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23 posts categorized "Religion"
Jesus & Jones
A few weeks ago I mentioned that Rickie Lee Jones had a new release [I also chastised her for not having some sample songs on the web, but that turned out not to be true, thus marking the first time I have ever been wrong]. Since then I've gotten a copy of the album, The Sermon on Exposition Blvd., and it sounds really good. It's quieter than her past stuff but there's still enough nuance there to keep your attention and Rickie Lee's powerful voice is still available when required.
And then there are the lyrics.
To be honest, I've been listening to the disc on my work computer - not the best place to ponder over song meanings. But the liner notes explain that the inspiration for the album came from a book called The Words, which takes Jesus' words from the Bible and sorts them by theme, sans annotation (the book doesn't seem like it's still in print, but it is available for free at the author's website). But I wouldn't call Sermon a "religious" album. Even at the times where Jones is speaking more than singing (sounding a bit like a female Van Morrison when he does the same), there's no "grand message" being propagated. That's not to say that Jones' lyrics lack any depth, they just allow each listener to interpret their meaning differently - which isn't exactly the norm for religious music.
Now, if you're still so interested in this that you've made it down to the third paragraph, you may want to check out an interview Jones did for Urge, a music service dreamed up by MTV and Microsoft (sort of like iTunes, except that no one's ever heard of Urge).
[Oddly, it's not an audio interview - you read it on your Windows MediaPlayer.]
In the interview you get Jones' take on Christianity, from the perspective of a liberal. Liberals, as you know, hate Jesus and all he stands for:
All that matters to me is the profound kindness of the words that he had to say; pretty wonderful, very simple. If you wanted to try to live by them, you wouldn't be a worse person for it. But as far as going around and hitting people on the head that they have to believe what you're saying, I think this is a terrible sin, and its kind of the antithesis of what it seems like Christ was.
She goes on in the interview a little more about this subject, but she also talks pretty frankly about her never quite reaching the popularity she had with her debut album and its hit single:
It was as if, for that small period, whatever I did seemed to be met with disapproval. And I think it's because everything I was doing was measured against the phenomenon of "Chuck E.'s In Love," as if nothing I could do, everything I would create, would never be enough.
It's an interesting read, and Urge has a lot more interviews with other artists that don't normally get much press. Urge is a free download, but it's also bit of a pain to install (you must first install Urge and then the latest version of MediaPlayer) On the other hand, there's a lot of exclusive content that might make installing it worth your while. [That said, if you're having trouble installing Urge - or just don't want to install it - but still want to read the interview let me know and I'll email it to you.]
Boy, if you've made it all the way down to paragraph then I should also tell you that Rickie Lee Jones is the guest on this weekend's episode of PBS's Soundstage. It first airs Friday night here in the Philadelphia area, but you might want to check your local listings. I've always wanted to say that.
Gee, I Sure Do Hope The Bears Score A Goal This Inning
From the local weekly, a pastor's slightly misguided theme for her Super Bowl Sunday sermon:
Still, even if the good reverend did know her football, it's not like the NFL would want her watching the game anyway.
Better Prelate Than Never
In the 15 months or so since the missus and I decided to leave the Roman Catholic Church and become Episcopalians, we've been extremely happy with our new church. We became involved in a lot of the activities in the very cool parish we chose to belong to (if you have kids, it's hard not to become involved) and quickly felt at home in the church community. We're not any holier than we were back in the Catholic Church, it's just that our current church does a better job of reaching out to its parishioners. Some of that is due to the smaller size of our new church, and some of it comes with the openness and acceptance that we have encountered since day one.
So with all the great things about our local Episcopal church, it's easy to forget sometimes that the main reason that we left the Roman Catholic Church was not because of what was happening at the local level (though that was part of it), but because of what was coming down from Rome. It got harder and harder to stay in a church where it was painfully clear that gays would never be accepted, woman would never be ordained, and priest would never be allowed to marry. So every once in a while, it's good to step back and realize that not only is our parish pretty cool, but the American Episcopal Church is pretty cool, too.
Today was one of those days:
The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori was empowered to take charge of the Episcopal Church on Saturday in a Gothic sanctuary filled with well-wishers and the acrid smell of hot wax and incense, becoming the first woman to lead a national church in the Anglican Communion's 520-year history.
Her selection as the 26th presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, the denomination's highest office, was hailed as a breakthrough for women, and the inclusion of gays and lesbians, which she supports. It also made her a target in an international battle over opposing views on sexuality and interpretation of scripture that have pushed the worldwide 77 million-member Communion toward schism.
Yeah, she's got some headaches in her future, having to deal with some archaic ultra-conservative bishops (about eight of them) right here in the U.S. The threat of schism was the main reason I started following some religious blogs a while back, and from what I have been reading lately our new prelate seems to be open enough to offer to work with her detractors while tough enough to stand her ground.
Should be interesting.
[Photo: Haraz N. Ghanbari / AP]
Congregation Conversation
Maybe you've noticed a new group of feeds I added to my bloglist (it's over there on my sidebar) last week: "Blogs from Around the Church."
Not that I've gotten any more religious in the last week (especially since I missed church this morning), but the denomination that our family moved to about a year ago has been in the news a lot lately:
Schism and rumors of schism have troubled the Episcopal Church for more than three decades. But talk of the venerable church being split into different camps has never been more serious than now.
Fallout began last month when the Episcopal Church elected Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of Nevada as its new presiding bishop. When she is installed in November, she will become the first woman to lead a national church in the Anglican Communion. [...]
[Fort Worth Bishop Jack] Iker and other conservatives say Schori's election flies in the face of leaders of those Anglican Communion provinces -- or national churches -- who have called for discipline, and possible ouster, of the U.S. church from the Anglican Communion if it doesn't put a moratorium on authorizing liturgies for same-sex unions and ordaining gay bishops with same-sex partners.
We joined the Episcopal Church last year because we liked the openness and acceptance of our local church and we liked that individual churches were given plenty of leeway on how they would be run, two things we never saw in Roman Catholicism.
Now (in the past few years, actually), the fact that there is room for these different views - namely liberal and conservative social views - have come to a head, and the word schism is being thrown around.
I don't think that a schism will happen (at least in the American Church, the relationship between us and the non-Western Episcopal world is much rockier), but I feel that I should keep abreast of what's going on. Ergo, the additions to my blog feeds.
One more thing: I'm sure that a lot of long-time Episcopalians aren't real happy with all this turmoil. But for me, after years of watching Rome stifle any dissent within the Catholic Church, it's kind of neat to be a part of a denomination that allows - and even encourages - discussion of differing thoughts on what the Church should be.
Last Gasp
To prevent their opinion section from appearing - God forbid - too liberal (the same "liberal" editorial page that called for Bill Clinton to step down during his sham impeachment trial), the Philadelphia Inquirer goes out of its way to ensure that conservative columnists get equal time.
Usually this is comic gold, since the conservative view is often presented by such national asshats as Jonah Goldberg and Linda Chavez. Once in a while you even get some local economist who still pines for St. Reagan's Voodoo Economics and writes up a piece on why kicking puppies is good for the economy. Sometimes I think the Inquirer is in on the joke - you want conservatives? sure, we'll give you conservatives - the dumbest conservatives we can find! ahhh, ha, ha, ha, ha!
The Weekly Standard's Jonathan Last, though, has been given a somewhat permanent Sunday opinion column that acts as the counterpoint to a liberal point-of-view - usually written by an Inquirer staff writer. This often gives him a bigger stage than the usual syndicated nutcase. His columns are hard to avoid in the Sunday Op-Ed section, try as I might.
Today, in a piece entitled, "Conservatives Must Regroup," Last lets us know that those dirty libruls may have won the gay marriage debate, but when they come for his "religious freedoms" they'll have to rip them from his cold dead hands, or something to that effect.
Existing law is well-suited to be used against religious groups that object to gay marriage. Consider a church (or mosque or synagogue) that declines to marry a gay couple, or extend extra-ecclesiastical services (such as camps, counseling or adoption) to gay couples.
If such a group receives government funding, it will lose it. And groups that do not receive direct funds could lose their tax-exempt status.
So that's the gist of the story - Last looks past the fact that you can find words in the Bible to back almost any belief, no matter how misguided, and thinks that "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" should be part of our Constitution.
In the most troubling case, the Boston chapter of Catholic Charities ceased its work in aiding adoptions last March. In 2003, the organization stopped placing children with same-sex couples in accordance with new church doctrine. This brought it into conflict with the state's recently imposed gay-marriage law. Catholic Charities takes no money from Massachusetts taxpayers - in fact, it saves them money. In order to offer adoption services, organizations must be licensed by the state government.
But because the church would not recognize gay marriage, its license was not renewed. In Boston, the Catholic Church is now out of the adoption business.
So a diocese hides their discrimination behind their "belief system" and pays for it. If the diocese cannot come up with a logical reason for why it won't allow gay couples in their program - other than "because we say so" - than maybe they shouldn't be in the adoption business. Again, there's far too many ways to justify all sorts of crazy ideas with the Bible - have you listened to Pat Robertson lately? - to allow any organization to hide behind it.
Here are the article's best parts:
Conservatives are right on the substance of the issue: Gay marriage is a sympathetic cause, the proximate effects of which would likely be good for society, but the unintended consequences of altering a 5,000-year-old institution will be enormous - and likely very bad for society. [emphasis mine]
Wait, stop. I have never, ever, ever, heard any conservative say that "gay marriage is a sympathetic cause" or that it "would likely be good for society." I would love to see where Last saw or heard that.
Let's continue:
Look at the Netherlands, which went from legalizing gay marriage in 2000 to debating the merits of "plural marriage" in the blink of an eye. Last month, a Dutch political party formed around the goal of decriminalizing pedophilia.
First off, the only people I've ever heard talking about legalizing "plural marriages" in the US are from Utah, not exactly a bastion of liberalism (Last's idea of allowing a Church to legally follow any of their beliefs would most likely, in Utah at least, bring back those dreaded plural marriages). Secondly, I am truly amazed that it took Last until almost the end of his column to bring out the ol' pedophilia argument.
When conservatives bring up pedophilia and bestiality and incest as being the next stage of marriage protection battles, what their really saying is that they see homosexuals as being just as immoral as the worst sexual deviants. It shows that their whole argument has nothing to do with "protecting marriage," it's all about eradicating homosexuality. They see gayness as a crime, right up there with pedophilia. Never mind that gay marriages would require two consenting adults, unlike pedophilia and any other scary scenario the right try to bring up, it's all the same to them.
Despite what Last threatens, there already are people in America who believe that it should be legal to have sex with minors. I'm sure that there are people who think we should bring back slavery, too. That doesn't mean that logical people have to listen to them, and I seriously doubt their ideas are getting any traction in the weird old queer-loving Netherlands.
You know, I bet there's even a few priests right here in the US of A who don't see anything wrong with having sex with minors. Come to think of it, I think I heard something about that very thing happening in the Boston diocese. Isn't that the same diocese that thinks they're the best judges when it comes to protecting adopted children?
But the gay-marriage fight is already lost. Now is the time to dig the trenches around religious liberty. It will require modifying state antidiscrimination laws. And it will require passing a federal Church Amendment-style conscience-clause protection to guard the rights of religious groups against the inevitable.
God help us, no.
At Least I Got Leid
Friday afternoon we attended a Hawaiian-themed Evangelical wedding.
This was followed by a Hawaiian-themed non-alcoholic reception.
I might not be as religious as the wedding couple, but I do know that God never intended for cocktail umbrellas to be used in water glasses.
Over the last two years, we have gone to two wedding receptions (the other being for a Baptist wedding) - neither of which served alcohol. When are some non-fundamentalist friends of ours going to tie the knot so I can tie one on already?
All Over Creation
Just so you don't think that the missus has a monopoly on blog-rants (though she's had some really good ones lately), I thought I would go off on something stupid that's been in the news lately: "Intelligent Design."
The front page of Tuesday's Philadelphia Inquirer had the story of how our President, a man whose name is not often used in the same sentence with the word intelligent, thinks that "Intelligent Design," the belief that the world was created by a higher power, should be taught in public schools. In public school science classes.
Bush coming out and saying this didn't really get me upset because, c'mon, it wasn't a surprise at all. The only surprising part was that he did just come out and say Creationism should be taught, though I'm sure that's next.
No, what upset me is that in today's Inquirer, Arlen Specter, not someone who usually panders to the religious right, pretty much said, sure, teach Intelligent Design, what could it hurt?
"My own instincts are to teach everything and let people take their choices," the Pennsylvania Republican said, responding to questions on the topic. "My instinct is not to object to people hearing all sides of all issues, no matter how much I disagree with them."
Fine, so let's teach everything. Let's teach that Noah took two of every creature in his arc, let's teach that the sun god Ra created everything, let's teach that throwing a virgin into a volcano will keep it from erupting. We should teach that when God was handing out brains, some folks thought he said "trains" and asked for a slow one. That when God was handing out noses, some though he said "roses" and asked for a big one. I think some people still believe the Sun revolves around the Earth, who are we to disagree? And let's teach all of this in our Science classes. Teach everything and let the students decide, where's the harm in that?
Scientists have worked hard to prove Evolution, as much as it can be proven, but hey, we don't believe you, so, even though we have no proof, and science is all about proof, we want equal billing in Science class. I hate these people, and I actually think that there may have been a God behind everything (though nowhere near as much as what these people think - dinosaurs and humans living at the same time?!? Oooooo-kaaaaaay.). But beliefs belong in Theology class, not Science class.
Duncan Black summed it up pretty well over at Eschaton:
Obviously most people who believe in some form of supreme deity are lowercase intelligent design believers of some kind, but that's entirely different from being believers in the "science" of uppercase Intelligent Design. People are free to believe, if they wish, that aspects of the universe including life suggest to them the presence of some form of divine hand. But that's spirituality and faith, not science. There is no genuine science of Intelligent Design and it has no place in science classrooms.
Did I mention that I hate these people? This is all just a way to get Creationism back in the schools. The thing is, the religious right are doing it the only way they know how - by secularizing it. They pushed for Christmas displays on public property by arguing that it's become a secular holiday, they pushed for putting the Ten Commandments in courthouses by saying they've become part of secular law, and now Creationism has become secular science as "Intelligent Design." They claim everything is secular, then complain that we're becoming a godless nation that's bent on taking the "Christ" out of Christmas. You can't have it both ways, folks.
God, I hate these people. Or, Ra, I hate these people. You know, whichever you believe.
Photo Friday - 06.03.05
06.03.05 Photo Friday Challenge: Rare
A sign like this out in front of a church these days? I'd say that was pretty rare.
Broad Street Ministry (at the Chambers-Wylie Memorial Presbyterian Church), North Broad & Spruce, Philadelphia, PA.
Each week Photo Friday posts a photo assignment. Your mission is the creative interpretation of the week's theme. When you're done, post the picture you took to your website and submit your link to Photo Friday. Photo Friday is about challenging our participants to be original and creative within the constraints of the week's theme. It's not a competition. Anyone with a camera and a place on the Internet to post pictures can participate.
Photo Friday - 05.13.05
05.13.05 Photo Friday Challenge: Space
The space between the two kneelers in my pew (the spot I always get stuck kneeling at).
Haddon Heights, NJ.
Each week Photo Friday posts a photo assignment. Your mission is the creative interpretation of the week's theme. When you're done, post the picture you took to your website and submit your link to Photo Friday. Photo Friday is about challenging our participants to be original and creative within the constraints of the week's theme. It's not a competition. Anyone with a camera and a place on the Internet to post pictures can participate.
...And One For My Homie, Pizzy Jizzy Paul II
I've noticed that the White House offers its offical website in both English and Spanish, but not in the language used by the MTV crowd. As a public service to those who are the future of our nation, I have run the President's latest radio address through the Gizoogle Transizlatin' Page (which I found through Becky's blog):
THE PRESIDENT: Good messin'. This week I have been in Rome ta attend tha funeral mass of Pizzy Jizzy Paul II. The ceremizzles were a powerful n mov'n reminda of tha profound impact this Pope had on our world. And on behalf of America, Laura n I were honored ta pay tribute ta this good n holy man.
Dur'n nearly three decades on tha Chair of St . Im a bad boy wit a lotta hos. Pusha this Pope brought tha gospel's message of hizzy n love n freedom ta tha far shot calla of tha Earth like a tru playa'. And over this piznast week, millions of thugz across tha world returned tha Pope's G-to-tha-izzift wit a tremendous outpour'n of affection that transcended differizzles of nationizzle language n religion.
[More (and more vulgar) after the jump]
Continue reading "...And One For My Homie, Pizzy Jizzy Paul II" »
Beef, It’s So Not What’s For Dinner
Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent - forty-six days of reflection (interspersed with some fasting) before the most important holy day in the Catholic Church, Easter.
After years of giving up candy (which has always been tough because it meant giving up late-season conversation hearts and pre-Easter jelly beans) I let the missus and kids pick something for me to abstain from for Lent this year.
They picked: Beer.
Yeah, right. Try again.
Second pick: Hot chocolate.
Lately I have gotten into the very bad habit of ending every day with a big mug of hot chocolate (made with milk, of course), a huge handful of mini-marshmallows, and a couple cookies for dunking if we’ve got them around (and we’ve almost always got them around). Then I quickly go to bed to allow all that stuff to turn to fat overnight before I have a chance to actually burn any of it off.
So I’m giving up my hot chocolate, the missus is giving up her Snapple diet ice tea, and the seven-year-old is giving up the Pringles he gets in his lunchbox everyday. He’s not particularly fond of Pringles but, in the black market that is the grade school cafeteria, Pringles are worth their weight in gold. Especially Pringles with writing on them.
At our big Fat Tuesday pig-out dinner last night, I told the seven-year-old that it was Easter, not Christmas, that was the biggest holy day (in my “bet you didn’t know that” voice). The two-year-old says, “Yeah, and, and, and, the Easter Bunny comes!” Damn Lutheran nursery school. You can’t trust those Lutherans with nothing.
And speaking of Lutherans, the seven-year-old also informed me that his best friend/arch-nemesis isn’t Roman Catholic like us, but Lutheran. “Oh, so he doesn't have to go to CCD like you do.” “Daaaad, he doesn’t even go to church.”
What’s the point of claiming a denomination for your child if you don’t have them actually participate? It reminded me of the old Woody Allen joke:
I did not marry the first girl I fell in love with, because there was a tremendous religious conflict at the time. She was an atheist and I was an agnostic. We didn't know which religion not to bring the children up in.
It's a Symbol of Our Faith (and a Bitchin' Party Favor!)
The missus, being a teacher and all, often buys crafts for her students from Oriental Trading, which sells crappy arts-and-craft and party-bag items cheap and in packs of twelve. She has also bought party favors from them for my sons' parties. The seven-year-old has even saved up his allowance and gotten stuff from them. Thanks to their low-quality, he quickly becomes either bored or frustrated by about the third one. Thanks to their high-quantity, the remaining nine from the set never get used and end up all over our house. We get a catalog from them about, oh, twelve times a week and each one that comes has the seven-year-old salivating. Yesterday he was showing me all the cool Easter party stuff they had. Do things like the He Lives Beach Ball strike anyone else as being maybe a teeny bit sacrilegious?
No? How about the He Lives Yo-Yo, Pinwheel, Squishy Ball, Football, or Slinky? If those things aren't enough to send the Oriental Trading CEO to Hell, this one's got to get the Father, Son and Holy Spirit pretty cheesed off:
See, sometimes it's not such a bad idea to stick to the secular parts of a religious holiday.
Who is the intended audience for these products? Other than a certain seven-year-old with way too much allowance to spend and those hipsters buying them for their ironic value, there shouldn't be a big demand for these things. The religious should be offended and the non-religious shouldn't be interested. Who's left?
Catholic Protection Limits
Just to further cheese-off all those touchy Christian Conservatives out there who believed that their religion was being persecuted by the cashier at Macy's who wished customers a "Happy Holiday" instead of the "Merry Christmas" that our great country was founded on (or something like that), I vow to not wish anyone a "Happy New Year" this weekend.
To be sensitive to the many other faiths and cultures that do not mark their new year on January 1 (like the really old-school Christians, who celebrated it around March 25th until 1582), I will offer, "Have a Good One" to my fellow Christians and everyone else this weekend.
Boy, I can't wait for February, when the red-staters start up their whole "Put the Saint back in St. Valentine's Day" campaign.
Have a Good One.
Tomorrow: My New's Year's Goal(s).
[Note: The above picture was taken on my ill-fated photo shooting-spree of the Ben Franklin Bridge in November. From what I can find on the subject, cathodic protection is a system for protecting against rust. As you can see from the picture, it's working real well on the bridge.]
Cry of a Tiny Babe
Mary grows a child without the help of a man
Joseph get upset because he doesn't understand
Angel comes to Joseph in a powerful dream
Says "God did this and you're part of his scheme"
Joseph comes to Mary with his hat in his hand
Says "forgive me I thought you'd been with some other man"
She says "what if I had been - but I wasn't anyway
and guess what, I felt the baby kick today"
Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe
The child is born in the fullness of time
Three wise astrologers take note of the signs
Come to pay their respects to the fragile little king
Get pretty close to wrecking everything
'Cause the governing body of the whole land
Is that of Herod, a paranoid man
Who when he hears there's a baby born King of the Jews
Sends death squads to kill all male children under two
But that same bright angel warns the parents in a dream
And they head out for the border and get away clean
Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe
There are others who know about this miracle birth
The humblest of people catch a glimpse of their worth
For it isn't to the palace that the Christ child comes
But to shepherds and street people, hookers and bums
And the message is clear if you've got ears to hear
That forgiveness is given for your guilt and your fear
It's a Christmas gift you don't have to buy
There's a future shining in a baby's eyes
Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe
- Bruce Cockburn, "Cry of a Tiny Babe" from Nothing But a Burning Light
Artwork - Nativity by Paul Phillips
God is a Real Estate Developer
After 10 years of working in Philly and riding PATCO past Olde St. Augustine Church, I'm still waiting for them to put up the sign saying how much the parish is costing the taxpayers by not having to pay property taxes on a pretty valuable piece of real estate.
While I don't really believe that places of worship should have to pay property taxes, I also don't believe in vouchers for parochial school students (which I assume this sign is advocating). And I didn't believe in them while I was paying my way through Holy Cross High either. So quit ye olde complaining Olde St. Augustine.
I think I might still be a bit cranky from my tummy-ache. I'm picking on a church.
[Post title comes from an old song by the great Michelle Shocked.]
Seeing the Lights
I met a German girl in England who was goin’ to school in France – Chuck Berry, "It Wasn’t Me"
The missus was unpacking my two-year-old son’s backpack that he uses for nursery school and pulled out a picture of a menorah that he colored. She asked him if he was learning about Hanukkah at school. Umm… yeah! (Yeah is always preceded by umm). So the missus next asks if he knows what Hanukkah is. Umm...Yeah, eight days.
Cute story, but what’s really cool is that a local Lutheran church runs my son’s nursery school. In this age where religion is such a politicized topic that major networks won’t run an ad by the United Church of Christ, who just wants to make it clear that - like Jesus said - all should be welcome at church (because it’s message is too controversial), my 32-month-old Roman Catholic son is learning Jewish traditions from a Lutheran teacher. Just another reason why we love our son’s nursery school.
Happy Hanukkah everyone!
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