Links links links

Here are the links that are challenging me this morning:

In WWII our Grandparents and their parents planted victory gardens, local homegrown produce to help with the war effort. What if Christians planted Cristus Victor Gardens to help the Kingdom Come? How would local community gardens help our environmental stewardship efforts?

Cristus Victor Gardens


It's no secret that I love Jon Stewart, or Eugene Cho, so here's Eugene Cho's take on the Jim Cramer/ Jon Stewart interview last week on The Daily Show.
Jon Stewart - Prophet not the creepy kind

I grew up Catholic. I love the Catholic Church. The contemplative prayer traditions, the emphasis on justice, mercy, service and identification with the poor. I am so angry this morning at Pope Benedict. Sure, abstinence and monogamy are probably the most effective ways to not get AIDS but is it realistic to expect every person to do this?

Pope Rejects Condom Use in Africa

Valerie and I were talking this morning about AIDS in Africa, "What the pope doesn't understand, is that wives might be in monogamous relationships but their husbands might not be faithful. It's not just single people dying of AIDS it's whole families being destroyed by it."

Audrey, a friend of my sister's, and Brethren Pastor had this to say when she posted the BBC link on Facebook:

YET ANOTHER example of Pope Benny bent on exacerbating real problems that are killing real people by clinging to distorted, implausible "traditions." Yet another example of a person abusing his authority at the expense of millions of good people of faith.

Hey Ratzy, you really think use of condoms will make the AIDS epidemic worse? Really? Perhaps you have never watched someone die of AIDS. Perhaps you have never read the painful statistics. Perhaps you really do prefer your bubble of ignorance and fantasy from which you can safely dictate morality that makes sense only in fictional universes, and feel clean and pure without noticing all the human blood on your hands.

Enjoy it now, because St. Peter's going to have a long talk with you in a few years.