First Impressions

Before I begin this post, I feel I must reiterate my disclaimer that I have posted in some of the previous posts. I encourage others to provide their recommendations, thoughts and point of view regarding the topic of this post as long as it is constructive. I really enjoy intellectual debates and tips on additional resources I can tap into to learn more. If, however, a reader feels that they must provide comments that resort to name calling, attempt to demean, or deliver judgment, it will be soundly ignored. Whether I am right or wrong in my beliefs, only the Lord has the power to deliver judgment. With that being said, I will begin...


So, I have started to read the Bible now and I am a number of books into it, having just completed Samuel I. I figured that before I read any religion books that provide insight into Christianity, I should read the word straight from the horse's mouth first, so to speak.


So far, the Bible is not exactly what I expected and it is creating more questions than answers so far. Don't get me wrong, there are some great ideas in there. There are commandments and decrees peppered throughout the books that make complete sense to follow. Thou shall not murder, commit adultery, etc. I was surprised, and rather enlightened to find the foundations that I see in the modern legal system today as well as interesting tidbits like woman owning land, which I am sure was extremely controversial at the time. I understand why it is sometimes called the "Good Book" and is a recommended read even for non-Judeo Christians.

But there are also some rather unusual mandates and laws. Here are just a few:

• A rebellious son should be presented to the town elders and then stoned to death. (Deut 22:18)


• If there are 2 brothers and one brother dies, the other brother must marry his widow to carry on his family name.
  


• No interest should be charged if loans are made to fellow Israelites (Exo 22:25 Although, I am all for this one if I am a descendant of an Israelite)


• If a man beats his slave with a club and the slave dies, the man must be punished. However, if the slave recovers in a day or two, the man should not be punished since the slave is his property. (Exo. 21:20-21)


• The overall treatment of slaves (Exo. 21:1-11)


• After a woman has her menstrual period or has given birth, she is ceremonial unclean and cannot enter the sanctuary to worship (Lev. 12). In the event of a birth, the duration of "uncleanliness" differs if the offspring is a male versus female. The woman is required to give a burnt offering to be clean. Anyone who touches her before that will be unclean.
  


• Purification after a skin disease sin offering and guilt offering (Lev. 14)


• If a man has an emission of semen, bathe in water and unclean until evening (Lev. 15: 16)


• Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beard


• The sabbath should always be honored.
  

Now, I have not gotten to the new testament so there very well maybe some explanations why some of these decrees are no longer followed, but barring that, I find it very difficult to understand how some folks can point to certain passages in the bible as testament on how one should act and live ones life but completely ignore some of the other "unusual" decrees that we no longer follow. How was it determined which passages are still valid and which can be retired? I suppose this is the cause for the enumeration of denominations of Christianity, which leads me to wonder whether there really is a "correct" denomination? Is there a single truth, or is the truth a hodge podge of ideas across denominations (and perhaps across distinct religions)?

Now, the Bible I selected is a study Bible and also contains some archaeological and historical background (Good!) as well as biblical interpretation of the text. I must admit that I am even having a hard time with reading that as well because I find a number of the interpretations a bit of a stretch, inconsistently applied, and/or "complete head scratchers".

Again, I still have a lot more to read, but there are also some rules and decrees I expected to see in the Bible haven't come to fruition yet (not to say that they are socially acceptable, however):

• No drinking alcoholic beverages
• No premarital sex (although if you do, you have to marry her and pay her father)
• No dancing (in fact David danced in Samuel II and defended the practice to his first wife)
• No living with the opposite sex
  

I have a feeling that this Bible study is going to require a lot more time and a lot more material to review before I really get a clear picture.

More to follow in the coming weeks!

Humor in Religion

Ok, now we all know that God has a sense of humor. Just take one look at a platypus, armadillo, or Jim Carrey and they try to tell me with a straight face that he doesn't. Sometimes I wonder whether religion might be just another one of his private little jokes. I can almost envision him bouncing around the world, spinning up religions like Braum's and his 31 flaovors.


It seems that he had fun with it as well, coming up with all kinds of ideas of what he should look like. He is a jolly fat man to the soon-to-be buddhists and had all kinds of fun with the polytheists. I am a wolf! I am a bird! I am a man with the head of an elephant! I am a chick with 6 arms! But, I think he ran out of ideas when he got to Judiasm.. I am a... uhh.. err.. actually, if you look at me, you'll die. Yeah, that's the ticket. And then a few 100o years later, it seems like he said to the soon-to-be-christians, "Ahh screw it.. here is Jesus. I know, I know, he looks just like you, but cut me a break, would ya. Just wait until you find out about dinosaurs!"



But, what I think would be the best part of this joke is that not only do we all have religion wrong.. we all have it a little bit right as well. That seems oddly comforting to me.

Ruth

I hadn't planned on this being my first post from my solo Bible study, but I was hit with a bit of a revelation today and I figured I needed to get this one written down. You see, I am knee deep in the old testament (about 400 pages in) and about 5am this morning I got to the Book of Ruth. This will probably sound odd, but I finally found God in the Bible. This book really hit home for two reasons.

First, the book describes a God that I grew up learning about. This wasn't the fire and brimstone God. This was not the God that seems to strike down followers for the slightest transgression. This wasn't the God dictating complex rituals and instituting multiple levels of religious dogma. This was the God the helps those who works hard. Those who are dedicated to doing good and appreciating life. This was a God that loves those who are devoted followers and those who live a godly life, not a God who casts those aside who stray from the path. This is the God I hear about in church. The God that motivates you to live a good life because you want to be close to him, not because you fear him.

Second, it is a story about a God we can experience in today's world. Now I believe I have strong faith in God (I am sure some would disagree), but I am equally cynical of man. When I read some of the outlandish tales in the Bible, I do so with a raised eyebrow. Miracles defying physics and logic around every turn.. ancestors living for 100's of years.. burning bushes and water from rock. But the Book of Ruth is different and it almost seems out of place when compared to the previous books.

I would contend that it is easy to be a believer after having witnessed bread come down from heaven or watching the Red Sea part before you eyes. It is easy to hear God when he yells, but it takes a true believer to hear him when he whispers. That is what the Book of Ruth is about. We don't have smoke over a Tabernacle that tells us which direction to travel. God does not speak to us on a mountain top and tells us what rules to live by in the modern world. We don't see God raining down fire and sulfur on the wicked, nor do we see the wicked get struck down when they do the unthinkable. Instead, in today's world, we need to watch and listen closely to experience God's work. There were no miracles in the book of Ruth. God didn't promise Ruth or Naomi generations of prosperity or grants of land. Ruth and Naomi lived a difficult life; first of losing their husbands, and then living a life of poverty and shame, forced to live off of the scraps of others. Ruth had a choice to leave Naomi and go back to her family but she refused. Together they struggled and persevered without losing faith in themselves, nor God. God blessed them in a tangible way by leading them to a kind, generous man who took care of them and lifted them out of their hardship and into a better life.

You see, I think the point here is that we don't need to win the lottery to see God's work. God's work is all around us doing "little miracles" everyday. I see God's work when I am on a mountain top looking over a pristine alpine lake. I see God's work when I hold my daughter in my arms. I see God's work when I wake up to a new day. I even see God's work when I watch my grass grow in my backyard, although, I wish God didn't work so hard on that one so I wouldn't have to mow so much.

(Btw, what makes this an even better story is that Ruth and Naomi were Moabs, a civilization that was an enemy to Israel and still God was on their side (completely inconsistent, in my opinion, to the book of Joshua). True to form in real life that regardless of your lineage, God accepts anyone who walks in his path. Perhaps another lesson here. )

Now, I have a lot more to blog about the Bible and religion in general (if I have the guts), but I'll leave that for another time.

American Socialism?

Given that this is the night before election day and the unpopularity of some of my posts on this topic, I think this will be my last political post. So bare with me! ;-)

There have been a lot of exclamation of "socialism" during this election year toward the democratic candidate and I will have to be honest that I am having a hard time swallowing that pill. Now, admittedly, I am an independent voter who will be supporting Barack Obama for this year, but I gotta say that the proposals that are being put forth are far from the typical "socialist" or "communist" visions that these name tags inspire. Below are the positions I have heard most often referenced as "socialism" and would like to put forth a bit of discussion and history to each:

• Redistribution of Wealth
• Universal healthcare
• Publicly Funded Education
  

The Redistribution of Wealth

This topic seems to be the biggest hitter for the call of "Socialist", but I think it is a bit of a stretch. Redistribution of wealth has been a part of the American economy since 1861 with the passage of the 1861 tax act that created a progressive tax system for the US. While one can debate the merits of such a system, it was not stemmed from socialist inputs. The ideology behind such a system has been traced back to Adam Smith, the father of modern free market economics. The tax policies proposed by this year's democratic candidate proposes no changes to the framework of our tax systems, but rather the percentages of taxation for different income levels, something that both political parties have done since the systems inception. In addition, the tax rate increases he proposes are nowhere near historical levels and are similar to those in the early 80's with Ronald Reagan. Even at current levels of taxation, the top 1% of the income bracket still pay significantly less due to low capital gains taxes (vs. payroll taxes), loopholes, and tax shelters. Just ask Warren Buffet.

When you look at our country from an income disparity perspective, we are one of the highest disparities when compared to other democratic industrialized nations, much closer to China than to any Western European countries. When looking at a history of our income disparity, the gap between rich and poor has widened since WWII, while similar countries have either remained the same or fallen, again, except for China.

And one last thing, I often see the phrase "why are you punishing people who work hard by raising their taxes?" I must remind those folks that the folks who are near the bottom of the income scale also work hard. Those that make over $250,000 are not the only ones. My wife is a good example of those who work hard and make little. She was a preschool teacher and later a preschool director and sadly could barely make ends meet, not to mention have any money available for "luxuries" like health insurance. Now throw a child and the cost of childcare in the mix that many single mothers need to endure and then ask me if they work hard enough..

Universal Healthcare

If the institution of a universal healthcare system means that the country is immersed in socialism, than the democratic countries are most certainly outnumbered by Socialist regimes. The US is the only wealthy industrialized nation in the world without a universal healthcare system. Virtually all of Europe, the largest countries in South America, and a number of countries in Africa and Asia have all deployed different flavors of such a system. I can certainly see benefits in debating the merits of implementing universal healthcare, but calling those that support it as "socialists" in the Karl Marx-sense is certainly off-base. I think the challenge with universal healthcare is around the economics and operational aspects of it rather than the need for it. I think that the one thing we can all agree on is that our current system is certainly broken and we have some of the most expensive and inefficient healthcare in the world.

I think an important concept that is often overlooked in Obama's plan is that the universal healthcare system is to be universally available to all, not universally mandated. Citizens will have the right to choose between plans and those who are happy with their current healthcare system are welcome to keep their plan. This is more similar to how our current mail system works (USPS vs. Fed Ex, etc.) rather than the traditional socialist's view of solely government run establishments.

Publicly Funded Education

The main difference between the two candidates here are really around the use of school vouchers that I have already discussed in previous posts, so I won't repeat here. I hardly think that government funded education would be classified as "socialism" since we have had this model since the colonial times and public funding of school was supported by our founding fathers.

The support for the expansion of the charter school programs is clearly not a socialist idea either. It opens up schools to be managed by non-government agencies and does allow some level of choice and competition between schools without allowing schools do cream scrimming of students through scrupulous acceptance practices.

In regards to funds being funnelled to make higher education more affordable, that is something that just makes sense to me. Having a well-educated populous is one of the cornerstones that made us a world leader and we should continue to invest money into making education accessible to all. Just ask Thomas Jefferson. There is no benefit in keeping those who have the desire and capability but cannot afford school out of school. In addition, the amount of debt that one obtains going to higher education has a significant impact in the career selection, and this I speak from experience. Being head of a household that still has over $30,000 of college debt, I can assure you that a career in teaching or in the science field was the farthest from my mind when I left college. My biggest question was, what job can I get that will pay enough to afford the loan repayments? I don't think this is a decision on whether this is a socialist idea or not. It is a decision we should all support for the general benefit of this country.

Religious Tolerance

When I contemplate why I am a Christian, I can only come up with two reasons:

1. It was the religion in which I was raised and,
2. I haven't found a reason to change.

I mean, the story appeals to me, heaven and hell, sin and redemption, charity and good will, but it isn't like I shopped around for a religion to find the perfect one. Religion to me isn't something you can really analyze and weigh the pros and cons of each like you do when buying a car or deciding when to start a family. Christianity feels right enough for me, at least right enough not to feel the need to "shop around" for anything else. After all, religion is really just the development of a personal relationship with God and living through his teachings. I believe in the teachings of Christianity and the message I get on Sundays.

When I step back and look at the 1000 different flavors of religion, I tend to find a number of commonalities between them. The commonalities aren't in numbers or names of Gods, the stories in their doctrines, or their ceremonies and dogma, but rather they reside in the beliefs of the fundamental rights and liberties of man. In Christian terms, these rights translate to those that abide by the virtues of "Love thy neighbor", "Do unto others as you would see them done unto you", and essentially the 10 commandments. In secular terms, don't steal, don't murder, don't lie, don't commit adultery, and so on. Perhaps I am being too much of an optimist, but I feel that every human has a sense of accepted morality and what is commonly good of society. The presence of these fundamental rights throughout disparate religions provides evidence that man is generally good and encourages the promotion of these beliefs throughout society. At the bottom of this post, I have provided an example of these commonalities with the pervasiveness of the Golden Rule.

It is this commonality in religion that gives me a great deal of acceptance of other religions. If religion is what solidifies these fundamental virtues, and thus protect my own freedom, liberties, and virtues, I whole heartedly support it. In the end, it is our Maker(s) who is/are the judge, jury, and executioner and it isn't my place to be his (or her?) surrogate. If I die and see Buddha at the pearly gates, all I can say is "Hey, I didn't believe in you on Earth, but at least I was a good person to others, right?" That is about the best that anyone can do. It is because of this, I don't really feel that there is a "right" or "wrong" religion. At the end of the day, no one will know for sure until they are at the end of their rope.

Unfortunately, many folks are pushed away because of the "institution" of religion. Not because of the fundamental rights or the foundation of religion, but rather because of those who, I feel, lose the meaning of religion. Those who judge. Those who push their beliefs rather than teach their beliefs. Those that promote prejudice, intolerance, stereotypes, and outright bigotry. Those that rob others from their freedom, their lives or their spirituality through violence, abuse, or intimidation. This is truly a shame. I feel that these individuals have lost sight of the purpose of a belief system and the doctrine from which their belief system is based.

---

The Golden Rule in Different Belief Systems.

• Bahá’í: “Choose…for thy neighbor that which thou choosest for thyself.” (Bahá’u’lláh)
  
• Buddhism: “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” (Udana-Varga 5, 18) “Consider others as yourself.” (Dhammapada 10.1)
  
• Christianity: “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)
  
• Confucianism: “Is there one maxim that ought to be acted upon throughout one’s whole life? Surely it is the maxim of lovingkindness: Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you.” (Analects 15, 23)
  
• Greek Philosophy: “Treat your friends as you would want them to treat you.” (Aristotle, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, 5:21; Bohn Library translation, 188) “Do not do to others what you would not wish to suffer yourself.” (Isocrates, Isocrates Cyprian Orations, 149)
  
• Hinduism: “Men gifted with intelligence and purified souls should always treat others as they themselves wish to be treated.” (Mahabharata 13.115.22)
  
• Islam: “Not one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” (Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi 13)
  
• Jainism: “A man should treat all creatures in the world as he himself would like to be treated.” (Sutra-keit-anga)
  
• Judaism: “Don’t take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:18) “What is hateful to you, do not to your fellowman. That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary.” (Babylonian Talmud, Sabbath 31a)
  
• Sikhism: “As thou deemest thyself, so deem others. Then shalt thou become a partner in heaven.” (Kabir’s Hymns, Asa 17)


• Taoism: “Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.” (T’ai Shang Kan Ying P’ien)
  
• Zoroastrianism: “That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself.” (Dadistan-i-dinik 94, 5)
  
  

1 Peter Smith, “Golden Rule,” A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá’í Faith (Oxford, England: Oneworld Publications, 2000) p. 165.

The humor in politics

One of the best things I have come to enjoy the most about politics is the volume of comedic material that it generates. And even better, it stretches across party lines. This is especially true during a presidential election when the candidates are working 18 hours a day speaking in hundreds of engagements, meeting 1000's of people, getting very few hours of sleep. It is only inevitable that they stumble periodically, making great comedic opportunities. SNL has made a living off of political humor and have really struck gold with the Tina Fey / Palin spoof. (#1, #2, #3). We are on the eve of yet another SNL episode so I am sure that will be classic.

But do we really need comics to find humor in politics? I would vote "Nay". I came across this video on YouTube and after watching it, I am sure you will agree. Enjoy!

Fathers

I don't remember much about my biological father. I see him as an old faded Polaroid, an apparition from the past. He was the gloved hand of a thief that left no fingerprint... I am not sure what happened back then to split my family apart and it is probably irrelevant at this point. I don't hold any resentment, although I do have a hard time understanding how someone can walk away from their children. There is not much more to say about him.

So, this post is focused on my step-father, the one who in my mind holds the title of father for me. My early memories are pretty sketchy, which I am sure doesn't surprise the folks who know me well. One of the earliest memories I have of my father was him coming into my room late at night and telling me that he had been very lenient on me, but now it was time that he start acting like a father. I didn't understand what he meant at the time, but soon found out that it meant a regimen of labor, rules, and obedience. He was an intimidating and imposing man, so you didn't disagree or talk back, you just took your medicine.

Looking back, I was clearly the "step-child". I remember nights of praying and tears, hoping for a time where we could be the typical father and son duo. The time never came. The few times we did interact was mostly when I was of an age where I could work for him. At the age of 12 or 13, I was put to work at his job sites, cleaning up houses, clearing construction debris from golf courses, sweeping office buildings, and the like.


In high school, his behavior became even more erratic and his rules outlandish - DUIs, arrests, drinking on the job. His rules: Your teeth should never touch your fork or spoon when eating, your hands must be above the table when you pray before eating, entering the house must be followed by an appropriate greeting to the father, no sleeping past 9am, and I am sure dozens more that I have long forgotten. His arrival from work often exceeded 9 or 10pm if we saw him at all and when he was in the house, you could feel the tension in the air like a thick fog blanketing the house. The fighting was both unavoidable and never ending and he regularly blamed me for causing the marital problems. I dreaded report cards because it was always followed by long demeaning lectures and groundings. Near the very end, it escalated to a brief episode of violence. My mother, always the savior, made the hard decision to send me to Lubbock to live with my older sister a few months before attending college.

But the purpose of this post is not give a sob story, nor condemn my father, but rather embrace the experience. I have come to the conclusion that bad things happen in life for a reason as part of a greater plan. They represent challenges that test your perseverance, faith, and fortitude. For every arduous time, there is always something to be learned and how you respond helps define you as a person, for better or worse. So, the remainder of this post's purpose is to give my father some post-mortem forgiveness and praise. You see, even through all the difficulties, the fights, the anger, and resentment, there was good in him. He was a man who was inflicted with a horrible disease that he could not overcome. It was a disease that he eventually paid the final price for. It wasn't readily apparent to me at the time, nor did I have any revelations after I went off to college, but rather it wasn't until several years later I started to reflect on the positive influences he did have in my life. At his foundation, beyond the addiction, he held some fundamental values that I was extremely fortunate to have him pass on to me. For that, I am eternally grateful. I only hope I can do the same and pass these on to my children and I will list them here:

Value of hard work

Hard work helps you appreciate the little things in life and prepares you for the times in life that don't come easy. It takes endurance and dedication to get through the bumps in the road of life. And the best part of hard work is that harder you work, the more you enjoy the fruits of your labor. That is probably why I enjoy punishing myself so much when I go hiking. There is no better feeling than climbing to the top of a pass after 3 straight days of hiking, or reaching a breathtaking scenic overlook of the west Texas desert land after an all day hike in 100 degree heat.

Take Pride in Your Work and Do It Right the First Time

When you do something, do it 100%. This will help you go a long way in life as well in a career. I can't tell you how many things I thought were trivial in my job but turned out to be significant keystones to advancement within my career... A presentation I put together for an executive leadership summit, the small "low value" project team I lead, an application I wrote in my spare time.. sometimes it is the little things that get you noticed and it has proven to be extremely valuable to do these "little things" to the best of your ability because you never know who will be watching and what impression you will be setting.

Impression Setting

There were a lot of things in this category but I have named just a few below. It has always baffled me that these things work, but I guess it goes to show you how important the first impression is (and how superficial people can be sometimes!)

• When you give a hand shake, be firm.
• 
  Always look a man in his eyes when you speaking to him or listening to what he has to say
• Listen, think, then speak. If you do it out of order, you'll probably be putting your foot in your mouth more often than not.
• Dress for the job you want, not the job you have

Take responsibilities for your actions

This is a big one for me. It makes me sick when people blame the government, their parents, peer pressure, or authority figures for decisions that made and had absolute control over. Everyone makes poor choices sometimes so just own up to it, learn from the experience and move on. You'll never grow as a person if you continue to rely on others to make decisions for you or show you how to live your life. It is this reluctance of some people to admit wrongdoing that forms the root of so much human turmoil. An unforgiving, unrepentant nature, whether among individuals, families, communities or nations, is responsible for misconceptions that lead to animosity and hatred.

I am sure there are more lessons I have learned, but this blog is getting pretty long so I think I'll wrap up. I am not sure if they have the internet in the afterlife.. but Dad, if you are reading, thank you for giving me character, perseverance, appreciation, and integrity. I am forever in your gratitude and I hope you have finally found peace from your demons.