#Religious Leaders

[brokentrafficknight]

How about JauneXSienna Khan?

Years ago I read a fanfic (Fanfiction.net) about that ship and although it had its inconsistencies, I liked it.

Tadaa! Religious Leaders!

[promptuarium]

ZOROASTER, as many say, was the same as the son of Noah named Ham. He was the first king of the Bactrians, and the first inventor of the arts of magic, and the seven liberal arts, and the courses of the sky and the stars. There are those who will report that he laughed as he was born. This should not be taken as a good omen; common people wail while being born. And so he was conquered by Ninus, and Ninus was also struck by an arrow; he died of this wound, leaving behind his son and heir, who was named Ninias. Ninus built the city of Nineveh, which took three days to walk around, and which Cyrus, King of the Assyrians, destroyed. Augustine, City of God, book 21, chapter 4; Eusebius; Pliny, book 30, chapter 7.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

June 12, 2023 – John 11:51-52

51 He answered them, “The Man who healed me and gave me back my strength was the One who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’”

52 They asked him, “Who is the Man who told you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?”

Amplified Bible

[ryukisgod]

[biblebloodhound]

What Will You Do with Jesus? (John 5:1-18)

��I do not understand at all the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.” Anne Lamott

Healing the Paralytic, by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1670 Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an…

[quotesfromscripture]

A question of hypocrisy

“If you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth -- you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? 

You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?” 

- Romans 2:19-23 NIV (2011)

[headlinehorizon]

Religious Leaders Unite to Combat Antisemitism and Support Israel

Renowned religious leaders from across the US join forces to stand against antisemitism and advocate for the State of Israel. Read the latest news on their powerful letter to Congressional leaders, calling for immediate action.

[deadpresidents]

Saw your photo post of Pope Benedict XVI and wanted to know if you know any books about him to share?

You know, I've always had at least a passing interest in Papal history, but what really got me fascinated in the history of the institution and its leaders and traditions was when Pope John Paul II died in 2005. I couldn't stop watching coverage of his funeral and, especially, the Conclave because neither of those things had ever happened in my lifetime. I'm not even Catholic -- or religious! -- but there I was hooked by the combination of majesty and mystery with the whole deal.

Then-Cardinal Ratzinger was the leading figure of the funeral ceremonies for John Paul II prior to that Conclave and he went into the Conclave as the leading candidate among the Papabile, so it was not surprise when he was quickly elected and became Pope Benedict XVI. Because of all that, I ended up with a lot of books about Pope Benedict (long since surpassed by the library of Pope Francis books I now have), and even quite a few books written by Benedict XVI. Unless you're really into learning about his theological philosophy, I'd skip most of the books that Ratzinger/Benedict wrote. The exception would probably be Pope Benedict XVI's encyclicals: God Is Love (Deus Caritas Est), Saved In Hope (Spe Salvi), and Charity In Truth (Caritas in Veritate), which I do find interesting. Plus, the Ignatius Press of San Francisco publishes each of the encyclicals in gorgeous little volumes that are nice to collect. Benedict was also working on another encyclical when he resigned in 2013 -- The Light of Faith (Lumen Fidei) -- which was completed and released by Pope Francis, but credited as the work of "four hands" and considered the only encyclical co-written by two Popes.

However, when it comes to the Popes, I've always been more interested in the biographical than ecclesiastical, and there is no shortage of great biographies about Benedict XVI. Elio Guerriero's 2018 biography, Benedict XVI: His Life and Thought (BOOK | KINDLE) is excellent. But the very best books about Pope Benedict are those written by Peter Seewald, who basically ended up as Benedict's official biographer and had incredible access to the German Pope. Seewald's 2008 book, Benedict XVI: An Intimate Portrait, is a solid starting place and takes you about halfway through his pontificate. Benedict XVI: Last Testament: In His Own Words (BOOK | KINDLE) from 2017 is basically a book-length interview of Benedict by Seewald. But the definitive work about Ratzinger is the two-volume biography Seewald recently published -- Benedict XVI: A Life, Volume I: Youth in Nazi Germany to the Second Vatican Council, 1927-1965 (BOOK | KINDLE), published in 2020, and Benedict XVI: A Life, Volume II: Professor and Prefect to Pope and Pope Emeritus, 1966-the Present (BOOK | KINDLE), which was published in 2021.

Two other titles are worth mentioning just because they are written from unique points of view. My Brother, the Pope (BOOK | KINDLE) was written by Benedict XVI's older brother, Georg Ratzinger, who was also a Catholic priest and died in 2020 at the age of 96. And John Paul II: My Beloved Predecessor is obviously not necessarily a book about Benedict, but it was written by him and provides an interesting glimpse of the relationship between then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Pope John Paul II. Oh...and I'd also suggest Anthony McCarten's The Two Popes: Francis, Benedict, and the Decision That Shook the World (BOOK | KINDLE), which was originally published as The Pope, and used as the basis for a great little movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, as Benedict XVI and Francis respectively.

It might seem like I mentioned every book about Benedict XVI, but I promise I narrowed it down to the best ones in my library. If you're just looking for a good, comprehensive biography, go with any of the books by Seewald.

[dwuerch-blog]

How Big is Easter?

We’ve made it to Wednesday of Holy Week. Just three months ago, we were celebrating Jesus’ birth. During the Christmas holidays we think of Him as “the little Lord Jesus,” who “laid down his sweet head” in a manger. It’s hard to understand why people would come to hate Him, conspire against Him, and ultimately kill Him. But it’s not just the baby Jesus. It’s also the man Jesus who, according to…

[atheostic]

It really creeps me out when pastors are like "If God weren't real then it'd be okay to torture innocent babies for fun" because this implies that

a) It's okay to torture guilty (???) babies for fun

b) it's okay to torture innocent babies if it's not just for fun

c) they feel the compulsion to torture babies and the only thing stopping them is their belief in a god

[skinnerhousebooks]

We’re thrilled to announce our newest title, Seeds of a New Way: Nurturing Authentic and Diverse Religious Leadership, edited by Manish Mishra-Marzetti and Nancy McDonald Ladd. It's available to pre-order wherever books are sold and from inSpirit: The UU Book and Gift Shop at shopinspirit.org.

What will it take for diverse leadership within Unitarian Universalism to truly thrive and contribute to a radiant and inclusive future? In Seeds of a New Way, editors Manish Mishra-Marzetti and Nancy McDonald Ladd and contributors explore how to foster and nourish diverse and authentic leadership within congregations.

Building on the foundations of the groundbreaking Centering: Navigating Race, Authenticity, and Power in Ministry, this collection offers a glimpse into the forming edge of the shared journey happening right now to make diverse leadership, both lay and ordained, more survivable and vibrant. Rather than presenting one definitive pathway or roadmap, Seeds of a New Way recognizes that the specific context and relationships within any given setting will shape the journey and so brings together a diverse array of perspectives, experiences, and strategies to illustrate a range of considerations and possibilities.

As congregations strive to live into the potential and joy of Beloved Community, these essays will inspire them to seed and nourish a new way.

[promptuarium]

ELEAZAR, son of Aaron, was made High Priest upon the death of his father, in the 2491st year of the world and the 1471st before Christ was born.

He and Joshua gained the land of Canaan, which they called Judea. It was divided among the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, whose names were the Tribe of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, Gad, Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Manasseh.

Eleazar died in the same year as Joshua. See Exodus ch. 6, also Joshua ch. 24.

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Women retained their roles as religious leaders and defenders of their faiths.

"Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History" - Philippa Gregory

[tenth-sentence]

Women retained their roles as religious leaders and defenders of their faiths.

"Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History" - Philippa Gregory

[biblebloodhound]

The Parable of the Tenants (Mark 12:1-12)

We have the chance to embrace the Prince of Peace, and walk in the way of peace, not violence.

Parable of the Vineyard Workers, from Unknown Artist in the Middle Ages Then he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the winepress, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went away.  When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized…