Secular-humanist chaos? Or a more Jesus-inspired way?
It seems that almost everyone I talk to these days -- irrespective of locale, age, or economic status -- is in agreement on one
thing if nothing else: that our culture is careening out of control and needs to be fixed. No one seems truly at peace with themselves or with the world around
them. Or with much of anything else for that matter. I have never seen such widespread discontent. The curious thing, however, is that none of us can come close to
agreeing on what the basic problem is, or what should be done about it. There is a slew of finger-pointing, of course; and about the only common thread is that no one
thinks of himself as to blame; it is always "their" fault. I do have my own theory, and it is this: Genuine virtues and old-fashioned values that once provided a
universally accepted template for living have been all but cast into obsolescence, largely by secularists, as too silly and cumbersome, and have been replaced with
a more "modern" set of values that can only be characterized as things that Jesus would not do. I even have a catch-phrase for them; I call them
indees (as in WWJND). I am convinced that what is amiss with our society, and the reason folks are so restless, boils down to a severe shortage
of basic goodness. We need to pause in our mad clamour for the American Dream and strive instead for the Right Life. And to me the Right Life is a Jesus-inspired
life. I have a name for that quest, as well. I call it the
Naoi Meadow Way.
Elizabeth Smart Marries at Hawaii Temple
Nuptials moved up, unannounced,
to keep it private
SALT LAKE CITY February 19, 2012 (AP)
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Elizabeth Smart married her fiance Saturday at a Mormon temple in Hawaii, several months ahead of scheduled plans |
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for the nuptials after news of her engagement
last month drew widespread media attention.
A family spokesman said the Utah woman who was kidnapped at knifepoint at age 14 and held captive for nine months married Matthew Gilmour on Oahu's North Shore. |
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No question about it, Santorum had his share of flaws as a candidate. He is a pure career politician. He has a problem talking social values without talking religion. And he harbors views that are as yesterday as, well, an old sweater vest. But I will miss him for three reasons. First, he seems like a straight-shooter, a rarity among politicians, a guy who has well-formulated ideas that he is not afraid to express (and stick to!). Secondly, he believes (as I do) that our culture is suffering immensely as a result of a shift away from traditional family values, and that we need to be more proactive in reversing that trend. And, finally--and most importantly--he speaks for the ordinary working stiff. Obama has his constituency: unionized workers, urbanites, and the disadvantaged. Romney gets the 150k+ white collar crowd hands down. But those of us in the middle--what I think of as ordinary, middle America, largely rural, largely Christian, self-reliant, blue-collar, non-unionized working folks who still think of the American Dream as an aspiration, and not an entitlement--are now destined to be left out in the cold once more. Rick Santorum was beginning to seem like our voice in the wilderness. Now, sadly, that voice is silenced. He probably never was really destined to be President anyway; at least not this go around. But I think he was good for the campaign. At the very least, he got a lot of people thinking: Wholesome living and old-school traditionalism clearly have not gone extinct. Yet. You just have to get out to the farms and two-lane roads to find them. RW |
DID YOU KNOW? The Naoi Meadow Way (NM) gets its name from the Gaelic word naoi which is pronounced like nee and actually has a dual meaning: the number nine as well as the OT character Noah -- each of which plays a key role in NM teaching. Noah, of course, was the ultimate steward of nature's critters. That concept of Stewardship appears throughout both testaments and is all about mankind's responsibility to manage the resources of life, which belong to God, and to use them for His glory. Thus, as part of the NM ethic, NMembers take seriously their role as stewards of what is called the Trine of Nature -- beauty, peace and life -- in every imaginable sense of those words.
NM-Lucanism is Jesus-inspired Christianity--and that's way different from the mainstream.
What makes NM unique is our belief that...
What do you think?
Click one to discuss it.
Hey! I have an idea.
Hi, folks. That's me over there to your left, tweeting away about politics, religion, and what have you (or I'm there if your browser settings allow you to see me).
No, I am a not a pundit, or a preacher, a guru, or anything like that; just an amateur historian, a retired journalist, and a part-time cogitator with plenty of ideas.
Please allow me to explain how this project, and this website, came to be.
Over the years, whenever something came up that I didn't care to get involved with, I would laugh it off, tongue-in-cheek, with, "No thanks, it's against my religion." It was a handy escape route. But then, as often as not, someone would come back at me with, "Really? What religion would that be?"
Well, a couple of years ago, I got to thinking: Maybe there actually IS a religion in there somewhere? After all, I reasoned, declining to do things that are against your personal code of ethics, when lumped together with the totality of everything you believe to be true, winds up being, by definition...guess what? Your religion. It's a personal religion, true; but a religion just the same.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that, if you take your personal religion and organize it, it becomes an "organized religion". And if you then choose to share it with a curious friend or two, it becomes, well... at least as valid as the well-known religions billions of people practice every day, everywhere, all over the world.
Think about it. Every major religion started off just that way: Some resourceful, pondering person had a crazy idea (or an epiphany if you prefer) and decided to put it into words and share it.
So it was that my personal religion which I had enjoyed for years suddenly acquired a name, became reasonably organized and is now hot off the presses and ready to be shared with anyone who is interested. And that is what I am up to here.
If you love the idea of Jesus and you enjoy the traditions, the holidays, and all the sparkling symbolism of Christianity, but are a little jaded with the way it is practiced by the mainstream churches, may I invite you to hang around. I have a novel approach that you might find rather nice.
Click a few of the links on this page to embark on the adventure. And may I extend my best wishes for a bright year ahead. RW
Catholic leaders tell Gingrich, Santorum to
'stop perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes’
By MARCOS RESTREPO The Florida Independent
January 20, 2012 - 11:52am
Catholic leaders issued a letter Friday to GOP presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, themselves Catholics, urging them “to stop perpetuating ugly racial stereotypes on the campaign trail.”
The letter, signed by 45 Catholic leaders says:
"Mr. Gingrich has frequently attacked President Obama as a “food stamp president” and claimed that African Americans are content to collect welfare benefits rather than pursue employment. Campaigning in Iowa, Mr. Santorum remarked: “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.”
---read entire article---Survey: Republicans’ views vary
By RACHEL ZOLL The Associated Press
January 14, 2012 - 4:35am
Mormons and white evangelicals share an intense commitment to family life, prayer, the Bible and conservative politics, including support for the Republican Party and smaller government, according to a new study released Thursday.
But the two groups strongly hold divergent religious beliefs, and half of Mormons surveyed felt hostility from evangelical Christians.
---read entire article---UPDATE: Since the above article was written, Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry have dropped out of the race.
DID YOU KNOW? Mormons are among the most committed religious groups in America. According to a recent poll, more than eight in 10 say they pray daily; three-quarters attend weekly religious services; and 82 percent say religion is very important in their lives. Only Jehovah's Witnesses approach Mormons' religiosity.
Things here are still in beta-testing.
If you experience difficulties opening the images and applets on this
page,
CLICK HERE to skip this page.
And please let me know so I can fix it. RW
