A Tale of Two Trees

What did the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" mean to you growing up?  It's part of that basic Sunday School story that all church kids are raised with.  After God created Adam and Eve, he told them that they were free to eat from any fruit in the Garden of Eden except that which was from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Then of course in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve do precisely the one thing that God told them not to do, and the rest is history, well at least allegorically speaking.

The second chapter of Brian McLaren's book, "We Make the Road By Walking," deals with Genesis 2 and the introduction of this forbidden sapling.  The title is "Being Human" and talks about the two creation stories presented in the first two chapters of Genesis, and the two different trees that are mentioned: one the aforementioned "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" and the "Tree of Life." We don't hear so much about that one, do we?

So I started off by thinking about what the "forbidden tree" meant to me as I was raised in church from a little boy to eventually someone who considered joining the clergy.  When you're a kid in Sunday School, the tree itself doesn't really take top billing.  The story is about how Adam and Eve did something that God had told them not to, plain and simple.  Then look what happened because they disobeyed!  Of course then you go home and wonder if, because Adam and Eve were the first man and woman,....maybe we're all related and marrying somebody you're related to is generally frowned upon, but anyway...I digress.

Eventually I got older, and I started to think more in depth about this.  Okay, I admit, I didn't always WANT to think about this stuff, but I had to memorize parts of the Heidelberg Catechism, so thinking about something as relatively simple as the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" was a nice change of pace in high school Sunday School class.

So I guess my "adult idea" about the forbidden tree became something like this:  "Adam and Eve bought the serpent's argument that eating the fruit of the tree would make them like God.  Wanting to be like God is bad because there can be only one god (cue the Highlander reference).  This desire and this "sin" not only separated them from God, but put them in open rebellion against God."  This was, of course, all taken care of when Jesus died on the cross.

Sounds reasonable enough, right?  I mean for someone who grew up in the "sin avoidance" world of Calvinism.

McLaren takes a certain bit of this idea and riffs on it.  He challenges us to see BOTH trees in a slightly different light.  The Tree of Life is just that.  When we eat from it, we realize how wonderful the world around us is and how wonderful it is to be alive.  When you eat from the tree of life, everything, every human being, every plant and animal, is good just like God created it.  When we eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, we are indeed wanting to be like God, to play God.  We start judging aspects of the world around us.  This escalates into this "us vs them" thinking. Our tribe, our faith is good.  The other tribe, the other faith, is BAD.  If they're bad, well then we can go to war with them, run them down, and dehumanize them.

Eating from the tree of life invites love, joy, compassion, and the fullness of life.  Eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and evil invites judgement, resentment, and perhaps violence and death. Part of "Being Human," as McLaren puts it, is that we are faced with this choice everyday of our lives.  Everyday we face the choice to be accepting and loving or judgmental and self-righteous.  Is there really a question as to which Jesus would have us choose?  Remember, people are judging and looking down on you the same way you look down on others.

I will readily admit that I struggle with this concept.  I'm a very judgmental person.  I've been told that in certain situations I come across as really haughty and impressed with myself, and as I look at my thoughts and behavior, I'm thinking that there's a lot of truth to that.  The good thing is, as I've started to recognize these patterns of thought and these mannerisms, I've been able to make an attempt to think and behave differently.  I certainly don't succeed every time, but I have confidence that the effort will make me a better person in the long run.

At the end of the chapter, McLaren asks us to consider our hand.  A hand can be made into a fist for violence, or it can be offered as a gesture of peace and friendship. A hand can wield a gun or play a violin.  A hand can steal from others or serve others.  A hand can destroy or it can build.

Think about it.  What tree will you eat from everyday?  What will your hands do tomorrow?  It's considering questions like these, whether you're religious or not, that can make us all better people and make the world a better place.

Participatory Harmony

Recently I purchased Brian McLaren's new book "We Make the Road By Walking."  In this latest effort, McLaren endeavors to take us through a journey both through the church year and the Bible in 52+ chapters that act as pieces for devotional reading and contemplation.  At the end of each chapter, he poses several questions for the reader to use to engage the material.  I've got a fresh new notebook that I'm using to write about my responses, but I figured I would share a few here on the blog for everyone to read and comment on.

The book is actually set up to begin in late August-early September, for what in the church year is known as "Ordinary Time."  This is the season that eventually leads into Advent and Christmas.  Many evangelical Christians might not be all that familiar with the church year outside of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter.  However, with the Catholic Church in my background, I'm very attuned to the liturgical calendar, and I really enjoy what it can add to any church.  So this book is right up my alley.

The first chapter in the book is called "Awe and Wonder" and is primarily based on the creation story in Genesis 1 as a reading.  The first question asks what one thought in the chapter intrigued, provoked, disturbed, challenged, encouraged, warmed, warned, helped or surprised the reader.  This was easy for me.  One thought stood above the rest, the thought of participatory harmony in creation.

So we get going with the very first word in the very first verse of the Bible.  The Hebrew creation story beautifully unfolds through the opening chapter.  However, too often these days these words are seen as a source for controversy and division as opposed to a celebration of the beauty of the universe around us.  That's right, it's the whole religion vs science debate, a debate where many Christians totally disregard empirical evidence and observation because it seemingly controverts the opening scenes in the Bible.  In the interest of full disclosure, I am not one of those people.  Extensive training in hard sciences gives me the evidence I need to believe in things like evolution and modern astrophysics.  Too often however, this divide becomes so sharp that people on both ends of the spectrum forget to take a step back and marvel at the world around them.

Moving past that debate though, I see one area where modern Christians have really dropped the ball, and that has to do with the care of the world around us.  For me, this stems from one belief that often seems inherent in Christian theology: the idea that God created humans and set them apart from and above the rest of creation and the world around them.  Science challenges this assertion as well.  If humans evolved in the same way other animals, plants, and birds did, well then we don't seem quite so special.  But in my mind, this assertion isn't just an affront to science, it changes the way many of us view the world.

Instead of viewing the ourselves as part of or a caretaker of the world around us, we see ourselves as above it all.  That in turn, gives us leave to abuse it and consume it in an irresponsible fashion.  After all, God put it all here for us to use, right?  We have definitely used it, and used it up.  Global temps are rising, and air quality is an issue in most American cities of any size.  Rivers, streams, lakes, and even our oceans have been turned into dumps, which continues to have toxic effects in many parts of the world.  Forests. jungles, and pristine natural environments are bulldozed to claim their finite resources and to make room for our species to expand even more.  Where is the Christian church in all of this?  Most often the church is either totally silent or tossed in with the "consume at all costs crowd."  People who speak against this are often labeled as tree hugging liberals and either dismissed or shouted down.

This is a pity, because the beauty of this passage is that the creation story calls us to behave in a different manner.  McLaren writes:

"The best thing in Genesis is not simply human beings, but the whole creation considered together as a beautiful, integrated whole, and us a part."

Christians believe that people are made in the very image of the god who created the world, the artist that painted the masterpiece.  Imagine standing next to the Mona Lisa and being able to discuss it with Da Vinci himelf!  Imagine how angry he might become if you destroyed it.  Now, take that a step further.  Imagine that you're not separate and apart from the masterwork, but that you're a part of it!  Imagine that everything you do plays a part in the finished product!  You, and I, have a great opportunity to be a player, to be a character in the greatest masterpiece: the Earth and Universe around us!  We have a part to play in the harmony of creation, and that part is essential.  We are a force, and we can use it for renewal and beauty or consumption and destruction.

However it's when we actually participate in the role that the creator has laid out for us, when we seek to be agents of renewal and preservation of the world around us that we can truly see the beauty, poetry, and music in all of it.  My choir teacher in high school used to talk about how when all 4 parts of a harmony are sung correctly, you can actually hear a fifth part in the music as well.  When we play our part in the harmony, that overarching beauty comes through.  How can anyone stand on the shore of an ocean and not feel like they're a part of something large, unique, and beautiful?

When we actively participate in harmony with creation, then the Creator, the One who is the beginning and ending of all things can, like a master artist, step back, smile upon his creation and say once again that "It is good."

Stop Hunger Now--International Hunger Relief

Last Sunday morning a representative from the international relief organization "Stop Hunger Now" visited our morning service to share a little bit about what it is they do for folks around the world.  I was personally very moved by the presentation, so I thought I would share it with all of you.

Originally founded by a Methodist minister, Stop Hunger Now has been working to bring food and other resources to communities all over the world since 1998.  They coordinate not only the distribution of food, but other resources as well, to kids and families.  At the heart of their mission is their meal packaging program that began in 2005.  They're not solely a religious agency, but a relief agency that works with businesses, schools, and community organizations as well as churches to collect donations and assemble meals that will be sent all over the world.  According to the presentation and the agency's website, the meals are made of a rice/soy base that is added to dehydrated vegetables and a packet of vitamins and minerals. The presentation we had also said that depending on the area, locally available protein materials are added to the meals to add that essential as well.

The representative showed us a video and some slides of a couple of schools in Uganda that the agency works closely with.  She explained that many of the children walk 3-5 miles to school everyday, and that for some, the meals they get at the school are the only steady source of food that they receive.  So partnering with these schools is an effective way to not only distribute some of the meals, but to encourage children to get a basic education as well.  She said that the earning capacity of one of these kids goes up 5% for every year they stay in school.  The schools are especially helpful for young girls because they not only get the education, but they take what they've learned back to their homes and villages and teach other people as well.  She said "In Africa, educating a boy educates an individual, but educating a girl educates a community."

After the service they handed out little Chinese take-away type cartons for us all to take home and gather our loose change in.  Just 29 cents provides a meal with six servings.  We'll be bringing the cartons back on September 7th and the proceeds will go to help provide meals that church volunteers, including myself and my family, will help package during the second week of December.  They're hoping to provide enough money for, and package, 10,000 meals.  It's kind of a trip to think that just some loose change and a couple of hours worth of work can help provide food for 10,000 people!

I'll let you all know how it goes, and I'm really looking forward to it!  To me, this kind of work for other people is truly at the heart of Jesus's teaching, and it's going to be cool to be a part of it.

For more information or to make a donation to Stop Hunger Now, visit their website.

Faith Leaders in Ferguson

Religious leaders have joined the peaceful protests in Ferguson.  (Photo: Mike Angell)

The events in Ferguson, Missouri, have been painful to watch over the last few days.  Tensions erupted in the St. Louis suburb on Saturday after a confrontation between a young man, Mike Brown, and a police officer ended with the officer shooting and killing Brown.  Brown was unarmed at the time.

I'm not here to discuss the merits of the case or any of the particulars.  I share the same concerns that many of us do about violence in our society, use of deadly force by police, and some of the racial elements that seem to be in play here.  However, I've had enough of that over the last few days on social media, where feelings run high, emotions are unchecked, and speculation becomes fact.  After realizing that I was descending into these attitudes myself, I decided to pull away rather than become part of the problem.

However, as I was browsing Brian McLaren's site this morning, I came across this article from Think Progress which talks about how religious leaders in Ferguson, black and white, have organized to take part in peaceful, nonviolent protests.  These folks are uniting with other protesters and helping channel the energy of the community toward something positive in the wake of this tragedy.

To me this is part of exactly what Christians and Christian clergy should be doing.  It's one thing to sit in your pew every Sunday and pray for others, it's another to leave the sanctuary and get out amongst the people and get your hands dirty.  According to the article above, on previous nights one pastor was shot in the abdomen with a rubber bullet and at least two clergy members were arrested.  Last night, as the Missouri State Police took over and more clergy hit the street, things were different.  Not only were faith leaders out with the protesters, but they carried bags of food and supplies to people who lived in apartment buildings that have been blocked off by police during the protests.  Sounds an awful lot like something Jesus would do.  Michael Kinman, Dean of Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral in St. Louis, mentions in the article:

“I think the role of the faith community is always reconciliation.  Reconciliation is at the heart of our call … Whenever an event like this happens, we have to ask ourselves: who would Jesus be standing with?”

That's a question that Christians should be asking themselves about Ferguson, but we shouldn't stop there.  We should take the Christlike example of these folks and apply it to our own lives and our own circumstances every day.  How about we exercise less judgment and more understanding?  How about instead of venting unchecked emotion via social media, we strive to be a voice for peace and reconciliation?  How about instead of a Day of Rage, we have a Day of Peace and Service?

Think about it.

Target For Conversion or Opportunity For Friendship?

Growing up in Utah and not being LDS is, shall we say, an interesting experience.  If you're not familiar with the term "LDS," I'm referring to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or as they are sometimes known, Mormons.  Now, I know where you think I'm going here.  You're thinking I'm going to setup the "Are Mormons actually Christians" debate (yawn) or you think I'm just going to trash the LDS Church.  I promise, I'm not going to do either.

However, when you're a kid, it doesn't matter that much.  You play with the kids in the neighborhood.  You ride bikes, play army men or whatever and the thought of "this kid doesn't go to the same church as me" doesn't generally come into play, at least until the adults become aware.  I remember I must have been in my early grade school years when I asked one of my friends if he wanted to come to my house and play after school.  His response was "My mom says I can't come to your house anymore because you're not Mormon."  He was as baffled as I was.

It cuts the other way as well though.  Many Protestant and Catholic churches, ok mostly Protestant churches, in the State of Utah feel like they need to "witness to Mormons."  This generally involves teaching members of the congregation the differences between LDS theology and what we'll call "classical Christian theology."  Once you're armed with the knowledge of these differences, you're told to go hit the street and smack your Mormon friends over the head with Bible and tell them that they're going to hell unless they renounce their "cult" and then preferably convert to whatever your brand of Christianity might be.  It's just as divisive as what other folks accuse Mormons of doing.

I was, however, strangely fortunate growing up.  "Winning souls for Christ" was never really a huge part of the church I was raised in.   My pastor was a very kind-hearted man who loved to talk about ancient and biblical history.  He also loved Mormons.  Not the kind of condescending "love" that says "I love you, so accept my message and my faith or burn in hell," but actual love.  He was always willing, and thrilled, to sit down with any Mormon individual and talk about their faith and ask them what they thought about the things he believed.

Not everybody in our church was thrilled with his approach, but he became a force in the community trying to unite, instead of divide, it's residents.  He was even a featured writer in the local newspaper's religion section for awhile.  He was ahead of his time.  At one point some Muslim residents asked if they could use some of the facilities on the church property as kind of a makeshift mosque.  He welcomed them with open arms.

He and I had our differences later on, differences that were so steep that they caused me to abandon my desire to join the clergy and leave the church altogether.  These differences were personal, and had nothing to do with the way he treated people of other faiths.  However, now I look back on it and I see that I probably didn't give him enough credit for what he was trying to accomplish in the community.

So let's say you're a Christian.  Where do you sit?  When you bump into a Muslim, a Mormon, a Jewish person, a Buddhist, or even an atheist, what is your thought process?  How do you want your relationship with this individual to develop?  Do you see this person as a target for a religious conversion, or as a chance for you to make a new friend and learn about their traditions, or even their lack of traditions?  I would contend that the way most people would answer this question is the source of a lot of conflict in our world.

We've all been there.  You're sitting down to watch TV and the doorbell rings.  You get up and answer the door to find missionaries from another faith at your door and what happens?  You get instantly annoyed. You may be polite enough as you decline their advances, but generally speaking, that sense of annoyance wins out.  Now, do you not think that other people see you that way when you try to smack them on the head with your Bible?  Spoiler alert: that's exactly how they see you.

Writers and leaders in the Emergent Church movement have suggested an entirely different way to view "missions."  What if, instead of the divisive "accept my faith or rot in hell" approach, we take an approach more like Jesus might have.  Instead of Bible thumping, maybe we could say "Oh, you're a Muslim/atheist/Mormon/Buddhist or whatever?  Great!  Let's catch a bite to eat sometime, I'd love to hear more about how you look at the world."

Now perhaps once your prospective new friend overcomes the shock of not being Bible-thumped, they may actually take you up on it!  If they do, keep the commitment, and LISTEN.  They'll probably expect a point by point rebuttal, but surprise them!  Ask them questions, seek to deepen your understanding of their worldview without having to insert your own.  Nobody's asking you to agree with everything they say, but just maybe you'll make a new friend instead of a convert, and when you make a new friend, you can grow together. Can you imagine what might happen in our world, the change that could be brought about by being friends as opposed to adversaries?

In the end Christians are ultimately called to live like Christ, and that means seeking peace and understanding.  That means breaking down barriers and serving others, even those folks who are of a different faith than you might be.  Think about that next time you start to roll your eyes at someone who is of a different belief or culture.

In the end, I love the way Brian McLaren talks about this.  He says that oftentimes when you meet someone of a different faith, the desire is to walk along the path with them and to bring them to YOUR PLACE. That is somewhere you've been, somewhere you feel comfortable, your turf so to speak.  Well guess what?  Your companion on the path probably isn't going to find that as appealing as you do.  Instead, being genuine companions on a journey should take you both to a place where neither of you have been, and maybe where neither of you feel comfortable at first, but it's in that place where you both learn so much about each other and the world as a whole.  By undertaking these journeys and seeking to make friends instead of win converts, we just might have a chance to forge a unity never before seen that could be great for all of us!

Book Review: "Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?" by Brian McLaren

I wish more people would read Brian McLaren's books. I genuinely think he's onto something.  This is the third one of his that I've read, and I think it's the best so far.  In all of his books he advocates for a new spirit in Christianity, a spirit that is more focused on being like Jesus than on Old Testament moral codes and whatever conservative political cause happens to be raging at the moment.

The heart of this book is daring to ask, and answer, a simple question:  What if Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and the Prophet Mohammed were to meet?  What would happen if they all bumped into each other at the local diner?  If you take these four great men at their word, it's hard to believe that they would get into an argument over who was right or whose followers were on the right path.  What you might actually envision is a very hospitable meeting where ideas are exchanged and love is given.

So why are the followers of these great men so different?  McLaren seeks to answer that throughout the book, at least as far as Christians go.  Along the way he ruffles a lot of feathers.  If you're a more traditional Christian, this book will challenge you to think about your deeply held religious beliefs, and that's a good thing.  People like me, who think that the Christianity has gone off the rails, welcome this process and the results can be life changing for the better.

The first set of assumptions that McLaren challenges have to do with doctrine, and I think it's here that he probably angers the most people.  He tackles Creation, Original Sin, Election, the Trinity, Christology, and the Holy Spirit.  All through these reformulations he is asking the question: How can we view these doctrines in a way that makes us benevolent people without watering down the Christian faith?

If making you think about doctrine wasn't enough, next McLaren tackles liturgy, which has long been an interest of mine as I've taken part in various Protestant and Catholic liturgies.  First McLaren looks at how to re-imagine the church year to help foster his Strong-Benevolent Christian identity.  This includes sections on Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time.  The he goes on to talk about baptism, music, Bible reading, and concludes with a beautifully written chapter on Communion. 

Finally McLaren talks about how to take his Strong-Benevolent Christian Identity out into the world, getting into the nuts and bolts of dealing with people from other faiths or people with no religion.  He doesn't advocate seeing people as "conversion targets."  He advocates being nice and Christlike to people form other religions or people with no religion.  He argues that we should respectfully learn about their beliefs and traditions and see the good in everyone.  After all, Christians believe that humans were made in the image of God, so we can see God in Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists...it doesn't matter.  He draws on his own experiences with people from other traditions to hope that if Christians can set a Christlike example and lead the way, then perhaps others will join us in making the world a better place.

This book will make you think about things, whether you're a Christian or not.  I encourage folks to read it.  Obviously it will challenge you if you call yourself a Christian, but it can also challenge non Christians or lapsed Christians to see the faith in a new light and know that not every Christian wishes to be hostile to everyone else.

I'm not done with this book.  Well, I finished it, but it's impossible to not have other thoughts and feelings about the things he says here.  Look for other entries in the future on various aspects of this Strong-Benevolent Christian identity.

The Heart of Christ, The Heart of Compassion

"I give you a new commandment: Love one another.  As I have loved you. so you should love one another.  This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."--St. John 13:34-25.

As I've traveled the road I'm on, from clergy candidate to hardcore atheist, to whatever I am these days, I've held one constant thought.  I've just not been able to escape from the fact that what often passes for Christianity these days has absolutely nothing to do with what Christ had to say.  I honestly don't understand.  I was raised in a Christian home and a church where I was taught the Jesus loved everybody, that his gift of purpose and life was open to all.  I studied theology, I learned from pastors and priests who further instilled this in me even more.  However, the more I got out in the world, the more it blew up in my face.  Eventually I got so tired of seeing and hearing Christians prattling on about judgement, prosperity, and Old Testament moral codes that it drove a wedge in between me and the faith I believed was calling me to be a servant of God.

The more I've thought about it, I've drilled down to three things that are found in the teachings of Jesus Christ that seem to be incompatible with modern "conservative" Christianity.  I believe these three things are are the cornerstone of Christ's teaching and ministry, so they should also be the foundation of the lives of Christians and churches.

1. Jesus loves and gave his life for everyone, and invites everyone to share in his life and love.
At first this doesn't sound all that controversial, but I contend that it isn't just controversial, but radically subversive and and contrary to modern, conservative, Christianity.  Most Christians today are more than happy to invite anyone to their table, as long as that person subscribes to the same creed or liturgical form, and as long as that person isn't gay, liberal, or heaven forbid not religious at all!  Is that really what Jesus had in mind?   I think not.  This is the guy who hung around with a bunch of dirty fishermen, prostitutes, and tax collectors.  That's right, TAX collectors.  Can you honestly envision Jesus turning a gay person away from his table?

Of course, then everybody comes back with "but the Bible says that being gay is a sin."  Well guess what folks, the Bible says a lot of things.  It's amazing to see what Christians will drill down to find.   People will spend a ton of time talking about how the Bible says "Do this and don't do that," yet they don't seem to spend all that much time on what Jesus said or did.  It's also worth noting that probably nobody absolutely conforms to these Old Testament codes anymore, and God doesn't smite everybody for it.

The message of Christ is absolute, unconditional love.  It's not "hate the sin, love the sinner."  This is just more us vs them talk that makes people feel superior to others.  When you turn away people in your life, for whatever reason, you are turning away Jesus as well.

2. Jesus envisions a humble community where people share with each other, help each other, and rely on each other as opposed to an individual, selfish, and overly self-reliant lifestyle.
American Christianity is heavily influenced by the puritanical version of Calvinism that was brought to our coasts by those guys and gals with the funny hats that we celebrate every Thanksgiving.  You want those strict moral codes?  It's hard to get stricter than your friendly neighborhood Pilgrim (or Puritan).  They also brought this code of "If you don't work, you don't eat."  This has translated to the modern day selfishness that is so inherent in many libertarian, tea bagger, and ultra-conservative circles.  Are there people who take advantage of the generosity of others?  Absolutely.  Does it mean that people, especially Christians, should dispense with the generosity and self sacrifice preached by Christ?  Absolutely not.  This is what Jesus looks like to these folks:

The only problem with this is that it's totally against everything that Jesus taught and did.   I kicked off this entry with a picture of Jesus feeding the 5000.   Take a look at this story either in Matthew's or John's Gospel.  Basically it's late on in the evening and there a ton of people around with nothing to eat.  The disciples tell Jesus to send them away so that they can go buy food for themselves.  Jesus says that this isn't necessary, and he takes the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish brought by a small boy and turns it into enough food for everyone plus some left over.

Note that Jesus didn't tell the people to go fend for themselves.  He didn't refuse to take the 5 loaves and 2 fish from the boy and give it to all of these other people because the crowd didn't bake the bread or catch the fish.  He made it enough for everyone.  Through the sharing of resources, everyone was taken care of.  Sure there was a miracle in this story, but think about it.  There is more than enough food and resources for everyone in the USA, with some left over.  We throw a ton of food away!   We go to church, give a tithe or offering, say a superficial prayer and feel that our obligation is done.  Everybody else needs to get off their butt and get a job, or a second job, or a third job.  Jesus had a vision of community where people share resources and talents for the good of all, not some Ayn Randian society where people just fend for themselves and are indifferent to or hostile to the suffering of others.  This is clear as can be all through the Gospels.

3.  Jesus thought the best of everyone and gave people the benefit of the doubt.
There isn't a more poignant or heartbreaking scene in the Gospels than some of the last words of Jesus recorded in Luke 23:34.  As Jesus hangs on the cross after being tortured and near death, as he watches the Roman soldiers below him gamble for the last of his possessions, he sends a plea to his father:  "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Dwell on that for a few minutes.   These people just flogged him and then made him carry the instrument of his own execution though the city and up a hill.  When he got there, they nailed him to the wood and suspended him from the cross, his body weight causing him to drown in the fluid from his own lungs.  Most people at the foot of the cross are still mocking him, and he has to be still stinging from the crowds chanting for his death and the betrayals of his best friends.  Yet in the midst of this, with some of his last breaths, he prays to God to forgive these people.  There at the end, at the moment of death, he knows what's going on and is still thinking the best of the people who tortured and killed him.

Yet Christians today are so quick to judge and to think the worst about people.  Gay people, who desire nothing more than legal recognition of their relationships are considered evil folks who are out to push their beliefs on others.  Nothing is further from the truth.  Gay people are just like anyone else, people who want to live their lives in peace as they see fit.

Poor people, those people Jesus cared about so much?  They're all lazy.  They just need to get off the couch and get another job, because we're certainly not going to share what we have.  Some of the hardest working people I know work 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet, and they would have serious words with anyone who sat around in an air-conditioned office all day and called them lazy.

Jesus calls us to see the best in everyone.  It's not easy sometimes, but everyone is worth love and respect no matter who they are or what they do.  Jesus calls us to love the unlovable.  Jesus doesn't care if you're a criminal, he sees a the basic humanity that just might be turned around.  Jesus calls us to love the people our society hides away.  He calls us to love the sick, the handicapped, the dying.  It's not a suggestion for something to do if we get our latest project done at work.  It is the way of Jesus, the way of sacrifice, the way of the cross.

It seems like these days we all spend more effort finding excuses for not doing what Jesus asks of us.  "Well, I can't be in a community with these people because they're gay, and that's wrong.  It doesn't matter if they were created that way."  "I'm sorry Jesus, I just can't support social programs for the poor, unemployed, or sick because they'll just learn to depend on it and never fend for themselves."  Does this really hold water with the man who let himself be tortured and executed for you? I don't think so.

Christians are called to have a heart like the heart of Christ.  That heart loves everyone, shares with everyone, and thinks the best of everyone.  That heart is a heart of compassion and love, even when we may think it's not deserved.

Live that love, live that compassion.

And don't let YOUR heart be hardened. 

Deseret News Advocates "Learning About Religion" In Schools

I came across something very interesting as I looked at all my news sites this morning.  Flipping through stories on KSL.com I came across an editorial that they had cross posted with the Deseret News entitled: "10 Reasons Why Religion Belongs In School."  I encourage you to read it.  It's rather eye opening.  Of course, it's also not surprising that it's coming from the Deseret News.  If you're not from Utah and not familiar with the paper, it's basically a newspaper connected with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

When you start to dive into the editorial, they try to couch their terms right off the bat, saying they want kids to "learn about religion" in schools, portraying that they're stopping just short of saying that schools should be teaching and openly advocating certain religious principles.  They then go on to list all the ways in which religion might be a cure all for America's school system.

Let's take a look at some of these.  First off, they cite a couple of studies that say religion helps brain development.  The link they provide to justify this isn't an actual study at all.  It's another opinion piece, from Guam of all places, that puts a pro-religious spin on a study that actually finds that children raised in religious settings tend to have issues distinguishing fantasy from reality.  Check out the actual study here.  They also cite the magazine "Psychology Today" saying that pretend play helps children.  Sure it does.  My Developmental Psychology prof would have surely agreed with this.  However I think he would have also said that by the time kids get into school, especially secondary school, it's time to start focusing on critical thinking skills rather than pretend play.  In fact, the brain developments that the Deseret News would like to link to religion tend to usually come from studying music and the arts.  But let's not let facts get in the way of the Des News editor's personal battle in the culture wars.

Second they say that religion keeps kids out of trouble.  Sure, it might.  However this benefit is hardly unique to religion.  Schools and community organizations offer plenty of organized activities that give kids focus, a sense of community, a chance to learn social norms, and a place to channel their rather copious amounts of energy.  Things like sports leagues, music programs, and after school programs all offer this same benefit without having to resort to religious teachings.

Third they mention that religious schools tend to perform better than public schools or charter schools.  They cite a 2013 article from the Peabody Journal of Education to back this up.  Again the link provided is not to the actual study but to a Christian article about the study.  The article then mentions that the study itself isn't even a causal or correlational study.  It's a meta-analysis of previous studies and statistics, basically a summary and interpretation of other people's work.  While meta-analysis does have it's place in academic research, anyone who has actually taken a basic research methods class knows that meta-analysis certainly cannot claim causality nor can it really make a strong case for correlation.  It's just as easy to say that benefits derive from other aspects of religious schools such as smaller class sizes or as the article itself even mentions, the fact that kids are often pushed to excel in harder classes and the arts.  Any connection of actual religious teaching to these effects is tenuous at best and not borne out in other research.

Fourth, they say, based on the opinion of one psychologist, that religion helps kids develop psychologically. Well psychological development is largely tied to brain development, which we debunked in point number one.  The rest of it is tied to a complex series of nature vs nurture questions that psychologists are still debating.  Again the link given in the article is not to an unbiased academic source, but a Christian site that makes no attempt to hide it's bias.  Also the "expert" that wrote the piece offers not a single shred of scientific or academic evidence to back up her assertions.

Next they say that religious schools and classes help American children read more.  Again, this benefit is not unique to religious institutions.  Honors and AP classes also offer extensive reading programs to kids, again without the religious slant.  These programs also expose kids to a wider variety of reading material, almost certainly more than they would be exposed to in a strictly religious setting.  Would a religious school encourage kids to read books about secular philosophy or a work critical of their religion?  I doubt it.  I'm all for schools encouraging kids to read more and revamping their reading programs, but again religion doesn't really offer any more of a tangible benefit here.

On we go to six out of ten.  Supposedly religion helps kids learn more about themselves.  Here they actually do site a study,  a study done with a Christian slant to fulfill a degree in Biblical studies.  The study claims that specifically Christian education helps kids overcome things like identity crises.  The study does not appear to use any kind of control setting nor does it study how kids in a nonreligious setting move past these issues.  In fact, the entire point of the study, as stated in the abstract, is to establish the pattern in Christian studies.  For this to have any real academic use, it would have to be tested against kids learning social norms and coping skills in secular settings.  Also, I would contend that overtly religious reasoning in dealing with these issues doesn't actually solve internal issues, but just casts them in a different light, perhaps causing different issues later on when the child inevitably comes into contact with the wider world and different types of cultures and beliefs.

Next apparently religion helps you get a job.  They site a study showing that there are fewer unemployed religious studies majors than business majors.  While the numbers cited are statically significant, the survey is merely laying out the numbers, not ascribing any particular reasoning to them.  The survey says that 2.5% of religious studies majors are unemployed.  Well, 0.0% percent of Astronomy, archaeology, genetics, cognitive science, and nuclear engineering students are unemployed, so maybe your kids are better majoring in science than in business or religion.  See, I can make extrapolations from data too.

Number eight says that religious schooling helps further your education.  According to LSU, religious studies students go on to get higher degrees.  This isn't exactly breaking news.  A graduate degree is pretty much essential to people looking for a job in religion.  I know, because I was going to go into the clergy.  That required a master's degree.  Again, other majors in science and cognitive science also encourage and often require advanced degrees.  The article also ventures that you learn things like critical thinking skills in religion classes.  No, you don't.  Religion is one giant appeal to authority and is the exact opposite from critical thinking.  Critical thinking is fostered in language, science, and the arts.

Are you ready for number nine?  It suggests that religion is good for American business.  After all, happy people work better, and according to the Washington Post, religious people are happier!  Click over to the link on story.  Again, it's not scientific or academic research, but a pundit's own opinion and reasoning. What evidence is cited to back this up?  None.  Sure, religion can provide a framing construct for people to arrange their lives in a way that will make themselves happy, but many other fulfilling aspects in life allow us to do the same thing.  Religion also often boasts an us vs them aspect to that framing construct which can in the end generate happiness in a person by allowing them to feel superior to another person.

Finally the article ends by saying that religion helps knock down depression.  This comes from the view of one religious sociologist who again did a meta-analysis of previous work.  Depression, especially in children and teens is a complex set of circumstances and emotions that must be dealt with on a case by case basis. As I said earlier, mental well being and social coping skills are influenced by a myriad of factors both biological and environmental.  This is even more the case with teenagers who are flooded with a new range of hormones and emotions when they go through puberty.  A skilled psychologist may indeed use religion in helping a teen patient overcome depression if it's already a part of his or her life.  However, it's only one tool in the tool box and isn't the correct tool as often as the Deseret News would have us believe.  Cognitive behavioral therapy is often the tool of choice for dealing with adolescent depression.  This study, from Duke University, studies the effects of this therapy when used with certain medications.

So we've now seen that the Deseret News approach is overly simplistic at best and just plain dishonest at worst.  I'm not saying that there should be no place for religion in the home or in a child's life.  However, that place should be in the home or in the church, not in the public school.  This is an established precedent in American courts.  The Deseret news simply tries to reframe the tired old arguments made by the culture warriors who are trying to get their religious beliefs plugged back into public schools.  Both the courts and the academic sphere have found these arguments to be unconvincing.  Nice try though.

It's also curious to note that the Deseret News doesn't mention which religion they want to be taught in schools.  They make it appear on the surface that they just want kids to be taught about religion in general, but drilling into what source material they don't misstate or spin reveals that they are pushing for the advocacy of Christianity.  I highly doubt that most of the readers of the Deseret News would be happy if their kids came home from school and said they learned that Allah is God and Mohammed is his prophet. Schools and teachers would be immediately slammed for advocating Islam.

It's just another volley fired in the culture wars and more us vs them reasoning.  If you want to teach your kids about religion, teach them about the love and mercy of Christ, and then let the schools teach arts, language, math, and science.