[David] Brooks is right to insist that emotional ties, social interaction and the communal transmission of norms are essential in forming individuals for a decent life, and that habit, perception and instinct form a large part of the individual character. But there is moral and intellectual laziness in his sentimental devaluation of conscious reasoning, which is what we have to rely on when our emotions or our inherited norms give unclear or poorly grounded instructions.

Life, morality and politics are not science, but their improvement requires thought ”” not only thought about the most effective means of shaping people, which is Brooks’s concern, but thought about what our ends should be. Such questions don’t appeal to him, since they cannot be settled by empirical evidence of the kind he feels comfortable with. Brooks is out to expose the superficiality of an overly rational view of human nature, but there is more than one kind of superficiality.

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Six missionaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will return to the ministries they serve in Egypt by the end of March. The six were among 10 missionaries temporarily evacuated from Cairo Feb. 1 on flights arranged by the U.S. government, because of protests against the government of former President Hosni Mubarak.

The ELCA missionaries, along with one missionary from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), flew to Istanbul, Turkey, and eventually arrived in St. Paul, Minn. Most have been staying in ELCA apartments reserved for missionaries on home assignment while in the United States.

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Japan faced mounting humanitarian and nuclear emergencies Sunday as the death toll from Friday’s earthquake and tsunami climbed astronomically, partial meltdowns occurred at two crippled plants and cooling problems struck four more reactors.

In one town alone, the port of Minamisanriku, a senior police official said the number of dead would “certainly be more than 10,000.” The overall number is also certain to climb as searchers began to reach coastal villages that essentially vanished under the first muddy surge of the tsunami, which struck the nation’s northern Pacific coast. Prime Minister Naoto Kan told a news conference late Sunday: “I think that the earthquake, tsunami and the situation at our nuclear reactors makes up the worst crisis in the 65 years since the war. If the nation works together, we will overcome.”

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A strategic town is lost in the east with another expected to follow soon. In the west, a symbolic centre of resistance is about to suffer an onslaught that it is unlikely to survive. With no international action to stop Muammar Gaddafi’s fierce offensive, the survival of Libya’s revolution hangs in a precarious balance.

Just four days ago the picture was very different: the rebel fighters were seemingly on a march to the capital, Tripoli, and the enemy was in disarray and retreat. But a series of misjudgements, and chronic lack of planning and organisation, have resulted in a dramatic reversal. The regime’s troops are poised to strike at Benghazi, the capital of “Free Libya”.

By yesterday afternoon, the opposition had abandoned Ras Lanuf, an oil port on the key coastal route. They withdrew to Aghala, outside Brega, another petrochemical complex. Control of the two locations would provide the regime with the reserves of fuel needed for the tanks and armoured cars arriving in increasing numbers on the frontline. It would also put Tripoli in a position to shut down power supplies to Benghazi.

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Wedding photos in a cemetery, a reception in a courtroom or a rickshaw for transport.

These are just some of the unique touches arranged by Sydney brides and grooms to make their weddings unique….

At the historic St Stephen’s Anglican Church in Newtown, couples can walk down the aisle in the sandstone church, then have afternoon tea or wedding photos among the gravestones.

Read it all and make sure to note the average cost of an Australian wedding at the moment (guess before you look).

Television writer-producer Jill Soloway turned off her electronic devices for 24 hours last Saturday and spent the morning playing with her 2-year-old son in her yard in Silver Lake.

“It was excruciating and kind of wonderful. I struggled with a feeling of anxiety that there was something in my inbox I needed to tend to,” she said. “Then came a moment when it felt like a holiday. Holiday means holy day. What a huge gift.”

Soloway, executive producer of the Showtime series “United States of Tara,” and a self-described smartphone junkie, was taking part in the “National Day of Unplugging,” organized by Reboot, a group of urban media professionals who try to reconnect with Jewish tradition in a way that is meaningful to their hectic lives.

Read it all.

Slavery and its heritage are everywhere here. Charleston was one of the main colonial ports of the 18th century, dealing in rice, indigo and slaves. In 1860 South Carolina held as many slaves as Georgia and Virginia, which were at least twice its size. The genteel grace and European travels of its wealthy citizens were made possible by the enslavement of about half the population.

So on a recent visit, I searched for a public display of an understanding of that American past and its legacy. After all, is there any more vexed aspect of this country’s history than its embrace and tolerance of slavery? And is there any aspect of its past that has been less well served in museums, exhibitions and memorials?…

Of course, in the North slavery can seem like a distant abstraction, creating its own problems. But in Charleston all abstractions are gone. The strange thing is how long it has taken to see the substance, and how much more is yet to be shown. Several directors of the region’s historical plantations and homes, which offer tours of these once-prosperous estates, told me that until the 1990s, slavery’s role was generally met with silence.

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When Thomas Jefferson was 77, he went back to a project he had been thinking about for decades. Sitting in Monticello, using candlelight and a knife, he cut New Testament verses in four different languages from six books to create his own bible. Jefferson, saying he was selecting his own “morsels of morality,” removed verses on any miracles, as well as the Resurrection.

For more than 116 years, the Jefferson Bible, as it is known, has been one of the iconic possessions of the Smithsonian Institution . Now a group of conservators and curators has removed the 86 pages from the original binding and are examining every inch to stabilize its condition, study its words and craftsmanship, and guarantee that future generations can learn more about the artifact and the man.

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All of these hindrances have one common denominator: pride. Wealth can lead to pride in power and thereby control. Education can lead to a mindset of intellectual superiority. Cynicism is an overall prideful attitude. The cynic places himself above all his peers — the epitome of pride. All of these radical hindrances to the Gospel share the belief that people do not need anyone else. Their lack of need directly opposes the foundation of the Gospel. The neediness of the sinner is the cornerstone of repentance.

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The agency of Satan in the affairs of man cannot be doubted by any one who really believes the representations given us in this inspired volume. His great employment from the very first has been to seduce men to sin.

—-Charles Simeon, Horae Homileticae MCCLXXVI

Our first parents fell into open disobedience because already they were secretly corrupted; for the evil act had never been done had not an evil will preceded it. And what is the origin of our evil will but pride? For “pride is the beginning of sin.” And what is pride but the craving for undue exaltation? And this is undue exaltation, when the soul abandons Him to whom it ought to cleave as its end, and becomes a kind of end to itself. This happens when it becomes its own satisfaction….The devil, then, would not have ensnared man in the open and manifest sin of doing what God had forbidden, had man not already begun to live for himself….By craving to be more, man became less; and by aspiring to be self-sufficing, he fell away from him who truly suffices him.

–Augustine, The City of God 14.13

It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.

–C.S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters, Letter XII

In a variety of books and articles, Jean M. Twenge of San Diego State University and W. Keith Campbell of the University of Georgia have collected data suggesting that American self-confidence has risen of late. College students today are much more likely to agree with statements such as “I am easy to like” than college students 30 years ago. In the 1950s, 12 percent of high school seniors said they were a “very important person.” By the ’90s, 80 percent said they believed that they were.

In short, there’s abundant evidence to suggest that we have shifted a bit from a culture that emphasized self-effacement ”” I’m no better than anybody else, but nobody is better than me ”” to a culture that emphasizes self-expansion.

Writers like Twenge point out that young people are bathed in messages telling them how special they are. Often these messages are untethered to evidence of actual merit. Over the past few decades, for example, the number of hours college students spend studying has steadily declined. Meanwhile, the average G.P.A. has steadily risen.

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Coming up with bigger contributions to pension funds will require states to make difficult choices about the size of their work forces, their commitment to public services and the viability of their employee benefits, which are often said to be irreversible and protected by state constitutions.

“The amount they have to be contributing could potentially be two to three times as much as they’re contributing now,” said Joshua Rauh, an associate professor of finance at Northwestern University, who has been challenging the way most cities and states measure their pension promises. “If you don’t want to count on the stock market to pay for all this, this is what you’re going to have to contribute.”

Mr. Rauh and a number of other analysts say the states’ biggest problem has been a failure to understand how much benefits will really cost. Instead of the states’ models, these analysts have come up with alternatives that more closely approximate those used by insurance companies.

Read it all (emphasis mine).

The voice of the tempter does not come out of an abyss only recognized as ”˜Hell’. It completely conceals its origin. It is suddenly near me and speaks to me. In paradise it is the serpent–quite plainly a creature of God””through whom the tempter speaks to Eve. Indeed there is no sign of the origin of the tempter in fire and brimstone. The denial of the origin belongs to the essence of the seducer.

–Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Creation and Fall: Temptation (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997 ed. of the 1957 tr. of the 1955 German original), p.116 (emphasis mine)

Blessed Lord, who wast tempted in all things like as we are, have mercy upon our frailty. Out of weakness give us strength; grant to us thy fear, that we may fear thee only; support us in time of temptation; embolden us in time of danger; help us to do thy work with good courage, and to continue thy faithful soldiers and servants unto our life’s end.

–B. F. Westcott (1825-1901)

For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption; therefore, as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord.”

–1 Corinnthians 1:26-31

With gratitude to the Search Committee for their faithful completion of the task appointed them, and with anticipation of the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Standing Committee of the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin, ACNA, is pleased to make formal announcement of the candidates for Episcopal Election. The following candidates were selected after a process of serious prayer, discussion, and discernment from the nominations which were received as of January 2011. They are listed simply in alphabetical order:

The Rev. Dr. Ronald Jackson, Diocese of Luweero (Province of Uganda)
The Rev. Dr. Eric Menees, Diocese of Western Anglicans (ACNA)
The Very Rev. Carlos Raines, Diocese of San Joaquin (ACNA)
The Very Rev. Canon Ryan Reed, Diocese of Fort Worth (ACNA)

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The Arab League has backed the idea of a no-fly zone over Libya, as rebels continue to be pushed back by Colonel Gaddafi’s forces.

A special meeting in Cairo voted to ask the UN Security Council to impose the policy until the current crisis ended.

The UK and France have pushed for the idea, but have failed so far to win firm backing from the EU or Nato.

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…this week, despite his political affinity for conservatives and Republicans, Mr. [Suhail] Khan has found himself indignant and appalled. Representative Peter T. King, a conservative Republican from Long Island, has convened hearings into what he says is the radicalization of American Muslims and the supposed refusal to cooperate with law enforcement officials.

If these hearings are meant to draw some bright line between “good” and “bad” Muslims, between “moderates” and “radicals,” then that point has been lost on Mr. Khan and many of the Muslims who work on Capitol Hill. Republican and Democrat, Sunni and Shia, convert and born Muslim, they echo a common revulsion.

“It’s saddening that faith has become a partisan issue,” Mr. Khan said. “It’s disappointing that some people have attempted to exploit fears and real threats to demonize a whole faith community.”

Read it all.

Watch it all–wow.

Caught this on the morning run–helpful I thought. Watch it all.

[The] Rt. Rev. Bill Hockin, retired bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton, has delivered Lenten and Advent addresses in downtown Fredericton since he was ordained a bishop in 1998….This year’s Lenten series…[is] entitled “God: The Rumours Persist – Words For Weary Pilgrims….”

In explaining the title of this year’s series, Hockin said, “It is drawn from a recent series of books with intriguing titles like A Rumour of God by Robert Sibley, Rumours of Angels by Peter Berger, and Rumours by Philip Yancey.

“All these books seem to be a response to the new ‘God talk’ that is filling the book shelves and libraries over the last 15 years.

“In spite of the many prophecies in the late ’80s regarding the death of religion by the 21st century, we have been surprised with a resurgence of faith in our time. God is back. The rumours persist.”

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St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Cheyenne welcomed its new rector, Pastor Mike Glor, this week after a national search for the position.

Glor recently moved to Wyoming from Pennsylvania after finishing his seminary courses last year.

Prior to accepting the job at St. Peter’s, Glor worked as a program manager for a government contractor in Washington, D.C.

He said he felt a calling to ministry after working there for several years.

Read it all.

We are in the midst of a fundamental sea change in Western culture: the battle lines have been drawn, and the outcome remains unclear.

The traditional strategy of liberal democracies has been to seek to regulate religious debate by treating faith as a private activity carried out by consenting adults behind closed doors.

Recent terrorist attacks carried out in the name of religion have forced politicians to recognise that for the vast majority of religious believers ”“ not just the religious extremists ”“ authentic faith must impact on every aspect of their lives and cannot be consigned to the private sphere.

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Anglican and Catholic ecumenical leaders examined moral discernment and homosexuality at their current round of dialogue where they explore the positions of the Catholic and Episcopalian churches on theological issues.

The meeting of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Theological Consultation in the USA (ARC-USA) held the sixth meeting of its current dialogue in Berkeley, California, February 28-March 1. Bishop Ronald P. Herzog of the Catholic Diocese Alexandria, Louisiana and Bishop John Bauerschmidt of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee chaired the meeting.

Dialogue members continued to study the theme of the current round, “Ecclesiology and Moral Discernment: Common Ground and Divergences,” and considered a preliminary draft of some sections of a statement on this theme that they expect to adopt. Members also heard a paper by Rev. Matthew S. C. Olver summarizing the discussions so far in this round and outlining areas of disagreement and convergence.

Read it all.

Addressed to: Primates of the Anglican Communion and Moderators of the United Churches

My dear friends,

As we begin our pilgrimage towards the celebration of Our Lord’s death and resurrection, I send my greetings to you all, and my prayers that this season will bring us closer to the reality of Christ’s love and self-giving for us, so that His Spirit will move more powerfully among us to enable us to share that love with the world.

In the forefront of all our concerns at this moment is the situation of our brothers and sisters who are living with the daily threat of violent persecution or in unstable environments. Our thoughts are specially with the leaders and people of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, faced with massive instability and uncertainty, and with many disturbing signs of what may come ”“ and we remember also our Bishop in Jerusalem, still waiting for the clarification of his right of residence. We also think with anguish of the sufferings and anxieties of the Church in Pakistan, in the context of the brutal killings that have occurred in recent months and weeks. The continuing attacks on Christian communities in parts of Nigeria are a matter of deep concern, and I was grateful to be able to speak directly with the Primate recently about the need for Christians worldwide to keep this issue in the eyes of their own governments. In Zimbabwe, our Anglican Church is still subjected to constant attack because of its brave stand for justice. In Southern Sudan, after a referendum more peaceful than most people dared to hope, the Church faces the huge challenge of helping to shape a new nation while maintaining a united witness in Sudan as a whole. Current developments in the Abyei area make it clear that the risk of further conflict and displacement of populations is far from being a thing of the past. The same challenge of witnessing to a unity beyond political boundaries inspires the continuing courageous ministry of the Church in Korea.
It is as though we are all being reminded of the true cost of discipleship. Nothing could be more important for us to reflect on during Lent ”“ particularly those of us who live in relatively comfortable circumstances. And in the midst of all this, we also give thanks for our brothers and sisters who continue to serve sacrificially when natural disaster strikes, showing how the love of God in Christ can inspire faithful and costly care for a whole community. Our prayers are particularly with our friends in Christchurch, New Zealand, in the wake of the earthquake that claimed so many lives and destroyed the beautiful Anglican cathedral along with many other churches. There, as in Haiti and Pakistan last year, the Church has demonstrated beyond any doubt that it is an effective, compassionate presence for the healing of a devastated community. As I write, news has just come of an appalling earthquake in Japan ”“ our prayers go out for all those communities affected.

We look out at a landscape that is in many ways sombre. But what is as miraculous as ever is the fidelity of believers in the middle of it all. Christians in Pakistan or Egypt still obstinately go on loving their neighbours and their enemies and refusing to copy the ways of the world. There is no greater proof of the power and reality of Christ’s resurrection than this. The life of the One who was rejected and tortured to death is the same life that lives now in Christians; as St Paul says (Rom.6.9), Death has no more power over Christ ”“ and we who share his life through baptism are delivered from the deathly power of hatred and revenge.

These events also remind us of the importance of our worldwide fellowship. Whatever the wounds in that fellowship ”“ and they are still deep in many ways ”“ there should be no doubt of the willingness of all in our Communion to stand together in prayer and solidarity when confronted by attacks on the gospel and its witnesses, or by human suffering and loss. The recent launch of the global Anglican Alliance for Development, Relief and Advocacy, enthusiastically supported through the entire Communion, under the inspiring leadership of Sally Keeble, has been a sign of that continuing readiness to stand together and work together for the most vulnerable, in the name of the Lord ”“ and, very significantly, to support our local churches in holistic mission and to help them to continue as credible and effective partners for both governmental and non-governmental organisations ”“ since in so many areas only the churches can be trustworthy agents of change. For all this we can rightly give thanks. And I hope and trust that our celebration of the resurrection this year will be also a celebration of the ways we share the new life of Christ through this solidarity and mutual love.

The recent Primates’ Meeting in Dublin did not set out to offer a solution to the ongoing challenges of mutual understanding and of the limits of our diversity in the Communion. But it is important to note carefully what it did set out to do and what it achieved. In recent years, many have appealed to the Primates to resolve the problems of the Communion by taking decisive action to enforce discipline on this or that Province. In approaching the Dublin Meeting, we believed that it was essential to clarify how the Primates themselves understood the nature of their office and authority. It has always been clear that not all have the same view ”“ not because of different theological convictions alone, but also because of the different legal and canonical roles they occupy as Primates. Some have a good deal of individual authority; others have their powers very closely limited by their own canons. It would therefore be difficult if the Meeting collectively gave powers to Primates that were greater than their own canons allowed them individually, as was noted at the 2008 Lambeth Conference (Lambeth Indaba 2008 #151).

The unanimous judgement of those who were present was that the Meeting should not see itself as a ”˜supreme court’, with canonical powers, but that it should nevertheless be profoundly and regularly concerned with looking for ways of securing unity and building relationships of trust. And one reason for the fact that it did not offer any new schemes for this was that those present were still committed to the Covenant process and had no desire to interrupt the significant discussions of this that are currently going on (as many of you will know, several Provinces have already adopted the Covenant and others are very close to finalising their decision).

The Primates were strongly focused on the situation of churches under threat, and this was reflected in the statements they issued. But it is also important to recognise that the Primates made no change to their existing commitments to both the Covenant process and the moratoria requests. The purpose of the Dublin meeting was, as I have said, not to offer fresh solutions but to clarify what we believed about our shared purpose and identity as a Primates’ Meeting. I think that this clarity was achieved, and achieved in an atmosphere of very demanding and searching conversation, which intensified our sense of commitment to each other and the Communion. We were painfully aware of those who did not feel able to be with us, and held them in prayer each day, seeking to remind ourselves of the concerns that they would have wanted to put on the table. We were all agreed that the Meeting inevitably represented ”˜unfinished business’, and were all committed to pursuing the conversations needed to consolidate our fellowship. We shall continue to seek ways of meeting at every level that will prevent our being isolated from each other in suspicion and hostility.

Which brings me back to my starting point. The cost of discipleship is most dramatically manifest in the sufferings that our persecuted brothers and sisters are enduring. But it is also to be experienced in the ways in which we try to support each other in the Communion, despite all our differences. And I would dare to say too that it is part of what God calls us to in not only ”˜bearing one another’s burdens’ but bearing with one another and continually seeking ways to be reconciled ”“ which also means seeking to see ourselves more clearly and more penitently, and asking God to show us how we must change in order for there to be unity and united witness in the Church. Without praying together about this, we are less likely to discover what is possible and more likely to make scapegoats of each other. On a recent diocesan visit in England, I was told of the monthly prayer vigil that is held in the diocese to bring together those who are passionate supporters of the ordination of women as bishops and those who are wholeheartedly opposed. For much of the time when such matters are under discussion, people on both sides are going to be most aware of the pain, the possibility of ”˜failure’, the hurt of those we love. But in the sheer fact of praying intently together, we are at the very least reminded of the utter transcendence of God, who brings new possibilities to birth out of the heart of death, fear and loss.

I wish you all every blessing in the renewed discovery of the power of God who raised Jesus from the dead. May His Spirit transform us day by day into the likeness of Christ.

(Signed) Rowan Cantuar

Check it out–wonderful to see (Hat tip: BRLM).

When the Diocese realigned in November 2008, a small minority of our members elected to leave their churches to worship elsewhere. The following April, the Diocese was sued on behalf of those people, and two years later we are still in the midst of what will be a precedent-setting case to defend our property under Texas law.

In the weeks since our last court hearing, on Feb. 8, our lawyers have been conferring and negotiating with the plaintiffs’ attorneys over the terms surrounding Judge John Chupp’s Jan. 21 ruling, which favored the plaintiffs. Since the Jan. 21 ruling did not dispose of the case, the parties are engaged in a process of “discovery” which permits them to obtain and examine one another’s records. Some of the documents requested by the plaintiffs previously have been delivered to them for inspection, and other documents currently are being prepared.

In addition, lawyers for the parishes and missions of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and lawyers representing the minority breakaway faction (affiliated with the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America) are making arrangements for the inspection, requested by attorneys and representatives of the minority faction, of all our property, including the Diocesan Center, Camp Crucis, and all our churches. This inspection is being arranged pursuant to a Request for Entry Upon Property filed by the minority faction pursuant to Rule 196.7(a)(1) of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
This rule provides that any party to a lawsuit may request and obtain entry upon the property of another party to the lawsuit “to inspect, measure, survey, photograph, test, or sample the property or any designated object or operation thereon.” The Rule is customarily and routinely invoked whenever there is litigation between competing parties with respect to which party has a right to title or possession of property. This is nothing to be alarmed about, though the other side is attempting to use it for propaganda purposes, to promote the impression that they have prevailed in the litigation, when, in fact, it is far from over.

Previous rulings by the Trial Court in the litigation pending in Tarrant County ”“ including the interlocutory Declaratory Judgment ”“ have no effect on the right of the minority faction to inspect the properties. According to Rule 197(a), the right of a party to inspect property in the possession of the other party exists until “the earlier of 30 days before the end of the discovery period or 30 days before trial.”

The motivation that underlies the minority faction’s decision to incur the thousands of dollars in expense for the inspection of the property in the Diocese is unknown to the attorneys and officers of the Diocese. Unfortunately, however, the Diocese will incur substantial expense, because the inspections by the minority faction must be supervised by the attorneys representing the Diocese and its parishes and missions.

Attorneys representing both sides of the dispute are attempting to schedule the inspections so as to minimize disruption of regularly scheduled activities and events sponsored by the Diocese and its parishes and missions.

A few days ago I stirred a hornets’ nest with a column [the post immediately preceding this one on the blog] looking at why the Middle East lags economically and politically behind the rest of the world. The column was based on a terrific new book, “The Long Divergence: How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East,” which was written by a Duke University scholar, Timur Kuran, who is an expert on the economic history of the region.

It’s difficult to address the issues comprehensively in 780 words (the length of a column), so I’ve asked Professor Kuran to expand a bit and address three common points raised by readers. The first question raised by many readers is about women: isn’t one major factor in the Middle East’s long stagnation the fact that it underutilized the female half of its population? If you’re only playing with half a deck, is it any wonder you lag? The second common question was about Western colonialism ”” many Arab readers thought that was far more important a factor in inhibiting Muslim countries than my column suggested, so I’ve asked Professur Kuran to address that. And, finally, many readers were left profoundly uncomfortable with the exercise itself ”” asking “Is Islam the Problem?” Is this a dangerous, unhelpful line of inquiry that ultimately creates polarization and cross-cultural antagonisms?

Read it all.