Tag Archives: Religion and Spirituality

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Something to think about as we all try to deal with what happened in Boston yesterday… Patheos posted the following::

Boston Bombing: In Times of Crisis

Prayers for the people of Boston and for all of us…  Having lived for a time in the Middle East, I have passing familiarity with the impact that this behavior has on a nation and its citizens. The impact is chilling and brutalizing. We will need to look deep within ourselves to listen for the still small voice that is the word of God to us in difficult times. God give us grace, courage, and compassion in a balance that is forever at risk in this environment.

Pause.

Find moments of silence.

Look deep within.

Listen for the strong, adequate voice of God.

Live courageously in spite of fear.

Shun panic.

Live in freedom.

Resolve to temper the search for justice and safety with a quest for the truth.

Comfort the injured and those who grieve.

Gracious Lord, you are the lover of souls and in times of crisis, we are often overwhelmed by fear.  Embrace those who have died.  Comfort those who grieve.  Sustain those who care for them and protect them.  Keep us from blind vengeance that deepens the spiral of violence.  Give us courage to search for justice tempered by truth.  Encourage us as the children of God, teaching us to live in light, in freedom, in firm resolve, and in all things teach us to live as yours in both life and in death.  In the name of the One who lived as yours in the shadow of the cross.  Amen.

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Coming On October 3rd

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ATC Speakers Forum Presents:
“Islam and Dhimmitude: From Ancient Rituals to Present Realities”
With
Dr. Mark Durie
WHEN:            October 3, 2011 at 7:30 PM
WHERE:         Ahavath Torah Congregation – 1179 Central Street, Stoughton, MA
PRICE:            $5
Dr. Mark Durie is a theologian, human rights activist and pastor of an Anglican church. He has published many articles and books on the language and culture of the Acehnese, Christian-Muslim relations and religious freedom. A graduate of the Australian National University and the Australian College of Theology, he has held visiting appointments at the University of Leiden, MIT, UCLA and Stanford, and was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1992.
This lecture by an Australian scholar of Islam discusses the position of non-Muslims – Jews, Christians and others – under sharia law.
There are two stories about non-Muslims living under Islam, who Muslims call dhimmis. One is that dhimmis were the fortunate recipients of Islamic benevolence. The other is that non-Muslims had to buy their heads back each year in a legal system designed to degrade and belittle them, and to ensure their decline. The story of the dhimmis, and their centuries of subjugation under Islamic law, raises troubling questions about the spiritual trajectory of western societies, and their seemingly inexorable drift towards the psychology of surrender.
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