Simon pointed out an interesting article from today’s Toronto Star regarding the debate the Catholic church is having on whether or not to offer Holy Communion to politicians who pass laws opposing the church’s teaching -
Perhaps even more interesting are the reader comments regarding the story on the Star’s website, which are here (it’s a surprisingly intelligent and worthwhile debate given the passions involved in this topic)
This is a tricky issue… obviously the Catholic Church can set any policy it so chooses, but it’s tough to refuse communion to a politician for making a public decision while serving communion to people committing sins of adultery, only in privacy, every night. I guess it boils down to whether the Church believes it is confident enough (and wise enough) to enact God’s judgement on His behalf.
Here’s a guy who has dozens of reasons to be proud, being a former American president and one of the key drivers behind Habitat for Humanity, which even now is among the many aid organizations leading the charge in rebuilding the Gulf Coast. However, each and every Sunday, he’s just the Sunday School teacher and a regular guy in the pews, singing the hymns and worshipping God in a rural Georgia church. It’s refreshing to see that integrity and living out a life based on Micah 6:8 isn’t totally out of fashion.
I’m passing these cute jokes along on behalf of Joy:
A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales. The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small. The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible. The little girl said, “When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah”. The teacher asked, “What if Jonah went to hell?” The little girl replied, “Then you ask him “.
A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child’s work. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was. The girl replied, “I’m drawing God.” The teacher paused and said, “But no one knows what God looks like.” Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, “They will in a minute.”
A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds. After explaining the commandment to “honor” thy Father and thy Mother, she asked, “Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?” Without missing a beat one little boy (the oldest of a family) answered, “Thou shall not kill.”
One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast on her brunette head. She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, “Why are some of your hairs white, Mom?” Her mother replied, “Well, every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white.” The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then said, “Momma, how come ALL of grandma’s hairs are white?”
The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray: “Take only ONE. God is watching.” Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A child had written a note, “Take all you want. God is watching the apples.
So, we haven’t done one of these little blog puzzle contests in a while… not coincidentally perhaps, nobody has commented on a blog in roughly the same amount of time. Do I detect a trend? Well, call me nothing if not cheaply pandering to what the people want. Instead of the pictograph puzzles, this time I’ve got some logic puzzles together for your enjoyment… I figure it’s easier to rationalize spending time solving logic riddles since you are “expanding your non-linear thinking ability”, which really sounds quite productive. As usual, for those brilliant enough to induce the solutions, feel free to post your answer as a comment to share your genius with everybody.
- Todd
1) Standing on a one way street, were two highway patrol officers, specifically looking for drivers who were in violation of local traffic laws. A taxi driver was going the wrong way down the street, however, the officers did nothing. What explanation can you offer?
2) You have a barrel, filled to the top with water, which weighs 150 pounds. What can you add to the barrel in order to make it lighter?
3) Whoever makes it, tells it not. Whoever takes it, knows it not. And whoever knows it, wants it not. What is it?
4) If Poland is 44 miles away, Canada is 42 miles away and Mongolia is 56 miles away, how far away is Peru?
5) In the olden days, a man rode into town on his horse. He arrived on Monday, spent six days in town and left on Friday. How is that possible?
6) James recently moved to his first brand new house (really this is a total coincidence). When he arrived there he discovered that the builder had forgotten something. James popped down to the local DIY shop to enquire about the prices. Luckily the items are quite cheap at the shop. 7 cost $1.00, 10 cost $2.00 and 100 cost $3.00. What had the builder forgotten and how much will 210 cost?
7) If you are in a dark room with a candle, a wood stove and a gas lamp. You only have one match, so what do you light first?
8) A donkey is tied to a rope 6 feet long and there is a bale of hay 8 feet away. How can the donkey get to the hay if he does not bite or undo the rope?
9) The local bus driver was telling me that recently he was driving a bus full of people and nobody got off on the way. However, as he was pulling into his last stop, there was not a single person left on the bus. How?
10) What is it that when you need it, you can’t buy it and when you can buy it, you don’t need it?
I was browsing the site I linked to in the previous blog and found this — it’s amazing what some people actually ask (these are apparently all real questions people have submitted to the site)! Anyway, the football question is yet another good reason it’s a good job it’ll be a while until my friend gets to Leviticus Rarely have monkeys on typewriters and football been placed in the same article, let alone one on apologetics, but there’s a first time for everything:
Should we compile a list of links to those members of Oxygen, PMC at large, and perhaps even friends outside the church, with blogs?
Shermeen, for example, can be found here. Kelsey’s might-be-updated blog is here.
Jason Silver, music leader and webmaster extraordinaire, has his available here. Jason has links to several people from Philpott…I’ll leave it to him if he wants to post ‘em over here.
And then, of course, there’s mine. A warning before you plunge headlong into Austin’s Mind - I am very…well, I don’t pull many punches. If I’m posting on my blog (which is not very often of late - too much work!), it’s because I’ve been moved to do so in some way. Usually because I’m irked.
I know you all see me as some kinda lovable roly-poly Pilsbury DoughBoy (ha!) when I’m at Oxygen; but I’m not always that reserved. You’re getting 85% pure Austin on my blog…and you may not like what you see. Just so you’ve been warned. Here’s the link.
I know this has very little to do with anything remotely important, but I thought it was important to bring this incredibly shocking news about Cookie Monster of Sesame Street fame to your attention. They have forever ruined the “C is for Cookie” song for me now At least, as the article attempts to comfort us, “Will he still scarf his food? Yes, plus the occasional object”.
Here are a couple of interesting articles addressing the religious responses to Hurricane Katrina and all the absolutely awful things that have been happening in not only New Orleans but also the entire U.S. Gulf Coast over the last week:
Sodom and Gomorrah by Deborah Caldwell - As usual after a major natural disaster, many people are attempting to equate the ferocity of Katrina to retribution from either Mother Nature or an angry God. This article outlines what the radicals are saying about why Katrina hit New Orleans — it’s good to understand since many people equate this response with the attitude of all Christians toward tragedies such as this, even though that’s clearly not the case.
Where Was God When Katrina Hit? by Dr. Tony Campolo - an interesting, thought-provoking, and very eloquent Christian response to the question on the tips of everybody’s tongues when natural disasters strike down so many innocent people. A beautiful rebuttal to the Sodom and Gomorrah article above.
Why We Place Ourselves in Harm’s Way by Kenneth Cole, Toronto Star 09/04/05 - not too much spiritual content here, but a really interesting look at how we assess risk and the psychology of disasters. It’s truly odd how we dismiss some risks which are incredibly probable while fretting endlessly about things are extremely improbable.
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Rarely have monkeys on typewriters and football been placed in the same article, let alone one on apologetics, but there’s a first time for everything: