•
Not sure how we missed out on writing about this when it was in the news a week and a half ago (though I have an idea that Spitzer coverage may have over shadowed it a bit in the US), but Pope Benedict XVI’s people have announced that they felt there needed to be some updates to what is considered sinning in the modern age we live in:
“You offend God not only by stealing, blaspheming or coveting your neighbor’s wife, but also by ruining the environment, carrying out morally debatable scientific experiments, or allowing genetic manipulations which alter DNA or compromise embryos.”
While there have not been any official changes to Catholic Doctrine, the new cardinal sins on the list include Drug Dealing, Abortion, Pedophilia, Genetic Engineering and Excessive Wealth.
While it is nice to see that the priests are making an effort to update doctrine and get back in touch with their followers I am not exactly sure that this is the right way.
Also, doesn’t Pedophilia fall into the same category as Lust? Excessive Wealth a form of Greed? And if they are saying Excessive Wealth is a sin, shouldn’t they be giving up a few coins themselves? Maybe get rid of a few child-touching-priests? Oh, right, the 7 Deadly Sins (and this new updated list) can be absolved through confession to the proper officials (priests) and the proper penance.
So, what do we think, is Excessive Wealth as bad as Pedophilia? Is Genetic Engineering on par with Sloth?
•
When your previous job used to be running around all day in a pair of spandex, getting sweaty with other men and then jumping on top of them, maybe you aren’t the right person to be coming out with a strong stance against gay rights.
Former Dallas Cowboys linebacker turn reverend, Ken Hutcherson of the Antioch Bible Church in Redmond, WA is claiming to be a modern day David against Goliath mega-corporations. Hutcherson is preaching that companies like Microsoft, who he says is attempting to become a political player in Washington state and push its policies on the entire state, can have their policies of toleration changed by the power of the shareholder.
Hutcherson is telling members of his 3,500 congregation to buy up shares of the company and reaching out to other religions, like Orthodox Jews, to do the same. The theory being that once they have amassed a controlling share of the company the can ‘correct’ the diversity policies currently in place , one of which includes an internal “affinity employee group” called the Gay and Lesbian Employees At Microsoft (GLEAM).
Read more »
•
Have you seen the NY Lotto commercial with bundles of money just falling from the sky? Well, apparently that is what is happening in Japan- well, kind of.
Yahoo News reports that at an apartment building in Tokyo a number of people have discovered unmarked envelopes in their mailboxes each containing about 1.81 million yen (almost $16,000).
In an example of how different the Japanese are from Americans, they phoned the police to report the money, thinking it was fake. When it turned out to be real, they still handed it over to the police. In another apartment building in Kob, a woman received a similar gift in her mail of 1 million yen.
Continuing on the theme of money randomly appearing, a bunch of envelopes have been reported found in the restrooms of public building around Tokyo containing large sums of money and last week “bills worth 960,000 yen were inexplicably seen ‘falling’ in front of a convenience store… ‘We can just say the money came from the skies,’ a puzzled police official said. ‘There were other passers-by outside and customers in the store but the incident caused no confusion’ he said. ‘People thought it was too eerie to touch.’” Clearly not Americans, I am guessing this would have caused a riot here.
Although there is some speculation that the money may be from a public servant or new-age religious group, there is no real evidence one way or another and there really is no harm being done.
There have been other incidents reported as well. This all just makes me even more excited for my upcoming trip to Tokyo at the end of the month. I am definitely going to make sure to exam the men’s rooms in public buildings ever so closely.
•
So, recently I have been asked on 3 different occasions if I have seen Jesus Camp. Apparently it is a good movie, but also kind of scary, especially with the estimates of how many Evangelical Christians are out there and how they are being raised, almost like an army, to become the leaders of tomorrow.
Yes, this can be a scary thought, however, keep in mind the movie is presenting only one type of Evangelical Christian, and from the sound of it, they are fundamentalists, preaching the word of the bible as law. Not all Evangelicals are like that. And now that I have taken that stance I will now proceed to get myself cast into hell with all the other sinners by poking fun at the International House of Prayer.
Yes, you read that correctly, IHOP.
Read more »
•
In a week where the media headlines were dominated by the Virginia Tech Massacre and Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, it’s important to also not some other headlines that should be getting some attention.
The first is the one Adam posted below “Iran Exonerates Six Who Killed in Islam’s Name.” Which ranks #6 in the NY Times most emailed articles (#1 being the all-important “But What if You Get Hit By a Taxi?” about Men’s underwear and #5 being “Bereft of BlackBerrys, the Untethered Make Do” about the 12 hours people had to deal without having email on their BlackBerrys)
The next article just cracks the top 10 most emailed: At #10 “Justices Back Ban on Method of Abortion.” About the Supreme Courts ruling that was released yesterday which will probably play a factor in the 2008 elections, especially with Giuliani supporting the Supreme Courts ruling while Obama has been quoted saying “I strongly disagree with today’s Supreme Court ruling, which dramatically departs from previous precedents safeguarding the health of pregnant women,†Mr. Obama added. Even Justice Ginsburg came out saying that “this way of thinking reflects ancient notions of women’s place in the family and under the Constitution — ideas that have long since been discredited.†and wrote, as the voice of the 4 dissenters, that the decision is “so at odds with our jurisprudence†that it “should not have staying power.â€
You can get the list of all the NY Times most emailed articles here
