Cybertheology Revisited

What would Jesus hack?
Cybertheology: Just how much does Christian doctrine have in common with the open-source software movement?
Sep 3rd 2011 | The Economist
Extract:

"THE kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these,” Jesus said of little children. But computer hackers might give the kids some competition, according to Antonio Spadaro, an Italian Jesuit priest. In an article published earlier this year in La Civiltà Cattolica, a fortnightly magazine backed by the Vatican, entitled “Hacker ethics and Christian vision”, he did not merely praise hackers, but held up their approach to life as in some ways divine. Mr Spadaro argued that hacking is a form of participation in God’s work of creation. (He uses the word hacking in its traditional, noble sense within computing circles, to refer to building or tinkering with code, rather than breaking into websites. Such nefarious activities are instead known as “malicious hacking” or “cracking”.)..." Continue reading

First multifaith crematorium in UAE to open

Extract:

gulfnews.com - Aftab Kazmi - ‎Oct 15, 2011‎

Ola Salem, Oct 17, 2011
AL AIN // Ten kilometres west of Hili border port in Al Ain, a multifaith graveyard and crematorium had sat for years, untouched and unused.

The cemetery occupies 40000 square metres and has a facilities building, including a church, a waiting room, and chambers of municipality services. Al Ain: The new crematorium in Al Foah district in Al Ain will shortly be... Continue

The facility included a church, a waiting room, and municipality services chambers and is equipped to allow the people perform their religious rites in accordance with best environmental practises.

The facility comes as a major relief especially to expatriates, who used to struggle due to lack of a place to bury or cremate their loved ones .. continue @ Zee News See also Gulf Today

More religious pamphlets for government workers

By Tom Godfrey, Toronto Sun
September 27, 2011

Extract:

TORONTO - Ontario government officials say the success of an employee guide to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has prompted other publications for workers who celebrate Diwali, Christmas and Easter.

A “Ramadan: the Muslim Month of Fasting” guide was issued to 67,000 Ontario government workers last July telling them to be “sensitive” to Muslim co-workers because they are fasting and praying from dusk to dawn.

The document advises managers to provide a safe room for Muslims to pray and that they may require to make more trips to the bathroom to wash before they pray. They are required to pray five times a day.

Jason Wesley, of the Ministry of Government Services, said similar publications have been sent to workers “explaining the significance of the Jewish observances of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.”

Wesley said guides to mark the Hindu festival of Diwali and Christian celebrations of Christmas and Easter are planned for release. continue reading

Meditation Builds Brain Cells

info courtesy: Awakening Potentials

Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT) Meditation Found to Boost Brain Connectivity
ScienceDaily (Aug. 18, 2010) —

Just 11 hours of learning a meditation technique induces positive structural changes in brain connectivity by boosting efficiency in a part of the brain that helps a person regulate behavior in accordance with their goals, researchers report. continue reading

On the same shelf:

The changing face of the church in Andhra Pradesh, India

Deccan Chronicle July 13, 2011

It’s a well-documented fact that people adopt aspects of other cultures around them. The churches in Andhra Pradesh are following this custom and Indianising some of practices. At St Andrew’s Orthodox Church, West Marredpally, a Dwaja Stambam has been erected. A common phenomenon in temples, and seen in the Kerala churches, it is the first of its kind in the state.

With a cross on top, bells and imprints of the saints, the bronze Dwaja Sthambam stands tall, highlighting how Indian Christians are adopting the religious customs of their Hindu brethren. During parish feasts the faithful light the multi-storied traditional lamp in front of it. Fr Koshy Thomas, the vicar at St Andrews, says, “The Dwaja Stambam flag pole is seen in Kerala churches but in Andhra Pradesh we are the first ones to have adapted this Indian tradition. For us, this is a flag-hoisting pillar, with a cross on top and imprints of the martyrs of the Church. A flag will be hoisted during festivals. This is one of our efforts to proclaim the Gospel of the Lord.”

Already, meditation rooms, small kiosks resembling Hindu shrines and lamps are a part of churches. Fr Anthony Raj, executive secretary of the AP Federation of Churches, which has conducted several inter-religious dialogues, says, “It is easy to relate Lord Jesus to local customs and traditions and the adaptation of these, by the Church, has been taking place from centuries.” Catholic historians say that there are striking similarities between the systems followed at shrines, in marriages and in pujas. Mr Gurram Pratap Reddy, a Catholic historian and writer, says, “Adopting Hindu customs, though not new, has taken a new shape with latest trends like the Dwaja Sthambam. In fact, French priests wore saffron dress, three hundred years ago and they are called Swamis. Even today, in villages, Fathers are called Swamuluvaru. In marriages too, several Hindu traditions are followed, like wearing a mangalsutra and tying the knot thrice. In a relatively recent trend, deekshas, similar to Ayyappa and Bhavani deeksha, are being taken up like the lent season.” He adds, “At Christian shrines, devotees break coconuts, and tonsuring has become common.”

Indians win faith fellowship for first time

Horizons Correspondent, Hindustan Times, New Delhi, May 17, 2011
Four Indians have been selected for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation’s youth leadership programme, Faiths Act Fellowship, the first time that the country finds representation among 30 fellows.

... The four Indian Fellows will work together in interfaith pairs with two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in New Delhi for the next year.

Aparajita Bharti, a 21-year-old Buddhist from Vikas Puri is going to be paired with Sarmistha Pattanayak, a 24-year-old Hindu from Bhubaneswar. Ayesha Nusrat, a 22-year-old Muslim from New Delhi will be linked with Rohit S, a 21-year-old Hindu from Bangalore. They will receive a month of training in London before starting their year-long interfaith service.

... The fellows are from a diverse cross section of the faith traditions: 10% are Hindu, 30% Muslim, 3.3% Sikh, 3.3%, 6.6% Buddhist, 3.3%, Bahá’í, 26% Christian, 3.3% Quaker and 17% Jewish, including the various denominations.
continue reading

On the same shelf:

Birmingham University student chosen for Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation Fellowship