Ethics, anyone?

An excellent resource for both religious and not-so-religious folks in many fields of endeavor, world-wide: Globethics.com, the Global Ethics Network for Applied Ethics. Have a look!


What the network says about itself (from the website):

The aim of Globethics.net is to ensure that people in all regions of the world are empowered to reflect and act on ethical issues. In order to ensure access to knowledge resources in applied ethics, Globethics.net has developed its Globethics.net Library, the leading global digital library on ethics. Globethics.net took this initiative to ensure that persons - especially in Africa, Asia and Latin-America - have access to good quality and up to date knowledge resources. The founding conviction of Globethics.net was that more equal access to knowledge resources in the field of applied ethics will enable persons and institutions from developing and transition economies to become more visible and audible in the global discourse on ethics. There is no cost involved in using the library. Individuals only need to register (free of charge) as participants on the Globethics.net website (www.globethics.net) to get access to all the full text journals, encyclopedias, e-books and other resources in the library.

In addition to the library, Globethics.net also offers participants on its website the opportunity to join or form electronic working groups for purposes of networking or collaborative research. The international secretariat, based in Geneva, currently concentrates on three topics of research: Business and Economic Ethics, Methodologies of Interreligious Ethics and Responsible Leadership. The knowledge produced through the working groups and research finds their way into publications that are also made available in the Globethics.net Library. One of the latest fruits of such collaborative work is the book, Overcoming Fundamentalism (edited by Christoph Stückelberger and Heidi Hadsell, 2009, Geneva: Globethics.net).

I joined initially because of my interest in the Global Digital Library on Theology and Ecumenism (online theological resources for education and ecumenical dialogue) which is housed at Globethics.net and which you can find here.

April 9: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, pastor, theologian, friend, educator, ecumenist, community-builder, resister, martyr

On this day in 1945, German pastor, theologian, and resister Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged by the Nazis.

More than ever, we need to read his words and study his life.

We also need to learn about the context of his life and work.

A couple of resources:

A timeline of Bonhoeffer's life and some of the events in and around it.

Last year's post, with links.

Two days ago, women; today, labor unions, the middle class, and the poor

U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands after signing an executive order at the Middle Class Working Families Task Force event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, January 30, 2009. Photo: Larry Downing, Reuters.

It really is a new presidential era. Today President Obama signed executive orders that, in his words, "level the playing field" and do not view unions as an evil force in U.S. society. He also spoke of the poor and not just the middle class; as you may recall the poor were largely invisible in election campaign rhetoric.

For this, for the President's action yesterday signing the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, and for yesterday's denouncing of huge bonuses to Wall Street executives, many of us are thankful. And, make no mistake, many will be angry. I don't mean to go all Manichean on you, but the opposition to this is not going to be pretty.

So, I rejoice, and I pray.

And I pray that those of us who, moved by our faith, our humanism, our experience, or our principles, support the rights of workers to organize, the dignity of the most poor, the equality of women and men, and fairness in finance, will be active as citizens.

Below, because we like him, Vice-President Joe Biden. He will head White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families . Photo: Ron Edmonds, AP.

Gaza: a doctor's grief

Gaza: a physician's grief.

Kyrie eleison.

Episcopal and other resources on creation, science, and religion

A while back I posted some science-and-religion resources. They are still alive and kicking and here is the link.

Meanwhile, I am just back from Hillsborough where I met with the candidates (well, three candidates and one postulant) for the vocational diaconate, to whom I teach theology once every few weeks this fall, and I promised them I would post a link or two to the Catechism of Creation. The Catechism of Creation is one of the better efforts of our national Church and comes out of the Executive Council's Committee on Science, Technology and Faith.

So I posted the resources to the Deacon Theology blog, which is not open to the public, and was thinking of making a post here to share the resources with a broader audience.

But first, moving into web-bopping mode as one does in these distracted and curious days, I went over to my friend Paul's (Paul a.k.a. the Byzigenous Buddhapalian) and what should I read but this.

Folks, science is important to our society. If this is the way the Governor of Alaska thinks of research, we are in big trouble if she gets anywhere near Washington. How does she think her lipstick got here? That's chemistry research, Governor, and so is hair dye. And your microphone is technology. So is your SUV. So is your pap smear. Wake up and smell the fruit flies.

Oh, and here is the info I posted to the deacon theology blog. (Deacon Formation Program, Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. October 25, 2008.) Thanks to TCR for the photos.

* * * * * * *

The Catechism of Creation was prepared in 2005 by the Committee on Science, Technology and Faith of The Executive Council of The Episcopal Church. It is a great resource.

Main resource page for the Catechism of Creation with related resources.

The home page of the Episcopal Church Network for Science, Technology, and Faith is here. The page of the Executive Council Committee on Science, Technology and Faith is here.

Text of the Catechism of Creation in pdf.

There are also links to specific sections in the Catechism of Creation via the main resource page at the first link above. You can also find related Bible studies there. It's a fine resource for Adult Forums, Youth Ministry, Christian Education, professional support and study groups, Bible study, or your own edification -- and preaching too!

Here's the Episcopal Ecological Network.

And here's the Society of Ordained Scientists!

Photos by The Cunning Runt of Little Bang Theory. Click to enlarge.

Beijing business

...Most disgraceful of all is the fact that six of the 12 worldwide Olympic partners are American companies. This has to heart-sicken any patriot. These companies will reap the full exposure of the Summer Games, swathing themselves in the flag, and rationalizing that their business is helping uplift the Chinese people. Don't buy it -- or them. You should know exactly who they are: General Electric (which owns NBC), Coca-Cola, Visa, McDonald's, Kodak, and Johnson & Johnson.
******* Sally Jenkins, The Washington Post

Read more at janinsanfran's place, Happening Here, and see a picture of Beijing's air.

You heard it here first: Mark Jordan hired at Harvard

This news just in from a friend at Harvard Divinity School.