A God-Sized Puzzle

We're All Stories, In the End.

2013-06-09T15:48:00.001-04:00

I saw this on Facebook and felt it was worth sharing. The quote comes from the season 5 finale of Doctor Who, "The Big Bang". The Doctor's last words to a sleeping Amelia Pond:

"It's funny, I thought, if you could hear me, I could hang on, somehow. Silly me. Silly old Doctor. When you wake up, you'll have a mum and dad, and you won't even remember me. Well, you'll remember me a little. I'll be a story in your head. But that's OK: we're all stories, in the end. Just make it a good one, eh? Because it was, you know, it was the best: a daft old man, who stole a magic box and ran away. Did I ever tell you I stole it? Well, I borrowed it; I was always going to take it back. Oh, that box, Amy, you'll dream about that box. It'll never leave you. Big and little at the same time, brand-new and ancient, and the bluest blue, ever. And the times we had, eh? Would've had. Never had. In your dreams, they'll still be there."

The line used in the picture has stuck with me because it sums up what I believe. After our bodies return to the Earth our stories continue. These stories connect and define us while also creating new stories. A beautiful example of the interconnectedness of our stories is portrayed in last year's film, Cloud Atlas. The film is based on David Mitchell's 2004 novel which consists of six stories spanning from the 19th century to a post-apocalyptic future. The characters of the six eras are connected to each other through storytelling and are inspired by that connectedness to fight the injustice of their time. The stories stand alone independently but when they are told together they create a beautiful interwoven tapestry of us, a story of being human.

Some people fear that they'll be forgotten after their death, but even the shortest and seemingly insignificant of lives have a part to play in the choir of humanity. One of my favorite Doctor Who scenes happens between Wilfred Mott and the 10th Doctor in "The End of Time":

The Doctor: I'm older than you.
Wilfred: Get away.
The Doctor: I'm nine hundred and six.
Wilfred: Oh really though?
The Doctor: Yeah.
Wilfred: Nine hundred years. We must look like insects to you.
The Doctor: I think you look like giants.

The beauty of our collective stories is not solely found in the most prominent threads in our tapestry, but in the sea of unique threads interconnected and bound to one another. When we discover that interconnectedness we come to appreciate each others stories that much more. And as we blend we begin to forget where one story ends and another begins.

So what is your story? Have you found your story's place in the tapestry? Are you making it a good one?

The Geography of Hate

2013-05-21T12:24:00.002-04:00

Vorjack from Unreasonable Faith shared this interesting interactive map which shows the areas in the U.S. which produce the most hate tweets on Twitter. This map is based on 150,000 geotagged tweets between June 2012 and April 2013 which contains racial or sexual slurs. Here's a snapshot of my local region showing homophobic tweets in the Eastern Tennessee and North Georgia area. You can check out the full interactive map here. The interesting thing is that the majority of the hate tweets originate in the Eastern half of the U.S. The process, and pitfalls, in collecting and mapping this data is explained here. Any thoughts?

The Dream of Life

2013-05-14T20:39:00.001-04:00

There is something about listening to speeches (sermons?) by Alan Watts which really strikes a chord with me. I've only read a couple of his books and even though I don't completely buy into everything he talks about it's fun to think about and play with the ideas in my head. It always inspires me to look at life differently.

If we had a chance to dream the perfect dream of life would we get bored and end up dreaming of a normal life? Boredom is one of many reasons why I can no longer understand the point of living in bliss for eternity in heaven. Even as I child I (secretly) asked myself "wouldn't eternity be boring?" As a teenager I even had dreams where after a few millennia in heaven I dove off the edge of heaven and back to earth (reality) because I found heaven boring.

I can understand why people feel the need for heaven to be real. Life is rough, heart-breaking, and down right miserable at times and some people rely on the hope for a way out. Heaven=hope to billions of people and the last thing I want to do is to pull the rug from under their feet. To me, heaven is more of a distraction from the here and now. There is so much beauty to see and experience that I can't see myself ignoring all of reality, however short in comparison, in hopes of entering a place (or state of mind) of eternal bliss. Who I am contains experiences and memories of both good and bad things and I can't fully appreciate the good moments in my life without the bad. I believe learning to live with the ups and downs of life is what being human is all about.

Does this idea that we are all connected, that we're all waves of an ocean, of any benefit to anyone? Although I have trouble believing that at the core we are God playing hide and seek, the idea that we are connected to each other and the universe helps me to be more understanding, compassionate, and to tread carefully and respectfully in life. This concept isn't necessary for me to be compassionate and understanding of my fellow man but is simply a story which symbolizes and illustrates why I do. So which is more important to you: controlling your adventure of dreams or simply experiencing them?

"You Got To Touch His Freakin' Heart"

2013-05-10T12:06:00.002-04:00

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".

Clara Oswald: The Red Shirt

2013-05-08T08:45:00.000-04:00

Although I mainly write on religion and spirituality I thought I'd continue my thoughts on Doctor
Who and theories on the identity of Clara Oswin Oswald. One of the common themes I've found reading on theories on Clara's identity is that she wears red, a lot. Combine that with the fact that she keeps dying and you can't help but calling her a red shirt. Others have also noticed roses referenced in several episodes, possible hinting at a connection with Rose Tyler (a popular theory being that Clara is the daughter of Rose and 10-Two). Even though the color red may be a foreshadowing of Clara's death why does she keep coming back only to be killed again? The way the Doctor desperately tries to keep Clara alive after seeing her die twice before reminds me of Desmond's attempts to keep Charlie alive in Lost. Regardless how many times Desmond tried to keep him alive Charlie had to die.

There is a Grand Unified Doctor Who and Clara theory found here which attempts to explain why Clara keeps popping up throughout history. It states that she is in fact a Time Lord who used a Chameleon Arch on herself. Even though her body dies her Time Lord essence fights its way back into existence constantly being reborn throughout time. It's an interesting theory (although I'm unfamiliar with the Classic Doctor Who series so I'm not sure of the theory's plausibility) but I really like the focus on her essence fighting its way back into existence. Unlike Charlie in Lost where death was unavoidable, life is unavoidable for Clara. Regardless of her true identity I believe her constant rebirth is tied to the Doctor's identity and acts to remind the Doctor of something incredibly important ("Run, you clever boy. And remember.").

And on a side note, does the promo pic of the new episode, Nightmare in Silver, not remind anyone else of The Last Supper?

The Doctor Who is Named...

2013-05-03T10:07:00.001-04:00

So while wrapping up my last post on our thoughts on God a line from the Tao Te Ching and my excitement to watch Doctor Who tomorrow accidentally collided inside my head. I love reading about the intersection between religion and science fiction so I couldn't help myself from creating this meme. The line was "The Tao that can be named (spoken) is not the eternal Tao."Although now that I think of it a better line to use would have been "The Name that can be named is not the eternal name." I don't believe Moffat and friends will actually reveal the name of the Doctor but instead talk about the power in knowing the name and what may befall if that name fell into the wrong hands. My wife and I are banging our heads against the wall trying to figure the identity of Clara Oswald, I suppose, like everyone else. Even though we may not guess her identity we're definitely enjoying trying to solve it. Let me know if you can come up with a better meme. I'd love to hear them.

Our Thoughts About God

2013-05-03T08:21:00.000-04:00

This image sums the first of many questions I asked myself when I began my spiritual journey over 7 years ago.

"Our thoughts about God are just that: thoughts about God. They are not God. They approximate God. This includes the thoughts, now written, of the biblical writers and all theologians since. All their thoughts and all their writings are not God, but approximations of God." -David Haward (You can see more of David's work here.)

This was when I began to differentiate between my thoughts and what God is. How I define God is just that, my definition. To embrace the idea that our thoughts are just approximation carries with it a humbling affect. It allows me to understand how someone else may view and define God (or anything else for that matter) differently. God then becomes malleable (a playdoh god, maybe?) able to change shape and grow depending on the viewer. This tells us more about ourselves than it does about God herself granting us another window into the heart of our neighbor. Is there a God beyond our personal playdoh god? Sure, why not, who knows. Does it matter? That depends how important it is to you for your thoughts about God to be real.

This is something most people don't readily think about because it introduces a sliver of doubt on what they consider to be the foundation of their beliefs. But doubt is not the "gateway drug" which leads down the slippery road to Atheism, it is a constructive tool which helps us analyze our beliefs. Analyzing what we believe helps us to better understand why we believe the things we believe. Would you rather accept a belief system you simply inherited from your parents and/or environment or would you like the chance to choose what you believe for yourself? In the end we decide what religion to follow (or not follow), which house of worship to attend, and what spiritual practices to practice. In the end we make our choices based on our thoughts after weighing the evidence we analyzed. Now multiply that process by several billion people and it becomes clear that our thoughts about God are simply that, our thoughts.

How Good Do We Have to Be? Part 6- Final thoughts

2013-05-01T07:37:00.001-04:00

[I started this blog series well over a year ago on Harold Kushner's How Good Do We Have to Be? and life got in the way and I never got a chance to finish reviewing the book. I recently recommended this book to other people which caused me to dig up this long unfinished post.]

In the last couple chapters Kushner explains that life after Eden wasn't a punishment at all but a gift to be cherished. We are conscious about our death and having that knowledge makes our days that much more beautiful, or at least it should but we allow guilt and fear to overtake our lives. How good do we really have to be? There is no bar we have to meet that any higher power requires of us. What we can do is forgive, love and accept our friends and family for who and what they are, human. We are going to make mistakes and holding the ones we love to unreasonably high expectations will only feed the damage caused by guilt and fear. It is hard to be humble and vulnerable but if we open ourselves to others and understand our shared suffering then we don't have to suffer alone. And by opening ourselves to others we allow love to flow freely between us.

Kushner closes with what he deems is the most important word in the Bible found in Genesis 17:1. Tamim, which is usually translated as perfect or blameless, can translate to mean something like whole-hearted. Kushner states that God, as a God of forgiveness, doesn't want us to be perfect but to strive for integrity. As fallible humans unable to go back to Eden (existence before eating from the Tree of Knowledge) we should strive to be true to the core of who we are and the goodness found within all of us. In the final chapter Kushner shares one of my favorite stories, The Missing Piece, by Shel Silverstein. Like the circle who is content with searching for its missing piece after finding and leaving it behind, Kushner suggests we are more whole when we are incomplete.

"The man who has everything is in some ways a poor man. He will never know what it feels to yearn, to hope, to nourish his soul with the dream of something better...There is a wholeness about the person who has come to terms with his limitations, who knows who he is and what he can and cannot do, the person who has been brave enough to let go of his unrealistic dreams and not feel like a failure for doing so."

There is a wholeness in coming to terms with our humanity, with our fallibility. When we give up our search for perfection, accept ourselves and others for who we are, and strive to be our best selves, then we find there's plenty of love and forgiveness to go around.

Part 1: A Story of Emergence
Part 2: Guilt and Shame
Part 3: The Cycle of Guilt
Part 4: The Wholeness We Seek
Part 5: Is There Enough Love for Everyone
Part 6: Final Thoughts

The importance of Change

2013-04-29T10:37:00.002-04:00

The concept of personal growth and change has been on my mind again, something which I touch upon here a lot. It is an important topic to me because I've embraced that change is constant. And even though some changes in the universe can be interpreted as negatively impacting our lives I can't recall anyone actively seeking change which would make their life worse. Looking back we might be able to pick out the bad choices in our lives but at the moment we may have believed that was the best decision for ourselves. When it comes to my personal spiritual growth I have made choices which I believe would strengthen my spirituality, and my walk with my fellow man. Others who fail to understand the reasons behind my choices will interpret my change as negatively impacting my life as well as those closest to me. They say with a negative tone that "you've changed" as if shaming me would shock me back into being the old Sam.

I don't believe it is possible to go back to being the person we were before. We are constantly being affected by our environment, people, and events that it is simply impossible. And if it were possible (say by some timey,wimey revision of history) what would be the point of living a life where nothing changed? Outside of it being incredibly boring you wouldn't experience anything new and exciting, nothing would happen to you. So when others approach me with the "you've changed" look/tone I feel as if they would prefer that I stay in the same state that they're comfortable with, regardless of my personal feelings. They are uncomfortable with your changes without knowing the reasons behind the change. I've gone from 7th Day Adventist -> SBNR (I'm not in love with the label but that's the best I can find so far) and most don't ask what inspired (and continues to inspire) me to change or discuss my journey but instead focus on what was so wrong about my prior religious identity that I had to discard it. When I reply with "it simply didn't work for me" most take it as an attack on Christianity itself and by then any hopes of dialogue dissolves into a rant of how lost I am and ends with them saying they'll be praying for me (I've got a small army of people praying for me). Just because Christianity doesn't work for me DOES NOT mean it won't work for you. But if you're of the mindset that one faith is completely true then by definition it has to work for everyone, and if not the blame falls on the individual and not the religion. My beliefs changed because of the experiences, people, and events in my life. Change was bound to happen and will happen again. So how will you react to changes in your life? Will you fight or embrace them?

Defending God

2013-04-04T10:21:00.001-04:00

I've been gone for quite a while mostly busy with school but I thought I'd share something I came across again yesterday. Andrew Hackman, from Hackman's Musings, shared this verse on Facebook.

And the Lord said, " “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. 6 Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple. ~ Ezekiel 9:5-6

How does this verse make you feel? Are your initial thoughts to defend or oppose it? What if we made some minor changes to the verse like the following:

And Allah said, " “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. 6 Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple. ~ The Holy Quran sura 9:5-6

Does that make a difference? Would you defend one more so than the other, or do you find them both abhorrent? What if I tied these words to Hitler? Would it make a difference if we added context to each of these scenarios? What if we explained that the residents of the city needed to be exterminated or else they would continue to commit heinous crimes against humanity?

The words themselves regardless of the source are abhorrent, period. The issue some people struggle with is what to do about the source. If the source is someone (or some group/institution) you identify with what do you do with a verse/quote promoting genocide? What does that verse/quote tell you about the source? Are your tribal loyalties so important to you that you would defend the source regardless of what he/she/it may say?

If you can work out some clever double think so that your source stays innocent and blameless while promoting something as sicking as genocide AND still be able to sleep at night, then I applaud your skills in mental gymnastics. I, on the other hand, can not look at a verse like this without feeling sick. Opposing this verse doesn't mean I throw out the Bible entirely or despise the religion (or the believers) around it. I just can't believe in a deity which calls for genocide in one verse and then promises showers of blessings and love in the next. It is the image of a barbecue-obsessed deity, who demands obedience or blood, that I have rejected after many years struggling with questions brought up by reading the rarely mentioned parts of the Bible. Studying the Bible in-depth is what set me on the path to the conclusions I've reached today. (Although, I wouldn't mind grilling with Thor.)

'Merica

2013-03-10T13:49:00.001-04:00

'Merica! Where we can say and do whateva we want!

My Facebook feed gets flooded with all sorts of quotes, rants, and proclamations of love for food, family, and God. Facebook does allow me to filter the feeds from anyone I'd rather not see. I don't use the filter because this seems like overkill to me since I do enjoy seeing updates, photos, and connecting with loved ones I don't have time to see. The bombardments of memes and praises for Jesus doesn't phase me one bit. What does concern me are the individuals who share jokes and memes without understanding the message of what is being shared (or if the do understand, they're so completely detached from reality they fail to grasp the inhumanity of the message). Take this meme for example where someone posted the results of what is supposed to be a nuclear strike on Mecca (I think) saying that the problem was "solved". I won't go into how many MORE global problems that would bring up (social, economic, culural, environmental, etc.) but you get the idea.

So when I come across something like this I try to point out why this is morally wrong. I try not to do it in a smug "holier than thou" manner but simply pointing out that the individual might need to reevaluate sharing what they shared. Depending on your Facebook settings these images and jokes can be seen by friends, family, coworkers and companies looking to hire you. You may think the content is funny, and you ABSOLUTELY have the freedom to share it, but do you really have to act on an impulse simply because you are free to do so? Some fundamentalist groups believe it is their right to stand up for their beliefs by publicly condemning gays, and when they are prevented from partaking in their hate speech they play the "We're being persecuted" card. In the end you'll just end up looking foolish trying to protect your pride and beliefs.

I believe we should focus more on how we should utilize our freedoms to improve the quality of life for our global neighbors than abuse those freedoms for our own selfish reasons. But we are talking about Facebook, it is the home for egocentrics.

Blog Series: Sunday Sermon Podcasts- The Vicious Circle

2013-02-10T10:30:00.001-05:00

This Sunday's podcast with the Rascally Rabbi Rami Shapiro is entitled "Vicious Circle: Theology and the Demonization of the Other" which was recorded back in March of 2012.Enjoy.

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"Boxes are everywhere. Once they're set and once we've agreed to live within them our notion of truth and what's right is pretty much fixed....The more locked in we are the easier it is for us to not simply lock the other out but to assure on a very deep psychosocial level that the other is actually evil."

I love listening to talks by Rabbi Rami because he introduces questions which I find helpful in sweeping the mind of our images and ideas of Reality (God, etc.). Are UUs a religion of neti neti? I'm not sure, but then how do you avoid the vicious circle? How do you escape other boxes while keeping one foot in new one ( the UU box)? Sound off in the comments.

I am the One Who Knocks

2013-02-07T09:30:00.001-05:00

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).

Why Do You Get 18%?

2013-02-02T11:59:00.003-05:00

This image has exploded on the interwebs and even hit the news. I've seen some humorous (and plain awful) restaurant receipt images but what's sad about this one is that this pastor played the religion card to justify not giving a tip (although Bell and company claimed they left a $6.29 cash tip on the table).

She apologized stating she's embarrassed by her lapse in judgement, but frankly, as many in online forums have stated, she wanted someone to see it she's just ashamed that her unchristian behavior went viral. So let's break it down shall we?

"I give God 10%"
Bell is boasting how faithful she is to God by proclaiming she renders to God what is God's. This holier than thou attitude is a cry for attention and acceptance. We all want to be loved but why go out of your way to get someone fired over your wounded pride?

"Pastor Alois Bell"
I understand why some doctors prefer being called doctor, they worked hard for their title (as long as they don't let it get to their heads), but why mention you're a pastor on a restaurant receipt? Writing pastor on a receipt is not a get out of jail free card, they're not going to look at that and say "she's not being rude, she's a pastor". It doesn't allow you any special privileges in society. It's like walking into a room and "declaring bankruptcy", it's not anything.

"Why do you get 18%"
This reads "why should I be more generous to you than I am to God?" Forget that she's a pastor or even Christian for a moment, and focus what this says to you as a human. This is saying my loyalties to my ideals and beliefs deserve more of my attention and resources than my fellow man. Everything is second to _____ and if anything threatens or is elevated above _____ then I will reminder you/ it of your/its place. If you can't connect with or even have a shred of compassion for your fellow man (never worked in food service but I'm sure it is rough) then you can't call yourself a pastor.

I feel for the fired waitress, even though she did break corporate policy, who only posted it as a comical example of a bad tipper. Hopefully she won't be out of work for too long but this is a clear reminder how interconnected we are to each other and even the smallest of actions can have serious consequences.

The "Dangers" of Being Open to Other Beliefs

2013-01-14T07:48:00.002-05:00

What's better than a great question you can mentally wrestle with for hours?

The questions which come from attempting to answer the first one.

Andrew Hackman, of Hackman's Musings (jeez, if I continue mentioning this guy any more in my posts I may come across as a stalker), shared on Facebook a gem of a question, along with this comic, I'd like to pass on to you like the flu. I hope I infect you.

"What if you expected yourself to be as open to another faith as you desire others to be open to yours?"

This question is geared more towards people who believe they already have the truth and want to share their truth with you. Of course they'd rather not have you share back, evangelism can't work if you're BOTH open-minded. Dialoguing with another person is a great way to get infected with foreign ideas and concepts.

But what really are the dangers of exposing yourself to other beliefs? If you have confidence your faith will not waiver by a handful of words what harm will come by simply listening to others? If anything it can be a good test of your faith. If a thought provoking conversation with an unbeliever causes your spiritual knees to wobble then wouldn't you want to discover why? Not everyone is born to the faith they follow, at one point in their life they may have made a decision to follow their current beliefs, they were once open to then foreign beliefs and ideas. Why stop there? Why stop being curious?

A believer's easy answer would be "I have the truth now so everything else is irrelevant", but that answer doesn't cut it for me. I believe in the insatiable curiosity of humankind and our desire to connect with one another. To crush or hinder that spirit saddens me and, in my opinion, feels like you willingly accept to entrap yourself in a cage in hopes of receiving a false sense of hope and security in a chaotic universe. The universe is fluid, it keeps changing, evolving, and growing, so what makes us think we don't change as well? As an Agnostic/SBNR (ugh, I despise labels) I try to expose myself to a wide variety of beliefs (which there ain't too much here in the South) because I find religion and spirituality are beautiful expressions of our humanity. The language of religion, stories, and rituals gives us a way to connect with one another, so exposing myself to other beliefs helps me to connect to more of my global neighbors.

Being open minded to other beliefs doesn't mean you HAVE to agree with others, it means being attentive and actually listen to what others are sharing. Wrestle with it, find the commonality and the differences between you and the foreign beliefs. Most importantly, again in my opinion, find out the why behind what they believe is important to them. When you discover that your global neighbor shares in similar hopes, dreams, and fears you will find that we are all cut from the same cloth, or if you prefer, molded from the same clay.

Do I Offend?

2013-01-01T12:16:00.002-05:00

Religion is a touchy subject, it has its pitfalls but it also has those beautiful awe inspiring moments found in the stories they tell. When I speak about those stories I do so with full respect to the people who place their faith in them. I'm not here to pull the rug from under anyone's feet, that's counter productive. I do however shine a light on the evils caused by men using religion to carry out their unjust deeds. Even Agnostics have morals and values, we're just as human as everyone else. Every now and then I'll write a post or make a passing comment related to religion which causes a Facebook friend to "delete" me, or I find myself on the receiving end of a long winded speech as to how I'm going to Hell. These don't phase me anymore I just find it curious as to why people find it necessary to act this way. First, I do become a bit discouraged that a long time friend would sever our digital friendship over a difference of opinion/belief since social networking sites is the main way I keep in touch with many of my friends. (A busy stay at home dad working to finish a M.S. on a tight budget doesn't get out to socialize much.) So unless I run into them by chance at the grocery store I may never see them again. (By this point I realize that if they get THAT offended over a string of words we weren't very good friends to begin with.) Second, threatening me with eternal torment in Hell is like threatening me with a flock of evil, flying (but decently dressed) monkeys. I'd just find it amusing.

So I asked myself, how did I offend others? Was it my choice in words? Was it the method in which they were delivered? Was it the message itself? Or was it simply because I'm on the "wrong team"? I'm a fairly friendly person, so much so that my wife says I'd be friendly to Hitler. I don't go around spouting hate either. What I've concluded ( those offended please correct me if I'm wrong) is that I'm simply batting for the wrong team. Once you're seen as the "enemy" all sorts of walls go up. Some will try to convince you to come over to their team so that they won't have to view you as the enemy. Others will cut off all interaction so that they don't become infected with your beliefs. Either way things change, people change. And as we enter into a new year let us ask ourselves how we will change? Will your changes make a difference in the lives of others? Or will your walls seclude yourself from others causing you to fear them?

The Bad Samaritan

2012-12-30T11:25:00.000-05:00

Dr. McGrath shared this interesting image yesterday with a twist on the Good Samaritan. There was a bit of a debate in the comments on what the image meant. There is a bit of a political message in the image but this is due to the blurring of the lines of self identification. I believe this image is a left leaning response to the Christian conservatives who support being armed (which I have no problem with those choosing to be armed). The Parable of the Good Samaritan begins with Jesus being asked to identify who is considered a neighbor. The despicable foreigner, the Samaritan, became (or should be) the Christian example of how to be a neighbor, in which Christians are called to love. The disconnect is when those who self identify as Christian conservatives blame the victims of tragedy instead of turning to their gold standard of morality, the Bible, and seek out a viable solution to help prevent similar tragedies in the future. I'm not saying ALL Christians are guilty of this disconnect mainly because there is no singular definition or group representing all of Christianity. I'm talking about people who believe you can't be a Christian if you don't own a gun, and believe God deals out collective punishment because we've been unfaithful. They lean on their own understanding and call that "trusting God". The Bible is not simple to read or even interpret. But the message of the Good Samaritan seems fairly straightforward: be merciful to your neighbor.

Surviving "The End"

2012-12-23T11:09:00.000-05:00

So with another doomsday come and gone I thought I would bring up some questions I've been pondering.We've survived several lesser known doomsdays from "prophets" as we neared the Mayan 2012 apocalypse. I never believed anything would happen on 12/21/12 but now that it's passed without a bang will people fall for these doomsday predictions again? With the most well known doomsday come and gone I believe (and hope) people will be less willing to lend an ear to the boys who cry wolf. There will always be more prophets heralding the end, and more charlatans preying on the fears of the people. Which brings me to my next question: how will this affect the belief in end time prophecies of religious believers? Will they continue to believe in their prophecies because the Mayan apocalypse was a false, secular prophecy? Or will this cause them to question their eschatology? Will this also lead to questioning their beliefs in Heaven, Hell, and the afterlife?

Feel free to chim in with your thoughts. I hope to get some feedback from religious believers who've been affected by the passing of this non-event.

Conversations with Ourselves: Making Sense of It All

2012-12-01T09:17:00.003-05:00

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.

Part 1) Conversations with Ourselves: The Question
Part 2) Conversations with Ourselves: The Internal Struggle
Part 3) Conversations with Ourselves: The External Struggle
Part 4) Conversations with Ourselves: Reflections on Who We Were
Part 5) Conversations with Ourselves: Making Peace with Chaos
Part 6) Conversations with Ourselves: Making Sense of It All

Conversations with Ourselves: Making Peace with Chaos

2012-11-22T11:47:00.001-05:00

One of the most frightening things about my journey into the realm of endless questions is the chaos. For Christians, or any believer, their faith grounds them to a tangible answer, it can give hope during chaos. But even then some of those religious answers don't make any sense especially when bad things happen to good people. How then do we deal with chaos?

A believer would hold on tighter to their foundation, to their god, and hope and pray for the best. If things go their way they thank god for watching over them and move on, if not then the most likely acceptable answer is that god had different plans for them. This mentality exempts you from really dealing with the chaos of life. As long as god is in control you don't have to face the chaos of life, you don't have any real reason to empathize with the suffering of others because god is in control of their lives. Whatever happens is suppose to happen for a greater plan (which begs the question why even pray during hard times when your suffering might be a part of The Plan?). This was one of the breaking points which caused me to drift away from Christianity. I absolutely can not accept that human suffering is "good" and necessary in fulfilling a divine plan. Any suffering is just that, suffering. But instead of wishing it away or hoping that an invisible, silent god (who apparently thought it OK for you to suffer) would take the pain away, we should be seeking out a more human approach. We should support each other even if we're powerless to help, sitting silently with those in pain does more good than a powerful, silent god.

The best visual example of the struggle with chaos is in the 2009 dark comedy film by the Coen brothers, A Serious Man, a film about a physics professor, Larry Gopnik, whose life begins to crumble around him even though he's been a good man, a serious man.

It was a difficult transition moving from a reliance on a silent god towards making peace with chaos. There were many low points in my life where I truly wanted to wish/pray things away. But that wouldn't have solved the problem nor helped me to deal with my emotions. I feel this transition has strengthened my empathy towards my global neighbor as well. And as we strengthen our relationships with our global neighbor the easier it gets to face the unknown. Where once I simply blamed the troubles of a stranger on their lack of faith I now realize that the rain does indeed fall on the just and unjust. So why not reach out and share an umbrella?

Part 1) Conversations with Ourselves: The Question
Part 2) Conversations with Ourselves: The Internal Struggle
Part 3) Conversations with Ourselves: The External Struggle
Part 4) Conversations with Ourselves: Reflections on Who We Were
Part 5) Conversations with Ourselves: Making Peace with Chaos
Part 6) Conversations with Ourselves: Making Sense of It All

Conversations with Ourselves: Reflections on Who We Were

2012-11-15T09:27:00.003-05:00

The idea of having a conversation with 2006 Sam is what inspired me to write this series. What would 2006 Sam think of 2012 Sam? Would '06 cringe at the thought that everything he believed in would be out the window 6 years later? Would '06 avoid taking this journey knowing he might end up like me? I thought about writing this one in an interview style format but I can't think like '06 Sam anymore and I would probably make him sound too cartoonish. I thought about seeking out someone who shares the beliefs I held in '06 but even then that would fall short because every spiritual journey is 100% completely unique. It can not be copied or duplicated. Oh there can be similarities but all spiritual journeys are unique.

[Summit by David Hayward (Naked Pastor). This is part of David's Sophia series. I highly recommend checking out David's work if you haven't already.]

Looking back, I don't have any regrets for how my journey has taken shape. There were many dark moments along the way but in the end I made it through. This journey is not about a destination or any kind of spiritual enlightenment. It is about learning how to be human, it is about embracing all the chaotic moments of life and cherishing my remaining years I have on this pale blue dot. '06 Sam was looking for something, his missing piece, and what I've found is that I've had it all along. I was chasing my own tail. As I migrated away from Christianity I found myself more accepting of those different from myself. My basic human morality (don't steal, hurt, lie, etc.) has remained the same. I've just widened the definition of who I call my brother. This doesn't mean that Christians are closed minded people, but for ME and MY journey I am more embracing of my global brothers and sisters. The journey I've taken can still be taken within religion, it doesn't necessarily have to lead you away from your original faith but what it will do is help you discover who you are and who you can be. It is a noble goal to be your best self, but you can't get there if you don't explore.

So if you are still sitting on your doorstep fearful of taking that first step my question is why are you sitting outside instead of safe and comfy inside? What's holding you back? Something drew you to step outside so why not explore a little?

Part 1) Conversations with Ourselves: The Question
Part 2) Conversations with Ourselves: The Internal Struggle
Part 3) Conversations with Ourselves: The External Struggle
Part 4) Conversations with Ourselves: Reflections on Who We Were
Part 5) Conversations with Ourselves: Making Peace with Chaos
Part 6) Conversations with Ourselves: Making Sense of It All

Conversations with Ourselves- The External Struggle

2012-11-08T09:07:00.003-05:00

So far we've covered the struggle with mustering up the courage to ask ourselves who we really are and the internal struggle it brings when we open up Pandora's box. It's one thing to internally wrestle with difficult questions but the external struggle with what others may think is different and can be just as challenging (even more so for some). Keeping the internal struggle in is near impossible, we want someone to talk to, someone to share in the journey.

We gravitate towards a community where we can be comfortable. A place where we can suffer and journey with one another instead of alone. We first try to reach out to our friends and family members because we trust them to accept us for who we are and to be understanding. This can be difficult if they firmly oppose what you may be struggling with (i.e. change in religious beliefs, change in political stance, or sharing something like sexual orientation) and the fear of rejection by your loved ones can be too much to bear.

How do you handle both the external and internal struggles? Some would say it's far easier to give up asking and go back to who you once were. Go back to what? We are constantly changing, evolving, so there's no way I could be the same person I was before I started questioning. In my situation I did not have anyone locally who shared my same evolving views. And that's when I turned to the internet and sought out a digital community of like-minded people. If it weren't for people like Don (Simple Thoughts from a Questions Man), Doug B (Groping the Elephant), Andrew Hackman (Hackman's Musings), and Ronnie (Dreaming with Captron52) I wouldn't have progressed as far as I have without their experiences and insights they shared (there are many more so don't feel bad if I left you off, I appreciate you as well). The internet grants us the ability to connect with others across the globe who share the same interest. My recent post on the spirituality of Facebook touches on this global connectedness. The web also grants us with a digital dose of courage allowing us to say things we wouldn't normally say to people face to face. Believe me, I've gotten quite a few suggestions that I should jump off a cliff or that they're praying for my lost soul and one interesting "I hope your children kill you for what you believe". I believe the interactions, comments, and squabbles on social networking sites like Facebook depends solely on the participants. If you're a jerk (or I should say "troll") then your external struggle is going to be much harder.

I know some of the things I say may offend, but why are you offended? Have you tried to examine why you may feel offended by my non-belief? If I say "I don't believe that Jesus is the son of God", or "the God of the Bible is too violent", why would it bother you (if you're Christian)? It's just a statement of what I believe (or not believe) and declaring a statement should not destroy your beliefs. I don't go out of my way either to pose these questions to those who may feel uncomfortable (I have certain Facebook friends filtered out from receiving certain "blasphemous" posts). HOW and WHY we say things is important but more important is the quality of our relationship with our friends, family, and neighbors. I want to improve that relationship while also discovering who I am. Along the way I may ask disturbing questions and I don't ask them to be a jerk but to discover and explore. Dr. McGrath at Exploring Our Matrix sumed it up best: "let's be human first."

Part 1) Conversations with Ourselves: The Question
Part 2) Conversations with Ourselves: The Internal Struggle
Part 3) Conversations with Ourselves: The External Struggle
Part 4) Conversations with Ourselves: Reflections on Who We Were
Part 5) Conversations with Ourselves: Making Peace with Chaos
Part 6) Conversations with Ourselves: Making Sense of It All

Conversations with Ourselves- The Internal Struggle

2012-11-01T09:28:00.001-04:00

In part one of this self reflection series I had talked a bit about what I love about self reflection and the creative sacred space born from asking questions. (On a side note before I get too far I have a copy of The Sacredness of Questioning Everything by David Dark which I believe relates to what I'm talking about but I have not gotten a chance to reading it yet. Will dust it off as soon as I finish reading Cloud Atlas.) The courage to even ask any question which may challenge the faith of your parents is a HUGE step in it of itself. Asking questions doesn't mean you are betraying God, your faith, or even jeopardizing your place in the here after. Questioning your beliefs merely means you want to explore your spirituality, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. If you're a part of a religious community then your spiritual leaders will most likely say that asking certain questions may lead you astray. The "believe what we tell you, ask only the appropriate questions" should fire off all sorts of alarms in your head. If it doesn't then you're not ready to ask, explore, discover your own spirituality if you allow others to decide your spiritual life.

[Litany Against Fear by Gavin Aung Than, you MUST click here and see the entire Litany Against Fear cartoon at Zen Pencils. Incredibly inspiring.]

I'm not advocating leaving your faith altogether but to recover the reins to your own spirituality. If you can make the decision to choose which house of worship to attend then why can't you decide the boundaries of your spirituality? Any relationship which requires certain unflinching, unquestioning loyalty is bound to cause pain. If you see God as the source of unconditional love, why then are there conditions to receive and experience that love? You must believe X or God will love you if... are conditions, plain and simple. Some will say that God loves everyone, but then continue with you must accept God into your heart or you must accept Jesus' sacrifice, etc, etc. But what happens when you begin to question the religious teachings that surround that unconditional love? What happens when certain events lead you to question your relationship with the divine all together? What happens when you just can't accept any of it?

How do you struggle with the questions which may unravel what you believe to be foundational to your human experience? It's difficult, I believe even more so than the external battle with friends and family members who may not agree with all this self discovery. For me it eventually turned into a spiritual practice. To sit and meditate on who we are and the enormous creative potential of who we can be is very spiritually rewarding. And that's the clincher, what's keeping you from discovering yourself? Is it fear of the unknown, fear of what others may think of you, fear of what you may discover, fear of becoming something/someone else, or fear of losing your beliefs? All of these hurdles include fear, but we must not be a slave to fear. Although I don't pray I do recite the following prayer before a test, interview, etc.:

The Litany Against Fear

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

This is recited by an order of women called the Bene Gesserit in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. It's a bit silly to recite a science fiction prayer to battle the fear of something like an exam. A string of words is not going to help me ace the test, so why recite it? To help remind myself that the prayer is just as silly, hollow, and weak as fear itself. The questions you are afraid to ask are just a string of words. They are not incantations to a spell which will immediately turn you into a monster. They are just words. The questions are simply a mirror to discover yourself. How can we love our neighbor when we're afraid to know, let alone love, ourselves?

Part 1) Conversations with Ourselves: The Question
Part 2) Conversations with Ourselves: The Internal Struggle
Part 3) Conversations with Ourselves: The External Struggle
Part 4) Conversations with Ourselves: Reflections on Who We Were
Part 5) Conversations with Ourselves: Making Peace with Chaos
Part 6) Conversations with Ourselves: Making Sense of It All

Conversations with Ourselves-The Question

2012-10-30T08:34:00.001-04:00

I love conversation. I love the interaction, mingling, sharing, and even merging of thoughts produced by conversing with one another. It is a way in which we can grow together. Of course there are many pitfalls to conversations in which I will not get into today (name-calling, being argumentative, miscommunication, assumptions, etc.). I want to focus on the power of conversation and especially on self reflection.

(H/T to McGrath from Exploring Our Matrix for sharing this photo).

Self reflection is something which I enjoy so much it's almost second nature to me. Asking questions is what guides me through my daily
self reflection moments. I am a thinker, and I always will be. I can get lost for hours down the rabbit hole following question after question. I can't help myself from asking questions, to think and wrestle with those questions and see what (or, more importantly, who) emerges. Answers are too easy, and easy answers can be messy and come with strings attached. But when you wrestle with a question, you come from the experienced a changed person. Not necessarily good or bad ( that's too black and white) but a changed person, a new creation. There are no easy answers to life, although some of us may feel better with easy answers, being human is an experience which must be experienced. And with each experience we are transformed, with each thought and wrestling we become something new, and in our actions we create a space for new things to flourish. THAT creative space is what I used to call God and what I still hold sacred.

So the question I ask others, but mostly myself, is "who are you, really?" For me THIS is the question which catapulted me into a sea of questions. Are we merely a collection of experiences, memories, genetic code, characteristics? Are we afraid to ask, or afraid to discover? What if we discover something about yourself which causes us shame and embarrassment, what then? What if what we are is completely alien from what we've been told since childhood? How do we wrestle that? How do we live? How do we be human? How do we love? The questions can go on and on, and we can either wrestle and learn to live WITH them, or we can take the easy prepackaged answer.

So who are you, really?

Part 1) Conversations with Ourselves: The Question
Part 2) Conversations with Ourselves: The Internal Struggle
Part 3) Conversations with Ourselves: The External Struggle
Part 4) Conversations with Ourselves: Reflections on Who We Were
Part 5) Conversations with Ourselves: Making Peace with Chaos
Part 6) Conversations with Ourselves: Making Sense of It All

The Spirituality of Facebook?

2012-10-06T09:49:00.000-04:00

"The universe, it is vast and dark and makes us wonder if we are alone. So maybe the reason we make all of these things is to remind ourselves that we are not."

Oh Facebook! I love thee as much as I love Youtube. This new promo both tickles and inspires me. In celebration of their 1 billionth active user Facebook has released this new commercial comparing Facebook to, well, chairs. You can read more on the video here and Zuckerberg's statement here. In his statement he says,

"For the first time in our history, we've made a brand video to express what our place is on this earth. We believe that the need to open up and connect is what makes us human. It's what brings us together. It's what brings meaning to our lives. Facebook isn't the first thing people have made to help us connect. We belong to a rich tradition of people making things that bring us together."

While Facebook can sometimes (scratch that, most of the time) be a narcissistic stage where one can shout to the world what you ate for lunch, at the core it is a place which does indeed bring people together. That yearning for interconnectedness is what drives my spirituality, and Facebook does a decent job of creating a digital connectedness (even though we are bombarded by game requests and random advertisements). It has been argued that social networking sites (and we could throw in the whole of the Internets for the sake of argument) causes more harm than good by keeping people glued to their computer monitors instead of interacting with real people in the real world. That would depend on your level of self-control but I admit it can be addicting. On the other hand social networking sites have the potential of bringing the lonely and isolated together. I mean where else can an Atheist or Agnostic surrounded by fundamentalists neighbors go to find a sense of community? I believe the online digital community is vital for those leaving established religion behind and seeking their own spiritual voice. I'm not saying Facebook is THE place to congregate digitally, but with 1 billion active users it's a good place to discover and connect with like-minded people. Remember, you are not alone.