(1) How the Presidential Campaign Got Religion, by Melinda Henneberger (Bloomberg)
***It amuses me the way we’re always surprised that religion gets brought into political campaigns. Has there ever been a Presidential election where religion did not factor into the equation? Strict sectarianism may be problematic, but secularism has not won the field of battle in our highly religious nation.
(2) Pope Francis vs. Yom Kippur, by Sally Quinn (On Faith)
***Asks why the Vatican chose this day to land the Pope in America.
“Is it possible that the Vatican believes there are so few Jews in this country that nobody would care? Was this an oversight? Hardly possible. Did somebody suggest changing the date because of the Jewish holiday and was overridden? “There are two answers,” Moline said. “One is that they didn’t know (about the Jewish Holiday) and two is that they did. Neither is satisfactory.”
(3) Everything is awesome about Lego Vatican on view in Philly
“The Rev. Bob Simon spent about 10 months constructing a mini St. Peter’s Basilica out of a half-million Legos. His architectural feat includes a Lego pope on a balcony overlooking the crowd in St. Peter’s Square, which itself is made up of about 44,000 Lego pieces resembling cobblestones. A colorful cast of Lego characters populates the piazza, including a nun with a selfie stick and a bespectacled figurine of Simon. All told, the display measures 14 feet by 6 feet and weighs about 100 pounds.”
And here is video of the Lego Vatican
(4) Archbishop of Canterbury Calls Anglican Leaders to Meeting
[Welby] implied there would be more room for differences and doctrinal conflicts between various Anglican communities. “A 21st-century Anglican family must have space for deep disagreement, and even mutual criticism, so long as we are faithful to the revelation of Jesus Christ, together,” Welby said.
(5) Why do college kids have so much time to smoke pot?, by Naomi Schaefer Riley (New York Post)
***Makes a great point. Simple issues of time management should make one wonder how marijuana fits into a classroom and study schedule for student with ambition. Riley’s point is that it doesn’t.
… It’s hard to find middle-class professionals lighting up on a daily or even weekly basis even now that it’s legal. Among teens and college students, pot use may be spread more evenly across the economic spectrum, but it’s not usually the kids who are headed for graduate school and good careers who are being tripped up by it.
… The growth in pot use on campus may simply be a sign that students have too much time on their hands. If you’re only studying and going to class an average of 25 hours a week, what in God’s name are you going to do with the rest of your time? But for the kids who are actually on campus to improve their chances in life, the growing popularity of marijuana on campus is just one more obstacle in their way.
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