Christianity

How about those nuns? Defying the bishops on what "pro-life" means.

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In terms of news, this is old: five days already! And the health care bill just passed the House, which is what this group of nuns wanted to happen, so why mention them? But in terms of the annals of courage, this is big. Now that the bill has passed the House, and for whatever reasons (like giving in to Stupak) and with whatever results, let us celebrate these women. From the On Faith blog last Wednesday:
Hard to say which men will find this more troubling, U.S. Catholic bishops or Glenn Beck, but a “social justice” coalition representing 59,000 U.S. Catholic sisters sent a letter to Members of Congress Wednesday urging them to pass the Senate’s health care bill.

Environment

"Why can't there be a re-emergence of a culture of generosity?"

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A San Francisco lot that once held a Lutheran church, which burned down in 1995, and has been a wasteland since then, is now being turned into an urban farm by volunteers. The group leader is a man named Tree. “Doing things for free encourages people to share,” Tree said. “It encourages people to be community, to be family. It provides people the chance to be generous with each other.”

Culture

"Avatar," Exodus, & Kabbalah

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Our deeply beloved ally Rabbi Arthur Waskow has important insights into contemporary culture that should be read by everyone! The film AVATAR weaves together what we usually call the spiritual and the political. Indeed, whether its director realized it consciously or not, AVATAR echoes two major strands of religious wisdom that began in Jewish thought but have had deep influence on cultures far beyond the boundaries of Jewish peoplehood. The two strands of ancient wisdom are “archetypal” — that is, they appear over and over again in human thought because they arise in human experience and yearning — with or without conscious transmission of the stories.One is the biblical story of the Exodus from slavery under Pharaoh (rooted in the Spirit but notably political) ; the other, the Kabbalistic metaphor of God as the Tree of Life, unfolding through successive emanations from the Infinite to the Incarnate so that its roots are in Heaven and its fruit is our world. This wisdom is notably “spiritual,” but has as its roots a political vision of sharing food among the whole community, and sharing God’s abundance with all living beings.

Politics & Society

Father's Stories of Vietnam Focus Scholar-Activist on Moral Conscience in War

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Founder of Faith Voices for the Common Good and long-time anti-war activist, Rev. Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock has dedicated much of her scholarship and activism to inter-religious education. As chair of the planning team for the Truth Commission on Conscience in War, to be launched this Sunday, March 21 in New York City, she has turned her attention to Conscientious Objection regulations and the realities of military service during times of war. To create the Truth Commission, Brock has worked with the filmmakers behind “Soldiers of Conscience,” an Emmy-winning documentary film that follows several soldiers through their moral decision-making on whether to fight in the war in Iraq or apply to be Conscientious Objectors. In her piece, “Moral Conscience in War: Small Acts of Repair,” Brock tells the stories of her father’s US Army service, including two tours in Vietnam. She explains how her father’s stories and the influence of veterans she has grown to respect have shown her how opportunities for repair and healing during war can come in many sizes.

Rethinking Religion

Debate with Christopher Reiger about "A Call For Sacred Biologists"

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Artist Christopher Reiger sent Tikkun an email expressing his differences with my piece “A Call for Sacred Biologists,” which his painting “submerged in his erotic mystification” accompanied in the March/April 2010 issue of Tikkun. I responded and a conversation developed. Our intern Sarah Ackley has edited our emails down to this post. If I could sum it up in a phrase, I would say that Christopher is committed to the idea that science and religion are both valid ways of knowing but they are separate ways, whereas I believe we have to move towards a unified approach to knowledge (the nature of which I’ll take up in a forthcoming issue of the magazine). I was happy to have such a reasonable conversation about a topic that arouses such passion.

Culture

Mo'nique's Oscar, Racial Stereotypes, A Black Man Gives Up On Hollywood

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Novelist and Tikkun Daily reader Gwendoline Y. Fortune wrote us these comments about a critique of Monique’s Oscar that she likes and adds her own son’s experience of trying to make a difference in Hollywood. The following is from a college friend. The author is the president of Bennett College for Women, where I attended during my first two–and crucial–years of college. Knowing that her position will be critiqued, I am comfortable with the values, training and attitudes I was taught that are congruent with Dr. Malveaux’s, and not with less. Mo’nique’s Oscar — Victory and Setback By Julianne Malveaux
The comedienne, talk show host and actress Mo’nique became just the fifth African American woman to win an Oscar last week.

Politics & Society

Am I A Rebel Yet? Chris Hedges Wouldn't Think So.

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Chris Hedges put up another vehement piece on Truthdig on Monday: “Calling All Rebels.” Representative quotes:
There are no constraints left to halt America’s slide into a totalitarian capitalism… The old game of blaming the weak and the marginal, a staple of despotic regimes, will empower the dark undercurrents of sadism and violence within American society and deflect attention from the corporate vampires that have drained the blood of the country… The engines of social reform are dead…. The elites and their apologists call for calm and patience.

Culture

Finding Art and Romance in Craigslist's Missed Connections

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The rush and anonymity of city life draws us apart, even as it draws us together. Jammed in the bus and streaming through the street, millions of strangers cross paths without hearing each other’s stories. Those who do exchange a word or a glance often lose each other to the closing of a train door or a shy failure to exchange phone numbers in line at the pharmacy, and many end up posting plaintive regrets in the “Missed Connections” section of Craigslist’s online classifieds site. Sophie Blackall, an artist based in Brooklyn, brings to life strangers’ sometimes poignant, sometimes funny searches for each other by illustrating a new post from the New York City listings every week. To see more illustrations of missed connections posts, visit the Tikkun Daily Art Gallery.

General News

Starhawk (2) — An American Jew's Story

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Like most Jewish kids in postwar America, Starhawk grew up believing that Israel was the salvation of the Jewish people. She collected pennnies to plant trees in the Holy Land, learned Israeli folk songs and Israeli dances, and dreamed of going to Israel. At 15 she finally attended a Zionist program in Israel. Star believes that she was raised with a compelling story — that Jews were kicked around for 2,000 years, almost exterminated in the Holocaust, and out of those ashes, finally got their own land again. “And by God,” she adds, “nobody’s going to take an inch of it away from us.”