Wednesday, December 30, 2009

New Year's Resolutions

For 2010 I resolve that I will not climb any mountains.
I will move to Alabama,
and I will move my body.
I will exorcise the demon of sloth
and exercise the temple of God.


I will not read The Purpose Driven Life.
Nor will I be driven.
When someone says, "He was driven to drink," it sounds to me as if being driven is not a good thing. It sounds like someone has lost control of their own life. It smells of obsessive or compulsive behavior.
To be driven is to be in the passenger's seat.
I think we are supposed to be in control of our own lives;
to be in the driver's seat; to take responsibility for ourselves.


Jesus was not a driven person.
He kept saying, The hour has not come.
Meaning: The time is not right.
He was patient.
Waiting for the right time.
Not driven; not compulsive.


Instead, he was 'led' by the Spirit.
Not Spirit-driven, but Spirit-led.
A world of difference.
He drove out demons,
and was once 'driven' into the wilderness
by the Spirit.
But that was not the normal protocol.


Jesus was more Taoist than Aristotelian. 
He was an Eastern sage, not a Western philosopher.
More relaxed than driven.
More sought than ought.


I don't think Jesus had a purpose driven life.
I think he had a purpose led life.


Evangelicals (in general) are driven.
They make Jesus into a Western Type A personality.
But Jesus was never in a hurry.


Whereas... (above),
Therefore, I resolve in 2010 to remain
in the driver's seat,
and to drive s-l-o-w-l-y.
Led by the Spirit.
And the fruit of the Spirit is....
love, joy, peace, patience.... [Gal. 5.23]




##



Re: retirement

Retirement is a relatively new invention.
For most of human history
there was no such thing as retirement.


Folks used to work until the infirmity of age
got to them
and they couldn't
work no more.


Living with their extended family
on the farm,
they had someone to take care of them.


Then came industrialization.
Jobs away from the farm.
Workers' rights.
Pensions.
Social Security.


Urbanization.
People became mobile.
They left the farm
and took factory jobs.


When all of this came together,
retirement was invented.


Now retirement may have to be reinvented--
or at least modified.
The economic downturn
and the demographics of our time
may call for semi-retirement to be
the norm.


With the ability to work from home
with internet access,
retirement may become rehomement.


Retirement, vacations, and weekends--
all the result of changing technologies
and humanizing forces.


New ways of getting things done
and being human.
Human history is shaped by
evolving economic environments
and complexification of common life.


To retire means to have time to enjoy
God's creation
and to do something useful
that you didn't have time to do before.


To retire means that your occupation
no longer occupies all your time;
that you can give more time to your vocation.
Vocations have no vacations.
Our calling never hangs up.




##

Tired


I'm in limbo.   
Not yet officially retired until January 1.
On vacation.
Vacated my job.
My job is covered.
Still have a job.
But not on the job.
Almost retired.
Just tired.
I usually go back to work
to rest up from vacation.
But now--no work to go back to
to rest up at.
When I'm retired,
I'll have no vacations.
Nothing to vacate.
If I get tired from
retirement,
no job to go back to
to rest on.
No vacation to rest up from
since no job to vacate.


Retire.
Tires on cars.
Entire is everything.
Attire is what you put on.
Tired is no rest.
The rest of the story
is the entire truth.
When attired in truth
the rest is easy.
To tire easily is to 
desire to retire.
The tires rest on the road.
To retire is to go to bed
and get some rest.
To test your tires
is to look at tread
and check the air.
Ere I make you tired
with this tale,
I rest my case
just in case
you dread
a retread
on the way to
nowhere.





##

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Melancholy day

This has been a melancholy day. My last day in my office; and saying goodbye to my staff. It hurts to leave people you care about. There has been a pleasant friendship among us. Delightful people they are. It's almost like leaving family behind.


Every time I leave a church I feel sad. I've spent part of my life there. I've invested my time, my energy, my skills, my prayers, and my emotional capital with a group of people who are trying to make life better in the context of Christian faith. 


It might sound silly, but I always walk around the church building and say goodbye to various spaces (e.g., sanctuary, office, parking lot, choir room, activities room); I think about what has happened in each space and thank God for people and events. My office is my work space. It is there that I have wrestled with Biblical texts; argued with God; prayed for the seriously ill to live; met with parishioners to hear their criticisms; talked with couples about to get married; met with grieving people to prepare a funeral. It's a sacred space. I said goodbye today.


We can't have life without leavings. Even if we live in the same place and work the same job, there are many leavings. But for us who do interim ministry, leavings are part of the ministry. We try to teach others how to say goodbye to former pastors and to parts of the church's history. We teach them to say goodbye to us. We're supposed to be good at it. But it's never easy. I have not yet let loose with the tears. But I've felt the dammed up damn tears waiting to gush forth.


I felt the heavy sadness today and told myself to get out of the basement and come upstairs and celebrate the achievements, the new friendships, the possibilities of the future, the soon-to-be proximity to family. But one thing at a time. I can't come out of the basement yet. These dear people deserve what I can give right now: my grief, a sign of my love for them.

Anticipating Retirement




"ANTICIPATING RETIREMENT"


I want it
I don't know what to do with it
Fear of emptiness 
Soon, the burden of filling it
Scary freedom
So much possibility
But no map
Ceasing is coming
Rest and restlessness
These are my thoughts
The real thing will have
a mind of its own


##




Monday, December 21, 2009

No comment

"It's socialism. It moves the country in a direction which is not good for anyone, whether they be young or old. It charts a course from which there will be no turning back." 
   [Senator Carl Curtis (R-NE), in 1965, opposing Medicare]


"The Act represents a step in the direction of Communism, bolshevism, fascism, and Nazism." 
   [The National Association of Manufacturers, in 1938, condemning a national minimum wage]


"Woman suffrage would give to the wives and daughters of the poor a new opportunity to gratify their envy and mistrust of the rich. Meantime these new voters would become either the purchased or cajoled victims of plausible political manipulators, or the intimidated and helpless voting vassals of imperious employers." 
    [President Grover Cleveland, in 1905, on why women shouldn't be able to vote]



Thursday, December 17, 2009

God's Political Party

God the Father is a Republican, because Scripture says: "The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." (NRSV) 

But Jesus is a Democrat because he didn't ride into Jerusalem on an elephant, but on a donkey. 

However, the Holy Spirit is an Independent, because the "wind/Spirit blows wherever it wants to" (Jn 3).

And we are the elect.

 

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Tiger in the Woods

We thought we knew Tiger Woods. An all-American athlete; a soft-spoken role model; a generous and kind-hearted gentleman. But Tiger the man had a handicap that we didn't see in Tiger the golfer. On the golf course he had a powerful drive. But in his psyche he also had a powerful drive. The human sex drive is forceful enough to populate a whole planet.



Tiger's tragic troubles demonstrate how one aspect of our lives can be extremely disciplined while another aspect has no self control. Tiger became the best in one sport. At the same time his moral life performed poorly.


My purpose is not to judge. Each of us is vulnerable. We are all capable of moral lapses. But perhaps this high profile infidelity can help us be more aware of the ambiguity of our sexuality.


Unfortunately, many people grow up in religious traditions that give a mixed message. It goes something like this: 'Sex is a good gift of God. Don't use it!' Or another version: 'Sex is dirty; save it for marriage.'


Poor adolescents. They receive contradictory messages from every direction. Their parents (if they ever talk about sex), the church, the schools, the music industry, television, movies, and advertisers. Combined with the natural 'urge to merge' and explosive hormones makes getting through adolescence without screwing up very difficult.


We are sexual beings. We are sexually attracted to other sexual beings. That's how we are wired. It's not wrong to want to have sex with other people; it is simply natural. Men are aroused by women. Women are aroused by men. And some men are aroused by men, etc. Sexy ads work.


Religious education in regard to sex needs to strike a balance. We need to learn to affirm and appreciate our sexuality. We also need to learn to control our urges and behavior. There is a Tiger in the tank of all of us. It roars. But we cannot live by the laws of the jungle and still be moral persons. It behooves us to live by a higher law. Setting boundaries and being sexually active exclusively with our life-long partner is the wisdom that brings joy.


Sex is like fire. It can keep us alive and it can burn us. To learn to use fire properly and safely is a smart thing to do.


Mr. Woods could not see the moral forest for the curvy trees. I feel sorry for him. Let him be our teacher. Significant relationships are broken by careless behavior. We have to be as committed to our marriages as Tiger is to his golf game. We have to focus on what is important. We make vows. We give promises. We must practice follow through.


Tiger, Tiger, hear him roar.

Tiger, Tiger, see him cry.

Tiger, Tiger, see him score.

Tiger, Tiger, why, oh why?



##

Many rooms

People are complicated. We do a disservice when we describe someone as a 'bad person' or an 'alcoholic' or a 'criminal' or a 'conservative' or 'liberal.' Labels don't do people justice.


I like the words of historian David Blight as he describes President Lincoln's politics. Blight is writing a brief commentary on Lincoln's enigmatic letter to Horace Greely, written on August 22, 1862. Lincoln seems to talk out of both sides of his mouth in this letter, and historians use this correspondence to prove opposite points: either that Lincoln was out to end slavery or that he wasn't. Here is David Blight's comment:


Lincoln's multilayered temperament was a house with many doors. The Greeley letter, like few other works in Lincoln's writings, demonstrates how many choices we have in entering that house. (In Lincoln's Hand: His Original Manuscripts with Commentary by Distinguished Americans, Bantam Books, 2009, p. 101)


Isn't that a better way to look at people? Aren't we all to some extent a 'house with many doors"?


When we look into the eyes of another person we encounter mystery. When we are open to the spirit of another human being, we soon discover a holy spirit that dwells there. Even after years of marriage we are still finding out who our spouse is. Like Abraham Lincoln, we all have 'multilayered temperaments.' Of course very few people rise to the level of greatness that Lincoln embodied. But each of us is a complex being.


Some people find that counseling or psychotherapy helps to strip away the layers of their personality in order to discover wholeness of being. We have rooms within the 'house' of our Self that we have never entered. Self-discovery is part of spiritual growth.


Interpersonal relationships are even more complicated. Truly getting to know someone is a process of revelation. You cannot really know me unless I reveal myself to you. Nor can I know you unless you reveal yourself to me. There are locked doors that can only be opened from the inside.


Every person you meet is a mystery. Developing a close relationship with another person is a sacred process. Knock softly on the door.


Don't too quickly pigeonhole people into categories. Let each individual reveal his or her self to you. Make space for that revelation to take place. Eugene Peterson says: "The question I put to myself is not, 'How many people have you spoken to about Christ this week?' but 'How many people have you listened to in Christ this week?'" [from The Contemplative Pastor] The ministry of listening opens up space for self-revelation.


Remember, each person has a multilayered temperament, and a house with many rooms. The same is true with God, for didn't Jesus say, "In my Father's house there are many rooms"? [John 14]


##



Hanukkah Songs?

Hanukkah Songs That Never Quite Caught On:

- Oy to the World

- Schlepping through a Winter Wonderland

- Hava Negilah - The Megamix

- Bubbie Yetta Got Run Over by a Reindeer

- Enough with those Gosh Darn Jingle Bells Already...Sheez!

- Matzo Man (by the Lower East Side Village People)

- I Have a Little Dreidel (the Barking Dog Version)

- Come on Baby, Light My Menorah

- Deck the Halls with Balls of Matzos

- Silent Night? I Should Be So Lucky

[submitted by leighli -- from the site: Beliefnet]

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Oral Roberts

Oral Roberts is dead.

The healings finally ran out.
I'm sure Oral's ministry has helped many people.
I'm also sure that his ministry deceived a host of folks.
Anyone can stand before a large crowd and say, "Someone is being healed," -- and sure enough, some suggestible person will come forward and declare that their pain is gone or that they can now walk again.

The mind-body connection is a mysterious thing.
All some people need is for someone to tell them
they are getting better, and they will.
I don't call that a miracle,
but if you feel better, I won't take that away from you.


One of my New Testament professors in seminary told our class that if there really were someone going around bringing miraculous healings to people just like Jesus did, he would invite them to go over to the home for the blind and give all those people their sight back. But--he said--none of them ever do that.


I went to a healing service once and the preacher called me down front. I sat on the front pew while he took my feet in his hands and showed me that one leg was slightly shorter than the other. Then he prayed fervently for me and took my legs again and showed me that they were exactly equal.


Well. Later in my life I went to a chiropractor who sort of did the same thing, except he jerked my legs harder.

What I don't like about spiritual healers is that they lie.
They claim to have powers that they don't have.
They manipulate and take advantage of people.


When I was younger I used to listen to Pentecostal preachers on the radio. A common message was: Expect a miracle every day. If your life isn't filled with miraculous happenings, then there is something wrong with your faith. 
I know there are many people who want to hear that sort of thing.
They are looking for some sign of God's presence in their lives. They are looking for hope, and they will grasp hold of anything. There are enough of those kind of people around that evangelists and healers can make a nice living.


Unless we play fast and loose with the definition of 'miracle,' we shouldn't be expecting to see miraculous events often.
I know someone will say, "But I see miracles every day. Life itself is a miracle; love is a miracle; new medical treatments are miracles..." etc. Okay. But if by miracle we mean blind people suddenly see and the lame suddenly walk and the dead come back to life, well, don't expect that to happen.


Back to Oral...


He had the biggest ear lopes I've ever seen. Did you see them? 
And putting your hands on the TV -- well, that has gotten more difficult since remotes came along. We tend to sit farther away from the screen. And now with all these Big Screen TVs, we sit even farther away. I wonder if you can get healed by putting your hands on the computer screen.


It's in the quotidian that we find God.
In the ordinary.
Real spiritual living happens in the routine.
The Lord is everywhere--all the time.
God doesn't usually jump out at us like a Jack-in-the-Box.
The Holy One is more subtle.
I learned this from reading the parables of Jesus.
A sheep, a coin, a seed, yeast... a son, a farmer, a woman, a guest...
Even the wonderful healings and exorcisms that Jesus performed were parables--acted-out parables.


I'm suspicious of religious things that happen in big crowds.
It seems to me that small groups and less emotional settings
are more likely to produce authentic spiritual experiences.


I wish Oral's family God's consolation.
I also wish people would not get hooked into religion with big crowds, flashy music, and charismatic speakers. It reminds me too much of Adolf Hitler and his popularity.







 

Whether or Not

The traveling  business woman asked, "What kind of weather are we going to have here this week?" 

The custodian said, "The kind of weather I like."

The woman said, "How do you know it will be the kind of weather you like?"


He said, "Well, I have found out that I cannot always get what I like, so I have learned to always like what I get. Therefore, I'm sure I will like the weather that's coming."


I have learned to be
content
whatever the circumstances.
[Philippians 4.11]




Monday, December 14, 2009

Truman's gospel



Harry Truman was a true man of words. When being interviewed by Merle Miller he made some comments about his understanding of the Bible. He said he especially liked the Gospels and it interested him how "those fellas saw the same things in a different manner," and yet they were all telling the truth. He went on:

"I think that's the first time I realized that no two people ever see the same thing in quite the same way, and when they tell it the way they saw it, they aren't necessarily lying if it's different... And that is one of the reasons that when I got into a position of power I always tried to keep in mind that just because I see something in a certain way didn't mean that others didn't see it in a different manner. That's why I always hesitated to call a man a liar unless I had the absolute goods on him."

With those words Truman gives us a lot of wisdom in a nutshell. If we lived according to the Truman Truth about the diversity of perspectives, we could learn to live together in God's beautiful world with more harmony and compassion. The virtue of Tolerance is enhanced by the realization that people see the same thing in different ways. We even describe our understanding of the same God in different ways. People with different theologies may well be talking about the same God, just with different vocabulary or different cultural images.

I think it is significant--and inspired--that the Bible has four gospels instead of one; and that there are two creation stories instead of one in the first three chapters; and that 1st and 2nd Chronicles give a slightly different take on events that are already reported in Samuel and Kings. In other words, the very makeup of the Scriptures show us that God not only allows different perspectives, but values them.

Could it be that the Eastern view of religion and the Western view of religion are two perspectives that can learn from each other? Could it be that theology is bipolar, and we need both poles to have a wholistic experience of God?

Well, I'm going way beyond what Truman was saying. But the truth of differing perspectives is a major insight that has ramifications for politics, social relationships, ecumenism, and plain old courtesy.

My perspective cannot be the whole story. And neither can yours. We need to listen to each other.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Doctor visit



I went for my routine six-month medical checkup today. I seem to be okay. Blood pressure okay. Took blood. A little overweight. Need to exercise more. Need to watch what I eat. (Of course I always look at it.) 

Since we're in the digital age, the doctor used one digit to examine my prostate. (This is the male equivalent of a mammogram.) He takes a long time, telling me, "This is the right side of the gland that I'm touching now...And here is the left side..." I say, "Okay, that's fine, let's get on with it." 

I've been having some hip pain. I was limping for a couple of days, but now it's better. He gave me some patches to wear for the pain.


At one point he asked me when I had my last tenanus shot. I couldn't remember. He looked on my chart and said, "It was either 2000 or 2008--I can't read my writing." Now that was the first time a doctor has ever admitted that he can't read his own writing. 


My doctor is a very nice guy. He takes time to ask me about my life--what's going on. I made him blush today. I told him that I appreciated what he does--that doctoring is very important.

He thanked me. I thanked him. He washed his finger, and I left.



 

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Tebow ‘s Bible Show

Tim Tebow cried crocodile tears after losing the SEC championship game to Alabama. (On second thought, those must have been alligator tears.) His tears streamed down over the Bible verse he had painted under his eyes.




For that game it happened to be John 16.33. I said to Pat as we sat watching, "Look, Tebow has a verse about 'overcoming' on his face." I wondered if it meant 'overcoming Alabama.' You never know what Bible verses written on a person's face means. I suppose your average football fan didn't realize that the Greek word for 'overcome' is Nike. Perhaps he was secretly advertising for a shoe contract.


I wonder if Jesus intended for us to write his words on our face. I've heard of wearing your religion on your sleeve. But on your face? I kinda think that painting Bible verses on one's face trivializes the Bible. It also takes the verse out of context, which is always dangerous.


As far as I can tell, Tebow is a great guy. He's obviously a great athlete. He seems very sincere about his faith. And I don't want to make fun of him in any way. But…I think he was setting himself up for a big fall. And I don't understand the connection between using the Bible as makeup and one's prowess as an athlete.

The theology of football is not my area of expertise. Did Tebow expect God to help the Gators win? Did he think God was on his side? Did God let him down? Did the devil make him throw that interception in the fourth quarter?


Jesus, being a good Jew, would not have played a game with pigskin. Nor would he play on the Sabbath (Saturday). So, I'm not sure Jesus was involved in the game. Now don't get me wrong. I think God helps us do our best, whether at sports or anything else. Seeking excellence is a good thing. But I don't think God really cares which team wins the SEC championship or the national championship. Although if Bear Bryant is in heaven, he might have some pull.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Bono & the Psalms



Bono (of U2) grew up in Ireland with a Protestant mother and a Catholic father. He said the Protestants had the better tunes and the Catholics had the better stage-gear. Seeing how the Catholics and Protestants were killing each other, he soon rejected institutional religion. 

But he didn't reject God. Parts of the Bible spoke to him in a personal way. In the book Revelations: Personal Responses to the Books of the Bible (Cannongate Books, 2005) he says, "My religion could not be fiction, but it had to transcend facts. It could be mystical, but not mythical and definitely not ritual."

Being a musician, Bono especially liked the Psalms. He could relate to David the musician. And he particularly resonated with the Psalms that are like Blues music. 

As his band was finishing up their third album War, they needed one more song. Bono suggested they compose a piece using Psalm 40. He saw Psalm 40 as suggesting the triumph of grace over karma. So they made up song based on the thought of Psalm 40, and threw in a little of Psalm 6 ('How long?'), and finished the album.

Bono reflects on the question from Psalm 6 -- 'How long?' He says, "I had thought of it as a nagging question -- pulling at the hem of an invisible deity whose presence we glimpse only when we act in love."

Bono's take on the Biblical religion is not exactly orthodox. But he connects with certain portions of it. U2's music has been known for speaking up for justice in the world. I'm confident that Isaiah and Micah and Hosea and Amos would appreciate the way Bono and his band proclaim the prophetic truth with a hard beat. And Jesus, being a fan of Isaiah and all the prophetic voices of Scripture, would also enjoy a U2 concert. 

The institutional church sometimes does not appreciate the way the Lord works through secular means, especially the arts. Artists can get rowdy. They might overturn tables and do even worse. God works in mysterious ways. He can use U2 -- and me too -- and you too.


##

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Moral Clarity



I've just finished reading an intellectually stimulating book: Moral Clarity: A Guide for Grown-Up Idealists by Susan Neiman. The author is an American philosopher who has taught at Yale and Tel-Aviv University, and is currently director of the Einstein Forum in Berlin.

A fascinating part of this book for me is Neiman's discussion of Abraham. She talks about the 'two Abrahams' -- the Abraham of Genesis 18, and the Abraham of Genesis 22.

In Genesis 18 Abraham bargains with God for mercy on the people of Sodom. Abraham thinks it is not fair to destroy everyone in the city just because some of them are unrighteous. That would not be justice, says Abraham. In other words, Abraham has an idea of Justice that trumps the intention of God. Instead of simply going along with God's plan, this Abraham uses his reasoning powers and his idea of justice to argue with God. This is the Enlightenment Abraham.

In Genesis 22 Abraham obeys God without any question, even though God's command is very unreasonable. Because God is telling Abraham to kill his son Isaac. This is the religious (fundamentalist?) Abraham. Unquestioning. Not raising rational arguments.

Neiman suggests that these two passages from the Bible give us two different moral paradigms. One is about submissive to the irrational; the other is about questioning authority and trying to make sense out of the world.

Christian theology (as in Aquinas) tries to keep the two together: divine revelation and reason, not one or the other. However, as I read the Bible I find it necessary in some places to reject the so-called divine commands as unreasonable. There does seem to be a higher Common Sense (or what theology calls Natural Law) that sometimes clashes with parts of Scripture. We all know this. That's why we read the Bible selectively. We select the parts we agree with and ignore the rest. All of us do this.

Neiman goes so far as to say, "Any ethics that needs religion is bad ethics." Well. I think what she is doing in her philosophy is building a moral ethic on 'good religion,' not religion in general. Even though some of her statements will seem sacrilegious to Christian readers, I'm in sympathy with her agenda. Especially with so much fundamentalism around these days, we need to lift up the Abraham of Genesis 18. Neiman also uses the Book of Job as an example of the 'good religion' that risks questioning God. 

Moral Clarity has sections on the values of Happiness, Reason, Reverence, and Hope. There is a section on Heroes that exemplify authentic moral life. I especially found useful the section on the relationship between realism and idealism. 

As an American I am drawn to the morality behind the words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." Some things do seem to be 'self-evident.' Abraham took the self-evident notion of Justice and argued with God. And God gave in. Which must mean that Abraham was right.




##


 

As I Am

I have come to affirm paradoxes as expressions of deep truth. Jesus taught with paradox, such as: She who saves her own life will lose it."

It is the paradox taught by Carl Rogers that has kept me going:


              "The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change."

It was during my college years that I first read the works of Carl Rogers, the father of humanistic psychology and client-directed therapy. His central dogma sounded strangely like the hymn I had sung 10,000 times--"Just As I Am." But the message from Rogers came through more purely, without the accompanying contradiction of 'God loves you just as you are, but you're never good enough' type of judgment. Carl Rogers preached the gospel to me in psychological terms that began to help me travel in the direction of self-acceptance. 

Then there was that other 'Rogers'--Fred Rogers, known as Mr. Rogers. He too taught the truth of 'I like you just the way you are.' Mr. Rogers (the Reverend Fred Rogers, a Presbyterian minister) spoke to children. But the child in each of us heard what he said. His weird, sing-songy, effeminate voice and mannerisms could easily get in the way of some folk. But his authenticity swept away any doubt in my mind. Mr. Rogers became another evangelistic for me--beckoning me on toward self-acceptance.

In college and seminary I came upon the theologian Paul Tillich. His sermon on 'Acceptance' drove home the truth. "We are accepted, even though we are unacceptable. Accept your acceptance!" Again, the paradox of the gospel came to me forcefully through his theology. Tillich added the transcendent element to the message. He said the acceptance he spoke of was an acceptance that came from beyond us. Like the good Lutheran that he was, he emphasized the 'alien righteousness' that comes from God.

Accepting ourselves as we are--and accepting others just as they are--is a paradox of grace. It is an acceptance that enables change and growth.

Paranoia about Muslims

There was an article in the Dayton Daily News the other day about a panel discussion at United Theological Seminary. One panelist was Rabbi Brad Hirschfield. I've written before about his book You Don't Have to Be Wrong for Me to Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism. 

 During the discussion he said, "There are more people dying in the name of religion today than since the Crusades." 

Religion is of two kinds: healthy and sick. It's the sick religion that motivates peoples to kill or hurt other people in the name of God. There are sick forms of Christianity, just as there are sick forms of Islam.

I'm concerned about all the paranoia about Muslims that I read on the internet. People are always forwarding stuff to me that's written by who-knows-who about how the Muslims are going to take over our country, and how all Muslims secretly hate America and Christians. Yes, there are extremist Muslims who follow a sick version of Islam just as there are extremist Christians who follow a sick, violent version of Christianity. But there is also a healthy version of Islam, which is open to Western culture and modernization. Too much generalizing about the sick version of religion gives all religions a bad name.

Rabbi Hirschfield said, "A fanatic is anyone who thinks they are 100 percent right about 100 percent of reality 100 percent of the time." He went on to say, "There's an important difference between being deeply committed to your point of view and being fanatical." 

I agree. As a Christian I am committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. But that doesn't mean that I can't learn from an atheist, a Buddhist or a Muslim. They might understand something that I don't. I bear witness to my belief, but I also listen to how God has impacted the lives of people in other religions, or how reality impacts an atheist.


I know there are a certain number of people in the world who are exploiting parts of the Islamic scriptures in order to impose their will on others--many of whom honestly believe that Western Culture is leading people away from God and holiness. But let's keep things in perspective. Muslims will not 'take over' America unless Americans elect Muslims to office.We give too much credit to extremists and too little credit to Americans if we pass on scenarios like these.



The forwarded emails I receive from 'Christians' just fuel the flames of hatred. Fearful and fanatical Americans scare me. Their lack of tolerance and their exaggerated claims do not make us safer. 

The problem is that we don't have Muslims who are friends or co-workers. The best thing we Christians could do is to make friends with real Muslim people in our towns and cities. Get to know them. Listen to their concerns about their children's health and education.Watch them love each other. Observe them working for the good of society. See them bow down to pray. Learn about their experience of God. See them as real people, not caricatures. A group from a church I served took a tour of the mosque north of Cincinnati and was able to listen to real American Muslims and ask questions and learn about their beliefs.



Rabbi Hirschfield said, "Anyone who loves faith [I would say 'loves God'] needs to figure out how to use faith to heal the polarization and address the fanaticism." 


It's one thing to be concerned about extremists and take precautions. It's another thing to paint a whole population of people with a broad brush and bear false witness.


Muslims interpret their scriptures in different ways just as Christians do. Only a small portion of those who practice Islam read their scriptures as the extremists do.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

suicide among pastors

This is not a comfortable topic, but it needs to be heard. 
Pastors get depressed and feel the pressure of the pastorate.
Sometimes they feel trapped.

Every session or personnel committee needs to have some way of regularly checking in with pastors to listen to their personal needs. 

This article from the Presbyterian Outlook magazine brings insight into this topic. Read and learn. 

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december poem

i can't believe it's already december.
i seem to remember
being in short sleeves
then seeing falling leaves
only yesterday;
perhaps i've lost my way
of discerning time's velocity
or there's trouble with my brain's viscosity.


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