The Curt Jester has posted an excellent entry about the perils
of Christian punditry. At the end there’s a useful examination of conscience
for pundits.
For me, this is another
reminder that I need to be more gentle and forgiving in my criticisms.
“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual should
restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Look to yourself, lest you too be tempted.”
Galatians
6:1 (RSV)
Here are a couple new blogs by converts to Catholicism.
A Seminarian’s Journey
(Thanks to A
Saintly Salmagundi)
Musings of a Catholic Convert
(Thanks to Blogtones)
“My attitude toward progress has passed from antagonism to boredom. I have
long ceased to argue with people who prefer Thursday to Wednesday because it is
Thursday.”
Ya gotta love a guy who posts
lengthy quotes from Chesterton. Go, Jollyblogger, go! 🙂
Kudos to Joe Carter for doing his part to spread the truth about the “Galileo
Affair“.
This is a story about Galileo Galilei. It’s not the story about an enlightened scientist being persecuted by a narrow-minded Catholic Church because that story is (mostly) a myth. It’s not a story about a great scientific genius either, though he was that (mainly). It’s also not a story about someone being reincarnated with the soul of the old astronomer like the song by the Indigo Girls that, for a few weeks in ’92, I thought was (almost) profound. (And I should point out that it not an original story but one that cribbed together from other sources.)
But like all good stories this one provides a (mostly) valuable lesson.
Churches Go Commercial To Spread Their Message
TV Campaigns Bring Denominations to Homes
By Alan Cooperman, Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 11, 2004; Page A01
"What burst into the Cleveland marketing executive's head that night in January 2002, however, was not a message from the Almighty. It was a slogan for a television advertising campaign. Beginning this fall, the United Church of Christ plans to spend $30 million to promote itself using the line that came to Buford in his sleep — 'God is still speaking' — to reflect its willingness to reinterpret the Bible and embrace such innovations as same-sex marriage and openly gay ministers."
I just love this:
The Episcopal Church, for example, has faced an insurrection by conservative parishes since its ordination of a gay bishop in New Hampshire last year. But marketers see an opportunity.
"Among 20- to 30-year-olds, everybody's heard of the gay bishop. And in focus groups, the words that keep coming up are that we are a 'progressive,' 'open' and 'nonjudgmental' church," said Daniel B. England, the church's director of communication.
Progress requires a goal to be meaningful. An open mind is like an open trap – it's only useful when it closes on something. Nonjudgemental, in this context, really means unwilling to discriminate between right and wrong.