Bruce Springsteen for Obama

Canada's election is definitely in the huge shadow created by what is going on down south of us. Obama has the backing of Bruce Springsteen and this is taken from three days of Vote For Change concerts on behalf of Barack Obama...

"I’ve spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between that American promise and American reality. For many Americans, who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no healthcare, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities. The distance between that promise and that reality has never been greater or more painful.

I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and in his work. I believe he understands, in his heart, the cost of that distance, in blood and suffering, in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president, he would work to restore that promise to so many of our fellow citizens who have justifiably lost faith in its meaning. After the disastrous administration of the past 8 years, we need someone to lead us in an American reclamation project. In my job, I travel the world, and occasionally play big stadiums, just like Senator Obama. I’ve continued to find, wherever I go, America remains a repository of people’s hopes, possibilities, and desires, and that despite the terrible erosion to our standing around the world, accomplished by our recent administration, we remain, for many, a house of dreams. One thousand George Bushes and one thousand Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that house down.

They will, however, be leaving office, dropping the national tragedies of Katrina, Iraq, and our financial crisis in our laps. Our sacred house of dreams has been abused, looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs care; it needs saving, it needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power or a quick buck. It needs strong arms, hearts, and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama’s understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, compassion, toughness, and faith, to help us rebuild our house once again. But most importantly, it needs us. You and me. To build that house with the generosity that is at the heart of the American spirit. A house that is truer and big enough to contain the hopes and dreams of all of our fellow citizens. That is where our future lies. We will rise or fall as a people by our ability to accomplish this task. Now I don’t know about you, but I want that dream back, I want my America back, I want my country back.

So now is the time to stand with Barack Obama and Joe Biden, roll up our sleeves, and come on up for the rising."

My KF friend Eli cut and pasted this from: www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/10/06/bruce-springsteen-inspires-voters-with-passionate-acoustic-set-at-philadelphia-rally/

later man, jan

Education and Not Indoctrination...

as a follow up to yesterday's post about Marcus Borg - rlp today has given us a link to Drew Smith of Wilderness Preacher. He has written an article on Marcus Borg for the Society of Biblical Literature. He tells us what happened the semester he put Marcus Borg on his student's reading list.

"I am convinced that students should read scholars like Borg because their knowledge of more liberal thinkers should not be solely left to the interpretations of others. I shudder to think that we have come to the point where self-appointed answer-giving professors must shield undiscerning students. This is an insult to students and is not the mission of education where independent critical thinking is the hallmark."

thanks rlp, for encouraging me to think for myself, I am enjoying the journey...

later man, jan

Marcus Borg - a gentle man who makes it sound so simple...

There is this huge controversy in Christianity today. Many of us grew up in Christianity and have a history of reading the gospels in a very literal way. Many of us have tried to engage the gospels and have found the stories differ from each other. In trying to find meaning for my own life, I have realized that the gospels emerged from a genuine response of people who had an incredible experience of God and needed to put it in words.

A blogger I follow who calls himself rlp - as in real live preacher - has had the opportunity to have a conversation with Marcus Borg and he has posted an introduction and a recording of the conversation on CCBlogs (thinking critically, living faithfully). I found listening to this recording was a valuable use of a half hour of my time.

Quoting from rlp's introduction...
"Most of us ministers have made our peace with this. We understand that the gospels clearly reflect early Church theology. That’s okay because that theology was the present experience of the friends of Jesus. It has value too. Our approach is to preach and teach from the gospels, taking the text as given. Trying to distinguish what might be the actual words of Jesus and the actual events of his life from what might be slightly embellished Church tradition is something that would be interesting, but ultimately it a question that cannot be answered. Moreover, we are busy with the real lives of people in our world who are following the spiritual path of Christianity as a means of salvation and spiritual growth.

Marcus Borg and the Jesus Seminar scholars have, however, taken up that task and have sought to distinguish carefully between the pre-Easter Jesus, who was a man defined by what he actually said and did, and the post-Easter Jesus, who is the figure venerated by the Church."

If you have read this far, I encourage you to take the time to go to My Conversation with Marcus Borg - by Gord Atkinson and see what you think.

later man, jan

Come meet a Friend of mine...

Danali says she "is a 17 year old girl who loves to help the world."

She has created a lens at Squidoo.com and it's all about Kiva. I myself don't really understand how surfing from site to site on the web can generate so much money but it does. And Danali is making money for Kiva.

I gave her a 5 ***** rating :) Go check it out.

later man, jan

How Do You See People?

Imago Dei - Image of God
whew...
later man, jan

Test Your Awareness: Do The Test

hat tip to my friend, Janet... who said "This is cool... I guarantee you will watch this twice"
later man, jan

It's all in the Marketing...

This video 'Story of a Sign' asks me some very interesting questions about why we give. How much of a person's story do I really need to know before I can stop and give of part of my abundance.

hat tip for this goes to my friend nakedpastor who writes a blog and posts cartoons that continually make me sit up and think.

later man, jan

Small Fortunes: Microcredit and the Future of Poverty

This video is 55 minutes long, but it’s well worth watching if you want to learn more about the impact of microfinance over the past 30 years, and about the future prospects of microfinance to help alleviate poverty.



later man, jan

Stop Talking - Start Doing...

Celebrating Mass Transit.
Here's some young folks with a neat idea. No idea when it happened or whether they continued with the upkeep. But it's still a neat idea :)


Benched from Brandon McCormick on Vimeo.

later man, jan

The Green Children Foundation

Become a Green Child today! Help spread the word about the potential of microfinance to improve lives in developing nations.

later man, jan