October 2010

The U.S. System of Punishment: an expanding balloon of wealth, racism and greed

by Jenny Truax 28 October 2010

A few years ago at a Karen House community meeting, Tony brought a reading for discussion. He had just finished the book “Are Prisons Obsolete?” by Angela Davis, and read some quotes, asking us to consider the question: are prisons, in fact, obsolete?
To be honest, I was shocked by the question. I considered the prison, [...]

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Iconocast Episode 17: Stanley Hauerwas

by the Iconocast Collective 28 October 2010

Podcast: Embed
In this episode, co-hosts Mark and Jarrod interview Stanley Hauerwas. Dr. Hauerwas is a Christian theologian and ethicist. He has taught at the University of Notre Dame and is currently the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School with a joint appointment at the Duke University School of Law.
Among his many books are Resident [...]

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On Distributism Part 2: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Distributism

by Teka Childress 27 October 2010

Editor’s Note: This article is the follow up to On Distributism Part 1: Distributism Made Ridiculously Simple, by Jenny Truax. In this article, Teka Childress talks to some folks who have done a great deal of research into the possibilities of distributism.
We thought it would be helpful to deal with some questions that people might have about [...]

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A Plea: Replace (or supplement) “Grace” with “Justice”

by Tristan Laing 26 October 2010

It is a common in religious traditions to “say Grace” before a meal. In Abrahamic religions “saying Grace” refers to thanking the supreme deity for the food, and for the dominion he has granted humans over this earth. This meaning seems outdated, especially in a time when the idea of human dominion over the earth [...]

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On Distributism Part 1: Distributism Made Ridiculously Simple

by Jenny Truax 25 October 2010

Our economy is in a crisis, so what’s a well-meaning reader to do? Is there any alternative to this capitalist monster of sub-prime lending, rampant unemployment, and bursting housing bubbles? We seek short term fixes in tax relief and corporate bailouts, but there must be a better way for us to live. The Catholic Worker [...]

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Peter Maurin’s Personalist Gift to the Catholic Worker

by Carolyn Griffeth 18 October 2010

Central to Catholic Worker lore is the story of Dorothy Day’s conversion from a life of socialist agitation to a life of Catholic piety, a conversion which both magnified her longing to join the struggle of the poor, and stymied the participation she once had in it. For four years following her conversion Dorothy was [...]

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To the End

by Paul Munn 18 October 2010

Editor’s Note: The following short story is inspired by a description of the death of Philip Berrigan, and draws upon his actual last words.
The small room was crowded. So many people had gathered around the bed that she couldn’t get any closer than the doorway, but it was exciting just to be here. She [...]

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Resisting the Religious Elite’s Collaboration with Empire, Part I: Jerusalem under the Persians

by Wes Howard-Brook 15 October 2010

“All who will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on them, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of their goods or for imprisonment.” (Ezra 7.26)
The 5th century BCE priest-scribe Ezra faced a huge challenge. The Persian Empire had crushed the [...]

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Iconocast Episode 16: Rita Nakashima Brock

by the Iconocast Collective 14 October 2010

In this episode, co-hosts Joanna and Jarrod interview Rita Nakashima Brock. Dr. Brock is Founding Co-Director of Faith Voices for the Common Good, an organization dedicated to educating the public about the values and concerns of religious leaders and organizations. She also works with The New Press in New York as Senior Editor in Religion.
She is the author [...]

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The Myth of God and the Myth of America

by Don Whitman 12 October 2010

Prophecy emanates from the heart of God, is received by people, and is delivered to the society that the people live in and to the world. Most people in the United States cannot accept or do not know the reality of what this country does now or has done in the past. Barack Obama continues [...]

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