Presby-Musings

Notable atheist Sam Harris (best known for his controversial book Letters To A Christian Nation ) recently commented on the role that religion plays in the many conflicts of our time.  He wrote:  We have Christians against Muslims against Jews, and no matter how liberal your theology, merely identifying yourself as a Christian or a Jew lends tacit validity to this status quo. People have morally identified with a subset of humanity rather than with humanity as a whole.    That last line, which I marked for effect, was the one that bothered me the most because I'd like to believe that as a Christian, I am dedicated to following the example of Jesus.   And it seems clear that Jesus truly identified with humanity as a whole.  Jesus easily moved among people of all races, genders, classes, and religions--speaking truth to them, loving them, accepting them and seeking to move them closer to God and their true selves.   Then, Jesus ...

For a lot of people, the idea of a loving God, who has our best interests at heart, is an idea that is foreign and hard to fathom.  This is a sad fact that has been compounded by the inability of our culturally dominant forms of Christianity to adequately speak of God in ways that are hopeful and life-giving.   Within much of Christianity, God is relegated to the role of harsh critic and steely-eyed judge--the kind of judge who exacts a high price from those who step out of line.   Philosopher Alan Watts once wrote:  "When I first learned to play the piano, my teacher hit my fingers with a pencil every time I played a wrong note.  Consequently, I never learned to read music--I was afraid of that pencil, so I hesitated too long."  Far too many of us have narrowed our view of God and denied ourselves the pleasure of learning to read music, so to speak because we insist on God being something that God isn't.  Our images of God as j...

I'm having one of those days when it feels like I have a lot more questions than answers when it comes to God.   My training and education tell me that I am processing loss--struggling through it, searching for answers.  I've read the books and taken the classes on all of this--six years worth of higher level learning.   But then again, nothing teaches like experience.   I've had my fair share of shouting matches with God over the years.  In a strange way, I feel like God likes it when we get angry and mix it up with God.  Maybe it's just me, but I've always felt  heard after one of my angry tirades with the Almighty.   Over the past few months, however, I have found that I can't seem to summon the energy to be truly angry or to lament to God about my struggles.  I started to feel like the answers weren't going to come--at least not in the way I wanted them.   I felt like God had gone silent on t...

Today would have been my parent's 50th wedding anniversary.   Some months ago, I wrote in my journal that I hoped we could keep my mom healthy enough to make it through the holidays--to spend one last Christmas with us, to celebrate my birthday with me one more time... and ultimately, I wanted her to live long enough to celebrate her 50th anniversary with my dad.   None of those things happened.   I miss her every day.  This week has been particularly hard for some reason.  I've been battling sadness and melancholy as I've drawn closer to this day---a milestone she was never destined to reach, despite my prayers and desires.   My mom would often joke, "Who gets married on Groundhog Day?"   She was right.  I suppose there are worse holidays to share your wedding anniversary with, but not many.  I can still picture her laughing about it with a wicked twinkle in her eye.   My mom lived easil...