RITES AND RITUALS

Christian worship
Christian worship involves praising God in music and speech, reading scripture, prayer and several special ceremonies called sacraments.
Eucharist
The Eucharist is a re-enactment of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his death. To Christians, it symbolises freedom from the slavery of sin and the promise of eternal life.
Confirmation
Confirmation is a popular practice in those churches that perform infant baptism. It enables a baptised person to confirm the promises made on their behalf at baptism.
Christian marriage and weddings
Christians believe that marriage is a gift from God. The Church of England and Catholic Church have slightly different wedding ceremonies and teachings about marriage.
Divorce in Christianity
Different churches have a variety of teachings about divorce. Often the difficulties do not arise when a couple splits, but later when one of them wants to remarry.
Christian funerals
When a Christian dies, a funeral is held to grieve for the person and give thanks for their life.
Tridentine Mass
The Tridentine Mass is the old form of Mass, in Latin, that was replaced following the second Vatican Council in the 1960s. Pope Benedict XVI has relaxed those restrictions so that it can be used again.

WILLIAM WILBERFORCE

William Wilberforce (1759-1833), anti-slavery campaigner

Outline
William Wilberforce campaigned for the abolition of the British slave trade. He was an MP, a Christian writer and a social reformer.
In 1789, following his conversion to Christianity, Wilberforce became the voice in Parliament of the Abolition Movement; joining campaigners such as the Quakers, Thomas Clarkson and the former enslaved African Olaudah Equiano. For Wilberforce the slave trade was a sin for which Britain had to repent or be damned.
It would take twenty years to end the British trade in enslaved people and almost thirty more before slavery itself became illegal.

CHRISTIANITY

Why did Jesus die?

The events leading up to the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus are well-told by the Gospel writers, as are stories of the Resurrection. But why did Jesus die?
In the end the Roman authorities and the Jewish council wanted Jesus dead. He was a political and social trouble-maker. But what made the death of Jesus more significant than the countless other crucifixions carried out by the Romans and witnessed outside the city walls by the people of Jerusalem?
Christians believe that Jesus was far more than a political radical. For them the death of Jesus was part of a divine plan to save humanity.
The death and resurrection of this one man is at the very heart of the Christian faith. For Christians it is through Jesus's death that people's broken relationship with God is restored. This is known as the Atonement.

What is the atonement?
The word atonement is used in Christian theology to describe what is achieved by the death of Jesus. William Tyndale introduced the word in 1526 when he was working on his popular translation of the Bible to translate the Latin word reconciliatio.
In the Revised Standard Version the word reconciliation replaces the word atonement. Atonement (at-one-ment) is the reconciliation of men and women to God through the death of Jesus.
But why was reconciliation needed? Christian theology suggests that although God's creation was perfect, the Devil tempted the first man Adam and sin was brought into the world. Everybody carries this original sin with them which separates them from God, just as Adam and Eve were separated from God when they were cast out of the Garden of Eden.
So it is a basic idea in Christian theology that God and mankind need to be reconciled. However, what is more hotly debated is how the death of Jesus achieved this reconciliation.
There is no single doctrine of the atonement in the New Testament. In fact, perhaps more surprisingly, there is no official Church definition either. But first, what does the New Testament have to say?

The New Testament uses a range of images to describe how God achieved reconciliation to the world through the death of Jesus. The most common is the image of sacrifice.
For example, John the Baptist describes Jesus as "the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world". (John 1:29)

Here are some other images used to describe the atonement:
a judge and prisoner in a law court
a payment of ransom for a slave's freedom
a king establishing his power
a military victory

the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many'.Words attributed to Jesus in Mark 10:45
'Drink all of you from this', he said. 'For this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'Words attributed to Jesus in Matthew 26:28
Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures...Written by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3

How have later writers and theologians interpreted the Biblical accounts and theologies? In varied, and sometimes conflicting, ways.

SAUDI WOMEN VIE FOR OLYMPICS RIGHT

Eight years after the Sydney Olympics Hadi Souan Somayli still finds it hard to talk about the 400 metres hurdles final.
He led for 399 metres but at the finishing line US sprinter Angelo Taylor surged forward to take gold.
When I suggest we watch the race together his face darkens. It is not until he shows me his Olympic medal that his mood lightens.
"This is special not just for me", he says. "It's special also for my country because this is the first medal that we won in the Olympics."
Somayli is going to Beijing as director of the Saudi sprint team and, like every Saudi Olympic official and athlete, he is a man.
Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries that does not allow women to take part in the Olympics, or any other major sporting event.
Court pioneers

"Some events are difficult for us, with the clothes," says Somayli. "Events like track and field, swimming, even football."
"I hope in the other events we will see Saudi women compete and soon."
Sport is banned at girls state schools. There is no federation that organises women's sport and few stadia that are open to them. However, there are pioneers.
"We we are not official or approved of," says Danaya al-Maeena co-founder of Jeddah United basketball team.
"It is a challenge and it is the beginning of something that we really believe in."

Total Lunar Eclipse on February 20, 2008
Jupiter, Venus and the Moon
An Osprey in Belizean Wildlife area

TAOISM - OTHER BELIEFS

Taoism is an ancient tradition of philosophy and religious belief that is deeply rooted in Chinese customs and worldview.
Taoist ideas have become popular throughout the world through Tai Chi Chuan, Qigong, and various martial arts.

Physical practices
Because Taoism doesn't make a rigid division between body and spirit, it recognises that physical actions have a spiritual effect.

Purity
Taoist texts teach the importance of keeping the body pure in order to ensure spiritual health. To remain pure a person should avoid certain activities and foods. Greed, lust, pride and dishonesty are examples of things that should be avoided.

Meditation
Meditation is important to many Taoists. Complex meditation rituals are practiced in various temples.
A vital use of meditation is to create mental stillness and enhance mindfulness. This can give a person the mental space to know the Tao directly.

Breathing

Breath is the most easily perceived form of ch'i, and there are many Taoist breathing exercises. Taoist breathing exercises are called Qui Gong.
The flow of life energy - ch'i - within the body can be enhanced, regulated and harmonised by various forms of exercise, meditation, and techniques such as acupuncture and moxibustion.

Martial arts
Tai Chi originally derived from Taoist exercises created by Chang San- Feng (Zhang Sanfeng) (1127-1279 CE). Modern forms of Tai Chi are more likely to be secular exercises than Taoist practices.

Diet
Classical Taoist teaching recommends abstaining from alcohol, meat, beans and grains.

The One
The One is the essence of Tao, the essential energy of life, the possession of which enables things and beings to be truly themselves and in accord with the Tao.
Taoist texts sometimes refer to the Tao as the mother and the One as the son.

Wu and Yu
Wu and Yu are non-being and being, or not-having and having. Wu also implies inexhaustibility or limitlessness. Some writers suggest that Wu can be directly experienced by human beings.

Te
Te is usually translated as virtue, but this translation uses some Confucian ideas and can be confusing.
Another way of looking at te is an awareness of the Tao together with the capabilities that enable a person to follow the Tao.
Professor Victor Mair suggests that a better translation is integrity. He writes:
There is something fundamentally honest and psychologically healthy in being oneself and striding forward with one's vision facing directly ahead, instead of trying at every turn to satisfy abstract standards of goodness established by a reigning orthodoxy. This is what te/de is all about.

Tzu Jan
Tzu Jan is usually translated naturalness or spontaneity, but this is rather misleading.
One writer suggests using the phrase 'that which is naturally so', meaning the condition that something will be in if it is permitted to exist and develop naturally and without interference or conflict.
The Taoist ideal is to fulfil that which is naturally so, and the way to do this is Wu Wei.

Wu Wei
The method of following the Tao is called Wu Wei. This can be translated as uncontrived action or natural non-intervention.
Wu Wei is sometimes translated as non-action, but this wrongly implies that nothing at all gets done. The Tao Te Ching says:
When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.
Wu Wei means living by or going along with the true nature of the world - or at least without obstructing the Tao - letting things take their natural course.
So Taoists live lives of balance and harmony. They find their way through life in the same way that a river flowing through the countryside finds its natural course.
The world is a spiritual vessel, and one cannot act upon it;one who acts upon it destroys it.Tao

Te Ching
This doesn't stop a person living a proactive life but their activities should fit into the natural pattern of the universe, and therefore need to be completely detached and disinterested and not ego-driven.
Perfect activity leaves no track behind it; perfect speech is like a jade worker whose tool leaves no mark.
This implies that Taoists take an attitude akin to Voltaire's (satirically intended) doctrine that "All is for the best in this best of all possible worlds."
And certainly pure Taoism requires individuals to live on the basis that the world is working properly, and that they therefore should not interfere with it.

Yin Yang
Yin Yang is the principle of natural and complementary forces, patterns and things that depend on one another and do not make sense on their own.
These may be masculine and feminine, but they could be darkness and light (which is closer to the original meaning of the dark and light sides of a hill), wet and dry or action and inaction.
These are opposites that fit together seamlessly and work in perfect harmony. You can see this by looking at the yin yang symbol.
The yin yang concept is not the same as Western dualism, because the two opposites are not at war, but in harmony.
This can be seen very clearly in the symbol: the dark area contains a spot of light, and vice versa, and the two opposites are intertwined and bound together within the unifying circle.
Yin and yang are not static, the balance ebbs and flows between them - this is implied in the flowing curve where they meet.

The Taoist body
Taoists view the body as a miniature of the universe, filled with the Tao. The parts of the body have their counterparts in physical features of the universe, and:
The body, as much as the larger universe, is ruled and lived in by the gods-the multifaceted manifestations of spirit, the visible and accessible aspect of the Tao on earth.Livia Kohn, The Taoist Experience: An Anthology, 1993

Ch'i
Ch'i is the cosmic vital energy that enables beings to survive and links them to the universe as a whole.
Qi is the basic material of all that exists. It animates life and furnishes functional power of events. Qi is the root of the human body; its quality and movement determine human health. Qi can be discussed in terms of quantity, since having more means stronger metabolic function. This, however, does not mean that health is a byproduct of storing large quantities of qi. Rather, there is a normal or healthy amount of qi in every person, and health manifests in its balance and harmony, its moderation and smoothness of flow. This flow is envisioned in the texts as a complex system of waterways with the "Ocean of Qi" in the abdomen; rivers of qi flowing through the upper torso, arms, and legs; springs of qi reaching to the wrists and ankles; and wells of qi found in the fingers and toes. Even a small spot in this complex system can thus influence the whole, so that overall balance and smoothness are the general goal.
Human life is the accumulation of qi; death is its dispersal. After receiving a core potential of primordial qi at birth, people throughout life need to sustain it. They do so by drawing postnatal qi into the body from air and food, as well as from other people through sexual, emotional, and social interaction. But they also lose qi through breathing bad air, overburdening their bodies with food and drink, and getting involved in negative emotions and excessive sexual or social interactions.Livia Kohn, Health and Long Life: The Chinese Way

Immortality
Immortality doesn't mean living for ever in the present physical body.
The idea is that as the Taoist draws closer and closer to nature throughout their life, death is just the final step in achieving complete unity with the universe.
Spiritual immortality, the goal of Daoism, raises the practices to a yet higher level. To attain it, people have to transform all their qi into primordial qi and proceed to refine it to subtler levels. This finer qi will eventually turn into pure spirit, with which practitioners increasingly identify to become transcendent spirit-people. The path that leads there involves intensive meditation and trance training as well as more radical forms of diet and other longevity practices. Immortality implies the overcoming of the natural tendencies of the body and its transformation into a different kind of qi-constellation. The result is a bypassing of death, so that the end of the body has no impact on the continuation of the spirit-person. In addition, practitioners attain supersensory powers and eventually gain residence in wondrous otherworldly paradises.Livia

Kohn, Health and Long Life: The Chinese Way
Knowledge and relativity
Human knowledge is always partial and affected by the standpoint of the person claiming that knowledge. There can never be a single true knowledge, merely the aggregate of uncountable different viewpoints.
Because the universe is always changing, so knowledge is always changing.
The closest a human being can get to this is knowledge that is consistent with the Tao. But this is a trap because the Tao that can be known is not the Tao. True knowledge cannot be known - but perhaps it can be understood or lived.

GOD LOVES HUMOR, TOO!

SUNDAY SCHOOL HUMOR...

LOT'S WIFE: The Sunday school teacher was describing how Lot's wife looked back
and turned into a pillar of salt, when little Jason interrupted, 'My mommy looked
back once, while she was driving,' he announced triumphantly, 'and she turned into
a telephone pole!'

GOOD SAMARITAN: A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the
Good Samaritan. She asked the class, 'If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all
wounded and bleeding, what would you do?'
A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence, 'I think I'd throw up.'

DID NOAH FISH? A Sunday school teacher asked, 'Johnny, do you think Noah did
a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark ?'
'No,' replied Johnny. 'How could he -- with just two worms'?

HIGHER POWER: A Sunday school teacher said to her children, 'We have been learning
how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times. But, there is a higher power. Can
anybody tell me what it is?'
One child blurted out, 'Aces!'

MOSES AND THE RED SEA : Nine-year-old Joey was asked by his mother what he had
learned in Sunday school. 'Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy
lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt . When he got to the Red Sea,
he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then, he
radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and
all the Israelites were saved.'
'Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?' his mother asked.
'Well, no, Mom. But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!'

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD: A Sunday school teacher decided to have her young class
memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible: Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters
a month to learn the chapter. Little Rick was excited about the task -- but, he just couldn't
remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line. On the
day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky
was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly,
'The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know.'

UNANSWERED PRAYER? The preacher's 5-year-old daughter noticed that her father
always paused and bowed his head, for a moment, before starting his sermon. One day,
she asked him why. 'Well, Honey,' he began, proud that his daughter was so observant
of his messages, 'I'm asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon...
"How come HE doesn't do it?' she asked.

BEING THANKFUL: A rabbi said to a precocious six-year-old boy, 'So your mother
says your prayers for you each night? That's very commendable. What does she say?'
The little boy replied, 'Thank God he's in bed!'

UNTIMELY ANSWERED PRAYER: During the minister's prayer, one Sunday, there was
a loud whistle from one of the back pews. Tommy's mother was horrified. She pinched him
into silence and, after church, asked, 'Tommy, whatever made you do such a thing?'
Tommy answered, soberly, 'I asked God to teach me to whistle, and HE just then did!'

TIME TO PRAY: A pastor asked a little boy if he said his prayers every night. 'Yes, sir,'
the boy replied.
'And, do you always say them in the morning, too?' the pastor asked.
'No sir,' the boy replied. 'I ain't scared in the daytime.'

ALL MEN / ALL GIRLS? When my daughter, Kelli, said her bedtime prayers, she would
bless every family member, every friend, and every animal (current and past). For several
weeks, after we had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, 'And all girls.'
As this soon became part of her nightly routine, to include this at the end, my curiosity got the
best of me and I asked her, 'Kelli, Why do you always add the part about all girls?'
Her response, 'Because we always finish our prayers by saying 'All Men'!'

SAY A PRAYER: Little Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his
grandmother's house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served.
When Little Johnny received his plate, he started eating right away. 'Johnny! Please wait
until we say our prayer.'
I don't have to,' the boy replied.
'Of course, you do,' his mother insisted. 'We say a prayer before eating, at our house.'
'That's our house,' Johnny said. 'This is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook!