Advent Musings

Carl Sagan observed that “We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.” I have enjoyed that thought since I first heard it on Cosmos. I think it speaks in elegant simple terms to some of the biggest Why questions, and also affirms that awesome paradox that we can be at once insignificant specks in a vast universe, and a vital part of this creation. As we advance through Advent and contemplate on preparing for the coming of the Lord, I have found my mind wandering along a very different perspective on that duty, one which stretches back to the first man and forward to the last.

Politics and Religion, a Dinnertable Chat.

It struck me over the Thanksgiving weekend that there is something inherently theistic about democracy and something inherently undemocratic and indeed atheistic about modern American politics. Let me say before I go further that this is not a partisan opinion piece for a popular brand of religious politics in America, and that indeed I feel my realization and objections apply equally well to either major party in American politics today. For my readers outside of the United States, I apologize for my specifically American usages, and invite you to consider if similar truths apply to the politics of your home country.

Doubts and Worldviews

I have been struck this past week with a moment of profundity. I have tried more than once to capture this moment in words, but have found every effort to be inadequate. I have had a feeling much like Thomas Aquinas, next to what I have seen, all my efforts to express it are but dross. As such, I am stepping back a few paces. I do not know if what I have seen in inexpressible, but it is beyond my skills in the moment to express it, and I must let it abide. Therefore I chose now to express a smaller bit of thought and contemplation which has occurred to me to get my mind and hands back into the proper gear of sharing what I am capable of expressing.

The idea I want to share today is not unique to me, and indeed I think that the expression by Chesterton in Orthodoxy is in many ways superior to my own efforts. I would even say that these thoughts are a natural cousin to Hobson’s Dilemma, and thus even farther from being my own. Nevertheless, I will endeavor to share them in my own style and with my own interpretations, in the hope that they may enhance the body of thought on the subject, and perhaps allow someone stymied by the works of others a new chance to grasp the message.

Excess Ain't Rebellion

Living in modern America can sometimes make for a surreal experience, allowing us to worry about problems which many people in many times would simply not be able to fathom. “Do I want the Steak or the Seafood?” “Does this outfit flatter my figure?” “I’m not sure if I can afford that new video game after I’ve paid off my phone bill.” These problems are very much artifacts of modern consumer living, artifacts of a comfortable first world life. But we still think of them as problems, and they still impact the choices we make. Does the reality of living as a consumer in the modern West cause difficulty in living up to the standards Christ has set?

Making Holy Offerings

Sacrifice, from sacre (holy) and facere (to make, do). A word whose roots mean “to make holy” but whose modern use is more understood as “to give up”. One definition is “the loss incurred in selling something below its value.” Certainly we still see some echoes of the origin in other definitions, such as “the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.” I think that this is a word in need of reflection, reevaluation, and a new respect.

Constantine's Sword or A Humble Hand Up?

Lord Acton is often remembered for his observation that power tends to corrupt. He was speaking of men, but I feel his point is just as true of institutions. I have thought to myself several times of late that while desiring Christian Leaders can be reasonable and even admirable, desiring a Christian State is a dangerous desire. I have on reflection decided to cast my net even more broadly, and point out that the morals of a faith seldom survive being empowered by the state. It is easy for us to forget that even acting in the name of the Lord we are still flawed men, and subject to making flawed creations.

What Would Jesus Do? Reign in Glory.

“What Would Jesus Do?” Often reduced to WWJD, it is a common refrain seen on all kinds of slick consumer facing Christian themed products from bracelets to book covers. Sadly, I think that while it has good roots and a good idea; the question is the wrong one, and the way its application has evolved in the last few decades lead many of us into error. I propose that the better question is “What Would Jesus Counsel Me to Do?” even though it doesn’t make as compact an acronym for marketing.

Better Christianity through Chemistry

I am a follower of Christ. I have been baptized to become a Christian. I have a community of fellow believers I openly discuss religion with. I am presently in the process of joining a congregation. I regularly attend 2-3 services a week at two separate churches. Both of these churches belong to the same denomination. I find myself pondering on all of this, and wondering what these facts mean to my identity as a servant of Christ. As is often my wont, I am now going to take a sharp turn into a more scientific field, in this case chemistry, and then return to this question.

God Doesn’t Hate Steve Jobs, and He Doesn’t Hate Fred Phelps Either.

I’ve read several reports and asides about the announcement that Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist crew intend to protest Steve Jobs funeral. Sadly, the fact that I have read several reports on this subject demonstrates my own, and our collective, failure to treat this issue as we should. This is a collision in which the call to love our neighbor collides with our duty to denounce false preachers. However, the two ends can both be achieved if we can take a deep breath and not allow the worst among us to select our actions.

Looking For Forgiveness

There is a phenomenon of human behavior which is not limited by faith or culture which can be summed up by the pithy “We are a diverse group who reach positions based on due consideration, they are a bunch of clones that do whatever they are told.” This is clearly a particular expression of the phenomenon by which we as humans are prone to give more attention, and thus more depth of detail, to elements which impact us most directly, giving less detail as items recede from our immediate concerns. Most often, people think of this in the ways it manifests negatively, such as a willingness to demonize a rival political movement, or the inability to muster outrage for human rights violations in a county ethnically and religiously unlike our own. But it does work both ways. The same behavior leads to the odd reality that it is easier for people to donate cash to charities at a distance, such as famine in Africa, than to cause at home such as homeless children, for the very reason that the lack of detail in their mind makes it easier to feel like the money will do more good. Most of us don’t ascribe the same issues of corruption, personal accountability, and long term impact on the problem that we apply to a local issue when considering issues far away. It is this inverse of the common view of this vagueness I want to focus on today, at the extreme level; how our detailed view of ourselves can make it hardest of all to extend charity to ourselves.

Cast Upon the Rocks

I enjoy going to the beach, unlike many I prefer the rocky coast to the sandy shore. Watching the waves spray against the stone, and the often dramatic changes in the contour of the coastline as the tide rolls in and out is a great way for me to spend a few hours, especially if the weather is not too hot. As I am not drawn to the popular commercial beaches, it is not uncommon for me to have a stretch to myself and I either get around to pondering, or just open my mind and let ideas come to me. I haven’t gotten to spend at day at the beach in a while, but thinking about doing so suddenly filled me with a new thought. If you’ll follow along with me as I describe the nature of the rocky shore, I promise I’ll share my idea with you.

Science and Faith

As you may have guessed by the many uses of science based examples and ideas in my prior posts, I do not subscribe to the camp which feels that science and faith are two opposite poles, and the gain of one is the loss of the other. I believe in a God who is lord of creation, and as such any gain in knowledge is a deeper understanding of Him. While I do not feel that I embrace the adage that Science teaches us What and Faith tells us Why, I do think that there is usefulness in the idea it expresses.

Kindness That Can Kill

Let’s take the time to at least dip our toes into the deep waters of understanding kindness, which is woven tightly into the ideas of mercy and love. I think that it is under the cover of kindness that many of us are able to justify a variety of un-Christ like behaviors, and excuse moral weakness as the exercise of virtue. I know for a certainty that I am guilty of this myself, and that it is a work which still requires conscious effort on my part to avoid, I have not managed to make the avoidance of false kindness an automatic spiritual reflex in my life, and so must guard against it with rigors of logic and ethical thought.

We Are Spiritual Beings Having a Material Experience.

To begin somewhere in the middle, as is usual whatever protests or affectations an author may adopt, I think that it is a critical piece to any understanding of my religious ideas and contemplations that I approach them from a perspective that our souls are transcendental, and our experience here on earth is an inherently limited portion of our full existence.

Let me share some musings on the limits of our knowledge and our proper attitude towards life beyond this mortal coil, which inform my general beliefs and inform many conclusions likely to be put forward in future thoughts.

Does the Ministry of Christ speak to the topic of life beyond the mortal life? Most certainly it does, I do not seek to deny this. However, I assert that as in so many other things, the context of audience is as important as the content of speech in understanding. Christ needed to inform the children of Israel that in electing to follow him, they fate of their soul was placed into his sure keeping, so that they could have assurance to allow them to live fully the New Life without the burdens of worry for their souls.