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Studying today's issues through eyes of
faith
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Perspectives on today's issues
an e-mail from the Rev. Bruce Gillette, dated 2-5-02
[2-6-02]
Our church and world need Presbyterians to take
seriously our major themes presented in our Book of Confessions.
A paragraph from The Confession of 1967 speaks clearly today:
God's reconciliation in Jesus Christ is the ground
of the peace, justice, and freedom among nations which all powers of
government are called to serve and defend. The church, in its own
life, is called to practice the forgiveness of enemies and to commend
to the nations as practical politics the search for cooperation and
peace. This search requires that the nations pursue fresh and
responsible relations across every line of conflict, even at risk to
national security, to reduce areas of strife and to broaden
international understanding. Reconciliation among nations becomes
peculiarly urgent as countries develop nuclear, chemical, and
biological weapons, diverting their manpower and resources from
constructive uses and risking the annihilation of mankind. Although
nations may serve God's purposes in history, the church which
identifies the sovereignty of any one nation or any one way of life
with the cause of God denies the Lordship of Christ and betrays its
calling. PCUSA's Book of
Confessions, 9.45
The Confession also states "effective preaching,
teaching, and personal witness require disciplined study of both the
Bible and the contemporary world." [9.49]
Two online articles are good reading in one's "disciplined
study" of the world and worth sharing with members of our
congregations, presbyteries and other online friends:
"Imaginary
axis threat" is an excellent editorial from yesterday's Philadelphia
Inquirer:
"'Axis
of Evil' Crumbles Under Scrutiny" by Michael T. Klare, professor of
peace and world security studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass.,
and author of Rogue States and Nuclear Outlaws:
Today's Philadelphia
Inquirer has an excellent article about the two trillion dollar
budget that President Bush is proposing that will go in part to support
this misguided approach to terrorism:
"Stacked in dollar bills, the pile would stretch nearly 144,419
miles. That's two-thirds of the distance to the moon, more than five
laps of Earth at the equator..."
To save billions of dollars, and more importantly,
lives, we study how best to counter terrorism today, starting with
"A Hatred Rooted In Failings" by Caryle Murphy (a Washington
Post religion reporter
who had been the newspaper's Cairo bureau chief):
Grace and Peace,
Bruce P. Gillette
Co-Pastor, First Presbyterian Church in Pitman, NJ
E-mail: bcgillette@snip.net
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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