Education-Faith
The Rev William Barber’s ‘moral movement’ confronts Trump’s America. Can it work?
by Adam Harris 5/7/25 The Guardian
On 2 June, at St Mark’s Episcopal church in Washington DC, people packed the sanctuary – elders in denim jackets, seminarians in collars, organizers clutching clipboards. Some had come in from North Carolina; others walked from their homes just a few blocks away. The seats were full, so the crowd lined the aisles and leaned against the red-brick walls beneath stained-glass windows that cast streaks of light across the floor.
While U.S. church attendance has dropped, prosperity gospel has risen—with a brutal take on poverty
by Charles Jay 28/9/23 DAILY KOS
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ threw the moneychangers out of the Temple in Jerusalem, accusing them of turning it into “a den of robbers.” And he made his views about the rich and poor very clear in numerous passages
The Terrifying Book of Revelation Has ‘Affected Our World in Ways You Might Not Expect’ by Bill Berkowitz Daily Kos 8/25/23
Ehrman interprets the Book of Revelation from a historical perspective, and explained that the reality of the Gospels is in direct contradiction to the Book of Revelation. “When Jesus talks about wealth, he's against it.” Jesus rails against material things and believes in divesting oneself of wealth and giving it to the poor. Jesus “left everything … for his mission. His disciples left their homes and their families and their jobs. And Jesus praises them for it. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus embraces a gospel of spirituality that is anti-materialistic.”
How punitive, omniscient gods may have encouraged the expansion of human society
https://theconversation.com/how-punitive-omniscient-gods-may-have-encouraged-the-expansion-of-human-society-54275 The Conversation 2/10/16
Our team of anthropologists and psychologists decided to experimentally investigate how beliefs in gods – specifically those who care about how we treat each other and punish us for immoral behavior – may have contributed to more widespread cooperation. We tested this prediction in eight different societies from around the world to see if religious beliefs might have contributed to expanding humankind’s social horizons.
Recent experimental research suggests that punitive, omniscient and morally concerned gods may curb selfishness because these gods trigger both the feeling of being watched and the fear of punishment for breaking the rules. Cross-cultural studies using historical or survey data have also found this relationship. But until now, no one had investigated the relationship between types of gods and selfishness directly using experimental methods with as culturally diverse participants as those in our study.
What does it mean to be genetically Jewish
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/12/what-does-it-mean-to-be-genetically-jewish The Guardian 6/14/2019
In Israel, matrimonial law is religious, not civil. Jews can marry Jews, but intermarriage with Muslims or Christians is legally unacknowledged. This means that when a Jewish couple want to tie the knot, they are required by law to prove their Jewishness to the Rabbinate according to Orthodox tradition, which defines Jewish ancestry as being passed down through the mother.
