peaceful turmoil

Let's make a deal (for your soul)

2009-07-04T10:02:00.002-04:00

Have you seen this? What do you make of it? TV gameshow offers atheists 'salvation' July 3, 2009 -- Updated 1346 GMT (2146 HKT) (CNN) -- A Turkish television show is offering contestants what it...

Discovering the CUA - a new voice of Christian Universalism

2009-07-02T15:12:00.005-04:00

This post follows up on recent posts like Western Buddhists - stay or go home?; Holding the mystery of the faith; Oh, They've Encased Jesus in Carbonite; Why I am not anti-religious; The lenses we...

Book Review: You Can Run But You Can't Hide

2009-06-30T22:14:00.014-04:00

You may recall that I am a fan of Dog the Bounty Hunter, a.k.a. Duane Lee Chapman, Sr. I know there are a lot of "Dog-haters" out there as well as those just disinterested in his life and story who...

FW: Torture is a Moral Issue: Act Now!!! Require the Department of Defense to videotape interrogations of detainees

2009-06-24T19:01:00.018-04:00

From the National Religious Campaign Against Torture via the blog Faithful Progressive... __________________________________________________________ Require the Department of Defense to videotape...

Exorcism video exemplifies why many homosexuals don't trust Christianity

2009-06-24T17:05:00.004-04:00

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - The video shows the 16-year-old boy lying on the floor, his body convulsing, as elders of a small Connecticut church cast a "homosexual demon" from his body. "Rip it from his...

Bleeding Heart (Revisited)

2009-06-24T07:27:00.003-04:00

A post about caring and bleeding hearts received a very insightful reply cautioning against "damaged" people who try to help others without allowing themselves to heal first (and the suspicious...

Pop culture break: AI & SYTYCD

2009-06-23T07:02:00.000-04:00

Perhaps this has been suggested before. I'd be shocked if it hadn't. If so count his link as support. Otherwise, spread the word. It is no secret that American Idol may still draw bug number but...

Bleeding Heart (Remix)

2009-06-22T07:30:00.002-04:00

Adapted from this post originally published 9/14/06. Too often many people who take human suffering and dignity seriously and personally are viewed in some quarters as being wimpy. As pansies. Or...

More on seeking (or moron seeking?): believe, accept, act

2009-06-21T19:35:00.018-04:00

Here is a summary of the things that I have found repeatedly in my search for clues to spiritual seeking. I'm not preaching, I'm just sharing what I've read/heard: Believe. This is more than mere...

A Photo Trip Around the Diamond

2009-06-19T15:33:00.007-04:00

Ahh, the camera has been found and batteries purchased and so here is a trip around Diamond Park, the center of a small city in Pennsylvania. You can start here and the click on the arrow to the...

Concerns with the i-Religiont/UUA style of spirituality

2009-06-19T07:19:00.006-04:00

You may be surprised, if you are even partially familiar with the history of what I have written here, but I have very serious reservations concerning what Clark Strand has referred to as the...

The lenses we use to see the world

2009-06-18T23:06:00.015-04:00

Each culture collects, shapes, and transmits different ways of knowing, different ways of experiencing the world. We may refer to them as different metaphysical systems, different philosophies, or...

Why I am not anti-religious

2009-06-18T15:01:00.008-04:00

(A summary of some discussions I've had recently on this topic) I see religion is the shared, ritualistic experience of spirituality and the collected insights of a culture's attempts to deal with...

Have you heard? Dave Letterman is a verbal pedophile who will rape your children with his mouth

2009-06-17T18:05:00.007-04:00

A perfect example of the (physical and emotional) ugliness and the danger of hate as well as the importance of right/charitable speech. Letterman made a terribly offensive joke last week. Want to...

An interfaith prayer for the people of Iran in this time of tension

2009-06-17T17:39:00.004-04:00

An offering for the people of Iran in this time of tension, inspired by the principles of the UUA and this blog... “The Spirit of the transcending mystery and wonder affirmed in all cultures and...

Don't Blame Me/Muting the Messenger

2009-06-17T13:03:00.014-04:00

Brian McLaren asks the following at the God's Politics Blog: I had spent a few hours talking with some Congolese friends earlier in the day about the situation in East Africa. My friends told me...

Oh, They've Encased Jesus in Carbonite

2009-06-13T07:21:00.034-04:00

[Yes, this post is long by blog standards and in a world of twittering and texting, but I've examined the matter and breaking this up into smaller posts really screws up its flow and cohesion, so...

Aha, found the digital camera

2009-06-12T13:54:00.011-04:00

It's been a while since I posted anything from a photo-outing. We spent a year living in north-central North Carolina from mid-summer 1997 to mid-summer 1998, and we decided to take a weekend trip...

Technical problem - bookmark link only appearing on the post at the top of each page

2009-06-12T09:50:00.002-04:00

Sorry, I have no earthly idea when that started happening, what caused it, or how to fix it. If you have a constructive suggestion about how to diagnose or repair the issue, please share so that...

Kudos to Shep Smith and his examples of Right Speech

2009-06-12T07:12:00.002-04:00

On June 10, Fox News anchor Shepard Smith said the Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting validated a recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report alerting law enforcement to an increased threat...

Holding the mystery of the faith

2009-06-11T14:15:00.004-04:00

1 Timothy 3:9: Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. Our life is embosomed in mystery, the universe is wrapped in a garment of mystery. The unknown infinitely exceeds the known; the...

Tragic: Man born in 1920 opens fire at DC Holocaust Museum

2009-06-10T13:59:00.012-04:00

I know that thousands die daily of violence from crime (including terrorism), tribal infighting, declared and undeclared armed actions by governments as well as from disease, malnutrition, natural...

Lost in translation? Buddhists need desire

2009-06-08T07:57:00.001-04:00

Those who have gotten into Buddhist literature, either popular books and magazines or the more obscure stuff, or those who have worked in a group with an experienced teacher, have likely heard the...

Western Buddhists - stay or go home?

2009-06-07T23:08:00.002-04:00

Tricycle's Blog recently quoted a sentiment I have run across several times, including a few times from this one individual... Many Westerners attracted to Buddhist practice have abandoned their...

Nothing happened in Tiananmen Square 20 years ago

2009-06-04T14:06:00.011-04:00

Thousands of Chinese protesters never marched on the square calling for an end to corruption, for human rights, for democratic reforms. The protesters didn't occupy the area for weeks or build a...