Vol. XII No. 26
****
GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telus.net
Colleagues List Web Site
http//colleagueslist2.bogspot.com
*****
Dear Colleagues:
I take pleasure in writing and sharing special introductory
words about a post-humously published book by Marcus
Borg with a fine introduction by his partner, Episcopal priest
Marianne Borg.
There is a lot of myself in this book notice, and I hope
you will grant me that, since Marcus was a friend, and
not only an author with whom I spent quality time in
my life. If you consider this name-dropping, so be it.
Please enjoy and value "Days of Awe and Wonder -
How to be a Christian in the Twenty-First Century."
Thanks to colleagues who contributed to this issue.
I hope you find my Net Notes, Wisdom of the Week,
and other items of help to you.
Wayne
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
Book Notice -
DAYS OF AWE AND WONDER
How To be a Christian
in the 21st Century
by Marcus Borg
Preface by Marianne Borg
HarperOne, Toronto, ON
March, 2017. 271 pages. $29.55 CAD.
ISBN #978-0-06-245733-2
Publishers Promo:
Showcasing some of his most enduring and insightful writings, including many previously unpublished works, a concise and illuminating introduction to Marcus J. Borg, the late spokesman for progressive Christianity and one of the most revered and influential theologians of our time.
In his acclaimed books, classics such as Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, The Heart of Christianity, Speaking Christian, and Convictions, Marcus J. Borg helped shape an enlightened modernist view of Christianity. A leading scholar of the historical Jesus acclaimed for his ability to speak about Christianity in the context of contemporary society, Borg offered profound wisdom and inspiration - a new way of seeing and living the Christian life - for believers, students, and lay readers. Ultimately, he taught that by forming a deeper understanding of Jesus and the New Testament, we can discover a more authentic way of being.
Yet Borg himself was always conscious of a greater truth beyond
what he could explain: the wonder of God.
Now, two years after the liberal theologian’s death, comes
The Days of Awe and Wonder, a selection of his writing, including
many never before published works, that explores the Christian
faith and what it means to be a Christian in the twenty-first century. Provocative and uplifting, this anthology illuminates Borg’s explorations of the miraculous and wonderful, his understanding of conviction and fulfillment, and his contention that we must keep an open mind and question assumptions and certainties in all our religious journeys.
--
Authors Bio:
Marcus J. Borg (1942–2015) was a pioneering author and teacher whom the New York Times described as "a leading figure in his generation of Jesus scholars." He was the Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University and canon theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, and heappeared on NBC's The Today Show and Dateline, ABC's World News, and NPR's Fresh Air. His books have sold over a million copies, including the bestselling Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, Jesus, The Heart of Christianity, Evolution of the Word, Speaking Christian, and Convictions
Wikipedia Bio With Publications List:
http://tinyurl.com/zlcyt2q
--
Foreword by Marianne Borg:
For as long as there have been Christians there has been
considerable debate about what it means to be a Christian...
... the twenty-first century has seen even more dramatic change
for Christianity. Old assumptions about, and images of God no
longer hold. Christianity is no longer considered essential for
"salvation." It no longer provides an unambiguous moral compass...
We are in a post-Christian era.
How important is Christianity in the twenty-first century. What
does it mean to follow Jesus across a terrain that is both trampled
and uncharted? Does being Christian really matter anymore? ...
(We live in a time of doubt and of love.)
(I believe that out of our doubts and loves) Christianity is being
born again.
Marcus Borg's journey reveals the fruit and labour of doubts and
loves. In this collection of thoughts and ideas, taken from a
diversity of sources - from his dissertation written at age twenty-
seven to his final book written at age seventy - you will find a
companion for your doubts and loves. And you may discover
what it means to be a Christian in the twenty-first century...
Marcus is arguably one of the clearest, most accessible, insightful
Jesus scholars and voices for Christianity in this century. He
addressed many of the current questions and helped us to fall
in love with Christianity again, as if for the first time.
This volume is an opportunity to meet Marcus. For some, it will
be chance to meet Marcus again, as if for the first time, and for
others it will truly be for the first time.
I would like to identify a few of the book's themes:
Given all of life's ambiguities... our existence is remarkable,
wondrous. It evokes awe and amazement... we need to pay
attention to the awe and wonder that fills our days...
Jesus is significant, then and now. He is the embodiment of
human possibility. He shows our capacity for "knowing God,"
our capacity for courage, loving-kindness and doing justice.
Context matters. (The first century world was fraught with
injustices) but Jesus dedicated his entire life to the welfare
of others... How do we respond to the complexities of the
context of our lives? What is real? How then shall we live?
There is a "way of life" that is sustainable... It is the way
of compassion. Compassion is at the heart of all the great
religious traditions. Each tradition is like a prism or lens
that gives us a distinctive perspective. We see only in part.
Together, we can find the way.
(Our age is a pivotal time... ours is one of awe and wonder,
of a magnitude not known before. But we also have an
unprecedented capacity for self-destruction. Not only of
humanity but also the planet.)
Why be a Christian in the twenty-first century? Because it
gives us a vision. And a hope. And a way... Transformation -
individually and collectively - is the key ingredient for (our)
liberation. (Out of this) the kingdom of God will come. It
is up to us, and we are not alone.
This volume will explore the (above) themes and others.
May the discoveries give us hope, like the flowers of
spring that emerge from a season that looks to some
like death.
Marcus Borg's doubts and loves plowed ground. His life
and work helped him to rediscover the heart of Christianity.
For himself, and for us. With new eyes and yes, a new
heart, being Christian in the twenty-first century can make
the world a better place.
- Marianne Borg, the Last Sunday in Epiphany, 2017.
--
My Thoughts:
Marcus Borg was, and continues to be, through his example
and his books, a pastor and a theologian. My own life sought
to be both, and I lived for some decades before encountering
a soul-mate like Marcus. I discovered that even though he
never was ordained, he was always very pastoral. As a
professional theologian, however, he always tried to be a
good communicator. For the many students he taught, and
the congregations before whom he preached, he worked
hard to be both a good thinker and a person of the heart.
Those gifts are rare. I have not encountered many like him
in my life, and that is why our friendship meant so much. I
believe that our mutual early formation in the Lutheran
Church played an important part. For both of us, theology
and the Bible were important. But applying the truths of
Holy Scripture (from cover to cover, and not selectively)
was something we both cherished.
We were both 'former Lutherans', as well. We found
community in other Christian churches. Marcus was a great
help in supporting me through a life-changing transition from
the community that nourished and formed me to the community
that give me a place to stand and to serve.
As a pastor, he helped me move past resentments to a new
place and an acceptance of how my life evolved. As a teacher,
he kept me challenged to continue growing as a Christian when
I was tempted to lose patience with new partners in faith. He
taught me that life is a series of transformations, not just
one big one! "Bloom where you are planted, and don't waste
time thinking about what might have been" - he would say.
Why am I making this introduction to his (last?) book so
personal? Because that is what I believe you will also
discover by reading "Days of Awe and Wonder" for yourself.
Each of you has your own story of transformation to tell.
I do not assume that your life is like mine. But I do believe
that you will encounter both a pastor and a theologian in
the late Marcus Borg by reading this book.
So I highly recommend that you secure a copy.
***
Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/n59s8jj
Borg Books Available from Amazon.ca:
http://tinyurl.com/mtobrhd
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
Martin Marty,
Chicago, IL
Sightings
March 27th, 2017
"Not Wishy-Washy"
http://tinyurl.com/k8yzmoz
--
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio TX
Personal Website
March 26th, 2017
"Doing Violence in God's Name"
http://tinyurl.com/ltyex2c
--
Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC
Web Log
March 29th, 2017
"Look Into My Eyes"
http://tinyurl.com/kcan8dp
--
Mark Whittall,
Ottawa, ON
Mark Whittall Blog
March 26th, 2017
"Asking the Right Question"
http://tinyurl.com/mo92mck
***
NET NOTES
LEARNING FROM EMBARRASSMENT
Moving Ahead in Christian Growth
Christian Week Online
March 26th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/khlehh5
--
PAGANS IN ICELAND
ENJOY DRAMATIC RISE
Return to Spiritual Roots
BBC News
March 28th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/lmsgtn4
--
OJIBWAY AUTHOR FOUND
SALVATION IN STORIES
Richard Wagamese Dead at 61
Globe and Mail
March 24th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/mo8xzu9
--
HOW MARTIN LUTHER HELPED
TO INVENT INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM
He Opposed Church Corruption
Time Magazine,
March 29th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/lyseqab
--
PETERBOROUGH CHURCH MERGER
TO BEGIN IN SEPTEMBER
Anglicans and Lutherans
to Form New Parish
Anglican Journal
Mach 27th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/nyvl4cj
--
POLL - MAJORITY OF CANADIANS
WANT CHANGES TO REFUGEE RULES
A Growing Concern About Illegal Immigration
Global News
March 28th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/jwyspu8
--
ANGLICAN VICAR OF BAGHDAD SAYS
CHRISTIANS SHOULD LOVE MUSLIMS
99.9% Not Terrorists, He Declares in
Spite of Threats to His Own Life
The Christian Post
March 29th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/lvabgrr
--
AMERICAN MUSLIM PUBLISHERS SEEK
TO BUILD COMMUNICATION BRIDGES
Strongly Focused on Understanding Islam
Publishers Weekly Online
March 22nd. 2017
http://tinyurl.com/kp76xot
--
MEXICANS WHO HELP BUILD TRUMP WALL
ARE TRAITORS, SAY THEIR CHURCH LEADERS
"They are Not Loyal to Their Own People"
Religion News Service
March 28th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/kdnx5vj
--
RABBI JONATHAN SACKS ON CLEARING
SCRIPTURAL MINDFIELDS AND BUILDING
INTERFAITH FRIENDSHIPS
Winner of Templeton Prize in Religion
Former Chief UK Rabbi Speaks at Duke U.
Religion News Service
March 28th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/lqr7fuh
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
One of the principle rules of religion is to lose no occasion of
serving God. And since [God] is invisible to our eyes, we are
to serve [God] in our neighbor; which [God] receives as if
done to [themselves] in person, standing visibly before us.
- John Wesley
--
The symbol of the cross in the church points to the God who
was crucified not between two candles on an altar, but between
two thieves in the place of the skull, where the outcasts belong,
outside the gates of the city. It does not invite thought, but a
change of mind. It is a symbol which therefore leads out of the
church and out of religious longing into the fellowship of the
oppressed and abandoned. On the other hand, it is a symbol
which calls the oppressed and godless into the church and
through the church into the fellowship of the crucified God.
- Jürgen Moltmann
--
For God does not give us anything in order that we should enjoy
its possession and rest content with it, nor has he ever done so.
All the gifts which he has ever granted us in heaven or on earth
were made solely in order to be able to give us the one gift,
which is himself. With all other gifts he simply wants to prepare
us for that gift which is himself. And all the works which God
has ever performed in heaven or on earth served solely to perform
the one work, that is to sanctify himself so that he can sanctify us.
And so I tell you that we should learn to see God in all gifts and
works, neither resting content with anything nor becoming
attached to anything. For us there can be no attachment to
a particular manner of behavior in this life, nor has this ever
been right, however successful we may have been.
- Meister Eckhart
--
There is little we can point to in our lives as deserving anything
but God’s wrath. Our best moments have been mostly grotesque
parodies. Our best loves have been almost always blurred with
selfishness and deceit. But there is something to which we can
point. Not anything that we ever did or were, but something that
was done for us by another. Not our own lives, but the life of one
who died in our behalf and yet is still alive. This is our only glory
and our only hope. And the sound that it makes is the sound of
excitement and gladness and laughter that floats through the
night air from a great banquet.
- Frederick Buechner
--
Be more zealous than you are now. Learn to understand
the times. Expect him to come who is above time, the timeless
one, the invisible one who became visible for our sake, the
untouched one, the one beyond suffering who came to suffer
for us, who in every way endured for our sake.
Toil together, fight, run, suffer, rest, and rise up together as
God’s stewards, companions of his table, and his servants!
Please him who is your warlord, him from whom you will also
receive your soldier’s pay. Let none of you desert the flag!
Let your baptism remain your armor, faith your helmet, love
your spear, patience your weapon.
- Ignatius, in a Letter to Polycarp, ca. AD 120,
***
ON THIS DAY
From the Archives of the New York Times
"Last US Troops Leave Vietnam"
http://tinyurl.com/7pgd6y6
"Begin and Sadat Sign Camp David Peace Treaty"
http://tinyurl.com/7h4hd57
****
CLOSING THOUGHT - Anaïs Nin
We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.
(end)
****
For Those Interested -
ST. DAVID'S ACTS MONDAY NIGHT WINTER STUDY
A Ten Week Series January 23rd - 27th, 2017
Monday Evenings, TM Room 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
"How Jesus Became God -
The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee"
http://tinyurl.com/gqzkcbx
Author: Bart D. Ehrman
Registration/Hospitality and Book: $60.00.
Book only: $20.00
35 copies were secured for sale.
All copies have been sold.
THIS COURSE HAS BEEN COMPLETED
Our Evolving Course Design:
http://tinyurl.com/j3nv7nd
--
Here is the total course content from our
completed Monday Night Autumn 2016 Study:
"Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious
World" by Bishop John S. Spong
http://rtb.stdavidscalgary.net/
Check our entire archives for all 48 books
studied since 2000:
http://tinyurl.com/q3bw6dh
During the 2016-2017 two session-term -
Total class registrations: 70
Total books sold: 75
Our best year ever, since 1998!
***
ST. DAVID'S ACTS THURSDAY MORNING STUDY
Ten Sessions February 2nd - April 6th, 2017
"Joshua and Judges" - Formative Hebrew History
Ten sessions 10-11 AM
Gathering at 9:30 AM
In the St. David's TM Room.
No charge
Study resource -
"The DK Complete Bible Handbook"
Edited by John Bowker
http://tinyurl.com/odxlv7q
***
ST.DAVID'S SPIRITUAL TRAVELERS PROJECT, 2017
South Africa has been chosen as our destination!
We plan a nineteen-day tour that combines a focus
on faith, social justice, culture, and nature, and it
will begin October 21st 2017.
A beautiful brochure with trip cost, itinerary, and
many helpful travel hints has been published.
http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
Our optimal group size for maximum trip meaning
and value is 28-29 persons.
Twenty-Six persons have either put down deposits
to claim a special saving (or intend to do so.)
WE ARE CLOSE TO REACHING OUR DEPARTURE GOAL.
YOU CAN STILL REGISTER. When we have 29 deposits
you will be added to a waiting list and still join us
in the event someone has to drop out.
Seven months from now we leave for South Africa!
Contact Rostad Tours: http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
Follow our notices for weekly updates.
*****
Vol. XII No. 25
****
GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telus.net
Colleagues List Web Site
http//colleagueslist2.bogspot.com
*****
Dear Friends:
My special item this week is a set of personal notes and
perspectives from a lecture by Boston University professor
Stephen Prothero which I attended a week ago during the
University of Calgary's "Pluralism and Religious Diversity
Week."
Here is a brief Prothero bio:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Prothero
I hope you find it informative, especially as we seek to
understand what is happening culturally in the USA today.
Colleague Comment, Colleague Communications, Net Notes,
On This Day and Wisdom of the Week sections appear as usual.
Spring is certainly exploding in our part of the world!
Wayne
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
PLURALISM AND RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY WEEK
A LECTURE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
by STEPHEN PROTHERO, BOSTON UNIVERSITY,
MARCH 17th, 2017
"RELIGIOUS PLURALISM, RELIGIOUS NATIONALISM
AND THE CULTURE WARS"
Personal lecture notes and interpretations by Wayne Holst
*****
Description:
The value of religious diversity is widely acknowledged in Canada and in most urban areas of the United States. But a new age of strongmen from President Trump to India's Prime Minister Modi seems to be ushering in a new age of religious nationalism. This lecture places this battle in the context of so-called culture wars in the United States, which for more than two centuries have pitted "exclusivists" wary of foreigners and their faiths against "inclusivists" who have seen ethnic diversigty as a strength. What lessons (and what hope) might these cultural battles offer for 2017 and beyond?
******
Religious ignorance is rife in our North American cultures today and it invades our family lives as well. A recent conversation with my young daughter prompted me to 'look around" to see how pervasive it is.
Religious surveys tell us that few people can name the four gospels, explain who gave the Sermon on the Mount, describe Sodom and Gomorah, etc. This is true for Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants - at least in the USA. Many consider themselves religious but know very little about religion.
While writing a book ten years ago entitled "Religious Literacy" I discovered that only half the American population knew that the sacred book of the Muslims was the Koran. They thought that the Dalai Lama was Jewish. Atheists and agnostics, as well as Mormons, scored highest in the survey I conducted.
Why does religious literacy matter? Because whether we are talking about Canada, the Netherlands or India, religion plays an important part in modern cultures. You cannot make sense of the world without an awareness of the influence of religion on human cultures. Good or ill, inter-religious understanding is essential.
Case in point. More than a generation ago, the US Republican Party chose to take public religion seriously. The Democratic Party determined it was a private matter and wanted a separation of church and state. In subsequent US elections both candidates spoke about "personal values" but the Democrats were considered secular, and disinterested in religion. This did not help their party at the polls.
More recently, both the first Clinton and Obama were much more aware of the religious vote. The second Clinton spoke often of her Methodist social justice values.
But what is the situation today? What does the election of Donald Trlump mean religiously? Hannah Arendt prompts us to "discern what is new in a new era." Indeed, we seem to be in a new era.
--
KEY THEMES OF THE CULTURE WARS ARE NOT NEW
What is happening today is really not new. I just seems so. America's culture wars, pitting religious liberals against conservatives, actually began with Thomas Jefferson.
People get anxious when they think that "the old values are passing away."
In the past, many with anxiety about seeming losses, fomented anti-Catholic, anti-Mormon and anti-immigrant movements, and that nativist expression has been taken up by Donald Trump
The themes of his rhetoric remain essentially the same:
"Great changes are taking place"
"The nation has fallen badly" (resulting in an angry)
"Attack those perceived to have 'brought us down'"
---
FOUR NEW THINGS TODAY
While these claims are not new, four new things confront us:
1. White liberals are awakening to their own racism - a sense of justice betrayed has resulted in the views of poor whites who have lost their jobs and better-off whites who believe the electoral system betrayed them.
2. A "strong man" who follows from behind - we have seen this previously in India and Turkey, for example, but now in America.
We always thought America was different but we now see the USA is getting in line with a global shift represented best by Russia's strong man Vladimir Putin.
3. The rise of the Protestant "id" - we believed that "thinking and behaving properly" provided the glue that held society together. There were things you just did not say or do, and everyone tended to believe that. Trump, however, defies propriety. Everything about him attacks these "proper" values. In his Twitter world, saying what you want or doing what you feel like doing gives the human "id" free reign.
4. Seeds of doubt are sown about establishment people and systems. I call this "skepto-poetic." You don't attack head-on, or speak of your adversary directly. You do so only indirectly. Trump never directly claimed he thought Obama was a Muslim as other conservatives believed. He only "suggested" Obama might be a Muslim; calling his loyalties into doubt and question.
--
WHAT SHOULD WE BE DOING?
This is not a time of "less hope" but to "hope more." It is a time when religous literacy with a sense of history and perspective is greatly needed.
We need to learn more about Muslims today. I am not talking about names and dates, but about fellow-humans by engaging in mutually-informative public engagment and debate. This must be a critical engagement involving knowledge, empathy, comparative thinking, awareness, "walking in the shoes of the other."
Let us not wish away what separates us. We do not all believe the
same things. There are distinct differences - beliefs, practices and experiences. I wrote a book about this entitled "God is Not One" with the thesis that we are indeed different. Our religious prescriptions for solving the human dilemma are not the same.
We should not accept a "pretend pluralism" but acknowledge that there is religious diversity, and accept the world as it is, both good and bad, about our differences.
--
HOPE FOR AMERICAN AND CANADIAN SOCIETIES
1. Recognize the reality of pluralism and nationalism. Pick a side. What 'side' are you on, religiously and culturally? Don't try to be something you are not.
2. Cultivate 'religious literacy." Find out what Christians and Muslims believe. Read both the Bible and the Koran (and Wayne adds - together when possible). Prothero suggests that Christians begin by reading Genesis and Matthew - two of the key biblical books. This will make us more informed and useful when we engage persons of other faiths.
We are at a new stage of global cultural experience. In some respects, there are precedents to guide us from the past. In other ways, we are in new times.
But there is hope.
*****
CONCLUSION
During Q&A I asked Prothero what advice he would have for Canadians who are disillusioned about what has been happening politically and religiously in the USA recently. He replied:
1. America has great founding myths. Even if we currently seem to have forgotten them as a result of the contemporary culture wars, make an effort to rediscover those myths and personalities that helped to shape America. This can be inspiring and give us new perspectives.
2. Own your disillusionment with America today. Don't be naive about what has been happening there. It is not the time to gloss over what is not good about America. But if the Republican party continues in the direction it has been taking, it will ultimately go under.
3. Be hopeful about America and the world. Whenever in American history great steps of "inclusion" have occurred (like the emancipation of the black slaves, the Civil Rights Act, the election of the first black president) there has always been a back-lash to change. It takes time for that to sort itself out, but social progress has always ultimately resulted. Believe that about America and have hope.
(end)
*****
COLLEAGUE COMMENT
John Griffith
Calgary, AB.
March 23rd, 2017
Hi Wayne, I thought my preaching days were over but an invitation
to participate in the Reel Theology series at Hillhurst United Church
using the film Arrival, on April 2nd seemed like a call from God.
Coupled with communion the invitation tugged at my heart and has
been vibrating in my soul as a Gospel story. I thought people on
your list might be interested in hearing some of the sermons on the
Academy Award films in the Reel Theology series at:
https://www.hillhurstunited.com/sermons.
This is always a well attended series relating contemporary culture to the Gospel.
John
***
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log
March 22nd, 2017
"Building on What Came Before"
http://tinyurl.com/mcgehn7
--
Mark Noll,
South Bend IN.
Interview With The Wheaton Record
March 20th, 2017
"Noll Wonders if American
Evangelicalism Still Exists"
https://tinyurl.com/m49ou3j
--
Ron Rolheiser
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site
March 20th, 2017
"Our Shadow and Our Self-Understanding"
http://tinyurl.com/mfe5bnl
***
NET NOTES
LOOSE THE WOMEN!!
Many Women Leaders
in Early Pentecostalism
Christianity Today
March 22nd, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/kxye6zk
--
AMAZING DISGRACE
How Trump Hijacked
the US Religious Right
New Republic
March 20th, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/ka8wf7j
--
TRUMP'S WEEKLY LIST OF
IMMIGRANT CRIMES
Is as Sinister as it Looks When You
Associate Immigrants With Criminality
The Guardian,
March 22nd, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/m67h4f8
--
IS INDIA MARCHING TOWARD
HINDU DOMINATION?
Recent Elections Indicate as Much
UCA News Asia
March 17th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/lyvbe7q
--
NEW MAPS BEING CREATED FOR
CANADA'S 150th ANNIVERSARY
They Will Depict Aboriginal
Travel Routes, Histories, etc.
CBC.ca
March 21st, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/mcxrrg7
--
OPPOSITION TO ROMERO
CANONIZATION 'POLITICAL'
A Unique Perspective on
the Inner Workings of the Vatican
America Online
March 23rd, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/llnql7o
--
IN RURAL MANITOBA, CHURCHES
SUPPORT REFUGEES ECUMENICALLY
Evangelical and Mainline Protestant, RCs Too
Religion News Service
March 23rd, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/nxdr5bx
--
AFTER ONE YEAR, HOW HAVE
SYRIAN REFUGEES SETTLED?
Canada Proving to be Adept
at Refugee Re-Settlement
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada Website
March 21st, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/laqqzoz
--
DEREK WALCOTT'S POETRY CAPTURED
BEAUTY OF CARIBBEAN, EVILS OF COLONIALISM
Nobel Laureate Poet Dies at 87
New York Times
March 19th, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/m3natrt
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
Evil begins when you begin to treat people as things.
- Terry Pratchett
--
At the Last Judgment I shall not be asked whether I was successful
in my ascetic exercises, nor how many bows and prostrations I made.
Instead I shall be asked if I fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited
the sick and the prisoners.
- Maria Skobtsova
--
I love to think of nature as unlimited broadcasting stations, through
which God speaks to us every day, every hour, and every moment
of our lives, if we will only tune in and remain so.
- George Washington Carver
--
I think there is no suffering greater than what is caused by the doubts of those who want to believe. I know what torment this is, but I can only see it, in myself anyway, as the process by which faith is deepened. A faith that just accepts is a child’s faith and all right for children, but eventually you have to grow religiously as every other way, though some never do. What people don’t realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross.
It is much harder to believe than not to believe. If you feel you can’t believe, you must at least do this: keep an open mind. Keep it open toward faith, keep wanting it, keep asking for it; leave the rest to God.
- Flannery O'Connor
--
An enormous conflict between words and deeds is prevalent today:
everyone talks about freedom, democracy, justice, human rights,
about peace and saving the world from nuclear apocalypse; and at
the same time, everyone, more or less, consciously or unconsciously,
serves those values and ideals only to the extent necessary to serve
himself and his “worldly” interests, personal interests, group interests,
power interests, property interests, and state or great-power interests.
So the power structures apparently have no other choice than to
sink deeper into this vicious maelstrom, and contemporary people apparently have no other choice than to wait around until the final inhibition drops away. But who should begin? Who should break this vicious circle?
Responsibility cannot be preached but only borne, and the only possible
place to begin is with oneself.
- Vaclav Havel
--
As he submits to John’s baptism of repentance, Jesus shows the
radical way he will confront the sin that enslaves humanity. Jesus’
“baptism,” begun in the Jordan and completed on Golgotha, is
repentance, self-denial, metanoia to the fullest.…
To be baptized “into Christ” and “in the name of Christ” means to be
incorporated into the way of life which characterized his life, the life
of the empty one, the servant, the humble one, the obedient one,..
obedient even unto death (Phil. 2:6–11).
- William Willimon
--
Our Lord Christ speaks: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who
believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” Thus he says: You
have no idea who I am and what I mean for you, have done and will
do for you, if you do not look beyond this life to eternity.… If you want
to understand me, you must go beyond the temporal to the eternal,
for I am he who brings the kingdom of God to you.… To those who
are satisfied with the world and the things of the world I will have
nothing – nothing at all – to say except this: that they must go to their
own ruin. But to those who have noticed that this earthly life in itself
has no meaning but can receive its meaning only from beyond, to
them I say: I guarantee you this goal; yes, even more: I am this goal.
I am the resurrection and the life.
- Emil Bruner
--
People with intellectual disabilities are not able to assume important roles of power and of efficacy. They are essentially people of the heart.
When they meet others they do not have a hidden agenda for power or for success. Their cry, their fundamental cry, is for a relationship, a meeting heart to heart.
It is this meeting that awakens them, opens them up to life, and calls them forth to love in great simplicity, freedom and openness. When those ingrained in a culture of winning and of individual success really meet them, and enter into friendship with them, something amazing and wonderful happens. They too are opened up to love and even to God. They are changed at a very deep level.
They are transformed and become more fundamentally human.
- Jean Vanier
***
ON THIS DAY
From the archives of the New York Times
"MLK and Civil Rights Marchers Leave Selma Alabama"
http://tinyurl.com/ygklbx6
"12 Killed in Tokyo Terrorist Gas Attack"
http://tinyurl.com/yg67cyx
"Exxon Valdez Runs Ashore of Alaska Coast"
https://tinyurl.com/c3kf4w
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT - Madeleine L’Engle
Truth is frightening. Pontius Pilate knew that, and washed his hands
of truth when he washed his hands of Jesus. Truth is demanding. It
won’t let us sit comfortably. It knocks out our cozy smugness and
casual condemnation. It makes us move. It? It? For truth we can read
Jesus. Jesus is truth. If we accept that Jesus is truth, we accept an
enormous demand: Jesus is wholly God, and Jesus is wholly human.
Dare we believe that? If we believe in Jesus we must. And immediately
that takes truth out of the limited realm of literalism.
(end)
****
For Those Interested -
ST. DAVID'S ACTS MONDAY NIGHT WINTER STUDY
A Ten Week Series January 23rd - April 3rd, 2017
Monday Evenings, TM Room 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
"How Jesus Became God -
The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee"
http://tinyurl.com/gqzkcbx
Author: Bart D. Ehrman
Registration/Hospitality and Book: $60.00.
Book only: $20.00
35 copies were secured for sale.
All copies have been sold.
Our Evolving Course Design:
http://tinyurl.com/j3nv7nd
--
Here is the total course content from our
completed Monday Night Autumn 2016 Study:
"Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious
World" by Bishop John S. Spong
http://rtb.stdavidscalgary.net/
Check our entire archives for all 48 books
studied since 2000:
http://tinyurl.com/q3bw6dh
During the 2016-2017 two session-term -
Total class registrations: 70
Total books sold: 75
Our best year ever, since 1998!
***
ST. DAVID'S ACTS THURSDAY MORNING STUDY
Ten Sessions February 2nd - April 6th, 2017
"Joshua and Judges" - Formative Hebrew History
Ten sessions 10-11 AM
Gathering at 9:30 AM
In the St. David's TM Room.
No charge
Study resource -
"The DK Complete Bible Handbook"
Edited by John Bowker
http://tinyurl.com/odxlv7q
***
ST.DAVID'S SPIRITUAL TRAVELERS PROJECT, 2017
South Africa has been chosen as our destination!
We plan a nineteen-day tour that combines a focus
on faith, social justice, culture, and nature, and it
will begin October 21st 2017.
A beautiful brochure with trip cost, itinerary, and
many helpful travel hints has been published.
http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
Our optimal group size for maximum trip meaning
and value is 28-29 persons.
Twenty-five persons have either put down deposits
to claim a special saving (or intend to do so.)
WE ARE CLOSE TO REACHING OUR DEPARTURE GOAL.
YOU CAN STILL REGISTER. When we have 29 deposits
you will be added to a waiting list and still join us
in the event someone has to drop out.
Seven months from now we leave for South Africa!
Contact Rostad Tours: http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
Follow our notices for weekly updates.
*****
Vol XII No. 24
****
GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address:
waholst@telus.net
Colleagues List Web Site
http//colleagueslist2.bogspot.com
*****
Dear Friends:
My Special Item this week is a reflection
on four major changes I have seen over
the past fifty years since my graduation
from Waterloo Lutheran Seminary in 1967.
I hope you enjoy my Anglican Journal
column for March entitled "Changes".
Thanks to colleagues for their contributions
this week.
Net Notes, Wisdom of the Week and On This Day
selections will hopefully stir you to look further.
You may be interested in our ministry programs
at St. David's Calgary. Find this at the blog's end.
Thanks for joining me as we enter Springtime
in Canada!
Wayne
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
My March Anglican Journal column:
Four major developments in the Canadian
Church since I graduated from seminary
in 1967 - fifty years ago this Spring -
"Changes"
http://tinyurl.com/j7ehrj8
****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC
Web Log,
March 15th, 2017
"If It Can Die, It Lives"
http://tinyurl.com/l3kwt24
-
Mark Whittall,
Ottawa, ON.
Mark Whittall Blog
March 10th, 2017
"The Nicodemus Dillemma"
http://tinyurl.com/lksooec
-
Ron Rolheiser,
Personal Web Site
March 13th, 2017
"Nothing is Ever Really Our's"
http://tinyurl.com/mwjkj6p
-
Martin Marty,
Chicago, IL
Sightings,
March 13th, 2017
"Transitioning Out Of Mediocrity"
http://tinyurl.com/k43uh5w
****
NET NOTES
REMEMBERING ST. PATRICK
Re-enactment Selections
International Business Times
March 13th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/mqrv8p4
--
FOR PEACE IN YEMEN
A Gallery of Pictures
UCA News (Visual)
March 15th, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/l5spsem
--
RACISM IN ROTTERDAM
How a Diverse City Became
Infected by Islamaphobia
The Guardian UK
March 14th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/h99g8qq
--
MICHIGAN CHURCHES
AND A SYNAGOGUE
DECLARE THEMSELVES
IMMIGRANT SANCTUARIES
They Provide Protection
Against Trump Legislation
Christian Post
March 16th, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/kx5z2ke
"Sanctuary in the USA
Has Legal Consequences"
Religion News Service
March 17th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/ke9ssby
--
HAMILTON ONTARIO CHURCH GROUP
STOPPED AT THE US BORDER
Social Ministry Work Viewed
as 'Stealing American Jobs'
CBC.ca
March 14th, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/j3shk5j
--
IS THERE ANYTHING LEFT
IN WHICH WE CAN ALL BELIEVE?
America at a Crossroads
According to Joan Chittister
National Catholic Reporter
March 16th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/kmpyrlr
--
UNIVERSITY PROGRAM WINS
RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY ACCLAIM
Faith and Spirituality Centre Series
Promotes Interfaith Learning/Dialogue
UToday, University of Calgary
March 16th, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/l2dqk7m
--
ONE IN FIVE CANADIANS SAY
MUSLIMS SHOULD BE BANNED
Many Desire Canadian Values Test
National Post.
March 14thk, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/hflskxa
--
JESUS DID NOT DIE FOR THE
GOOD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
Thoughts on Scorcese's Film "Silence"
Christian Week,
March 15th, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/mhb67ks
--
MORMON CHURCH CHALLENGES
LEGALITY OF LEAKED DOCUMENTS
Secretive Organization Meets Modernity
Religion News Service
March 16th, 2017
https://tinyurl.com/mjvfcko
--
TEN IMPORTANT WOMEN THEOLOGIANS
YOU SHOULD BE READING TODAY
Theology for Our Times
Englewood Review of Books
March 3rd, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/kz8vvbo
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
The [human] who renounces [their self],
comes to [their self].
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
--
...There is nothing
a blessing
is better suited for
than an ending,
nothing that cries out more
for a blessing
than when a world
is falling apart.
- Jan Richardson
--
The great writer Zora Neale Hurston said,
Fear was the greatest emotion on the planet Earth
and I said, No my dear sista
Fear will make us move to save our lives
To save our own skins
But love
Will make us save other people's skins and lives
So love is primary at this particular point in time.
- Sonia Sanchez
--
In Jesus’ resurrected presence, the invisible kingdom of God
has become visible reality. The word has taken shape, love has
become real. Jesus showed what love meant. His word and life
proved that love knows no bounds. Love halts at no barrier. It
can never be silenced, no matter what circumstances make it
seem impossible to practice it. Nothing is impossible for the
faith that springs from the fire of love.
- Eberhard Arnold
--
Forgiveness is the answer to the child’s dream of a miracle by
which what is broken is made whole again, and what is soiled
is made clean again. The dream explains why we need to be
forgiven, and why we must forgive. In the presence of God,
nothing stands between him and us – we are forgiven.
But we cannot feel his presence if anything is allowed to stand
between ourselves and others.
- Dag Hammarskjöld
--
Christ was crucified because he would have nothing to do with
the crowd (even though he addressed himself to all). He did not
want to form a party, an interest group, or a mass movement,
but wanted to be what he was, the truth, which is related to the
single individual. Therefore everyone who will genuinely serve
the truth is by that very fact a martyr. To win a crowd is no art;
for that only untruth is needed, nonsense, and a little knowledge
of human passions. But no witness to the truth dares to get
involved with the crowd.
-Søren Kierkegaard
******
ON THIS DAY
From the New York Times
"US Troops Conduct My Lai Massacre in Vietnam"
https://tinyurl.com/n374kh5
"Truman Doctrine Helps Greece and Turkey
Avoid Communism in Wake of World War II"
http //tinyurl.com/mor9vn7
*****
CLOSING THOUGHT - Julian of Norwich
As truly as God is our Father, so truly is God our Mother.
(end)
****
For Those Interested -
ST. DAVID'S ACTS MONDAY NIGHT WINTER STUDY
A Ten Week Series January 23rd - April 3rd, 2017
Monday Evenings, TM Room 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
"How Jesus Became God -
The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee"
http://tinyurl.com/gqzkcbx
Author: Bart D. Ehrman
Registration/Hospitality and Book: $60.00.
Book only: $20.00
35 copies were secured for sale.
All copies have been sold.
Our Evolving Course Design:
http://tinyurl.com/j3nv7nd
--
Here is the total course content from our
completed Monday Night Autumn 2016 Study:
"Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious
World" by Bishop John S. Spong
http://rtb.stdavidscalgary.net/
Check our entire archives for all 48 books
studied since 2000:
http://tinyurl.com/q3bw6dh
During the 2016-2017 two session-term -
Total class registrations: 70
Total books sold: 75
Our best year ever, since 1998!
***
ST. DAVID'S ACTS THURSDAY MORNING STUDY
Ten Sessions February 2nd - April 6th, 2017
"Joshua and Judges" - Formative Hebrew History
Ten sessions 10-11 AM
Gathering at 9:30 AM
In the St. David's TM Room.
No charge
Study resource -
"The DK Complete Bible Handbook"
Edited by John Bowker
http://tinyurl.com/odxlv7q
***
ST.DAVID'S SPIRITUAL TRAVELERS PROJECT, 2017
South Africa has been chosen as our destination!
We plan a nineteen-day tour that combines a focus
on faith, social justice, culture, and nature, and it
will begin October 21st 2017.
A beautiful brochure with trip cost, itinerary, and
many helpful travel hints has been published.
http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
Our optimal group size for maximum trip meaning
and value is 28-29 persons.
Twenty-eight persons have either put down deposits
to claim a special saving (or intend to do so.)
WE ARE CLOSE TO REACHING OUR DEPARTURE GOAL.
YOU CAN STILL REGISTER. When we have 29 deposits
you will be added to a waiting list and still join us
in the event someone has to drop out.
Seven months from now we leave for South Africa!
Contact Rostad Tours: http://tinyurl.com/hucsaf7
Follow our notices for weekly updates.
*****
