Is the existence of evil an insurmountable "defeater" for belief in God - or more particularly a

logical argument against the notion that a god could be omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), and omni-benevolent (all-loving) all at the same time

It is not that the "problem of evil" is a new thing - theologians have been discussing it for thousands of years. Indeed, just about as long as folks have believed that God was

omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), and omni-benevolent (all-loving) all at the same time

Somehow Christians have continued to believe that God is "all that and a bag of chips" even with the evil in the world. Are we fools just waiting for this fate:

Yet when I have presented the theodicy problem to them, I must confess the cognitive dissonance they experience when confronted with the logical inconsistency therein has been painful to watch.

Okay, we'll make this short and sweet. I'm recommending you bounce for just a few minutes, to read someone else's diary. He puts it better than me, anyhow.
Skeptical Brotha on Nikki Tinker

Just a sample:

As [Trojan Horse] implies, Aunt Nikki is a stealth weapon of the right-wing that optimally would be used to destroy progressive black representation and the social, political, and economic viability of Black Memphis.  Unfortunately for our corporate enemies on the right, Aunt Nikki’s campaign exploded today like an IED in a war zone when it released an ad which strikes a note of false religiosity and implies that Steve Cohen is an Jewish interloper unwelcome in black churches and alludes to a bill to protect "religious freedom" and the unfettered right of religious organizations to discriminate against gay and lesbian people. This is the culmination of her clumsy attempts to make inroads with the black ministerial community by pandering to the homophobia of a select group of black pastors.

A more Faith based perspective from a commenter.

As many of you know, I have been looking for a new job - actually looking for a new career. Something that will allow me to earn a living helping others. And while at Netroots Nation I was busy handing out resumes and business cards like crazy and networking as best I could.

Today I got a call from a political campaign. The Texas Democratic Party had forwarded my resume to them as a potential candidate for a full time job with a campaign. I had a very positive 30 minute conversation with the campaign manager.

I won't say what campaign, but I will say this - it's the real deal. The candidate is a top notch fundraiser, has managed winning Democratic campaigns here in Texas. A lot of Texas blogs are watching this race closely because they think it is a great red to blue opportunity.

And it is local to me.

Sounds perfect, right?

Are you going to either of the National Conventions this year, or do you know someone who is?

The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice is holding a reception there, and you're invited. Details below the fold.

It takes a lot to top a presidential candidate offering his wife to bikers for some raunchy dancing in terms of tastelessness in politics, but sadly, a Democratic candidate for congress in Tennessee has topped that. Nikki Tinker, who is challenging incumbent Steve Cohen crossed a line that should be unacceptable for any candidate to cross:

In the ad, a child’s voice is heard praying while the narrator, clearly meant to be a black woman but not Tinker, wonders who “the real Steve Cohen is anyway” while questioning one of Cohen votes on school prayer while in the state Senate.

While he’s is OUR churches clapping his hands and tapping his feet, he was the only Senator who thought OUR kids shouldn’t be allowed to pray in school.

With all the talk recently in the presidential race about coded language and messages in political pitches, Tinker’s new ad will surely lead some to see an attempt to paint the Jewish Cohen as an anti-Christian interloper in his majority black and majority Christian district.

This ad (which is apparently no longer available on the internet) earned her the Worst Person In The World title from Keith Olbermann.

Rather disappointingly, Tinker has been endorsed by the Congressional Black Caucus and Emily's List, although in fairness they had not seen this garbage when the endorsement was made.

Racism is unacceptable; so is religious bigotry. Hopefully tomorrow - primary day - will signal the end of her political career.

Pastor Dan raised the issue here and reminded us that being Christian doesn’t release us from our political responsibilities, and being political doesn’t free us from our Christian obligations.  "br t" asked the question bluntly here: Jesus and Politics: Do They Mix Like Oil and Water? Years ago, I was in a class that tackled the question of whether Jesus (and, thus, Christianity) was purely spiritual or had a political dimension.  I dug out my notes for this post, and I’ll share the core with you, but the short answer is this:  Jesus is, according to the Gospel, a model of radical political action.  

Considering that in his last days Napoleon converted to the belief in Jesus Christ I suppose the diagnosis of Gingrich would be: "narcissistic, stunningly arrogant—need, daring, stunning, full of himself, out of touch, he’s floating 25 feet above the ground, take a week off and get back in touch with reality, sounding goofy and so on." (from crooksandliars)
Here some of the final statements of Napoleon:
"Well then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love,

Promoted by Rain

Just this week I had a serendipitous experience related to lessons learned from the book A Thousand Names for Joy, by Byron Katie. I am writing it all down because I want a record of just what I learned, a reminder for myself, and sharing it here in case it might somehow be a brick on the path to another person's aha moment as well. Each chapter in the book is headed with a verse from the Tao Te Ching, which was Katie's starting point for writing the chapter. Katie is a teacher who has helped many people learn to love what is with her four questions that she calls "The Work". For years I had been curious about Katie and her four questions, but I had never actually read any of her books. Since I understood this book was based on Taoism, an interest of mine, I thought it might be a good introduction to Katie's writing.

If not, just skip this diary. It will annoy the hell out of you.

KELO in Sioux Falls did the introduction to this situation for me:

Sioux Falls shelter for women and children who have been abused is at risk of shutting down.

The shelter has been running on grants and federal funding since 2000, but those grants are coming to an end. Now the director says the women at the shelter may have to move out.

The Mita Maske Ti Ki shelter, which means "My Sister Friends' House," houses about a dozen women and children who have left abusive homes and are trying to turn their lives around. But with their funding running out at the end of August, those victims of domestic violence could soon lose their sanctuary.

Link to the Shelter blog where you can donate.

I'm proud as a Democrat and as a Pagan to say that Pagans will be openly represented at the Democratic National Convention this month. Rita Moran, an Obama delegate from Maine will be blogging her experience as an open Pagan at the convention.

Rita has an interesting history as a Democratic Activist and as a Pagan. In June of 2006, Rita Moran was the chair of the Kennebec County Democratic Committee.  While she was openly Pagan, it was not a public issue or a source of controversy... until the local Christian Civic League decided to target her because of her faith:

Democrat County Chair Worships Witchcraft Goddess; Promotes Paganism

Rita Moran is well-known in Central Maine as the longstanding Kennebec County Democrat Chair and the the owner of Apple Valley Books at 121 Main Street in Winthrop.  Less well-known is Moran's involvement in one of Maine's thriving underground pagan worship circles...

...Perhaps most disturbing of all is the involvement of Moran's Apple Valley Books store in promoting her pagan-worshipping beliefs to Maine's children.  Moran's store is one of only three bookstores nationwide that is listed as a children's resource on the " Pagans'n'Parenting" website.

The article went on to list all available contact information for Rita Moran; her business address, telephone numbers and multiple email addresses.

Despite their best efforts, the Christian Civic League failed to browbeat Kennebec County Democrats into replacing Rita Moran - she is still the county chair.

Promoted by Rain (who is thirsty, too)

Now, I don't know what's going on, but I figure that there should be a coffee thread by now . . . I'm sorry if I didn't wait long enough, but I was getting antsy waiting for my caffeine intake!

We've got coffee, espresso, milk, chocolate, and anything else you might want.  Come on in!

Friends,

This is Grant from the Matthew 25 Network.  By now you have probably seen the McCain campaign's "The One" Ad.  I wanted to provide somewhat of a "special comment" on this ad.  Because, I think many who don't come from an evangelical context may miss the point.  At the bottom of the page there is a link for our petition to call upon Sen. McCain to renounce these ads (Pastor Dan already blogged about it - thanks for the advice!), but first I want to walk through why they are so troubling.

The McCain campaign is claiming that it is "humorous," "a joke," and "a little fun."  Well here is the ad...and below the fold we'll tell you why this is anything but a joking matter -