I’ve been writing, for my own mental health, for over thirty
years now. It’s exciting, and a little humbling to consider that many of the
opinions I currently face are of an age that suggests they were but a distant
cosmic alignment when I first put pen to paper. Yesterday, I hosted a dialogue
that quickly became diluted by hurt feelings, & what seemed like bitter
memories. This is not to suggest that any of these were anything less then
valid, more that such ideas can certainly bring out feelings better reserved
for a more personal and intimate dialogue.
I could list here my own personal challenges, personal
victories add infinitum, but I’d hope if you’re really interested in that part
of the story, you’d take the time to read back in the blog. There’s much to
uncover, and going there would wind us down a far different road. We all
struggle; we all have successes to celebrate and failures that should be used to
motivate us. Some know this, some unfortunately never will.
What I want to accomplish here is to offer something that
shouldn’t cause debate, it should allow you to know my position and understand
why I believe what I do. I want to do away with the misnomer that “faith” is
such a bad word. I hope to show you that faith for me speaks to my passion for
freedom. My faith in my fellow man, keeps me open to new ideas, & show that
those very ideas have contributed to my successes. I want you to see that for
me faith is in lessons learned, relationships worked for, nurtured and
maintained, for me faith is in the people I grow to love more everyday.
I grew up with a very devout Catholic father. His faith
was the corner stone of our family’s beliefs and practices. I always had the
feeling that my mother followed his lead more because it was expected, then she
actually was as devout as he. Dad was the only boy to his parents, as am I the
only son to mine. When, at a very young age, I expressed a deep interest in
theology, and by design the Holy Orders, my father immediately squashed this
idea, and reminded me it was my job to carry forth the family name. A very
young boy, hurt and confused by a man made idea.
The path I’ve chosen has demanded that I take nothing at
face value, much like I’ve told my children & any young person that would
lend me an ear; I’ve questioned everything and have never been afraid to crack
the spine of a book to find out for myself. To that end the archaeological
record certainly shows the existence of a man, a prophet on our planet some
2000K, plus years ago. A point in fact is quite simply that at this time in
history, this part of the planet was almost littered with like minded men and
women.
We today cannot begin to comprehend, with our finite
minds, the depth or breadth of oppression these people lived with at this point
in the human record. History has conveniently labeled many of these groups. The
only real point to be made here is that the oppressed minority today should
unwaveringly be able to cast aside such labels and empathize with the feelings
of oppression of any people at any time. Whether one is oppressed by the
Hyksos, the Roman Empire, the American Occupation in the Middle East, or
straight up, in your face Corporate Greed disguised as North American
Democracy, the oppressed masses strain under the lash. As laughable as it may
be to some, tragic to others, in 2012, the lash can be seen as the Jimmy Choo’s
or Tistoni’s worn by the Wall Street Elite.
As a young man, now grown husband and father, I’ve always
imagined the surest form of time travel to be the written word, lovingly penned
by candlelight, or oil lamp by the scribes, philosophers, or the prophets of
the time. What a fascinating idea, isn’t it? To know that the moment your hand
touched the pen, the pen scrawls it’s way across the medium, your very essence
was preserved in time, for generations to see. Certainly the physical body
performs the action, but the idea left behind, be it on paper, parchment, or
gouged into a tree was there as a mark of the creative individual. Long after
you’ve left the planet behind; destined for whatever the universe has in store
for you, your creative moment in time remains, & carries on; man made
theories on eternity be damned, earthly elements willing }:)
I began to understand that the vary books I was reading, the
essays researched; were the closest I’d come to the real story. Plato, Socrates
Epicurus, Epictetus, Jesus of Nazareth, The Gnostic Gospels, Moses, Frankl, Nietzsche,
the list is far too long to run here but you get the idea. I understood
pastors, priests, my Philosophy prof. friends, family, they all had opinions
but my education would be in the trenches, studying learning and living it day
to day. Jon Kabat-Zinn had much to teach, even if it was only learning to
listen to the world around me. I learned that even the experience of sitting in
a room with 100 other people and listening to a friend lie through his teeth
for 45min. straight had much to teach, if but the only lesson was that I never
wanted to become that person.
Please, indulge me as I go back. I want to take you back
to the archaeological record that shows the existence of a people in the Middle
East dating back at least 10000K years, current digs may show earlier
settlements yet, of civilized vibrant communities. Here in North America, we
may be able to boast some 200yrs. at best, before we need to hop back in boats,
give the land back to the Natives who were here first, (oppression anyone?) and
head home to “The Old World”.
When you, begrudgingly to be sure; discuss Religious
Oppression we, as a relatively “free” people, cannot begin to fathom the level
of political and religious oppression that these people lived with for 1000K’s
of years. The Temple System of the time was arguably the most oppressive
religious system ever imagined by human kind. When coupled with the politics of
the Priest Class that Enjoyed its benefits, & the military occupations that
reaped its rewards we’re left to shudder at the implications on the people it
exploited.
So we can now begin to appreciate those that bravely
spoke out against these oppressors, & the systems they lorded over their
people. Suddenly we may even begin to relate to their causes, their arguments
& while a language barrier may prevent direct translations, the ability to
empathize allows us to connect with a universal struggle. It is here where I
begin to connect with the prophets of the time, recognizing a common thread. While
I’d never imagine myself a prophet, let alone a person in such a position of
leadership; I can recognize that my own personal struggles matter little to
those in power over me, that my success or failure is ultimately my own to
determine. I also recognize that my gifts afford me the opportunity to share in
the struggles of those around me, & to refuse this is less then human, we
are after all dependant on one another to some extent, & united we may rise
to an occasion. Divided we will certainly fail.
I’m aware that many who read this will frown at the idea
of Theology, but I hope you can, at least for the purpose of this argument,
submit to the fact that, at its heart it is nothing more then the rational
inquiry into Religious questions. For me, this is a balanced idea, along with
the archaeological record, that looks at what happened when the man, Jesus went
to his death. What happened? There were certainly many others being persecuted
at the time, why has his story stood out. It absolutely benefitted many
institutions to promote him. Without question, the most pagan, poly theistic
super power of the time, The Roman Empire, road his coat tails all the way to
the bank; just as so many do today. Yet, what was it about his story that
caused so many to document it at that time. By most estimates this began before
his own generation had passed on. Why
was his story, the biggest best seller human history has ever known?
I’m pretty sure we know why today & it’s very simple.
I’m not the first to suggest it, quite possibly the first you’ve considered, or
maybe the loudest } :) It is actually a
theory that is running rampant and has been for a number of years now.
Obviously squashed by the people who depend on your tithes to pay the bills,
but certainly no less powerful. A few things stand out, we’re certain he
studied the letters of Isaiah so we can safely assume he knew the story of a
“Jewish Savior”, also it is clear that the idea of a “Risen Savior” was alive
and well at the time and associated with a rebel known as “Simon of Peraea”
killed by the Romans as early as 4BC, very close to Jesus time. Possibly a
contemporary of Jesus’ cousin John (the Baptist). So we see these ideas were
alive and well in the population. I point to these things simply to show you
that in much the same way we scramble for news about Beiber, Brad & Angelina,
and Snooki; these people had the same ability to grow rumor and ideas.
Sin & the “payment for one’s sin” was an idea lorded
over this people. It infected the population & controlled every aspect of
their day to day lives. We clearly see its ill begotten ideas even today. It
was lorded over them in such a way that the idea of being “clean” was far more
a priority for most, then even food or shelter, and the only way to be clean
was to submit to the Religious Authority, its Priest Class & it’s laws. Jesus,
the man a prophet from Nazareth, came with a simple message, if you believe you
are free, then you are. His assertion was simple; there was no need to submit
to any human authority. Here we can begin to submit our own interpretations,
but For Me (and many others); the message is clear and simple
We can get bogged down on language; various religious interpretation
and grammar add infinitum. Or simply read the idea and take it on our hearts in
the same way we would with any other stimulating text. Ask yourself how we can
get emotional over a FB timeline, but not a written document over 2000K yrs.
old!? (I shake my head!)
One man challenges
one of, if not the most oppressive political, religious system in human
history, his actions were documented, & like all of “recorded” history, are
subject to interpretation. His message was quite simple; treat your fellow man
as you would like to be treated, and you are free, if you choose to be. In
later years Sorren Kierkegaard went on to write “People demand freedom of
speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom
use”. This is where real freedom begins; with the freedom of thought. A free
thinker is a powerful man.
That’s it. Today I deeply appreciate the life lesson he taught some 2000K yrs. ago, it
took me damn near a lifetime to discover it, "treat others as you like to be treated, seek truth & your own freedom", & by extension, "challenge the existing system" & yes he is my single biggest hero. Like Martin Luther King, Jr, Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandella, and so
many others. So many of these great men and women have been forgotten by
history. Like them he went to his death, carrying a message of non-violence, and reform for human rights. It saddens me
that men bastardize these lessons for their own profit & in many cases the
greatness of the person is lost. It certainly wasn’t the last time history saw
great men exploited for the religious machine ask the Mahatma, oh wait …
So there it is, to an intellectual community that prides
itself on measurable tangible proof, the information is available, if you
really want to find it. When, on August 2’nd 1939, Albert Einstein wrote his famous letter to, then President F.D. Roosevelt, morality most certainly met science face to face. Can we be so pious as to not respect his "moral" epiphany? I’m surely assuming much here, but we’d be foolish to not
recognize the obvious religious overtones, of this point in history as well. Before I finish I
believe it is paramount to recognize that the “Religion” we all rail against
today is the product of men. Maybe give God, the universe, the great expanse of
space, whatever it is you find yourself having a real difficulty with, a break.
Just recognize that men have created the issue, men have exploited men. At the
end of the day, men carried out these atrocities. They’d have done it all in the name
of "The Great Chicken" if they were led to believe it was the right thing to do. To
paraphrase the great mind of George Carlin, I don’t believe any God would be
giving a shit about my job situation, or my sex life, that would be my issue to
deal with, and I’m pretty sure if Jesus showed up on CNN he wouldn’t be saying
God Bless America, he’s be blessing everyone, & encouraging us to get over
our pompous bullshit, but who am I to speak for the big JC !? Now I’m one of
them }:(
We should never blame Religion, Science, Drugs, Alcohol
or Momentary Insanity for the Deeds of Men. If we have anything, it is the
freedom of choice, & more then one person has come through history to
remind us of that.
I’d like to end with the words of a great man & a
powerful mind, as prefaced in the picture from yesterday’s post:
“Science without religion is lame, religion without
science is blind”. (Albert Einstein)
- Know Today, That You Are Loved ! S.
- Know Today, That You Are Loved ! S.
3 comments:
The older I get, the more it becomes apparent to me that I really know nothing. I just want to have peace in my heart, to learn from every single person I come across and to treat others how I would like to be treated. Seems pretty simple, too bad it's not.
Stacy, we’ve read a lot of the same books, and even think a lot of the same things. It’s true that most historians agree that there probably was a human basis for the character of Jesus of Nazareth, whether Yeshyua Ben David, Simon of Peraea, or a host of other possibilities that have been batted back and forth over the years. Historically it can be plausibly argued that there was an anti-Roman political revolutionary who existed in the early part of the common era. A personality who called for a solidarity, unity and brotherhood in his community and preached against the greed, apathy and collaboration with an enemy that was literally and figuratively raping his country and culture. This person collected a following based on his message of (jewish) brotherhood and that as you stated “that there was no need to submit to any human authority” (a statement that in context of time and area may have had more to do with secular politics than theology since there were no human authorities in the area that weren’t Roman or Roman-backed.) Even if his message was politically based it doesn’t take away from the fact that the figure who was transformed into the mythical Jesus figure (long after his death) had a great deal of rational philosophy to offer on how we should live as a community of humans. I’ve never had any issues with the actual (pure) moralities Christianity aspires to. My issue has always been with the deification and mythologizing of this already impressive figure. ( and the hideous evils that have transpired as a result.) The great irony is that aside from the poetic usages of the name of God (a rhetorical device that would have given him a credibility with his devout Jewish audience and would have helped to fuel that nationalistic and cultural movement against the occupying polytheistic Romans) the figure that would become “The Christ” actually espouses a generally Humanist point of view. That we must be the solution to our own issues, that each of us is duty bound to recognize our effect on the people around us, and thus is required to be a positive force in the world. In his time and place these were profound statements.
However they have been the statements of a great many philosophers, scholars, and spiritual leaders throughout history. “Jesus” gained popularity with his people, more than likely through a powerful message of self-determination, and a likely very charismatic personality. He gained notoriety outside his sphere because his movement inconvenienced the world’s only real superpower at time, Rome. However not one non-biblical account attributes anything more than human to this man.
My issue is with what “St.” Paul and the other opportunists who created the mythical Christ figure, and the engine for shame, ignorance, intolerance, bigotry, racism, sexism, ect that operates in his name created. My issue is with the mythology that requires, and actively promotes a belief in superstition and mysticism, and the idea that all that is wonderful and glorious comes from outside while all that is evil and wicked is the purview of man and that it is only through the good will of this outside source that anything of value, grace, or goodness is possible. The idea that a life without religion is a life without morality offends me personally as I consider myself to be a basically moral person.
Also I think that the secular world should be guided by secular principles and that theology, spiritualism and what not should be a personal journey that is limited to the individual, or the community who gathers in their place of worship to share their faith. I have no problem with spiritualism for others( it doesn’t really work for me, but to each their own) my problem with religion is its insistence on itself in law, social policy, education, and science. I think that the morality should be enough, the teachings should be enough without the mythology and magic which can be demonstrated was grafted on at a later date to make the Jesus figure more palatable to a polytheistic and deeply superstitious Romanized world. While I’m sure that this post doesn’t encompass my entire canon of thoughts and feelings on the subject that would take a ridiculous amount of time and I recognize that I can’t indefinitely depend on the forbearance of my audience.
Thanks for the post and the conversation. I always enjoy thoughtful intelligent discussion.
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