I have little faith that Albom could ever convince anyone of his integrity no matter how many books he writes along those lines.
They sell for sure. But I'm not buying. Why'd you cross the picket-line, Mitch? Faith starts at home with small and large acts of what is known as "faithfulness". When you turn against those you've broken bread with there is another name for that.

Um, this thread has been infected by scrollers. Washingtonpost would do well to watch their comments as carefully as does the New York Times.

.
.
.
.

.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.

.

.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.

..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..

.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

..

.
..
.
.
.
.

..
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
..

.
.
..
.

..

.
And the sad and strange "gibberisher" returns yet again with a new ID and email address

It's not particularly inspiring to note that there are neighborhoods you'd be risking your life driving through if you didn't have food on the hood of your car, and not particularly enlightening to suggest that if you give highway robbers a free lunch you may not only escape their tender mercies but also gain soul-saving brownie points in Heaven.

What the world's free professional and free media report that the cowardly American press is too scared and beholden to:

1 November 2009

Israeli settler held over attacks

Israeli police have arrested a Jewish settler who they say has confessed to a string of high-profile hate attacks.

During questioning, Mr Teitel confessed to several crimes, saying he had emigrated to Israel to carry out attacks against Palestinians.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8337150.stm

You lost me when you promoted your book. How could you not know that?
(PS, why in the world doesn't the Post remove the psychotic babble taking up a lot of space here?)

Who's to say Albom ever talked to these people? How do we know he didn't "Final Four" this article too? I have issues with his integrity.

Mitch Albom has vulcan ears...

This is a fine and uplifting story.

However, it is a commentary in itself that we need a column or book to point out people with a strong faith. In an hour I will be at church with many people who have a strong faith that bears fruit like the people in this column. I am sure that almost every synagogue, mosque or similar worship-place has similar people too.

Big media forgets how big a role that faith plays out here in "flyover country."

I never cease to be amazed by the willingness of non-Christians to presume to know and declare the motivations of Christians. {snip}
----------------
That cuts both ways, Ripcord. We know the motivations because they're being shoved down our throats virtually every day. How about backing off and letting non-Christians relate to the Almighty in their own way? (And I don't mean you personally, since I've never met you. But if the shoe fits....)

Ripcord65: Thanks for such a great comment!
----

I never cease to be amazed by the willingness of non-Christians to presume to know and declare the motivations of Christians. No one can know the heart, mind, and motivation of a Christian unless he/she has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. And, no one who has not been redeemed by the blood of Jesus can recognize, understand, and appreciate the difference between those who ARE Christians and those who merely profess to be Christians.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
And the strange and sad "gibberisher" aka INDENIAL, JJ, Blog-lady, The Revelator et al returns yet again.
.
.'
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
./
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

The 9/11 "bombers" were George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and the mechanics employed to effect their treason. "The New Pearl Harbor, " by an author of proven integrity, is a free download on Google Scholar.

There is but One Creator G-d.

Nice column, Mitch. Have read none of your books but if the rabbi asked you to do his eulogy you're likely a good person.

Yes, selling books seems to be the point of this article.

That makes it a typical, bona-fide religion industry con.

Making money and controlling others lives is what all religions, from day one, have been and are about.

I can accept religion if it is a movement to expand sympathy, empathy and tolerance. If it has any imaginary god it is not religion. If Christianity has a God, one who counts fallen sparrows, is filled with love, is omnipotent, all knowing and omnipresent; then he is an evil god guilty of an endless endless endless number of sins of omission.

*...the bombers of the 911 attacks are no more representative of Islam than the KKK is representative of Christianity.

Religion is the basis for all
of civiliztion. It may have bad aspects
and members but it is the bottom for laws,
mores, customs and what acts are good
and which are heinous. Without the templates for behavior- which were devised from thousands and thousands of years of categorizing of human behaviors- what
a human being, a good and benevolent human is, We might just as well be animals,
void all of this accumulated wisdom
from the ages.

Posted by: huckstered | November 1, 2009 8:08 AM"
----------------
Well said. "Templates for behavior". I like that.

And the sad and strange "gibberisher" returns yet again with a new ID and email address.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Yes, we are all sons and daughters of God, the Father, who loves us unconditionally, who forgives "70 X 70." Even though original sin has marred everything--even Christ's beloved Church--we know somehow that Love conquers all in all.

To dastuninstalls - the bombers of the 911 attacks are no more representative of
Islam than the KKK is representative of Christianity.
You are completely off color with commnets. Nietzche is the motivational speaker. Religion is the basis for all
of civiliztion. It may have bad aspects
and members but it is the bottom for laws,
mores, customs and what acts are good
and which are heinous. Without the templates for behavior- which were devised from thousands and thousands of years of categorizing of human behaviors- what
a human being, a good and benevolent human is, We might just as well be animals,
void all of this accumulated wisdom
from the ages.
It is software of the soul. There are
glitches and viruses,yes, but this accumulated wisdom is more important than knowledge. Knowledge without wisdom is useless. That which came to the man in his moment of rapture was enlightenment,
not a vision of a reward. He arose an honest man.
The guy wasn't injured, he changed, that is all.
Eternal reward is given for believing, that is it, that is all. Nothing more. Nothing else.
All else is done to serve God, not for the reward.
Many people have been killed in the name of religion, but that is fanatacism. Aggression and conquest have
always been there no matter the slogan, banner or cause. This gives the comitters
some sort of legitimacy in their own eyes
and makes it seem a good thing. For themselves not all of us.

Albom writes sentimental pap; this is another sample thereof.

Whoopty Loo, who gives a hoot about your bloody faith. You carry it around your neck like a batch of honor. You think you are special, I suspect more of a schmuck and weak link. If you were more of a man and less of a schmuck you might not need to parade your faith as a shield.

Wow, that was just amazingly - vapid.
Yes, we all know faith can be motivational but for what does it motivate? The 9/11 bombers were men of faith as much as his two examples; is their faith to be praised?
And how can Albion claim that Covington was not acting in a quid pro quo way? In this story, Covington was shot, near dead and he prayed to Jesus to save him, and if Jesus did so, the pastor would dedicate his life to him. This is the definition of quid pro quo.
To paraphrase Nietzsche, the problem with christians is they still want to get paid for doing good deeds. It is not the deed that is important, its the payment, usually in heaven, which is surprisingly the same motivation the 9/11 bomber's had in mind for their acts.

@ CCLN1: Don't buy the book then.
@ Continental46: We all need to believe in something or someone and although millions of people have done horrendous things in the name of a "god," in most cases those things were done in the name of the true god of those cultures/people/ civilizations: money.

The bottom line is that people need to believe in something and whatever it is that helps them do what's right, help others, and be generally good people is fine with me. There are good people on all sides of the fence and any religious denomination worth anything recognizes that. People are people and my God loves all of them.

I find it hard to see the point of this column. Are we being asked to conclude that the existence of humble, pious, giving people in all of the major religions somehow balances all the harm those religions have done? The pastor Albom describes clearly believes he is doing God's will. So did the 9/11 hijackers.

Human nature impels us to conflict - so much so that even a doctrine of peace and love such as that preached by Jesus becomes a reason to torture and slaughter people. Neither the generosity of Albom's pastor nor the torture and murder perpetrated by other religious people has anything to do with God. Both are simply aspects of human nature. Albom's insistence on attributing one or the other to a supernatural cause seems to be about selling books more than anything else.

Another promotion simply to sell more books!!!