My eyes follow my ears to a pew to my left and behind me, where a guy with slicked black hair and dark glasses is sitting. He’s wearing one of those Bluetooth cellphone attachments. Hey, man, I’m bored, too. But, c’mon, take that infernal thing out of your ear. Say a prayer. Collect your thoughts. Or just do what my 4-year-old is doing and stare at the ceiling. Did I mention it was Christmas Day Mass?
The original audience for Luther’s defense of his writings may have been the university context of Wittenberg or Leipzig, or the Imperial Parliament or Diet at Worms in 1521, where the Holy Roman emperor was flanked by the nobility, the clerical hierarchy, and the wealthy burgesses from the towns.
1.17 per cent of marriages have failed during this period compared with 0.15 per cent of civil partnerships. One possible reason for the difference is the age of those entering into civil partnerships; the average age of men is 42.8 years old, for women 41.2 years old. The average age for marriages is lower.
Women are prouder than men, but men are more lustful, according to a Vatican backed report by Fr Roberto Busa, a 95-year-old Jesuit scholar. The report came amid Vatican concerns about the declining rate of confessions. A recent survey of Catholics found nearly a third no longer considered confession necessary, while one in 10 considered the process an obstacle to their dialogue with God.
Christians from the right and the left have begun bridging political and religious differences to seek solutions to one of the nation’s most persistent problems: poverty. But other Christians believe the alliance is a sell out.
The Synod of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, meeting at Modderpoort in the Free State from 16 to 20 February 2009, have been shocked at the news that the Provincial Department of Health in the Free State has withdrawn anti-retroviral medication from HIV positive patients because of shortage of funds.
Canon Joanna Udal has been serving in the Sudan as Assistant to the Archbishop of the Sudan, an appointment made jointly through the Church Mission Society and Lambeth Palace. One responsibility of her new position is maintaining a broad overview of Anglican Communion affairs, including Communion-wide processes (such as the Covenant process) and an appreciation of the particular socio-political context and mission-challenges of individual churches and provinces.
Through the ebbs and flows of the neurotransmitter dopamine, our emotions motivate us to seek tangible rewards for ourselves and our families. Dopamine should guide us, but it often ends up controlling us. Logic and rationality hardly stand a chance in overcoming emotionally driven money habits mediated by dopamine.
Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that He was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners, and secretly, if not blasphemously, certainly murmuring greatly,
If you are coulrophobic, you may want to pass on the following story, otherwise read on and learn about the the Clowns International Annual Service that took place at Holy Trinity Church in Hackney, in Greater London, England.