Humans, chimps may have bred after split - The Boston Globe

Could this explain where Cain and Abel found their wives?

TheStar.com - Why suburbs will never have tall trees

Why new subdivisions create ideal environment for killing off shrubs and trees.

Headline: Heterosexual elected Bishop of Calif

Heh.

But I wouldn't call it an absurd headline. If it's headline worthy to include a homosexual bishop's gender, then by symmetry it's headline worthy to do the same for a heterosexual bishop.

Compounded clash and confusion of cultures :: Khaleej Times

John 3:16 ends up in the wrong place

Quote:

A customer who visited the Shop No. 44 run by a Chinese seller, said: “I was shocked at the words printed on the underwear. The words read: ‘For God So Love the World that He Gave His Only Begotten Son’. These words should be written on a respectable object, not on underwears.”

She added: “I talked to the salesperson about it and warned her not to sell these underwear, but she brushed me off, saying ‘take it or leave it’. When I told her I will not buy it, she asked me to leave her shop before she calls the security.
. . .
Ghada Gabriel said that there are many people who don’t know how to read English. They would feel bad if they buy the underwear and use it with God and Jesus Christ printed on it. These products which are made in China should immediately be withdrawn from the markets in the country not only from the Al Shaab Club in Sharjah.”

These are the sorts of wacky things that can happen in this country, where English is the language almost everyone communicates with (barely) when they have no other language in common - which is very, very often.

This story begins with a Chinese manufacturer in China seeking to make a product that this attractive to Christians, but lacking even basic cultural knowledge he produced a product that no English speaking Christian would buy - unless they had a perverse sense of humor.

Now what do you do with a boatload (literally) of stuff that doesn't sell with the intended customer? For some reason a lot of that stuff gets shipped to the entrepot which is the UAE, but does not gets shipped out again. So you end up with some Chinese vendor (yes, we've got all bases covered here in the Emirates) retailing these made-in-China made-for-Christian panties being market in a local market frequented by Muslims. Very likely the vendor does not have a clue what the words are, they just know that some women seem to prefer cheap panties with words on them.

And then a Muslim customer who can read English comes along and is picking through reams of panties and finds a batch with the words God and Jesus written on them. The customer becomes animated with the shopkeeper (who seems to have assumed the customer is asking for the seller's "best price" (which often involves disparaging the product you are seeking to buy)) and you can see where this is going.

Somehow this reminds me of the jar of local honey I bought when I first arrived in the UAE. Among the health claims printed on the label: good for male importance problems.

Cultural misunderstanding is so common here in the Emirates that my sense is that most reasonable people of all cultures have adopted a generous policy of "give the benefit of the doubt" when offense might be taken but likely was not intended. Looking for the humor in the clash is a constructive approach.

Cross-posted at The Emirates Economist.

Bonfire of the sacristies: To the 2006 General Convention

You may have made the choice not to read anything from Virtueonline.

Make an exception for this piece by Allen Guelzo.

One extract:

So perhaps the problem is not in us, but in our stars, and we should content ourselves with the realization that Episcopalianism is a mandarin taste in religion (like Shostakovich or crème brule) and not worry our heads over what is, in reality, a mark of cultural superiority.

Or, just as comforting but slightly more exciting, we can blame Episcopal marginality on our progressive social/political postures, from civil rights to homosexual rights, and simply write off the membership losses and financial losses to the price a blue-state church has to pay for justice in a red-state nation. We are to be, as John Shelby Spong puts it, a "prophetic church," and prophets cannot be expected to be popular.

I wish I could take comfort in these rationales. But I cannot, since fundamentally, they share a suspicious characteristic, and that is, the giving of permission to ourselves to do nothing. Liturgical worship, it is true, goes against much of happy-clappy religious frisbee-throwing that passes for worship in many places I have been; but if the problem was liturgy, it would afflict all liturgical churches - and it doesn't.

The Episcopal Church, it is true, likes to see itself taking up brave and prophetic stances that must, for the sake of discipleship, cost it casualties. But what, exactly, have we been prophetic about?

Economics forecast: High attendance on Easter Sunday

And why will attendance be high on Easter Sunday compared to your average Sunday? The quantity of bottoms filling the pews will be the equilibrium of supply and demand. So will attendance high because of demand factors or supply factors?

Both.

Chris Giles explains in his Holy Week column for The Financial Times:

As any Christian will tell you, Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and the faithful celebrate his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Hang on a minute, say economists.

Sure, the spike in church attendance on Easter Sunday results, in part, from the special pleasure people derive from marking Easter in church. But the supply-side product enhancements many churches offer in holy week - special choral and flower arrangements and the increased networking opportunities that come with a full house - also help to tilt the cost-benefit balance towards Easter Sunday attendance.

As a result, religious observance falls below average in the weeks following Easter as the semi-regular worshippers who shifted their attendance to holy week drop away.

My emphasis. Thanks to grapeshisha for emailing the link.

Crucifixion suffers as nobody is willing to take the part of Judas

More evidence that there is something to this Gospel of Judas. It seems he really was necessary for our redemption (ME VT CT MA NY DE OR IA 5¢ MI 1¢).

Thanks, Judas, for the favor.

Theology based upon a belief in "the intrinsic malignity of matter" :: The Volokh Conspiracy - -

Coming here in search of an exegesis of The Gospel of Judas?

Look no further than David Kopel's commentary over at Volokh Conspiracy.

Some tidbits:

This Friday's coverage of the so-called "Gospel of Judas" in much of the U.S. media was appallingly stupid.
. . .
The influential Christian bishop Ireneus, in his treatise Against Heresies, written in 180 a.d., denounced the Gospel of Judas as the product of a gnostic sect called the Cainites. (Book 1, ch. 31, para. 1.)
. . .
The great nineteenth-century Catholic theologian John Henry Cardinal Newman explained that gnostics such as the Marcionites believed in "the intrinsic malignity of matter."
. . .
Gnosticism’s hatred of the created world sets it in direct opposition to Jewish and Christian doctrine from the first chapter of Genesis all the way through the New Testament.

The Gospel of Judas adds no historical information to the biography of Jesus, but it does provide additional information about the gnostic heresy which thrived in the mid-second century, and which has attracted many adherents today as well.

Read the whole thing.

I am inspired to sing a hymn appropriate to this Gospel text:

Make the world go away
Get it off my shoulder
Say the things we used to say
And make the world, make it go away

Intelligence fails to gain foothold in Canada

Subtitle: Some still hold out hope that signs of intelligent life will be found

Quote:

Alters, director of McGill's Evolution Education Research Centre, told CanWest News Service yesterday he was shocked at SSHRC's response and that it offers "ironic" proof that his premise about intelligent design gaining a foothold in Canada is correct.

Then there's this truly less surprising news appearing in the Waco Texas Tribune about a talk by Bill Nye “The Science Guy”:

The Emmy-winning scientist angered a few audience members when he criticized literal interpretation of the biblical verse Genesis 1:16, which reads: “God made two great lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.”

He pointed out that the sun, the “greater light,” is but one of countless stars and that the “lesser light” is the moon, which really is not a light at all, rather a reflector of light.

A number of audience members left the room at that point, visibly angered by what some perceived as irreverence.

“We believe in a God!” exclaimed one woman as she left the room with three young children.

The children were not available for comment. Most Christian children confess their faith in God by proxy when they are infants (see: Baptism). Since that transaction is not involuntary we cannot use the theory of revealed preference to infer whether they really do believe.

Of course, in Waco, most are Baptists who do not practice infant baptism. Still, one wonders about whether a person of 12 or 14 can be said to be of the age of consent.

All this news and more brought to you by Fark, of course.

TAGS: intelligent design, Darwin, Waco, infant baptism, farkonomics

Study: Jesus skates :: CNN

Churchgoers Live Longer - Yahoo! News

Yes, but is that a prescription to act upon? Study leader Daniel Hall, who happens to be an Episcopal priest is firmly and admirably cautious:

Hall cautions that few conclusions can be drawn from his study, and that further research is needed. "There is no evidence that changing religious attendance causes a change in health outcomes," he said.

Funny in an ironic way - when folks complain that churches are as corrupt and dysfunctional as any secular organization, and perhaps worse, I always respond: "What do you expect? Churches are hospitals for the spiritually ill." I might add that one thing that may exacerbate the organizational failings is that the church insists that relationships are built on trust and not verification (God does that).

But bad people exist, and cheat on systems which assume trust (rather than build it). In economics we call that moral hazard or adverse incentives.

And bad people find it attractive to go places where the code is to assume the best in people. Easy pickings. In economics we call that adverse selection. Many times those people manage to become treasurers at the parish, diocesan or national church (Episcopalians, think "815").

To all churchpeople: You know what I'm talking about.

Churchgoers Live Longer - Yahoo! News

Study by an ordained Episcopalian.

Americans do not believe atheists can be trusted

Quote:

Asked whether they would disapprove of a child's wish to marry an atheist, 47.6 percent of those interviewed said yes. Asked the same question about Muslims and African-Americans, the yes responses fell to 33.5 percent and 27.2 percent, respectively. The yes responses for Asian-Americans, Hispanics, Jews and conservative Christians were 18.5 percent, 18.5 percent, 11.8 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively.

When asked which groups did not share their vision of American society, 39.5 percent of those interviewed mentioned atheists.

I am not aware of any evidence that atheists are less trustworthy than, say, conservative Christians. On the contrary, they have the courage to admit what many are afraid to confess: I do not believe.

The responses of agnostics were not reported. I believe they were primarily "refused to answer" or "uncertain."

What I do not believe is that ABC News could have reported this on the same day and not made some compare and contrast. But they did. Strange juxtaposition, I say.

It is also hard to believe that Liberty University is good at debating. More likely they are good at some perverted form of debating. Afterall, did you ever find Jerry Falwell terribly convincing? I didn't think so.

Crossposted at The Emirates Economist.

Comment is free: Apostasy and Islam

Quote:

To force someone to remain in a faith they do not believe seems rather absurd as it negates the whole basis of sincere belief and seems closer to officially endorsing hypocrisy.

There is a famous remark attributed to the 19th century Egyptian Muslim activist and scholar Muhammad Abduh who visited various European countries and said 'I have been to many Muslim countries and found many Muslims there, but little Islam. I have also been to some European countries and found few Muslims there, but a lot of Islam'.

Look at countries which are majority Christian, if only nominally. In the U.S. , where competition is open Christianity thrives. In most European countries with some form of state sponsorship of a state church the church is dead from the inside out.

Paradoxically, the churches that grow fastest have the strictest rules of inclusion. I would guess that most Muslims in Europe set high standards for individuals. In countries where you are mandated to be a member you go through the motions.

These membership growth and retention ideas can be found developed throughout The New Virginia Church Man.

Thanks to Instapundit for link to the post quoted above.

(Cross posted at The Emirates Economist.)

Althouse: Distinguishing gay marriage and polygamy.

Ann centers the argument over state-recognized same-sex marriage around the employee fringe benefits issue. It's not fair, she argues that a "gay person with a pension and a health insurance plan is incapable of extending those benefits to his (or her) partner. He (or she) can't file a joint tax return."

On the other hand, a "polygamous marriage, however, puts a group of persons in a position to claim more economic benefits than the traditional heterosexual couple. That doesn't appeal to our sense of fairness." I note that there is no tax benefit to polygamy, so she must being focusing here on fringe benefits.

Fairness? What's fair about singles not being able to get the same benefits as employees with families?

Evidently the presumption is that firms are mandated to extend benefits to all kinds of families. I thought the law was more interested in efficiency than fairness. To inquire into efficiency we have to inquire into why firms offer family benefits, and whether they would be reluctant to extend them to same sex couples, or polygomous marriages. And what would happen if the law said firms had to treat all families alike. Then maybe some firms would not offer extend benefits to families at all.

Or, look at modern societies where polygny is practiced: the law does not require the employer to provide benefits for more than one of the marriages. Think outside the box and you will see there are answers outside the box.

The Undercover Economist's observation seems timely: people who object to polygamy have trouble adding up.

UPDATE: Some say look at the evidence. Polygamy is on the rise. Via The EclectEcon by email.

TAGS: polygamy, Krauthammer, Althouse

Isaac Hayes Quits 'South Park' - Yahoo! News

Double your standards, double your pleasure

Quote:

Stone told The AP he and co-creator Trey Parker "never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin."
. . .
"There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins," the 63-year-old soul singer and outspoken Scientologist said.

"Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored," he continued. "As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices."

"South Park" co-creator Matt Stone responded sharply in an interview with The Associated Press Monday, saying, "This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology... He has no problem — and he's cashed plenty of checks — with our show making fun of Christians."

Via Roger Simon.

Isaac, stick to music where you are awesome. Persuasion is not your forte.

TAGS: South Park, Scientology

Marginal Revolution: Stay tuned for Opposite Day

Over at Marginal Revolution the economists are preparing for Opposite Day. They are inspired by a Jewish atheist's suggestion that for one day each year, atheists try their best to argue for belief. And for believers to give an honest effort to put themselves in the shoes of an atheist. Here at New Virginia Church Man we're all about mutual understanding, so we support this initiative.

In the economist's variant of Opposite Day, the economist will give an honest effort to support promote the pillars of belief in the anti-market camp - basic principles such as "trade is bad" (pillar 3, if I remember correctly).

The late great George Stigler provided us with the clearest statement that we economists are a bit zealous when it comes to our faith in markets. That statement: The Economist as Preacher and Other Essays. As Barry Goldwater might have said, extremism in the pursuit of (economic) liberties is no vice.

The Left

There's a saying in the Arab world, "you don't want to be a leftist." It really makes you wonder why so many Arab countries dabbled with communism during the 20th century.

The source of the saying is Islamic:

Then the people of the right hand--how happy the people of the right hand!
And the people of the left hand--how wretched the people of the left hand!

In the West there is the very same concept which is well illustrated by this image from the Catedral Viejo in Salamanca. (Notice the perspective from which left and right is defined.)

At the end of the day I am a Christian. But I'm afraid there are some Christians who think I will be Left Behind. Left Behind for a number of reasons including: I am willing to live with the contradiction that there are people who confess other faiths who I believe I will see when I get to heaven. I'm staking my life on it.

Crossposted at The Emirates Economist.

JustOneMinute: God Lied, People Died?

A few good men: Tony and George. God bless them.

The distortions of what they represent and what they stand for continue unabated. Ditto the kind of relationship they have with God.

TAGS: Alan Cowell Tony Blair God

"To paraphrase Tom Wolfe, theocracy is forever descending on America, but somehow it always lands somewhere else."