Where is God in Natural Disasters?

As yet another Earthquake rocks the world with hundreds dead and thousands injured in China, it’s natural to wonder. Where is God? Did God cause this tragedy, or allow it to happen in some sense? Is there any meaning to be found in tragedy? With Earth Day fast approaching, what do natural disasters teach us about nature?

Luke records the famous story of Jesus calming a storm. Maybe there is something in this story that could calm the storms of our minds in the midst of natural disasters. Of course it all depends on how you read the story. If you read it literally, you might imagine that Jesus (God!) had supernatural authority over nature. He could cause a storm, and he could end a storm. This literal reading presents a dilemma. If God can cause and prevent a storm, why would God choose to murder so many innocent people?

Some fundamentalist Christian leaders suggest that storms are sent by God to teach sinners a lesson in morality. Several religious groups claimed that Katrina was sent by God as a result of a gay pride event due to begin two days after the storm. Pat Robertson predicted on his “700 Club” show that disasters, including hurricanes, would descend on Orlando, Fla., because of gay pride events there. He was quoted as saying, “It’ll bring about terrorist bombs, it’ll bring earthquakes, tornadoes, and possibly a meteor.”

Janis Walworth pointed out in 1998 that the evidence doesn’t always support this interpretation. She conducted some studies to test the notion that God may employ natural disasters or even terrorists to destroy areas that would dare to offer gay people the same civil liberties as other citizens. In fact evidence suggested that states with higher gay populations are less likely to be hit by a tornado. She also illustrated that states with higher numbers of Protestants are more likely than states with higher numbers of Catholics to be hit by a tornado. Within the protestant denominations, Baptists seem to be most in danger. Janis then re- directed the question. She wondered if it could be that Baptists and other Protestants purposely flock to states that have lots of tornadoes. That then led to her as yet unpublished study on the correlation between IQ and religious affiliation.

Jokes aside, what sort of a God would kill people because of a sexual orientation they didn’t choose and don’t use to harm others? What sort of a God would play Russian Roulette with people’s lives and with the ecology just to prove a point?
Liberal religion has taken a different approach to miracle texts such as the calming of the storm. It reads the text as text, and not necessarily as history. For example, it might interpret storms as metaphoric, representing the miserable social status of a fisherman in that culture. A story about a leader calming a storm would represent the inspiration of Jesus to live boldly and unselfconsciously and do what you can to calm the storms of oppression.

Bishop Spong suggests that the stories of Jesus walking on water and calming the storm were ways of connecting early Christians with the belief that the presence of God or Ground of Being was somehow manifest in the person of Jesus. First century Christians would liturgically reenact and retell Hebrew stories such as Joshua crossing the Jordan, and in time these turned into miracle stories such as walking on water and calming storms.

How might a liberal reading of the Bible make meaning out of natural disaster? It would most likely reject the idea that God sent the storm. It might connect the social and political context of the disaster, looking at issues of race, poverty, ecology and government intervention as the lessons of the storm rather than suspecting that an external God was sending the storm for any particular reason.
So where is God in the storms of life? Listen to the first words of the Hebrew Bible-
“In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.”

What a powerful image. God is actively present, within and between, every aspect of nature, like wind over water. God is present with those who suffer. God is not only experienced in the picnics by waterfalls, God is manifest even in deadly storms. God is all and in all, not as cause but as presence.

God didn’t send the storm. God is the storm. God is present in the tension between natural evolution and human progress. God is the interconnectedness of all the causes and contexts of storms and ecology.

Or else maybe a natural disaster is an ecological act of self correction. Global warming, over population, the poor planning of a city and so many other factors conspire in an act of self correction. It’s a sad fact of our world that the wealthier and more powerful people live at higher elevations and so often avoid tragedies such as floods. Human consumption and abuse, mandated according to a literal reading of the Bible, may have forced nature to self correct.

The universe is living and expanding, and not as a closed system that was created once and then only altered when a supernatural and external deity invades it. The earth is naturally evolving; dying and being reborn constantly. As Meister Eckart said, “God is creating the entire universe fully and totally in this present now. Everything God creates, God creates now all at once.”

Mindless consumption makes no sense in a living universe.

This is an awesome piece by Michael lightweaver called “Tsunamis- A Channeling From Big Mama.”
“You know something, I'm fed up with you guys. You take everything SO PERSONALLY. It doesn't occur to most of you that I am ALIVE. Yes, I'm a living being just like you. I'm continually evolving, growing, changing, etc., and you are a part of my growth as you are a part of your own process. When I stretch, yawn, hiccup, or sneeze you think it's some kind of collective punishment for your “sins.” Did it ever occur to you that that is a bit arrogant? You worry about “Earth Changes” -- no such thing except for the fact that I am continually changing. It's not an event. It's an ongoing process that you don't understand because of your fruit fly mentality.

Last week some guy found fossilized footprints of a dinosaur which roamed the suburbs of Washington, DC. 100 million years ago. That was long before you were even a suggestive sparkle in the Creator’s eyes. Did you know that the total life span of a fruit fly is seven days? Seven days! OK, so let’s say this guy John-the-fruit-fly is born one Monday morning in late October. On Thursday, the first freeze of the season hits. John tragically freezes to death. Now one could take a fruit fly perspective and claim that this was some kind of punishment for John’s many fruit fly misdeeds or -taking a somewhat larger view of the matter - one could see that John had the unfortunate bad luck - or chose at some level - to be born four days before the first killing frost. Do you have any idea how old I AM? Your life span isn't much more than a fruit fly and your whole sojourn here as a species isn't much more than a blink of the eye to me.

When Mama moves, she shakes things up. It's just that you don't have an “eonic” sense of time, so you tend to take it personally. Get Over It! One hundred years from now, you and probably everyone you know will be dead.... and on to greater adventures. I will still be here, yawning, hiccupping & sneezing long after your species ceases to even be a memory around this place. Put your daily petty dramas into THAT perspective. Why does it ALWAYS HAVE TO BE ABOUT YOU? Did it ever occur to you how much of your energy and money is focused on killing other species on this planet - and I'm not just talking about bug spray and chicken farms. You are spending over $175 million dollars a day to destroy Iraq while 14,000 children starve to death every day. That means that more children have starved to death so far since 12/26/04 - just from neglect - than all of those who died in the big wave. And then you applaud yourself for sending two days worth of war costs for relief. NOW THAT IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD TAKE PERSONALLY! YES, I'M PISSED - BIG TIME. But God and I haven't conspired to punish you. You seem to do a fairly good job of that yourself. I'm just fed up with taking the blame - along with GOD - for just being who I am and doing what I have been doing for the last several millions of years; long before you came on to the scene. And though I may not sound very compassionate at the moment, I do feel the pain of EVERY ONE OF MY CREATURES who suffers. Did you know that I sent a warning to let everyone know that I was about to sneeze? Did you see the news? The only ones who heard me were the wild animals in India and some “primitive” tribal people on a remote island. They all went to higher ground just before the wave hit and none of them died. Why didn't the rest of you hear me??? So, I let you know I'm about to sneeze, you don't hear me because you aren't listening, and it wreaks havoc. And then you have the audacity to blame GOD! Give me a break. Maybe you should just start listening..... Or even better, maybe you should ask yourself what you are doing that is so important that you aren't listening....”

My opinion is that there is no divinely ordained purpose to a disaster that kills so many people. It is just part of an ever-changing universe. However, it’s also my sense that there are some important lessons we can choose to take out of storms. The main one is to stay alert; pay attention.

That is the half truth of all religions, to watch for the signs or cycles of life. The falsity of all religions is their attempt to paint a single portrait of life’s meaning which is divinely ordained and immutable. The common thread of all religions is compassion. Compassion grows out of our understanding that we are not separate from those who suffer and we are not separate from nature.

You experience God in the storms of life when you realize the interrelated causes and consequences of natural disasters, when you feel the pain of victims as if they are your own family, and when you step out in compassion to help those who suffer.

Seed of Wisdom

The universe is on its own journey of growth and change. The question for humans is whether we will collaborate in this change or whether we will be forced to adapt in response to overwhelming crisis. May we have the foresight to choose the path of collaboration. Take responsibility for your part in the future of the earth. Live mindfully today.

Say to yourself: My choices to live mindfully make a huge difference to the whole planet.

Long Flowing Hypocrisy: The Church and Discrimination

Prominent atheists, Dawkins and Kitchens, have called for the arrest of the Pope for crimes against humanity. I have some sympathy for their perspective, although I wouldn’t limit this to the Pope. Having had my own experience of the brick wall bureaucracy that is the Anglican Church, I would extend their call to sexual criminals in all churches. Several years ago I advocated for a young guy who had suffered horrendous abuse at the hands of an Anglican priest. He asked me to accompany him through the settlement negotiations with the Anglican Church. It was an unsatisfactory experience for this young guy and I could understand his frustration.

I tracked the particular priest as he was moved around the world to different posts, including a College Campus. There was no accountability from the priest and no protection for innocent victims. It was exactly the same situation that the Catholic Church is now facing up to.

I pondered all of this in the light of Jesus' parable of the widow and her offering at the temple. Tens of thousands of visitors would have travelled past the temple's golden trumpets which doubled as money scoops during Passover. The story tells us that Jesus sat on the roadside and singled out one widow among the crowds who gave what for her would have been a generous donation. He notes her gift. More to the point he seems to be contrasting the poverty of the widow and the extravagance of the religious leaders (scribes) with their ornate long robes as they paraded through the streets.

I think I could safely say that at least ten times I have heard a sermon on this text and ten times I have been told to be just like the widow; give everything and do it with a generous heart. Submit to the church and give generously. The widow has become the pinup girl for unquestioned generosity.

Actually, I suspect the point of the story was the exact reverse. Don’t be like the widow. Question how the scribes could afford the best seats in the synagogues and invites to the most prestigious parties in town. They were dining on the meager rations of the widow and others like her. This was extortion. They had done nothing to support or care for the widow. In fact they had abandoned widows and others in their suffering. They lived the good life while widows were lost in the religious shuffle.

I’m here to break the pattern of decades of sermons and declare, DON'T BE LIKE THE WIDOW! Don't enable a system that ignores justice and keeps people trapped in a cycle of abuse.

The story of the widow is a savage critique of the first century temple system, which masqueraded as a spiritual home, yet fronted a system that cashed in on the co-dependence of those who had no power or education to challenge it. The temple was a religious system of domination and control. It trapped people in a system where they were classed as insider or outsider, included or excluded. Widows in this scheme were less than human partly because they were women, and even worse because they were women without men. The temple was a place of exclusion and domination.

Don't be like the widow. Fight for the widow. Stand against the systems which made her a poor and second class citizen in the first place; don't perpetuate them. Don't be like the widow! Liberate the widow. Don't enable an unjust system. Demand accountability from the people and institutions that should include and care for those who are suffering above all other institutions. Demand that sexual criminals are brought to justice. Demand that churches stop discriminating against people because of the gender, sexuality or free thoughts.

The response of church officials to sexual abuse brings to mind the hypocrisy of the scribes of Jesus day. The long flowing robes may boast extravagant colors and frills, but they also lack transparency and authenticity. Jesus said to the scribes (my translation) “get your hypocritical heads out of your long flowing pretentious robes and give power to those who suffer.” The church should take the teachings of Jesus seriously and get real about abuse. The church should treat all people with the utmost dignity and respect. The Vatican should stop hiding behind giant walls of bureaucracy and live by the law of the land. All churches should stop hiding behind the very same anti discrimination laws that it then ignores to discriminate against women and gay people.

The teaching and practices of churches should be brought out from behind their long flowing robes and brick wall bureaucracy and examined in the light of science, law and human decency. “The Bible says so” is not an adequate reason to justify injustice and discrimination. In fact a reading of the Bible in the context of Jesus’ priority for the poor demands justice and equality.

Easter - Supersizing Your Optimism

Jesus was at the Last Supper with his disciples. He looked around the table. In one direction he saw Judas Iscariot, and recognized betrayal in his eyes. He then looked the other way and saw Peter sitting near the door, as if he was ready to escape. Then he noticed Thomas across from him, looking doubtful and unsure. Jesus looked up and down the table, then called the waiter over. He whispered in the waiter’s ear, “We’re going to need separate checks please.”

Very wise move! Did you ever wonder why they were all crowded on one side of the table at the Last Supper? Surely it wasn’t to make it easier for Leonard Da Vinci to paint the scene! It reminds me of a 70s sitcom with the perfect family sitting on one side of their perfect dinner table, speaking nicely to each other. In our family, we try to spread right around the table to avoid conflict.

A meal that involved Jesus would have been like a real family dinner table; noisy, messy and open to every teen friend in search of a meal. There would have been a LOT of people present, certainly a lot more than 12. The closest disciples would have been reclining around the table, meaning that they would have been sitting on benches with their feet on the outside of the table. It would have been busy. People would have come in and out from the streets to sit at the feet of the disciples and listen to the conversation. It would have been busy and public. Meals were the symbol of inclusion for Jesus and what became known as the Last Supper would have been no different. It’s likely that many social and religious rules of the day would have been broken; maybe there were women at the table. Maybe they didn’t wash their hands before eating. A big and open table was always more important to Jesus than religious purity. Part of Jesus’ unique style was not only mingling with women, but acting like one as well. For example one of the most radical features of the Last Supper was that Jesus broke the bread himself, and served it to his friends. The disciples were peasants and would never have been served by slaves, but would usually be served by women. Jesus challenging them to love in a new way; a love that transcended gender as well as social and religious etiquette. The Easter value is that it’s more important to treat people than to be right. Easter is not about beliefs, or religious ritual. It’s about compassion and inclusion.

Double Dipping with Jesus

The image that we tend to have of the Last Supper is distorted by the overly familiar scene. For example- What fruit is depicted in Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper, even though it was not seen in the Mediterranean until well after Jesus’ death? The orange.

Art historians have now revealed that Leonardo probably depicted Jesus and his disciples eating eel with orange slices, very trendy for the time that Da Vinci was alive. Eel was the Edamame of the 1400s. In the first century, it would have been more likely that they would have been eating unleavened bread and lamb, probably with dipping bowls full of bitter herbs, chopped fruit, nuts and wine. There were definitely no oranges. They used dipping bowls to share food. There is no greater intimacy than double dipping with a friend. Double dipping with Jesus would be quite a thrill. Again, we see the spirit of Jesus. He was prepared to double dip even with his enemies and betrayers. Surely that’s part of the spirit of Easter- to stretch beyond your comfort zone and share some level of intimacy with friends and enemies alike.

It was revealed in the news this week that depictions of the Last Supper have changed over the centuries. Apparently the portion size has increased 70% in the 1000 years from 1000AD to 2000AD. The Last Supper has been supersized. Again, this probably reflects the eras in which various artists created their depictions. The Mediterranean world of the first century would have included small meals, with plenty of protein and the people would have been a lot slimmer than the Germanic people portrayed in 14th century art.

What do you think of cultural reinterpretations of Jesus? I have no problem with depictions of Jesus that are culturally relevant. At home I have a series of Jesus action figures. Next to my pope soap on a rope, I have bobble head Jesus with eyes that follow you around the room and Jesus mounted on wheels so he can walk without moving his feet under his toga. My favorites are the Big Lebowski Jesus figure and baseball Jesus. It’s all in good fun. It seems normal and healthy to portray Jesus in ways that make sense in a particular context. The issue I have is when Jesus is used to promote values that seem contrary to his life.

The release of the report about supersizing the Last Supper coincided with Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution premiere on American television. He transformed school lunches in the UK, and now he has turned his attention to the US. Obesity and mindless eating are a huge problem in America. The statistic that has shocked me most is that due to obesity, the current generation of kids could be the first generation in over 200 years that doesn’t live as long as their parents. There is a culture of poor nutrition taking hold in America.

Jamie Oliver went into classrooms where the kids couldn’t name any of the vegetables, even a tomato.

Now doesn’t it seem ironic to you that Easter has become a time to gorge on copious quantities of low grade chocolate? Doesn’t it seem like a bad dieting strategy to fast during Lent, then binge on chocolate at Easter? Surely the values associated with Easter should include wellness and mindfulness.

Food and eating are a great way to honor the spirit of Jesus’ values. Jesus didn’t say, “Super size your meals in remembrance of me.” He said eat moderately and super size your mindfulness. One of the best ways you can live Easter values is to join the food revolution. Eat mindfully and help children to eat mindfully. What you choose to eat affects you, your families, the economy, the environment and all living things on the planet.

The way you can eat in memory of Jesus is to open yourself to the whole experience of food as a microcosm of life. Remember the prayer of Buddhist Monk Thick Nhat Hahn- This plate now empty will soon be filled with precious food. In this food I see the presence of the entire universe supporting my existence. Many beings are struggling for food today. May all have enough to eat. I would add- Many beings are eating mindlessly. May all eat mindfully.

Listen to the sizzle in the pan, the bubbling in the pot. Smell the aromas in the air, the scent on the hands. Look at the beauty of all that earth has provided. Gaze at the food on your plate and trace its evolution from seed to table. Hold warm bread in your hands and feel it warm your body. Allow food to come into contact with every tastebud. Close your eyes, shut your ears, and let the food in your mouth become a part of your being.

Supersize Your Character

So there is a distinction between the details of the historic events and the values that Jesus lived and died for. The details of the history are questionable at best. The evidence for a physical resurrection is slim. So it begs the question- Why should we celebrate Easter at all? It’s an ancient tradition borrowed from pagan sources. Most of it didn’t happen the way the story suggests, and the mainstream Easter message is that Jesus died for your sins and rose for your salvation. If I tell you that you don’t need to be saved from anything, and the death of Jesus had nothing to do with sin and redemption, is there any point in celebrating Easter?

If Easter reminds you to join the evolution revolution, then it’s worth celebrating Easter. If Easter reminds you that nature’s patterns are wise and you should respect the earth, then Easter is worth celebrating. If Easter reminds you that there is always the possibility of starting over and making amends, and that new possibilities so often emerge out of death and loss, then Easter is worth celebrating. If Easter reminds you that you don’t need a physical resurrection because you have an awareness of resurrection within and around you, at your finger tips at any time, then it’s well worth celebrating Easter.

Just in case you think the demands of an Easter revolution are impossible, remember that you only have to do the best you can. The last thing we want to do is replace the impossible standards of a wrathful God with a new impossible standard. You don’t have to be perfect, just be mindful. I remember once seeing a group of monks, in their saffron robes, eating at McDonald’s. Even monks eat Big Macs from time to time. So don’t set impossible standards for yourself. Make small changes in your life and your family’s life and join the revolution.

Have you seen the world’s largest cross? It’s not far from here, in Indian River. I went there a few years ago. It’s a super-sized cross. In Australia, we proudly show off the world’s largest pineapple. In NZ, I visited the world’s largest can of pop. In Ohio, I visited the world’s largest basket. Kitsch is one thing. But the world’s largest cross? It’s an eerie thing to ogle at the world’s largest cross, a bit like visiting the world’s worst massacre or staring at the world’s most horrendous accident.

We don’t need supersized crosses. We need supersized vision; a vision for a world united by love, and an understanding that the common humanity that unites us is so much more significant than the differences that divide us.

The Easter message is to supersize your character and not your possessions. Supersize your compassion, not your religious purity. Supersize what comes out of your mouth, rather than what goes into your mouth. Supersize your inner strength rather than your outer physique. Supersize your optimism and love for all people, rather than bitterness and negativity. Supersize your inner world and then you will always have enough and you will see resurrection everywhere.
Easter light in me honors supersized optimism in you. Happy Easter and Namaste.

For Further Reflection-
How important are the historical details of the Easter story?
Is resurrection a meaningful metaphor, even without a literal, physical resurrection of Jesus?
What do you see as the values of Jesus’ life?

What does Easter mean to you?


Change and Letting Go

I feel drawn to revisiting some of the more obscure Bible sayings. The phrase on my mind today is “Let the dead bury their own dead.” As someone who has taken the role of burial rites very seriously, I’m troubled by this verse. Even when I have been the only person present at a burial (one of the most heart breaking experiences of my life), or once when I was the only person present with a single woman, burying her sister and last remaining relative, these are tender moments of healing and reflection.

At first reading the dismissive saying “Let the dead bury their own dead” seems callous, insensitive, and lacking in compassion. It was even part of family responsibility in Hebrew culture to ensure that loved ones had appropriate burials. Scholars have tried to explain it in various ways.

In Hebrew and Aramaic language, written without vowels, it looks like this “Lt th dd bry thr wn dd”
Having some fun with the dd, which is an ambiguous Aramaic word, you come up with a number of possibilities. It could be dead, deed, dad, dude, dodo, dud or doodah. So it might actually be any of the following-
“Let the dude bury the deed” or “Let the dad bury the dodo ,” or
“Let the dud bury the dude,” or “Let the dad bury the dead,” or
“Let the dude bury the doodad.”

Serious scholars have variously translated it as let the dying bury the dead, let the grave diggers bury the dead, or let the next of kin bury the dead.

I prefer to interpret it metaphorically as an urgent call to keep evolving. Expect death in so many ways- death to previous beliefs, death to previous stages of life and development, death to relationships, death to dreams, death to worldviews. Expect and greet death when it come as a challenging invitation to enter into a new and emerging consciousness.

Hegel was a German philosopher who explained change in terms of thesis, antithesis and synthesis. Hegel argued that the world was in a constant process of transformation from lower to higher orders of existence. Each new order, he said, emerged as an idea, or "thesis" and each thesis carried within itself the seeds of its own destruction or "antithesis." This might also be called its shadow. But out of the inevitable clash between thesis and antithesis, a new and more perfect order was destined to emerge- the synthesis. In its turn, then, this synthesis would now function as a new thesis, sparking another antithesis until finally history fought its way forward to the ultimate synthesis - the total realization of the world spirit. This was Hegel’s dialectic. As an aside, can you imagine Hegel breaking up with his girlfriend? “It’s not you; it’s the realization of world spirit dude!”

For Marx it was the economic movement from feudalism to an industrialized bourgeoisie as its antithesis, which led to capitalism as the synthesis. He then predicted that a class conscious and oppressed working class would rise up to create socialism as a new synthesis. This, for Marx, would be the total realization of world spirit. Imagine trying to split the bill with Karl on a date!

Teilhard de Chardin approached the issue of spiritual evolution from the same perspective. For him, evolution evolves through complexity and chaos, drawn towards the great Omega point or divine consciousness. I’ve experienced a few Omega points in my time, but they were usually followed by sleep and not divine consciousness.

For this dude, the process doesn’t need to have an end point. The process continues indefinitely. There is no end. There are just countless new beginnings.

You could say that Christianity arose out of the dialectic doodah between Greek and Hebrew thought. Christianity keeps evolving from thesis to synthesis and we shouldn’t be surprised that change is hard. The antitheses (such as transcending a personal God or disputing the inerrancy of the Bible) don’t proceed without great heartache.

The key point is that the synthesis will both preserve and also negate some aspects of the thesis. Hegel said that "to supersede (or you might also say transform) is at once to preserve and negate."

As we deal with inevitable change in our lives, in our families, in our churches, in our worldviews, in our religions, transformation will come as we both preserve and negate what has come before and even that which has created us. So, we don’t need to lose our loyalty to our family or to our religion or our country. What we lose is the sense that our whole identity grows out of our loyalty to family, religion or country. What we give up, or have die within us, is an exclusive attachment to family, religion, country or even self.

Let exclusive attachments to old worldviews die. Let exclusive attachments to tribalism die. Let exclusive attachments to nationalism die. All those things which by their nature exclude must be negated to evolve in consciousness or to mature. The energy of each stage remains. Love flows as a constant energy throughout.
This is always a balancing act. It is not an easy process; in fact, deaths are by definition full of grief.

Huston Smith put it this way: “Many things in traditional worldviews deserve to be retired, for example, their views of the physical universe, which has been permanently superseded by science, and their social platforms of slavery, caste, gender relationships, and so on. In those cases, let the dead bury their dead.”

Change is inevitable. The cycles of life are in constant ebb and flow. The arrival of change, even in the toughest of life situations is a reminder to let go, even just a little. Let the past remain buried, with lessons learned and integrated, with memories in place. Let the past be buried. We change what we can in the present. We accept without judgment that which we cannot change right now. We seek the wisdom to always know the difference.

"If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you aren't afraid of dying, there is nothing you can't achieve." (Tao Te Ching)

You don’t need to go looking for death. It will find you. You don’t need to glibly enjoy death, licking your lips for the emerging transformation. Let it be a burial, and allow yourself a period of mourning. Just don’t resist it when it comes.

In the words of Kafka, “You do not need to leave the room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.” (Kafka: The Great Wall of China: Stories and Reflections)

Seed of Inquiry
You are safe to question old beliefs and stop believing them if they no longer make sense to you. You are free to rid yourself of assumptions and prejudices that are stale reminders of another time.
You are free to grow and change and make mistakes. Learn and heal and do it in your own time.

Say to yourself: I am courageous and free. I am on a journey of open inquiry.

Bible Buffet

At 9am each Sunday, I run a class that has affectionately become known as “Bible Buffet”. We dine on the wisdom of Midrash; our shared attempt to make Bible texts relevant in our universal setting. We have a lot of fun. It’s very liberating to have freedom to be creative with texts that have so often been used to suppress free thought. We had a nice moment last Sunday. I opened one of the Bibles we store in the room and a note fell out. It was written by a one time visitor to C3, expressing his anxiety for our souls and quoting many verses to support his judgment. The note was written in 2008. One of our class wags said, “Only at C3 would it take two years to even find the note.”

In any case we have dusted off our Bibles and set about reading texts intelligently and not literally. Amazing insights keep emerging.

Take for example our conversation last week about Jesus and patriarchy. We looked at Matthew 10 with its comments about how dangerous it is to be a disciple. We agreed that disciple is a quaint way to describe following a path with heart, and being true to your own inner calling. Then we asked the question, “Why would Jesus say that disciples will be hated by EVERYBODY?” Why is authenticity so unpopular? Jesus main charge to his disciples was to heal, and maybe the most radical aspect of healing is liberating someone to be true to their own essence. Why would this be unpopular? Maybe because it messed with the established social order. In Jesus’ presence, women were affirmed and given rights, lepers were touched and given value. All people were given freedom to transcend their social standing.

Jesus’ main interest was to create communities of free thought and self responsibility. This was particularly radical in a world where the oldest male in each household had rights over those who lived with him. He had authority even over adults in the household. Adults could be sold into slavery, sick babies could be abandoned and women were the legal property of the patriarch. His authority also came with the burden that whatever household members did in public, reflected on him. So any crime or social faux pas by a householder created shame for the man of the house.

When Jesus said “Do not call anyone “Father” but your “Father” in heaven” he was committing the ultimate social and religious faux pas. This may be one of the most radical statements he ever uttered. Here is one possible interpretation of the statement- do not give your loyalty to the patriarch. Retain your self autonomy, and give your ultimate loyalty to your own inner conscience, the God within.

In the first century, the household was the place where religious ideology was upheld. The father was the keeper of tradition. Jesus’ call not to bow to the father of the house shattered the patriarchy that both family and religion served to protect. He came with a sword that sliced to the heart of oppression and exposed it for what it was. Instead he called for a new world order of free thought, self determination, broad compassion and generosity.

Jesus suggested that following your heart will inevitably cost you- sisters and brothers, land and house, mothers and fathers. But authenticity will bring you so much more in return (100 fold)- brothers, sisters and land. Interestingly the list of what they will receive in return excludes fathers. Maybe this also sheds light on why Jesus’ father Joseph plays such a minor role in the story. The new vision tears down hierarchical relationships. To never call anyone "father" is to refuse to recognize patriarchy. When you follow your inner voice, there is no limit to the abundance you will enjoy. You will be liberated from self limiting and oppressive baggage. You will be free to be who you truly are, and not what society expects you to be.

Now, I would go a step further than the recorded Jesus saying. I wouldn’t call my inner conscience “father” either. That limits the inner calling way too much, especially for women.

Mary Daly was a radical feminist theologian who died early this year. She said this-

I have already suggested that if God is male, then the male is God. The divine patriarch castrates women as long as he is allowed to live on in the human imagination. (Beyond God the Father, 19)

Patriarchy oppresses both men and women. It is a destructive ideology as it squashes self expression in all people. The new consciousness that I hear in the teaching of Jesus encourages self expression, even if this means disappointing the expectations of others. Call it whatever you want- authenticity, God within, divine calling. Choose something that empowers you and doesn’t limit you. This quality transcends and includes gender.

The liberating truth is that men and women contain both "masculine" and "feminine" traits. So be yourself. Be a brilliant, creative woman or a nurturing, receptive man, or any combination that fits for you. There are no rules. I don’t believe that the intention of Jesus was to make more Christians, but to make more authentic people. Whether you are Christian, Muslim, spiritual but not religious, or no declared faith, this is an empowering message.


Seed of Diversity
Gender matters. We are equal; but we aren’t the same. Men and women are different and each person has a unique blend of feminine and masculine traits. Understand the differences. Avoid judgments. Make difference a strength. Decide which aspects of gender you want to transcend and which aspects you affirm as part of who you are for now.

Say to yourself: I celebrate gender difference, and my unique blend of masculine and feminine.

Is C3 a Christian Organization?

Since landing on these hallowed shores, I have been introduced to the phrase "dancing on the third wire." I guess it has something to do with playing with fire, flirting with danger. I don’t always realize that’s what I’m doing. Maybe that’s for the best, a little like not looking down when you're on a high wire.

Sometimes I am well aware that I am on the third wire, and there’s no safety net and I’m not wearing rubber boots. The talk I gave on Christianity and the Cross after Clergy Abuse, was one such occasion. I had more than a few nerves.

So here is the question- Can we save Christianity from churchianity, or do we even need to try? As an individual, it’s not a conundrum for me. Christianity can live or die and my spirit will carry on either way. Christianity is a resource that I use to nourish my spirit and not a club I need to belong to. I imagine many individuals feel the same way.

However, as a community that grows out of Christianity this is a more discerning, delicate process. What is our relationship to Christianity? Are we a Christian organization, or a spiritual community with people of many faiths (including Christianity) and no faith? What are the stories and symbols that unite our community? How much energy should we put into reforming Christianity?

In some ways, the dilemma is like whether to fix a type writer or buy a computer. The typewriter has a purpose. It has historic value. It should be held in a museum and honored. However if you want to be efficient in the modern world, buy a computer. Life is lived in the present. Spiritual growth occurs in the here and now. Communities don’t evolve in museums. They evolve in the every day realities of life.

This is an important conversation for our community. The clarity of identity we will gain will be exciting. It’s also an essential conversation for the western world where a default version of Christianity predominates. Will people simply slip off the edge of the tradition as it becomes irrelevant, or look to a new form of the faith to emerge?

Thank you for joining me as the people, and community, who are prepared to dance on the third wire to ask the hard questions.

Now dive in and take part in an online forum for anyone to express any opinions at all.

NOTE: You must register to participate in the forum. Please click "Register" on the top left of the forum page (Next to "Hello There, Guest!").

Don’t be shy. As Philippe Petit, the eccentric high wire artist who walked between the Twin Towers in 1975, said “To me, it's really so simple, that life should be lived on the edge. You have to exercise rebellion. To refuse to tape yourself to the rules, to refuse your own success, to refuse to repeat yourself, to see every day, every year, every idea as a true challenge. Then you will live your life on the tightrope.”

The Cross and Your True Colors

It’s a little eerie to hear my son read a harsh Bible passage (Matthew 10; 33) about sons being divided against their fathers. It makes me wonder if I should have come better prepared, maybe with protective armor. Now that I look eye to eye with my son, I can’t take any chances. You know the saying, “never raise a hand to your children. It leaves your groin exposed.”

In all seriousness, it was a proud moment among many proud moments to see my oldest son reading this morning. It made me think about what I most want for him. Do I want him to call himself a Christian? That’s not at all important to me. I want him to think for himself, to live with integrity, to be all that he can be and to care deeply about people. If Christian stories and symbols help him to live more fully, then I want him to have Christianity as a resource. But being a Christian is not an end in itself. It is a means to another end; that is peaceful awakening.

What do you most want for your kids? What are your religious or spiritual hopes for your kids? Maybe more to the point, what’s your relationship to Christian stories and symbols?

The Cross and Clergy Abuse

I have to say that when I read articles like the piece in this week’s Time magazine about a new wave of clergy pedophilia that has swept Europe, I don’t know that I want to be associated with Christianity. As is the case in all churches and in all countries, the tragedy is made worse by the silent disregard of victims and the cover up. The church simply moves its known pedophiles to a new parish and hopes for the best. To the extent that the church and the cross are symbols of power without accountability, I want nothing to do with them. To the extent that the cross is understood as God the Father sending his son to be sacrificed on the cross for the sins of the world, then I want nothing to do with this cosmic child abuse.

The issue of your relationship to Christian stories and symbols is not just a matter of personal preference. It’s a matter of justice. This community must be a place of healing for people who have suffered at the hands of Christianity. And we must see this as a matter of justice. No less.

Some years ago I was at a conference looking at the question of pastoring victims of abuse. It was a moving conference and the most significant moment for me was when a woman shared some of her awful memories of being raped by her uncle over the course of 5 years, beginning when she was 13. He was an elder in his church. The room in his house where he abused the young girl had a picture of Jesus on the cross. Next to it was another picture of Jesus sitting with children on his knee. The caption read, “Jesus blesses little children.”

The woman said at the conference, “I can’t enter a church, or even see a cross without dying inside all over again.”

This may be the most passionate plea you ever hear me make. The holocaust irrevocably changed Christianity. Christianity can no longer speak of a loving, interventionist God who has a special relationship with one group of people over another with any integrity. To do so would be to rub salt into the wounds of an injustice so deep that my mind can’t even comprehend the pain.

Clergy sexual abuse and pedophilia are in the same category. They have irrevocably changed Christianity. We cannot blindly continue as if the many abuses at the hands of this religion have not taken place. If there is even a hint of a connection between celibacy and pedophilia, and there is, then rules on celibacy should be changed immediately. If there is even one person who was abused in the shadow of a cross and its power hungry defenders, then crosses should be removed. To ignore the pain of the victims of abuse at the hands of the church, sexual and otherwise, and to rub salt into the wounds of their injustice is unthinkable.

A 13 year old girl’s uncle has made it impossible to speak of the death of Jesus and the love of God in the same breath. It is unthinkable to speak of God having a plan for anyone to endure innocent suffering. The God who needs blood to be shed to appease his anger and in order to offer forgiveness is a God who must be abandoned along with celibacy. However we attempt to save the cross from its own history, it cannot be a symbol of innocent suffering. This is a matter of justice.

What do you think? Can the cross be saved?

Putting a New Spin on an Old Theme

Many have attempted to put a different spin on the cross. Just yesterday there was a report in the Grand Rapids Press of a local artist who portrayed Jesus’ crucifixion from the perspective of Jesus’ hands. A Cathedral in France attempted to bring the crucifixion into a modern context and portrayed Jesus slumped unconscious in an electric chair. The sculpture is called Pieta, bringing to mind Michelangelo’s famous masterpiece.

It makes me think of the Lenny Bruce saying, “If Jesus had been killed twenty years ago, Catholic school children would be wearing little electric chairs around their necks instead of crosses.”


Before dismissing this as the ranting of a comedian looking for a laugh, consider the sharp edge to the comment. Modern attempts to reinterpret Jesus’ death simple place the same conundrum into a modern image. Whether it’s a cross or an electric chair, what was achieved in Jesus’ death and what do we gain by keeping the symbol alive?

Then there is the awful news coming out of China that many American crucifixes are made in Chinese sweat shops under appalling, unjust conditions. Crosses used in American churches may have been made by under age, female employees working from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. seven days a week and being paid 26 cents an hour with no sick days or vacation. Now there is the ultimate irony.

Relating this to the Jesus story, the cross was not a symbol of what he stood for. It was the consequence of what he stood for. The cross is not the symbol of Jesus’ cause. It’s the symbol of his detractors. It makes no more sense to keep the symbol of the cross alive as a memorial to Jesus life than it does to hang a bullet as a symbol of Martin Luther King’s life. Many warriors for justice have met premature endings at the hands of their detractors. It’s a well known but carefully avoided fact that standing up for your passion leads to great costs. But this doesn’t mean that we should glorify the cost. We should honor the courage and conviction, and not glorify the actions of their detractors.

jailLegend has it that Henry David Thoreau, the author of “Walden Pond”, sat in jail, imprisoned for protesting against an income tax, newly-enacted to finance a war. His friend Ralph Waldo Emerson came to visit him. Looking through the bars into Thoreau’s cell, Emerson asked, “What are you doing in there, Henry?” Thoreau replied, “The better question is what are you doing out there?” Take it from Rosa Parks and Jack Kevorkian and many others who have paid the price for their convictions.

If you follow your passion and fight for what you believe, there will be blood. But is it really the blood we want to focus on to motivate our most passionate and intelligent activism?

Jesus and Justice

Which Jesus do you honor? There are many to choose from. Towering about the city of Rio is one of the world’s largest Jesus statues, the 30 meter tall figure of Jesus the Redeemer. Rio is home to over 10 million people, a place of extremes where wealth and poverty reside awkwardly alongside each other. Jesus stands with his arms outstretched, as if welcoming the people of the city. Unfortunately, he stands facing the wealthy part of the city with his back to the poor neighborhoods. Isn’t that the wrong way around? Didn’t Jesus live for those who had the greatest need for liberation? Isn’t part of the problem for Christianity that Jesus has been hijacked by wealthy and powerful people who use him to justify their self serving agendas?

Some of you might remember that in 2002 Greenpeace hung a banner over the Statue of Jesus the Redeemer. The banner was hung to protest the blocking of Brazil’s sustainable energy program by large and powerful oil exporters and consumers. We inherit a Christian tradition where Jesus lived for the powerless, and yet our tradition has been hijacked to justify the actions of the powerful. Unfortunately, the cross has come to symbolize protection of the powerful rather than service of the powerless.

Some say that the empty cross is a symbol of hope in the midst of despair. I don’t see it that way. The cross was among the most painful and humiliating forms of execution. The concept was to hang a person in public view and allow vultures to eat the body. The empty cross for me is simply a sign of a successful execution. It neither comforts nor inspires me. What does inspire me? Oscar Romero was an activist and Roman Catholic Archbishop in El Salvador. His life was in constant peril because of his vocal opposition to injustice. He said often in his life, “If they kill me, I will rise again in the Salvadoran people.”

Thirty years ago on the day before Good Friday, Oscar Romero was murdered in his homeland. Jon Sobrino and many others ensured that his prophecy rang true as they continued his work in El Salvador. Not surprisingly the Catholic Church has attempted to censure Sobrino for his teachings on Jesus as a social radical.

I could outline a more positive interpretation of the cross as a symbol of passionate activism. However it seems far better to live by the words of Romero and allow the activism of Jesus to rise again in our own best efforts to live for justice.

The Cross and Manipulation

In the year 312 CE as he prepared for battle, the Emperor Constantine looked up to the sky and saw a vision of a cross of light in the sky, a vision which he interpreted as a divine sign. Up until that point a skeptic, Constantine began stating that he had the Christian God on his side. He emblazoned the Christian symbol on his soldier’s shields and led them to victory. Christianity soon became the state religion and the cross became institutionalized as a symbol for victorious crusades. Up until the time of Constantine, Christians had deemphasized the use of the cross because it was a pagan nature symbol.

When modern day leaders invoke the name crusade to describe their God ordained wars, they are laboring under the same false illusion that Constantine had used to justify his wars. There may be justification for some war. But make no mistake. This justification is never because God is on your side. This too is a matter of justice.

feetSo let me end with a comment about right wing commentator Glenn Beck. He recently encouraged people to leave their church if there is any reference to justice on the website. He suggested that this showed the true colors of the church, in this case pink. Glenn Beck had it bass ackwards. The ONLY way a church can follow in the footsteps of Jesus is to strive for justice.

Jesus felt so strongly about the priority of justice that he put activism before family loyalty, and even before religious practice. The activism that Jesus encouraged had nothing to do with communism, and everything to do with compassion. He came with a sword to cut through the corrupt power structures and self serving ideologies of his day, even if it was unpopular.

What does the cross inspire in you? The only cross I am interested in is crossing the lines that divide people with arbitrary markers of religious difference. I am interested in crossing aisles to work together and crossing the street to greet diversity and crossing the powers that be when they set up systems to serve the powerful and marginalize the powerless. I want to cross off religious wars from the list of world problems, and I get cross when religions claim exclusive truth.

So there you have it. I have revealed my true colors. That is why you don’t see crosses in this space. That is why we need to talk about the large cross hanging outside our building. What can we do to turn a symbol that has come to be associated with power abuse and injustice into a symbol of unity and healing?

The artist Marc Chagall painted Yellow Crucifixion in 1943. In it, the crucified Jesus was wearing Jewish prayer garments and holding a torah scroll. The cross was surrounded by horrific images of the holocaust. It’s a stark and controversial image. If the cross has any future as a symbol, it must transcend its exclusive Christian meaning and speak instead to the suffering of all people, especially suffering brought about my religious leaders.

What are your true colors? Are you prepared to show them? How does Christianity empower you to reach out beyond your own comfort zone to heal a hurting world? Do you think the cross can be saved from itself, or is it time to abandon this symbol and move on to more life affirming, inspiring symbols?

For Further Reflection-
Why do you think sexual abuse is such a problem for church leaders?
Do you see a connection between celibacy and clergy abuse?
Do you think the cross can be saved as a symbol?

How would you describe your relationship to the Christian tradition?