Sunday/A Declaration

On this day:
1774
The first Continental Congress adjourns in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1775
King George III goes before Parliament to declare the American colonies in rebellion, and authorized a military response to quell the American Revolution.
1776
Benjamin Franklin departs from America for France on a mission to seek French support for the American Revolution.
1795
The French Directory, a five-man revolutionary government, is created.
1905
Norway becomes independent from Sweden.
1917
World War I: Battle of Caporetto; Italy suffers a catastrophic defeat at the forces of Austria-Hungary and Germany. The young unknown Oberleutnant Erwin Rommel captures Mount Matajur with only 100 Germans against a force of over 7000 Italians.
1944
World War II: The Battle of Leyte Gulf ends with an overwhelming American victory.
1967
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi crowns himself Emperor of Iran and then crowns his wife Farah Empress of Iran.
1968
Soviet cosmonaut Georgy Beregovoy pilots Soyuz 3 into space for a four-day mission.
1977
The last natural case of smallpox is discovered in Merca district, Somalia. The WHO and the CDC consider this date the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination.
1999
Britain’s House of Lords votes to end the right of hereditary peers to vote in Britain’s upper chamber of Parliament.

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"After 500 years of 3% inflation, $100,000 will be worth 4 cents. If you're not a socialist when you're 20, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative when you're 40, you have no head."---Winston Churchill

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Are endangered species swimming against Nature's tide?" Is a naturalistic fallacy possible?

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When confronted with emotion, reason loses. Emotion has more energy and is better armed. The Enlightenment has lost its influence throughout the West.

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In our post-modern world beyond good and evil, can we still define what should or shouldn't be said?

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Pittsburgh leads the nation in home inheritances, with Birmingham, Ala., not far behind. In both cities, more than 7% of homes — roughly 1 in every 14 — were received as an inheritance or a gift.

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Sunday/A Declaration

Today's readings are wonderful examples of the richness of early Christian writing.

The gospel is that of the Pharisee and the tax collector, pit against each other in the mind of God. On the surface, it appears a simple criticism of success in the material world but it quickly emerges as much more. The Pharisee is not praying; he is declaring. In essence, he is praying to himself. What is on the chopping block here is not success--in the world or spirit--it is a very human trait: Self-satisfaction. What Christ is criticizing is self-content, the lack of self-criticism. The letter of the law is not enough. He wants  us to be restless, to search. Revelation wants us to search!

And Paul's letter to Timothy: "Beloved: I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand." Just beautiful.

This was once everyday reading for people. Skepticism has stripped this finery from us, leaving us with the occasional insightful, snarky political editorial.