#Brighid altar is ready for the Celtic Vine Month #pagan #druidry

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1vBIlAa

Blanche and Baby Jane

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1wF3CKL

At a drag queen bingo benefit

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1zGUz88

At the drum circle at Nokomis Beach

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1taFJFQ

Old woman shares her love of Islam with Muslim telemarketer

Post by Issam Bayan.

Orthodox Jew carrying Palestinian boy on his shoulders

"There are as many paths to God as there are souls on Earth." Sufi Proverb

Enjoying the book "Progressive Muslim Identities" by @mpvusa

The world is my holy book. And every person, animal, plant and rock is a verse. #interfaith #peace #spirituality #religion

— William Bittner (@BillyBitts) July 21, 2014

Do you scour the scriptures for "shall nots"...or for "shoulds?"

I know it's a big mistake, but I sometimes get into online discussions with people that hold a different relgious viewpoint than me. And it's usually over the scriptural viewpoint of certain political stances. For instance, I once got into a discussion about whether the government should help the poor. One person's comment was something to the effect that "there's nothing in the Bible that says we should take money away from people that have it and give it to people that don't," which is how he saw taxes and social spending.

I was thinking about that this morning. Though there are many places in the Bible that advocate helping the poor. But no, there wasn't anything anywhere that specifically said that the government should take money from some and give it to others. And even though that's not how I see government-sponsored social programs, I still would ask, "But shouldn't we do so anyway?"

Thus, another example of how different types of people read scriptures. Some scour them, looking for what they can and cannot do. And they believe that if they just don't do the things that their scripture prohibits, they've got nothing to worry about.

Others, while typically following many (but not all) of the same prohibitions, they usually go a step further. That is, they look for and try to follow the "shoulds."

For example, the Bible says you "should" clothe the naked and feed the hungry. You "should" go two miles when someone asks you to go one. You "should" be kind and helpful to foreigners. Yes, some of the people that focus mostly on the prohibitions do practice such works of mercy. But largely, these "shoulds" seeem to be drowned out by all the "shall nots."

Looking just for the "shall nots" reminds me of a kid asking for the rules before running out to play. And then finds ways to bend them. "But Dad, there was still this one streetlight that was still on, so that counts right?"

We shouldn't turn to our scriptures to find out what we can get away with. Furthermore, many of the things that are prohibited are usually common sense to most people anyway. And they don't need scripture to tell them so.

So we should turn to our scriptures to get inspiration and ideas for what we "should do."  Especially when it comes to going the extra mile to help somebody in need. Not because our scripture says we "have to" or that we "should."

But simply out of love.

Real Patriotism

My take on patriotism. We should love, honor and be proud of our country. But in the same way we love our family. We wouldn't say, in all seriousness, that our family is better than yours, or our family is the best in the world. So we shouldn't say it about or country. That's just rude. And the people of the world are all God's children anyway. The are our extended family.

Want to make the world a better place? Don't think you have to do it alone.

Milton Hershey students volunteer at Fort Indiantown Gap

The more I get involved with the progressive view of Christianity, the more I realize that we as Christians are more often called to clothe, feed, heal and listen than to "make disciples." Some may see that as the easier way out. But in truth, I think taking on the quest to pursue social justice is much more of a sacrifice. So much that I had to ask myself, "are you really ready for this?"

It's such a big world, with so many people, with so many problems. And even if I would focus on local issues, it can still be overwhelming.

But then I realized...you don't have to do this alone. In fact, you're encouraged to not do this alone. That's what a church is for. And if church isn't for you, there are plenty of non-church groups and organizations one could get involved with.

Sometimes people, like myself, feel like they want to make the world a better place. Laudable as that is, I think there lies the danger of it being fueled too much by ego. Now some people may be successful at going at this alone. Especially if they take small bites. But others eventually face the reality of the situation, give up, and crawl back into their cocoons.

But when you take on this goal as a group, there is not only less ego involved, but you share the burden. You pool resources. You brainstorm ideas, then review and refine as a group. You get a variety of viewpoints. And best of all, you get encouragement and moral support.

HuffPo interview of Jimmy Carter

Great interview of Jimmy Carter about his book, "NIV Lessons from Life Bible: Personal Reflections with Jimmy Carter." A fine witness to sensible and compassionate Christianity.

An excerpt from the interview:

The example that I set in my private life is to emulate what Christ did as he faced people who were despised like the lepers or the Samaritans. He reached out to them, he reached out to poor people, he reached out to people that were not Jews and treated them equally. The more despised and the more in need they were, the more he emphasized that we should go to and share with them our talent our ability, our wealth, our influence. Those are the things that guide my life and when I find a verse in the Bible that contradicts those things that I just described to you, I put into practice the things that I derive from my faith in Christ. 

President Jimmy Carter Authors New Bible Book, Answers Hard Biblical Questions

A different view of the crucifixion

"It was a dark day— a dark, dark day that saw the death of the Son of God. And, contrary to what so many folk still teach, he was not a sacrifice to an angry God who needed appeasing, but a gut-wrenching symbol of God’s sacrificial love poured out for an angry humankind. It was not God’s mind about humanity that needed changing, but our mind about God. The Cross is God saying, “Go ahead, kill me if you like; I still won’t stop loving you.”

- from "Jesus Through Pagan Eyes: Bridging Neopagan Perspectives with a Progressive Vision of Christ" by Rev. Mark Townsend

Notes from Gita Class: Love

The momentous lake scene
in the film Immortal Beloved

When I lived in Pittsburgh, I attended a Bhagavad Gita class every Tuesday night. I usually didn't take notes. But this one particular night, I did. And here is what I had written down during a class on September 4, 2012. There are some elements of which I'm not sure I believe 100% anymore. Or I believe them, but in a different way. But I'm putting them here exactly as I had jotted them down then.

God is love. Love is everywhere. It is the basis of the universe. God is not affected by anything--but love. It responds in kind. It's like a big, silent, featureless artifact, that generally does not react to anything. But when somebody loves or manifests love. God glows and emanates back.

How much of us love during worship? We ask. We desire a sign. Peace. A feeling of bliss. We want to see, hear or experience God. Awe, respect, fear. But how often do we feel or practice love? Don't love as a subject loves an object. Just fill yourself with love. Tap into the power of love. Stand under the waterfall of love. Feel love build up inside. Transform yourself into love. Let your essence be replaced with love. Be love. Love without subject and object. Love not as a verb but as a noun. 

Ultimate knowledge, existence and bliss must equal love. Love is the screen on which maya is projected. But it is also the energy that casts the maya on the surface. When we love, we are aligning ourselves with the quantum spin of God. Our iron  filings line up with the magnetic field of God. The north pole of the magnet loves the south pole, and vice-versa.

From the Napa Swami's lecture. Worship is just the method with which we pay 100% attention to God. Our attention is fully paid on God and on nothing else. That is the purpose of the rituals, mantras, objects, kirtans, bhajans, and the preparation of all of these. Any dharmic action done with God in mind, will make one think of God throughout the action. The action or the sacrifice is not the offering. It is our attention that is the offering. I am giving up thought of everything else.

I don't worry about getting something out of every verse in the Gita. Studying the Gita may help attain realization with God, but not necessary. There are better ways. And I don't get as much out of the metaphysical verses as I do the verses that are filled with beauty and love. Beauty and love draws me closer to God, not understanding, logic, science, and philosophy. Some of the verses in the Gita count the trees in the mango orchard. The other verses exclaim how delicious the mangoes are.

We should love God not because he cares for us, or protects us, or provides us, or saved us, or created us, or rules us, or owns us, or makes us feel good, happy, peaceful, content, or loved. We should love God just because we do. And saying we love God unconditionally is still a type of condition. Parents don't love their children unconditionally. They just love their children. Their love is not an action, with a beginning and end, with a subject and object. It is a state. A parent's love of their children is a characteristic, part of their essence. A parent's love for their child pervades them, like a fever. Hanuman didn't love Rama as an external object. Rama was written upon his heart.

Must be three steps. Think about God. Love God. Be one with God.

The Gospel According to...Me!

I think we had this book when
I was a kid. Don't know if I read it.
I wonder if it's any good.

Boy, doesn't that sound sacrilegious!

Well I am in the middle of listening to an interview of Dominic Crossan on the main Homebrewed Christianity podcast, in which he posits that all four gospels were exactly as they are titled: "The Gospel According to..." In other words, each of the authors, none of which were eyewitnesses, wrote a gospel according to them, for their own particular audience and situation.

Well, I was out riding around, listening to that interview, when I got the idea to try and find a good Bible at the local bookstore. And I ended up buying a (bit pricey) Living Bible translation. And in the car, I opened randomly to the multiplication of the fishes and loaves. Here we go again. Another "miracle." Do I believe in all the miracles in the gospels? I don't know. Part of me does, and part of me doesn't. But the part of me that doesn't keeps wondering what good it is for me to read the Bible is if it's so full of irrational miracles (not to mention, all the violence, sexism, homophobia, etc.)

But then I remembered a moment in the interview where Tripp Fuller said he thinks modern Christians are consistently called to communicate the gospel as it is "according" to them. So I thought, why not read the gospels and expound upon them, as midrash, and in a fashion that would align more with my progressive principles. And that seemed like a perfect subject for a blog.

And another thing I like about it is I'm a REALLY big fan of the tradition of reinterpreting widely known myths and stories. Comic book writers do it all the time. And screenwriters. So why not do the same with the gospels. Nikos Kazantzakis did it in his novel "The Last Temptation of Christ." So why couldn't I?

Now I plan to start at the beginning, with Mark, since it was the first written. But just as a preview, how could I treat the multiplication of the loaves and fishes?

I heard of an interpretation years ago that said that much of the crowd had actually brought food. But they were instinctively adverse to sharing it. But somehow Jesus' prayer, or mere presence, inspired them to share their food with the rest of the crowd. So, as wonderful as that sounds, I couldn't take that approach.

So I thought of another way. Since many of the apostles were fishermen, maybe one of them had the idea to go down the mountain and do some quick fishing. And the some of the other disciples had the idea to run into town and buy some bread. And during both groups' pursuits, they became increasingly excited about this new way of thinking about the needs of other people...and putting this new way of thinking into action. And you also see them bonding a bit more.

(Well for the whole version, tune in later.)