Front PageApril, 2007
New Focus
Submitted by bill on Mon, 04/30/2007 - 21:21. faithSpring is sprung and it's time for change. FaithCommons will get some spring cleaning, which includes reducing the syndicated content and planting a new focus—or maybe refocus is a better term. If you're wondering what that focus or refocus will be, the answer is Faith. Faith as a basic human quality. Interfaith too. But less outside content. Less outside content until eventually the only syndicated content will come from those sites topically related this one.
The Blook on Faith as a Commons will continue to develop of course, plus I will attempt to frequently connect you to stories and blogs across the web that discuss faith as we are trying to define it here. This will be rather difficult at first, and will consequently get off to a slow start. But I hope to find new ways to scour the web and blogosphere to find those writers who are thinking in new ways (or even in very old ways) about faith. And I hope you will help by offering links, too.
WORSHIP BY DEMAND - FR 362
Syndicated from: Freedom's Ring on Sun, 04/29/2007 - 02:32 syndicated articles His children are torn between love and hate for
their father. The father provides for his children well and,
when they make additional requests, he listens and often gives
what they ask for.
Living on Purpose
Submitted by BLG2319 on Fri, 04/27/2007 - 23:32.It has been awhile since I wrote anything. Haven't had much to say. That is how it is with me. I usually don't have anthing to say until I have reached another "dark night of the soul". So here I am again, sitting in front of my computer talking to the faceless masses. Saying things I am unable to share with the people in my real life.
It happened one day some two plus years ago. I stopped believing in God. I remember feeling nihilistic dread mixed with overwhelming joy. Joy for not having to answer to the angry man in the sky anymore. Dread for facing the reality for the first time that this world just might be completely meaningless.
INTOLERABLE, INCURABLE JUSTICE
I can close one eye when I pass the dirty, local elementary school where, inside, an overwhelming percentage of the children are wondering where their daddy went and when and if he might come back home. But I cannot ignore the Gulf Coast kids who lost their friends and family and are now living with strangers attending a refugee school. Or can I?
Hooray! Hooray! The First of May...Beltane
Syndicated from: The Gates of Horn - Gateway to the Inner Realms on Fri, 04/27/2007 - 15:54 syndicated blogsI recently had the good fortune to go to a local high school to have a Q/A about Wicca. The group was about a dozen lads and lasses, but they all had that “We are able to think outside the teen box” blue energy. Such a pleasure to see people who are more ready to evolve than to live by the reflex knee jerks of everyone else’s programs. What follows is a summary of some of the stuff the questions brought forth with a couple of additions to emphasise Beltane. A sort of Wiccan history 101 with Beltane as a theme, and my own part in it to make it personal.
continue reading "Hooray! Hooray! The First of May...Beltane"
Hooray! Hooray! The First of May...Beltane
Syndicated from: The Gates of Horn - Gateway to the Inner Realms on Fri, 04/27/2007 - 15:54 syndicated blogsI recently had the good fortune to go to a local high school to have a Q/A about Wicca. The group was about a dozen lads and lasses, but they all had that “We are able to think outside the teen box” blue energy. Such a pleasure to see people who are more ready to evolve than to live by the reflex knee jerks of everyone else’s programs. What follows is a summary of some of the stuff the questions brought forth with a couple of additions to emphasise Beltane. A sort of Wiccan history 101 with Beltane as a theme, and my own part in it to make it personal.
continue reading "Hooray! Hooray! The First of May...Beltane"
The Role of Women In Christianity
Submitted by K Prabhakar Rao on Fri, 04/27/2007 - 13:59. Christianity women's issuesIn human societies, women have great role to play. Man was the bread winner mostly while the woman managed home and shaped the upbringing of children in all the societies in the world. The role of the women speaks volumes of the society itself, its advancement, values and her status decides the real growth and maturity of the society. Wherever women are, tormented, humiliated and confined to the homes, considered as the means of satisfying ones lust and suppressed, the societies have not progressed in general and they decayed. The children in such societies mostly became fundamentalist in nature, undisciplined, poorly educated and criminal minded too. The role of the women in society is on two fronts. What is their religious standing in society and do they enjoy equal opportunities and status as men in other aspects? The question is about the religious rights and thus these are deliberated upon.
Iran Too, Is Fighting Terrorists On Its Soil
Submitted by K Prabhakar Rao on Thu, 04/26/2007 - 15:29. baluchi iran terrorismIran is very important and ancient nation with great culture in the Gulf region and was called Persia in earlier days. It has very important neighbors such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Iraq and former southern Soviet States and across the Gulf straits has important Muslim States such as Saudi Arabia and Emirates. It has a common border with Pakistan near Sistan-Baluchestan. With elimination of Saddam Hussein it has emerged as a very strong power in the region and its nuclear program is considered by the world as prelude to making a nuclear weapon. President Mahmoud inejad has already gone on record that he would destroy Israel after acquiring the nuclear bomb (1). This statement has greatly alarmed the entire world particularly west. All is not well within Iran. Dissidence has also grown in Iran after the overthrow of the modern and Western styled regime of Shah Pehalwi I of Iran by the fundamentalist Mullahs in 1979. Many Iranians who were forward thinking and pro Pehalwi left Iran to other countries. It is reported and alleged by Iran that a group known as Jundullah (Army of God), a Sunni militant terrorist organization in terms of Iran and made up of members of the fear-some Baluchi tribe in Pakistan , has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials since 2005, as it has carried out its deadly operations inside Iran.
continue reading "Iran Too, Is Fighting Terrorists On Its Soil"
What's the difference
Submitted by mgc on Thu, 04/26/2007 - 00:08. General DiscussionHi Reido, Bill and others. Can you guys give me your take on the expectations the Hebrews had of:
1. The Messiah
2. The Prophet
3. The Christ
Reading through John, I get the feeling that the expectations were different, and the three entities are not necessairly the same.
Sure would appreciate your comment on this.
Thx
Mike C
The Bible Pages
Submitted by bill on Wed, 04/25/2007 - 20:12. bible bible studiesI came across this site while looking for etymological information on faith, and thought that some FaithCommons readers might be interested. While the author claims to have no bias or affiliation, there is actually a noticeable anti-bias and anti-affiliation bias in his writings, nonetheless. But I can identify with that, kinda sorta. Also, these are "Bible Studies" with capital letters, in that there are loads of word studies and scripture comparisons that might overload some casual readers and those not really interested in this level of detail.
Still, if you want to study issues like giving money to churches, or even going to a church at all, or about leadership in churches, or about several Christian theologies like Predestination, or Antichrist, then you can get some detailed scripture by scripture, word by word consideration here. But you need to keep your mind open, get other opinions, and make your own conclusions, because these sorts of studies can be too convincing if you're unprepared for the barrage of evidence. The author has done quite a lot of work, and I found it very helpful—whether I agree with every point or not.
Outline version Alpha 2
Submitted by bill on Tue, 04/24/2007 - 14:43. blook faithcommons StructureThis is the latest outline for the blook Faith as a Commons. These are major sections that describe first the current situation and how we got here; second the way to faith in a technologically advanced twenty-first century that allows for science and rationality as well as pluralism in religion and philosophy; and third the Commons of faith, why faith requires the commons perspective even more in our global world and how faith contributes to the commons; and fourth to keep the faith we must seek inspiration while constantly smashing idols that suck the life out of the Faith Commons.
Are the Relations Between Saudi Arabia and USA Getting Strained?
Submitted by K Prabhakar Rao on Tue, 04/24/2007 - 09:11. saudi arabia usaSaudi Arabia has been a staunch ally of America in the Middle East region and has stood test of time. It has offered Military base for the US forces on its soil. It has been the launching ground for the US led offensive against Iraq during the 1991 Kuwait war during the tenure of senior Bush as the President of USA.. Saddam Hussein the erstwhile strong ruler of Middle East who invaded Kuwait after Iraq -Iran war of eight years was shown his place and was driven out of Kuwait. Saudi Arabia stood by America in the war. In the US led war against Iraq after 9/11 attack on US main land, Saudi Arabia was the strong American base. It supported the US led war against the terrorists of Al Qaeda and Saadmm Hussein. However in recent times there have been some rumblings and some deviation is attributed to the Saudi Arabian rulers from their pro American erstwhile policies.
continue reading "Are the Relations Between Saudi Arabia and USA Getting Strained?"
Redefining Faith: An Introduction
Submitted by bill on Mon, 04/23/2007 - 14:38. faith objectivity subjectivity truth truthfulnessFaith is not belief.1 Neither is it the opposite of reason. It is an affirmation of truth.2 An ultimate concern.3 And it can go astray, as in the pursuit of various ill fated isms. A famous prophet said it this way: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.4 Achieving and becoming what we treasure—what we are ultimately concerned with—and affirming truth is what faith is about. But this is not the way that faith is commonly used today.
A brief history of everything
Submitted by bill on Mon, 04/23/2007 - 11:20.
134 of 140 people found the following review helpful:
Superb, August 18, 2000| Reviewer: | David K. Bell (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews |
I am among those who think Ken Wilber is one of the great thinkers of our time. His great contribution to world thought is as an integrator of a staggering breadth of philosophical thought, psychological research and accounts of mystical experience. He maintains that each of the wisdom traditions and methods of inquiry into human experience has at least some valid contribution to make. He then sets about the daunting task of finding the ground upon which they all can be said to agree and integrating them into a theoretical structure that can be used to understand how, though no single discipline can present the whole truth, all can deliver a piece of it. For example, it is not that neuroscience is right and mysticism is wrong or vice versa. They are both right but incomplete. There really are neurons that can be observed to behave in certain ways. But that is not, and cannot be, all there is to say about human experience. Wilber succeeds establishing an integral theory of consciousness that draws from the wisdom of all the traditions of inquiry to a greater extent than any other thinker I have read.
Law and Principle: Ancient Scriptures - Modern Questions - FR 361
Syndicated from: Freedom's Ring on Mon, 04/23/2007 - 02:02 syndicated articles When our founding fathers formed our great
constitution, by no stretch of the imagination
could they have created specific laws that would
regulate every circumstance in the lives of people
living two centuries later.
Articles so far, and where they are
Syndicated from: The Gates of Horn - Gateway to the Inner Realms on Sun, 04/22/2007 - 18:50 Douglas Buchanan syndicated blogsThere are over 70 articles on this blog at the moment. To make it easier to see if there is something that may interest you, here is a list of the titles and the date. By cliciking on the appropriate date in the right hand Archives column on this page you can easily navigate to the one you want, or just put the title in the Search box.
2005
How to fill your life with Miracles 9/01/2005
Your Ancestors and the Runes 9/15/2005
Become a Magician 11/30/2005
Articles so far, and where they are
Syndicated from: The Gates of Horn - Gateway to the Inner Realms on Sun, 04/22/2007 - 18:50 Douglas Buchanan syndicated blogsThere are over 70 articles on this blog at the moment. To make it easier to see if there is something that may interest you, here is a list of the titles and the date. By cliciking on the appropriate date in the right hand Archives column on this page you can easily navigate to the one you want, or just put the title in the Search box.
2005
How to fill your life with Miracles 9/01/2005
Your Ancestors and the Runes 9/15/2005
Become a Magician 11/30/2005
Truth...if you dare.
Syndicated from: The Gates of Horn - Gateway to the Inner Realms on Fri, 04/20/2007 - 12:17 syndicated blogsI have recently been writing posts about the difficulty of finding the truth about things that are not good for people, but are very profitable. This is so about things spiritual, mundane, political or in the field of human health.
I am writing this article about truth in the week of Senate hearings about political chicanery, and everyone knows that the truth is never going to come out of investigations of this administration.
Truth...if you dare.
Syndicated from: The Gates of Horn - Gateway to the Inner Realms on Fri, 04/20/2007 - 12:17 syndicated blogsI have recently been writing posts about the difficulty of finding the truth about things that are not good for people, but are very profitable. This is so about things spiritual, mundane, political or in the field of human health.
I am writing this article about truth in the week of Senate hearings about political chicanery, and everyone knows that the truth is never going to come out of investigations of this administration.
Ethics, Technology, and Huqooqul Ibaad
For a while now, I have been wondering about the moral responsibility of people like us, who work in the tech industry here in the Bay Area for human rights abuses enabled by our products.
Here's the first real effort I have seen to put some legal and real shape to the concerns:
Yahoo! sued over torture of Chinese dissident Chinese political prisoner sues Yahoo! in a US federal court in what is believed to be first case of its kind Rhys Blakely A Chinese political prisoner sued Yahoo! in a US federal court, accusing the internet company of helping the Chinese government torture him by providing information that led to his arrest. The suit, filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act, is believed to be the first of its kind made against an American internet company. More here....
Trouble For Indians in Uganda
Submitted by K Prabhakar Rao on Fri, 04/20/2007 - 08:29. idi amin obote uganda yoweri museveniUganda is an East African Nation and is one of the poorest country of the world.. The United Kingdom placed the area under the charter of the British East Africa Company in 1888, and ruled it as a protectorate from 1894. As several other territories and chiefdoms were integrated, the final protectorate called Uganda took shape in 1914. Uganda became an independent nation in 1962, with Edward Muteesa II, the Kabaka (King) of Buganda as the President and Commander in Chief of the armed forces, and Milton Obote as Prime Minister. In 1966, Obote overthrew the constitution and declared himself president, ushering in an era of coups and counter-coups which would last until the mid-1980s. Obote was deposed twice from office, both times by military coup d'etat. Idi Amin took power in 1971, ruling the country with the military for the coming decade. Idi Amin's rule cost an estimated 300,000 Ugandans' lives. He forcibly removed the entrepreneurial Indian minority from Uganda, decimating the economy. His reign was ended after the Uganda-Tanzania War in 1979 in which Tanzanian forces aided by Ugandan exiles invaded Uganda. This led to the return of Obote, who was deposed once more in 1985. Yoweri Museveni has been in power since 1986 (1).
The Sunni Bomb
Submitted by K Prabhakar Rao on Thu, 04/19/2007 - 08:36. iran nuclear weapons shia sunniIran is a Shiite country and the eternal feud between Shia and Sunni sects is well known to all in the world where each sect is blood thirsty and grappling at others throat. If Iran goes nuclear, it would acquire a Shia bomb soon and obviously blackmail others in no time. The situation would be akin to a stone in an insane and lunatic hand (5). The Sunnis in the West obviously would clamor for acquiring a nuclear bomb at the earliest and thus this would initiate great arms race in the region for acquiring nuclear weapons and its delivery systems. Soon, there would be a rushing to project a Sunni Bomb. How they would get the know how? It is generally perceived that Pakistan as a nuclear State has not been able to prevent theft of its nuclear technology to the rogue States. Late Dr Khan the ace scientist of Pakistan has already sold the secrets to these rogue States and consequently countries such as North Korea produced its Bomb while Iran is feverishly struggling to acquire one. Pakistan although is an ally of USA can not be trusted on this account as a responsible State and there is a great danger of emerging of Sunni Bomb in the world.
Are you in a knowing Minority?
Syndicated from: The Gates of Horn - Gateway to the Inner Realms on Thu, 04/19/2007 - 08:03 Douglas Buchanan syndicated blogsWhen I switched on my computer a day or two ago I followed a link that offered me Time magazine at amazing terms. I didn’t take the bait, but it did remind me of a day, over thirty years ago now when I was running a local newspaper in Chicago.
A friend of mine stopped by the office, handed me a March issue of Time, and destroyed my day. “Read the book review,” he said, “ I know you like Kipling.”. There was indeed a full page review of a book about Rudyard Kipling. To my absolute horror the review began with these lines from a poem:
Are you in a knowing Minority?
Syndicated from: The Gates of Horn - Gateway to the Inner Realms on Thu, 04/19/2007 - 08:03 Douglas Buchanan syndicated blogsWhen I switched on my computer a day or two ago I followed a link that offered me Time magazine at amazing terms. I didn’t take the bait, but it did remind me of a day, over thirty years ago now when I was running a local newspaper in Chicago.
A friend of mine stopped by the office, handed me a March issue of Time, and destroyed my day. “Read the book review,” he said, “ I know you like Kipling.”. There was indeed a full page review of a book about Rudyard Kipling. To my absolute horror the review began with these lines from a poem: