate."
U.S. troop deaths.Death Toll of U.S. Troops in Iraq Rising - "More American troops were killed in combat in Iraq over the past four months -- at least 334 through Jan. 31 -- than in any comparable stretch since the war began, according to an Associated Press analysis of casualty records."
Palestine.Saudis put status on line in bid to end Palestinian crisis - "Saudi Arabia threw its weight, wealth and prestige behind urgent efforts to end Palestinian divisions yesterday as it stepped up a diplomatic drive to challenge Iran and its regional allies and play a more muscular role across the Middle East."
Iran.Israel sounds alarm on Iran's nuclear efforts - "the
specter of a nuclear-armed Iran has rattled Israel's self-confidence. Its politicians and generals warn of a "second Holocaust" if, as in the 1930s, the world stands by while a heavily armed nation declares war against the Jews."
Lebanon.Cluster bombs: a war's perilous aftermath "The scope was extensive and unprecedented in any modern use of these types of cluster weapons," compared to Kosovo in 1999, Afghanistan in 2001, and Iraq in 2003, says Chris Clark, the program manager for the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre of South Lebanon, in Tyre. UN figures show that 26 percent of southern Lebanon's cultivatable land has been affected, and that 34 million square meters - or 13 square miles - are contaminated."
Budget.Cabinet Members Go to Congress to Push the Budget - "One day after the Bush administration proposed deep cuts in domestic spending, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. told Democratic critics in Congress on that the proposals for Medicare and Social Security were "a starting point for a discussion" and could be revised." Hill Democrats Critical Of Bush's Budget Plan - "Administration officials dispatched to Capitol Hill to defend President Bush's budget received a frosty reception from congressional Democrats, who argued that the president's proposal to target health care, education and other Democratic priorities suggests a White House more interested in scoring political points than in genuine compromise."
Politics.In Campaign 2008, Candidates Starting Earlier, Spending More - "Starting as early as last June, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was hiring staffers and consultants in New Hampshire and Iowa and building the foundation for his 2008 presidential bid at a time when those in early battleground states typically get a breather from national politics."
Inequality.Bernanke Suggests How to Narrow Wage Gap - "Bolstering education and training, rather than erecting trade barriers, would help narrow the economic gap between low- and high-income workers, the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke said Tuesday."
Sudan.President Approves Plan to Pressure Sudan - "President Bush has approved a plan for the Treasury Department to aggressively block U.S. commercial bank transactions connected to the government of Sudan, including those involving oil revenues, if Khartoum continues to balk at efforts to bring peace to Sudan's troubled Darfur region."
Africa.New command to oversee U.S. forces in Africa - "Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Bush approved a Defense Department recommendation that a military structure be set up to oversee missions on the continent, which U.S. officials believe has greater strategic importance to the United States than it had before because of increased efforts by China to involve itself and gain influence in Africa."
Religion in China.Chinese survey finds religion booming - "China has three times as many religious believers as previously thought, according to a new survey that suggests this nominally atheist nation has never been more open to the "opium of the masses."
Death penalty.Wider death penalty sought - "At least a half-dozen states are considering broadening the death penalty, countering a national trend toward scaling back its use."
Immigrants.Study shows immigrants 'a real engine' for growth - "The growing number of immigrant entrepreneurs in major U.S. cities is giving a huge lift to urban economies and even outpacing self-employed native-born Americans, … "Immigrants have become a real engine for economic and job growth in many sectors."
Op-Eds.
Biden's remark articulates a gap in understanding (Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune) - "On a scale of 0 to 10, 0 being a minor annoyance and 10 being a complete outrage, the kerfuffle over Sen. Joseph Biden's use of "clean" and "articulate" to describe Senate colleague and fellow presidential hopeful Barack Obama ranks about a 2--although with many black Americans it is a very strong 2."
Expect The Worst In Iraq (David Ignatius, Washington Post) - "With massive civilian casualties, more al-Qaeda attacks and anarchy all in the forecasts, we need to face the likelihood that this story isn't going to have a happy ending."
May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, "Great is the Lord!" As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.
The big question, however, is the validity of the protest as communication. Is the current protest making any real headway in re-educating us, in giving us a new attitude toward war? Or is it simply an outlet for the indignation, the frustration and the anxiety of those who see that the war is irrational, but fear they can do nothing to stop it?
If you didn't read my post on Sen. Biden's blunder last week, you can read Sunday's New York Times' version of it in an article, "The Racial Politics of Speaking Well." Based on conversations with a number of black public figures that "elicited the kind of frustrated responses often uttered between blacks, but seldom shared with whites.," the Times article includes far more credible testimony than I could offer from my own experience, plus a few points that I wanted to make, but wasn't sure how to ... um, articulate. Read the whole article, but here are some key points:
When whites use the word ["articulate"] in reference to blacks, it often carries a subtext of amazement, even bewilderment. It is similar to praising a female executive or politician by calling her “tough” or “a rational decision-maker.” ... And such distinctions discount as inarticulate historically black patterns of speech. “Al Sharpton is incredibly articulate,” said Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University. “But because he speaks with a cadence and style that is firmly rooted in black rhetorical tradition you will rarely hear white people refer to him as articulate.” ... It is unlikely that whites will quickly or easily erase “articulate” and other damning forms of praise from the ways in which they discuss blacks. Listen for it in post-Super Bowl chatter, after the Academy Awards, at the next school board meeting or corporate retreat.
But here is a pointer. Do not use it as the primary attribute of note for a black person if you would not use it for a similarly talented, skilled or eloquent white person. Do not make it an outsized distinction for Brown University’s president, Ruth Simmons, if you would not for the University of Michigan’s president, Mary Sue Coleman. Do not make it the sole basis for your praise of the actor Forest Whitaker if it would never cross your mind to utter it about the expressive Peter O’Toole.
Ryan Beiler is the Web Editor for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
E. Ethelbert Miller, who has been called "Washington D.C.'s unofficial poet laureate," recently interviewed Melissa Tuckey, a poet and activist involved in DC Poets Against the War. (I was lucky to have a poem published in the first edition of their anthology.) I particularly like what Melissa says about the influence of war language on poets:
If anything the war has made me more passionate about the importance of poetry, for its power of engaging heart and mind, and for the way it speaks truth to power and encourages readers to acknowledge and appreciate the complexities of truth. The language of war has made me leery of simplistic thinking and dichotomies like "good versus evil" or "us versus them." In my writing I try to remember that I am complicit in this world. Even though I oppose the war, I am a part of it, it is not separate from me. Likewise the language of war has made me leery of abstractions like "freedom." I want precise, personal, accountable language and experience.
Melissa has a great poem called Full Snow Moon. Check it out.
Rose Marie Berger is an Associate Editor and Poetry Editor for Sojourners magazine.
Budget.Bush Plan Reins In Domestic Spending - "President Bush took aim at domestic spending as part of a plan to balance the budget in five years without raising taxes while increasing funding for the Iraq war and permanently expanding the military." Bottom line for Bush's '08 budget: contention- "The heat flared up immediately as Republicans lined up squarely behind Bush's budget for fiscal 2008, while Democrats castigated it as both heartless and fiscally irresponsible." Bush Releases Budget Aimed to Erase Deficit- "The budget, in four volumes and 2,500 pages of text, charts and tables, made few concessions to the political realities facing Mr. Bush." Bush budget puts pinch on domestic spending -"President Bush yesterday proposed deep cuts to federal healthcare, education, and transportation programs searching for new money in the federal budget to pay for increasingly costly defense programs and the war in Iraq." Bush's budget beefs up defense - "President Bush, seeking $245 billion more for the nation's two wars at a time when Congress is challenging an escalation of U.S. military force in Iraq, proposed a $2.9 trillion federal budget that would significantly increase defense spending while restraining other areas of the government." Bush budget gives boost to defense - "Including national security programs of other agencies, such as the Departments of State and Energy, the United States would spend more on security next year than the rest of the world combined." Medicare may get a $66-billion trim - "The budget President Bush proposed calls for the deepest Medicare cuts of his six years in office and falls short in expanding health coverage to uninsured children."
Democrats bashing Bush's budget now must craft their own - "As they criticized Bush's proposed $145 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, reductions in Medicare and Medicaid, and spending restraint in social programs such as education and the environment, Democrats confronted a harsh reality: Now they must write a budget of their own." Democrats Face Limits in Changing Bush's Budget- "while Democratic critics may wish to challenge the administration's blueprint, political and fiscal constraints will make it hard for them to assert their own priorities."
Iraq.G.O.P. Senators Block Debate on Iraq Policy- "Republicans blocked Senate debate on a bipartisan resolution opposing President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq, leaving in doubt whether the Senate would render a judgment on what lawmakers of both parties described as the paramount issue of the day." GOP Stalls Debate On Troop Increase - "A long-awaited Senate showdown on the war in Iraq was shut down before it even started when nearly all Republicans voted to stop the Senate from considering a resolution opposing President Bush's plan to send 21,500 additional combat troops into battle." GOP bats down resolution debate- "The most serious congressional challenge to President Bush's Iraq war strategy stalled when Senate Republicans blocked consideration of a resolution criticizing his plan to boost troop levels." Debate on war stumbles in Senate - "The maneuvering underscores the political peril and gamesmanship on both sides a few months after Democrats took control of Congress largely on voter dissatisfaction over the war."
Another candidate.Giuliani Announces He's In '08 Presidential Race -"Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani jumped into the 2008 presidential race, filing a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission and declaring on national television last night, "I'm in this to win."
Iran.Iran has set up 328 centrifuges, diplomats say - "Iran has set up two cascades of 164 centrifuges each in its underground nuclear plant, laying a basis for full-scale enrichment of uranium and upping the stakes in a standoff with the West," Military action against Iran not off table, says Blair - "Tony Blair today insisted that the option of military action against Iran should not be taken "off the table" - as he issued a stern reprimand to the Tehran regime for its nuclear strategy and for fomenting unrest in the region." Syria wants talks on Iraq- "Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview aired Monday that U.S.-Syrian cooperation was the "last chance" to stop the violence in Iraq, but he said he wasn't optimistic that President Bush would talk to Damascus." In Public View, Saudis Counter Iran in Region- "With the prospect of three civil wars looming over the Middle East - and Iran poised to gain from them all - Saudi Arabia has abandoned its behind-the-scenes checkbook diplomacy and taken on a central, aggressive role in reshaping the region's conflicts."
Op-Eds.
To Help Iraq, Let It Fend for Itself (Edward N. Luttwak, Center for Strategic and International Studies, New York Times) - "The sooner President Bush can get his extra troops for a "surge" in Iraq, the sooner he will be able to announce that all American troops are coming home because of the inevitable failure of the Iraqi government to "live up to its side of the bargain."
A burr under apathy's saddle (Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune) - [Molly Ivins'] "voice was that of the Southern progressive, a courageous breed of people who won my respect and admiration since the rough days of the civil rights revolution in the 1950s and '60s. They love their home region too much to leave it alone, even when they must risk life, limb and reputation in their efforts to save it from its own worst impulses, customs and traditions."
The War To Save The Surge (E.J.Dionne, Washington Post) -"The impatience of the administration's critics is entirely understandable. But it would be a shame if impatience got in the way of a sensible long-term strategy to bring America's engagement in this war to as decent an end as possible as quickly as possible -- even if not as quickly as they'd like. The anti-surge resolution is a necessary first step, which is why those who are against a genuine change in our Iraq policy are fighting so hard to stop it."
The Other Democrats Weigh In (David Broder, Washington Post) - "This campaign is starting ridiculously early, for both Democrats and Republicans. The only thing worse would be to have it end early because all but one or two people have been eliminated on each side."
[The Lord] judges the world with righteousness; [and] the peoples with equity. The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
"I tell you what, I'm proud to be representing African-American coaches, to be the first African-American coach to win this." So said Tony Dungy, coach of the now-NFL-champion Indianapolis Colts, after winning the Super Bowl in a Miami monsoon rain. Because Dungy and his good friend, Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith, were the first two African-American coaches to reach the Super Bowl, the big game took on much more social significance than usual. But Dungy made a point to remind the country that he and Smith were not the first black coaches who were qualified coaches at their level in the big game. USA Today quoted Dungy as saying, "I really have to dedicate this to some guys that came before me, great coaches who could have done this if they had got the opportunity," and noted that he was first hired as an assistant coach in 1981, eight years before the NFL would get its first African-American head coach of the modern era, the Los Angeles Raiders' Art Shell. He said he wanted it to be a tribute to predecessors who did not get the same chances he did – Jimmy Raye, Sherman Lewis, Lionel Taylor.
I also noticed the unusual tone of the two weeks preceding Super Bowl Sunday. There was no "hot dogging" by any of the players on either side. No trash talking, no chest pounding, and no macho boasting about who was the best and who would win. Quietly and very professionally, the Colts and the Bears just went about their business in getting ready for the game. During the interminably long run-up to the big event, we even saw NFL football players showing humility (pointing to their teammates instead of themselves), being quite gracious (saying good and respectful things about the opposing team and players), and setting a good example on and off the field (no incidents in South Beach nightclubs). The kind of role models these guys would be in Miami became important to me as the father of an 8-year-old who was really excited about the Colts. Just as a precaution, I sent him upstairs with some other kids during the half-time show featuring Prince (but even he basically behaved himself). What a wonderful experience – players being good sportsmen and no "wardrobe malfunctions" at half-time!
I think a big part of this Super Bowl's success is directly attributable to the characters of these two coaches and the examples they set. No screaming, swearing, or throwing stuff around for these two gentlemen/teachers/coaches. The players followed in their coaches' footsteps and reflected the ethos and ethics they both embody so impressively. Tony Dungy wasn't afraid to say where that behavior comes from for him and his friend. Being the first African-American coaches meant a great deal to both of them, but there was more: "It means an awful lot to our country. But again, more than anything – I said it before – Lovie Smith and I, not only [are we] the first two African-Americans, but [we're] Christian coaches showing you can win doing it the Lord's way. We're more proud of that."
And he didn't even say that Jesus made the Colts win! Tony Dungy knows better than that. God bless him, and Lovie. Both Luke and I had a great time.
This latest contribution to the Washington Post/Newsweek On Faith online discussion responds to the question: What is prayer? Do you pray? If so to whom and for what?
Yes, I pray. But there are many misunderstandings about prayer. For many, prayer is talking to God, sometimes with a great list of requests and needs – sort of like childrens' Christmas lists mailed to Santa Claus.
But, at least for me, prayer is more often becoming a time of listening than talking. There is so much noise in our world and our lives (much of our own making); prayer becomes a quiet space enabling us to stop talking long enough to see what God might be trying to say to us. The disciplines of prayer, silence, and contemplation practices by the monastics and mystics are precisely that – stopping the noise, slowing down, and becoming still, so that God can break through all our activity and noise in order to speak to us. Prayer serves to put all the parts of our lives in God’s presence, reminding us of how holy our humanity really is.
And also for us, prayer is the act of reclaiming our identity as the children of God; it declares who we are and to whom we belong. The action of prayer places us outside the realm of the powers and principalities. As prayer declares our true identity, it destroys our false identities. In prayer we act upon who we really are, and thus prayer has the effect of diminishing the illusions that have controlled us, and helping us remember what is really true. Prayer allows us to step out of our traps and find ourselves again in God.
Contemplative writer and priest Henri Nouwen once shared with our Sojourners community that the desert fathers regarded prayer as an act of "unhooking" from the harness of the world's securities. Such prayer may be the only action powerful enough to free us from our spiritual bondage to property, money, power, ideas, and causes, which often control our behavior.
Only those who have truly found their identity in God can resist the violent tugs and pulls of the false values offered by the world. By re-establishing our security in God, prayer becomes an effective weapon in resisting the world’s false securities.
Prayer changes our frame of reference; it is not merely a preparation for action. Prayer must be understood as an action in itself, a potent political weapon to be used in spiritual warfare against the most powerful forces of the world. Prayer is not undertaken in place of other actions; it is the foundation for all the other actions we take.
I recall the way Archbishop Desmond Tutu would pray in South Africa, during the apartheid era. His prayers constantly affirmed God’s power over the claims of the state, and that was a threat to their power. And prayer, in recognizing God's authority over the evil powers, moves us beyond opposition to affirmation, and beyond resistance to celebration. Thus prayer and the results of prayer can be the most revolutionary of acts. The powers that be in this world are aware of this – that is why they consider those who pray in this way to be a threat.
This New York Times article is about how the government, trying to solve the problem that it is being swindled by iffy contractors, hired an iffy contractor – one that had been contracted to supply interrogators to Abu Ghraib. No, we’re not making this up.
In June, short of people to process cases of incompetence and fraud by federal contractors, officials at the General Services Administration responded with what has become the government’s reflexive answer to almost every problem. They hired another contractor….
The New York Times reports "Essay Linking Liberal Jews and Anti-Semitism Sparks a Furor". The essay is by David Harris. The publisher is the American Jewish Committee. To be flip about it, the defining characteristic of the "new" anti-semitism seems to be that it isn't anti-semitism. Certainly, to qualify as a "new anti-semite" it doesn't seem to be necessary to have a bigoted view of the Jewish religion or of Jewish people as an ethnic or cultural group. The author pretends to argue that hostility to the existence of Israel as a Jewish state is the defining characteristic of the "new" anti-semitism, which is fairly ridiculous on its own terms, but as you read through the examples that's clearly not what he's saying. Rather, his view is that some people make what he regards as extreme or over-the-top criticisms of Israel, and that anti-semites would also make such criticisms, so therefore anyone who criticizes Israel too stridently is either practicing anti-semitism or else creating it. ...
The idea, basically, is to scare the goyim who figure that while liberal Jews can take the heat, they probably can't, and had best just avoid talking about the whole thing. And based on my observations of the blogosphere, it works pretty well as a tactic.
Hence, we thought Jeff Halper, an Israeli Jewish activist and outspoken critic of his government's policies, might take this idea of "new anti-semitism" personally – and be able to "take the heat." He responds:
A “cult” can be defined as a closed system of belief in which all contradictory information is excluded. In terms of the obsessive vehemence with which the so-called leaders of the “organized” Jewish community attempt to stifle any and all critical views on Israel and its policies towards the Palestinians, I would argue that American Judaism is in danger of being turned into a cult. One exclusive idea – Israel as a Jewish state – has superseded all other Jewish values and views. Opinion on Israel must conform to an “official” position enforced by self-appointed gatekeepers, none of whom have been elected as official representatives of the politically diverse Jewish community, as far as I know.
Anyone who diverges from the party line is derided, ostracized, and even threatened by the gatekeepers. Listen to one Shulamit Reinharz, director of the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis, who said in the wake of Jimmy Carter’s visit to campus to discuss Israeli apartheid:
Let all Jews who are truly progressive, liberal, not self-hating and not anti-Zionist develop a clear set of ideas to address these individuals specifically. Let organizations that fight anti-Semitism have special divisions to combat Jewish anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.
Ironically, the gatekeepers often see their role as preventing such head-on encounters. In years of speaking in the U.S., I have been excluded from speaking to Jewish audiences. Alan Dershowitz made good press by deriding President Carter’s unwillingness to debate him. I have challenged Dershowitz repeatedly and have been turned down repeatedly. As far as I know he has never exposed himself to a “head-on” debate with an Israeli who knows a little more about Israel and its policies than he does.
Remember when ten Jews had eleven different opinions? Well, we’ve reached a state where ten Jews are only allowed one official opinion.
The latest news on the federal budget, the Superbowl, Iraq-Senate, new strategy, intelligence estimate, refugees-, President and Dems, Dem candidates, GI resistance, Iran, Middle East, and the working poor.
Super Bowl.Dungy reaches summit without sacrificing values. - "And that's one of the reasons he's a worthy recipient of the distinction of being the first African American coach to win a Super Bowl, even if it should not have had to come to him. Proud as he might be, as he stood on the stage to receive the Lombardi Trophy, Dungy said his thoughts were of longtime black assistant coaches such as Jimmy Raye, Sherman Lewis and Lionel Taylor, "Great coaches that I know could have done this if they would have gotten an opportunity." It's disgraceful that it took Dungy so long to get his opportunity." Two Coaches, Two Friends, but Only One Prize - "I'm proud to be representing African-American coaches, to be the first African-American coach to win this," Dungy said. "It means an awful lot to our country."
Federal budget.Pentagon Big Winner in Bush Budget Plan - "The Pentagon is the big winner in President Bush's proposed budget for next year, while domestic items such as aid to schools and grants to local governments will get only the slightest of increases. Medicare and Medicaid, the health program for the poor and disabled, would shoulder modest but politically difficult cost curbs in the budget." Bush calls for budget restraint- "When the president releases his fiscal 2008 budget Monday, he is expected to call for cuts in Medicare and renew his plea for Social Security private accounts while urging Congress to hold the line on spending--except for the military and homeland security." Record $622 Billion Budget Requested for the Pentagon- "The Bush administration is seeking a record military budget of $622 billion for the 2008 fiscal year, …. The sum includes more than $140 billion for war-related costs." Bush to Request Billions for Wars - "President Bush will ask Congress for close to three-quarters of a trillion dollars in defense spending on Monday, including $245 billion to cover the cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and other elements of the "global war on terror," Tank-size defense request - "But if the military's top officers have their way, today's proposal may be only a precursor to a future of even larger defense budgets. The chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force are gea
ring up for a long-term campaign to convince Congress and the public that the growing demands of the Iraq war - plus the administration's aggressive global security ambitions - require tens of billions more each year to meet the nation's defense needs."
President & Dems.At Democrats' Meeting, Bush Appeals for Cooperation- "President Bush, forced by circumstance to reach out to some of his strongest adversaries, appealed directly to House Democrats to work with him to reform the immigration system, limit the cost of Social Security, curb the consumption of gasoline and balance the federal budget."
Iraq-Senate.Senate rebuke on Iraq is loud and unclear - "the immense symbolism of what may be the first formal rebuke of Bush's war strategy has produced the most passionate war debate on Capitol Hill since the invasion of Iraq nearly four years ago." Iraq Vote Could Resonate In 2008 - "While the resolution will test the mettle of every member of the chamber, none will be challenged more than Sununu and the 19 other Senate Republicans facing reelection in 2008 -- many from states where voters are angry with Bush's war policy and want the troops to begin heading home."
Dem candidates.Pecking order emerging for presidential wannabes - "The screams from the crowd at this weekend's Democratic National Committee convention were so boisterous that they often drowned out the words being spoken by Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Hillary Rodham Clinton." DNC Turns Focus to White House - "With Congress in their control and their eyes now on the White House, Democratic Party leaders took their first look at the party's field of presidential candidates at a forum in which the three front-runners presented their positions on Iraq and jockeyed over who can defeat the Republicans in 2008"In Democratic race, Iraq frames debate - "on the biggest issue - Iraq - all the prospective and declared Democratic hopefuls speaking to party activists last weekend were also in basic agreement: that the US must extricate itself from the Iraq war. Where they differed was over one question: How?" Democrats Split on How to End the War - "After 10 candidates' speeches over two days at the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee in Washington, the war proved again to be the central point of differentiation among the party's presidential contenders."
GI resistance.Court-martial set in objector case - "Denied a chance to debate the legality of the Iraq war in court, an Army officer who refused to go to Iraq now goes to trial hoping to at least minimize the amount of time he could serve if convicted."
Iraq-new strategy.U.S. threatens crushing offensive to calm Baghdad - "A U.S.-Iraqi offensive against militants in Baghdad will begin within days and take place on a scale never seen during four years of war, American officers said yesterday." Doubts Run Deep on Reforms Crucial to Bush's Iraq Strategy - "The success of the Bush administration's new Iraq strategy depends on a series of rapid and dramatic political and economic reforms that even the plan's authors have little confidence will work." U.S. Copters Were Shot Down - "Four American helicopters that crashed in Iraq in the past two weeks were shot down, a U.S. military spokesman said Sunday, prompting officials to reevaluate how troops move around in an increasingly hostile war zone."
Iraq-Intelligence Estimate.Analysis Is Bleak on Iraq's Future - "The assessment, by American intelligence agencies, expressed deep doubts about the abilities of Iraqi politicians to hold together an increasingly balkanized country, and about whether Iraqi troops might be able to confront powerful militias over the next 18 months and assume more responsibility for security." Bleak Iraq Report Is Sent to Congress - "The U.S. intelligence community yesterday released a starkly pessimistic assessment of the situation in Iraq, warning that even if security improves, deepening sectarian divisions threaten to destroy the government and ultimately could lead to anarchy, partition or the emergence of a new dictatorship."
Iraq-refugees.War in Iraq Propelling A Massive Migration - "Nearly 2 million Iraqis -- about 8 percent of the prewar population -- have embarked on a desperate migration, mostly to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. The refugees include large numbers of doctors, academics and other professionals vital for Iraq's recovery. Another 1.7 million have been forced to move to safer towns and villages inside Iraq, and as many as 50,000 Iraqis a month flee their homes,"
Iran.U.S. can't prove Iran link to Iraq strife - "Bush administration officials acknowledged Friday that they had yet to compile evidence strong enough to back up publicly their claims that Iran is fomenting violence against U.S. troops in Iraq."
Middle East.'Quartet' backs revived Middle East peace efforts - "But in private talks, European officials signaled that they wanted to move faster than the Americans toward a deal to create a Palestinian state, diplomats said. And the Russian delegation urged the group to lift its economic boycott of the Palestinian government, saying the measure punished
ordinary Palestinians without forcing Hamas to reform." Palestinians Say Clashes Hurt Their Cause - "The fierce internal clashes between Palestinian factions have shocked many Palestinians and Arab governments, who fear that the continuing bloodshed is damaging the Palestinian image before the world, Palestinians say."
Working poor. Thinks Big About the Little Guy- "American business culture tends to focus on employees at the top, not at the bottom. And many don't want to be told that they pay workers poverty-level wages. Mr. Bigari says he thinks that they will see the light when they see the return they can get from helping the working poor, both as employees and as customers. … He created a system to help resolve the problems of the working poor who staffed his restaurants by pulling together or creating an array of services, from arranging day care to organizing transportation to making small emergency loans. The goal, he said, was to keep his employees on the job and focused on customers."
Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love [God]? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court?
Those who would learn to serve must first learn to think little of themselves...Only those who live by the forgiveness of their sin in Jesus Christ will think little of themselves in the right way. They will know that their own wisdom completely came to an end when Christ forgave them.
I don’t know how many of you ever read the columns or books written by Molly Ivins. She died this week, after a long bout with breast cancer. Molly was a feisty, irreverent, no-nonsense, characteristically confrontational, and highly intelligent force in American journalism. She was the quintessential populist – a defender of little people and an absolute scourge to their assailants among the rich and powerful. And being from Texas, she was the most insightful, hilarious, and audacious critic of our current president – fellow Texan George W. Bush – whom she labeled a “shrub” more than a bush. Religion wasn’t much of an interest for Molly, but over the only breakfast talk we ever had together, several years ago, she told me that the only kind of religion she ever respected and might even consider is the kind she found in Sojourners. She loved how the biblical prophets would stick it to the powers that be – and, indeed, that is exactly what she spent her life doing. I really liked Molly Ivins and read her stuff as often as I could.
More than just about any other columnist I can think of, Molly was a genuine populist, to make proper reference to a word she couldn't stand to see misused by charlatans. She believed in lifting up the underdog and hated it when the wealthy made excuses for injustice.
And, along with her political passions, E.J. pointed out:
Joy was the key. Another thing she hated was anybody who didn't think that fighting the good fight was a kick. She left us all with a charge a few years ago: "Keep fighting for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce."
Her first book was titled, Molly Ivins Can’t Say That, Can She? Well, she can, and she did, and we were all much better off for it. I for one will miss her wit and wisdom. And I didn’t want to miss the opportunity, in her sad passing, of sharing some of the best tributes to her with all of you. Here’s what The New York Times and The Washington Post had to say. Maya Angelou wrote a poignant appreciation, and the Chicago Tribune, where her columns were printed, wrote in an editorial:
Her final column appeared less than four weeks ago, on Jan. 5. Not a lot of mellowing: "The president of the United States does not have the sense God gave a duck – so it's up to us. You and me." She promised that in every future column, she would write about the bane of her existence, the war in Iraq.
If you didn’t know Molly, it’s not too late to go out and buy some of her books this weekend. I’m sure she was never called a “woman of God,” but I b
elieve was the kind of woman that God really likes. I suspect she has already been asking the Lord some tough questions. That, she thought, was always the job of a good muckraking journalist.
If there was ever a time to pray and work for the shalom (or well being) of our nation, it is now. As the people of God – his church – we are being challenged to examine our hearts and the authenticity of our own faith by the presence of undocumented neighbors struggling for survival in our own backyards. Like the religious leaders and fear-filled individuals who walked past and around the man who was laying on the side of road in Jesus' good Samaritan story, too many of us in this country who claim to follow Jesus are doing the exact same thing – by ignoring the plight of our immigrant neighbors.
Regardless of our political persuasion, at the very least we as believers ought to be loving and merciful and compassionate towards those who are taking care of our kids, mowing our lawns, dry-walling our new homes, picking our crops, serving our meals, fighting in Iraq, and worshipping in our churches. At the very least, we should understand the agony that many of these parents feel; their willingness to do whatever they can to find a better life for their families and children – even if it means risking their lives. At the very least, our hearts should break when we hear about children being torn from their fathers and mothers by immigration raids that are, at best, a cold-hearted attempt to "fix" broken immigration laws. At the very least, those of us who really don't understand the issues related to immigration reform should take the time to get informed.
In a perfect world, this immigration problem our nation faces would be solved quickly. The truth is, every knowledgeable person I have spoken to about the prospects of comprehensive immigration reform happening soon says the same thing: It has to happen in the next four to six months, or it may not happen for years to come.
What that sort of delay would mean for the men, women, and children who are living and working in the shadows of our society is more fear, more abuse, and more tragedy. For many of us who have been passionately involved in the struggle to reach out to the stranger, as we believe Jesus would have us to do, it would mean more disillusionment with the church and more disappointment with our lack of courage to love "the least of these" as an expression of our deepest faith.
I know it feels overwhelming to get involved (I feel over my head in this everyday). But if the Lord nudges your heart to respond, as he has nudged mine, and you do something to get involved out of obedience to Christ, we will all be amazed at what God can do in the next few months to move hearts and to change laws – because nothing is too difficult for God.
Minimum wage.Senate Adds Tax Breaks To Minimum Wage Bill - "The Senate voted overwhelmingly to increase the federal minimum wage for the first time in nearly a decade, but added small-business tax breaks that are unacceptable to House leaders, preventing Democrats from claiming a quick victory on one of their top legislative priorities." Senate Passes Wage Bill, but Obstacles Await - "despite the huge margin of the Senate vote, 94 to 3, the increase - to $7.25 from $5.15 - must clear several hurdles before it becomes law. Democratic leaders in the Senate face their first big conflict with their counterparts in the House as the two chambers try to negotiate differences between the Senate bill and the one the House passed last month."
Iraq-Congress.Senate Democrats Split on Measure Opposing Bush - "Senate Democratic leaders who decided to back a Republican resolution against President Bush's Iraq war plan in hopes of winning broad bipartisan support ran into stiff resistance from an unexpected quarter -- fellow Democrats." Compromise Senate Measure Rebuffing Bush's Iraq Buildup Gathers Support - "A revised Senate resolution criticizing President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq drew new support as two authors of a sterner resolution of disapproval said they would accept the compromise, fashioned by Senator John W. Warner." Senate talks on Iraq take a new form - "The shape of the Senate debate over President Bush's plan to increase the number of troops in Iraq came into clearer focus as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) and two other senators introduced a resolution to support the buildup."
Iraq-military.Casey suggested smaller Iraq `surge' - "The top U.S. commander in Iraq said he had recommended deploying fewer than half the number of additional American troops President Bush plans to send to Baghdad and insurgent strongholds in western Iraq as part of a new war strategy." Support needs could double 'surge' forces - "President Bush's plan to send 21,500 more combat troops to Ira
q might require as many as 28,000 additional troops to provide critical support during the deployment, making the "surge" in US military forces far larger than previously predicted," Senators Challenge Gen. Casey On Iraq War - "Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the Bush administration's nominee to be the Army chief of staff, got an unusually harsh reception from some members of the Senate Armed Services Committee for his performance as the top U.S. commander in Iraq over the past 30 months," General Parries Senate Attacks on Iraq Record- "The departing American commander in Iraq defended his record on against withering criticism from some Senate Republicans and said Baghdad could be stabilized with far fewer additional troops than President Bush planned to send."
Veterans group assails Iraq troop increase - "six veterans of the Iraq war who appear in a nationwide television ad that argues against escalation. The ad, which began appearing Wednesday on CNN and will run until early next week, is the product of VoteVets.org, a fledgling group of Iraq veterans who plan to be vocal and aggressive as they take aim at administration policies on Iraq."
Iraq-Intelligence Estimate.Iraq at Risk of Further Strife, Intelligence Report Warns - "A long-awaited National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, presented to President Bush by the intelligence community, outlines an increasingly perilous situation in which the United States has little control and there is a strong possibility of further deterioration," Iraq report pessimistic over US role - "The long-awaited National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq expressed uncertainty about the capacity of Iraqi leaders to transcend sectarian interests and fight extremists, establish effective national institutions and end corruption."
Iran.Iraq plans summit with Iran and Syria - "The Iraqi government invited Iran and Syria to Baghdad for talks next month on regional security, amid growing tension and accusations by the Bush administration of foreign meddling in Iraqi affairs." Baghdad fears fallout of U.S.-Iran tensions - "Alarmed by rising tensions between the United States and Iran, Iraqi government officials fear their country is in danger of being dragged into a new conflict between its two main allies." U.S. Says Iran Meddles in Iraq but Is Delaying Release of Data - " President Bush's national security advisers have ordered a delay in publication of evidence intended to support Washington's contention that Iran supplies lethal technology and other aid t
o militias in Iraq."
Education.Bush to seek hike in Pell Grants - "President Bush's 2008 budget will call for the largest Pell Grant increase in three decades, a boost that would exceed one passed by the House this week, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said."
Immigration.New RNC chief backs bill with guest-worker plan - "Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, the Republican National Committee's new general chairman, wants Congress to pass an immigration bill this year that will include a guest-worker program with "earned citizenship" requirements for illegal aliens." Border Policy's Success Strains Resources - "Ringed by barbed wire, a futuristic tent city rises from the Rio Grande Valley in the remote southern tip of Texas, the largest camp in a federal detention system rapidly gearing up to keep pace with Washington's increasing demand for stronger enforcement of immigration laws."
Global warming.U.N. says there's no stopping global warming - "In the strongest language it has ever used, a United Nations panel says global warming is "very likely" caused by human activities and has become a runaway train that cannot be stopped." Humans blamed for climate change - "The likelihood that the phenomenon has been created by the burning of fossil fuels and other actions is greater than 90%, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded in its fourth report."
Religion.Senate chaplain withdraws from evangelical seminar - "Senate Chaplain Barry C. Black has canceled his scheduled appearance at a Christian evangelical conference after he was pictured with columnist Ann Coulter and other prominent conservatives in a brochure promoting the event."
A troubling phenomenon recurs among young Christians reared in solid homes and sound churches. After living their early years as outstanding examples of Christian faith, many become spiritual dropouts. Did they fail because they concentrated on the exterior, visible Christian life? Did they learn to mimic certain behaviors, nuances of words, and emotional responses? Crayfish-like, did they develop a hard exterior that resembled everyone else’s and conclude such was the kingdom of God, while inside they were weak and vulnerable? ... An outside shell can seem attractive, trustworthy, and protective. It certainly has advantages over a dead, useless skeleton or over no skeleton at all. But God desires for us a more advanced skeleton that serves as it stays hidden.
- Paul Brand Source: "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey
With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise [God] in the midst of the throng. For [the Lord] stands at the right hand of the needy, to save them from those who would condemn them to death.
Well isn't the key whether it is the kind of comment one might make about a white contender? But there is the additional factor that words might sound different depending upon the stereotypes surrounding other things that identify the person. ...
Is there, at least at some subconscious level, something which makes the choice of words skewed by ethnicity?
Another reader writes:
I'd like to see a little humility and empathy, recognition that in matters of diction and semantics we have even less authority and claim than in matters of theology, which are already inherently tentative. I'd prefer openness, honesty, and candor to carefully chosen words.
[UPDATE: Another helpful comment on this post:
Words can and do hurt and they can and do often say more about the person speaking them than the person they are about. I have had some personal experience being on the receiving end of the type of remarks Biden made, so I know the "sting" it can create, but I have also learned to take it stride and with one grain of salt and two shots of humor and then to turn it into an educational opportunity.
Amen regarding "educational opportunity." I was never suggesting we hate Joe Biden forever--he's already reaping the consequences of his words--but to educate him as we educate ourselves. Thank God for friends willing to challenge me when I've said something racially stupid--and I have.]
For now, see what you think of Biden's explanation on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:
I woke up to the NPR report this morning that Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Joseph Biden had shot himself in the rhetorical foot with the following remarks in an interview with The New York Observer:
I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.
Biden has issued the typically passive Washington non-apology apology for these remarks: "I deeply regret any offense my remark in The New York Observer might have caused anyone." (Why not apologize for the stupidity of the remarks, rather than the offense they caused?) But though praising a United States Senator for being "bright and clean" may have been the most obviously offensive of Biden's words, President Bush's similar praise for Obama in an interview with Neil Cavuto the same day on Fox News - "He’s an attractive guy. He’s articulate" - echoes more insidious underlying assumptions.
NEWS FLASH TO WELL-MEANING WHITE FOLKS: When you praise people of any minority or ethnicity for being "articulate," you're suggesting that you have deeply held stereotypes about people that don't look like you that are only overcome by what you see as noteable exceptions. Or that "articulate" doesn't mean, as Webster's suggests, "able to speak; expressing oneself readily, clearly, or effectively," but rather, "I expected you to talk like a black person, but you speak just like I do! Way to go!"
Everyone, please stop doing this.
Praising minorities for being "articulate" and similarly intended remarks are common, and once you're sensitive to them, you'll hear them everywhere, even in the most well-meaning liberal institutions. I was at a conference of Mennonite academics and young people examining attitutes toward scripture, where a young white male professor from one of our most progressive colleges praised the only African American woman in the room for being "so articulate." Speaking to her later about it, she confirmed my own discomfort at his remarks. Similarly, Asian American and Latino friends tire of surprised remarks regarding their lack of accent.
I can hear the groans - "great, yet another word the PC Thought Police won't let us use - even when we're trying to be nice!" Yes and no. All I ask is that you practice being articulate yourself: 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.
For his part, Obama has responded verrrrry graciously:
I didn't take Senator Biden's comments personally, but obviously they were historically inaccurate. African-American presidential candidates like Jesse Jackson, Shirley Chisholm, Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton gave a voice to many important issues through their campaigns, and no one would call them inarticulate.
This assumes, reasonably so from the context of his remarks, that Biden was speaking primarily about black presidential candidates and not all African Americans. But for the record:
Is he saying that Carol Moseley Braun wasn't "mainstream" even though she represent
ed the fifth largest state (in population) in the U.S. Senate? Is he saying that Jesse Jackson wasn't "mainstream" even though he won 11 primaries in 1988 and 6.9 million votes? The population of Delaware is 783,600. Heck, [Jackson] won Michigan with 55% of the vote.
And if by "mainstream," Biden meant "someone who has a snowball's chance in Hades of getting elected president of the United States," he may find himself on the outside of that category himself.
UPDATE: In fairness to Sen. Biden, a friend informs me that his legislative record testifies to his genuine concern for and efforts on behalf of people of color. I have no doubt of that. My point is that many people - myself included - may have the best of intentions, but still need to check ourselves before we wreck ourselves when discussing these issues, because fairly or unfairly, our words have disproportionate power, and with that power, serious consequences. See James 3:1-12.
Ryan Beiler is the web editor for Sojourners/Call to Renewal.
On Tuesday, following the Senate vote for cloture on minimum wage legislation, Jim Wallis joined Sen. Edward Kennedy, Sen. Sherrod Brown, Sen. Tom Harkin, and religious leaders in a press conference. This post is adapted from his remarks. The final vote on a minimum wage increase in the Senate is expected today.
This is a good vote, but as Sen. Kennedy already said, it's only the beginning –we've got a long way to go.
It's a political fact now that faith communities across the board, very widely, are in favor of increasing the minimum wage. Why is that? What's the theological foundation behind that? We don't just do politics; we do politics because of our faith.
I just returned from Davos, and the World Economic Forum, and even at Davos they're dealing with this issue. I was asked to address a group called, "Should we despair of our disparities?" I cited the Hebrew prophets and how they always seemed to speak up when the gaps in society grew too large. When the gulf widened and injustice deepened, the prophets rose up to thunder the judgment and justice of God. Their words reveal that God hates inequality. That's our theological foundation – God hates inequality.
What does the Bible have to say about the minimum wage?
The prophet Isaiah said: "my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain…" (65:22-23).
James, who was the sibling of Jesus, and probably knew what his brother thought about things pretty well, said: "Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord."
Six states passed referenda on a minimum wage in November. I want to commend the Let Justice Roll Campaign, an initiative of the National Council of Churches, and we were happy to work with them. We found that Americans agree with this. Americans think that if you work hard and full time, you shouldn't be poor. But 9.2 million American families are. Somebody in all those households works hard, full time, and yet they're all raising their kids in poverty. That's wrong. It's against our theology and it's un-American.
What is at risk here is a genuine opportunity society. It's a "fraud," I would say, when the average CEO of a Standard & Poor's 500 company made $13.5 million in total compensation in 2005, while a minimum wage worker made $10,700. Thirty years ago CEOs made 30 times what their average workers made. Japan and Germany are still at about that ratio. Now in America its 400 to 1 – which means the average worker has to work a whole year to make what their boss makes in one day. This is wrong; it's an injustice; it's a theological issue.
The House has acted, now the Senate has decided to act. And when the minimum wage passes, we must then take the next step needed to guarantee that work works in America and provides a family success and security. Those who work responsibly should have a living family income with a combination of a family's earnings, and supports for transportation, health care, nutrition, child care, education, housing. Tax policies should reward work and family stability. Ownership and job creation is critical. Work has to work in America. It doesn't right now.
The minimum wage is simply the down
payment on social justice. We've made the down payment, now it's time to do the rest of the work.
The latest news on the Iraq-Senate, war, rebuilding-, income inequality, farm bill, Iran, Libby trial, Biden, Immigration, EITC, and passing of Molly Ivins.
Iraq-Senate. Senators Unite On Challenge to Bush's Troop Plan- "Democratic and Republican opponents of President Bush's troop-buildup plan joined forces last night behind the nonbinding resolution with the broadest bipartisan backing: a Republican measure from Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia." Senate closer to Iraq rebuke- "Senate opponents of President Bush's decision to deploy additional troops in Iraq were unifying behind a single resolution criticizing the plan," In Fighting Troop Increase, Senator Finds Few Old Allies-"while Mr. Warner has won some support from within his party, he has also attracted unusually tough criticism from fellow Republicans who have suggested that he - a World War II veteran and former Navy secretary - is undercutting Mr. Bush, the new military command being installed in Iraq and the troops themselves."
Iraq-war.Lie Low, Fighters Are Told: 'Try at All Costs' To Avoid Conflict With Americans- "Sadr's followers waged fierce battles against the U.S. military in 2004, but militiamen and Iraqi politicians close to Sadr say this time he wants to avoid violent clashes and maintain a lower profile." General: Shiite Militia Leaders Leaving Baghdad Strongholds- "Shiite militia leaders already appear to be leaving their strongholds in Baghdad in anticipation of the U.S. and Iraqi plan to increase the troop presence in the Iraqi capital," Northern Iraq seen as next front in war- "American officials, regional leaders and residents are increasingly worried that this northern oil-rich city could develop into a third front in the country's civil war just as additional U.S. troops arrive in Baghdad and Al Anbar province as reinforcements for battles there." Iraq halts Syria flights, closes Iran border- "Iraq indefinitely halted all flights to and from Syria and closed a border crossing with Iran as the government prepares for a new security crackdown aimed at crushing violence in the capital and surrounding regions."
Iraq-rebuilding. U.S. Agency Finds New Waste and Fraud in Iraqi Rebuilding Projects -"A federal oversight agency reported that despite nearly $108 billion that had been budgeted for the reconstruction of Iraq since the 2003 invasion, the country's electrical output and oil production were still below prewar levels and stocks of gasoline and kerosene had plummeted to their lowest levels in at least two years." Iraqi agencies can't perform basic functions, report says- "The effort to resurrect vital government services in Iraq has been hampered by ethnic and sectarian purges among the ranks of civil servants, a high turnover rate for senior administrative officials, and a lack of comprehensive planning on the part of both Iraqis and the United States,"
Iran.U.S. delays report on Iranian role in Iraq- "The Bush administration has postponed plans to offer public details of its charges of Iranian meddling inside Iraq amid internal divisions over the strength of the evidence," US warns Iran on Iraq insurgents - "The US has issued the latest in a series of warnings to Iran, telling Tehran to stop helping Iraqi militants make lethal bombs to attack US troops" The US hostility towards Iran- "American accusations against Iran are becoming more specific by the day, raising a question about how far this confrontation will go." Sanctions rattle Iran, spur talk of shake-up - "The unanimous passage of U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran in December has shaken the nation's public and ruling elite, prompting talk of a shake-up of top officials and fears of a U.S. attack." Chirac Unfazed by Nuclear Iran, Then Backtracks-"President Jacques Chirac said this week that if Iran had one or two nuclear weapons, it would not pose a big danger, and that if Iran were to launch a nuclear weapon against a country like Israel, it would lead to the immediate destruction of Tehran. … On Tuesday, Mr. Chirac summoned the same journalists back to Élysée Palace to retract many of his remarks."
Libby trial.Former Times Reporter Testimony Is Challenged - "A former reporter for The New York Times jousted for nearly two hours on with a lawyer for I. Lewis Libby over her credibility and memory." Ex-Time Reporter Testifies in Libby Trial - "A former Time magazine reporter said in court that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby confided that the wife of an Iraq war critic worked at the CIA, becoming the second journalist to testify that the vice president's then-chief of staff disclosed the identity of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame." Rove revealed agent's name, reporter says - "A former Time magazine reporter said that it was President Bush's political advisor, Karl Rove, who first revealed to him that the wife of an administration critic worked for the CIA." Libby trial shows an insular, backbiting Washington- "With the Bush administration taking a pounding over erroneous prewar claims about Iraq in the summer of 2003, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff consulted his office's top communications advisor on how to strike back."
Biden announces. Biden Stumbles at the Starting Gate- "Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) joined the 2008 race for the White House, declaring that he has the right skills and experience to extricate the United States from Iraq without destabilizing the Middle East. But he spent much of the day extricating himself from a controversy over his comments about Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)," Biden Unwraps His Bid for '08 With an Oops!-"In an era of meticulous political choreography, the staging of the kickoff for this presidential candidacy could hardly have gone worse."
Farm bill.Agriculture Dept. Urges Big Overhaul in Farm Policy - "The measure, which would succeed a five-year agricultural authorization expiring at the end of this year, was described by some critics of current policy as perhaps the most reform-minded farm bill in decades." USDA Outlines a Plan To Cut Farm Subsidies - "he Bush administration proposed ending farm subsidies for an estimated 80,000 wealthy individuals as part of a broad plan that would close loopholes and cut traditional farm programs by $4.5 billion over the next 10 years."
Immigration.Immigrants Are Facing Big Increases in U.S. Fees- "Federal immigration authorities proposed to raise fees for visas and citizenship documents by an average of 66 percent, promising to use the added money to modernize and speed up an antiquated, overburdened bureaucracy." Cost of U.S. citizenship likely to rise- "But the proposal, which would hike citizenship application fees from $330 to $595, drew immediate criticism that it would put citizenship out of reach for many poor immigrants."
Income inequality.Bush assails 'income inequality' - "President Bush said there is a growing "income inequality" gap between rich and poor Americans, and told companies they should rethink the giant compensation packages they offer top exec
utives." Bush Addresses Income Inequality- "President Bush acknowledged that there is growing income inequality in the United States, addressing for the first time a subject that has long concerned Democrats and liberal economists."
EITC.Earned income tax credit to get a push- "The IRS, the U.S. Treasurer and a coalition of consumer groups plan to launch a nationwide initiative today to encourage more low-income families to claim the earned income tax credit, an often-overlooked benefit that's worth up to $4,536 this year."
Passing-Molly Ivins. Molly Ivins, Columnist, Dies at 62 - "Molly Ivins, the liberal newspaper columnist who delighted in skewering politicians and interpreting, and mocking, her Texas culture, died yesterday in Austin." Columnist Molly Ivins, 62; Poked Fun at the Powerful - "Ivins, an unabashedly liberal columnist and best-selling author whose wicked wit and good ol' girl-style Texas humor regularly skewered conservative politicians and targeted the pomposities of elected officials regardless of political stripe, died Jan. 31." Molly Ivins, 1944-2007 - "For six years, the trenchant columns of Molly Ivins have raised Cain on the Commentary page of this newspaper. In that too-brief span of time, not one of the many fine writers who share that real estate infuriated so many Tribune readers--or won the adoration of so many others."
You call me Teacher and Lord - and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.
What we call church is often a conspiracy of cordiality. Pastors learn to pacify rather than preach to their Ananiases and Sapphiras. We say we do it out of "love." Usually, we do it as a means of keeping everyone as distant from everyone else as possible. You don’t get into my life and I will not get into yours.
- Stanley HauerwasSource: "Resident Aliens" by Stanley Hauerwas.
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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.
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.
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.
This week, Christians around the world begin Lent – the 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and repentance leading to Easter.
This latest contribution to The Washington Post/Newsweek 
Following my 
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.
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.
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.
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.
In a new book being released this week – 
Okay, I may be a PC thug. I care less about good intentions – and more about the effects on the targets of those intentions. Not only am I offended when well-meaning white people patronizingly and redundantly call highly-educated black people holding public office 
Iran. 
