progressive involvement

Pope Francis the Tillichian

Rabbi friends of mine tell me that it's possible to convert to Judaism, but they remind such potential converts that they're really better off staying what they are.  Jews are supposed to abide by the whole Torah, after all, while gentiles are only subject to seven general laws which cover everyone else.

According to these rabbis, you don't get anything special from God for being a Jew.  God doesn't love you more than others, and you don't get any special benefits.  What you get are increased responsibilities!

Pope Francis took it from another angle on Vatican Radio on Wednesday.  The Pope not only asserted that atheists can do good things as well as Catholics can, but they must do these things, he said.

“All of us have this commandment at heart: Do good and do not do evil. All of us. ‘But, Father, this is not (a) Catholic! He cannot do good.’ Yes, he can. He must. Not can: must.”

What struck people was not that Francis was calling on atheists to do good, but that he said atheists were capable of doing good.  It seems a small step--most people have been at this point for quite awhile--but this kind of generosity toward "the other", from the Vatican, is nonetheless refreshing.

That, however, was not really Francis' point.  Sure, atheists can do good, and what's more, we all better get crackin'.  As he elaborated:

“This commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: We need that so much. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”

He is looking toward a "culture of encounter".  Back in the 1950's, this is what Paul Tillich called the "method of correlation."  He took it to mean the "encounter" between the religious and the secular world, each one open to the other, interacting with each other.

Francis' "encounter" centers on ethics--doing good.  The religious and the non-religious share life on this planet.  We can all make the place better.  As the United Methodists say, "Doctrine divides.  Service unites."  May this "method of correlation" and "culture of encounter" bear more fruit.

Lectionary blogging: Trinity: John 16: 12-14

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Translation:  "I have yet many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear (them) now.  When that one, the Spirit of truth might come, he will lead you in the way of all truth, for he will not speak from himself, but as he hears, he will speak, and he will report back to you the things that are coming.  That one will glorify me because he will take what is mine and report back to you.  All things that the Father has are mine.  Because of this, I said that he will take what is mine and he will report back to you."

 

Identity dodge

Conservatives are falling all over themselves to claim they've been harrassed by the IRS.  Some outfit named Aleteia claims that a Catholic professor critical of the Obama administration was mysteriously audited.  

Franklin Graham, the apple who fell far from the tree, likewise claims the IRS has been persecuting him.  (His organization is a 501(c)3, which has stricter requirements than a (501(c)4.  Plus, he used organization funds to campaign against marriage equality in North Carolina, so there's more to his story than he's letting on.  Just sayin')

This is fall-out from the Citizens United decision.  Citizens United led directly to the rise of "super-political action committees, a.k.a. "super-pacs."

When Karl Rove began his super PAC American Crossroads, at first his fundraising was pretty anemic. He then set up Crossroads GPS, under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code, which is for “social welfare” organizations, which are supposed to further the general welfare (the provision talks about “civic betterment”). Donations to (c)(4)’s are not tax deductible. The main benefit is that contributors’ names are not public. 

The 501(c)4 status is an artful dodge to get around disclosing donors.  Donors to these organizations care more about protecting their identity than they do about getting a tax deduction.  

Also one wonders:  Do the tea party groups know that their promoters are passing themselves off as a "social welfare" organization to the IRS?  Are they aware that they're now committed to promoting the "general welfare" leading to "civic betterment"?

Incidentally, poor people who receive the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) are five times more likely to be audited than other people, mostly because conservative Congressmen keep asserting there's "fraud" somewhere in the program, which is what they always say this about programs that don't benefit them.

Global financial system a "cult of money," says Pope

Prediction:  This will not get much play in the American press:

In his first major speech on the subject, Francis demanded Thursday that financial and political leaders reform the global financial system to make it more ethical and concerned for the common good. He said: "Money has to serve, not to rule!"

Routine poll findings

According to a just-released Public Policy poll, people believe Hillary Clinton over the House Republicans by a margin of 49-39.  Her favorability rating of 52-44 is unchanged from March.

By a large margin, people feel that immigration reform is much more important than Benghazi.

41% of Republicans, on the other hand, think Benghazi is the most important issue ever, even though 39% of those can't identify where Benghazi is--10% say it's in Egypt, 6% say Cuba.

Lectionary blogging: Pentecost: John 14: 8-17, (25-27)

⁸Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” ⁹Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. ¹¹Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.

¹²Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

¹⁵”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. ¹⁷This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you...

25 ‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. ²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 

Translation:  Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."  Jesus said to him, "I am with you a lengthy time and you do not know me, Philip?"  The one who has seen me has seen the Father.  How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not trust that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?  The words that I say to you I do not speak from myself, but the Father abiding in me does his works.  Trust me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.  But if not, trust the works themselves.

"Truly, Truly, I say to you, the one trusting into me, the works which I am doing, that one will do also, and that one will do greater than these, for I am going to the Father.  And whatever you might ask in my name, that I will do so that the Father might be glorified in the Son.  Whatever you might ask in my name, I will do. 

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give to you another One-Called-Alongside that may be with you into the eternal, the Spirit of Truth, which the universe is not able to receive because it does not see him nor knows him.  You know him for he abides alongside you and he will be in you...

These things I have spoken to you abiding alongside you, but the One-Called-Alongside, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, that one will teach you all things, and will remind you of all I have said to you.

Peace I leave to you.  My peace I give to you, not as the universe gives, I myself give to you.  Let not let your heart be troubled, and let it not be timid.

Think what you want, so long as you agree with me

Mark Noll published The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind about 15 years ago.  He concluded that the real scandal of the evangelical mind was that there wasn't much of one.  People took notice because Noll is a highly-regarded evangelical himself.

It appears there wasn't much lasting effect from Noll's effort.  Now, Peter Enns says it's not that evangelicalism doesn't want to have a mind.  It surely does, and it also wants to value scholarship.

The problem is that this is only true provided that scholarship supports predetermined conclusions.  As Enns puts it:  "Sure, dig into evolution and the ancient context of Genesis, but by golly you’d better give me an Adam when you’re done."

Metro Denver's 10th Annual Breakfast for Humanity

Metro Denver Habitat's Executive Director, Heather Lafferty, greets a large crowd at the affiliate's 10th Annual Breakfast for Humanity this morning.  

Breaking from its tradition of being addressed by governors and mayors, the message this morning was brought by Habitat homeowner, Farhana Morales, who recently graduated from the University of Denver with a degree in information technology.

Metro Denver Habitat is gearing up for the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Work Project this fall, October 6-13.  This year's Work Project will feature three venues:  Oakland, Denver, and New York City.

"I am here asking for mercy."

Concern for a path to citizenship enlivened a crowd at Congressman Mike Coffman's (R-CO) office today.  Fr. Steve Adams of St. Pius X Roman Catholic Church of Aurora leads them in prayer before about 15 local clergy met with the Congressman's staff.

The meeting opened with prayer.  Scripture reflections were offered by Rabbi Bernard Gerson of Congregation Rodef Shalom and Fr. Adams of St. Piux X.  The Rev. Bonita Bock submitted a letter signed by 91 local clergy that advocates for humane immigration policies.

Summarizing the case for a path to citizenship, Sarah Hernandez told of her husband's deportation two years ago and the subsequent hardship on her family.  "I am here asking for mercy," she said, "and to be treated like a human being."

Coffman's staff said that they meet frequently with various groups in regard to the immigration issue, and they believe they are well aware of the issues involved.  The Congressman will offer no firm position until the current Senate bill is passed and heads to the House.

 

Lectionary blogging: Easter 7: John 17: 20-26

”I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, ²³I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

²⁴Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.²⁵“Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Translation:  "But I do not ask concerning these alone, but concerning the ones trusting into me through their word, so that they might all be one.  Just as you, Father, in me and I in you, that they also might be in us, so that the universe might trust that you have sent me.  I gave the glory which you have given to me.  I gave to them so that they might be one just as we are one--I in them and you in me so that they might be the ones brought to a complete consummation into one so that the universe might know that you sent me and loved them just as you loved me.

Father, who has given to me, I desire that where I am, they might be with me, so that they might see my glory, which you have given to me because you loved me before the foundation of the universe.  And righteous Father, the universe did not know you, but I myself knew you, and these knew that you sent me, and I have made your name known to them, and I will make known, so that with which you have loved me (may be) in them and I in them."

Greatest question of our time

Great people ask great questions.  Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther’s great question was:  How can I find a gracious God?  Fifty years ago, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s great question was:  Who is Christ for us today?

I’m wondering if there is a great question that faces people in our time today.  We were discussing this in text study a few weeks ago, and one of my friends said that he thought the great question of today is how to relate to, and what to do with, people who call themselves “spiritual, but not religious.”  

You’ve heard that expression before.  You may have used it yourself.  These are people who, by and large, want to stay away from religion, but want to hang on to spirituality.  

This has become quite a popular position, and it’s not too hard to figure out why.  Religion is associated with arguments and contention.  Religion is associated with arguing about the meaning of words.  Religion is associated with judgment and close-mindedness.  Given how people view religion, it’s not surprising that some people would move away from it.

Pope Francis condemns "slave labor"

Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned as "slave labour" the conditions for hundreds of workers killed in a factory collapse in Bangladesh and urged political leaders to fight unemployment in a sweeping critique of "selfish profit".

The pope said he had been particularly struck by a headline saying workers at the factory near Dhaka were being paid just 38 euros ($50) a month.

"This is called slave labour!" the pope was quoted by Vatican radio as saying in his homily at a private mass in his residence to mark May Day.

 Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/pope-rips-bangladesh-slave-labor-2013-5#ixzz2S9KQH3NH

Liberation theology continues to influence South America more than people think

Sure, John Paul II and Benedict both tried to suppress it, even while agreeing with its major tenet, "the preferential option for the poor."  Despite this ambivalent resistance from the head office, liberation theology continues to influence the South American church in important ways.

The critique of liberation theology is that it relied on Marxist social analysis.  Some liberation theology was based in Marxism, but most was not.  You don't need a Marxist base in order to argue for Christian solidarity with the poor.  Why fiddle with Marx when you have the Lord Jesus on your side?

South Americans generally don't fuss over the nuances of theology like the Europeans do.  Rather than parse words, they are content with supporting human rights and trying to help the poor, activities not unique to liberation theology, but certainly supported by it.  Jessica Weiss of the Associated Press (AP) reports:

Yet much of the movement remained, practiced by thousands of grassroots "base communities" working out of local parishes across the hemisphere, nurtured by nuns, priests and a few bishops who put freedom from hunger, poverty and social injustice at the heart of the Church's spiritual mission.

In fact, liberation theology is broad enough and entrenched enough that it has various strands within it.  Msgr. Gregorio Rosa Chavez, the auxiliary bishop of San Salvador, notes that "there are many theologies of liberation".  He names one the pastoral variety of Pope Francis, which he calls the "theology of the foot," because it walks with the people.  Then, there is the university variety, which Rosa Chavez calls "theology of the desk."

These are still the opening days of Francis' papacy, and no sure direction can yet be discerned.  For the time being, however, many Latin Americans are looking to the new pope with hope that ministry to and for the poor will take center stage.

Backlash on guns?

Five senators who recently voted against background checks have seen their numbers tumble.  Jeff Flake (R-AZ).  70% of Arizonans support background checks, and Flake, with only a 32% approval rating, has now become the most unpopular senator in the country.

Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) was relatively popular in Alaska, but her approval rating has fallen 16 points in the wake of her vote.  Her Alaska counterpart, Democrat Mark Begich has dropped 17 points among Democrats and 9 points among independents.

Rob Portman (R-OH) is down 18 points.  In Nevada, Dean Heller is down 3 points over-all, but 10 points among independents.

Lectionary blogging: Easter 6: John 14: 23-29

Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

25 ‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. ²⁶But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. ²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. ²⁸You heard me say to you, “I am going away, and I am coming to you.” If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. ²⁹And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.

Translation:  Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone might love me, that one will keep my word, and my Father will love that one, and we will come to them, and we will make our dwelling place alongside them.  The one not loving me does not keep my words, and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father's, the one who sent me.  These things I have spoken to you abiding alongside you, but the One-Called-Alongside, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, that one will teach you all things, and will remind you of all I have said to you.

Peace I leave to you.  My peace I give to you, not as the universe gives, I myself give to you.  Let not let your heart be troubled, and let it not be timid.  You heard that I said to you, 'I go and I come to you.'  If you were loving me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father because the Father is greater than I.  And now, I have told you before it comes to be so that, when it happens, you might trust.

 

HRC continues to lead

Highest favorability rating of any Democrat.  She leads Vice President Joe Biden by a considerable margin in "favorability."  Biden's favorability is fairly high, but Hillary's is higher.

Somewhat curiously, 13% of the sample could not identify Secretary of State John Kerry.  These must be people who have entered into public awareness since 2004.

Regulation of explosive megatonnage just might be a good idea

The Boston bombing killed three and injured 150.  The West, Texas fertilizer explosion killed 15 and injured 200.  Both are horrific events, of course, but the West, Texas explosion did more actual damage to life and property than the bombings.  Yet, 95% of the news coverage has been about Boston.

Terrorism kills relatively few people, yet we can't stop ourselves from obsessing about it.  Meanwhile, industrial accidents--if that's what the West, Texas explosion proves to be--kill and maim many, many times the people directly affected by terrorism.

The Dallas Morning News has some stunning photos of the effects of a lack of regulation.  Local officials assess damage:

 

Socialist on the sainthood track

John Paul II might make saint this year.