I am currently reading the book An Open Heart by The Dalai Lama.  He is remarkably compassionate.  He teaches that we are all the same.  We all have great potential.

I bought a TNIV when it came out.  Being me, I liked the gender neutral language.  I think “man” meaning mankind is often read to be not women.  I, admittedly not conservative concerning women in the church, am happy to own a copy of this version.  Little did I know it would so quickly disappear.

Texas law mandates Biblical Literacy taught in schools.  What do you think?  No guidelines is the odd part.

I struggle with prayer.  I made a goal in January to revisit prayer in 2009.  So far, like most of those sort of goals, I have failed.  I have have had an ongoing struggle with prayer for many years.  I don’t know how prayer relates to my view of God and how I perceive God’s workings with us.  That said, I am open to the idea that I don’t know how God works.

I read a lot of memoir and this summer brought two remarkable women into my life.  The first is Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize award winner from Iran.  Shirin Ebadi grew up during the Shah’s government and lived in Tehran during his overthrow and the subsequent rule of the Islamic Republic under the ayatollahs.  She became Iran’s first female judge, but following the revolution found it difficult to continue her career, eventually being forced to give up her judgeship as well as her ability to practice law.  Ebadi has worked tirelessly against the oppressive regime of Iran, using her intellect and influence to speak out for human rights and justice, especially in defense of children.  Even facing threats to her life and serving an unjust imprisonment, Ebadi never gave up on Iran.  PMIAB reader dvd has written a reflective account of her book, Iran Awakening.  I highly recommend this inspiring story.

 The second woman I encountered through the pages of her book was Ayaan Hirsi Ali.  Born in Somalia, Hirsi Ali experienced the horrors of revolution and war as a young girl.  She was the daughter of a prominent revolutionary leader and only saw him for brief periods during her childhood.  Her family’s and country’s instability resulted in moves to Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, a variety of financial and educational barriers, and a strict Muslim culture always in the foreground.  When Ayaan Hirsi Ali was forced into an arranged marriage with an unknown distant cousin, she fled to and received asylum in The Netherlands.  Her book, Infidel, chronicles her story in an intimate way and recounts her budding enthusiasm for learning and Western life.  Hirsi Ali studied and graduated from University in The Netherlands, became a parliamentarian, and devotes her life to protecting and freeing women who are physically and mentally imprisoned in unloving Islamic families.  There are many challenging issues in Hirsi Ali’s story.  One, in particular, for me is her staunch belief that individual rights trump cultural ones.  Because of this driving ideology, she has found a home in more conservative political circles after becoming frustrated with the “multicultural” mindset of the liberal party.  She argues vigorously against special accommodations for conservative Muslim groups and strongly believes Muslims in the West should assimilate into Western culture.  I give her view credence because of her experiences, and they have forced me to reconsider my views on such things as the proposed burqa banning in France.

The third woman I have thought much about this summer is me.  What kind of a woman am I?  These stories call me to stand in solidarity with women worldwide.  I may never be in a position to lose my freedom or suffer at the hands of despotic governments, but as a woman, it is important for me to hold these stories of my sisters close to my heart and respond.  I’m not sure what that looks like from my quiet coffee house and uncensored internet, but I hope this is a start.  I want to start by sharing these stories…and then, perhaps, some more.

What are the minimum criteria for Christianity?

I have a broad definition–follower of the teachings of Christ.

What do you think makes you, or perhaps others a Christian?

From time to time, I feel like we ( my husband and I) should have done the typical thing at our church and have a baby dedication.  We didn’t do this for either of our children.  I am sort of a traditionalist in this regard, and it isn’t something that I quite understand the purpose of in our Baptist tradition.

Is the belief in the Trinity necessary?  Can God be God–or do we have to accept God in Three Persons?

In a Christian Century article, Peter Rollins talks about church or perhaps non church.  He is a leader in the Emergent church movement in in the UK.  Ikon is the name of his group.  He says in the article that “Ikon has lead some people out of the church and some into it.”  It appears that his group wants the discussion and doubt of the oddities within Christianity.

One thing he mentioned in the article is that he doesn’t call Ikon a community.  He says when one does this, those searching for community come and the group becomes needy.  The problem with church being a community is that it is expected to call when there is trouble.  If it doesn’t, people get hurt.  Ikon the institution doesn’t care about your problems, but perhaps the people you develop with people within will lead to community.  Interesting point of view to me.  Thoughts?

Last night I watched this documentary .  Friends of God: A Road Trip with Alexandria Pelosi.  She visited some of the same places that Bill Maher did in Religulous notably, The Holy Land Amusement Park.  She also had clips from the founder of the Creation Museum.  In my opinion, she is very respectful of the people she interviews.  She may show surprise by some of their answers, but not in a mocking tone.  She was looking for an answer to “Who are the Evangelicals?”  There isn’t one answer.  She finds suburban mega church goers, a rural couple with a large homeschooling family (12 children), Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University Students, throwing in a bit of Haggard and Osten.

What Would Jesus Buy? Is very different.  Different doesn’t necessarily mean bad.  I actually really enjoyed this off beat documentary.  It isn’t so much about religious views, but our culture of over buying and over consuming.  Rev. Billy is not your typical pastor, but I respected how consistent he was throughout this documentary.  When he needed a sweater, he went to a small town store.  He wanted to know where it was made.  He is over the top in his delivery to get people to notice, but I thought he was genuine.  This says a lot, I am skeptical.

Religulous was outstanding–for the open minded.  It is more in your face with a message that all religion has crazy ideas and crazy followers.  A few of the people interviewed reacted strongly to Maher’s questions.  I enjoyed the dialogue with those who agreed, yeah there are some crazy ideas.  A man outside of the Vatican agreed, it doesn’t make sense.  The actor who portrayed Jesus at the Holy Land Amusement Park answered questions in a respectful manner.  This film has the same director as Borat.  It is purposefully in your face–although I found it to be thought provoking at the same time.