The online editorial staff comprises Betsy Shirley, Jenna Barnett, Josiah R. Daniels, Mitchell Atencio, Heather Brady, Kierra Bennning, and Zachary Lee.
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Afternoon News Bytes: March 9, 2012
Nobel Winner Gbowee: Where Are the Angry American Women?; Mortgage Crisis Inspires Lenten Season Message To Banks; Matt Redman, LZ7's 'Twenty Seven Million' To Awaken Church On Human Trafficking; Catholic Bishops To Congress: Don’t Cut Aid To Poor Or Put Defense Behind A Firewall; This Week In Poverty: Welfare Reform—From Bad To WorseWhat War On Religion? (OPINION); Pat Robertson Says Legalize Marijuana: Do Other Evangelicals Agree?; What Do I Know About Poverty? (OPINION).
Verse of the Day: The Land of Glory
"Surely [God's] salvation is at hand for those who fear [God], that [God's] glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky." - Psalm 85:9-11
Voice of the Day: Evelyn Underhill
"Many people feel unaware of any guidance, unable to discern or understand the signals of God; not because the signals are not given, but because the mind is too troubled, clouded, and hurried to receive them." - Evelyn Underhill
Prayer of the Day: For Those Who Face Discrimination
Heavenly parent, we pray today for the families and children that are wrongly discriminated against. May you continue to guard and guide their hearts, giving them the strength to endure what they are not be able to change. Amen.
TED Talk: Bryan Stevenson - We need to talk about an injustice
Hands of a prisoner | BortN66, Shutterstock.com.
Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of Equal Justice Initiative, shares stories about America's justice system and illustrates the imbalance of justice along racial lines.
"One of out three black men between the ages of 18 and 30 is in jail, in prison, on probation or parole," Stevenson said in his talk. "... We have a system of justice in this country that treats you much better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent. Wealth, not culpability, shapes outcomes."
Afternoon News Bytes: March 8, 2012
U.S. Top Destination for Christian, Buddhist Immigrants, Study Saysl; Abdo Husameddine, Syria Deputy Oil Minister, Defects; Washington’s New Antiwar Movement; The Pentagon's (Preliminary, Shaky, And Hypothetical) War Plan For Syria; Arab Spring Fails To Allay Women's Anxieties; Progressives Petition Hoyer Against Safety Net Cuts; Carbon Fast 2012: Christians Give Up Carbon For Lent
Verse of the Day: Jesus Confronts Judging
"Someone in the crowd said to him, 'Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.' But he said to him, 'Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?'" - Luke 12:13-14
Voice of the Day: Thomas Merton
"And the wounded are healing, / though in a place of flame. / The sick in a great ship / Are riding. They are riding home. / Suppose the dead could crown their wit / With some intemperate exercise, / Spring wine from their ivory, / Or roses from their eyes?" - Thomas Merton from "A Responsory, 1948" in Selected Poems
Prayer of the Day: Prayer for Syria
God of peace, in Syria, where we see nothing but darkness, pain and suffering, would you be a light to all people. Would you soften the hearts of those who harm others, give perseverance to those in conflict, and grant wisdom and compassion to all in positions of leadership. May we always be mindful of the world around us, and continue to lift the people of Syria up to you. Amen.
The Naked Rabbi: Driving Mrs. Roosevelt
To celebrate Purim and International Women's Day, we give you the latest instsallment from one of our favorite storytellers — Rabbi Allen Secher (aka The Naked Rabbi) — and his tale of chauffeuring former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt for five days in 1955 when he was a student at Brandeis University.
Mrs. Roosevelt was no Miss Daisy.
How Did Religion Play Out in Super Tuesday?
Chart by Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life
New analysis by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, based on National Election Pool exit polling conducted during the Super Tuesday GOP primaries, shows that Mitt Romney continues to struggle among the GOP’s white born-again/evangelical voters. He did win the evangelical vote in two of the seven states where exit polling was conducted: Massachusetts (where he served as governor); and Virginia (where neither Santorum nor Gingrich were on the ballot). In four states, Romney received significantly less support from evangelicals than from non-evangelical voters — continuing the pattern seen in previous caucuses and primaries.
Afternoon News Bytes: March 7, 2012
Extreme Poverty In The U.S. Has Doubled In The Last 15 Years; Veteran Poverty By The Numbers; UN Humanitarian Chief Arrives In Damascus; A Curious Exit Poll You Might Have Missed Last Week; Something New Is Happening In Greece; Rush Limbaugh And The Poisoning Of The GOP Brand; We're Underestimating The Risk Of Human Extinction; New Atheists Promote Bible Study?; More Than Two Dozen Vermont Communities Vote To End Corporate Personhood; Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline Won't Ease Gas Prices; Senate Must Reject It (OPINION).
Invisible Children Short Film 'Kony 2012' Aims at Worldwide Awareness
Joseph Kony, Kony 2012, Invisible Children
Invisible Children released a short film Wednesday with the aim to make Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, famous--not for acclaim, but to bring awareness to his alleged crimes in abducting children and forcing them to be child soldiers.
According to the YouTube video, "KONY 2012 is a film and campaign by Invisible Children that aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice."
"It's obvious that Kony should be stopped. The problem is that 99 percent of the planet doesn't know who he is. If they knew, Kony would have been stopped long ago," the half-hour film narrates.
Voice of the Day: G.K. Chesterton
“So far from it being irreverent to use silly metaphors on serious questions, it is one’s duty to use silly metaphors on serious questions. It is the test of one’s seriousness. It is the test of a responsible religion or theory whether it can take examples of pots and pans and boots and butter-tubs. It is a test of a good philosophy whether you can defend it grotesquely. It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it.” - G.K. Chesterton from All Things Considered
Verse of the Day: Rather Than Money, Righteousness
"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. But as for you, [people of God], shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness." - 1 Timothy 6:10-11
Prayer of the Day: You Have Redeemed My Soul
Jon Stewart on Limbaugh: 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Gross'
WARNING: Jon Stewart's take on Rush Limbaugh's latest rhetorical offense against humanity (or at least womankind) is not for the faint of heart.
But it is funny ... cuz it's true.
Hear what Jon had to say inside the blog...
Afternoon News Bytes: March 6, 2012
AP Survey: More Optimism About US Jobs And Economy; Rise Of Faith Within GOP Has Created America's First Religious Party; U.S. Holds Conflicting Views On Poverty And The Poor; Religion Reporting Descends Into Meme In Super Tuesday's Shadow, Ohio's Poorest Struggle To Rise; Minority Students Get Arrested, Suspended More Than White Students; Microsoft VP: God Can Use Whatever You Have To Spread The Gospel; America's Fossil Fuel Fever; What If All Sides Are Wrong About Taxes?; It's Time To Clean House; Kim Kardashian, The Donald Trump Bible For Money Advice; Who Would Jesus Vote For? (OPINION).
Prayer of the Day: Peace in the Middle East
Almighty God, we pray for peace in the Middle East. But we know, O Lord, that you bring peace, you will let justice rain down over all. Amen
Verse of the Day: Deliverence
"When your children ask you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the decrees and the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your children, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand." - Deuteronomy 6:20-21