Tomorrow (or today for some of you), people around the world will be observing Earth Hour. Turn of your lights for an hour, starting at 8pm local time, and stand in solidarity with the rest of the planet as we tackle climate change together!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Get your candles ready...(scented or otherwise)
Tomorrow (or today for some of you), people around the world will be observing Earth Hour. Turn of your lights for an hour, starting at 8pm local time, and stand in solidarity with the rest of the planet as we tackle climate change together!
Thoughts of Thomas Merton
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
On Faith...
Get Religion highlights a beautiful story that ran on the front page of the Washington Post Sunday edition. Read it here.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
More on Dae's Easter Sermon
An excerpt from Dae's sermon. You can now link to the entire sermon here.
"And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and beacame like dead men. But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified." (Matthew 2:5)
"...This morning I have good news for you....this very angel who delivered this message 'fear not, fear not' is sitting on the very gravestones that have been rolled away by the power of God. No, not the gravestones of yesterday--two thousand years ago, but the very gravestones--your own gravestones. We all have our graves, where we bury our deep festering wounds. And let me tell you, it stinks and smells pretty rotten. It's that place where our lives are held hostage by fear. It's that place where the power of death has taken hold of our lives such that we breath and move about, but are not living. It's that place where we keep our shame hidden, our guilt, and our need for forgiveness, tucked away. It's that place from which we constantly hear the whispers 'you're not good enough, you're never good enough...you don't have enough'. In these places violence is the currency, and from these places our hearts become indifferent to our fellow human beings. Therefore we are able to wage wars upon one another, take more than we need, and we create enemies. We hate and our hated, we deprive the powerless the basic necessities for life...violating our common human dignity and rights, and even in the name of religion. Yes, our collective graves are quite smelly and stinky, pretty bad in our world. And I don't have to continue explaining to you our gravesites.
But I have good news for you this morning. Because Christ is risen, there is no place for fear. The awful stench that arises from our graves is transformed into new life. Our dead bodies are infused with God's love, for God has once again breathed into our being the breath of life, the very Spirit of God, the power of resurrection. The Easter message is quite simple. Beacuse Christ lives, you also live. Because Christ is risen, you also will rise. Because Jesus is the resurrection, you are the resurrection...now this is the great earthquake...."
"And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and beacame like dead men. But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified." (Matthew 2:5)
"...This morning I have good news for you....this very angel who delivered this message 'fear not, fear not' is sitting on the very gravestones that have been rolled away by the power of God. No, not the gravestones of yesterday--two thousand years ago, but the very gravestones--your own gravestones. We all have our graves, where we bury our deep festering wounds. And let me tell you, it stinks and smells pretty rotten. It's that place where our lives are held hostage by fear. It's that place where the power of death has taken hold of our lives such that we breath and move about, but are not living. It's that place where we keep our shame hidden, our guilt, and our need for forgiveness, tucked away. It's that place from which we constantly hear the whispers 'you're not good enough, you're never good enough...you don't have enough'. In these places violence is the currency, and from these places our hearts become indifferent to our fellow human beings. Therefore we are able to wage wars upon one another, take more than we need, and we create enemies. We hate and our hated, we deprive the powerless the basic necessities for life...violating our common human dignity and rights, and even in the name of religion. Yes, our collective graves are quite smelly and stinky, pretty bad in our world. And I don't have to continue explaining to you our gravesites.
But I have good news for you this morning. Because Christ is risen, there is no place for fear. The awful stench that arises from our graves is transformed into new life. Our dead bodies are infused with God's love, for God has once again breathed into our being the breath of life, the very Spirit of God, the power of resurrection. The Easter message is quite simple. Beacuse Christ lives, you also live. Because Christ is risen, you also will rise. Because Jesus is the resurrection, you are the resurrection...now this is the great earthquake...."
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Obama Factor
A reader, having noticed my somewhat obvious regard for Barack Obama, recently commented "I can't help thinking that you're going to be pretty disappointed if he doesn't make it through to the next round or even President."
At some level, yes, of course I would be disappointed. I would be disappointed because I would love to see what could happen in this country over time, with someone like him leading it. I would love to see how his facile grasp of complex issues would manifest in decision-making. I would love to see if the country would indeed become more unified--because I can't see anyone else right now who could do that better than he could. And finally, yes I would be disappointed because I think he has the most intuitive grasp of foreign policy that I have seen in a long time (a topic close to my heart).
But on the other hand, I won't be too upset because I know that over time, all politicians will show their flaws and he will be no exception. The other candidates have their strengths too, and a lot of responsibility for the well-being of the country still lies outside of politics altogether. And even if he doesn't make it, he has still indelibly altered the course of the US political landscape. To have Bill Richardson endorse him partly because 'he speaks to us as adults', goes a long way, imho, to naming one of the biggest problems in the way this country deals with critical social issues. The media and PR spinners tend to simplify and polarize issues, treating us like children, and we are rarely given the opportunity to explore nuance, let alone engage in authentic dialogue. Everything is broken down into soundbites and black and white solutions.
In my view, Obama is bringing some reality back in to those discussions (yes, I'm thinking of his 'race speech'), and that has already caused positive consquences. He wades into the difficult issues, and doesn't promise easy answers. But he inspires people to believe that we can find the answers, we can find the healing, without having to deny the very real difficulties we face. Some very real and hopeful dialogues are being held throughout this country right now--not because Obama has all the answers, but because he seems to be able to create the space that allows for the right questions. And hopefully, regardless of who wins what, we will not fall back into being satisfied with the status quo we have had thus far.
I support him as nominee and hopefully as President, as a leader for this country, in large part because I see he is already leading this country.
At some level, yes, of course I would be disappointed. I would be disappointed because I would love to see what could happen in this country over time, with someone like him leading it. I would love to see how his facile grasp of complex issues would manifest in decision-making. I would love to see if the country would indeed become more unified--because I can't see anyone else right now who could do that better than he could. And finally, yes I would be disappointed because I think he has the most intuitive grasp of foreign policy that I have seen in a long time (a topic close to my heart).
But on the other hand, I won't be too upset because I know that over time, all politicians will show their flaws and he will be no exception. The other candidates have their strengths too, and a lot of responsibility for the well-being of the country still lies outside of politics altogether. And even if he doesn't make it, he has still indelibly altered the course of the US political landscape. To have Bill Richardson endorse him partly because 'he speaks to us as adults', goes a long way, imho, to naming one of the biggest problems in the way this country deals with critical social issues. The media and PR spinners tend to simplify and polarize issues, treating us like children, and we are rarely given the opportunity to explore nuance, let alone engage in authentic dialogue. Everything is broken down into soundbites and black and white solutions.
In my view, Obama is bringing some reality back in to those discussions (yes, I'm thinking of his 'race speech'), and that has already caused positive consquences. He wades into the difficult issues, and doesn't promise easy answers. But he inspires people to believe that we can find the answers, we can find the healing, without having to deny the very real difficulties we face. Some very real and hopeful dialogues are being held throughout this country right now--not because Obama has all the answers, but because he seems to be able to create the space that allows for the right questions. And hopefully, regardless of who wins what, we will not fall back into being satisfied with the status quo we have had thus far.
I support him as nominee and hopefully as President, as a leader for this country, in large part because I see he is already leading this country.
Dinner with Obama
This is pretty cool. Yes, it's a fundraising move, but it's very innovative, and I love that he 'thinks it will be a lot of fun'. And fundraising aside, it really is a great opportunity to reconnect with the base of his support, rather than only hearing the voices of those with millions to ensure they are heard. Well done!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Easter
Happy Easter!!I just came back from a wonderful service, and our pastor, Rev. Dae Eun Jung, gave a brilliant sermon. I can't do it justice, but I will leave you with a provocative thought he raised....he stated that often we try to explain the resurrection....to explain Easter. Was it a corporal resurrection? Was it metaphorical? But in fact, that is getting it all wrong. It is not that you are here to explain Easter, but that Easter, in fact, explains you.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Worth a read....
A brilliantly honest post by Rod Dreher on hatred and sin, and touching on the Obama/Wright discussion.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Existential Christian (and a bit more on rabbits)
The other day I was chatting with a girlfriend about faith, and I was sharing with her that although I am very active in my church, and for many practical appearances may seem to be very 'religious', I still don't identify myself as a 'religious' sort of person. She asked me why, and as we talked it through I realised it's because for me, 'religious' still seems to focus more on the doctrines and rituals involved in faith, rather than a living experience of the reality of God, and trying to live one's life--however imperfectly--in awareness of that reality. Ah, she said. I get it. You're an existential Christian. I laughed. Yes, that's it, I thought, I suppose I'm an existential Christian.
Yesterday I happened to read Greg Boyd's latest blog post where he is beginning to wrestle with some of the apparent contradictions in God's nature as viewed in the Old Testament when contrasted to the nature of God as revealed through Jesus Christ in the New Testament. He starts the process by asking us what is at stake when we start to investigate the infallibility of the Bible. Rather than me going into it, I suggest you pop over to his site and read what he wrote, but I found it profoundly important to me because he touches (much more eloquently) on what I was trying to get at in my discussion with my friend.
I first came into a church about eight years ago in a Pentecostal setting, rather fundamentalist, and it scared the daylights out of me. I was 'born again' but fled after about two months--heartily hoping that no lasting damage had been done.
I rejected everything about that experience and everything about their theology. But oddly enough, something still had changed. I found that I could no longer watch those Easter movies where they show the crucifixion without tearing up. At odd moments, I heard the word 'Jesus' escape my lips, as a prayer rather than a curse. Occasionally, I would stop by a church, and I still thought about God a lot. I didn't pray. I didn't much read the Bible. I didn't seek to alter my life or behavior in any way. It didn't really occur to me that I should (or could). But still, some little seed had been planted that refused to go away. Some little crack of light came shining through into the darkness and I would turn to it when things were at their worst.
Then about three years ago, yet after another series of failed attempts to find happiness/satisfaction/meaning/belonging etc. in the right relationship/career/city etc. I decided to move home for a while. I started hanging out at the church a bit more often, and got involved with a small group of sorts. I was vehement in proclaiming myself as NOT a Christian for the simple reason that I had pretty much come to accept that there probably was a God, although I had no idea what that meant, but I was very very far from accepting that Jesus could be anything other than a prophet or wise man. It simply didn't make sense. At some level, I even found the suggestion that he be otherwise mildly offensive. In particular I found it offensive to my intellect--something I otherwise found to be my most reliable attribute. (How little I knew!) So I continued in my ways, turbulent as they were, seeking God increasingly but never allotting Jesus much thought.
Then one day, as happens, the bottom fell out. Personal circumstances converged, and I found myself on the brink of despair. My heart was losing hope, and while I'm not much one for talking about the devil too much, that little voice we all know and hate was beginning to gain ground. 'You are not worth anything' it stated. 'You will never have the things you hope for'. I protested. I tried to find something with which to counter that, but my heart had been broken and I knew it. That voice went for a touch down. 'That's because your heart is not worth anything'. I almost couldn't take it and in desperation I turned to God and asked, or more likely begged, 'God, isn't my heart worth anything to you?' And this I will never forget. Clear as a bell, I heard the words 'I died for your heart'.
I was appalled. Amazed, but appalled at the same time. Amazed, because in that instant I knew the extent to which I was loved, the extent to which I had been intentionally created to have the heart that I have. But I also knew that the only manifestation of God that could speak those words was Jesus. The words themselves claimed oneness with God, and yet the content of the words implied the incarnation.
Clearly I had to make a choice. I could continue to deny Jesus, but then I would also have to deny the immediate healing I had experienced (and total silencing of that nasty little voice). Or I could embrace the healing, but then I would have to be open to this 'Jesus person', whoever He might really have been.
That's when I started to really read the Bible. I started to seek out my own experience and longing in the Epistles, and found it reflected back at me over and over again. I started to read what Jesus had said, and found in there a truth so profound, so undeniable that I was amazed I hadn't seen it before. And yet that truth challenged so many of my assumptions, my ways of living and perceiving the world, my righteous reactions to the world, that it is also no wonder I had to be on my knees before I would listen to it.
And then I started to learn about this thing called 'theology'. I became, and still am, fascinated by how 'good' theology can point one toward this source of life and transformation (but can not replace it). And I also came to see just how much certain beliefs ('bad' theology) can take one away from this source of life, even though perhaps all the while talking a great deal about it.
I admit, I'm not entirely sure as to why I am sharing this all today. Something about Greg's post caused me to remember parts of my own journey, and to feel the urgency of discussing faith in God as something that is very very real. Of coming to know that God is very very real. So real that it can be frightening. And yet NOT confusing that reality with doctrinal proclamations which I believe were originally meant to have described a reality, but never meant to have replaced it. I am in no way trying to dismiss their value, nor to challenge anybody else's understanding. I just felt moved to share my own meandering journey, perhaps somewhat in gratitude for Greg being willing to 'go there' with the hard questions. I find it much easier to self-identify with a set of beliefs than I do to live in constant awareness of the reality of God. But what if the latter is what we were actually created for? What if so many people are disgusted with 'organized religion' precisely they feel it is about a set of beliefs that they can not subscribe to (intellectually anyway), rather than a reality that can, and will, meet them in their very life experiences if they let it?
When I look back on my own journey, I can see that the pivotal points were all about experience, and not really about belief. Belief helped, supported, buttressed, yes, and of course it could also hinder, but in and of itself, it was not the transforming agent. And yet in our world, in our society, we put more faith in belief, in mental assent, than we do in experience (after all, that is subjective and therefore not reliable in scientific inquiry). But I can not back down from the conviction that faith is, almost above all, transformative. And that the God who created every part of humankind, is the God who is relevant to every part of our lives--not just intellectually, not just individually, not just communally, but our life in it's entirety. And that that is the life He wants to transform into one of abundance.
As often, CS Lewis has already gone there. So I end with this quote of his from his essay 'Man or Rabbit' from God in the Dock: Essays On Theology and Ethics.
"Morality is indispensable: but the Divine Life, which gives itself to us and which calls us to be gods, intends for us something in which morality will be swallowed up. We are to be re-made. All the rabbit in us is to disappear—the worried, conscientious, ethical rabbit as well as the cowardly and sensual rabbit. We shall bleed and squeal as the handfuls of fur come out; and then, surprisingly, we shall find underneath it all a thing we have never yet imagined: a real Man, an ageless god, a son of God, strong, radiant, wise, beautiful, and drenched in joy."
Yesterday I happened to read Greg Boyd's latest blog post where he is beginning to wrestle with some of the apparent contradictions in God's nature as viewed in the Old Testament when contrasted to the nature of God as revealed through Jesus Christ in the New Testament. He starts the process by asking us what is at stake when we start to investigate the infallibility of the Bible. Rather than me going into it, I suggest you pop over to his site and read what he wrote, but I found it profoundly important to me because he touches (much more eloquently) on what I was trying to get at in my discussion with my friend.
I first came into a church about eight years ago in a Pentecostal setting, rather fundamentalist, and it scared the daylights out of me. I was 'born again' but fled after about two months--heartily hoping that no lasting damage had been done.
I rejected everything about that experience and everything about their theology. But oddly enough, something still had changed. I found that I could no longer watch those Easter movies where they show the crucifixion without tearing up. At odd moments, I heard the word 'Jesus' escape my lips, as a prayer rather than a curse. Occasionally, I would stop by a church, and I still thought about God a lot. I didn't pray. I didn't much read the Bible. I didn't seek to alter my life or behavior in any way. It didn't really occur to me that I should (or could). But still, some little seed had been planted that refused to go away. Some little crack of light came shining through into the darkness and I would turn to it when things were at their worst.
Then about three years ago, yet after another series of failed attempts to find happiness/satisfaction/meaning/belonging etc. in the right relationship/career/city etc. I decided to move home for a while. I started hanging out at the church a bit more often, and got involved with a small group of sorts. I was vehement in proclaiming myself as NOT a Christian for the simple reason that I had pretty much come to accept that there probably was a God, although I had no idea what that meant, but I was very very far from accepting that Jesus could be anything other than a prophet or wise man. It simply didn't make sense. At some level, I even found the suggestion that he be otherwise mildly offensive. In particular I found it offensive to my intellect--something I otherwise found to be my most reliable attribute. (How little I knew!) So I continued in my ways, turbulent as they were, seeking God increasingly but never allotting Jesus much thought.
Then one day, as happens, the bottom fell out. Personal circumstances converged, and I found myself on the brink of despair. My heart was losing hope, and while I'm not much one for talking about the devil too much, that little voice we all know and hate was beginning to gain ground. 'You are not worth anything' it stated. 'You will never have the things you hope for'. I protested. I tried to find something with which to counter that, but my heart had been broken and I knew it. That voice went for a touch down. 'That's because your heart is not worth anything'. I almost couldn't take it and in desperation I turned to God and asked, or more likely begged, 'God, isn't my heart worth anything to you?' And this I will never forget. Clear as a bell, I heard the words 'I died for your heart'.
I was appalled. Amazed, but appalled at the same time. Amazed, because in that instant I knew the extent to which I was loved, the extent to which I had been intentionally created to have the heart that I have. But I also knew that the only manifestation of God that could speak those words was Jesus. The words themselves claimed oneness with God, and yet the content of the words implied the incarnation.
Clearly I had to make a choice. I could continue to deny Jesus, but then I would also have to deny the immediate healing I had experienced (and total silencing of that nasty little voice). Or I could embrace the healing, but then I would have to be open to this 'Jesus person', whoever He might really have been.
That's when I started to really read the Bible. I started to seek out my own experience and longing in the Epistles, and found it reflected back at me over and over again. I started to read what Jesus had said, and found in there a truth so profound, so undeniable that I was amazed I hadn't seen it before. And yet that truth challenged so many of my assumptions, my ways of living and perceiving the world, my righteous reactions to the world, that it is also no wonder I had to be on my knees before I would listen to it.
And then I started to learn about this thing called 'theology'. I became, and still am, fascinated by how 'good' theology can point one toward this source of life and transformation (but can not replace it). And I also came to see just how much certain beliefs ('bad' theology) can take one away from this source of life, even though perhaps all the while talking a great deal about it.
I admit, I'm not entirely sure as to why I am sharing this all today. Something about Greg's post caused me to remember parts of my own journey, and to feel the urgency of discussing faith in God as something that is very very real. Of coming to know that God is very very real. So real that it can be frightening. And yet NOT confusing that reality with doctrinal proclamations which I believe were originally meant to have described a reality, but never meant to have replaced it. I am in no way trying to dismiss their value, nor to challenge anybody else's understanding. I just felt moved to share my own meandering journey, perhaps somewhat in gratitude for Greg being willing to 'go there' with the hard questions. I find it much easier to self-identify with a set of beliefs than I do to live in constant awareness of the reality of God. But what if the latter is what we were actually created for? What if so many people are disgusted with 'organized religion' precisely they feel it is about a set of beliefs that they can not subscribe to (intellectually anyway), rather than a reality that can, and will, meet them in their very life experiences if they let it?
When I look back on my own journey, I can see that the pivotal points were all about experience, and not really about belief. Belief helped, supported, buttressed, yes, and of course it could also hinder, but in and of itself, it was not the transforming agent. And yet in our world, in our society, we put more faith in belief, in mental assent, than we do in experience (after all, that is subjective and therefore not reliable in scientific inquiry). But I can not back down from the conviction that faith is, almost above all, transformative. And that the God who created every part of humankind, is the God who is relevant to every part of our lives--not just intellectually, not just individually, not just communally, but our life in it's entirety. And that that is the life He wants to transform into one of abundance.
As often, CS Lewis has already gone there. So I end with this quote of his from his essay 'Man or Rabbit' from God in the Dock: Essays On Theology and Ethics.
"Morality is indispensable: but the Divine Life, which gives itself to us and which calls us to be gods, intends for us something in which morality will be swallowed up. We are to be re-made. All the rabbit in us is to disappear—the worried, conscientious, ethical rabbit as well as the cowardly and sensual rabbit. We shall bleed and squeal as the handfuls of fur come out; and then, surprisingly, we shall find underneath it all a thing we have never yet imagined: a real Man, an ageless god, a son of God, strong, radiant, wise, beautiful, and drenched in joy."
Monday, March 17, 2008
Clemency
I just received an email from Amnesty International USA regarding the possible upcoming execution of a man named Troy Davis, who has been on death row for 15 years in Georgia in spite of rather high degrees of insubstantive evidence linking him to the death of a police officer.
I admit, I'm not always very keen to weigh in on issues like this because I feel I lack enough information to make a clear decision, but in this instance I share their plea for assistance with you all for two reasons. The first is that I am totally against the death penalty in all cases and so I have no compunction about pressuring them to commute the death sentence. Secondly, if you read the information, the case is pretty strong for at least a sufficient degree of doubt to surface--a degree that should not be present when invoking capital punishment.
So I am sharing the story with you here, and if you feel so moved, please send a letter and share this story further.
I admit, I'm not always very keen to weigh in on issues like this because I feel I lack enough information to make a clear decision, but in this instance I share their plea for assistance with you all for two reasons. The first is that I am totally against the death penalty in all cases and so I have no compunction about pressuring them to commute the death sentence. Secondly, if you read the information, the case is pretty strong for at least a sufficient degree of doubt to surface--a degree that should not be present when invoking capital punishment.
So I am sharing the story with you here, and if you feel so moved, please send a letter and share this story further.
Fragrant Rabbit
Andy Tauer, the immensely talented perfumer behind Tauer Perfumes, is giving away free samples of his latest perfume Incense Rose. Hop on over to his website and try to find the little rabbit imaged above--Andy will send a free sample to the first fifty people to find this little bundle of fur. But hurry, samples are going fast!
(h/t :Now Smell This)
UPDATE: The samples are all gone, but the website is still well worth a visit if you are interested in perfume!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
"You know, I'm not so sure that I'm mad at anybody..."
Interesting article on the new shape of 'evangelical politics' in The Nation
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Finding Healing Together
This video of two beautiful dancers is an amazing testament to the triumph of the human spirit....
I find myself also poignantly reminded that we do not find healing alone, but together, and that we do not exist independently, but inter-dependently. What courage these two must have!
I find myself also poignantly reminded that we do not find healing alone, but together, and that we do not exist independently, but inter-dependently. What courage these two must have!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Save the Date!
For all those interested in broadening their understanding of the relationships between their faith, politics, and social justice, save the date for this upcoming conference:
EnVision: The Gospel, Politics, and the Future
To be held at Princeton University, June 8-11, 2008.
More information to follow soon....
EnVision: The Gospel, Politics, and the Future
To be held at Princeton University, June 8-11, 2008.
More information to follow soon....
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