A Weathered Monk

Faith-based Resources for SB 1070

I just received the following e-mail concerning the National Day of Non-Compliance with SB 1070. I was asked to share a few of the faith-based resources that offer a different perspective on the immigration law in Arizona. So, rather than reinventing the wheel – an act for which I have zero free time – I’ll just share the e-mail, in its entirety as a resource.

Hi Shawn,

I noticed that you blog about Unitarian Universalists and thought you might be interested in an update on what is happening on the ground in Arizona. I am writing from Standing on the Side of Love (SSL), a campaign of the Unitarian Universalist Association, that challenges violence, oppression, and exclusion based on identity.

Almost 200 Standing on the Side of Love supporters from across the country are on the ground in Phoenix today, and dozens of communities across the country are hosting prayer vigils and similar actions to stand in solidarity with immigrants and people of color against SB 1070 and a broken immigration system. Two dozen ministers, including UUA president Rev. Peter Morales have already been arrested today in civil disobedience in Phoenix.

We feel that the Arizona bill and others like it are anti-immigrant, anti-family, and anti-love. That is why Unitarian Universalists are joining immigrant rights, interfaith, labor, and civil rights organizations in protest and witness as part of the National Day of Non-Compliance with SB 1070. Read more…

I Intentionally Draw from Many Sources / Unitarian Universalism

Holy Turf Wars @ Ground Zero

Holy Wars You know, I think it’s a shame that people have to behave in such silly, stupid ways. What is it about over-zealous religious people that blinds them so? Why can’t they see the rich opportunities for deep healing and reconciliation available to them in this situation, especially at Ground Zero? No. They can’t see anything beyond their own thick and sticky ideology, unfortunately. They would rather busy themselves with pissing matches and skip the healing embraces; they prefer ownership claims over the sharing of life and living. Like a dog, they lift a crooked hind leg and recklessly spray their foul scent all over a plot of simple rocks and dirt just so they can lay claim to it. Fine! You win! It’s all yours! Just know that that’s all you will ever own in this world and the next.

In response to the controversial plans to build an Islamic mosque in New York City near the place where Muslim terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people in 2001, an Internet evangelist is planning to establish what he calls the 9-11 Christian Center at Ground Zero.

Bill Keller of LivePrayer.com, an Internet ministry that claims over 2.4 million subscribers, is planning on opening the Center at a temporary location near Ground Zero this September before announcing a permanent home beginning in 2011. Read more…

The Buddha’s Parable of the Raft

Ever Unite Us: G8 Sacred Verse

Religion is Incurably Temporary

Claremont School of Theology Shifts Towards a Multi-Faith Future

The Universality of The Ethic of Reciprocity (AKA The Golden Rule)

u·ni·ver·sal·i·ty [yoo-nuh-ver-sal-i-tee] – noun,plural – ties. 1. the character or state of being universal; existence or prevalence everywhere. 2. relation, extension, or applicability to all. 3. universal character or range of knowledge, interests, etc.

The Golden Rule

Bahá’í Faith: 1. “Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not.” “Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself.” Baha’u'llah; 2. “And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself.” Epistle to the Son of the Wolf.

Brahmanism: “This is the sum of Dharma [duty]: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you”. Mahabharata, 5:1517

Buddhism: 1. “…a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another?” Samyutta NIkaya v. 353; 2. Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” Udana-Varga 5:18 Read more…

The Buddha’s Parable of the Raft

Ever Unite Us: G8 Sacred Verse

Religion is Incurably Temporary

Claremont School of Theology Shifts Towards a Multi-Faith Future

Something On The Way To Luke

The author of Luke is not as influenced by an immediate apocalypse because the kingdom is now understood as an already/not yet event prefaced upon real-time accessibility and an ultimate culmination to come at a later time. Luke is spiritually pragmatic.

The End Times

There is no shortage of big and small talk regarding “apocalyptic themes,” “end times scenarios,” and the “anti-Christ” in North American Christian circles. It is an interesting phenomenon, to say the least. Perhaps Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins have something to do with it? I don’t know? Maybe it is all of those late night Cable TV “prophets?” maybe? Maybe some folk are just bat-shit crazy? Likely? I really can’t cite one reason for “End Times” popularity in the United States. There are probably many, many reasons for it. I do know that there is plenty of contextual material to seriously consider before jumping willy-nilly into apocalyptic conclusions and preaching them as if they were the gospel itself. One example of this sort of material/contextual consideration follows: Read more…

The Parable of The Good Samaritan

Jesus as Savior in Luke’s Gospel

Spaces in Your Togetherness

Stuck in a Crowd

Spirituality is about community. A faith without physical community, social interaction and corporate mission is barely religious, if it is anything at all. Our spiritual tree’s most delectable offerings hang heavy from branches bent by the weight of fruit laden with human virtues, such as: love, generosity, patience, kindness, long-suffering, etc. This particular sort of fruit provides deep nourishment especially designed for social settings. So, it goes without saying: The spiritual life is an incurably communal venture, but, I must ask, is that all this life is? No. Read more…

The Parable of The Good Samaritan

Axis Mundi

Jesus as Savior in Luke’s Gospel

The Buddha’s Parable of the Raft

The Parable of The Good Samaritan

Compassion is the key that will unlock the door to community unity, transformation, and honest expression that is liberated from detrimental systems of belief that only create obstacles that make conversations concerning perceived moral and ethical issues nearly impossible to accomplish without division.

The Good Samaritan

Jesus of Nazareth’s Parable of The Good Samaritan is all about doing away with any system of belief that clashes with compassion. Read more…

Spaces in Your Togetherness

Jesus as Savior in Luke’s Gospel

A Burden Too Big / The Pretty Lady

The Buddha’s Parable of the Raft

Axis Mundi

Axis Mundi. It is a strange pair of words. Esoteric sounding? Yes. Perhaps it paints a shamanistic image in your mind? Maybe? Is it Buddhist? Yes, though it would definitely be articulated and expressed differently (think language, culture, custom, and symbol). It is Indigenous, Hindi, Islamic, Jewish, and Christian too. Again, it would definitely be articulated and expressed differently by each of these faiths. In fact, Axis Mundi, as a concept, is universally present in all faiths. We all actively engage Axis Mundi. We all employ unique expressions of language, culture, custom, and symbol in our effort to explain and share our experiences of it.

Spirituality

What is Axis Mundi? Axis Mundi is a mytheme – or a feature of a myth which may be shared with other, related myths – which expresses the idea or conceptual connection between earth and heaven or the mundane and transcendent. Most – if not all – faiths offer adherents the opportunity to connect deeply with the transcendent via a culturally recognizable experience that can be called Axis Mundi. This experience can be realized either in or through sacred, typological-laden narrative(s), or direct, personal experiences in real-time. Sometimes the experience is realized through both. At any rate, this experience can be called Axis Mundi, and again it is a feature present in nearly all faiths. Read more…

The Buddha’s Parable of the Raft

The Possibility of Deep Contentment

Ever Unite Us: G8 Sacred Verse

The Prayer of Petrus (On Vices)

Jesus as Savior in Luke’s Gospel

The Gospel of Luke’s reference to Jesus of Nazareth as ‘Savior’ has more to do with the later Christian community’s need for eschatological reconsideration and adjustment than the author’s Christological perception.

Jesus of Nazareth

First of all, the gospel of Luke is the only Synoptic Gospel to directly attribute the term ‘Savior’ to Jesus. A comparative overview of the Synoptics is of vital importance at this point because of what this Lukan ascription actually reveals about the Gospel literarily. Luke presents a Jesus who is “Savior” during his lifetime; Mark and Matthew present a Jesus who saves humanity through his death. Reasonable deduction based upon these literary-critical allusions can lead to various conclusions, such as: 1.) Attributing the term “Savior” to Jesus and his entire lifetime never occurred to the authors of Mark and Matthew; 2.) Attributing the term “Savior” to Jesus and his entire lifetime did occur to the authors of Mark and Matthew but they instead chose to completely and willfully abandon the term; 3.) Luke derived the term and its specific attribution to the life of Jesus from a personal need to publicly deal with an overarching Lukan theme concerning an undeniable delay of Jesus’ promised return, a literary act Mark and Mathew never would have needed to consider given their earlier dates of authorship. It is difficult to fathom Mark and Matthew willfully discarding the attribution of the term “Savior” to Jesus’ lifetime if they had indeed been cognitive of it. If, however, the attribution of the term ‘Savior’ never occurred to Mark and/or Matthew then a subsequent issue involving the historical authenticity of Luke’s particular implementation of ‘Savior’ must be properly addressed. If the attribution of the term wasn’t important enough to be attested to by Mark and Matthew then where did Luke get it? Why did Luke find the attribution necessary while Mark and Matthew are completely void of it? Luke’s authorial purpose must be rooted in later issues concerning the Christian community, namely the delay of the return of Jesus and the ultimate culmination of God’s salvific plan for his people. Read more…

Spaces in Your Togetherness

The Parable of The Good Samaritan

A Burden Too Big / The Pretty Lady

Letting go is not about past regret or supposed failure; we let go to authentically embrace our present moment in all of it’s ephemeral excitement so we can permanently grow into the possibility of our future.

Let Go

We all need to learn how to let go at some point in our lives. Now, what we are letting go of will most assuredly be different for each one of us. Some will have to let go of lost love; others will have to let go of the pain of disappointment. Some of us may even have to let go of unhealthy ways of thinking about life, divinity, and one another. Sometimes we may even have to let go of good things in our lives too! It all depends upon our situation and our story! Our need to let go will be different for each one of us, for sure, but we all will have to let go sooner or later, if we haven’t had to already. The point is we all will have to wrestle with releasing someone or something at some point in our journey.

And letting go can be very difficult for a number of difficult reasons, but unless we come to grips with it we will not grow because until we let go we cannot grow. Read more…

The Buddha’s Parable of the Raft

Keep Calm and Carry On

Great Britain’s Ministry of Information took the threat of a Nazi invasion very seriously during World War II. Yes, these leaders realized that such an invasion would be catastrophic to their nation’s economy and infrastructure, but they also thought that it might also be a potentially crippling blow to their people’s morale. So, they did what any good Ministry of Information would do; they created and commissioned two-and-a-half million copies of a motivational poster that would be distributed all over Great Britain in lieu of a “last case scenario.” Read more…

The Possibility of Deep Contentment

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