Tuesday, February 27, 2007

8,000 Muslim women taught Koran

Sunni religious scholar Mohammed Akram Nadwi has for eight years done research for a bibliographical dictionary of hadith scholars who were women. To his surprise he has found 8,000 such women dating back some 1,400 years.

Some of these women advised scholar husbands and even issued fatwas.

Now it is up to modern Islam to reconcile this with current traditions regarding the status of Muslim women. Some, both men and women, hope this will encourage a more liberal treatment of the spiritual gifts of Muslim women.

Archeologists blast upcoming Jesus documentary

Scientists debunk an upcoming Discovery Chanel documentary about 10 possible burial sites of Jesus. It sounds interesting, though. After all, the March 4 TV show is directed by Oscar-winner James Cameron, who claims that Jesus' bones (and those of his family) were found in some ancient ossuaries in Jerusalem.

Ironically, the BBC visited this "story" over a decade ago and archaeologists at the time criticised the claims even then. Discovery Channel has even added a special "Lost Tomb of Jesus" site to plug the show's assertions.

The AP article in USA Today online mentions several areas of misinformation and disagreement with the claims. Adding to this is the fact that forgeries of ancient artifacts are well known to have been made. But, hey -- it's TV -- anything for a buck.

Despite this, I still suggest watching the show. Christians need to view and be knowledgeable about material that can affect Christians who are "young in the faith" or the unchurched who might be swayed by misinformation. After all, if there really were bones of Jesus, there was no resurrection. Mass media and even information available on the Internet can easily turn false information into "facts" that then get repeated as "gospel." View the show, but view it with an analytical eye.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Help others through Hunger Walk

You can contribute to Atlanta's Hunger Walk/Run 2007 and get a T-Shirt whether or not you actually run. The Feb-April 2007 issue of their newsletter "Food sharing" says, "Can't make it to the event? Be a Phantom Walker! Just fill out the form [donate] and mail it in and we'll mail you a t-shirt." How can you resist being a "Phantom Walker?" You don't even have to wear purple tights.

The event supports six local non-profit organizations and walkers may choose to have a portion of their funds go directly to one of the organizations:

At the Atlanta Community Food Bank site you can also learn about Atlanta's Table, Community Garden Initiative, Hunger 101, Kids in Need, Project Rescue Center, and TACK - The Atlanta Cooperative Kitchen.

You don't have to live in Atlanta to donate to these worthwhile groups.