On this day when we remember the men and women who died while in military service to the United States, may we also remember that it is our place here on earth (peopleof all religions) to come up with a way to QUIT KILLING- especially if we call ourselves Christians. Followers of Jesus will surely remember that one of his core Kingdom principles was NON VIOLENCE!
Monthly Archive for May, 2011
It’s amazing how much individualization goes on in all religions, but let’s stay with what I know- Christianity.
I understand that concept and need for a personal savior; however, there are many paradigms in play when we use that phrase.
1-WHAT are we being saved from anyway?
2-Or, is it a WHO that salvation is operating?
3-Have we limited salvation to just PEOPLE?
Hopefully you can see some of the rabbit holes that go deep should we choose to venture further than our own “fire policy”. In John 4:42 we find in the NIV, “They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
Savior of the world?
Let’s see, that would include not just Hindus and Muslims but also Trees and muskrats as well. As Romans 8 reminds us, all of creation is waiting for we who have been given dominion of the planet to get on with the stewardship that goes with the job description. God is more than your or my savior (in whatever way you take that) but the whole world.
Is your God that big?
Is that really a concept? Yep, sure is!
Inattentional blindness is also called perceptual blindness. It is the phenomenon of not being able to perceive things that are in plain sight. Hello, are we getting closer to home yet? It is caused by an absence of attention to the unseen object and is clear evidence of the importance of attention for perceiving.
Without attention we are as if functionally blind.
Unfortunately too many in the world today are functionally blind. It reminds me of the experiment done in New York. A man (actor) pretends to be asking for directions to a building in New York and he points to a map. Previously planned two men carry a large 4×8 picture and walk between the two (how rude!).
The man continues to ask his question for directions.
The difference is that when the two were separated for just 3-4 seconds, the man asking directions was switched out with a different person and the one pointing out the directions didn’t perceive it. The second person had different clothes, not the same hair color, and a differing height.
Bingo, inattentional blindness.
Right there in front of our eyes are exciting metaphors and allegories (in all sacred works) and we see them not! What else are you not seeing right now? Most importantly, the next time you are having a conversation with someone, LOOK at them, read their lips, comprehend their energy, and watch the number of friends that you have increase.
People don’t care that you know until they know that you care.
You’ve probably been asked that question many times!
It could be about something you said, some event you just shared, or maybe a new outfit that you thought the world of, but others didn’t share the same sentiment. There is a much bigger picture that I want to submit. It’s about the EARTH and NATURE!
Did Jesus come to save human kind?
Well, that question conjures up all sorts of doctrinal questions that can get one killed, so for the moment let’s say he did; however, the question is a much bigger one. I know that it is hard to step away for US, WE, ME, and MINE, but the truth is that God is RECONCILING everything to Itself.
The Gospel is COSMIC in scope but of course the writers some 2,000 years ago didn’t understand the gravity (no pun intended) of the matter!
As Romans 8 says, all of creation is waiting for us humanoids to quit being so self absorbed and take care of ALL of the creations of God which is more than we who walk upright on two legs. So, the question remains, what on earth are we doing here and what are we doing to this earth that sustains us?
So, who’s NOT been spiritually abused which isn’t limited just to traditional churches?
>Church is about faith.
>Faith is about beliefs.
>Beliefs are about doctrines.
>Doctrines are the opinions of man.
>Mankind can be potentially lethal!
Renee Alston in her book, Stumbling Toward Faith, writes, “I grew up in an abusive household where much of my abuse was spiritual. My father raped me while reciting the Lord’s Prayer. He even molested me while singing Christian hymns.”
Talk about sick, but don’t lay it off as a very unique case. The number of priestly pedophile cases, the number of ministers undone by sexual indulgences, financial theft, and general deceptions played upon the congregations is a vast store house of shame that might rival the Crusades.
But what about the SUBTLE spiritual abuses that have crept in unaware?
We all need to belong to a spiritual community wherein there is openness, vulnerability, accountability, grace, and unconditional love. It’s hard to find, but not impossible. It’s really a question of how FREE you want to BE. How serious are you about a relationship with the Creator and his creations?
We are ONE with the universe- one another. I know that is very hard to comprehend so let’s bring it back down to earth a bit- LITERALLY! We are ONE with this planet. This planet sustains us, the earth warns us, if we will bet listen.
In December 2004 only the animals and indigenous tribes listened and were saved!
When the Tsunami struck Bon Yai Beach on South Surin island in Thailand, more than 24,000 people were caught unaware and died a sudden and violent death. All 200 of the Moken tribe escaped except for one handicapped boy. They moved to higher ground just minutes ahead of the tsunami.
What did they know? What had others forgotten?
They knew that they were ONE with nature while others bartered in the open market places, sipped tea on the veranda, or watched TV at their hotels. When one of the tribal elders was asked how they knew of the coming tsunami, he said it was simple.
>Children developed severe headaches
>The swimming patterns of fish changed
>There was an unusual restlessness of smaller mammals
>Small streams begin to rush to the sea and drain
It was obvious that the earth was angry so they headed to the mountains to pray…and were saved.
One of the worst hit areas was Yala National park which is Sri Lanka’s largest wild life preserve. Filled with water buffalo, hundreds of elephants, leopards, tigers, crocodiles, and all manner of small animals, only TWO water buffalo drowned. The rest headed inward and upward (there a message there) and survived.
What have you forgotten about your bond with nature- the Creator?
I’m sure that you’ve heard that statement before: usually after an argument with your spouse.
But, it’s also been used too many times by religious leaders in a fashion that says something like this- “Don’t touch the anointed”! Yeah right, sure!
If there is anything that we can gather from the Jesus story it is that the divine is undefiled by touching what we think is defiled. Peter got the message as well when the voice from beyond said don’t call anything defiled that I say isn’t! Got that?
God had to descend into matter and in fact we all have!
Earl Doherty writes, “If contact between flesh and divinity was to be made, the initiative lay with the god. Deity had to humble itself, compromise its spiritual purity. It had to descend. And descend it did.” Furthermore, WE HAVE! As Walter Starcke likes to say, “It’s ALL God”. We are god but not exactly the same as “The God”. We carry the divine nature, the image of God and therein we need to TOUCH people and BE TOUCHED by people.
How are you doing with that these days?
The writer of II Tim. 2:13 (who cares who?) says in part, “For God cannot disown himself”.
That’s a fairly large statement!
If my memory serves me (tongue in cheek), we’re told in Genesis that we were created in the IMAGE of God! Some even make what to me is the biggest EGO statement that one can make- “I am God”. That point aside, can we agree that we ALL carry the image of God and ALL have the divine spark within? Then how can God send me or anyone to an eternal HELL?
Can God disown himself?
If you didn’t say the right words, weren’t in the right denomination, didn’t get in that last repentance before exiting this plane, does God say, “Sorry Charlie”. You know the rules. The door is locked, we’re full! Or, as Rob Bell wrote, “If you had been here earlier, I could have done something. But now, it’s too late”.
What about 1 John 4:4- “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world”. Does that still apply to today? What’s your spirit and inner man, that part which isn’t covered up with all that religious dogma and doctrine?
What’s your spirit saying to you?
Unfortunately we carry too many burdens, take offense for others when it’s none of our business, and bring our emotions into places we should avoid.
It’s just LIFE and a LIE!
We have enough things that we should concentrate on than to take on the burdens of things that aren’t in our job description. I was reminded of the story of the Buddhist monk that impacted me when I first discovered it. Let me share that probable metaphor (maybe a true story even) with you.
Two monks came to a river crossing that was fairly deep, and at the edge of the water was a woman waiting to cross it, but afraid. The older monk put her on his back and carried her to the other side. The two monks continued on until the younger one could not hold his disgust any longer. Finally he blurted out to the older monk, how could you have let that woman touch you? You know our codes of purity.
There were a few moments of silence.
The older monk finally turned and simply said, I left her back at the river but evidently you are still carrying her.
Who or what are you still carrying that you need to lay down?
Cultural Counterfeits
For me a cultural counterfeit is a duplication of the original.
And for me, the god that most religions have created (yes, we have created the images of god) is a crude resemblance at best of what I expect the real One who created all is like. After all, the best that we can do is to approximate, create metaphors about, and make up allegorical stories that our finite minds can relate to in some fashion.
Our “head based” intellectual conclusions are far from the unconditionally loving Creator.
I’m not laying a trip on we humanoids for not doing the impossible; rather, I’m reminding us that the One who sustains us, nurtures us, lives within us, and fills all the vastness of the universe is much bigger than we can imagine. Best of all, that force, energy, or spirit is much more loving, compassionate, merciful, and forgiving than we can imagine.
Joseph Chilton Pearce writes, “Culture is a self sustaining field-effect with our rationale at its service”.
In other words, we cannot escape the treadmill of religion without walking off the religious reservation completely. One doesn’t have to join a monastery as the alternative. However, one does have to escape to a spiritual community that isn’t afraid to ask the hard questions of itself and ever ready to admit its failings. Otherwise, we just exchange one counterfeit for another.
We’ve seen too much of that already.