“What He Said is just a brilliant concept. It is such a handy reference tool, and I really don’t know what I ever did without it. It makes studying easier and simply reading through the book gives you new insight to our Lord and Savior.”

You can find Amy online at Amy Bayliss.com and also at Inspired Hearts Media.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:43-45

Todd Jeffreys raises an excellent point in his article “Preach with love, not hate”:

“If I started preaching in the Brickyard without permission and started shouting profanities about my fellow female students, I would probably be arrested, sent to a disciplinary review board and rightfully offend all of the women who attend school here.

Regardless of the religious aspects, his words and actions clearly violate the school policy with regards to discrimination and verbal abuse. You drilled this point into my head during student orientation when you said that this type of behavior is unacceptable at anytime, anywhere.”

Yet Brother Ross’s behavior is somehow accepted. When do freedom of speech and religious freedom go too far?

Yet, you still see cases where the lines are smudged. The Cheatham County schools in Tennessee recently settled an ACLU religion-in-schools suit, agreeing to stop their teachers and officials from promoting religion during school hours. The settlement “prohibits the distribution of Bibles during the school day and bars school officials from citing ‘the Bible or other sacred texts as authority for historical or scientific fact.’”

I enjoyed this New York Times account of a Catholic church just a few blocks away from the game. Pacific time, the puck dropped at 12:15pm but the Very Rev. Glenn Dion would not change the time of the 12:30 Mass. He did, however, cut short the 11:00am Mass so that parishioners could get in front of a TV. I liked his comparison of hockey in Canada and religion: “both are ingrained from a young age, passed among generations, studied and practiced reverently and — in the case of the Catholic parish, at least — have a box where sinners sit in penance.”

I also liked his closing prayer/request for the Canadians:

“To be humble when and if they win. And to be gracious if they don’t.”

“Jesus doesn’t say anything about orientation in the Gospels. Instead he teaches love and compassion. If anything, the only thing he speaks out against is divorce, and you don’t see them trying to outlaw divorce. What we’re dealing with are anthropological issues about human dignity and human worth.” – Reverend Peter Antoci of the Episcopal-Anglican Campus Ministry

• John Dominic Crossan, a theologian and co-founder of the Jesus Seminar, who doesn’t believe Jesus actually spoke most of those quotes in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. To this former Catholic priest, Jesus was a “philosopher, teacher and subversive who undermined the social order with a new ethic.”
• Ben Witherington III, evangelical theologian, will take on the traditional Christian viewpoint.

“Christ” is actually Jesus’ title and means, in Greek, “the anointed one.” I learned some things in this article.

You’ll notice no Bob Dylan or Rolling Stones among the Vatican’s picks. In the latter’s case, “Sympathy for the Devil” probably did them in.

• ditch electricity-sucking technology (like iPods),
• eat more vegetables (that don’t require as much cooking as meat),
• and don’t flush the toilet so often.

Overall, the gist of their suggestion is to go green for lent. I particularly like this because the result will benefit everyone and not just the individual making the sacrifice.