American & Christian

Do not say, "Why were the former days better than these?" For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. – Ecclesiastes 7:10 (NRSV) Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. – Isaiah 43:18 (NRSV)

Ok, I have held off now for months but I can do so no longer, I have to Muse about “The Donald.” His latest “position” on Muslims in the United States has pushed me over the edge. On the Huffington Post website his campaign press release read: "Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on.” Add to this his call for a data base on all Muslims and a shutting down of all Mosques and I am fed up with his Islamaphobia and his lack of compassion, understanding and commitment to Christian and American values.

What is going on? How can so many people be supporting this idiot? Time and time and time again through US history we have tried to ban, round up, subjugate and “protect our citizens and our way of life” to have these efforts backfire or be condemned in light of the values we profess. Slavery, Chinese immigration laws of the 1880s, Japanese internment, etc are all failures of just the kind of thing Donald Trump and his supporters are advocating. All have been proven to be worthless and all are condemned as anti-Christian and anti-American because they violate our basic understanding of our country, our values, and our humanity.

I can only understand these extreme reactions if it is placed within the realm of fear and a flawed desire to somehow reclaim a nostalgic past where all was wonderful. That past never existed. Because of who we are there has never been a time when we could keep others out in order to protect ourselves because we are all others here. One of the reasons people began to migrate to this land in the 1600s was because of religious intolerance in their homelands. A founding principle of this country is that people should be free to practice their religion and that being a citizen of this country does not require you to profess any religious creed or doctrine that you don’t want to.

How can people support excluding others based on religion? It is fundamentally against everything that is truly American not be mention Christian. We are told by Jesus to love one another. We are told by Paul that there are neither Gentiles nor Jews. We are told by our founding documents that all people are created equal. This may be the ideal and it may never have been fully realized but these are our basic understandings and core values. When you talk about keeping a group of people out or about gathering them into ghettos or making them register or monitoring an entire faith group -does this sound familiar like maybe Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan or Stalinist Russia or …? – you have given up what it means to be an American and a Christian.

Fear is easy to manipulate. Fear is easy to build upon. Fear is a strong emotion that kicks in all our reptilian instincts. Fear is a motivator for doing things you would never normally do. And fear is something manipulative people have drawn on to get groups to do things they would consider evil, abhorrent and beyond anything they would normally tolerate. I don’t think Donald Trump is smart enough to be deliberately manipulating the supports he has. I think he is just a scared, fearful and mean man who cares nothing for others and isn’t able to look at what he says and believes in a critical way. He is so narrow in his thinking, so limited in his compassion, so trapped in his billionaire fantasy land, and so out of touch with the world that he can only spout off ridiculous ideas that have no basis in reality and that would in fact do more harm than good.

I am proud of the fact that these United States have always tried to live by the words of the poem “New Colossus” on a plague on the Statue of Liberty:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

We may have often times failed in our living out this dream, this call, this desire but it has been our beacon to the world and it helps to define who we are, what we believe and what we want our nation to be and set a standard for how we behave.

I don’t want to give Mr. Trump any more time or attention. I think his popularity is being driven by the media obsession with him and his ludicrous statements and preposterous positions. He makes good theater but he’s had his time in the spot light and we need to set this show aside. After all, only 35% of Republicans support him and only 23% of the US population is Republican. His views are not the views of a solid majority of Americans (according to the Wallstreet Journal), thank God!

Dear God, help me to be more tolerant of those I deem to be ignorant, mean, and narrow minded. Help me to live out my convictions and my faith. I pray for those been targeted and vilified. Help my nation to be the ideal we profess, a place that welcomes all. Amen.

Idols

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me…You shall not murder. - Exodus 20:2-3 & 13 (NRSV)

Just another day and just another mass shooting in the land of the free and home of the brave. There have been more mass shooting in the good old US of A this year then there have been days of the year. A mass shooting is when four or more people are shot in an event, or related series of events, likely without a cooling off period. Here is a graph from the Oregonian today that tells a lot about this number (each purple hash is a mass shooting):

I think we have been talking about the problem of guns all wrong. I think that what we have in this country with a minority of the population is a fanatical worship of an idol. By most sources and estimates only 1/3 of the US population owns a gun and gun ownership is declining. Yet most sources will tell you that right now in the US there are anywhere from 270-310 million privately owned guns – that’s nearly one gun for every man, woman, and child in the US. So those that own guns on average own several. So I think we might have a devotion to an idol and not a commitment to a right to own and bear arms.

Let me say that a large number of gun owners are people who handle them safely, have a reason to own them and don’t participate in what I am saying is idol worship. I cannot tell you numbers because they aren’t easy to find but I know many people who do own guns but don’t worship them or the right to own them.

That being said there are still a small but fanatical group out there that sees their guns as holy and their right to own them as devotion to their god. How else can you explain their unflinching claim that more guns would keep these mass shootings at bay? That isn’t logic or even defense of a right, it is religious fanaticism. “You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold dead hand.” Who says something like that? Only a devote worshiper. I think that we are missing the point if we approach gun control from a socially responsible or logical or common sense perspective.

We have to see that the NRA and its devotees are a form of idol worship, they have placed their guns and their right to own them on a pedestal and have fervently dedicated their lives and resources to keeping the object of their devotion free and accessible so they can carry it with them wherever they go and have it near at all times. Regardless of how senseless or illogical or even criminal it may be these gun worshipers will risk everything for their god; even when their devotion means the very real possibility that they or others will freely violate of their other god’s commandments.

The opposition to gun control isn’t about the right to own and bear arms; it’s about a fanatical devotion to an idol.

Dear God, help us to worship you and you alone. Be with the victims of gun violence. Be with those who feel that they must use guns for violent purposes. Be with us all as we try to find a way forward that allows for freedom and also protects us. Amen.

To Muse or Not to Muse That Is Not the Question

If your revelation hadn't delighted me so, I would have given up when the hard times came. But I'll never forget the advice you gave me; you saved my life with those wise words. Save me! I'm all yours. I look high and low for your words of wisdom. Psalms 119:92-94 (The Message)

As busy as the last couple of weeks have been I did think, “Maybe I should give up my Musing for awhile, take a break from this weekly (to use a George Carlin line) brain dropping.” But then I realized something, I am always musing, reflecting, wondering and trying to figure out myself and my life. It never stops, never ends and is a constant part of what I do and who I am. Maybe that’s a confession of mental illness but it is my reality. So for those of you who thought in my earlier lines that this might be a fond farewell it isn’t. You’re stuck with these weekly windows into the strange and sometimes wise workings of my heart, mind and soul.

I like to reflect on what’s happening around me, what I am feeling, how I am reacting to something going on. I enjoy sharing thoughts and letting you know what’s causing me pain or bringing me joy. As an introvert this is a safe way to share myself with others so that you have a sense of who I am as I get a sense of who you are through your comments, your reactions and those times we contact in person. It is also a way that I can share with you my theology, my understanding of God, and my take on how to live faithfully.

These Musings help me in another way; they help me to deal with the scary, tragic, awesome, unreal, disappointing and confusing aspects of life in the 21^st Century. Putting something down on virtual paper helps me to get my head around things, to get in touch with what I am feeling, and to let my joy or grief or confusion out and allow it to be seen, heard and in some way dealt with.

These Musings might just be my way of Journaling, or using a diary, of helping me to know and understand what has and is happening in my life. I know that at times, when I read back over what I have written I am surprised at what has come out, it could be something profoundly personal, it could be a way of looking at something that I wasn’t really paying attention to, it could be a way to focus upon myself and my relationship with God. In some way and at some times these Musings are my way of getting a handle on what it means to be a person of faith in the Christian tradition in our time and place.

So now I have a confession to make, I do these Musings for myself and then just let you in on them. I don’t think about how you, the reader will react, I rarely think about how you might receive them or if what I am writing will somehow convince you of something. I write these to get my thoughts together, to help myself deal with things that are important to me or that have caught my attention. These Musings are one way I listen for the voice of God, pay attention to the voice of God, try and make some sense of the voice of God and check to see if what I am hearing is the voice of God.

That sounds kind of weird, and very egocentric. But it is true. I Muse because I have to and I do it for myself. I want to help others in their efforts to make sense of life and to delve into their faith and relationship with God so I share these with you but only as a window into what I think, feel, believe and do and not as a prescription of what you should do (though I do think, at times, I suggest what you might do and maybe suggest it strongly).

So thank you for letting me drop some of my brain, my life, myself, and my faith on you. I hope that in some small way it helps you.

Dear God, thanks for giving me a heart to feel, a mind to think, a soul to connect with, and people to share with. I seek to be a faithful child of yours, help me in that endeavor. Bless all those who read or receive these Musings. Amen.

Retirement; OMG

When Methuselah had lived one hundred eighty-seven years, he became the father of Lamech. Methuselah lived after the birth of Lamech seven hundred eighty-two years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty-nine years; and he died. Genesis 5:25-27 (NRSV)

Let me begin with another apology for not sending along a Musing last week. My Life is getting to full and once in awhile something has to give. Last week it was my Musing.

Earlier this week I attended my first Pre-Retirement Seminary. Friends have told me I should do this at least three times: once to get my head around retirement, once to get serious about thinking about retirement and once to get my questions answered as retirement looms large in the very near future.

One piece of information you get is a projection of what your retirement income will look like from our pension and related sources. They run these projections based on meeting full retirement requirements. When I read mine something took me by surprise that maybe shouldn’t have, I am eligible for full pension benefits at age 63 because I will have 40 years of service. That’s 6 years away! I can’t be this old! I can’t possibly be this close to retirement. My shock was tempered when I discovered that full Social Security benefits aren’t available to me until I am 66 years and 8 months old so that means I can put off this life change at least another ten years if I want. Add to this that Amy has told me with great force and stern face that I will NOT retire before she does and my date with destiny is a bit vaguer.

I like to joke about the fact that I am not as old as my kids make me. I just can’t have my youngest child being 21; my youngest grandson (at the moment) just turning 5. I just can’t believe that I am that old. Sure there are some signs of aging; I wear bifocals now, my hair is gone, my upper range hearing has taken a hit, my knees and ankles scream at me of the abuse I have piled upon them. But there are also signs that I am not that old; not much gray in the hair I do have, I only take an aspirin a day and no other medications, I still enjoy a good rock concert and stay up late. I know I am being stereotypic in my descriptions but you get my point.

Now some people say aging is a state of mind. I agree to a point. I know many people in the 80’s who are vibrant, active, involved and engaged in life. They often say things like, “I like to help older people.” I also know folks in their 60’s that can’t get around, are debilitated by health issues and the results of life choices and that are withdrawn from life. Age can be a state of mind assisted by physical, mental and emotional issues. A couple factors seem to play into how well someone ages. First there is supportive community; people and family that wrap you in love, care and concern. They keep you young by keeping you active and involved and by giving you the assistance you need. Another factor is health care. If you have good quality health care and take advantage of it you age more gracefully. A factor in this is also financial. If you have the resources life is less stressful, you can keep up your independence to a larger degree and the numbers of choices available to you are greater. None of this guarantees a longer, fuller, healthier, happier life but it does contribute.

So after my initial shock at being this close to an age when I could retire I realized that in many ways I am extremely well off. I have a good pension plan (knock on wood and the world doesn’t fall apart). I have Social Security and Medicare (assuming that the US government doesn’t default and keeps managing the Trust Fund well). I have good health insurance. I have a loving family. I have a core group of beloved friends. I have an active and engaged mind. I am doing things to care for my body and my mind and my spirit. I have the resources and the ability to do those things. All in all I have realized once again how truly blest I am and how much I have and am humbled by the comparison of my wealth with that of so many others.

I know I’m not retiring in 6 years. I’m pretty sure I won’t be in 10 (Amy’s wishes do come into play). But whenever I do retire I know that the potential is there for me to have what I need to make my “golden years” a special time. I’m just not ready to enter them yet. I want to say to those of you who are retired I am watching you to learn how to move into this stage of life. I am taking notes so that I can learn how best to make the most of this next phase of life. Whether you are 55 or 85 I see in many of you the traits and life choices that I want to emulate when I do retire. One of the blessings in my life is you who are retired and doing it with compassion, flair, integrity and fun. Thank you for your example. God bless you!

Dear God, help me to realize how truly blest I am. Help me to remember those who are not as blest as I am. Lead me to do what I can to help others so that they can have what they need in this life. Thank you for all I do have. Thank you for the witness of those who are retired that show me how to faithfully live. Bless them. Amen.

Pride

Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.

 - Psalms 20:7 (NRSV)

Pride lands you flat on your face; humility prepares you for honors.  - Proverbs 29:23 (The Message)

Don’t worry; I am not starting a series of Musings on the Seven Deadly Sins. I am conflicted however. You see all my life I have been taught that pride is not a good thing. Pride is defined as: a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.; The state or feeling of being proud. A becoming or dignified sense of what is due to oneself or one's position or character; self-respect; self-esteem; Pleasure or satisfaction taken in something done by or belonging to oneself or believed to reflect credit upon oneself; Something that causes a person or persons to be proud. As one of the Seven Deadly Sins (I couldn’t avoid going there) pride is: excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity.

The conflict within me has to do with the battle lines that have been drawn by my religion, culture, tradition and family upbringing. Obviously the idea that belief in your own abilities is dangerous is part of the corrupt interpretation of the Christian faith that has been passed on over the last several centuries. It all goes back to the likes of St. Augustine who said things like: It was Pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels. I was taught in church and at home that you shouldn’t be too confident in your own abilities because it would somehow cause you to put less trust in God.

 

My folks were so confused about what to do they seemed to never fully land in either camp. They would tell me how great a job I had done and how proud they were of me and then in the very next breathe they would remind me that I could do more, be better and that I shouldn’t be too confident in my own abilities. This problem wasn’t just my own. It had gotten so bad in our culture that we began to realize that self-esteem and self-confidence were lacking in many people due to our cultural and religious hesitation and uncertainty regarding pride. When my kids were in elementary school self-confidence was a big part of everything they did from no letter grades (It’s how you do not how you rank with others) to participation trophies (no one is better than anyone else we all are equally important). While I think this helped a lot of kids to feel better about themselves it still didn’t get at the core of the conflict we have created – satisfaction and confidence verses a drive for perfection and pride.

 

I am proud of my children. I am proud of Amy. I am proud of my church. I am proud of the way I am leading my church. I am proud of what I have been able to accomplish in my life. I am proud of those I know who are doing well. But even writing this makes little bells go off in my head. Who am I to think I am doing a good job? Why should I feel pride for something that isn’t done as well as it might be? How is it that in all my imperfections and failings I can be proud of anything that I have done?

 

It has taken me years but I have gotten to the place where I can let those little bells toll and not let their ringing dampen the pride I feel in myself and others over things and life well done. I think we all need to take pride in a job well done. I think we all need to allow for ourselves to be proud of what others have accomplished. I think we all should let the pride flow when successes come. I also agree that we need to never, ever let our pride, self-confidence, etc displace God. I don’t believe in the interference God (God jumps in and makes things happen) but I do believe that what is right and good and just comes from a place deeper than just my or any other person’s ability. I believe that we are all uniquely gifted and that when we put our gifts to work for the common good and join our gifts with those of others who are also working for the common good we are doing something holy, something divine and God is present there. The sum or the parts is greater than the individual elements. It isn’t all thanks to the individuals present because something else is there as well, God is there.

 

I realize that I haven’t said everything I have to say on this subject. I also realize that I am not sure what else I need to say right now. So I will end this Musing without a clear finish to it.

 

Dear God, thank you for making me who I am, for all the unique and special things that make me who I am. Help me to be confident and proud of who I am and what I do. Help me to also join my efforts with those of others so that together we can be more and do more than we could alone. Thank you for all your gifted children. Amen.

 

Halloween or All Hallows Eve

They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. [Jesus] said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." -  Luke 24:37-39 (NRSV)

Halloween or Harvest Festival? It seems that as we approach All Saints Day the debate rages about what the correct Christian thing is to do with the night before this most hallowed celebration of the church. To begin we need just a little background. Where exactly did this Halloween come from? I turned to one of my favorite sources for information historical and found this summary of the holiday:

Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating. In a number of countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to usher in the winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats.

(From: http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween)

There is a lot more detail about the roots of Halloween, its traditions and their origins so check it out if you want to know more. My interest is in the fact that present day Christians seem torn about this annual dip into the mysterious, monstrous, metaphysical and macabre.   Many of us don’t like the evil or demonic bent to this annual celebration of the dark side while at the same time our culture has adopted Halloween. It ranks 8^th on the list for holiday spending which includes Back to School and the Super Bowl. When you look at what I would call holidays Halloween is 6^th behind (in order) Winter Holidays, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Father’s Day. In the US we spent $6.9 billion on Halloween last year. So why is it that Halloween has such a hold on us? All the holidays that come in ahead of it on the spending list include the expectations of expensive gifts yet on Halloween we give out candy and usually small treats that don’t cost a lot. The spending on Halloween is mainly for costumes and decorations.

In anthropological terms some form of holiday that has as its main component ghost, spirits, demons, etc is almost universal among human cultures throughout time. Call it superstition, call it fear, call it an attempt to understand things that go bump in the night, call it a way to address the human need for understanding what happens after death, call it whatever but this celebration of the mysterious and monstrous seems hardwired into the human psyche. To pretend that Christians don’t share in this is absurd. All you have to do is look at the healing stories of Jesus to see the presence of this in our roots. All you have to do is look at the official rituals of the Roman Catholic Church to find ones for exorcisms. Why then do we want to gloss it over or in some way separate ourselves from this very human holiday?

Mostly, I think, it has to do with appearances. That’s right, some Christians want to present themselves to the world in a way that makes them appear more civilized, less superstitious, less carried away by fanciful and in their minds, twisted aspects of the unsaved hordes. After all, they believe, if we say that we are God’s chosen ones we have nothing to fear. They think that the waters of baptism remove the mysterious and monstrous from their midst. They honestly believe that by wearing a mummy mask, going trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins and enjoying the mysterious you are somehow give Satan an opening to attack your very soul.

But the stuff of Halloween is beneficial to us. Psychologist tells us that it is healthy to have a way to let yourself go, be scared and try on another way of life in a safe and socially accepted way. The scary aspect allows us to experience an adrenaline rush in a safe way but also to master deep-seat fears. It gives us a way to harmlessly live out our fantasies. Fundamentally healthy people want to be scared in a safe environment so they can experience the feelings and learn about how they react to fear without worrying about the outcome. Halloween, horror movies, roller coasters, etc all provide us with a way to safely explore fear and our reactions and help us learn how to deal with fear when it comes up in our lives.

So I encourage you to put on that costume of the person you most want to be like but aren’t. Take in a haunted tour of some house or the Shanghai Tunnels, have a late night picnic snack in a cemetery or do whatever scares you while in a safe environment and allow yourself to know what it’s like to feel afraid and learn something about yourself. One caution, if you have had real-life moments of fearing for your life be gentle with yourself if you choose to get scared. Don’t do something to cause those real life horrors to come back to life.

Dear God, thank you for our imaginations. Thank you for safe places to be sacred. Thank you for the times we can learn about ourselves and still have fun. Be with anyone who is going through real life horrors and help us work to make the world safe so that the only scary things that happen are things that are safe. Amen.

The Problem with Men

Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out to the field." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" And the Lord said, "What have you done? Listen; your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground!  - Genesis 4:8-10 (NRSV)

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe data show that in the U.S. and Europe, 85%-100% of people convicted of assault are men. And 90% of murders are committed by men. Men are by far the principal perpetrators of rape, war, torture, incest, sexual abuse, sexualized murder, and genocide.  From: http://www.offourbacks.org/malepat.htm

As a man I am convicted. Violence is predominantly a male thing. You can argue about the figures but study after study and statistical report after statistical report shows that the overwhelming perpetrator of violence is male. Who are the mass murders? Who are the school shooters? Who are the architects of genocide? Who are the ones killing their children and partners? You know the answer, men.

It seems that there are many and varied theories about why this is the case. Some say males are genetically hardwired for violence, a warrior gene that has evolved to help us survive and thrive as a species. Some say it has to do with the lack of male role models present and active in the lives of children. Some say that the lack of social equality between the sexes is to blame. While there may be truth in one, some or all of these theories the fact remains that men are more violent than women.

In the stories of our faith the first violent act is Cain killing Abel out of jealousy. One of the Ten Commandments specifically forbids killing, “Thou shall not kill.” Jesus refuses to lead a violent uprising. Paul advocates civil disobedience not revolution. Yet even the Church has come to the place of sanctifying violence with the Crusades and the “Just War Theory” to name a couple examples. And who is it that runs civil governments and ecclesiastical institutions? Overwhelming men, that’s who.

I’m not sure where I want to go with this. I know that deep inside me is a belief that men are basically good, peaceful, non-violent types who want to see a world of harmony and peace. I also know that not so deep within me is a drive to make sure my family is safe and secure, that I will defend those I care about, and that if violence is the only means to that end I’m afraid that would be my response.

I believe that in most things that are on a spectrum the best place to land is at the balance point. I believe that we are living the best we can when things are balanced – enough fun and work to balance, enough alone time and time with others to balance, enough love received and love given to balance… So as a man I feel that my goal needs to be to find a balance, not with using enough violence and refraining from it but with the feelings and emotions that I have concerning how I want to engage the world. Using violence is never a good idea and if I must use it I do so knowing that there will be consequences. You see in the Cain and Abel story Cain wasn’t punished by God, his actions had consequences and in fact God protected Cain from others who sought violence against him.

We are at a time when the human male needs to evolve emotionally. Our nature and even our nurture may predispose us to violence but we don’t have to live that way. We can think, feel, and do the psychological and spiritual things necessary to keep our bent to violence in check and learn how to engage the world without it. We can do this but it will take work, it will take will, it will take support, it will take men willing to be the models so that other men and boys can see how they too can engage the world without violence. If we work hard, pray hard and are willing to keep at it we can alter the truth of violence and men.

Dear God, I pray for those who are victims of violence. I pray for those who are violent. I especially pray for all men who struggle with violence as a way of engaging the world. Heal us, help us to find non-violent ways to live and be. Help us find in you a model that will help us be the humans you want us to be.  Amen.