Mark's Views, Perhaps — from behind my eyeballs
Yoga forbidden for Muslims in Malaysia
| Muslims in Malaysia should not practice yoga because it will erode their faith in Islam, a senior Islamic cleric said Saturday. |
Is it also eroding Christians’ faith in Christ?
(Notice I didn’t ask about their faith in Christianity!)
That’s what crossed my mind as I read her article.
OK, so I’ll call some her way. 🙄
| Giving Up on God
As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit. Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D. I’m bathing in holy water as I type. To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn’t soon cometh. |
Ma’am, God is a great big problem. You got a problem with that?
She continues:
| Simply put: Armband religion is killing the Republican Party. |
Armband religion — that’s the problem, not God!
What everyone needs is a heart-strings, shoe-strings, purse-strings religion — sincere, genuine, committed, liveable.
And there’s more from KP:
| So it has been for the Grand Old Party since the 1980s or so, as it has become increasingly beholden to an element that used to be relegated to wooden crates on street corners. |
I say the world needs more preachers “doing” the Gospel on wooden crates on street corners rather than “doing” politics on plush platforms in religiousy buildings.
Then, enveloped in smoke while blindfolded, she adds:
| Which is to say, the GOP has surrendered its high ground to its lowest brows. |
Oh my! 😯 What makes them “lowest brows”? (Please note: The question does not imply disagreement with the statement.)
And what do you make of this assertion?
| And shifting demographics suggest that the Republican Party — and conservatism with it — eventually will die out unless religion is returned to the privacy of one’s heart where it belongs. |
It belongs there, yes.
But not to stay there!
And if that’s true of religion, it’s far more true of Jesus Christ.
He belongs in the privacy of your heart. And from there He will live out His life through yours.
Now, one more comment from Kathleen Parker:
| Meanwhile, it isn’t necessary to evict the Creator from the public square, surrender Judeo-Christian values or diminish the value of faith in America. |
Oh?
Breaking News Thought: Does this mean she supports nativity scenes in the public square?
Now for the funniest part of the article:
I think somebody at the Washington Post better fix that!
HT: Harris, commenting over at WorldMagBlog.
Andrée Seu posted another good piece over at WorldMagBlog:
As I listened to John McCain giving his gracious concession speech last night I realized that, from here on in, his voice will fade, fade, fade away into the ether (where is Geraldine Ferraro?), and Barack Obama’s voice will wax.
But eventually Obama’s own voice will disappear into the slipstream of history, like a ship’s wake that rushes away from us even as we watch from the stern. We are but froth on the sea.
And how about A Prayer for the President-Elect? It concludes this way:
For the sake of your own Son, who intercedes every moment for your people, give us grace to honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear you, and to honor President-elect Barack Obama. In the name of King Jesus, we ask. Amen.
And to close this post, I call your attention to some Life Truths I posted earlier this morning.
Catholics, Muslims open landmark talks at Vatican
Senior Vatican and Islamic scholars launched their first Catholic-Muslim Forum on Tuesday to improve relations between the world’s two largest faiths.
The three-day meeting comes two years after Pope Benedict angered the Muslim world with a speech implying Islam was violent and irrational. In response, 138 Muslim scholars invited Christian churches to a new dialogue to foster mutual respect through a better understanding of each other’s beliefs.
In their manifesto, “A Common Word,” the Muslims argued that both faiths shared the core principles of love of God and neighbor. The talks focus on what this means for the religions and how it can foster harmony between them.
The meeting, including an audience with Pope Benedict, is the group’s third conference with Christians after talks with United States Protestants in July and Anglicans last month.
Jesus is the Word. (See 1 John 1.)
How can Muslims have a common Word with Catholics?
Or with Christians?
Some morning headlines, that’s what’s here.
OK, your turn: When you want to read good news, which site(s) do you go to?
Before the headlines, a story I meant to post a couple of days ago: 3,000 Christians flee Iraq’s Mosul
| Hundreds of terrified Christian families have fled Mosul to escape extremist attacks that have increased despite months of U.S. and Iraqi military operations to secure the northern Iraqi city, political and religious officials said Saturday.
Some 3,000 Christians have fled the city over the past week alone in a “major displacement,” said Duraid Mohammed Kashmoula, the governor of northern Iraq’s Ninevah province. He said most have left for churches, monasteries and the homes of relatives in nearby Christian villages and towns. “The Christians were subjected to abduction attempts and paid ransom, but now they are subjected to a killing campaign,” Kashmoula said, adding he believed “al-Qaida” elements were to blame and called for a renewed drive to root them out. Political and religious leaders interviewed said the change in tactics may reflect a desire on the part of extremists to forcibly evict all Christians from Iraq’s third largest city. |
Now the headlines:
Now go do the right thing.
Here are three items to distract you from the economic wasteland of the week.
First up:
| One + One = Two
Connecticut’s Supreme Court ruled Friday that gay couples have the right to marry, making the state the third behind Massachusetts and California to legalize such unions through the courts. The ruling comes just weeks before Californians go to the polls on a historic gay-marriage ballot question, the first time the issue will be put before voters in a state where same-sex couples are legally wed. […] Civil unions and a similar arrangement, known as domestic partnerships, are offered to same-sex couples in Vermont, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Oregon, Hawaii, Maine, Washington and the District of Columbia. |