Rowland Croucher
Decline in the Megachurches
Sightings 6/7/10 Decline in the Megachurches — Martin E. Marty Schadenfreude, or rejoicing in others ¢â‚¬â„¢ misfortunes, is abundantly evident in responses, blogged and otherwise, to the bad/sad news about the decline of the famed Crystal Cathedral, a megachurch founded in the mid-1950s in California. Publicity has been constant, for over a year, concerning the church ¢â‚¬â„¢s […]
20 Computer Viruses
1. PAUL REVERE VIRUS: This revolutionary virus does not horse around. It warns you of impending hard disk attack — once if by LAN, twice if by C:. 2. POLITICALLY CORRECT VIRUS: Never calls itself a “virus,” but instead refers to itself as an “electronic microorganism.” 3. OPRAH WINFREY VIRUS: Your 200MB hard drive suddenly […]
Abundance and Choice
*Sightings* 4/5/10 Abundance and Choice — Martin E. Marty ¢â‚¬Å“Easter Monday, ¢â‚¬ Christian clergy call today. Rabbis probably have an analogous term for their well-earned day or week or fortnight off following holiday ceremonies. After too much heavy, even sometimes traumatic, religion news, let ¢â‚¬â„¢s use this *Sightings* for lighter, let ¢â‚¬â„¢s hope nuanced, ¢â‚¬Å“news. ¢â‚¬ The topic: Choice […]
Survey
Last month a world-wide survey was conducted by the UN. The task was given to a multi-lingual International Survey Company based in southern India. The only question asked was:- “Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?” The survey was a huge failure because […]
Pray for the World June 2010
AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER * IRAN: CHRISTIAN WOMEN ACQUITTED AND FREE * CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST PREACHER WHO SAID HOMOSEXUALITY IS A SIN * RAQUEL WELCH SAYS MARRIAGE IS THE CORNERSTONE OF CIVILIZATION * STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED IN KYRGYZSTAN * IRAQI BELIEVERS WARNED TO LEAVE * JAILED HAITIAN MISSIONARY RELEASED * PRE-BORN TWINS SAVE MOTHER’S […]
A Modern Version of the Lord’s Prayer
Dear One, You are closer to us than our own hearts, farther from us than the most distant star, you are beyond naming. May your powerful presence become obvious not only in the undeniable glory of the sky, but also in the seemingly base and common processes of the earth. Give us what we need, […]
Francis and the Leper
It is said that when Francis was a young man, before his transformation, he would wander the countryside. In those days the disease of leprosy was not uncommon. Given their grotesque appearance and the odious stench that accompanied their deteriorating skin, lepers were usually banished to the countryside. Their only real source of income came […]
Two Wolves in the Heart
A Grandfather from the Cherokee Nation was talking with his grandson. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.” “One wolf is evil and ugly: He is anger, envy, war, greed, self-pity, sorrow, regret, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, […]
Dandelions
A young man named Nashruddin planted a flower garden, but when the flowers came up so did a great crop of dandelions among them. Wishing to eliminate the unwanted guests, Nashruddin consulted with gardeners near and far, but none of their solutions worked. Finally, Nashruddin travelled to the palace of the sheik to seek the […]
Vince Antonucci’s ‘Guerrilla Lovers’
She sat in her car out in the street in the pre-dawn darkness, and wondered over and over, ‘What am I doing this for?’ When the garbage-collector came she gave him some special cookies she’d baked. He was astonished: ‘No-one’s done this for me before’. Vince Antonucci’s Guerrilla Lovers (Baker Books, 2010) describes how everyone […]
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