Punditry

There’s horse camp and piano camp and chess camp and church camp.

Now, there’s godless camp.

Minnesota atheists, humanists and free thinkers just finished holding the state’s first summer camp for kids who don’t believe in God.

At Camp Quest Minnesota, "The Secular Summer Camp," the program was modeled after an Ohio camp for atheist children also called Camp Quest that has been in operation for nine years.

In most ways, the Minnesota program was like a typical summer camp. The kids lived in cabins at the Voyageur Environmental Center near Mound. There was canoeing and campfires, archery and arts and crafts, skits and s’mores. Just no God, please.

Local atheists and humanists created the camp because they wanted to give their kids a sense of belonging in a free-thought community. They thought bringing unbelieving kids together for a week of fresh air and impiousness would counteract feelings of loneliness and isolation in a world many atheists feel is awash in religious and superstitious beliefs.

"I think this camp, unlike all the other camps, will focus on critical thinking and skepticism to fantastic claims and supernatural claims," said August Berkshire, one of the co-founders of the Minnesota camp.

"A vacation from Judeo-Christian culture," said camp director Rick Rohrer.
[Full Story]

I wonder what the atheist version of Kumbaya is for a campfire song?

Randomness is king, accident
Randomness is king, accident
Randomness is king, accident
No lord, accident

Primordial swamp, accident
Primordial swamp, accident
Primordial swamp, accident
No lord, accident

Ex Nihilo nothing, accident
Ex Nihilo nothing, accident
Ex Nihilo nothing, accident
No lord, accident

Cosmic fluke we are, accident
Cosmic fluke we are, accident
Cosmic fluke we are, accident
No lord, accident

Nietzsche – god is dead, accident
Nietzsche – god is dead, accident
Nietzsche – god is dead, accident
No lord, accident

Randian Positivism, accident
Randian Positivism, accident
Randian Positivism, accident
No lord, accident

I think therefore I am, accident

I think therefore I am, accident
I think therefore I am, accident
No lord, accident

The Knights of Columbus ended a convention in Dallas on Thursday with resolutions supporting a constitutional amendment to outlaw gay marriage and denouncing Catholic politicians who support abortion rights.

But the world’s largest Catholic laymen’s organization said it would not expel those politicians from its membership or take a stance on whether they should be given Holy Communion.

"We don’t tell the clergy their business, and who gets Communion is their business," said Patrick Korten, spokesman for the 1.7 million-member organization. Nearly 2,500 members met this week at the Hyatt Regency Dallas.

Now it makes sense that they wouldn’t talk on the Communion issue since the USCCB left it up to the individual Bishops. But it makes no sense that they don’t do something about people in their own ranks. Their membership rules on section 101 says.

"Only practical Catholics in union with the Holy See shall be eligible to and entitled to continue membership in the Order. An applicant for membership shall be no less than 18 years of age on his last birthday."

It definitely can be argued that those who support abortion, same-sex marriage, etc are not in union with the Holy See. Googling around I have seen two different version of this statement. One with practicing Catholic and the other with practical Catholic. Maybe a practical Catholic is a politician who votes with his party so as to get elected, which is very practical to them.

Update: Gregory Popcak and Phi Lawler make the same points I do.

Feminist theologians and clergy convened in March 2004 for an annual “Women and the Word” conference at Boston University’s School of Theology, challenging masculine images of God, supporting abortion rights, urging acceptance of same-sex “marriage,” and a new “omni-gender” and “polymorphous paradigm” in society that is under-gird by a gender-neutral theology.

“Women and the Word” is specifically organized by the Boston seminary’s Anna Howard Shaw Center, which is devoted to claiming the “power of women’s voices.” The seminary is a United Methodist institution, though its students come from many denominations.

Among the most provocative speakers was lesbian activist Virginia Ramey Mollenkott.

“Women doing theology creates heresy, we were told [in seminary],” recalled Mollenkott, author of the recently published Omnigender: A Trans-religious Approach, which is aimed at “transgendered” people.

Indeed, this allegation of heresy is somewhat true, Mollenkott, a former “fundamentalist” and now Episcopalian, admitted as she lamented that “androcentric theology is the center of orthodoxy.”
[Full Story]

Some have criticized the new document from the Vatican as not applying to today’s feminist. That a critique of "polymorphous sexuality" is too little too late. While their is some validity to this argument it is not true that this view of sexuality is no longer held. Simply stated their view of sexuality at this conference is in no way Christian and is just the continuation of the cult of self.

The group that will be speaking includes those of many denominations – very ecumenical of them. My favorite is "Dr. Mary Hunt is a feminist theologian and is co-founder and co-director of the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual " – Yes that is WATER. Very apt for watered down Christianity.

John Kerry is talking more openly about his personal connection to God and guns as he kicks off the general election campaign asking for support from conservative-leaning independent voters.

As his post-convention bus tour rolls through blue collar and Republican-leaning districts, the Democratic presidential nominee has repeatedly described how he began a lifetime of hunting and fishing as a young boy. And lately he’s been speaking in more detail about a faith that he and running mate John Edwards share in God.

"We’re running to be lay leaders, but there isn’t any way that you’re not affected by your fundamental values, the faith that brings you to the table," Kerry said Sunday to worshippers at Greater Grace Temple in the heart of the presidential campaign battleground in Ohio.

With his political enemies trying to portray the Massachusetts senator as an aloof Boston Brahmin, Kerry’s campaign is putting a bigger focus on common values that he shares with average Americans – fishing and hunting, family and faith.
[Full Story]

The faith you bring to the table – but not to the senate floor when voting.

Well at least John Kerry’s record on abortion is just as good as his record on the second amendment – horrible. Mark Steyn is a previous column showed his hunting acumen.

He was in Wisconsin the other day, pretending to be a regular guy, and was asked what kind of hunting he preferred. "I’d have to say deer," said the senator. "I go out with my trusty 12-gauge double-barrel, crawl around on my stomach… That’s hunting."

This caused huge hilarity among my New Hampshire neighbours. None of us has ever heard of anybody deer hunting by crawling around on his stomach, even in Massachusetts. The trick is to blend in with the woods and, given that John Kerry already looks like a forlorn tree in late fall, it’s hard to see why he’d give up his natural advantage in order to hunt horizontally.

Possibly his weird Vietnam nostalgia is getting out of control. Still, if I come across a guy in the woods in deer season inching through the undergrowth with a mouthful of bear scat, at least I’ll know who it is.

Conversely, if you’re a 14-point buck and get shot in the toe this autumn, you’ll know who to sue.

The culture of death convention might seem to be a harsh attribute to attach to the Democrat’s convention but unfortunately it is all too accurate. The very platform that the delegates will sign today is the most ferocious attack against life and family yet. They have become the party of junk science and family experimentation. Al Gore was well known for his advocacy of junk science such as global warming and now they are also firmly embracing the junk science of embryonic stem-cell research. They frame the debate by saying they believe in science, in fact John Kerry said yesterday at Cape Canaveral that America needs a leader who "believes in science." Now I am not aware of any Amish like contingent of our politicians who do not believe in science. Who do not believe that the world is understandable and that we can come to a better understanding of underlying principles. But the debate is framed this way so that anyone who disagrees with embryonic stem-cell research can be cast as being old-fashioned and living in the dark ages. If you don’t be agree with global warming then you are out to destroy the environment. If you are not in favor of embryonic stem-cell research then you want people to suffer and die. The emotional and not scientific argument is used to advance the cause.

The favorite slander of revisionist historians used to attack the Church about science is the Galileo controversy. Never mind that this old chestnut is an inaccurate portrayal of events. The point is that the Democratic party has defined dogmas that no science is allowed to contradict. Instead the debate becomes highly dishonest where the truth of something is obscured. The debate on abortion is contra-science in that they would deny the humanity of the embryo/fetus. They would obscure this by admitting one fact and then hiding under the personhood scam, as if people grow into their personhood or that at the exact point of consciousness or activity the attribute of personhood is magically applied. 4-D ultrasound equipment was not greeted by a praise for new science in the Democrat community. Instead groups like Planned Parenthood and NARAL called this machine a "weapon." Laws that would let women know the scientific facts of the risks of abortion in right-to-know laws are not endorsed by the party of "women’s rights" but are vigorously attacked and everything is done to prevent those laws from passing. So passing of scientific information to women is prevented. Increased risk of breast cancer and infertility, big deal – we want to keep abortion at all costs. The debate in the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade did not center around science but around privacy. Yet we heard no calls from the Democratic community decrying this most un-scientific decision. They keep talking about choice yet Democratic state attorney-generals have tried to close down clinics catering to women who want to keep their child. Kerry recently said "Let me tell you very clearly that being pro-choice is not pro-abortion." If you can buy a line form this by a person with a 100 percent voting record in accordance with NARAL and PP who make their money on abortions and not pregnancy centers, I have just the bridge in Brooklyn for you.

Now the Democratic Party is also turning away from democracy since none shall dissent from the abortion dogma. Their 2000 platform stated "The Democratic Party is a party of inclusion. We respect the individual conscience of each American on this difficult issue, and we welcome all our members to participate at every level of our party." This statement is now gone in 2004. Instead the proposed platform now says in part :

We will defend the dignity of all Americans against those who would undermine it. Because we believe in the privacy and equality of women, we stand proudly for a woman’s right to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade, and regardless of her ability to pay. We stand firmly against Republican efforts to undermine that right. At the same time, we strongly support family planning and adoption incentives. Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.

"defend the dignity of all Americans" except the pre-born. The make it seem like this is just a Republican issue when in fact they are disenfranchising a large chunk of their own party. I am not sure how they write with a strait face: " Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare." This is the same party that fights against allowing the same heath standards in abortion clinics as for other clinics that perform surgery. They mention the ability to pay which means federal money to pay for abortions. In Russian where abortions are funded by the government the abortion rate climbed to 89%. Whatever is federally funded you will have more of. This idea of rare is a sophist’s argument and means absolutely nothing in reality. The only part of the phrase that is accurate is "legal"

Adding insult to injury embryonic stem-cell researched shall now be enshrined in the platform.

"President Bush has rejected the calls from Nancy Reagan, Christopher Reeve and Americans across the land for assistance with embryonic stem cell research. We will reverse his wrongheaded policy. Stem cell therapy offers hope to more than 100 million Americans who have serious illnesses – from Alzheimer’s to heart disease to juvenile diabetes to Parkinson’s. We will pursue this research under the strictest ethical guidelines, but we will not walk away from the chance to save lives and reduce human suffering"

Now the latest alchemist trick is to turn embryonic stem-cells into golden cures for whatever disease you want to assign them to. The debate again is deeply dishonest. Pursuing stem-cell research under the strictest ethical guidelines? That is utter nonsense. This is like saying we will conduct transplants of hearts from a healthy living person to another ailing person under the strictest ethical guidelines. You can not ethically murder an innocent person to help another. No mention is ever made by them of the true promise of adult stem-cell research. The ability of embryonic stem-cell research to perform these miraculous cure has not been backed up by data. Yet even if the promise was true then ethical methods such as using umbilical cord blood could be used instead. Again scientific facts are not mentioned in this debate, instead they attack Pres. Bush for not allowing Federal money be used to slaughter the innocent in the name of research. Embryos don’t look like us, let’s kill them. Since they don’t look like us they are not human. Sound familiar? Meet the new boss,
Same as the old boss. Ah but in this case we are fooled again and another group of people are dehumanized so that another group may benefit.

So in the abortion debate children are allowed to be murdered to supposedly make the life of the mother easier. That a difficult situation justifies a difficult solution. We can experiment on embryos and murder them at will to ease the life of someone suffering from disease. These arguments are framed as the compassionate choice. We can and should feel sorrow at the plight of Christopher Reeves and others, but the answer is prayer and truly ethical medical research. John Kerry has been quoting the Bible lately and I wish he would get to the "never tire of doing good" part. Right now the end justifies the means if it is politically expedient according to focus groups.

Then we come to the attack on the family under the veil of states rights.

We support full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and seek equal responsibilities, benefits, and protections for these families. In our country, marriage has been defined at the state level for 200 years, and we believe it should continue to be defined there. We repudiate President Bush’s divisive effort to politicize the Constitution by pursuing a "Federal Marriage Amendment." Our goal is to bring Americans together, not drive them apart.

I have a hard time believing a party that rejoices when the Supreme Court advances their agenda is pro-state rights. Where is their outcry that states were not allowed to accept/reject abortion? States accept/reject sodomy? I am curious to see how much same-sex marriage will be talked about at the convention. Especially it being in Boston where the the state court imposed same-sex marriage by fiat. But I guess this is still a hot-button issue even in Democratic flanks and so they are hiding under state-rights instead of outright endorsement. You would think that gay advocacy groups would be outraged at the relatively mild support of same-sex marriage in the platform. But they know, wink-wink, that this was done for political reasons and the the Democratic Party fully supports same-sex marriage especially if it came about by Supreme Court edict. "Our goal is to bring Americans together, not drive them apart." Oh and then why are you on the wrong side of the divisive abortion issue?

Being an ex-Democrat I would like nothing better then to see the Democrat Party regain it moral vision. As a Catholic I vote to advance the Culture of Life and to promote the dignity of all human beings. It would be nice to be able to choose between candidates on more mundane issues. The GOP is flawed in it’s execution of it’s pro-life platform, but Democrats who follow some parts of their platform are cooperating with evil. Jesus told us to pray for our enemies and I strive never to dehumanize those who advance policies which I greatly disagree with. So if you have managed to get to the end of this bloated post please pray for those who, as of yet ,do not see the dignity of all human life. And pray for those with who do that they shall persevere with charity in the fight for the unborn whether in the womb or petri dish.

Here is an article about some of Florida’s Catholic politicians.

MIAMI — As a practicing Roman Catholic and legislator, state Rep. Tim Ryan tries to balance his personal faith with his duties to his South Florida district.

The Dania Democrat has voted to support abortion rights, putting him – along with some other Catholic lawmakers in Florida – into a national debate on whether Catholic politicians who break with church policy should receive Holy Communion.

Ryan says he will continue to receive Communion "if I am allowed," but needs to serve constituents with a broad range of religious beliefs.

"Why should I use the power that I have as an elected official to impose upon many people’s faiths my church’s doctrine?" Ryan said.

I think what annoys me the most about this debate is how intellectually vapid the excuses are and that these same excuses are used by countless people who say them as if they actually mean anything.

..Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate who supports abortion rights, declined to say whether he would no longer receive Communion, calling it "personal."

The parents of two children, Penelas said if he and his wife conceived another child, "we would choose to accept that child. But that’s my own personal belief and that doesn’t mean I’m going to impose my own personal beliefs on someone else."

I am open to life, buy hey if you want to abort yours – well I wouldn’t want to impose my personal belief.

For state Rep. Susan Bucher, D-Royal Palm Beach, the debate over abortion has contributed to her decision to no longer attend Mass. Bucher said she received a letter from a diocese last year denouncing her votes on abortion-related issues. She tore it up.

"I resent that the Catholic church wants to get involved in my politics," Bucher said.

Bravo to her diocese for writing her, It obviously struck a nerve. Hopefully one day she will understand why this angered her so much and that maybe her faith in abortion on demand isn’t as strong as she thought.

…Some Catholic elected officials who oppose abortion rights said the decision on whether to confront Catholics at the Communion line should be left to the church.

"I like the fact that there is very little movement with the times in the Catholic church," said Gov. Jeb Bush, who converted to Catholicism after his 1994 bid for governor. "While it is not absolute and there have been some changes, it’s about as timeless as one can get in one’s faith."

It is nice to have a Catholic Governor who actually seems to be on the right side of most pro-life issues. His fight to help save Terri Schiavo has been laudable. Now if only he come to a fuller Catholic understanding of the use of the death penalty and retire Old Sparky.

I think we need to cut the middleman out of government commissions. It takes no prophet to determine what the recommendations will be of any appointed commission. After 9/11 we saw how that the FBI and CIA were not efficiently sharing information with each other, so we get another level of bureaucracy in the Homeland Security Department. Now we can have the FBI and CIA and the Homeland Security Department not share information efficiently.

We saw the massive failure of airline security and surprise-surprise what do we get. Federalized screeners.

Now the 9/11 commission wants a National Intelligence Director and to upgrade the present terrorist threat integration center with a national counter intelligence center.

The old saying garbage in, garbage out when applied to commissions becomes bureaucracy in, bureaucracy out. We could have saved all that time and money and political intrigue with the 9/11 commission and just went strait to expanding government. This is always the political answer so lets just cut out the middleman.

There is just something about humans and organizations and how fast competition and rivalry occurs between organizations with the same mission. This behavior rarely enhances the mission and often distracts from it. During one tour while in the Navy I was working with Naval Air Command (NAVAIR ) and their counterparts in the Pentagon. There has always been rivalry in the services between the different branches, but even within the Navy there was rivalry. The group I had worked with had done some development in the training for a missile system that could be delivered via aircraft or ship. SInce we had already developed all of the up front analysis in what equipment and resources were needed for this system we contacted our counterparts in Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to offer this to them. They didn’t want to have anything to do with us and even though this was a freebie. Instead of joint commands working together I found it to be more like separate kingdoms, each with it’s own agenda.

The missile system itself was a case of governments working together. The Penguin Anti-Ship Missile was developed by the Norwegian Navy and was being forced on us for political reasons, not because it was better than the Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile.

During the Iranian Hostage Crisis we ended up with three Aircraft Carriers in the Indian Ocean awaiting developments in Iran. The area we were deployed was called Gonzo Station. Not named after a Muppet but after Gonzo journalism where anything can happen. Towards the end of one three month at-sea period our ship for entertainment had published a Gonzo Station coloring book as a joke. Besides the silly pictures for coloring and cartoons, it also had a page of definitions. My favorite was the following.

Mutual Carrier Operations: Three carriers conducting mutually exclusive operations in support of each other

This phrase always stuck with me because it is a perfect definition of how government works. Replace carriers with the branches of government and the phrase remains true. This understanding was the beginning of my political education. I would hope that the commissions recommendations don’t come about but unfortunately that will probably not be the case. I wonder what we will do when there isn’t once person left who is not working for the government in some capacity? Will we then start a cabinet position in charge of emigrating bureaucrats?

‘Not So Quiet’ Catholic Corner links to some photos from CTA 2003 National Conference and comments.

A call to fashion is more like it!!!Check out the ridiculous stoles, banners and table cloths!!!

And yes all of the above photos are from the Mass they held.

This conference was titled "Called To Be Peacemakers: Prophetic Leadership For World and Church." Thought I thing that pathetic leadership is closer to the mark. Just look at some of the enlightening presentations we missed.

• The Tribal Dreams of the Christian Community
• Zazen and Kripalu Yoga as Christian Contemplative Experience
• I’m ODIE, You’re ODIE – What Vatican Abuse of Gays and Lesbians Means for the Entire Church
• The Choreographed Prayer: Music and Dance as a Praxis to Spirituality
• Spirituality of the Mariachi

The most numerous conference topics were Gay/Lesbian ministry and the clergy abuse scandal. And no they didn’t see the irony in this. In fact one of the conferences titled "Clergy Sexual Abuse: The Crisis Behind the Headlines" says this about the crisis " At its core he finds a pre-Copernican understanding of human sexuality and a power system dependent on a sexual myth." Well that really explains it.

And for entertainment:

The afternoon’s special performance piece Midwifery! throws new and touching light on Jesus’ special valuing of women and their creative Birthing energy. Developed by writer and actress Roberta Nobleman, who was ably aided by dancer, Linda Telesco, the play contains three vignettes from the Christian scriptures. These are told through the eyes of Peter’s wife, “Sarah,” a midwife who is now in Rome helping “to birth the new Church.” Prominently featured props included a real birthing stool “a red tent,” and two brightly colored hand made cloaks illustrating Sophia-God’s all encompassing care.

“Sarah” asks: “what are you laboring with today?” and recruits willing helpers to tell the story of Jesus’ healing of Peter’s mother in law, the woman with the issue of blood (aptly named “Flo”) and the bent over woman. The performance was interspersed with reflective music and dance inviting both song and movement from the audience.

Flo? Now that is pretty funny. I wonder what an apt name for the Syrophoenician woman at the wells name is? Perhaps Zsa Zsa.

I was thinking of starting a fundraiser for Call To Action. I thought that perhaps I might want to raise money to be able to send each member of CTA a new calendar. It is no longer the sixties!!!! Wake up people!!

From what seems to be a parody advice column in the Asian Times.

Dear Spengler,
I lead a church whose priests are pledged to celibacy. Nowadays we seem to get no one but gays, and the situation has gotten out of hand. Lawsuits about sex abuse are driving parts of my organization into bankruptcy, and now there are pictures all over the Internet of priests fondling each other at an Austrian seminary. What can I do to keep the gays away?
Red-faced in Rome

Dear Red,
Have you considered giving the Church an anti-queer makeover? Lose the chic black outfits, and instruct your priests to wear plaid polyester instead. No self-respecting gay male will go near you.

Well maybe Bishop John M. D’Arcy might want to consider this proposal and add socks that clash also.

Bishop John M. D’Arcy, who in private letters to other church officials as early as 1978 questioned the reassignment of priests accused of sexual misconduct, said yesterday that the church must improve its screening process for accepting seminarians and that homosexuals should be prohibited from being ordained as priests. (source)

With a shortage of new priests, the Catholic Church is slowly changing who’s in charge of some functions of Church life. Last weekend, lay and religious leaders gathered in Philadelphia to talk about expanding the role of lay people in the Church.

"It’s what we are to do with our lives." That’s how Margaret Hargroder describes how she feels about her lay work. Hargroder has been involved in lay activities in the Catholic Church for all of her adult life. She, and her husband Raymond, are both Eucharistic Ministers at St. Mary’s Chuch in Lafayette. "More and more we’ve had lay people taking roles with Parish life, it’s just an increasing role," Hargroder tells KATC.

Hargroder says changing some church responsiblities is just lets lay people and Priests specialize in what they do best. "We’re all gifted in different ways and i think our Pastors are too. There are some gifts they can best utilize and there are other gifts that Parishioners may be able to lend their own gifts to."

With the movement, lay people could handle day-to-day operations and Priests do religious duties that way – priests could spend their time performing Sacraments, and lay people would take care of things like building maintenance and budgets.

Even though some Priests could see their roles become more focused, Hargroder says they play a very important role in Parish life. "I see him as a C.E.O. for our Parish, he’s the one that sees our Parish achieves the overall goal of health and development." (source)

This attitude does not exactly put priest on an altar, but where it does put them I am not sure. Lines like performing sacraments, and C.E.O. does not exactly describe the sacramental life of a priest. I wouldn’t exactly describe the goal of a priest as "health and development." I thought it might have something to do with helping to get us to heaven or something like that.