Lightly Salted: March 2009

More on U2

In my post below I promised a deeper look at the U2 Album but I am afraid it will be some time in coming. I have been laid flat by a vicious virus this week and have been attempting to rest it off without a lot of success.

In the meantime I was glad to see one combox poster refer to his own comments on the entire album. I don't agree with everything he says but, if you are a U2 fan, I recommend taking a look.

Mar

Call for Luther to have excommunication withdrawn

International expert on church unity, Rev Günther Gassmann, a German Lutheran theologian, has urged the Catholic Church to declare officially that its excommunication of Martin Luther no longer applies.

Such a statement, "in these ecumenically less exciting times ... would be a remarkable step and a sign of hope and encouragement," said Rev Günther Gassmann, who was director of the World Council of Churches' Faith and Order Commission from 1984 to 1995, according to an Ekklesia report.

Mar

Sins against Unity

A joint Act of Repentance by the Brisbane Catholic and Anglican archdioceses to be held at St John's Cathedral tomorrow will help set a fitting tone for the rest of the year's sesquicentenary celebrations, St Stephen's Cathedral dean Fr Ken Howell says.

Fr Howell, who is one of the organisers, said the liturgy for the Act of Repentance was about both churches recognising their failures to live up to the full Gospel message, The Catholic Leader reports.

Mar

The Collapse of Evangelicalism?

Thanks to Fr Longenecker for his reference to an article predicting the imminent demise of mainstream evangelical Christianity. To wit,

Within two generations, evangelicalism will be a house deserted of half its occupants. (Between 25 and 35 percent of Americans today are Evangelicals.) In the "Protestant" 20th century, Evangelicals flourished. But they will soon be living in a very secular and religiously antagonistic 21st century.

Mar

U2 and Theology

When a theologian from Alabama says that the latest U2 Album is the “the most thoroughly Christian thing they’ve done yet”, you can't help but be a little bit curious.

A good friend put me on to the lyrics of the song Magnificent, which I have to say are pretty amazing, but it is another song that's grabbed my attention for now.

The song is called "Standup Comedy" and I think I need a week or two of listening to the album before I comment on it.

Mar

Instructions OR ...

I HAD to share this one (HT to Catholic Dads).

Mar

People at Play

A previous post on recreation, hobbies and interests being an essential part of making us a person of the quality required in order to give others 'quality time' evoked this comment from Troy

Before your blog, I thought that I was alone in my experience of being a simply better "quality" person for everyone else after I have had a chance to rest, chill out, read, recharge, reset, and generally pull myself together (and this is COMPLETELY different than simply getting 8 hours sleep and getting m

Mar

Contemporary Liturgies

One of my pet dislikes is so called 'contemporary' liturgies. before I begin this rant I want to be clear I am not against the Novus Ordo, nor do I attend Latin mass. I am not opposed to liturgies that are composed in modern language and easily understood by almost everyone.

Mar

St Paul and his Donkey

I was recently asked to settle a good natured 'argument' about an event that influenced the spread of Christianity is its infancy. That is, about the conversion of St Paul. As crucial event was to all Christendom, the argument itself was about a slightly less important detail. namely, whether St Paul was riding a horse, a donkey or anything at all when he fell to the ground under the light from heaven.

Mar

All work and no play makes a dull boy

If there is anyone still riding through the ghost town that has been this blog over the past few months, you will have noticed my contributions have been scattered and scatterbrained of late.

Work is enjoyable yet fast paced and demanding at present. Even though I have scaled back my nights away from home I find myself literally staggering in at the end of a day and collapsing into rest, to drag myself out of bed and start again.

Lightly Salted

A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men. - Roald Dahl -