I'm writing about the following articles a little late to their actually being "breaking news" but better late than never.
First up is Glenn Beck. One of my least favorite people who I lump into the same group with such hatemongers as Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh. Beck urges people to leave churches that preach social justice. Now, when this news was technically "new" I posted it on Facebook and it accrued nearly 20 comments in 2 days, 2 of which were in favor and could not argue with any sense of aptitude, clarity or depth the reasons why they agreed with Beck on this other than something about separating politics from the church teachings. Sorry, anything that has to do with social justice and economic justice is going to be mentioned in the basic New Testament scripts. Because Jesus did not practice his love in a vaccuum to everyone on the same social or economic spectrum.
Now, I fancy myself pretty familiar with the Bible and while the actual modern terms of 'social justice' or 'economic justice' may not have been included verbatim in the Biblical texts of olde, the example and actions that Jesus portrayed scream it from the mountaintops. Jesus instructed people to care for the poor, give to the needy, clothe those who have none, feed those who are hungry, visit those in prison...and if you are asked for your shoes, take off your cloak and give it as well, expecting nothing in return (to summarize). That, Mr. Beck, is social justice. By giving to those who are in dire need, that is the fulfillment of economic justice on the most fundamental level. The ill-formed logic of this nutter is that Communism / Socialism will break out if enough people are cared for and given enough, apparently. The Bible and the Constitution can be misconstrued to fulfill your foaming-mouth hatemongering agenda, Mr. Beck. And God watches.
And in the article below, Beck channels the lingo of typical conspiracy quacks: _____ is really code for _____. It smacks of backward extremism to look into an ancient text so full of love and the basic tenets of "Love thy neighbor" that you can pull something out like that, twist it up and present it in the interest of his own f***ed up divisive agenda. And while I personally am not a member of an institutional religion, I think the (lack of) reason he presents to people to actually leave their churches, of which I imagine are a rock for many of them, is utterly errorsome and I loathe to think that any of his blind sheep would heed that misleading and harmfully polarizing blight. Shame on him for spreading the disease of lies - around the Bible, no less.
This Christian Universalist will now quote a brilliant atheist, Voltaire: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."
The second part of this post focuses on the Gay Sex Scandal of the Catholic Church, which can be seen in the article below the Glenn Beck BS.
I'm only going to say this: Anything done in the dark will eventually come to light. That is all.
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PoliticsDaily.com - 3-8-10
On his daily radio and television shows last week, Fox News personality Glenn Beck set out to convince his audience that "social justice," the term many Christian churches use to describe their efforts to address poverty and human rights, is a "code word" for communism and Nazism. Beck urged Christians to discuss the term with their priests and to leave their churches if leaders would not reconsider their emphasis on social justice.
"I'm begging you, your right to religion and freedom to exercise religion and read all of the passages of the Bible as you want to read them and as your church wants to preach them . . . are going to come under the ropes in the next year. If it lasts that long it will be the next year. I beg you, look for the words 'social justice' or 'economic justice' on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. Now, am I advising people to leave their church? Yes!"
Later, Beck held up cards, one with a hammer and sickle and other with a swastika. "Communists are on the left, and the Nazis are on the right. That's what people say. But they both subscribe to one philosophy, and they flew one banner. . . . But on each banner, read the words, here in America: 'social justice.' They talked about economic justice, rights of the workers, redistribution of wealth, and surprisingly, democracy."
AND
Huffington Post - Adam Taylor First Posted: 03- 5-10 07:28 AM Updated: 03- 5-10 12:50 PM
The Vatican has been thrown into chaos by reports that one of the Pope's ceremonial ushers, as well as a member of the elite Vatican choir, were involved in a homosexual prostitution ring.
The allegations came to light after Italian newspapers published transcripts of phone calls recorded by police, who had been conducting an unrelated corruption investigation.
The tapes appear to record Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness, negotiating with Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, a 29-year-old Nigerian Vatican chorister, about men he wanted brought to him for sexual purposes. Balducci was allegedly paying 2,000 euros ($2,714) for each man he met, according to the Irish Times.
Balducci is recorded describing precise physical details of the men he wanted. The transcripts record that during five months in 2008, Ehiem procured for Balducci at least 10 contacts with, among others, "two black Cuban lads," a former male model from Naples, and a rugby player from Rome.
A report by the Italian Carabinieri on the case said: "In order to organize casual encounters of a sexual nature, he availed himself of the intercession of two individuals who, it is maintained, may form part of an organized network, especially active in [Rome], of exploiters or at least facilitators of male prostitution."
The police probe into corruption resulted in Balducci and 4 others being arrested. Allegations of prostitution were only revealed later, and have resulted in Ehiem's dismissal from the Vatican choir.
Balducci held a high position within the Vatican and carried the coffin of Pope John Paul at his 2005 funeral. He has now lost his position as a Gentleman of the Holiness. His trial for corruption is still pending.
The Catholic Church has weathered a storm of controversy in recent years over allegations of sexual abuse by its members. Whilst homosexuality is not outright condemned within the Church, it is taught that homosexual acts are "are intrinsically disordered."
And as a follow up to this article, this piece came out on Friday, March 19, 2010
And as a follow up to this article, this piece came out on Friday, March 19, 2010
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