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.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
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.
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:
- Atlanta Community Food Bank
- Episcopal Charities Foundation
- Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta
- Lutheran Services of Georgia
- Presbyterian Answer to Hunger
- St. Vincent de Paul Society
You don't have to live in Atlanta to donate to these worthwhile groups.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Diabetics: Beware cold products
Decongestants and some other cold remedies contain sugar or else a chemical that causes and increase in blood sugar warns the American Diabetes Association.
Stay informed. You can't treat your body like a temple if you don't know what's trying to pull down your pillars of health.
Stay informed. You can't treat your body like a temple if you don't know what's trying to pull down your pillars of health.
WWF 2006 Annual Report
The 2006 annual report by the World Wildlife Federation is interesting for all who want to be good stewards of God's creation. But it's also kind of neat to look through.
The WWF report uses a special online report viewer program that lets you flip pages, zoom in or out on a page and even use hyperlinks to jump to sections of the report. Maybe I should call it nerd and nature nurture.
The WWF report uses a special online report viewer program that lets you flip pages, zoom in or out on a page and even use hyperlinks to jump to sections of the report. Maybe I should call it nerd and nature nurture.
Monday, January 22, 2007
The Language of God
America's top genetic scientist, Francis Collins, is also a devout Christian. His book, "The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief", is generating some buzz. He defends evolution as well as stem cell research and finds harmony between science and religion.
"...the point of Scripture was not to teach science"Collins believes that most of the people who strongly oppose evolution do so not because of politics but because they have unfortunately been taught that evolution and faith are not compatible.
"If we've done a poor job of explaining science to the public, is it any wonder that it has political consequences?"
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Christian and moderate
PBS has an interesting story about Christian moderates. Here are a few comments by people in the article:
"I hope that we're not entering a time where Christians are interpreted as being evangelical Christians alone."
"We evangelicals can sometimes become too dogmatic and legalistic."
"It seems unlikely to me that God working in the world is delivering contradictory messages to me in my church and to the white evangelicals in their churches."
Christians divorce Jesus from Judaism
In her article in "The Christian Century" magazine, Amy-Jill Levine criticises Christians for misusing Jesus -- incorrect portrayals of Jesus in regards to Jews and Christians, social issues, and more.
Jesus, she reminds us was:
Jesus, she reminds us was:
- Not against the Torah (Law)
- Not against the Temple, but rather its leadership
- Not the only one concerned with social issues
"This divorcing of Jesus from Judaism does a disservice to each textually, theologically, historically and ethically."To disregard history, she says, is to be unfaithful to both Judaism and Christianity.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Pot luck
"We are never more at home than around the table", said a former pastor of mine. And the friendly warmth of people gathered in a joint luncheon or dinner is almost palpable.
I do confess, though, that sometimes my system is later disturbed by what I have fed it. "Why is it that people eat food in church that they wouldn’t eat anywhere else?" asks Lillian Daniel in her Theolog posting, "Potluck Gourmet". Garrison Keillor said Methodists had a secret longing for macaroni and cheese. Me? I like food. Someone once asked me if there was anything I did not like to eat. I paused only slightly and replied, "Well, there's a very bitter Filipino green vegetable ..." Laughter ensued, though I was serious.
The word "potluck" can have either a positive or negative connotation, you know. If you arrive too late at a buffet, you have have to be content with "pot luck".
I am reminded of my wife's shrewd coining of the phrase "'Choose your own' dinner" for a meal of leftovers. The kids got to select exactly which leftovers they wanted. Of course, the first to choose had the best array of the potluck offerings. But all of them seemed to relish the idea of getting a choice in what they ate. Clever, very clever, she was.
Lillian, pastor of a Congregational Church, says when she gets to heaven, she'll want a good old Midwestern Congregational Casserole.
So ... are there any types of food that you just will not eat at a Pot luck supper? Or do you arm yourself with an antacid tablet? Do you tend to "pig out", eat reasonably sized amounts of just a few dishes, or take small portions of as many dishes as possible?
Should a future posting be about treating our bodies as temples?
I do confess, though, that sometimes my system is later disturbed by what I have fed it. "Why is it that people eat food in church that they wouldn’t eat anywhere else?" asks Lillian Daniel in her Theolog posting, "Potluck Gourmet". Garrison Keillor said Methodists had a secret longing for macaroni and cheese. Me? I like food. Someone once asked me if there was anything I did not like to eat. I paused only slightly and replied, "Well, there's a very bitter Filipino green vegetable ..." Laughter ensued, though I was serious.
The word "potluck" can have either a positive or negative connotation, you know. If you arrive too late at a buffet, you have have to be content with "pot luck".
I am reminded of my wife's shrewd coining of the phrase "'Choose your own' dinner" for a meal of leftovers. The kids got to select exactly which leftovers they wanted. Of course, the first to choose had the best array of the potluck offerings. But all of them seemed to relish the idea of getting a choice in what they ate. Clever, very clever, she was.
Lillian, pastor of a Congregational Church, says when she gets to heaven, she'll want a good old Midwestern Congregational Casserole.
So ... are there any types of food that you just will not eat at a Pot luck supper? Or do you arm yourself with an antacid tablet? Do you tend to "pig out", eat reasonably sized amounts of just a few dishes, or take small portions of as many dishes as possible?
Should a future posting be about treating our bodies as temples?
UMC should clean house
Rev. Mark Schaefer, in his sermon-containing blog, daydreams about the United Methodist Church swooping down on American University, dissolving the board of trustees and just starting over.
His sermon, "Grapes and Vineyards", starts out with that musing. But the musing points out the denomination-owned aspect to many Methodist properties.
... Something to think about ... but it assumes that the denomination administrative structure has the "cure". It sometime seems that the administrative structure makes secular decisions when spiritual ones are needed.
We seem to have an undue emphasis on protecting the "job security" and "pay" of clergy. The UMC denomination leadership sometimes appears concerned more about district, conference, and denomination politics than members themselves. Maybe if we were all concerned more about the spiritual health and needs of congregations and their surrounding communities, we'd be growing in numbers as we grew in faith and saved souls.
His sermon, "Grapes and Vineyards", starts out with that musing. But the musing points out the denomination-owned aspect to many Methodist properties.
... Something to think about ... but it assumes that the denomination administrative structure has the "cure". It sometime seems that the administrative structure makes secular decisions when spiritual ones are needed.
We seem to have an undue emphasis on protecting the "job security" and "pay" of clergy. The UMC denomination leadership sometimes appears concerned more about district, conference, and denomination politics than members themselves. Maybe if we were all concerned more about the spiritual health and needs of congregations and their surrounding communities, we'd be growing in numbers as we grew in faith and saved souls.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)