Archive for the 'Religion' Category

A Post-Modern Psalm

Allen September 29th, 2008

From a recent psalm from the Book of Common Prayer:

Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16 with additional apocryphal verses

[1] Hear my teaching, O my people; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
[2] I will open my mouth in a parable; I will declare the mysteries of ancient times.
[3] That which we have heard and known, and what our forefathers have told us, we will not hide from our children.
[4] We will recount to generations to come the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the Lord, and the wonderful works he as done.
[12] He worked marvels in the sight of their forefathers; in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
[13] He split open the sea and let them pass through; he made the waters stand up like walls.
[14] He led them with a cloud by day, and all the night through with a glow of fire.
[15] He split the hard rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as from the great deep.
[16] He brought streams out of the cliff, and the waters gushed out like rivers.
[A1] And thus we will will teach our children; and they shall teach their children.
[A2] Unto the 70th generation they will be taught and they shall know the works of the Lord.
[A3] And the 71st generation will say unto their elders, are you kidding me?
[A4] For I learned the truth from my professors; to their words I have listened.
[A5] This is all just sky-god worship. This is all just cultural mumbo-jumbo.
[A6] The split sea was just a cultural tale; the cloud was just a fog.
[A7] There was no fire; there were no streams.
[A8] And thus the Lord will say, “Oh$%@#$, here we go again.”

Authenticity and Forced Volunteerism

Allen September 8th, 2008

As I may have alluded to earlier, I work with the Boy Scouts of America. Most of my activities lately has been constrained to mentoring Eagle candidates for our Troop, but the Anchoress highlights in a recent post what has troubled me with some of the rank requirements that the young men need to achieve in order to advance.

The Anchoress here is talking about Bill Whittle (another of my favorite authors), “required volunteer service” and the authenticity of political candidates. A worthy read for both the Anchoress’s words and Bill Whittle’s original essay.

I used to volunteer at a local hospital, working with patients recovering from brain accidents, and also at a local Alzheimer’s facility. I did that because I wanted to, I was not compelled to do it (except, perhaps by the Holy Spirit). Because it was truly voluntary, it was real, authentic service.

…

Think of monasticism. A monastic gives up everything, moves into a community, share all his goods and even lets go of individuality; if superficial individuality is subsumed in the cause of something greater, it is because the monks and nuns have individually determined that it must be so. Because everyone there is of a like mind, and voluntarily giving themselves up – voluntarily practicing self-abnegation – it works. It is an authentic life of service and sacrifice because it is voluntary.

If you were to try to force monasticism, to compel people to work at something in which they do not believe, to give themselves up for something that does not speak to their individual hearts and spirits, it would not work. It would be completely inauthentic, and it would die.

Ellipses are mine.

The problem is that Boy Scouts require so many hours of “volunteer work” in order to advance in rank. While I understand what they are driving for, this has bothered me for quite some time. How can this be in any way, shape or form volunteer work? This is work required in order to obtain a goal. Worthy work and a worthy goal. But not volunteerism.

Mind you, I don’t have a solution to this problem. I’m not sure how big of a problem this is as the Boy Scouts are a volunteer organization — Adult volunteers (by and large) and young men who volunteer to join.

Dr. Hal Belknap – Let Light Perpetual Shine Upon Him

Allen April 22nd, 2008

Dr. Hal Belknap, passed away this past Sunday morning. He was not only our family doctor and friend, but Scoutmaster to our son. Dr. Belknap and the Eagle mentors his troop set up were invaluable in assisting our son, David, in obtaining his Eagle rank. I have rotated out my current quote at the top of the page and replaced it with the following from Lord Baden-Powell.

No one can pass through life, any more than he can pass through a bit of country, without leaving tracks behind, and those tracks may often be helpful to those coming after him in finding their way.

Or “I thought this stuff up the last time I was stoned”.

Allen April 22nd, 2008

Do people who say, “I really have a problem with organized religion” mean that they prefer that their religion worship Shiva one day, Jesus Christ the next day and commune with wood spirits the next?

Is the problem with organization? Or is the problem really with religion?

I think generally you can translate “I really have a problem with organized religion” with “I really don’t like to think about what I believe.”

A Four Verse Review of the ABC Show, “Oprah’s Big Give”

Allen March 31st, 2008

Matthew 6

1“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Karl Marx

Allen January 24th, 2008

For some now, the leadership of the Episcopal Church has seem more and more intent on adhering not to a Christian theology but a progressive theology. While I think we are called as Christians to tend to the poor, I think our leadership believes the main purpose of the church is to advance progressive ideas.

So I am discouraged but not surprised to read that the some within ECUSA have suggested a replacement for the Stations of the Cross. Rather than remembering the suffering that Christ underwent when He redeemed us all, we should all look forward to how the UN will save us all through the Millennium Development Goals. Hence we now have now the Stations of the MDG.

For some time now, I’ve called the leadership of ECUSA “God’s Little Socialists”. I think some would like to replace the Holy Trinity with the Holy Quaternary: Father, Son, Holy Spirit and …

I, For One, Welcome Our New “Hello Kitty” Overlords

Allen August 16th, 2007

I read, via dustbury.com, that now we can combine both “Hello Kitty” and post-modern consumerism. With this final step of a “Hello Kitty Platinum Visa“, one of the last prophesies of St. John has come to pass.

Rev 13:11 Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two [ears] like a [kitty], but he spoke like a dragon. 12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing [a credit card to spring forth] in full view of men. 14 Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honour of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark [in their wallet or purse], 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.

I Just Think It Should Be Something Other Than A Spiritual Flu Shot

Allen January 26th, 2007

Again from Political Diary, we hear where Nancy Pelosi’s daughter, Alexandra has made a documentary for HBO called A Friend of God.

Quoting from the article, we find out that the younger Pelosi thinks religion can be a positive influence in life:

A once-lapsed Catholic herself, Ms. Pelosi now wants her two-month-old son to get in the habit of going to church at a young age. “There’s a lot of secular television that provides bad role models. It is important to expose your kid to religion, any religion, otherwise they’ll become uncharged, and those are the ones who may later in life fall into more extreme religions,” she told ABC News.

I fully believe in the importance of religion as well…

“ATTDOT36?” Looks Goofy On a Bracelet

Allen August 9th, 2006

I was reading a Wikipedia biography of Scoop Jackson today when I ran across a quote from Patrick Moynihan. Patrick was giving the eulogy at Scoop’s funeral when he said.

Henry Jackson is proof of the old belief in the Judaic traditional [sic] that at any moment in history[,] goodness in the world is preserved by the deeds of 36 just men who do not know that this is the role the Lord has given them. Henry Jackson was one of those men.

Similar to the "What Would Jesus Do? (WWJD?)" bracelets popular a few years ago, perhaps another challenge to our daily behavior should be, "Are these the deeds of the 36?"  Or are my actions working against their goal?

The problem I had with the "WWJD?" bracelets is there are acts reserved for societies and governments that individuals should not undertake. For example, in Matthew 18:22, Peter and Jesus are talking:

21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"

22Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.

So if someone sins against me, the reply to WWJD is "forgive them."

While this might work in your personal life, it is a recipe for disaster for a functioning liberal democracy.

Imagine all criminals being forgiven for every transgression they commit. In such a society, anarchy would surely result. But if you ask, "Are these the deeds of the 36?", the answer is to put them into prison. Perhaps they will see the error of their ways, but at least, for now, they can no longer harm us.

There is of course a problem with this catch phrase…

And Who Do You Say That I Am?

Allen August 16th, 2005

This past week has been spent in a class learning how to use Spring Framework for Java development, so the posting has been rather light.  Yesterday was spent attending a presentation learning about Manugistics and today will be spent in the new, new employee orientation (that is to say, a re-developed version of new employee orientation).  But enough of that. 

Our family attending "camp weekend" this past Sunday at the Episcopal cathedral in Oklahoma City.  All of the youth who attended summer camp are invited for one last event before heading off to school.  It was fun and the kids (guess they really aren’t "kids" any more) enjoyed it.

The priest’s sermon included the camp theme:  "Who Do You Say That I Am?"  The priest went out among the youth and gathered the following answers:  A Friend, In Us, Teacher, A Man.

Notably missing from the list:  [T]he Christ, the Son of the living God.

So glad to see that Episcopal Youth are grounded in Christian theology.

I discussed it with my son and daughter on the way back home.  He said quite a few commented that he wasn’t just "a man", so there is hope after all.

Next »