Saturday, December 9, 2006
Bumper Sticker
I saw an interesting bumper sticker today. It said "My God is too big to be placed inside one religion". I really can't remember if it used the word 'my' or not. I liked the sticker, although my first reaction after thinking I liked it was, "is it wrong for me to like that sticker?" Why did I have that reaction? Am I conditioned? Is that a good/bad cautionary way to think? That's my food for thought today.
Epistemology
"Billy, you were born a catholic and you will die a catholic" Mom,no I won`t."I`m going to go get your father".
I knew I was in trouble.Not really wanting to,I had just crossed the plain and picked a fight.William Wallace had a sword and was riding a horse.I had nothing.No sword, and no armour.
I was a brand new protestant and didn`t even know what I was protesting about.I did know that the whole Vatican was about to come crashing down on me and I wasn`t going to run.I was going to stand there and be burned at the stake.
My father was a warrior in every sense of the word.With the same zeal he went after the Japanese in world war two,the North Koreans in the Korean war,and viet cong in the Vietnam war,He pursued an understanding of his Roman Catholic faith. I deeply respected him for what he held to.
That was the faith and the environment my parents brought us up in and I just challenged it.
What in the world made me cross the plain and challenge hundreds and hundreds of years of my fathers religion?
It`s simple.My epistemology changed. Explaining it won`t be so simple.I only had a twelth grade education. I`m going to have to rely on Webster and twenty years at the University Of Life, and what I`ve managed to glean there since the day I emerged from Rome.
I pray I can do it with great respect for my fathers faith, and for the beliefs of any who contribute to this Blog.
I knew I was in trouble.Not really wanting to,I had just crossed the plain and picked a fight.William Wallace had a sword and was riding a horse.I had nothing.No sword, and no armour.
I was a brand new protestant and didn`t even know what I was protesting about.I did know that the whole Vatican was about to come crashing down on me and I wasn`t going to run.I was going to stand there and be burned at the stake.
My father was a warrior in every sense of the word.With the same zeal he went after the Japanese in world war two,the North Koreans in the Korean war,and viet cong in the Vietnam war,He pursued an understanding of his Roman Catholic faith. I deeply respected him for what he held to.
That was the faith and the environment my parents brought us up in and I just challenged it.
What in the world made me cross the plain and challenge hundreds and hundreds of years of my fathers religion?
It`s simple.My epistemology changed. Explaining it won`t be so simple.I only had a twelth grade education. I`m going to have to rely on Webster and twenty years at the University Of Life, and what I`ve managed to glean there since the day I emerged from Rome.
I pray I can do it with great respect for my fathers faith, and for the beliefs of any who contribute to this Blog.
Sunday, December 3, 2006
Citizenship
To whom or what do I belong? How much of the answer to that question is actually up to me? And, of those that are out of my control, does it make a difference whether I invest or divest my time and energy in participation? There are probably uncountable choices that we encounter in our lives. The notion that the kingdom of God is not a dictatorship opens up a whole new paradigm in which to engage ourselves in (or disengage from) that kingdom. This presupposes that one believes he/she is a citizen, a role-player in the kingdom. There are entities that claim our citizenship without our "permission", but even within mandatory citizenship, there are choices that can be made. An effective response to citizenship is ownership, or investment, and with that comes analysis and action, which subsequently results in sharing the consequences of those actions. But, there is quite a spectrum of citizenship, many different levels of participation, because of the unique gift to our species that gives us choice.
So, then, I believe it's fair to take another step and say that we are all citizens. But, of what, and for what, am I a citizen? Like I mentioned earlier, there are some in which I have no choice, and then there are the questions about the scale of priorities for my citizenships. I'll mention some that I believe are absolute, as far as our general understanding of consciousness and reality is concerned, but I have not reflected fully on the order in which I have placed them. I still have choices to make about that! Here they are:
1. The Physical Realm. I am an organism, a human being; therefore, my organic, physical composition is a member of the community of matter and space, the physical community of the universe, solar system, and this planet. I stop at level of planet (rather than continent, country, state, on down), because over the years of my study and teaching, I have come to realize that in a certain period of time (long or short), my physical body may use objects, or encounter elements, and people that have been or will be in literally any other location on the globe. I am a global citizen, like it or not. The molecules of which I am made, as far as science has discovered, obey countless rules and laws of physics, chemistry and biology, and, because I am a living thing, and by (presently accepted) definitions, I cannot be so unless I interact with my environment, then those molecules I call my own also, collectively, participate in ecology (micro and macro). And, as a human being, I have possessions which are also made up of matter, and they, too, are citizens of the physical world from atomic to ecological scales. Anything that contains matter is a "citizen", or member, if that feels like a better word, of the physical world.
2. Social Organizations. As mentioned above, I am an organism, a living thing, and as such I must interact with the world around me in order to survive. I cannot live in isolation on a number of levels. And, as humans, we are unique in that our social connections (our associations) have many dimensions: intellectual, emotional, psychological, economic, and geographic, to name a few. Clubs, institutions, countries, corporations, tribes, religious groups, families, and friends all vie for portions of our citizenship, they long to have us claim them as their own. Why? Citizenship is powerful. By declaring loyalty to any of these social groups, we accept the terms of membership laid out by its members, and whatever demands they make of our time, money, and energy. And it's also clear that the more diverse an organism's (or species) connection to its community, the more food sources it can utilize, the more places to hide, the wider the territory it covers, etc., the greater chance it has for survival, growth, and success. It's a research-based truth that there is strength in diversity. We want to be connected.
3. The Spiritual Dimension. The inorganic, or more like the unorganic, I suppose. I have the impression that all people in some way shape or form feel connected to something outside of themselves. That impression is fed by the declaration of nearly half of the world's citizens claiming to be either Christian or Muslim. There are also huge portions of Buddhist and Hindu, and many smaller, less known groups which have unique patterns of belief and worship of something outside of this world, the physical, tangible, visible dimensions at least. So, even though there may be some who claim they are aspiritual, beyond atheistic, most of the world claims otherwise. And, I can imagine, a good many of those who are "spiritual" people could say they have or have had experiences they say are/were connected with the spiritual realm. I am certainly one of those. I choose to believe that there are spiritual entities vying for our attention, because it makes sense to me. And it's from this perspective that I choose to define the kingdom of God, as Jesus describes. I don't think that this is necessarily an exclusive idea. I think that most other religions would claim a spiritual connectedness with like believers, the ruler of such a "kingdom" being God, gods, or certain truths that are sacred, followed. Therefore, citizenship in the kingdom of believers seems to me a requisite part of the understanding of membership in a congregation (church, synagogue, mosque, monastery, etc.) as chosen by individual human beings. At some point I plan to flesh out my beliefs about God's kingdom as Jesus proclaimed it: here, now. These are the characteristics I feel the Christian church, in large part, has failed and fails to embrace, which brings me to the next question about choices within citizenship.
We are citizens within all of these realms, by choice and without our choosing. We belong, wouldn't you say, to the varying types of communities I have outlined here? So, great! I'm a member of the HBA, say (the Home Builders Association). I carry the card, tell people about it, and enjoy all the perks. Is that the hope? Citizenship/membership will work FOR me? Or, is John F. Kennedy more on track when he called people of the U.S. to engage in their citizenship in his famous "Ask not..." statement?
Now the question is, what do I do with my citizenship? This counts for citizenship in things of my choosing and in things that are not of my choosing. I have choices, no matter what. (But, yoderdude, the United States gives us that freedom, it's not just there. Think of those poor people in China, North Korea, Iran, or, wait a second, the United States, that can't speak their mind!! I think the ability and freedom to choose is an innate gift to humans regardless of their citizenship. You know the examples of people who have fully embraced higher priority citizenship when a country, church, or ethnic group demanded otherwise. And I hope it's clear that they were not all U.S. citizens). Sometimes I think I am doing myself a favor by checking out of the game of citizenship, waiting and waiting for something to draw me in, rather than getting into it, learning, growing, failing and succeeding. I have that choice. I have the choice of believing that God's kingdom has not yet come (that's what the Second Coming is for, right?), that I can still bitch and moan about the fallenness of this world, and won't it just be great when the kingdom DOES come so all of these good things will happen TO us. I think that's an epidemic in the Christian church (I'll speak about that since I am a member). We want the kingdom to come TO us rather than through us. I believe Jesus called us to the latter. Jesus is the firstborn of creation, the Son of God, I believe, and he has called all those who have ears to listen, come and follow him as he builds the kingdom, here, now. Again, we have the choice. Are we satisfied being on the list of members or would we rather do the hard work of pursuing the call of citizenship in each of the three realms of community with the gifts and strengths that we have and those we don't yet know we have?
How do we tune our ears to hear the call of the physical world to participate (like ALL other species) in ways that promote growth and health on an ecological scale? How do we tune our ears to the cries of our neighbors that ask us to build connections that support the growth and health of all of our bodies and relationships? How do we tune our ears to the message that through Jesus Christ all people are our brothers and sisters, all are members of the kingdom who have choices, and it is his hope that we will share with him in the passionate pursuit of even the fringe folks therein? We have the choice to move at the Spirit's nudgings and listen to what each other is hearing, or to check out and sit down with the bitter hope that this whole thing will come to an end sooner or later.
But, this brings up one last question. We are creatures with the power of choice. So having experienced that power, we sometimes feel that we or someone else can just choose their way through changes. I believe that we have to remember to go back and embrace the fact that we cannot function sustainably in isolation, we are not in the fullest sense of the word, independent. It's impossible. If we are to live, we must do so in community. And, to make another parallel, if we are to have life (I think you know what I mean, here), it cannot be expressed and nourished outside of community. This is where it gets hard to be born and raised American. Not that other countries don't encourage independence on an individual level, I just think we overdo it. What if we would foster a whole new movement (?) or paradigm of interdependence? Our life (physical, social and spiritual), collectively, depends on it.
I think this very blog is a move in that direction. Let's begin to make that shift here!
So, then, I believe it's fair to take another step and say that we are all citizens. But, of what, and for what, am I a citizen? Like I mentioned earlier, there are some in which I have no choice, and then there are the questions about the scale of priorities for my citizenships. I'll mention some that I believe are absolute, as far as our general understanding of consciousness and reality is concerned, but I have not reflected fully on the order in which I have placed them. I still have choices to make about that! Here they are:
1. The Physical Realm. I am an organism, a human being; therefore, my organic, physical composition is a member of the community of matter and space, the physical community of the universe, solar system, and this planet. I stop at level of planet (rather than continent, country, state, on down), because over the years of my study and teaching, I have come to realize that in a certain period of time (long or short), my physical body may use objects, or encounter elements, and people that have been or will be in literally any other location on the globe. I am a global citizen, like it or not. The molecules of which I am made, as far as science has discovered, obey countless rules and laws of physics, chemistry and biology, and, because I am a living thing, and by (presently accepted) definitions, I cannot be so unless I interact with my environment, then those molecules I call my own also, collectively, participate in ecology (micro and macro). And, as a human being, I have possessions which are also made up of matter, and they, too, are citizens of the physical world from atomic to ecological scales. Anything that contains matter is a "citizen", or member, if that feels like a better word, of the physical world.
2. Social Organizations. As mentioned above, I am an organism, a living thing, and as such I must interact with the world around me in order to survive. I cannot live in isolation on a number of levels. And, as humans, we are unique in that our social connections (our associations) have many dimensions: intellectual, emotional, psychological, economic, and geographic, to name a few. Clubs, institutions, countries, corporations, tribes, religious groups, families, and friends all vie for portions of our citizenship, they long to have us claim them as their own. Why? Citizenship is powerful. By declaring loyalty to any of these social groups, we accept the terms of membership laid out by its members, and whatever demands they make of our time, money, and energy. And it's also clear that the more diverse an organism's (or species) connection to its community, the more food sources it can utilize, the more places to hide, the wider the territory it covers, etc., the greater chance it has for survival, growth, and success. It's a research-based truth that there is strength in diversity. We want to be connected.
3. The Spiritual Dimension. The inorganic, or more like the unorganic, I suppose. I have the impression that all people in some way shape or form feel connected to something outside of themselves. That impression is fed by the declaration of nearly half of the world's citizens claiming to be either Christian or Muslim. There are also huge portions of Buddhist and Hindu, and many smaller, less known groups which have unique patterns of belief and worship of something outside of this world, the physical, tangible, visible dimensions at least. So, even though there may be some who claim they are aspiritual, beyond atheistic, most of the world claims otherwise. And, I can imagine, a good many of those who are "spiritual" people could say they have or have had experiences they say are/were connected with the spiritual realm. I am certainly one of those. I choose to believe that there are spiritual entities vying for our attention, because it makes sense to me. And it's from this perspective that I choose to define the kingdom of God, as Jesus describes. I don't think that this is necessarily an exclusive idea. I think that most other religions would claim a spiritual connectedness with like believers, the ruler of such a "kingdom" being God, gods, or certain truths that are sacred, followed. Therefore, citizenship in the kingdom of believers seems to me a requisite part of the understanding of membership in a congregation (church, synagogue, mosque, monastery, etc.) as chosen by individual human beings. At some point I plan to flesh out my beliefs about God's kingdom as Jesus proclaimed it: here, now. These are the characteristics I feel the Christian church, in large part, has failed and fails to embrace, which brings me to the next question about choices within citizenship.
We are citizens within all of these realms, by choice and without our choosing. We belong, wouldn't you say, to the varying types of communities I have outlined here? So, great! I'm a member of the HBA, say (the Home Builders Association). I carry the card, tell people about it, and enjoy all the perks. Is that the hope? Citizenship/membership will work FOR me? Or, is John F. Kennedy more on track when he called people of the U.S. to engage in their citizenship in his famous "Ask not..." statement?
Now the question is, what do I do with my citizenship? This counts for citizenship in things of my choosing and in things that are not of my choosing. I have choices, no matter what. (But, yoderdude, the United States gives us that freedom, it's not just there. Think of those poor people in China, North Korea, Iran, or, wait a second, the United States, that can't speak their mind!! I think the ability and freedom to choose is an innate gift to humans regardless of their citizenship. You know the examples of people who have fully embraced higher priority citizenship when a country, church, or ethnic group demanded otherwise. And I hope it's clear that they were not all U.S. citizens). Sometimes I think I am doing myself a favor by checking out of the game of citizenship, waiting and waiting for something to draw me in, rather than getting into it, learning, growing, failing and succeeding. I have that choice. I have the choice of believing that God's kingdom has not yet come (that's what the Second Coming is for, right?), that I can still bitch and moan about the fallenness of this world, and won't it just be great when the kingdom DOES come so all of these good things will happen TO us. I think that's an epidemic in the Christian church (I'll speak about that since I am a member). We want the kingdom to come TO us rather than through us. I believe Jesus called us to the latter. Jesus is the firstborn of creation, the Son of God, I believe, and he has called all those who have ears to listen, come and follow him as he builds the kingdom, here, now. Again, we have the choice. Are we satisfied being on the list of members or would we rather do the hard work of pursuing the call of citizenship in each of the three realms of community with the gifts and strengths that we have and those we don't yet know we have?
How do we tune our ears to hear the call of the physical world to participate (like ALL other species) in ways that promote growth and health on an ecological scale? How do we tune our ears to the cries of our neighbors that ask us to build connections that support the growth and health of all of our bodies and relationships? How do we tune our ears to the message that through Jesus Christ all people are our brothers and sisters, all are members of the kingdom who have choices, and it is his hope that we will share with him in the passionate pursuit of even the fringe folks therein? We have the choice to move at the Spirit's nudgings and listen to what each other is hearing, or to check out and sit down with the bitter hope that this whole thing will come to an end sooner or later.
But, this brings up one last question. We are creatures with the power of choice. So having experienced that power, we sometimes feel that we or someone else can just choose their way through changes. I believe that we have to remember to go back and embrace the fact that we cannot function sustainably in isolation, we are not in the fullest sense of the word, independent. It's impossible. If we are to live, we must do so in community. And, to make another parallel, if we are to have life (I think you know what I mean, here), it cannot be expressed and nourished outside of community. This is where it gets hard to be born and raised American. Not that other countries don't encourage independence on an individual level, I just think we overdo it. What if we would foster a whole new movement (?) or paradigm of interdependence? Our life (physical, social and spiritual), collectively, depends on it.
I think this very blog is a move in that direction. Let's begin to make that shift here!
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