Magic Statistics

Apparently in response to the 100-Minute Bible, Christopher Howse has written "The Bible in couplets":

God makes the heavens and the earth
And finds them very nice.

When Adam eats forbidden fruit
He forfeits Paradise.

Mankind grows worse, but Noah's ark
Keeps eight souls in the dry.

There's much begetting; Abraham
Is chosen by and by.

His progeny are Egypt's slaves
Till Moses leads them out;

The Ten Commandments tell them what
Morality's about.

The Israelites gain Canaan, and
Surrounding peoples smite.

King David takes Bathsheba from
Uriah the Hittite,

He then repents, writes psalms, but sins
By numbering Israel,

Repents again, is told by God
His house shall never fail.

A golden temple of the Lord
Is built by Solomon.

The exiled Israelites hang harps
In fluvial Babylon.

Lions don't eat Daniel; Job gets boils;
The prophets prophesy;

Jonah meets fish; the Preacher says
That all is vanity.

Jesus is born in Bethlehem
And is baptised by John

In Jordan, and the Spirit dove
Then him descends upon.

He heals the sick, walks on the sea
And multiplies the bread,

Shares supper with apostles, then
Is crucified, and dead.

He rises from the dead, is seen
By many, then ascends

To heaven, from which he'll return
It says, when this world ends.

Saul (later Paul) falls off his horse,
Turns Christian, hits the trail,

Writes letters to the churches and
Ends life locked up in jail.

Four horsemen, beasts and trumpets fill
The Book of Revelation,

Whose meaning has been subject to
Much vexed interpretation.

Hurricane Rita, bearing down on the Texas coast, has been upgraded to a Category 5 storm and now appears even more powerful than Katrina. It may be the strongest hurricane ever to hit Texas. Galveston, directly in the storm's path, looks "like a ghost town", and Houston is being evacuated.

This Texas Anglican blogger has posted a flag, two maps, and a prayer. Most appropriate.

Today's New York Times corroborates the story I blogged twice in the last two days.

Homosexuals, even those who are celibate, will be barred from becoming Roman Catholic priests, a church official said Wednesday, under stricter rules soon to be released on one of the most sensitive issues facing the church.

The official, said the question was not "if it will be published, but when," referring to the new ruling about homosexuality in Catholic seminaries, a topic that has stirred much recent rumor and worry in the church. The official, who has authoritative knowledge of the new rules, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the church's policy of not commenting on unpublished reports.
. . .
The church official said the ban would pertain only to candidates for the priesthood, not to those already ordained. He also said the document did not represent any theological shift for the church, whose catechism considers homosexuality "objectively disordered."

That last statement is debatable. I think it does represent a theological shift of a kind.

Some Catholic officials take the view that I argued for yesterday: "Other Catholics say, though, that the test should be celibacy, not innate sexuality . . ."

In any case, this is clearly a major issue in the American branch of the Roman Catholic church, and there is widespread recognition that something must be done. It is commonly believed that, at many American seminaries, homosexuality was openly practiced and the chastity requirement for the priesthood not taken seriously. Whatever the Vatican decides, I hope and pray that respect for the high calling of ordained ministry will be renewed to the glory of God.

via Reuters via New Oxford Review.