Wednesday Wisdom

 

John

Deconstruction, Reconstruction, or Burning the House Down

Religious deconstruction has become a pretty popular term that refers to the way many Christians are reassessing their faith and trying to reconcile between what they've been taught and what they now believe to be true about God, church life, church politics, and general religious bullshit. While many of the deconstructionists have moved on to reconstruction -- trying to rebuild their faith and remain connected to God in some form or fashion, many others have all but given up on the idea of organized religion of any kind and have pretty much quit church all together. 

Even after some serious reconstruction of my own religious life and after having found a church organization that has beliefs similar to my own, I could easily fall into the category of those that have left organized religion all together. It seems to me that today's church (probably always been this way) is more of a social club for like minded people than a gathering of people committed to worshiping, serving, and inviting others to do the same.

That probably sounds pretty harsh coming from a former Southern Baptist evangelist, but the truth is I'm pretty sure that I can get along with God just fine without the added complication of church. According to Pew Research, the number of nonchurch attenders was dropping steadily before the pandemic forced even smaller isolated churches to go online. Here is a link to the data from the research that shows the across the board downward trend in religious affiliation and church attendance.
Something tells me the addition of online services will also contribute to the decrease in church attendance.  

When it comes right down to it -- my personal beliefs haven't changed much. I still believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. I no longer believe that God needs me, nor is God counting on me to shepherd souls into heaven. While I will gladly share my beliefs with others, I will just as gladly learn from others about their own beliefs and reasonings when it comes to God/man (or woman) relationships. As far as getting you into heaven  -- I no longer see that as my responsibility. I'm going to leave that up to God. 

I know readers of this blog vary from atheist and non-religious to devout Christians. I also know there are a few non-Christian religions, beliefs, or philosophies represented. Here are some questions I have: 

How important is church to you?
How beneficial is regularly meeting with like minded people to your relationship with God? Humankind? or just knowing yourself?
Is the traditional practice of weekly religious gathering becoming obsolete or is it just a generational thing?
If you have quit going to church, what would bring you back?

Thoughts?

John

Spring Swing and Monday Motivation

I don't know of anything more motivating than sunny and 70f (21c) on an early spring day!
As is typical in the Ozarks of SWMO, the spring weather swings from sunny to stormy and warm to below freezing. There are now a couple of overnight temps in the coming week that are expected to be below freezing so you'd better cover those early spring plants and blossoms!

I know I'll be outside painting the remaining two downspout flower boxes today and planning some additional landscaping areas. I'm wondering if we need a front yard gathering place for neighbors to stop by and visit. We had an impromptu gathering at our neighbor's this weekend. It was inside by the time I joined them. I know our backyard will be the place for planned gatherings, but there is something uninviting and isolated about the backyard when it comes to impromptu gatherings.

It is nice to see more of the neighbors as the weather is warming up. We have a good feel in the neighborhood and I am hopeful for more of those unplanned come over, have a cigar and a cool drink kind of nights. 

Time for a quick breakfast and then outside to absorb some sunshine and get to work. Those flower boxes aren't going to paint themselves!

Be well,
John  

Wednesday Wisdom

I saw this quote on Facebook on Monday.
I heard it in a Ted Talk on Tuesday.
I'm sharing it here on Wednesday.

On Monday I thought, "That's good. I'm saving it for a Wednesday Wisdom post."
On Tuesday I thought maybe the Universe (aka God) is trying to tell me something.
Today I am sharing it with you.

John

PS Btw, the Ted Talk is worth listening to. Eighty percent of us are lying to ourselves about whether or not we lie to ourselves. Hmmm...check it out here.

Thoughts in my head today

In the spring of 1999, I was in Denver, CO for a combined regional NATCA meeting. Part of the extra-curricular events was an evening trip to Coors Field to watch the Rockies play baseball on the night we arrived in Denver -- April 20, 1999.

That was the day that 13 students were gunned down by two of their classmates (also killed) at Columbine High School. The entire area was in shock. The Rockies cancelled the entire home stand as the city mourned. Our guest speaker at the next day's meeting was a labor lawyer. His son was at the elementary school a few blocks away which was used as a gathering point for students that had escaped the high school massacre. Twenty-two years ago there were no active shooter drills in schools.

A year or so after that, the dad of the first student killed at Columbine (Rachel Scott) came to speak at our church in Ozark. He was telling the story of the day and sharing the faith of his daughter. Rachel's brother also spoke. He was in the school that day and lost several good friends along with his sister. 
Before the speaking event the dad stopped me downstairs in the church fellowship hall. He asked if I was on staff at the church. I told him that I wasn't but asked how I could help. 
He pointed out a young boy that was sitting in the kitchen -- his son, Rachel's youngest brother. The dad told me that the youngest brother always wants to go with them as they travel to honor his sister, but never wants to hear the story. I was asked if I could stay with him.

As much as I wanted to hear the dad's speech that night, I missed it. There was someone else that needed my attention.

Yesterday -- 22 years after Columbine, and less than an hour away from there -- another shooter walked into a grocery store and killed 10 innocent people. 
Just six days ago, a shooter in Atlanta killed eight people.
It looks like things are getting back to normal in the US.

To all of the gun owner's rights advocates -- What is the answer? How do we end these mass shootings in the US?
I don't want to hear that gun regulations aren't the answer.
I want to hear what is the answer.
I want to hear what your proposed solutions are and how they will work. 

Shootings in schools
Shootings in churches
Shootings in theaters
Shootings at concerts
Shootings at shopping centers
Shootings in work places

Life (and death) the American way.

My heart is heavy, because I know there will another incident and more death
...and still nothing will change, except for the families of the victims.
For them, life will never be the same.

John

Cancelled!

Yeah, it could happen.
I've been writing this blog since 2006 and made over 2100 posts.
I've been posting on Facebook for more than 12 years, and Twitter and Instagram for the past few years.
And I've been highly opinionated for most of my 60+ years.
Along with that, I've been an ass to people on occasion.
I suppose that I still am..., but I'm working on it.

I know that I have said, done, and written things that I regret (even fairly recently). I know that I have changed my beliefs about a lot of things as I have gain knowledge, experienced more things, and met more diverse people. The thing is -- I could easily be cancelled by you or anyone that I've offended in the past.
Or we could talk, I could offer my apologies and explain how I've changed or why I said or did what was offensive. I could ask for and hopefully receive your forgiveness.

Of course -- if I am hoping for you to forgive me for my past transgressions, I have to be willing to forgive you. I think that as a people, we have forgotten how to talk civilly to each other. And we need to be honest with ourselves about our faults and we need to be able to forgive ourselves and grow.

Do we need to talk?
Comments are moderated, so you can leave me a message to contact you here. If you read this through Facebook or Twitter, DM me.

I understand there are always consequences to pay for the stupid things we say and do, but I also believe that we need to be more gracious with one another.
Sorry for the erratic swings from assholery to apologetic. There is still a lot of work to do here.

John

Monday Motivation

It may be true that the best way to improve the world is to improve myself.

John

Spring has Sprung!

It is the long awaited first day of Spring!
During the early hours of the morning the sun reached the equator on its journey northward toward the Tropic of Cancer. This was the first sunrise of Spring 2021 from my backyard.

I'm planning a kind of compass flower bed for the backyard. Yesterday I marked the center spot for the flower garden with a wooden stake. The plan is to replace it with a sundial. I was up early enough this morning to mark sunrise at the equinox with a smaller stake and will also mark tonight's sunset. I'll do the same for the summer and winter solstice. With this morning's sunrise pretty much due east, I could probably predict the solstice markings by moving north and south 23.5 degrees, but I'll wait for the actual sight verified marks.

It was just below freezing at sunrise this morning and that looks to be the last overnight freeze in the forecast for the season. That means it is time to plant flowers and over seed the lawn. So much work to do and money to spend! 
So far, I am enjoying the work. I am finding myself more aware of the earth's energy and I feel like I am in sync with it. It's weird to be aware of the energy flow that transforms seeds to plants that produce flowers or food and then return energy to the soil in decomposition and the cycle repeats. Observing the process and feeling the energy flow are different things. Perhaps it's just the awareness that comes from having the time to meditate and contemplate the world around me, but it is pretty peaceful and satisfying.

Sunny and 58 (14c) is the forecast for today, so I should be able to get some outdoor work in. I take it pretty easy and try to enjoy it more than looking at it as a task that needs to be accomplished or conquered. Even so, there is plenty to do and the days are not yet that long so I'm going to fuel myself with a good breakfast and get busy.

Happy Spring to all my Northern hemisphere friends!
And Happy Autumn to my friends and family Down Under!

John 

Spring in the Ozarks and What the Hell is wrong with people?

It was nearly 70f (20c) on Tuesday as I was working in what will be our garden. It was 34f (1c) when I woke up this morning and now it's snowing!
Ugh!

I'm back to coffee by the fireplace this morning and probably will be for a few more mornings.
Today's coffee and quiet time will be cut short by a trip into Springfield -- Dr. appointment for Chris, setting up for in-person services at The Venues for me. We're doing the ecologically and economically best thing by carpooling. I'll probably be finished before Chris but I'm sure I can find a coffee shop and I always have a selection of books on my phone. 

   * * * * *

I am finding the current trend of attacks on Asians to be very troubling -- not only because of the racism, but the attackers are targeting older people. It seems that most of the violence is against senior adults. 
What the hell?!
Effing damn cowards!

I suspect cowardice is a common trait among racists. They find strength in numbers or anonymity, but would not be so bold one on one with a person of equal or greater strength or size. Reading about attacks on unsuspecting Asian seniors really pisses me off and I find it a challenge to maintain my newly found calm, peaceful, more gentle demeanor. 
Perhaps the thing that upsets me the most is the failure of so many Republican (Yes, I'm calling them out!) leaders to address the racist issues in our country. If fact, far from addressing the issues -- in 43 state legislatures and in Congress, most are contributing to the goddamned racism that our previous President and his followers -- every f#*cking one of you -- endorses.
No more passes. You don't get to say you support his policies but not his racism. His policies are racist. If you support him, you support a racist. If you support a racist - YOU ARE A RACIST.

Go ahead - change my mind. 
I'll listen, but you better bring some kind of super strong defense.

sigh
I'm going to need some serious quiet time to re-find my peace this morning.
Or maybe I need to be outraged for a while longer. 
Maybe we all need to be outraged.

John

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 From Sunday's Student Venues

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

What do you think of when you think of St Pat’s Day?

I always think -- I don’t have any green clothing to wear because it’s such an ugly color on me!

March 17th is a day when everybody claims to be Irish.

“Kiss Me, I’m Irish” will be seen on t-shirts and caps that are only worn one day a year.

People will eat corned beef and cabbage and wash it down with green beer.

Throughout the parties and celebrations, there will be little that accurately depicts the character of the Irish or of St Patrick.

So how about we take a few moments to look at the traditions of Celtic Christianity?

While much of Western Christianity seems focused on the depravity of man and our inherent evil, Celtic Christianity says that we are connected by God’s goodness, that God’s goodness is in each of us -- even if we have strayed from God’s vision and purpose for our life.

When I think of symbols that connect us to the Irish, I think of shamrocks, rainbows, and pots of gold -- probably a misguided connection to Lucky Charms and childhood memories.

The biblical reference to the rainbow doesn’t mention a pot o’gold. It comes at the end of the Noah story when God destroys the earth, all of mankind, and most of the animal life. The story says that God set his bow in the sky and promised never to destroy the earth by flood again. The rainbow is going to remind God to calm down and not destroy us!

(These are the things that convince me that much of the Bible is man-made stories. Does God really need a reminder of a promise not to send another great flood?)

Even so -- this covenant is made with all of humanity. It is for all men, women, boys, and girls. It is for every member of the LGBTQ+ (maybe that’s why they picked the rainbow symbol) community. It is for Muslims, Jews, Christians, atheists, and members of every faith tradition. It is for every nationality and race. The covenant is an all inclusive deal.

It is so weird to me that we can see inclusivity in God’s promises and dealings with humans, but we make up our own rules about separating people based on gender, race, sexuality, etc.

Long before feminism was a thing, St Patrick taught women to read -- something unheard of and frowned upon in his day. He taught that all people were equal -- slaves, free, men, women, clergy, laity.

Like so many of the other world religions, Celtic Christianity believes that we are connected to nature; that God is expressed in nature. (I know that Western Christianity is supposed to believe this too, but it is rarely taught and even more rarely emphasized.)

Pelagius (another Celtic Christian) wrote:

“...it is not what you believe that matters. It is how you respond with your heart and your actions. It is not believing in Christ that matters; it is becoming like him.”

He was considered to be a heretic by his contemporaries and I’m sure he is still considered so today -- but I like it! I’ve known far too many that talk the belief talk, but fail to even try to emulate Christ in their actions. If trying to live like Jesus is heresy, then maybe we should all become heretics.

I often wonder what and how Jesus would teach us in the USA today.

Would he teach us that we are connected to nature?

Would he teach us about climate change?

What would he teach about gender equality?

...about race equality?

...about nationalism?

Wouldn’t it be great to sit with Jesus over corned beef and cabbage this week and get some real-life instruction from him? I have a feeling I know how it would go:

Me: So, Jesus, what do I need to do to get to heaven?

Jesus: It’s simple, John. Just love everybody that I love.

Me: But you love everybody!

Jesus: Yep. Pass me another bottle of Guinness, will ya?