textweek

The Battle over the Zapotec Bible

At NPR's Weekend Edition:

"The latest installment in "Worlds of Difference," a documentary series exploring the impact of global change on local cultures, comes from a small village in southern Mexico. The story looks at the issues surrounding the translation of the Bible into the pueblo's indigenous language."

Women Theologians in India

At National Catholic Reporter: "Women Theologogians in India are Reclaiming Space," by Janina Gomes.

"MUMBAI, India -- Women theologians in India are reclaiming space for themselves in a discipline that has been the prerogative of males for almost 2000 years. They have discovered that traditional theology, which mirrors male experiences, images and ideas, follows rational thought, while feminist theology is experiential."

This is Part 2 of Journeys in Theology: Women's Stories, a series of articles at National Catholic Reporter, posted weekly between Oct 12 and Nov 16, 2004.

Christianity Today on the Emerging Church

"The Emergent Mystique," Andy Crouch, Christianity Today:

"The 'emerging church' movement has generated a lot of excitement but only a handful of congregations. Is it the wave of the future or a passing fancy?"

Unity, Diversity and the Windsor Report

"Blindly Embracing Diversity Will Damage Unity," Tom Wright, The Guardian, Face to Faith:

"Sex was the occasion for the Windsor Report, not its subject. The commission was charged with looking at the deeper problem within the global Anglican family: how to remain as a family, despite diversity."

God and Caesar

At Bruderhof Communities, "God and Caesar: The Image on the Coin," Rabbi Arthur Waskow:

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s,” Jesus said. But for two thousand years, Christians have argued over what this means. What is Caesar’s, and what is God’s?

Rabbis and Soldiers

At BBC Sunday Religious News & Current Affairs, "Rabbis and Soldiers":

"Whom should a soldier obey, his spiritual leader or his government? That is the question facing Israeli soldiers who are Zionist Jews. Sixty of their Rabbis have told them to refuse any command to remove Israeli settlers from Gaza, which is the policy of their Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon. At stake is not only what remains of the peace process in the Middle East, but also whether Israel is to be a theocracy or a democracy."

Iraq Military Chaplain

At PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, "Profile: Iraq Military Chaplain":

"Bob Abernethy talks with army chaplain Joseph Angotti, a 40-year-old Catholic priest, about the troops he serves and the situation they face in Iraq. "Our soldiers right now do not have the blessing of seeing things get better," he says."

Speaking of Faith - The Other Religious America in Election 2004

At American Public Media's Speaking of Faith, The Other Religious America in Election 2004:

"In this show, we speak with an African American Christian and an American Muslim and explore the perspectives of two religious communities which defy the broad stereotypes of this election year. We'll seek to gain a deeper understanding of the way in which they are thinking through the mix of religious ideas that have come to the forefront of this campaign. These religious people see complex choices between competing religious ideals, and they are making their decisions in ways that challenge the intuition of pollsters and pundits."

Includes essays, "The Role of Religion in Electoral Politics" by Christian minister Cheryl Sanders, "Protecting Religion from Politics" by Jewish thinker Susannah Heschel, and "The Myth of Secularism" by Muslim political scientist Muqtedar Khan.

Proper 25 - Dylan's Lectionary Blog

Fascinating thoughts to ponder from Dylan again this week:

"I think this particular Pharisee in today's gospel is being presented as one of the good guys. Fasting was a sign of penitence; tithing ensured that those in Israel who did have land provided for those who didn't. However, the Pharisee's prayer betrays something that may characterize his fasting and tithing as well.

This guy (let's give him a name, to make clear that we're not talking about a category, but a person. Let's call him Eli.) is busting his butt to further God's kingdom, and he's succumbed to something that a lot of us struggle with. Eli knows that the world could be powerfully transformed in his lifetime, if only everyone would just GET WITH THE PROGRAM. He does his best to persuade them to sign on -- a move that would introduce them to experiences of God's presence in community as powerful as what he's experienced dining at a pure table with his family or studying Torah with his fellow-travelers in the Pharisaic movement.

It's a generous impulse, but when someone doesn't sign on to such a program, it becomes tempting to start seeing people on the other side as the problem, and it's practically impossible to proclaim something that will sound like Good News to your audience if you're doing it from a position of resentment. So his passion for God's prophetic word degrades into distaste for a fellow Israelite, as Eli finds himself focused more and more on others' perceived shortcomings and less and less on their commonalities -- both Israelites, both seeking, both sinners. Eli might have found himself more concerned with understanding the man praying next to him than he was in persuading God that they he was different from his neighbor."

Some thoughts from "Debates, youth groups, and bridging the gap," Hugo Schwyzer's blog:

"A few years ago, I regularly attended services at Pasadena's largest non-denominational evangelical church, Lake Avenue. (This was while I was on the Vestry at All Saints, actually.) I got to know one of the many pastors there, and he and I had some preliminary discussions about a goal of mine: getting the high school youth from one very conservative and one very liberal church together to work on a service project. The idea would not be to have debates over homosexuality and salvation -- the idea would be to put Christian love into action with folks that we are accustomed to thinking of as "the enemy." We talked about various volunteer works that we could do as a team, and we had some brief exchanges on what we hoped our "kids" would get out of it. But we both lost touch, and not long thereafter I went on my two-year sojourn into the Mennonite Church...

The temptation for both sides to see the other group as a "mission field" will be tremendous. Ground rules would have to be established to ensure a basic level of civility and respect. But I think I've got my kids excited at the prospect, even as they are also a bit scared too. I want to make sure they are emotionally and psychologically protected -- but I also want to make sure that they are spiritually challenged. That's a fine line to walk, but I am optimistic we can do it...

We are a bitterly divided nation. We are also, as Christians, living in a divided body. Many of us on the Christian left find we have more in common with secular liberals than with our own fellow Christians on the right. Many right-wing Christians feel more in cultural solidarity with conservative non-believers or practitioners of other faiths than they do with us. While that is understandable, I think it reflects badly on all of us..."

The entire blog entry may be especially useful in terms of this week's lectionary texts!