John A Buehrens has just written an excellent op-ed article in the Washington Post concerning the comeback of a recognition of the religious roots of liberal and progressive values.
Check it out and celebrate being simultaneously and inextricably religious and progressive!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Tom Shepherd on Unity and Doctrine
For those interested and aren't aware of Rev. Dr. Tom Shepherd's blog, he has recently written a post about Unity as a way of life rather than a set of prescribed doctrines. I find most everything Dr. Tom writes to be insightful, engaging, and forwarding a lively attitude of progressing Unity principles in new directions while also incorporating important ideas and language from traditional Christianity.
Tom writes about an increasing tendency in Unity to become dogmatic about Unity metaphysical teachings and language, even though we claim to be a movement grounded in openness and inclusivity that isn't bound to any particular set of doctrines or beliefs. This is why he points to Unity being better characterized as more of a way of life or manner of being rather than prescribed beliefs or teachings to follow.
In the end, my thoughts are simply that religion (including Unity) has always been more about experience and doing things founded upon experience rather than believing or adhering to dogma.
Read Dr. Tom's post here.
Tom writes about an increasing tendency in Unity to become dogmatic about Unity metaphysical teachings and language, even though we claim to be a movement grounded in openness and inclusivity that isn't bound to any particular set of doctrines or beliefs. This is why he points to Unity being better characterized as more of a way of life or manner of being rather than prescribed beliefs or teachings to follow.
In the end, my thoughts are simply that religion (including Unity) has always been more about experience and doing things founded upon experience rather than believing or adhering to dogma.
Read Dr. Tom's post here.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
More on the Texas BOE Curricula Rulings
"While the impact on the actual writing of textbooks may not be that dire the Texas Board of Education is clearly rewriting history to fit a conservative agenda and a Christian dominant worldview." (Religion Dispatches, 4/27/10)
For those who are following this story about the Texas BOE rulings on reconfiguring curricula that cater to a conservative-evangelical Christian perspective, there is a new article written by Lauri Lebo of Religion Dispatches that comments on the issues at stake here. The Texas BOE has went through with major rewriting and editing of critieria for Texas educational textbooks without even a hint of understanding of the 1st Amendment and the fact of prominent religious plurality and diversity in the U.S.
Check out Lebo's essay here.
For those who are following this story about the Texas BOE rulings on reconfiguring curricula that cater to a conservative-evangelical Christian perspective, there is a new article written by Lauri Lebo of Religion Dispatches that comments on the issues at stake here. The Texas BOE has went through with major rewriting and editing of critieria for Texas educational textbooks without even a hint of understanding of the 1st Amendment and the fact of prominent religious plurality and diversity in the U.S.
Check out Lebo's essay here.
New Ex-Offender Program Puts Religion Before State
"With budgets slashed, corrections officials are struggling to reduce the recidivism rate among ex-offenders. Chuck Colson’s new program steps into the breach, and hopes to bring down the wall separating church and state to help ex-offenders stay out of prison." (Religion Dispatches, 4/25/10)Religion Dispatches writer, Mark Bergen, covers a story about a new program called Out4Life (part of Prison Fellowship Ministries, an evangelical prison ministry) to assist in getting recidivism rates down, to help offenders stay out of prison through helping them secure a job, go through rehab, and find a church community for support.
There is a bit of controversy about Out4Life because state-run and financially-burdened prisons are increasingly relying upon these religious ex-offender programs, which raises the question about the 1st Amendment issues of the separation of church and state.
Read the whole article at Religion Dispatches to get a fuller idea of the nature and practice of this prison ministry and the surrounding controversial issues.
Sarah Palin and the National Day of Prayer
Rev. Welton Gaddy, host of the nationally syndicated radio program State of Belief and president of the Interfaith Alliance, has written a very inspiring and instructive essay about Sarah Palin and the National Day of Prayer that he read on last weekend's show and which appears in Religion Dispatches e-magazine.
Rev. Gaddy essentially denounces Palin's empassioned comments concerning a federal judge's ruling on the National Day of Prayer and that the U.S. is a Christian nation that "needs to get back to its Christian roots." He critiques her recent statements as uninformed and a-historical, since the fact that America is not nor has it ever been an officially Christian nation is quite well documented through sources such as statements or treatises formed by presidents Washington and J. Adams, not to mention the 1st Amendment's no establishment clause. Palin's statements were flippant, ignorant of the history of American culture and law, and simply pandering to a significant conservative (and largely evangelical-fundamentalist Christian) audience.
Here's a brief excerpt from Rev. Gaddy's commentary:
"Palin has thrown what we used to call in West Tennessee “a conniption fit” over the federal judge’s decision that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. While many of us applauded a judge who seems to understand the First Amendment’s religion clauses, some political pontificators and bandwagon religionists rushed to microphones to decry the further moral ruination of the nation. . .
"Palin did get one thing right in her Louisville speech. She said the Founding Fathers were believers. That is a true statement. Many of them were deists, but few of them were Christians by Palin’s narrow evangelical definition. However, the larger truth is that these were people, regardless of their religious identity, who had witnessed the abuse and violence that emerge when institutions of religion and government became entangled. . .
"The American people do not need the President of the United States to tell them when to pray or what to pray for. By definition prayer is personal and volitional. But neither do the American people need Sarah Palin stirring a revolt to get rid of the very principles that have assured efforts to guarantee civil rights to everybody and made our nation great." (Religion Dispatches, 4/22/10)
Read Rev. Gaddy's entire essay here.
Listen to State of Belief where Rev. Gaddy read this on air.
Rev. Gaddy essentially denounces Palin's empassioned comments concerning a federal judge's ruling on the National Day of Prayer and that the U.S. is a Christian nation that "needs to get back to its Christian roots." He critiques her recent statements as uninformed and a-historical, since the fact that America is not nor has it ever been an officially Christian nation is quite well documented through sources such as statements or treatises formed by presidents Washington and J. Adams, not to mention the 1st Amendment's no establishment clause. Palin's statements were flippant, ignorant of the history of American culture and law, and simply pandering to a significant conservative (and largely evangelical-fundamentalist Christian) audience.
Here's a brief excerpt from Rev. Gaddy's commentary:
"Palin has thrown what we used to call in West Tennessee “a conniption fit” over the federal judge’s decision that the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. While many of us applauded a judge who seems to understand the First Amendment’s religion clauses, some political pontificators and bandwagon religionists rushed to microphones to decry the further moral ruination of the nation. . .
"Palin did get one thing right in her Louisville speech. She said the Founding Fathers were believers. That is a true statement. Many of them were deists, but few of them were Christians by Palin’s narrow evangelical definition. However, the larger truth is that these were people, regardless of their religious identity, who had witnessed the abuse and violence that emerge when institutions of religion and government became entangled. . .
"The American people do not need the President of the United States to tell them when to pray or what to pray for. By definition prayer is personal and volitional. But neither do the American people need Sarah Palin stirring a revolt to get rid of the very principles that have assured efforts to guarantee civil rights to everybody and made our nation great." (Religion Dispatches, 4/22/10)
Read Rev. Gaddy's entire essay here.
Listen to State of Belief where Rev. Gaddy read this on air.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
My Blog Article on TCPC eBulletin
The most recent eBulletin for The Center for Progressive Christianity (TCPC) has published a blog article I wrote about recent findings in evolutionary biology and how these resonate well with religious faith and ethics.
Check out my blog article on my blog page or at TCPC.
Check out my blog article on my blog page or at TCPC.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Buddha Doc on PBS
Yesterday a new PBS documentary about the Buddha was shown. Filmmaker David Grubin conveys the story of the life of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) which is narrated by Richard Gere (a Buddhist and advocate of Tibet), which I feel is not only relevant for people interested in learning more about this monumentally influential figure in world history but also provides instructive insights addressing our times frought with turbulence, confusion, cultural diversity, and religious ambiguity.
The documentary features interviews with religious scholars on the Buddha and Buddhism as well as with practitioners and adherents of Buddhism (including a few monastic renunciants). Though a bit watered down for time's sake (and I do admit my prejudice as an extra-scrupulous perspective as a religious studies scholar), it's a great historical-cultural overview of the life of the Buddha and the origins of the great Eastern (and increasingly Western) spiritual tradition.
Watch the whole documentary online here.
The documentary features interviews with religious scholars on the Buddha and Buddhism as well as with practitioners and adherents of Buddhism (including a few monastic renunciants). Though a bit watered down for time's sake (and I do admit my prejudice as an extra-scrupulous perspective as a religious studies scholar), it's a great historical-cultural overview of the life of the Buddha and the origins of the great Eastern (and increasingly Western) spiritual tradition.
Watch the whole documentary online here.
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