When we look at everything going on around us in the world, the easy road often seems to complain, to criticize, to withdraw, to blame. Looking back on 2013, I see so much to be thankful for.
I am thankful for those with vision in the field of medicine who dream and work for cures to cancer, Parkinsons, and the myriad of illnesses that plague us. I am thankful for those who dream of a day when the human right of health care is a reality. I am thankful for the multitude who sacrifice their personal comfort and time making others comfortable.
I am thankful for the selfless millions who give to provide food for the hungry and the thousands who serve that food to families and homeless. I am thankful for agencies dedicated to the reduction, if not the elimination, of hunger in my community, state, country, and the world.
I am thankful for the generous throngs who give coats off their backs or out of the surplus of their clostes so others can be warm. I am thankful for individuals and organizations who brave the elements to find the neglected and bring them in for food, warmth, and clothing.
I am thankful for teachers who sacrifice higher salaries to serve and educate the next generation, sharing dreams, inspiring the next scientists, doctors, public servants, and teachers. I am thankful for these unsung heroes who give out of their own resources to supplement meager teaching provisions so their students will not be neglected.
I am thankful for the caring who visit those in prison to let them know they are humans of worth and dignity and valued as human beings.
I am thankful for the millions who have and continue to preserve our freedom.
I am thankful for poll workers and canvasers who strive to keep the vision of democracy alive for every citizen.
I am thankful for those who bag my groceries and smile warmth and cheer while earning a minimum wage. I am thankful for everyone who supports a living wage.
I am thankful for those who march and protest to remind the rest of us that the dream has not been fully realized yet.
I am thankful for those who serve in public office with humility, honesty, and a passion for everyone.
I am thankful for every person of goodwill, yearning for peace, living the peace so desperately needed in our world, and dedicated to the elimination of violence in our society and world.
My hope and resolution for 2014----to recommit and act in a way that serves others in becoming the people and world we are capable of being.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Friday, December 20, 2013
Imagine a world lit by divine light
Imagine a world lit by divine light! According to the Genesis myth, this is exactly what happened "When God began creating the world," a more correct translation of Genesis 1:1. It was divine light, not physical light. Physical light did not come until day four when God created sun, moon, and stars. It was divine light, and it was present from the beginning. The creation story is about the divinity of the earth and ALL that is in it. The text says, affirms, insists that creation is good----God says so! The text says that before God's light gave warmth and illumination, the earth was a formless void and darkness. This first light and darkness are not good and bad, right and wrong, truth and falseness. Good and evil do not enter God's good creation until humans disobey, and that doesn't happen until Genesis 3. The divine light fills the dark void with meaning and purpose, fills it with God! God is in everything and everything is in God!
It is our failure to recognize the divine light in creation, in ourselves and others, that hides and obscures the potential brilliance yearning to be free, longing to be shared and embraced, inviting all creation to become that for which and to which we were created.
That light, God's light, divine light finds its greatest expression and truest incarnation when creatures yield to the creator, love completely selflessly, seek peace, and mirror the compassion and generosity first given to them.
Love, peace, humility, service to others before consuming ego and conspicuous consumption. The gifts of creation are for the benefit of all, not the hoarding of the few. Divine light exposes the hidden, dark corners of our selfishness and always, always invites our surrender and commitment to divine purposes in the world.
It is the season of light: Feast of Dedication/Festival of Lights, Advent Candles, Islamic New Year and new light of fresh starts, Devali, and on goes creation's longing for oneness with Creator and creatures.
The children's song was never more true and compelling: "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine." May we all, everyday, in every way.
It is our failure to recognize the divine light in creation, in ourselves and others, that hides and obscures the potential brilliance yearning to be free, longing to be shared and embraced, inviting all creation to become that for which and to which we were created.
That light, God's light, divine light finds its greatest expression and truest incarnation when creatures yield to the creator, love completely selflessly, seek peace, and mirror the compassion and generosity first given to them.
Love, peace, humility, service to others before consuming ego and conspicuous consumption. The gifts of creation are for the benefit of all, not the hoarding of the few. Divine light exposes the hidden, dark corners of our selfishness and always, always invites our surrender and commitment to divine purposes in the world.
It is the season of light: Feast of Dedication/Festival of Lights, Advent Candles, Islamic New Year and new light of fresh starts, Devali, and on goes creation's longing for oneness with Creator and creatures.
The children's song was never more true and compelling: "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine." May we all, everyday, in every way.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Summary of definitions of moral
I apologize for taking so lomg in getting back to you as promised. My only excuse is Thanksgiving and the death of a very favorite cousin.
So, here is a "general" description of the responses you graciously shared.
(1) About half of you described your moral framework as religiously or spiritually defined, everything from overt revelation to a universal foundation of consciously avoiding harm to others.
(2) About half of you described what Bishop James Pike in the sixties called "situation ethics." I'm sure this "principle" had been around for a very long time before he popularlized it, but it became a buzz word in philosophy/religion circles.
Some of you implied that we are born with this sensitivity or inner awareness, others hinted at the possibility that morality is taught, learned. You are a wonderful microcosim of every moral position I have ever encounterted.
Along the way I was offered a model for making moral judgments that I found particularly challenging and helpful [I would never claim that I follow it everyday!]. This model says that you begin with a clear understanding of the moral principles/foundation you accept as defining your life and your relationship to the world. With that foundation to guide you:
(1) objectively and as clearly as possible "describe" the way things are.
(2) using your moral principles "describe" the way you believe/think things should be.
(3) now choose and act in a way, determine a course of action, to get from (1) to (2) that is consistent with your moral principles.
(4) revisit frequently to be sure you remain faithful, true to your principles and plan of action.
Obviously this isn't rocket science. But there is a world of difference between saying and doing.
In my opinion, and everyone's got one, most of us are inconsistent and fail to live by the principles we self-righteously proclaim. In the end it is our self-centered and prejudiced desires that drive us and determine the positions we take on practically every issue.
But no one is perfect and what are goals for but to challenge and encourage us. If we share the same goals---a healthy environment, elimination of hunger, a safe world for everyone---then is it too much to believe that reasonable people of all political and moral persuasions can come together and solve the problems facing our generation?
As Mother Teresa said, we are not called to be successful; we are called to be faithful.
So, here is a "general" description of the responses you graciously shared.
(1) About half of you described your moral framework as religiously or spiritually defined, everything from overt revelation to a universal foundation of consciously avoiding harm to others.
(2) About half of you described what Bishop James Pike in the sixties called "situation ethics." I'm sure this "principle" had been around for a very long time before he popularlized it, but it became a buzz word in philosophy/religion circles.
Some of you implied that we are born with this sensitivity or inner awareness, others hinted at the possibility that morality is taught, learned. You are a wonderful microcosim of every moral position I have ever encounterted.
Along the way I was offered a model for making moral judgments that I found particularly challenging and helpful [I would never claim that I follow it everyday!]. This model says that you begin with a clear understanding of the moral principles/foundation you accept as defining your life and your relationship to the world. With that foundation to guide you:
(1) objectively and as clearly as possible "describe" the way things are.
(2) using your moral principles "describe" the way you believe/think things should be.
(3) now choose and act in a way, determine a course of action, to get from (1) to (2) that is consistent with your moral principles.
(4) revisit frequently to be sure you remain faithful, true to your principles and plan of action.
Obviously this isn't rocket science. But there is a world of difference between saying and doing.
In my opinion, and everyone's got one, most of us are inconsistent and fail to live by the principles we self-righteously proclaim. In the end it is our self-centered and prejudiced desires that drive us and determine the positions we take on practically every issue.
But no one is perfect and what are goals for but to challenge and encourage us. If we share the same goals---a healthy environment, elimination of hunger, a safe world for everyone---then is it too much to believe that reasonable people of all political and moral persuasions can come together and solve the problems facing our generation?
As Mother Teresa said, we are not called to be successful; we are called to be faithful.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Question: How do you define "moral"?
I have a question and need your help. If you care to respond, I will tabulate and share with all who participate.
How do YOU define moral? I know what the dictionary says: relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior, conforming to a standard of right behavior, sanctioned by one's conscience or ethical judgment. But how do you "know" what is right?
Some textbooks divide actions into moral, immoral, and amoral categories. I agree that 2 + 2 = 4 is amoral, but I am sympathetic with Kierkegaard's insistence that all decisions/actions are either moral or immoral. What do you think?
Textbooks also teach that actions/decisions are moral based on (1) principles regardless of consequencies or (2) determined by the consequencies of the action. With regard to #1 for example, it is wrong (immoral) to lie, despite the consequences. With regard to #2, the morality of the decision/action is determined by the consequences. For example you are hiding Jews in your attic and the Gestapo asks you if you are hiding Jews. You answer that you are not (lieing). Many of us would say this decision/action is moral based on consequences.
But there is a fundamental, prior question. How do YOU determine/decide the values you will use in making moral decisions? There are more options than I have time or space to identify. Brief list: religious/revelation; rational (Kant's Categorical Imperative); utilitarian; hedonistic; legalistic etc etc.
Example and this is not a political question: when it comes to healthcare, do we make our decision on the basis of human need, religious principles, or monetary reality? I think all make compelling cases, but how do I decide what is the "moral" decision? and does one have to be right and all others wrong?
When I have chosen my moral frame of reference, there is the challenge of moral judgment, how do I make a moral decision about anything? That is a question for later.
I hope you will join the discussion. Peace.
How do YOU define moral? I know what the dictionary says: relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior, conforming to a standard of right behavior, sanctioned by one's conscience or ethical judgment. But how do you "know" what is right?
Some textbooks divide actions into moral, immoral, and amoral categories. I agree that 2 + 2 = 4 is amoral, but I am sympathetic with Kierkegaard's insistence that all decisions/actions are either moral or immoral. What do you think?
Textbooks also teach that actions/decisions are moral based on (1) principles regardless of consequencies or (2) determined by the consequencies of the action. With regard to #1 for example, it is wrong (immoral) to lie, despite the consequences. With regard to #2, the morality of the decision/action is determined by the consequences. For example you are hiding Jews in your attic and the Gestapo asks you if you are hiding Jews. You answer that you are not (lieing). Many of us would say this decision/action is moral based on consequences.
But there is a fundamental, prior question. How do YOU determine/decide the values you will use in making moral decisions? There are more options than I have time or space to identify. Brief list: religious/revelation; rational (Kant's Categorical Imperative); utilitarian; hedonistic; legalistic etc etc.
Example and this is not a political question: when it comes to healthcare, do we make our decision on the basis of human need, religious principles, or monetary reality? I think all make compelling cases, but how do I decide what is the "moral" decision? and does one have to be right and all others wrong?
When I have chosen my moral frame of reference, there is the challenge of moral judgment, how do I make a moral decision about anything? That is a question for later.
I hope you will join the discussion. Peace.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
I have a choice.
I have a choice, everyday in everyway.
The world is full of hatred from person on person to party on party to nation on nation. The end of hatred is separation and a failure to recognize the potential good in the face of those I disagree with. Hatred leads to failing to accept the things we have in common and seeking the common good we yearn for. Hatred ends in demonizing others creating barriers to love and compassion. I have a choice to contribute to the chaos and confusion or to say and live a better way.
The world is full of anger and fear between races and religions and ideologies. Anger leads to name calling and stereotyping and "deafness" that prevents me from listening to those I disagree with and refusing to consider the possibility that they are well-meaning as well and desire many shared values that our anger has prevented us from clarifying. I have a choice to contribute to the chaos and confusion or to say and live a better way.
The world is full of violence and people whose first and only answer is the forceful, hostile imposition of their narrow, destructive perspective on all who offer alternatives. Many times this violence is perpetrated by so called religious people condoning their hostility in the name of their god. Sometimes they are honest enough to recognize their actions have no religious justification. I have a choice to contribute to the chaos and confusion or to say and live a better way.
Ignorance, hatred, anger, and violence end in the disintegration of social fabric, the common good, and a higher human purpose and goal. I have a choice to contribute to the chaos and confusion or to say and live a better way.
Martin Luther King Jr said the life worth living is the life lived in service to others. I think it was Mother Theresa who said we are not called to succeed, only to serve. No one said it would be easy!
The world is full of hatred from person on person to party on party to nation on nation. The end of hatred is separation and a failure to recognize the potential good in the face of those I disagree with. Hatred leads to failing to accept the things we have in common and seeking the common good we yearn for. Hatred ends in demonizing others creating barriers to love and compassion. I have a choice to contribute to the chaos and confusion or to say and live a better way.
The world is full of anger and fear between races and religions and ideologies. Anger leads to name calling and stereotyping and "deafness" that prevents me from listening to those I disagree with and refusing to consider the possibility that they are well-meaning as well and desire many shared values that our anger has prevented us from clarifying. I have a choice to contribute to the chaos and confusion or to say and live a better way.
The world is full of violence and people whose first and only answer is the forceful, hostile imposition of their narrow, destructive perspective on all who offer alternatives. Many times this violence is perpetrated by so called religious people condoning their hostility in the name of their god. Sometimes they are honest enough to recognize their actions have no religious justification. I have a choice to contribute to the chaos and confusion or to say and live a better way.
Ignorance, hatred, anger, and violence end in the disintegration of social fabric, the common good, and a higher human purpose and goal. I have a choice to contribute to the chaos and confusion or to say and live a better way.
Martin Luther King Jr said the life worth living is the life lived in service to others. I think it was Mother Theresa who said we are not called to succeed, only to serve. No one said it would be easy!
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Baseball: the apex of human evolution
Baseball is the greatest invention in the history of homosapiensapiens.It is the greatest metaphor for life yet contrived by the human mind. It embodies the myth of the eternal return. It challenges individual excellence and communnal cooperation while holding out the promise of victory and acceptance of defeat. It is as real as it gets!
Just think. We prepare (gestation) for the big game (life) under the watchful eye of the coach (mother and father). We enter the stadium as a team/community. We sit together on the bench waiting our turn to make our individual contribution for the good of the cause. We step to the plate (home base, safety, warmth of the womb, arms of loved ones) with one objective: round the bases and return home adding to the team score. Sometimes we get a pass (walk) and sometimes we fail (strike out). Sometimes we get a base hit and progress through the journey. Sometimes our trip is cut short. We get to first, advance to second, round third, and head home. There are no guarantees and there are plenty of obstacles standing in our way, such as a hostile world (good opposing pitcher, excellent fielders, poor preparation and execution on our part, you name it). But when it is all said and done, we celebrate or suffer together. Supporters and distractors can only sit and watch. We participants experience the joy or pain. Baseball asks for the best from each of us for the common good. Yes, there are winners and losers, but the game, the game goes on.
If you're interested, there is no better history than Ken Burns' documentary done for PBS. He just needs to take us into the extra innings now. A short and poetic book by Bartlett Giamatti (commissioner who banned Pete Rose and a past president of Yale) entitled A Great and Glorious Game. It is a MUST read. Allen Barra has a very intersting comparison of Mickey and Willie (I don't have to give last names for real fans) entitled Mickey and Willie. Ron Gidrey's Driving Mr. Berra is delightful, especially for Yankee fans.
Peace to all.
Just think. We prepare (gestation) for the big game (life) under the watchful eye of the coach (mother and father). We enter the stadium as a team/community. We sit together on the bench waiting our turn to make our individual contribution for the good of the cause. We step to the plate (home base, safety, warmth of the womb, arms of loved ones) with one objective: round the bases and return home adding to the team score. Sometimes we get a pass (walk) and sometimes we fail (strike out). Sometimes we get a base hit and progress through the journey. Sometimes our trip is cut short. We get to first, advance to second, round third, and head home. There are no guarantees and there are plenty of obstacles standing in our way, such as a hostile world (good opposing pitcher, excellent fielders, poor preparation and execution on our part, you name it). But when it is all said and done, we celebrate or suffer together. Supporters and distractors can only sit and watch. We participants experience the joy or pain. Baseball asks for the best from each of us for the common good. Yes, there are winners and losers, but the game, the game goes on.
If you're interested, there is no better history than Ken Burns' documentary done for PBS. He just needs to take us into the extra innings now. A short and poetic book by Bartlett Giamatti (commissioner who banned Pete Rose and a past president of Yale) entitled A Great and Glorious Game. It is a MUST read. Allen Barra has a very intersting comparison of Mickey and Willie (I don't have to give last names for real fans) entitled Mickey and Willie. Ron Gidrey's Driving Mr. Berra is delightful, especially for Yankee fans.
Peace to all.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Open Letter to Friends and Readers
Dear friends and readers,
You have been gracious and patient in letting me think out loud and share my ramblings with you. If I have offended anyone, I apologize. If you do not want to receive notices of postings, PLEASE tell me and I will remove your address from my address book. I have had two objectives from the beginning. (1) to force myself to think clearly and express myself in an understandable way, and (2) to generate thoughtful, respectful, challenging dialogue. I have not desired agreement with everything I have said. I like to be challenged to consider alternatives. None of us is infallible or has a corner on the market of truth. I prefer to get out of my comfortable shell, listen to what others think and why, and evaluate my assumptions. I began as a rabid fundamentalist and have long ago left that intellectual desert. I remain to the left on social issues BUT have become more fiscally conservative in the last ten years [ I do not think we can continue escalating expenses for Social Security or military spending for just two examples. ]
My two most memorable courses at Clemson were English 101 and Logic 101. Every Friday Dr. Hill required us to write an essay on a topic of her choosing. She taught and demanded clarity of thought, organization, and expression. She was wonderful! I don't remember the professor's name in Logic but I clearly remember the list and discussion of errors and pitfalls to logical thinking. I especially remember the professor saying that what so often happens when the strength of our argument is weak or non-existent, we resort to attacking our opponent personally rather than seek answers to his/her argument. I confess I have not always followed that advice but still think it is a worthy principle.
My promise to you, if you continue to tolerate me, is to be faithful to my objectives, to respect you and your opinions, and to "listen" as carefully as I hope to be listened to.
Thank you so very much! Peace, Hal
You have been gracious and patient in letting me think out loud and share my ramblings with you. If I have offended anyone, I apologize. If you do not want to receive notices of postings, PLEASE tell me and I will remove your address from my address book. I have had two objectives from the beginning. (1) to force myself to think clearly and express myself in an understandable way, and (2) to generate thoughtful, respectful, challenging dialogue. I have not desired agreement with everything I have said. I like to be challenged to consider alternatives. None of us is infallible or has a corner on the market of truth. I prefer to get out of my comfortable shell, listen to what others think and why, and evaluate my assumptions. I began as a rabid fundamentalist and have long ago left that intellectual desert. I remain to the left on social issues BUT have become more fiscally conservative in the last ten years [ I do not think we can continue escalating expenses for Social Security or military spending for just two examples. ]
My two most memorable courses at Clemson were English 101 and Logic 101. Every Friday Dr. Hill required us to write an essay on a topic of her choosing. She taught and demanded clarity of thought, organization, and expression. She was wonderful! I don't remember the professor's name in Logic but I clearly remember the list and discussion of errors and pitfalls to logical thinking. I especially remember the professor saying that what so often happens when the strength of our argument is weak or non-existent, we resort to attacking our opponent personally rather than seek answers to his/her argument. I confess I have not always followed that advice but still think it is a worthy principle.
My promise to you, if you continue to tolerate me, is to be faithful to my objectives, to respect you and your opinions, and to "listen" as carefully as I hope to be listened to.
Thank you so very much! Peace, Hal
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Fall: One of My Four Favorite Seasons
Fall is one of my favorite seasons of the year. There are three others, but they will come in due time. And that's the point. I love every season, and fortunately I am usually getting tired of one just when it's time for the next to burst on the scene with all its magnificent uniqueness.
Dappled floral carpet, speckled canopy, unduplicated palette, breathless beauty, crisp air, forgotten smells wafting up to fill the nostrils and transport me to tranquil ecstasy. Count the colors underfoot and get lost in matchless beauty. Verdant, azure, rouge, and amber. Orange, sienna, royal purple, and baby pink. Green merging with yellow, outlined in black and brown. While the squirrel scampers out of reach, jaws packed with winter's nourishment, to sit on the out stretched limb chattering her displeasure at my disrupting presence.
Sit by the babbling brook watching the slender minnows dart to and fro or hold their positions in the never-still water. The sun sparkles on the rushing surface as the gentle breeze shifts the leaves to yield a cinema of light and shadow. How did that moss manage to fasten itself to that slippery rock? Doesn't that leaf on the low hanging branch tirelessly sipping from crystal nectar ever quench its thirst?
If I'm still long enough the chipmunks accept my admiration and continue their tasks as if I belong in their world. Little feet scurrying noiselessly from gnarled stump to piles of gray, lichened twigs, one eye upward, ever cautious. Out of the corner of my eye a doe, twitching ears, flickering tail, with fawn in tow, stealthily tiptoes, nibbling as she goes.
Clouds, sun, wind, and muted silence enfold me in the bosom of Mother Earth. What lessons this world has to teach me !
Dappled floral carpet, speckled canopy, unduplicated palette, breathless beauty, crisp air, forgotten smells wafting up to fill the nostrils and transport me to tranquil ecstasy. Count the colors underfoot and get lost in matchless beauty. Verdant, azure, rouge, and amber. Orange, sienna, royal purple, and baby pink. Green merging with yellow, outlined in black and brown. While the squirrel scampers out of reach, jaws packed with winter's nourishment, to sit on the out stretched limb chattering her displeasure at my disrupting presence.
Sit by the babbling brook watching the slender minnows dart to and fro or hold their positions in the never-still water. The sun sparkles on the rushing surface as the gentle breeze shifts the leaves to yield a cinema of light and shadow. How did that moss manage to fasten itself to that slippery rock? Doesn't that leaf on the low hanging branch tirelessly sipping from crystal nectar ever quench its thirst?
If I'm still long enough the chipmunks accept my admiration and continue their tasks as if I belong in their world. Little feet scurrying noiselessly from gnarled stump to piles of gray, lichened twigs, one eye upward, ever cautious. Out of the corner of my eye a doe, twitching ears, flickering tail, with fawn in tow, stealthily tiptoes, nibbling as she goes.
Clouds, sun, wind, and muted silence enfold me in the bosom of Mother Earth. What lessons this world has to teach me !
Monday, October 7, 2013
God's love is like water
Ancient Daoism used water as a metaphor for finding harmony in the world, with nature, with one another, within one's self. I find it soothing and helpful.As the Tao Te Ching describes it, water finds its level and fills every nook and cranny. There is no place water can not find and silently and efficiently fill with its goodness. Left alone to patiently wait, muddy water comes to clarity, settles debris, and calms confusion. Water is soft and supple, yet supports heaviness and lifts and carries obstacles. A single drop of water, steady and consistent, over sufficient time will crack the densest rock.
For me, God, the indescribable that surrounds/upholds/leans toward goodness/yearns for wholeness/that which is/experienced as love, that God's love is like water. God's love waits indefinitely patiently; it never gives up. It is there before I ever come to consciousness. And the moment there is the slightest crack (hope? plea? need? surrender?) it flows into our lives without reservation or precondition. God's love will fill every dark corner of my hatred, prejudice, selfcenteredness, greed, delusion of ego and grandeur. God's love will lift me up and support me in acceptance of my already-goodness that was forgotten in the cachaphony of distractions around me. With patience, focused inwardness, the world's oneness become clear as the origin and goal of this love. God's love, our love breaks down walls of separation, dissolves hatred, finds meaning in service to others and compassion for the disadvantaged. In the presence of this love everyone, everyone is accepted as valid, of infinite worth, loving and deserving of love.
What if we saw God's face in the face of EVERY stranger? How would we respond?
For me, God, the indescribable that surrounds/upholds/leans toward goodness/yearns for wholeness/that which is/experienced as love, that God's love is like water. God's love waits indefinitely patiently; it never gives up. It is there before I ever come to consciousness. And the moment there is the slightest crack (hope? plea? need? surrender?) it flows into our lives without reservation or precondition. God's love will fill every dark corner of my hatred, prejudice, selfcenteredness, greed, delusion of ego and grandeur. God's love will lift me up and support me in acceptance of my already-goodness that was forgotten in the cachaphony of distractions around me. With patience, focused inwardness, the world's oneness become clear as the origin and goal of this love. God's love, our love breaks down walls of separation, dissolves hatred, finds meaning in service to others and compassion for the disadvantaged. In the presence of this love everyone, everyone is accepted as valid, of infinite worth, loving and deserving of love.
What if we saw God's face in the face of EVERY stranger? How would we respond?
Friday, October 4, 2013
Absence of critical thinking
This bumper sticker used to amuse me: "America's OTHER deficit--lack of critical thinking," but not any longer. Given the "look at Me" press conferences, shameless repetition of lies and misinformation, and repetition of senseless votes expecting a different result, I am convinced we have the largest gathering of morons in any one location in recent history. Ignorance and myopic morality are incarnated in Tea Party representatives and Republican leadership of both Houses. Most of us have heard most of the examples before, but they deserve repeating.
1) What do they NOT understand? the 2009 Congress passed the ACA, the President signed it, and the Supreme Court upheld it. IT IS LAW!
2) Sen. Ted Cruz, articulate and charismatic, is stupid and irrational---or he thinks we are. Instead of offering funding legislation void of the attempt to defund Obamacare, he suggests voting on budget items piece by piece. Think about it! The result will be the same. The government will get funded and Obamacare will remain in tact. Why not offer a total package without the stipulation concerning ACA and get on about the business of addressing the debt ceiling, solving the financial crisis long term, and SAVE the jobs being lost daily and costing OUR government over $200 million a day. Real lives are impacted, children are going hungry, national security is jeopardized, etc. despite what the mindless idiots on Fox News say. ex. Hannity said his income wasn't being hurt by the shut down. How insensitive can you be!
3) Siding with greedy business and dismantling the EPA, approving fracking for example, threatens our lives and health as well as that of our children and grandchildren. But they are willing to surrender the future for short term, personal hedonism.
4) They argue for less government in our lives and turn right around and want the government to tell us who we can marry and what women can do with their own bodies..
5) The one government controlled entity they mindlessly support and continue to give a blank check is the military industrial complex. This only demonstrates their lack of compassion for the disadvantaged and their commitment to violence. You don't keep having sexual intercourse to preserve virginity!
People get the government they tolerate. Silence is complicity. It's time to put a government in place that cares for all citizens and addresses human needs.
1) What do they NOT understand? the 2009 Congress passed the ACA, the President signed it, and the Supreme Court upheld it. IT IS LAW!
2) Sen. Ted Cruz, articulate and charismatic, is stupid and irrational---or he thinks we are. Instead of offering funding legislation void of the attempt to defund Obamacare, he suggests voting on budget items piece by piece. Think about it! The result will be the same. The government will get funded and Obamacare will remain in tact. Why not offer a total package without the stipulation concerning ACA and get on about the business of addressing the debt ceiling, solving the financial crisis long term, and SAVE the jobs being lost daily and costing OUR government over $200 million a day. Real lives are impacted, children are going hungry, national security is jeopardized, etc. despite what the mindless idiots on Fox News say. ex. Hannity said his income wasn't being hurt by the shut down. How insensitive can you be!
3) Siding with greedy business and dismantling the EPA, approving fracking for example, threatens our lives and health as well as that of our children and grandchildren. But they are willing to surrender the future for short term, personal hedonism.
4) They argue for less government in our lives and turn right around and want the government to tell us who we can marry and what women can do with their own bodies..
5) The one government controlled entity they mindlessly support and continue to give a blank check is the military industrial complex. This only demonstrates their lack of compassion for the disadvantaged and their commitment to violence. You don't keep having sexual intercourse to preserve virginity!
People get the government they tolerate. Silence is complicity. It's time to put a government in place that cares for all citizens and addresses human needs.
Friday, September 27, 2013
O'Reilly and Dugard found Jesus!
Bill O'Reilly and Michael Dugard have just published Killing Jesus, another in their series of history-making deaths.I am amused and glad.
While the promotional material does not provide any information about their scholastic qualifications for such an effort, they have certainly captured popular imagination. I am amused because O'Reilly is giddy over revealing "new" information about the circumstances leading to and the technique of Jesus' crucifixion. Real scholars have been studying and writing about this for over two hundred years. They have been talking about the lost tomb of Jesus' family first discovered in the 1980s. O'Reilly ignores the latter and insinuates he has new information and insight about Jesus' intentions and the "facts" around the death. His sources are a literal harmony of the canonical gospels and lip service to scant extra-canonical material. He dabbles with confirming Jesus' actual words like the Jesus Seminar has attempted to do with sound scholarship but subjectively chooses what to include and what to exclude. For example, he claims Jesus actually said "Father forgive them" while on the cross, but O'Reilly leaves them out of his reconstruction because NO ONE COULD HAVE HEARD HIM SAY THEM IN THE CHAOS OF THE SITUATION!
I am glad they published this book if it will create conversation around a very significant historical event and encourage people to study and search responsible scholarship. This has been my personal and professional passion for years. I offered my own interpretation in a religious historical fiction entitled Jesus: A Would Be King available on Amazon.
Fundamentalists will be outraged. Liberal scholars will cavalierly dismiss it. Responsible scholarship it isn't, but that never stopped the sale of books. Read it. Read mine. Let's talk!
While the promotional material does not provide any information about their scholastic qualifications for such an effort, they have certainly captured popular imagination. I am amused because O'Reilly is giddy over revealing "new" information about the circumstances leading to and the technique of Jesus' crucifixion. Real scholars have been studying and writing about this for over two hundred years. They have been talking about the lost tomb of Jesus' family first discovered in the 1980s. O'Reilly ignores the latter and insinuates he has new information and insight about Jesus' intentions and the "facts" around the death. His sources are a literal harmony of the canonical gospels and lip service to scant extra-canonical material. He dabbles with confirming Jesus' actual words like the Jesus Seminar has attempted to do with sound scholarship but subjectively chooses what to include and what to exclude. For example, he claims Jesus actually said "Father forgive them" while on the cross, but O'Reilly leaves them out of his reconstruction because NO ONE COULD HAVE HEARD HIM SAY THEM IN THE CHAOS OF THE SITUATION!
I am glad they published this book if it will create conversation around a very significant historical event and encourage people to study and search responsible scholarship. This has been my personal and professional passion for years. I offered my own interpretation in a religious historical fiction entitled Jesus: A Would Be King available on Amazon.
Fundamentalists will be outraged. Liberal scholars will cavalierly dismiss it. Responsible scholarship it isn't, but that never stopped the sale of books. Read it. Read mine. Let's talk!
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Reunion
I remember as a child (5 and 6 years old) going to family reunions in Salem, South Carolina. It was always on the grounds of the Salem Baptist Church. There were long, wooden tables that just about buckled with heavy loads of coconut cakes, fried chicken, potato salad, green beans, macaroni pie (that's cheese and macaroni for those of you who didn't grow up in the south), sliced tomatoes, homemade biscuits, etc etc Uncle John was the residing patriarch for many years. In recent years it has provided the opportunity to stroll through the cemetery, revisit ancestors, relive family history, and always pay homage at Great Grandfather Daniel's rock monument ( he built it one rock at a time down in the pasture when he went to pray; I always wondered what he was thinking about: state of the world? state of his soul? those months he spent as a prisoner after the Battle of the Wilderness?)
Most recently the reunion has moved to Devil's Fork State Park right outside Salem. Most have died, so it's Uncle Roy's children and offsprings. It is time to renew acquaintances, retell stories for the hundredth time, embellish and even lie a little, and still enjoy good food. Every year is a little sadder for us old timers now----one or two less relatives, new aches and pains, reality of knowing it will be the last time you see a certain loved one. This year my dearest cousin managed to screw her courage to the whipping post and show up. Her body is riddled with cancer; her spirit is strong and undaunted. We simply kissed and hugged. Words were unnecessary.
The highlight of the day was meeting a "new" relative. Only one cousin knew he existed, born 57 years ago and reappearing only last February. Mother and son met for the first time in July, he came to the reunion, and promised to return Christmas. Any fear or embarrassment was wiped away in the joy, love, and acceptance expressed by everyone.
REUNION WAS REAL AND PERSONAL!
Most recently the reunion has moved to Devil's Fork State Park right outside Salem. Most have died, so it's Uncle Roy's children and offsprings. It is time to renew acquaintances, retell stories for the hundredth time, embellish and even lie a little, and still enjoy good food. Every year is a little sadder for us old timers now----one or two less relatives, new aches and pains, reality of knowing it will be the last time you see a certain loved one. This year my dearest cousin managed to screw her courage to the whipping post and show up. Her body is riddled with cancer; her spirit is strong and undaunted. We simply kissed and hugged. Words were unnecessary.
The highlight of the day was meeting a "new" relative. Only one cousin knew he existed, born 57 years ago and reappearing only last February. Mother and son met for the first time in July, he came to the reunion, and promised to return Christmas. Any fear or embarrassment was wiped away in the joy, love, and acceptance expressed by everyone.
REUNION WAS REAL AND PERSONAL!
Friday, September 13, 2013
Enough to make a teacher cry
It was the first night of the new class--Business Ethics for Mars Hill University--and the preppy, young man was anxious to share his viewpoint with everyone.
"I don't want to be here. I don't want a college degree." All this despite the fact that his employer required it AND paid for him to be there!
"Why would you not want a college education?" I asked.
"Because I might learn something and have to change my opinion about what I think and what I believe. I do not want to change my opinions."
I admit I was momentarily speechless. Isn't that the purpose of education? to grow? to learn about a world of people, places, ideas that I did not know? If I knew everything I needed, then, yes, an education would be useless. But I am finite, limited in experience, fallible. As I tell my students, I am white, male, bald, southern, WASP. How can I possibly understand black, female, Indian, etc etc.
I go on to say that if we don't stand for something, we will fall for anything. So I invite and encourage students to suspend judgment, at least for a time, listen to the voices of strangers, check your sources before you swallow what anyone says hook, line, and sinker. Verify from multiple sources the "information" and "misinformation" that floods the news waves everyday. And just because it is in a book and claims to come from "God," doesn't mean it is so. Books are only humans opinions, and everybody has one.
I always remember that young man. He happened to be an avowed ultra-right wing Republican, proud fundamentalist Christian, and very chauvanistic. His ethics were Libertarian. He could just as well have been ultra-left wing liberal, atheist, bleeding heart. The mind sets are the same---closed, arrogant, egotistical superiority.
I'm a teacher and proud of my profession. I humbly wake up everyday excited about offering alternatives to untested viewpoints and know I have been intrusted with an awesome responsibility.
It is the thirst for knowledge and responsible use of it that makes us different from the rest of the animal kingdom.
"I don't want to be here. I don't want a college degree." All this despite the fact that his employer required it AND paid for him to be there!
"Why would you not want a college education?" I asked.
"Because I might learn something and have to change my opinion about what I think and what I believe. I do not want to change my opinions."
I admit I was momentarily speechless. Isn't that the purpose of education? to grow? to learn about a world of people, places, ideas that I did not know? If I knew everything I needed, then, yes, an education would be useless. But I am finite, limited in experience, fallible. As I tell my students, I am white, male, bald, southern, WASP. How can I possibly understand black, female, Indian, etc etc.
I go on to say that if we don't stand for something, we will fall for anything. So I invite and encourage students to suspend judgment, at least for a time, listen to the voices of strangers, check your sources before you swallow what anyone says hook, line, and sinker. Verify from multiple sources the "information" and "misinformation" that floods the news waves everyday. And just because it is in a book and claims to come from "God," doesn't mean it is so. Books are only humans opinions, and everybody has one.
I always remember that young man. He happened to be an avowed ultra-right wing Republican, proud fundamentalist Christian, and very chauvanistic. His ethics were Libertarian. He could just as well have been ultra-left wing liberal, atheist, bleeding heart. The mind sets are the same---closed, arrogant, egotistical superiority.
I'm a teacher and proud of my profession. I humbly wake up everyday excited about offering alternatives to untested viewpoints and know I have been intrusted with an awesome responsibility.
It is the thirst for knowledge and responsible use of it that makes us different from the rest of the animal kingdom.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Every little step
I often tell my students, when they complain about the length of a reading assignment, that they should tackle it in the same way that they would eat an elephant-----one bite at a time. I try to apply the same principle when it comes to the overwhelming challenges of life. At times issues, challenges, problems, and opportunities seem so huge, so complex, so daunting as to almost stop us in our tracks. Being someone who wants results yesterday, I have to remind myself of the necessity for patience, and with patience comes hope.
Daughter Shanon has completed her regime of chemotherapy. It began with 4 treatments scheduled at 3 week intervals. One step, one bite at a time, painful, trying, frustrating, that part of the journey to wholeness is completed. Now the next phase. This will be 6 weeks of radiation, 5 days a week. She and we will tick the days and weeks off one at a time. Each day will end with a sigh of relief, and each new day will begin with resolve and determination to endure and grow. The goal, the desire, the hope reminds us all never to take the gift of life casually. Every day is a gift shared, enjoyed, held close, and filled with gratitude.
You know the old addage: the past is over, the future is always in front of us, that leaves the present. It is all we have----what a blessing!
Daughter Shanon has completed her regime of chemotherapy. It began with 4 treatments scheduled at 3 week intervals. One step, one bite at a time, painful, trying, frustrating, that part of the journey to wholeness is completed. Now the next phase. This will be 6 weeks of radiation, 5 days a week. She and we will tick the days and weeks off one at a time. Each day will end with a sigh of relief, and each new day will begin with resolve and determination to endure and grow. The goal, the desire, the hope reminds us all never to take the gift of life casually. Every day is a gift shared, enjoyed, held close, and filled with gratitude.
You know the old addage: the past is over, the future is always in front of us, that leaves the present. It is all we have----what a blessing!
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Today I choose to be optomistic
Sometimes the world pours in and overwhelms. It would be so easy to despair, to throw your arms up in hopeless surrender. North Carolina legislators have got to be some of the dumbest, most malicious, self-absorbed idiots on the face of the planets----thank God for Texas! Voter ID, women's rights to their own bodies, anti-education, etc etc
But that's not the subject for today. It is fall, a crispness in the air, and time for school to start again. For the last seven years I have had the privilege of working with high school sophmores in a program called Early College that is a collaboration of AB Tech and Buncombe County Schools. I teach World Religions every fall. Can you imagine that!! World religion taught in public school! It is possible and legal. Of course, there are guidelines, e.g. I CANNOT prosylitize (sp) and I never would. These kids are bright, thirsty, and energetic. Their enthusiasm is contagious. It is an awesome responsibility to invite and encourage these young minds to enter, explore, consider, accept the beauty and integrity of other traditions. The rewards are not always immediate. There are some, but I swell with pride when next year or years down the road, a former student stops me to say, "Remember me? You taught me World Religions. It was a great course!"
Young, enthusiastic, eager, open----they are the future, full of hope. The future is in good hands!
But that's not the subject for today. It is fall, a crispness in the air, and time for school to start again. For the last seven years I have had the privilege of working with high school sophmores in a program called Early College that is a collaboration of AB Tech and Buncombe County Schools. I teach World Religions every fall. Can you imagine that!! World religion taught in public school! It is possible and legal. Of course, there are guidelines, e.g. I CANNOT prosylitize (sp) and I never would. These kids are bright, thirsty, and energetic. Their enthusiasm is contagious. It is an awesome responsibility to invite and encourage these young minds to enter, explore, consider, accept the beauty and integrity of other traditions. The rewards are not always immediate. There are some, but I swell with pride when next year or years down the road, a former student stops me to say, "Remember me? You taught me World Religions. It was a great course!"
Young, enthusiastic, eager, open----they are the future, full of hope. The future is in good hands!
Sunday, August 4, 2013
A small pond in the backyard
When we built our present house in Asheville in 1986/87, we left the backyard landscaping for awhile. It was natural and exuded the ambiance of country/forest dwelling. But after a year or two, we decided it was time to do some aesthetic improvements. So with a design in hand from a local landscape architect, we asked him to do the basics and I took on the rest with the exception of a small [4 feet high, 4 feet wide, 6 feet long and 3 tiered] waterfall. Over the years, despite a leak that I have not been able to locate requiring refilling once every two days when it gets really hot and the pond runs constantly, it has been a constant source of relaxation and reverie. Sitting in the cool of the evening listening to the gurgling water, the pain and challenge of the world dissipate. Over the years that pond has become a metaphor for life to me..
Like creation (Big Bang and childbirth) it had a beginning, and when I am dead and gone, it too will have an end.
The changes through the seasons are a marvel and humbling. Spring brings the cycle of new life, green, colorful, promising. It is now the home to at least two frogs (who knows how many next year?). Summer maturity is lush, exciting, energetic, evidencing a sense of indestructibility. Dogs, birds, frogs, and snakes consume life and sustinance from it. But inevitably faint curling and the slightest loss of color signal the coming of autumn. Dappled shade of summer evenings yield to dappled palette of fall's decline. Then, despite our deepest dreams and hopes, the hands of time conquer the cursing cosmos. But that cosmos guards a profound secret. Its surrender is temporary. Hope, life, and love present victory for those who will enter the miracle.
Like creation (Big Bang and childbirth) it had a beginning, and when I am dead and gone, it too will have an end.
The changes through the seasons are a marvel and humbling. Spring brings the cycle of new life, green, colorful, promising. It is now the home to at least two frogs (who knows how many next year?). Summer maturity is lush, exciting, energetic, evidencing a sense of indestructibility. Dogs, birds, frogs, and snakes consume life and sustinance from it. But inevitably faint curling and the slightest loss of color signal the coming of autumn. Dappled shade of summer evenings yield to dappled palette of fall's decline. Then, despite our deepest dreams and hopes, the hands of time conquer the cursing cosmos. But that cosmos guards a profound secret. Its surrender is temporary. Hope, life, and love present victory for those who will enter the miracle.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Where is the inspiration?
The state of American preaching is pathetic to say the best and benign to say the least. The last two Sundays are a case in point.
Last week a retired Presbyterian minister with a Ph.D. from U. of Edinburgh spoke at FBC Asheville. His subject was "faith" and the best example he could come up with was we get it from the example of others. His example was his wife sitting in a rocking chair and his two year old grandchild copying her actions. That's as deep as it got. Delivery was PAINFUL and mercilessly too long.
Today was Montreat Conference and a Presbyterian minister from NYC with a degree from Princeton. His subject was "Do prayers get answered?" Guess what his answer was!
Where are the Marneys, the Claypools, the Owens, the Kings? Where is thoughtful, intellectual, challenging oratory and content? Where is the prophetic message that calls us to social justice like a Micah or an Amos? The malignant state of religion in this country should not surprise anyone. The confusion of self-serving individualism and "Christian" capitalism and patriotism with "God's" will as articulated in the authentic words of Tanak and Jesus has reduced American religion to a sham and hollow idol.
The most authentic Word I have been confronted by is present in the indescribable bounty of green mountains and blue skies and melodious bird songs.
"All I have needed, Thou hast provided." In that awareness there is only one authentic prayer: "Thank you."
Last week a retired Presbyterian minister with a Ph.D. from U. of Edinburgh spoke at FBC Asheville. His subject was "faith" and the best example he could come up with was we get it from the example of others. His example was his wife sitting in a rocking chair and his two year old grandchild copying her actions. That's as deep as it got. Delivery was PAINFUL and mercilessly too long.
Today was Montreat Conference and a Presbyterian minister from NYC with a degree from Princeton. His subject was "Do prayers get answered?" Guess what his answer was!
Where are the Marneys, the Claypools, the Owens, the Kings? Where is thoughtful, intellectual, challenging oratory and content? Where is the prophetic message that calls us to social justice like a Micah or an Amos? The malignant state of religion in this country should not surprise anyone. The confusion of self-serving individualism and "Christian" capitalism and patriotism with "God's" will as articulated in the authentic words of Tanak and Jesus has reduced American religion to a sham and hollow idol.
The most authentic Word I have been confronted by is present in the indescribable bounty of green mountains and blue skies and melodious bird songs.
"All I have needed, Thou hast provided." In that awareness there is only one authentic prayer: "Thank you."
Saturday, July 20, 2013
#3 Ethics
When your whole worldview is built on the assumption of a metaphysical reality that denies the meaningfulness, importance, and significance of this world, it follows that you will deny and ignore the depth and reality of the present (time). Enslaved by this "lie," ethics become hollow and self-serving, regarded only as a means to a delusional, non-existent future. The goal and purpose become self preservation and ego serving.
Don't get me wrong. I believe that to do the right thing, for whatever reason, is necessary and beneficial for humankind. It is the motivation that concerns me and that I address today. I remember Richard Burton's portrayal of Becket and his agonizing soliloquy at the alter. To paraphrase---"Do I do the right thing for the wrong reason? What benefit is that to me?"
Judaism grasped early the meaning and purpose of ethics. The Law is a gift that enables us, guides us in the expression of joy and gratitude for the life we have been given. It, the Law, doing the right thing, does not earn us anything. Its purpose is NOT the attainment of some reward in a non-existent future. Ethics are our purpose for being, raison d'etre as we used to say in graduate school. Christianity, beginning with Paul, misunderstood. It and he misdirected us from the life-giving path of communal purpose to the path of life-taking individualism. "God" does not want show-boating, self-serving, egotistical proclamations. What does "God" want? Micah said it over 2600 years ago:
DO JUSTICE, LOVE KINDNESS, WALK HUMBLY. This is the "good."
Don't get me wrong. I believe that to do the right thing, for whatever reason, is necessary and beneficial for humankind. It is the motivation that concerns me and that I address today. I remember Richard Burton's portrayal of Becket and his agonizing soliloquy at the alter. To paraphrase---"Do I do the right thing for the wrong reason? What benefit is that to me?"
Judaism grasped early the meaning and purpose of ethics. The Law is a gift that enables us, guides us in the expression of joy and gratitude for the life we have been given. It, the Law, doing the right thing, does not earn us anything. Its purpose is NOT the attainment of some reward in a non-existent future. Ethics are our purpose for being, raison d'etre as we used to say in graduate school. Christianity, beginning with Paul, misunderstood. It and he misdirected us from the life-giving path of communal purpose to the path of life-taking individualism. "God" does not want show-boating, self-serving, egotistical proclamations. What does "God" want? Micah said it over 2600 years ago:
DO JUSTICE, LOVE KINDNESS, WALK HUMBLY. This is the "good."
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
#2 Time
On June 18 I introduced Reality, Time, and Ethics. It is time for the second installment. Remember I deplored and dismissed the Platonic, metaphysical foundation on which Christianity is built. In a nut shell this means Christianity is built on sand; its whole concept of reality is false and hollow. It dismisses reality (the physical cosmos) and dwells in an unrealistic perspective.
A second consequence of this perspective is a neutering of time. The western metanarrative of linear time is sound. The theory of time with a beginning and an end is supported by the science of physics and cosmology. To say that our cosmos and our time will have an end does not negate parallel universes or a conclusion to the physical cosmos as we know it and a second (3rd? 4th? infinite?) Big Bang [see string theory, The Elegant Universe, The Physics of the Impossible, et al]. That meaningful concept of linear time is Jewish. Judaism has, does, and I assume always will emphasize the ultimate importance and meaningfulness of the present. This is where we are living the gift we have been given in service to others and in gratitude and joy. When Christianity did not get the victory in the hellenized messiah it worshipped, it projected that victory forward into "the next life." Guess what Christianity, Jesus is not coming back.
But more to the point. By diminishing the ultimate purpose and singular opportunity of this time, Christianity has neutered time. Its position is, no matter we don't get what we want now, we will "later." While it might prefer a different history, Christianity takes consolation in otherworldly victory and salvation. Such an assumption encourages lack of engagement in the world, lack of responsibility for the world, moral indifference, really immoral inaction.
Length, breadth, depth, and time [not to ignore 7 (?) more dimensions] is reality, our reality. What a gift! Let's celebrate!
A second consequence of this perspective is a neutering of time. The western metanarrative of linear time is sound. The theory of time with a beginning and an end is supported by the science of physics and cosmology. To say that our cosmos and our time will have an end does not negate parallel universes or a conclusion to the physical cosmos as we know it and a second (3rd? 4th? infinite?) Big Bang [see string theory, The Elegant Universe, The Physics of the Impossible, et al]. That meaningful concept of linear time is Jewish. Judaism has, does, and I assume always will emphasize the ultimate importance and meaningfulness of the present. This is where we are living the gift we have been given in service to others and in gratitude and joy. When Christianity did not get the victory in the hellenized messiah it worshipped, it projected that victory forward into "the next life." Guess what Christianity, Jesus is not coming back.
But more to the point. By diminishing the ultimate purpose and singular opportunity of this time, Christianity has neutered time. Its position is, no matter we don't get what we want now, we will "later." While it might prefer a different history, Christianity takes consolation in otherworldly victory and salvation. Such an assumption encourages lack of engagement in the world, lack of responsibility for the world, moral indifference, really immoral inaction.
Length, breadth, depth, and time [not to ignore 7 (?) more dimensions] is reality, our reality. What a gift! Let's celebrate!
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Love and Hate
As some of you know our younger daughter Shanon was diagnosed with Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (breast cancer). She had her first chemo treatment Monday June 24. She and we are thankful that one is behind. She and we dread #2, 3, and 4. She is amazingly strong and determined. The good news is that everything is in her favor: youth, early detection, and otherwise good health.
We have a love/hate relationship with chemotherapy. It is "poison." We hate how it makes a recipient feel. We hate what it does to someone outwardly. We hate the "negative" side effects. We LOVE what the intended outcomes are. We LOVE expecting and hoping for wholeness. We LOVE the future of joy and shared life and anticipated experiences. We LOVE the closeness we share and the enhanced gratitude for this wondrous gift of life.
She inspires us!
In quiet moments I reflect on the power of this experience as a metaphor for life as a whole. How often painful, dreaded experiences ultimately bring joy and love and wholeness. Childbirth (I'm told :) ) is about as painful as it gets. But consider the inexpressible joy that eliminates the memory of that pain. Some of us lived through the sixties. They were painful. Change is frequently painful. While that change was frightening to some (whites?), it was wonderful and liberating for others. Change in laws regulating marriage is frightening to some but allows freedom and joy for others. Allowing people to marry whom they will does no harm to those who choose heterosexual marriage for themselves. When change is constructive and ends in wholeness and the increase of love, acceptance, and affirmation, while uncomfortable and painful temporarily, consider the potential.
No one is guaranteed tomorrow, but if our actions and decisions are guided by service to others and love for all, we can trust and HOPE in the future with confidence.
We have a love/hate relationship with chemotherapy. It is "poison." We hate how it makes a recipient feel. We hate what it does to someone outwardly. We hate the "negative" side effects. We LOVE what the intended outcomes are. We LOVE expecting and hoping for wholeness. We LOVE the future of joy and shared life and anticipated experiences. We LOVE the closeness we share and the enhanced gratitude for this wondrous gift of life.
She inspires us!
In quiet moments I reflect on the power of this experience as a metaphor for life as a whole. How often painful, dreaded experiences ultimately bring joy and love and wholeness. Childbirth (I'm told :) ) is about as painful as it gets. But consider the inexpressible joy that eliminates the memory of that pain. Some of us lived through the sixties. They were painful. Change is frequently painful. While that change was frightening to some (whites?), it was wonderful and liberating for others. Change in laws regulating marriage is frightening to some but allows freedom and joy for others. Allowing people to marry whom they will does no harm to those who choose heterosexual marriage for themselves. When change is constructive and ends in wholeness and the increase of love, acceptance, and affirmation, while uncomfortable and painful temporarily, consider the potential.
No one is guaranteed tomorrow, but if our actions and decisions are guided by service to others and love for all, we can trust and HOPE in the future with confidence.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Sympathy
Sympathy is the ability to share the feelings of another. It is enhanced by having experienced what the other has or is going through. Without the shared experience, the most I can do is empathize, intellectually identify or vicariously experience the feelings of the other. When unable to do one (sympathize), I am not excused from doing the other (empathize). These are decidedly human characteristics, willful, intentional, conscious. In empathy I open myself humbly to the experience of the humanity of the other; I accept the common bond that holds us together, and I yearn to learn and grow from their experience.
Unless I have experienced the suffering of the other, I must listen in silence without trite, empty words, hollow and uncomforting. This is applicable with those near and dear; it is relevant in every situation of discrimination, prejudice, and persecution. The deepest most meaningful expression of reality is love; it is an appropriate synonym for "God." It is our purpose for being.
Intentional evil is easy to identify, and if we stop there, the job is half done. Systemic evil, the unintentional and unrecognized evil that is the foundation of hierarchical and patriarchal political, economic, social, and religious institutions requires a lifetime of conscious eradication. Paula Dean and I have hard work to do. Homophobia, Islamaphobia, fundamentalism (of every stripe) challenge our world. Thank goodness for small steps like the abolition of DOMA.
Unless I have experienced the suffering of the other, I must listen in silence without trite, empty words, hollow and uncomforting. This is applicable with those near and dear; it is relevant in every situation of discrimination, prejudice, and persecution. The deepest most meaningful expression of reality is love; it is an appropriate synonym for "God." It is our purpose for being.
Intentional evil is easy to identify, and if we stop there, the job is half done. Systemic evil, the unintentional and unrecognized evil that is the foundation of hierarchical and patriarchal political, economic, social, and religious institutions requires a lifetime of conscious eradication. Paula Dean and I have hard work to do. Homophobia, Islamaphobia, fundamentalism (of every stripe) challenge our world. Thank goodness for small steps like the abolition of DOMA.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Never take life for granted.
Never take life for granted. I always knew that in my head. When I had prostate cancer in 1996, I realized that emotionally, and everyday since then I give thanks for the gift I have been given.
Now that our daughter Shanon has been diagnosed with breast cancer, the tentativeness of life is magnified and gratitude is multiplied.
The journey started the night she felt the lump. Today the next phase commences. She had a port implanted last Friday. Because of her small veins it was difficult. As I sit and write she is in Chapel Hill preparing for and enduring the first of four infusions. She will have four in all, three weeks apart if blood work goes well. That will be followed by six weeks of radiation. This time next year it should all be a bad dream. We are optimistic and hopeful.
Now life. We do not choose who, where, when we are born. Shouldn't that humble us? Why such anger and hostility in the world? Our differences should unite us and encourage compassion.
What could we have accomplished with all the energy and resources squandered on war and violence? Hope, our daughter's middle name, that leads to love and service to others is our only alternative for life.
As the rabbi said, a life of gratitude and joy is our "calling."
Now that our daughter Shanon has been diagnosed with breast cancer, the tentativeness of life is magnified and gratitude is multiplied.
The journey started the night she felt the lump. Today the next phase commences. She had a port implanted last Friday. Because of her small veins it was difficult. As I sit and write she is in Chapel Hill preparing for and enduring the first of four infusions. She will have four in all, three weeks apart if blood work goes well. That will be followed by six weeks of radiation. This time next year it should all be a bad dream. We are optimistic and hopeful.
Now life. We do not choose who, where, when we are born. Shouldn't that humble us? Why such anger and hostility in the world? Our differences should unite us and encourage compassion.
What could we have accomplished with all the energy and resources squandered on war and violence? Hope, our daughter's middle name, that leads to love and service to others is our only alternative for life.
As the rabbi said, a life of gratitude and joy is our "calling."
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Reality, time, and ethics
When Christianity "superseded" Judaism, beginning with Paul, reinforced by the New Testament, Epistle of Barnabus and Melito the Bishop of Sardis, and consummated by Constantine with the Council of Nicea, it effectively sealed a metaphysical worldview for western civilization, gutted a meaningful understanding of time, and castrated ethics to the level of eunuch, individualized behavior for personal accomplishment and reward.
Now if that has your attention, let me back up and try to be a little more explanatory and less belligerent. I admit that is harsh language in the first paragraph.
Today I will only deal with the first element of my accusation; the other two will follow in due time. And that first accusation is that Christianity is based on a Platonic metaphysics. The postulation of a metaphysical realm belittles and subordinates the physical world, physical reality to second class citizenship, inferiority, and ultimate meaninglessness. Here was Christianity's first step of separation from its Jewish roots. Judaism, beginning with Genesis 1:1, affirms the goodness, the reality, the closeness of this world "with God" and calls it GOOD! Day by day in some of the world's most beautiful poetry, metaphorical language, Judaism affirms and gives gratitude for this cosmos. Here is where human history is played out. Here is where humankind's relationship with 'God" takes place. This is not a dress rehearsal; this is not a make believe. THIS is life; this is meaning; this is our one chance to receive and give love, the fabric that binds us to the ground of all being and creates community. Any concept of an "other" world is hollow, a shadow, empty, vaporous, dead end.
Life is a gift. There is "no place" to go when we die. So dance, love, live, serve, give thanks!
Now if that has your attention, let me back up and try to be a little more explanatory and less belligerent. I admit that is harsh language in the first paragraph.
Today I will only deal with the first element of my accusation; the other two will follow in due time. And that first accusation is that Christianity is based on a Platonic metaphysics. The postulation of a metaphysical realm belittles and subordinates the physical world, physical reality to second class citizenship, inferiority, and ultimate meaninglessness. Here was Christianity's first step of separation from its Jewish roots. Judaism, beginning with Genesis 1:1, affirms the goodness, the reality, the closeness of this world "with God" and calls it GOOD! Day by day in some of the world's most beautiful poetry, metaphorical language, Judaism affirms and gives gratitude for this cosmos. Here is where human history is played out. Here is where humankind's relationship with 'God" takes place. This is not a dress rehearsal; this is not a make believe. THIS is life; this is meaning; this is our one chance to receive and give love, the fabric that binds us to the ground of all being and creates community. Any concept of an "other" world is hollow, a shadow, empty, vaporous, dead end.
Life is a gift. There is "no place" to go when we die. So dance, love, live, serve, give thanks!
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Life in the now
Someone once said, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." I am constantly reminded of the truth of that statement.
Six months ago the "plans" were to go to Ireland in August. It was to be a family vacation, planned by the girls and anticipated by all. Then the reality of breast cancer came into our lives. It was our younger daughter Shanon struck by this horrible disease. And from that moment forward it has been a day by day, procedure by procedure step. Everything is in her favor, given the fact that she has it, youth, otherwise good health and lifestyle, type, only double negative instead of triple (for those of you who know what that means), negative gene analysis. She will have four treatments three weeks apart of the TC cocktail. Yes, it will not be pleasant, but the prognosis is very good. She must get from here to there. She is brave, strong, optimistic---and ready to get it over with. She and I will be bald for a time, but bald is beautiful! Her husband is juggling many balls--work, school, but first priority his wife and her needs. Children 11 and 8 "know" and are loving and attentive. They all have a network of wonderful friends and take great comfort in their faith. Her mother and I, like all parents, wish we could take this burden from her. Life isn't fair; I am 72, she is 42. We all look forward to spending time together, crying, laughing, walking, eating, hugging and kissing.
Let's all hope that someone finds a cure to the scourge in 2013!!!
Six months ago the "plans" were to go to Ireland in August. It was to be a family vacation, planned by the girls and anticipated by all. Then the reality of breast cancer came into our lives. It was our younger daughter Shanon struck by this horrible disease. And from that moment forward it has been a day by day, procedure by procedure step. Everything is in her favor, given the fact that she has it, youth, otherwise good health and lifestyle, type, only double negative instead of triple (for those of you who know what that means), negative gene analysis. She will have four treatments three weeks apart of the TC cocktail. Yes, it will not be pleasant, but the prognosis is very good. She must get from here to there. She is brave, strong, optimistic---and ready to get it over with. She and I will be bald for a time, but bald is beautiful! Her husband is juggling many balls--work, school, but first priority his wife and her needs. Children 11 and 8 "know" and are loving and attentive. They all have a network of wonderful friends and take great comfort in their faith. Her mother and I, like all parents, wish we could take this burden from her. Life isn't fair; I am 72, she is 42. We all look forward to spending time together, crying, laughing, walking, eating, hugging and kissing.
Let's all hope that someone finds a cure to the scourge in 2013!!!
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Jesus the Jew and Christianity
Almost immediately after the life and itinerant preaching of Jesus of Nazareth, his message was lost and perverted. What we call Christianity was from day one anti-semitic and supersessionist. Two thousand years of documented hatred and persecution of Jews can and must be laid at the feet of Christians.
And if you know how and are willing to be honest with the text and yourself, you will see that this hatred and claim to surpass its background in Judaism is in the New Testament. It is there in the earliest document, I Thessalonians, when Paul already redefines the messiah (Jewish) as the Christ (Greek) and talks about his coming back. The thought NEVER crossed Jesus' mind. It is there in Galatians when Paul demonstrates his misunderstanding of the Law and redefines Israel and children of Abraham by faith (his exegesis of Genesis 15 and 17) rather than circumcision and history. Because he can not possibly say that God breaks His promise made to Israel, Paul has to give some interesting mental and theological gymnastics in Romans where he lays out the terms of engagement between the weak and the strong and where he says Israel must be brought (saved) into the fold before the End. To his last letter (Romans) Paul continues to impose his redefinition of the Christ and parousia.
In Constantine's Sword, James Carroll has masterfully documented the sad and horrific history of Christianity's abuse of Judaism. From Paul and the New (think of the implications of that word!) Testament, to Constantine and the sign of the cross and his mother's "finding" the True Cross and the seamless robe, to Augustine's argument that Jews must be "protected" until the End, to Ambrose's argument to kill Jews, to the Blood Libel originating in England, to Acquinas' rational argument for the persecution of Jews, to Luther's The Jews and Their Lies and his argument to kill Jews who will not convert, to Hitler's identification of himself as the messiah, to the Holocaust, to John Paul II and Benedict XVI and their emphatic supersessionism and "one way" to salvation.
The message of Jesus of Nazareth is a challenge to the world today. Unfortunately Christianity has almost drowned it out.
And if you know how and are willing to be honest with the text and yourself, you will see that this hatred and claim to surpass its background in Judaism is in the New Testament. It is there in the earliest document, I Thessalonians, when Paul already redefines the messiah (Jewish) as the Christ (Greek) and talks about his coming back. The thought NEVER crossed Jesus' mind. It is there in Galatians when Paul demonstrates his misunderstanding of the Law and redefines Israel and children of Abraham by faith (his exegesis of Genesis 15 and 17) rather than circumcision and history. Because he can not possibly say that God breaks His promise made to Israel, Paul has to give some interesting mental and theological gymnastics in Romans where he lays out the terms of engagement between the weak and the strong and where he says Israel must be brought (saved) into the fold before the End. To his last letter (Romans) Paul continues to impose his redefinition of the Christ and parousia.
In Constantine's Sword, James Carroll has masterfully documented the sad and horrific history of Christianity's abuse of Judaism. From Paul and the New (think of the implications of that word!) Testament, to Constantine and the sign of the cross and his mother's "finding" the True Cross and the seamless robe, to Augustine's argument that Jews must be "protected" until the End, to Ambrose's argument to kill Jews, to the Blood Libel originating in England, to Acquinas' rational argument for the persecution of Jews, to Luther's The Jews and Their Lies and his argument to kill Jews who will not convert, to Hitler's identification of himself as the messiah, to the Holocaust, to John Paul II and Benedict XVI and their emphatic supersessionism and "one way" to salvation.
The message of Jesus of Nazareth is a challenge to the world today. Unfortunately Christianity has almost drowned it out.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Can we be honest, objective, and even-handed?
Can we be honest, objective, and
even-handed?
Yes, the attack on Benghazi and the loss
of four American lives was a tragedy, horrific and deplorable. Could it have been
prevented? Maybe. Was it an act of “terror”? We know now it was. Should our
government be open and transparent with us? Definitely.
But, do you remember Kenya and Tanzania
in 1998 when 80 people were killed? Do you remember the attack on the Marine
barracks in Lebanon in 1983 when 241 American lives were lost? Democrat or
Republican administrations don’t matter.
Lessons learned? If we ask people to defend us and
serve in foreign countries, Congress should appropriate money requested for
safe facilities and better intelligence cooperation AND foreign aid to address
the symptoms that lead to this violence.
Yes, the unlawful taking of information
and sources from Associated Press reporters and editors should be condemned,
exposed, and prosecuted. It was an attack on our First Amendment. A free press
is essential for a democracy, for an informed public.
But, do you remember George W. Bush’s
imprisonment of reporters who refused to reveal their sources? Do you remember
that administration’s exposure of a CIA agent, endangering her life and that of
other agents?
Lessons learned? We must always, always diligently
protect our freedom of the press. It stands between us and a dictatorship. Just
look at the absence of this freedom around the world.
Yes, the use of the IRS for political
purposes is wrong if not illegal. This agency must be fair and impartial. Rules
must apply equally to all persons and organizations.
But, do you remember Richard Nixon’s use
of the IRS to target and punish liberal organizations? Or FDR”s use of the IRS
to punish his political opponents?
Lessons learned? This agency must be fair and
transparent if citizens are to trust their government. Maybe all political and
charitable donors should be identified. Our government certainly should not be
for sale to the highest bidders.
One thing overlooked in this shouting match is that the
IRS was doing their job. I do not think political contributions should be tax
deductible. An organization must prove they qualify for 501©3 status or if they
are really 501©4. Maybe churches should pay property taxes, but that’s another
issue.
Here is a
question for the right and left. Where is our moral outrage when over 30,000
people die in this country every year from gun shots? Their blood is on our
hands for not requiring criminal background checks, mental health checks,
confiscating and destroying illegal guns from criminals, etc. Where is our
moral outrage over local, state, and federal destruction of our education
system with their immoral financial policies? The list goes on. Healthcare,
family support, care for the disabled, care for veterans.
Can we be honest, objective, and
even-handed?
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Waiting again
One wait is over and another begins. Shanon's genetic test came back negative; she does NOT have the breast cancer gene. This is good news for her and her sister. Additional surgery to clear margins and waiting for another pathology report. We have a strong daughter who of course is concerned. We are blessed to have her. She is blessed to have a wonderful husband and fantastic children. It is a trial that with love and care she and family will get through and will celebrate with one huge party when it is all behind.
So we wait. Waiting provides the opportunity to fill the space between with reminders of the love that enfolds us, memories of joy and peace, gratitude for one another, boundless hope that gives strength to take one step at a time.
Tell those nearest and dearest how much you love them everyday. Why else are we here?
So we wait. Waiting provides the opportunity to fill the space between with reminders of the love that enfolds us, memories of joy and peace, gratitude for one another, boundless hope that gives strength to take one step at a time.
Tell those nearest and dearest how much you love them everyday. Why else are we here?
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Jesus was a Jew, seriously!
Jesus was a Jew.
Let me say that again.
Jesus was a Jew.
Jesus was a failed messiah, one among many.
Jesus is not coming back.
Now can we have a serious conversation about Jesus, Christianity, Judaism and the relationship among the three?
From the beginning, from the very beginning Christianity has been anti-Judaism and anti-semitic. At times over the last 2000 years that anti-semitism has been open, blatant, and violent. Today I would venture to say that 99% of Christians are anti-semitic and do not know it. For those among them with loving hearts, I would say their anti-semitism is unintentional; it simply proceeds out of ignorance.
The earliest Christian writing we have [only a copy, no original documents], I Thessalonians, is from Paul from ca. 49 CE. In that document he says [I Th 1:10] that Jesus rescues us from the wrath to come: Point 1. He also says [I Th 2: 14-15] that the Jews killed Jesus: Point 2. He also implies in verse 16 that the Jews have been replaced [he says God's wrath has overtaken them]: Point 3.
Point 1: Paul stole Jesus, a Jewish messiah, and turned him into a hellenistic divine deliverer, on the road to making Jesus a divine figure,i.e. God. For Paul Jesus died for human sin. There was NOT the first Jewish followers of Jesus understanding. Jesus was a Jewish messiah who ultimately failed in that role.
Point 2: In this earliest document Paul says the Jews killed Jesus, completely exonerating the Romans. This lie will continue to be reinforced throughout his letters, the Gospels, and the rest of the New Testament.
Point 3: Supersessionism! Paul begins the long, sad history of Christians claiming Jews, Judaism, and Jewish scripture have been replaced, surpassed, superceded by Chriatianity. The Epistle to the Hebrews will claim everything about Judaism--scripture, prophets, Law--has been superceded. The Epistle of Barnabas from the early second century will claim the "Old Testament" is really a Christian document. Melito of Sardis, a Christian Bishop, will claim the Jews killed God, the charge of deicide that has plagued Judaism ever since.
Does this mean we throw Jesus on the trash heap of history? No! But this is a call to understand him in context and seek meaning and purpose in his teachings and in the God-likeness----I did not say he was God-----he embodied.
Let me say that again.
Jesus was a Jew.
Jesus was a failed messiah, one among many.
Jesus is not coming back.
Now can we have a serious conversation about Jesus, Christianity, Judaism and the relationship among the three?
From the beginning, from the very beginning Christianity has been anti-Judaism and anti-semitic. At times over the last 2000 years that anti-semitism has been open, blatant, and violent. Today I would venture to say that 99% of Christians are anti-semitic and do not know it. For those among them with loving hearts, I would say their anti-semitism is unintentional; it simply proceeds out of ignorance.
The earliest Christian writing we have [only a copy, no original documents], I Thessalonians, is from Paul from ca. 49 CE. In that document he says [I Th 1:10] that Jesus rescues us from the wrath to come: Point 1. He also says [I Th 2: 14-15] that the Jews killed Jesus: Point 2. He also implies in verse 16 that the Jews have been replaced [he says God's wrath has overtaken them]: Point 3.
Point 1: Paul stole Jesus, a Jewish messiah, and turned him into a hellenistic divine deliverer, on the road to making Jesus a divine figure,i.e. God. For Paul Jesus died for human sin. There was NOT the first Jewish followers of Jesus understanding. Jesus was a Jewish messiah who ultimately failed in that role.
Point 2: In this earliest document Paul says the Jews killed Jesus, completely exonerating the Romans. This lie will continue to be reinforced throughout his letters, the Gospels, and the rest of the New Testament.
Point 3: Supersessionism! Paul begins the long, sad history of Christians claiming Jews, Judaism, and Jewish scripture have been replaced, surpassed, superceded by Chriatianity. The Epistle to the Hebrews will claim everything about Judaism--scripture, prophets, Law--has been superceded. The Epistle of Barnabas from the early second century will claim the "Old Testament" is really a Christian document. Melito of Sardis, a Christian Bishop, will claim the Jews killed God, the charge of deicide that has plagued Judaism ever since.
Does this mean we throw Jesus on the trash heap of history? No! But this is a call to understand him in context and seek meaning and purpose in his teachings and in the God-likeness----I did not say he was God-----he embodied.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Waiting
I have been thinking a lot about waiting recently. Have you ever stopped to think (a form of waiting itself) about how much time we spend waiting?
I wake early and wait for the alarm to tell me its time to get up.
I wait for the cable to connect and morning news to begin.
I wait for the coffee to finish brewing, the eggs to fry, and the toast to get brown.
I wait for the treadmill clock to finally climb to the programed time to complete my exercises.
I wait.
We waited for the biopsy report to come back----and it was not what we hoped for.
We waited for the surgery to be over so we could see our daughter again and tell her again and again how much we love her.
We wait for the pathology report on three lymph nodes to come back to learn if clear, if extensively spread, and what treatment plan will be required.
We wait until we see loved ones the next time.
We wait.
Tinch Nhat Han (forgive my spelling) counsels us to be in the present. The past is done, unchangeable. The future never arrives. We are here and now, and it is our responsibility to fill it with meaning and purpose.
Waiting is to time what dark matter is to space. It is the majority of what is. It is what holds time together. Without it we would "spin off" into nothingness.
In waiting we are renewed, strengthened, prepared to face the next now. We are blessed when surrounded by those we love with whom to share the journey.
We wait and hope with our Shanon Hope.
I wake early and wait for the alarm to tell me its time to get up.
I wait for the cable to connect and morning news to begin.
I wait for the coffee to finish brewing, the eggs to fry, and the toast to get brown.
I wait for the treadmill clock to finally climb to the programed time to complete my exercises.
I wait.
We waited for the biopsy report to come back----and it was not what we hoped for.
We waited for the surgery to be over so we could see our daughter again and tell her again and again how much we love her.
We wait for the pathology report on three lymph nodes to come back to learn if clear, if extensively spread, and what treatment plan will be required.
We wait until we see loved ones the next time.
We wait.
Tinch Nhat Han (forgive my spelling) counsels us to be in the present. The past is done, unchangeable. The future never arrives. We are here and now, and it is our responsibility to fill it with meaning and purpose.
Waiting is to time what dark matter is to space. It is the majority of what is. It is what holds time together. Without it we would "spin off" into nothingness.
In waiting we are renewed, strengthened, prepared to face the next now. We are blessed when surrounded by those we love with whom to share the journey.
We wait and hope with our Shanon Hope.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Waiting rooms and Daughter
Waiting rooms are the great leveler. We all stand naked, equal in our need, equal in our hope. It makes no consequence--rich or poor, black or white, Jew/ChristianMuslim/whatever--all vulnerable, all anxious.
Two women, young and old, wearing their hijabs and consoling each other about her husband and her father,
Two African-American families, parents helpless as they entrust their children to science and caring, capable doctors.
An elderly woman, alone and worried about her husband of who knows how many years, needing assurance and consolation.
Husband, mother, father stunned in disbelief that this could be happening to someone so young and so full of life.
In the halls every nationality imaginable with the same pained look on their face and hoping beyond hope for that "miracle" that says "s/he is doing well and is going to be fine."
I did not ask a one of them for their citizenship, nationality, or religion. Those things are so irrelevent
and external. The bond we shared is infinitely greater and more meaningful. We have all been down the same road: denial, anger, bargaining, acceptance, surrender.
Now we wait in silent community, loving anonymously, supporting quietly, wishing abundantly.
Shanon is 42. She is my Doodlebug. Only yesterday she learned to ride a bike and drive a car and went on her first date and graduated from collage and got married and brought Isabel and Sam into this wonderful and precarious world. She is so full of life. The doctors are so positive. We are so hopeful (her middle name is Hope!). We are so thankful for her and all that is to come together.
Her mother, sister, and I love and cherish this gift known as Shanon.
Two women, young and old, wearing their hijabs and consoling each other about her husband and her father,
Two African-American families, parents helpless as they entrust their children to science and caring, capable doctors.
An elderly woman, alone and worried about her husband of who knows how many years, needing assurance and consolation.
Husband, mother, father stunned in disbelief that this could be happening to someone so young and so full of life.
In the halls every nationality imaginable with the same pained look on their face and hoping beyond hope for that "miracle" that says "s/he is doing well and is going to be fine."
I did not ask a one of them for their citizenship, nationality, or religion. Those things are so irrelevent
and external. The bond we shared is infinitely greater and more meaningful. We have all been down the same road: denial, anger, bargaining, acceptance, surrender.
Now we wait in silent community, loving anonymously, supporting quietly, wishing abundantly.
Shanon is 42. She is my Doodlebug. Only yesterday she learned to ride a bike and drive a car and went on her first date and graduated from collage and got married and brought Isabel and Sam into this wonderful and precarious world. She is so full of life. The doctors are so positive. We are so hopeful (her middle name is Hope!). We are so thankful for her and all that is to come together.
Her mother, sister, and I love and cherish this gift known as Shanon.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Knowledge, understanding, and wisdom
We have
accumulated a vast amount of knowledge in our human experience. Knowledge
enables day to day living and the development of those things that enhance and
improve the quality of living. We build machines to make life easier and
improve medical data to fight disease and improve the quality of our lives.
Knowledge is wonderful, but it is not enough.
What we do
with our knowledge, our data, our information is critical and essential to
consider in the equation of living. When Einstein “understood” the meaning of
his knowledge for the development of atomic energy and military use, he became
increasingly wary and critical. Knowledge without understanding does not
guarantee responsible use. Because we can (knowledge) does not mean we should
(understanding).
However,
knowledge and understanding are still not enough. Without wisdom, the
discernment of good judgment and insight guided by constructive, life affirming
values of love and compassion, the potential consequences of knowledge and
understanding are destruction and chaos. I only repeat what others have
observed: we are the first generation with the capacity to terminate ourselves
and life as we know it on this planet. We stand at the crossroads.
One choice
is hatred, violence, racism, ethnocentrism, self-absorption, division,
isolation, arrogance, intolerance. Its incarnation are legion and vocal. The
other is love, compassion, tolerance, humility, rejection of violence
personally and as a society, inclusiveness, and recognition of the integrity
and worth of all humankind. These values are at the heart of ALL wisdom
traditions. Their reality requires transformation of us individually and as a
society.
We
desperately need emotional and moral maturity to accompany our intellectual
abilities.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Religionless Religion
For the sake of argument I will go out on a limb (good ole southern expression) and say: Religion as we know it so far in human history is responsible for the divisions, hatred, violence, and anti-intllectualism sweeping the world today.
Charles Kimball has clearly identified the signs of evil religion:
1. absolute truth claims
2. blind obedience
3. establishment of an ideal time
4. the end justifies the means
5. "holy war"
This is true of Jewish ultra-orthodox violence against Palestinians, Christian fundamentalist violence against abortion clinics or focus on Jerusalem as the location for the final battle, or Islamist Jihadist reign of terror on their own or the western world.
Marcus Borg identified the results of religion:
1. political oppression
2. economic exploitation
3. chronic violence
4. all sanctioned in the name of religion
James Carroll has clearly identified the signs of good religion:
1. celebrates life, not death
2. recognizes God's Oneness as Unity among all creatures, Unity known as love
3. is concerned with revelation, not salvation
4. knows nothing of coercion
5. will have a secular character, i.e. rejects religion that is incapable of self-criticism
John Spong was on the right track when he wrote Why Christianity Must Change or Die.
Deitrich Bonhoeffer was on the right track when he talked about "religionless religion."
Today's religions are like new sepulchers, clean and white on the outside and full of rotten decay inside.
Change or die------the quicker the better!
Charles Kimball has clearly identified the signs of evil religion:
1. absolute truth claims
2. blind obedience
3. establishment of an ideal time
4. the end justifies the means
5. "holy war"
This is true of Jewish ultra-orthodox violence against Palestinians, Christian fundamentalist violence against abortion clinics or focus on Jerusalem as the location for the final battle, or Islamist Jihadist reign of terror on their own or the western world.
Marcus Borg identified the results of religion:
1. political oppression
2. economic exploitation
3. chronic violence
4. all sanctioned in the name of religion
James Carroll has clearly identified the signs of good religion:
1. celebrates life, not death
2. recognizes God's Oneness as Unity among all creatures, Unity known as love
3. is concerned with revelation, not salvation
4. knows nothing of coercion
5. will have a secular character, i.e. rejects religion that is incapable of self-criticism
John Spong was on the right track when he wrote Why Christianity Must Change or Die.
Deitrich Bonhoeffer was on the right track when he talked about "religionless religion."
Today's religions are like new sepulchers, clean and white on the outside and full of rotten decay inside.
Change or die------the quicker the better!
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Blog instructions and Let's Build Bridges
Instructions: if you will look at the top left of the blog you will see an icon--red square with G in it and +1. Click that and you can write a comment for all to see. Let's start a conversation.
Let’s build bridges.
The recent news has been sad and overwhelming. It would be so easy to respond to all the violence with more and greater violence. Thankfully there are quieter, calmer voices if we will but listen. Let’s be open to our better nature and seek the greater good for the sake of our nation and world.
I am NOT condoning the violence of the Boston bombing. I am NOT rationalizing that distorted view and behavior. I am NOT excusing the anger and devastation perpetrated on us.
I am asking and pleading that we seek causes for this violence in our world and not simply treat its symptoms. We must protect ourselves in times of threats; we must be vigilant. But we MUST be compassionate. We MUST be loving. We MUST be understanding. We must not paint everyone with the same brush. Like a fever is a symptom of a disease, let’s not treat the symptom of violence with violence and ignore the root causes of the hatred from which it comes.
Let’s build bridges. Let’s strive to eradicate ignorance and misconceptions. Let’s reach out with acts of kindness and compassion. Make a friend; greet a stranger. Find common ground; listen to the voice of the stranger. Fundamentally we humans share more in common than the differences we express.
It takes far greater courage to offer an open hand than to pull a trigger. Let’s build bridges!
Let’s build bridges.
The recent news has been sad and overwhelming. It would be so easy to respond to all the violence with more and greater violence. Thankfully there are quieter, calmer voices if we will but listen. Let’s be open to our better nature and seek the greater good for the sake of our nation and world.
I am NOT condoning the violence of the Boston bombing. I am NOT rationalizing that distorted view and behavior. I am NOT excusing the anger and devastation perpetrated on us.
I am asking and pleading that we seek causes for this violence in our world and not simply treat its symptoms. We must protect ourselves in times of threats; we must be vigilant. But we MUST be compassionate. We MUST be loving. We MUST be understanding. We must not paint everyone with the same brush. Like a fever is a symptom of a disease, let’s not treat the symptom of violence with violence and ignore the root causes of the hatred from which it comes.
Let’s build bridges. Let’s strive to eradicate ignorance and misconceptions. Let’s reach out with acts of kindness and compassion. Make a friend; greet a stranger. Find common ground; listen to the voice of the stranger. Fundamentally we humans share more in common than the differences we express.
It takes far greater courage to offer an open hand than to pull a trigger. Let’s build bridges!
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