Dante named the damned and honored the virtuous. We continue this tradition. Some here may find redemption, but many will suffer this torment on earth: Our fiery blasts withering in a wide swath their ignorance and stupidity. Under this banner we proceed, "may the Lord see and avenge."
"To live within a just order is to live within a pattern that has beauty. The individual finds purpose within an order, and security - whether it is the order of the soul or the order of the community. Without order, indeed the life of man is poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
Anglican Rev. Philip Chester, vicar of St. Matthew's in Westminster, UK, has a modest proposal. He wants to change England's patron saint from St. George to St. Alban. The purported reason? Lack of clear evidence St. George existed. Umm, right. The real reason? St. George is associated with the Crusades and this could offend Muslims.
"We are sure St Alban is a real figure," barked Chester. Well, in that case go right ahead. What defense could we possibly muster against such compelling logic?
St. Alban was martyred in England in the early 4th century. He is a martyr because he refused to compromise his faith in the face of adversity. Apparently his faith offended someone. In dumping St. George because his presence might offend Musilms, Rev. Chester is proposing the Anglican Church do precisely what St. Alban died to avoid. How ironic, and sad.
Solitude
"Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom (SYRF) educates, organizes and empowers youth and young adults (ages 16-30) to put their faith into action and advocate for pro-choice social justice."Ok, I see, it's about 'pro-choice social justice.' And here I was thinking this had something to do with abortion. What a fool I am.
"[SYRF] lifts up pro-faith youth and young adult perspectives on reproductive choice issues and provides young people with tools and opportunities to advocate for choice on their campuses, high schools, congregations and communities."I'm trying to think back to my Catechism classes and remember my faith's 'perspective' on reproductive choice issues. Ok, now I remember--we can choose to have sex, or not. Seems pretty clear to me, but according to SYRF this line of thought is lacking somehow. I must need more 'tools and opportunities.'
"This experience was awesome, totally inspiring. I don't know if we made a difference today but it made me want to try again tomorrow." (This comment refers to the summit's lobby day on Capitol Hill.)Well, I have to say that if you feel the need to try again tomorrow, it means you failed today. Thank God for small favors.
"I met other young men and women who think like me, agree with what I have to say, and are struggling just as much."Wow! Sounds like all the makins' for a great dialogue. Just think how far Socrates could have gone if he only talked to people with whom he agreed.
"I was glad to learn more about pro-choice Christians because where I live it feels like an anomaly. But now I know!"Newsflash: (and may God forgive your pastor for not telling you this) there's a pretty good reason most Christians aren't pro-choice. Yes, you are an anomaly.
"The pro-life position is really a pro-fetus position, and the pro-choice position is really pro-woman. Those who take the pro-fetus position define the woman in relation to the fetus. They assert the rights of the fetus over the right of the woman to be a moral agent or decision maker with respect to her life, health, and family security." (Dr. John M. Swomley)Thanks for clearing that up, John. Silly me, all these years I've been 'pro-fetus.' Now I see the light.
These, then, become the guiding principles on abortion in Jewish tradition: a woman's life, her pain, and her concerns take precedence over those of the fetus; existing life is always sacred and takes precedence over a potential life; and a woman has the personal freedom to apply the principles of her tradition unfettered by the legal imposition of moral standards other than her own. (by Rabbi Raymond A. Zwerin & Rabbi Richard J. Shapiro)That's great, Raymond & Richard. I didn't know that self-centeredness and moral relativism lay at the heart of Jewish moral thinking. So that's how your faith has survived for thousands of years.
Unitarian Universalists have a deep and abiding reverence for life. But we recognize, also, that life is always lived in relationship. Thus, we maintain that moral decisions can never be made in a vacuum but are, instead, always made in the context of competing claims for attention to the quality of life. Women's choices in reproductive matters are morally complex. Such choices can be very difficult, even the occasion for grieving and a profound sense of loss. Nonetheless, the difficulty of such choices does not mean that they cannot also be a faithful and morally affirmative response to what a woman perceives to be holy and just. Women are, inherently, moral agents, as are all people, and they are capable of subtle and sensitive moral discernment. (by Reverend Dr. Rebecca Edmiston-Lange)Wow Rebecca. That statement is just as vague, mushy, and pointless as Unitarian Universalism itself. Rarely have I seen so many words used to say so little. Have you thought about spearheading the church's evangelization campaign?
Editor's Note: The NCR editorial to which we're referring here is, in the purest sense of the term, spucatum tauri--bullshit. But we know they prefer neutered English, so in deference to their sensitivities we'll call it bovine excrement today. Let it never be said we're overly harsh or unfair.
As if we needed more reasons to doubt the Catholicity of this publication (note the intentional refrain from using "newspaper"), their 6/30/06 editorial on the US Bishops' vote approving liturgical translations more faithful to the original Latin gives us yet another.
The tactics used to reverse the reforms that had resulted from the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s and more than three decades of subsequent work were secretive and engineered by people incompetent in the discipline and accountable only to a small group who had achieved power. That power was used to accomplish what they could not by persuasion or through the mainstream of liturgical scholarship.
If wars ever have winners, then the winners in this one comprised a small crowd of powerful actors in the Vatican, in league with others passionately opposed to the direction that translation of documents had taken in the 35 years since Vatican II, who managed to overthrow that process and put in place one of their own. In 1997, as John L. Allen Jr. reported nearly eight years ago, 11 men met in secret in the Vatican "to overhaul the American lectionary, the collection of scripture readings authorized for use in the Mass. Short-circuiting a six-year debate over 'inclusive language' by retaining many of the most controversial uses of masculine vocabulary, and revamping texts approved by the U.S. bishops, this group decided how the Bible will sound in the American church."
That was the beginning of the final phase of a coup that upended all of the processes that had been in place since Vatican II, translation principles that had been approved by a previous pope and decades of work by a number of bishops and a host of liturgists and Bible scholars.
Of the group that met in secret, only one man (no women were included) held a graduate degree in scripture studies; two members were not native English speakers; another was from the United Kingdom and had spent no significant time in the United States; and the group included several members who came in with reputations for opposing inclusive language. "Powers in Rome handpicked a small group of men who in two weeks undid work that had taken dozens of years," the NCR report continued.
Life goes on and so will the community, even if we have to wrap our tongues around awkward constructions that treat Latin as if it were the language Jesus himself spoke and even if we have to wait longer for our own official language to acknowledge that more than half the human race is female.
Finally, we suspect that the way forward will also include accommodating those who simply refuse to go along and will stand in place and continue to use the same language they've been using for decades. Our suspicion is that God will not be terribly upset by a little show of resistance.
Members, I would like to introduce you to a new friend and hero of mine -- her name is Gianna Jessen. She is visiting us today from Nashville, Tennessee, where she is an accomplished recording artist.
She has cerebral palsy and was raised in foster homes before being adopted at the age of four.
She was born prematurely and weighed only 2 pounds at birth. She remained in the hospital for almost three months. A doctor once said she had a great will to live and that she fought for her life. Eventually she was able to leave the hospital and be placed in foster care.
Because of her cerebral palsy, her foster mother was told that it was doubtful that she would ever crawl or walk. She could not sit up independently. Through the prayers and dedication of her foster mother, she eventually learned to sit up, crawl, then stand. Shortly before her fourth birthday, she began to walk with leg braces and a walker.
She continued in physical therapy and after a total of four surgeries, she was able to walk without assistance.
She still falls sometimes, but she says she has learned how to fall gracefully after falling for 29 years.
Two years ago, she walked into a local health club and said she wanted a private trainer. At the time her legs could not lift 30 pounds. Today she can leg press 200 pounds.
She became so physically fit that she began running marathons to raise money and awareness for cerebral palsy. She just returned last week from England where she ran in the London Marathon. It took her more than eight-and-a-half hours to complete. They were taking down the course by the time she made it to the finish line. But she made it, nonetheless. With bloody feet and aching joints, she finished the race.
Members would you help me recognize a modern-day hero -- Gianna Jessen?
Mr. Speaker, members, if you would allow me just a few more moments I would appreciate your time.
My name is Ted Harvey, not Paul Harvey, but, please, let me tell you the rest of the story.
The cause of Gianna's cerebral palsy is not because of some biological freak of nature, but rather the choice of her mother.
You see when her biological mother was 17-years-old and 7-and-a-half months pregnant, she went to a Planned Parenthood clinic to seek a late-term abortion. The abortionist performed a saline abortion on this 17-year-old girl. This procedure requires the injection of a high concentration of saline into the mother's womb, which the fetus is then bathed in and swallows, which results in the fetus being burned to death, inside and out. Within 24 hours the results are normally an induced, still-born abortion.
As Gianna can testify, the procedure is not always 100 percent effective. Gianna is an aborted late-term fetus who was born alive. The high concentration of saline in the womb for 24 hours resulted in a lack of oxygen to her brain and is the cause of her cerebral palsy.
Members, today, we are going to recognize the 90th anniversary of Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood…"
When asked during a CNN interview if homosexual activity is sinful:"I don't believe so. I believe that God creates us with different gifts. Each one of us comes into this world with a different collection of things that challenge us and things that give us joy and allow us to bless the world around us. Some people come into this world with affections ordered toward other people of the same gender and some people come into this world with affections directed at people of the other gender."
Schori was recently elected presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church USA.
The Episcopal Church, awash in the "blessings" of sodomy and sundry heresies, has a membership roster shrinking swiftly enough to make it the fastest dying church in America. Perhaps that's the true blessing.
We usually reserve this fate for groups and organizations. We think this a worthy exception to the rule.
