I was just in a mini-stream on Twitter with @james_ka_smith , where I tried to re-open the topic re: the church and the Occupy movement. I had tweeted a while back to JKA on this, but it didn’t seem to spark much interest on his part. He and I had done a bit of back and forth back in 2005-06 Continue Reading
I totally agree with my friend Brian here: In the end if they break ways with Christ’s teachings we are required to break with them as well and speak truth in love http://indefinitedefiniteness.org/2012/09/07/politics/ And saying such things just scares the bejeebies out of so many of my “secular” friends. They just can’t seem to grasp the idea that the “theocracy” ideas Continue Reading
It’s true we must guard against becoming devoted to the “brand”. “Occupy” as a brand is not the aim; it’s not the point to see that this name survives as the main narrative title. If the media succeed in discrediting that, then the aims and goals still remain. We simply need to articulate it and present it through new actions Continue Reading
When I read the following, from a previous Chris Hedges article just after the start of Occupy Wall Street, I immediately added my own group to the list of “discarded intellectuals”: Bakunin’s vision of revolution, which challenged Marx’s rigid bifurcation between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, carved out a vital role for these rootless intellectuals, the talented sons and daughters Continue Reading
I blogged on this a couple weeks ago, as I recoiled at the inane thesis of a WIRED article about “conspiracy theories” such as global warning. The modern belief by evangelical Christians in the rapture, which does not exist in biblical literature, is no less fantastic, one that at once allows for the denial of global warming and of evolution Continue Reading
Chris Hedges , in reviewing a book by Dave Eggers, describing the Saudi kingdom (“A Hologram for the King”), sounds very accurate re: an alarming percentage of the Religious Right in this country: outward religiosity and piety mask a moral and physical rot that fits seamlessly into the world of globalized capitalism http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/the_mirage_of_our_lives_20120827/ This “seamless fit” is exactly what the Continue Reading
This whole rape can’t cause pregnancy thing has me thinking abou the tentacles of this current of “God will protect us from ourselves” mentality of the right wing (both the political and the theological). The notion that God won’t let pregnancies happen from rape is a form of this. The “free market fundamentalism” is a form of this (and also, Continue Reading
Brian Merritt has written an excellent OccupyTheology sermon. The only thing I dont like about it is that there are too many great things in it I want to quote in full. I am told by a prepackaged and consumeristic society that there are non-threatening and easy answers to societal’s ills. The reality is that recycling will not save the planet, voting Continue Reading
in this video, Chris Hayes talks about the way elites and their clubs stick together vs even the people they ostensibly are there to serve (priests in Catholic Church vs their parishoners, or the government and corporations vs thier constituents and/or customers). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDaFVjaZr7w&feature=plcp This is a good angle also for the financial system, and for a headlong dive into many Continue Reading
Great response from @OccupyWallSt tweet: .@billmaher You are correct, we will ‪#join‬ ‪#election2012‬ ‪#politics‬ plz advise on how 2 buy democracy ‪#superpac‬ ‪#asshat‬ https://twitter.com/OccupyWallSt/status/212193565688856576
“The world of finance, while necessary, no longer represents an instrument that favours our well-being or the life of mankind, instead it has become an oppressive power, that almost demands our adoration, mammon, the false divinity that truly dominates the world.†Who said that? A socialist? A number of the Occupy Movement? An economic advisor to President Obama? None of Continue Reading
The Rev. Sandy Gess: I find much in common from our faith tradition with the Occupy Movement. And, as an active participant and organizer with the Interfaith Tent @ Oakland, I draw inspiration from the Methodist tradition and our founder, John Wesley: “The world is my parish.†Wesley faced similar challenges as he responded to the crying needs of those Continue Reading
OK, this is funny. Dan Gillmor RT’s @markos: on the WaPO having some sort of “So You Think You Can be a Pundit?†contest, with the top 10 selections being “voted onâ€â€¦â€¦.gimme a break. This seems to be an attempt to show they are not quite so “stiff†and “out of it†with re: to the Web and Social Media Continue Reading
JKA Smith defines GPMs (“God-per-minute”): Ramping up references to God to make some piece of content “Christian” or redeemed. References to God don’t thereby sanctify or redeem domestic policies that oppress the poor or foreign policy that breeds war. In fact, if Jewish prophets have anything to say about it, ramping up the GPMs only makes this worse (see Jeremiah Continue Reading
This blogger is talking about some words from Mike Slaughter , pastor of Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Ohio (near Dayton) he expressed concern for what I have often railed about myself: the fact that churches are so subservient to the state that they fly the Christian flag below the American flag. Or, when they are flown within the sanctuary, Continue Reading
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