Take a step back and we can begin to grasp the interconnectedness of reality and our place in it. We have an active role to fill in putting together this God-Sized Puzzle and we can't do it alone because we are each other's missing piece.
A video of Jeff Bliss, a Duncanville High school student, going off on his teacher has recently gone viral. Here's the video if you haven't already seen it.
The teacher is now on leave with pay pending an investigation of the incident. You can watch an interview with Jeff here. I've felt this kid's frustration before when I was in high school (and in college at times). Some teachers just hand out material for you to learn and the students regurgitate it on a test (I personally tend to forget what was taught after taking a class taught like this). Although he probably could have delivered his message in a more appropriate manner sometimes rants like these have to be expressed and witnessed by the public to get to the root of the problem.
I enjoy classes where there is interaction between the teacher and their students. Not every student learns the same and some need more involvement from their teacher. If the teacher hadn't brushed off the student ("you're wasting my time", "get out") the video probably wouldn't have gone as viral as it had. A student's success depends on all parties involved: the parents, student, and teacher. In this case Jeff was frustrated because he values the importance of a good education. He wants to succeed but feels that this specific teacher was not making any attempts to hear him out let alone teach beyond passing out worksheets (err, "packets"). I know the education debate is complex and I don't believe that cutting a teacher's pay (the "stick" approach) is going to resolve our nation's failures in education. I also don't want teachers teaching me or my kids with such an extreme lack of enthusiasm for their job that it causes an outburst like this one. At least in college you have some options towards choosing your teacher and I've seen some students, prior to their appointed registration time, research professors on ratemyprofessors.com. I've personally never used the site prior to today and don't really plan to in the future but felt it worth mentioning. When a student like Jeff, who returned to school after dropping out, feels this strongly about the education system then you know there are issues to be addressed. If the kids (with the help of parents) are truly trying their best then the least the teacher can do is try to inspire the kids. Jeff said it best, "you got to touch his freakin' heart".
Although this post doesn't contain any spoilers about Breaking Bad there may be spoilerish moments via the link. Ye be warned.
Breaking Bad is one of my all time favorite shows and is one of the few shows which still causes my heart to race. I never really thought too much on the intersection between religion and Breaking Bad mainly because I'm completely drawn into the story that I miss what can be very some very intriguing concepts where this show intersects with religion. While I was cleaning around the house my mind wandered to this scene where Walter was correcting Skylar, his wife, as to who truly is the enemy of the story. In this scene Walter exclaims he has no reason to be afraid of someone knocking on his door to shoot him, but instead in one of his best moments he says that HE is the one who knocks. It took me all of 4 seconds (yeah, I'm embarrassed it took so long, I really should dust off my Bible more often) to realize where I've heard this particular string of words. The next most memorable scene (at least to me) has Walter White dealing with a meth distributor in the desert. Declan, the distributor, asks Walter who he is, in which Walter replies by saying they all know who he is and eerily demands that they say his name. He wants people to know who he is. This is in contrast to Jesus in Luke 9 asking his disciples "who do you say that I am" and then warned his disciples not to reveal his identity to anyone. The following video also highlights some other moments most notably Walter coughing up drops of blood on his hands. Warning: this video DOES contain spoilers and violence.
This led me to a treasure trove of images on the internet (the one pictured being my favorite) merging Jesus with Heisenberg: both are associated with life and death.
If you haven't seen Breaking Bad then I highly recommend catching up on Netflix before the series conclusion this Summer. (And on a similar note I thought this picture merging Ned Flanders and Walter White was too good not to share).
Throughout this series the core theme I want to get across is the importance of asking questions. Questions allows us to explore and create within our vast universe. And as we explore, our interconnectedness to each other and the universe is strengthened. But living with all these questions rattling around in your head can be unnerving especially when you're trying to make sense of it all. On the surface, questions don't offer an immediate peace of mind. This is why people gravitate towards religion which offers answers to many of life's questions. I'm OK with religion being used in this manner even though some would say it is a crutch. Sometimes life is too hard to deal with and there is no shame in believing in something to help you through life's obstacles. What I am against is people bashing others in the head with their "crutch". You can't serve love on a plate of hate.
So how do we make sense of it all? How do we make sense of life with a bag of unanswerable questions or, worse yet, questions which leads to other questions? What has helped me in my personal journey is coming to terms with the chaos of life and knowing that we are already There.
People desperately seek out a constant state of happiness, they want to know that everything will be OK. They want the assurance that nothing will go wrong, they want control over the future. But no matter how hard you struggle no one's future is ever secured. (And in terms of Christianity and the afterlife, no knows for sure that they will go to Heaven, they can only hope and believe they will.) So what then? Do we go through life a nervous wreak waiting for the axe to fall at any moment? That would be as pointless as a dog chasing its own tail! Once we come to the understanding that life is full of chaos and we stop trying to control the uncontrollable we can begin living. Shit happens. Life is full of ups AND downs. Instead, we should surround ourselves with good friends and family to celebrate the ups and to comfort each other during the downs.
It is easier, and much more interesting, for me to live with the questions than accept a prepackaged answer. Questions help you connect with the world around you, they help you to grow spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. They help us to discover and embrace our humanity more fully. So sit back relax with a few good friends and enjoy the moments we have on this pale blue dot.
I know this is a bit outdated but here's another gem brought to you by On Knees for Jesus. Hobby Lobby filed a lawsuit against the government over the health care mandate because they don't want to provide abortion inducing drugs in their health care plan. Hopefully you won't lose too many customers from this.
Hobby Lobby, I know you feel that providing coverage for something which goes against your beliefs is important to you. In the end you WILL be providing abortion drugs to your employees one way or another. If you don't provide it in your health care plan you'll provide it through the paycheck you give to your employees. Either way you, the company, are paying for abortions (and probably a mess of other things you'd rather not know about). That is unless you see fit to monitor what your employees do with their paycheck. I believe abortion should be a minor issue. As a civilization with contraceptive technology why aren't we promoting pregnancy prevention instead of terminating them? People are going to have sex, especially teenagers, so why not give them the means to have safe sex? Using contraceptives will not condemn your soul AND you can choose when you and your mate are ready to have a baby. If the religious right focused more on birth control the abortion issue will be disappear on its own. But of course every group needs something easy to rally behind, Christians against poverty and homelessness seems too much like hard. You can't handle a Bible with dirty hands.
Thanks to On Knees for Jesus for posting this recent video on Romney and the Religious Right I stumbled upon an interesting survey on religious hostility.
Towards the end Tony Perkins mentioned a survey on the rise of religious hostility stating there have been over 600 recent cases of religious hostility. Here's the link to the website where you can download the report but I wouldn't bother. First, you have to give them your name and email to gain access to the report (I gave them an email address I use for junk mail) and I'm sure I'm on a email database somewhere. Second, a large portion of religious hostility cases are by far cases of disputes over religious displays during Christmas...err the holidays, zoning disputes, religion in school, or cases of hurt feelings. The cases range over the last decade which would put them on average of 60 a year, hardly an onslaught of religious hostility (To clarify the report was just a listing of cases and did not graph the "rise" of religious hostility cases. I like graphs.) . I downloaded it primarily for my own curiosity and I found a few interesting cases. I was a bit surprised that the Family Research Council and the Liberty Institute (both conservative Christian groups) would include non-Christian suits but lo and behold they did. There aren't many in the report and most are zoning or workplace related which to me suggests they were included to fill out the numbers. Here are a few of my favorites.
Jewish Police Officer Filed Employment Discrimination Claim After Run-in With
Mel Gibson
http://religionclause.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-01-16T07:10:00-
05:00&max-results=20&start=620&by-date=false
A Jewish police officer claims Mel Gibson verbally abused him because of his religion,
and then the officer’s superiors forced him to delete the anti-Semitic statements from his
report. The officer claims he was later ostracized and denied promotion because of the
incident.
Oh Mel, how can we forget your drunken tirade.
Despite City Approval, Court Orders Construction of Tennessee Mosque to Stop
http://www.wsmv.com/story/18646518/murfreesboro-mosque-stopped-by-judge
The Murfreesboro Islamic Center was within three months of completion when a
chancellor court ruled that not enough public notice was given before the zoning
commission approved construction. The Plaintiffs have been fighting the mosque’s
construction, fearing that it is a “sharia compliant” organization. The county has the
option of reapproving the building as long as it gives proper notice of the public meeting.
As of now, the mosque has not been reapproved.
They omitted that "the plaintiffs" were local Christians fighting to keep Muslims out of their town. 1000 points for religious liberty when the mosque was finally able to open their doors.
Child Evangelism Fellowship of Maryland, Inc. v. Montgomery County Public Schools,
373 F.3d 589 (4th Cir. 2004)
The Montgomery County Public Schools refused to allow Child Evangelism Fellowship
(CEF) to participate in the district’s take-home flyer forum to distribute flyers about the
Good News Club, citing fears about the separation of church and state. A lawsuit had to
be filed to end the religious discrimination.
I mentioned this one in particular because my son recently started Kindergarten and was sent home with one of these flyers. I considered mentioning something to the school but..meh, we live in the Bible Belt. We have Christian radio, tv, billboards, a church on every corner, it's not worth ruffling a few Christian feathers for a tiny flyer I can simply ignore. And that is the point I'm trying to make. There are some legitimate cases of infringement on religious freedom but I wouldn't label the cases contained in this report as hostility. Someone burning down a house of worship or gunning down worshipers is hostility, not squabbles over zoning and building permits. And if you still feel your religious liberty is threatened you can talk it over and compare your plight with that of a non-Christian neighbor. And in the event that a non-Christian neighbor can not be readily found you can take this neat online survey. With Halloween and Christmas around the corner I'm sure there will be a surge in religious hostility cases. I wonder how much moneys I can get from city hall for not properly displaying baby Jesus waving the American flag?
This clip is insane. INSANE! I can't even begin to describe what just happened. I believe I actually got dumber after listening to this clip. On the Dana Show, hosted by Dana Loesch a conservative radio talk show host, Kay called in to voice her concerns about Chik-Fil-A-gate. Kay barely got a sentence in the entire time as Dana bombarded her with a series of accusations, literally shouting her down.Literally.
Let's run down a list of the statements/points made by Dana:
You don't sound like any Christian that I know
Doesn't understand how Kay can practice Christianity while claiming another Christian's viewpoint as hate
What is hateful about Cathy's statement (true, nothing innately hateful but is missing the real topic behind the controversy. The issue is about the group he funds which wants to criminalize gay marriage.)
You only subscribe to certain aspects of Christianity
That's not how the gospels are presented.
You sound like anything but a Christian
Doesn't understand how certain aspects of the Christian faith is hateful
You think God is hateful then?
You're essentially calling Christ hateful.
Is astonished over the statement that Christ doesn't directly address the gay community.
(My favorite line) Give me the verse. Give me the verse. Give me the verse. No, no, no, no. Kay, give me the verse.
The burden of proof is on you, you called my show.
I want you to show me in the Bible where Christ preached hate?
Stated that false Christians like Kay ran Dana from church.
and another favorite, Kay is the type of person that embarrasses the faith.
There is so much here that I can not begin to compute what I just heard. I literally jumped up, darted across the room to share this clip. It just boggles me how people can be so relentlessly unyielding to simply sit down and listen. Just listen. All Kay wanted was to be heard, even for a brief 5 minutes. Yes it is Dana's show and I'm sure she loves her job, (I once worked at a college radio station and absolutely loved it) but it is a talk show. If you invite listeners to call in at least give them the chance to make their statement. This spiraled out of control quickly, which is why people can't talk properly about gay marriage and the Chik-fil-A incident. Listening doesn't equate to losing ground in a debate, it means you care enough about the subject to pay attention to both sides of the issue. That and you don't come across like a total a$$hole.
I don't know much about Dana but she reminds me of someone else who likes to plug their ears.
Give me the verse. Give me the verse. Give me the verse. No, no, no, no. Kay, give me the verse.
La la la la la, la la la la la. Thank you for playing.
I recently stumbled upon this incredible trailer of Cloud Altas to be released on October 26th.
I honestly never knew this novel existed until seeing this trailer. I know trailers are meant to hype up the film, and boy am I hyped for both the film and novel. Written by David Mitchell the 2004 novel consists of six stories spanning from the 19th century to a post-apocalyptic future. The stories are connected through the characters where, for example, the main character of story #2 reads story #1 in the form of a diary found on a shelf. Each story is interrupted by the following story and after the closing of the 6th story the novel returns back to finish each one with the novel ending back where the reader started (Wikipedia). It is an interesting way to write a novel which I hope won't be too confusing to those watching the film. I'm just concerned if the audience will have enough time to appreciate the characters and different story lines in just under 3 hours.
What I really enjoyed was the theme of interconnectedness woven throughout the characters of the six different stories and time periods. The concept of how our lives are interconnected into the lives of others is...is...well I can't describe it. A part of what inspired my spiritual journey (and this blog) began when my wife and I found out we were having our first child. My mind exploded for weeks daydreaming about our new family and beyond (I recently turned 22 at the time). What followed were months of deep self reflection and mediation. How will I inspire my children? Will I be a good father? Will I repeat the actions of my father and his father? What if I screw it all up? Do I have anything worth passing on to the next generation? Will I have enough love for all of them? (I know this all may sound chessy and it'll get extra cheddary in a moment.) For the first time ever I felt truly connected to mankind (mmm...sharp cheddar). I felt as a link in a chain, a part of something bigger, grander than myself. Years earlier in high school I had designed a symbol and got it tattooed on my back. I had this idea to start a family tradition having my children (voluntarily) receive this symbol on their 18th birthday. I envisioned myself years in the future posing with my grandchildren also showing off their new tattoos. I felt this would be a way of passing on a part of myself and securing immortality.
I'm looking forward to reading the novel and watching the film. Has anyone read the book yet and if so feel free to comment below (try to keep it spoiler free though). For those who've read the book does the trailer appear to be faithful to the novel?
I'm sure all of you know about the uproar with Chik-Fil-A so I won't go into detail. But I do want to touch on a related theme of the Christian God changing her mind. Christian Piatt wrote an excellent article about a Billy Graham letter and the moral decay of America. Graham wrote in his letter how his wife, Ruth, made a comment after reading the section on America's moral decay in a draft of a book Graham was writing. She stated that “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” That got me thinking on two things: why can't God apologize for a past sin against Mankind, and if God can't or won't apologize/change his mind, what is preventing us from apologizing?
This also brought to mind the story of Abraham questioning God's morality found in Genesis 18.
25 Far be it from you to do such a thing —to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Genesis 18:25
Abraham's question will not the judge of all the earth do right is one of those timeless rare gems found within the archaic stories of the Bible. To stand up to a powerful force and question their authority and judgement is something we should reflect upon especially on the topic of basic human rights. Sure, Abraham was okay with the destruction of everyone else except the righteous, he still stood up to a supreme being with an ability to zap him. God DID change her mind, many times throughout the Bible. Of course this is explained away as all being part of a cosmic Divine Plan, if that plan changed before why can't it change again? Many (but not all) Christians believe that God is constant and she never changes. They hold this belief because life is chaotic and need a Rock to weather the storm of life. But if God went from complete genocide to sparring the city if ten righteous people were found, why can't we ask the question Abraham failed to ask? Will the Judge of all the earth spare the city if none were found righteous? Will the Lord forgive the city for its sins, forgive us for being human?
What if the story had ended with God never bending to Abraham's pleas? What does this say about how mankind viewed (and continues to view) the divine? And most importantly what about us? God can and does change throughout scripture so shouldn't we as a society change as well? In America we've changed our minds on slavery, genocide, and gender inequality (well, we're still working on that) so why stop there? Is allowing gay marriage worse than any of the past injustices we thought were just and righteously mandated by God? Will society actually crumble if we allow gay couples a piece of paper stating they are legally married? As I've said before divorce, spousal abuse, and infidelity are all real dangers to the institution of marriage. The God of the bible is okay with slavery, genocide, and gender inequality and since we as a nation have turned our backs on these America has not been wiped out like Sodom and Gomorrah. Are Christians actually asking us to turn back the clock? No I don't believe they are, well maybe a few of the more radical types. The reason why Christians are so upset about the Chik-Fil-A controversy is that it challenges their sense of security and safety found in God and the Bible. (Well that and they find homosexuality icky.) They know that another big civil rights change is no longer on the horizon, it is already here! Attention, attention!Christianity is not going to disappear, there will be no massive Christian persecutions, no massive gay agenda brainwashing programs in school, society is not going to crumble, and most importantly for you Christians, God will NOT strike us down. Society will adjust and gay marriage will be the new norm like freed slaves and women in the workplace. So take a deep breath, have a delicious chicken sandwich at Chik-Fil-A and go home and watch a wholesome Christian film on Netflix. Everything will be okay.
Oh and I wanted to share this comical take on the controversy. Enjoy!
SBNR.org has recently finished a top 10 reasons why they (or I should say we) call themselves (ourselves) Spiritual but not Religious on their Facebook page. Here are the top 10 reasons created by SBNR Facebook members and my response.
# 10. We want compassion not politics to be our spiritual service to the world.
I've discovered in my interactions with other SBNRs that many call themselves Nones or SBNR as a direct rejection of traditional faith. I mean it's even in their title, Spiritual BUT NOT Religious. Many focus on this distinction because spiritual and religious have been used interchangeably until recently. I believe spirituality (however you may define or practice the term) can and does exist outside of religion and that is exactly what a lot of Americans are seeking out. We feel that traditional faith has strayed away from service to our fellow man (compassion) towards self preservation of the institution (politics). If you get paid to preach a certain message it is in your best interest to toe the line if you want to keep your job. [I remember once when my wife and I went to our Baptist pastor in Smyrna with our marital concerns over my straddling the fence between Islam and Christianity, our pastor gave the best pitch trying to keep me in the faith. At the closing of the meeting he gave a "biased prayer" (his words). I give him mad props for trying though.] Established traditional religion needs to transform itself if it wants to relate to today's society, and what people need now more than ever is compassion not politics.
#9. Because everyone has their OWN path.
This is the very core of my site. Everyone has their own path (even if they claim they are following God's will they still follow what feels right to them) and in understanding that each and every path is unique we recognize our shared humanity. If I hold anything sacred it is in our interconnectedness found through our shared experience as human beings.
#8. Because we share this planet with all living creatures.
My response to #9 is similar to #8: by understanding our relationship with all living creatures on this planet we may be able to live more harmoniously with nature. I know, I know. That sounds a bit too much lovey dovey tree huggery than I would like but there it is. This one I may not care for as much as the next SBNR but that's the great thing about SBNR it is a term which covers a wide spectrum of people with diverse beliefs.
#7. Because this child deserves a life filled with wonder, not guilt.
To help clear the confusion each of these reasons were accompanied by a related photo. #7, similar to #10, can come across as arrogant stating that religion is all about guilt and being a None or SBNR is free from guilt. Religions do contain a lot of guilt but that's only because they were created by humans with human emotions. This one could have been worded a bit differently, instead of ignoring guilt (life is peppered with plenty guilt) we should struggle and wrestle with guilt when we come across it. By seeking and giving forgiveness within that empty space where we carved out guilt we can fill it with wonder.
#6. "The moment you think you know God, you have made yourself bigger than God." -Rami Shapiro
I admit my bias up front for this one since Rabbi Rami was my professor during my years at MTSU. Although few may admit it we all put God in a box. I believe this is a core part of being SBNR, to live and wrestle with uncertainty. God is often used as a source of assurance and certainty in a chaotic universe. But a part of being SBNR is diving head first into the mystery and exploring the infinite in both the inner and outer verse. (On a side note Kerry Miller over at Heady Brew has recently written several intriguing post on the infinite internal worlds found here, here, and here.) We minimize God when we say we think we know the mind of God (This all, of course, depends on your definition of God or even if the term is important at all.) In actuality we use the term God as a bully pulpit to say that the universe is on Our Side. We win every time. But as an SBNR we strive to accept the chaos by admitting we don't have all the answers, we just like to look around.
#5 Our diversity gives us many chances to learn and grow on our own spiritual path.
Our diversity is no different than the diversity found in any other faith, we just choose to acknowledge and share freely in our diversity. But the only thing I worry about in taking on a religious identity/label is being stuck in an echo chamber. The same issue rises in interfaith meetings, people only talk about what they share in common but hardly ever touch the areas of diversity. We should embrace our uniqueness and freely share in our differences, and most importantly take a part of each others diversity with us to help in our own spiritual path.
#4 Because in our spiritual diversity we have found a spiritual community.
If there's anything I miss about being a Christian it is being part of a community. Websites like SBNR.org helps to fill in the role of the community but still lacks that human interaction. An online community can only go so far. And with the recent rise of Americans claiming no religious identification I believe our community will grow in the coming years and will benefit from the diversity within the group. The hazard once again becomes setting identity boundaries too high which discourages people from SBNR or setting them too low and wrestling with how we identify ourselves. Our sense of identity does play a part in finding a community. If the community is too diverse or too narrow we may feel that we may not belong there.
#3 Because here I am safe to be my unique spiritual "ME".
This reason ties in with #4. People want to feel safe in their new communities with their new spiritual identification. But, I don't want to feel too "safe", yet it wouldn't be a community if I felt threatened (i.e. constantly being bombarded with conversion requests). I want a rest stop not a home while a travel.
#2 Because I am free to have my own relationship to the divine "ultimate" with or without people. I can choose...
See how all of these are beginning to connect? Reason #2 also ties into #3 and #4 so again won't go into long detail. When we come to realize that our spirituality is own and doesn't have to be defined by any man made institution we are completely free to follow our own path. Many people think this means we like to pick and choose, buffet style, from all the different faiths to cover our behinds (i.e. hell insurance). We choose that which speaks to us, that which inspires us to be better more loving people, that which connects us to the All, to each other.
#1 Because I'm empowered to find my "highest" self on my own spiritual journey...
This is what drives my spirituality, to be the best Sam I can be, to seek out my highest self. But in seeking out my highest self I also want to come to terms with my own imperfection/brokenness. The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein is a perfect example in describing my spirituality.
Anyone one else consider themselves SBNR? If so what do you think about the top 10? Leave your comments or better yet I encourage you to write your own post as to why you consider yourself SBNR.
I'm not familiar with the discriminatory laws pertaining to private businesses but both of these videos, via On Knees for Jesus, remind me of a bunch of kids throwing tantrums.
Now businesses may have the right to refuse service but in the end they're only shooting themselves in the foot by reducing their target markets. Now if a Christian business wants to only market to Christians then have at it, but eventually they'll realize that if they'd broadened to include non-Christians and provided a service people will throw money at them for they would be much more profitable. When my wife and I don't enjoy a particular restaurant or business we choose not to go there. I'm not going to complain why I didn't get a senior citizen discount, I'm not a senior citizen. (Well now that I think about it, if I'm not planning to come back anyway why not throw a hissy fit until the manager either escorts me out or accommodates me. I either get physically carried out of the business, which saves me from walking out, or I get free dessert. Win win!) Entitlement whining makes everyone look foolish but especially makes the business look uncaring towards the clients and customers they're trying to cater. But I'm not a businessman so what do I know.
"To the Atheist watching this telecast if our belief in God offends you, Move!... We don't want you and we won't miss you." John Hagee
I've been silent here for well over a month for personal reason I won't go into too much detail. Let's just say that I had to part ways with an unnamed major cellular company. I worked at their call center for the last year and a half before the stress got to me and I snapped. I am going back to school in the fall to get my M.S. in Computer Science so I'll have a bit more free time to post. One video posted yesterday by Vorjack at Unreasonable Faith (love these guys) caught my attention this morning.
Hagee and the rest of his Super Best Friends are in their death throes clawing and gnashing at everyone and everything that doesn't fit their version of Christianity. What can you do when the latest surveys and reports in the last few years state that churches across America are hemorrhaging young people? Shut the door, plug your ears, and yell. They feel that their existence is in peril, and it is unless they change. And since change is seen as a threat, as polluting the holy, it is out of the question. To them it is much easier to tell your neighbor to move than to shake their hand. It is easier to ignore their existence and even threaten them than to coexist with them. Why? Because they, Hagee and friends, are so stuck on the idea of exclusivity that reality becomes a cosmic battle of dominance. It is either us or them, only one side CAN win. Like the dwarfs sitting in a pitch black stable in C.S. Lewis' The Last Battle some (not all) evangelicals would rather live in their version of reality than embrace the possibility that our neighbor may not be the boogie men some megaphone-mouthed pastors portray them as, but may even be *gasp!* human. What bothers me about this video is not Hagee and his comments, but the audience's overwhelming support. It's the everyday people and their support of these unloving comments in a "house of love". I'm sure at some point the congregation sang a hymn about how much God loves everyone. An ideal which unfortunately has been sacrificed for the temporary survival of the group.
As the shift continues towards more non-traditional forms of spirituality (or even None at all) the fundamentalist theists will get louder and more violent in their rhetoric. The non-theist, agnostic, atheist and non-traditional spiritualist must hold our ground not in fighting fire with fire but to extinguish hateful words with love and understanding. Our goal should be to lessen the suffering of others not add to it. And for those still in a religious group like this one who feel uncomfortable I urge you to leave, not to convert you to my side but to urge you to find your own path, your own cosmic song to sing. Get out and follow that which inspires you to be a better you.
So as I was perusing through the Sunday morning preachers on TV this morning I tuned into Charles Stanley preaching about the loving choice God gave us in the garden.
God gave Adam and Eve a choice which was an act of love on his part. You love me because you choose to, not because you have to, that's not really love. So he gave them a choice. They made the wrong choice and notice what he said: the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.
The topic of choice had me thinking of the Wheel of Fish scene on UHF (yes that UHF) where the contestant had a "choice" between their weight in fish or what was in the mystery box.
To Phyllis, the game show contestant, it truly did appear as if she had a choice, and who would pass up a mystery box anyway? From the perspective of the game show producer there was only one right answer, the other making for some humorous TV. The point where Christianity falls apart for me is the choice between eternal love/bliss or eternal damnation. No one in their right mind would choose damnation, but with damnation as one of the two choices is it really a choice? Even though I'm not a Christian I love the symbolism of love and redemption found within the faith but I believe Christianity can evolve (yes religion does evolve) if it moved away from the choice between Heaven or hell/ obedience vs. disobedience and focused more on love for our fellow man. So now when pastor Stanley, or any Christian for that matter, tell me the choice given at the garden was a loving choice I can't help but think back to that empty box.
I simply can't get enough of this video. It's been a couple weeks since this video has been posted and is almost up to 2 million views! Of course whenever a video like this gets posted and shared there are some which bring up religion into the conversation. And that's okay, it's very human of us to see, reflect, and respond through our own specific personal view. That's the reason why I shared this video on my Facebook page and here as well. It echoes what is important to me.
This video is not commenting on religion, God, or faith but the reflection of one astrophysicist, one fellow human being on our relationship to each other and the universe. Whether you believe in evolution or intelligent design is not important, what is astounding is the FACT that we are connected to each other. This astounding fact of our interconnection is what has guided me as a human being, a father, a husband, and neighbor more so than any other belief system. Of course the background music makes the video that much more beautiful.
My spirituality is not based on any religious background but on the sheer experience of being. I don't follow a creation myth nor do I have an infallible book with an infallible god to back up my spirituality. But as a very fallible human being with very fallible human thoughts I seek only to eat, drink and be merry. I travel through this life to love, be loved, and not prevent love for anyone else. Videos like these remind me that even if you and I don't share the same beliefs or views we share the same origin at the atomic level. Some theist would say that we are built with a drive to seek God, I would say that we have an inner drive to seek each other, to seek connectedness. You can see that by simply following the trend of people switching to smartphones to stay connected with the world (and yes I work for one of those smartphone companies). How can we ignore our global interconnectedness to neighbors suffering halfway around the world, or even down the street, when we have the world pouring into our living rooms through our TVs and phones? We can't ignore it. Those who want the good ole' days when gays, Muslims, and Atheists were out of sight out of mind will never reach their goal. The space between ourselves and our neighbors is evaporating and unless you're willing to live in a community out in the country secluded from the wilds of an increasingly interconnected world then have at it, the world is not going to go back to a time with less diversity and interconnectedness. But we can have so much more, we can be so much more, by accepting the fact that we are connected to and need each other.
Now that I finish this post I remember I posted a similar video (with the same exact title) back in September 2010 here. It was exciting then and now.
Doug B. over at Groping The Elephant has written a couple of posts (here and here) on the recent outbreak of tornadoes in our area in the South and Midwest. I wasn't going to comment about the storms until after reading Doug's comments and stumbling upon the following video.
As a former Christian, most Christians reading this will probably think I was never a "true" Christian, but in my former life I held tight to the comfort in the belief that God watched over me. The only change between then and now is that I no longer believe in a Divine creator, and yet my family and I were unscathed by the storm. It's videos like these that break my heart not because I believe that they're stupid to pray a storm away but that in the aftermath while believers share their survival story with others those who don't survive are often forgotten or even blamed for their own deaths. I believe that prayer does bring comfort to the believer but after the storm settles most believers don't wrestle with the question of why. As Doug brought up in his post good ol' defender of the faith Pat Robertson stated that it is our fault that people died. Our fault. God is blameless and we brought our own demise upon ourselves because we failed to pray. As families across my county huddled in their basements and shelters I'm certain that the vast majority of people were praying their hearts out, and the storms didn't miraculously stop.
I am thankful that my family avoided the storms but I understand and accept that it was probability and not divine protection. It is nobody's fault that that the storms brought death and destruction. Prayer doesn't protect but I admit that it may bring comfort, yet what we should be doing is helping instead of damning our fellow man. My heart goes out to those that didn't make it and I hope that the local communities affected by the storms will help each other rebuild and recover.
For those who haven't seen this film yet I highly recommend watching Life in a Day which is streaming on Netflix. Life in a Day is a worldwide project where people submitted clips of what they did on July 24,2010. It's not entirely thrilling since it is just a series of clips of people going about there everyday business but what I love is the tender and vulnerable human moments in the film. What I also enjoyed is seeing the immense differences and similarities we share with our global neighbors. There's something about the these types of grand "big picture" films that reminds me how precious life is and how we are interconnected with each other. For those who don't have Netflix (really? If you don't have Netflix you really are missing out, the best $8 I spend every month) you can watch the entire film streaming on YouTube on their official channel here. Also on the channel there are clips showing a few people in the film where they are 1 year later and there comments on the project.
I've been watching Star Trek: The Next Generation for the last couple months on Netflix when I came across an incredible scene in the episode entitled "The Outcast" and its commentary on LGBT rights. In this episode Commander Riker falls for a member of an androgynous species called the J'naii who later reveals she is actually female.
Of course when this episode originally aired back in 1992 I had no idea there was anything outside of heterosexuality (I was in the 2nd grade). But I just find it troubling that even nearly 20 years later that we are still debating whether or not these "deviants" should even be understood let alone allow them to equal rights.
Today at Unreasonable Faith Vorjack asked which Christian Principles created the foundation for this nation. American history is pretty messy even if we only like to focus on the high points in history class. I mean the slaves were eventually freed and women were granted the right to vote, but why did it take so long and why were these even in issue to begin with in a Christian nation?
This video is mostly about the War on Christmas but throws in the argument that anyone other than Christians have no reason to put up displays in a public square because a) America was founded by Christians (not Buddhist or Atheist) and b) we should not disrupt the tradition of displaying our faith publicly on a Christian holiday. Anyone attempting to modify or even stop tradition is in effect declaring war on Christianity. Even though this so called War on Christmas happens EVERY YEAR Christianity is still the dominate voice in America. I'm fine with people celebrating Christmas, and even as an Agnostic we even display a miniature nativity scene set in our home. Celebrate Christmas however you like. What I think these other groups are trying to get across is a bit of acknowledgement that they exist during the one time of the year we feel it's more acceptable to show off your faith. Maybe if some (not all) Christians weren't so aggressive with their exclusivity other groups wouldn't feel the need to be noticed. With faith being such a major part in many people's lives acknowledging their faith exists translates into an acknowledgement of their own existence. This is why I don't aggressively attack the beliefs of any group because I know for many it is felt as an attack on their own identity. I may have my beliefs but these are my own views, and just because I hold them doesn't mean I'm against anything or anyone. What I support is discovery, exploration, and growth not only of our universe but our fellow man.
However you may feel or believe about Christmas and Christianity the Nativity is at the very least a story of hope during dark and troubled times. It is a story about something new coming into this world to transform the world for the better. I celebrate Christmas (as well as the birth of Christ) by internalizing that hope and meditating on how I can change the world for the better. That is the true spirit of Christmas to me.
"For the love you bring won't mean a thing Unless you sing, sing, sing, sing."
-Travis "Sing"
I know this song came out a decade ago but I find the lyrics heartwarming and appropriate to the spirit of this blog. So regardless of what religious beliefs you hold or background you come from let your heart sing. Be your best self and share your song with the rest of reality. From the song of our lives we bring new life into this world.
I've found myself on several occasions defending my stance on Muslims, more frequently since the wave of Islamophobia that spread across the nation last summer. As a person who enjoys a good reflective thought every now and then I tried to imagine what others thought my reasons were for my stance. Why exactly do I love Muslims so much? Why would anyone want to align themselves with a group perceived as having such a low disregard for life?
I recently got around to watching the CNN in America special, Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door, a documentary on the battle over the construction of the Islamic center in Murfreesboro, TN. I recommend watching it if you haven't already (I missed it when it first aired).
I don't hold their beliefs, in fact I think they're bunk. But just because I don't agree with their beliefs doesn't mean they don't share and participate in human values I cherish. I love Islam's focus on universal unity (although Muslims believe that unity can only be found under the banner of Islam) and sense of community. What drives me wild, what holds my interest, what makes me want to defend them is because they're human. And I no sooner want to see they're human diversity extinguished or set aside as inferior than I do Christianity. Both are capable of great horror and tremendous beauty and love. My heart goes out to them because they are one of the most hated groups in America for no other reason than being Muslim. A lot of people can't see past the labels and misconceptions and see our shared humanity. This is mostly because the negative image of Muslims comes from the constant bombardment of bombings and militant attacks in the Middle East portrayed on the news. Most simply accept violence caused by extremists as the norm for all Muslims.
The biggest fear of Muslims living in America is that our way of life might be drastically altered by their culture and religious background. This irrational fear, held mostly by Christians, is based on the misunderstanding of Islam as a whole and the fear of losing the privileges as the majority faith. The fact is that Muslims have been living in America for well over a century pursuing the same freedom other immigrants have pursued without attempting to "take over" America. There's actually a new DVD out on the Muslim community of Minnesota detailing what it means to be a Muslim in Minnesota. I've already ordered my free copy and hope to watch and review it when it arrives.
So why do I love Muslims so much? Mainly I find their religious symbolism, culture, and history absolutely beautiful. Most assume I'm ignorant of Islam's long history of violence whenever I comment on Islam. But of course those who remind me of Islam's history often tend to be Christians who are themselves ignorant of Christianity's own bloody past. I'm not saying Islam is a "better" faith to follow I'm just saying I want humanity to cherish the beauty, wisdom, and cultural diversity brought to the global table.
"You Got To Touch His Freakin' Heart"
