Retired Chaplains Reveal Hypocrisy Over DADT

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

At the risk of becoming repetitive, I must point out that the obsession of some Christians with homosexuality is absurd and hypocritical. Case in point:

More than 40 retired military chaplains warned President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates that allowing gays to serve openly in the military will force current chaplains to choose between obeying God or men.

"This forced choice must be faced, since orthodox Christianity -- which represents a significant percentage of religious belief in the armed forces -- does not affirm homosexual behavior," the chaplains wrote in their Wednesday (April 28) letter.

The retired chaplains -- affiliated with denominations including the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the Presbyterian Church in America and the Southern Baptist Convention -- said the change could force chaplains to water down their teachings, or force them to preach or counsel views that conflict with official military policies.

Religulous and Other Intellectual Dishonesty

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

I finally got around to watching Bill Maher's "Religulous" a couple of weeks ago. It's on Showtime so what the hey. It was pretty much what I was expecting. Quite amusing in some parts. The unintentionally funny cartoons are the best part. Adam stroking the rib bone in an unmistakeably pornographic manner caused my husband to hit the pause button so we could just stare at each other in utter disbelief for several minutes.

That said, the movie in sum is a cheap shot. Maher does that thing that so many in the New Atheist movement can be counted on to do. He focuses almost exclusively on the outer reaches of religiosity and inductively reasons the lunacy of all religious people everywhere. He interviews a lot of fundamentalists and dogmatists and then draws broad conclusions about religion and it's implications for our future, reaching absurdly hyperbolic conclusions.

"Religulous" is what came to mind when I read this piece on The Huffington Post. John Thatamanil takes on the intellectual dishonesty of using the worst examples of religious thought (or lack there of) instead of taking on theologians and other religious thinkers of substantial mental wattage.

Super Psychic Scorpio Full Moon

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Do you have questions? Have you been waiting to ask them, wondering if there is a right time? Well, I have some good news for you – this Wednesday and Thursday, April 28th and 29th, the full Moon energy will be in the sign of Scorpio, making it a “Super Psychic” full Moon. This is one of the absolute best times for making psychic connections and intuitive readings. You can catch me live at www.livepsyche.com where I am available for readings.

Just as the light of a full Moon illuminates our night well enough to allow us to walk outdoors in the dark and see what is usually hidden from our eyes, the energy of the full Moon allows us to see more clearly into hidden emotional, spiritual, and psychic realms.

The three water signs, Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces, and their respective houses in the astrological chart, the 4th, the 8th, and the 12th, are all intuitive and psychic, each in their own way.

Pope Benedict: Reformer?

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

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We've been hearing for weeks now that criticism of Pope Benedict is unfair because he's done more than anyone to address the problem of clerical abuse. As more details of his work both before and after becoming pope have surfaced, it's becoming clear that he has, indeed, been far more proactive on this issue than other church officials. The problem for the Vatican is that that's not saying much.

Throughout the most recent round of media coverage, there's been a serious mismatch between Pope Benedict's actual record on sex abuse -- as the senior Vatican official who took the crisis most seriously since 2001, and who led the charge for reform -- and outsider images of the pope as part of the problem.

While there are many reasons for that, a core factor is that the Vatican had the last ten years to tell the story of "Ratzinger the Reformer" to the world, and they essentially dropped the ball. That failure left a PR vacuum in which a handful of cases from the pope's past, where his own role was actually marginal, have come to define his profile.

One has to ask, why didn't the Vatican tell Ratzinger's story?

At least part of the answer, I suspect, is because to make Ratzinger look good, they'd have to make others look bad -- including, of course, Castrillón, as well as other top Vatican officials. Lurking behind that concern is a deeper one, which is that to salvage the reputation of Benedict XVI it might be necessary to tarnish that of Pope John Paul II.

Cafe

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Around the Web, Around the World

"Why Shamanism Now?" with Christina Pratt

Shamanism and Plant Medicines

Author, professor, and peacemaker, Stephan Beyer, joins us this week to discuss his new book, Singing to the Plants: A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper Amazon. Stephan explains, "Singing to the Plants seeks to understand one form of shamanism, its relationship to other shamanisms, and its survival in the new global economy, through anthropology, ethnobotany, cognitive psychology, legal history, and my own experiences with two master healers of the Amazon." Join us as we discuss the use of plant medicines (plant hallucinogens or entheogens) in shamanism in the Upper Amazon and its relevance-should we or shouldn't we-in shamanic practices outside of these traditions. We will reach into the depths of Stephan's personal experience to discuss the healing potential of shamanism as well as the potential to do harm through attack sorcery. Ultimately we will explore the idea that shamanism is " irreducibly social" such that all shamanic healing as well as harming takes place within a cultural context where shared values like trust, reciprocity, or generosity are at the root of personal illness and suffering.

This week's guest:
Stephan Beyer

Professor and author, Stephan Beyer, brings us a beautiful guide to mestizo shamanism in the Upper Amazon and the use of the sacred, plant medicine ayahuasca in his new book Singing to the Plants. Stephan holds doctorates in both religious studies and psychology, was a lawyer and a litigator as well as a wilderness guide, peacemaker, community builder. He has worked with ayahuasca and other sacred plants in the Amazon, peyote in ceremonies of the Native American Church, and huachuma in Peruvian mesa rituals; undertaken numerous four-day and four-night solo vision fasts in Death Valley, the Pecos Wilderness, and the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico; and lived in a Tibetan monastery. From these experiences have come books on Buddhism, Tibetan language and religion, and now, mestizo shamanism.

Stephan has long had an interest in wilderness survival in a variety of terrains, especially jungle survival. He explains that "as I learned more and more about the ways in which indigenous people survive - indeed, flourish - in the wilderness, it became increasingly clear to me that wilderness survival included a significant spiritual component - the maintenance of right relationships both with human persons and with the other-than-human persons who fill the indigenous world. Thus I began to explore wilderness spirituality, to learn ways to live in harmony with the natural world, striving, like indigenous people, to be in right relationship with the plant and animal spirits of the wilderness." In addition to studying how indigenous peoples of North and South America survive and thrive, Stephen studies sacred plant medicine with traditional herbalists in North America and curanderos in the Upper Amazon, where Stephan has received coronación by banco ayahuasquero don Roberto Acho Jurama.

New Time & New Location
Why Shamanism Now? A Practical Path to Authenticity will have a new home and a new air time. Beginning April 13, 2010 the show will air live on Tuesdays at 11:00 AM Pacific time and be available for download the next day from the Co-Creator Network website. Recorded shows will continue to be available on iTunes. The new url will be http://www.co-creatornetwork.com/hosts/shamanism/host_bio.htm

Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 11:00 AM Pacific

Sympathy for Catholic Bishops?

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

USA Today asks if the recent revelations about Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos give us reason to feel some sympathy for bishops who protected abusive priests. It's an interesting question because it's not just the common folk who have piled blame on bishops. As discussed here, so did Pope Benedict in his recent letter to the Irish church. He laid the blame on everyone and everything but the Vatican. But what the Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos scandal demonstrates is that the problem is directly traceable to the Vatican. Indeed, it is directly traceable to the late Pope John Paul II. The lack of discussion of that salient fact I can only attribute to a kind of cognitive dissonance. It seems no one is ready to even look at it.

It takes a lot to make people feel any sympathy for any Catholic bishops who knew about pedophile priests but failed to remove them. However, an investigation at National Catholic Reporter, looking at yet another case involving Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, might give people pause.

From the National Catholic Reporter we learn that not only did the now retired Cardinal make a proud example of Bishop Pican for shielding a pedophile priest, he directly pressured another bishop to protect a prolific, serial abuser.

On Hating Women's Bodies -- Updated

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

As a personal trainer on "The Biggest Loser," Jillian Michaels prides herself on being able to get anyone into shape. Anyone, that is, except herself should she ever have a baby. Michaels has created a bit of stir by dissing pregnancy in an interview with Women's Health.

"I'm going to adopt. I can't handle doing that to my body," she told the magazine. "Also, when you rescue something, it's like rescuing a part of yourself."

Michaels, who is now 5'2" and 120 pounds of muscle, was overweight as a teen. She said she once weighed 175 pounds but lost the extra weight with martial arts, which she has practiced for 20 years. She is currently embroiled in a lawsuit over the efficacy of her diet pills.

Sure. Let some other gal wreck her figure so that Michaels can experience the joys of motherhood.

Astrological Trends for April 23-29, 2010

Here is your energy lookout for the week ahead. Like checking the weather to know how to dress, it makes good sense to check the planetary energy patterns to know how to plan your days. This forecast looks at the current transits of the planets in relation to society as a whole. Your own natal, or birth, chart is also impacted by the current transits, and your own experiences this week will also be affected by your own unique chart pattern.

Friday, April 23rd, appears to be a challenging day for relationships. A T-square energy will be activated involving the Moon, Venus, Neptune, and Chiron. Additionally, an arrogant Mars in Leo is square to a retrograde, obstinate Mercury in Taurus creating the perfect conditions for two scenarios – dissatisfaction with a partner or aspects of the relationship and the urge to tell them everything THEY do wrong and how they aren’t making YOU happy. Stop, in the name of love, and ask yourself if you are prepared to fight a battle just to lose the war. This energy will not last long and when it passes, you may regret sharp words. Two things can help ease the day. The first is to step outside yourself and pretend you are the other person – really feel them. The second is to remember the commitment you have and think beyond this day. A Saturn/Venus trine will remind you of the benefits of commitment.

With the T-square subsiding and a cooler, more intellectual Virgo Moon in effect on Saturday, life seems more settled. There may still be some discontent, but less emotional challenge as a Venus/Neptune square and the Mars/Mercury square are still active. It may be best to make it a chore day and run errands or organize your closets or desk. By taking control of your material world, your mindful state will allow your emotions and nerves time to reboot.

Bookends of Intolerance

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

"I think religion should be treated with ridicule, hatred and contempt, and I claim that right... If I said to a Protestant or Quaker or Muslim, 'Hey, at least I respect your belief,' I would be telling a lie." 
~ Christopher Hitchens

A priest who ran my youth group told me something that has always stuck with me. There was a growing evangelical movement within the Episcopal Church at the time. It made him very uncomfortable. I asked him what his problem was with these fundamentalist Christians. He said, "I've just never met a group of people who were so sure that they were right and everybody else was wrong." I have to wonder what he thinks of the growing atheist movement. As I wrote here, there is an equal dogmatism and aggression to be found in modern atheism. Evangelists and atheists: I've come to think of them as bookends of intolerance.

California Quake Warnings, Earth Changes, Etc.

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

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The Time Monks have done several media appearances over the past month and I've been trying to figure out how to encapsulate this and other information into something cogent. I can't. So I'm just going to throw several of the better interviews up here for your consideration and babble in a stream of consciousness fashion. As ever, I endorse you, gentle reader, to try not to go into fear around some of the scarier predictions... like the economic stuff. It may even be irresponsible of me to say this but I just don't get that it's going to be as bad as they predict and that I see something really beautiful opening up behind the misery. We do, however, live in "interesting times" and some of this is can get very uncomfortable. It already has but it's going to get worse.

Earthquakes and California

That said, there is a lot of data here that I'm seeing cross-corroboration of; particularly on natural disasters. I have very real concerns about earthquakes. In late March I know I said to several people, privately, that I was feeling a build-up to another major natural disaster. A short time later this spate of quakes started. We're already way off the charts in terms of number and frequency which Clif High notes. I have very real concerns about California right now. A few days before the Mexico quake that was felt up through much of Southern California, I saw a fault line releasing a lot of light in a portion of California. (This came up in a private reading so I'm really not at liberty to say more than that.) Now here's what concerns me. Since that occurred I've been hearing information from numerous, diverse sources pointing to some very serious quake activity pending throughout much of California.

I'd like to think the Mexico quake -- which did mercifully little damage -- was the one that was predicted for the San Diego area. It's not looking like that. It looks more like it was a precursor to a much worse quake pending for that region. There are a number of psychics picking that up but it's also being validated by more empirical sources. Whitley Strieber did a brief segment with a geologist on Dreamland. (It's about the first 10 minutes of the 4/10 Starchild DNA interview which will go behind the pay wall shortly.) Here's the concerning part: This geologist says that while the Mexico quake released pressure on some fault lines, it actually increased pressure on a number of others around San Diego. And that what is pending is a 6-7 point quake for that area.

Pope John Paul II Approved Cover-Up

Crossposted from Reflections Journal.

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Cardinal Dario Castillo Hoyas, who honored a Bishop for protecting a pedophile priest from the authorities, has claimed he was authorized by the late Pope John Paul II.

“After consulting the pope … I wrote a letter to the bishop congratulating him as a model of a father who does not hand over his sons,” the daily La Verdad quoted Cardinal Hoyos as saying.

“The Holy Father authorised me to send this letter to all bishops in the world and publish it on the internet,” he said.

. . .

Cardinal Hoyos’ letter  praised Bishop Pierre Pican for not denouncing a French priest who was later sentenced to 18 years in jail for the repeated rape of a boy and sexual assaults on 10 others.

If true, the culture of secrecy and protection of abusive priests, rather than children, went to the very top of the Catholic Church. This is a stunning revelation and I'm amazed it's gotten so little press.