My new Twitter handle is now live - check me out at @jackiewgibson!
CNN has posted a history of bias against Sikhs - more reason for people to learn about religions before they attack anyone:...
Sikh temple shooting unfolding, learn about Sikhism here: http://t.co/A0ltLLIm
Sikh temple shooting unfolding, learn about Sikhism here: http://t.co/l3KrAJZf
Hackers group Anonymous takes down Vatican website: http://t.co/B6lbGAVp
WGN-TV calls doomsday prophecies "an illusion": http://t.co/mv8Gzyw7
RT @graceishuman: Really,? Asking people JUST LEAVING the service how they felt about it? Tacky, tacky, inappropriate
Whitney Houston's funeral service really took the world to church. Love Pastor Winans' honesty, very moving.
#teacher ? Here are appropriate responses to situations with your Jehovah's Witness student: http://t.co/A6UfqcgH
#Teachers: Want to know why your Jehovah's Witness student won't say the pledge and how to respond? http://t.co/EIdlgDwW
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Latter-Day Saints will hold their annual Pioneer Day celebration on July 24. For those unfamiliar with the Mormon faith and Pioneer Day, here’s a rundown:
THE MORMON FAITH:
Names: Latter-Day Saints (which includes The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), Mormon fundamentalism
The major players: Jesus; Joseph Smith, Jr.; Brigham Young. Smith (b. 1805) claimed to have been visited by an angel, Moroni, who asked him to publish writings on gold plates, said to contain messages from God to ancient Babylonians living in the Americas. Smith published these writings, which became The Book of Mormon. He then founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, said to be a restoration of the Christian tradition lost at the death of the apostles. After moving the church to Nauvoo, Ill., to escape conflicts, he was murdered there in 1844. Brigham Young became president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1847 and was the first governor of the Utah territory.
The sacred texts: The Book of Mormon (considered the Word of God, text compiled from Mormon’s plates, shown to Smith by Mormon’s resurrected son Moroni, said to contain the most complete Gospel of Christ), Book of Commandments, Doctrine and Covenants (modern scripture said to be a restoration of The Bible’s Old Testament). The Bible is seen as the Word of God only insofar as it has been translated correctly; Joseph Smith provided his own translation of The Bible.
The main tenants: God is the eternal father. Man can be saved through Christ’s atonement by following God’s laws. Mormons also believe in the Holy Spirit – but God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are three separate entities.
The goal: To be saved by God through observance of His laws; to be resurrected at the second coming of Christ, when Christ will reign on the American continent
Encouraged practices: Building one’s character to be honest, true, chaste, benevolent, and virtuous, and to do good to all men; baptism; repentance
Social connection: Plural marriage (polygamy) was once permitted but renounced in 1890
PIONEER DAY:
In 1847, Mormons were suffering persecution in Nauvoo, Ill. To find relief, the “pioneers” journeyed west along the “pioneer trail” in covered wagons. (July 24 is sometimes referred to as “Covered Wagon Days.”) When they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, Young proclaimed this was the place to stop. And so the Mormons Pioneers made their settlement in what was then called “Deseret,” what we now call Utah. Thus, July 24 marked the founding of what Latter-Day Saints consider their earthly Zion.
Today, Pioneer Day is a Utah state holiday (though the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints does not officially recognize it as a holy day). To learn about the ways in which Mormons have commemorated the event each year, check out Steven L. Olsen’s entry in the Utah History Encyclopedia.
On April 7, Salem Baptist Church in Chicago kicked off a 26-week community outreach initiative. That Saturday morning, the Reverend Senator James T. Meeks closed the doors of the largest African American church in Illinois, encouraging its 25,000 members to leave their comfort zones and take their ministry to the streets.
Called Vision 2007, the intitiative includes 14 projects designed to demonstrate Christ’s love and the values of the Church. These projects include Feed the Hungry, a clothing drive, a prison ministry, shelter visits, and a housing project. The church also plans to saturate all street corners within a certain vicinity every Wednesday in June to pray for residents in the area, and groups of six will also adopt one of 100 blocks in the area to clean up.
Meeks said he wanted to shake up his comfortable congregation, forcing them to live out the Word of God. Emphasis is placed on “doing” rather than just “hearing.”
It seems like more groups across the nation are taking action this year — whether it be “green” movements, peace movements, or community outreach programs such as that of Salem Baptist Church. With regard to the Church, such initiatives seem to be a throw-back to the days when the Catholic Church focused so much of its attention on community outreach (through setting up schools, hospitals, soup kitchens, and so on). Perhaps such movements have been going on in the Protestant world in the past couple of decades — if so, those movements have not received too much attention. As for the Catholic Church, the papacy continues to make statements about various political and social decisions, and to both make peace with (circa Pope John Paul II) and perhaps stir up relations with (circa Pope Benedict XVI) members of other world religions. However, less attention has been paid to outreach programs, as many parochial schools have closed and many hospitals have lost their funding.
Thus, Salem’s Vision 2007 gives hope to those who believe in the Church’s ability (and responsibility) to feed the poor, house the homeless, and cure the sick.
As Mike Yankoski wrote in his book, Under the Overpass, God “is calling you — like he does each of His children — to take important risks of faith that are unique to you and your opportunities. I doubt those risks will have much to do with putting on a Christian acronym bracelet or a cross T-shirt. More likely, your journey will lead you toward utter dependence on the King of kings and a resolution to follow Him wherever He may ask you to go. That might be to the streets, to your friends and family, to your neighbor, or to a stranger you haven’t even met yet…There’s only one thing left to do: Walk off the edge with Him.”
Sikhs will celebrate Baisakhi Day on April 14th this year. For those unfamiliar with the Sikh celebration (or Sikhism), here is a quick rundown:
SIKHISM:
The major players: 10 gurus, teachers who passed the torch onto one another until the tenth guru told Sikhs to follow the eternal guru one year on Baisakhi Day. The first guru was Guru Nanak Dev whose life and preaching resulted in the founding of Sikhism.
The major scripture: Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the eternal guru, a collection of the teachings of the ten gurus and writers from other religions. It is the so-called “head” of the Sikh religion, though Sikhs do not worship the book as an idol.
The major tenants: There is only one God, he cannot take human form, one should devote oneself daily to remembering God, one should reject rituals (such as fasting, yoga, and pilgrimages) as one should focus more on good conduct and right mind than things connected to the world
The goal: To break the cycle of death and rebirth and merge with God
Encouraged practices: Meditation, following the teachings of the gurus, service, and charity
The social connection: Equality for all sexes, races, castes, and creeds; social responsibility and community service emphasized
BAISAKHI:
At the age of 33 (yes, 33), the tenth guru, then Guru Gobind Rai, gathered his followers in Anandpur, India, to celebrate the harvest festival, Baisakhi (in the Hindu month of Vaishakhu, or April). At the gathering, he asked for five heads to be sacrificed. Eventually one man came forward, Gobind took him into a tent, and reappeared with a sword dripping with blood. He then asked for four others. Each time someone volunteered, he took them into the tent and reemerged with a sword dripping with blood. The crowd assumed he had killed the men, and some began to disperse. But Gobind had actually baptized the men, and he brought all five men (now wearing white) out of the tent. Gobind proclaimed the men “The Five Beloved Ones” and said wherever five baptized people meet together, there the guru will be also.
Just years before, Sikhs had gained a reputation for cowardice (against the Mughal Empire), and Gobind sought to instill a sense of courage in them. He thus gave them symbols of courage and purity (the sword, unshorn hair, etc.) and proclaimed the baptized Sikh nation to be the Order of the Pure Ones (Khalsa). As such, the group found a common identity as Sikhs, thus eliminating divisive identification with castes, races, sexes, etc. He also eliminated divisions within Sikhism, asking followers to devote themselves to the eternal guru (the scriptures), rather than to a man. Finally, the guru gave all men the surname “Singh” meaning “lion” (he himself took the surname), and then gave the women the surname “Kaur,” or “princess.”
Sikhs today celebrate Baisakhi, not just as a harvest festival, but as a remembrance of Gobind Singh’s gifting of the Order of the Pure Ones. This year marks the 308th anniversary of that day.
If the Jetson’s went to church, I have a feeling it would look something like this.
Earlier this year, the United Methodist Church added an online social network to their official Web site, helping church members connect with other church members (and perhaps find romance…since it kind of looks like MySpace or Match.com). At the same time, many churches across the country have begun to upload their sermons to their church Web pages or even as podcasts on iTunes. Minus the flying cars and those vacuum-like transportation tubes, the Church is starting to look more and more like a church of the future.
Recently, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life reported that many churches have started yet another high-tech, quick-and-easy service: electronic giving. That’s right. If you belong to a number of churches across America these days, you can give to the church via credit card. Be gone, you collection plates and clanking quarters! Today’s church allows you to swipe your card at the door and be done with that whole tithing thing.
Before I proceed, let me make it clear that this is not necessarily a brand new thing: Churches in the South began trying out the idea in 2005, purchasing “Giving Kiosks” for their sanctuaries, according to CreditCard.com. But the idea has picked up steam recently, as the IRS has started to demand receipts from churches. Of course, when you throw your donation into the collection plate as it passes, chances are you aren’t keeping track. But church-goers tend to report a specific number on their tax claims at the beginning of each year anyway. And rarely does this number match the number reported by the Church. Paper records, combined with that nifty “decline” feature (the church doesn’t have to wait for your check to bounce to find out if your account is empty), have made credit-card-giving a sound choice and a natural outgrowth for forward-thinking communities.
But now that some churches have had time to use e-giving machines and examine their advantages and disadvantages…is e-giving really a good idea? Seventh-day Adventists warn church-goers should be wary of becoming swipe-happy: they don’t want the ease of giving to lead to credit card debt for their members. Still others worry that the ease of swiping a card can cause Christians to ignore the “pain” of giving of what you have in favor of adding a tithe to their list of monthly bills. And others, like researchers at the empty tomb inc. in Champaign say most people still donate by writing a check – so is it really necessary?
Those who tout the idea note a likely increase in church budgets (as people will probably give more if it is easier for them to give). Some of the first churches to try the ATM-for-Jesus-machines claim 15 percent of the church’s total donations came from e-giving. Others say it is good to increase the options for church-goers, providing ways to move into the future. And isn’t it more important that you decided to give to the church in the first place?
What do you think?
I’m thinking church-goers ought to suggest a Netflix-type program: just drop your tithe in the mail and we’ll send you a videotape of our pastor preaching – right to your home! You’ll never have to leave the comfort of your living room or your pajamas. And you’ll never have to experience the “pain” of joining others to do some good. Hmm…