jimrigby.org

For many people, religion is a kind of trance. We are taught to say the same words over and over, and, to further claim that those words are what we “believe”. Faith, then, is holding onto those beliefs without any other evidence but the approval of the people who taught us.

Most Americans have never read one page of scripture from any other world religion. If they hear a new idea, one not included in the words they have memorized, they consider it wrong by definition. So, an entire ocean of shared wisdom lies untapped.

There is also a religion that is based on breaking our trances. This religion calls us to honest awareness, and intimate relationship. This religion is extremely rare. It is the religion of Einstein and Schweitzer. It is the meeting place of mystic and skeptic alike. It is the one true religion: love.

Flackcheck.org with a satire that will sound very familiar. Happy April 1.

To see video, check here.

I have no interest in converting you.
I would not want to make you into another version of myself,
even if I could.
My intent is to be your helpmate,
As you struggle to find and express your best self.
My hope is that you will do the same for me.
May we both be students of life,
And teachers, each for the other.

Is it any surprise that the nations who care most for their people rank highest in happiness? According to this study, Denmark, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands rank the highest the happiness of their people. This report finds that happiness is increased by things like support for mental and emotional health as well as strong labor market. So can anyone guess where a nation where those factors are under attack is headed?

To read article, click here

To read the actual World Happiness Report, click here.

It was strange going down the halls of KLBJ radio station after so many hostile interviews over the years. I had flashbacks as I walked by the various studios remembering some of the old DJ’s, grilling me on abortion and gay rights.

This time, everyone was respectful and kind. Before the show, there was the traditional awkwardness when a clergyperson is in the room. Interns asking, “What should we call you?” I always want to say,”Well my parole officer calls me “Slasher” but you can call me whatever you want.”

Fortunately, someone took God’s name in vain in my presence so I could show that nothing was going to offend me. After that everyone relaxed. I thought they asked great questions. I was very grateful for the honesty Dudley showed in the interview. That was my impression of him in the other episode, too. He wasn’t being disrespectful to religion, he had honest questions and wasn’t going to lie by being polite. I respect that very much.

I really hope they continue with the segment. Austin has great spiritual communities of every stripe. Just having this kind of honest dialogue could be a great chance for some people to broaden their idea of what religion could be. I’ve already received several emails from people saying they want to come to visit the church . We can always use more honest people to help build the kind of spiritual community that will actually help our children find their way in the real world.

Those who work on women’s reproductive rights are used to disinformation. I thought this might be a nice summary of some of the more common ones. I softened the title to be nice.

To read, click here.

When I was a kid and saw my first Gorilla, I feel in love with my primate cousins. Since then I love to learn about all things primate, after all, I am one. Here are some pictures of Japanese snow monkeys some of the strangest critters on the planet.
To see pictures, click here.

If you need a bottom feeder for your aquarium, you might consider Lou Dobbs. He has perfected the art of getting as close to saying something racist, without taking responsibility for it. In this clip, Lou brings in a forensic psychiatrist to read the President’s mind and conclude that if he identifies with people of his own race, he is marginalizing white people.

This clip shows the brilliance of Dobbs. He gets the psychiatrist to say any son of Obama wouldn’t be wearing a hoodie. Look at the wild look in Dobbs eyes when the good doctor delivers that message.

to see clip, click here

Someone suggested last week that I put a very brief thumbnail version of my Sunday sermon on Monday’s blog. I obviously forgot to do that, but want to give it a try, so here goes:

The Beatitudes are an attempt to reshape our idea of happiness with eight paradoxical sayings. To describe how mercy leads to a deeper kind of happiness, I looked at two events from current events. I looked at the lesbian woman who was refused communion at her mother’s funeral by a Catholic priest. I also looked at the Treyvon Martin killing and Giraldo’s comment that the hoody was as guilty as the gunman.

So justice would be advocating and protecting the victims of injustice, mercy would be understanding what makes good people do bad things. For example, Giraldo has a teenage kid who is into hip hop. So the source of his completely inappropriate comment could have been the understandable fear of an overprotective parent. So justice would be pointing out his comment was blaming the victim, mercy would be understanding why Giraldo might have said such a stupid thing and still not be stupid himself.

My points were that the horrible events described were the expressions of deeper wounds. I mentioned that the wounds were a lot larger than the people mentioned, they are a world wound. Final point was that we cannot heal a wound with punishment alone.

So the thimble version of the sermon is this: When we see evil in the world we must see it as a wound, and say to ourselves, “The world needs me to be a healer.”

http://staopen.com/podcast/2012/rigby3_25_2012.mp3