Tag Archives: Social Issues

Earlier this year I decided I was going to make good on a long-time plan and buy a road bike. I mostly ride on pavement these days; a few years back, I more or less permanently swapped out the knobbies on my mountain bike for slick tires.

Sravasti Abbey in Newport invites all you 20-somethings to explore Tibetan Buddhism from June 8-15. The course, Buddhist Community for Young Adults, includes meditation, teachings, Dharma discussions and, “a chance to work outdoors in beautiful gardens, meadows, and woodlands in northeastern Washington,” according to the abbey.

Idaho regulators have decided not to carry Five Wives Vodka because of its label, while Utah booze cops have deemed the bottle’s depiction of 19th-century women in petticoats holding kittens near their lady parts as acceptable.

Today I was encouraged by the actions of a local government. The Seattle City Council unanimously passed a resolution opposing the construction of a terminal that would facilitate the shipment of coal from the United States, specifically the Powder River Basin in Montana, to Asia.

Is it possible to transcend one’s personal beliefs and opinions, and to what end?

In a series of posts, based on a paper I presented recently at the Pacific Northwest regional meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (May 11, Concordia University Portland), titled “Ways of Believing,” I will address this question.

This weekend we celebrate Pentecost and Memorial Day, so there’s lots to do.  On Sunday The Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes will have a Pentecost concert at 2 p.m.