Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Via JMG: Why Young People Leave The Church
Dan Savage points us to this fascinating story:
When asked by The Barna Group what words or phrases best describe Christianity, the top response among Americans ages 16-29 was “anti-homosexual.” For a staggering 91 percent of non-Christians, this was the first word that came to their mind when asked about the Christian faith. The same was true for 80 percent of young churchgoers. (The next most common negative images? : “judgmental,” “hypocritical,” and “too involved in politics.”)The author of the piece, Rachel Held Evans, has closed commenting on her post because "I want to keep this a safe place for conversation." Read some of the responses from her Christian readers and you'll see why.
In the book that documents these findings, titled unChristian, David Kinnaman writes: “The gay issue has become the 'big one,' the negative image most likely to be intertwined with Christianity’s reputation. It is also the dimensions that most clearly demonstrates the unchristian faith to young people today, surfacing in a spate of negative perceptions: judgmental, bigoted, sheltered, right-wingers, hypocritical, insincere, and uncaring. Outsiders say [Christian] hostility toward gays... has become virtually synonymous with the Christian faith.”
Later research, documented in Kinnaman’s You Lost Me, reveals that one of the top reasons 59 percent of young adults with a Christian background have left the church is because they perceive the church to be too exclusive, particularly regarding their LGBT friends. Eight million twenty-somethings have left the church, and this is one reason why.
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma May 16, 2012
Buddhanature Mind
What
is the Buddha-nature? It is a mind that is open and completely
unencumbered. It is empty. And it gives birth to warmth and compassion
for other people.
|
- Reginald Ray, "The Power of Solitude"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Via Follower of the Buddha / Facebook:
I am the owner of my karma .
I inherit my karma.
I am born of my karma.
I am related to my karma.
I live supported by my karma.
Whatever karma I create, whether good or evil, that I shall inherit.
The Buddha, Anguttara Nikaya V.57 - Upajjhatthana Sutta
Tags: Follower of the Buddha
Via www.nytimes.com:
Like
many others, politicians are less influenced by party, faith or color
on the question of favoring greater legal protections for gays, both
liberals and conservatives say.
Via AmericaBlogGay:
GOP, religious right scared about backlash on marriage debate
It's
fascinating when both the lead religious right hate group and the head
of the Republican party play nice on same-sex marriage. LA Times:
Sen. Rand Paul, who said he wasn't sure President Obama's views on
marriage "could get any gayer," was rebuked by an influential
evangelical leader Sunday.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, appearing onCBS' "Face
the Nation," strongly...
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma
Tricycle Daily Dharma May 15, 2012
Participate Fully
Cleaning
the bathroom or chopping the onions is no less important than sitting
in deep meditation. Grasping this and acting on it is called waking up.
|
- Janet Jiryu Abels, "Participate Fully"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Monday, May 14, 2012
Via JMG: Breaking News From World Net Daily
World Net Daily today provides the breathless news
that Starbucks has endorsed same-sex marriage. Note how the linked
item carefully avoids mentioning any dates on a story that is months
old. Wanna bet NOM paid for this?
Reposted from Joe
Via JMG: CBS Poll: 62% Of Americans Support Same-Sex Marriage Or Civil Unions
Via JMG: Gallup: Gay Is The New Normal
Gallup reports today: The slight majority of American adults, 54%, consider gay or lesbian relations morally acceptable. Public acceptance of gay/lesbian relations as morally acceptable grew slowly but steadily from 38% in 2002 to 56% in 2011 and is now holding at the majority level. This Gallup trend mirrors the growth in public support for legalizing gay marriage, which has risen from 42% support in 2004 to 50% or greater support in the last two years. Americans' support for gay rights on both questions leveled off in this year's Values and Beliefs poll, conducted May 3-6.
Via JMG: Rhode Island To Recognize Gay Marriages
Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee today ordered all state agencies to officially recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other jurisdictions. The executive order is expected to have many real-world implications. Same-sex spouses of state employees and anyone covered by an insurance company regulated in Rhode Island will be entitled to health and life insurance benefits, gay rights advocates say. Both partners in a same-sex couple will be able to list their names as parents on a child’s birth certificate, and same-sex couples will be entitled to sales tax exemptions on the transfer of property including vehicles. One couple who attended the signing ceremony — married in neighboring Massachusetts — described their disappointment of not being able to list both their names on their son’s birth certificate. “For our next child, we won’t have to go through the same kind of turmoil,” Martha Holt Castle said.Yay, guv!
RELATED: Civil unions have been legal in Rhode Island since last year.
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