Two puzzling thoughts regularly come to mind these days. Certainly these are not the only two thoughts that are puzzling but they are the subject of this writing.
I, like most of us, dream from time to time, and even remember for a brief time a part of some of them. Recently my dream scenario was teaching a class, which may be related to the fact that next week I will be back in front of the classroom filled with about twenty students. So my subconscious influenced that dream. More recently however, I dreamt of a high school classmate who wasn't even a friend and hardly an acquaintance. While I don't at this point remember details of any other dreams, I do remember that I was impressed the morning after that the dreams seemed so unrelated to anything that I had been doing or thinking…ever. So the puzzle is where do these dreams come from? Is there a supernatural force, a God involved? I'm leaning in the direction that this is one way God talks to us. Unfortunately it also seems like a waste of time and effort because most of us don't understand the message.
Secondly, there a question about the concept of souls or our spiritual being which lives on after death according to many if not most major religions of the world. Science purports that mankind, the earth, the universe all have a beginning. It also purports that space is nearly endless or at least so vast as to seem endless, A reasonable mind recognizing our minuscular relative size to this vastness would wonder why only the earth has evolved with intelligent beings and why there may not be other intelligent life out there somewhere. Both thoughts suggest a question about if humans have souls and evolved through stages from animal characteristics to human qualities, when did the souls enter the picture?
So when did we get our souls? What do intelligent beings beyond the earth look like and do they have souls? Are dreams influenced by God and if not why do they seem so random?
I guess I need to do some more walking and talking. "And he walks with me, and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own." More than me talking I need to be listening when he talks.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Monday, February 9, 2015
A Warm God
Nine of us shared an afternoon recently billed as a spiritual or inspirational retreat. Our facilitator asked four questions for each of us to answer: Where did you grow up? How was your childhood heated or warmed? What person in your life was the warmest? When did you first experience God as warm?
My first three answers were: on a farm in North Dakota, coal and my grandmother, which apparently is a common answer for the third question. The fourth question is more difficult to answer and I happened to be in a position to not get a chance to answer it.
I grew up going to church every Sunday with my parents and my sisters and brothers. No questions asked. We attended Sunday School and because it would have required an additional trip to town (about 5 miles) I never got to Vacation Bible School in the summer. I attended confirmation classes on Saturday mornings for two years during my seventh- and eighth-grade years. After confirmation I regularly attended Youth Group, sang in choir and continued to attend church. I guess I was always involved in church and church was about God, right? Of course, we prayed and recited the Apostle's Creed and other litanies. The church was E and R (Evangelical and Reformed) which later merged with the Congregational Churches to become the United Church of Christ.
My parental grandparents often had guests for dinner, the noon meal, after church on Sunday. Almost always, as I remember, the guests included the minister and family. A son of the minister of my very early childhood became a good friend of my father and his son is a friend of my brothers. Again there was a sense always being connected to the church.
During my college years I attended church with my circle of friends. After college I lived with a college classmate's father who was a minister and I sang in the choir and helped with the youth program. A couple years later I got married and we continued to attend church and take on leadership roles. When we moved to a remote part of Alaska we became involved in starting a Methodist Fellowship (church) in our community. After Alaska we continued to attend church and accept leadership roles in youth programs and general church functions. Still it can be said that I was always involved with church.
But a first experience with a warm God. That's harder to pinpoint. First it's hard to identify what one may mean by a "warm God." Maybe it's when thinking about God becomes emotional and personal as opposed to academic.
I think of two times when I might have increased my emotional connection to a "warm God." While living with my friend's minister father, we shared many moments of personal religious spiritual experiences including some metaphysical events. God seemed more personal and spirituality took on a greater meaning. The second may be now, more than seventy years after my baptism with my parents and my grandfathers as my godparents. I find myself asking many questions about my experiences of the past. I find myself peeling off what now seem like superficial, redundant and irrelevant details. I find myself taking time to think and talk to God and to listen for wisdom. I now feel I am on a journey of truly experiencing a "warm God."
So I will continue peeling, thinking, reading and praying. I feel very close to God on this journey. I look forward to relating in the future to a "Warm God."
My first three answers were: on a farm in North Dakota, coal and my grandmother, which apparently is a common answer for the third question. The fourth question is more difficult to answer and I happened to be in a position to not get a chance to answer it.
I grew up going to church every Sunday with my parents and my sisters and brothers. No questions asked. We attended Sunday School and because it would have required an additional trip to town (about 5 miles) I never got to Vacation Bible School in the summer. I attended confirmation classes on Saturday mornings for two years during my seventh- and eighth-grade years. After confirmation I regularly attended Youth Group, sang in choir and continued to attend church. I guess I was always involved in church and church was about God, right? Of course, we prayed and recited the Apostle's Creed and other litanies. The church was E and R (Evangelical and Reformed) which later merged with the Congregational Churches to become the United Church of Christ.
My parental grandparents often had guests for dinner, the noon meal, after church on Sunday. Almost always, as I remember, the guests included the minister and family. A son of the minister of my very early childhood became a good friend of my father and his son is a friend of my brothers. Again there was a sense always being connected to the church.
During my college years I attended church with my circle of friends. After college I lived with a college classmate's father who was a minister and I sang in the choir and helped with the youth program. A couple years later I got married and we continued to attend church and take on leadership roles. When we moved to a remote part of Alaska we became involved in starting a Methodist Fellowship (church) in our community. After Alaska we continued to attend church and accept leadership roles in youth programs and general church functions. Still it can be said that I was always involved with church.
But a first experience with a warm God. That's harder to pinpoint. First it's hard to identify what one may mean by a "warm God." Maybe it's when thinking about God becomes emotional and personal as opposed to academic.
I think of two times when I might have increased my emotional connection to a "warm God." While living with my friend's minister father, we shared many moments of personal religious spiritual experiences including some metaphysical events. God seemed more personal and spirituality took on a greater meaning. The second may be now, more than seventy years after my baptism with my parents and my grandfathers as my godparents. I find myself asking many questions about my experiences of the past. I find myself peeling off what now seem like superficial, redundant and irrelevant details. I find myself taking time to think and talk to God and to listen for wisdom. I now feel I am on a journey of truly experiencing a "warm God."
So I will continue peeling, thinking, reading and praying. I feel very close to God on this journey. I look forward to relating in the future to a "Warm God."
Friday, January 23, 2015
I Had a Dream
We received an email yesterday that Marcus Borg died. The story with that information was heartwarming, but then most people are better dead than alive. He apparently was a wonderful person far beyond his writings and lectures. I've only read a little about and by him. I will focus on more reading involving him.
From another angle, I had a dream last night, actually it was this morning after my first awakening around 5:00. It wasn't as profound as the dreams of Josephs, the pharaoh, Joseph's jail mates or Jacob with his latter, but it seemed memorable. I was preparing a sermon. It was a good sermon. It didn't give an guidelines for a better life; it just asked a lot of questions about what we take for granted in religion. I hope I can write it some day and perhaps even share with a congregation.
Recent incidents around the world in the name of religion have shocked everyone and perhaps leaves many of us wondering if we want to be connected with any religion. The killing by Muslims in Paris, the killings of Jewish, the killings in the Congo by Christians are a few of the news stories. The scriptures of most religion include contradicting guidelines for using and opposing violence. I've been rereading Genesis and it's terrifying what our good model forefathers, and mothers, did. Of course, I would question the historian who was there to report all these events.
Regardless of how we believe the Bible was written, by God, inspired by God, as reported by folklore, as envisioned to answer probing questions, somehow humankind with all its fallacies was involved and influenced the outcome. We see that even today with the rewriting of the scriptures, the new interpretations of the writings and the modifications of policies and by-laws. So how do we understand the Bible or in a greater sense, the nature of humankind and it purpose?
Perhaps those are some of the questions that Marcus started with. It seems like he peeled aside some of the unnecessary contradictions and irrelevant stories and found a Jesus that shocks the Christian world but defines his relevant teachings.
Regardless of what you believe about God or Jesus or Mohammed or Abraham or Buddha, it shouldn't be a great leap to believe that the violence that people do to each other is not right; and that doesn't only apply to killings but also to our negligent of others' needs. What we do to the least of these, we do …
Wouldn't if be cool if Marcus would come back with a full report about God?
From another angle, I had a dream last night, actually it was this morning after my first awakening around 5:00. It wasn't as profound as the dreams of Josephs, the pharaoh, Joseph's jail mates or Jacob with his latter, but it seemed memorable. I was preparing a sermon. It was a good sermon. It didn't give an guidelines for a better life; it just asked a lot of questions about what we take for granted in religion. I hope I can write it some day and perhaps even share with a congregation.
Recent incidents around the world in the name of religion have shocked everyone and perhaps leaves many of us wondering if we want to be connected with any religion. The killing by Muslims in Paris, the killings of Jewish, the killings in the Congo by Christians are a few of the news stories. The scriptures of most religion include contradicting guidelines for using and opposing violence. I've been rereading Genesis and it's terrifying what our good model forefathers, and mothers, did. Of course, I would question the historian who was there to report all these events.
Regardless of how we believe the Bible was written, by God, inspired by God, as reported by folklore, as envisioned to answer probing questions, somehow humankind with all its fallacies was involved and influenced the outcome. We see that even today with the rewriting of the scriptures, the new interpretations of the writings and the modifications of policies and by-laws. So how do we understand the Bible or in a greater sense, the nature of humankind and it purpose?
Perhaps those are some of the questions that Marcus started with. It seems like he peeled aside some of the unnecessary contradictions and irrelevant stories and found a Jesus that shocks the Christian world but defines his relevant teachings.
Regardless of what you believe about God or Jesus or Mohammed or Abraham or Buddha, it shouldn't be a great leap to believe that the violence that people do to each other is not right; and that doesn't only apply to killings but also to our negligent of others' needs. What we do to the least of these, we do …
Wouldn't if be cool if Marcus would come back with a full report about God?
Saturday, January 10, 2015
The Questions Continue
Stephen Hawkins in an interview spoke of his life goal to find the ultimate single equation that tied everything together. Einstein got close with his E=mc2. Certainly Hawkins was thinking about the relationship between Black Holes and stars and even atoms, molecules and cells but he may not have been completely ignoring metaphysics as well as physics. The recent movie about Hawkins seems to focus on his love of life and his relationship with his girl friend/wife. Maybe the singular formula was under his nose, maybe he was living it.
God is love.
If you think about it with the depth that Hawkins would, you would probably come to the conclusion that every commandment, every rule, every proverb of every religion or philosophy is a subset of that simple equation: God equals love and love equals God. Hence God loves us far more than any of us have ever loved our dearest one, and in turn we will love God. Since God loves us so dearly, each one of us, we are best to love each other also with all we have, getting us very close to the practice rule that says we should do to others as we would want them to do to us. This, commonly called the Golden Rule exists is all religions.
Golden Rule
Christian
In everything do to others as you would have them do to you for this is the law and the prophets.
Gospel of Matthew
Judaism
What is hateful to you, do not do to others. This is the entire; all the rest is commentary.
The Talmud
Buddhism
Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.
Udana-Varaa
Hinduism
This is thge sum of duty; do nothing to others which if done to you would cause you pain.
The Mahabharata
Islam
No one of you is abeliever until they desire for their brother or sister that which they desire for themselves.
Hadith
God is love.
If you think about it with the depth that Hawkins would, you would probably come to the conclusion that every commandment, every rule, every proverb of every religion or philosophy is a subset of that simple equation: God equals love and love equals God. Hence God loves us far more than any of us have ever loved our dearest one, and in turn we will love God. Since God loves us so dearly, each one of us, we are best to love each other also with all we have, getting us very close to the practice rule that says we should do to others as we would want them to do to us. This, commonly called the Golden Rule exists is all religions.
Golden Rule
Christian
In everything do to others as you would have them do to you for this is the law and the prophets.
Gospel of Matthew
Judaism
What is hateful to you, do not do to others. This is the entire; all the rest is commentary.
The Talmud
Buddhism
Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.
Udana-Varaa
Hinduism
This is thge sum of duty; do nothing to others which if done to you would cause you pain.
The Mahabharata
Islam
No one of you is abeliever until they desire for their brother or sister that which they desire for themselves.
Hadith
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Celebrating
During this season when people around the world celebrate a holiday that has evolved out of an accumulation many festivities, I and my family celebrate Christmas, the memory of the birth of Jesus. During this season one sees an uncountable number of ways to celebrate Christmas, from lights and music in areas where the reason for Christmas is hardly known to frantic shoppers whose ancestors have repeated the story of Jesus' birth numerous times to worshippers gathering to sing songs and worship Jesus and his God.
I have been and still am among the latter for seventy years. Each year I learn more about the holiday and every year more traditions are added to the holiday to the point that the Christian reason for the season has faded to only a small spark among a decreasing number of people. I wrote in a earlier blog about peeling away the excess to get to the true meaning of Christmas or any other tradition that matters.
Neither theology nor philosophy have ever been my forte, even though at one time I referred to myself as a mathematician, and early Greeks who wrote of mathematics were called philosophers. Thomas Jefferson was one whom I chose as a philosopher for a paper during my Masters studies even though he probably never is found on a list of famous great philosophers. Jefferson was chosen because he was a thinker, famous for other reasons, and not one who limited his thinking to philosophy. Perhaps he remains my model but far above my frail capabilities. So my thoughts pale among great thinkers and yet I continue to think.
On Christmas Day we attended a service in a Catholic church. The service was full of traditions with which I am familiar and have held in high value. It also included many actions with which I am not familiar. As I reached for the meaning of Christmas or the reason for the life of Jesus or the message of Jesus, I saw much I could peel off to reach the essence of Christmas. Chants, artifacts, postures and words created by man to define a relationship of God, most of which was unfamiliar to me, were all a part of this rite.
Even as I peel away this features, I appreciate and celebrate the vitality these features bring people, God's people. These celebrations strengthen men and women and encourage them to strive to be better. If only we could find the common denominator of all faiths and philosophies to improve the plight of all people.
I have been and still am among the latter for seventy years. Each year I learn more about the holiday and every year more traditions are added to the holiday to the point that the Christian reason for the season has faded to only a small spark among a decreasing number of people. I wrote in a earlier blog about peeling away the excess to get to the true meaning of Christmas or any other tradition that matters.
Neither theology nor philosophy have ever been my forte, even though at one time I referred to myself as a mathematician, and early Greeks who wrote of mathematics were called philosophers. Thomas Jefferson was one whom I chose as a philosopher for a paper during my Masters studies even though he probably never is found on a list of famous great philosophers. Jefferson was chosen because he was a thinker, famous for other reasons, and not one who limited his thinking to philosophy. Perhaps he remains my model but far above my frail capabilities. So my thoughts pale among great thinkers and yet I continue to think.
On Christmas Day we attended a service in a Catholic church. The service was full of traditions with which I am familiar and have held in high value. It also included many actions with which I am not familiar. As I reached for the meaning of Christmas or the reason for the life of Jesus or the message of Jesus, I saw much I could peel off to reach the essence of Christmas. Chants, artifacts, postures and words created by man to define a relationship of God, most of which was unfamiliar to me, were all a part of this rite.
Even as I peel away this features, I appreciate and celebrate the vitality these features bring people, God's people. These celebrations strengthen men and women and encourage them to strive to be better. If only we could find the common denominator of all faiths and philosophies to improve the plight of all people.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Removing Excess
The discussion at the Advent gathering last evening focused
on a theme similar to the prior week when we discussed the reaction to losses and
how it opened up new opportunities. And
what can we get rid of to streamline our lives and eliminate the things that
hold us back? This evening we started
with a question, what could we give up of our past that would allow the future
to be better. I held my tongue because
I'm a private person and fear that I do not articulate my thoughts very well.
but also because I feel my thoughts and words would have been similar to
talking about the existence of Santa Claus before a believing child.
What transition am I amid that would render me different and
hopefully better? I continue to question
everything: why are there seven days in a week, why is church service at 11:00AM, why
do some churches serve Communion weekly while others do it monthly and some even just a
few times in a year, like at Christmas and Easter? Why do we do a Christmas tree, lights,
ornaments? How does this express love
for either God or our neighbors?
Decorating with people is what Gail talked about in her
Moment of Concern at church Sunday. It
was one of the devotions from our Advent calendar. It's about sharing love with others even at
the cost of not following some of the Christmas traditions.
What I'm thinking is both so different than the traditions
with which I grew up and yet so consistent with the values that I have come to
cherish. Why should I have to wait for some
ordained person to offer me the opportunity to share a meal with my God or to
remember how sharing a meal is the essence of sharing one's self? I shouldn't have to wait for a paper from the
government so that I enter into a relationship of love with another. I shouldn't have to wait for the dark of
winter to give of myself to others. I
shouldn't have to wait for a new calendar from the hardware store to resolve
that I am going to respect the environment and help others less fortunate than
I.
Strip away the glister and the lights, the rites and the
traditions, the controversial stories and theology, and just love God and our
friends and foes. Love God with a smile
at sunrise and sunset, when a bird flies by or a tree waves in the breeze. Love God at all times counting your
blessings. Love God by loving life and
all those around you.
Now you understand why I hesitate to say anything at the
gathering. I ramble.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
What is Religion?
Religion is a scary topic to non-believers and sacred to those who do believe. It must be an awfully powerful word to either scare or embrace people.
As I become one of those person whom I myself doubt, those who translate the words of the scripture, whether the Bible in its many versions, the Tora, the Koran or any other sacred writings, I find myself revisiting writings and reflecting on the value, the source and the meaning of these words. So much of what we do is through words especially communicating with others but also in formulating our own values and sense of purpose. Words are another creation of humans, much like religion is a creation on humans. I didn't say God was created by humans, God exists regardless of humans' behavior or theories.
What we accept as valid, not even what we believe, but what we accept as a standard is not beyond questioning. Seven days in a week? Certainly, the Bible says through the creation story that God created everything including humankind in six days and rested on the seventh. But who penned that story and with what validity? But the entire world abides by this standard. Really?
In a practical sense, it makes sense, just a sleeping or resting at the end of each day. Our bodies and the bodies of most living organisms go through a cycle of extending energy and conserving energy. So we rest on one our of seven days. Actually we rest two out of seven, and we declare that the work of a week should be limited to 40 hours, almost as if it sacred and ordained of God. Speaking of hours, did God ordain them also. This makes sense, but why drag it into religion?
Religion is a ordered set of guidelines or rules and rites or traditions that one believes in. Relating to God, and following God's intent is different, even though we fuse them together. Even the Bible with its thousand of words and centuries of scrutiny primarily speaks of God's will for us is to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). (Your God? Do each of us have an individual God? Again words become our nemesis.) Jesus' paraphrase or restatement of our calling is to love God with all you have and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22: 27), which is so similar to the Golden Rule that most organized religions also quote and paraphrase.
Wouldn't it be awesome if we could peel away all the clutter of religion, or religions, and follow those simple straight forward concepts, even to let the man-made words to fall aside and just love as Jesus did.
As I become one of those person whom I myself doubt, those who translate the words of the scripture, whether the Bible in its many versions, the Tora, the Koran or any other sacred writings, I find myself revisiting writings and reflecting on the value, the source and the meaning of these words. So much of what we do is through words especially communicating with others but also in formulating our own values and sense of purpose. Words are another creation of humans, much like religion is a creation on humans. I didn't say God was created by humans, God exists regardless of humans' behavior or theories.
What we accept as valid, not even what we believe, but what we accept as a standard is not beyond questioning. Seven days in a week? Certainly, the Bible says through the creation story that God created everything including humankind in six days and rested on the seventh. But who penned that story and with what validity? But the entire world abides by this standard. Really?
In a practical sense, it makes sense, just a sleeping or resting at the end of each day. Our bodies and the bodies of most living organisms go through a cycle of extending energy and conserving energy. So we rest on one our of seven days. Actually we rest two out of seven, and we declare that the work of a week should be limited to 40 hours, almost as if it sacred and ordained of God. Speaking of hours, did God ordain them also. This makes sense, but why drag it into religion?
Religion is a ordered set of guidelines or rules and rites or traditions that one believes in. Relating to God, and following God's intent is different, even though we fuse them together. Even the Bible with its thousand of words and centuries of scrutiny primarily speaks of God's will for us is to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). (Your God? Do each of us have an individual God? Again words become our nemesis.) Jesus' paraphrase or restatement of our calling is to love God with all you have and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22: 27), which is so similar to the Golden Rule that most organized religions also quote and paraphrase.
Wouldn't it be awesome if we could peel away all the clutter of religion, or religions, and follow those simple straight forward concepts, even to let the man-made words to fall aside and just love as Jesus did.
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