hogfiddle church&state, culture wars, pandemic

Is there a theological basis for anti-vaxxer militancy in prophecies of end times?

Intriguing article on yesterday's Washington Post website by Michael Gerson, op ed columnist, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush and occasional talking head on CNN. Gerson, who is an evangelical himself, dismisses anti-vaxxer assertions of religious exemptions to vaccine mandates as "heresy compounded by lunacy." This amounts, he says, to a "substitution of libertarianism … Continue reading Is there a theological basis for anti-vaxxer militancy in prophecies of end times?

hogfiddle chorales, church year, journal, Luther, pandemic, prayer, spiritual direction

A new (church) year’s resolution poses a question — is music ‘an agnostic’s spiritual practice?’ My answer: I don’t know yet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjAuBTLdqPg&t=18s Paula Bär-Giese, soprano; and Hans Meijer, lute, in character as Katie von Bora and Martin Luther, perform 'From heaven above I come' and 'A child is born in Bethlehem' agnostic (n.) 1870, "one who professes that the existence of a First Cause and the essential nature of things are not and cannot be known" … Continue reading A new (church) year’s resolution poses a question — is music ‘an agnostic’s spiritual practice?’ My answer: I don’t know yet

hogfiddle journal, pandemic, spiritual practice, TS Eliot

A spiritual journal for my birthday — looking back over this ‘festering boil of a year’ in 2020 and 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KkuoMs2MOI&list=PLrR4rlaGn2Ga5fsYl6vnCJsfU5wWeiofq&index=13 English folk singers usher out 'this festering boil of a year' (at 3:30) in December 2020. So look forward with hope to the twelvemonth a-coming, And away with this festering boil of a year; But the fire is still burning, and the world is still turning, And despite all its efforts, we're still bloody … Continue reading A spiritual journal for my birthday — looking back over this ‘festering boil of a year’ in 2020 and 2021

hogfiddle Franciscans, historical Jesus, incarnation, journal, pandemic, personal God, Richard Rohr

Connecting the dots between a gospel reading from Mark, the historical Jesus, St. Francis and monarch butterfly eggs

Brother Caterpillar and Sister Milkweed (photo Debi Edumnd Ellertsen). Mark 7 [NRSV]. Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2 they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. 3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless … Continue reading Connecting the dots between a gospel reading from Mark, the historical Jesus, St. Francis and monarch butterfly eggs

hogfiddle 12-step, Jesuits, pandemic, spiritual practice

Now. Here. This. A kinda Zenlike mantra for a spiritual wannabe and aging 12-stepper exhausted by the pandemic

So Friday the Jesuit magazine America put an article up on its website with the rather sobering headline "Three Spiritual Exercises for Facing a Long Future with Covid-19." Not exactly what you want to see heading into the weekend, but it couldn't have come at a better time -- between the everlasting pandemic, the unfolding … Continue reading Now. Here. This. A kinda Zenlike mantra for a spiritual wannabe and aging 12-stepper exhausted by the pandemic

hogfiddle Catholics, pandemic, Uncategorized

Upon this chipotle I will build my church and Covid shall not prevail against it — the Gospel according to St. AutoCorrect

A bit of levity on a grim topic Friday afternoon ... brought to you by one of those automatic spell-checking devices. And a moral to the story -- It's fun to have fun with typos, but we all need to be vaxxed. It started with a notice on the Capitol Fax blog, a portal maintained … Continue reading Upon this chipotle I will build my church and Covid shall not prevail against it — the Gospel according to St. AutoCorrect

hogfiddle cat pix, Episcopalians, ER spirituality, examen, foxhole spirituality, Mark, pandemic, prayer

A viral cat video, the archbishop of Canterbury and the dean of the cathedral remind me of the imminence of God

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy43J76bIwE Global News, the news and current affairs division of the Global Television Network of Vancouver, B.C.,  reported in 2020: "One of Canterbury Cathedral’s cats, Tiger, helped itself to some milk during a morning message from Dean Robert Willis on July 6." Brought together by serendipity -- a lovely, do-able brief explanation of my favorite Jesuit … Continue reading A viral cat video, the archbishop of Canterbury and the dean of the cathedral remind me of the imminence of God

hogfiddle climate change, Episcopalians, eucharist, Luther, pandemic, sacraments

What Luther said about the presence of God in his cabbage soup and why it matters

"Religionsgespräch [Colloquy] zu Marburg," Christian Karl August Noack, 1867 (Wikipedia) Seen on the unofficial ELCA discussion group's Facebook page, an allusion to Luther's comment "that God is [present] in his cabbage soup." I'd never seen it before, and I loved the quote! Hence this blog post, so I'll know where to look for it. Maybe … Continue reading What Luther said about the presence of God in his cabbage soup and why it matters