The future is bright ......

[EternalOptimist]

Once upon a time I ditched a pair of trainers because they stank to high heaven and one of the soles was coming off. I left them on top of our bin in Liverpool. Next morning, before the binmen came, I was driving out and they had gone!!

I spotted the local Arfur Daley wearing them proudly, showing off.


Now THATS povery

[Lucifer Box]

Depends what they mean by 'poverty' in the US - if it's anything like England, then poverty means having just one iPod, only 1 new pair of Nike trainers a week and only being able to afford low-grade Peruvian coke. Poor people - so unfair.

The last poverty measure I saw on the BBC webtulipe was not being able to afford multiple pairs of shoes.

[Rebecca Loos]

The greatest, richest, most powerful nation on Earth and yet 40 million kids live in poverty. So incredibly sad.

Depends what they mean by 'poverty' in the US - if it's anything like England, then poverty means having just one iPod, only 1 new pair of Nike trainers a week and only being able to afford low-grade Peruvian coke. Poor people - so unfair.

[AtW]

The greatest, richest, most powerful nation on Earth and yet 40 million kids live in poverty. So incredibly sad.

I think you misunderstand the concept of God in Chico's world -- his God would not exist in a wealthy healthy society that has no poverty or bad things like that. Who gives a FK about God when everything is good? Chico's God inherently needs misery because otherwise there will be no demand.

[threaded]

The greatest, richest, most powerful nation on Earth and yet 40 million kids live in poverty. So incredibly sad.

Would it not be better in the great scheme of things to turn some of these awful cesspits in the world to glass and spend the money saved on the home front, rather than continuous police actions?

[AlfredJPruffock]

Our glorious free market economy is driven by the profit motive. What might Jesus say about the profit motive?

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. ... For where you treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matt. 6: 19, 21)

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Matt. 6:24)

Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. (Luke 12:15).


With the help of a few well-placed friends, George Bush parlayed a nominal investment in the Texas Rangers into a $20 million fortune. When Dick Cheney left Halliburton, he was given a $34 million “retirement package.” What would Jesus do with these “winnings?”

If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. (Matt. 19:21)

Verily, I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. ... It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (Matt. 19-23).

George Bush has denied access to his gubernatorial papers and his father’s presidential papers (in both cases, public documents). Dick Cheney refuses to disclose the contents and the persons involved in consultations regarding energy policy. What might Jesus say about this?

There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. (Luke 12:2-3)



Forty million American children live below the poverty level. What might Jesus say about this?

Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned int the depth of the sea. (Matt. 18:6)

[AlfredJPruffock]

Matthew 6:5, 6, we read: "When you pray, you must not be as the hypocrites; because they like to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the broad ways to be visible to men. . . . You, however, when you pray, go into your private room and, after shutting your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; then your Father who looks on in secret will repay you."

[AtW]

Chico, if IPod is such a good idea insofar as Church is concerned, than why your God waited for over 2000 years to introduce it?

While on the topic -- is it up to the God to determine speed of light? If so, then can you pray to increase it as we need faster CPUs. Yeah, and kindly ask God to stop those nasty electric leaks as well as generation of heat while CPUs are working hard.

What? You mean your God can't control laws of physics? Sheesh, I will go check the Stonehedge dudes then.

[hattra]

Is this another thread about the misuse of technology?

[xoggoth]

Old hat. I have been worshipping god in my airing cupboard for years. He looks like a pair of old underpants but I know that that is simply his earthly form. He was reincarnated as a pair of old underpants to bring me salvation.

PS Sho nuff. Hush my mouf.

[Chico]

....its digital baby. From the New York Times Online

Missed Church? No Worries. Download It to Your IPod.

By TANIA RALLI
Published: August 29, 2005

Kyle Lewis, 25, missed going to church one Sunday last month. But he did not miss the sermon.

Mr. Lewis, who regularly attends services of the National Community Church in Alexandria, Va., listened to the sermon while he was at the gym, through a recording he had downloaded to his iPod. Instead of listening to the rock music his gym usually plays, he heard his pastor's voice.

The Rev. Roderick Vonhögen has 10,000 listeners.

The home page of theaterchurch.com, introduced by the Rev. Mark Batterson of the National Community Church, who started "godcasting" last month.
"Having an iPod is a guaranteed way to get the sermon if you're going to be out of town," Mr. Lewis said, adding that he listens to the pastor's podcast at least once more during the week, usually while driving to work, even during weeks he makes it to services.

Mr. Lewis's pastor, the Rev. Mark Batterson, started podcasting, or "godcasting" as he prefers to call it, last month to spread the word about his congregation. The hourlong recordings of his weekly service, available on theaterchurch.com, have already brought new parishioners to his church, he said.

"I can't possibly have a conversation with everyone each Sunday. But this builds toward a digital discipleship," he said. "We're orthodox in belief but unorthodox in practice."

Just as Christian organizations embraced radio and television, podcasting has quickly caught on with religious groups. Since the beginning of July, the number of people or groups offering spiritual and religious podcasts listed on Podcast Alley (podcastalley.com) has grown to 474 from 177.

"Basically every church can have its own radio show," Pastor Batterson said.

Sending spiritual messages over the airwaves is nothing new. The Vatican made its first radio broadcast in 1931 and today offers worldwide programming in 34 languages (and now offers some programs as podcasts, as well). Evangelical Christians in the United States turned first to radio, then to television, to spread their message, and in the process built minibroadcasting empires like the Christian Broadcasting Network of Pat Robertson and the Trinity Broadcast Network.

New technology like podcasting updates the mission, although on a much smaller scale for now. But Pastor Batterson says he believes that podcasting will have an impact on the church as profound as that of the printing press when the first Bibles were printed in the 15th century.

"If you really believe in the message you're preaching, you want as many people as possible to listen," he said. He likes the idea of "spiritual multitasking" to keep people connected to their faith throughout the week. Before his podcasts, he also used his blog to connect with the 800 members of National Community Church, who gather for worship each Sunday in two movie theaters, one in Washington and the other in Alexandria, Va.

Odeo (odeo.com), a podcast directory, plans to encourage more churches, synagogues and mosques to use them, said Adam Rugel, the Web site's director of content. Odeo lists a broad range of religious podcasts, including programs from Buddhists, Muslims and Jews.

Despite the variety of religious podcasts, Christian programs make up by far the largest segment of the category. Shows range from recordings made at the kitchen table to slick broadcasts with pulsing music and crisp audio, like that of "RevTim" (www.godcast.org/categories/revtimPodcast/). The Rev. Tim Hohm, a Protestant minister from El Sobrante, Calif., makes two 15-minute podcasts a week about family and work issues. He said an average of 6,000 people downloaded the program from the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Mainstream religious broadcasting in the United States has long been dominated by conservative evangelicals like James Dobson and Al Mohler. Both men are hosts of daily radio programs and claim audiences of millions, and both now offer some broadcasts as podcasts.

Melissa Rogers, a visiting professor of religion and public policy at the Wake Forest University Divinity School, finds podcasting a good illustration of the entrepreneurial drive behind Christian evangelicals. Nevertheless, Ms. Rogers does not expect podcasts to replace going to church.

"Podcasts provide a way for people who are very busy these days to get their religion on the fly, but for most people this will be a supplement, not a substitute," she said.

The Godcast Network (godcast.org), which began last October, offers 16 programs of Biblical readings, sermons and Christian rock. "Rachel's Choice" is a weekly show by 8-year-old Rachel Patchett, daughter of the network's founder, Craig Patchett, in which she plays a favorite Christian rock song, followed by a reading from the Bible.

Most religious podcasts can be subscribed to using R.S.S. (Really Simple Syndication, a tool for condensing information into a feed), which enables automatic downloading of a new show to the listener's computer as soon it becomes available. For godcasters who record prayers or psalms, the function is especially appealing, because it offers their listeners easy access to daily devotional readings. Pastor Batterson, for instance, is aiming to attract 10,000 subscribers in the next two years who are looking for doses of spirituality on demand.

One of the most popular Christian podcasts, Catholic Insider (catholicinsider.com), already exceeds 10,000 listeners for each program. The founder is the Rev. Roderick Vonhögen, 37, a priest from the Netherlands, who heard about podcasting from one of his parishioners and has become an avid fan of Adam Curry, one of podcasting's founders.

Father Vonhögen began podcasting during a trip to Rome in February. When Pope John Paul II fell ill he captured reactions in and around the Vatican. Since then Father Vonhögen has done programs on the spiritual aspects of the "Star Wars" films and has discussed the Christian dimensions of the Harry Potter books.

"I don't force people to take my view," he said, to which he attributes his popularity. Listeners have gone along on walks in Rome, through the airport in Düsseldorf, Germany, and across the city square in his hometown of Amersfoort while Father Vonhögen enthusiastically talks about pop culture and religion, and can sometimes be heard eating French fries or gelato while he is talking.

"Podcasting for us has been a resurrection of radio," Father Vonhögen said. "It's the connection to a new generation."