The death knell of Evangelicalism

When president Trump was elected, he had the support of the majority of evangelical Christians in the USA. President Trump was the most unchristian president the USA had ever seen.

In Brazil, Bolsonaro has the support of most of the evangelical Christians. He is the ‘Trump of the tropics’. He is on his way to destroying the environment and has the support of the ruling class of Brazil’s billionaires.

What is happening here? I believe that this is what is happens when one worships Jesus and then does not pay attention to what he said.

Jesus, on the rich and the poor

We are living in difficult times. The divergence between the rich and the poor is huge and increasing. Rising inequality as registered by all indicators is as high as it has ever been since the great depression. Many have warned that such inequality will spawn a raft of severe social problems (the book, “Spirit Level”, Joseph Stiglitz, Pikett). Even some of the rich themselves have alerted us and said that this trend needs to be reversed (Warren Buffet, Bill Gates).

Buddhism and the Environmental Crisis

The following two audio presentations offer separate Buddhist perspectives on the environmental crisis. The first is given by the Rebellious Seeker himself; the second are the thoughts of a friend. 

Brief pauses within the presentations allow time for reflection on what has been said.

The Rebellious Seeker 

Buddhism and the Environmental Crisis

Ottawa

October 2021

Modern Gnosticism

There is in the Western religious world, a school of thought called the Course in Miracles (CiM). This teaching stresses inner peace and comfort, to the disdain of outer events and circumstances. This religious philosophy has various variations, such as for example, Christian Science.

Versions of this inner mysticism have arisen in other cultures and religions. The main characteristics are the seeking of inner peace to the exclusion of external circumstances, which are de-emphasized. It is the spiritualizing of everything. It is not so much anti-science but the going beyond science by neglecting the reality of the material world in seeking to fathom the deeper meaning of existence. However, this trend of thought can lead to religious fantasy. It can lead into an uncertain future. Neglecting clear warnings about the degradation of the physical world is the ultimate flaw of extreme inner mysticism.

See below some of my thoughts on this recurring religious tendency.

Apocalyptic Times

I have read the New Testament many times, but somehow one obvious fact has eluded me. Jesus and the early Christians strongly believed that the end of the world was near. They were eagerly waiting and working for a new world to come – the kingdom of God on earth.

How did I miss this? I simply tried to spiritualize the records assuming that the references were describing the need for my own spiritual renewal.

Facts and Emotions

The world is heading into a climate crisis. The overwhelming majority of the world’s scientists have warned us that as fossil fuels heat up the environment, global temperatures will rise – and then extreme weather events ( wildfires, hurricanes, droughts and floods ) will soar. It is already happening.

Reflections on the pandemic

We live in a world of terrifying possibilities. All kinds of stories are swirling about. If ever we needed clear logical thinking, based on facts it is now.

I am especially intrigued by the tendency of identity thinking. That is, if our group (whatever it may be; racial or gender-based, or any other of our primary organizations ) says something - we then tend to think it is true. If the other group puts forward something , we tend to be very suspicious. So if someone says something negative about my group, I immediately get defensive.

In this context it is very difficult to accept criticisms about our group. As I am thinking about this, I am very moved about the role of prophets who critique their own communities. That is probably one reason the words of the Old Testament prophets still reverberate with us today. Ancient Israel had a very nationalistic, chauvinistic view of themselves . One could even say that they still do. Along came their own prophets a spoke about their own flaws.

Today, we still need honest, faithful, fearless prophets.

How to understand the future – Now

As one ages (that’s me) one begins to put all the little parts of one’s experience together and search for a whole that might explain it all. In the past I have written about self-interest. This is a characteristic that every species seems to have. It motivates us to struggle and survive. Homo Sapiens with this strong self-interest, has persevered over all others and now we are on top of the pyramid of control (at least we think we are!). However, self-interest has run amok (i.e. putting ourselves and our tribe above all others). This excessive self-interest will do us in and could destroy our beautiful planet.

To Believe in God

“There is no God” says Stephen Hawking in his latest book. Compare this with the paragraph with which he concludes his most famous book, “ A Brief History of Time”:

“ However, if we do discover a complete theory, it should in time be understandable in broad principle by everyone, not just a few scientists. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason -- for then we would know the mind of God.” (emphasis mine).

I think the problem here is the definition of what we mean when we say the word “God”. If we limit our definition to the mythological concepts developed by the various religions, we can understand why Hawking made the first statement above. However, if we come at this in a different way, we may see why Hawking is talking about the “knowing the mind of God”.

A final word on Jordan B. Peterson's 12 Rules

One of the fascinating (and maddening) things about Jordan B. Peterson’s book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, is the way that he  presents each “Rule”.

He usually starts each rule by giving practical examples from this life to show why this rule is important. Then he proceeds to wander over hill and dale with illustrations and reflections that seem to have little or no relation to the supposed rule. 

All very interesting, but what happened to the “rule”?

Mother Earth – Protecting her

Gaia is the creative and protective goddess of mother earth. Worship of her is relatively simple – protect mother earth and keep her safe, because she is the only home that you have.

If we go back into pre-history, we find that the very earliest faiths that mankind had were nature based. We see evidence of this in the surviving beliefs of our native peoples. They regularly speak peacefully and quietly of their reverence for mother nature.

Adriana Grande

Before the resent massacre at Manchester, I had not even heard of Adriana Grande. So I googled and looked up some of her songs on YouTube video. (i.e. Dangerous woman, Bang bang, Breakfree etc.).

Using the Bible for Political Gain

Recently Jeff Sessions, the US Attorney General, quoted the Bible to defend the US Administration on the family separation issue on the southern US border. Specifically, the Bible passage he referred is the following:

“Let every soul be subject to the higher powers. For there is no power but of God. Whosoever resists the power, resists the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves condemnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Should you not then be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and you shall have praise of the same.” (Rom.12:1-3)

Spiritual Reflections While Meditating

As we sit in an un-programmed Quaker worship meeting, we are supposed to be meditating. What a variety of thoughts and insights must be passing thorough the minds of all who are present! This last Sunday, this is what occupied my mind and spirit.

I sit here. I stare through the window looking up at the sky. It is so clear. It is so blue. Based on the evidence of my senses alone, I could honestly say that there is nothing there – just a vast expanse of blueness.

But we know that there are myriad mysteries out there, hidden from my naked eyes.

Reflections on “Convictions

I have just finished reading the book, “Convictions: How I learned What Matters Most” by Marcus Borg. This is labelled as ‘A manifesto for progressive Christians’. There is much that is commendable here. As the book cover shows, Borg goes back into Christianity’s roots so that he can better garner the outgoing fruits that should emerge. This is a call for the prophetic role of Christianity in its struggle for social justice. It is also a reminder of Christianity’s initial stance of non-violent resistance and confrontation of the world’s many evils.

How can one practice non-violence?

In 1965 when I was studying Humanities at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Martin Luther King came to speak to the student body. The civil rights movement was then at its height in the southern United States. There was not a room big enough to hold the student crowd, so King spoke to thousands of students in an open air meeting.

At the end of his talk King made a call for volunteers to go to work in the south, doing civil rights activities. About 25 of us responded. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), founded by Martin Luther King, was a non violent movement. We volunteers received two days of training in non violent resistance methods. We were told that if attacked we should not fight back, but instead we should adopt a non violent position. In the worst case scenario, we were to curl up and take up a fetal position and refuse to fight back.

Child Soldiers Can Teach Us Something

Here in Canada we have two child soldiers in our midst. Both have written up their stories in books; “If My life as a Child Soldier Could Be Told “by Junior Nzita and “War Child; A Child Soldier’s Story” by Emmanuel Jal.

Junior Nzita (left) and Emmanuel Jal

Both of these young men have undergone horrific experiences in their youth. They were forcefully taken from their home settings and given a choice – “Learn to kill others or you yourself will be killed!” Their recorded stories tell of unimaginable atrocities. They lived through horrors that no child should ever experience.  Emmanuel’s experience began at the age of seven years old in South Sudan and Junior’s at the age of 12 years old in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Money Talks

Some months ago, my wife and I attended a fundraiser after a hurricane had hit Cuba. There were all kinds of efforts to raise money – food and drinks were sold, books and other items were also on sale. All this took place in a church basement. Afterwards, upstairs a variety of volunteer musicians put on a spirited concert. Then there was an appeal for funds to help the stricken Cubans. The total amount raised – about $1,000.

Book Review: BIOCENTRISM - How Life and Consciousness are the keys to understanding the true nature of the universe By Robert Lanza MD and Bob Berman

When I was a young engineering student at the University of Toronto, we all had to take a required philosophy course. In one session the lecturer embarked upon the classical question, “If a tree falls in the forest when no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” I could hardly resist not getting up and leaving the class. Is this the nonsense that philosophers occupy themselves with? If the tree falls, all of our scientific evidence tells us that there will be pressure waves emitted in the air. If a person or other sentient being is there, this will be detected as sound, if not the pressure waves will still be emitted. End of story.

Civil Rights -- Again

Two days ago, John Lewis, an American congressman from Georgia was interviewed on CBC radio here in Canada. Listening to him brought my mind back to an event in August, 1965 which occurred in Americus, Georgia.

A group of six of us, John Lewis, two black friends, a Jewish woman, with my wife and I, tried to enter an all white Baptist church to worship. We were stopped at the door by a group of church deacons and leaders. John Lewis had some words with them.