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My Faith: Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), from Catholic to Muslim
CNN ^ | 9/1/11 | Chris Welch

Posted on 09/02/2011 9:07:47 AM PDT by marshmallow

Minneapolis, Minnesota (CNN) –Prior to 2006, few people even knew that then-Minnesota state legislator Keith Ellison was a Muslim. Because of his English name, he said, no one thought to ask.

But five years ago, when he ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives - a race he would go on to win - word of his religious affiliation began to spread.

“When I started running for Congress it actually took me by surprise that so many people were fascinated with me being the first Muslim in Congress,” said Ellison, a Democrat now serving his third term in the House.

“But someone said to me, ‘Look Keith, think of a person of Japanese origin running for Congress six years after Pearl Harbor–this might be a news story.’”

Though Ellison's status as the first Muslim elected to Congress is widely known, fewer are aware that he was born into a Catholic family in Detroit and was brought up attending Catholic schools.

But he said he was never comfortable with that faith.

“I just felt it was ritual and dogma,” Ellison said. “Of course, that’s not the reality of Catholicism, but it’s the reality I lived. So I just kind of lost interest and stopped going to Mass unless I was required to.”

It wasn’t until he was a student at Wayne State University in Detroit when Ellison began, “looking for other things.”

(Excerpt) Read more at religion.blogs.cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Catholic; Islam; Theology
KEYWORDS: blackmuslims; islam; keithellison; muslim
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To: presently no screen name

ENTITLEMENTS INDEED.

That’s why I posted the STATIONS OF THE WHITE HANKY.

It’s good to occasionally note the more outrageous unwritten dogmas etc.


421 posted on 09/04/2011 9:51:05 PM PDT by Quix (Times are a changin' INSURE you have believed in your heart & confessed Jesus as Lord Come NtheFlesh)
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To: Avalon Hussar

In our home, my husband’s last rites were very relaxed, casual, and peaceful. Nothing felt “formal,” mostly because we were all family and had a close connection with our priest.


422 posted on 09/04/2011 9:52:35 PM PDT by Judith Anne ( Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: Quix

You know full well what I think of you, and why.


423 posted on 09/04/2011 9:53:36 PM PDT by Judith Anne ( Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: Judith Anne
As are the last rites, and/or annointing of the sick.

That actually brings up another thing which we do which you may not be aware. We also anoint the sick if they request it, but it's not something which is talked about very much. If a member of the Church requests to be anointed with oil by the elders of the Church, then a special service is held where the elders anoint the sick and the entire Church prays over them for God's will to be done. It's not done very often, but it is still done.

424 posted on 09/04/2011 9:54:14 PM PDT by Avalon Hussar
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To: Avalon Hussar

That’s a very nice thing for the protestant church(es) to offer, and Biblical.


425 posted on 09/04/2011 9:56:17 PM PDT by Judith Anne ( Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: Judith Anne
I don’t, frankly, see a lot of protestant ministers in the hospitals I’ve worked in

Would you recognize them if you saw them? They dress normal.

They seem uncomfortable around death, like they don’t know quite what they are supposed to do in a sickroom

If they aren't there much - how do you know they are uncomfortable? LOL! Maybe they prayed for them that 'they shall live and not die and declare the works of The Lord'. Or did you hang around to see how he conducted himself or what he said. Didn't patients get respect and privacy when their minister visited that you were able to judge how they seemed 'uncomfortable'. Or is that respect only reserved for muslims and not protestants?

Training? LOL!
426 posted on 09/04/2011 9:58:26 PM PDT by presently no screen name
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To: metmom
Considering both the number of Catholic threads posted daily and the allowance for the caucus designation at their request, it’s hard for any claim of anti-Catholicism to have any credibility.


Photobucket

!ABSOLUTELY INDEED!

!ABSOLUTELY INDEED!

!ABSOLUTELY INDEED!

Photobucket

427 posted on 09/04/2011 9:58:49 PM PDT by Quix (Times are a changin' INSURE you have believed in your heart & confessed Jesus as Lord Come NtheFlesh)
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To: Judith Anne
In our home, my husband’s last rites were very relaxed, casual, and peaceful. Nothing felt “formal,” mostly because we were all family and had a close connection with our priest.

It was the same way when my mother was dying. The Pastor was a very close family friend who had known my parents for decades and the meeting, which started out as very somber, almost wound up turning into a revival service with God being praised for His faithfulness to not only my mother but my whole family.

428 posted on 09/04/2011 9:58:56 PM PDT by Avalon Hussar
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To: Judith Anne; Amityschild; firebrand; GiovannaNicoletta; Lera; marbren; navygal; Outership; ...

Assumptions can be quite misleading.

There’s a lot of RC minds I wouldn’t dare to pretend any capacity or willingness to read! LOL.


429 posted on 09/04/2011 9:59:10 PM PDT by Quix (Times are a changin' INSURE you have believed in your heart & confessed Jesus as Lord Come NtheFlesh)
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To: Natural Law

No different then you pimping your denomination.


430 posted on 09/04/2011 9:59:13 PM PDT by caww
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To: presently no screen name

Since you don’t know what you’re talking about, and I am not about to conduct a seminar for you, let’s just drop it.


431 posted on 09/04/2011 10:01:00 PM PDT by Judith Anne ( Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: Judith Anne
That’s a very nice thing for the protestant church(es) to offer, and Biblical.

No arguments here, my only question would be why don't the other Churches do it? It's sound Biblical doctrine and well within a believer's rights to ask to be anointed and prayed over by their Brothers and Sisters. I don't know why others have strayed from this, but they have.

432 posted on 09/04/2011 10:01:02 PM PDT by Avalon Hussar
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To: Avalon Hussar

As far as I know, Lutherans do it. Mo Synod, at least.


433 posted on 09/04/2011 10:02:03 PM PDT by Judith Anne ( Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: caww

Welllllllllll

have fun all y’all.

I think I’ll go wash my brain and fingers out and do some other things preparing for sleep.

Blessings to all who seek God as God . . . for Himself.

CHRIST ALONE!
CHRIST ALONE!
CHRIST ALONE!

THE BLOOD SHALL NEVER LOSE IT’S POWER!

PRAISE GOD for His Love, Christ’s Faithfulness, Holy Spirit’s Presence, comfort and teaching.


434 posted on 09/04/2011 10:03:57 PM PDT by Quix (Times are a changin' INSURE you have believed in your heart & confessed Jesus as Lord Come NtheFlesh)
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To: Avalon Hussar

My husband was a church musician, and the priest loved his music, which was very classical.


435 posted on 09/04/2011 10:04:19 PM PDT by Judith Anne ( Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: Judith Anne
As far as I know, Lutherans do it. Mo Synod, at least.

Well that's a good sign. I know most of the mainstream Protestant Churches around me have steered away from this practice, or at least I haven't heard of them doing it any longer. Even some of the Baptist Churches have let it drop lately, but usually they at least proclaim to believe in anointing with oil, even if they don't practice it any longer. My family's home church, on the other hand, keeps a bottle of anointing oil on the altar just in front of the pulpit.

436 posted on 09/04/2011 10:05:35 PM PDT by Avalon Hussar
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To: metmom; Judith Anne
Ah, exactly what I was thinking.

Doesn't seem these patients got privacy or respect. Seems like someone should have been reported for infringing on their rights as a patient.
437 posted on 09/04/2011 10:05:57 PM PDT by presently no screen name
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To: Judith Anne
Do you know why there are Catholic Caucus threads? I was here when they first came to be, and it was because of Anti-Catholic bigotry. We were all sick of open threads, where we could not even discuss our own Church beliefs without the kind of trash found on this thread. The RM gave us the Caucus designation so we wouldn’t have to put up with the worst of the anti-Catholic posts while we’re trying to talk about a particular church issue. Now, you can pick almost any Catholic Caucus thread on a general moral topic, and find MANY interruptions of the caucus. Meanwhils, the screams of outrage if a non-Catholic caucus thread is interrupted are deafening.

I wasn't born yesterday on a turnip truck. This "anti-Catholic" bigotry that is oh so easily tossed around these days could just as easily be called anti-Protestant bigotry. It's all in the viewpoint, isn't it? I remember many provocative threads years ago with titles such as, Why Catholicism is the Only True Faith and Why Protestants are Heretics. If the terms were reversed wouldn't you expect to be able to give an objection? Wouldn't you be totally within your rights to be able to do so? The "Caucus" tag only works when the content does not compare one faith to another or speak unfavorably of another faith. Those are easy enough to follow, don't you think?

As to the VERY few caucus threads for Non-Catholics that get posted (we're not afraid of alternate views), I see those getting the same "interruptions" that you are complaining about. While we are on the topic, I think it is quite strange, actually, that on Catholic Caucus threads there is such a vehement protectionism that, even if someone has something positive to say about the thread OP, the immediate challenge is, "Are you a Catholic?", "Get off this thread!", and it doesn't matter what was said. It is exclusionary to the point that even good comments are excluded. I was hit with just such a thing when I expressed support for the subject person of the article. How are you ever to expect respect when the caucus designation is used as a club complete with Moderators having to pose as your personal bouncers?

You know, have your "special" threads, but drop trying to make the Religion Forum a Catholics Only place. We have every right to post our thoughts and every right to defend against false claims, false doctrine and any other misunderstandings of the Christian faith. It is OUR faith, as well. You really don't do yourselves any favors by complaining about Anti-Catholic bigotry because bigotry can go both ways. It means "a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigotry). Fits some of you guys, too, doesn't it?

438 posted on 09/04/2011 10:10:44 PM PDT by boatbums ( God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.)
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To: presently no screen name
Doesn't seem these patients got privacy or respect. Seems like someone should have been reported for infringing on their rights as a patient.

In what way were their rights infringed,

439 posted on 09/04/2011 10:11:22 PM PDT by Judith Anne ( Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: Judith Anne
My husband was a church musician, and the priest loved his music, which was very classical.

I suspected that you must have had some kind of musical interests due to some of the lyrics I've seen you use before and that would explain it. My own parents were very heavily involved in the Church, not only singing but also visiting the sick and working as Bible School helpers and teachers. My father served as not only a Sunday School teacher, but also the Sunday School superintendent before being elected to act as one of the Deacons a few years ago. Needless to say, I was raised in Church and have been involved in it in some capacity since before I was able to walk and talk, much less read and understand so you can understand my interest in seeing how other denominations live out their faith.

440 posted on 09/04/2011 10:12:57 PM PDT by Avalon Hussar
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