Spirituality and the Global Financial Crisis

There is so much to be learnt from the global financial crisis. It asks us what is real and lasting and what really matters. It reminds us that circumstances always change. Now is the time, in the middle of the crisis, to find contentment. If you aren’t content now, you won’t be content when the crisis ends. Be present now. That is the path to spiritual enlightenment. Now is when the spiritual gold can be found; treasures of character and strength that don’t depend on circumstance for validation.

My sermon on Sunday was a reminder that spirituality is here and now in the ordinary moments of life, and enlightenment is deep presence.

Here is a loving kindness affirmation that may be calming in the midst of crisis.

May we release all burdens of guilt, shame, fear, and loss from past trauma that no longer serve us and needless fear and anxiety about the future
May we be filled with loving kindness
May we be protected from all internal and external harm
May we be as healthy and whole as possible
May we be centered, peaceful, and at ease
May we be present
May each of us enjoy both spiritual and material well-being

Sarah Palin, Abstinence and Education

It’s the conversation parents dread. The only thing worse is no conversation, and instead finding a stray condom in the washing machine. Meg and I often wonder what we would say if one of our kids was to tell us that they were (or planned to be) sexually active. Would we encourage abstinence? We also wonder what we would say if one of our kids did what we did- that is, get married in their early twenties. Would we encourage them to wait, or would we stay silent and let them live with their own choices?

It’s hard to predict the emotional ties that shape a parent’s response to their kids, but we hope we would encourage both sexual responsibility and waiting to get married.

Abstinence is not realistic. It was a huge moment last week when Bristol Palin stumbled onto this truth on national television, almost convincing herself as she said it- “everyone should be abstinent or whatever, but it’s not realistic at all.” Then Sarah Palin appeared on set and surprised everyone even further by saying this about abstinence- “It sounds naive.”

I am so grateful to the Palin family for being willing to share their experience on the national stage. It can’t have been easy, considering that abstinence is the standard line for religious conservatives. My appreciation for their family has grown enormously. They are real. They have put real issues on the national agenda.

They have confirmed what studies have long shown; that abstinence doesn’t work, and may actually be a dangerous alternative to teaching responsible sexuality.

Hillary Clinton once said- “There is a great deal of political pressure to only talk about abstinence, and to deny support for condoms and education on using them. This policy (abstinence) will lead to the unnecessary deaths of many people.”

Open discussion of sexuality; in schools, in homes, and yes even in churches, is essential. It may even save lives.

On Sunday I made the most overt comments about sexuality that I have ever made in a church. I was nervous to see what the response would be. The C3 community again impressed me with their open embrace of direct and honest thoughts, in this case thoughts on sacred sexuality.

Our bodies are diverse, our experiences unique, but our spirits are joined in intimate embrace as together we create a spectacular, simultaneous, spiritual orgasm that has the foundations of the church creaking like a four post bed.

Please check out the sermon, and feel free to leave comments here about what you think.

Creationism, Evolution and Education

Both evolution and creationism should be taught in schools. There, I said it. It might be the most surprising thing you ever hear me say. Creationism and evolution should both be taught in schools, but they should be taught in different classes (and hopefully on different days to avoid confusion). They are an equally important part of education, but they are as different as carrots and apples (even forbidden apples).

Creationism is not an alternative theory to evolution. Creationism is to evolution as a flat-earth is to the heliocentric solar system. Creationism is to evolution as demons causing disease is to germ theory. Creationism is to evolution as the cabbage patch theory is to sexual reproduction. Teaching creationism in a science class is little different to teaching Spanish in a French class.

Creationism is mythology, and not a scientific theory. Evolution should be part of a science class. Creationism should be part of a history class. Genesis should be studied as an example of the way ancient people made sense of their world. Creationism should be taught as an example of the way cultures take myth, poetry and story and often turn them into literal truth. The science class should outline evolutionary theory as the universally accepted scientific theory of the origins of human life.

It’s important to still teach creationism (as myth) because so many westerners grow up with a form of 7 day creation at home and in Sunday school classes. Its part of western folklore. Young people need to come to terms with their cultural heritage.

Hopefully this way, we might avoid so much of the unnecessary tug-o-war between science and religion. It’s no wonder that so many kids grow up conflicted about science and religion. When creationism is taught as an alternative to evolution, it’s like a “gloves off” boxing match to the death. In one corner, evolution brings an assortment of fossils and ancient tools to the match. In the other corner, creationism has just one tool…. an ancient book, and a very limited interpretation of that book. When the Bible is used as a weapon, it hurts. Believe me. But ultimately, Bible bashing only reveals defensiveness and fear.

There need be no fear on either side, if evolution and creationism are taught in different classes. I celebrate both. I fear neither.

My sermon on Sunday celebrated Darwin’s birthday and looked at the relationship between science and religion. I was pleased to outline a number of ways that we can embrace both evolution and the God of our many understandings, without compromising our intellect or tradition.

Lincoln, Darwin and Unemployment

Unemployed at last! These are the famous opening words of Tom Collin’s classic Australian novel, “Such Is Life.”

Unemployed at last? It seems insensitive to say these words at a time when global unemployment is expected to hit 50 million in 2009. How could losing your job be such a moment of glee and relief? It’s like saying, “Ah, finally my bank account is empty, or at long last my hips are arthritic.”

I don’t expect its true for everyone, but I keep meeting people who announce their lay off with a sense of cautious optimism. I can understand joy at good news. The fact that January retail sales rose by 1% is cause for cautious optimism. But I don’t immediately understand the joy of being laid off.

I look to Darwin and Lincoln for the answer. They both share today as a birthday, and they share much else in common. They were both heretics in the truest sense of the word. They chose to follow their own intellect and wisdom even when it meant being unpopular. Like other fine heretics, Jesus and Einstein, St Francis and Galileo, they promoted the idea that all things are related.

This was a radical departure from the worldview that they (and many of us) inherited. We were taught that life is like a pre pay phone card. The beginning and ending is pre-determined. In this analogy the phone company is God. God made the world with an order that we are not to mess with, lest we breach our contract.

The truth of evolution is so liberating. Even death, especially death, is necessary for natural selection. Without huge amounts of death, nothing changes. Without huge change, nothing new can emerge.

And this doesn’t have to compromise religious beliefs in any way. If God is the source, evolution is the process. If God did it, Darwin described it. Or maybe to continue the phone analogy- Evolution is God’s way of doing upgrades.

While some find a manual for pre-pay creationism in Genesis, I see Genesis as free form brilliance. It is ancient poetry describing evolution before they had words or science to match. It is camp-fire story telling with the intention of praising an unseen order to which they felt intimately related. This unseen whole grounded them as it does us, no matter what name you call it. It gave them a moral compass, as it does us. It gave them a sense of wondrous kinship, as it does us.

I’m excited about Darwin’s birthday. I’m excited to be part of a community that embraces the best of science without fear. I hope to alleviate any anxiety about embracing evolutionary theory, and to show the spiritual liberation that evolution points to.

And now I get it. Unemployment, no matter how death-like it feels, is a natural selection for new possibilities and growth. Unemployed at last. Such is evolutionary hope.


NB I ran my thoughts by our resident physicist Howard Van Till (another fine heretic) to make sure I wasn’t committing any scientific blasphemy. He replied with a nice description of genetic variation and natural selection. He said I could include it here

Spontaneous genetic variation is the way that Earth's ecosystem explores new possibilities for life forms. No exploration = nothing new to look forward to. Thank "God" for genetic exploration.

Natural selection = go with whatever happens to work best at this time and place. That implies that the future will be interesting but admits that the details are yet to be worked out. This approach preserves the possibility of surprise. Thank "God" for surprise.


One last note- I LOVE this Darwin quote on attention.

“Attention, if sudden and close, graduates into surprise; and this into astonishment; and this into stupefied amazement.” Darwin Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals p. 278

Wonder and Action

I don’t often get excited about the words of St Paul, but this phrase really captured my imagination. “God’s love was poured into our hearts.” (Romans 5; 5) The context of the words was the power of hope in the midst of disappointment.

On Sunday I gave a sermon on the connection between receptive emotions like love, joy and wonder, and action. I spoke about a jug; empty, open and ready to be filled. Once the jug has been filled, it’s only natural to share the love. If you have a heart full of love, then pour your love out like a jug of compassion.

The real pearl of wisdom though occurred after the service in a newcomer’s brunch. Several people shared similar stories. They had been laid off in the last month. Instead of becoming discouraged, they were seeing this as an opportunity. They were looking to shift their attention to work that captured more of their vision for the world.

The spiritual truth (and the wisdom of Romans 5) that perceived disappointments are so often new opportunities in disguise was manifesting in these courageous people. It tapped into what for me is part of the wonder of evolution. I don’t always know how or why life is unfolding the way it is, but I can take strength from the fact that it is unfolding. There is always more. Life is packed full of second chances.

At a time when so many of us are craving a new expression of hope, a new form of activism, my hope is that we pause to wonder at our hearts filled with love, and allow this love to cascade out of our hearts with compassion. The power of wonder-filled activism is that your heart always has more love to give.

May all be blessed with moments of love and wonder that take our breath away, and fill our hearts with compassion

Obama and Faith Based Initiatives

Today President Obama will sign an executive order creating a White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He will however slow down on his previous pledge to outlaw discriminatory employment practices by faith based groups taking government money. Instead he will order a legal review of employment practices.

This morning Obama spoke about his approach to faith based partnerships with government. This is President Obama's National Prayer Breakfast Speech

I have mixed reactions to the speech. He says some wonderfully inclusive things. He sets a clear agenda for unity in diversity. He speaks powerfully about his own faith experience as a call to compassion and social justice.

However, he still confused me with his reference to God's purpose. "It was on those streets, in those neighborhoods, that I first heard God’s spirit beckon me. It was there that I felt called to a higher purpose – His purpose." He had me at "higher" purpose, and left me wondering with "His" purpose. Obama has outlined the higher purpose as unity that transcends partisanship, religion and ideology. Thats a higher purpose I can get excited about. However "His" purpose seemed to lead me back to something too specific and ideological.

Am I being too literal, or did Obama blur the lines between church and state?

What do you think?
Is Obama saying much the same as President Bush said in his speeches on faith based partnerships with government?
Should he be acting more decisively on discriminatory employment practices?

First Prints on Snow

It doesn’t happen often. I was out early enough this morning to leave the first prints on a fresh blanket of snow. It felt exciting (almost naughty). It felt like I was part of something new and fresh, like first barefooted steps on freshly laid carpet.

Evolutionary theory is exciting, for both science and religion. For science, it explains the patterned emergence of species. It explains group behavior and motivation. For religion, it explains why people seek groups to share meaning and joy.

Evolution is also an empowering personal concept. For me, it is summarized by the phrase “there’s always more.” This phrase is loaded with optimism and forgiveness.

I tried to capture the sense of human wonder that science and religion share in my sermon last Sunday. It was an emotional experience, partly because I was over tired, but partly because the theme captures so much of what is essential to me.

As I come to understand more and more that the supernatural deity is a human invention that science can no longer sustain, I discover God as the new thing that is all around; everywhere, in all things. This experience that is beyond names invites my highest wonder and my deepest surrender.

It’s not just theoretical for me. I experience this mystery in my marriage and with my kids and whenever I observe life without prejudice. The phrase “theres always more” fills me with hope when the economy or my mood or whatever temporary circumstances bring despair close.

This quote from a 20th century mystic from Bulgaria named Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov, captures it all- “Whatever your trials, remind yourself that you are a spirit and are capable of changing your destiny.”

My emotions aren’t random. They have evolutionary relevance. There is always more. Wonder teaches me to adapt to an environment that is constantly changing, and invites me to change with it.