Jubilee USA offers a highlight reel of their Cancel Debt Fast prayer breakfast.

Fighting poverty -- Hispanic Jews organize -- among many other Jewish communities around the country.

Evangelical and former Bush speech-writer Michael Gerson on the Daily Show. Jon points out to him that his brand of antipoverty politics sounds like the Democratic Party platform.

And apparently Gerson and Wallis agree about poverty.

They aren't the only ones. Revolution in Jesusland writes:

I can no longer keep track of how many white, middle class or affluent Christians I’ve met who have moved to poverty-stricken, crime-ridden city blocks as part of locally organized attempts to redeem neighborhoods.

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Revolution in Jesusland writes:

Progressives (Christian and secular) have lost faith in humanity’s ability to intentionally manage our economies. I’m not talking about central planning, but I am talking about collectively guaranteeing that everyone in the world has access to means of making a good living that’s sustainable and doesn’t destroy the earth. That’s just not an acceptable goal anymore for respectable progressives.

Sound counterintuitive?. . .then see what happens when a young evangelical reads Rauschenbusch.

On that note, JSpot shows some solidarity with the people of Kansas where about 27,000 people make $2.65 an hour.

Commenting on the recent attacks on Catholics United for putting the poor first, Xpatriated Texan notes:

Thaddeus McCotter doesn’t like Catholics United - in fact, he’s calling them “false prophets”. Their crime?

Catholics United errs by deliberately conflating means and ends. Catholics United claims that any pro-life representative opposing Leftist policies to help the poor also de facto opposes helping the poor.

You really have to twist yourself into a knot to get all scoochy and huffy to say that opposing policies “to help the poor also de facto opposes helping the poor”. Huh?

Not enough economics for you, God's Politics provides a great sermon on the rich man in the gospel of Luke. "He went to hell because he lived side-by-side with poverty didn't lift a hand to help."

Speaking of shared resources, Faithful Progressive notes the climate change connection to the California wildfires and urban sprawl.

Mainstream Baptist writes:

The Campaign for America's Future weblog has posted an outstanding essay on "The Art of the Hissy Fit" that describes the practice of ritual defamation. The essay is about the tactics that conservatives use to manipulate political discussion in American politics, but it also describes a practice that fundamentalists employed to marginalize moderates and progressives in order to take over the Southern Baptist Convention.

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Third Way released report on how non-evangelical progressives and the larger evangelical community can work together on forging alliances on social issues.

Naturally this elicited responses around the 'sphere:

The Rev. Deb Haffner writes:

The authors are leading evangelicals and people associated with the Third Way Foundation. Although I like and work with one of the authors, I think it’s fair to say that there is scant representation of progressive religious voices in the report.

Pastor Dan didn't find much that applied to electoral politics.

Third Way responded to Pastor Dan, arguing that on two big points :

1. Perhaps the most pervasive misunderstanding in PD’s response is that he has imposed a partisan frame on an explicitly non-partisan paper. 2. Second, and more troubling, is PD’s misreading of the data and the real political landscape, both of which cause him to miss what’s "new" and significant in this paper.

Pastor Dan responded:

As it stands, we're not really sure who's being brought into dialog, which is the other problem with the paper. Had the authors stated explicitly, "this is what the evangelical community thinks is middle ground," it would have been a better starting point for a conversation. What we have at the moment is "this is what evangelicals and progressives agree on," which is odd, since we don't have a clear picture of who was in those conversations, or why those people are representative of our communities.

On the other hand, here's Rachel from the press conference:

Talk to Action's Carlos suggests that this could "shake-up the usual antagonism between the Christian Right and the Secular and religious left."

The Rev. Anne Howard writes:

The labels of yesterday aren't working either so I'd say it's time for some new conversations. I figure this document could be educational for all the progressives who see evangelicals as monolithic, for all the secular folks who figure that Christians are Visigoths on social issues, and who believe that religion plays NO role in public life.

Over in evangelical land, the tone was different. Emergent Village sees hope. And Religion, Nationalism, Terror categorizes the report: Militant Fundamentalists versus Moderate Evangelicals.

And Jim Wallis writes: "Progressives and evangelicals are people who care deeply about the justice and health of our society, and potential alliances between us on key issues could provide a genuine convergence for the common good."

Interestingly, the NPR News Blog (looking for news in interesting places), notes: "However, a leader of the National Right to Life Committee has dismissed the new initiative, calling the Third Way approach 'a political ploy to silence the debate.'" The enemy of my enemy. . .?

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Many faith blogs are closely following the faith-led pro-democracy uprising. Church of the Brethren blog, Nonviolence News asks: "Note the role of prayer and spiritual leadership in this story. What form will your spiritual leadership take?"

Avaaz has a petition aiming for a 250,000 person show of support for the monks. The petition calls on both the UN and China -- the two entities with the most leverage over Myanmar -- to exert pressure on the regime.

Speaking of justice, Mainstream Baptist asks what color it is.

The Rev. Chuck Currie weighs in on the debate over Ahmadinejad's speech. He writes:

We are called to seek reconciliation and peace with those who oppose our communities. Dialogue between those with strong disagreements is important if we are ever to truly bridge the divide. Perhaps churches here in the United States should be reaching out to religious leaders in Iran and attempt to set-up a system of exchanges with a twin goal of building relationships between Iranians and Americans and a long-term goal of bringing reconciliation between our two nations. Maybe religious people have the potential to do something great in this area.

And then look at that, two days later. . .several historic peace churches and about 140 religious leaders met with Iranian president Ahmadinejad on Wednesday.

Jim Wallis remembers a call from the president (US) and in light of S-CHIP, wonders what (the hell) has happened to Bush. The Rev. Chuck Currie gives you something to do about it.

Ouch. Rabbi Jill Jacobs says I told you so to the communities who tossed out immigrants and now want them back.

Xpatriated Texan talks about how to build a pro-choice, pro-woman message, including: "If God wanted to stop abortion, He wouldn't need a law."

Note to Condi Rice: No! This is what the birth-pangs of democracy are. Speaking of, Islamicate states: Communism is the Opiate of the Masses

Faithfully Liberal has been tearing up the 'sphere with interviews of late and this one, with the head of Clergy United for the Equality of Homosexuals covers some interesting ground, including:

I’ve discovered that the refusal to marry same-sex couples comes more from polity than from belief. If the restriction were lifted, there would be immediate and wholesale gay marriages performed all over the country. In spite of the restrictions, many clergy do it anyway, and many others perform union blessings that are in reality marriage by another name. I find it very curious that we won’t allow gays and lesbians to marry, and then accuse them of not behaving as we straights (should) behave!

The other day I stumbled across Interfaith Tech Associates. They write:

The ultimate goal of ITA is peace among communities of faith. In a world more and more troubled by religious fanaticism and sectarian violence, information and communication technology can help to break down walls of ignorance and fear, thus promoting peace

I have no idea what they do. But they just combined a whole lotta good ideas.

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Over at the New Yorker, George Packer writes, "If there were a threat level on the possibility of war with Iran, it might have just gone up to orange. Barnett Rubin, the highly respected Afghanistan expert at New York University, has written an account of a conversation with a friend who has connections to someone at a neoconservative institution in Washington."

Many around the prog. faith blogosphere have noticed this surge in rhetoric from the Bush administration and their conservative fringe about going to war with Iran.

Faithful Progressive notes the drum beats coming from Fox News.

Notice the giddiness with which religious right mouthpiece Glenn Beck connects Iraq, Iran, WWIII and, yes, he says it: the coming of the messiah.

Over at Street Prophets, Rain writes on the weakened Bush administration: The temptation to distract by starting another war must be strong.

Brian McLaren has a great piece over at God's Politics entitled, A Nuclear Plank in the Eye. He writes:

I hope that more and more of us will become motivated – and resourced by our faith – not simply to complain about violent solutions to the problem of violence, but instead to make better proposals, because this one, I believe, is a recipe for disaster. To continue living by the sword, according to a reputable authority, is not a sustainable long-term strategy for living at all.

And finally, Get Religion tackles the recent attention to revelations about Mother Teresa's personal spirituality. Here's Chris Hitchens' piece for Newsweek. Commenting on it, Get Religion writes:

Hitchens nods to the Dark Night as a reality for several Christian saints throughout the centuries, yet still misses its fundamental point: The saints who have endured the Dark Night have not surrendered to disbelief.

As Faithfully Liberal points out "oh, my God, Mother Teresa had doubts."

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Boulevard of Broken Dreams with Hurricane Katrina footage

JSpot celebrates Katrina's second birthday with some whithering posts. One the rhetoric vs. the reality and also on the role of women in the recovery.

And so does Pam's House Blend, drawing attention to indicting video of the still-broken Gulf Coast: To get a true sense of what it is like two years later, go to Voices from the Gulf from ColorofChange.org -- unvarnished video perspectives from the region.

On the Gulf Coast, one of the sharpest men in show biz, Harry Shearer has been on the hurricane recovery beat for two years now. At the HuffPo, he writes: "Along with other New Orleanians, I've been amazed at the lack of alacrity with which both Republicans and Democrats have approached the problem of a federally caused flood that destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of homes, wrecking whole neighborhoods and communities, and spinning half a city's population into involuntary, semi-permanent exile. Now the answer becomes clear: the post-Katrina flooding just didn't destroy enough houses."

Faithfully Liberal interviews Rev. Tim Ahrens, senior pastor at First Church in Columbus, Ohio and the leader of We Believe Ohio, which played a significant role in balancing out the religious voice in 2006 and mitigating the effect of the right-wing Patriot Pastors network. If you're interested in the futures of faith in American public life, check out his words here:

First, I would say, the term “liberal” is over used and outdated. We are sometimes referred to as progressive people of faith. But, like Thomas Paine over 200 years ago, I feel like we are people of faith and conscience with “Common Sense.” It is common sense to care for the common good of all your state’s citizens.

We have been silent too long in the mainline traditions of Protestantism, Catholicism, Islam, and Judaism. We are folks who believe in the goodness of humanity and quietly go about living in the pathway of faith. However, we have given away the media and various mediums of communications to those who are hi-jacking our faith and abusing it in the process. We need to stand up, speak out, and be a prophetic witness for Christ - and our various traditions of faith in a growing and diverse religious America.

Mother Jones' recent article "Hillary's Prayer" on Sen. Clinton's "Fellowship faith" has stirred up some controversy. Pastor Dan sees her at best a "useful idiot" and wonders why she is hanging around "creeps." But over at Faithful Democrats, Eric Sapp writes, "This article demonstrates how the fear of the unknown can lead to accusations that are nothing short of surreal. It shows how completely clueless some on the left are about people of faith...and it shows how badly damaged we have allowed the witness of the Church to become where the mere mention of Christ's name can generate such fear."

I usually enjoy a Jeff Sharlet article and appreciate the nuance he brings to reporting on the often-strange cultures of religion. But this piece came across as reaching too hard for a hook and ended up hinting at a vast bible study conspiracy. Faith in Public Life's Dan critiqued the article pessimism toward "common ground issues" and Sharlet defended his skepticism, stating: "There have been instances where liberals have maintained their liberalism, and instances where conservatives who were also bigots have abandoned certain bigotries, but none where conservatives have moved leftward on any philosophical or political issue."

My contention is that the article stirs up worries that by praying with "those people," Sen. Clinton is compromising. That above all else she is a true believer in her own ability to triangulate. And while there's little doubt about her not being the most liberal senator and candidate for president, the article would prove stronger not by pulling a half "Colson" and hinting at her compromises with the Hill faithful, but rather by showing that this mixing has led to significant (i.e., beyond flag burning) policy moves rightward. I guess that I'm less worried about whispers about how, and who with, a politico prays and I am more interested in what my representative does, and for whom. As a believer, I actually compare what a politician does, to my moral convictions, not who they sometimes pray around.

The Rev. Deb Haffner shares her sex and religion perspective regarding Sen. Craig's closeted homosexuality:

Because in the world that I am working for he would be able to affirm his sexual orientation whatever it is, have meaningful intimate relationships, and engage in moral, ethical sexual behavior. The values he espoused about sexuality would be the values he lived.

God's Politics has a back-to-school reading list.

Islamicate on Bush and torture.

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What the. . .religion at YearlyKos? Yep, Street Prophets helps out the concern trolls (Washington Times and Get Religion) who reported not finding much conflict over religion. Pastor Dan ponders:

So again, I'm not really sure what his point is. It's like he and the Washington Times are pointing to the Interfaith Service and the apparent lack of conflict over religious issues and saying "a-ha!"

A-ha what? A-ha we're a diverse but inclusive bunch of people? A-ha religion wasn't a major focus of the conference? A-ha we're liberals? Seriously, I don't get it.

Any questions? Mik over at JSpot reflection on the Faith or No panel discussion at YearlyKos as well as a way beyond the spats of late.

CrossLeft wonders what's really the difference in thinking between liberal and moderate Christians?

Progressive/Liberals think that things can be better for our society. They see that many who are individually oppressed are oppressed because of certain structures in society that keep them in their place. Conservatives want to change the individual, but often think the social structures are just fine. Progressives/Liberals often think too much of the social structures, and not enough about the individual. Might there be a balance?

City of Brass launched a new information site called Talk Islam. It deals with humdrum questions such as:

Do muslims condemn terror?, Was Islam spread by sword point conversions?, Is there a "Just War" theory in Islam? Does Osama bin Laden have authority to issue fatwa for jihad?
Does the Qur'an call Jews "apes and pigs" ?

Progressive Islam wonders, What is it with all these articles about Pakistan? As I do this roundup, the news is breaking that Mr. Musharraf may declare a state of emergency. Not sure if that's an answer, but it does raise some questions.

Remember that Hindu guy who got shouted at during his Senate prayer service? It looks like Christian fundamentalists weren't the only ones mad. Faithfully Progressive notes an emerging and strange coalition. Religious extremists and New Atheists Attack Freedom of Conscience. This essay is part of a series that he is going documenting the rise of this new challenge to religious tolerance. The intro is here.

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In keeping with the FPL series of posts from evangelical and progressives speaking out together, Theology visits a large, evangelical church, formerly First Baptist, now known as Autumn Ridge Church.

This is the very kind of church that liberal Christians bewail. They're all Republicans, right? And they care only about saving souls. Or maybe they are involved in the Big Two social issues: ending abortion and a gay marriage ban.

Right?

Wrong.

Xpatriated Texan notes Sen. Obama recent answer on gay marriage and concludes:

This stands in contrast to John Edwards abominable answer. Note that the outcome isn’t different - Obama doesn’t think that marriage should be “push[ed] front and center” (which means no “gay marriage laws” under President Obama). But the stance is vastly different. Under Obama’s “Christian ethos” there is “no contradiction with embracing same-sex couples”. John Edwards actually sees a problem with granting equality, but he wouldn’t stand in the way of it. One has an alignment between personal belief and public stance while the other says he would advocate for something he doesn’t believe in.

Pam's House Blend posts about a HRC interview with that lesbian couple from the CNN+YouTube debate.

Velveteen Rabbi reads the four candidates' -- Biden, Edwards, Obama, Richardson -- responses to the Jewish Funds for Justice presidential questionnaire. And she writes:

It's easy to grouse that all we hear from our Presidential candidates are soundbytes. Reading their responses to our questions is a good way to begin getting a more nuanced picture of who these men are and what they have to say about the issues we care about. Thanks for making this happen, JFSJ, and three cheers for the J-blogosphere.

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With the SCHIP doom -- Bush chooses big tobacco over children's health -- and Gonzalez's false testimony, there's not much else to do this week but pray. . .which is precisely what PastorDan is doing all over the blogosphere. Now he's making me almost believe the old culture war meme about these fervent faith-types barnstorming the left. . .what's going to happen next, actual metanoia?

Over at kos, he witnesses:

Mr. O'Reilly, I take the Bible seriously. I am a Christian disciple committed to growth in love of the Lord and my neighbor. I am even committed, God help me, to learning to love my enemy. I don't represent everyone at Daily Kos, let alone the entire liberal blogosphere: that little asterisk after "pray" signifies that not all of us believe in God, but we can all meditate or hold someone in our thoughts. In that sense, if you were to take the time to get to know us, you'd find that I'm a lot closer to representative than not.

And then apparently he enjoyed it so much (and the 300 plus comments!) that he offered up another supplication over at Street Prophets.

Now here's Starwoman offering up hymnic prayer.

Speaking of the hail Mary. . .Diana Bulter Bass faces Michael Vick off against Gregory of Nyssa. She writes:

In her recent book, The Frontiers of Justice, philosopher Martha Nussbaum points out that Jews and Christians practice ethics of compassion for animals, but that these ethics are incomplete—that “cruel and oppressive treatment of animals raises issues of justice.” Nussbaum insists, “not only that it is wrong of us to treat them that way, but also that they have a right, a moral entitlement, not to be treated in that way. It is unfair to them.” (Emphasis hers.)

And finally, rounding out the prayer theme Unitarian-Universalist blogger Philocrites points to a Rob Hardies quote:

We need a spirituality that moves us beyond fight and flight, one that sees complexity not as an enemy but as a friend. We need a spirituality that views paradox as a creative opportunity and contradiction as a stimulant

Okay, I'll pray for more of that. . .and while you're at it, send some o' that for BillO too, dear God!

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The do-gooder award goes to the Rev. Chuck Currie who is putting work before food, and he's jubilant about it. It's part of the Jubilee USA Sabbath campaign which will be ramping up this Fall.

Bored with the usual wanker's in faith and politics news these days? Street Prophet's Pastor Dan isn't conned; he nails a DOUBLE wanker post on Beliefnet's Crunchy Con Rod Dreher (beware: lame TNT ad).

Want more award ceremonial posts? JSpot catches up on the news and gives a "piggy award" to Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) for being. . .well, let them explain:

waving his little hoofs in the air and saying “look at me! I’m so pure and perfect and morally righteous.” Deep down underneath we’re finally, once again, seeing another one of these religious-right moralists for what he is, a hypocrite. Treif. Bacon!

God's Politics' Jim Wallis starts the count down on the Iraq war. He (or his surrogate) writes:

This brutal, ugly, and wholly unnecessary war may finally be coming to an end. And the role of the church could and should be decisive in making it so. I hear no more voices who still say this is a "just war." Many of us don't believe it ever was and that the nonviolent path of Jesus has again been vindicated. But regardless of past positions, we should all now agree that unjust wars must be ended as an obligation of faith.

Muslim chic? Brother Ali, the rapper? Oh, you don't know these things? Get hip with Islamicate.

This week's "oh snap" title award goes to Faithful Progressive: Even CBN Thinks Romney Is an Idiot for Bashing Obama on Personal Body Space

Velveteen Rabbi has been thinking intensely about theodicy for a week. She writes, "The morning class I took at smicha students' week was a history/philosophy class called "Theodicy, Catastrophe, and Paradigm Shift," taught by Reb Laura Duhan Kaplan. Our aim, Reb Laura told us on the first morning, was to examine the question of the dike of theos -- is God just? (And if not, what will we do about it?) The course was designed to spark both intellectual and intuitive responses to those questions, drawing on the wide range of answers offered by Jewish tradition."

FaithInSociety has some thoughts for those who might be tempted to blog.

The Religious Left has a very interesting (and illustrated) post on Bishop Gene Robinson's Sermon on the Good Samaritan.

Catalyst writing on the rewriting of history in the WaPo editorial pages.

And finally, Faithful Ohio receives the "defending the little bloggers" award for helping out DailyKos as they recover from the BillO attacks.

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One of my favorite online sites these days is bloggingheads.tv. If you care about the intersection between social media and public issue advocacy, you might appreciate this discussion between Conn Carroll (The Hotline's Blogometer) and Patrick Ruffini who ran the GOP online campaign in '06 and most recently worked for the Guiliani campaign.

While they spend their time on the usual horse race presidential campaign application of social media, the potential for informing and mobilizing the faith community is becoming pretty interesting. Particularly noteworthy for Faith in Public Life community members might be the discussion of the changing social issue emphasis in the GOP and their lag behind the left in online activity.

Watch the discussion here.

Why there won't be a "MoveOn of the right" (08:58)
Social networking sites are where the action is (05:03)

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The Rev. Chuck Currie wants UN Peacekeepers in Darfur now!

Iraq vet. Logan Laituri writes:

The book In Solitary Witness, by Gordon Zahn, revealed that Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer, was beheaded by the Third Reich in August 1943 after refusing to serve in the German army. The Catholic Peace Fellowship reports he will be beatified on October 26, 2007, in his home country, and provides information on how Jägerstätter and countless other Christians have chosen conscientious objection, often in the face of significant harassment from Christian and secular critics alike.

Street Prophets' Pastor Dan writes on recent meetings between evangelical Christians and Muslims at the Egyptian embassy. He opines, "Anything that includes Ralph Reed trying to do diplomacy cannot be a good thing. Double that for diplomacy organized by Benny Hinn."

Faithful Progressive helps out the war cause by noting: We Are Not Fighting the Real Al Qaeda in Iraq--They Are in Pakistan, Stupid

The Beatitudes Society has a great review of SiCKO -- Towards a We Culture -- which includes clips of that really feisty liberal British MP.

And the NCC is gearing up for a big interfaith fast to protest the Iraq war. It's coming on October 8.

In faith news:

WoodMoor Village covers the wackiness of attacks on pagan chaplains and pagan elected officials by folks like Cal Thomas.

Evangelical Ecologist points out that the Vatican is aiming to become the world's first carbon neutral state.

JSpot writes on changes in Jewish publishing and what the Web 2.0 might mean. Some of this applies to other faith groups and especially at the facebook crowd becomes more involved in decision-making, social media tools -- for information sharing and advocacy -- will certainly decentralize who controls a faith message.

Islamicate shares that he is "a Nizari Ismaili, and hold that the Aga Khan is the direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through his daughter Fatima (PBUH) and his cousin/son-in-law Ali (PBUH). The New York Times ran a decent story yesterday on the Aga Khan and his humanitarian efforts. I don't call it philanthropy. . ."

And for this week's action item: Faithful Ohio has a great post on why we've got to get active to protect net neutrality.

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The Rev. Chuck Currie posts a sermon remembering the immigration bill that couldn't thanks to the current swell of nativist fear-mongering in the MSM.

And speaking about immigration and voting rights and terrible comparisons to the Holocaust, JSpot's Rabbi Jill Jacobs writes:

How would Jews manage to talk about political issues if not for the Holocaust? Jeremy has already taken to task one writer who compares civil disobedience against immigration law to civil disobedience against the Nuremberg laws. While I have great sympathy for the plight of unrepresented DC residents, it seems unlikely that the next move will be to set up a ghetto in Dupont Circle.

Pastor Dan, over at Street Prophets notes the news story in which Catholic politicians are calling the U. S. Bishops to prophetic action. Yup, this time it's going the other direction.

After attending the Aspen Ideas Festival, Jim Wallis opines on American Ideals:

Many have pointed out how some of the most famous framers of the Constitution itself failed to live up to its ideals. And American history has been nothing less that the steady battle of a country trying to live up to its ideals. When it comes to their practice, we have certainly fallen short of the truths that we hold to be “self-evident.”

The Evangelical Ecologist writes about Kilimanjaro and the science.

The Rev. Deb Haffner hearts Michael Moore's documentary SiCKO:

At one point towards the end of the movie, Mr. Moore explains that we need to move from a profit driven system to one where "WE means more than ME." I thought to myself that this is what the Scriptures mean by "love your neighbor as yourself." It's what the book of Matthew means when it tells us that we will be judged in heaven by how we took care of the least among us. It indeed is speaking truth to power.

Velveteen Rabbi talks about schoolin' and bloggin':

In a nutshell? I love the learning, and I also love the thoughtful, compassionate, inspired community of people with and from whom I'm privileged to learn. I continue to feel deep in my bones that this is the work I'm supposed to be doing -- that I'm getting better at it, which is exciting -- and that these are the teachers I want to emulate in my own rabbinate, when I get there.

The Rev. Anne Howard wields some righteous indignation over the Libby commutation:

Well, it seems that neither the Ten Commandments, that basic Judeo-Christian code of behavior for human communities, nor the American rule of law applies to the Office of the Vice President of the United States, once again.

Xpatriated Texan takes on Chuck Colson's attack on pagans. Apparently in the scheme of things, making sure that Wiccan soldiers offering their lives for America don't deserve a chaplain of their faith.

WoodMoor Village titles-forth: Cheney: Executive, Legislator, Unaccountable Megalomaniac?

And finally, Progressive Islam notes a suburban California mosque excommunicates an overzealous convert.

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Progressive Islam (sheep are for Eid) writes about a new organization. From the press release:

The progressive Muslim movement in the United States took a significant step forward as a diverse collection of activists, organizers, and academics gathered at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, May 15-17, for the first conference of Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV, website: www.mpvusa.org). Coming together in fellowship, they joined in communal devotion, shared the various personal, intellectual, and spiritual journeys that brought them there, discussed how to formulate their positions on political, social, and cultural issues and how to interact with other progressives and other Muslims.

At Street Prophets, Uwdomke wonders it was "courage or calculation" that drove Bush's recent stem cell veto.

This evidence does show the evangelical base of the GOP is in Bush's camp, yet a further look shows a more complex picture. The 44% of evangelicals supporting embryonic stem cell research in 2006 was an increase of 18% over 2002. Note to Mitt Romney: If Bush's veto is a pander to evangelicals, it is a strategically poor one. That group of voters is split on this issue and moving leftward.

Mainstream Baptist writes about the new right-wing "70 weeks to take back America" campaign:

Thirty years ago whenever a Baptist organized a campaign to preach in Baptist churches, he was preaching to save souls. That was before Fundamentalists organized political campaigns to "save" their denomination and "Southern" culture. Scarborough was a leader among the young pastors who set aside the revivalist tradition of preaching to revive and save souls and took up preaching to mobilize resentment against the imaginary "liberals" who were supposed to be teaching in Southern Baptist seminaries.

Talk to Action's Carlos writes about Sen. "Obama and the Religious Right."

None of the current presidential candidates have seriously challenged the Christian Right, but it is noteworthy that Obama mentioned the Christian Right in a recent speech at a United Church of Christ gathering in Iowa.

The Rev. Chuck Currie posts from the UCC's General Synod. He explains how a decentralized church organization "still speaks" with a prophetic voice.

At God's Politics, Jim Wallis writes: "Shane Claiborne and The Simple Way community are a good example of the old adage, "Be careful what you pray for." Evangelicals like to pray that Christian young people will learn to love Jesus and follow in his steps. Well, that's exactly what this community has done. They believe that by plunging deeper into what the earliest Christians called "The Way"—the way of Jesus, the way of the kingdom, and the way of the cross—they rediscover the biblical reversal of our social logic, accepting that the foolishness of God has always seemed a little nuts to the world."

Bloggernista, over at Pam's House Blend, notes the fluid definitions of what it means to be ex-gay.

JSpot's Mik Moore asks: Which Jew is Most Like Ahmadinejad? And he points out what that has to do with the anti-union lobby.

Here's the Commonweal blog full of Iraq and abortion advice by way of Melinda Hanneberger.

Philocrites updates on the world of Unitarian-Universalism including the latest in halal investing.

Faithfully Liberal blogs on the latest about the influence of Big Oil on American politics. Spoiler alert: according to the GOA they aren't paying their fair share in taxes.

Johnny's Cache has seen SiCKO and he's mad. Or as he writes: angry, insulted and upset. He's got a great graphic that helps explain why.

Jubilee USA blogs the debt, or more specifically sex and art. Learn more about the play: The Dictatorship of Debt.

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Five media memes in the American struggle between the "common good" and the "culture war."

+ Common Good: Opening salvo, why the struggle matters, with special bonus common good message at the end.

+++ Culture War: Falwell lives! This week the culture war comes out swinging, led by Alan Keyes and Pastor Rick Scarborough as they launch their "70 weeks to save American crusade." Anyone who still mixes "America," Christianity and "crusade" must be channeling Falwell. One negative: Alan Keyes speaks French and "studied Spanish" which might lead to Tancredo creating a rearguard. On the other hand, Scarborough wrote a book entitled: Liberalism kills kids. The culture war turns into another children's crusade. . .

+++ Common Good: Religious leader Desmond Tutu and land mine activist Jody Williams write about working together for the common good of Darfurians. Both have received the Noble Peace Prize and both are tired of the political rhetoric. They write: "we are dismayed that despite much rhetorical concern in many world capitals, little has been done to end the conflict, now in its fifth year." Apparently in some places, more than liberalism kills. They note:

"Hundreds of thousands are dead, hundreds of thousands are in refugee camps in Chad, and millions are displaced inside Darfur. Rape, endured by countless thousands of women, continues to be used as a weapon of war. Thousands of villages have been razed, crops and livestock have been stolen or destroyed, and water has been polluted in a scorched-earth policy of ethnic cleansing carried out by Khartoum and its allied janjaweed militia."

+ Culture War: Ok, cute video, but it misses the point that there are common values that we all want to protect.

+ Common Good. Over at mania411 (pop culture since '96) Dan Martin relates a story in an attempt to understand the role of the religion for the next national election. "Driving during 2004 I would often pass a gaudy, and perhaps tacky, electronic sign for a mega Church flashed in bright lights a message that helped swing Ohio and the Electoral College into Bush's column. The message flashed in bright forty foot tall lights "Vote the Bible." In an interesting short post, Martin analyzes three common good organizations: Sojourners, The Presbyterian Church USA, and Catholics for the Common Good. And he leaves us with this conclusion:

"Splintered would be the best word to describe it. Many left leaning politicians are uneasy about aligning with people of faith, and some are outwardly hostile. Beyond the remnants of the Civil Rights movement very few ordained ministers are present and visible in progressive causes. Jewish Americans have often supported Democratic positions and policies, but the foreign policy situation in the Middle East has muddied those waters. Roman Catholics are historically firm supporters of labor unions, living wages and social advancement via statecraft, but abortion has largely destroyed what was once a cornerstone of the New Deal Coalition."

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Over at Street Prophets, Matthew Krell reminds us:

Friday, for those of you who don't know, is Justice for Janitors Day. J4J Day marks the day of the Century City police riot , where janitors at the Century City complex in Los Angeles, striking for better wages, confronted the police in full riot gear - and although they were beaten and injured by the police, they won the wages and benefits they needed to care for their families.

Interfaith Power and Light calls upon Toyota to support legislation to stop global warming:

As representatives from many faith traditions, we ask that Toyota withdraw its lawsuit opposing AB 1493, California’s landmark law to limit greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. We urge that Toyota, the world’s largest automobile manufacturer, play a leadership role in the greatest moral dilemma of our time: the race to stop the catastrophic damage that is being done to our sacred planet and its citizens by global warming.

God's Politics lists some questions that weren't asked during the Presidential Forum on Faith, Values, and Poverty. Here's number three:

The command “be not afraid” appears frequently in the Bible, and yet U.S. foreign policy seems to be driven by fear, primarily of terrorist attacks. Our leaders seek to justify the most important decisions in foreign policy with dire warnings of impending attacks. Have we let fear push out wisdom and prudence as the primary virtues of foreign policy? Should the biblical command “be not afraid” have a role in foreign policy decision-making?

The Rev. Chuck Currie takes a swing at religious bigotry on the campaign trail:

Religious bigotry has no place in American politics but tragically candidates have learned that you can sometimes win votes by dividing people based on fear and hate. . . .Let’s debate the issues and forgo the politics of personal destruction. Let’s debate Brownback’s opposition to a women’s right to choose, let’s debate Romney’s always changing positions on social issues, and let’s debate Obama’s position on the Iraq War and his call for more help for American families. Issues are fair game.

Islamicate writes: Moslems do punk! They listen to music. They are human. They participate in American culture. It's true. I saw it here.

Faithful Progressive notes:

Southern Baptists don't want action on global warming. . . . Fortunately, efforts like the Evangelical Climate Initiative have gathered wide support even among conservative Christians and have left the odd-ducks like James Dobson and the Southern Baptists very isolated on their angry little islands. . .

Speaking of the SBC, Mainstream Baptist lends his expertise to the increasing narrative of a growing generational split within the denomination:

The rift is between younger conservatives who lack the mean spiritedness that characterizes fundamentalist Christianity and older fundamentalists. The younger conservatives supported the fundamentalists while they ruthlessly terminated moderate denominational executives, professors, and missionaries but now, as they are being placed in positions of power and groomed for greater responsibilities, they are trying to strike a moderate pose.

Xpatriated Texan writes:

Immigration remains front-and-center for the President - apparently waging a losing war in Iraq hasn’t satisfied his taste for waging losing wars. Charles Krauthammer believes he has the solution. “Good fences”. I scoff. He starts out by making good sense - why can’t Senators start with the part of immigration reform they agree with and look to border security. Then he takes a sharp rightwing turn into la-la land.

Pam's House Blend has a steaming response to an interesting story:

John Hardy, a minister of the New Testament Church of God in Kingston, writes in the Jamaica Observer about a ridiculous theory explaining why the country is so homophobic -- repeated rape by the Brit slaveowners of male slaves on the island has ingrained them to hate gays. . .

With more Action!, Even the Devil's Believe calls for saving the Hadzabe:

This culture that is one of the oldest remaining on the planet is being threatened so that the royal family of the United Arab Emirates can have a more expansive hunting ground for their growing numbers.

Progressive Islam writes: "On Rushdie's knighthood, silly Iranian officials and my eternal debt to the Satanic Verses."

And Faithfully Liberal celebrates the Action! that paid off in the recent victory for marriage equality in Massachusetts:

Needless to say this is a blow to the religious right’s battle to prevent the LGBTQ community from having equal rights. It is a good step in the right direction but how much longer before other state legislatures and supreme courts realize that civil unions and denying gay couples the full rights of marriage is unconstitutional and just flat out wrong? One state down… 49 more to go.

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Just about everyone commented on the significance of the Sojourners/CNN presidential forum on faith, values and poverty.

Jesse Lava, at Faithful Democrats summarizes each candidates statements. In addition, he adds,

Substantively speaking, two big things happened tonight. First, we had an expanded debate on faith and values — one focused on center-left issues like poverty but bold enough to include the hot-buttons of abortion and gay rights. Second, we got a glimpse into the way these candidates’ values shape who they are as public servants.

On the other hand, Andrew Sullivan didn't like it. And the more Pastor Dan o' Street Prophets thinks about it -- and reads our exciting LIVE exchange -- the more he doesn't like it either:

This isn't to say that Democratic candidates should never discuss religion or their own personal beliefs. But let's be realistic here. Conservative Christians feel like they've been played for fools by a generation of Republican leaders. Why should they rush into being fooled by a new generation of Democrats?

Jenna, at Auburn Media writes:

. . .rather than the usual political posturing, faith talk opens the door to different possibilities for common ground. Take Clinton’s response to the issue of abortion--she lamented that pro-life and pro-choice camps have not been able to find enough common ground to collectively work to reduce the number of abortions. Faith talk allows for a plea for better solutions, perhaps simply because there is the underlying notion of shared community.

Frameshop takes up the discussion about faith and abortion: In other words:

If we really believe in "safe, legal and rare" are we willing to commit to "safe, legal and never"? I applaud Reverent Hunter for asking this question because it really pushes the debate to the deliberative issue that should be raised at every dinner table, water cooler and carpool in America: Is abortion a social ill? It is not.

Centrist Good Will Hinton wishes this question had been asked: "What do you say to people in your party who argue that religion doesn't belong in politics, that it is divisive, regressive, and/or irrational?"

Xpatriated Texan calls it "Fluff and Pomp-enstance" and says: "the candidates should have simply been given fifteen minutes to set their own faith agenda."

The Rev. Anne Howard o' the Beatitudes Society writes:

At first, I thought Soledad O'Brien's questions were simplistic-unto-silly, e.g. "what's your worst sin"--the kind of thing designed to make cute headlines for CNN. But then I heard in her questions and in her voice, the real curiosity of a seeker; these are the kinds of questions I've heard time and time again as a pastor: "What is sin, exactly?" or "How do you pray?" or "What happens when you pray?" or "When bad things happen to you, does faith help?" or "Is it OK to be mad at God?"

In other news. . .

City of Brass points out a story entitled "I'm a Danish Muslim." He adds:

This is a woman of courage and conviction; a true Danish patriot and the personification of the sort of assimilation without surrender of identity that Tariq Ramadan preaches to European muslims (and a model for muslims in the West in general).

The Rev. Chuck Currie writes about religious leaders addressing the Senate on global warming.

JSpot askes: Who cleans your home?

The Rev Deb:

. . .the House DEMOCRATIC leadership has just INCREASED funding for ineffective, moralistic abstinence-only-until-marriage funding. They have developed a "compromise" about the bodies and futures of America's young people. This, despite, their own Congressionally mandated study, released a few months ago, that these programs don't work to help young people abstain.

Mainstream Baptist notes the Pews report on the dying of the American Dream. He adds that

unless things change, the next generation is going to have a lower standard of living than this one. It used to be that parents wanted their kids to have it better than they did. This generation appears content to live well at their children's expense

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This short week, FPL's been busy with the report: Left Behind:The Skewed Representation of Religion in Major News Media, the Faith in Public Life Media Workshop, and the Plymouth Center's Emerging Leaders Project.

On the progressive faith leader media report:

The Chicago Tribune's Swamp blog swiftly notes the report, "archly called 'Left Behind'. . .wasn’t about Christians being raptured to heaven a la the fiction of the Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins." It also included a this report:

Rev. Bob Edgar, a former congressman. . .placed the onus on the media to provide a truer view of the American religious landscape.

On Religion likes the title too and provides some analysis:

Journalists probably view the “moral” issues that conservatives focus on as somehow more religious than the social issues that liberals worry about.

Are liberal/moderate/progressive religious leaders getting short shrift from the national media? Yeah, probably. Journalists can learn to inject more religious diversity into their stories if they take the time to find out what liberal folks believe and why.

But liberal leaders can also do a much better job of explaining what they believe. Get to the point. Make your case. Quote from Scripture like conservatives do. Be passionate. Make the media pay attention.

Get Religion has a thoughtful write up on the Media Matters/Faith in Public Life report entitled: Media matters, religion doesn't:

I think that media folks may not realize how newsworthy liberal positions are because they share liberal views. There are just as many — if not more — liberal ballot initiatives as conservative ones. Consider the Missouri initiative, supported by religious liberals, that enshrined embryonic-destroying stem-cell research in the state’s Constitution. Not much room for gray there!

And again, why are we talking about politics? Religion and politics aren’t completely overlapping circles — sometimes they’re quite separate, in fact. What about other liberal positions — on, say, sex outside of marriage. When you look at how Episcopalians on left and right view the issue, both are newsworthy. And yet frequently only one side is grilled on the topic.

Pastor Dan, of Street Prophets notes:

Focus on the Family's CitizenLink takes up the Media Matters Left Behind study: But (Faith in Public Life's Katie) Barge said the study didn't consider the context of the interview. Often, conservative Christians are brought in to offer balance not just to the other side, but also to the institutional liberal mindset of the media. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said bringing on one liberal to talk to another about what they agree on just doesn't make for good television. "The more liberal view is the host's view," he told Family News in Focus. "So, you don't need someone who's going to come on and have a love fest with him. And that's often what you see from the evangelical Left."

Pastor Dan adds: You know, that'd be a lot easier to accept without Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly molesting our television screens like insane flying monkeys

Over at CrossLeft, Stephen Rockwell notes what the report also say about the progressive faith community.

"We are not nearly as diverse as we need to be. Where are the women voices? where are the youth? Where are the minority voices beyond Jesse and Rev. Al? We have a lot of more work to lift the diverse voices we know exist within out community."

Jesus was a Liberal, Spirit Blog, The Carpetbagger Report, and Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting cover the news. Back in 1994 FAIR noted:

Black churches, which are of profound political significance in the African-American community, receive little prominent coverage. Black clerics are mostly visible when they talk about themes promoted by white media pundits, like "black-on-black" violence or the dangers of rap. Otherwise, they make news when a (white) politician addresses them, as when Clinton spoke to a convention of black ministers in Memphis in November 1993.

Xpatriated Texan jumps into the fight and does his own study debunking an attempted religious right meme, that the study ignores Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. He writes:

"When Jackson and Sharpton speak about diversity and tolerance, they speak as community leaders, even political leaders, but virtually no one looks at them as religious leaders. On the other hand, Falwell, Robertson, and Dobson are religious community leaders who leave no doubt that Christ himself would approve of their words.

Probably the best recognized “leader” of the Faithful Left, as I like to refer to us, is Rev. Jim Wallis. As far as I’m aware, he’s the only one to have a best-seller recently or to generate any nation-wide buzz. He manages 51 mentions on Yahoo news. Tony Campolo gets a measly eleven. Arthur Waskow gets one. Rabbi Michael Lerner gets fifteen. Anyone want to try and name a progressive Muslim that might get mentioned in the news?"

And Melissa Rogers writes:

All of the speakers are quite good. In particular, I recommend taking the time to listen to Rabbi David Saperstein's remarks on some of the reasons the mainstream media has tended to feature and favor religious voices that are politically and theologically conservative over other religious voices. Very insightful.

In other action. . .

Jews for Justice continues its solid job of discounting two myths about Jewish immigration, namely:

The first is that Jews were good, law abiding legal immigrants while today’s immigrants are lawbreaking scoundrels. The second is that Jews quickly assimilated into American life, while today’s immigrants refuse to learn English adopt American norms.

For the first time, a Democratic candidate for president is focusing part of a campaign on faith. Sen. Barack Obama will continue this trend and is taking it to the next level with the launch of an online faith community. People of Faith for Barack will strive to inspire the faith population into action and change.

And Faith In Context has a solid post on the End of An Evangelical Era:

Rick Warren and Bill Hybels are the new leaders among conservative Protestants, and although they are closer in their approach to Billy Graham, they are decidedly different from the other Evangelical leaders who have dominated the era coming to an end. Hybels has been criticized for inviting former President Bill Clinton to address his leadership summit and Warren is more focused on ending poverty and the scourge of AIDS in Africa than out-lawing abortion. And in very significant ways they are different than Graham too. They are local pastors, not itinerant evangelists. They have founded resource organizations as part of their congregations, not as parachurch ministries per se. They have sought to create coalitions of pastors and congregations to address major goals instead of working around the church through parachurch ministries.

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Evangelicals after Falwell

The Rev. Chuck Currie notes the story about the Liberty U. student who was caught with several bombs prepared in connection with Falwell's funeral. He adds, "Falwell preached hate and division his entire life while Jesus taught us to love our enemies. What a sad and pathetic end to Falwell’s story."

And Talk to Action's Max Blumenthal visits the students MySpace page and finds some interesting things.

At Street Prophets, Pastor Dan lists eight of the next generation of conservative Christian leaders: Frank Page, Rick Warren, Bill Hybels (Willow Creek), David Barton (Wallbuilders), Joel Hunter (Orlando pastor blackballed from presidency of Christian Coalition), Richard Land, Richard Cizik, T.D. Jakes. And he writes:

". . .when we're talking about Rick Warren or Joel Osteen (or Jim Wallis and Ron Sider, for that matter), what matters isn't so much their specific policy positions as it is their reluctance to "go to war" over them. They're not interested in mobilizing an activist base to redefine the ways Americans connect on certain issues, in other words. Nor are they interested in promoting the idea of a broad-based Culture War for their own ends, as Falwell and his cronies were."

Pastor Dan also writes on the new Agenda and the myth of the values voter.

CrossLeft appreciates Jerry Falwell, writing "So, thank you Falwell for helping us to find our place, identify our beliefs, and take a stand not against what you believed, but for our beliefs!"

And the Rev. Debra Haffner says that people shouldn't be so sure that Falwell's passing means anything, especially regarding marriage equality.

Faith in Public Life's Katie has a massive roundup on how the rhetoric about "evangelical issues" has changed.

Food and Fair Trade

Faithfully Liberal marks the end of the Food Stamp Challenge completed by U.S. Representatives James McGovern (D-MA), Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Tim Ryan (D-OH). I've heard several news pieces on this bi-partisan awareness event so it appears to have worked pretty well. Food Stamps are funded in the Farm Bill, which is up for reauthorization soon.

Larry's Urban Daily adds more to exploding the myth of widespread Welfare wealth.

Speaking of food, Provoke Radio has a great show on Fair Trade chocolate, coffee, and what faith has to do with it.

If you are not provoked enough, check out Radical Torah's post on the Torah of Fair Trade.

Immigration

Remember Rev. Derrick Harkins setting CNN's Lou Dobbs straight about Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform? Here he points out that to support compassionate immigration is to value families.

Johnny's Cache writes on Friedman's call for a "sane" immigration policy.

Interfaith in Public Life

JSpot lists which members of Congress are endorsing which presidential candidates. Sen. Clinton has the most.

At God's Politics, Diana Butler Bass tackles American Muslims and Religious Freedom.

Mainstream Baptist quotes Al Gore's recent comments on faith in public life.

Chaplain Danny has two must reads: The WaPo's Crises in Darfur video and the first Buddhist military chaplain writes about religious discrimination.

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Everyone weighs in on the passing of Rev. Jerry Falwell. The Rev. Chuck Currie goes the extra mile and includes a list of his own past posts on the icon of the Religious Right.

Progressive Christians Uniting's Peter Laarman warns, Falwell May Be Gone, But the Religious Right Is Far From Dead

Faithfully Liberal writes:

"I didn’t like Jerry Falwell, yet I mourn the passing of one of my fellow human beings. All those with a heart for love must do the same. Here we have a perfect example of the Christ ethic- we must love our enemies, we must pray for those that persecuted us."

The Rev. Debra Haffner:

But, he was an effective religious voice for his beliefs in the public square and a tireless advocate. When I ask audiences to name a religious leader speaking out about sexuality issues, his name has always been first. His commitment to young people through Liberty University was admirable. In addition to his national activities, he continued his pastoral activities at a local church. I'd like to think twenty years from now, I'd leave even ten percent of his legacy in the public arena.

Metacentricities writes:

We didn't just disagree with him. We are willing, because of our philosophy of life and governance, to allow people like him to speak. In fact, we would fight so that he could speak. Meanwhile, he would have rather wiped us off the map. I don't really ever know what to do with that disparity. Christian kindness is a good thing, but I would rather the progressive religious blogosphere had decided to have some moments of silence, instead.

And Johnny's Cache gets meta with a huge roundup of blog reactions.
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Another big story this week was the Pope's trip to Brazil.

dotCommonweal writes three posts the visit. Here's the homily. And here's some John Allen analysis. And here's Benedict in Brazil post number three which is worth reading just for the informed and probing comments.

FPL's David Buckley writes regarding the pope on a plane:

It will be interesting to see how this story develops in the days and months ahead. The Pope's mind was on Mexico and Brazil when he spoke, but as the US Presidential season approaches, such comments will almost certainly be applied to our political environment. With the most prominent Catholic candidate a pro-choice Republican (pace, Dodd supporters), will conservatives rehash their 2004 calls for withholding of communion from pro-choicers? With the US Bishops meeting in November to consider an updated version of 'Faithful Citizenship,' what impact will Benedict's comments have?

As JSpot's Jeremy Burton notes:

Inflation adjusted in $2007

1950 - $6.39
1968 - $9.44
1997 - $6.59
2007 - $5.15

No comment necessary?

Fr. Jake Stops the World writes about Episcopalian leaders talking to Congress about stopping poverty.

Philocrates takes up the issue of educating people about proper UU lingo.

And Islamicate has a friend juggling for Afghanistan.

And finally, perhaps proving Peter Laarman's title above, Pastor Dan of Street Prophets writes about Dobson meeting with Bush over Iran. As the news story points out, a dozen other religious right leaders also joined the conversation about the "war on terror". I've been reading a couple of emerging increasingly convincing lines of argument that the "war on terror" may be the single most unifying issue for conservative Christians. Not convinced yet? Here's more on Dobson vetoing Guiliani. On the other hand, here's the Family Research Council taking Jim Wallis' side against Lou Dobbs. I'm sure someone has an opinion on that. . .

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Pam's House Blend points out that the Hate Crimes Bill is going to a vote today.

After watching the PBS documentary on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Faithful Progressive reflects on religious tolerance. But then he goes after Sam Harris' intolerance toward religion, noting that Harris recently wrote: "The very ideal of religious tolerance—born of the notion that every human being should be free to believe whatever he wants about God—is one of the principal forces driving us toward the abyss."

FP replies:

This is, of course, a very dangerous idea--whether it comes from zealots on the religious right or from atheists who would ban the binding together that is at the essence of religious expression. . . . I don't care how shrill Mr. Harris and his supporters are in inviting others to share their view that religious belief is inherently flawed. But when they they denounce tolerance, when they seek to deny me my own autonomy and choices, they become bullies who believe they have a monopoly on truth.

Bruce Wilson takes up the issue of intolerance with a massive (and graphic) post on : Gay Hating, Abortion Clinic Bombings, Veiled Threats on "race mixing."

Update: the Hate Crimes Prevention Act passed.
______________

Mik Moore, over at JSpot covers "child care, education, health care, and credit cards" in his post: My One-To-One With A Presidential Contender.

The Rev. Chuck Currie points to Wal-mart and says that "Americans ought to demand moral leadership from the corporate community. And all of us - myself included - need to really think about where we shop and invest our money in."

Talkin' 'bout public life in faith, Street Prophets' Pastor Dan notes that former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey will be attending Episcopalian seminary. Xpatriated Texan comments: "I have to admit that I’m a bit hesitant to embrace his path to the priesthood, though. For one, I’ve seen far too many conversions collapse under the weight of disappointment and disillusionment. A person doesn’t mean to set too high of a standard for their church - after all, the church is just a bunch of people - but we do, and it hurts when we realize that and sometimes that leads to withdrawal and abandonment."

Sojo's God's Politics blog has video on a contest to rename the Mission Accomplished banner.

With the news that the Bush administration wants to impose travel restrictions on the British citizens of Pakistani origin, City of Brass asks, can we call it racism now?

Mainstream Baptist notes the new Pew report out on how Latinos are changing American religion. FPL's David also catches and adds analysis to this interesting data, noting that "Whether Catholic, Evangelical, or Secular, Hispanics by wide margins favor government guaranteed health insurance, and are willing to pay higher taxes for government services."

Johnny's Cache lists the top theology blogs.

Real Live Preacher visits Chicago, The Christian Century, and some blog readers.

Christian Alliance for Progress notes that the former president of the college where Bush will be speaking has written an op-ed in the school paper denouncing the visit.

Whispers in the Loggia opines on "Pope Benedict's repeatedly-delayed motu proprio on the celebration of the Tridentine Mass>

In the mood for some Muslim satire? You may have picked up some of the far right complaints about PBS not airing a documentary on "moderate Islam in America," well, Progressive Islam (Sheep are for Eid) pokes lots o' funny holes.

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Over at TPM media, Dan Gilgoff notes a fresh trend in conservative American politics, what he calls the New New Right.

A growing observation, it is increasingly borne out in Pew polls and on the campuses of evangelical colleges. To wit it is the broadening base of the conservative base. As the old leadership of the religious right ages and kids grow up beyond their mega church, their interest moves away from the usual issues and toward a new alignment of faith-informed issues. These include Darfur, creation care, and even health care.

Gilgoff places the origins of this shift as emerging in 1998 with the movement for freedom from religious persecution. He writes:

"The expansion of the evangelical political agenda beyond hot-button domestic issues is owed largely to the work of a Washington insider named Michael Horowitz, who happens to be Jewish. A White House lawyer under Ronald Reagan, Horowitz continued to be an influential Beltway legal thinker into the 1990s. From his perch at the conservative Hudson Institute, a think tank, Horowitz’s work revolved mainly around promoting tort reform. It wasn’t until 1995, when he and his wife hired a live-in housekeeper who was an Ethiopian-born Christian evangelist, that he began to pay attention to the issue of international religious persecution."

This led to the International Religious Freedom Act which was signed into law by President Clinton. Noting how this shifted the some religio-political alignments, Gilgoff adds:

The religious freedom coalition that emerged around the law has reconstituted itself to lobby successfully for a flurry of other human rights laws, often in areas that have received scant attention from secular human rights organizations. These include 2000’s Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which imposed sanctions on countries that failed to crack down on human trafficking for forced prostitution and labor, and 2002’s Sudan Peace Act, which established a framework for negotiating the end of the twenty-year civil war between the Sudanese government and southern rebels (though it has obviously fallen short of achieving that goal). “Clearly, the driving political force that got these bills through Republican-dominated Congresses and the administration,” said [David] Saperstein, “was the strong, assertive voice of the fundamentalist Christian community.”

Here's more on the Jesus Machine and the New New Right.

Playing with shifting identity, Union Theological Seminary PhD candidate Rev. Gabriel Salguero explores generous orthodoxy and seeks to define himself over at God's Politics. He writes: "I grew up as a Pentecostal pastor’s kid, serve as a Nazarene pastor, have an M.Div. from a Reformed seminary, and am doing doctoral work at Union Theological Seminary in New York."

Mainstream Baptist notes that a vice-president in the Southern Baptist Convention signed a declaration of support for a convicted abortion doctor killer.

Buddhist chaplain Danny Fisher interviews the venerable Dr. Yifa.

At Talk to Action, Reagan's Assistant General Counsel speaks out on separation of church and state.

Over at Street Prophets, winter rabbit says 'bury my heart in mother earth."

JSpot writes on Disclaiming and Reclaiming; Gay Rights in Leviticus: "On April 24, 1999, six months after the murder of Matthew Shepard, I was in synagogue, about to chant the infamous verse from this week’s Torah portion, Leviticus 18:22: “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; it is an abomination.” I suddenly realized that in good conscience, I could not simply chant the words without making any comment."

The Beatitudes Blog notes the Global Daze of Darfur.

Jesus Politics quotes from Religion and Ethics Daily showing that the American public expects their presidents to have a faith-friendly disposition and to use moral language.

Provoke Radio has a show out on "Homeboy Industries: Gang Intervention, Personal Redemption."

City of Brass writes about inerrancy between Christians and Muslims.

WoodMore Village posts on Dharma Posters.

Even the Devil's Believe remembers the Armenian Holocaust.

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