NOTE: When many of us think, read or talk about the authoritarian religious right today, we reflexively refer to Protestant evangelicals. Yes, most such fit that category; but they are by no means all Protestants or evangelicals. The Catholic church was was spawning and nurturing authoritarian cultures and polities long before Protestants or modern evangelicals … Continue reading God Help Us — St. Francis Has Come to THIS??
How a solitary monk, known for his soup, united a community [And how a Quaker helped him start] Washington Post — September 20, 2022 By Kristen Hartke As dusk began to fall on Jan. 10, 2001, Ray Patchey just wanted to get home to his family for his birthday dinner. A lineman with Verizon, Patchey had … Continue reading The Hidden Quaker Role in a Famous Catholic Monastery Cookbook “Empire”
An Excerpt From, “What Church Splits Can Teach Us About a Dividing America,” Russell Moore, in Christianity Today: “I asked a pastor of a large Methodist congregation what took the churches in the denomination so long to figure out that they must go in different directions. He responded, “You are looking at this wrong, and … Continue reading Russell Moore on Current U. S. Church splits, and their wider implications
Schisms over slavery, women and now, sexuality: A history of fractures among Methodists Raleigh NC News & Observer Un-united Methodists The church has long delayed an anticipated split over LGBTQ issues — until now. It’s not going to be easy. As some in North Carolina look to disaffiliate from UMC for more conservative theology, others … Continue reading U. S. Methodist Church Splitting Over LGBTQs & Gay Marriage
[Note: Here’s my two cents on the student loan cancellation plan: I’m all for it. Shoulda been more. But will it survive the imminent rightwing legal assaults? Some further thoughts below.] From Religion Dispatches: BY PETER LAARMAN SEPTEMBER 1, 2022 EVANGELICALS CLUTCH THEIR PEARLS OVER STUDENT DEBT RELIEF: LORD HAVE MERCY! What with Ukraine, Mar-a-Lago, … Continue reading Student loan debt cancellation: good or bad?