I present this for whatever it is worth in the ongoing chronicles of religious history and ecumenicism.
It’s either a blow to orthodoxy and propriety, or it’s a wake-up call for tolerance and common sense. It’s Mormons Exposed, a pin-up calendar of gorgeous Mormon missionaries.
I deal with a lot of Haitians in my job, and I’ll have to admit that I become annoyed with the difficult communication, lack of enculturation, different world view and so forth. Articles like this help me remember that they’re just trying to accomplish exactly the same things my ancestors wanted to accomplish when they came to this new world. Shame on me.
MIAMI – Haitians living in Miami and other U.S. cities who send food regularly to their families in the Caribbean nation have become a lifeline for their loved ones amid soaring food prices and worsening hunger. …..Haitians in US a lifeline for those back home — South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
The BBC has this incredible shot of the full moon and the Olympic torch. Click the image to see the full-size photograph.
Olympic Moon
It isn’t easy being devout in China, even for world famous athletes.
For many competitors in the Olympics, athletics and religion are inexorably linked. Josh McAdams, a Mormon American steeplechase competitor, told the Washington Post, “athletics is not only physical and mental but spiritual.” Unfortunately for McAdams, practicing that spirituality is difficult inside the Olympic Village, as China has banned many foreign chaplains from living with the athletes. China promised to provide their own religious leaders, but the Washington Post reports that religious facilities on the Olympic grounds are remote, often don’t have enough space for worshipers, and participants are getting frustrated by the inadequate language skills of the service leaders.
Sharon Salzberg has a moment of oneness with a cabbage in a garden in Benares. Don’t laugh.
Sharon Salzberg: Cabbage Sutra
In spiritual life we are not facing an implacable enemy of self that we need to fight, that we need to overcome or eradicate. Spiritual life is understanding the true nature of things, most importantly our own true nature….
I’m not sure I want to know who the real John McCain is. Probably the only way we’d ever find that out would be if the man was elected. Then we’d know for sure. I’d rather wonder. I wish Senator McCain no ill; that said, I hope he disappears from public life in one hell of a hurry.
McCain, Circa 2003 – Yahoo! News
Senator John McCain arrived late at his Senate office on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, just after the first plane hit the World Trade Center. “This is war,” he murmured to his aides. The sound of scrambling fighter planes rattled the windows, sending a tremor of panic through the room.Within hours, Mr. McCain, the Vietnam War hero and famed straight talker of the 2000 Republican primary, had taken on a new role: the leading advocate of taking the American retaliation against Al Qaeda far beyond Afghanistan. In a marathon of television and radio appearances, Mr. McCain recited a short list of other countries said to support terrorism, invariably including Iraq, Iran and Syria….
On the theory the less said the better, perhaps saying nothing is best of all. Some stories simply stand best on their own.
Blow-up church looks to lure beachgoers | Reuters.com
ROME (Reuters) – Catholic nuns and priests in Italy are following their flocks to the beach this summer, establishing an inflatable church and a beach-convent in the sands to lure sunbathers.The 30-metre (98 ft) long blow-up church — staffed by priests ready to take confession — will debut on Saturday on the Adriatic coast in the Molise region, an organizer said.
“There will be four or five people singing, with music about God,” said Chiara Facci with Catholic group Sentinelli del Mattino. Night time activities, which will not include Mass, will run from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
The first attempt to inaugurate the inflatable church last month on the holiday island of Sardinia failed after strong winds forced organizers to relocate, she said.
We’re well into the Dog Days – an interesting time of year for a number of reasons, from traditional harvest festivals to hot nights and their well-documented ill effects on our tempers. I’m therefore honoring the effects on our minds, bodies and spirits, with a short discussion of how the term Dog Days has come down to us over many centuries. From where did such an odd expression arise? Continue reading
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RECOVERY http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2008/2008-08-14-01.asp
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BEIJING http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2008/2008-08-13-01.asp
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Lin Jensen writes about ritual, confession, and self-forgiveness.
JohnMcCain and Barack Obama will make their first joint appearance of thecampaign at an event hosted by evangelical megachurch pastor RickWarren on Saturday, Aug. 16. Senior Fellow John Green answers questionsabout what the candidates stand to gain from speaking with Warren, whatchallenges Warren faces as he attempts to broaden evangelicals’political agenda and what a major Pew Forum survey says aboutmegachurches and their members. Read the Q&A »
As John McCain and the Republicans trumpet their election year boldfaced lie–drill now so we can lower prices at the pump today–they continue to ignore a looming energy disaster with lives hanging in the balance.Currently, eight million homes rely on heating oil during the winter months, and last winter’s prices forced too many citizens to choose between heat, food, and medicine .
According to the New York Times, heating oil prices are now 36 percent higher than they were last winter and bills will be up to $1500 higher than they were last year. As for the 54 million households heating with natural gas, prices are expected to be 67 percent higher this winter.
R. J. Eskow, writing in Tricycle, examines the opinions of several prominent Buddhist teachers about engaging in political activism. Well worth a reading and some meditation.
Politics can eat at the psyche. It’s part of my work, so I can’t escape it – even in my thoughts. Once I tried relaxing with a Tibetan Buddhist text which said that, because of numberless rebirths, everybody was once your mother. In a past life they gave you a mother’s love and care. It’s a beautiful image, but I could only picture one person:Dick Cheney.
This just in …
“Victory creates hatred,” said the Buddha. “Defeat creates suffering.”
Early exit polling indicates …
“The wise ones desire neither victory nor defeat.”
There are charges of vote-counting irregularities …
“He who wins will be defeated.” The Buddha said that. “Election years wreak emotional havoc.” I said that. They turn your world inside out and drag you through tortured psychic landscapes, as if the cable news networks were broadcasting from inside a Hieronymus Bosch painting. It’s a nonstop barrage of scarring images and manufactured emotions: war, disaster, sorrow, love, hate, fear, anger, resentment … pain.
And this election’s been going on for two long years.
