What work of art (film, book, record, whatever) changed your life?
Submitted by bodhibound.

Perhaps more than any other, it was the Bible, and the belief in it among my family and community that helped to shape my life. This is not to say that I am a Bible-thumper. If you read my blog much, you know very well that is not true. But the course set in my life early on was centered around the Bible more than any other work of art.

In my adult life, I would probably select Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.

http://www.forthebibletellsmeso.org/

"You continue to act as if quoting the Bible to undergird a dying prejudice is a legitimate tactic. It is in fact the last resort that religious people always use to validate "tradition" over change. The Bible was quoted to support the Divine Right of Kings in 1215, to oppose Galileo in the 17th century, to oppose Darwin in the 19th century, to support slavery and apartheid in the 19th and 20th centuries, to keep women from being educated, voting and being ordained in the 20th and 21st century. Today it is quoted to continue the oppression and rejection of homosexual people. The Bible has lost each of those battles. It will lose the present battle and you, my friend, will end up on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of morality and the wrong side of truth. It is a genuine tragedy that you, the most intellectually-gifted Archbishop of Canterbury in almost a century, have become so miserable a failure in so short a period of time." [Spong]

CNNN - Holy Homosexuals

This is either very serious or extremely funny, depending on whether your are a Biblical literalist or not.

The Consumer Federation of America, drawing attention to "America Saves Week," released a statement that most Americans do not save, at least not enough to help in an emergency, such as a major illness or injury, the loss of a job, or major damage to or destruction of their homes (á la Katrina). They found that only about 40% of adult Americans have a separate saving account for emergencies and a third of those have less than $2000 in the accounts, hardly enough for a true emergency.

Bob Sullivan blogged about this story on his MSNBC blog, What is amazing is not what he wrote or what the CFA wrote. Rather, you must go read some of the comments.

• Some are emotional and heartfelt ("To say that people should be living on 50% of their income is ridiculous, please oh please tell that to the folks making $8-$11/hour. I work two jobs, and make twice what my husband does, in his job making $11/hour. Day care, housing costs, sky rocketing utilities, what planet are you people on....")
• Others will anger you at their arrogance ("This is just another example of Americans failing to be responsible....")
• Some are thought-provoking ("It's not that the population isn't saving enough. It's just that the population isn't making enough in order to save in a meaningful way....").

After you read some of their comments, I would like to read yours.

One thing I consider is that the income tax structure in this country favors the rich. How can the middle and working class save money if the federal and state governments together take 35% or more off the top? The income tax had the original purpose of taxing income on wealth, not taxing wages. How we have changed as a nation since the early 20th century. See my previous post on taxes.

We need to work to change public policy in this country to help the poor and working poor. It is social justice. The teaching of Jesus guide me on this. You may have other thoughts.

I am passing along this information that I received in a Sojourners e-mail.

http://www.advocacydays.org/

"Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action." 1 John 3:18

The first Muslim to be elected to Congress was sworn in this past week. Since the Constitution says that there is no religous test for members of Congress, you would wonder what all the fuss was about.

Ellison

On the same day Nancy Pelosi became the first female speaker of the House, freshman Rep. Keith Ellison got almost as much attention. The Minnesota Democrat, the first Muslim elected to Congress, used a Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson rather than a Bible as he re-enacted his swearing-in with Pelosi....Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., took exception last month to the 43-year-old Ellison's planned use of the Quran and said tougher immigration measures were needed to prevent the election of "many more Muslims." On Thursday, the two shook hands and agreed to have coffee. [USA Today]

Mr. Goode would have done well to actually have learned about Mr. Ellison who is a native-born American. However,  Mr. Goode obviously didn't know this by his remarks. Not only did Mr. Goode express religious discrimination, be also appears to be xenophobic. Wonder if coffee will make a difference?

Clusty Cloud for Keith Ellison

Articles ... Assault ... Blog ... Buffalo ... CAIR ... Campaign ... District ... Ellison Group ... Endorses Keith Ellison ... Keith Ellison Biography ... Keith Ellison For Congress ... Keith Ellison for U.S. Congress ... MPR ... Minnesota ... Muslim ... Pictures ... Power Line ... Scouting ... Washington ... Wcco.com

Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.

-- Proverbs 31:8-9

When I make phone calls, send e-mails, and speak out against cuts to Medicaid, this is but one way that I defend the rights of those less fortunate.

Is anyone willing to add a comment here as to how you follow this teaching or if you don't? I invite you.

I hate paying taxes just like you, especially when the money is misdirected to wrong-headed wars, such as the war in Iraq and the war on drugs. However, taxes pay for things that we need too. I think the income tax needs to be simplified and made more graduated. You may not know that the first Constitutional federal income tax only affected the wealthy.

After deductions, the 1913 income tax was only 1% up to $20K. If you didn't make a gross income of at least $4000 a year or have a net income of $3000 after deductions, you paid no income tax. The average laborer in 1913 made about $500 per year, so the original income tax was not expected to tax wages.

Also, the first form was simple and didn't require a tax accountant to complete it. Since 1913, incomes tax rates have been a rollercoaster ride, currently favoring the wealthy with all of the Republican income tax cuts for the rich. (And don't forget their unsuccessful attempt to eliminate the estate tax, which only affects the wealthiest 2% of Americans.)

In my opinion, the wealthy benefit the most from our country, so they should pay a higher percentage of the taxes and take some of the tax burden off the middle class and working poor. Many of them disagree and even want a huge national sales tax equaling 30% (they call a fair tax) to replace income taxes altogether. However, here is a different opinion from one of the wealthy.

As Bush administration officials see it — and conservative economists often agree — philanthropy is a better means of redistributing the nation’s wealth than higher taxes on the rich. They argue that higher marginal tax rates would discourage entrepreneurship and risk-taking. But some among the newly rich have misgivings. Mark M. Zandi is one. He was a founder of Economy.com, a forecasting and data gathering service in West Chester, Pa. His net worth vaulted into eight figures with the company’s sale last year to Moody’s Investor Service. “Our tax policies should be redesigned through the prism that wealth is being increasingly skewed,” Mr. Zandi said, arguing that higher taxes on the rich could help restore a sense of fairness to the system and blunt a backlash from a middle class that feels increasingly squeezed by the costs of health care, higher education, and a secure retirement. [NY Times]

Amen, Mr. Zandi. Too bad so many of the wealthy are so greedy. In Matthew 25:32, Jesus speaks of how God will judge nations on how they treat "the least of these." So, not only should we be personally generous to the poor, out government should be too.

We urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

- 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18