A World Without Sin Would Be Terribly Dull

Many pray for a world without sin, but such a world would never advance to achieve anything noteworthy.   Temptation drives us to strive beyond our basic physical needs.  Greed that drives economies.   Sensual pleasure is behind our luxury accommodations and dining choices.  Power and all that comes with it has been a force behind all human interaction.  Noble values are there but are drowned out by the bright lights and sounds of modern temptations.

 

Removing the temptation does not remove the sin.   Outlawing a human behavior has never stopped anything.  Outlaw booze and more people drink.   Outlaw drugs and the drug deaths skyrocket.  Outlaw medical treatment like abortion --- it will happen anyway and with far more dire outcomes.  The only way to alter behavior is to change the human heart, not by painting the behavior as black and sinful and something all decent people avoid.  Instead we work better when we find positive reasons to alter our actions.

 

Tobacco use has fallen drastically, not because it has been outlawed, but because society found strong positive reasons not to smoking.  Not only is it unhealthy for the user, but finally science proved that it was just as dangerous to all those exposed.  Hotels, restaurants, airlines and rental car companies have discovered the money saving bliss of not having to empty ashtrays, steam clean upholstery and replace items with cigarette burns.

 

One treatment of sinners remains: shunning.   In the past it was believed that a sinner's sin would contaminate anyone who came into contact with the sinner.  It was believed, for instance, that leprosy afflicted the sinful and contact would spread the disease.  Which, of course, was true.  And also totally wrong.  Sin is sin and leprosy (Hansen's Disease) is caused by bacteria.  While we might assume that any shunning of sinners was currently limited to the wacky folks on the Christian right, in fact, there is ample proof that Karenism is the new leprosy.

 

All those people who went out of their way to gain attention while making someone else's life miserable, those now dubbed "Karens," have found their lives upended by a few thoughtless moments in public.   Jobs lost, marriages ended, blocked by friends, ridiculed worldwide with a total loss of anonymity.  They might as well be required to ring a bell and yell "unclean" as they pass through Walmarts.

 

Perhaps the reaction is more than is necessary to make the point, but we must all accept that we live in a world of cameras and microphones.  If you give vent to your innate bigotry and hatred in a public space you should expect it to be recorded and broadcast.  Be sure your outburst is going to be worth it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No Kings Rally 18 October

I dread seeing patriotic flag displays on houses, cars and clothes.   It's now more likely to come from a fascist traitor.

I no longer identify as Christian because I don't want any possible connection to the current brand of Christian Nationalism, the rise of Evilangelicals and the heresy of the "Prosperity Gospel."

And now I choose the bear.   I was raised to fear black men, but quickly figured out they are the nice ones.  It's white guys, especially the younger ones, who scare me.

My ancestors helped found this country.  One signed the Declaration of Independence.  Another hosted Lafayette and Washington before the Battle of the Brandywine.  Colonel Noah Phelps entered Fort Ticonderoga as a trader, got a shave, and detailed the fort's layout to Washington. 

I was raised to be patriotic, not performatively, but as an actual core belief.  I was raised to be a devout Episcopalian, but that meant a thorough understanding of Christian history and theology.  Sadly I have come to realize that Jesus had some nice ideas that no one now actually believes.

I am lucky to know many diverse men, and have met very few who are fully toxic.   But the ones who infect our culture with their misogyny and patriarchy have had an outsized effect, tarnishing all men.

So it's time for me to honour my ancestry and spiritual beliefs.  I plan to be at the rally in LaVale, MD on Saturday.  Big or small, near or far, come out to reclaim the soul of the United States of America.

Christianity Lost Its Way At The Council Of Nicea

 

I had long ago lost interest in the church history, but recently I have reflected on the fact that I really don't believe much in the Nicene Creed.

I believe in one God,

the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come.   Amen.

Much more compact and makes far fewer assumptions.  Once I realized how little of the Creed I still supported I started looking at the Council of Nicea.  Please see 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxQCrdsFYNQ&t=184s

For some reason I can't make this link to to YouTube. 

I had long suspected that was the problem, those damned bloody interfering Romans!  Jesus  never ever intended to found a worldwide system of hegemonic domination.  Jesus returned to Palestine after more than a decade in India to spread the message of the Buddha to the people of Judea, but carefully nuanced to fit with the local Hebrew population.  It did not work out well in the end.

The message of universal connectivity and the acceptance of the oneness that is GDW was lost in the morass of Roman overlordship of the always unruly Jews.  By 325 CE an unholy alliance of power and politics had completely drowned out Jesus' actual message, replacing it it with one of abject obedience to the will of the Roman Catholic Church.

As with all things human, power corrupts.  Absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Everything that has always been wrong with Christianity is still bloody wrong with it.  We still have mass panics like Rapture 2025 caused by idiotic interpretations of dubious scripture.  I just can not be a Nicene Christian anymore.  Hence my exploration of Gnosticism.

 

Can Shunning Be Compassionate?

If nine people willingly sit down with a Nazi there are ten Nazis at the table.

Like so many these days I have to deal with people I truly love turning out to be bigoted assholes.  They have joined the Cult of the Baddies.  I have to remind myself that I do not want to hurt them, but neither can I give tacit approval to their unhinged ideas.

I confess there's that part of me looking for schadenfreude, imagining groveling apologies and abject humiliation when my views are finally vindicated.  I am only human after all.

We are called to look after one another, but not necessarily to sacrifice ourselves.  Ultimately there is no self, but in this world of dichotomies I need to find a path that serves the needs of as many as possible.

So I am looking at this with compassion.  If I contact any of these people I am not likely to avoid a confrontation which will only serve to further erode our relationship.  Ultimately at this stage the kindest thing I can do is cut contact and remember this isn't out of anger.   It is out of love.

Zen Gnosticism & Other Beliefs

  

"...To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high attainment.   

Those who cannot do it will be destroyed on the lathe of heaven."  

 Chuang Tse: XXIII (3.0) 

 

My favorite quote again.  Most religions try too hard to answer too much, answering with certainty when they haven't a clue what the answer is.   Rather than deny other religions, Zen Gnosticism includes all human knowledge from all times, all places, all races.   No system has all the answers, so Zen Gnosticism leaves room for the unknown.  Zen Gnosticism is content to shrug and accept that we don't know nor should the drive for knowledge be allowed to push us to madness.

As a Zen Gnostic I think of religion like the children's stories humans have always told to teach important life lessons.   Religious myths and folk beliefs are treasured cultural archives, but humans wrote them, all of them.  Can't humans be influenced by God to transmit His will via human communication?

Well, of course GDW can influence us, but how do we tell the difference between the genuine inspired word of the Divine and a malignant narcissistic?  Our species has a long history with religious delusion that has resulted in bigotry, hypocrisy, and the worst abuses ever recorded.  

Being skeptical of one's beliefs is healthy.  It does not mean you lack faith.  It means you do not lack common sense.  Consider the people who are fooled repeatedly by Rapture hoaxes.  I think I am on my fourth Rapture and looking for another one to start tomorrow.

No matter big you think your God is, GDW includes yours.  

 

 

 

 

 

Crossing the River Dao

So yet another analogy.   Imagine the flow of Dao like that of a great river.  This is the moving current of life.  Upon birth we enter on one back and swim until we reach the far bank.  The question is:  Do we aim for straight across and fight the current all the way?  Or do we angle our course, swimming with the current while aiming for some point further down the far bank?

 

Lao Tzu describes the Dao as being like water.  Nothing is more gentle and life giving.  Then again nothing is more powerful, eroding stone and sweeping away all in its path.  To be with the Dao is to be like water.  Flowing constantly, always finding one's own level, moving inexorably to join the greater whole.  To be one with the Dao is to achieve Christianity's "peace which passeth all understanding."

 

There are no shortcuts to the far bank.  Life is life.  You can fight the current or flow with it. 

Zen Gnosticism Is Simple

I am no religious scholar and now in my latter years I have neither the time nor the resources to engage in exhaustive research.  So, like every religion and philosophy in human history, I can pick and choose what I add to my Zen Gnostic beliefs.

Daoism Is What

The Dao De Ching takes about 45 minutes to read and 45 years to understand even a fraction of it.  The Dao is the cosmic Force (yes, like the one from Star Wars).   From Daoism I take the concept of the Dao and the practice of Wu Wei.

Buddhism Is How

Much of my Zen Gnostic practice stems from Buddhism, which itself was influenced by Daoism.  Hence, my use of Zen.

Meditation is a core practice of Buddhism, as it is for Daoists.  There are no specific deities mentioned in either early texts.   The way to peace here and a shorter route through the Hedge Maze beyond can be achieved on your own without resort to priests and rituals, unless you find those cultural aspects of value.

Gnosticism Is Why

This isn't restricted to specific early Christian texts.  I include beliefs from the Greco-Roman philosophers, such as the Stoics.

That early pre-Nicean Jesus is very likely to have spent more than a decade studying in India, learning from yogis, lamas and other learned people.  Read through the eyes of someone who is looking beyond the edges, the story of Jesus takes on poignant new meaning.  It really was about being a good person who looks after others.

 

Zen Gnosticism 

Humans have a terrible habit of complicating even the most simple things.   We create huge pantheons of deities that must be appeased.  We add dominions of minions -- saints, angels, devils, demons, Jinn, Kami, fairies, sprites, elves, monsters, etc.  We then create priests, ministers, shamans, each with their own hierarchies who interpose themselves between us and the deities and their minions.  And those who are doing the work of standing between us and the divine require special buildings, special clothes and special rituals which cost money.  And then the whole thing evolves into yet another human greed fest.

 

I want to find a better way.  Just a single force which I call GDW.  Meditation to clear our links to the divine, allowing the current to flow through us and letting us go with the flow of GDW.  If we focus on doing the right thing for the right reason at the right time, wu wei will guide us to the best course of action.

 

Knowing that the cycle is ongoing and ever-changing we can drop our fear of death, both for ourselves and others.  We know we control nothing but ourselves, and that there is no point in worrying about things beyond our control.  Instead we focus on what we can do, rather than what we can not do, and we ignore anything that doesn't actually affect us.

  

Let It Go -- Happiness Through Detachment

Detachment is an important part of Buddhist practice and is essential to achieving inner peace.  It is through detachment that we can lose our fear of death.  It is through detachment that we can accept loss and not be overwhelmed by tragedy.  It is through detachment that we can attain enlightenment.  Detachment is an essential step, but it does not mean that we don't care.  The best way I can explain this is through the analogy my TM teacher told me.   

 

Without meditation and detachment the events of life are like they are carved in stone.  Every nuance has made a mark that only erodes over decades.  Once one starts meditating, events move to being written in the sand.   The marks are there, but not permanent.  Over time events move from being written in sand to being written in water.  The marks disappear as they are made.  Those who achieve Enlightenment in the center of the Maze move though life with the marks made in the air.  Things happen but do not mark you in any way.

 

How do I detach? 

 

First you must accept that nothing in permanent.  Change is both inevitable and necessary for progress.   All life ends.  Every connection and affection will in time be broken.  Rather than getting depressed by this I now value my every contact with this world.  Of course, I also know that there is more beyond death, so for me when someone I love dies I tend to feel bewilderment more than grief.  I do not mourn anymore, but I do miss.

 

Once you accept the impermanence of existence, the rest is simply a matter of scale.  Everything you have will have to be left behind.  This is what Jesus meant when he said, 

 

"And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,

than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." [Matthew 19:24]

 

I don't think the problem is the physical wealth, but the attachment to it that prevents progress.  After all you can't take it with you, but are you willing to leave it behind?  I think my great grandmother would not let go of her property and hence she remained haunting the place for some 30 years.  Once you realize the finality of life, it gets easier to let go of things.  

 

Often when I meditate I use "be at peace" when I inhale and "let it go" when I exhale.  This mantra works well when I am stressed.

 

Detachment 

 

I still believe and love passionately.  I care deeply, but I do not pin my entire being on an outcome.  I have to trust that GDW has it covered and no one knows all the permutations.  I am aware that I have some power through focusing my will.  I am also aware that whenever I have forcefully applied my will to a situation the outcome was generally terrible.  I do not use my will in that way anymore.  I just have to be patient,

 

Once you are detached you are in a better mind to consider your actions rather than just reacting.  You can understand the "art of the possible" (Otto von Bismarck's description of politics), but in this sense I mean it literally.

 

The Art Of The Possible

 

Once you understand that the only thing you control is yourself you can ask "what can I do" to achieve a desired goal.

 

No matter how offensive or desirable you consider another's actions, the fact is you have no control over what others do.  Slavery, racism, prostitution, pedophilia, capital punishment, abortion, homosexuality, misogyny, eating animals, religion -- everyone has an opinion and some are violently passionate about their views.  

 

You can work to change minds and to change public policies, but enforcing your views on an unwilling populace is NOT going to convert them.  Look at the racism that still exists despite ending slavery.  Prohibition actually increased alcohol consumption.  Drug use has expanded despite the fabled War on Drugs.  

 

While you are considering what you can do, be aware that you are but one person and while there may be many who agree with you, there are many if not more who do not.  And their views are just as valid as yours.  Far better to persuade than to impose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GDW Does Not Communicate In Words

"I said a jigger is like a cup."

(Ellen S Wilds, c. 1962)

The above quote refers to a childhood incident when a servant asked me to explain a punch recipe, in particular to define a "jigger" (measurement for 1 ounce of liquor).  When I said it was "like a cup" I meant that with childish literality.  Perhaps I should have said "it's like a glass."  To me a jigger was a very little cup.  I might have also meant a jigger is like a cup in that both are used to measure liquids.

Language has always been a problem to understanding.  Not only are there many languages, but even in a single language not every word is going to be understood the same way.  I can only draw on my own experience, but when I meditate I feel the presence and sense the intent, but I'll be damned if I can put it into words.  No matter how grand the vision it completely fails to impress when reduced to a verbal description.

This past week we had yet another Rapture Hoax wherein some seriously deluded people gave up their possessions and livelihoods on the word from a South African preacher speaking via Tik Tok.  I remembered the Harold Camping fiasco of 2011.  Camping announced Rapture on 21 May 2011 based on his interpretation of the codes hidden in Biblical texts.  No one asked which texts?  in what language?  in which version?   The Bible may have a lot of great stuff in it, but every syllable was created by humans.  

Perhaps I should have more sympathy for the devout who fleeced themselves in this latest hoax, but no one made them believe this stuff.  They are just hopelessly gullible and hence they are victims.  But their chosen actions in prepping for the Rapture show a serious failure of theology.  Many were convinced they would be ascending physically through the air, so were frantic to be outside so they wouldn't be trapped against the ceiling.  A few were seen standing outside completely naked.   A young black woman filmed herself preparing all the hair care products she will need in the Beyond.

There was general panic over leaving ample supplies for the children who will be left behind, a mother weeping because she doesn't want to be raptured without her newborn, leaving their phones unlocked and of course, off-loading earthly possessions.  During the 2011 Rapture Hoax families quit their jobs and went on wild spending sprees.  They cashed out their savings and the kids' college funds and bought non-sensical things like sportscars and yachts.  Forgetting that they can't take it with them.  If there ever is a Rapture -- a belief I do not share -- it will be spiritual, not physical.

I can not accept that a loving God would choose only 144,000 out of eight billion, dividing families and leaving heartache and suffering in their wake.  Further I think it is perfectly obvious that anyone so certain of their own righteousness is unlikely to make the cut.  No sign of the necessary humility.  Further any mother who worships a deity who would divide her from her baby is asking for heartbreak.

The evilangelical community has never squared the Jesus in the Gospels with their focus on material gain and political power over any faith in god.  Christianity has some excellent principles.  Sadly few are actually practiced.

Meditation Tips

A dear friend recently asked for meditation tips in a text on my phone.  Not really the right medium to share something as intimate and as ineffable as meditation.  My TM teacher likened describing meditation to describing going to sleep.  "You get ready for bed, you brush your teeth and use the loo, you snuggle under the blanket and then ---- something magical happens."

Similarly I can tell you that I meditate by allotting half an hour and finding a comfortable quiet place to sit.  I breathe deeply 2-3 times and gently close my eyes and then --- something magical happens.

Both meditation and sleep are internal mental processes.  It is all happening inside my mind and I have no words to accurately describe what happens next, so like everyone else I have to rely on metaphors and analogies.  

Imagine that there is a shining golden treasure hidden in a secret room under your cellar.  Before you can have that treasure you must clear a path from the top of the stairs through a cellar full of "old stuff" like memories to reach the door that leads to the treasure.

Perhaps I can even loop in the Hedge Maze here.  Perhaps when you clear your cellar of distractions you open a door and enter the Hedge Maze, but at a point a bit closer to the center.  Whenever you meditate you come closer to the center, closer to the treasure, closer to the truth.

For instance, I often liken meditation to being in the ocean.   At the surface it is all very noisy with waves crashing and kids splashing and some damned fool on a jet ski whizzing by.   If you go below the surface it starts to get quiet and the further down you go the closer you are to the source of thought. 

This is one of the earliest images I remember from TM training.  A thought rises from the seafloor and gradually expands until it bursts upon the surface of consciousness.  In meditation I do not focus on the thoughts themselves but their source.

 

So when you meditate at the time and in the place that works for you, sit quietly with eyes closed.  Minimize external distractions.  If your environment is stressful you might play some natural white noise (like ocean waves or a rain storm), but not music.  Your conscious mind tends to follow the music, perhaps even humming along.   Rather than just let your mind drift (which is daydreaming, not meditation) you silently repeat a mantra in your mind.  A mantra can be any word or short phrase that is either completely meaningless to you or is positive to the purpose of meditating. 

 

A TM teacher gave me my main mantra, a Hindu word whose meaning is unknown to me.   I also use phrases like "let it go" or "Peace in" (inhale) "Stress out" (exhale).  It can be anything that works for you.  The point is to repeat it mentally while not focusing on it.  Tricky, I know.  Nigh impossible.  You think the mantra a few times, and then you are off on thoughts.  When you notice that you have drifted from the mantra gently move back to it.  This cycle repeats throughout the meditation session.  Rising and falling thought, like surfacing and sinking through water.

 

In time a regular practice of meditation clears the way through the stored stuff crowded in your mind.  Once there is space your perceptions expand.  You can see value in all religions and all philosophies.   You start understanding the connections between all things in reality.  You also become better centered in yourself and your values.

 

PS:  It is not required that you meditate with a live feline on your lap, but I highly recommend it.  Cats exude a large field of meditational energy.  They are Zen masters.

 

 

 

Normal versus Natural

Many people confuse these words.  Normality is a human construct based on perceived desirable traits as present in the greatest number of people. 

Natural is very different.  There are natural variations in all species, some rarer than others, and not all traits are deemed as positive or even desirable.

"God doesn't make mistakes."

I keep seeing this as a reason to deny differently gendered people their full rights to live and love along with the rest of us.   It is particularly applied to the transgendered because those who maintain God's infallibility can not accept that a person's perception of gender can be different from that person's apparent biology.  The latest statistics puts those who identify as LGBT at around 4.6% in the United States. 

By comparison those who are right brain dominant (ie, left-handed) are 15% while those with red hair are only 2%.  Both of these latter groups suffered discrimination -- often brutally applied -- in the past.

So why do conservative Christians consider all those born with different sexual orientations as being unnatural rather than merely different in the same way as  right brain dominance and red hair?  There are many sexual variants to be found throughout the animal kingdom.  One large-brained mammal known to engage in all manner of sexual activities, including with the same gender, is the dolphin.  For dolphins homosexual expression is a completely natural behavior that does not endanger their overall population.

Why do conservatives single-out LGBT as being "unnatural," but NOT a mistake of the Almighty?

God's faithful followers are a fickle lot.  When things are going well they praise God, but when things are going badly they suddenly turn pagan and blame Mother Nature. But whether you put God or Gaia in control, mistakes happen all the time.  

Switching gears here, let's examine some of God's mistakes afflicting the most helpless in His creation.  My late father was an OBGYN who specialized in high risk pregnancies.  After he retired from practicing medicine he worked as an expert witness in malpractice trials. We sometimes discussed his cases in which the bad outcomes were truly horrific, what Dad termed GORKY babies -- the acronym for God Only Really Knows Why.

So for those of you who believe that "God doesn't make mistakes" -- have a look at what He has been inflicted on fetuses.  Be certain that you look at the pictures carefully because I promise you that the parents involved has seen far worse. 

Neural Tube Defects  (NTDs) are amongst the most common of serious birth defects with anencephaly as the worst of the NTDs.  Most of these babies -- if they make it to birth -- are usually stillborn or die within a few hours to a few days.  A very few survive past that, but can never achieve any semblance of life.  Without a brain they can not feel emotions nor can they feel pain. Their senses have no place to send impressions of the world around them -- thus they do not see or hear.  They do not speak.  They do not think.  If that is life, then that all it is.  The child is merely alive, but can not actually live.

Cyclopia  is exactly as the name implies -- a baby with a single eye, ears usually below the jaw and a proboscis, being a phallic shaped protuberance where the nose should be.  Any pictures you see of such a baby will be postmortem.  This defect is incompatible with life. Nothing more than a waste of the conception which so many deem sacred. 

Parasitic Twin and Fetus en Foetu  Identical twins are rare, conjoined twins rarer still, so the rarest is a mistake that allows one twin to develop normally while the other does not develop much at all.   In a parasitic twin the underdeveloped twin is attached to the exterior of its healthy mate.  In fetus in foetu, the parasite remains inside its host, growing inside the abdomen, the chest or even the brain.

Only one baby has a chance at life.  The parasite does not and may even kill the developed child by straining the system meant to support one life by forcing it to support the extra body mass of the undeveloped parasite.  

There are many more birth defects -- far more than I wish to enumerate here.  Some can be attributed to the mistakes of man -- the use of teratogenic chemicals in the environment, during war, or in medicines (such as thalidomide) given to or substances taken by pregnant women.  Others are simply accidents of nature -- or mistakes of God, if you prefer placing a divine role in everything. 

Science has advanced sufficiently to find that those who express a different gender realize it at a very young age, even if the children do not as yet understand what it means.  That alone removes the aspect of choice that the homophobic opposition stresses must be a factor in those who identify as LGBT.   Science has yet to prove how gender orientation is determined, but rather than make the blind claim that "God doesn't make mistakes" I think we should accept the LGBT as facts of nature -- right along with red hair and left- handedness.

Christianity is a nice religion. It is a great pity that so few people follow it.

 

I should say at the outset that I am an historian, not a Biblical scholar, but then it seems that credentials are not of much value these days.  Conservative politicians are not scientists, but make policy rulings on scientific matters that they clearly do not comprehend.  Neither are these politicians members of the medical profession nor are they experts on female anatomy and psychology, but that has not stopped them from intruding on decisions that affect a woman's most intimate parts and all-important life decisions.   So I feel confident that I can offer my Biblical interpretations that are at least as competent as those made by others.  For those who actually care about such things for my purposes here I am using the King James Version.

So before I could publish this we had yet another Rapture Hoax.  A South African preacher called Brother Joshua had predicted via TikTok the Rapture for 23 September.  And lo! the dawn came and --- yep, burned again.  Who are these people who keeping falling for the same shtick?  Some of them were old enough to remember the Harold Camping disaster in May 2011.  Suddenly this article started to make some sense for me to share.

If there ever is a Rapture (a concept I utterly reject) it is likely that those who assumed they were going are doomed to disappointment.  Here are some of my observations.

HUMILITY

When it comes to humility, today's evangelicals have really lost their way.  They demand the right to witness, to proselytize, and to pronounce God's judgment on the wicked as determined by them.  But the Bible says

¹ Judge not, that ye be not judged.

² For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

³ And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  [Matthew 7:1-3]

As for public religious ranting -- a cherished right under the US Constitution's First Amendment as claimed by evangelicals -- is also forbidden by the Bible in what is one of my favorite passages:

¹ Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

² Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

³ But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

⁴ That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

⁵ And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

⁶ But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

⁷ But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

⁸ Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.  [Matthew 6: 1-8]

Bragging about your own righteousness does not make you righteous in the eyes of God.  How hard is that to understand?   If the Christians would just do what Christ asked them to do it would make this a much nicer world.  

LGBTQ et al

You would think the way conservatives go on about homosexuality that it is the ONLY sin mentioned in the Bible. Yes, the admonition against male homosexuality is very clear

If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.   [Leviticus 20:13]

Again I struggle with the text because I haven't a clue where it came from or how many iterations of this command have existed since the Bronze Age.  One researcher has suggested that the word "mankind" was originally translated as "young boys," making this about pederasty (a common practice amongst many peoples, including the Greeks and the Romans).  

Bear in mind that homosexuality was not deemed sinful enough to make it into the Big Ten, but when it comes to deciding which customers a religious business chooses to serve, they have no concerns at all about serving adulterers, blasphemers, idolators, thieves, murderers,  liars, the covetous and children who curse their parents.  Those sinners get their cakes, but a gay couple wanting to make a loving life commitment to one another are just too vile for the delicate Christian's sense of righteousness.  

Along with declaring male homosexuality an abomination Old Testament laws also forbid wearing clothing made of mixed fabrics, shaving, eating cheeseburgers, seafood gumbo and pork barbecue.  In my life I have never seen a Baptist pass up pork barbecue and Louisiana Catholics love their gumbo.  Usually the explanation is that the New Testament gave followers of the burgeoning Christian movement latitude on the dietary and other restrictions from the Old Testament.  But today's Christians become myopic on this issue of New Testament changes to Old Testament restrictions.  Most obviously in the following

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  [John 13:34]

This is not a new "hint" nor a new "suggestion."  This new commandment was offered without caveats, exceptions or exemptions.  Christ did not stutter.  He did not wink wink nudge nudge -- you know like He didn't really mean it.  Why is this so difficult for today's Christians to accept?

I am making this argument on Christianity's own turf.  The fact is there is no need for any religious explanation to be offered at all.  Our nation has a SECULAR basis for laws.  In order to continue the traditional discrimination against the LGBT community those who oppose their fundamental right of equality have to offer a secular argument.  So far their efforts have been lame at best.  Consider the following proposed secular reasons to  ban same sex marriage:

(*)  Marriage is for the procreation of children.  And yet many marriages do not produce children.  We do not demand children from those who get married nor do we refuse marriage to those who are unable to have children.   And many LGBTQ couples do have children, both adopted and biological.

(*)   Homosexuality is a choice, therefore not entitled to special treatment.  While science has not yet made a definitive ruling on this question, it has become increasingly clear that sexual identity is far more complex than originally believed.  While very young children may not have the words for it, they are aware of gender -- theirs and others' -- and they know if they are different.  That does not sound like a choice.

In a conversation with my adult son he told me that he knew what he was at age 4 when he first watched Disney's Little Mermaid.  He took one look at Ariel and decided that whatever that was he wanted more of it.  Turns out he really loves independent minded women.  I suspect the same may be true for most children, even if they can not remember the moment when they understood the role of gender in their lives.

(*)   It is traditional and since every culture in the world has always had a prohibition against homosexuality, we should retain ours.  Sorry, folks, but tradition is no excuse for doing the wrong thing simply because we have always done it that way.  We have outlawed a number of "traditions" -- people as property, for instance.  We no longer allow Negro slavery nor do we permit men to market their women to prospective husbands not of the woman's choosing.  Women are no longer denied the vote nor forbidden from driving a car.  We have outlawed child labor, child prostitution, child marriage.  All those things exist elsewhere in the world, but we count ourselves as superior for having done away with them.

(*) And this recent entry in the silly excuses category -- our laws banning same-sex marriage are NOT discriminatory since we do not allow heterosexuals from marrying members of the same gender.   That a conservative politician managed to say that with a straight face astonishes me.  It completely overlooks the fact that the nation's LGBT population are denied the right to marry for love -- something readily accepted as a right for straight couples.

At least on paper and in policy we have to appear to be ridding ourselves of discrimination, intolerance and bigotry.  It has taken the LGBT a long time to come out of their closets, to be seen and to be accepted as human beings with all the dignity and rights accorded to the rest of us.  It is still a fight with the diehards for the status quo, but in time I hope that a person's sexual orientation will be worthy of no more comment than is eye colour.

ON GUNS

But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.  [Matthew 5:39]

So with that in mind we have to ask ourselves -- what firearm would Christ use?   

 

And in recent news we have the assassination of Charlie Kirk on 10 Sep.  The shooter is in custody.  A shooting in Southport, NC on 27 Sep, 3 dead.  The shooter is in custody.  A shooting in Grand Blanc, on 28 Sep, 5 dead, including the shooter.  And that is just in the past month.  Gets repetitious.

 

ON SIN 

One yahoo commenter asked me how I could consider myself a tolerant person if I openly denied Christians the right to be intolerant of behaviors they consider to be sinful and to point out those sins to others.  My answer is that I am tolerant and respectful of other's beliefs provided that they are tolerant and respectful of mine.  Since it is clear that modern Christian fundamentalists are unable to accept any POV but their own we seem to be at an impasse on the issue of tolerance.

 

But when it comes to the matter of sin the Bible-thumpers again have not read what Christ said on the subject.

So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. [John 8:7]

The modern fundamentalist Christian seems to think there is an inalienable right to be cruel to other people based on their perception of sin.  Further many seem to believe that if they don't address the sins they perceive in those around them that somehow God is going to punish the innocent for the sins of others.  It was this tortured logic that led Reverend Pat Robertson to blame the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010 on devil worship performed 200 years earlier.

 

[The Haitians] "were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III and whatever.  And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.' True story. And so, the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal.' "  

[Reverend Pat Robertson, January 23, 2010]

Robertson, along with fellow crazed Christian Jerry Falwell, also famously linked the 911 terrorist attack with “the pagans, the abortions, the feminists and the gays and lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, (and) People For the American Way.”  

This sort of thinking was prevalent from early times through 16th century Calvinism when people did not understand how bad things could happen to good people and so blamed our secret sins as the cause of God's wrath.  If smallpox raged through the village, it must be because someone was coveting his neighbor's ass.  Most of us have long abandoned believing there is a correlation between catastrophes (both natural and man-made) with God's wrath.

 

Except for Propaganda Barbie who opined that a recent earthquake in Utah was God's wrath for the death of Charlie Kirk.  No, honey, that was Satan throwing a kegger for the new arrival. The primitive brains of fundamentalists are seemingly incapable of thinking rationally.  

More than that, this mindset truly insults the deity they profess to love and worship.  Their God -- the Old Testament Jehovah -- is petty and vindictive, slaughtering the innocent to punish the guilty.  This is not the loving forgiving deity of the New Testament, the heavenly father of Jesus Christ.  It makes me wonder why they consider themselves to be Christian when their actions run so counter with Christ's words.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. [Matthew 7:20]

Fearing Death

 

“You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” 

(unknown, but definitely not C. S. Lewis) 

 

When I was a little girl I saw a glossy magazine with pictures of King Tutankhamen's treasure.  And there were pictures of mummies.  I wasn't really horrified until I was at church and we got to the bit about "the resurrection of the body and life everlasting."  The Church was backing the zombie apocalypse?  Eewwww.

Our species has always been obsessed with achieving immortality -- perhaps because we can not accept our own impermanence.  The massive tombs of antiquity, filled with unimaginable wealth, often to the bankruptcy of the kingdom were meant to be passports to immortality.  The fact that most of the tombs have been looted puts  meaning into "you can't take it with you."  

 

We all know death is inevitable, but how many of us truly accept that and understand it?  The greatest gift any faith can give is lessening the fear of death.  Sadly Christianity in particular has focused on scaring the bejesus out of adherents with threats of eternal damnation if they dare have a thought that does not comport with the accepted church view.  Rather than stressing how how to be a good person worthy of Heaven, they have instead stressed that every little mistake and socially condemned sin leads us to the fires.  Christianity never gave me a sense of peace.

 

It was Buddhism that took away my fear of death.  I am actually looking forward to it, but am in no rush, of course.  I don't believe in either eternal reward or eternal suffering.  All the suffering I have every known of was here on Earth in this reality.  Every evil deed ever done was done here.  Because of my childhood in a haunted house, I never questioned that there was something outside of our reality.

 

Losing one's fear of death is truly liberating.  I do not mourn anyone's passing these days, but I do miss them.  It is no longer a crushing sense of loss, but a more bewildered wondering when will I see them again.  I look at my lover, my child, my family, my friends, my cats and know that there is a separation in the future so I appreciate them more while they are here.  

 

The fear of death is the attachment to life.  Buddhism centers on the ideal of non-attachment to everything because all of it is impermanent.  It doesn't mean I don't love, don't feel, don't care.  It just means that when the time comes to say goodbye to someone or something, I make my peace with it and move on. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Root Of All Evil

 

 

 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, 

they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

                                            (1 Timothy 6:10 )

 

 

Before the Industrial Revolution everything we could possibly own was handmade.  Every piece of cloth was handspun and handwoven.  The crockery was made by a potter and the furniture by a carpenter.  Every item was crafted, rather than just produced.   That life accumulation of stuff was often the only inheritance left to the heirs.  The products were made to last, were made to be passed down generation after generation.

 

Now everything for sale is largely cheap and disposable.  Our children don't want our "old stuff." The items only have value if they are valued.  We value many items because of a specific memory or story.  If you know the story you don't really need the object.  

 

Planned Obsolescence is the darling of the manufacturing.  Nothing is meant to last and therefore it doesn't.  Our disposable packaging is an environmental nightmare.  Not only are we throwing more away than ever in our history, but what we are throwing away presents us with unknown dangers as chemicals break down and enter our water and air.

 

The fossil fuel industry is opposed to renewable power out of greed.  If we can generate our own power from local sources, then that ends Big Oil's power over the world's economy.  Again those in power with vast wealth do not want the rest of us to figure out how to live without them.

 

A similar situation arose in the early Christian church with the Gnostics.  Like Buddha, the Jesus in the Gnostic Gospels is proposing salvation by seeking the Kingdom of Heaven within.   No rituals, no magic words, no need for confession and absolution, no need for priests and a church hierarchy.  The Council of Nicaea under Emperor Constantine forced the early church into the Roman mold, producing the power model that still survives today.

 

Under the guise of salvation, the Church ruthlessly enforced the idea of uniform worship.  Any deviation was deemed heretical and thus endangering the populace as a whole because their god was petty and vindictive.  The world will be at peace just as soon as everyone believes exactly what we tell them to.  This made many very powerful and obscenely rich.  It did not, however, do a damned thing to promote Christ's message.  And to this day it still doesn't.

 

The path found by Gautama Buddha (which I believed Jesus learned during his 18 year hiatus from the Gospels) requires no external anything.  The process takes place entirely within the mind of the meditator.  It takes time and patience but is infinitely more rewarding that prayer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lathe of Heaven

 

"Those whom heaven helps we call the sons of heaven. They do not learn this by learning. They do not work it by working. They do not reason it by using reason. To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high attainment. Those who cannot do it will be destroyed on the lathe of heaven."          Chuang Tse: XXIII (3.0) 

 

I first read this in Ursula K Le Guin's 1971 novel The Lathe of Heaven.    She later admitted that this was a poor translation since the lathe didn't exist in 5th century BCE China.  I don't care.  I like the imagery and this quote has really inspired me.   

 

In particular the line "To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high attainment."   Sometimes when I meditate I feel myself approaching an unseen cliff edge.  I feel giddy and worry that I might fall and be overwhelmed.   Mentally I back away.   I know I am not ready.  When I am ready, I will know.

 

This is where so many religions go wrong.  Humanity has a habit of over-thinking when dealing with the unknown.   It isn't enough that we create some fanciful myth to explain what we do not yet understand (natural disasters, for instance), but then we have to create a system to attempt to control the forces that we absolutely can NOT control.  

 

Instead of seeking the unity of all things, we childishly divide everything into a binary world of good vs bad, black vs white, female vs male and then wonder how a loving just deity could allow all the evil done it its name.  We add layers upon layers of mythical beings, both good and evil.  We create rituals to appease or to ward off those beings.  We demand special clothes and special buildings in order to worship an unseen deity and carry out its unspoken will.   We create officials upon whom we invest power who then tell us if we are doing it right, accepting their condemnation when they tell us that we are going to Hell.  

 

If we could just accept that we do not know what lies beyond and still be compassionate people we would move quickly to the center of the maze.  The point of life is not to be perfect, but to make the best choices given the circumstances.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Control

 

“Religion is for people who're afraid of going to hell. 

Spirituality is for those who've already been there.”      David Bowie

  

My friend Cookie reminded me of this quote recently.  There was a time when I was really religious, but over time I realized that nothing about Christianity made much sense.  Like so many my age we have drifted from religious orthodoxy to spiritual beliefs that suit us better.

 

Simply put, we control nothing but our own choices.  However, for centuries we believed we could influence the uncontrollable by propitiating a deity.  Prayer was thought to have actual power and to this day folks scold when someone wishes ill on another.   If wishing certain people would drop dead worked, don't you think we would have tried it already?

Humanity is on the verge of abandoning religion all together.  Science has done a far better job of answering our questions, allowing us to take a critical view of religion in general.   The problem with religion is the same for all times and all faiths.

Religion was created by men, literally, and they used the tenets of their beliefs to impose control over the masses.   Women and children were property of their male relatives.  Those men are still with us and sadly most of them in the USA are in the Republican party.

Over the past century we have seen rapid changes in every field of endeavor, but in the heart of MAGA they are so frightened of losing control over the lives of others that they are prepared to destroy the world's best hope, the USA, in order to salve their bruised manhood.  Women gained a measure of bodily autonomy with access to contraception and abortion.  And sure enough, the men realized that meant they no longer had control over the women and suddenly both those life enhancing things are being banned.

 

Our former slaves are going to university and becoming well-paid professionals.  So we have to have a new exploitable underclass.  Suddenly migrants who have been here for decades must be deported.  Workers here legally are arrested and deported.  Even US citizens are being deported.  Strange that none of these draconian policies have improved MAGA control over persons of color.

Buddha and Jesus both spoke of reaching a place of inner peace with a mind that accepts the inevitable while decisively choosing the right course of action in any situation.  This we can do through meditation.  We have the control.  Let's use it.