Today is Tuesday, February 2, 2005. We guess when it rains, it pours: today is Imbolc, aka: Imbolg, Candlemas, Brigantia, The Feast of the Waxing Light, and Oimelc. The practitioners can explain better than I can, but it's essentially a day to look forward to what will be given the world in the next growing season.
Is that anywhere near accurate?
Today is also Groundhog Day, and would have been Bob Marley's 60th birthday. If you're in Omaha tonight, you're in luck: there's a children's program at Northwest Hills Church, and a lecture on "The Roots of Islam in America" at the University. Both at 6. Or, you can send some e-mail to Cyndi Simpson, a Wiccan priestess denied permission to bless a local Board of Supervisors' meeting due to her faith.
Today's categories:
Religion & Politics
There's plenty of shifting ground out there these days, but where it's headed, nobody knows. Congressional Dems have formed a
team to develop a "faith agenda," which sounds good--until you actually stop to think about it. Correct us if we're wrong, but the Republicans have never made a parallel move; instead, they bring in outside groups to talk to staffers and the occasional representative. That way, they seem to be listening to "constituent concerns" even if the same coordinating work is being done. Word to the wise, Speaker Pelosi: don't let your colleagues try to set the agenda on this one.
Meanwhile, the LATimes has more on the GOP outreach to conservative black congregations and their pastors. The same qualifications apply from the last time we talked about this: it's unclear how effective the outreach is, or if it will produce results, etc. etc. It's a story worth watching, though.
Ever since Christianity Today identified immigration policy as one of the areas of potential friction for conservative evangelicals, we've been suprised by how many times the subject does indeed pop up. Here's one example from Nebraska, from the ever-conservative Agape Press, and another one from the other end of the spectrum from DC. We'll keep you posted.
Standard pork-barrel politics here. Nothing to see. Move it along.
One vision of "moral values" that seems to be picking up steam is the notion that a responsible society ensures that all its members are properly clothed, fed, and housed. It comes largely out of the Catholic Church, and you can see examples of it here and here. While using this to argue against Pres. Bush's Social Security tear-down is interesting enough, we're impressed by that first link, from an editorial page in LaCrosse Wisconsin. Small-town editors, shall we say, are not known for going out on a limb? This idea may be quietly gathering broad popularity.
But the more some things change, the more others stay the same. We'd hoped the heavy hand would lighten a bit after the election, but apparently not.
Other things that stay the same: Hillary Clinton is shallow and opportunisitic, some folks say. Except when she's not, others say. (For the record, despite our own suspicions, we think HRC is getting a bum rap on this. Yes, she's playing up religion more than she has in the past, and sure, she's probably trying to tack to the right. But her faith has always been there, and we think that she alleged "shifts" are more than likely overstated.) And while we're (sorta) on the topic: a scholar in Michigan argues that the "Culture War" is much overblown, something we've been saying for over a decade, and the Revealer links to a report on who might be paying to keep the war "alive."
Tapped spots some similiarities between NBC & CBS' rejection of the UCC God Is Still Speaking ads and their more recent refusal of ads against the administration's tort reform proposals. Anyone who didn't see that coming, raise your hands. Anyone?
Religion & Homosexuality
Quick hits: Bartholomew on Uganda, Sponge Bob in St. Louis, also on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, wingnuts in Utah, wingnuts in Wisconsin.
James Dobson is apparently going on the offensive, trying to convince journalists that his comments on Sponge Bob were misunderstood. Seems like he's going all out: so far, he's sent e-mails to friendly scribblers, posted on his website, and will appear on at least two conservative radio shows. All we can say is: Doc, you wanted to dip your toe into politics. Welcome to the jungle.
Last but not least, we bring you this story, about a Baptist church that wanted to build a playground on Gay St.
Seriously.
This 'n' That
A new report tracks Saudi-sponsored "hate" in US mosques. We don't know the source, so we'll refrain from judgment at the moment.
Michael Ross' scheduled execution is off again, indefinitely. This is gut-wrenching. Meanwhile, in Colorado, the state Supreme Court is considering whether jurors' use of Bible passages related to the death penalty is enough to overturn a capital conviction.
As an example of the difficulty of politically pigeonholing the black church these days, consider these reports from Los Angeles and Nashville.
There has been quite a bit of talk about Time magazine's list of America's "25 Most Influential Evangelicals," much of it critical. Even Christianity Today had some problems with it. Here's two more critiques, from different angles: here and here.
Millard Fillmore is out, this time for good.
Church attendance is up in Canada, even among those frenchie-mainline protestants. Do the Canucks know something we don't?
As proof there's no place to silly for an evangelist, someone's trying to bring the Good News to the MJ trial. And that concludes our trial coverage. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen...
If you'd like to have a pint and talk about God in Belfast, you'd better put a nickel in it. Things started at the Blue Wave at 8. Don't worry, they're planning on doing more. If cough syrup's your thing, you're also in luck: it's just been pronounced kosher.
Last link: Ned Flanders is set to take a bigger role on the Simpsons, starting with this weekend's Super Bowl episode. Beware war-diddly-iddly-robe malfunctions!