What Just Happened?

After almost two weeks in the middle of Nowhere, Oklahoma and coming back home with two sick children I haven't had much time to watch the news. In fact I heard about the Iranian elections the day before I left, and was shocked when I walked past a newspaper box to see the cover article on Iranian's rioting in the street. I still haven't caught up entirely on what is going on in Iran but I did find this interview (6/24) with Reza Aslan on the Daily Show about Iran to be very interesting (and entertaining).

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Reza Aslan
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran

Reza Aslan's No god but God is a great introduction into the history and current status of Islam and I recommend it for anyone that is curious. The future of Middle Eastern countries like Iran have always intrigued me. I'm sure a lot of Americans couldn't care less who they elect or what direction Iran my take but I for on am sitting on the edge of my chair. Of course I probably be more informed if I got more of my news somewhere other than the Daily Show but what can you do, it's infotainment!

A Fallible Creature

I hesitate to use the word imperfect when describing the human race because that might imply that there is an example of perfection out there somewhere (i.e. God). Our collective perceptions of God are also susceptible to error because even our mind can make mistakes. So how do we navigate our way through the dark waters of existence? Would following the example of a perfect God help or hinder our progress? Are we even capable of leading ourselves?

[Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci, Galleria dell' Accademia, Venice]

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If there is anything that I believe 100%, it is that man is a fallible creature. We are capable of making mistakes in everything we do. But we are capable of progress ONCE we learn from these mistakes and choose to never repeat them. Everything that man touches, examines, and ponders can be filled with errors. Errors upon errors within errors. This is why I can not read holy books as the infallible Word(s) of God when they have been memorized, written, edited, and transmitted by fallible creatures. Once we acknowledge that we are capable of mistakes (and that even our perception of a perfect God is possibly erroneous) we are free to explore, seek, and experience life without the chains of guilt, fear, pain, and suffering that we willingly carry.

Acknowledging our erroneous nature (not to confuse that with fallen/sinful nature) stirs up questions of what we once believed were facts written in stone. Could the prophets throughout history been mistaken? Were the authors of the Bible really guided by God's hand? Did the Bible survive it's transmission through history without ANY change at the hands of men? These are but a handful of questions that begin to creep up when we truly understand our fallibility. Choosing to take the leap of faith that "God guided the Bible to it's current state" is perfectly fine to believe in as long as we do not forget our erroneous nature. Taking that leap of faith doesn't cover the Bible's authors and editors with a cloak of infallibility. However, an erroneous Bible DOES NOT mean that it is devoid of universal truths. Billions of people depend on the Bible for daily guidance and should continue to do so, but by allowing ourselves to be guided by the spirit of Love we can navigate past our ancestor's demons into a brighter future for humanity.

Our ancestor's perception of God seems almost alien to that of the modern age. This is especially noticeable within Christianity when comparing the Old Testament and New Testament descriptions of God. How can we even begin to reveal the nature of the Divine by the hands of a fallible creature? Our ancestors had a different perception of the Divine based on where and when they lived. As we learn more about our universe we continue to progress while discarding our outdated perceptions. Through trial and error we slowly begin to reveal the Universal Truths that our ancestors discovered but have been struggling to explain through human words and thought since the dawn of Man.

So where does that leave us? Faith and human reason can collectively take us only so far limited by our fallible nature. We must allow ourselves to be guided by the hand of love found both within ourselves and in the universe around us. If our guide is a perfect and loving God then there is no shame, no folly in following it as long as it guides us to become better people with a brighter future. If it keeps us in the dark scientifically, socially, and ethically then we need to question our guides so that we remain unchained always moving forward, "further up and further in".

Welcome Home

My wife and I have just returned from visiting family in Oklahoma for a week and a half. I haven't traveled much in the U.S. and this was my first time crossing the Mississippi river. I've lived in Tennessee and Georgia my entire life so seeing nothing but open fields as far as the eye could see is a little daunting. No, scratch that, it's more than daunting, it inspires the soul to fear and love it both at once. You can't help but feel incredibly microscopic when facing the overwhelming openness of Oklahoma's flat topography. There were still trees here and there but never have I been thrust into open beneath the heavens before in my life, naked and unprotected with nowhere to run and hide. I both feared and loved it.

[A huge rainbow appeared after it stormed in Okeene, Oklahoma last week.]

To dwell in and experience the grand marvels of nature I believe is an attraction that has been carved into our DNA. We just don't want to do without our air conditioners, McDonald's, and IPods. The yearning to return to our Edenic state runs throughout our history as we progress forward believing, hoping that it can be found at the end of our rainbow. Soon enough we'll find a cure for cancer, soon enough we'll find a cure for death. Man just might be able to recreate the Paradise found in our holy books if we aren't caught up by the Real Deal first. But will we be happy with an external Paradise without also finding an internal one?

We surround ourselves by our progress but we also seek to escape it. Vacation, safari, walkabouts, you name it and someone somewhere is escaping from civilization. There can be a hundred reasons why people escape but I believe the strongest reason is a drive to be in awe of and to become one with nature. Maybe it's our animal instincts calling us back home away from the alien caves and huts we have built around us, or maybe that still small voice can be heard clearer without our man made distractions. Whatever I heard blowing across the windy fields of Oklahoma I believe I can also find at home. If I take a minute to sit, listen, and look within I just might here it whisper "Welcome home, my son, welcome home".

Inside Looking Out or Outside Looking In?: Part 3-Why Do I Behave?

Romans 13:8-10 (NIV)
8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 10Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

In What Do Christians Believe, author Malcolm Guite states that the three core elements of being a Christian is a sense of belonging, believing, and behaving. Behavior in Christianity is essential because "what we do is both the consequence and the cause of what we are" which has eternal significance (What Do Christians Believe, Pg. 3). Christians are associated with being kind, compassionate, and overall good people, but unfortunately they're also known for a lot of unchrist-like traits. So how is it that followers of Jesus Christ have earned such a horrible reputation? Our personal behavior is shaped by the other two elements of what we believe and to which community we belong, but does not confine them to these two elements. Yet how we behave is, or at least should be, the very heart to being a Christian.

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When studied through a magnifying glass, anyone outside Christianity can sort through a Christian's beliefs and community "values" to selectively pick and choose anything that might sound unchrist-like. In fact you can do this with about any major religion but this does not get to the core as to why believers behave the way they do. The person, not the beliefs themselves, chooses how to act on a daily basis. These beliefs may shape the boundaries of our behavior but only at the digression of the believer. The beliefs and teachings are there as a guide (not a rulebook) to help reform ourselves. In fact, being a Christian means that we acknowledge that we are broken and in need of help and guidance. This humbling knowledge should be enough to encourage us to behave more loving towards one another because we are all the same, we are human.

You don't have to look far to see the broad range of positive and negative perspectives, based on outsider views, of a particular faith. And this is where many make the crucial mistake in equating a person's religion with the person's character. There is just as much violence, prejudice, and hatred found in the Qu'ran as in the Bible that CAN be perceived as a window to a believer's heart. But the skeleton's in Christianity's (or even Islam's) closet should not be taken in as a generalization of the believer's heart. The same can be said of Atheist who don't believe in God are somehow immoral because they choose not to follow the teachings of the Bible. Balderdash! An Atheist can be just as loving, honest, and compassionate as a Christian since the belief in God does not give believers a moral high ground. We each choose how moral we want to be regardless of what we believe. We may choose to follow different guidelines but we all yearn to bring out the best in humanity, "the better angels of our nature."

So how can we as Christians live up to the teachings of Christ without appearing unchrist-like? By seeking to become love incarnate, like the Son! If we are to be a light onto the world we must first put down our banners and trumpets proclaiming our self-righteousness and BE love. Forget fighting over the definition of marriage, forget fighting over abortion, forget fighting evolutionists over the origins of man, forget fighting period! Go out and BE love.

If I find that something I believe limits my love for my fellow man why should I continue believing it? Because God said so in a book? Because the community says we should? We should continuously be questioning our community and our beliefs so that we may have that open window to Christianity's frontier. This, I believe, will help us in our quest to becoming love incarnate. The only problem with this is that man is too fractured, too tribal to seek out Eden. We may never find it but we may come close by doing, by being, by loving. So instead of asking what would Jesus do, let us begin by asking: what would Love do?

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Inside Looking Out or Outside Looking In?: Part 1-Where do I Belong?
Inside Looking Out or Outside Looking In?: Part 2-What do I Believe?
Inside Looking Out or Outside Looking In?: Part 3-Why do I Behave?

Read all three back-to-back, here.

Psalms 23: A Spiritual Interpretation

Psalm 23

¹ Love guides and fulfills my every need.

² As I'm lead towards my inner Eden
I rest by the waters that flows through us,

3 and my soul is given new life.
We walk down all paths
enveloped in Love.

4 Even though pain and suffering surrounds me
I will not fear it,
for You are within me;
your voice and your wisdom
comfort me.

5 You prepare a table
so that all who come may partake.
Your Spirit is poured over mine;
overflowing and filling those around me.

6 Surely your blessing will follow me
as I will follow you,
and I will dwell within, in my inner Eden,
with You, forever.