Category: Culture
Anger to Bargaining
It has almost been a decade since our national shock and long grief process began. Unfortunately, as a nation we have not grieved well: strike the Taliban, invade Iraq, war profiteers, military stop-loss, thousands more dead and injured, unknown numbers orphaned, a transfer of wealth from poor and middle class families to corporations waging war, a change in language from mercenary to contractor, and an embrace of racism and scapegoating in the name of national security. It appears that almost ten years on the nation leaders continue to act and lead out of anger and bargaining in the grief process rather than helping the nation’s citizens remember and act out of our better selves.
This article is another example of misplaced anger and those trying to utilize that misplaced anger to gain political advantage and the almighty dollar. Some TV christian evangelists speak of the immorality of the nation. This is certainly the best modern example to date of that claim. Have we forgotten the Japanese interment camps?
Across Nation, Mosque Projects Meet Opposition
by Laurie Goodstein | The New York Times | August 7, 2010While a high-profile battle rages over a mosque near ground zero in Manhattan, heated confrontations have also broken out in communities across the country where mosques are proposed for far less hallowed locations.
In Murfreesboro, Tenn., Republican candidates have denounced plans for a large Muslim center proposed near a subdivision, and hundreds of protesters have turned out for a march and a county meeting.
Religious Consumerism
This is a follow up article in the New York Times that drew my attention. Clergy burnout is a topic of conversation in my denomination even as we ask the laity to volunteer to do more and more. Some younger generations of clergy have taken “self care” to an extreme and forgotten that those that volunteer in their local congregation often work 40-60 hrs a week themselves. Congregational life may be their self care. So, here is a paragraph of the article. This is a must read for laity and clergy alike as it reflects on integrity, theology, and the mission of the Church.
Congregations Gone Wild
G. Jeffrey MacDonald | The New York Times | August 7, 2010The pastoral vocation is to help people grow spiritually, resist their lowest impulses and adopt higher, more compassionate ways. But churchgoers increasingly want pastors to soothe and entertain them. It’s apparent in the theater-style seating and giant projection screens in churches and in mission trips that involve more sightseeing than listening to the local people.