The Earth As It Is

From your Daily Dig by Leonardo Boff

Is it possible to live in peace and happiness when you know that two-thirds of human beings are suffering, hungry and poor? To be human we have to have compassion. This solidarity is really the defining factor of our humanity and is gradually being lost in a culture of material values. It’s not only the cry of the poor we must listen to but also the cry of the earth. The earth and human beings are both threatened. We must do something to change the situation...

There won’t be a Noah’s Ark to save only some of us. To meet people’s fundamental concerns change is needed. The world as it is does not offer the majority of humanity life but rather hell. I believe that change is possible, because I cannot accept a God who could remain indifferent to this world, but only one who cares about the poor and the suffering.

John Ikerd questions a time-honored pursuit.

I heard a story a while back about 'rotational farming'. Instead of keeping cows in stalls they are allowed to graze on an array of pastures through which they are rotated. This allows the pasture to recover from the grazing, and the cows get excersise and fresh air. Thus making them healthier without chemicals. They will also yield more milk. Not having to buy grain to feed them saves the farmer that cost, and saves land. Because whether the grain is bought or grown locally, it takes land to produce. It just seems to make too much sense to me.

7 Great Lies of Organized Religion

From Perry Marshall ~~~Lie #1:

'If you live a moral life, deny yourself pleasure, follow the prescribed rituals and give us enough money, you'll have a decent shot at being accepted by God.'

~~~

Remember that scene near the end of the Wizard of Oz, when Toto is pulling back the curtain? The sound system is bellowing, 'Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ HAS SPOKEN!' And There's a little man behind the controls, talking into a microphone.

Kind of reminds you of certain religious institutions, doesn't it? Short little insecure men, hiding behind names and titles, sending everyone on Mission Impossible
while they themselves indulge in secret sin. The preacher stands in front of thousands and shakes his finger. Nobody else knows that he had a stripper in his hotel room last night.

Somebody tells you, 'Here, follow all these rules and be the best person you possibly can, and you might have a shot at being accepted by God someday.' Then they string you along and get you under their thumb.

No wonder people are cynical.

Well it's no accident that Jesus' own biggest enemies 2000 years ago were precisely those same self-righteous hypocrites. When Jesus showed up, they were terrified of losing their cushy jobs and political clout. Eventually they murdered him for exposing their racket.

True spirituality had been buried in a big pile of bureaucracy, and the religious establishment used it to gain leverage. To have power over people, to get priority seating in expensive restaurants, and to line their pockets with cash.

They had everyone thinking that pleasing God was a never-ending performance marathon.

Well Jesus painted a totally different picture. He told this
story:

'Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a holy man and the other a tax collector.

The holy man stood and prayed, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this lousy tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.'

But the tax collector, standing far away, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'

Jesus explains: 'I tell you, this tax collector went home forgiven, rather than the holy man; for every one who praises himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be praised.'

Beware of the proud holy man who hangs a bunch of rules around your neck.

That humble tax collector had it right. He was doing the only thing you and I can do to be accepted by God. He just asked, with humility.

Tomorrow I'm going to attack Lie #2:

'God is huge and unapproachable, and He wants you to labor, struggle and live in guilt.'

Thanks for reading!

Respectfully Submitted,

Perry Marshall

Coffee House Theology

Just a thought

If we live our lives on this earth as if there is an afterlife, something more, and in the end it turns out we're wrong, what harm is done? Conversely, if we live this life as if there is nothing more, that this is all there is, when we're dead we simply cease to exist, and based on that live this life like there's no tomorrow as they say, in the end if we turn out to be wrong we spend eternity in somewhat less than desirable conditions. I say, why take the chance? What's seventy or so years compared to eternity? I'd rather live in expectation of eternity and be wrong, than live arrogantly denying eternity and be wrong.

The Cause of Unhappiness

by Anthony de Mello

Another offering from Daily Dig.
Loosely related to the 6/9 post 'Like a Butterfly'

If you look carefully you will see that there is one thing and only one thing that causes unhappiness.

Again and again we need to let go...

Opting Out in the Debate on Evolution

I heard someone say on NPR recently that there are more important things to be debating about. The more important question isn't how this all came to be, but why. Whether it took seven 24-hour days as we know them, or 7 millenia, does it really matter? Seems rather academic to me.

I would concede, in their position, I would also opt out.

From the NYTimes Science page by Cornelia Dean, published June 21, 2005

On Faith and Creativity

In the interview, Jack White's statements on creativity are inspiring!

A White-Striped Trip: 'Get Behind Me Satan'

Jack and Meg White are the singer-drummer duo who make up the White Stripes. Their fifth CD, Get Behind Me Satan, is being hailed as an extension of the raw, energetic sound of their earliest work.

From the NPR program Fresh Air from WHYY with Terry Gross

A related story from the NYTimes: The White Stripes Change Their Spots

Video "games"?

Chinese gamer sentenced to life

More gamers are taking disputes over virtual property to court. A Shanghai online gamer has been given a suspended death sentence for killing a fellow gamer.

From the BBC News UK edition

Like a Butterfly

by Emmy Arnold

It dawns on me more and more how trivial and short our lifespan is. It is like smoke; like a butterfly—it passes so quickly, flying away. Nobody, no one can bring back wasted years. One wishes that one would have always lived with eternity in mind.

Five years ago today, he died at the age of 22...

Source Daily Dig

more later...

Day after Day

Every evening the rabbi of Berditchev examined in his heart what he had done on that day, and repented every flaw he discovered. He said: "Levi Yitzhak will not do this again." Then he chided himself: "Levi Yitzhak said exactly the same thing yesterday!" And added: "Yesterday Levi Yitzhak did not speak the truth, but he does speak the truth today."

He used to say: "Like a woman who suffers overwhelming pain in child-birth, and swears she will never lie with her husband again, and yet forgets her oath, so on every Day of Atonement we confess our faults and promise to turn, and yet we go on sinning, and You go on forgiving us."

Excerpted from "Tales of the Hasidim", Martin Buber, foreward by Chaim Potok

Debating America's Christian Character

by Barbara Bradley Hagerty

Morning Edition, originally aired May 5, 2005 · In recent years, religious conservatives have been fighting the culture wars with new assertiveness. Many observers see a widespread nostalgia for America's early days, when most of the founders were Protestant and, some religious conservatives believe, Christian principles reigned.

From NPR

Blogging as Modern-day Epistle-writing?

This is one of those times when someone makes such an obvious correlation, one has to wonder why it took so long.

Kudos to ricoblog

Success? Money can't buy happiness

Ecc 5:12 HCSB The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.

From Johann Christoph Arnold at Bruderhof Communities

Source: Daily Dig

And in a loosely related story from the NYTimes website this morning: The Mobility Myth by BOB HERBERT
Published: June 6, 2005

The Benefits of Restlessness and Jagged Edges

by Kay Redfield Jamison
Morning Edition, from NPR, June 6, 2005

I believe that curiosity, wonder and passion are defining qualities of imaginative minds and great teachers...Unless one wants to live a stunningly boring life, one ought to be on good terms with one's darker side and one's darker energies.

Kay Redfield Jamison is a professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Her most recent book is Exuberance: The Passion for Life. She was honored with a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship in 2001.

This I Believe XML feed

Honda FCX: What a Gas! A Week in Suburbia With a Hydrogen Honda

I know this might seem a bit out of context, but stay with me. Aren't we called to be good stewards of what we've been given? People tend to put stewardship in the context of money, but it certainly applies equally—maybe even more importantly—to the world around us. A zero-emission vehicle would be the ultimate in good stewardship toward this earth we've been charged with caring for. Subdue doesn't mean consume, but command. One can choose to command justly, or not.

In the introduction of his book "Caring for Creation: Responsible Stewardship of God's Handiwork, by Calvin B. DeWitt (Baker Books and the Center for Public Justice, 1998)." Calvin DeWitt describes the vision that drove him to write the book. It was an image of humanity standing at the judgement seat of God, their hands dripping with oil and chemical waste, their feet crusted with concrete and asphalt. And God asks the simple question, "What did you do with the garden I loaned you?"

On homosexuality

So this morning, we heard Mike Haley of Focus on the Family speak on the subject of 'Preserving Gender'. That title put me off a bit, but what he said was very realistic, and intelligent. He promoted the idea that, loving the sinner, but hating the sin missed the mark. He said, in the context of sexual preference, people tend to identify/define themselves as being homosexual. Thus, if you try to tell them that you love them, but hate what they do, it doesn't work.

He talked about decisions we may be presented with as Christians: your lesbian neighbors have just been artificially inseminated, do you congratulate them? He's says, yes! The creation of life is a sacred and blessed event, no matter the context. Do you attend the same-sex ceremony of your gay acquaintances? Not a good idea. That would be condoning a sin. There is a difference. Your lesbian co-worker just got dumped by her partner. Do you offer to pray that her partner will return? No, but she is hurting. You can pray with her that she will stop hurting. Loss of a relationship is painful as a human being, no matter the circumstances. Appeal to her humanity.

Mike says how, at the foot of the cross, the ground is level:

1Co 6:9-10 HCSB Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit God's kingdom? Do not be deceived: no sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, (10) thieves, greedy people, drunkards, revilers, or swindlers will inherit God's kingdom.

So don't approach gays any differently than you might approach anyone else you are trying to help. That makes sense to me. We are all imperfect humans.

He said some gays tend to have a chip on their shoulder, in reference to Christians. They've gotten used to being scolded for 'choosing' that lifestyle and being rejected. For one thing, Mike says, no one would choose to feel what gays feel, it's not easy. Sometimes he says, they will be bitter to Christians in anticipation of rejection. If they do, it won't be so bad when they are finally actually condemned by someone and rejected. However, he says, if we look past that and remain loving, compassionate, and caring. We will be much more effective.

He talked about how often people think what a gay man needs is simply the love of a 'good woman'. He says it's not a good idea to trade one kind of lust for another. The better answer would be the love of good, Christian men. Someone to fill the void of male companionship and affirmation that they didn't get growing up.

The talk lasted about an hour, there's allot more. But overall it made sense, to me, very refreshing. It was some of the most rational, realistic talk I've heard in a while on the subject of homosexuality. I must concede, I was impressed.

more from 'Focus on the Family: What should be the attitude of Christians toward those who are gay?

"The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience"

Sider: the Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience

e-church points to this Christianity Today article by Ron Sider, an excerpt from his new book "The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience". It is a careful and well-documented look at how little those who claim to be Christians differ in their moral behavior from the general populace. Well worth reading and deeply contemplating ...

The Scandal of the Evangelical ConscienceWhy don't Christians live what they preach?By Ronald J. Sider
Once upon a time there was a great religion that over the centuries had spread all over the world. But in those lands where it had existed for the longest time, its adherents slowly grew complacent, lukewarm, and skeptical. Indeed, many of the leaders of its oldest groups even publicly rejected some of the religion's most basic beliefs.

more...

Update

I've added some new pictures to the series at left. They're a little small now, but I intend to link them to larger versions in the near future. These are all pictures I took while on a mission trip to Haiti in March of this year. I went there with a construction crew to help with the setting up of an orphanage in the capitol city of Port-au-prince. My task was to build desks and chairs for the kids. We were to build thirty sets in the week that we were there. The kids were not shy about lending a hand in the least. It made me think. We have kids here in the U.S. going to therapy because they can't seem to cope. They've got every necessity met, they have nearly everything they could ever want, yet they can't seem to handle it.

How many times have you heard someone talk about when they were kids, how they had so much, everything they could ask for, and how happy they were? Not too often, if you ask me. I can think of several times when I have heard stories of not having anything as a child, about making your own fun. I know someone who—now quite comfortable—never seems to tire of telling the story of when she was child and her parents never owned a home. Her and her sisters used to go to bed in the summer with an oscillating fan in their attic bedroom and wait in anticipation of the breeze blowing in each one's direction in turn.

How many times have you heard someone say, 'We didn't have much, but we had each other.'? You hear of people who've finally made it, and realize it's not all it's cracked up to be. They opt out, they say the money didn't make them happy. Some even chuck it all, and unplug as it were, from the rat race. (See Not everyone chooses a life of ease. from 'God at the Edge, Niles Elliot Goldstein' as presented in Daily Dig ).

But I digress. I was talking about the kids in Haiti. The mean life expectancy there is around 52. You don't see people in wheelchairs. You don't see elderly people. This is one of the poorest nations in the western hemisphere. Yet, the children I met, ranging in age from 2 years to 16 years were remarkably happy. We had to use a generator to work. The public utilities are sporadic at best. The kids were advising me on how to start the generator! How many ten-year-olds here would be able to do that?

It just amazes me that compared to us, these kids have nothing and are noticably happier. It's makes one re-consider what's really important. Should we really be so enraged at the guy who cuts us off in traffic? And, having the modern conveniences that we do, we should appreciate them as such, not as a given, or a necessity. It's okay to enjoy a hot shower, but be mindful of the fact that not everyone is so priviledged. Be ready, willing, and able to do without, thus making the comforts that much more enjoyable.