a minor annoyance

I was reading in Relevant Magazine the other day and someone made this statement that has finally got on my nerves. All of these Christian folks who like to call themselves progressive keep talking about how silly The Passion of the Christ was. It's like they are ashamed of a stunning portrayal of Jesus's suffering. The Relevant Article said that the movie seemed to be saying that violence was somehow good.
Hello? Do we follow the same Jesus? The violence against the Messiah was terrible, as the movie shows, yet it accomplished great good; it accomplished the completion of God's wrath against, basically, His own Self, rather than against humanity. We often call it atonement. Salvation, forgiveness of sin, eternal life, renewal and redemption--it's all available through the suffering and resurrection of Jesus.
Now, was the movie all that some prominent evangelical leaders were pumping it up to be: one of the greatest evangelistic tools/opportunities in history? By no means, was it such a thing. The portrayal is accurate for what it intended to be; nothing more and nothing less than a breath-takinlgy realistic reenactment of the suffering of the Messiah. This story makes little sense to those outside of the circle of devoted; i.e. well informed, followers. The violence is not explained. However, the portrayal should have a profound effect on the follower of Jesus. Remember his sufferings is the call of the Mass/Eucharist/Communion. This is one of the foundations of the Christian faith.
Will the movie ever enter my DVD library? Not likely. My list of favorite flicks? No. It's too heavy to be viewed regularly, or for me, maybe even more than once. However, it was not a silly movie, nor was it an insignificant event in our culture. Why don't the progressives shut up and make some progress somewhere?
As I said, I'm minorly annoyed. It's a lot of silliness that sounds like embarassment at the suffering of Jesus--not a very progressive Christian sentiment in my book.

ruminations III

I am a strong knifeblade word,
not some if or maybe,
dissolving in air.

Am I that word? Are you?

This is the language I want to speak. It’s the language Jesus’ spoke. Apparently, Rumi knew something of it, too. He calls it the language of the Lover, I think he is correct.

Let the lover be disgraceful, crazy,
absentminded. Someone sober
will worry about things going badly.
Let the lover be.

Yes, that’s the business Jesus was about—being. He had little tolerance for self-important sobriety. He said YES, and it was so. He said NO, and it was complete. Jesus never says if or maybe. A lover truly loves when he forgoes the convenience of maybe and if, and says Amen and Never.

There is nothing compassionate or loving in the idea of tolerance. Tolerance is dignified religion; the logic of self-preservation. Love and Hope and Faith forgo these trifles for a higher cause, the disgrace of self-sacrifice and desire.

[Jesus] looked them in the eye, one after another, angry now, furious at their hard-nosed religion. He said to the man [with a withered hand], “Hold out your hand.” He held it out—it was as good as new!

I don’t want to fiddle around with the niceties of religion. I don’t want to succumb to the seduction of ease and routine, and the self-importance of duty. I want to be disgraceful and crazy that I actually love Craig across the street, and Kerry in a wheel chair a mile down the road. It’s so grand to love humanity, and so dirty to love one’s neighbor, but what shall I accomplish with so-called love for humanity and big ideas? I will gain a friend, share and create life; I will gain the world when I love my neighbor in the drunkenness of today, tomorrow, and the possession of moments.

Why the World Hates America

Church of Fools - "sermon" by Tony Campolo

This article presents some of the reasons I am opposed to the current regime in America. Now, the President of the USA should be first concerned with taking care of America above worrying about how we rank in international opinion polls. But, the world sees some serious hypocrisy in our actions. I see that hypocrisy, too, and George W Bush is not solving it. I do not see how Kerry would make things any better, though, so I'm voting third party.

my vote

I’ve decided two things regarding my vote for president this year.
1) I wish Kerry was not going to win, but I am pretty sure he will. At this point, Bush is a sure win in my state of Louisiana, though, so my vote’s pretty much useless if I vote for W. If things tighten up considerably in Louisiana, I will reconsider voting Bush, but for now it wouldn’t help anything, so I’m voting elsewhere.

2) I plan to vote Libertarian. I want to be a part of the third-party movement. Most of the major social issues in America cannot be solved by the current party system of politics, because the parties are completely polarized. The solutions to our problems need some of what each party holds dear, but neither will give a little to gain a lot, because what Republicans hold dear is what Democrats hate, and vice-versa.

So, we need a third party to enter the debate. If a third party can garner 8% of the popular vote, they will get government money to run their campaign the next year. That money will advance their cause greatly, and eventually, hopefully, open the political debate of America; opening it up out of mudslinging and rhetoric and into real problem-solving.

I chose Libertarians, because the Green Party is just freaky, and I think a Libertarian federal government may be best for America. As much as a third party might help us in our quest for a better nation for future generations, the real solutions are going to come locally, where compromise can really work. And, on the local level, people can network, know one another, and really know the issues at hand. Libertarians would open up states to do what they think best, and that may be the best thing for America.

I know I won’t be a part of electing Badnarik for president this year, but I may be able to play a small part in a growing revolution against the two party system—a system George Washington sagely warned us against.

mr. potter

mr. potter is my kitty

just to clarify any misconceptions. i mentioned mr. potter in my previous post on gay marriage. he's my cat. he's ridiculously cute.

Gay Marriage

Louisiana is voting on a marriage amendment next month. I have made my decision regarding my vote on this issue:

I do not agree with the typical Christian response that it is “us vs. the gays”, and that allowing homosexuals to marry is promoting sin. I, honestly, think that the type of freedoms homosexuals are seeking are somewhat similar to the freedoms of conscience and religious expression that Evangelicals prize and fight for. If two adults want to sin in bed together, who am I to stop them? If an adult or two or five wants to force or manipulate a child into sin in bed, then it’s time for society to step in and lay the smack down. Consensual, adult sex is not an issue for a democracy to be playing around with, lightly.

However, I will be voting in favor of the marriage amendment—to protect marriage as it has been traditionally interpreted: one man and one woman. I will vote this way, because I believe it will be destructive to the fabric of our society to allow fully recognized homosexual marriage. Let me explain:

Marriage brings with it some economic benefits: shared insurance, minor tax breaks, and so on. If homosexual marriage is fully embraced by America, these benefits will eventually disappear. If I can marry a man, why can’t I marry two of them, or one of each? When I was in college, I worked for a company that gave benefits to “domestic partners”. I wondered why it would be impossible for me to sign my roommate up on such a plan. He most certainly was my “domestic partner”. We just chose to have a celibate partnership. (There are many heterosexual marriages that do the same, I’ve heard.)

Anyway, where does it all stop? When do I get to claim my cat as a dependent for insurance and tax purposes? Can I do it now, or do I have to have sexual relations with Mr. Potter first? I know this is crude, but I need to express the point. If sex becomes the basic level of legal relationships, our country is in some serious trouble.

Above, I said that the economic benefits of marriage will disappear if homosexual marriage is fully embraced. They will disappear because there will be no end to whom is married to whom, eventually. With no-fault divorces available for like $69 in the newspaper, marriage is a pretty shaky institution as it is. Throw this in the pot, and marriage will lose the supports society has built for it. Granted, those supports do not make happy and healthy marriages, but they are incentives to marry at times, and incentives to work through some difficulties. Without these supports, marriage will become less and less secure in America, and I am thoroughly convinced that weak families equal weak nation.

In summary: I am opposed to legalized gay marriage, because it may well help destroy America.

justice triumphs over mercy - Clint Paul Bellanger

Pilgrim's Journal - Insight into a Wanderer's journey - Clint Paul Bellanger

My friend, Clint, has some well reasoned arguments regarding pacifism, just war, and justice in general. Check it out.

As I recently said, I lean towards pacifism. Clint says,
Would you go against your survival instinct to hold an ideal that will make you extinct?
In certain situations, yes. I believe so strongly in mercy and peace, that I would die for them. However, as much as I disagree with Clint's belief that justice is greater than mercy, I cannot accept absolute pacifism.

One scenario where I reject pacifism is in the protection of my family. I believe my obligations of love and fidelity require violent action to meet the threat or reality of violence against my wife, and other immediate family members. Honestly, this extends quite far for me. Let me put it this way, if I was a student at Columbine High School and managed to keep my wits in the midst of the savegery that took place there, those kids with guns would not have had the opportunity to end their own lives before dealing with my justice--even if that justice ended succinctly with a bullet in my chest. I will not sit by in the presence of murder, and do nothing.

Also, I see that society must act of a slightly altered moral continuum than individuals, alone. This is difficult to fully elaborate upon, and it can easily be taken too far. I do not have time to delve into this tasty conundrum, but hope to sometime in the near future.

living for a dream?

There was a dream....
and it was Rome.

Powerful words that framed a heroic film--one of my favorites. I've just finished experiencing The Gladiator again. It is one of those stories that moves you. Makes you desire; search for purpose.

I come away from these stories (and film often moves most deeply with the visual and the music enriching the story)--I come away from these stories feeling humbled, I think. Feeling like I am less of a man that I thought I was, that I am not as true as I dream to be. It is difficult to live for a dream--to make a vision real through sweat and perseverance, emotions, reason, and pain...but no blood.

It must be easier to die for a dream than to live for one. The dreams I dream have no enemies with swords. I cannot take up a spear and lead men to victory against tyrrany, or oppose cruelty simply by turning my back on the oppressor in a statement of defiance--a defiance with the penalty of death.

Despite my pacifistic leanings, I do not believe I truely am one. I would take up the sword to strike down injustice if the cause was clear. But, for me, my foes are not so clear. They are out of range. I cannot defeat the pandemic of AIDS in Africa by accepting arrows into my chest, or by suffering torture. I cannot remove the boot of oppression from the sweat shop workers in developing countries by execution, or by death in a hopeless battle. I must live for my dreams. Someone already died for them.

daily Rumi

Rumi said:

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas language, even the phrase each other
doesn't make any sense.

This put some interesting thoughts in my head. What was the sin of Adam and Eve in Genesis? They ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil; the fruit of distinction. Is the field Rumi refers to Eden? As I've indicated below, before reading this poem, the existence of nothing but God would be the nonexistence of space, thus everything would be full. Could God be undifferentiated, and the fall of humanity was the illusion of distinction?

If I take the Bible to be true, which I must to consider Adam and Eve at all, I cannot answer that question in the affirmative, but I do wonder if there is some kind of truth to it. Don't ask me how it could be partially true while distinction/judgment is still virtue, I cannot explain that. However, Jesus and Paul both spoke of decreasing distinction in behavior when balanced with increased knowledge and recognition of the one true reality: God.

This is a post of conjecture. Some may find it interesting, others may find it useless. I find it mildly entertaining, and the thought processes before it were kinda fun.

U2

Does it annoy anyone if I type without caps?
I really like the freedom I fell when I pitch some of the constraints of written English, but I won't do it if it's going to make a bunch of people crazy. Any comments?

Anyway, this post is random, but for one point.
I really dig U2, and I listed them in my favorite music section in my profile here at blogspot. For some freaky reason, my profile will not display those two simple characters. It makes me wonder if there's some strange copyright deal U2's got going on.
Well, It's a Beautiful Day, but I'm not going to the Discotheque.

Rumi of the Day

When I see your face, the stones start spinning!
You appear; all studying wanders.
I lose my place.

Water turns pearly.
Fire dies down and doesn't destroy.

In your presence I don't want what I thought
Iwanted, those three little hanging lamps.

Inside your face the ancient manuscripts
seem like rusty mirrors.

You breath; new shapes appear,
and the music of a desire as widespread
as Spring begins to move
like a great wagon.
Drive slowly.
Some of us walking alongside
are lame!

I love the first stanza. I only wish it were more true in my life. I sometimes get so lost in study, I fail to notice the beauty of Love's moment.

the weekend

my in-laws are in town, and i'm writing poetry again.
today we were in the french quarter, after a rapid trip through the D-Day Museum. maybe it was the depression of a-bombs on my head: one war fought against evil--the other ocean was a wash of racism. whatever it was, the quarter was less than stellar, once more. i often have a distracted, melancholy attitude there--like i'm in a mega-mall, and maybe i am.
there was the Satchmo festival, but i only caught about 25min of music. the last 5 were stellar, though, i must admit.
well, i'm reading Rumi, too. he's got poetry running in my veins, i think.
and, i've decided to reinstute the capital H for he and him when talking about God. for a while, i was avoiding, as much as possible, using pronouns at all for God, but it just gets too unnatural, and too many would flip or just get confused if i occasionally said she. so, the capital H helps solve the problem for me now. i'm not using He as if to say God is a man, but a person, the One Supreme Person.

more words? -- they need refinement, but i like the overall feel.
Created Being

When God existed in the inevitability of space,
Was there any room? Was anything?
Out of nothing, comes everything, but
Where was God? Anywhere?

If God was space, God is His own place,
His own dimension, His own race.
Length and width and height, then time,
Always God.

Infinity is an ever running
Continuity of circles,
But not the sphere of space,
Which is full.

The circle of eternity encloses all
Of nothing—the everything that never is.
Space is creation, could it be imagination,
An illusion of mind on empty reality,

But not empty. Without space to fill
Everything is full, complete—
Nothing more is necessary.
So was God, but

Out of non-necessity exploded depth,
And width and height of love, even
A time in which things do,
And God divided the chaos of nonbeing,

Created being.

hopelessly optimistic

Here's a roughly thrown together, partial response to some objections to Proverbial Paradox. Hopefully, it has some semblance of clarity. My attention was not 100% faceted when I scribbled this down.

Discerning Good and Evil

What is evil? If only good comes from God, how do we reconcile this with many of his acts that have cause so much pain, sorrow, even death?
The first step is to realize that sorrow, pain, and death are not evil in and of themselves, nor are comfort and ease inherently good. Sorrow does much good work in lives: character development, proper grieving over loss, etc... Pain, also is a great good, it tells us something is wrong. Pain is not evil, but a warning that evil may be present in, on, or around you. Death is a result of evil, but still works good, for to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
Step two takes us to the throne of judgment. Judgment looks like evil when it comes--pain, death, war, what have you. With Elijah, God stopped the rain for 3.5 years. Apart from the knowledge of God's judgment, one would definitely say that this is evil; ie, famine, the death of the innocents, and so on. But, this was judgment, and God was working good in the people, working to free them from the bondage of destruction through worship of all things false.
Now, we still have problem, though. If judgment looks like evil, how de we perceive God and his goodness in the trials and tragedies of life?
First, I must admit that this is a mystery. Paradox is real, and the clear answer is imperceptible from this side of eternity. But, there are some truths that guide us in discerning who and what is at work in our lives. The way we feel--happy or sad-- is not on those guides. Often, we will know beforehand. All through the Bible judgment is preceded by many warnings and calls to repentance in mercy.
From there, we turn to prayer and contemplation. Are we where we are supposed to be? Are we in step with Spirit in our lives? Thisis where we examine why we are in the situation we are in. Did we follow Holy Spirit here or have we made our own way? What does Scripture have to say about your current way of life.
Our attitude must always be humility, but there are times when we must stand on God's word to us, and recognize that we are in the right place while evil is surely opposing us. Humility also allows us to recognize when we have made our own way, walked in pride, and made ourselves God's enemy--the "evil" we are experiencing is God's tough love working to straighten us and our perversions of good.

words

Forgotten poems speak of everything,
a vast body addressing the known
universe and dark matter,
a black whole of unknowing;
non being carries everything.

Spoken poems remembered
embrace self-consciousness, yet
faintly whisk the moon, leaving galaxies
untouched; eternity
remains empty of words.

There is no noise, it is
all noise,
and the forgotten supercedes memory--
source of wounds and pleasures.

Memory is awake with silence;
gaps of joy
when non-being forgets to end,
and ceases not to prattle;
whittling away the mind, and
the distance that is
pleasure.

Separation is unity
ever closer but always two,
and union swallows intimacy in a forever
of forgetting.

running

I've listed running in my interests, so I thought I might say something about it.
I'm a fat runner right now. I probably average about 7 miles a week. I just ran 2.25...wow.
But, I've been a decent runner before. Ran Cross-Country as a soph in HS and a sr in College.
PRs : 5k = 18:00 and 8k=approx 31:20 and 10k (I've only run one) is 35:something

I hope to break all of those in the next year or so, but I need someone or even a small team to run with. I'm thinking about joining the running club at Tulane. Might be a good thing on multiple levels.

Anyway, my biggest goal is to run (at least 2 miles) in all 50 states. It's going to be a challenge, but here's what I've got so far:
Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Missourri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, California, Wisconsin.
I think that's it. Currently at 11 out of 50. Just 39 to go!