Labor (Day) and faith: 9-1-2008

Yes, it's Labor Day, and I intend not to labor much today, preferring to hone my lollygagging skills as I catch up on some reading, some fine off-the-grill dining and some life pondering.

But I don't want to let myself off the hook completely by abandoning this site for 24 hours, so I am offering you today some thoughts on the connection between labor and faith.

I'm doing that the easy way, however, by linking you to a recent entry at the God's Politics blog, done by Jim Wallis (of Sojourners magazine) and some of his friends.

This particular entry is by Kim Bobo, executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice, a group you can learn more about by clicking on the link in this sentence.

So happy Labor Day, and remember that this day ties a record for the earliest Labor Day it's possible to have in September.

And isn't that worth firing up the grill for?

(The cartoon here today is by Clay Bennett of the Christian Science Monitor.)

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MORE PALINOLOGY

Gov. Sarah Palin's religious affiliation has stirred up lots of questions -- many of which I talked about in my weekend blog. But the Dallas Morning News religion blog has raised others about Sen. John McCain's running mate in this post, which includes reference to the John Allen NCR (National Catholic Reporter) piece I linked you to over the weekend. By the way, I find the heavily masculine language in this doctrinal statement from Palin's church intriguing and wonder what she thinks about it.

To read my latest Kansas City Star work, click here.

Today's religious holiday: Ramadan (Islam; begins at sundown)

Comments

[Joe Barone]

One of your links talked about post-denominational Christianity. I see that as part of an overall trend toward religious diversity. We may claim this is a Christian nation, but the truth is we have a growing variety of religions beliefs (including agnosticism and atheism), and even Christianity is breaking into smaller parts. Religious diversity is growing in the world too.

[Patricia]

I find the entire non-denominational, "what alignments does a church really have?", to be a little......creepy. Yesterday evening I had someone tell me the story of her husband's attendance at a church he assumed would be pretty mainstream Christian or evangelical. And he wound up in a prayer group being pressured to speak in tongues and with some pretty radical charismatic practices.

Nothing but hearsay, I understand. But it poses the question, "Do pentecostal/assemblies churches choose to fly under the non-denominational banner, as a sort of sales strategy to get people in the door, thinking they are attending a common evangelical church?

And while I'm in a hearsay mode, there is a fascinating article at Daily Kos on this issue. I fully understand that DK has a strong political agenda and this article is all opinion. And possibly paranoid opinion. But it raises some interesting questions about dominionism. I had never heard of Joel's Army.
http://tinyurl.com/5nanrm

[Dolores Lear]

Happy Labor Day to All.

Bill!
:) You have to be kidding, about Palin's Religion has a masculine influence. The Religious God, that influences All Christians, is a Human Male, with No Equal Female.

Women have always been the lesser influence, of the two Evil Humans, Adam and Eve. Males seem to think God appointed the Male over the Female, even when Females were Equally Created from the Male rib.

When the Equal Females 'in the beginning', started reproducing Killer Humans, fertilized by the Male, in Heterosexual Body Birth, they lost their Equality with the male.

Equality is what Females, and Patricia, and writers have complained about, for the Christian Religion's Masculine Influence in their teachings. Even in the Old Testament some females worshiped a Female Goddess.

God is a He, and is the Masculine influence all the Way to the Top, of the Christian/Catholic Religions, and All Christian Religions today, except for the past 25 years, a few female Pastors have been added.

Equal Male and Females, 'were' in God's Human Male and Female Image 'in the beginning'.

In today's increase in our High Tech Science World Knowledge, it is impossible to make a statement about Male and Female Equality, in the Male God Religion or Civil Life.

Will Humans Solve the Mystery of the Fall, to Unequal Male and Female Human Life on Earth, before they blow their Planet to Kingdom Come, with their 'Love' of God, and their Unequal Love of Brothers/Sisters of Life?

[Just Thinking]

Speaking of labor, how is it that only 20% of the needed levee work in New Orleans has been accomplished in three years? Shouldn't THAT have been a priority? More failing of the Bush Administration. The Bush presidency has been the most disastrous that this country has ever seen. There is just no question that Bush will be written up in history books as the most imcompetent President ever.

[PreacherDJ]

Just Thinking,

Do you mean AFTER the Carter presidency?

[Dolores Lear]

On my Channel 9 Homepage, Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter is 5 months pregnant, but is planning on marrying the father of the child.

Some also suspect the baby Sarah had recently, is really really her daughter's.

Wonder how this will play out with Right Wing Conservitives.

[Dolores Lear]

What does Labor Day and Faith mean? Have Humans been so 'busy with Work' for Resources and 'Things', they forgot their 'Faith' was to Take Care of GODs Planet, not Kill it?

GOD, the Invisible Maker of the Atom and Electro-Magnetic Force, has Faith in the Work of the Eternal Invisible Elements, to Keep making Visible Element Life as we Know it?

How did GOD Create and have Faith in the He/She Physical Gods, that Supernaturally Created an Eco System, and Visible Life on Earth?

In our Past History, the Peace Male and Female Gods, did Colonize Planet Earth, did fly up in the air, and out into Space in fiery chariots.

The Creator Peace Gods were our Human Ancestor Astronauts, not the Creator GOD of LIFE. The Perfect Creator Male and Female Human Gods of Life on Earths, cannot Create the Universe, and the Planets they Live on.

Will Religious Humans today 'Know'/Accept, who the Creator GOD of Science, and the Religious Gods in Genesis are?

Will their 'Faith', in their Religious Life After Death, let them 'Continue' their Human 'Work' of Nuclear Destruction, of All GODs LIFE and Gods Life, on Earth?

Eternal Physical Life After Birth, is Not In the Religious Spirit/Ghost Heaven. Even Christians say Humans will be 'born again', 'reincarnated' into Perfect Physical Human Bodies like Adam, Eve and Jesus, for the Judgement Day Trip, out into Space with Jesus.

At Judgement Day, the Higher Human Species, our Human Ancestors, will make the a Human Choice, like they did with Jesus, who did not have the Religious teachings of Life After Death.

No Matter what Earthly Faith the Saved had, they Will Succeed, or Fall to Body Birth on the New Planet.

Eternal Physical Life is for Living Humans, on Planets, not for the Dead.

[Patricia]

Food for Thought.....According to the Rocky Mountain Institute, an energy think tank, if Jimmy Carter's energy policies had been kept in effect and not been revoked by Reagan, we would now have a SURPLUS of energy. That means that even with George Bush running this country into the ground with an unnecessary war (wars take mega energy outlay), taking us from a surplus in Social Security and finances to being owned by the Chinese, we should, at least, not be paying $4 a gallon for gas. Not unless Bush found another way to provide a payday for the oil companies.

[PreacherDJ]

Would that be Carter's policies that have resulted in no new nuclear plants to be built since and have banned the reprocessing of nuclear waste, or the let's all just try to conserve a little bit (revised by Obama to let's all check the air pressure in our tires) while I do nothing to deal effectively with the countries from which we import oil policy, or the let's keep the price of oil and gas artificially high to try to encourage alternative energy innovation because those people out there waiting in gas lines aren't all that important policy? I was young then, so I guess I need reminding.

And I'm confused - I thought the rhetoric was that Bush went to war to keep the oil flowing our way. It's all about oil, isn't that what people say? And isn't he for expanded drilling, which would increase supply and thus drop the price? So I'm just not following that logic.

And as for an "unnecessary war," I notice the Arch or the Space Needle or the Empire State Building or the Sears Tower or a myriad of other possible targets haven't been leveled by al Quaida yet, nor have I heard Saddam Hussein threatening the United States for a while.

[Patricia]

My point is that Carter's conservation policies would have stood alone in getting us an oil surplus. Ask yourself why Reagan didn't build reactors as he was booting conservation to the curb.

Whether or not Bush went to war in Iraq to keep oil flowing, he's been simply ineffective at doing anything in Iraq. During the last year (a mere 5+ years after beginning the war), we have finally managed to get our mortality numbers down over there. We don't have enough control to accomplish anything else.

As for Al Quada. I'm sure they were really impressed at our ineptitude in invading Iraq. And that they were doubly impressed at our ineptitude in capturing their leader. The war in Iraq has nothing to do with them not striking this country again.

[PreacherDJ]

Gen. David Petraeus says, "Attacks in Iraq hit a four-year low in mid-May and...Iraqi forces were finally taking the lead in combat and on multiple fronts at once – something that was inconceivable a year ago.

Independent embedded journalist and former Green Beret Michael Yon, reporting from the front lines, says, "By my estimation, the Iraq War is over. We won. Which means the Iraqi people won."

Patricia says, Bush has "been simply ineffective at doing anything in Iraq."

Let's see, whose overview of the Iraq situation seems to come from someone who knows what they are talking about?

"The war in Iraq has nothing to do with them not striking this country again." Are you serious? It has everything to do with them not striking this country again. What do you think is responsible? Our increased border security and tighter immigration enforcement?

[Patricia]

But PDJ, stopping part of the violence in Iraq really only means that we have undone a portion of the damage that we created.

As far as any other goals, we've not achieved anything. There were no weapons of mass destruction. There was no Al Quada until we invaded and convinced people to join Al Quada. The new alignments created by the invasion gave more power to Iran.............

Al Quada was a handful of radicals, until WE went out of our way to radicalize people. The fact that we've had no further attacks has the most to do with the fact that the assets of that small group were used up on 9/11 and most analysts agreed that it would take 7+ years for them to ever re-group. Combine that with the fact that 9/11 woke up the Bush administration and made them more watchful than they were prior to that attack.

No attacks in the U.S. has absolutely nothing to do with the war in Iraq.