« Joshua Micah Marshall: The Kagan Family of AEI | Main | Matthew Yglesias: He Said / She Said »

July 23, 2007

Comments

Michael Krahn

Hey,

I have an article on Lobdell up at:

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/212428/Reporter_Seeks_To_Defend_Religion_Loses_Faith_Instead

Enjoy!

andres

I don't know if my thinking reflects Lobdell's transformation of faith, but I have increasingly come to believe that a true understanding of God (and the spiritual enlightenment that comes with it) can only be achieved by rejecting the moral authority of both priests and evangelical preachers, as well rejecting the moral authority (though not the wisdom) of sacred texts such as the Bible, Talmud, and Koran.

Before someone dismisses me as a knee-jerk hater of priests, rabbis and ayatollahs, I definitely grant that hierarchical priesthoods have done a lot of good in the world, but I believe that they have done this in spite of and not because they are hierarchical priesthoods. The Roman Catholic Church, many evangelical Protestant churches in the US, Wahabi Islam in Saudi Arabia, Shia Islam in Iran, and many of the more orthodox Jewish denominations, regardless of how ecumenical they are, have all become bastions of institutionalized misogyny and homophobia. And the more extreme evangelical preachers in these religions have also rejected ecumenism and some have even embraced violence.

True knowledge of God comes from listening to the voice within, not from obeying authority from without.

Sandra Robbie

Mr. Lobdell, I can't help but think that you were an angel sent to expose the grave misdeeds of people in power in different churches. I too stepped away from the Catholic Church years ago because I didn't trust the clergy, but more, I didn't trust any authority. And once I grew up to understand that all people in power are mere mortals just me, I was able to see the greater truth about being equal in the eyes of God. I don't expect any clergy, police officer, president, community leader or anyone to be any less subject to temptation than me. I am keenly aware that it is my job to be on the look out for those around me. That is part of what my walk with God is about. By revealing the truth behind the Catholic abuse cases and TBS, Bill Lobdell did all of us a great service...and he was doing God's work. I'm sorry it took such a toll on him.

The comments to this entry are closed.

Search Brad DeLong's Website

  •  

Recent Posts

Reference Section

From Brad DeLong

About Brad DeLong