It was the best of religion, it was the worst of religion in 2008. Let's concentrate on the worst. The following are the ten stories that made us want to roll our eyes, curl up into a ball or raise our fist. Hopefully we will be among those who learn from history - and not repeat it.
10. Jews feel the financial and image pain of Wall Streeter Bernie Maddoff as his money lies damage
9. Sarah Palin's witchcraft video.
8. Rev. Jeremiah Wright appears at the Washington Press Club. By playing the fool Wright makes his defenders, including Barack Obama, look foolish.
7. Prosperity Gospelers add to the foreclosure crisis by preaching that Jesus had provided poor congregants with a house they could not afford.
6. Elizabeth Dole runs the "There is No God" campaign ad accusing opponent Kay Hagen (who teaches Sunday School) of atheism.
5. The Catholic Church, Mormons and Rick Warren join in a theologically unlikely alliance to pass Proposition 8 and revoke the right of Gays and Lesbians to marry. Rick Warren is tapped by Obama to offer the invocation at his inauguration.
4. The anti-Muslim rhetoric in the presidential election, coupled with a persistent belief that Barack Obama was a Muslim topped off by the Obama campaign insistience on the candidate's Christian faith rather than condemning the religion-baitng.
3. Buddhist Monks and nuns are slaughtered in
2. Islamist terrorists take the city of
1. With all of the power of the world religions in 2008 we did not muster the political will to stop the daily starvation of thousands of our fellow human beings.
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My #11, is that all the positive stuff of the Inter-Faith Movement is nowhere to be found. Maybe, one day these type of 'headlines' will not be as big and stupid and ... "Imagine..." JL
"RELIGION is the only force in the universe that can make God sick in the stomach". parapharsed - Anandamurti
I would add that any dogma is a mental disease, Nlpharr@bellsouth./net
Re: The Ten Worst Religion Stories of 2008,
by Paul Raushenbush, 12.19.08 :
While treading on eggs in their references to Islam, for subliminal fear of decollation, I suppose, and herein insinuating a bias nonetheless, … media partiality against the whole of religion, especially the Judaeo-Christian kind, is so prevalent as to be almost unnoticeable, except of course by the spiritually sensitive who, in the light of the paucity of media partiality in favor of religion, feel as if they are quite in the minority. Deeming their subjectivity objective, the media would have us believe that theirs is the majority opinion or, at least, the best.
As I have ventured through this life, experiencing many religions out there in our world today. People... get a grip. NO religion is any better than the other one. Religions are out there because of the many different levels of understandings of the people. Religion in the end "saves no one", period. And trust me as I say that... THERE WILL BE NO ADVOCATE STANDING ALONGSIDE ANY ONE WHEN IT'S TIME WE CROSS OVER INTO THE NEXT DOOR. The relationship between you and God is between you and our maker only. God is not a part of negativity. But it's unfortunate in today's world, we must battle the negativity with the same source given to us. However, we all can turn it around by making it "positive", using this to turn the negativity around. We all want peace. We all want a better life for our children, and children's children.
I have read this list several times and analyzed the various items. I am still concerned or puzzled. There are a multitude of faith traditions, and almost endless variety of religions experiences, and a plethora of views about God, self and the universe. But I did not really think we were now defining politically correct religious belief.
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