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Paul of Tarsus, in his first letter to the Corinthians (2:31-16, NLT)

I’m not sure what Bible Glenn Beck is reading, but it must be some modern-day “Jefferson Bible” version, one with all the bits he doesn’t agree with expurgated. One can’t read the Sermon on the Mount or any of the Hebrew prophets and come away with the idea that the Bible teaches “Whoever dies with the most toys wins!”

From the blogger:

I want to reengage with my readers and with contemporary issues with a new series of posts on Jesus’ politics and, specifically, on the politics behind his words and actions in the last week of his prophetic ministry. By ‘politics’ I mean, in general, the relationships a person or a movement or community has with the institutions of power in their culture and with the people who wield that power.

Of late, like the psalmist of the Jewish Bible times and George Fox at the start of the English Civil War, I have despaired observing the ocean of darkness that is again inundating, drowning this…

John 4:35+

I am convinced that God’s true blessings are meant for everyone. When the Bible says the sun shines on the good and the evil alike, it points to the paradox of rewards but it also describes how God gives. God rains down blessings on us in great abundance. Indiscriminately. Not just on the “deserving.” The forces of evil would try to hoard those blessings for the few. But at the point, they get turned into something spoiled, like the manna from heaven the wandering Israelites tried to hoard.

From Tania at Friendly Funnel:

A few days ago, I tackled Leviticus. I have a lot of history with Leviticus, most of it bad. When I first read Leviticus in high school, I started joking that maybe it should just be tossed out of the Bible. In recent years, my perception of Leviticus has been tainted by those who use it to deny rights, respect, love to anyone who’s not straight. “Abomination!” pretty much summed up what I thought Leviticus was about and how I, in turn, felt about Leviticus. But hidden amongst the messages about what’s clean or unclean are glowing bits of Light that shone through and reminded me, surprisingly, of Jesus.

My review of a talk that Guilford College’s Max Carter gave at the Bible Association of Friends:

Max Carter gave the Bible Association of Friends this past weekend at Moorestown (NJ) Friends Meeting. Max is a long-time educator and currently heads the Quaker Leadership Scholars Program at Guilford College, a program that has produced a number of active twenty-something Friends in recent years. The Bible Association is one of those great Philadelphia relics that somehow survived a couple of centuries of upheavals and still plugs along with a mission more-or-less crafted at it’s founding in the early 1800s: it distributes free Bibles to Friends, Friends schools and any First Day School class that might answer their inquiries.

Read more.

Early Quaker writings, filled as they are with Scripture, beckon us to read the Bible as early Friends did. How can we embrace their way of reading and make it our own? As I’ve tried to explore this way of reading, I have become persuaded that such reading was an exercise of attention, memory and openness to the presence of God.

The purpose of this blog is for Quakers and interested fellow travelers to explore the Bible together as it speaks to our condition as individuals. This discussion is open to Christians, non-Christians, atheists and Pagans; to those who are often confused or angered by the Bible and to those who see scripture as inerrant; to good Quakers and to not-so-good Quakers—to name just a few points of view.

Vail shares the developement of his understanding of Friends. His interests were both historical and contemporary. Good stuff. Here’s a quote:

A number of Mennonite scholars were seeking ways of recovering the original Anabaptist vision. I sought and found opportunities to inter into dialogue with them and with some scholars from the Church of the Brethren, in hope of clarifying my understanding of the original Quaker vision in the context of a broader “radical Christianity and Christian radicalism.”

From Philcooke.com:

The Wall Street Journal reports today on some massive new media buys for advertising causes from the Christian left. As it reports, “The religious left has a long tradition of activism on social issues, including the civil-rights movement.” Left-leaning Christian groups also have started to attract funding from secular donors who share their political goals — and who see Biblical appeals as a promising way to broaden public support.

Martin’s commentary:

Money trumps mission statements. If salaries and status is being paid for by secular donors then sooner or sooner-still the organization will do what it takes to keep them happy. I know plenty of pseduo-spiritual political organizations, both liberal and conservative, that randomly toss out Bible quote to “religiousfy” what’s really just a secular political message.

I’m not against lefty big media or religious media but it’s important to remember they’re rarely the same. Jesus wasn’t a Democrat or Republican and he never made a big media buy.

Via @emergentvillage

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Maureen Dowd on South Carolina Governor Mark “Marco” Sanford

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