Recently in Faith & Inspiration Category

I've actually been thinking more and more about leaving the US. I mean: for good. I find myself so disillusioned with what is happening in my native land.

My country forces education reform that is destroying creativity, problem solving, deep thinking, and analysis of knowledge to inform carefully considered long term solution-making for the immediacy of factionalized curriculum memorization. My country will not move beyond prejudice and discrimination. My country is squandering our national (as well as international) resources. My country is flinging privacy and personal freedom as fast as it escalates fear. My country cares more about greed, money, and possessing things than it does about people and their basic wellbeing. My country is removing the separation of church and state and forcing people to live by tenets of religion in which they may not personally believe. My country allows business, built on greed and outsourcing, to become so large they can not fail and must receive tax payer's money to keep the executes rolling in fat bonuses with shameless abandon. My nation's government is bought and sold by transglobal corporations and makes divisiveness its core ethic.

I can do little of nothing to stop or change any of this.

I wonder if this is a natural part of getting older--seeing the world through more jaded eyes. But I see other nations, not without their faults to be sure, at least maintaining some more moderate and productive sense of balance. I just think the US government is fundamentally broken and inept.

I shared last night at dinner that I actually don't think the US will be able to move to a better place within my lifetime. This saddens me greatly.

I've supported Lawrence Lessig's work for some time. I've had his "Change Congress" link on my site for some time. In this video he sums up things, and, unlike my dismal state of disillusion, offers a ray of hope. He doesn't frame the problem as conservative versus liberal or Republican versus Democrat. He is insightful and brilliant.

Warning! Most Christians in the United States, and probably all conservative ones, will be deeply offended by this sign. I personally find it shocking. The thought that it was displayed by a Christian church astounds me.

Do not click the image to the right, which will open a picture of the sign that is large enough to see and read, if you are easily offended by those who may have different religious views from your own and express them in ways you may find incredibly offensive.

A church, St. Matthew's Church in Auckland, New Zealand, put this sign up "intended to challenge stereotypes about the conception of Jesus." It has sparked enormous levels of anger and outrage on both sides of the controversy.

"We would see a billboard like that being used by an anti-Christian group to actually poke fun at the divinity of Christ," Freer told National Radio.

Christ's conception was a profound theological question and the billboard would not "give rise to any intelligent discussion on the birth of Jesus," she said.

Many messages on the church Web site attacked the image, while others defended it.

"This billboard and your 'sermon' is a sacrilege," one visitor, identified as Karen, posted.

Another, identified as Andrew M, wrote: "I for one think this is an excellent billboard. Challenging and thought-provoking. Just what it was intended to be."

Via: NPR -- Billboard Depicting Joseph, Mary In Bed Sparks Row

but not for this man whom I consider less than a charlatan. Oral Roberts needs to rest in shame as far as I am concerned. He created an entire generation of religious leaders who cared more about money than they do helping people--the sheer nonsense and evil of "the prosperity gospel": give me enough of your money and God will bless you. His influence, in my humble opinion, has had a deleterious impact on this nation beyond measure, substantially empowering the extremist religious right to have enough cash to wield its divisive and hostile influence. Evil!

He lied to people, millions of them. He took millions of dollars from good people who did without (I happen to have known some of them!) to live life large.

He supposedly healed the sick. Yet, when organizations publicized giving $1,000 to anyone who could provide medical evidence they had truly been healed by Oral Roberts, not a single person in the whole world came forward to receive the money.

He was the patriarch of the "prosperity gospel," a theology that promotes the idea that Christians who pray and donate with sufficient fervency will be rewarded with health, wealth and happiness. Mr. Roberts trained and mentored several generations of younger prosperity gospel preachers who now have television and multimedia empires of their own. Mr. Roberts was as politically conservative as his contemporaries in what became known as the "religious right," but he was known more for his religious style than for his political pronouncements. He was widely lampooned after he proclaimed on his television program in 1987 that God would "call him home" if he did not raise millions.

Source: The New York Times

I can think of nothing worse than to use people in the name of God for your own selfish, greedy gain. Therefore, I find Oral Roberts loathsome and detestable.

May he rest in the shame he deserves!

The American Family Association, a conservative Christian group, has published an article on its website calling for Muslims to be barred from military service. Bryan Fischer, AFA's Director of Issues Analysis, argues that the Fort Hood shootings are a signal that "It it is time to stop the practice of allowing Muslims to serve in the U.S. military":

"[T]he more devout a Muslim is, the more of a threat he is to national security. Devout Muslims, who accept the teachings of the Prophet as divinely inspired, believe it is their duty to kill infidels.... "

"Of course, most U.S. Muslims don't shoot up their fellow soldiers. Fine. As soon as Muslims give us a foolproof way to identify their jihadis from their moderates, we'll go back to allowing them to serve. You tell us who the ones are that we have to worry about, prove you're right, and Muslims can once again serve. Until that day comes, we simply cannot afford the risk. You invent a jihadi-detector that works every time it's used, and we'll welcome you back with open arms."

"This is not Islamophobia, it is Islamo-realism.... "

And just as Christians are taught to imitate the life of Christ, so Muslims are taught to imitate the Prophet in all things. Yesterday, Nidal Malik Hasan was simply being a good Muslim. You can read the whole thing here. Fair warning: It's a vast wasteland of stupid. I don't think I need to waste time responding to its "points": if you can't immediately see how bigoted it is, there's no way I'm going to be able to convince you otherwise.

If you're looking for a more reasonable view, here's Gen. George Casey, the Army's chief of staff, who definitely knows more about the Army than this clown:

"Our diversity... is a strength. As great a tragedy as this was, it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well."

Right on.

link: Conservative Christian Group Calls for "No More Muslims" In Military | Mother Jones

I just discovered Mike Todd's blog a couple of days ago when I posted about his insights into Capitalism and Christianity. I really don't know much about Mike's thinking, but in just a couple of days he has stated things that really resonate with me!

From where I sit, this quotation is so totally on the mark. It's much too easy to talk. Few people bother live what they say they believe. That's much harder to do.

"We must move from a belief-based religion to a practice-based religion, or little will change. We will merely continue to argue about what we are supposed to believe and who the unbelievers are."

(Richard Rohr, The Naked Truth, p. 108)

link: Waving or Drowning?: We Must Move

Throughout the years, I've alluded to the improbable collusion of the conservative church movement of my childhood and the economy of greed and the "it's all about me" unfettered capitalism that has broken the back of my country. But Michael's letter makes some excellent points that I would hope cause those of faith to pause and reflect on the serious breach between what we say we believe and what we do in our lives.

I've frequently heard, "WWJD?" But, what is the answer to that question? For real this time...

Friends,

I'd like to have a word with those of you who call yourselves Christians (Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Bill Maherists, etc. can read along, too, as much of what I have to say, I'm sure, can be applied to your own spiritual/ethical values).

In my new film I speak for the first time in one of my movies about my own spiritual beliefs. I have always believed that one's religious leanings are deeply personal and should be kept private. After all, we've heard enough yammerin' in the past three decades about how one should "behave," and I have to say I'm pretty burned out on pieties and platitudes considering we are a violent nation that invades other countries and punishes our own for having the audacity to fall on hard times.

I'm also against any proselytizing; I certainly don't want you to join anything I belong to. Also, as a Catholic, I have much to say about the Church as an institution, but I'll leave that for another day (or movie).

Amidst all the Wall Street bad guys and corrupt members of Congress exposed in Capitalism: A Love Story, I pose a simple question in the movie: "Is capitalism a sin?" I go on to ask, "Would Jesus be a capitalist?" Would he belong to a hedge fund? Would he sell short? Would he approve of a system that has allowed the richest 1 percent to have more financial wealth than the 95 percent under them combined?

I have come to believe that there is no getting around the fact that capitalism is opposite everything that Jesus (and Moses and Mohammed and Buddha) taught. All the great religions are clear about one thing: It is evil to take the majority of the pie and leave what's left for everyone to fight over. Jesus said that the rich man would have a very hard time getting into heaven. He told us that we had to be our brother's and sister's keepers and that the riches that did exist were to be divided fairly. He said that if you failed to house the homeless and feed the hungry, you'd have a hard time finding the pin code to the pearly gates.

I guess that's bad news for us Americans. Here's how we define "Blessed Are the Poor": We now have the highest unemployment rate since 1983. There's a foreclosure filing once every 7.5 seconds. 14,000 people every day lose their health insurance.

At the same time, Wall Street bankers ("Blessed Are the Wealthy"?) are amassing more and more loot -- and they do their best to pay little or no income tax (last year Goldman Sachs' tax rate was a mere 1 percent!). Would Jesus approve of this? If not, why do we let such an evil system continue? It doesn't seem you can call yourself a Capitalist and a Christian -- because you cannot love your money and love your neighbor when you are denying your neighbor the ability to see a doctor just so you can have a better bottom line. That's called "immoral" -- and you are committing a sin when you benefit at the expense of others.

When you are in church this morning, please think about this. I am asking you to allow your "better angels" to come forward. And if you are among the millions of Americans who are struggling to make it from week to week, please know that I promise to do what I can to stop this evil -- and I hope you'll join me in not giving up until everyone has a seat at the table.

Thanks for listening. I'm off to Mass in a few hours. I'll be sure to ask the priest if he thinks J.C. deals in derivatives or credit default swaps. I mean, after all, he must've been good at math. How else did he divide up two loaves of bread and five pieces of fish equally amongst 5,000 people? Either he was the first socialist or his disciples were really bad at packing lunch. Or both.

Yours,
Michael Moore

[From Michael Moore: For Those of You on Your Way to Church This Morning...]

We live in an interesting time, a time where imaginary images, pixels of light that dance on the screen but for a moment accompanied by surround sound have actually replaced the real thing. Marshal was right: the medium today is absolutely the message. Our images are simply hollow, empty icons that stand in for a vacuous reality that only exists in our minds and hearts. These images conjure up warm feelings for an often fabled past America and regrettably do nothing to inform our behavior in the present America. But that's OK because these images and sounds make us feel better in the moment.

For the better part of a decade, we have had our souls choked and throttled with fear, with threat, with terror. We have had our damaged psyches comforted with the images of faith and patriotism. This constant back and forth has shaped a nation now addicted to and made ineffectual by anger.

Our words and our icons have become devoid of meaning in the present, disconnected from any reality lived here and now. Adequate are merely the good feelings the words and the nostalgic images bring us. Needless and discarded is the disciplined reality these now empty containers of once precious value we only pretend to cherish demanded of previous, principled generations who framed their contributions through character, hard work, deep thought, public discourse, and actually living the fullness of their values.

God forbid that our values actually demand anything of significance of us, require we conduct ourselves in a principled way. Living what we claim to value would be much more difficult than just screaming ludicrous soundbites at town hall meetings, keeping our kids out of school when the President speaks to them, toting AK47s in public.

The author of the quotation below should also have included in his list "governors who flirt with secession."

... for people whose Christianity has nothing to do with the bible; whose compassion has nothing to do with those less fortunate; whose fight for "life" has nothing to do with the already living, breathing and walking whatsoever. No, for these people, it is the map of the country they defend, not the actual country. It is the flag they defend, not the Constitution. It is pointless, costly wars that they defend, but not the soldiers who return from them.

I think it is clear that people who continue to defend and protect those involved in torture, kidnappings, and indefinite detention should be called out for what they are on a regular basis: collaborators. They need to be labeled openly and shamed often.

link: at-Largely: Bush/Cheney knew it was a crime when they kidnapped and held detainees ....

Rock Church - Helsinki, Finland in Helsinki

I get to meet and have engaging conversations with a number of amazingly bright people around the world as a result of my work. Today, on the way to the airport with Wayne was another such opportunity. Some noteworthy points from the conversation:

American society is built on three pillars: representative government (democracy), capitalism, and the Judeo-Christian ethic. After World War II perhaps the strongest pillar was democracy with an emphasis on civic responsibility.

Subsequently, democracy and civic responsibility has been overshadowed by capitalism, which has been elevated to the point of a religion focused on short term material gain in our modern culture. (He also added that the ultimate end of unfettered capitalism is one surviving corporation that has endured the fight of "survival of the fittest." Is that what we really want?)

Couple this with a significant shift in the original basis of the Judeo-Christian ethic: a move away from service to others, the golden rule (do unto others as you would have them do unto you), and love/compassion to a new emphasis on the self, personal gain in both power over others and materialism.

I recently heard a minister at a wedding say that if you will put your trust in God, "he will bless you with material gain beyond your wildest imagination." A couple of days ago I read an article in the NY Times about a thriving religious empire that profits (at staggering levels) from prodding people's superstitions with the notion that the more you give to their ministry, the more God will give to you in these difficult financial times; therefore, you should sacrifice and do without to give to them. (What charlatans! I'm delighted their "ministry" is under investigation for fraud and tax evasion.)

Hopefully (but doubtfully) we have seen the end result of the horrific marriage of this distorted view of the Judeo-Christian ethic and unfettered capitalism--the collapse of the entire financial system in the United States with significant collateral damage to the financial infrastructure of the entire world. Interesting to me that the nations that all along controlled the greedy capitalist machinery of their economy have already seen economic recovery!

In the process of a small number of people in this nation becoming exceedingly rich, we have done long term damage to the financial health of the nation our children will inherit.

Are we really that selfish and evil as a people? I suspect so, as we continue to allow the same greed and selfishness to dominate the health industry rather than caring about the health and physical well being of the people in our nation.

But my favorite quotation from our conversation: "Challenge the status quo every chance you get."

This begs an even broader question: not just the changing definition of the worship service, but a completely redefined definition of "the service of worship." With the growing affluence and political influence of the evangelical movement during the "It's all about me" mindset of the Reagan to George W. Bush presidencies came more emphasis on what this movement wanted to get, have, and own with less and less emphasis on what could be given and shared. When I was growing up in this movement, the emphasis was on Christian service--a concept long lost to simpler, more humane times.

Does anyone- I mean, really, seriously- have any idea what is actually happening within the worship culture of evangelicals? We have, within a matter of 50 years, completely changed the entire concept of what is a worship service. We’ve adopted an approach that demands ridiculous levels of musical, technical and financial commitment and resources. We have tied ourselves to the Christian music industry and its endless appetite for change and profit.

Source: internetmonk.com

I hear rumblings among the Republicans about distancing themselves from the religious right wing extremist. Few things could be healthier!

Click on this graphic below to see the larger version. (Source)

I try to avoid talking too much about religion on my blog. But this post can't be held back!

You know, I am continuously so shocked at the lunacy that perpetrates itself as faith--both in the Middle East and in the United States. These right wing extremists, these fanatical fundamentalists, people I have often known since my childhood, appear to be becoming more and more out of touch with basic sanity. They seem to thrive on perpetuating their own power, influence, control and desire for personal financial gain by frightening people--good people. If they really believe the fear they peddle as faith, they have reached new lows in their own terrifying psychosis. I hope good people of faith see this for what it is and run as fast as possible from these religious nuts!

... several blogs have noted a growing number of conservative evangelicals alleging that Obama is the anti-Christ, or at least a precursor to that end-of-days figure. For example, Hal Lindsay, a prominent evangelical writer, charged in a recent WorldNetDaily article:

"Obama's world tour provided a foretaste of the reception he can expect to receive.

He will probably also stand in some European capital, addressing the people of the world and telling them that he is the one that they have been waiting for. And he can expect as wildly enthusiastic a greeting as Obama got in Berlin.

The Bible calls that leader the Antichrist. And it seems apparent that the world is now ready to make his acquaintance."

[Source: Obama Anti-Christ? McCain Ad Touches Off Religious Debate]

From time to time I have mentioned TED. As I posted on my professional site, "This year's conference is coming to a close. As I read blog posts from the attending bloggers, I am often deeply touched by the power of hope, the affirmation of the positive, the actualization of creativity, and the dense, saturating belief that we can change the negative forces that limit us as a species on a delicate planet. The exact opposite of the evening news, the exact opposite of fear-based politics, this conference is transformative: bringing together luminaries that can lift us above our present to see a bright way forward. What greater gift?"

I want to highlight a different TED Prize 2008 winner here: Karen Armstrong. This audio file was created from the notes Bruno Giussani blogged, while at the conference listening to Karen, on his site, Lunch Over IP. I can't wait to see the presentation she gave! (BTW: I've been a great fan of Lunch Over IP for years now!) What she says here, through Bruno's notes, is brilliant, powerful, and completely refreshing!

"A lot of religious people prefer to be right, rather than compassionate." - Religion scholar and TED prize winner Karen Armstrong