Redating the Canaanite Dynasty in Egypt

Bloomberg is reporting that a new research into the radiocarbon dating of archaeological materials from Crete, Greece and Turkey will reset timelines for the ancient middle east. The Santorini volcanic eruption is being redated to 1600-1627 B.C. instead of 1500 B.C. Here's a quote:

The new timeline places a number of events before about 1600 B.C., including the formation and high point of the New Palace period on Crete, the Shaft Grave period on the Greek mainland, and the Middle to late Cypriot period on Cyprus, the scientists said. The New Palace era, when Crete dominated Aegean trade and culture, stretched across more than 250 years, they wrote.

The chronology also shows those eras are contemporary with Egypt when it was controlled by a Canaanite dynasty with links to the Levant, not the earlier New Kingdom Dynasty, they said.

I wonder if redating the Canaanite era in Egypt will result in a redating of the traditional time of the Exodus. Or, are the historical timelines of Crete, Greece and Turkey just being revised to correctly align with an already accurate timeline for Egypt? I'll watch for further information and post updates.

On Thwarting the Crony Fairy

Thanks to Rozius for posting Paul Krugman's essay on the work the Crony Fairy did at FEMA. Here's a quote:

The U.S. government is being stalked by an invisible bandit, the Crony Fairy, who visits key agencies by dead of night, snatches away qualified people and replaces them with unqualified political appointees. There's no way to catch or stop the Crony Fairy, so our only hope is to change the agencies' names. That way she might get confused, and leave our government able to function.

That, at least, is how I interpret the report on responses to Hurricane Katrina that was just released by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Here's Krugman's conclusion:

So let's skip the name change for FEMA, O.K.? The United States will regain effective government if and when it gets a president who cares more about serving the nation than about rewarding his friends and scoring political points. That's at least a thousand days away. Meanwhile, don't count on FEMA, or on any other government agency, to do its job.

Close the Faith-Based Offices

The head of President Bush's faith-based office recently resigned. The national office of The Interfaith Alliance has called for closing the faith-based office. The national organization of Americans United has joined them.

The head of Oklahoma's faith-based office recently resigned. The leadership of the Oklahoma organization of The Interfaith Alliance wants to influence the selection of the next director of the office. Some leaders of the Oklahoma chapter of Americans United are willing to join them.

What's the difference? Politics. The nation has a president who is a republican. Oklahoma has a governor who is a democrat.

Party politics has nothing to do with my commitment to the First Amendment. I will stand firm for the principle of separation of church and state.

I say, close the faith-based offices. Both of them.

Uninsured Health Care Crisis Expands

MSNBC is reporting that 41% of middle income Americans went without health insurance last year.

Unbelievably, I talk frequently to people who think that concerns about average Americans being unable to afford health insurance are overblown.

BCE Director Issues Call for Truth-Telling

As the Southern Baptist Convention prepares to deal with yet another resolution advising Baptists to pull their children out of public schools, Robert Parham, the Director of the Baptist Center for Ethics, has published an op-ed advising that the "SBC Needs to Let their Yes be Yes and No be No on Public Schools."

SBC leaders have been trying to conceal the radically theocratic nature of many of their thoughts and beliefs for more than two decades. I agree with Parham. It's time for SBC leaders to start telling the truth about their widespread disdain for public education.

Podcast: Nathan Brown

Here's a link to a podcast of Poet Nathan Brown reading his poem "Verb Play" from his recently published book Suffer the Little Voices. Click on the graphic of a "play button" on the recorder logo to hear the podcast.

Here's a link to the blog where you can find the text to Nathan's poem.

Is the U.S. Calibrating Nuclear Weaponry?

Truthout has posted a story from the Salt Lake Tribune about a test blast being planned for June in Nevada.

This certainly seems to be the kind of testing that would be done to calibrate the payload for a tactical nuclear weapon.

It's probably more of what the President calls "wild speculation" to wonder whether this has anything to do with Iran.

Meanwhile, an eighth retired U.S. General has called for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's resignation.

I don't suppose that any of this is related.

Presenting the Sensible Center

John Meacham, managing editor of Newsweek Magazine, gave some sound advice in his keynote address at the installation of John Lilley as President of Baylor University. Here's an excerpt from Ken Camp's report of the speech:

Voices of moderation must make themselves heard, or they will be drowned out by the clamor of extremists, Meacham warned. "Extremes make the journey more perilous, and ours is, sadly, an age of extremism," he said, adding that moderates have a sacred duty to present the "sensible center" in public discourse.

Humility and a sense of history offer Americans a way to find peace in the midst of culture wars, Meacham said, stressing religion can be a force for unity rather than division in the world.

"Reverence for one's own tradition is not incompatible with respect for the traditions of anyone else," he said.

The "American gospel" -- the good news about the United States -- is that "religion shapes the nation without strangling it, and life is best lived when Athens and Jerusalem are not at war, but in alliance," he said, adding religion and ethical secularism have been steadfast allies in many human advances.

America?s founders created a landmark of statecraft by creating a system that checked the rise of extremism and protected personal religious liberty, Meacham said. "Dedicated Christians should be among the fiercest defenders of liberty of mind and heart."

Faithful Christians who present their views in the public square should make their arguments on the basis of reason and not revelation alone, he asserted. People of faith should humbly recognize their interpretation of God?s revelation is not infallible and they see "through a glass darkly," as the Apostle Paul said.

"We live in twilight and in hope more than in clarity and certainty. This is why the gift of reason is so essential," Meacham said. "Light can neither enter into nor emanate from a closed mind."

I hope Baylor or Newsweek will publish Meacham's speech in its' entirety. It sounds like a speech worthy of wide circulation.

Here's a link where you can download streaming video of the inauguration.

U.S. a Radical Republic?

Yesterday's Baltimore Sun published an op-ed by Lawrence Wilkerson, former Secretary of State Colin Powell's former chief of staff, with an ominous title: "Is the U.S. Becoming a Radical Republic?" His answer is shocking. Here's a quote:

As Alexis de Tocqueville once said: "America is great because she is good. If America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."

In January 2001, with the inauguration of George W. Bush as president, America set on a path to cease being good; America became a revolutionary nation, a radical republic. If our country continues on this path, it will cease to be great - as happened to all great powers before it, without exception.

Oklahoma Faith Based Director Resigns

An article in yesterday's The Oklahoman revealed that Brad Yarborough, first Director of Oklahoma's Faith-based office has resigned.

Throughout his interview he was still trying to respond to criticisms that the Oklahoma Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Oklahoma Interfaith Alliance had raised.

Here's a link to the Oklahoma AU Newsletter when the office was opened. Here's a link to our last article about the office.

A spokeman for Governor Henry indicated that the Faith Based Office will remain open. I strongly suggest that that decision be reconsidered.

John Dean on Dangerous Presidents

John Dean, former counsel to President Nixon, has written a disturbing essay on "If Past is Prologues, George Bush is Becoming an Increasingly Dangerous President." Here's a quote:

If there is no "October Surprise," I would be shocked. And if it is not a high-risk undertaking, it would be a first. Without such a gambit, and the public always falls for them, Bush is going to lose control of Congress. Should that happen, his presidency will have effectively ended, and he will spend the last two years of it defending all the mistakes he has made during the first six, and covering up the errors of his ways.

Baptist Pastoral Letter Affirms Public Schools

The Baptist Center for Ethics has issued a Pastoral Letter Affirming Public Schools. It has been signed by scores of Baptist pastors and moderate Baptist denominational leaders. Here's a quote from an article about the letter in today's Ethics Daily:

The Baptist leaders decry anti-public school statements that identify public schools as "the enemies of God," that label the nation's school system as "a dark and decaying government school system" and that claim public schools are converting Christian children "to an anti-Christian worldview" and "urge a halt to the demonization of public schools."

"We believe Baptists should recommit themselves to public education, not as a means toward converting school children, but because it is the right thing to do," the letter says. "We believe public school children are God's children who deserve the nurture of a good society, the prospect for a good education and the equal opportunity for a good life."

Demographics Catching Up to Southern Baptists

Ethics Daily has an insightful article about the decline in baptisms reported by the Southern Baptist Convention. The article quotes sociologist Robert Wuthnow:

Robert Wuthnow, a professor of sociology of religion at Princeton University, says it may be that demographics are catching up with the SBC and the denomination could be facing a long-term decline in membership and loss of public influence similar to other moderate and liberal Protestant churches.

Southern Baptists' membership core--white and middle class--is aging, he says, and migration patterns are pulling two directions, taking churchgoers out of the Bible belt while people from less religiously inclined regions move into the South.

I doubt that many Southern Baptist preachers will pay attention to Wuthnow. Demographics don't preach. That's why Convention President Bobby Welch offers a different analysis:

In his remarks to the SBC Executive Committee, Welch surmised that disasters like Hurricane Katrina and church fires in Alabama and controversy among convention leaders might be distractions to reaching the 1 million baptism goal.

"We must somehow become proficient enough in the spiritual war-fighting that we are not overwhelmed by struggles," Welch said. "Can you not fight with a scratch on your nose? Can you not lose a piece of your ear and keep going? Can you not take a flesh wound and stand up straight? Must you always lay down and whine when the least difficulty comes along?"

This kind of simplistic theology that blames every ill and ailment on struggles with Satan is killing the Southern Baptist Convention.

The Voice of Children Suffering

There are a lot of untold stories of the fundamentalist takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention. Many of those stories are about the dark nights of the soul that fundamentalism imposed on the children of the moderate and liberal leaders who were being purged from the denomination. Growing up as the child of a minister is tough enough. Growing up as the child of a minister enduring decades of public vilification, lies, slander and ridicule by fellow ministers and lay leaders is an experience of a different order.

Nathan Brown, a poet, is one of those children. He was a teenager when pulpit pounding preachers and pompous lay people of professed piety pilloried his father, Dr. Lavonn Brown, then pastor of the First Baptist Church of Norman. In their eyes, only a demon from the pit of hell would believe that God could approve of the ordination of women. They minced no words in saying so, whether in public or in private.

Nathan doesn't mince words either. He does give a lot more thought in choosing his words and he exercises more creativity and imagination in expressing them. Nathan's doctoral dissertation was recently published in two volumes. Ashes over the Southwest is a collection of poetry about his experiences in Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. Suffer the Little Voices collects poetry expressing Nathan's spiritual pilgrimage. This poetry rises from the heart of a child of God deeply wounded by injustices perpetrated by God's people. In places, it yields some very profound insights.

With permission to post by the author, here's my favorite poem from Suffering the Little Voices:

Verb Play

When I'm forced to spend time around zealous minister types, I keep hearing the necessity of reaching out to the "unchurched." The obvious implication being: we need to "church" the "unchurched."

Now, this particular verbish usage of the word "unchurch" does not appear in my fairly large dictionary. What I do see is the transitive verb that means excommunicate. This definition is clearer to me. And it helps me organize my response:

Dear friends, our deepest need is not to "church" the "unchurched," but to "dechurch" the "enchurched" -- that is to say, the excessively "churched."

God Save Me from Your Followers

has ceased to be a humorous bumper sticker. It is now a genuine fear for many of the "unchurched" to which you refer.

And as we look for solutions, a good place to start would be to "depolitic" "enchurched" leaders. But, in the end, [and while we're in the practice of verbing up nouns] nothing -- and I reiterate -- nothing supercedes the desperate need for Christians to "reJesus" the church.

Nathan Brown nub@ou.edu

Here's a link to a podcast of Nathan Brown reading this poem.

IMB Missionaries Refuse to Resign, Face Dismissal

Kudos to Wyman and Michelle Dobbs for refusing to buckle under pressure to resign from their service at the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Dobbs' formerly served at a church in Sallisaw, Oklahoma.

They are being pressured to resign for starting a church in Guinea that IMB officials say is not "Baptist" enough to meet their standards.

Mainstream Baptists have been saying for 25 years that the fundamentalist leadership of the SBC has been taking their crusade for doctrinal purity too far. This won't be the last example, it's just the latest.

NAMB President Resigns

Years ago the Baptist General Convention of Texas appointed a committee to study what was going on at Southern Baptist mission agencies. They reported that the North American Mission Board (NAMB) was being grossly mismanaged. Texas Baptists decided they had better assume more responsibility for their own mission work.

Yesterday the fundamentalist takeover head of NAMB finally resigned. He left under a cloud of allegations about mismanagement.

How long will it take SBC fundamentalists to wake-up to the incorrect statistics, fudged numbers, and other signs of ineptitude at other SBC institutions and agencies? If they paid attention to BGCT study committee reports they would be able to identify a lot more problems.

Making Sure No Public Schools are Left

Associate Press is reporting that schools are "gaming the system" to meet "No Child Left Behind" requirements.

Revelations like this are nothing new. It was widely known and reported that the schools in Texas were "gaming the system" when Bush proposed the legislation and brought former Secretary of Education Rod Paige from Houston to Washington to run the program.

"No Child Left Behind" has nothing to do with quality education for all children. It has everything to do with making sure that there are no public schools left when this President leaves office. "No Child Left Behind" was designed to make it appear that every public school in America is failing. The solution will be a system of vouchers to fund private and religious schools. Those schools will not be subject to the same "No Child Left Behind" standards.

You'll know that politicians are serious about quality education for all children when they insist that every school receiving public funds must meet the same standards. Until then, they are just regulating public schools out of existence and creating yet another way to transfer funds from the public treasury into the coffers of the Religious Right.

Mismanagement at NAMB Revealed

Bob Reccord, President of the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board, is being asked to resign under threat of termination.

Here's a quote from Greg Warner's ABP story:

Reccord took the brunt of a scathing report issued by NAMB trustees March 23, which faulted the missions leader for poor management, autocratic decision-making, extravagant spending on failed ministry projects, apparent conflicts of interest in no-bid contracts for a friend, and creating a "culture of fear" that prevented staffers from questioning the abuses.

If autocratic decision-making and creating a "culture of fear" are reasons for dismissal, then all SBC executives should resign. These have been characteristics of the entire fundamentalist takeover movement.

Retired Colonel Says Bush Already at War with Iran

Retired Colonel Sam Gardner says he thinks military operations in Iran have already begun. Here's a link to his interview on CNN.

If this talk is just "wild speculation," now we know who is doing the speculating and why.

Waiters as a Test of Character

Yesterday USA Today published an insightful story about "CEO's say how you treat a waiter can predict a lot about character." Here's a quote:

"Watch out for people who have a situational value system, who can turn the charm on and off depending on the status of the person they are interacting with," Swanson writes. "Be especially wary of those who are rude to people perceived to be in subordinate roles."

The Waiter Rule also applies to the way people treat hotel maids, mailroom clerks, bellmen and security guards.

Shurden Discusses Carters' Meeting of Baptist Leaders

Walter Shurden's "I Believe" column in this month's Baptist Studies Bulletin discusses the recent meeting of Baptist leaders that was sponsored by former U. S. President Jimmy Carter. Here's a quote:

Having no interest at all in creating a super Baptist convention, the individuals at the Carter Center nonetheless recognized the need for a new unified Baptist voice on issues that bind rather than on differences that blind. What binds? Matthew 25 binds! Jesus' call for action on behalf of the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner binds. As one of the leaders said of Matthew 25, "This is the sharing of the gospel!" What binds? A personal and public witness to the gospel binds. What binds? The historic Baptist passion for religious liberty and respect for religious diversity binds.

Shurden also makes available the North American Baptist Covenant that the Baptist leaders signed Monday, April 10, 2006.

The Real War Against Christians

Kudos to Bruce Gourley for his essay responding to the "War Against Christians" in the April 2006 issue of the Baptist Studies Bulletin. He clearly identifies the source of the attack on American Christianity:

Tragically, Scarborough and DeLay's brand of grossly misguided theology is echoed by the leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention and preached from many pulpits in America today. Even more tragically, underneath their chicken-little rhetoric lies a real war against Christianity in America.

Scarborough and DeLay are heroes of today's Religious Right, an organization whose real values are privilege, greed, worldly power and deceit -- the very things that the Bible teaches are opposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thus there is a traitorous war against Christianity in America today, waged by the Religious Right, a group who bears the name "Christian" but lives in opposition to that which Jesus taught and embodied: humility, servanthood, love for one's enemies, integrity, honesty, and truth.

On "Choke Point" Church Discipline

The March 27 issue of the Southern Baptist Texan (SBT) has a revealing editorial about church discipline. It's publication coincides with the United Church of Christ's advertisements about people being ejected from church pews. The UCC affirms an "extravagant welcome" and their ads say, "God does not reject people.  Neither do we."

The Southern Baptist editor asks, "How would a pastor initiate a discipline (not rejection) program?" and identifies the "choke point" that will help churches recover unity and joy.

Gary Ledbetter, the editor of the Southern Baptist Texan, uses a graphic image to describe the way to unify the church through discipline:

Practically though, there is a choke point through which all members must pass. It is also the point at which we make meaningful church discipline possible. Further, any possibility that the church will be unified is decided at this same time--the receiving of new church members.

The need for church discipline, in Ledbetter's mind, arises from differences in the way other Christians interpret scripture.  He says,

If Southern Baptists believe we are conducting our church life according to our best understanding of biblical truth, it is a problem for us to casually mix in new members whose understanding of biblical truth is greatly less or different than our own.

Ledbetter's essay reveals a sleight difference in the way that Southern Baptists view the church and the way that the UCC advertisements have been charicaturizing some churches.  In the UCC ads people are turned away at the door or ejected from their pews.  Ledbetter would simply apply a choke hold on the people who want to join his church and only admit those who readily agree to submit to his interpretations of scripture.

Fourth General Demands Rumsfeld's Resignation

Recently retired General John Batiste, who commanded the Germany-based 1st Infantry Division in Iraq a year ago, has called for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to resign.

How many generals have to retire and speak out before the White House listens?

IMB Conducting Another Purge

As Jimmy Carter works to bring Baptists together, the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention is working to purge itself of more missionaries.

This purge is to cleanse the IMB of missionaries who dare to work with non-Southern Baptists when planting churches.

The IMB has already purged itself of all missionaries who had the integrity to refuse to sign the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message.

Jimmy Carter Calls Baptists Together

Former President Jimmy Carter recently called a meeting of key Baptist leaders together to organize a convocation that could explore unifying the Baptist witness in North America. Conspicuously absent was any representation from the Southern Baptist Convention.

A convocation is being planned for 2007. Authentic Baptists are rising to reclaim their identity as a community of faith from the fundamentalists that have taken over the Southern Baptist Convention.

Southern Baptists have become "Christian nationalists" and theocrats who are increasingly viewed an appendage of the GOP. They have defamed the name of Baptists and have destroyed the credibility of the Baptist witness by becoming the chief apologists for pre-emptive warfare and imperial evangelism.

Authentic Baptists will emphasize our "obligations as Christians to promote peace with justice, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, care for the sick and marginalized, welcome the strangers among us, and promote religious liberty and respect for religious diversity."

Ray McGovern Explains Leak Revelation

Ray McGovern, a retired 27 year veteran of the CIA, explains the implications of Lewis Libby's revelation that his leak was approved by Cheney in an essay entitled "Blowing Cheney's Cover." Here's a quote:

Congressman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., wrote a blistering letter to President Bush before the attack on Iraq, claiming that he had been deceived into voting for war on the basis of forged documents. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, refused to ask the FBI to investigate who was responsible.

Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald, however, has an independent bent -- plus the authority to look these aspects of the litany of leaks. I'll be he has a good idea of who orchestrated the forgery. Indeed, I will not be surprised if the operation is eventually be traced back to the office of the vice president.

Hail to the Jammer in Chief

Phone records are showing that an illegal phone jamming operation to keep democratic voters in New Hampshire away from the polls in 2002 was connected to the White House.

It must have been an operation to protect national security.

Talequah Daily Press Editorial on the Mark

Kudos to the editorialist at the Talequah Daily Press who penned today's editorial. This small-town editorial (pop. 14,500-15,000) about the Valerie Plame leak is better than anything I've seen from big city editors.

Here's an excerpt:

Someone in this equation is destined to turn out stupid: The administration, for expecting the public to swallow this fish tale, or the public, for doing just that.

If the leaked information was declassified by the administration so Libby and others could hand it over to the media, then why didn't they just say so to begin with? Why did they lie and say they knew nothing about it? Or, is McClellan the liar in this case?

To buy any of this, the public will have to suffer not just from pathological stupidity, but also from terminal amnesia. We'll have to forget that Ms. Plame's name only became public after her husband, former diplomat Joseph Wilson, disclosed that he could find no evidence of weapons of destruction in Iraq. We'll also have to forget that several subsequent investigations have vindicated Wilson -- which means the "declassified information" was completely erroneous, or a complete fabrication.

Regardless of what the Bush people call it, the "intelligence" was propelled forward on zeal for vendetta and a war of predestination to topple Saddam Hussein. Someday the truth will out, as well it should. It's gotten an awful lot of people killed.

Hefner's Legacy

Robert Jensen and Gail Dines have published an insightful essay about "Hef's Big Influence." As playboy Hugh Hefner turns 80, theirs is the best appraisal of his influence that I have seen. Here's a quote:

Hugh Hefner turned 80 Sunday. America, say happy birthday to our most influential pimp.

Hefner, the legendary founder of Playboy magazine, a pimp? Yes, if we told the truth about Hefner's "contribution" to society, we would refer to him as a pimp, as someone who sells women to men for sex. While pornography has never been treated as prostitution by the law, it's fundamentally the same exchange. The fact that the sex is mediated through a magazine or movie doesn't change that, nor does the fact that women sometimes use pornography. The fundamentals remain: Men pay to use women for sexual pleasure.

Bush Speaks About Iran War Plans

President Bush has just labelled reports about his administration planning to strike Iran as "wild speculation."

The White House did acknowledge that Pentagon is conducting "normal military contingency planning" to deal with Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

While stressing that diplomacy is preferable, the President continues to defend his administration's strike-first policy against terrorists and other enemies.

Feeling relieved?

On Forcing Armageddon

On CNN yesterday Seymour Hersch said Bush is "Messianic" in his thinking about Iran.

He also said the military is about to break ranks over his plans to pre-emptively use nuclear weapons against Iran. Here's a quote:

And in the military -- you know, one thing about our military is they're very loyal to the president, but they're getting to the edge. They're getting to the edge with not only Rumsfeld but also with Cheney and the president.

A Third General Calls for Rumsfeld's Resignation

The New York Times has published a story about "Third Retired General Wants Rumsfeld Out." This time it is Lt. General Gregory Newbold, who was the military's top operations officer before the invasion of Iraq.

How many strikes will this Secretary of Defense get before he's out?

Premature Obituary

The Washington Post has published a story about "Christian Coalition Shrinks as Debt Grows." Here's a quote:

The Christian Coalition is still routinely included in meetings with White House officials and conservative leaders, and is still a household name. But financial problems and a long battle over its tax status have sapped its strength, allowing it to be eclipsed by other Christian groups, such as the Family Research Council and the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention.

There's no doubt that the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is at the peak of its political influence. The SBC itself has plateaued and is declining as a percentage of the population. The influence of the Family Research Council has been in decline since Gary Bauer left. The Christian Coalition still has the most influence and credibility with Charismatics, Pentecostals, and other evangelicals that emphasize ecstatic manifestations of spirituality.

On Britney Spears' Childhood

My daughter, who is the same age as Britney Spears, called a couple days ago to tell me that she saw me on television.

Last year a film crew from VH1 interviewed me and asked questions about the beliefs of Southern Baptists. They filmed me answering their questions for four or five hours.

According to my daugher, I appear for about 1 minute somewhere in "Britney's Secret Childhood." I haven't seen the program yet.

It airs today at 2:00 CST on VH1. I'll be at the Second Sunday Poetry Reading listening to Nathan Brown reading from his new poetry books at that time. I'll have to catch it later.

Albert Reyes on Immigration Reform

Albert Reyes, President of the Baptist University of the Americas in San Antonio, has written a very helpful essay on "Toward a Biblically Informed Debate on U.S. Immigration Reform."

Here's an excerpt:

The core issue at the center of the immigration reform debate is justice. Where is our American sense of decency, the value of basic human rights, our love for children and families and fairness toward under-privileged newcomers?

Texas Baptists have been asking this question for several years. Messengers to the 2003 annual meeting of the Hispanic Convention of Texas, with over 1,200 congregations. and messengers to the 2003 annual meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, with over 5,700 congregations and over 2.5 million members, approved resolutions advocating compassionate ministry to the "alien" and the "stranger" in our midst, namely the undocumented and documented immigrant.

The Hispanic Immigration Task Force of the Baptist General Convention, formed in 2003, raised the issue of victimization and exploitation of undocumented immigrants, basic human needs and advocacy regarding pathways for citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Christians must ask the justice question: Is it right for the United States of America to continue to operate a dysfunctional border policy that criminalizes under-privileged and undocumented immigrants seeking to earn a living to provide basic subsistence to their family while allowing American businesses to employ these workers at lower wages?

Administration Planning to Nuke Iran

AFP is reporting that "US Considers Use of Nuclear Weapons Against Iran."

Symour Hersch has published an essay about "The Iran Plans" in the New Yorker that says the administration is considering using nuclear bunker-busting bombs in Iran.

A lot of this administration's evangelical Christian supporters think the battle of Armageddon is upon us. They also think they are going to be miraculously raptured out of the world so they won't have to live with the fallout.

Before the wars this administration starts are finished, my best guess is that the idea of a "pre-tribulation" rapture will have fallen out of favor.

On Taxing "Biblical" Theme Parks

Some Christians will do anything to shirk their responsibility to pay taxes.

The St. Petersburg Times reports that a "Biblical" theme park in Orlando Florida is seeking a tax exemption due to its religious subject matter.

Some day there will be a backlash against the privileged status that some Christians think they have a right to enjoy.

Moyers on Politics Corrupted by Money

Bill Moyers has published an insightful essay on "A Culture of Corruption" that discusses the influence of money on politics. Here's a quote:

Look back at the bulk of legislation passed by Congress in the past decade: an energy bill that gives oil companies huge tax breaks at the same time that ExxonMobil has just posted $36.13 billion in profits and our gasoline and home heating bills are at an all-time high; a bankruptcy "reform" bill written by credit card companies to make it harder for poor debtors to escape the burdens of divorce or medical catastrophe; the deregulation of the banking, securities and insurance sectors, which brought on rampant corporate malfeasance and greed and the destruction of the retirement plans of millions of small investors; the deregulation of the telecommunications sector, which led to cable industry price-gouging and an undermining of news coverage; protection for rampant overpricing of pharmaceutical drugs; and the blocking of even the mildest attempt to prevent American corporations from dodging an estimated $50 billion in annual taxes by opening a P.O. box in an off-shore tax haven like the Cayman Islands.

In every case the results were produced by rivers of cash flowing to favored politicians from interests whose return on their investment put Wall Street equities to shame. This happens because our public representatives need huge sums to finance their campaigns, especially to pay for television advertising. The masters of the money game have taken advantage of that weakness in our democracy to turn our elections into auctions.

SBC Explains Revised Membership Figures

Baptist Press has published a story explaining the revised membership figures for 2002 and 2003.

Libby Accuses Cheney and/or Bush of Authorizing Leaks

Lewis "Scooter" Libby, under indictment for leaking classified information that outed covert CIA operative Valerie Plame, has testified that he was authorized to release the information by Vice President Cheney who reportedly said President Bush authorized the leaks.

Another web of White House lies is coming unravelled.

Belmont University Trustees to be Challenged by Tennessee Baptist Convention

Belmont University wants to elect its own trustees. Leaders in the Tennessee Baptist Convention want to dismiss the current trustees and appoint new ones.

Associated Baptist Press reports that the Executive Board of TBC has called a special meeting of the Convention on May 9th to deal with the issue.

Belmont Univesity is the latest in a long line of Baptist Colleges and Universities who have decided that they needed to sever ties with Fundamentalist dominated state conventions in order to maintain their academic credibility.

On the SBC's Revised Membership Figures

Thanks to Bob Allen at Ethics Daily for calling attention to discrepancies in reported membership figures for the Southern Baptist Convention over the past few years.

Twenty-five years ago, after more than five decades of remarkable and unbroken growth, fundamentalists contended that moderates had to be removed from positions of leadership before they led the SBC into decline. Most moderates left in 1990. By 1998 the SBC was reporting its first decline in over seven decades. Fundamentalists responded by revising the Baptist Faith and Message and turning it into a binding creed. Then the fundamentalists fired whatever professors and missionaries that were left who would not sign their creed. They've run out of handy scapegoats and they are still declining.

If they can't keep the numbers straight on membership statistics, one might wonder about the accuracy of their financial reports.

DeLay Quits

Former House Majority Leader, Tom DeLay, has announced his intention to resign from the U.S. House of Representatives.

DeLay, a theocrat from Houston, is likely to be remembered as being one of the most crooked and corrupt politicians in history.

He continues to enjoy the confidence of influential Southern Baptist "values voters" and other evangelical Christians around the country.

Just last week Rick Scarborough was quoted supporting DeLay:

Scarborough, the former pastor of the First Baptist Church in Pearland, is a long-time DeLay ally.

"This is a man, I believe, God has appointed ... to represent righteousness in government," Scarborough told the audience, which included Eagle Forum Founder Phyllis Schlafly, former ambassador Alan Keyes, and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.

Another General Calls for Rumsfeld's Resignation

Another recently retired U.S. General is calling for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's resignation. This time it is former senior U.S. Military Commander Anthony Zinni who headed the U.S. Central Command from 1997-2000. Here's a quote:

There's a series of disastrous mistakes. We just heard the Secretary of State say these were tactical mistakes. These were not tactical mistakes. These were strategic mistakes, mistakes of policies made back here. Don't blame the troops. They've been magnificent. If anything saves us, it will be them.

A couple weeks ago retired Major General Paul Eaton called for Rumsfeld's resignation.

Democracy and Education

Kudos to Jim Holladay for his succinct essay on "Public Education a Cornerstone of American Democracy." Here's a quote:

For most of our history, Baptists have been ardent supporters of the goals and aims of Jefferson's universal education for all citizens and Mann's vision of the common school. That is not surprising, because our vision of the church and the Christian community is inherently democratic. We have known that truth can best be discerned when the community, in all its diversity, speaks to one another.

Beyond that, we have maintained that a "free church in a free society" is the best environment for persons to respond freely to the gospel. As ardently as we have championed freedom of conscience and local church autonomy, we have defended the democratic ideal by both pen and sword.

However, in recent years Baptist voices have arisen calling for the destruction of the "common" school and an end to the vision of educating persons to function in a democratic, diverse republic. One could legitimately question whether these Baptist voices believe in a :free church in a free state" or whether they believe in a controlled church in a controlled state.

A Worthy Project for Any Community

Picture posted on 8/10/2006

Here's a link to a frontpage story about "Fighting for the Rights" in today's Norman Transcript.

The story talks about a group that is raising funds to put large bronze plaques of the Bill of Rights in prominent places in area high schools.

For those interested in making donations, checks can be made out to:

Americans United Oklahoma
P.O. Box 6371
Norman, OK 73070

Please put "Bill of Rights Project" on the memo line.

For additional information call Dr. Bruce Prescott at 405-329-2266.

Haunting Video

WARNING: View this video at your own risk.

Here's a link to a 22 minute video that discusses the use of explosives to bring down a third building (building 7) at the World Trade Center on 9-11.

I make no judgment regarding the value of the editorializing done by those who produced the video.

The video does serve to explain, in my mind, why the families of most of the victims of 9-11 were not satisfied with the Report of the Commission that investigated 9-11.

On Prayer and Healing

A recent study on the effects of prayer on those who have undergone heart surgery suggests that prayer has no demonstrable effect.

A few years ago some studies suggested that prayer had beneficial effects. At that time I was asked to review the literature and speak to an association of nurses in Oklahoma about it.

Here's a link to that speech.

Good Night and Goodbye to Ed Schmeltekopf

Ed Schmeltekopf died a couple days ago. He served as Associate Executive Director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas for nearly two decades.

Ed was probably the most helpful and selfless denominational executive that I have ever known. While I served on the Executive Board of the BGCT, I took a number of controversial positions and made a few motions and resolutions that made others uneasy. Ed was always quick to encourage conscientious dialogue and discussion, whether he agreed with the position taken or not, and he frequently offered historical information and suggestions that served to strengthen the positions that were being discussed.

Puckett's Scholarship to Aid Women Entering Ministry

Gene Puckett and his wife Robbie have established a scholarship fund that will aid female students at Wake Forest University who are preparing for the ministry. Not people to attract attention to themselves, they named the scholarship in honor of Thomas Meredith, one of the founders of the North Carolina Baptist Convention.

Gene Puckett, a member of the Mainstream Baptist Hall of Fame, has long been a model of courageous journalism. Kudos to him and his wife for their concern to help women get an education that will equip them for the work of ministry.

General Eaton and Secretary Rumsfeld

Here's a story I missed when it was fresh.

Retired General Paul Eaton has called for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's resignation. This is what the General formerly in charge of Ft. Benning and recently in charge of training the Iraqi military had to say:

"He has shown himself incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically, and is far more than anyone responsible for what has happened to our important mission in Iraq," wrote Eaton, who now lives in Fox Island, Wash.

He added: "Mr. Rumsfeld must step down."

Chaplains Should Practice Golden Rule

Today's Washington Post has published a story on "Chaplains Group Opposes Prayer Order." Conservative Christians in congress are demanding that President Bush issue a directive guaranteeing the right of chaplains to pray in the name of Jesus whenever praying at events where attendance is mandatory. An organization representing 70% of military chaplains opposes such a directive. An organization of Evangelical chaplains representing around 10% of military chaplains favors the directive.

I think the simplest solution is to mandate that every time an evangelical military chaplain insists on praying in Jesus name at an event where attendance is mandatory, that that chaplain be required to attend an event where a chaplain from a minority faith prays in the name of another god.

It would be interesting to hear what these same chaplains have to say after they've been ordered to listen to a few Wiccan prayers.

Martin Marty on "Resisting Theocracy"

Martin Marty, America's premier church historian, has published an essay entitled "Resisting 'Theocracy.'"  In it he gives very brief reviews of Rabbi James Rudin's Baptizing America and Kevin Phillips' American Theocracy.

Marty thinks the word "theocracy" invokes an extreme and "often demonic" aura of "the other."  Yet he notes that some of those so labeled "might savor and favor" the designation.

It's hard to discern whether Marty is either agreeing or disagreeing with Rudin and Phillips.  Here's a quote from Marty's essay:

Advice to myself, after reading Phillips's counsel: 1) Don't assign to people a label and a position they don't exactly hold; 2) Don't lump all people called "conservative" or "born again" into the mix of the theocracy-minded; 3) Don't label anyone "theocrat" who does not bear most of the marks of the theocrat; 4) Thus remember that, for people of faith on left or right, to try to influence foreign or domestic policy is not by itself a mark of theocracy--not by any means; 5) Do urge fellow citizens to be Madisonian (Federalist Papers X and LI), to work for the republic, against favor or privilege or establishment for particular religions (e.g., "Christianity" or "the biblical worldview"); 6) If you must blame, blame fairly, including the Republicans-not-on-the-right or Democrats-wherever-they-are for leaving a moral vacuum that exploiters can invade and exploit; 7) Make the point that theocracies have always corrupted communities of faith that favor them, noting that such polities are bad for religion; 8) Read and profit from Rudin and especially Phillips as they make their cases; 9) Be ready to link up with others, to see if at this late date the republic can be invigorated and survive; 10) Arrange with people you can trust to help you live with new strategies and old hopes, as you try to find a means of sleeping peacefully after you've read this unsettling script--and then awaken, for thought and action.

The only thing that Marty's essay makes clear is that the word "theocracy," makes him uncomfortable.

A lot of people have begun using the word "Dominionism" to describe the theology that undergirds the modern thrust toward theocracy in America.  I don't think it carries the connotations that make people like Martin Marty ill-at-ease.

On Disrespecting those Truly Persecuted for their Faith

Kudos to Hollyn Hollman for challenging the whining Evangelicals who claim that they are being persecuted every time someone challenges them for taking over the public square and/or coercing people into participating in their acts of public worship. Here's what today's Washington Post quoted her as saying about the so-called "War on Christmas" and other allegations of a "War on Christians":

"Certainly religious persecution existed in our history, but to claim that these examples amount to religious persecution disrespects the experiences of people who have been jailed and died because of their faith," said K. Hollyn Hollman, general counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.

UCC Still Trying to Advertise

The United Church of Christ has developed a thought provoking advertising campaign called "God is Still Speaking."

The advertisements have proven so provoking that ABC has refused to air their advertisements.

While Fundamentalist Christians are broadcasting their brand of Christianity around the clock on both television and radio, liberal Christians can't even get 30 second advertisements broadcast. Whose message is really being silenced?

Enroute to San Antonio

I'm going to the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission Conference on Emerging Issues in San Antonio.

I'll be away from my computer and probably will not be blogging again until Wednesday.

I may have an essay published on the Ethics Daily website tomorrow (Tuesday). If not that day, then one day this week. I entitled the essay, "America's Late Great Public Schools." I don't know what they will call it.

Advocates for Voluntary Faith Step Up in Missouri

Chuck Stanford, a member of Mainstream Voices of Faith, has an editorial published in yesterday's Kansas City Star that is well worth reading. Opposing legislation that would declare Christianity the "majoritarian religion" Stanford says:

The strength of our country is not in establishing one religion as dominant over all others but in our diversity. After all, our national motto is "E pluribus unum," which means, "From many, one" which expresses the true nature of our great nation.

Those interested in a file from which to make a "E Pluribus Unum" poster (pdf) will find one at this link. The Oklahoma Chapter of Americans United designed the poster and had some produced to distribute to public schools in Oklahoma. If you would like a printed poster, send me an e-mail and I'll respond to it later in the week.

Howell Leaves Louisiana College, Blasts Creedalism

Thomas Howell who has taught at Louisiana College for forty years is leaving Louisiana and going to the faculty at William Jewell College in Missouri. Howell was not reticent about sharing his reasons for leaving Louisiana College:

I'm leaving because Louisiana College is going in a dramatically different direction from what it has in my 40 years here, from what I believe it has always done. From my point of view, the simplest way to put it is, it is moving from education to indoctrination.

Howell describes how the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message is being imposed on the faculty:

Basically you have a situation in which -- no one has said yet you must be Baptist, but what they say is you must teach in accordance with and not contrary to what's called the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. And then beyond that, there is a definition that is coming out in the new faculty handbook that is what I suppose they mean by Christian. In other words, I discovered that, as far as I can tell, is believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as savior is not sufficient. That's basically my point of view, and I've always considered myself Christian. But apparently it's not sufficiently Christian, or maybe not the right kind of Christian, or maybe not even Christian at all.

The trend throughout the Southern Baptist Convention has been to move toward what the advocates of it call a truly conservative position. The opponents of it I suppose use the term fundamentalist. From the point of view of the conservatives/fundamentalists, whatever they are, the denominations, particularly the denominational schools, have been infected with liberalism. And so they see it as their duty to root out liberalism and instead put in place a system in which the people who teach and what is taught are in accordance with what has become a Baptist creed.

. . .

For many, many years, Baptists have said historically they are non-creedal people. My grandfather, who was by vocation a Baptist preacher, basically had a sermon -- and I've still got the notes -- called "No pope, no creed" in which he talked about how proud he was that the Baptists did not have a pope, that they never imposed a creed. Well, they've got a creed. Very specifically, we are told at Louisiana College that we must live up to this creed.

What's more, we've employed a vice president for integration of faith and learning whose job it is, according to the faculty handbook, essentially to interpret that creed in case there's doubt, I suppose, as to whether or not something is in accordance with it. He's at least supposed to give advice on it.

Kudos to Howell for standing on his convictions. William Jewell is gaining a fine new faculty member.

Civil War Underway in Bagdad

The UK Independent UK is reporting that the "Battle for Bagdad 'has already started'".

We will see how long it takes for the American media to report this story.

Ideologue Appointed to FISA Court

Judge John Bates, who concocted rationales to subpoena women with whom Clinton flirted and blocked freedom of information requests about Vice President Cheney's Energy Task Force, has been appointed to the secret court that approves domestic wiretapping.

Civil liberties are sure to be safe in these hands.

Turmoil in the SBC

The International Mission Board is taking actions that some think are signs that Jerry Rankin is being encouraged to resign.

Fundamentalist news reports say the North American Mission Board has failed to meet expectations since it was formed in 1997.

A SBC seminary professor says the Baptist Faith is "under assault" from within and says "Hyper-Calvinism . . . is becoming a real problem in the Southern Baptist Convention."

The last time there was so much turmoil in the SBC, moderates were being pushed out of the convention. The moderates are gone. Fundamentalists are fighting with each other.

Now the game is to see who can claim to be most "conservative." They never have been much interested in being Christ-like. That would be too "liberal."

Religious United Nations Discussed

Ethics Daily has posted a story about "Jewish-Muslim Congress Discusses 'United Nations' of Religion."

That is an idea well worth discussing and implementing.

Burleson Muzzled

ABP and Ethics Daily are reporting that the Board of Trustees of the International Mission Board has rescinded its recommendation that blogger Wade Burleson be removed from the Board.

Burleson has agreed to stop being a watch dog and become a lap dog for the IMB. He will no longer bark about the hazardous actions and decisions of the Board on his blog. Now he'll just wag his tail and chase sticks for his IMB masters.

Why bother thinking for yourself? Why bother blogging? Why bother being as loyal as a dog at all? Why not just become a rubber stamp?

Texas Republicans Begin to Question Electronic Vote Counts

If the link to this press release is authentic, a conservative Republican former Texas Supreme Court Justice is challenging the results of a recent primary.

The vote counts showed that in the West Texas county of Winkler he lost the vote by a 100% margin after he had previously won by the county 74% in 2002 and by 65% in 2004.

Inevitably, the voting irregularities that have plagued the last two national elections have begun to effect local primary elections.

Now, perhaps we will see something done to make sure that vote counts can be verified.

Moyers' Speech at Wake Forest

Tom Paine has posted Bill Moyers' recent speech at Wake Forest University under the title "A Time for Heresy." Here's a quote:

We are witnessing a marked turn of events for a nation whose DNA contains the inherent promise of an equal opportunity at "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." We were not supposed to be a country where the winners take all. The great progressive struggles in our history were waged to make sure ordinary citizens, and not just the rich, share in the benefits of a free society. Today, however, the majority of Americans may support such broad social goals as affordable medical coverage for all, decent wages for working people, safe working conditions, a good education for every child, and clean air and water, but there's no government "of, by, and for the people" to deliver on those aspirations. America is no longer working for all Americans.

How did this happen? By design. For a quarter of a century now a ferocious campaign has been conducted to dismantle the political institutions, the legal and statutory canons, and the intellectual, cultural, and religious frameworks that sustained America's social contract. The corporate, political, and religious right converged in a movement that for a long time only they understood because they are its advocates, its architects, and its beneficiaries.

Their economic strategy was to cut workforces and wages, scour the globe for even cheaper labor, and relieve investors of any responsibility for the cost of society. On the weekend before President Bush's second inauguration, The New York Times described how his first round of tax cuts had already brought our tax code closer to a system under which income on wealth would not be taxed at all and public expenditures would be raised exclusively from salaries and wages.

Their political strategy was to neutralize the independent media, create their own propaganda machine with a partisan press, and flood their coffers with rivers of money from those who stand to benefit from the transfer of public resources to elite control. Along the way they would burden the nation with structural deficits that will last until our children's children are ready to retire, systematically stripping government of its capacity, over time, to do little more than wage war and reward privilege.

Their religious strategy was to fuse ideology and theology into a worldview freed of the impurities of compromise, claim for America the status of God's favored among nations (and therefore beyond political critique or challenge), and demonize their opponents as ungodly and immoral.

If you'd like to hear Moyers say it himself, here's a link to a podcast.

Rick Scarborough in the News Again

Bill Berkowitz has published an essay on the Media Transparency website about Rick Scarborough's "War on Christians?"

Berkowtiz quotes from a blog I posted while I was gathering information to present at the workshop on "Who's Who in the Religious Right" for the Mainstream Baptist Convocation last month.

Who Speaks for God?

Those on the right are constantly searching for someone that they think speaks prophetically every day. They identify the voice of prophecy with unyielding moral denouncements and they think they hear it in the voice of televangelists, fundamentalists, and dominionists.

Those on the left are reluctant to identify anyone that might speak prophetically. Experience has taught them to be suspicious of anyone who presumes to speak for God.

Those in the mainstream or middle believe that, on occassions, God speaks prophetically through one of his servants. At times the prophet speaks in the tones of unyielding morality, but more often the prophet gives voice to an unrelenting demand for justice.

On occassions the voice of the prophetic speaks both in the tones of unyielding morality and the unrelenting demand for justice. Today is one of those days. Today, Ethics Daily has published an essay by Miguel de la Torre in which he speaks out against the Southern Baptist academics who have offered justifications for the use of torture. Here's a little of what De la Torre says:

When this past January the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (along with three of his professors) defended the use of torture, they represented the antithesis of Jesus' mission found in John 10:10, to "give life and give it abundantly."

To be satanic is to exchange the glory of God for the pride of humans. Religious leaders serve the forces of darkness when they justify death, destruction, torture and thievery with high-sounding words like democracy, liberty and patriotism.

Like the false prophets of old, who prostrated themselves before kings and tickled their ear with flattery so as to carve out for themselves a sphere of power and influence, today's leaders of the Religious Right have traded serving the Prince of Peace for the emperor of war.

Gambling Regulations Vs. Voting Protections

The Washington Post has published a very informative comparison of the procedures that regulate gambling with the procedures that protect the integrity of your vote. The title is revealing: "How to Steal an Election."

Called to Teach, Condemned to Survive

Kudos to Jan Turentine for her essay on "Teaching as Calling." Teaching is a most challenging and demanding calling.

Unfortunately, it has become a calling that is also requiring a vow of poverty.

Teachers are undoubtedly the most poorly paid professionals in American society.

Moderate Baptist Seeks Office In Texas

Kudos to Kerry Horn for entering the contest for a seat at the House of Representatives in Texas.

It is about time that moderate Baptist preachers start paying attention to the quality of leadership that is being elected to serve at their state legislatures.

If more moderate Baptist preachers and laymen paid attention to the agendas being pushed at their state legislatures, we'd be reading a lot more stories like this one.

Franklin Graham and Pat Robertson the Warmongers

Kudos to Robert Parham for challenging the latest incendiary statements by Franklin Graham and Pat Robertson about Islam. He challenges them for ignoring Jesus' teaching in the sermon on the mount:

"If they would hear and follow Jesus' teachings, then they would halt their anti-Islamic diatribes," Parham said. "The Sermon on the Mount is crystal clear about peacemaking, loving enemies, doing good to others, striving after God?s kingdom and practicing discernment. Regrettably, fundamentalist Christians ignore the Sermon on the Mount, because it is not a manual for war-making, which is at the heart of Christian crusades."

Jesus said that peacemakers are blessed. Unfortunately, this generation has been cursed by having religious warmongers with international megaphones who insist on turning up the volume and vitriol of rhetoric that demonizes all Muslims indiscriminately. There is nothing Christ-like about Graham and Robertson's rhetoric toward Muslims.

They are putting stumbling blocks in the way of generations of Muslims who have yet to hear the gospel as "good news" and not as hate speech. Jesus said it would be better for Pat and Franklin to put millstones around their necks and jump into the sea.

The End of the Golden Rule

The most fundamental principle of morality is the Golden Rule. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It is a principle so basic and foundational that in one form or another it has been expressed by nearly every religion.

President Bush, however, has determined that this principle no longer operates in America. He has turned the principle on its head. For President Bush the rule is "Do unto others, before they do whatever you think they are going to do, and call it self-defense."

President Bush's doctrine of pre-emption is immoral, evil, and sub-Christian.

The Problem with Public Corporations

Ethics Daily has published an outstanding essay about "The Private Lives of America's Top Managers." It is a succinct examination of the effect of pressure to meet earnings expectations on a quarterly basis. Here's a quote:

Asked if they would pursue a positive net value project if it meant missing the earnings-per-share estimate for the quarter, 59 percent of financial executives admit that they would kill the project.

Equally troubling, 78 percent of executives admit they would forego real value in order to meet their earnings targets.

In my experience, once senior managers become obsessed with short-term results, it's almost impossible to have a meaningful discussion about treating their workers as valued partners, or delivering real customer service, or pursuing an environmentally sustainable plan.

A Cheater's Arms Race?

Robert Steinback, of the Miami Herald, has a valuable warning about the need for integrity to be restored to our voting system:

There's good reason for Bush supporters and rock-ribbed Republicans to demand corrective action to prevent the anomalies that surely compromised the 2004 election: The risk that failure to curb the abuses will encourage the competition to resort to similar tactics. The last thing anyone wants is a cheater's arms race. Either you stop the cheating, or you encourage more of it.

Rupert Murdock on the Internet and Blogging

I get nervous whenever I find myself agreeing with Rupert Murdoch. In my mind, he epitomizes most of what is wrong with the mainstream media. Nevertheless, the Lord of Fox News makes a lot of sense when he talks about the revolutionary nature of the changes that the internet is making. Here are a couple quotes:

"Never has the flow of information and ideas, of hard news and reasoned comment, been more important. The force of our democratic beliefs is a key weapon in the war against religious fanaticism and the terrorism it breeds."

. . .

Mr Murdoch has undergone a Damascene conversion, admitting he hugely underestimated the power of the web. He said last night: "It is a creative, destructive technology that is still in its infancy, yet breaking and remaking everything in its path. We are all on a journey, not just the privileged few, and technology will take us to a destination that is defined by the limits of our creativity, our confidence and our courage."

Steve Heller the Folk Hero

Steve Heller, the whistleblower that exposed a Diebold cover-up of electronic voting glitches, is becoming a folk hero.

Unfortunately, notoriety does not pay legal bills. Someone needs to open an account where Heller can receive contributions to help pay the bills for his legal defense.

Public Schools and the Culture War

Public Schools are the frontlines in the culture war that conservative Christians are waging in this country. They have been since the day that they were integrated.

Ethics Daily has published a couple insightful articles regarding the latest developments in the battle to destroy America's public school system. Bob Allen has written an essay about a new "Christian book" that "says Public Schools Subvert Parental Rights." He goes on to describe recent challenges to public schools coming from every quarter of the political and religious right. Ed Hogan has written about his "Concerns about the 'Exodus' Movement." The "Exodus" movement is an organized effort to get Christians to remove their children from public schools.

Here's a quote from Hogan's article that talks about the politics of the issue:

Reason # 3 Politics. Steve Blow wrote a great article in the Dallas Morning News recently. He is a Christian op-ed writer who often brings a fresh perspective to issues.

In the article he quotes a home school text. In the text, a conservative is described as a person who holds on to and practices God's words and teachings. Liberals are defined as those who deny God's precepts and teachings.

That is a struggle for me for several reasons. Does that mean that my friends who vote for Democrats have "abandoned God?" Does is mean that my African-American church friends, who are biblically and ethically conservative, have denied their faith by overwhelmingly voting for "liberal" candidates?

Once a student sees something in a "text book" it carries new weight. It is no longer opinion; it is fact. It teaches our children to be intolerant of others who disagree with us politically.

One of the ramifications of extending freedom of religion to everyone is that we protect the right of parents to teach their children to be intolerant. We do not guarantee that we will give them tax dollars in the form of vouchers to subsidize the education of their children in their intolerance.

The right to a good public education that upholds the values of our country's constitution should be guaranteed to everyone. The constitution secures equal respect under the law for persons of all races, religions, and creeds.

If parents want to indoctrinate their children in values that are opposed to the constitution, they should continue to have to pay for it with their own money.

Tunnels to the Past

Associated Press is reporting the discovery of a system of tunnels in Jerusalem that were dug in preparation for the revolt against the Romans in 66-70 AD.

For millennia the official story has been that the uprising was spontaneous. The Romans did not believe it. They razed the city.

Now, two millennia later, the truth is being uncovered. The ancient Jews created an elaborate system of underground tunnels and stocked them with large quantitites of provisions in preparation for a revolt.

VA Blocking Wiccan Symbols on Tombstones

Stars and Stripes is reporting that the Veterans Administration will not permit Wiccan symbols on the headstones and plaques marking the graves of pagan and Wiccan soldiers who have died in the service of our country. Here are some quotes:

The National Cemetery Administration has 38 permitted religious symbols for headstones and plaques but none for pagans or Wiccans. Officials said while they are currently processing requests from two denominations for the Wiccan pentacle, or five-pointed star in a circle, so far no decision has been made.

That has irked some Wiccan groups, who say the department has been dragging its feet for years on recognizing their religion.

. . .

At least five deceased Wiccan veterans are waiting for a decision, and in each case the family has opted to leave blank name markers rather than have the department retrofit the grave sites later.

More from Colleyville

The newspaper in Colleyville, Texas has been inundated with letters and e-mails related to the controversy at the First Baptist Church there.

The pastor as ruler model of church leadership should prove controversial in Baptist life.

Hell's Fury

There must be a special place in hell for those who persecute whistleblowers.

Here are a couple quotes from an essay entitled "Whistling Diebold" at Common Dreams:

Steve Heller, a Los Angeles-based actor whose day job is doing temporary office work, faces three felony charges, all of which are a stretch: felony access to computer data, commercial burglary and receiving stolen property.

If that's all you know, then you've missed the bigger story:

The documents Heller, the temp word processor, happened upon and subsequently printed out revealed a potential crime in progress. . . .

He gave the documents to election-reform advocates, who got them into the hands of the media and state officials. Because he did, data concerning Diebold's use of uncertified software, which was supposed to remain private, became public knowledge. "In one memo," the Los Angeles Weekly wrote, "the law firm warned Diebold, before the March primary, that its use of uncertified vote-counting software in Alameda County, starting in 2002, violated California election law and broke its $12.7 million contract."

And election-reform advocate Peter Soby wrote on Huffington Post: "So in a nutshell, Diebold was defrauding the state government and taxpayers of California, and disenfranchising the voters of California. And the documents prove it."

Neo-Conservatives Abandoning Ship

German newspapers are announcing that the new government in Iraq has already collapsed. That means the U.S. mission in Iraq has failed.

The Neo-conservatives who led the cheers for the war in Iraq are abandoning ship. British newspapers are collating quotes from prominent American neo-conservative "intellectuals" who are already admitting defeat.

The only question that remains is how long it will take for Fox News and this administration to admit what the world already knows.

I'm already fairly certain that the evangelicals who conjured up "just war" rationales and led cheers for this administration's pre-emptive war with Iraq will never admit their error. Richard Land has certainly found his place in history.

Meanwhile, whose son or daughter will be the last soldier to die for this administration's colossal mistake?

Abramoff and the Christian Right

Max Blumenthal has posted a blog that reveals a growing rift within the Christian Right over the influence of Jack Abramoff. Here's a quote:

[Marvin] Olasky presented several Senate-subpeonaed emails between Abramoff and Reed showing Focus on the Family's involvement in their schemes. Olasky then suggested in as subtle a fashion as possible that Dobson and co. should come forward with the full story: "We hope that Focus on the Family will join us in insisting that Mr. Reed stop dodging and start explaining why his emails to Jack Abramoff stated that he was negotiating with Focus. Our sense is that Dr. Dobson is telling the truth, and our logical conclusion is that someone else was not."

SBC Life to Challenge Herschel Hobb's Theology

Ethics Daily is reporting that SBC Life will be publishing an article that challenges the theology of Herschel Hobbs regarding the doctrine of election.

Since the takeover of the SBC, Baptists have undergone a resurgence of Calvinism.

The article says, "Pelagianians, Arminians and Open Theists will not find a home in our Southern Baptist family."

'Day of Reckoning' on Horizon

Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary under the Clinton Administration, says the U.S. is headed for a 'Day of Reckoning.' Here's a quote:

While the country is recovering from a recession in 2001 with decent overall economic growth and a return of information technology business, there are three storm clouds on the horizon in the next year or two, he said. They are high oil prices, a $400 billion U.S. budget deficit, and record high levels of consumer spending and record low levels of consumer savings.

OU Doing Religion Right

Kudos to Cole Stephenson and the other members of the OU Religious Studies Club for securing a "Reflection Room" where students of all faiths and no faith can go to pray and/or reflect.

The room creates a safe, proselytization free, debate free environment where students can find silence and a measure of solitude for personal prayer and reflection.

In the picture, Cole is standing next to a marble cistern inside the Hagia Sophia in Instanbul, Turkey.

On Turkish Muslims and Christians

Crosswalk has posted a news brief that says "There is a huge rift between Muslims and Christians in Turkey, preceded by centuries of violence, enmity and antagonism. 'Turks don't like Christians.'"

Having recently been on a trip to Turkey sponsored by the Institute for Interfaith Dialog, I can honestly say that I saw no signs of enmity between Christians and Muslims during my visit. In fact, the numerous and varied personal contacts I had with people around the country were all very cordial. Religious differences were openly discussed in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust.

There are extremists in all faiths and all societies who foster hate and distrust of those who differ with them. To whatever degree that there is truth in the Crosswalk brief, it demonstrates how important it is for both Christians and Muslims to support the efforts of groups like the Institute for Interfaith Dialog to foster mutual understanding and respect.

The picture above, taken by Cole Stephenson, was taken while our group visited a worship center at Belek near Antalya, Turkey that was built by Turkish truck drivers. A Jewish Temple, Islamic Mosque, and Christian Chapel all share a common courtyard. Below are a few of the pictures that I took at Belek.

IRS Cracks Down on Church Politicking

Melissa Rogers has published a valuable story about "IRS Gives Churches Helpful Warning about Politicking." Here's a quote:

It seems significant that the service chose to release these materials in Ohio. Several Ohio churches and other religious organizations recently have been accused of intervening in the 2006 gubernatorial race in favor of Republican candidate Ken Blackwell by repeatedly featuring Blackwell at their events, among other things.

The IRS report concludes by recommending increased use of tax-exempt status revocation in appropriate future cases, believing an adequate foundation for such action is being laid.

Publisher Threatened Over Story About Social Security Scam

Raw Story, an online publisher, reports that it has been threatened with a lawsuit for publishing a story about a scam by a Jack Abramoff linked "conservative" non-profit soliciting money for political donations from senior citizens who were concerned about saving Social Security.

The Final Solution for Welfare Reform

It looks like the Bush administration is about to implement "the final solution" for welfare reform -- kill the documentation of information about those needing and receiving welfare assistance.

Here's a link to a story about th 432 economists and social scientists who have signed a letter opposing the elimination of funding for the Survey of Income and Program Participation.

Regarding the Institute for Religion and Democracy

Kudos to AJ Weaver at Talk to Action for his essay "The Radical Right Assault on Mainline Protestantism and the National Council of Churches of Christ."

It is a very good introduction to the history, methods and tactics of the Institute for Religion and Democracy.

A Portent of Things to Come

A Missouri state legislator has submitted a resolution to declare Christianity the state's official "majority" religion.

This is a portent of things to come in other states.

Many of the evangelical Christians who are active in politics expect the new "strict constructionist" judges on the Supreme Court to reverse decisions that apply the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to the states. In their minds, each state has the right to establish a majority religion and treat persons of minority faith as though they were second class citizens.

Sooner or later, this issue will certainly be re-decided by the U.S. Supreme court.

Colleyville Pastor-Ruler Expels Insubordinate Members

Frank Harber, the pastor-ruler of First Baptist Church of Colleyville, wants to relocate the congregation. Some members of his congregation questioned the wisdom of the move. On February 20, 2006 four of them received notice via Fed Ex that they were "being removed from the membership" of the congregation.

Despots and tyrants often brook greater dissent than some of the new pastor-rulers in Southern Baptist Churches.

It's just a matter of time before all the churches that adopt the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message statement face some kind of crisis like this.

Bush's Faith-based Initiative Marks 5 years

Bill Berkowitz has posted a story at Media Transparency about "A Quiet Fifth Anniversary for Bush's Faith-based Initiative." Here's a quote:

Documentation of any results achieved by the president's faith-based initiative, like the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, is missing in action. Other than using his bully pulpit to praise his "armies of compassion," and repeat suspect anecdotes, the president has yet to show that the taxpayers' money is well spent. Ordinarily government agencies that have handed out millions of dollars would have to report to Congress and the public about what we've gotten for the money.

Unverifiable and unfalsifiable assertions about the role of religion in social services are the foundation of the president's faith-based initiatives. If minority faiths ever got some of this money and should scientific studies ever be conducted that yield evidence that Scientologists, Buddhists, Christian Scientists, or Wiccans can provide treatment programs with results that are similar to or better than those devised by Christians, the foundations for the majoritarian faith might be shaken.

The Problem with Political Liberalism

Eric Alterman in his essay "With God on Our Side" provides a quote that succinctly describes the problem with political liberalism in America:

Liberals, as Michael Kazin put it, have morphed in the public imagination "from people who looked, dressed and sounded like Woody Guthrie to people who look, dress and sound like Woody Allen."

On the Creativity of Japanese Recycling Efforts

Anyone who has driven past the confined animal feed lots in Western Texas and Oklahoma may find the AP story about "Japanese make gasoline from cattle dung" interesting. They may have found the solution to one of our most onerous olfactorious problems.

In a few years, however, I'm not sure we'll want to know the source of the vanilla smell in our shampoo and candles.

North Carolina Baptists Lurching to the Right

Kudos to Ken Boaz, pastor of Booneville Baptist Church in Booneville, N.C., for resigning on principle from the governing board of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. In his letter of resignation Boaz wrote:

"My resignation has everything to do with the evident direction of the convention. More and more, it is quite clear that our state convention is becoming a subsidiary of the Southern Baptist Convention. That is a path I choose not to take."

Oklahoma Legislature Preparing to Challenge Constitution

Yesterday, more than 80% of the voting members of the House of Representatives, approved a bill that would appropriate state funds for the Oklahoma Office of Faith-Based Initiatives to distribute to faith-based organizations. The Constitution of the State of Oklahoma has a very strong prohibition against such a distribution of state funds. It reads:

Section II-5: Public Money or Property -- Use for Sectarian Purposes.

"No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such."

The Oklahoma Office of Faith-Based Initiative has never been approved or authorized by the Oklahoma state legislature. It was set up by the executive fiat of former Governor Frank Keating. Prior to this legislation, the executive in charge of that office always justified the legality of his efforts by claiming that none of the funds he received in his office came from Oklahoma state taxpayers. All of his funding came from federal money.

The executive in charge of Oklahoma's faith-based office promoted his office by contending that he was assisting faith-based organizations in applying for and receiving federal funds. After five years, these efforts have proven singularly unsuccessful. What he has really succeeded in doing is helping to redistribute funding that had already been going to left-leaning non-profits and social service agencies to a handful of right-wing faith-based organizations.

A Review of Rabbi Rudin's Baptizing of America

Bob Allen at Ethics Daily has written a good review of Rabbi James Rudin's The Baptizing of America: The Religious Right's Plans for the Rest of Us.

Allen describes Rudin's explanation of the reasons for the ambivalence within the Jewish community toward the Christocratic Right:

America's Jewish community, Rudin says, is divided and ambivalent about the Christian right's support for Israel. Many Jews are uncomfortable with evangelicals' strong Christological basis for supporting Israel, and most are uncomfortable with active campaigns to convert Jews to Christianity.

Some Jews eagerly accept evangelical support for Israel and look the other way at "the attempted imposition of a Christocratic agenda on the country," he writes. "For such Jews, Israel's survival and security trumps all other concerns."

"Other Jews remain aware of the evangelicals' domestic goals and expressing suspicions about working with that Christian community on any issue, even Israel."

Rudin's book is well worth reading. He makes at least one mistake. He baptizes me a Presbyterian when he quotes one of my speeches. While the speech was delivered at a Presbyterian church, I've always been a Mainstream Baptist.