An aspiring young journalist encounters an old activist

A young journalist's interview with the Rebellious Seeker...

 

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The choice before us

 Greetings to you all,

 

I now take it as a given that we are marching towards an environmental catastrophe. The exact time of an irreversible tipping point is not certain. It could be sooner than we think. In the meantime, a viable therapy in the face of such a situation is to do what we can to make this world a better place. Let us at least try to mitigate a coming environmental crisis.

 

We have a choice to make. Involved in this choice there are two possible world views.

 

The first world view is that in the past, life was short and brutish. It was marked by hunger, diseases, wars and extreme hardship. This has been the view of Malthus, Hobbes and Darwin and many others. In this view we have escaped from a horrible past. With our modern civilization we are advancing to a better future. Steven Pinker in his writings popularizes this world view.

 

An opposing world view is that ancient forager cultures by cooperation and nature-based living actually had a more satisfying existence than we have. At first glance this seems hard to accept, so blinded are we by our modern conveniences. However recent writers who have studied ancient cultures reveal a much different picture. An awareness of the trashing of the planet makes us open to see our modernism in a new way. This different view of the world is being espoused by Christopher Ryan (Civilized to Death) and Paul Hawken (Blessed Unrest).

 

Here is our dilemma. We have evolved from a very different past. Some of us privileged ones do enjoy benefits of a “modern” culture. However, in the process we are destroying the only planetary home that we have. We love this planet and all life in it. At the same time we grieve its loss. Can we experience joy and pain in the same song?

 

Let us all carry on as best we can,

Rebellious Seeker

February 15, 2021

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.

Where are we going?

The World we live in

It is not unusual for people to analyze the state of the world in their generation – and to find it in a state of troubling change. The difference today is that the change is happening faster than ever before in human history.

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.