Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Wednesday Wisdom -- well, maybe not
Sorry, no clever meme for today's Wednesday Wisdom post. In fact, I can't even guarantee you'll find any wisdom here today ... but it is Wednesday!
I'm up fairly early today. It's still full on dark at 5:30 in these last summer days. I'm enjoying my morning coffee from the front porch today and the neighborhood still appears to be sleeping. Only the bugs, frogs and other night sounds are still stirring. Even the birds are still asleep in their nests.
It's an ideal time for contemplation.
We continue to stay pretty isolated as the corona virus pandemic continues. Southwest MO seems to be full of non-believers, anti-maskers, and people that just don't care about potentially spreading the virus to their at risk neighbors. I saw a recent Facebook plea from the daughter of a man that died from COVID-19. He was one that didn't believe in the seriousness of the pandemic and finally hoped to spread the message that people should take it seriously.
In my head I said, "Dumb ass! Nearly 200,000 Americans have died and you thought it was a hoax. Now that you're dying you want everyone else to take it seriously!"
I doubt that one more death will convince any science denying adherents to wear their masks and practice social distancing.
While most of the world is following the advice of medical experts, reopening businesses with certain restrictions in place, and successfully managing the spread of COVID-19, the USA death count continues to climb and more and more people find themselves knowing or having loved somebody that has died from this disease. If you still think that managing the disease is political or that your Facebook education gives you more credibility than the medical experts you are an ass and a part of the reason that the pandemic is still spreading.
Managing a deadly disease isn't about attacking your rights. It's about -- well, it's about managing a deadly disease. Following the advice of good science isn't difficult. I am constantly amazed at the bullshit that people will believe, follow, and spread. It seems that we have become so fearful of being controlled, that we will believe the stupidest of conspiracy theories as our act of rebellion. We are a nation of toddlers throwing temper tantrums and it's time to grow up.
Educate yourself by reading from experts. And while experts may not always agree, follow the science.
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." --Mark Twain
John
Thursday, September 10, 2020
Thursday Night Thoughts
It's late on Thursday evening (after 10pm) and I'm contemplating this evening's barchurch message and my own evolving theology. It's humbling (and a little frightening) to realize that much of my adult life has been spent believing and teaching things about God and the bible that may have been wrong.
It's strange that we can read The Sermon on the Mount and hear Jesus repeatedly say, "You've heard it said ... , but I'm telling you ... ," and then continue to use the history of the Jews and the stories from the Old Testament from the same perspective of the people that had it wrong. As I go through the Old Testament stories with the lens of Jesus, I'm seeing both God and the characters of the stories in a much different light. Both retirement and the current health crisis have allowed me the time to be more contemplative about God, man, and my place in it all.
I am no longer feeling the calling nor compulsion to preach. Social media is teaching me that few people really want to hear from someone that challenges the way they think or what they see from a limited perspective. (I was blocked today by a "Jesus follower" that called my thoughts on more training for law enforcement bullshit. I wasn't even responding to her post or comment.)
I digress.
Anyway, I think that simple conversations with reasonable people is more my style. Given today's environment, maybe simple posts sharing my thoughts are better for me. Reinterpreting old stories through the lens of The Christ is pretty interesting and somewhat challenging. Unlearning what we once believed to be truth is quite difficult.
Here's a set of questions to challenge you (or to challenge me):
What are your favorite stories from the Old Testament? What did you learn from them? And are you willing to take another look at the stories and the lessons through the eyes of God?
Feel free to answer the first two questions here. We can look for answers to the last one together.
John <><
