They are uncivil, but not equally uncivil. Calling a woman a slut, which is not definable, and a prostitute, which is definable, is near if not at the heights of incivility. It constitues slander, which may or may not be prosecutable when uttered in a public venue such as a radio talk show.
Political incivility is at a high right now, but it is nothing new. When you read the political history of our nation, you find incivility of an extreme degree. It resulted in a fatal duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.
If Rush Limbaugh had lived in the early days of our republic, he would have been challenged to a duel by a defender of Ms. Fluke. Or perhaps someone like Andrew Jackson would have simply dispatched him on the street w/o benefit of a duel.
Please note, I am not advocating that kind of violence against Rush Limbaugh. I am talking hypothetically and somewhat speculatively about what might have happened to him in the early days of our republic.
Recent events prove that the US Army cannot control its own troops in Afghanistan: soldiers urinating on corpses, burning copies of the Koran, and now this massacre of civilians. If the Army cannot control its own troops, how can it bring any semblance of peace and justice to this beleaguered land.
One of the NT Epistles, I think I John but maybe James says, "If you do not love your brother whom you have seen, how can you love God whom you have not seen?" So maybe we need to get down loving neighbor and then go on to loving God.
If we want to kill our neighbor whom we have not seen, say with a drone, how can we love God whom we have not seen?
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." Jesus, in the beatitudes. Jesus did not say, "Blessed are the peacelovers" or "Blessed are the peace-keepers," but "Blessed are the peacemakers." Peacemakers will almost certainly be peacelovers. But one could be a peacelover without being a peacemaker. One could be a peacekeeper without being a peacelover.
I clicked and read Falwell's article that Aaron referenced. It was a pretty good article, but heavily dependent on Old Testament references. It reads Jesus through the eyes of the Old Testament. I agree with Aaron that we should rather read the Old Testament through the eyes of Jesus.
Jesus was and is the ultimate peacemaker. Followers of Jesus my favor one political viewpoint over another. But as Followers of the Way we cannot ultimately align ourselves with any of the kingdoms of this age. All presidents up to and including Obama are by political necessity practioners of Realpolitik. And Realpolitik is not the way of Jesus.
Neither King David nor MLK were whoremongers. A whoremonger is someone who avails himself of the services of a prostitute. There is no evidence whatever that Bathsheba was a prostitute. And from what I have read of King's dalliances they were not with prostitutes.
I don't know of any serious biblical scholar or student who claims that Matthew's "Blessed are the poor in spirit" is a mistake. Many (most?) scholars and students (myself among them) recognize that Luke's version of the beatitude is simply, "Blessed are the poor." And that is not a mistake either.
This is not the first time Southern Baptists have considered a name change. It was being discussed forty years ago. At that time I suggested "Society of Baptists." You figure the acronymn.
I repeat, who was it that said the main agenda for this congress should be to prevent a second term for Obama? There were mulitple compromises on the health care bill. There were offers on the table for spending cuts the GOP congress would not acceptbecause they included a tax raise on the top income brackets. They would not compromise on this. No, you need not go on.
Who was responsible for the extreme partisanship the last couple of years? Who was it that said the main task of this congress should be to see that Obama is a one term president?
War muddles thinking. The Japanese wherever they lived became perceived as enemies. Like some today are trying to do with Muslims.
In my view there are two other civil rights violations that rank above the treatment of the West Coast Japanese in WW II, namely the treatment of the Native Americans and African Americans. While the treatment of the Japanese was heinous, that treatment pretty well ended with WW II, while the effects of the injustice to Native Americans and African Americans like the Everready Bunny just goes on and on.
While my home state of Texas could hardly be characterized as a model for progressive policies, I am glad to report that in Texas, once one has served his/her penalty (including any parole time) eligibility to register to vote is restored. In my county the county treasurer is in charge of voter registration. She did not know that felons who had served their sentence were eligible to register until I educated her on the matter. She has since retired. I need to check with her successor and make sure she is aware.
thanks Ms. Neff, for this post. I think there can be little doubt that the worship/love of Mammon is a widespread sin in our society, and that it inflicts the church at all levels--mainstream,conservative, fundamentalist, liberal--maybe even sojo type progressives.
I think there can also be little doubt that a gross material inequality has developed, and is getting worse. Some do not see this as a moral/spiritual problem. But the Bible does.
I will refer readers to a couple of articles/editorials in NYT February 10: one by Sabrina Tavernise, "Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor" and the other an op-ed by Paul Krugman, "Money and Morals."
Ms. Tavernise points to studies showing that the education gap is widening between rich and poor, and that it is actually narrowing between black and white. Education level is a prime indicator of financial success or lack thereof.
Krugman for his point debunks, successfully I think, the idea that the decline in social values is the cause of the inequality gap.
See my blog on the Friends of Justice website, "Money, Morals, and Mass Incarceration," posted February 14.
A moving story. Things have changed, for better and for worse. Now children born out of wedlock is a common occurence--that's for the worse. But they and their mothers are not ostracized, and that's better.
I am not an atheist. But the idea that the Air Force is doing God's work is offensive to me. I'm glad the logo is gone. I kind of like the inside joke. Of course the civil religionists in Congress will try to make hay of this in good constantinian empire fashion. Let them!
Amen. "Lois"--I like your name for mother-in-law because that was my mother-in-law's name. Anyway Lois was free to do what hitherto she had been obligated to do. I like the cages symbolism.
stanchaz, I think you nailed it. Catholic or Baptist or whatever hospitals, if they receive government grrants, accept Medicare-Medicaid, do not have religious requirements for employees, etc., are not religious institutions. They are public institutions.
Anything that interferes with or prohibits procreation is taboo? I thought Catholics approved the so-called rhythm method. If it does not interfere with or prohibit procreation why bother? And total abstinence prohibits procreation every time with only one exception. So bishops that honor their vows of celibacy are huge offenders.
ezk is strange, even wierd. Many years ago I was given a one year Bible, late in the year. My wife and I began reading it aloud, before breakfast. We started out in Ezk. with some of the stuff referenced in this article. Patricia said, "Charles I can't take this stuff before breakfast." We changed our reading to a different time of the day. Caveat: just before bedtime might not be the best time either. There is a lot of good stuff in Ezekiel, with or w/o a feminist interpreter. And there's wierd stuff in other parts of the Bible.
Official rhetoric has helped fuel an escalation of tension between the United States and Iran. Do recent negotiations mark a change in direction, or just a temporary detour from the highway to military attack?
Comments
I agree.
If the fifteen minutes were wasted, who wasted them? Did someone require to read this?
"They are equally uncivil."
They are uncivil, but not equally uncivil. Calling a woman a slut, which is not definable, and a prostitute, which is definable, is near if not at the heights of incivility. It constitues slander, which may or may not be prosecutable when uttered in a public venue such as a radio talk show.
Political incivility is at a high right now, but it is nothing new. When you read the political history of our nation, you find incivility of an extreme degree. It resulted in a fatal duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.
If Rush Limbaugh had lived in the early days of our republic, he would have been challenged to a duel by a defender of Ms. Fluke. Or perhaps someone like Andrew Jackson would have simply dispatched him on the street w/o benefit of a duel.
Please note, I am not advocating that kind of violence against Rush Limbaugh. I am talking hypothetically and somewhat speculatively about what might have happened to him in the early days of our republic.
Recent events prove that the US Army cannot control its own troops in Afghanistan: soldiers urinating on corpses, burning copies of the Koran, and now this massacre of civilians. If the Army cannot control its own troops, how can it bring any semblance of peace and justice to this beleaguered land.
Time to get the h--- out.
One of the NT Epistles, I think I John but maybe James says, "If you do not love your brother whom you have seen, how can you love God whom you have not seen?" So maybe we need to get down loving neighbor and then go on to loving God.
If we want to kill our neighbor whom we have not seen, say with a drone, how can we love God whom we have not seen?
Duh, I add one to the prayers for the people of Syria. I lift them up, Lord, to your goodness and mercy.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." Jesus, in the beatitudes. Jesus did not say, "Blessed are the peacelovers" or "Blessed are the peace-keepers," but "Blessed are the peacemakers." Peacemakers will almost certainly be peacelovers. But one could be a peacelover without being a peacemaker. One could be a peacekeeper without being a peacelover.
I clicked and read Falwell's article that Aaron referenced. It was a pretty good article, but heavily dependent on Old Testament references. It reads Jesus through the eyes of the Old Testament. I agree with Aaron that we should rather read the Old Testament through the eyes of Jesus.
Jesus was and is the ultimate peacemaker. Followers of Jesus my favor one political viewpoint over another. But as Followers of the Way we cannot ultimately align ourselves with any of the kingdoms of this age. All presidents up to and including Obama are by political necessity practioners of Realpolitik. And Realpolitik is not the way of Jesus.
Neither King David nor MLK were whoremongers. A whoremonger is someone who avails himself of the services of a prostitute. There is no evidence whatever that Bathsheba was a prostitute. And from what I have read of King's dalliances they were not with prostitutes.
I don't know of any serious biblical scholar or student who claims that Matthew's "Blessed are the poor in spirit" is a mistake. Many (most?) scholars and students (myself among them) recognize that Luke's version of the beatitude is simply, "Blessed are the poor." And that is not a mistake either.
please explain how this blog is intolerant of poor people.
I accidentally clicked the report button. Nothing in this post calls for review.
This is not the first time Southern Baptists have considered a name change. It was being discussed forty years ago. At that time I suggested "Society of Baptists." You figure the acronymn.
I repeat, who was it that said the main agenda for this congress should be to prevent a second term for Obama? There were mulitple compromises on the health care bill. There were offers on the table for spending cuts the GOP congress would not accept because they included a tax raise on the top income brackets. They would not compromise on this. No, you need not go on.
Who was responsible for the extreme partisanship the last couple of years? Who was it that said the main task of this congress should be to see that Obama is a one term president?
War muddles thinking. The Japanese wherever they lived became perceived as enemies. Like some today are trying to do with Muslims.
In my view there are two other civil rights violations that rank above the treatment of the West Coast Japanese in WW II, namely the treatment of the Native Americans and African Americans. While the treatment of the Japanese was heinous, that treatment pretty well ended with WW II, while the effects of the injustice to Native Americans and African Americans like the Everready Bunny just goes on and on.
While my home state of Texas could hardly be characterized as a model for progressive policies, I am glad to report that in Texas, once one has served his/her penalty (including any parole time) eligibility to register to vote is restored. In my county the county treasurer is in charge of voter registration. She did not know that felons who had served their sentence were eligible to register until I educated her on the matter. She has since retired. I need to check with her successor and make sure she is aware.
Who is the Jew hating lunatic?
thanks Ms. Neff, for this post. I think there can be little doubt that the worship/love of Mammon is a widespread sin in our society, and that it inflicts the church at all levels--mainstream,conservative, fundamentalist, liberal--maybe even sojo type progressives.
I think there can also be little doubt that a gross material inequality has developed, and is getting worse. Some do not see this as a moral/spiritual problem. But the Bible does.
I will refer readers to a couple of articles/editorials in NYT February 10: one by Sabrina Tavernise, "Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor" and the other an op-ed by Paul Krugman, "Money and Morals."
Ms. Tavernise points to studies showing that the education gap is widening between rich and poor, and that it is actually narrowing between black and white. Education level is a prime indicator of financial success or lack thereof.
Krugman for his point debunks, successfully I think, the idea that the decline in social values is the cause of the inequality gap.
See my blog on the Friends of Justice website, "Money, Morals, and Mass Incarceration," posted February 14.
Charles Kiker
A moving story. Things have changed, for better and for worse. Now children born out of wedlock is a common occurence--that's for the worse. But they and their mothers are not ostracized, and that's better.
I am not an atheist. But the idea that the Air Force is doing God's work is offensive to me. I'm glad the logo is gone. I kind of like the inside joke. Of course the civil religionists in Congress will try to make hay of this in good constantinian empire fashion. Let them!
Amen. "Lois"--I like your name for mother-in-law because that was my mother-in-law's name. Anyway Lois was free to do what hitherto she had been obligated to do. I like the cages symbolism.
stanchaz, I think you nailed it. Catholic or Baptist or whatever hospitals, if they receive government grrants, accept Medicare-Medicaid, do not have religious requirements for employees, etc., are not religious institutions. They are public institutions.
Anything that interferes with or prohibits procreation is taboo? I thought Catholics approved the so-called rhythm method. If it does not interfere with or prohibit procreation why bother? And total abstinence prohibits procreation every time with only one exception. So bishops that honor their vows of celibacy are huge offenders.
Deleted by charliek2.
ezk is strange, even wierd. Many years ago I was given a one year Bible, late in the year. My wife and I began reading it aloud, before breakfast. We started out in Ezk. with some of the stuff referenced in this article. Patricia said, "Charles I can't take this stuff before breakfast." We changed our reading to a different time of the day. Caveat: just before bedtime might not be the best time either. There is a lot of good stuff in Ezekiel, with or w/o a feminist interpreter. And there's wierd stuff in other parts of the Bible.
I would beg to differ regarding Sojo being theologically liberal.