Of Mind and Spirit

I have been following the frenzy over the latest lottery winnings.

A half of billion dollars.

Nothing to sneeze at.

That prompted a lot of interesting articles about wealth, the wealthy, and our attitude about money.

Even Romney has generated some, um, interesting comments about a president having so much wealth.

The attitudes seem to be over all the place.

Does money make one happier?

Does it really change things?

Some say more money just makes a jerk become a jerk with money, and a happy person become a happy person with money.

Here is my take on this whole thing.

We each have our own set points.

For example, we have a FSP – our financial set point.

It is the amount of money that we feel comfortable with.

If you have too much less than your FSP, then you are frustrated, stressed, unhappy and will be focused on how to get more money to reach your FSP.

If you have too much more than your FSP, then you will feel guilt, stressed (about how to spend “all that money”), unhappy and will unconsciously sabotage your finances until you reach your FSP.

That is why I believe so many Lottery winners are broke within a few years.

It is not simply lousy money management skills (though that certainly plays a part in this).

The mind feeds us our FSP and ENSURES we make the financial decisions to get us ‘back’ to our set point.

Once a set point is met, I think it is hard to change it.

That is why Donald Trump will always be a bilionaire.

Even when he loses EVERYTHING, and essentially ends up with nothing in his pockets.

which puts him in the exact same category as those who pan handle on the streets –

He finds a way to earn a billion dollars again.

Why?

Because for Trump, his FSP is a billion dollars.

Anything less is simply not acceptable.

Let’s move away from money and lifestyle for a while.

And discuss your WSP.

Your Wealth Set Point.

There is a common misconception that wealth = finances.

To me, finances is just a part of wealth.

And just one of many of our Set Points.

There are other forms.

There is a health set point – HSP, for example.

What is your mandatory level of health?

What is the weight?

What is the body structure?

The muscle tone?

Like the story of Trump and the billion dollars, we will ensure our body conforms to our HSP.

Which is why so many diets fail.

Because deep, down inside if we think we don’t DESERVE to be trim and fit..

then you won’t be.

No matter how much you exercise or diet.

Perhaps your Set Points is really based on your feeling of self-worth.

If you don’t think you are worth more than $40,000 a year… then you won’t make any more.

If you don’t think you are worth more than being overweight and out of shape… then you won’t slim down.

Money, health.

Relationships, spirituality,….

these are part of our set points.

Wait.

Did I just include spirituality in this discussion?

Yup.

You have a SSP – Spirituality Set Point!!

How close to the Divine do you think you can be?

Do you think you are WORTHY of being one with God?

Do you think you DESERVE to hear to voice of the Divine speak to you?

How high of a spiritual experience have you ever had?

Do you see yourself as moving even beyond that?

You see, it really is just another set point.

Changing our SSP may be the most difficult one of all.

It is the most important component of our overall Wealth Set Point.

Without a deep connection with the Divine, I am not sure anything else really matters.

What good is money, health and people who love you if your soul is in anguish?

If we can’t satisfy our soul’s craving for spiritual nourishment, then can we ever hope to be truly happy?

I don’t think so.

Take some time this week to look at each of the major areas in your life…

money, health, relationships, spirituality..

And ask yourself..

Do you deserve where you are right now in all these things?

Are you worth more?

You might find that the answer might give you some profound clues about your life.

Set.

Point.

Match?

Nope.

Set.

Point.

Increase.

Until next time.

O blessed Judas!

For over 2 Billion people, this week is Holy Week.

This is when Christians celebrate what they believe is the pivotal point in human history.

The week that Jesus died and came back to life.

Part of that story revolves around a man named Judas who betrayed Jesus.

He has been vilified throughout history.

The word “Judas” itself has become synonymous with someone who will stab you in the back.

Is that really what happened?

I don’t think so.

And I think another understanding of what happened can help us today.

First, Judas was allegedly one of Jesus’s inner circle.

He was one of the disciples!

He (unlike Paul, btw) lived and talked with Jesus.

He heard all of Jesus’ sermons.

And saw all of his miracles.

He was also Jesus’ accountant (again, an indication that Jesus was wealthy.)

So why would he betray Jesus?

For a lousy 30 pieces of silver?

Heck, if he really was an embezzler, he could get more from skimming off of the money in the account!

Why would he betray Jesus?

Tradition has it that he became disappointed that Jesus was not the messiah that he was hoping for.

Me?

I think Judas was the only disciple who really loved and understood Jesus.

Judas, in my opinion, was the disciple that Jesus loved the most.

Thus it was only Judas that Jesus entrusted to turn him over to the Romans.

When Jesus tells Judas “do you must and do it quickly,” tradition has conveyed that it was an example of Jesus’ ability to know the future.

What if it was instructions for Judas to carry out?

What if Jesus talked to Judas earlier and explained that Judas had a sacred mission to carry out, and only he could do it?

This is not farfetched.

The Gospel of Judas (yes, you read that right) says that Jesus reserved the real meanings of his parables and teaching to Judas, for he alone was spiritual mature to hear and understand this.

Tradition has Judas killing himself after betraying Jesus.

Perhaps, but I personally doubt that.

Judas among all people knew about the power of forgiveness.

And that he had a great commission to carry out.

And though others would not understand, and would curse his name,

Deep down inside he knew he was playing a part in a great design.

Then again, after thinking Jesus died on the cross, he might have had tremendous guilt over his part in his death.

In that case, he still loved Jesus – else why would he care if he died or not?

Ok..

Interesting sermon, Steve..

What has this to do with me?

I don’t even believe in this stuff!

Fair question, my friend.

Here is my point.

Judas’ betrayal was necessary for a wonderful event.

What about your betrayers?

We all have them.

Haven’t you had someone who lied to you?

Haven’t you ever felt betrayed by someone?

Perhaps because they shared a secret you gave them?

Or maybe they believed false rumors about you rather than believing the truth from your own lips?

Show me someone who has never been betrayed, and I will show you someone who has never really lived.

Betrayal is part of the human experience.

Look at your life.

Look at yourself.

If you love yourself, then that betrayal is part of your background story that has made you who you are.

Without that betrayal, you would be a different person.

This assumes, of course, that you have moved beyond that betrayal.

That you have not let it scar you.

That you still love yourself, despite what has happened.

That you have forgiven that person.

Forgiveness is so important, but is so hard for some of us to do.

We MUST forgive others..

Not for their sake.

But for ours.

To free us to learn, love and live beyond that experience.

Learn to forgive all those who have betrayed you.

To free yourself.

So you can grow as a human being.

For me, this was one of the hardest, but also the most liberating exercise.

Forgiveness also frees the other person, too.

Even if that other person never knows you have forgiven them, I believe that somehow it affects them.

Perhaps Judas did commit suicide after all.

Maybe he was too burdened by the pain he caused his friend.

Have you betrayed someone?

Are you carrying the pain and guilt of that in your heart?

If so, then forgive yourself this week.

We have all let others down at some point in our lives.

And we have let ourselves down, too.

Isn’t it time we proclaim freedom from all of this?

Life is too short.

Relationships and people are too precious.

Besides, who knows what miracles will happen in your life because of a betrayal?

Who knows, indeed…

Peace.

As I read more about the Trayvon Martin case,

two things really stand out to me.

(Beside the loss of a child).

1) The Florida Law

2) Trial by everybody but a jury

Let’s examine each one at a time, shall we?

Okay.

First, the law.

The way I understand the law (and I am not a legal expert, just commenting on my understanding of the law) is that

it allows you to kill somebody

if you feel your life is being threatened..

or if you feel you might suffer serious injury.

Read those three lines very carefully.

if you FEEL you life is threatened?

What does THAT mean?

If I see someone running toward my general direction, and I THINK he has a gun in his pocket, and I THINK he might be a psychopath so I THINK my life is in danger…

that gives me the right to KILL this person?

LEGALLY?

Without any repercussion?

It gets even worse, folks.

Read that last line.

If I FEEL I MIGHT suffer serious INJURY (not even death!), then that is enough to justify me killing someone one.

Whoa!

So I think you are going to punch in my face really hard, is that enough to kill someone and be coverd under the law?

One would hope not.

But that has GOT to be one of the most insane laws ever to be passed!!

Next to the fact that you can’t perform oral sex in some states!

Like Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia and Washington D.C

No fooling.

Or in New York.

Women may go topless in public, providing it is not being used as a business.

And you can get fined $25 if you are found flirting with someone.

In Kansas,

Pedestrians crossing the highways at night must wear tail lights.

In Arkansas,

A man can legally beat his wife, but not more than once a month.

And you can’t keep an alligator in your bath tub.

In Tennessee,

You can’t shoot any game other than whales from a moving automobile.

And in..

Well, you get the picture!

I am SERIOUS!!

These are REAL LAWS STILL ON THE BOOKS!

Now at least these other laws won’t result in hurting people.

(except that Arkansas law leting wives be beaten… that is really creeping me out. I will not be moving there… Ever. And if you are reading this and live in that state.. Please get that law off the books!!! Okay?? Then we can talk).

And I guess whales traveling the freeway could get hurt in Tennessee.

Okay, I am losing focus here.

The point is the Florida “Stand your ground” law takes us back to the wild west.

Where everyone wore a shotgun.

And felt justified shooting ya down if you so much as looked at people with a mean face!

No wonder Mr. Zimmerman was carrying a gun.

The Law ENCOURAGES people to have a gun.

Else, how can they shoot people down in cold blooded- ahem – in self defense?

It has been scientifically proven that just by holding a gun in your hand, it changes you.

It gives you a sense of power..

The power to feel invulnerable.

The power to take a human life.

If you carry a gun, then doesn’t common sense tell us that you are more likely to look for a reason to use it than someone who doesn’t carry a gun?

The harsh fact about this case is that the law, in my humble opinion, is so open to interpretation and worded so loosely, that whatever the facts come out are, Mr. Zimmerman might very have committed a murder that was legal.

I find that more frightening that anything else about the case.

It doesn’t seem like it would take much to kill people in Florida and avoid jail time.

I understand why the law was created.

People felt threatened by criminals and that the police couldn’t protect them on the streets.

So a law was enacted to send ‘fear among the criminals’ that – a la death wish (the movie) – people wouldn’t quietly take it anymore.

and will fight back.

and kill, if necessary.

Of course, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened…

Remember Mr. Bernard Getz – the subway vigilante in 1984?

He shot someone on the subway because he felt threatened.

That state didn’t have a “stand your ground” law.

Yet, Mr Getz’s crime?

Having an unregistered firearm.

People were RALLYING around Mr. Getz..

In essence, the Florida is merely formally legalizing this behavior.

So the question remains…

Did the shooting meet the qualifications of the law, and thus was legal?

If it was legal, then as much as we may hate and be angry at what happened – you can’t put the shooter in jail.

You can’t put someone in jail if they didn’t break the law.

Did the shooter break the law?

This brings me to the second point.

Since when did this country abolish the trial by jury judicial process?

What happened to ‘innocent before proven guilty” that this country was FOUNDED ON?

In England, by the way, you are ‘guilty before proven innocent.’

Over there, it rests upon the defense to prove that the defendant isn’t guilty.

Over here, it is the reverse.

EVERYONE is innocent, and it rests upon the prosecution to prove otherwise.

The media and the internet has changed this.

Now everybody knows about the case.

And are RUSHING TOWARD JUDGEMENT…

I don’t care which side you take.

Mr. Zimmerman was a power hungry white man who gleefully accosted and shot down an innocent black male youth, knowing he could get away with it.

or.

Trayvor Martin was a teenager who looked suspicious, and who, upon being asked what he was doing by a local neighborhood watch patrol officer, got angry and attacked Mr. Zimmerman, who – in self defense – shot Trayvor.

The truth is probably somewhere in between.

The fact is…

we don’t know the facts!!

All we know is the dribs and drabs that the media tells us.

Showing us pictures of these two people that can only be called prejudicial and nuts.

the shooter’s picture?

A mug shot from 10 years ago!

The teenage victim?

a super-ain’t-he-sweet-as-molasses-pie picture from 8 years ago!

And they show these pictures side by side for our emotions to kick start our prejudicial thinking into high gear!

Look, I am not saying the shooter was a saint.

and I am not saying the victim was a crack addicted thug with a long criminal record.

What I am saying is..

WHY do people have ANY thoughts about this case?

It hasn’t even gone to trial??

Have we all appointed ourselves Mr. Zimmerman’s judge and jury?

Worse, because of all this information being so generally available and people have already become so closed minded already on who did what.

what chance do you think of Mr. Zimmerman ever getting a fair trial?

How can the court system select 12 people who are not familiar with the case or at least have not made an opinion in this matter?

Have we really lost all faith in the justice system?

I served on a jury once.

And I left being extremely impressed on the whole process.

Is it perfect?

Heck no!

Does the jury always reach the right verdict?

Heck no!

But if I ever get arrested, I would much rather put my faith into 12 of my peers, than the millions of people who judge others based on what they hear on the news.

It all goes back to judging.

people.

things.

ideas.

I am now convinced that it is our insane tendency to judge others that is the root of our suffering.

How can we ever hope to have an authentic relationship with anybody if we always judge them?

How can we ever love ourselves if we always judge our actions…our thoughts… our words?

How can we ever feel the love of the Divine that is within us?

How can we ever become loving?

Accepting?

Open?

Compassionate?

Holy?

How can we ever..

wait..

what’s that noise?

Someone is outside the house!!

Hmmm.

He looks mighty suspicious.

Wondering what he is doing here?

Now….

Let me see..

Where did I put that gun……

Dale Carnegie was a fascinating man.

He became famous for writing “how to win friends and influence people.”

He also created his own schools that taught leadership and public speaking skills.

But he was also a fascinating philosopher.

One of his other books is called “how to stop worrying”.

In it, he describes one of the main reasons why humans are so frustrated and miserable in life.

The main reason?

We expect people to not disappoint us.

Human beings, according to Dale, are imperfect people and

at some times in our lives.

they WILL disappoint us.

They WILL not fulfill their promises to us.

They WILL hurt us.

They WILL betray us.

They WILL abandon us.

They WILL lie to us.

They WILL disappoint us.

It is our failure to accept this basic essence of the human condition that is the source of so much of our pain and suffering in the world.

Instead, he suggest, we should ACCEPT that people will let us down.

ACCEPT that is part of life.

This is not to say that we should view humanity as evil, selfish beings.

Rather, we are imperfect people who will make mistakes, lose our focus, and will end up hurting others.

Yes, sometimes intentionally.

But more times probably unintentionally.

None of this should stop us from loving people.

Or seeing the value people bring to us in our lives.

Heck, if we threw out everyone that have disappointed us in our lives…

would we have anyone left?

The hallmark of true love is to accept another – exactly as they are..

Not wanting to change them.

To accept them – warts and all.

Loving them in spite of their imperfection.

Or perhaps, because of it.

I started to think – what if we applied this same philosophy to the church?

Goodness knows, it has let us down!

It has caused pain and suffering.

It has lied to us.

It has put its own self interest ahead of its members.

It has lost focus on what all the prophets and sages have told us to focus on.

Love..

Compassion..

Mercy.

Forgiveness.

Acceptance..

We seem to long for perfection in things and people.

And if we can’t get it, well, then we will abandon it.

To me, that was Marx’s error.

He saw the harm and evil of religion…

so he threw it out of his view of his vision of a perfect world.

Isn’t that what so many of us have done?

We have been so turned off by the hypocrisy, limiting and harmful dogma, politics, and sanctimonious attitudes, that we, too, have thrown out religion in our lives?

What if, instead, we simply accept that the church will disappoint?

We accept that it, like us, is imperfect.

It will lose its way.

It will hurt us.

Yet, not to threw it out of our lives.

To still accept it as an imperfect vehicle to the Divine.

But for many, a vehicle that still can bring us closer to the Divine.

Closer to ourselves.

Perhaps we should expand this philosophy even to God.

To accept that God will disappoint us.

That God will not answer all of our prayers.

That God will hurt us – even if its in our best interest – there will be things that hurt.

God WILL take away our loved ones.

Yet, none of this means that we should stop accepting God.

Exactly as She (or He) is.

We still love God.

God doesn’t cease to have meaning in our lives because of our disappointment in God’s actions.

And I don’t think the church should cease to have meaning in our lives because of the our disappointment in its actions.

Can there be a church that reclaim its original mission..

to help be a bridge between people and the Divine?

To be a pointer (not the destination) to the Holy?

To help bring out the best of us?

To give hope – true hope – to the world?

Devoid of ancient, dusty, and damaging dogma?

To be inclusive that there is no single path to the Divine?

to accept everyone as a child of God?

To preach the Good News that God loves us, without the fear of punishment of hell?

I believe so…

stay tuned…

As I talk to people about religion, I keep hearing three things

1) people love their religion and are very “into” it.

2) People go to church out of habit/culture, but it has no meaning attached to it.

3) people hate religion and think its evil and its time for it ‘to just go away.’

4) People have ‘moved on’ from religion and feel they just don’t need it any more. “been there, done that.’

It seems that more and more people fall into the last 3 categories.

Let’s imagine a world without religion.

Imagine, if you can…

Now, a lot of people are probably smiling right now.

No more churches.

No more dogma.

No more rituals.

No more evangelism.

Of course, this also means..

no more clergy.

Perhaps its because I went to seminary that I am a little biased in this matter,

but without the clergy.

who marries you?

who buries you?

I know a lot of people get married at the justice of the peace, city hall, etc.

But the majority of people still want a ‘church wedding.’

The marriage vow, in a church, is one of the few (if not only) times someone makes a public vow to God.

in front of witnesses, no less!

Perhaps the burial service touches people more.

People – who never went to any church – want their loved ones (who also never went to church) to have a funeral led by clergy.

It is very rare, even in the most non-religious household, to bury people without clergy.

(I am not saying it doesn’t happen. My experience is that it is just very, very, rare).

Without the clergy, who buries your loved one?

Who buries you?

“ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

Those words still linger in my ear from many funerals I have gone to.

The role of the clergy was to be there for all the key moments in your life.

Your birth.

Your acceptance into the faith.

Your marriage. (and perhaps your divorce).

Your child’s birth.

Your struggles – spiritual and otherwise.

Your loss of family and loved ones – to disease or death.

And finally, your death.

The local priest was your confessor, psychologist, spiritual adviser and generally someone whom you could trust to tell your problems to.

Well, that was the way it used to be.

Nowadays, I question how many people go to their local clergy for these things.

How many people don’t even trust the clergy anymore?

I think this is sad.

Instead, we look to strangers on the internet to give us advice.

on how to live.

even on the meaning of life.

Most of the time we don’t know these people and may never ever see them face to face again.

Burials?

Hah! The clergy never knew the deceased!

S/he hurriedly tries to learn SOMETHING about the person a few days (or typically a few hours) before the funeral service.

All so that something more meaningful than a generic ‘he was a nice guy’ can be said in the eulogy.

Yet most people still expect the clergy to perform this ritual.

And we pay them… as if it was a performance or a typical job..

Actually, the money is more like a tip (since there is typically not a set fee).

Same with marriage.

What has happened to the role of the clergy?

Has it really been reduced to a contract-for-hire nameless entity for ancient rituals that have long ceased to have meaning?

Is there hope that clergy can be a positive and powerful force in our lives – and in society -again?

Many may say “no” to that last question.

I hope they are wrong…

I used have a REAL hang up on God and money.

Taking a vow of poverty?

Bless are the poor?

Did God really have ‘it in’ for rich folks?

Was wealth really evil?

Well, once I realized that

JESUS WAS A RICH MAN WHO LOVED THE POOR

All my struggles vanished!

Wait.

You KNOW that Jesus was wealthy, right?

No?

Hmm. Let me explain how I got to that conclusion.

1) Jesus’ dad (Joseph) was a carpenter. That means he had his own business. I always pictured Galilee as a small town and the local carpenter pretty much had a captive set of customers for his business.

Roof leaks? Call 1-800-JOS-EPHS

Need to remodel your house?

Call 1-800-JES-EPHS!

Want to replace that worn out carpet with hardwood floors?

Call…

Well, you get the picture.

I picture Joseph as a successful business man.

And in those days, a father passed his business knowledge, trade skills, and wealth to his son.

I don’t know why Jesus would have been any exception.

2) Didn’t you find it strange that when Jesus had dinner with the wealthiest men in town, nobody commented on how ‘dowdy’ he was dressed? There are no comments about these rich men commenting about Jesus’ dress. To me, that means that he was dressed like them. In rich silk robes, covered with rubies.

Also, wouldn’t it make sense that he was part of the ‘good old boy’ rich network that they so readily let him dine with him?

Hmmm.

3) Lastly, read the final accounts of Jesus dying at the cross. Tradition has Jesus being clothed in rags and simple loin cloth, but if this was the case then why did the Centurians FIGHT over his clothes at his death?

Do you really think Roman soldiers, who had no belief that Jesus was anything other than a man, would be FIGHTING over who was to get his dirty loin cloth?

Pretty insane picture, if you ask me.

The only way that scene could play out is if they were fighting over very expensive robes.. Of silk, rubies, etc.

Re-read that passage. Makes more sense doesn’t it?

4) Why, of all people, was it the WEALTHIEST member of the community – Joseph of Arimathea- who paid for the tomb? Again, to me it meant that the rich folks were part of his social network.

5) The Gospels claim that Judas was stealing from Jesus’ money bag for years – and yet none of the disciples noticed it! How could this be unless there was so much money that they didn’t notice when someone ‘took from the till?”

And what poor man needs an accountant anyway?

6) Oh, did I mention that Joseph of Arimathea, the rich dude who paid for the tomb, was Jesus’ UNCLE?

7) He got gold on the day he was born. Nice nest egg!

Mary Magdelene poured some real expensive perfume on this feet. Seems like some people he knew had wealth, doesn’t it?

9) Jesus owned his own house! (“and they (the disciples) saw where he (Jesus) dwelt and stayed with him there”). A very different image of Jesus sleeping on the ground with no place to call his own, isn’t it?

10) Read the parable of the talents. Why did Jesus use MONEY INVESTMENT strategies to drive a point? Don’t you need to have money and have experience in investments to use it as a learning device? And read carefully how the parable ends.. He REWARDS THE MAN WHO INCREASED HIS INVESTMENT and PUNISHED THE MAN WHO DID NOT MULTIPLY HIS SAVINGS!

Sounds like a rich dude to me.

Besides, who else could afford to take 3 years off of work and go on a sabbatical?

Okay..

So bear with me..

If Jesus was rich, then what about all the anti-rich comments in the Gospels?

There are three main passages that people have mis-interepted as being anti-rich.

1) Blessed are the poor.. Really, every copy of the Bible I have has Matthew quoting Jesus as saying “blessed are the poor IN SPIRIT.” That has a completely different connotation.

2) It is easier for a rich man to go through the eye of a needle than to get to heaven. The needle was an entrance to a city – typically 10 to 12′ high. The ‘eye of the needle’ means to go through the entrance. If someone had a lot of wealth, and rode in on a caravan- they literally could not make it through the entrance of some cities! the rich ruler had to get off his horse to ride in. To me, this symbolizes humility is needed to enter into heaven.

3) The love of money is the root of all evil.. The LOVE of money, yes. not money.

I think the parable of the rich young ruler sums up my view of the whole thing.

This man loved his money and possession more than God, or possibly even people.

THAT was wrong.

Not money.

Not being wealthy.

It is where we place our focus… where we look for comfort.

In wealth and material things? or matters of the spirit?

Believing that Jesus was wealthy can also imply that if wealth gives one power, then wealth can give one power to help others.

To give generously to others.

To start schools.

To create companies that create jobs.

To ensure children get proper medicine, nutrition and food.

If one is to be wealthy only to satisfy material desires, then the love of money is ruling their lives..

And yes, I believe that is wrong.

But which is a better scenario?

Being poor and trying to help the poor and make the world a better place?

or being rich and trying to help the poor and make the world a better place?

Who is in a better position to help?

The only question left is – just what DID Jesus do with all his money?

Did he give ALL of it away to the poor?

I don’t think so.

I think he left a sizable amount of his net worth..

to his wife and children.

But that, my friend, is another story.

Peace.

Politics.

Yeesh.

What a word.

Bet it already has caused you a knee jerk reaction.

And not a good one!

Let’s dissect this word to better understand its meaning.

Poli-tics.

Well, Poly means.. um. Lots! Many!

As in Polygon.

Which means – Really gone, man!

And tics are ugly blood sucking bugs.

Okay, that is not the real meaning of the word.

But a lot of people think that way of politicians. (lots of ticians?)

The REAL meaning of politics means to deal with the complexity of relations with people living a society.

A politician is thus someone who knows how to deal with people to get things done. Ideally for the good of the society/organization, etc.

Puts an interesting spin on “office politics” doesn’t it?

As we all know, there is something called an election that’s coming our way.

Various politicians are trying to get our votes.

One of them (who shall remain nameless, but whose initials are R.S)

is judging others faith in God as part of his attack on his opponents.

The issue of faith and politics has been a long one in our history.

We say we believe in the separation of church and state, but from my perspective it is really lip service.

God is on our currency.

We say the Pledge of Allegiance (one nation under God).

What is our justice system based on, after all, if not religious morals?

Why is murder against the law?

Suicide?

Polygamy? (Doesn’t that mean having lots of games? or maybe someone who eats gamy meat?)

It all goes back to religion.

The question I have for you today is..

Not should we separate faith from politics, but CAN we?

Who are we if not people of faith?

A faith.

Any faith.

Pick a faith.

Go ahead!

I’ll wait.

(la de dah.. la de dah.. mmm…..mmmm… zzzzzzz)

Ok- picked one?

Good!

It is our faith – our belief system – that defines what we think is good or bad.

Even if you think nothing is good or bad – well, that is based on your belief system.

Ultimately, it involved the “G” word.

No, not the “G” spot..

(Honestly!! get your minds out of the gutter, people!)

the BIG “G”.

Godzilla!!

um..maybe I shouldn’t be doing this while watching old Mothra reruns on the tube).

GOD.

It is how we think God works in our lives -in the world – that dictates our morality.

You have a unique theology of how this works.

Your own cosmology, if you will.

(Betcha ya didn’t know you were a cosmologist, did you!

Wait – isn’t that someone tells you the kind of makeup women should wear? Yikes)

How can we expect anyone really be in any political position and NOT act as a result of the faith?

Yes, they are supposed to represent all the citizens of their nation.

But to expect them to totally divorce their faith from the way they will conduct business is sheer lunacy, if you ask me.

(And, if you ask me, I prefer sheer lunacy to the lunacy with thick lining.. Can’t see a thing.. spoils the whole effect).

As you follow the political football over the coming months, don’t be surprised all candidates playing the “Faith card.”

The only question is, which person is better suited to run the country?

Time will tell…

Time will tell..

Now if you excuse me, Mothra is about to change from a giant caterpillar to a giant, um, moth!

I always wonder why they just didn’t have a giant flame, attract the beast to it, and have it burn up?

Guess it would have made for a short movie.

OOooh… he is spinning his web….

Can’t miss this.

Catch ya later.

Remember when I asked you to challenge yourself to spend an entire week without judging people?

Don’t remember it, eh?

That’s okay. I just reminded you!

I also said I would do this myself

(hey! gotta walk the talk to talk the walk. or something like that).

I have to admit I was surprised at my results.

Out of the entire 7 days…

I lasted…

1.

Hour.

Ugh.

Yup.

I couldn’t believe it!

One week?

Heck, I couldn’t last one DAY!!

It was AMAZING how much my thoughts were on judging people and things!

Then things got really weird.

I felt really bad that I was judging others.

And I realized that I was judging my judging of others!!

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(insert revised Luke Skywalker scream as appropriate).

Then I felt bad about THAT!

OH NO!!!!!!!!

Now I was judging my judging of my judging of others!!

HELP!!!

Eventually, I just had to ‘let go.’

And accept that judging is a part of the human experience that I need to work on.

I started to relax.

I could live with that.

I even felt good about how I was feeling.

Probably would rate myself a “B” on my acceptance of this whole shebang.

OH NO NO NO!!!!!!!!

Now I am judging my judging of my judging of my judging of others!!

Will this madness never end?

whew!

Think I can handle this.

(Said he taking 37 cleaning breaths).

Yup.

Definitely okay.

Feeling alright!!!!

Wait!

Is that a judgement in itself?

Yeesh..

How did you do?

Peace,
Steve

In the Christian tradition, we are in the season of Lent.

A time for reflection.

I thought about how the view of God has changed so much over the years.

Interestingly enough, religious intolerance is a relatively recent concept.

In the early days of polytheism (belief in multiple gods), religious intolerance simply didnt’ exist.

It couldn’t.

Every local tribe had their own god (or set of gods).

That seemed to be fine with everybody.

I always imagined two people from different nations having the following conversation:

(person 1). So I believe in the god of the wind and the rain. Who do you worship?

(person 2) Me? I believe in the gods of fire and water!

(person 1) COOL!

(person 2) Wanna add my gods to your list?

Ha!

(I wonder if this how trading baseball cards started? I’ll give you my god of fire and water for your god of wind and the rain!)

Whenever countries were conquered, typically the people ADDED the gods of the rulers to their gods.

This was true even in Roman times.

Rome had no problem in people worshiping different gods than the Roman ones, so long as they ALSO worshiped the Roman gods.

That was their beef about the Jews.

It wasn’t they worshiped a different god than them, it was because they refused to ALSO worship the Roman gods.

Judaism also started out as a polytheistic religion.

(doubt this? just read the Genesis account on the birth of Adam. “let US make man in OUR image.” Gives one pause to think, doesn’t it)?

The story of Judaism goes as follows:

There was a god, Elohim, who wanted people to worship Him.

This god was different than the others because he wanted to make a deal with his people.

It went something like this: “Hey! Have I got a deal for you! I got these sets of laws (and promptly plops down the equivalent of 1000 copes of the tax code), and if you obey these then I will be your god and will protect you!”

This god went to all the nations around the world making this offer, but every nation looked at these laws and said “huh? You expect us to obey all that stuff? what are you crazy? no thank you.”

Every nation but one.

A tiny group in Palestine heard this and said

“so we obey all these laws and you will be our god and protect us? COOL! Let’s do it!”

And thus Judaism was born.

(side note: I always am fascinated by the traditional Christian doctrine of how Jesus frees non-Jews from these Jewish Laws that they never had to obey in the first place! But I digress).

Initially, Jews just saw their god as the best (and strongest!) god of all.

I love reading those great fight scenes in Hebrew Scripture where the God of the Jews “dukes” it out with others.

(Remember the story at Mt. Carmel where the followers of the god Ba’al challenge the Jews to see which god is the strongest! It’s the ancient equivalent of “my dad can beat up your dad!” only done with deities!!)

Eventually, however, the Jews began to see their god as the ONLY god.

But because they had a “special relationship” and a “unique set of laws” to follow, they embraced the concept that this God would speak to others (e.g. non-Jews) in other ways.. Other prophets, other books, other laws. That was cool with them.

Which is why Jews rarely (if ever) evangelize non-Jews to convert to Judaism.

It doesn’t make sense.

So this first form of monotheism (the belief that there was only one god) was also tolerant.

Then Christianity came along and everything changed.

For the first time in history, a religion came on the scene that said not only was there only one God, but there was only one way to view and worship this God.

And if you didn’t?

Then this loving God would send you to hell to be punished for all eternity.

This contradiction of a loving god and eternal punishment for those who don’t believe in him, has been the biggest sore point with non-Christians since Paul started preaching.

It also was the impetus for massive evangelism and conversions to the faith (voluntarily or otherwise).

But did Jesus REALLY mean this?

As I study the early centuries of the church, I am now at the point that no – I don’t believe that was the original Christian message.

Jesus death bridged the gap between humanity and God – FOREVER.

For ALL people.

In Romans, Paul says that “God is merciful to ALL.”

“NOTHING can separate us from the love of Christ (god)”.

“one man’s act of righteousness (Jesus) leads to the justification and life to ALL”

It was the fulfillment of the Prophet Isaiah’s “ALL people shall see the glory of the Lord” (Isa 40)

Even John’s gospel, which has the source of “Jesus is the only way to God” also says

“Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save it” (John 3:17)

Ok. enough proof texting…

otherwise we end up in SPTW. That’s Scripture Proof Texting Wars.

Let’s face it. There are enough contradictions and inconsistencies in scripture to justify ANYTHING!

So why not use it support a fully inclusive theology?

Anyhow, I hope the point is made.

If Jesus was the Grand Mediator between us and God, then he has done his work.

Imagine two people who won’t talk to one another and a mediator is brought into the scene to bring these people together. They are reconciled and hug each other and say how sorry and silly they have been.

Their relationship has been RESTORED.

Do they need to bring in the mediator every time they want to talk again?

Of course not! The MEDIATORS JOB IS DONE!

He is no longer needed!

Jesus’ death on the cross was a one time event to open up the veil for humanity to have a direct relationship with God.

That is why I believe there was so much importance on the phrase “and he descended into Hell.”

Traditionally, this meant that Jesus saved all those who died before getting a chance to hear the “good news’

So EVERYBODY is saved!

Let’s stop here for a second.

The term “salvation” is very problematic.

We have heard this so many times, that we want to gag just by hearing that word.

Let’s revisit this for a while, ok?

Just forget about the Devil, Hell, eternal damnation, etc.

And think of salvation as being saved from a meaningless life.

A life without purpose.

A life without the Divine.

A life without hope.

When you think of it that way, don’t we all want to be “saved?”

Heck, even Buddha’s philosophy is one of salvation! Didn’t he want to stop people from constantly being re-incarnated over and over again? to stop the “wheel of life” so we can find nirvana/enlightenment (e.g. Heaven?)

To me, that is no different.

Same concept.

Different terminology.

Surprisingly some pretty major Christian leaders also saw Jesus’ death as being applicable to ALL of humanity.

John Wesley, the founder of the Christian Methodist movement, believed that God accepts all those who love God and love others as if they accept Jesus – WHETHER THEY DID OR NOT!

In other words. non-Christians who love God and love humanity as accepted as Christians, and thus are “saved” and will enjoy eternal life.

I know this is not a popular believe among Christians.

And I do not know of even any Methodist church who embraces the full implications of Wesley’s notes.

And I am not aware of any Christian denomination (at least certainly not any mainline one), that would permit me to preach such a message at the pulpit.

Yet to me it changes everything.

It allows the Christian message to stand as is – that Jesus brought people back to God, and expands it to include everyone – Christian or otherwise.

In the book of Acts, a Jailer confesses his belief in Jesus and HIS ENTIRE HOUSEHOLD was baptized.

It makes no mention of others in his family believing in Jesus.

Their baptism can be viewed as a historical understanding that everyone now has the right to a special relationship with God.

At least that is how I see it.

Is it possible – just possible – that this was the original “Good News” message? That EVERYONE is free to enjoy a direct and meaningful relationship with the Divine?

That baptism is merely a ceremony where one accepts that good news?

I realize that there are those who do not think much of Christianity.

There are those who have “moved on” from religion.

There are those who no longer believe that the Divine should even be worshiped.

And there are those who have already marked me as a blasphemer who will burn in hell.

But maybe – just maybe- in this time of Lent, there are those for whom this message might speak to you.

Peace,

Steve

My local newspaper had a FASCINATING article.

They did a study of teenagers as to why some chose to join their local church community or their local gang.

My first reaction was that the study made the assumption these were the only two choices teenagers have today.

What?

No shopping at the mall communities?

Anyway, what really took me for a loop (or two), was what they heard was the consistent reason why kids today join gangs.

Was it..

1) the cool outfits and neat colors of the gangs?

2) the free cookies the gang leaders give them?

3) they felt more accepted and not judged by the gangs?

Yup.

You guessed it.

It was the cookies!!

Okay. Just kidding.

The majority of the kids stated that the main reason they joined a gang because they felt UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE by the gang, while they felt they were judged at church!

Hmmm. judging at the church.

Who would have thought?

The early church grew in numbers because it was a community of people who accepted each other.

Of course, the early church also did not believe in heaven, hell, the devil, the blood atonement of Jesus, and had completely different books in their scripture.

But let’s leave that aside for the moment.

The church, if it has any value in the world, is to provide a sense of community where all are welcomed.

What has happened to this?

I see the alarmingly rude comments on web sites where everybody is judging every one.

Recently, there has been a very disturbing trend that young girls are putting out youtube videos so others can judge their beauty.

Even our reality shows are based on judging those who are deemed worthy to stick around another episode.

People are tried by the media and the public before their cases even go to court.

We have created a society of judges.

Is it any wonder that our youth will gravitate to a community that is non-judgmental?

Even if it is harmful – to themselves or to others?

Jesus said “judge not lest ye be judged.’

But nobody seems to care to be judged anymore.

It’s just accepted as part of life.

This week, challenge yourself to not judge anybody.

Not your boss.

Not your co-workers.

Not your significant other.

Not yourself.

At the end of the week, let me know how this was for you.

(just reply to the comment).

Of course, I will doing this myself.

It should be an interesting week.

Peace,

Steve