stone space
stone space's JournalWhat do Christians have against libraries?
I was considering going to the library, Serfozo said. Thank God I didnt.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article4039995.html
Is this just another example of Christian anti-intellectualism?
Or is there something deeper going on here?
I mean, I sure don't want to be an atheist Wolf Blitzer and put words in this woman's mouth.
Why in the world would a Christian thank God she didn't go to the library?
President Obama bashed for quoting Scripture in Immigration address.
Now Fox & Friends Is Upset That Obama Is Quoting ScriptureHours After Attacking The President For Not Expressing His Faith, Fox Attacks Obama For Quoting The Bible
The hosts of Fox & Friends were incensed that President Obama quoted scripture in a primetime address detailing his upcoming executive action on immigration, challenging him to a "scripture-showdown" and claiming it's "repugnant" for Obama to "lecture us on Christian faith." But just 48 hours earlier, the Fox hosts were lamenting that Obama doesn't make public expressions of his Christian faith often enough.
Obama quoted lines from the Bible in a November 20 address, explaining the nation's responsibility to reform unfair immigration enforcement policies. He declared, "Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger -- we were strangers once, too. My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too."
His use of scripture did not sit well with the hosts of Fox & Friends the next day. Co-host Tucker Carlson called it "repugnant" and argued, "For this guy specifically, the president who spent his career defending late-term abortion, among other things, lecturing us on Christian faith? That's too much. That is too much." Elisabeth Hasselbeck attempted to rebut the scripture Obama used with scripture of her own, quoting verses from Proverbs and saying she is "going to get into a scripture-showdown." According to Hasselbeck, Obama used the Bible to guilt people into supporting his executive action, and that's "not what the scholars behind the Bible would interpret as proper use, perhaps."
snip-------------------------
(video at link)
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/11/21/now-fox-amp-friends-is-upset-that-obama-is-quot/201665
This is what ethnic cleansing looks like
Interpreting after the Largest ICE Raid in US History: A Personal Account
Erik Camayd-Freixas, Ph.D.
Florida International University
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/07/14/opinion/14ed-camayd.pdf
Echoing what I think was the general feeling, one of my fellow interpreters would later exclaim: When I saw what it was really about, my heart sank Then began the saddest procession I have ever witnessed, which the public would never see, because cameras were not allowed past the perimeter of the compound (only a few journalists came to court the following days, notepad in hand). Driven single-file in groups of 10, shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles, chains dragging as they shuffled through, the slaughterhouse workers were brought in for arraignment, sat and listened through headsets to the interpreted initial appearance, before marching out again to be bused to different county jails, only to make room for the next row of 10. They appeared to be uniformly no more than 5 ft. tall, mostly illiterate Guatemalan peasants with Mayan last names, some being relatives (various Tajtaj, Xicay, Sajché, Sologüí ), some in tears; others with faces of worry, fear, and embarrassment. They all spoke Spanish, a few rather laboriously. It dawned on me that, aside from their Guatemalan or Mexican nationality, which was imposed on their people after Independence, they too were Native Americans, in shackles. They stood out in stark racial contrast with the rest of us as they started their slow penguin march across the makeshift court. Sad spectacle I heard a colleague say, reading my mind. They had all waived their right to be indicted by a grand jury and accepted instead an information or simple charging document by the U.S. Attorney, hoping to be quickly deported since they had families to support back home. But it was not to be. They were criminally charged with aggravated identity theft and Social Security fraud charges they did not understand and, frankly, neither could I. Everyone wondered how it would all play out.
But this was only the surface damage. Alongside the many courageous actions and expressions of humanitarian concern in the true American spirit, the news blogs were filled with snide remarks of racial prejudice and bigotry, poorly disguised beneath an empty rhetoric of misguided patriotism, not to mention the insults to anyone who publicly showed compassion, safely hurled from behind a cowardly online nickname. One could feel the moral fabric of society coming apart beneath it all.
The difficulties of cross cultural communication.
Lately, I've been getting the strong feeling that some of the miscommunication between religious folks and atheists may result from this.
Sometimes, cross cultural communication can be like learning a new language.
As an atheist, I try to listen to what Christians and others say in their own religious language.
For an example, I'll take a recent post of mine.
I remember a Thanksgiving story.
It was back in 2006, I believe.
A small boy was riding with his mother in a car on Thanksgiving Day, when they got into a terrible accident.
The mother was killed, and the boy survived the crash, but was stranded all alone in the Arizona desert.
At some point, an undocumented immigrant named Jesus who was crossing into this country passed by, and stayed with the boy and protected him while trying to flag down somebody to help.
Eventually, he was able to get the attention of a Border patrol agent, and the boy was saved, and Jesus was deported.
I remember the boy's Aunt on TV thanking God (and Jesus!) while calling it a miracle.
Now, you're an atheist like me, so we both have to put on our thinking caps when we hear religious language. Just like we have to do in any other sort of cross cultural communication.
What do you think the boy's Aunt was calling a miracle?
Her nephew being saved by Jesus, or her sister being killed in an accident?
Accurate cross cultural communication requires a little bit of thoughtfulness and good will.
Otherwise, one can miss-translate things very badly.
The question is in bold.
How one answers may depend on ones ability to understand and comprehend religious language. It's an exercise in cross cultural communication and language skills for us atheists.
I'll be the first to admit that, as a mathematician, this is not my specialty.
But I think I know the correct answer.
Jesuits call for repeal of 2nd Amendment
The National Catholic Review
February 25, 2013 Issue
EDITORIALS
Repeal the Second Amendment
Plagued by rising levels of violent crime, in the autumn of 1976 the District of Columbia enacted one of the nations toughest gun control laws. The law effectively banned handguns, automatic firearms and high-capacity semiautomatic weapons. Police officers were exempt from the provisions of the law, as were guns registered before 1976. Over the following decade, the murder rate in Washington, D.C., declined, then increased, shadowing a national trend. Overall, however, the new law helped to prevent nearly 50 deaths per year, according to one study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. We knew there were problems we couldnt wipe out, said Sterling Tucker, chair of the district council at the time, as he reflected on the law 22 years later. But we had a little more control over it.
On June 26, 2008, in a closely watched, far-reaching decision, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the D.C. law, ruling that it violated the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states: A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. In the courts majority opinion, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia wrote: We are aware of the problem of handgun violence in this country, and we take seriously the concerns raised by the many amici who believe that the prohibition of handgun ownership is a solution.... But the enshrinement of constitutional rights necessarily takes certain policy choices off the table.
snip------------------------
http://americamagazine.org/issue/repeal-second-amendment
Episcopal Church in Michigan passes gun resolution
(crossposted from religion)
Episcopal Church in Michigan passes gun resolution
Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press 9:41 a.m. EST November 3, 2014
The Episcopal Church in Michigan has passed a controversial resolution calling for stiffer gun control, drawing sharp criticism from conservative members who say it violates the right to bear arms.
The dispute is part of a larger debate among Episcopalians and other mainline Protestants about the future of their churches as they face sharp declines in membership.
Some conservatives say the gun resolution is the latest example of the Episcopal Church focusing on promoting liberal social issues such as gun control and same-sex marriage instead of the gospel, alienating congregants. But liberals say that their views are in line with the teachings of Christianity.
By a clear majority, members of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan which consists of southeast Michigan and the Lansing and Jackson areas voted recently to approve a resolution calling for universal background checks on all gun purchases, banning all sales of semiautomatic weapons, high-impact ammunition, high-capacity ammunition magazines, and making gun trafficking a federal crime.
snip----------------
Rick Schulte, director of communications for the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, did not comment on the resolution. Supporters say it was a necessary move and one that reflects the views of the Episcopal Church and Christianity. They noted last week's shooting in a Washington state high school as the latest example of gun violence.
"We work to bring God's peace to the world," said the Rev. Chris Yaw, rector of St. David's Episcopal Church in Southfield. "God's kingdom is not of violence; it's of peace."
snip------------------
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/2014/11/03/episcopal-church-michigan-gun-resolution/18382335/
What is your favorite Bible quote?
You don't have to be Christian to play!
(In fact, I'm an atheist, myself.)
I'll start with my own personal favorite.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not rise up against nation. Nor shall they study war any more.
Here's some Christians illustrating the meaning of this prophesy from Isaiah 2:4.
I think that they do a pretty good job, with poise, grace, humor, and a red tricycle and garden mattock:
What's your favorite Bible quote?
Episcopal Church in Michigan passes gun resolution
Episcopal Church in Michigan passes gun resolutionNiraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press 9:41 a.m. EST November 3, 2014
The dispute is part of a larger debate among Episcopalians and other mainline Protestants about the future of their churches as they face sharp declines in membership.
The Episcopal Church in Michigan has passed a controversial resolution calling for stiffer gun control, drawing sharp criticism from conservative members who say it violates the right to bear arms.
The dispute is part of a larger debate among Episcopalians and other mainline Protestants about the future of their churches as they face sharp declines in membership.
Some conservatives say the gun resolution is the latest example of the Episcopal Church focusing on promoting liberal social issues such as gun control and same-sex marriage instead of the gospel, alienating congregants. But liberals say that their views are in line with the teachings of Christianity.
By a clear majority, members of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan which consists of southeast Michigan and the Lansing and Jackson areas voted recently to approve a resolution calling for universal background checks on all gun purchases, banning all sales of semiautomatic weapons, high-impact ammunition, high-capacity ammunition magazines, and making gun trafficking a federal crime.
snip----------------
Rick Schulte, director of communications for the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, did not comment on the resolution. Supporters say it was a necessary move and one that reflects the views of the Episcopal Church and Christianity. They noted last week's shooting in a Washington state high school as the latest example of gun violence.
"We work to bring God's peace to the world," said the Rev. Chris Yaw, rector of St. David's Episcopal Church in Southfield. "God's kingdom is not of violence; it's of peace."
snip------------------
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/2014/11/03/episcopal-church-michigan-gun-resolution/18382335/
Hi. Is there any way to put somebody on ignore without...
...hiding comments from people whose comments you might want to see?
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