“There are two ways of thinking and of having faith: we can fear to lose the saved and we can want to save the lost,” Francis told hundreds of cardinals and bishops arrayed before him in St. Peter’s Basilica at a Mass centered on the story of Jesus healing a leper rather than rejecting him.
“Even today it can happen that we stand at the crossroads of these two ways of thinking,” the pope said as he outlined the current debate in the church between those seen as doctrinal legalists and those, like Francis, who want a more pastoral approach.
“Jesus responds immediately to the leper’s plea, without waiting to study the situation and all its possible consequences,” Francis declared. “For Jesus, what matters above all is reaching out to save those far off, healing the wounds of the sick, restoring everyone to God’s family. And this is scandalous to some people!”
..But he also listed specific examples, saying the cardinals should see “the crucified Lord” in the hungry and the unemployed, those who are in prison and “even in those who have lost their faith, or declared themselves to be atheists, or turned away from the practice of the faith.”
Women of the Islamic State A manifesto on women by the Al-Khanssaa Brigade
Throughout, the author(s) attempt to convince their audience that it is a fundamental necessity for women to have a sedentary lifestyle. Indeed, this is her “divinely appointed right”. Each of the three sections seeks to present supporting evidence for this conception – historical, political and theological.
.. The blurring of lines between the roles of each sex has caused people to forget how to worship God properly – it is a distraction that is rending society apart. In their attempt to identify the root cause of it all, the author(s) pin the blame on the emasculation of men. Because, it is argued, “women are not presented with a true picture of man”, they have become confused and complacent, unable to fulfil their appointed responsibilities, most of which revolve around motherhood and maintenance of the household. The implication is obvious – the men of IS are deemed to be real men.
.. the central argument that the manifesto is seeking to convey, that the role of women is inherently “sedentary”, and that her responsibilities lie first and foremost in the house, except in a handful of narrowly defined circumstances. This role begins at the point of marriage which, it is declared, can be as young as nine years old.
.. Because men are serving women like themselves, men cannot distinguish themselves from them according to the two features referred to by God: “Men are in charge of women by [right of] what God has given over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth” (Quran 4:34).
.. Rather, women have this Heavenly secret in sedentariness, stillness and stability, and men its opposite, movement and flux, that which is the nature of man, created in him. If roles are mixed and positions overlap, humanity is thrown into a state of flux and instability. The base of society is shaken, its foundations crumble and its walls collapse.
Salvation of all of Israel, history, humanity
The genius of the Hebrew Scriptures, which formed Jesus, was that God was saving Israel, history, humanity! It was very different from our much later notion of God saving isolated people here and there–because they were “nice,” and even that niceness was largely determined by the cultural and ethnic standards of each era.
Four Emerging Trends in Small Town Churches
Many rural towns were built by people with traditional values, funded by companies and industries with modern values, but now exist in an increasingly postmodern world. Traditional values include: self-sufficiency, love of nature, a respect for tradition, the importance of family, respect for the elderly, friendliness to strangers, and love for the community. Modern values include: reason over emotion, efficiency, growth, order, feats of engineering, and innovation. Finally, postmodern values include: emotion and aesthetics over reason, social/communal participation, environmental concern, strong preference for diversity, building individual identities, preserving and promoting cultural heritage, solidarity, and tolerance.[1] Rural churches who have postmoderns in membership or attendance may not realize it since postmodern and traditional values share similarities.
.. Emergence Christians care deeply about economic justice, racial justice, sexual justice, environmental justice, and women’s justice.[3] Instead of only increasing the Kingdom of God through rescuing souls from hell, rural churches should also seek to increase God’s reign in tangible ways on earth.