Francis Collins gets it right on evolution and faith … and the G-8 gets it right on world hunger
Read a short version of his article here ...
http://faithinpubliclife.org/content/news/2009/07/with_all_your_mind.html.
The longer version is at sojo.net.
Also, you can read about the G-8's move to help the hungry here.
True - 20 billion looks like a lot less than it used to in light of the amounts our nations have "donated" to banks and major corporations, but this amount will make a real difference for many of our brothers and sisters who are suffering real need.
(Thanks to Faith and Public Life for the good links!)
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A Generous Orthodoxy – study resource
Thanks to Brian Gordon in Pennsylvania who put together a list of Scripture verses, one for each chapter of A Generous Orthodoxy. This could be of good practical use for groups studying the book together. You'll find the list after the jump ...
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En Route to LAX … best short speech of the decade
I'm heading to the Episcopal Church national gathering where I will give two short talks. If they're half as good as the recent commencement speech by Paul Hawken (included after the jump), I'll feel very satisfied!
Enjoy Hawken's distilled wisdom ... obviously, he brings a message that is close to my heart.
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Q & R: From Sydney on Fair Trade
Here's the question (actually a response to one of my recent postings, details included with permission):
Dear Brian,
I just read about your frustration with people's response to your EMC message - I get it! - More people seemed to miss the point than not but it did deeply impact my life. I just want you to know that your message in that book was one of the single most influential messages that has shaped my life. For once Christianity became relevant & practical on so many more levels to me. Passion ignited.
And most of all I realised everything must change - including me (although it has been a pretty stop/start rocky road along this journey called change, hehe).
Your message about trade justice is what particularly influenced me - so much so that I began speaking at my church, buying and handing out Fairtrade organic chocolate. This chocolate came along with the message that we have the power to help end poverty through our consumer decisions. And that every day we can vote with our $ for a better world through our product choices. This lead me to my current job...
I met a good lady whilst speaking and I now work for her at her business - at its base the business is called Rise Up but trade as/ house our different brands. Our products are Fairtrade Certified organic, No Sweat Shop, and we offset our carbon emissions caused by the manufacturing process. We also have product lines that we give all of the profit we make from away. This profit goes to the work of formal charity partners including World Vision Australia, Oxfam, Compassion Australia, Opportunity International Australia, Watoto and more.
My favourite brand to work with is our fashion label - 'they thank you' - http://www.theythankyou.com.au/ We also do promo products(the blurb line is "inherent in the process of manufacturing products we use in business and everyday life is a significant opportunity to alleviate poverty & help the environment. Doing this with style and excellence is what we call eco-ethical."), sleepwear, basics, fabrics, etc The base website for our business is http://www.riseup.com.au/ - and our message is "You can change the World by what YOU buy."
Anyways - I just wanted to say a HUGE thanks as it was your msg in EMC that lead me to change my life and landed me in this role that I feel so privileged to be in. Your message does produce change and it that change can be articulated genuinely and practically. I also read Secret Message of Jesus which also shaped my direction, again - thanks!
Thanks again Brian and I really hope this encourages you!
God Bless,
Andrew Macpherson
Rise Up
Sydney, Australia
Response after the jump ...
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Eboo Patel – a beautiful true story
My friend Eboo Patel leads the Interfaith Youth Core. (Yes, it's spelled that way on purpose.) He shares this beautiful story from Albania in this month's newsletter ...
There are certain stories that I can't tell enough times. They speak to the importance of interfaith cooperation so elegantly and powerfully that they practically tell themselves. This month, I want to share one such story with all of you.
Let me start with a remarkable fact: almost every single Jew in Albania, whether they were Albanians or refugees from other nations, survived during the German occupation during World War II. The Jews were protected, through the raids and searches and the times in between, by Albanians who followed the national honor code of Besa: the deepest promise a person can give, the word that is never broken. Under Besa, Albanians took Jews into their homes, treated them as family, fed and clothed them, and sacrificed their own safety and the safety of their families for the sake of their guests.
Let me add another fact that makes this story even more remarkable: Albania was the only European country with a Muslim majority.
Nazlie Alla, whose Albanian Muslim family sheltered Jews from Greece, Slovakia, and Germany, said, "As Muslims we welcomed them all. We welcomed them with bread, salt, and our hearts."
At the time, Albania had around 800,000 citizens, only about 200 of who were Jewish - though over 2,000 refugee Jews from Greece, Austria and Italy were taken into the homes of Albanians as well.
And it wasn't just Muslims making sacrifices - the entire population, approximately 70% Bektashi Muslim, 20% Orthodox Christians and 10% Catholic - risked their lives to save Jewish strangers.
The comments of one man particular - Sadik Kalaja, who was twelve years old when his family sheltered a Yugoslav Jewish couple, allowing them to light Sabbath candles in their home - struck me. He said:
"My father gave us an order: If there is a knock on the door, take responsibility."
As we go through this work together, I hope we carry this ethic above all. It is an ethic of Islam, an ethic of Albanian national tradition, and should be an ethic of the 21st century.
(For these and other stories of righteous Albanian Muslims, see Norman Gershman's book Besa: Muslims who Saved Jews in World War II)
Jesus taught us to love our neighbors as ourselves ... whatever their religion, background, identity, class, political affiliation, whatever.
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