It's been a while since I've posted here! Busy with other projects and getting another blog up and running. Also occupied with a variety of writing projects, but it's time to get back here.
I've been riding my bike pretty consistently over the summer and enjoying it quite a bit. Lately though, I was noticing that I seemed to be getting more out of shape! It was harder to pedal on the flats and a little hill made me huff and puff like mad... Yesterday, I noticed that my back tire seemed a little squishy. I went to the local gas station which still has free air.. and... well... both of my tires were pretty squishy! I put some air into them and the ride home seemed better. This morning was the real test though... and what a difference! I was zooming along and I actually felt fairly fit! Which just goes to show me... I need to pay attention to my tires and when they are starting to get flat. They need an injection of air every once in a while. I thought about it lots over the last couple of months... "I should get some air in my tires"... but I never did.
Which is a good metaphor for life. We go through life, tanked up and feeling pretty good. But over time, we start to loose our umph... and we get more and more tired and draggy and we wonder what the heck is going on. We skip our yoga... or our prayer time... we don't get out into nature. We don't read books... and we end up dragging our butts through life. At some level, we know that we should be tanking up on "air"... the spiritual kind... we need something to keep our spiritual tanks recharged. Be we don't... until finally we do... and then we notice a huge difference! Wow... I should do that more often! A good lesson for us... let's not let our spiritual tires get squishy...
Mind you... I've been meaning to oil my bike chain for months too... and that hasn't happened either... hmmmm..
The edge of Ideas. The edge of Connections. The edge of the Unknown. And... in 2020... reading my way (again) through a hefty list of World-Changing books.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Heretics
Wow, there are quite a few heretics out there, mostly from the Middles Ages. One of the more famous is Joan of Arc who was burned at the stake for heresy and sorcery. Another is Galileo who challenged the Church's notion that the sun revolved around the earth. He was imprisoned for life.
It's kind of funny actually, with Galileo. The Church made an apology about that in 1992. "Oops, we were wrong and you were right." With Joan of Arc, it only took 25 years from the date of her execution before she was retried and declared innocent. Kind of too late, but in 1920 she was canonized.
In 1992, Pope John Paul II apologized for a number of "church sins" including things like the Crusades and the Inquisition. Which is a nice gesture, but makes me wonder, why doesn't the Church just stop condemning and killing people, instead of apologizing after the fact?
Especially when it comes to things that really have nothing to do with faith. The sun around the earth thing was really an astronomical issue, not theological. The Church made it theological but... they really didn't have authority in astronomy. Today though, the Church forcefully wades into issues that are biological, psychological and sociological, convinced that it has some "truth" that is the "truth". But are those really theological issues? And if you don't agree with the church's "teaching" on issues like that, does that make one a heretic? Good question, eh?
Virgin birth of Jesus. Article of faith in the Catholic Church. Biological impossibility. Hmmm...
Homosexuality. "Intrinsically disordered" and "against the natural order" according to the Church. Genetic variation according to biology. Hmmm...
So, who wins? In the end, if we look at Galileo, science will win. Biology will win. Psychology will win. But in the meantime, how many will be declared heretics to satisfy the Church's blood-lust for "rightness? Good question...
It's kind of funny actually, with Galileo. The Church made an apology about that in 1992. "Oops, we were wrong and you were right." With Joan of Arc, it only took 25 years from the date of her execution before she was retried and declared innocent. Kind of too late, but in 1920 she was canonized.
In 1992, Pope John Paul II apologized for a number of "church sins" including things like the Crusades and the Inquisition. Which is a nice gesture, but makes me wonder, why doesn't the Church just stop condemning and killing people, instead of apologizing after the fact?
Especially when it comes to things that really have nothing to do with faith. The sun around the earth thing was really an astronomical issue, not theological. The Church made it theological but... they really didn't have authority in astronomy. Today though, the Church forcefully wades into issues that are biological, psychological and sociological, convinced that it has some "truth" that is the "truth". But are those really theological issues? And if you don't agree with the church's "teaching" on issues like that, does that make one a heretic? Good question, eh?
Virgin birth of Jesus. Article of faith in the Catholic Church. Biological impossibility. Hmmm...
Homosexuality. "Intrinsically disordered" and "against the natural order" according to the Church. Genetic variation according to biology. Hmmm...
So, who wins? In the end, if we look at Galileo, science will win. Biology will win. Psychology will win. But in the meantime, how many will be declared heretics to satisfy the Church's blood-lust for "rightness? Good question...
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Excommunication
What does it take to get excommunicated? Well, there are a variety of ways to achieve that if you're a priest or a bishop. But for regular folks like us... what are the ways?
Well, one of the major ones is to get an abortion or to help someone else get an abortion. I'm not sure if a charitable donation to Planned Parenthood or Unicef would count. Ignorance is always a loophole to escape excommunication. But if you know that those groups support abortion and/or contraception, well... it might work.
Another way is to be an apostate from the faith, a heretic or a schismatic. Quite a mouthful there...
An apostate from the faith is someone who renounces Christianity. So, if you were to become a Muslim or a Jew, or a Jehovah's Witness or anything else that isn't Christian... you'd be in line for excommunication.
A heretic is someone who doesn't believe what the Church believes and teaches. So if you had some issues with the doctrines of the Church, then you'd be considered a heretic. Maybe you don't believe in the Immaculate Conception of Mary, that would do it.
Schism is when someone fails to submit to the authority of the pope or church leaders. So, the pope says that women should not be ordained and women go ahead and get ordained by some renegade bishop. They would be schismatics.
Looking over that list... I'm thinking I know quite a few apostates from the faith, quiet a few heretics and quite a few schismatics. Of course, all of these excommunications are "automatic". The Church rarely does an official ceremonial excommunication but... it would be interesting for the Church to know all of the automatic "excommunicants" out there... I think.
Well, one of the major ones is to get an abortion or to help someone else get an abortion. I'm not sure if a charitable donation to Planned Parenthood or Unicef would count. Ignorance is always a loophole to escape excommunication. But if you know that those groups support abortion and/or contraception, well... it might work.
Another way is to be an apostate from the faith, a heretic or a schismatic. Quite a mouthful there...
An apostate from the faith is someone who renounces Christianity. So, if you were to become a Muslim or a Jew, or a Jehovah's Witness or anything else that isn't Christian... you'd be in line for excommunication.
A heretic is someone who doesn't believe what the Church believes and teaches. So if you had some issues with the doctrines of the Church, then you'd be considered a heretic. Maybe you don't believe in the Immaculate Conception of Mary, that would do it.
Schism is when someone fails to submit to the authority of the pope or church leaders. So, the pope says that women should not be ordained and women go ahead and get ordained by some renegade bishop. They would be schismatics.
Looking over that list... I'm thinking I know quite a few apostates from the faith, quiet a few heretics and quite a few schismatics. Of course, all of these excommunications are "automatic". The Church rarely does an official ceremonial excommunication but... it would be interesting for the Church to know all of the automatic "excommunicants" out there... I think.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Leaders of Religion
The news of the last day or two has two glariing articles.
1) Bishop Raymond Lahey of the Roman Catholic Church had 100s of child pornography images on his laptop and mobile device. Some of those pictures depicted torture. His web browser history revealed that the word "twink" had been searched - twink is a young hairless man, often used in the gay community.
2) Warren Jeffs of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been convicted of two counts of having sex with a minor.
There is something off here. The question that burns within me is "why"? Why did they do these things? Why? In the one case we have a celibate man charged with child pornography. In the other case, a married man charged with child sex. Is it a power thing? Why with children?
I wonder at Lahey. Is celibacy the issue? If he had a legitimate outlet for his sexuality, would it have grown in a healthy way, rather than in a twisted way? I don't know... but it bothers me.
I wonder how many other priests and bishops out there are hiding various sexual predilictions. Because make no mistake, the Church and its hierarchy are very, very, very good at hiding things. They hide things about themselves. They hide things about other members of the hierarchy. They hide things about others... They've been doing it for 100s of years, and they are experts at hiding, at covering tracks, at avoiding the obvious questions.
Which makes me wonder... what else are they hiding? As they condemn others... what are they hiding?
1) Bishop Raymond Lahey of the Roman Catholic Church had 100s of child pornography images on his laptop and mobile device. Some of those pictures depicted torture. His web browser history revealed that the word "twink" had been searched - twink is a young hairless man, often used in the gay community.
2) Warren Jeffs of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been convicted of two counts of having sex with a minor.
There is something off here. The question that burns within me is "why"? Why did they do these things? Why? In the one case we have a celibate man charged with child pornography. In the other case, a married man charged with child sex. Is it a power thing? Why with children?
I wonder at Lahey. Is celibacy the issue? If he had a legitimate outlet for his sexuality, would it have grown in a healthy way, rather than in a twisted way? I don't know... but it bothers me.
I wonder how many other priests and bishops out there are hiding various sexual predilictions. Because make no mistake, the Church and its hierarchy are very, very, very good at hiding things. They hide things about themselves. They hide things about other members of the hierarchy. They hide things about others... They've been doing it for 100s of years, and they are experts at hiding, at covering tracks, at avoiding the obvious questions.
Which makes me wonder... what else are they hiding? As they condemn others... what are they hiding?
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Eternal Life
About a year ago I bought a book by John Shelby Spong, radical Anglican bishop from the United States. I had read a couple of his other books over the last couple of years, including Sins of Scripture. While Spong is a thorn in the side of conservative and maintstream Anglican/Catholic churches... my sense is that he is a prophet ahead of his time. He sees something else that the majority of Christians don't see. If he had been around a couple of hundred years ago, he probably would have been labelled a heretic!
His latest book is titled Eternal Life: A New Vision. I thought it would be about heaven and hell, and all that good stuff. Which it is... but first he gets there in an interesting way. He suggests that the old vision of a supernatural God who is "out there" somewhere judging us as good or bad, is a vision that has run out of steam. Essentially, religion as we know it is dead. God is very much alive, but not in the way God has been portrayed in traditional religions. In fact, God is alive in you and in me. God is us and we are God.
Which is right in line with the direction I've been headed for the past few years. Amazing how books find you when you are ready. Each and every one of us has the divine spark within us... and it's amazing to look around and see how many other people have that same sense. A lot of those "New Age" writers - Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Neale Donald Walsch, Debbie Ford - they all point in the same direction. And now Spong is pointing there as well, but from a Christian persepctive. He actually goes back to the Christian mystics like Meister Eckhard and Teresa of Avila... they have the same sense...
So, ultimately, it all comes down to meditation and contemplation and being silent and still and connecting with the vastness within ourselves. Nothing "out there" is going to alter us... only everything that is "in here" which is infinite...
His latest book is titled Eternal Life: A New Vision. I thought it would be about heaven and hell, and all that good stuff. Which it is... but first he gets there in an interesting way. He suggests that the old vision of a supernatural God who is "out there" somewhere judging us as good or bad, is a vision that has run out of steam. Essentially, religion as we know it is dead. God is very much alive, but not in the way God has been portrayed in traditional religions. In fact, God is alive in you and in me. God is us and we are God.
Which is right in line with the direction I've been headed for the past few years. Amazing how books find you when you are ready. Each and every one of us has the divine spark within us... and it's amazing to look around and see how many other people have that same sense. A lot of those "New Age" writers - Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Neale Donald Walsch, Debbie Ford - they all point in the same direction. And now Spong is pointing there as well, but from a Christian persepctive. He actually goes back to the Christian mystics like Meister Eckhard and Teresa of Avila... they have the same sense...
So, ultimately, it all comes down to meditation and contemplation and being silent and still and connecting with the vastness within ourselves. Nothing "out there" is going to alter us... only everything that is "in here" which is infinite...
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Smart Phone
Well, I've joined the 21st Century and bought an Android smartphone. I've gone from a simple little cell phone to something that could run the starship Enterprise. Quite the leap! And I'm loving it. I'm still getting familiar with all the things that it can do, other than playing Angry Birds.
I can sync it with my google email and google calendar google photos. Which means it syncs all of my contacts. I can add appointments into it. I can make notes of various sorts, text, photographs, audio, with Evernote. I can find the nearest Starbucks. I can get a weather report. I instantly have access google maps and google earth. And tonnes of other things besides that.
I'm thinking though, that it means that days of my little paper daytimer booklet are numbered. I can keep track of hours worked with Evernote or Google Calendar. I can store all my addresses in the Contacts list. The possibilities are endless.
I can even download and read ebooks from the local library... amazing....
I can sync it with my google email and google calendar google photos. Which means it syncs all of my contacts. I can add appointments into it. I can make notes of various sorts, text, photographs, audio, with Evernote. I can find the nearest Starbucks. I can get a weather report. I instantly have access google maps and google earth. And tonnes of other things besides that.
I'm thinking though, that it means that days of my little paper daytimer booklet are numbered. I can keep track of hours worked with Evernote or Google Calendar. I can store all my addresses in the Contacts list. The possibilities are endless.
I can even download and read ebooks from the local library... amazing....
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Remiss
Well, I have started to slack off in my blog postings! Mind you, it is the summer and the warm days and outdoor activities mean that blogging is low down on my priority list. For some time now, I've been searching for a theme for this blog... I've been dabbling in a variety of things and looking for something that "feels right". I've read a variety of other blogs, and the most successful ones seem to be the ones that focus on one area or another. These last couple of years have been an experiment of sorts in feeling my way through different areas and seeing which one, if any, feel right. So far, I haven't really settled on one that works for me.
I think it needs to be true to who I am. I think it needs to be something that I am passionate about. I think it needs to be something that excites me and is fun as well. Now there are several contenders for sure... decluttering, genealogy, photography, scripture, travel. Those are all things that I enjoy writing about... but it's a matter of finding one that resonates for me and sticking with it... Still working on that!
I think it needs to be true to who I am. I think it needs to be something that I am passionate about. I think it needs to be something that excites me and is fun as well. Now there are several contenders for sure... decluttering, genealogy, photography, scripture, travel. Those are all things that I enjoy writing about... but it's a matter of finding one that resonates for me and sticking with it... Still working on that!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)