Buddhism by the numbers
By Nancy Haught
Paul Gerhards of Vancouver, Wash., is the author of "Mapping the Dharma: A Concise Guide to the Middle Way of the Buddha." Religion News Service photo by Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian.
Twenty-five centuries ago, the Buddha taught with lists. Read the entire story
The Four Noble Truths.
The Five Precepts.
The Eightfold Path.
These numbered lists helped his followers memorize and pass along his teachings orally for about 500 years before they were written down.
For the curious observer, a beginning Buddhist, or even an experienced one such as Paul Gerhards of Vancouver, Wash., the myriad lists often are confusing. Gerhards has practiced Buddhism for 12 years but still struggles to remember every concept on most of the lists and how one relates to another.
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Thursday, July 03, 2008
Benny and the jets?
Rusty Leonard and Warren Cole Smith have written a story for World magazine investigating corporate jet ownership by more than two dozen Christian ministries.
The writers, who are affiliated with the watchdog group MinistryWatch.com, have been covering Sen. Chuck Grassley's investigation of six of those ministries.
They took their work a step further and determined how much televangelists and others can spend for those planes -- from $2 million for a used model to $50 million for a new high-end jet. Costs for using them can range from $2,000 to $10,000 an hour.
The…
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AMISH FLORIDA Gerold Miller and his son Steven enjoy the beach in Sarasota, Fla. The Millers, from West Union, Ohio, are among a number of Amish families who vacation in the nearby community of Pinecraft, Fla. See RNS-AMISH-FLORIDA, transmitted March 23, 2004.
Religion News Service photo by Gus Chan.
Burns Strider has founded a new firm to help other Democrats bridge the so-called "God gap." Religion News Service photo by Peter Sachs.
Burns Strider
By Daniel Burke
WASHINGTON -- Fresh off the campaign trail, where he headed Sen. Hillary Clinton's religious outreach, Burns Strider has founded a new firm to help other Democrats bridge the so-called "God gap."
Few are as well-placed as Strider to do that.
Strider, a 41-year-old native of Grenada, Miss., led the House Democrats' Faith Working Group and has the ear of political insiders in Washington.
Now he and three other young Democrats with campaign experience have formed the Eleison Group, a consulting firm dedicated to helping their party win campaigns, and…