Category Archives: Ecumenical & Interfaith

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More Melancholy Wisdom on Israeli-Hamas War Myths

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[NOTE: I agree with just about all that Nick Kristof says here. But his roster of myths  is incomplete. He overlooks a fourth “myth” that gets in the way of his humane insight and hope like the piles of rubble that mark this war on every front. More on that below.]

New York Times:

What We Get Wrong About Israel and Gaza
Nov. 15, 2023

By Nicholas Kristof, Opinion Columnist

With the bilateral slaughter in the Middle East unleashing poisons that are worsening hatred worldwide, let me outline what I see as three myths inflaming the debate:

The first myth is that in the conflict in the Middle East there is right on one side and wrong on the other (even if people disagree about which is which).

Life isn’t that neat. The tragedy of the Middle East is that this is a clash of right versus right. That does not excuse Hamas’s massacre and savagery or Israel’s leveling of entire neighborhoods in Gaza, but underlying the conflict are certain legitimate aspirations that deserve to be fulfilled. Continue reading More Melancholy Wisdom on Israeli-Hamas War Myths →

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On Israel/Hamas: Many Conflicting “Truths”, Or Convictions

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Friends,

Kudos this week to the Christian Century (CC) magazine, for its statement on the Hamas/Israeli war.  They were not quick to run to the pundit barricades; when Hamas attacked, despite their shock, they grabbed their knees and kept them from jerking. They thought and struggled about it; their struggle likely continues.

And their considered editorial answer was –for me at least — clarifying. In sum, they said: the situation is complex as hell. (That’s my paraphrase.) More precisely:

From “Bearing Witness to Multiple Stories” (11/6/2023):

“Every conflict involves competing stories, but often one story clearly embodies far more truth than the other. Not in this case. Each of the two stories sketched out here [Palestinian & Israeli] is factually sound, historically informed, and morally compelling. Both stories are true.

And they are heartbreaking and tragic. Both are stories of people who love the land and deserve to live there in peace. Peace has long been stymied by political missteps, cycles of violence, and interventions by those who can only see one story’s truth. For US Christians, bearing witness to this conflict begins with recognizing that it contains more than one true story.”

Continue reading On Israel/Hamas: Many Conflicting “Truths”, Or Convictions →

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A Cautionary Tale and an Inspiration? The “Life of Quaker Service” of Annice carter

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Finishing the new book Annice Carter’s Life of Quaker Service, my first query was: What if Annice Carter had ever learned to make bagels? Could that have changed history in the Middle East?

Annice in Middle Eastern dress.

She had the training and experience. With her college degree in Home Economics, cooking, including for large groups, was one of her many skills. And she was well aware of the implications of food for building community in diverse cultural settings.

Besides being a cook, Annice was a teacher, then Jill-of-(almost) all-trades, and later Principal of the Friends Girls School in Ramallah Palestine (started by New England Friends in the 1880s, and established as an elite  school for Palestinian students).

Continue reading A Cautionary Tale and an Inspiration? The “Life of Quaker Service” of Annice carter →

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A Blockbuster Billboard Bonanza & Its New Roadside Theology

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I’m a longtime fan of message billboards and other roadside rhetoric.

Nowadays I don’t get out to see them as much. But this week, the net brought a batch  of striking new ones to me, from exotic Nebraska, mystic New Mexico,,  And I couldn’t wait to share them.

After all, they cover some of my favorite topics: Freedom. Choice. Multiculturalism. Fighting hate. Theology, especially the liberal kind. Chutzpah.  Calls to action.

And — what better to start with, to bring many of them together? 

Bacon.

 

 

 

 

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Gray Alert for U. S. Quakers: Help Find The Missing White House Meditation Room!

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[NOTE: No wonder D. C. is in such a terrible mess!  This is clearly a job for the spotlight-shunning Friendly Homeland Security Emergency Rescue Team. Sound the Silent Alarms!]
{UPDATE: The following article is not a spoof; as far as we know.]

“Friend Biden, we’re here to bring light to the White House Meditation Room. Which way, please?”

Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook , your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration . . . .

The White House has a bunch of perks that come with working in it: the bowling alley , the mess , ostentatious holiday parties and ceremonies where dignitaries mingle. Continue reading Gray Alert for U. S. Quakers: Help Find The Missing White House Meditation Room! →