Is There A God?

This question may help shed some light on the distinction I draw between religion and theology. As far as organized religion is concerned, the question is rhetorical. “Of course there’s a God. We’d be out of business if there wasn’t.” Theology’s most honest answer to the question, however, is grounded in agnosticism. “I don’t know.” Here the fork in the road comes early in the journey. Religion proceeds on the basis of expouding and elaborating upon a given belief. Theology, on the other hand, is faced with a more empirical challenge of figuring out how to go about answering the question. Thus, atheism truly falls under the umbrella of theology just as surely as agnosticism or theism. I have been blessed all my life by wise and loving parents who never, to the best of my recollection, imposed their beliefs upon me. This may come as something of a surprise to those who know that my father is a Methodist minister unless they also know that his ultimate calling is as a theologian. Those of us who experienced his ministry gradually realized that we were being asked the question “Is there a God?” and furthermore were expected to “show our work” as justification of the answer we arrived at. This was truly in the spirit of John Wesley, founder of Methodism and himself a theologian minister. Wesley’s quadrilateral of Scripture, Tradition, Experience and Reason was posited as the way to intelligently and rationally go about answering the question. During the years of my ministry, when I would put forth the fundamental question of theology, parishioners nervously asked, “Are we even allowed to ask such a thing?” My answer then and now is not only are we allowed, but we must. Regardless of your age or station in life, I put to you that your relationship with God cannot be as rich and fulfilling as it could be until you first ask the question.

Oh, I'm Back in the Pulpit Again

Theology is not religion any more than geology is Exxon/Mobil. This is perhaps the most important thing I have learned since leaving the Church seven years ago. While oil companies benefit from an ongoing, comprehensive understanding of geology, unfortunately the same cannot be said of religion and theology. Indeed, organized religion and its organizers stand to gain from theologically illiterate people who are more easily manipulated, much in the same way that oil companies benefit from people who are ignorant not just in the subject of geology but more so in ecology, climatology, etc. Religion, for the most part, does not encourage intelligent theologizing by the common people, thus, to a greater or lesser degree, justifying Karl Marx’s observation that “Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions.” (-- Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right) Perhaps Marx uses religion and theology synonomously, as so many do, but it is worthy of mention here that he does not address the rational discourse about God, as theology is sometimes defined. I’m going to devote some time to this issue, because I am increasingly convinced that nearly everything we witness going awry these days is due to our theological illiteracy which is unfortunately cultivated by religion.

Save or Spend?

Regular readers of Incite know that I am easily confused. The current econmic crisis hasn’t helped a bit. On the proverbial one hand I am told that the lack of credit is what’s causing the problem and that a good sign of recovery will be when I can borrow again. On the other hand, though, I am told that spending beyond my means (is this credit?) is irresponsible and simply makes the problem worse. For years I have heard the concern about my failure to save at the rate people in other countries do and how that is going to ultimately jeopardize my ability to retire “in comfort.” But literally moments after the terrorist attacks on September 11, then President Bush urged me to keep on spending as a first line of defense. To help the housing market, I need to buy a house. To help the auto industry, I need to buy a car. Ironically, there doesn’t seem to be any correlation with regard to helping the banks by depositing to my savings account (yes, I actually have one). There’s some sage advice from Steve the Elder and Steve the Younger in their comments on yesterday’s post, not to mention the “scolding” I got from my daughter in response to my January 22 post. All this I welcome as I grow in my understanding of how unprofitable thinking of the past has been and how very much I need to learn to think in new and different ways if I hope to find real solutions. That said, I think I’ll go to the break room and buy a candy bar.

The Ball’s In Our Court

Michael Grunwald writes, “It’s a bit galling to hear Republican leaders warn that Obama wants to spend money borrowed from our children when their own appetite for pork and tax breaks helped double the debt during the Bush years, but their hypocrisy does not make them wrong.”

All of us who are looking for a way to change things for the better will do well to understand the point that Grunwald makes. It is business as usual that got us in this mess to begin with, and business as usual is not going to get us out of it. We the People have elected our President and Congress, but what will transform our government from here forward is a new attitude on our part with regard to participation and accountability.

There may have been something similar for the Bush White House. I have to admit that I don’t know. But the Obama White House is providing a meaningful tool to all of us who understand that ours is a government of, by, and for the people only when we get involved. I believe Obama’s promise of more transparent government which makes it all the more important for me to look into what its doing and inform my elected representatives of my opinion.

As Andrew Young observes, “I’m constantly reminding [people] that [Obama] never once promised, ‘Yes I can.’ He has always said, ‘Yes we can.’ He has never set himself up as a savior of the world. He set himself up as someone who articulates and represents and can hopefully lead us to be the best America that we can be.”

Inauguration Journal: Scattered Thoughts Over Four Days of History

by Jim Wallis

Sustainable Mobility Update

This is how I want my tax dollars spent.

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That’s My Money You’re Talking About!

According to the current issue of TIME, $1 trillion would enable “the Treasury to give $3272.57 to every man, woman and child in the U.S.” I take this general statement to mean that there would be no conditions of having reached the age of majority or citizenship. At any rate, such a distribution would amount to $6545.14 for Mary and me. We might use such an econmic stimulus to make the down payment on a new car (although I don’t think we’re prepared to buy American), to pay down our mortgage by a bit, or to eliminate our indebtedness (excluding the car and mortgage). We might even put it in savings to help offset what Wall Street has done to our retirement funds. The point is we could choose to do any number of productive things with our money. It fascinates me how we have come to make a distinction between the government’s money and our money. In fact, they are one and the same, and it really seems that we should have some say in how $1 trillion dollars of our money is going to be disbursed. Frankly, I’m not too crazy about the idea of bailing out the American auto industry because of its gross negligence toward the environment and the expensively poor quality of its product. I don’t really want to reward the greed of Wall Street by bailing out the financial sector which is callously indifferent to the future of ordinary people. Nope, if our government somehow has a trillion dollars to give away (also in the TIME article is this example: A stack of $100 bills worth $1 trillion would rise 789 miles—equal to 144 Mount Everests end over end) I want my $3272.57 back so that I can personally spend it as I choose.

Now the Work Begins

Whew! Thinking back over all that it took to enable Barack Obama to be sworn in yesterday (and, yes, it was Chief Justice John Roberts that screwed up the wording) makes it tempting to think that now we can sit back and relax. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. That old maxim of it taking as long (or longer) to repair the damage as it did to cause it—in this case by the Bush White House—certainly gives pause to ponder what all is going to have to be done in the next eight years (I’m hoping that Obama will be president for all of those, but it’s going to take that long regardless of who’s President). Indeed, as the first dust of the Wall Street crash begins to settle, it makes it possible to see that many of the weeds were planted by the Reagan White House and that we may well need a quarter of a century or more to correct and reform. Once again President Obama declared that this historic moment is not about him but about us. We the People are now challenged to revive, resusicate, and resurrect those values that Obama represents. Greed can no longer be good. War can no longer be just. We can no longer ignore the least among us and still hope to prosper. I am feeling that most of us who voted for Obama understand this and are now called to continue in the struggle that has only just begun.

Thank God I Was Wrong!

“My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.” Gerald R. Ford had no way of knowing how much more profound those words would be today than when he uttered them in 1974. Barack Obama would have been more than entitled to repeat them, but true to style his eye is on the future. I am giddy with relief that my paranoid delusion of a neocon coup attempt was wrong, compounded by the fact that Bush’s successor is not merely a replacement but a genuinely better man in every respect. America’s dark future in the Twenty-first Century boded by eight years of Bushdom now yields to the bright promise of hope mandated by We the People.

“Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents. So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.”

--Barack Obama January 20, 2009

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

I could never have imagined that we would be celebrating Rachel’s twenty-fifth birthday in Las Vegas, but that’s the reality of it. The six of us are having a wonderful time doing the best we can to fulfill Rachel’s birthday wishes (which are and always have been very reasonable). We started the day with Einstein Bros. bagels, found the Key Thrust trailhead in Red Rock Canyon, snacked on black bean dip with chips, and are getting ready to dine at Maggiano’s in the Fashion Show Mall. The excitement is building for the inauguration that will be incredibly meaningful in the context of Martin Luther King Day. There were hours of earnest conversation between Mary and me about what all it means to bring a child into this world of ours, and I have to say that I can’t imagine the unknowable Zeitgeist to have been any more perfect. The world truly is a better place for Rachel’s being part of it (and Rebecca, too, but this isn’t her birthday) and our greatest mistake would have been to thought we knew better and decided against. Rachel is the glorious union of prolife and prochoice because in truth they are one and the same. The great miracle I am blessed with as Rachel’s father is to watch with awe and wonder as she continues to grow in wisdom and in harmony with God and creation.

On Mania

This must be how some people feel about the Super Bowl, or New Year’s, or even Christmas. I am experiencing genuine euphoria as I contemplate the coming week. First, our family will be reunited for Rachel’s twenty-fifth birthday; to be followed by what I anticipate will be the most significant observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day since its inception because of the inauguration of Barack Obama the day after. What an absolutely amazing time to be alive! I’ve been fascinated by the concept of Zeitgeist (loosely translated as the spirit of the times) ever since I was introduced to it and feel incredibly fortunate to be an eyewitness to this seachange in American and world history. After eight years of the gory criminality of the Bush Administration, I am filled with enthusiasm that I once truly thought I had lost. Oh, I know. The same Adam Henry’s (see cop jargon) that have been screwing things up for decades are still with us, but I really sense that We the People are waking up to the fact that this is our life, too, and that we don’t have to be subservient to greedy power any longer. I’m feeling so optimistic right now that I’m actually allowing myself to believe that a lot of people are going to let the Christ into their lives instead of manipulating an ideology into their definition of Christianity. I’d still like to be White House chaplain but I can accept how important it is that President-elect Obama demonstrate that he hasn’t lost his mind. According to the Gospel of Mark, the first words of Jesus were his pronoucement of the Reign of God at hand. For centuries we’ve been praying “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.” I’m tasting the sweet truth of Heaven on Earth, and I like it!

I Wish I’d Written It…

…but I’m glad she did. I invite you to enjoy these profound thoughts from one of my favorite essayists:
The Recession’s Big Test by Nancy Gibbs

Old Habits Die Hard

It has now been seven years since I left the church and its ministry. That has been more than sufficient time to reflect upon the disappointment of what once meant so much no longer being—at least for me—viable. I’m still fascinated, however, by the profound truth revealed in Scripture and its application to contemporary issues. Jesus reportedly told the parable of old and new wineskins, and how foolish it would be to put new wine into an old skin. We would do well to ponder the wisdom of this analogy as we prepare to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama. We have in Obama the new wine of change mandated by We the People, and it is the responsibility of us who elected him President to do our part by actively becoming a part of that change. No more politics as usual! That is the convenant between us and the one we chose to lead us. So let’s not fall down on our part of the bargain by returning to our old ways. We the People need to become the new wineskin for the new wine so that our audacity to hope may mature into genuine promise.

On Being a Team

I’ve been feeling sorry for myself because my team forgot my birthday. Today, amid numerous apologies, a belated card with sincere wishes that I had a happy birthday was accompanied by a tasty cake. All I could think to say was, “You love me! You really love me!” (Sorry. My Sally Fields impersonation isn’t my best.) After a rocky first seven years with DAFS (I had agreed to Stewart Bell’s initial request that I stay here at least two) the last three have actually been quite pleasant, and that is due in large part to the absence of competitiveness filled in by a genuine spirit of cooperation. We are just one team among twelve that daily deal with distraught, broken, empty relationships that managed to do little more than produce unwanted children. But our supervisor, Jodi, has done a remarkable job of engendering a spirit of teamwork that doesn’t place us in competition with anyone but ourselves. Our goal is quality case management, and we are living proof that that is better accomplished by working with instead of against each other. Oh, we have our moments. This is by no means heaven. But I thank my team for cooperatively striving to make this a comfortable working environment…and for finally remembering my birthday.

Let’s Kill Everybody!

Okay, so here’s the deal! My goal with regard to Incite is to offer provocative insight that stimulates (incites) discussion. The truth of the matter is, however, that Pollyannaish syllogisms like pick your paradigm: competition versus cooperation; incite little or nothing. The history of this blog proves that only the most sensationalistic terms like nigger, talking vagina, or fuckery provoke any response. I take this only as confirmation of the theory of thesholds that posits ever increasing exposure to the extreme gradually desensitizes and ever more sensationalism is required to attract attention. This position holds up under a variety of circumstances and is akin to addiction which requires greater amounts to achieve the same results. As a preacher I found this to be the constant challenge, and to employ traditional liturgy and homiletics literally left no one to listen but the choir. So, I’m again at that crossroads which requires me to choose: sensationalistic extremism or rational discourse. Fortunately, I have a pretty good idea of who my audience is and know that the former is only going to produce a good scolding while the latter will produce…little or nothing. Thanks for letting me get it off my chest. Now, time to get on to more stultifying stuff.

Where To from Here?

Thanks to circumstances, I must keep my thoughts brief today. (Big sigh of relief from my audience.) Perhaps to outline the direction I hope to head in the New Year will be the best use of this time. Over the holiday break Mary and I had the opportunity to do a lot of talking, and from those conversations an idea emerged. Evolutionary natural selection is by its very definition set in the context of a competitive paradigm which rewards the fittest with survival. I am thinking that this is the paradigm to which humans default subconsciously or even consciously when not “enlightened” to a cooperative paradigm in which there are no victors—survivors—but rather equals. It is this spirit of cooperation revealed in the Christ who comes not to be served but to serve. I’m excited at the prospect of fleshing this out in more detail, hopefully with the invaluable input of my readers. To keep alive the promise of peace on earth and goodwill toward humankind will require us all to move beyond our primal intuitions to a genuine spirit of equality and justice.

Back In the Saddle Again

I cannot imagine a more perfect Christmas and New Year. Surrounded by the love of family and friends, the holiness of the occasion was palpable. For the first time in nearly a decade I find myself actually hopeful for the future. The trash at the White House needs to be taken out, a chore for which President-elect Obama is perfectly suited. Yes, the global economy is in bad shape, and those with a penchant for proving their superiority continue to oppress others at the cost of genuine peace, but I sense something new in the air. I have no problem equating the Christ with enlightenment, and a dawning consciousness for humankind of our unity and interdependence may well give new credence to the hope for peace on Earth and goodwill toward all. Perhaps 2009 will be the year that the schoolyard bullies are given a time out—maybe even detention—as the enlightened children of God celebrate the birth of Christ into our world.

Happy 2009!

I'm showing off my new HP Pavilion dv5 laptop that Mary gave me for my birthday by adding some photos to our Flickr page while listening to Pink Floyd from the comfort of my recliner. You can access the pictures by clicking on the "Photos" link. As I become more proficient there will undoubtedly be more additions. For now, however, may the New Year be one of peace and prosperity for all.