I've decided that one of the things in life that I absolutely cannot stand... the thing that I hate more than peanut butter, lima beans, sticky fingers, and false love... the thing I hate as much as I love spring rain, the sound of an orchestra tuning, hymnals, the smell of appledirt, and a good friend's hug... the thing that makes my skin crawl and my blood pressure rise (which is hard to do!)... the thing that I would do anything to completely eradicate from the planet, solar system, and entire universe if I could... is religious intolerance.
Why? Why do you hate someone just because they believe something different from you? Why are you so sure that what you believe is right, is right? Are you just that full of yourself? Or has the higher power spoken to you and told you that you are right and everyone else is wrong? And, if the later is the case, how sure are you that you weren't just hallucinating? How can you so absolutely judge something that you know nothing about? Take a walk in their dogma for a few moments, will ya? Maybe you'll understand that what they believe is just plain what they believe! It's got nothing to do with you and your god.
Now, I'm not just talking about the idea that "my religion is right, and everyone who doesn't believe what I believe is going to my idea of hell." I'm talking about "we believe that your religion is a cult," and "we believe that if you don't believe what we believe, then you are not only going to hell, but we are going to make fun of you and torment you and exclude you. Because my idea of heaven forbid that I try to welcome you because we don't want any of your kind sneaking in to our idea of heaven." JERKS!
Want to know how many hymns are shared among the major denominations these days? Hey, do you even want to know how many of "your" (and, for the moment, I'm addressing the mainstream Christians out there) hymns are sung by Mormons, Unitarian Universalists, and "fundamentalists"? Yes, that's right, the Mormons have "A Mighty Fortress" in their hymnal. Can you Lutherans shut the front door about them being a cult, now?
What is a "cult" anyway? Dictionary.com defines it as "a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies." Well, then. You are all members of cults! Second definition (same source) is, "A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader." Ah, well, that's a little harder to pin on Christianity.
But let me interject a story.
Once upon a time, there was this dude. Let's call him Joe. Joe was a pretty charismatic fellow, who attracted some pretty interesting sorts into his group. Got thieves and prostitutes and women who slept with other women's husbands to hang out with him. Got them to change their ways and become "good, upstanding citizens." Then Joe got together a group of followers to live with him. He traveled around, never staying in one place, ate funky stuff, and required some fairly unconventional acts from his cronies. Joe and his peeps didn't really follow the normal pattern of beliefs and were considered quite extremist and false. Sound like a cult? Sound like we could rename Joe as Jesus and be talking about a rather familiar fellow?
You may think that religious intolerance isn't a big deal today, and especially not here in America. I mean, we're not witnessing people getting burned at the stake or crosses being lit on fire or whole television specials making fun of an entire denomination... oh, wait. There was that special on the Phelps family. What are they doing to you? Well, okay, the protests at soldier's funerals is a bit extreme, I'll give you that. But that's religious intolerance, too. They are intolerant of you, so you scream about how stupid it is to be intolerant. Welcome to "I'm rubber, you're glue."
Another story.
So there was an accident on a deserted state highway. And this guy in his car is in a ditch. He got run off the road by some maniac in a yellow sports car. And the lady with the "love Jesus" bumper sticker drives by, 'cause she's late to Bible Study, you know. And the teacher with the cross around his neck, well, he's gotta be up early in the morning... someone will stop for the car. Besides, the guy's already got help on the way with his cell phone, right?
Hours go by. He's stuck in his car, can't reach the cell phone, and it's getting late, and cold.Then
he feels the door next to him open, and hands feel for his pulse, he tries to talk, but his throat is too dry. He drinks the water offered to him, relaxes as he hears the word, "it's okay, buddy, help's on the way. Mind if I offer a prayer while we wait here?" He nods, the best he can. He'd promise to listen to an hour of bagpipe music, just to not be alone anymore. He hears an odd sort of praying, multiple voices... speaking in... tongues? No, that can't be right. And the voice that belongs to the water-giver, praying "Mother Earth you give us life, sustain us here..."
His rescuer, a group of college-age Wiccans, each praying in their own style, and the one next to him stays with him the whole ride to the hospital, calling his wife for him, making sure he's okay, returning the next day to ensure his comfort...
Showing posts with label How I feel on.... Show all posts
Showing posts with label How I feel on.... Show all posts
Friday, November 2, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
How I feel on... ...the war in Iraq (part I)
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone,
Long time ago?
Where have all the flowers gone,
Young girls picked them, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone,
Long time ago?
Where have all the young girls gone,
Gone to young men, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone,
Long time ago?
Where have all the young men gone,
Gone to soldiers, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone,
Long time ago?
Where have all the soldiers gone,
Gone to graveyards, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone,
Long time ago?
Where have all the graveyards gone,
Gone to flowers, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Oh my name it is nothin'
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And that land that I live in
Has God on its side.
Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side.
Oh the Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
I's made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side.
Oh the First World War, boys
It closed out its fate
The reason for fighting
I never got straight
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.
When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side.
I've learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war starts
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side.
But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side.
In a many dark hour
I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.
So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God's on our side
He'll stop the next war.
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
How many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind
When you find that 1960s protest music has started being applicable again... what does that say?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone,
Long time ago?
Where have all the flowers gone,
Young girls picked them, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone,
Long time ago?
Where have all the young girls gone,
Gone to young men, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone,
Long time ago?
Where have all the young men gone,
Gone to soldiers, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone,
Long time ago?
Where have all the soldiers gone,
Gone to graveyards, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone,
Long time ago?
Where have all the graveyards gone,
Gone to flowers, every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Oh my name it is nothin'
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And that land that I live in
Has God on its side.
Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side.
Oh the Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
I's made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side.
Oh the First World War, boys
It closed out its fate
The reason for fighting
I never got straight
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.
When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side.
I've learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war starts
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side.
But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side.
In a many dark hour
I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.
So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God's on our side
He'll stop the next war.
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
How many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind
When you find that 1960s protest music has started being applicable again... what does that say?
Thursday, August 9, 2007
How I feel on... ... homosexuality
In response to what I think was a postponement on the decision of the blessing of same-sex marriages by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, a postponement that, I think, includes not allowing said blessings until the 2009 Assembly makes its decisions, I'm going to post my feelings on the matter. (If anyone has more acurate information/deciphering of what the assembly voted on, please, let me know. I read through the report of the memorials committee, but can't make heads or tails of it, since it includes "no" memorials and DC Metro's "yes, and make a liturgy, too, please" memorial.)
So we begin.
How I feel on...
...homosexuals, in general.
I feel the same as I do about people who eat peanut butter. I, personally, don't like peanut butter. But, I'm not going to condemn everyone who does. Whether I was born not liking peanut butter or it was a result of environmental conditioning is irrevalent. I just don't like it and that's the way it is.
Some people do like peanut butter. Whether they were born liking it, or that's a result of environmental conditioning is irrevalent. They like peanut butter and that's the way it is.
...marriage.
"I used to believe that marriage would diminish me, reduce my options. That you had to be someone less to live with someone else when, of course, you have to be someone more." (Candice Bergen)
"A good marriage is one which allows for change and growth in the individuals and in the way they express their love." (Pearl Buck)
"That is what marriage really means: helping one another to reach the full status of being persons, responsible and autonomous beings who do not run away from life." (Paul Tournier)
Marriage, to me, is the public annoucement, religious celebration, and private covenant declaring that this relationship is True, Deep, and Love. A homosexual couple can still raise children (little Max at LP is adorable, and has two awesome dads), and while I know that I pay too much attention to making sure I don't do anything differently I certainly don't mean to, or want to. (I did it with the women at LP too... encountering something new, and focusing too much on not reacting made me feel constantly like I was reacting.)
... ordination of folks in committed, same-gender relationships.
I was baptized into the priesthood of all believers. I know and understand that in order for the church to accept the ordination of practicing homosexuals, it first needs to let them get married. (Otherwise you come up against all the people who "are for it, except that they are practicing sex outside of marriage.") And while I sometimes entertain the thought of it, I am certainly not one to say, "well then just don't be a practicing homosexual." Because denying who you are is denying who God created you to be. Because denying who you are is denying the gifts God has given you. Because denying who you are is opening the door (or perhaps a sign of the open door) to self-hatred... and that is so not cool.
Some quotes about love... (of any kind)
"Love is... Let's see, how can I define love? I can't. Love is. Love is, youngling, love is."
"To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven." (Karen Sunde)
"Perhaps the feelings that we experience when we are in love represent a normal state. Being in love shows a person who he should be." (Anton Chekhov)
"To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides." (David Viscott)
"Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence." (H. L. Mencken)
"Gravity. It keeps you rooted to the ground. In space, there's not any gravity. You just kind of leave your feet and go floating around. Is that what being in love is like?" (Josh Brand and John Falsey)
"Think about a woman. Doesn't know you're thinking about her. Doesn't care you're thinking about her. Makes you think about her even more." (Martin Sage and Sybil Adelman)
"You can't love anyone until you understand that you can't love everyone." (Real Live Preacher)
So we begin.
How I feel on...
...homosexuals, in general.
I feel the same as I do about people who eat peanut butter. I, personally, don't like peanut butter. But, I'm not going to condemn everyone who does. Whether I was born not liking peanut butter or it was a result of environmental conditioning is irrevalent. I just don't like it and that's the way it is.
Some people do like peanut butter. Whether they were born liking it, or that's a result of environmental conditioning is irrevalent. They like peanut butter and that's the way it is.
...marriage.
"I used to believe that marriage would diminish me, reduce my options. That you had to be someone less to live with someone else when, of course, you have to be someone more." (Candice Bergen)
"A good marriage is one which allows for change and growth in the individuals and in the way they express their love." (Pearl Buck)
"That is what marriage really means: helping one another to reach the full status of being persons, responsible and autonomous beings who do not run away from life." (Paul Tournier)
Marriage, to me, is the public annoucement, religious celebration, and private covenant declaring that this relationship is True, Deep, and Love. A homosexual couple can still raise children (little Max at LP is adorable, and has two awesome dads), and while I know that I pay too much attention to making sure I don't do anything differently I certainly don't mean to, or want to. (I did it with the women at LP too... encountering something new, and focusing too much on not reacting made me feel constantly like I was reacting.)
... ordination of folks in committed, same-gender relationships.
I was baptized into the priesthood of all believers. I know and understand that in order for the church to accept the ordination of practicing homosexuals, it first needs to let them get married. (Otherwise you come up against all the people who "are for it, except that they are practicing sex outside of marriage.") And while I sometimes entertain the thought of it, I am certainly not one to say, "well then just don't be a practicing homosexual." Because denying who you are is denying who God created you to be. Because denying who you are is denying the gifts God has given you. Because denying who you are is opening the door (or perhaps a sign of the open door) to self-hatred... and that is so not cool.
Some quotes about love... (of any kind)
"Love is... Let's see, how can I define love? I can't. Love is. Love is, youngling, love is."
"To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven." (Karen Sunde)
"Perhaps the feelings that we experience when we are in love represent a normal state. Being in love shows a person who he should be." (Anton Chekhov)
"To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides." (David Viscott)
"Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence." (H. L. Mencken)
"Gravity. It keeps you rooted to the ground. In space, there's not any gravity. You just kind of leave your feet and go floating around. Is that what being in love is like?" (Josh Brand and John Falsey)
"Think about a woman. Doesn't know you're thinking about her. Doesn't care you're thinking about her. Makes you think about her even more." (Martin Sage and Sybil Adelman)
"You can't love anyone until you understand that you can't love everyone." (Real Live Preacher)
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