Archive for the 'dikastis/justice' Category

zeitgeist & men behind the curtain

Published on February 20, 2008 in alethia/truth, dikastis/justice, epilogei/choice and politik/politics. 16 Comments

Does anyone else feel like our present “Information Age” is turning them into a conspiracy theorist??

Maybe it’s just me.

Allow me to explain; those of us who enjoy the constant input of information can (and do!) literally spend hours on the internet just learning things. Strangely, we may even feel that it’s somehow our humanly duty to stay informed and up-to-date about the state of the world.

At face value this is all well and good, but unfortunately, big chunks of the world are pretty messed up.

In our searching we start to notice things. Cracks in the corners. Fractures in foundations. For those of us that, dare I say, “pay attention” to what’s happening, we can’t help but become a bit distrustful of the mainstream current of news. Things just don’t line up. A person like me, willfully drenched in the latest information, and trained in critical thinking (a good liberal arts university will do that to you) simply can’t buy the homogenized bullshit that seeps from every media pore.

To be honest, I hate even talking like this because it makes me feel like some kind of conspiratorial wingnut, out there on the very fringes of reality, completely divorced from any sense.

But what if the status quo is the real nonsensical life? Anyone with even half a brain cannot deny the disappearing act that is the American Middle Class, and it doesn’t take very much economic research to see how this happens.

I’m still very much in research mode about all this and how to connect all the dots, but for now I want to focus on what’s possibly the most pressing, urgent concern in the mind of probably nearly all Americans right now — the fact that our economy is sitting on the edge of the toilet, ready to get flushed.

We all know that present events are never detached from a historical context, and naturally, this isn’t the first economic crisis the US has weathered. Of course, the biggest and most famous happened in 1929, but a few casual searches got me wondering: what in the world actually caused that one? Of course we were all taught that people started taking their money out of the banks, a la “It’s A Wonderful Life,” but what caused that?

I recently came across a documentary called “Zeitgeist.” I haven’t watched the whole thing, but I did watch Part 3: The Men Behind The Curtain. It has a lot of interesting things to say about our economic situation; the rabbit hole may go much deeper than I originally thought.

The fact is, the group madness of 1929 had to originate somewhere, and the more I learn about the nefarious, seemingly endless diabolical greed of humanity, a conspiracy such as “Zeitgeist” sadly doesn’t seem as theoretical as it used to.

What do you think??

//

Email This Post Email This Post +++ Print This Post Print This Post +++ Now that's del.icio.us.

jim wallis: american gangster

Published on February 5, 2008 in alethia/truth, allagei/change, dikastis/justice, epilogei/choice and politik/politics. 8 Comments

I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Jim Wallis speak at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena last night. He just released a new book called “The Great Awakening,” and has just started a book tour to promote it. (I haven’t read it yet, but I will soon!)

I’m a regular reader of Jim’s work (and in fact carry a nice link to the God’s Politics blog right over there in the sidebar), and almost always love what he has to say.

But I gotta admit, he’s even cooler in person. Or as my friend Jon said, “He’s pretty badass.”

We sat in the second row, about five feet from Brother Jim, amongst probably 150 other students, and listened intently as he brought hope to an otherwise rather dismal Super Tuesday. Of course, as of right now, 7am “the morning after,” we don’t know yet what will shake out because of yesterday’s primaries, but priliminary reports are saying that Mr. Hundred Years in Iraq McCain is leading the GOP (seriously, do we have to still call it that? It ain’t so Grand anymore, folks!), and Obama and Hillary are tied on the other side (and does anyone else hate that we have sides?).

But Mr. Wallis gave me some hope last night. Hope that despite whatever madness may occur between now and November, the real winner this year is CHANGE. We hear it everywhere, from the mouths of every candidate, from Democrats and Republicans, from reporters and journalists. And the reason they’re saying it is because they heard it from us, the American people, first.

There’s a social movement going on, and no matter what happens on Capitol Hill, it is US, the true grassroots force for change, that will make the difference.

Jim said that he started his book tour last week at the Bagdad Theater in Portland, and they were showing a movie after his talk. Up on the marquee it said:


J I M _ W A L L I S
A M E R I C A N _ G A N G S T E R

Ah yes, I believe so.

//

Email This Post Email This Post +++ Print This Post Print This Post +++ Now that's del.icio.us.

the rich young me

Published on January 29, 2008 in alethia/truth, dikastis/justice, epilogei/choice and zoe/life. 10 Comments

I had coffee last week with my friend Greg, and, as always, we had some great conversations about church, life, and the meaning of basically everything.

In the christian bible, there’s a story about a rich young man who, one day, approached Jesus, wanting the inside track to the Kingdom. Jesus responds by reciting a bunch of commandments to follow, and when the young man says he already does all those things, Jesus tells him that he has one more thing to do: go sell his stuff and give it to the poor. The man was rich; he couldn’t do it. And it’s in this context where Jesus introduces that timeless sticky idea we’ve all heard about a camel trying to squeeze through a needle’s eye, in reference to how difficult it will be for the wealthy to actually find his Kingdom.

If you’ve been in church for awhile, you’ve probably heard this story a million times; I know I have. And outside of painting a pretty cool picture in my head (as hard as that big ‘ol camel tries to suck in his camel-fat, he can never fit! Haha!), I never take too much away from it.

But today, Greg turned me into the rich young man.

I don’t ever really think of myself as rich. I look around and notice the wealth of the world, and, honestly, I don’t see me. I see a lot of other people, and strangely (or not), they’re all probably the same people you see when you think “rich.” But the fact is (and you probably already know where I’m going with this) that compared with the rest of the world, I’m pretty stinkin’ wealthy.

Take a look at this clip from Rob Bell’s NOOMA entitled “Rich” (if nothing else, watch the first 17 seconds):

The fact is, I don’t think we value truth very much.

We choose to make comparisons all the time, but only when they’re in our favor. We compare UP when it benefits us (”I’m nowhere near as wealthy as Mr. Gates!”) and then compare DOWN when that works better (”I’m tithing a full 10% of my income to my church. I’ll bet they don’t even give at all!”). To me, we’re ignoring the truth; we’re disregarding facts.

Once in awhile, I think it’s good to compare in the direction we’d rather not — UP to, say, a Mother Teresa. Or DOWN to kids in Rwanda. Might be good for us.

Otherwise we start to look at lot like that stupid, fat ‘ol camel.

//

Email This Post Email This Post +++ Print This Post Print This Post +++ Now that's del.icio.us.

charlie wilson’s war

Published on January 25, 2008 in alethia/truth, allagei/change, dikastis/justice, epilogei/choice and politik/politics. 2 Comments

Just finished watching “Charlie Wilson’s War,” and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you’ve not seen it yet, I must highly recommend it — especially if you’re even slightly intrigued by politics, enjoy a great Tom Hanks or Philip Seymour Hoffman performance, or are categorically attracted to Amy Adams (who me!?).

This is one of those films that almost makes me want to stop offering my opinions on things. It seems as though there are so many events that have happened behind the curtain in the scenes of the world that I know absolutely nothing about.

This film in particular really makes me wonder how much American activity during the cold war has affected the current socio-political state in the Middle East/Russia… any thoughts on that from anybody who knows more than I do (which wouldn’t take much!)??

(Allison’s friend Spellman is in this movie, too! Very cool.)

//

Email This Post Email This Post +++ Print This Post Print This Post +++ Now that's del.icio.us.

jim wallis on the daily show

Published on January 23, 2008 in allagei/change, dikastis/justice, koinonia/community, politik/politics and zoe/life. 0 Comments

//

Email This Post Email This Post +++ Print This Post Print This Post +++ Now that's del.icio.us.

interview with mclaren

Published on January 22, 2008 in alethia/truth, allagei/change, dikastis/justice, ecclesia/church, epilogei/choice, koinonia/community, politik/politics, theos/God and zoe/life. 0 Comments

An Interview With Brian McLaren by Phil White

Six million children under the age of five die of starvation each year, and yet, just one percent of annual global income would provide the world’s poor people with clean water and basic nutrition, health care and education. These are two of the startling facts Brian McLaren includes in his new book, Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises and a Revolution of Hope (Thomas Nelson), to illustrate both the extent of problems such as hunger, disease and environmental destruction and the as-yet untapped potential for solving them. RELEVANT had the chance to sit down and talk with McLaren about his new book and ways in which Christians can enact necessary change.

When was the seed planted for Everything Must Change?
When I was in my twenties, I asked high school kids at a youth conference to name the top five problems in the world and also the top five discussion topics at their churches. The lists they gave me were completely different and that birthed my desire to explore the disconnect between global crises and the inaction of Christians. I’m 51 now, so this idea has been growing for almost 30 years.

What would Jesus think of the state of the world today?
I think Jesus would have a tense relationship with modern religious leaders now, as he did in his day, because so many of them have used Jesus’ name to work against him and what he stood for. For example, for about 80 years before the Civil War, a lot of American preachers misused the Bible to defend slavery. It was the same when I was a boy, when some Christians misquoted scriptures to advocate racism and to attack the work of Dr. King. I think there are similar things going on today, but our children and grandchildren will see it better than we do, unless we really want to see the truth.

Can you expand on how business can help bring about change?
As individual consumers we can help build justice for underprivileged peoples by changing our buying habits. One example is by buying through fair trade organizations such as Tradeasone.com, and by deliberately avoiding purchasing goods we know were created in unethical conditions. When you go shopping without a conscience, you feel happy whenever you get a bargain. But when you are concerned about ethical buying, you aren’t happy at all if your bargain was purchased at the expense of a young woman working for thirty cents an hour, ten hours a day, or a child being exploited in an unsafe factory that pollutes the air he breathes and the water he drinks. You’d feel a lot happier to spend a little more money if you knew that your purchase strengthened an ethical business in an ethical economy.

Government policies must change if we’re to truly bring justice to impoverished nations. For example, U.S. Government subsidization of the cotton industry allows American producers to sell cotton so inexpensively that African producers can’t compete. Our tax dollars are upholding this kind of injustice, and most of us are completely unaware of it.

Do you think, despite the tragedy that unfolded in New Orleans, that Hurricane Katrina was a necessary wakeup call to Americans?
Hurricane Katrina showed America part of itself that most of us weren’t paying attention to. It showed us a large number of shockingly poor people who were left behind, who weren’t helped. We still haven’t come to terms with that and we need to see more images of what happened in New Orleans, as many times as it takes to wake us up and make us take a stand for those in need.

I hope as people read Everything Must Change they develop a new awareness, a new sensitivity. For example, I hope readers realize that as Christians they have a relationship with the parents of a child who died of diarrhea in Africa last night—that mom and dad are our neighbors. We can’t just keep flipping cable channels to escape the reality of our neighbors who are in need.

Do you think political polarization in the U.S. is delaying such a change in perception and action?
I really do. I represent people who are frustrated by the polarization of religious denominations and political Left versus Right. When we’re facing global crises we can’t afford to be divided politically, religiously, economically—we spend a lot of time debating small, petty issues and we stay in denial about huge problems like extreme poverty, ecological crisis and a trajectory of hate and fear that moves us toward increasing conflict. The divisive partisan issues that preoccupy us become weapons of mass distraction.

What advice do you give to young people who want to follow the example of Christ?
If I could speak just one sentence to young people, I’d say, “Don’t waste your life in being part of the religious machine, but spend your time on the real work of Jesus: helping to actively heal global crises through the wisdom, love and power of God.”

//

If you liked that, then try these…

no/yes on prop 8

broken

i kissed a girl, went to hell

Email This Post Email This Post +++ Print This Post Print This Post +++ Now that's del.icio.us.

pick a camp, start a fire!

Published on January 10, 2008 in alethia/truth, dikastis/justice, epilogei/choice, koinonia/community, theos/God and zoe/life. 2 Comments

“When small men cast large shadows, the sun has set on a civilization.”

At least so said my boss and friend, Dave, yesterday afternoon, and thus began one of those dread-filled conversations Americans have every once in awhile about the world “going to hell in a hand-basket” (but, more importantly, what the hell is a hand-basket?) and how things were so much better “back in when we were growing up.”

A churchgoer had come into the office to chat with us, and began talking about the state of the world and all that. You know, some people will do anything to avoid conversations concerning things as troubling as “the state of the world,” but there are a refreshing minority who will dive right in. It’s probably that same contingent of the population who can jump into an ice-cold swimming pool. Not me; with pools I always stand at the edge, looming, afraid, touching toes to the frigid obviously not-safe-for-humans substance. I’m not really like that with ideas, though; the state of the world doesn’t scare me.

Usually.

I tend to think we have a lot of choice in where we place ourselves, these days. Emotionally, spiritually, mentally — even physically — we have an inordinate amount of freedom to decide (to choose) “where” we exist. Do you want to place yourself in a conspiracy theory camp? Do you want to be in the ignorance camp? Do you want to live in California or Switzerland? If you want to make your fire in virtually any location (again, physical or emotional), as an American, at least, you pretty much can.

Most of the time, mentally speaking, I find myself living in the optimist camp. Of course, I’ve been through the deconstruction, my honesty project (and I still get its daily injections of reality), but for the most part, I set up my tent amongst people who believe we can actually create the future. In my camp we believe that our demise isn’t written in stone, that we can make progress, and battle the regress. We believe that people can change, and when they do, the world follows.

But yesterday, I felt as though I was inside a comic book, in the middle pages somewhere. On the cover was drawn a picture of a brilliant explosion, surrounded by devastation. Starting my read, I knew the cover would be the outcome, and as I worked my way toward the last pages of the book could palpably feel the impending doom. (Honestly, I really just wanted to use the phrase “impending doom,” and you shouldn’t do that without a comic book context.) The whole conversation was strange, though; I guess people bring their camps along with them, because a dark cloud settled over the room, over my soul, and I felt the hopelessness, as if I had Empathy or something.

I didn’t talk much; I rarely do, until I have something to say. (I guess I find that most people don’t really care what you think anyway.) But I listened, and sensed, and as the conversation between Dave and the other gentlemen continued, I was blown away with depression: this was quickly becoming a slit-your-wrists kind of conversation. They talked about our Trillion dollar war (yes, with a capital T and 12 zeroes), the American dependency on oil, the fallacy of California’s “green-ness,” the fakakta SoCal (and US, too, of course) economy, the scores of people we personally know that are facing foreclosure and losing their homes, the addictions, crime, and general declining state of education in our Valley, the forthcoming fall of the American empire (thus Dave’s quote), and the inevitable alien invasion.

Just kidding on that last one.

Don’t worry, though, somebody said something about Jesus, we slapped a band-aid on that sucker, and it seemed to make my two friends, at least, feel better.

Didn’t work for me, though. I guess the problem is that when I look, Jesus isn’t here right now.

(Please leave a message.)

I do think having a guy like Jesus around would be pretty helpful, but I’m not sure he’d take care of the problems we’d like him to, anyway. Call me crazy, but I think it’s going to take a brilliant, high-level economist (or President) to assist our shitty economy, and if Jesus were here right now, I doubt we’d find him in D.C., campaigning for the GOP nomination. He’d probably be in some crazy place like Darfur, Iraq, Detroit, or the Antelope Valley trying to help people or something.

I don’t know, I could be all off. That makes it sound like I think the only place for the work of Jesus is in some violence-ridden destitute locale, which isn’t really true. I just don’t think Jesus is a Republican, necessarily.

But maybe this system is actually better, in a way. You know, the fact that there isn’t just one Jesus hanging around. I’m no physicist, but I figure that one Jesus can be in one place at one time… but we — the collective camp of Jesus — well… there’s a lot of us (or there could be). We can spread out, actually increase the exposure that a guy like Jesus would have by exponential amounts.

Whoever thought of that plan was pretty smart.

P.S. I’m pretty sure Dave’s initial quote is a twist on a paraphrase written by Nathaniel Lee, who said “when small men cast large shadows, it’s a sure sign that the sun is setting.” Lee (1649-1692) was an English playwright, FYI.

Email This Post Email This Post +++ Print This Post Print This Post +++ Now that's del.icio.us.

“christmas,” not “holidays”

Published on November 27, 2007 in alethia/truth, dikastis/justice, glossa/language, politik/politics and zoe/life. 0 Comments

This morning I heard that Gap, Inc. is once again avoiding using the word “Christmas” in their stores/advertising/etc., opting instead for “Holidays.”

Normally this announcement probably wouldn’t have even registered as a blip on my radar, but unfortunately I heard about it from this article, which insists on labeling Gap as fostering a type of “christian censorship,” intent on somehow offending christians by insulting one of their most holy days.

Now, the irony abounds in an article like this, from an organization like this. The American Familiy Association, or AFA, is an organization that says it doesn’t support censorship but applauds responsibility. Unfortunately that’s only the case if the responsibility being expended coincides with their definition of it. If you think that using the word “Holiday” in your advertising is the responsible thing to do, as the word “Christmas” is fairly and truly associated with the christian faith and therefore may offend those of other faiths, well, I’m sorry — that’s not the kind of responsibility we’re talking about.

I don’t want to make too many generalizations, but if I may vent for a moment, this is the brand of rhetoric I see spewed from so-called “patriotic christian” persons far too often. We espouse an ideology of responsibility and connect it with an American ideal, when the truth of the matter is that the First Amendment in the Constitution (Freedom of Speech, etc.) doesn’t exist to protect the village voice; it protects the dissenting voice, the minority. It is wholeheartedly, unequivocally American to be considerate and responsible towards people of other faiths, opinions, lifestyles, etc., which is, as I see it, exactly what Gap, Inc. is trying to do.

The AFA’s Philosophical Statement clearly states that they want to achieve the “well-being of our country, in accordance with the vision of our founding fathers,” but I’m not sure it’s fair to put what they’re doing in that category. Of course it is within their rights as a private organization to stand for whatever they like (and they should do so, as they do, without apology!), but to lay claim to the definition of what responsibility means, or to warp the Founding Father’s intent for a land of free speech into an intolerant “you must think as I do” environment is certainly out of bounds.

I may have even let this go, normally; I don’t think I’m overly prone to rants about things — at least not as much as I used to be. ;-) But on my visit to the AFA’s page, I noticed that they’re also supporting boycotts of Ford Motor Company, because they are allegedly “supporting homosexual groups which are pushing homosexual marriage.”

Seriously?!?

Have these some 700,000+ people who have agreed to not buy anything (from one of the most American companies on the planet) ever met someone who works at Ford, like my wife’s father does? Have they ever been to Detroit and stared into the eyes of some of the tens of thousands of people who will lose their homes and their livelihoods because of the horrendous economic disaster that is happening there, due largely in part to the downturn of the auto industry that Detroit is built on?

No, I’m sure it’s much more important that we stop the gays. That’s probably more “American,” too.

Email This Post Email This Post +++ Print This Post Print This Post +++ Now that's del.icio.us.

more ron paul? oh yes!

Published on November 19, 2007 in alethia/truth, dikastis/justice, politik/politics and zoe/life. 1 Comment

So, I can’t say there won’t be a lot about Republican Candidate Dr. Ron Paul on this blog over the next few months… or, hopefully, if we can get him the Republican nomination, year. But if you enjoy my writing, my ideas, my thoughts, or just my stunning good looks (it helps that you probably haven’t seen a picture), I would really encourage you to research Dr. Paul for yourself, because I think we may agree about this guy.

His campaign slogan is “Hope For America,” and at the risk of sounding like something I never, ever, thought I would become — which is, to say, a campaigner — I honestly believe he is. I’ve told you that, in many ways, I’ve been ashamed to be an American for some time now, and when you boil it down, the reason I love Ron Paul is that he really does give me hope that it doesn’t have to be like that. I can imagine what it would feel like to be from a country I am proud to say I’m from… and I want that.

So, I hope you’ll take the time to check him out and make up your own mind. And you know I’d love to hear your thoughts if you want to post some comments!

P.S. If you’re already a supporter, well, chances are you’ve already heard of this, but if not, you should know that we’re trying to beat Dr. Paul’s November 5th Guy Fawkes Day record on December 16, the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.

P.P.S. Check out this video, if you like; it’s maybe a little sensationalized, but sure gets me fired up. ;-)

If you liked that, then try these…

the beginning

broken

my life, a movie

Email This Post Email This Post +++ Print This Post Print This Post +++ Now that's del.icio.us.

michael moore on oprah

Published on November 15, 2007 in alethia/truth, dikastis/justice, koinonia/community, politik/politics and zoe/life. Closed

I haven’t seen Sicko yet (I know, I know) but I did see Michael Moore on Oprah a couple weeks ago (yes, I know that too — my wife watches it, OK!?) and finally found a link to the video online.

Enjoy!

Michael Moore (& Colorful Others) On Oprah
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/63935/

Email This Post Email This Post +++ Print This Post Print This Post +++ Now that's del.icio.us.