Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9
3:1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.
3:2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be an affliction,
3:3 And their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace.
3:4 For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality.
3:5 Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
3:6 like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.
3:7 In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble.
3:8 They will govern nations and rule over peoples and the Lord will reign over them forever.
3:9 Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his elect, and he watches over his holy ones.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
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Welcome
In this my personal Christian blog, I hope to be discursive and now and then critical. What I write here is tentative and tensive. I post thoughts, feelings, and observations somewhat randomly and often in immediate response to current events and posts on other blogs.
"Serendipitous Creativity" from Gordon Kaufman
"I suggested that what we today should regard as God is the ongoing creativity in the universe - the bringing (or coming) into being of what is genuinely new, something transformative; …
"In some respects and some degrees this creativity is apparently happening continuously, in and through the processes or activities or events around us and within us(…) is a profound mystery to us humans(…) But on the whole, as we look back on the long and often painful developments that slowly brought human life and our complex human worlds into being, we cannot but regard this creativity as serendipitous …
"I want to stress that this serendipitous creativity - God! - to which we should be responsive is not the private possession of any of the many particular religious faiths or systems …
"This profound mystery of creativity is manifest in and through the overall human bio-historical evolution and development everywhere on the planet; and it continues to show itself throughout the entire human project, no matter what may be the particular religious and or cultural beliefs."
Gordon Kaufman, Mennonite Life, December 2005 vol. 60 no. 4
"In some respects and some degrees this creativity is apparently happening continuously, in and through the processes or activities or events around us and within us(…) is a profound mystery to us humans(…) But on the whole, as we look back on the long and often painful developments that slowly brought human life and our complex human worlds into being, we cannot but regard this creativity as serendipitous …
"I want to stress that this serendipitous creativity - God! - to which we should be responsive is not the private possession of any of the many particular religious faiths or systems …
"This profound mystery of creativity is manifest in and through the overall human bio-historical evolution and development everywhere on the planet; and it continues to show itself throughout the entire human project, no matter what may be the particular religious and or cultural beliefs."
Gordon Kaufman, Mennonite Life, December 2005 vol. 60 no. 4
Melville is a rational man who
"Melville is a rational man who wants God to exist. He wants Him to exist for the same reasons we all do: to be our rescuer and appreciator, to act as a confidant in our moments of crisis and to give us reassurance that, over the horizon of our deaths, we will survive." (John Updike)
And that is a problem for me.
And that is a problem for me.
Fragmented Notions
Copyright © 2007 Jean and Alexander Heard Library, Vanderbilt University
Links to Sites Related to Themes Explored Here
- 1 Religious Dispatches: Religion Dispatches is a daily online magazine dedicated to the analysis and understanding of religious forces in the world today, highlighting a diversity of progressive voices and aimed at broadening and advancing the public conversation.
- 11 National Catholic Reporter
- 2 Religious Naturalism: Welcome to Religious Naturalism! As briefly defined in Wikipedia, Religious Naturalism is a form of naturalism that endorses human religious responses and value commitments within a naturalistic framework. We invite you to brouse awhile and learn about a consilience of science and religion that is an emerging paradigm of rationality with feelings.
- 3 The Intitute on Religion in an Age of Science: IRAS is a non-denominational, independent society with three purposes:
- 4 International Society for Science & Religion: The International Society for Science & Religion was established in 2002 for the purpose of the promotion of education through the support of inter-disciplinary learning and research in the fields of science and religion conducted where possible in an international and multi-faith context.
- 5 Science and Religion Bookstore: Welcome to the online Science and Religion Bookstore where you can find a full and diverse listing of books in science and religion, all available at a 20% discount! Listed below are the categories we have available, or look through the full listing of over 1044 books.
- 6 Robertreich Blog
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- Center for Barth Studies
- Center for Process Studies: The Center for Process Studies (CPS) is a research center of Claremont School of Theology, and affiliated with Claremont Graduate University. CPS seeks to promote the common good by means of the relational approach found in process thought. Process thought is based on the work of philosophers Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne, two contemporary examples of a longstanding philosophical tradition that emphasizes becoming and change over static being. Process thought helps to harmonize moral, aesthetic, and religious intuitions with scientific insights. It also grounds discussion between Eastern and Western religious and cultural traditions. Process thought offers an approach to the social, political, and economic order that brings issues of human justice together with a concern for ecology. Our wide range of interests includes multicultural, feminist, ecological, inter-religious, political, and economic concerns.
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- chycho.com: With the advent of the Internet we have seen unfiltered information travel at light-speed across the globe. This global community, functioning as the only true free society, is reshaping our world. Where this interaction and connectivity will lead us is yet to be determined however the changes are and continue to be unprecedented.
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- National Christian Foundation
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- New Revised Standard Version of the Bible: The NRSV first appeared in 1989 and has received the widest acclaim and broadest support from academics and church leaders of any modern English translation. It is the only Bible translation that is as widely ecumenical:
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- Progressive Christian Alliance: "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality." - Desmond Tutu
- Progressive Christian Uniting
- Progressive Christian Wtiness Ministry of Pacific School or Religion:The Progressive Christian Witness: A Ministry of Pacific School of Religion is a Web-based resource that aims to strengthen the voices of progressive Christianity in the public square by publishing theologically grounded articles for laypeople and pastors on significant issues in American life.
- Project Censored:Founded by Carl Jensen in 1976, Project Censored is a media research program working in cooperation with numerous independent media groups in the US. Project Censored’s principle objective is training of SSU students in media research and First Amendment issues and the advocacy for, and protection of, free press rights in the United States. Project Censored has trained over 1,500 students in investigative research in the past three decades.
- Protestants for the Common Good The central focus of PCG is to assist people to examine their responsibilities as citizens in the light of their religious faith. It does not attempt to dictate the religious or political beliefs of its members. Likewise, PCG believes that congregations as corporate entities should not be asked to take official positions on controversial, often partisan, public issues. To do so would imply that complex social policies constitute articles of faith. Particular political policies and programs must be given our attention but not be confused with the principle tenets of our faith tradition. For this reason, PCG urges individual Protestants who are active church members to join others in becoming PCG members but does not recruit churches as members. Congregations that utilize PCG educational resources and provide annual support for the organization can become "Educational Affiliates."
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- Theology Today
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- Tribe Link for Ted Morgan
- Truthdig
- United Church of Christ: Never place a period where God has placed a comma.
- Visual Economics
- Westar Institute: Until a few years ago, essential knowledge about biblical and religious traditions was hidden in the windowless studies of universities and seminaries—away from the general public. Such research was considered too controversial or too complicated for lay persons to understand. Many scholars, fearing open conflict or even reprisal, talked only to one another. The churches often decided what information their constituents were "ready" to hea
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- World Council of Churces: The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the scriptures, and therefore seek to fulfil together their common calling to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- Yahoo Group Distributism
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