Just watched NOW with Bill Moyers - incredible show -

[NRaleighLiberal]

a nun who thinks that the current batch of religious righty nutcases have it all wrong, a sober assessment of Afghanistan and Iraq....so refreshing to see something that is actually a product of intelligence.

I came to the conclusion, particularly after watching the fascinating interview with the nun, that Bush, the current batch of right wing "preachers" - are actually pure evil - and that those who elected Bush because of "values" are simply missing the Emperor with No Clothes connection - they are being blindly misled.

[JPace]

1. I only caught the last two minutes with Joan Jennison (the Nun)

can you tell me more of what she had to say?
Thanks...

[noel711]

2. Joan Chittister

[JPace]

4. Oops...

just went to the "NOW" sight and seems her name may be
Joan Chittister. A very interesting lady.

[Warpy]

10. For one thing, the present crop of religious loonies aren't prolife

but only pro-birth. That was a great line, one of many.

http://www.pbs.org might have the transcript up by now

[Jasper 91]

13. Wow , I'm going to use that .

It's what I've always thought, but not in such words. Repugs are certainly NOT pro-life, just as she so superbly phrased it, 'pro-birth'.

[poppet]

3. posted this elsewhere - sane religious voices

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=action.election&item=confession_signers

Excerpt:
Our world is wracked with violence and war. But Jesus said: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" (Matt. 5:9). Innocent people, at home and abroad, are increasingly threatened by terrorist attacks. But Jesus said: "Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you" (Matt. 5:44). These words, which have never been easy, seem all the more difficult today.

Nevertheless, a time comes when silence is betrayal. How many churches have heard sermons on these texts since the terrorist atrocities of September 11? Where is the serious debate about what it means to confess Christ in a world of violence? Does Christian "realism" mean resigning ourselves to an endless future of "pre-emptive wars"? Does it mean turning a blind eye to torture and massive civilian casualties? Does it mean acting out of fear and resentment rather than intelligence and restraint?

Faithfully confessing Christ is the church's task, and never more so than when its confession is co-opted by militarism and nationalism.

- A "theology of war," emanating from the highest circles of American government, is seeping into our churches as well. . . . .

[JPace]

7. Great read....thanks for the link!

[anarchy1999]

8. Great post and welcome to DU.

It's a very serious issue and especially in our area of the "Bible Belt", many churches are seriously failing.

[newyawker99]

12. Hi poppet!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[idiosyncratic]

5. I saw it Friday night. She was wonderful.

I am a Christian, but I feel so divorced from the churches I used to attend.

She talked about real Christianity and brought out how terrible the "christianity" these people expouse is.

[hollowdweller]

6. Bill Moyers Rocks!

I am going to be so sad when he retires. If he had as much airplay every day as Rush the Dems would be winning.

Not only is Bill a man of faith AND reason, he has been around long enough to really have lived a lot of history and can remember what it was like when it was like the way we are heading now.

[indigobusiness]

9. She's a remarkable and courageous woman.

She spoke up when everyone else was sitting on their hands.

[eleny]

11. Here's an article by her 11/5 - her thoughts on the election

http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/fwis/

"We are supposed to understand that by a margin of less than 150,000 votes in one state this "country" decided its policies, programs and world vision for the next four years. Or to look at it another way, in a country of 275 million, 3.5 million popular votes out of 120 million ballots cast is now considered a "mandate." Oh, come now … "

[IrateCitizen]

14. Religious faith leads you to questions, not answers...

This was one of my favorite things that Joan Chittister said (I'm paraphrasing here) during her interview with Bill Moyers.

That's why the fundie churches have grown so rapidly. In an uncertain world, one in which people's jobs are being shipped overseas and wars are being fought around the globe, people are feeling quite confused. The fundie churches tap into this by giving them easy answers. Everything is very cut-and-dried, without a whiff of uncertainty.

The problem is, this isn't how religious/spiritual faith is supposed to work, IMHO. It's not a quest for answers, but rather one that is supposed to propel us to ask QUESTIONS. In many instances, this can actually make things a little MORE difficult, because it does nothing to solve the uncertainty of the world -- and may, in fact, actually make things even more uncertain.