Ever since radical Islamic fundamentalists destroyed the
World Trade Center towers in 2001, the West - especially America -
has been characterized as "impure" and "immoral" and "infidels" by
terrorist individuals who claim that particular World View...
Indeed, cultural "corruption" in many countries around the world has,
for years, been blamed on Western influences in music, clothing, movies,
dating customs, and other Norms formerly dominated by strict
religious oversight. The extent to which this is true has helped engender
a deep sense of disgust and hatred for (especially) America in the hearts
and minds of those who now judge their societies to be
"steeped in wickedness"...
What about American Christians? There are, in fact, several notable
places in Scripture where believers are commanded to be "holy", and to
keep themselves "unspotted from the World"... There are enough such
passages to convince many Christians that so-called "personal holiness"
is the over-arching theme of the Faith and the primary structure upon
which all else about the Faith is built.
This emphasis on Holiness very easily amounts to a growing list of
what things a Christian "ought" or "ought not" do or say or think, as if
the rejection of some outward activities and the embracing of others
necessarily yields increasing degrees of purity of the soul... This in turn
most often leads to pharisaical segmentation into "Us vs. Them" groups,
with those inside the group condemning the bit of sawdust in other
people's eyes while ignoring the log beams in their own...
"The heart of Man is desperately wicked", the Scriptures tell us; surely
this is equally applicable to both the "saved and separated" Christian
AND to the radical Islamic jihadist who chants "allah akbar"("god is great")
as he kills another American soldier?? Both think they're on "God's side"
and that God approves of their "Us vs. Them" view of the other party...
In contrast to the angry, judgemental, condemning spirit which so often
accompanies a focus on strict religious dogma and on "personal
holiness", the Scriptures -- indeed, the words of Jesus Himself -- make it
abundantly clear that ALL the "Law" hinges on the priority of LOVE,
and that if there is any over-arching "theme" of the Christian faith, it is that
we are to BE LOVING God AND (if our Love for God is genuine) to
BE LOVING those around us.
If we wonder at all, then, what Godly LOVE is all about, 1 Corinthians 13
gives us a detailed description; in that letter, the apostle Paul wrote that
of ALL the things a Christian could focus on, LOVE was the greatest; and
in one of the epistles of John we're told that we are Liars if we say we
love God yet harbor anything less than LOVE in our hearts for those
around us. The fact that we have access to God at all, through Christ, is
(according to John's gospel) because He first loved us; we've been given
Salvation not primarily because God hates sin but because
He LOVES us...
Does God desire purity ("holiness") in believers? Certainly, but it's critical
to ensure that our priorites match the priorities of the broader message
of the Scriptures; and in many of the portions of Scripture which refer to
"holiness", a more careful translation discusses WHOLE-liness, Maturity,
Completeness... "Be Being Made complete..."
Jesus warned the "holy" of His day that they were "whited sepulchres"
(Mat 23:27), "pure" on the outside but "full of uncleanness" on the inside...
There is a danger here for both the Islamic extremist and the
judgemental Christian: To magnify as a major focus what is intended
by God to be an emergent result of LOVE is, to our shame, putting the
cart before the horse...
As we honestly look in our hearts, if we see anything there that would say,
"I may be a Sinner but not as big a Sinner as THEM", then we have the
true Gospel turned inside out...
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Sunday, August 13, 2006
It's OKAY to Cry
There are two emotional experiences (among others) that
we humans sometimes have, which differentiate us not only
from the animals but also from machines (which today's
computer scientists are trying to make more "life-like"):
Weeping and Laughter.
When was the last time you wept? What was it about?
There is a big difference between being an Emotional person --
someone whose automatic, knee-jerk reaction to most of the
circumstances in their life is primarily an emotional one --
and being someone who regularly and deeply experiences
contextually-appropriate Emotions related to the things they
are thinking about or going through...
As these thoughts are applied to the Gospel, and to World Views
in general, I'll ask a more specific question: When was the last
time your World View moved you so deeply and profoundly
that you found yourself weeping over it? You might respond
that you're not "an emotional person", but, given the distinction
made above, does this then mean that you don't experience
Emotions at all? Or does it mean that your World View doesn't
stir you to any profound level? Perhaps it means that you've
just not thought out your World View to the extent that it
reaches you, emotionally??
From time to time, I have the experience where I'm relaxing
somewhere (often late in the evening, after hockey, as I'm
kicked back with a cold one or two, outside enjoying the
evening air), I'll be listening to some worshipful Christian tunes
on my iPod, and then a sermon from someone who speaks from
a Grace-saturated perspective... The music relaxes my mind
and softens my heart, and then the sermon touches on my
World View, and then one more Christian song to finish it...
I am not at all ashamed to admit that sometimes, after the sermon
and when the first few bars of the last song begin to play,
I do weep, and here's why:
One of the strongest reasons I hold the Christian World View
has to do with its Beauty: It is comprehensive, complete, reasonable,
and also extraordinarily beautiful, and it satisfies both the
Intellectual as well as Emotional sides of my being... Remember
the scene from the movie "Contact", when Jodie Foster's
character sees the beautiful Worlds in deep Space as she flies
toward them in the capsule her team built? She absolutely weeps
over how beautiful they are, saying, "they should've sent a Poet"
(as opposed to a Scientist - herself - on this mission...)...
The Gospel is like that: Once you actually SEE it, in all its Beauty
and Grandeur and Grace, how can anyone who understands it
and has any Emotions at all not be moved to tears by it?
Of course, the challenge is to then let the Gospel infuse every
aspect of my life and accelerate the process of Change in me,
for the glorification of God Himself, the very point of becoming
a Christian in the first place... I'm no good at that part, at all, but
I'm workin' on it...
we humans sometimes have, which differentiate us not only
from the animals but also from machines (which today's
computer scientists are trying to make more "life-like"):
Weeping and Laughter.
When was the last time you wept? What was it about?
There is a big difference between being an Emotional person --
someone whose automatic, knee-jerk reaction to most of the
circumstances in their life is primarily an emotional one --
and being someone who regularly and deeply experiences
contextually-appropriate Emotions related to the things they
are thinking about or going through...
As these thoughts are applied to the Gospel, and to World Views
in general, I'll ask a more specific question: When was the last
time your World View moved you so deeply and profoundly
that you found yourself weeping over it? You might respond
that you're not "an emotional person", but, given the distinction
made above, does this then mean that you don't experience
Emotions at all? Or does it mean that your World View doesn't
stir you to any profound level? Perhaps it means that you've
just not thought out your World View to the extent that it
reaches you, emotionally??
From time to time, I have the experience where I'm relaxing
somewhere (often late in the evening, after hockey, as I'm
kicked back with a cold one or two, outside enjoying the
evening air), I'll be listening to some worshipful Christian tunes
on my iPod, and then a sermon from someone who speaks from
a Grace-saturated perspective... The music relaxes my mind
and softens my heart, and then the sermon touches on my
World View, and then one more Christian song to finish it...
I am not at all ashamed to admit that sometimes, after the sermon
and when the first few bars of the last song begin to play,
I do weep, and here's why:
One of the strongest reasons I hold the Christian World View
has to do with its Beauty: It is comprehensive, complete, reasonable,
and also extraordinarily beautiful, and it satisfies both the
Intellectual as well as Emotional sides of my being... Remember
the scene from the movie "Contact", when Jodie Foster's
character sees the beautiful Worlds in deep Space as she flies
toward them in the capsule her team built? She absolutely weeps
over how beautiful they are, saying, "they should've sent a Poet"
(as opposed to a Scientist - herself - on this mission...)...
The Gospel is like that: Once you actually SEE it, in all its Beauty
and Grandeur and Grace, how can anyone who understands it
and has any Emotions at all not be moved to tears by it?
Of course, the challenge is to then let the Gospel infuse every
aspect of my life and accelerate the process of Change in me,
for the glorification of God Himself, the very point of becoming
a Christian in the first place... I'm no good at that part, at all, but
I'm workin' on it...
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Christianity and Global Warming
Thanks in part to Al Gore's documentary on climate change
("An Inconvenient Truth", now in theatres nationwide),
there is a renewed and recharged public discussion buzzing
around the country concerning the effects of greenhouse gasses
on the planet, generally referred to as "Global Warming"...
Think what we will about Al Gore, this is a conversation
worth having: Even if the growing mountain of Science
which outlines the impact of Global Warming is wrong,
at the very least, it is in the long-term best interests of
the entire human race to discuss and manage how we are
consuming the Earth's limited resources, and to what degree
we (especially Americans) are damaging the only planet
(that we know of, so far) that can sustain human life...
Having been a part of the flag-waving, pro-Reagan, cold-war,
Religion-is-Politics era (Jerry Falwell and his so-called
"Moral Majority" were prominent in those days), I can attest
to the fact that All-Things-GREEN were treated with quite
a bit of derision in those days: Environmentalists were
characterized as "ex-hippies", "tree-huggers", "Liberals",
"wacko's", and sometimes even "pot-smoking Anarchists"...
But an even broader and far more dangerous Trend has
remained, and deepened, for much of the West since those
days, and perhaps is only now being brought to light:
Globalization (due mostly to the computer revolution of the
90's) has made the planet a very small neighborhood, and
as developing countries have charged full-steam ahead in
building their infrastructures and economies, the sheer
VOLUME of waste products dumped into the oceans and pumped
into the atmosphere has been accelerating. The problem
with this is that the very same water and air being polluted
by those who HAVE is the same water and air needed by the
smaller and poorer countries who HAVE NOT.
Never before, in the history of mankind, has it been easier
to actually SEE the harmful impacts of the HAVEs on the
HAVE NOTs; pick any contemporary Science journal that
treats these issues, and you will find data that seems to
reveal how the COMFORT of some of the world is tied to
the CALAMITY of the rest of the world...
Christians are commanded to "Love Our Neighbor as Ourselves";
so here we are, Americans, the "last stop" in the "spread of
Christianity Westward", educated, comfortable, wealthy,
free, healthy, etc. (comparatively speaking), and to a great
extent (still), Christian... But are these benefits being
enjoyed at the expense of the people of other countries, our
global NEIGHBORS?
Some Christians think so: Click HERE and begin to understand
the connection a lot of Christians are starting to see between
their FAITH and GLOBAL WARMING...
("An Inconvenient Truth", now in theatres nationwide),
there is a renewed and recharged public discussion buzzing
around the country concerning the effects of greenhouse gasses
on the planet, generally referred to as "Global Warming"...
Think what we will about Al Gore, this is a conversation
worth having: Even if the growing mountain of Science
which outlines the impact of Global Warming is wrong,
at the very least, it is in the long-term best interests of
the entire human race to discuss and manage how we are
consuming the Earth's limited resources, and to what degree
we (especially Americans) are damaging the only planet
(that we know of, so far) that can sustain human life...
Having been a part of the flag-waving, pro-Reagan, cold-war,
Religion-is-Politics era (Jerry Falwell and his so-called
"Moral Majority" were prominent in those days), I can attest
to the fact that All-Things-GREEN were treated with quite
a bit of derision in those days: Environmentalists were
characterized as "ex-hippies", "tree-huggers", "Liberals",
"wacko's", and sometimes even "pot-smoking Anarchists"...
But an even broader and far more dangerous Trend has
remained, and deepened, for much of the West since those
days, and perhaps is only now being brought to light:
Globalization (due mostly to the computer revolution of the
90's) has made the planet a very small neighborhood, and
as developing countries have charged full-steam ahead in
building their infrastructures and economies, the sheer
VOLUME of waste products dumped into the oceans and pumped
into the atmosphere has been accelerating. The problem
with this is that the very same water and air being polluted
by those who HAVE is the same water and air needed by the
smaller and poorer countries who HAVE NOT.
Never before, in the history of mankind, has it been easier
to actually SEE the harmful impacts of the HAVEs on the
HAVE NOTs; pick any contemporary Science journal that
treats these issues, and you will find data that seems to
reveal how the COMFORT of some of the world is tied to
the CALAMITY of the rest of the world...
Christians are commanded to "Love Our Neighbor as Ourselves";
so here we are, Americans, the "last stop" in the "spread of
Christianity Westward", educated, comfortable, wealthy,
free, healthy, etc. (comparatively speaking), and to a great
extent (still), Christian... But are these benefits being
enjoyed at the expense of the people of other countries, our
global NEIGHBORS?
Some Christians think so: Click HERE and begin to understand
the connection a lot of Christians are starting to see between
their FAITH and GLOBAL WARMING...
I'm not sure where this will lead, but I am beginning to look
for ways to "GO GREEN", myself; more on this in future posts...
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Geometry, Philosophy, and 2D Christianity
Part of what it means to "father" someone is to encourage
a healthy, pervasive sense of Self-Worth in that individual;
to help them overcome feelings of inadequacy and to
prepare them to move into Life as a well-grounded,
disciplined, emotionally-stable and intellectually mature
Adult who skillfully uses his/her talents and abilities...
Nobody does this perfectly, of course, and many of us
do it badly...
From the early age of 4, beginning in Pre-School for most,
children move through our educational systems and there
experience the lion's share of their development; some kids
"take" to school seemingly naturally, while others struggle
with the numerous academic and social challenges, and for
a wide variety of reasons...
I was in the latter group, mostly doing my best to "survive"
the scholastics in order to get to the more interesting and
fun parts of School: Art, Music, lunch, recess, field trips,
doodling, sports, girls and (in later years) mostly sports
and girls...
The very first glimpse I ever had at what kind of student
I could be came during my Sophomore year in high school
(if I remember right): It was in Dick Swanson's Geometry
class... For some reason, though it was listed as a "math"
class, Geometry just "made sense" to me... It was all about
how this set of formulas were used to determine the size
and shape and volume of those pictures, and there was a
certain element of Drawing to it, etc... For the first time in
my life, I myself understood that I could do well, naturally,
at certain subjects, because (as I would later learn in much
more detail), I was naturally "wired" to be good in that area...
It felt good to see a glint of approval in Mr. Swanson's eyes
when I did well in the class... I think I remember him even
giving me props for my work, in front of classmates...
The "I can be a good student" lesson was followed up years
later by the, "Gee, I have a decent Mind and I can think"
lesson, which I experienced when I minored in Philosophy
at Liberty (one of its more outstanding departments).
It was these two major milestones in my life that helped me
(albeit long-time-coming) to begin to develop a certain sense
of Self-Worth... More lessons have followed in the years since,
having to do with things such as Emotional Strength, and
knowing when to Stand Up and when to Defer to others, etc...
I trust there will be more lessons, in the years ahead, on through
the end of my natural life...
So what does all this have to do with God, and the Faith, and
World Views, the typical subject matter of this Blog??
Just this:
The gradeschool and high school that I went to was a strict,
Fundamentalist Baptist outfit, really just an extension of the
church we went to; this was the kind of place where mantras
such as "the Bible is our only Textbook!" were taken seriously...
And as I have moved out into life, I have, from time to time,
encountered Christians who ONLY want to read the Bible,
who see an absolute CHASM between the Secular and the
Sacred, and for whom the call to so-called "personal holiness"
is the highest pursuit of their faith...
These are the folks who, if they speak to the "unsaved" at all,
do so only to quickly present the "plan of salvation", shove a
tract at them, and move on to their cloistered life with its
4-times-a-week Church activities...
It is my very humble opinion that this 2-dimensional version
of Christianity is nowhere near what God intends for us;
I believe He is profoundly interested in whether or not every
child develops a healthy sense of Self-Worth, and whether or
not that child finds out what he/she is naturally good at, and
whether or not they become emotionally and intellectually
strong individuals... the kind of GOD we worship is One who
is acutely concerned about these and other seemingly "secular"
issues, who approaches us as a Father, who desires a relationship
of Love with us, who knows far better than we do what is best
for us, and whose great Joy is not in what we DO for Him but in
what He can make of us, if we'll let Him...
a healthy, pervasive sense of Self-Worth in that individual;
to help them overcome feelings of inadequacy and to
prepare them to move into Life as a well-grounded,
disciplined, emotionally-stable and intellectually mature
Adult who skillfully uses his/her talents and abilities...
Nobody does this perfectly, of course, and many of us
do it badly...
From the early age of 4, beginning in Pre-School for most,
children move through our educational systems and there
experience the lion's share of their development; some kids
"take" to school seemingly naturally, while others struggle
with the numerous academic and social challenges, and for
a wide variety of reasons...
I was in the latter group, mostly doing my best to "survive"
the scholastics in order to get to the more interesting and
fun parts of School: Art, Music, lunch, recess, field trips,
doodling, sports, girls and (in later years) mostly sports
and girls...
The very first glimpse I ever had at what kind of student
I could be came during my Sophomore year in high school
(if I remember right): It was in Dick Swanson's Geometry
class... For some reason, though it was listed as a "math"
class, Geometry just "made sense" to me... It was all about
how this set of formulas were used to determine the size
and shape and volume of those pictures, and there was a
certain element of Drawing to it, etc... For the first time in
my life, I myself understood that I could do well, naturally,
at certain subjects, because (as I would later learn in much
more detail), I was naturally "wired" to be good in that area...
It felt good to see a glint of approval in Mr. Swanson's eyes
when I did well in the class... I think I remember him even
giving me props for my work, in front of classmates...
The "I can be a good student" lesson was followed up years
later by the, "Gee, I have a decent Mind and I can think"
lesson, which I experienced when I minored in Philosophy
at Liberty (one of its more outstanding departments).
It was these two major milestones in my life that helped me
(albeit long-time-coming) to begin to develop a certain sense
of Self-Worth... More lessons have followed in the years since,
having to do with things such as Emotional Strength, and
knowing when to Stand Up and when to Defer to others, etc...
I trust there will be more lessons, in the years ahead, on through
the end of my natural life...
So what does all this have to do with God, and the Faith, and
World Views, the typical subject matter of this Blog??
Just this:
The gradeschool and high school that I went to was a strict,
Fundamentalist Baptist outfit, really just an extension of the
church we went to; this was the kind of place where mantras
such as "the Bible is our only Textbook!" were taken seriously...
And as I have moved out into life, I have, from time to time,
encountered Christians who ONLY want to read the Bible,
who see an absolute CHASM between the Secular and the
Sacred, and for whom the call to so-called "personal holiness"
is the highest pursuit of their faith...
These are the folks who, if they speak to the "unsaved" at all,
do so only to quickly present the "plan of salvation", shove a
tract at them, and move on to their cloistered life with its
4-times-a-week Church activities...
It is my very humble opinion that this 2-dimensional version
of Christianity is nowhere near what God intends for us;
I believe He is profoundly interested in whether or not every
child develops a healthy sense of Self-Worth, and whether or
not that child finds out what he/she is naturally good at, and
whether or not they become emotionally and intellectually
strong individuals... the kind of GOD we worship is One who
is acutely concerned about these and other seemingly "secular"
issues, who approaches us as a Father, who desires a relationship
of Love with us, who knows far better than we do what is best
for us, and whose great Joy is not in what we DO for Him but in
what He can make of us, if we'll let Him...
Monday, June 19, 2006
Hockey Season is over
The 2005/2006 season of the NHL is finally over; the players
get about another 90 days or so to rest and heal, and then we
crank it all up again as 30 teams launch new campaigns to win
the Stanley Cup, the most prized trophy in all of pro sports...
It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a huge fan
of the Dallas STARS, so I'll be keeping an eye on what they do
during the off-season; and I know that Edmonton already has
a "Prospects Camp" scheduled for later this week... I, too, play
hockey on a weekly basis (I have a tournament coming up this
weekend), so my mind is never far from the ice...
I've really enjoyed this post-Lockout season: The Rules changes
have made the game faster, and the new CBA has helped create
an environment where Money is less of a factor in winning...
The "NHL Center Ice" package, and my 42" plasma TV, have
made it possible for me to enjoy hockey just about every night
of the week this year, giving me a much better picture of what
was going on around the League as the season moved along...
So a big THANK YOU to the Owners, the Management, the
staff of each club, and the Players, all of whom continue to show
us fans -- through hard work, sacrifice, determination, and skill --
why Hockey is the greatest sport in the world...
get about another 90 days or so to rest and heal, and then we
crank it all up again as 30 teams launch new campaigns to win
the Stanley Cup, the most prized trophy in all of pro sports...
It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a huge fan
of the Dallas STARS, so I'll be keeping an eye on what they do
during the off-season; and I know that Edmonton already has
a "Prospects Camp" scheduled for later this week... I, too, play
hockey on a weekly basis (I have a tournament coming up this
weekend), so my mind is never far from the ice...
I've really enjoyed this post-Lockout season: The Rules changes
have made the game faster, and the new CBA has helped create
an environment where Money is less of a factor in winning...
The "NHL Center Ice" package, and my 42" plasma TV, have
made it possible for me to enjoy hockey just about every night
of the week this year, giving me a much better picture of what
was going on around the League as the season moved along...
So a big THANK YOU to the Owners, the Management, the
staff of each club, and the Players, all of whom continue to show
us fans -- through hard work, sacrifice, determination, and skill --
why Hockey is the greatest sport in the world...
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Memorial Day as a kind of "Thanksgiving"
There are a pair of bumper stickers, one of which reads,
"To a Vet: Thank You", and its counterpart, "From a Vet:
You're Welcome." We already have an American holiday
known as "Thanksgiving", but perhaps Memorial Day can be
seen as a "thank you" holiday, too, this time not to God,
per se, but to those who have lived and died in helping all
of us to have all that we have...
Because it's a pretty great thing to be an American: Sure,
there is much in our history to be ashamed of, and things
in the present that need addressing; but if you think not in
terms of politics or philanthropy or "causes" or nationalism,
but in terms of what we HAVE as Americans, it begins to
become clear how good we've got it:
-- Unlike countries such as Congo, we've not had civil war
in more than 140 years
-- Comparatively speaking, our economy is stable
-- We (like many Western nations) are a nation of laws,
not burdened by Theocracies or tied to Royalty
-- Nearly anyone can find a job if they so desire, and many
Americans have their own businesses
-- Every single one of us can go into any public place and
find clean water, a restroom, and electricity
-- Geographically, we live in a climate that is generally
conducive to comfortable living
-- Every single one of us is free to speak and write as we
choose (generally), without fearing our government
The list goes on and on... We take SO MUCH for granted,
every single day... Food, water, transportation systems,
peaceful streets, decent schools, employment, freedom to
worship as we choose (or not at all), breathable air (for the
most part), local, city, state, and national Law Enforcement
organizations, technology and media, sports, entertainment,
colleges and universities by the hundreds, etc. etc. etc...
Sometimes, when my government does or says something
that causes dismay and disappointment, I'm not necessarily
"proud" to be an American, but I am always extremely GLAD
and profoundly thankful to be one...
"To a Vet: Thank You", and its counterpart, "From a Vet:
You're Welcome." We already have an American holiday
known as "Thanksgiving", but perhaps Memorial Day can be
seen as a "thank you" holiday, too, this time not to God,
per se, but to those who have lived and died in helping all
of us to have all that we have...
Because it's a pretty great thing to be an American: Sure,
there is much in our history to be ashamed of, and things
in the present that need addressing; but if you think not in
terms of politics or philanthropy or "causes" or nationalism,
but in terms of what we HAVE as Americans, it begins to
become clear how good we've got it:
-- Unlike countries such as Congo, we've not had civil war
in more than 140 years
-- Comparatively speaking, our economy is stable
-- We (like many Western nations) are a nation of laws,
not burdened by Theocracies or tied to Royalty
-- Nearly anyone can find a job if they so desire, and many
Americans have their own businesses
-- Every single one of us can go into any public place and
find clean water, a restroom, and electricity
-- Geographically, we live in a climate that is generally
conducive to comfortable living
-- Every single one of us is free to speak and write as we
choose (generally), without fearing our government
The list goes on and on... We take SO MUCH for granted,
every single day... Food, water, transportation systems,
peaceful streets, decent schools, employment, freedom to
worship as we choose (or not at all), breathable air (for the
most part), local, city, state, and national Law Enforcement
organizations, technology and media, sports, entertainment,
colleges and universities by the hundreds, etc. etc. etc...
Sometimes, when my government does or says something
that causes dismay and disappointment, I'm not necessarily
"proud" to be an American, but I am always extremely GLAD
and profoundly thankful to be one...
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Oprah as a TV preacher?
There's that darn WORD again!
An article appeared in "USA Today" this past week entitled,
"the divine Miss Winfrey?", talking about her prominence
not just as a talk-show host, but as (in some people's minds)
some kind of modern "guru"...
The key phrasing comes early in the piece:
"Over the past year, Winfrey, 52, has
emerged as a spiritual leader for the
new millennium, a moral voice of
authority for the nation."
MORAL ???!
Dictionary.com defines "moral" in these two ways, in the
context of this article:
1. Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness or
badness of human action and character
2. Conforming to standards of what is right or just
in behavior; virtuous
The obvious question is this:
What "morality" does Oprah represent? Whose standards
of "goodness" and "badness" does she preach on her show,
in her magazine, books, and public appearances? By what
authority does she promote what is "right" or "just"?
In a pluralistic era in which the idea of any "absolute truth"
is shouted down, can *anyone* be said to be any kind of
"voice of moral authority"?? By whose estimation??
Later in the article, Oprah is compared to Billy Graham;
the comparison could not be more inappropriate:
Reverend Graham has unequivocally preached the authority
of the Bible and the deity of Jesus for nearly 60 years, and
his altar call is the same as that of John the Baptist,
2,000 years ago... to repent of one's sin and accept the
atonement of the cross and the hope of eternal glory.
Graham's message is the simple message of Christianity:
Self-denial, not Self-Realization, is the first step
toward the Truth...
With her "I have my truth, you have your truth" World View,
Oprah Winfrey is certainly no Billy Graham; and her
Relativism disqualifies her as an "authority" in matters
of morality...
An article appeared in "USA Today" this past week entitled,
"the divine Miss Winfrey?", talking about her prominence
not just as a talk-show host, but as (in some people's minds)
some kind of modern "guru"...
The key phrasing comes early in the piece:
"Over the past year, Winfrey, 52, has
emerged as a spiritual leader for the
new millennium, a moral voice of
authority for the nation."
MORAL ???!
Dictionary.com defines "moral" in these two ways, in the
context of this article:
1. Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness or
badness of human action and character
2. Conforming to standards of what is right or just
in behavior; virtuous
The obvious question is this:
What "morality" does Oprah represent? Whose standards
of "goodness" and "badness" does she preach on her show,
in her magazine, books, and public appearances? By what
authority does she promote what is "right" or "just"?
In a pluralistic era in which the idea of any "absolute truth"
is shouted down, can *anyone* be said to be any kind of
"voice of moral authority"?? By whose estimation??
Later in the article, Oprah is compared to Billy Graham;
the comparison could not be more inappropriate:
Reverend Graham has unequivocally preached the authority
of the Bible and the deity of Jesus for nearly 60 years, and
his altar call is the same as that of John the Baptist,
2,000 years ago... to repent of one's sin and accept the
atonement of the cross and the hope of eternal glory.
Graham's message is the simple message of Christianity:
Self-denial, not Self-Realization, is the first step
toward the Truth...
With her "I have my truth, you have your truth" World View,
Oprah Winfrey is certainly no Billy Graham; and her
Relativism disqualifies her as an "authority" in matters
of morality...
Monday, May 01, 2006
Why the STARS lost
Well, it's May 1, 2006, and the STARS are not playing
any more hockey this year; there will be no Stanley Cup
for our beloved Dallas hockey club this season...
Even before the final goal in OT in Game 5, the analysis
along the lines of "what happened??" had already begun.
Clearly, the team that showed up for the Quarterfinals against
Colorado was NOT the team that had finished a record
year with 112 points, second in the West, and a number of
other significant statistics. It was NOT the team that
we STARS fans have been pumped up about since the
middle of October last year. It was not even the team
that the players themselves knew they were...
Even in the last 12 hours, with post-game interviews,
analyses by sports writers, and features on the evening
news, a mound of "breakin' it down" has already grown.
I've watched and read just about all of it, and while it
is all sadly interesting, it all comes down to just one thing:
DESIRE.
Coach Tippett was very succinct: "We just didn't get
the job done." While "Desire" doesn't, of course,
guarantee a Win, you cannot win without it. Being an
amateur hockey player myself, I can say first-hand that
when a team comes out on the ice and plays with DESIRE,
you can SEE it: Forwards forecheck hard; players race
to the loose pucks; the physical guys lay hits on the other
team and your skaters find open ice; your grinders dig
it out in the corners and your Defensemen push people
off the puck and keep the slot clear; your shooters find
the open net and your goalie comes up with those
amazing saves... In short, DESIRE causes each player
on the team to play with reckless abandon...
Indeed, Hockey is a TEAM sport, and just like an engine,
the TEAM is supposed to operate in harmony; when any
one part does not do its job, the whole system is thrown
out of whack.
There are (among others) 2 important "sayings" in
hockey: 1) The harder we work, the luckier we get;
and 2) Our best players have to be our best players.
Who's to "blame" for the puzzling flop that the end of
this year turned out to be for Dallas? The whole team.
When a hockey club comes out from the first puck drop
and plays with DESIRE, it's obvious; it's equally obvious
when they do not. While Colorado did enough things right
to win the series, they certainly did NOT go up against
the very best that the Dallas STARS have to offer, at
least, not until it was too late.
So have a great Summer, boys. We'll see you in the Fall.
Thanks for a GREAT year; we will always love our STARS.
any more hockey this year; there will be no Stanley Cup
for our beloved Dallas hockey club this season...
Even before the final goal in OT in Game 5, the analysis
along the lines of "what happened??" had already begun.
Clearly, the team that showed up for the Quarterfinals against
Colorado was NOT the team that had finished a record
year with 112 points, second in the West, and a number of
other significant statistics. It was NOT the team that
we STARS fans have been pumped up about since the
middle of October last year. It was not even the team
that the players themselves knew they were...
Even in the last 12 hours, with post-game interviews,
analyses by sports writers, and features on the evening
news, a mound of "breakin' it down" has already grown.
I've watched and read just about all of it, and while it
is all sadly interesting, it all comes down to just one thing:
DESIRE.
Coach Tippett was very succinct: "We just didn't get
the job done." While "Desire" doesn't, of course,
guarantee a Win, you cannot win without it. Being an
amateur hockey player myself, I can say first-hand that
when a team comes out on the ice and plays with DESIRE,
you can SEE it: Forwards forecheck hard; players race
to the loose pucks; the physical guys lay hits on the other
team and your skaters find open ice; your grinders dig
it out in the corners and your Defensemen push people
off the puck and keep the slot clear; your shooters find
the open net and your goalie comes up with those
amazing saves... In short, DESIRE causes each player
on the team to play with reckless abandon...
Indeed, Hockey is a TEAM sport, and just like an engine,
the TEAM is supposed to operate in harmony; when any
one part does not do its job, the whole system is thrown
out of whack.
There are (among others) 2 important "sayings" in
hockey: 1) The harder we work, the luckier we get;
and 2) Our best players have to be our best players.
Who's to "blame" for the puzzling flop that the end of
this year turned out to be for Dallas? The whole team.
When a hockey club comes out from the first puck drop
and plays with DESIRE, it's obvious; it's equally obvious
when they do not. While Colorado did enough things right
to win the series, they certainly did NOT go up against
the very best that the Dallas STARS have to offer, at
least, not until it was too late.
So have a great Summer, boys. We'll see you in the Fall.
Thanks for a GREAT year; we will always love our STARS.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Addicted to Oil??
With all the "pain at the pump" these days,
the price of gasoline in this country is on everybody's mind;
Oil has blown past $75 per barrel, and with the instability in
Iran and Venezuela, and the war in Iraq dragging on and on,
it doesn't look as if prices are going to drop any time soon...
Amidst all the rhetoric over this situation comes an interesting
sound byte from George W. Bush himself: He says Americans
are "addicted to Oil", and that that "addiction" has to stop,
because the "security of the American people" and "our way
of life" are at risk, blah blah blah...
I have a real problem with Bush's phrasing of the issue
in this way, for 2 reasons:
1. The Bush family has made a FORTUNE from the
Oil industry (COPY and PASTE these links into your Browser)...
http://www.americanpresident.org/history/georgehwbush/
http://www.notablebiographies.com/Br-Ca/Bush-George-W.html
... and some people have speculated that there may in fact
be some very suspicious, under-the-table connections
going on between the Bush family and powerful Middle East
oil barons...
http://www.meta-religion.com/Secret_societies/Conspiracies
/George_Bush/bush_bin_laden.htm
... but if Americans are "addicted to Oil", then doesn't the
fact that the Bush family has profited from that "addiction"
make the Bushes something along the lines of "Dealers"
or "Pushers"??
It's just a tad hypocritical to amass wealth by helping to create
a dependency on a certain substance and then to turn around
and tell your Customers to get over their "addiction" to it...
2. Americans are NOT "addicted" to OIL; they're addicted
to FREEDOM, to personal INDEPENDENCE... I sat at a
stop light the other day and counted all the cars going by
(large and small cars) that had only one person -- the driver,
of course -- in them... I quickly got to well over a hundred
before I stopped counting...
The fact is, the only REAL option for going where and when
and how we choose is the automobile (imagine going to
Sam's Club, or Home Depot, or out to a nice dinner,
on a bicycle); the only REAL option for automobiles
(and by "real" I mean mass-produced enough to be relatively
inexpensive) is the gas-powered engine; and the only
REAL system of distribution (to get a Fuel option
to cars that need it) is the current Gasoline infrastructure...
So in order to live our lives as Freely and as Independently
as we want/need to, gas-powered cars are the only CHOICE
we all have! If America is "addicted" to Oil, it's because
the CAR COMPANIES are not providing Americans with an
affordable, practical ALTERNATIVE... Don't BLAME American
drivers for oil consumption when no viable alternative exists...
A trashed environment, the deaths of thousands of soldiers,
strained relations with countries to the East and South of us,
spiraling gas prices... all so that a relatively few companies
and those connected to them can enjoy tremendous fortunes...
It's a shame.
the price of gasoline in this country is on everybody's mind;
Oil has blown past $75 per barrel, and with the instability in
Iran and Venezuela, and the war in Iraq dragging on and on,
it doesn't look as if prices are going to drop any time soon...
Amidst all the rhetoric over this situation comes an interesting
sound byte from George W. Bush himself: He says Americans
are "addicted to Oil", and that that "addiction" has to stop,
because the "security of the American people" and "our way
of life" are at risk, blah blah blah...
I have a real problem with Bush's phrasing of the issue
in this way, for 2 reasons:
1. The Bush family has made a FORTUNE from the
Oil industry (COPY and PASTE these links into your Browser)...
http://www.americanpresident.org/history/georgehwbush/
http://www.notablebiographies.com/Br-Ca/Bush-George-W.html
... and some people have speculated that there may in fact
be some very suspicious, under-the-table connections
going on between the Bush family and powerful Middle East
oil barons...
http://www.meta-religion.com/Secret_societies/Conspiracies
/George_Bush/bush_bin_laden.htm
... but if Americans are "addicted to Oil", then doesn't the
fact that the Bush family has profited from that "addiction"
make the Bushes something along the lines of "Dealers"
or "Pushers"??
It's just a tad hypocritical to amass wealth by helping to create
a dependency on a certain substance and then to turn around
and tell your Customers to get over their "addiction" to it...
2. Americans are NOT "addicted" to OIL; they're addicted
to FREEDOM, to personal INDEPENDENCE... I sat at a
stop light the other day and counted all the cars going by
(large and small cars) that had only one person -- the driver,
of course -- in them... I quickly got to well over a hundred
before I stopped counting...
The fact is, the only REAL option for going where and when
and how we choose is the automobile (imagine going to
Sam's Club, or Home Depot, or out to a nice dinner,
on a bicycle); the only REAL option for automobiles
(and by "real" I mean mass-produced enough to be relatively
inexpensive) is the gas-powered engine; and the only
REAL system of distribution (to get a Fuel option
to cars that need it) is the current Gasoline infrastructure...
So in order to live our lives as Freely and as Independently
as we want/need to, gas-powered cars are the only CHOICE
we all have! If America is "addicted" to Oil, it's because
the CAR COMPANIES are not providing Americans with an
affordable, practical ALTERNATIVE... Don't BLAME American
drivers for oil consumption when no viable alternative exists...
A trashed environment, the deaths of thousands of soldiers,
strained relations with countries to the East and South of us,
spiraling gas prices... all so that a relatively few companies
and those connected to them can enjoy tremendous fortunes...
It's a shame.
Friday, April 21, 2006
The Mind-Brain Problem
A central point of the Scientific Materialism view
is that the Brain and the Mind are one and the same,
that the Mind is merely the emergent result of the
physical processes going on inside the Brain...
In the "reality" conversation between Morpheus and
Neo, in the first Matrix movie, Morpheus sums up
this view by telling Neo that what we can see or feel
or touch -- what we tend to call "Real" -- is merely
electrical signals being interpreted by our Brains...
"Interpreted..." by whom? The ACT of Interpretation
seems to indicate intention and purposefulness, things
typically associated with a Mind; but the things that
a Mind DOES cannot BE the Mind itself... Thoughts don't
"think" themselves, and eletrical connections in the
Brain don't "interpret" themselves... Something ELSE
must be doing the interpreting... So according to
Morpheus' statement, the Brain is doing one thing
(carrying on these electrical connections) and
something ELSE, the Mind, must be "interpreting" them,
assigning to them Meaning and Value and Context...
The reality of this "something else" seems
inescapable and immediate. Those who say that the
Mind vanishes when the Brain dies have absolutely
no proof that this is the case, and are assuming, a priori,
that the Brain is a necessary condition for the Mind;
it is just as possible that the Mind is "released" when
the Brain is dead, and indeed, many people have reported
what are called "Near Death Experiences" in which
their Minds have indeed seemed to be disconnected from
their clinically dead Brains...
The Scientific Materialist will staunchly refuse to
accept these cases, however, choosing instead to defer
to the "mysteries" of Mind that we "still do not
understand", which, of course, sounds much more like
a FAITH statement than a scientific conclusion;
and his refusal to even consider the possibility of a Mind
which may exist beyond the Brain just may well be a
non-scientific mixture of Fear and Rebellion...
But the real trouble with saying that the Mind and the
Brain are the same, and that the Mind vanishes when
the Brain dies, is that this position reduces all
Human Beings to mere animals; the only "reality" is
PERCEPTION...
We may speculate about the SOURCE of the Perception,
but NOTHING can be said to be "real" beyond the
machinery that is my Brain; not Truth, not Beauty,
not Love, not Justice, not even YOU.
is that the Brain and the Mind are one and the same,
that the Mind is merely the emergent result of the
physical processes going on inside the Brain...
In the "reality" conversation between Morpheus and
Neo, in the first Matrix movie, Morpheus sums up
this view by telling Neo that what we can see or feel
or touch -- what we tend to call "Real" -- is merely
electrical signals being interpreted by our Brains...
"Interpreted..." by whom? The ACT of Interpretation
seems to indicate intention and purposefulness, things
typically associated with a Mind; but the things that
a Mind DOES cannot BE the Mind itself... Thoughts don't
"think" themselves, and eletrical connections in the
Brain don't "interpret" themselves... Something ELSE
must be doing the interpreting... So according to
Morpheus' statement, the Brain is doing one thing
(carrying on these electrical connections) and
something ELSE, the Mind, must be "interpreting" them,
assigning to them Meaning and Value and Context...
The reality of this "something else" seems
inescapable and immediate. Those who say that the
Mind vanishes when the Brain dies have absolutely
no proof that this is the case, and are assuming, a priori,
that the Brain is a necessary condition for the Mind;
it is just as possible that the Mind is "released" when
the Brain is dead, and indeed, many people have reported
what are called "Near Death Experiences" in which
their Minds have indeed seemed to be disconnected from
their clinically dead Brains...
The Scientific Materialist will staunchly refuse to
accept these cases, however, choosing instead to defer
to the "mysteries" of Mind that we "still do not
understand", which, of course, sounds much more like
a FAITH statement than a scientific conclusion;
and his refusal to even consider the possibility of a Mind
which may exist beyond the Brain just may well be a
non-scientific mixture of Fear and Rebellion...
But the real trouble with saying that the Mind and the
Brain are the same, and that the Mind vanishes when
the Brain dies, is that this position reduces all
Human Beings to mere animals; the only "reality" is
PERCEPTION...
We may speculate about the SOURCE of the Perception,
but NOTHING can be said to be "real" beyond the
machinery that is my Brain; not Truth, not Beauty,
not Love, not Justice, not even YOU.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Christianity is Different
The celebration of Easter by Christians around the world
affords us the opportunity to consider, once again, why
Christianity is different from every other "religion"
known to the human race:
Basically, religions fall into two broad categories:
Those that are MAN-centered and those that are GOD-centered.
Like other major religions, Christianity, of course, falls
into the latter; but even in that category, Christianity
is extremely unique:
1. Christianity maintains that the chief end of Man is to
"glorify God and enjoy Him forever" (so say the ancient Creeds)...
2. Christianity asserts that Man has chosen his own will
over the will of God, and in so doing, has separated himself
from the God who made Man...
3. Christianity revolves around the Incarnation, God
invading Time and Space, debasing Himself by taking on
the form of a Man -- Jesus -- in order to clearly manifest
Himself to the human race...
4. ...Indeed, the historical figure Jesus of Nazareth,
according to the records, traveled throughout the region
claiming -- in explicit terms and to the disgust and outrage of
the religious establishment of His time -- to literally
BE God, and history records numerous miracles (i.e., a
stunning command over Nature, including Death) to prove it...
5. "The Dying God", in Jesus, was the first and only instance
known to Man where MYTH became FACT (instead of the other
way around)...
6. In allowing Himself to be killed, Jesus spurned any notions
of a political agenda and instead made it clear that His mission
was to be the sacrificial Lamb of God, taking away the Guilt
of Sin, once and for all...
7. Witnesses tell of the miraculous, bodily resurrection
of Jesus, and (some months later) His incredible Ascension
up into the sky and out of sight...
Every other religion, world view, and philosophy known to
Man wants to convince you either that Man must do something
to "earn" favor with God, OR, scrapping that altogether,
emphasizes "enlightenment" or "balance" or "Nirvana",
renaming Evil as "negative energy" and even going so far
as to say YOU (we ALL) are "god"...
Believe what you like, and take the profound RISK that
you may, in the end, be horribly mistaken; but what you
CANNOT do is maintain that Christianity is simply one
among MANY world religions.
It is, quite simply, in a category all by itself.
So I ask you, on this Easter, where is YOUR God?
Mine left behind a strip of grave clothing, an empty hole
in a Jerusalem hillside, and a charge to believers
to go make Disciples...
affords us the opportunity to consider, once again, why
Christianity is different from every other "religion"
known to the human race:
Basically, religions fall into two broad categories:
Those that are MAN-centered and those that are GOD-centered.
Like other major religions, Christianity, of course, falls
into the latter; but even in that category, Christianity
is extremely unique:
1. Christianity maintains that the chief end of Man is to
"glorify God and enjoy Him forever" (so say the ancient Creeds)...
2. Christianity asserts that Man has chosen his own will
over the will of God, and in so doing, has separated himself
from the God who made Man...
3. Christianity revolves around the Incarnation, God
invading Time and Space, debasing Himself by taking on
the form of a Man -- Jesus -- in order to clearly manifest
Himself to the human race...
4. ...Indeed, the historical figure Jesus of Nazareth,
according to the records, traveled throughout the region
claiming -- in explicit terms and to the disgust and outrage of
the religious establishment of His time -- to literally
BE God, and history records numerous miracles (i.e., a
stunning command over Nature, including Death) to prove it...
5. "The Dying God", in Jesus, was the first and only instance
known to Man where MYTH became FACT (instead of the other
way around)...
6. In allowing Himself to be killed, Jesus spurned any notions
of a political agenda and instead made it clear that His mission
was to be the sacrificial Lamb of God, taking away the Guilt
of Sin, once and for all...
7. Witnesses tell of the miraculous, bodily resurrection
of Jesus, and (some months later) His incredible Ascension
up into the sky and out of sight...
Every other religion, world view, and philosophy known to
Man wants to convince you either that Man must do something
to "earn" favor with God, OR, scrapping that altogether,
emphasizes "enlightenment" or "balance" or "Nirvana",
renaming Evil as "negative energy" and even going so far
as to say YOU (we ALL) are "god"...
Believe what you like, and take the profound RISK that
you may, in the end, be horribly mistaken; but what you
CANNOT do is maintain that Christianity is simply one
among MANY world religions.
It is, quite simply, in a category all by itself.
So I ask you, on this Easter, where is YOUR God?
Mine left behind a strip of grave clothing, an empty hole
in a Jerusalem hillside, and a charge to believers
to go make Disciples...
Friday, March 17, 2006
The Matrix Generation
If you have not seen "The Matrix", you may not be aware
of how the Future is changing right before our eyes...
In fact, "The Matrix" is actually a trilogy of movies which
(in a nutshell) explores the idea of "Man over Machine",
and in the process, reveals more about what it means
to be Human...
The "Matrix" trilogy is a deeply philosophical treatise,
really, on the Nature of Reality and the Metaphysics
with which such a study is concerned. I have a copy of
the entire 10-CD set of the "Matrix" productions; on
one of the CD's, a number of prominent philosophers,
writers, and thinkers talk for over an hour on the
philosophical and religious implications raised by this
trilogy... The conversation is fascinating, and it
has had a direct impact (along with other things I
have been reading and studying for almost 3 years
now) on Reality, God, Truth, and the Beginning and
End of All Things...
There is no easy way to encapsulate all the material
and themes presented in the "Matrix" trilogy;
You simply MUST see the three movies; open your mind,
ponder what you see and hear, and think deeply
about the basis of everything you say you believe,
indeed, the very makeup of the entity you call YOU...
Those of us -- Christian or non-Christian, religious,
agnostic, or just plain ambivalent -- who fearlessly
embrace that journey are being referred to by many
sources as "The Matrix Generation", as compared to
"The Baby Boomers" or the "X-gen'ers"...
It is WE, and most certainly our KIDS, who will usher
in the next paradigm shift in Humanity, developing
and assimilating such things as molecular
nano-manufacturing, genetic engineering, and
massive robotic automation at the atomic layer.
The science behind these profound changes is
already underway, with products already appearing
on store shelves based on GNR (Genetics,
Nanotechnology, and Robotics) technologies...
Where is GOD in all this?
THAT, my friend, is the question of the millenium.
If you'd like to participate in a CHAT with me
on this subject, go ahead and click the "Comments"
link, below, and let's talk!
of how the Future is changing right before our eyes...
In fact, "The Matrix" is actually a trilogy of movies which
(in a nutshell) explores the idea of "Man over Machine",
and in the process, reveals more about what it means
to be Human...
The "Matrix" trilogy is a deeply philosophical treatise,
really, on the Nature of Reality and the Metaphysics
with which such a study is concerned. I have a copy of
the entire 10-CD set of the "Matrix" productions; on
one of the CD's, a number of prominent philosophers,
writers, and thinkers talk for over an hour on the
philosophical and religious implications raised by this
trilogy... The conversation is fascinating, and it
has had a direct impact (along with other things I
have been reading and studying for almost 3 years
now) on Reality, God, Truth, and the Beginning and
End of All Things...
There is no easy way to encapsulate all the material
and themes presented in the "Matrix" trilogy;
You simply MUST see the three movies; open your mind,
ponder what you see and hear, and think deeply
about the basis of everything you say you believe,
indeed, the very makeup of the entity you call YOU...
Those of us -- Christian or non-Christian, religious,
agnostic, or just plain ambivalent -- who fearlessly
embrace that journey are being referred to by many
sources as "The Matrix Generation", as compared to
"The Baby Boomers" or the "X-gen'ers"...
It is WE, and most certainly our KIDS, who will usher
in the next paradigm shift in Humanity, developing
and assimilating such things as molecular
nano-manufacturing, genetic engineering, and
massive robotic automation at the atomic layer.
The science behind these profound changes is
already underway, with products already appearing
on store shelves based on GNR (Genetics,
Nanotechnology, and Robotics) technologies...
Where is GOD in all this?
THAT, my friend, is the question of the millenium.
If you'd like to participate in a CHAT with me
on this subject, go ahead and click the "Comments"
link, below, and let's talk!
Friday, January 20, 2006
AMWAY Christianity
Before I became a Christian, I used to wonder what the point of becoming a Christian was; and with so many World Views out there to choose from, why would any thinking person choose one that seemed to place so many restrictions on them, once converted? Aside from apologetic arguments, WHY would someone become a Christian? What does "being a Christian" even mean, anyway?
I still wonder that, or, at least, I wonder what it must look like to someone who watches Christians, and the Church, and what might be termed "popular Christian culture"...
People "get saved" and then... what? Join a local church? Okay, and then... what? Start "spreading the gospel"? Reading the Bible? Praying? The lines of specificity begin to blur not long after the "praying the sinner's prayer" and getting "baptized" at the local church, or so it would seem...
The most common answer you're likely to hear, though, is surely the call to Evangelism:
Go out and "share the Good News" with others! But.... toward what End?? If Christian faith is, as they say, "more than just 'fire insurance' ", then what IS it?
This evangelistically-minded approach of "signing people up to sign people up to then go out and sign people up" strikes me as resembling one of these "pyramid schemes"... I half-jokingly call it "Amway Christianity", where you are likely to hear, "come to our meetings and learn all about the 'program'...!" But from that point, what to do -- how to go about this -- is much less clear, and the new Believer is more often than not left to fend for himself as he attempts to discover what the Christian life is all about...
The one constant he is impacted with, though, is the mission to go out and get more people to the meetings, so that they too can be signed up!
Well, that assessment is admittedly somewhat satirical, but the question remains, what is the STUFF of Christianity? What are we all doing here? There was a Microsoft commercial on TV awhile back, showing a group of office workers gathered silently around the conference room table, and someone finally pipes up and says, "Who called this meeting?"
METAMORPHOSIS
It seems clear that the broader theme of Scripture regarding the reason to become a Christian - indeed, God's design for each of us - is summed up in Romans 12:1,2... Here we are told to present ourselves to God for the process of METAMORPHOSIS, quite literally, a complete and total TRANSFORMATION from one kind of being into a wholly different kind of being.
This CHANGE is fundamental, disruptive, and often counter-intuitive (at least at first). And the wording of the original text -- so say the scholars -- conveys the idea of "Present Progressive", so that it really should be read as, "be BEING transformed..." You get the idea that something like Character Change should be what we are all about, daily, as a primary Focus...
As I have thought about this for a number of years (since becoming a Christian), a systematic view of the nature of this Change has emerged; these are the Changes that are supposed to be going on INSIDE us, and coming out of us, and this Change is, itself -- ultimately, displaying the Glory of God -- the POINT of becoming a Christian at all:
LOVE
This is the bedrock. It is the reason there is a Universe at all; it is the reason why Jesus took on human form and subjected Himself to the profound humiliation of the cross; and it is the ONLY motivation for, and guide for, being a Christian in the first place. If we are not daily, passionately, profoundly all about Love, real Love toward the real people in our lives, then we are liars to call ourselves Christians.
Love is not a feeling; it is a verb, and Love is far greater than "Faith" and more important than "Hope". One might think we should be hearing far more discussion among Christians about what Love looks like and how to do it, in practical ways, every single day of our lives...
Forgiveness
Being put back into a right relation with God -- which then necessarily forces us to work toward right relations with those around us! -- Forgiveness is the difficult practice of giving up our desire to "put that guy in his place"... Because he, like me, is a sinner and frail and weak...
Humility
...because we will not be forgiven, ourselves (of our many and egregious sins) if we do not. A long, hard look in the mirror, and a keen awareness of our OWN depravity, makes Forgiveness SO much easier...
Wisdom
Daily living requires decisions, and wisdom gives those who have it the ability to make sound decisions. A proper respect for God is, we're told, the beginning of wisdom; and we are instructed to search for wisdom as if we were searching for hidden treasures.
We spend so much time in our Bible studies, prayer groups, church activities, home lives, political causes, work, recreation, etc., and amid the bustle, it's critical to ask ourselves, "Is there CHANGE going on inside me?"
--Do I really LOVE God?
--Do I really LOVE the people closest to me, and people in general (ALL people)?
--Have I really forgiven So-and-So for what he/she did/is doing to me?
--Have I ever really been broken in half over my own horrible sins? Did that experience
result in reconciliation, or just self-soothing?
--Do I study the Bible, and supporting Christian literature, in order to acquire
Godly wisdom? Am I a Fool, instead?
So enough with signing people up to sign more people up... The actual "program" of Christianity is mostly about the really TOUGH road of Character Change. It's going to be a struggle, and painful at times, but in the end, that METAMORPHOSIS is the only reason to become a Christian at all.
Everything else is just Religion.
I still wonder that, or, at least, I wonder what it must look like to someone who watches Christians, and the Church, and what might be termed "popular Christian culture"...
People "get saved" and then... what? Join a local church? Okay, and then... what? Start "spreading the gospel"? Reading the Bible? Praying? The lines of specificity begin to blur not long after the "praying the sinner's prayer" and getting "baptized" at the local church, or so it would seem...
The most common answer you're likely to hear, though, is surely the call to Evangelism:
Go out and "share the Good News" with others! But.... toward what End?? If Christian faith is, as they say, "more than just 'fire insurance' ", then what IS it?
This evangelistically-minded approach of "signing people up to sign people up to then go out and sign people up" strikes me as resembling one of these "pyramid schemes"... I half-jokingly call it "Amway Christianity", where you are likely to hear, "come to our meetings and learn all about the 'program'...!" But from that point, what to do -- how to go about this -- is much less clear, and the new Believer is more often than not left to fend for himself as he attempts to discover what the Christian life is all about...
The one constant he is impacted with, though, is the mission to go out and get more people to the meetings, so that they too can be signed up!
Well, that assessment is admittedly somewhat satirical, but the question remains, what is the STUFF of Christianity? What are we all doing here? There was a Microsoft commercial on TV awhile back, showing a group of office workers gathered silently around the conference room table, and someone finally pipes up and says, "Who called this meeting?"
METAMORPHOSIS
It seems clear that the broader theme of Scripture regarding the reason to become a Christian - indeed, God's design for each of us - is summed up in Romans 12:1,2... Here we are told to present ourselves to God for the process of METAMORPHOSIS, quite literally, a complete and total TRANSFORMATION from one kind of being into a wholly different kind of being.
This CHANGE is fundamental, disruptive, and often counter-intuitive (at least at first). And the wording of the original text -- so say the scholars -- conveys the idea of "Present Progressive", so that it really should be read as, "be BEING transformed..." You get the idea that something like Character Change should be what we are all about, daily, as a primary Focus...
As I have thought about this for a number of years (since becoming a Christian), a systematic view of the nature of this Change has emerged; these are the Changes that are supposed to be going on INSIDE us, and coming out of us, and this Change is, itself -- ultimately, displaying the Glory of God -- the POINT of becoming a Christian at all:
LOVE
This is the bedrock. It is the reason there is a Universe at all; it is the reason why Jesus took on human form and subjected Himself to the profound humiliation of the cross; and it is the ONLY motivation for, and guide for, being a Christian in the first place. If we are not daily, passionately, profoundly all about Love, real Love toward the real people in our lives, then we are liars to call ourselves Christians.
Love is not a feeling; it is a verb, and Love is far greater than "Faith" and more important than "Hope". One might think we should be hearing far more discussion among Christians about what Love looks like and how to do it, in practical ways, every single day of our lives...
Forgiveness
Being put back into a right relation with God -- which then necessarily forces us to work toward right relations with those around us! -- Forgiveness is the difficult practice of giving up our desire to "put that guy in his place"... Because he, like me, is a sinner and frail and weak...
Humility
...because we will not be forgiven, ourselves (of our many and egregious sins) if we do not. A long, hard look in the mirror, and a keen awareness of our OWN depravity, makes Forgiveness SO much easier...
Wisdom
Daily living requires decisions, and wisdom gives those who have it the ability to make sound decisions. A proper respect for God is, we're told, the beginning of wisdom; and we are instructed to search for wisdom as if we were searching for hidden treasures.
We spend so much time in our Bible studies, prayer groups, church activities, home lives, political causes, work, recreation, etc., and amid the bustle, it's critical to ask ourselves, "Is there CHANGE going on inside me?"
--Do I really LOVE God?
--Do I really LOVE the people closest to me, and people in general (ALL people)?
--Have I really forgiven So-and-So for what he/she did/is doing to me?
--Have I ever really been broken in half over my own horrible sins? Did that experience
result in reconciliation, or just self-soothing?
--Do I study the Bible, and supporting Christian literature, in order to acquire
Godly wisdom? Am I a Fool, instead?
So enough with signing people up to sign more people up... The actual "program" of Christianity is mostly about the really TOUGH road of Character Change. It's going to be a struggle, and painful at times, but in the end, that METAMORPHOSIS is the only reason to become a Christian at all.
Everything else is just Religion.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
The MYTH of Private Faith
In one of my favorite movies, “The Matrix”, the character Morpheus
says to Neo, “there is a difference between knowing the path and
walking the path…” With that line in my head (I just watched
“The Matrix” again the other night), I was struck this morning as
I read in James 2 that “faith without deeds is dead”.
Like other mysteries of the faith (e.g., the precise nature of the Trinity)
which are often hotly debated, discussions of “Faith and Works” tend to
stir up our emotions and spur us to take sides… Here’s my own take
on the symbiosis between these two priorities, given in the form of
2 Statements and a Response to both:
While my personal, private relationship with God is certainly “Square One”
in my faith, there is a subtle, dangerous tendency, I believe (given the evil
human heart) to detach that relationship from any outward actions which
should stem from that relationship. The Bible is very clear when it tells us
that “deeds” (“works”) MUST accompany faith, and indeed, that our “faith”
is stone-cold DEAD without them.
Mathew 5:23,24 tell us that if we are making our offering to God
(private faith) and there recall that our brother has something against us,
WE are to take the initiative, get up, and go be reconciled to our brother
(“deeds”), before coming back to the altar.
James 2:14-17 makes it clear that wishing someone well (we might even
add “praying for them” – private faith) while failing to meet their physical
needs, is “dead” faith.
(private faith) but then hates (or fails to love) his brother is a liar; the
glaring theme of this passage is that a true love for God results in a
genuine love for those around us.
So the idea that we can think of our private relationship with God in one
context, and the way we treat other people, or how well we control our
tongues and our passions, in some other context, is profoundly mistaken.
“I can do nothing in and of myself; it has to be God”
The book of James is sometimes used to support the idea that real
Justification is a combination of what God has done and what WE do
(“good works”). Side-stepping that debate for now, the point I want to
make here is that there is, perhaps, a subtle “passivity” that can creep
into the heart of a Christian, as we “wait” for God to act through us.
Scripture overwhelmingly portrays those whom God calls “righteous” as
people who take action, who don’t wait around for additional
“spiritual growth” (private faith) before they engage the Disciplines and
before they reach out to those around them.
As an (admittedly rather silly) analogy, picture this: If my backhoe is
nice and clean, the tracks are solid, clean, and in good repair, and
the gears and hydraulics are all greased up and ready, but I never
actually DIG anything with it, what good is it? I may marvel to myself
at what great shape my backhoe is in, but if I never take action and
USE it for the work it was designed to do, the whole reason for having
it to begin with is meaningless.
Hebrews 11 talks about “faith” and immediately frames the discussion
in terms of great saints who went out and DID something about their
faith; Paul writes about running a race, rejecting evil, exercising
self-control, praying and sacrificing and arguing for the faith, and much
more, all of which are concrete actions which should typify our approach
to what we say we believe. James even notes that a prostitute was
considered “righteous” by God for her actions (hiding the spies)…
Do our actions play a part in our salvation? I’ll let the theologians and
biblical scholars hash that out; but the idea that “we can do nothing” is
perhaps little more than a veiled excuse to sit back comfortably and
merely “talk the talk”… As I read the Scriptures, the charge to those
who believe, it seems to me, is to get busy; Love is a VERB, and when
we are busy loving and serving those closest to us, we ARE doing
something about our faith (and God changes us in the process).
There is an expression that says, “People don’t care how much
you know until they know how much you care”. In the same way, genuine,
biblical Christianity exists precisely at the juncture of our devotional
approach to God (through Jesus) and our serving relationships to
those around us. Anything else is “dead” faith.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Fighting for "Christmas"
Well, it's Christmas time again, and the same old hubaloo over
how to greet one another during this season of "peace on Earth"
has cranked up all over again.
This year's headlines bring a bit of a new twist: Apparently some
conservatives are so put out by what they view as "political correctness"
that they are calling upon their lawyers to mandate the "proper" greeting
in the streets... Some of the details appeared this week on CNN.com:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/18/christmas.holiday.reut/index.html
What could be more ludicrous than an attempt to use the LAW to force
others to say the words YOU want to hear... Sadly, such efforts do FAR
more to allienate people than they do to generate any kind of
"good cheer"... Yet another example of the "Us versus Them" mentality...
A brief study on the history of what has come to be known as "Christmas"
quickly weakens the rather more conservative position on the holiday:
This particular time of year has, for hundreds (perhaps thousands) of
years been more about themes surrounding Festivals, Sun worship,
the Solstice, and other myths, legends, and customs than it has about the
birth of Jesus. Even the abbreviated "Xmas", far from "taking Christ out
of Christmas", is merely Greek language "shorthand" for the exact same
thing, used often among 16th century Christians (or "Xians" !)...
Here are some sites to look at, when considering the REAL story of
Christmas (there are many, many more):
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/christmas/real.html
http://wilstar.com/xmas/xmassymb.htm
So why all the fuss? Why are some in our society so "offended" by the
expression "Happy Holidays" instead of the more traditional
"Merry Christmas"?
Lots of reasons: People love their traditions, and are saddened to see
them being eroded, particularly religious ones and particularly if the
reason has to do (at least in their minds) with "political correctness".
Christmas is perhaps the one most near and dear to the hearts of many
"traditionalists", and self-defeating as it might be, a law suit is perhaps,
at its root, really a process of mourning the death of something held dear
and even considered sacred.
I think, though, that there is a valuable lesson to be gleaned from this:
Since the history of this holiday has relatively little to do with the Western
idea of "Christmas", and since the early Church was actually the party who
originally appropriated the date of December 25th from the pagans (along
with many of the pagan mythologies and traditions), and since there is so
LITTLE to be gained from legal action, or even the relentless clashes on
televsion and radio... I think the REAL reason for these "culture wars" has
more to do with Pride than anything else.
What is the problem with greeting someone with "Happy Holidays!"
instead of "Merry Christmas"?? Do we understand that to the ears of
someone (say, the grocery store clerk, the bus driver, the bank teller, etc.)
who may not believe that Jesus was (is) the Savior, this greeting may be
offensive? And if we ask ourselves WHY we don't want to modify our
greeting so as not to offend, what is our answer? What do we GAIN by
digging in our heels and putting up our fists while proclaiming,
"Christmas is about CHRIST!" ???
As an example, if somone wants to be called "African American", as
opposed to "black" or "colored" or "negro", they may not, in fact, be
asking for a factual recognition of their personal heritage: A (white)
person, of British heritage, having come from a long line of Brits who lived
in, say, South Africa, may come to the USA for a job, and find themselves
working next to a (black) person whose family has remained in, say,
Atlanta, for the last 160 years... Tell me, of the two, which one should be
called "African American"??
Either one! If either of these persons wishes to be called
"African American", tell me, what is the problem with that?? Keeping in
mind consideration for other people, and genuine humility and
compassion and a desire to SERVE other people, what is the issue
with deferring to their wishes?
The same goes for "Merry Christmas" versus "Happy Holidays".
If America is anything, she is a country where Pluralism is welcomed and
encouraged, and if the waitress replies, "yes, Happy Holidays!" to my
"Merry Christmas", well then, that's just fine with me. Jesus was born to
trash the "culture wars" and to condemn the Snobs
while restoring the Snubbed.
For those who claim the true Gospel as their own,
THAT is the reason for the season.
how to greet one another during this season of "peace on Earth"
has cranked up all over again.
This year's headlines bring a bit of a new twist: Apparently some
conservatives are so put out by what they view as "political correctness"
that they are calling upon their lawyers to mandate the "proper" greeting
in the streets... Some of the details appeared this week on CNN.com:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/18/christmas.holiday.reut/index.html
What could be more ludicrous than an attempt to use the LAW to force
others to say the words YOU want to hear... Sadly, such efforts do FAR
more to allienate people than they do to generate any kind of
"good cheer"... Yet another example of the "Us versus Them" mentality...
A brief study on the history of what has come to be known as "Christmas"
quickly weakens the rather more conservative position on the holiday:
This particular time of year has, for hundreds (perhaps thousands) of
years been more about themes surrounding Festivals, Sun worship,
the Solstice, and other myths, legends, and customs than it has about the
birth of Jesus. Even the abbreviated "Xmas", far from "taking Christ out
of Christmas", is merely Greek language "shorthand" for the exact same
thing, used often among 16th century Christians (or "Xians" !)...
Here are some sites to look at, when considering the REAL story of
Christmas (there are many, many more):
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/christmas/real.html
http://wilstar.com/xmas/xmassymb.htm
So why all the fuss? Why are some in our society so "offended" by the
expression "Happy Holidays" instead of the more traditional
"Merry Christmas"?
Lots of reasons: People love their traditions, and are saddened to see
them being eroded, particularly religious ones and particularly if the
reason has to do (at least in their minds) with "political correctness".
Christmas is perhaps the one most near and dear to the hearts of many
"traditionalists", and self-defeating as it might be, a law suit is perhaps,
at its root, really a process of mourning the death of something held dear
and even considered sacred.
I think, though, that there is a valuable lesson to be gleaned from this:
Since the history of this holiday has relatively little to do with the Western
idea of "Christmas", and since the early Church was actually the party who
originally appropriated the date of December 25th from the pagans (along
with many of the pagan mythologies and traditions), and since there is so
LITTLE to be gained from legal action, or even the relentless clashes on
televsion and radio... I think the REAL reason for these "culture wars" has
more to do with Pride than anything else.
What is the problem with greeting someone with "Happy Holidays!"
instead of "Merry Christmas"?? Do we understand that to the ears of
someone (say, the grocery store clerk, the bus driver, the bank teller, etc.)
who may not believe that Jesus was (is) the Savior, this greeting may be
offensive? And if we ask ourselves WHY we don't want to modify our
greeting so as not to offend, what is our answer? What do we GAIN by
digging in our heels and putting up our fists while proclaiming,
"Christmas is about CHRIST!" ???
As an example, if somone wants to be called "African American", as
opposed to "black" or "colored" or "negro", they may not, in fact, be
asking for a factual recognition of their personal heritage: A (white)
person, of British heritage, having come from a long line of Brits who lived
in, say, South Africa, may come to the USA for a job, and find themselves
working next to a (black) person whose family has remained in, say,
Atlanta, for the last 160 years... Tell me, of the two, which one should be
called "African American"??
Either one! If either of these persons wishes to be called
"African American", tell me, what is the problem with that?? Keeping in
mind consideration for other people, and genuine humility and
compassion and a desire to SERVE other people, what is the issue
with deferring to their wishes?
The same goes for "Merry Christmas" versus "Happy Holidays".
If America is anything, she is a country where Pluralism is welcomed and
encouraged, and if the waitress replies, "yes, Happy Holidays!" to my
"Merry Christmas", well then, that's just fine with me. Jesus was born to
trash the "culture wars" and to condemn the Snobs
while restoring the Snubbed.
For those who claim the true Gospel as their own,
THAT is the reason for the season.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
The language of Polarization
Not long ago, televangelist Pat Robertson made public statements
to the people of Dover, PA, warning them of possible "disasters"
in their "area" and that "God might not be there" for them when
(if) those disasters strike...
The issue at hand was the fact that the local school board had
been summarily voted out of office in a recent election for having
supported the teaching of Intelligent Design in the local public
school system.
Read the details here:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/10/religion.robertson.reut/
Robertson has made provocative statements before, including
calling for the assasination of the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez
not long ago... While it may be easy to write off Robertson as
something of a nut-case, it's not hard to see that he has a lot of
company in the "Us versus Them" space...
Conservative Christians have, for years now, been pounding the drums
over social issues such as prayer in public schools, the teaching
of evolution, abortion, gay marriage, etc., and their general solidarity
in politics has weighted the Right so heavily that even those who share
one or two fundamental beliefs of theirs get lumped together in the
category of "radical religious Right"...
The net result is that many modern "Christian soldiers" look and sound
far more like soldiers than they do Christians. The true Gospel of
Jesus has been exchanged for Bibles-Bullets-and-Biggotry, and the
love of human beings is not only left behind but even made fun of
in some circles of those who say they are followers of Christ...
The battle cry for "victory" on social and political issues (and we could
add economic, environmental, military, and others) -- associated loosely
(and illegitimately) with the Faith -- has evolved into an entire language
of Polarization that condemns all who disagree to the "fires of hell"...
Looking at their faces and listening to the not-so-subtle hatred in the
voices of theses types, it's not at all hard to see why "the world"
(and the more moderate among us) want nothing whatsoever to do
with anything even remotely associated with Angry White Conservatives,
or with this whole "Christianity" business...
Contrast this approach to the modus operandi of Jesus, who purposely
sought out the liars, the adulterers, the cheaters, outcasts, murderers,
etc., and who had a special love for children because of their innocence
(not because "ya need to get 'em started young...")... HIS approach
was to love these people, to build personal relationships with them, to
speak to their hurt and confusion and hopelessness -- as well as their
need for repentence -- with an attitude of lifting up not pushing down...
And He violently reacted against those of His time who were "clean"
on the outside yet filthy on the inside, who held the "right" political views,
and who were more interested in the "issues" of the day than in the
people around them...
It's WAY past time to refocus on beating swords into plow shares...
We need to mimic Jesus by looking at people -- ALL people -- as Souls
whom God loves passionately... People need to see and hear that same
love for them in us, regardless of their beliefs, values, socio-economic
status, politics, sexual orientation, spiritual/physical condition, or
anything else that puts them in a different box than "us"...
There is nothing "Christian" whatsoever about the "Us vs. Them" view
of any other human being or group of human beings.
We are to love them ALL.
to the people of Dover, PA, warning them of possible "disasters"
in their "area" and that "God might not be there" for them when
(if) those disasters strike...
The issue at hand was the fact that the local school board had
been summarily voted out of office in a recent election for having
supported the teaching of Intelligent Design in the local public
school system.
Read the details here:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/10/religion.robertson.reut/
Robertson has made provocative statements before, including
calling for the assasination of the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez
not long ago... While it may be easy to write off Robertson as
something of a nut-case, it's not hard to see that he has a lot of
company in the "Us versus Them" space...
Conservative Christians have, for years now, been pounding the drums
over social issues such as prayer in public schools, the teaching
of evolution, abortion, gay marriage, etc., and their general solidarity
in politics has weighted the Right so heavily that even those who share
one or two fundamental beliefs of theirs get lumped together in the
category of "radical religious Right"...
The net result is that many modern "Christian soldiers" look and sound
far more like soldiers than they do Christians. The true Gospel of
Jesus has been exchanged for Bibles-Bullets-and-Biggotry, and the
love of human beings is not only left behind but even made fun of
in some circles of those who say they are followers of Christ...
The battle cry for "victory" on social and political issues (and we could
add economic, environmental, military, and others) -- associated loosely
(and illegitimately) with the Faith -- has evolved into an entire language
of Polarization that condemns all who disagree to the "fires of hell"...
Looking at their faces and listening to the not-so-subtle hatred in the
voices of theses types, it's not at all hard to see why "the world"
(and the more moderate among us) want nothing whatsoever to do
with anything even remotely associated with Angry White Conservatives,
or with this whole "Christianity" business...
Contrast this approach to the modus operandi of Jesus, who purposely
sought out the liars, the adulterers, the cheaters, outcasts, murderers,
etc., and who had a special love for children because of their innocence
(not because "ya need to get 'em started young...")... HIS approach
was to love these people, to build personal relationships with them, to
speak to their hurt and confusion and hopelessness -- as well as their
need for repentence -- with an attitude of lifting up not pushing down...
And He violently reacted against those of His time who were "clean"
on the outside yet filthy on the inside, who held the "right" political views,
and who were more interested in the "issues" of the day than in the
people around them...
It's WAY past time to refocus on beating swords into plow shares...
We need to mimic Jesus by looking at people -- ALL people -- as Souls
whom God loves passionately... People need to see and hear that same
love for them in us, regardless of their beliefs, values, socio-economic
status, politics, sexual orientation, spiritual/physical condition, or
anything else that puts them in a different box than "us"...
There is nothing "Christian" whatsoever about the "Us vs. Them" view
of any other human being or group of human beings.
We are to love them ALL.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
2000 Dead in Iraq
In the movie, "The Last Samuri", the Emperor -- referring to
one of his warriors who had died in the heat of battle --
said, "it was a good death." He meant, of course, that this
warrior had died honorably, the way a warrior would want
to die, fighting for a cause he and his brothers-in-arms
believed in and would gladly give their lives for...
Today's news is splattered with the sad toll that 2,000
US military members have been killed in Iraq, inspiring
many of us to ask the obvious questions:
WHY? For what PURPOSE? And what have those tragic
deaths GAINED for us and for the world?
Die-hard Conservatives will say, "It's all a part of the
(so-called) 'War On Terror' ", and, "War is ugly; if these
people were going to wail and moan about dying while
on duty, they shouldn't have signed up..."
Well, side-stepping the lack of Compassion in those
types of comments, consider these two thoughts:
1) The Bush administration did NOT, originally, go
into Iraq under the banner of "the War on Terror"...
The "cause" was, instead, "WMD", which is
now a "dark humor" joke in just about every comedy
outlet we have, and on tv, and in the papers, and at
many coffee machines in offices around the country.
Bush did a classic bait-and-switch with Americans,
changing the "mission" mid-stream and going back to
his que-cards: "War on Terror...", "noble cause...",
"defending our freedoms...", etc.
US service men and women are now over there dying
for that little shell game...
2) Even IF Bush had continued his success in Afghanistan
(post-9/11) by then turning to Iraq and saying, "you're
next", and had presented to the American public credible
DATA demonstrating that Iraq is some kind of way-station
for terrorists and their deadly tools and processes, he
would STILL, at this point, have to give an accounting:
What have we GAINED by the deaths of these 2,000
military personnel? That figure does not even include
the many hundreds, perhaps thousands more who are
maimed, injured, or traumatized by the war in Iraq...
Whatever else she might be or might have said (or be
saying), and whoever else she might be associating with,
Cindy Sheehan raises an excellent and poignant concern:
What "noble cause"??
WHY did her son - and the sons and daughters of 1,999
other parents - have to go and die in Iraq?? Are these
2,000 deaths "good deaths"???
It's just a question, Mr. President. I dare you to look those
parents square in the eye and honestly respond to the questions
they're all asking as they grieve over their losses...
one of his warriors who had died in the heat of battle --
said, "it was a good death." He meant, of course, that this
warrior had died honorably, the way a warrior would want
to die, fighting for a cause he and his brothers-in-arms
believed in and would gladly give their lives for...
Today's news is splattered with the sad toll that 2,000
US military members have been killed in Iraq, inspiring
many of us to ask the obvious questions:
WHY? For what PURPOSE? And what have those tragic
deaths GAINED for us and for the world?
Die-hard Conservatives will say, "It's all a part of the
(so-called) 'War On Terror' ", and, "War is ugly; if these
people were going to wail and moan about dying while
on duty, they shouldn't have signed up..."
Well, side-stepping the lack of Compassion in those
types of comments, consider these two thoughts:
1) The Bush administration did NOT, originally, go
into Iraq under the banner of "the War on Terror"...
The "cause" was, instead, "WMD", which is
now a "dark humor" joke in just about every comedy
outlet we have, and on tv, and in the papers, and at
many coffee machines in offices around the country.
Bush did a classic bait-and-switch with Americans,
changing the "mission" mid-stream and going back to
his que-cards: "War on Terror...", "noble cause...",
"defending our freedoms...", etc.
US service men and women are now over there dying
for that little shell game...
2) Even IF Bush had continued his success in Afghanistan
(post-9/11) by then turning to Iraq and saying, "you're
next", and had presented to the American public credible
DATA demonstrating that Iraq is some kind of way-station
for terrorists and their deadly tools and processes, he
would STILL, at this point, have to give an accounting:
What have we GAINED by the deaths of these 2,000
military personnel? That figure does not even include
the many hundreds, perhaps thousands more who are
maimed, injured, or traumatized by the war in Iraq...
Whatever else she might be or might have said (or be
saying), and whoever else she might be associating with,
Cindy Sheehan raises an excellent and poignant concern:
What "noble cause"??
WHY did her son - and the sons and daughters of 1,999
other parents - have to go and die in Iraq?? Are these
2,000 deaths "good deaths"???
It's just a question, Mr. President. I dare you to look those
parents square in the eye and honestly respond to the questions
they're all asking as they grieve over their losses...
Friday, September 30, 2005
Racism in the Party
Today's news brings to us yet another indication
that SOME in the Republican Party, and its
Conservative figure-heads, just do not GET IT
when it comes to Racism:
A prominent figure in the Party, Bill Bennett, had
this to say on his weekly radio program recently:
"If you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that
were your sole purpose -- you could abort every
black baby in this country and your crime rate
would go down... That would be an impossibly
ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do,
but your crime rate would go down," he said.
-- quoted from a piece on today's CNN.com
OK, if anybody actually needs to EXPLAIN to
Mr. Bennett why this kind of comment is profoundly
and deeply Racist, then he is nowhere near as
smart as I used to think he was...
The fact that he's right now trying to spin it as "taken
out of context" further undermines his credibility.
A public apology from Bennett, and a quick termination
by the radio station of this person, needs to happen
immediately, to make a statement to African-Americans
everywhere that this kind of obvious Racism simply
will not be tolerated.
that SOME in the Republican Party, and its
Conservative figure-heads, just do not GET IT
when it comes to Racism:
A prominent figure in the Party, Bill Bennett, had
this to say on his weekly radio program recently:
"If you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that
were your sole purpose -- you could abort every
black baby in this country and your crime rate
would go down... That would be an impossibly
ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do,
but your crime rate would go down," he said.
-- quoted from a piece on today's CNN.com
OK, if anybody actually needs to EXPLAIN to
Mr. Bennett why this kind of comment is profoundly
and deeply Racist, then he is nowhere near as
smart as I used to think he was...
The fact that he's right now trying to spin it as "taken
out of context" further undermines his credibility.
A public apology from Bennett, and a quick termination
by the radio station of this person, needs to happen
immediately, to make a statement to African-Americans
everywhere that this kind of obvious Racism simply
will not be tolerated.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Bush: The Good, The Bad... and Iraq
I feel the need to come right out and make something clear:
I do not now, nor have I ever, supported the war in Iraq.
President Bush missed a prime opportunity to "spin" the
invasion of Iraq in its only positive light: That the US
(and some of its allies) were going to go into Iraq and kick
down any damn door it chose to, to FORCE compliance with
the UN Resolutions on Weapons of Mass Destruction; once
that mission was complete, we should have gotten the h---
out of there...
Instead, Bush made two fatal errors:
1. Insisting (or having Colin Powell wear the egg on his
face on behalf of the president) before the UN that
there was credible "evidence" for WMD in Iraq...
2. Changing the mission, once WMD were not found, to
some "noble cause" that has now cost the US nearly
two THOUSAND lives and BILLIONS of dollars,
with no end in sight...
He could have easily chosen FAR better:
1. "We have no idea for sure if there really are WMD
in Iraq, but I tell you what, we're going in with guns
blazing to find out; when WE are satisfied, we'll leave..."
2. "Our mission is complete; no WMD, and we'll continue
to keep Hussein in our cross-hairs, taking covert action
against him when our interests are threatened".
Since when did America become the "chosen people",
carrying out some crusade to plant Democracy in every
nation on earth?? So we don't agree with Theocracies,
and we think Freedom is to be prized above all else;
Fine, but a Foreign Policy guided by an approach that
says "free elections or it's Bunker Busters for YOU!"
is nothing short of Imperialism.
I voted for Bush, and I still like everything I know
about him in terms of his character as a man and his
faith in Jesus Christ; but the flag waving and the
Sousa marches and the party allegiance have steadily
faded in me as the stream of news stories of carnage
and futility in Iraq continue...
And my estimation of Bush's leadership abilities has
taken a nose-dive in the wake of Katrina, which
demonstrated how pathetically lacking this Administration
has been in overseeing the agencies which exist to
respond to these types of catastrophies...
No president is perfect, and I'll take a Bush over
a Kerry any day... But past ALL the labels, accusations,
suspicions about "liberal media bias", etc., Leadership
means (among other things) keeping those you lead
up to date on what's going on and what your PLAN is
to accomplish the objectives. It also means having
CONTROL over what your government is doing...
I do not now, nor have I ever, supported the war in Iraq.
President Bush missed a prime opportunity to "spin" the
invasion of Iraq in its only positive light: That the US
(and some of its allies) were going to go into Iraq and kick
down any damn door it chose to, to FORCE compliance with
the UN Resolutions on Weapons of Mass Destruction; once
that mission was complete, we should have gotten the h---
out of there...
Instead, Bush made two fatal errors:
1. Insisting (or having Colin Powell wear the egg on his
face on behalf of the president) before the UN that
there was credible "evidence" for WMD in Iraq...
2. Changing the mission, once WMD were not found, to
some "noble cause" that has now cost the US nearly
two THOUSAND lives and BILLIONS of dollars,
with no end in sight...
He could have easily chosen FAR better:
1. "We have no idea for sure if there really are WMD
in Iraq, but I tell you what, we're going in with guns
blazing to find out; when WE are satisfied, we'll leave..."
2. "Our mission is complete; no WMD, and we'll continue
to keep Hussein in our cross-hairs, taking covert action
against him when our interests are threatened".
Since when did America become the "chosen people",
carrying out some crusade to plant Democracy in every
nation on earth?? So we don't agree with Theocracies,
and we think Freedom is to be prized above all else;
Fine, but a Foreign Policy guided by an approach that
says "free elections or it's Bunker Busters for YOU!"
is nothing short of Imperialism.
I voted for Bush, and I still like everything I know
about him in terms of his character as a man and his
faith in Jesus Christ; but the flag waving and the
Sousa marches and the party allegiance have steadily
faded in me as the stream of news stories of carnage
and futility in Iraq continue...
And my estimation of Bush's leadership abilities has
taken a nose-dive in the wake of Katrina, which
demonstrated how pathetically lacking this Administration
has been in overseeing the agencies which exist to
respond to these types of catastrophies...
No president is perfect, and I'll take a Bush over
a Kerry any day... But past ALL the labels, accusations,
suspicions about "liberal media bias", etc., Leadership
means (among other things) keeping those you lead
up to date on what's going on and what your PLAN is
to accomplish the objectives. It also means having
CONTROL over what your government is doing...
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Finding BLAME over Katrina
The devestation in the Gulf Coast states over the past week
or so continues to dominate media headlines; the images of
destruction, death, violence, and suffering are both captivating
and heart-breaking...
And the anger over all of it has, not surprisingly, inspired
passionate outbursts from every angle, from the mayor of
New Orleans to journalists on the scene to rappers participating
in fund raising events...
Where should BLAME fall in this terrible situation? If you'll
permit the opinions of one lone voice out in the void of this
online community, here are my own thoughts on that subject:
GOD
I wrote a respsonse to the Tsunami, in Asia, a short while back,
so I won't cover the issue about Natural Disasters again; the
Universe was cracked and broken by Original Sin, and will
never be healed until the New Heaven and New Earth are
brought into existence (this, along with literally SEEING God,
is the Great Hope of the believers...)
I will say one thing loosely related to this, however:
If a person chooses to live in a city that is half a dozen feet
below sea level, and if that area of the country is subject
to hurricanes on a routine basis, I don't see how GOD can be
blamed when "nature" does its thing and lives and property
are destroyed...
George W. Bush
Here's the hot one: Blame the "GUB-ment" when national
tragedy strikes... It's a "25-meter target" scenario (you military
types know what I'm talking about) that doesn't take a whole
lot of thought or analysis, and provides a great hook on which
to hang all the pain, suffering, and anguish; it makes us all "feel"
better to vent, and Bush is an easy mark for those emotions...
HOWEVER, I am compelled to generally agree with those who
say Bush should have done more, sooner:
1. The meteorologists were predicting devestation for DAYS
before landfall... PLENTY of time for the Administration to
craft a Response plan and be at the ready the moment it was
possible to a) mobilize the military to restore order and stem
(the highly predictable) looting that ensued, b) release the
emergency supply pods stationed around the country, as
part of the Homeland Security infrastructure, for precisely
these kinds of events, c) air-drop MRE's and other food, water,
blankets, toiletries, etc., to any place needed, and d) to commandeer
local and state Public Safety resources, under some kind of
emergency federal mandate, to get help to precisely where
any help might be needed...
2. Instead, what we saw was the same sort of mass confusion
and slowness to respond in the past week that we saw when 9/11
happened... So despite the creation of a cabinet-level office
to protect the country, and despite the failures from 9/11 that
should have taught this Administration how to RESPOND to
national emergencies, we have -- 4 years later -- the same
inability to ACT, quickly and efficiently, as we had then...
3. At a minimum, the President should have gotten on a helicopter
and been on the scene the very moment it was possible for him
to do so; he's got people everywhere to protect him and to pull him
away if a military emergency seemed attached to the situation in
the Gulf states... short of that, his mere presence down there, nearly
as soon as the hurricane died down, would have been huge...
It has come to light in the past week that the "perfect storm"
of a levee break combined with a severe hurricane, which would
inflict devastation to the magnitude we've seen this week, is
something that had been studied and reported on numerous times
in the years leading up to Katrina... but NOBODY did anything
about it, not the Army Corps of Engineers, not the state of LA,
not FEMA, not Homeland Security (FEMA is part of HS), not
ANYBODY who might have been able to implement a plan to
build up the levee... And to say that this type of scenario was
"never envisioned", as Homeland Security's Michael Chertoff
is saying on the news, is ludicrous: The reason you HAVE
this type of department in the government is specifically so that
it WILL "envision" any and all possible scenarios! Even a
junior high school student can think along the lines of, "gee,
what would we do if X happened..." !!
It seems like every time large-scale tragedies
strike this country, the powers-that-be are shown to have been
totally unprepared for those events....
Read more along these lines here:
http://www.nola.com/hurricane/?/washingaway/
The Mayor and the LA Governor
But the federal government is a giant, 800-pound elephant that
moves incredibly slowly; state and local authorities should ALSO
have had their OWN Emergency Response plan. They should
ALREADY have had answer to questions like, "how would we
maintain law and order in the event of massive flooding" and
"how would we evacuate 200,000 people" and "how can we work
in conjunction with neighboring states to set up evacuation
centers", etc. etc.
But more specifically, I hold Ray Nagin and Kathleen Blanco
(mayor and governor, respectively) the MOST responsible for
their inadequate response to the disaster (and if the governor did not go
on record, prior to the disaster, screaming to the Feds to strengthen
the levees, then she should be ashamed...). Neither Nagin or
Blanco demonstrated ANY kind of Preparedness, and worse,
BOTH of them had RESOURCES that could have been utilized
immediately after the initial impact to save lives by getting people
out... The picture of HUNDREDS of school buses in a New Orleans
parking lot -- unused, and now flooded -- is an amazing sight,
especially given the story of one courageous young man who
"stole" one of them, on his own, and drove about 75 people
300 miles to safety...
The NYPD also offered to come to N.O. to help maintain law
and order; Nagin declined. Instead, he went to the media and
let loose a profanity-laden tirade against the Federal government,
while some his citizens looted, others remained trapped in their homes,
and many died in those first critical few days...
AGAIN, given the fact that the severity of the disaster was predicted
several days in advance, the do-nothing response of these two
Louisiana elected officials is utterly disgraceful and inexcusable.
Churches, Charitable Groups, and Citizens
Tell me this: Why do the secular Entertainment groups, right now,
have (or have had) no less than THREE (at my last count) fund-raising
events scheduled, to be televised nationally, while the Christian
communities and organizations -- while responding through their own
Giving campaigns -- are largely silent? Surely one of the Christian
record labels can muster enough resources to televise a fund-raising
event that say to the world, "Hey, Jesus cares about what is going on
in New Orleans"??
Now, I already have read about roughly 6 distinct, organized efforts
from the Church to reach out with all kinds of help, and I'm FAR more
interested in one-to-one assistance ("here, sir, take this water... take
this box of MRE's... please, sir, you and your family follow me over here
to this area where there are cots and you can all sit and rest...")...
I'm just wishing, along the way, that we could see more of a PUBLIC
response to these types of things...
And if every single CHURCH that was NOT in the affected areas would
EACH take in as many victims (and their families) as they could,
a dozen in some cases to possibly *hundreds* at larger churches with
more resources, and if the PEOPLE in those churches converged on
the church to SERVE those victims, the burden on the "gub-ment"
would be far less severe... MORE IMPORTANTLY, though, it would
send the message that Love is, indeed, the center of the
True Gospel...
The victims themselves (some of them)
If you chose to stay in harm's way when you could have gotten out
(i.e., had somewhere to go and the means to get there), then your
suffering is your own fault (though no less pitiable). And if you
take advantage of the Chaos to LOOT or SHOOT or ABUSE,
then you are a CRIMINAL and nobody has any sympathy for you
(except insofar as your debauched Soul needs Salvation, as we all do...)
-----
Our nation has once again shown its Weaknesses to a watching world.
While we pray for the victims as they suffer through this (and as we
send our financial assistance, supplies, and even volunteers) to that
part of the country, we are ALL coping with the thoughts that our
vaunted reputation as "the greatest nation on earth" has, once again,
been a bit tarnished by such events...
or so continues to dominate media headlines; the images of
destruction, death, violence, and suffering are both captivating
and heart-breaking...
And the anger over all of it has, not surprisingly, inspired
passionate outbursts from every angle, from the mayor of
New Orleans to journalists on the scene to rappers participating
in fund raising events...
Where should BLAME fall in this terrible situation? If you'll
permit the opinions of one lone voice out in the void of this
online community, here are my own thoughts on that subject:
GOD
I wrote a respsonse to the Tsunami, in Asia, a short while back,
so I won't cover the issue about Natural Disasters again; the
Universe was cracked and broken by Original Sin, and will
never be healed until the New Heaven and New Earth are
brought into existence (this, along with literally SEEING God,
is the Great Hope of the believers...)
I will say one thing loosely related to this, however:
If a person chooses to live in a city that is half a dozen feet
below sea level, and if that area of the country is subject
to hurricanes on a routine basis, I don't see how GOD can be
blamed when "nature" does its thing and lives and property
are destroyed...
George W. Bush
Here's the hot one: Blame the "GUB-ment" when national
tragedy strikes... It's a "25-meter target" scenario (you military
types know what I'm talking about) that doesn't take a whole
lot of thought or analysis, and provides a great hook on which
to hang all the pain, suffering, and anguish; it makes us all "feel"
better to vent, and Bush is an easy mark for those emotions...
HOWEVER, I am compelled to generally agree with those who
say Bush should have done more, sooner:
1. The meteorologists were predicting devestation for DAYS
before landfall... PLENTY of time for the Administration to
craft a Response plan and be at the ready the moment it was
possible to a) mobilize the military to restore order and stem
(the highly predictable) looting that ensued, b) release the
emergency supply pods stationed around the country, as
part of the Homeland Security infrastructure, for precisely
these kinds of events, c) air-drop MRE's and other food, water,
blankets, toiletries, etc., to any place needed, and d) to commandeer
local and state Public Safety resources, under some kind of
emergency federal mandate, to get help to precisely where
any help might be needed...
2. Instead, what we saw was the same sort of mass confusion
and slowness to respond in the past week that we saw when 9/11
happened... So despite the creation of a cabinet-level office
to protect the country, and despite the failures from 9/11 that
should have taught this Administration how to RESPOND to
national emergencies, we have -- 4 years later -- the same
inability to ACT, quickly and efficiently, as we had then...
3. At a minimum, the President should have gotten on a helicopter
and been on the scene the very moment it was possible for him
to do so; he's got people everywhere to protect him and to pull him
away if a military emergency seemed attached to the situation in
the Gulf states... short of that, his mere presence down there, nearly
as soon as the hurricane died down, would have been huge...
It has come to light in the past week that the "perfect storm"
of a levee break combined with a severe hurricane, which would
inflict devastation to the magnitude we've seen this week, is
something that had been studied and reported on numerous times
in the years leading up to Katrina... but NOBODY did anything
about it, not the Army Corps of Engineers, not the state of LA,
not FEMA, not Homeland Security (FEMA is part of HS), not
ANYBODY who might have been able to implement a plan to
build up the levee... And to say that this type of scenario was
"never envisioned", as Homeland Security's Michael Chertoff
is saying on the news, is ludicrous: The reason you HAVE
this type of department in the government is specifically so that
it WILL "envision" any and all possible scenarios! Even a
junior high school student can think along the lines of, "gee,
what would we do if X happened..." !!
It seems like every time large-scale tragedies
strike this country, the powers-that-be are shown to have been
totally unprepared for those events....
Read more along these lines here:
http://www.nola.com/hurricane/?/washingaway/
The Mayor and the LA Governor
But the federal government is a giant, 800-pound elephant that
moves incredibly slowly; state and local authorities should ALSO
have had their OWN Emergency Response plan. They should
ALREADY have had answer to questions like, "how would we
maintain law and order in the event of massive flooding" and
"how would we evacuate 200,000 people" and "how can we work
in conjunction with neighboring states to set up evacuation
centers", etc. etc.
But more specifically, I hold Ray Nagin and Kathleen Blanco
(mayor and governor, respectively) the MOST responsible for
their inadequate response to the disaster (and if the governor did not go
on record, prior to the disaster, screaming to the Feds to strengthen
the levees, then she should be ashamed...). Neither Nagin or
Blanco demonstrated ANY kind of Preparedness, and worse,
BOTH of them had RESOURCES that could have been utilized
immediately after the initial impact to save lives by getting people
out... The picture of HUNDREDS of school buses in a New Orleans
parking lot -- unused, and now flooded -- is an amazing sight,
especially given the story of one courageous young man who
"stole" one of them, on his own, and drove about 75 people
300 miles to safety...
The NYPD also offered to come to N.O. to help maintain law
and order; Nagin declined. Instead, he went to the media and
let loose a profanity-laden tirade against the Federal government,
while some his citizens looted, others remained trapped in their homes,
and many died in those first critical few days...
AGAIN, given the fact that the severity of the disaster was predicted
several days in advance, the do-nothing response of these two
Louisiana elected officials is utterly disgraceful and inexcusable.
Churches, Charitable Groups, and Citizens
Tell me this: Why do the secular Entertainment groups, right now,
have (or have had) no less than THREE (at my last count) fund-raising
events scheduled, to be televised nationally, while the Christian
communities and organizations -- while responding through their own
Giving campaigns -- are largely silent? Surely one of the Christian
record labels can muster enough resources to televise a fund-raising
event that say to the world, "Hey, Jesus cares about what is going on
in New Orleans"??
Now, I already have read about roughly 6 distinct, organized efforts
from the Church to reach out with all kinds of help, and I'm FAR more
interested in one-to-one assistance ("here, sir, take this water... take
this box of MRE's... please, sir, you and your family follow me over here
to this area where there are cots and you can all sit and rest...")...
I'm just wishing, along the way, that we could see more of a PUBLIC
response to these types of things...
And if every single CHURCH that was NOT in the affected areas would
EACH take in as many victims (and their families) as they could,
a dozen in some cases to possibly *hundreds* at larger churches with
more resources, and if the PEOPLE in those churches converged on
the church to SERVE those victims, the burden on the "gub-ment"
would be far less severe... MORE IMPORTANTLY, though, it would
send the message that Love is, indeed, the center of the
True Gospel...
The victims themselves (some of them)
If you chose to stay in harm's way when you could have gotten out
(i.e., had somewhere to go and the means to get there), then your
suffering is your own fault (though no less pitiable). And if you
take advantage of the Chaos to LOOT or SHOOT or ABUSE,
then you are a CRIMINAL and nobody has any sympathy for you
(except insofar as your debauched Soul needs Salvation, as we all do...)
-----
Our nation has once again shown its Weaknesses to a watching world.
While we pray for the victims as they suffer through this (and as we
send our financial assistance, supplies, and even volunteers) to that
part of the country, we are ALL coping with the thoughts that our
vaunted reputation as "the greatest nation on earth" has, once again,
been a bit tarnished by such events...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)