jimrigby.org

When people look at the civil war in Syria, some see a human tragedy, others see economic and political opportunity.

For weaponsmakers and the politicians who represent them, the war in Syria is money lying on the table. The Wall Street Journal recently published an op-ed calling for bombing Syria and giving shoulder fired anti-aircraft weapons to the rebels. Of course, the problem is that the rebels are a very mixed bag, some with known Al Qaeda links. So, on one front, we are being asked to wage a multi-trillion dollar war against Al Qaeda, and on another front, we are arming them. It would be an insane strategy for anyone other than a weapons maker.

Even if we give our pro-war leaders the benefit of the doubt on whether they are wanting to bomb Iraq for personal benefit, how can we look at the open wound that is Iraq and not consider all who were part of that strategy as incompetent at the very least, and as war criminals by any higher standard? Here is a war everyone knows was fought over manufactured causes, but no one seems to count as evidence against the drum beaters for another war.

By the way, former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has also recommended this strategy of bombing Syria, and she is very possibly our next president. Our current Secretary of State is not quite as hawkish, but he also has spoken of increasing aid to the rebels. The Obama Administration appears to be against the bombing, but how long can they hold out?

In a very worrying development, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including most of its Democratic members, are trying to pass legislation to force Obama’s hand on Syria. It’s not likely that the legislative strategy will work, but it’s ugly. Key Democrats, such as Senators Robert Menendez and Bob Casey, are yelping about war against Syria. -Bob Dryfus, the Nation

http://www.thenation.com/blog/174514/neocons-hill-democrats-push-war-against-syria

Rabbi Solomon, Imam Kabir and Reverend Jones were playing dominoes when the discussion of idols came up. It soon became clear that the Reverend was using the word to refer to non-Christian religious images, the Rabbi was using it to refer to non-Jewish images, and the Imam to non-Islamic ones.

“This is interesting,” said the Imam, “We are acting like only people outside our own faith can be idolaters, when all of our scriptures say that any image of God is an idol!” The Rabbi nodded.

“Texas Buddha travels the world to collect religion icons, we should ask him what his definition of an idol is,” said Reverend Jones, who called TB and repeated his answer to the others.

“ To me, religion is the art of putting life together inspite its infinite mystery and inspite of our own irrational animal consciousness. “Idolatry” is when the art of religion replaces actually living. Religion can easily become like a grandfather clock that is so revered no one expects it to keep time. So beliefs have become idols when they overtake sight. Statues become idols when they overtake our relationships with real people. Rules have become idols when they overtake personal responsibility. Rituals have become idols when they overtake creativity. All of us can easily spot the idolatry of others, but few can tell when we have turned our own religion into an idol.

“Good religion is the faith behind our science, the hope behind our ethics, the love behind our art. Idolatry is when we have replaced our eyes with a creed, our heart with a ritual, or our conscience with a rule.”

On this day for remembering the courage of our young warriors let us also, for their sakes, remember the futility of war. Let us remember the suffering we have inflicted upon young soldiers from other lands who are so much like our own young patriots. Let us remember that the only sin of soldiers from either side of war is to have believed the lies of their own nation.

This reading of Mark Twain’s “War Prayer” takes just over 6 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TCj4gKri_c

The Reverend Clovis Jones was clearly upset about something, but was trying to focus on the movie Texas Buddha had rented. At a break point in the movie, TB paused the movie and asked the reverend what was on his mind. After some hesitation, Reverend Jones admitted that he was concerned about his daughter Amy and her drift from what he had taught her about God.

“I want her to be open-minded. I really do. I want her to learn about the wonderful world religions you talk about…” the Reverend’s voice trailed off.

Texas Buddha went to the refrigerator, grabbed a Lone Star and handed it to his friend, “But?”

“But, I worry about her. I know this is crazy, but Jesus said he is the only way. I don’t’ believe you are going to hell or anything, but why would Jesus say that if it weren’t true?”

TB thought a moment, “Is it possible that Jesus was talking about something bigger than organized religion?

“Like what?” The Reverend asked, trying not to sound desperate.

“Have you ever seen a Russian nesting doll? It is one large doll with successively smaller dolls inside it. Sometimes there can be ten or more dolls nesting inside a big one.”

The Reverend tried to picture such a doll. “And?”

“When Jesus says he is the only way, there are two different ways we might understand him. He might be saying he is like the smallest doll which excludes all the others, and so we must reject other religions to choose him. Or, he may mean that his way is like the largest doll which includes all the other truths, in which case we must prioritize little truths to fit within larger truths. Perhaps he is saying that only a religion of universal love can hold all the world’s truth.

“If you could only give Amy one of those two dolls, which would it be?”

Without saying a word, Reverend Jones nodded and went out into the woods to think.

As a minister I try to be nonpartisan. I have never asked from the pulpit for anyone to vote for one party over the other. I speak often of political issues, but I try to focus on principles over people. At the same time, the Republican Party has become such a horror, that even some staunch Republicans are having to speak out against it. Former Republican Presidential candidate said the party should be “closed for repairs.” Nearly half of self-identified Republicans say their party is “out of touch” with the concerns of most Americans.

“Asked whether he would be welcomed by the Republican Party today, Dole said, “I doubt it. Reagan wouldn’t have made it, certainly Nixon wouldn’t have made it, because he had ideas. We might have made it, but I doubt it.”” -Washington Post

I still believe it is important as a minister to try to be nonpartisan politically, but as a human being I also must speak out on behalf of  my species. If there is a bill to cut nutrition programs for infants, to reduce worker safety laws, to bash gays, to harass immigrants or Muslims, to hamper teachers, or to intrude on women’s personal reproductive choice I don’t even need to look up to see which party proposed it.

If you add a Democratic Party willing to compromise away its core values then you have a nation adrift. Hope will only arise when our people start at the grass roots level to build real democratic choices into our lives.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/05/26/bob-dole-gop-should-be-closed-for-repairs/

Some say the age of prophecy is over, but I say any time a human being speaks for universal principles she or he is being prophetic. After all, the prophetic isn’t a person, it is a message. And that message, though infinite in possible expressions, reduces to the message some faiths sing at Christmas and then forget for the rest of the year. That prophetic message, in essence, is: “Peace on earth good will to all.”

After President Obama finished his speech the other day, tamping down the global war on terror, Michal Tomasky had a flashback to Rep. Barbara Lee of California, the lone US Representative to vote against the insanity we have called “the War on Terror.” On that terrible day when any who spoke for peace had their patriotism questioned, Rep. Barbara Lee stood to speak prophetically. And who cannot see in retrospect that she alone of her colleagues was right?

Who’s Barbara Lee? She’s the Democratic congresswoman who represents Berkeley. On September 14, 2001, with the World Trade Center ruins still asmolder, the House of Representatives considered House Joint Resolution 64, the authorization of the use of military force against the terrorists involved in 9/11 plus their aiders and abettors. It passed 420 to one. Lee was that one.

Lee’s short floor speech explaining her vote is on YouTube; here it is, have a look. Citing “my conscience, my moral compass, and my God,” she asserted that “some of us must say let’s step back for a minute … and think through the implications of our actions today so that this does not spiral out of control.” Elsewhere in defense of her vote, she said things like the United States should be “careful not to embark on an open-ended war with neither an exit strategy nor a focused target” and criticized the vote afterward by saying: “It was a blank check to the president to attack anyone involved in the September 11 events—anywhere, in any country, without regard to our nation’s long-term foreign policy, economic and national security interests, and without time limit. In granting these overly broad powers, the Congress failed its responsibility to understand the dimensions of its declaration.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/24/in-praise-of-barbara-lee.html

How would every religion need to change if we were truly serious about making this a better world?

My article in today’s Austin Statesman:

http://www.mystatesman.com/news/lifestyles/religion/what-kind-of-religion-does-the-world-need/nXyHK/?icmp=statesman_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_statesmanstubtomystatesman_launch

Thanks to Tom Spencer of IACT of the invitation to write it.

As a Christian I am charged, of course, with being sex police for everyone else. It’s not an easy job, but I always carry pepper spray in case I see two non-married people holding hands, or as I like to say it, committing hand fornication. Likewise, if I see unmarried couples flaunting their sexuality (in other words arousing mine) they likewise will face my wroth.   I am even thinking of developing a Christian line of defense products I will call “Jawbone of an Ass” Pepper spray. I also have created a new line of condoms with biblical condemnations on them I will call of “Socks of Shame.”

So, imagine my surprise, when I heard of the new Christian website called “Christian Nymphos.” The purpose of the site is to promote positive views of sex for Christian women. While that concerned me, I was glad to see that the site insists on keeping women submissive to their husbands and on condemning anyone outside of Christian marriage who would want to perform the same acts. I can look past open mindedness in Christian behavior so long as we don’t allow those same freedoms to others.

The site has a question and answer section where someone asked about anal sex. Being dutiful wives, the “Spicy Nutmeg”, “Cumin Girl” and “Cinnamon Sticks,” as they call themselves, deferred to their husbands who answered the question quite well. To summarize the answer, sodomy is only sodomy if homosexuals do it. For heterosexual married couples, we can justify just about anything. By the way, the site has a very long list of approved positions.

The site also has some tips on making making Christian sex hot and spicy “the way God intended it.” For example, imagine reading from the Song of Solomon while locked in the throes of nuptial passion:

“Her hair is like a flock of goats”

“Her teeth are as white as sheep”

“Her breasts are like gazelles.”

Yep, nothing makes me hotter than comparing a woman’s body to farm animals.

http://christiannymphos.org/

The Reverend Clovis Jones gave a sermon on the virgin birth one Wednesday evening. That night, his daughter Amy couldn’t sleep. The story of the virgin birth was no longer believable to her. She felt lost. Late that night she wondered who she was and what might be her purpose in life. Every time she tried to find her own thoughts, she would hear her father’s voice instead. The thoughts that would come to her were sometimes noble and good, but they were not her own. As much as she loved her father, his influence stood as a giant shadow between her and her own soul.

When morning broke, Amy walked over to the cabin where Texas Buddha was staying. She sat on the porch until she saw a light go on in the house. She knocked gently.

Seeing Amy’s face was enough for TB to know her struggle. Without saying a word, TB came out onto the porch to sit beside her.

“You always say that life is our teacher, but how can I believe that there is any guidance in life at all? I don’t believe that Jesus was born of a virgin. I don’t believe in providence. I’m not sure I even believe in God.” Amy sat gently rocking, not looking up. “I can’t find my own voice. I love my father, but I can’t get his voice out of my head so I can hear my own.” Tears fell on her knee.

After a time, TB spoke just above a whisper, “Do you trust me Amy?”

She looked up, surprised at the question, “Of course, I trust you. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

“Then please consider what I am saying. You are a very wise person. Your confusion is leading you where you need to go. The point of religion is for you to feel your connections to the rest of life, not to believe certain ideas. And the story of the virgin birth isn’t about sex, it’s about the fact that you have been born with everything you need for your journey. Your soul’s deepest wisdom does not come from the outside. Your soul is wise because it knows it is a microcosm of everything else.”

Feeling an unexpected flash of anger Amy said, “I don’t believe you.” She continued to look down.

TB Smiled. “That’s good. I don’t want you to believe me, I just want you to trust just enough to think about what I am saying.”

TB got up and went into the cabin. When he came back he put a bird’s egg in Amy’s hand.

“Please consider this egg very carefully. This egg has written within it how the bird is to build its nest. It has written within it a map of where the bird will need to migrate. This egg even has written within it, the song the bird is to sing. You cannot consider this egg for long, and not realize that you too are fully connected to the universe.”

“What many people don’t know about Monopoly is that it was actually created to teach about the dangers of cutthroat capitalism. The original version was called The Landlord’s Game, and it was used in the Great Depression as an underground game and organizing tool to teach tenants about how they were being ripped off. Its creator, Elizabeth Magie, had her vision corrupted – and now we know Monopoly as the game that’s a shining example of American capitalism.” -Brian Van Slyke

So if the game of Monopoly was created to teach about the dangers of cutthroat capitalism, what should we have learned from playing it?

1. If you are born rich you will probably stay rich. Ditto, if you are born poor.   In real life Monopoly, children are born on the real life equivalents of Baltic Avenue and Park Place. Players can work just as hard, and make the same kinds of decisions, but but they will probably end up in the same economic class they were born.  Look at the game. Even if your rich opponents land on Baltic Avenue, it will cost them a very small portion of what they own, but every time you land on their property you are devastated. While there is some class mobility, that mobility is becoming rarer as the middle class shrinks. To speak of political equality in the United States is nonsense so long as some are born to own and others born to serve.

2. Salary isn’t the same as holdings. Two hundred dollars seems like a lot of money at the beginning of the game, but wise players convert their salaries to holdings.  Toward the end of the game the two hundred dollar salary seems almost like a nuisance. In discusions of tax equity it is often forgotten that taxing the salaries of the rich, and their holdings are two different conversations.

3. Jail means something very different to the rich and the poor.

The law tends to protect the rich from the poor, but the poor are fair game. When a rich kid is caught with drugs it usually means warnings and treatment. When a poor kid is caught with drugs, then the rich talk about getting tough on crime. Even if they have committed the same crime, the poor kid usually loses turns while the rich kid gets a “get out of jail free” card.

4. Capitalism concentrates wealth. Even Adam Smith lamented that it takes many poor people to make one millionaire. There is only so much property, after that is bought up, wealth begins to concentrate in fewer and fewer hands. We can make laws and regulations against monopolies, but the system is built to produce them.

5. Capitalism turns each against the all. A system built on competition eventually changes how we look at our fellow human beings. To a dedicated capitalist we are not one human family meant to share the whole planet fairly, we are born into a rat race for survival. As Lilly Tomlin used to say, “Even if you win the rat race, you’re still a rat.”

This piece was inspired by reading the title of:

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/16512-teach-your-children-well-dont-play-monopoly