Monday, March 31, 2008

Another Obama video from will.i.am



This is the note from will.i.am that accompanies the video at Youtube:

people say Obama's words are just words...
but...
when was the last time "words" weren't important...???...

when was the last time a great leader didn't use words to lead...??...
when was the last time a person didn't use words to describe how they felt...?...
when was the last time "words" weren't empowering...?...

and we can all recall the last time "words" were used to divide us and install fear...

Bush used words to fear us into voting for him the second time around...
terror this...
terror that...
nuclear here...
weapons of mass destruction there...

and those words effected a lot of people's choices...

"enough is enough"...
let's rebuild...

let's change ourselves...
let's allow positivity to guide us...

let's take action....
let's activate our passion...
we are Americans....

and this is the first time in forever that someone running for president represents "US"...

some say this is all excitement...
I call it "proud to be an American"...

some say this whole Obama movement is "cult like"...
well...
if it comes across cult like...
then...
the cult is called America...

the Obama movement is connecting America.
and it has made "US" realize our importance...
the youth is excited and activated...
adults are passionate and motivated...
the elderly are proud to know the country they built is in safe hands...

we are one...

for too long politics has been corrupt...
separate from the American people...
with agendas that go against what the American people "need"...
education...
health...
safety...
jobs
etc...

politicians have spoken a different language...
making it so the youth and poor people feel as if voting was only for the wealthy and old people...
making "US" feel as if "we" had no voice...
making "US" feel powerless...
making it feel like if "we" did vote it wouldn't change anything...

but wait...
that did happen...
some of us voted, and it didn't change anything...

we were in the dark...
we had no voice...
we were powerless...

because America was not a united America...
and "they" spoke a different language...
and they had an agenda different from our well being...

correct me if I'm wrong... or speak up if I'm missing something...

we want education, health, safety, and good jobs...right???...
oh yeah...
and "a healthy planet to live on"...

but here we are...

in a war... poor education... poor health programs... the dollar is down... the planet, polluted...
the rich, richer... and the poor, struggling...
with sky high gas prices to top it all off...

and now even the rich aren't really rich internationally because our dollar is has fallen so far down...

in our slumber... a very small few got really rich...

because when you're sleeping...

"it's hard to change agendas"...

we know what happened in 2000 and 2004...
but in 2008...
it's different...

we are awake...
and there is a movement...

and "it's hard to change a movement"...

last time "we" didn't have a movement...
America wasn't united...

and now "United and "Standing"...for something...
we know the power of "US"...
and we have a person who represents the "U.S."...

"US"...

"we are the ones we've been waiting for"...

I'm proud to be an American...

will.i.am

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Thank You Keith Green

I recently went to a family reunion in Natchitoches, Louisiana. I noticed that our route took us very close to Lindale, Texas. I took the opportunity to pay my respects at the grave site of Keith Green, who was a Christian singer, songwriter, and speaker during the 70s and early 80s. I also took a drive through the Last Days Ministries property which is now owned by Teen Mania.

When I was eighteen, I spent 6 months living at Last Days Ministries. Last Days was founded by Keith. I had spent my first 10 weeks in a Bible/Missions school they offered and ended up staying on for a number of months after to work at the ministry (I was there when the ministry was hit by a tornado).

Keith was truly one of my "Fathers" in the Faith. Even before my conversion at the age of fourteen, Keith was influencing my view of God through his music. He embedded within me a view of the holiness of God which continues to affect me today. His intensity for Christ was a model for me. My six months at his ministry (which was after his death) provided a vessel theologically for all of the scripture I had memorized during my years in bible quizzing.

Thank you Keith, you continue to bless me!

P.S. Through the wonders of internet technology, I have connected with Rich, a friend of mine who went through ICT at Last Days with me. Should any of you who were down at Last Days during that time read this blog - contact us!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Bridging the Divide: An evening with Bob Millet and Greg Johnson

Respectful and courteous dialog on religious differences is a rare thing. In many cases, people of faith are suspicious and sometimes blatantly antagonistic with anyone who is not of their faith. This is not limited to religious matters. Political parties, nations, scientists, philosophers, etc. often have a hard time respecting the view of the other. They assume anyone thinking along a different path must be foolish, deceived, or evil.

Into a rarely taken path of civility steps Greg Johnson, former Baptist pastor and head of Standing Together Ministries , and Bob Millet, professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University. Together, they host an evening of dialog where the audience sees first hand how a discussion with different streams of thought may be accomplished in a respectful manner. They talk about the hot-button issues that exist between Mormons and Evangelicals and demonstrate how one might discuss these in candor without being caustic. I had an opportunity to see their dialog last night.

I was particularly looking forward to meeting Bob Millet (no slight to Greg, but I see him regularly at church). When my wife and I first announced that we were going to Salt Lake City, we had many people offering us books about Mormons. These books tended to be written by non-mormons, and could best be described as negative. We decided to forgo these and instead waited for an opportunity to learn Mormonism from Mormons. During our first few weeks here, I recorded a round table discussion about C.S. Lewis on BYU TV (Letting God have His way: A conversation about C.S. Lewis). It was hosted by Bob Millet and I couldn't have enjoyed the discussion more. Bob was my first real introduction to Mormonism.

I am neither Mormon nor Evangelical but I was grateful to spend an evening in fellowship with these two men and our small group that had gathered to discuss the things of God. Though everyone in the room may have had different lenses through which they see God, it was a night where suspicion was tabled and understanding flowed.

If you cannot feel that the other faith is as true as yours, you should feel at least that the men are as true as you. ~ Gandhi

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Orson Scott Card speaks.... maybe....

Back in the fall, I commented on a Deseret News article by Orson Scott Card. He was responding to some of the criticisms of Mitt Romney's Mormonism. His defense of Mormonism slipped over into a critique of Christianity. I felt he did this in a rather caustic way, choosing to take the route of an eye for an eye. His tone reminded me of the anti-Mormon folk who picket at various Mormon centered events here in Utah.

Well today he responded to that blog. At least I think he did. How does one know if it is really him? How does one respond when you question the identity? I tend to think it is him, but I suppose it could just be someone arguing his case.

In any event, he was responding to some things said in the comment section, but one slight seemed reserved for me. I had stated in my post that he painted Christianity with a broad brush. I said, for example, that I do not buy into the creeds and many Christians do not. He said:

If you don't accept the Nicene creed, then obviously you're not one of the Christians I was talking about. Most Christian denominations, however, representing the vast majority of Christians, do. Read a book now and then, and you'll find out what mainline Christianity believes.

I think what bothers me most about his insult is how feeble it is. This is a published author. He is a wordsmith by trade. THIS is the best he hits me with?? This is the blog equivalent of sticking your palms to your ears and saying "Na-na-na-nyah-nyah!" I mean, preferably, I would have liked to have done without the low brow insults and instead had a discussion of the issues.

Here is the link to the original post and comments (click here). I still don't know if it was really Orson Scott Card, and if it isn't, I am probably being a little lame in even responding. So what do you think? Maybe I should just delete this post.....

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

The Apocalypse is Coming... Yayyyyyyy!!

There is this great scene in the Simpsons (anybody know the episode?) where a catastrophe is happening in Springfield. Flanders yells out, "The Apocalypse is here!" Upon hearing this declaration Flander's two sons, Rod and Todd, throw their hands into the air and joyously scream "Yayyyyy!!!"

Those two came to mind this week when I heard all of the Hoo-Haa going on over a court case in California regarding home schooling. There were Christians everywhere passing the word that California was going to force homeschooling parents to be certified or close shop.

"That sounds pretty far fetched" I would say, "are you sure that is true?"

"Absolutely! They are out to get us!" the person would reply and then go off to spread the good, I mean bad, news.

That is the sad thing, many Christian circles and ministries THRIVE on bad news.

My wife had come home Saturday from a homeschooling conference where the California situation was all the buzz.

Goodness! if it happened in California, it might happen here!!!
That's what happens when you remove prayer from schools!
Our founding fathers would not have put up with this!
We will fight all of this encroaching godlessness!!!

I am a public school teacher who has two kids who are home schooled by their mother (my darling wife). After hearing all the commotion, I did a quick Google search and found what I expected to find. It is no big deal.

An appellate court judge (not the state of California) made a ruling which applied to a child abuse case. The carry over could be applied to all home schoolers, but this is not the intent. The Governor and legislature are already taking steps to make sure there will not even be a bump in the road.

Sorry to take the fun out of it, but it is no big deal.

What this does speak to is the larger problem of Evangelical Exaggeration . There are many individuals and ministries in the Christian community who desire contention. Before a story is clear, they have assumed the worst. Like Rod and Todd, they welcome dark days.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

We are all gnostics!

I know that gnosticism has much deeper meanings and implications, but I want to use the term in the sense that one blogger summed it up, "Gnosticism is the belief that you have a secret knowledge of God; that your view is the trump card".

George Carlin said, "Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?

Mark Driscoll continues to take pot-shots at anyone associated with the Emergent Church movement. However, on the same blog that quotes his statements positively, a commenter took Driscoll to task for being too liberal and stated that there really was no difference between Mark and anyone in the EC movement.

The voices of certainty are many:
  • True Christians are Full Gospel!
  • KJV only!
  • Tounges is the evidence of salvation!
  • We are the only true church!
  • You only have religion, we have relationship!
  • Only the pre-destined are saved!
  • Our view of atonement is the only way!
  • The Bible is inerrant!
  • There were no miracles, it is just metaphor!
  • Baptism must be by immersion!
  • You must accept the trinity!
  • God wants his people to be rich!
  • Jesus was a liberal!
  • Jesus was a conservative!
...and the list of correct views goes on and on.

Carlin nails us. Anyone above us or below us, faster or slower, to the right or the left, is OFF. We are the standard, and everyone else is on or off target in relation to our view.

One person's orthodoxy is another person's heresy. One person's opinion is another person's non-negotiable truth. Is there any way off this treadmill of being right?

Jane stop this crazy thing!!!

Monday, March 03, 2008

Humanism Does Not Have To Be Anti-theism

I nicked this article from Faith House Manhattan. I think it is pertinent and I want to spread it around like a good Youtube video. Greg Epstein is a Humanist chaplain at Harvard. In his article, he calls for better conversation between theists and atheists, to look at the bigger picture, rather than circling the wagons and loudly proclaiming the same arguments.

The following post is adapted for Faith House by Greg Epstein, originally posted on On Faith, an online conversation about religion facilitated by Newsweek editor Jon Meacham and Washington Post journalist Sally Quinn.

Christopher Hitchens, author of the bestselling book God Is Not Great writes that "Religion is violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism and tribalism and bigotry, invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coercive toward children."

In this quote, Sally and Jon identify a classic example of the way in which Christopher Hitchens’s approach to religion goes far beyond atheism and is really better understood as anti-theism.

While atheism is the lack of belief in any god, anti-theism means actively seeking out the worst aspects of faith in god and portraying them as representative of all religion. Anti-theism seeks to shame and embarrass people away from religion, browbeating them about the stupidity of belief in a bellicose god.

Anti-theists are often brilliant scientific thinkers. The ones I know tend to be passionately ethical in their personal lives. And as in the case of Hitchens, they can be ferociously eloquent. So why hasn’t anti-theism ever gained any real political or social power?

In most people’s minds, “religion” does not just stand merely for belief in an unseen, all-seeing deity with a baritone voice and a flowing beard. It stands for the things we hold most dear: family, tradition, and community. Memories of lost loved ones and consolation in the face of death. The organized pursuit of social justice. Not to mention music, art, architecture, and I could go on and on.

These things are all good. If you take a rhetorical blowtorch to religion without acknowledging the way it provides them, you get precisely what we have today: a nation and world where despite all our scientific knowledge, 80 to 90 percent of people say they are religious.

Now let me be perfectly clear about myself. I have zero belief in god, gods, goddesses, or any other manner of supernatural spirits. I affirm that there is one and only one world: this natural world. As far as any human being will ever know we get only one life, from womb to tomb.

My conviction that this life is all I have, however, is precisely why I don’t want to spend my days focused on the worst in religion. I prefer seeking the best in each of us. I am not an antitheist, and not simply an atheist, but a Humanist.

Humanism is the non-religious pursuit of all that is best in human life. It is based on reason, compassion, and creativity, and promotes loving and ethical connections with family, community, all human beings, and the natural world surrounding us. It is a progressive lifestance that, without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment, aspiring to the greater good of humanity.

Simply put, Humanism is being good and living well without god. And that is no small matter, because it is hard to live a good life in this world regardless of what you believe. We human beings are all so imperfect—we are hurt so easily and too quick to hurt others. We get sick and die just when it is least fair and most painful.

Ultimately, we are social animals. We need each other. Our lives are best when we take part in an ethical community that extends far beyond ourselves; for thousands of years, religion has been the best human institution at providing that community. So if all we stand for is anti-theism, we will get nowhere, even though Hitchens is right -- partially -- about the evil religion can do.

Today, the billion of us around the world who are not religious can and must join together to create a humanistic alternative to religion. And let us do so while honoring the good in those of our religious sisters and brothers who are trying to live well according to a belief system we cannot share.

For a Humanist, it is not enough to simply rage, rage against the dying of the enlightenment. Let us get involved in Humanism and make this world, though it will never be perfect, a better place.

Greg endorses the work of Faith House Manhattan:

"Faith House Manhattan is a really intriguing idea, and quite possibly a necessary one. I would encourage my fellow Humanists, atheists, agnostics and the non-religious to check it out, and to consider getting involved. Samir Selmanovic should be commended for reaching out earnestly, in respect and friendship, to our community. We secularists and freethinkers should do the same to him and to theistically-oriented Christians, Muslims, Jews and other religious people everywhere. Global warming doesn’t care what we believe or disbelieve about a god, and that’s just one of the many dangers that may doom us if we can’t figure out how to work together and care about one another despite differences. I’m hopeful this project can help build common ground and enable us to learn from one another in New York City and beyond."

Saturday, March 01, 2008

South Park does Alan Watts



I hadn't heard of this gentleman prior to seeing this video, but what I have heard I've liked.
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