Prayer As A Blog

According to Wikipedia “Prayer is an active effort to communicate with a deity or spirit either to offer praise, to make a request, seek guidance, confess sins, or simply to express one's thoughts and emotions. The words of the prayer may either be a set hymn or incantation, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person's own words”. The part “simply to express one's thoughts and emotions” strikes a familiar chord. Among other things isn’t a blog a daily pulpit from which one expresses his own private thoughts. Obviously praying is akin to blogging. One prays and somewhere in the blogosphere a connection is made with a deity or spirit who may or may not have a blog of its own. Pat Robertson’s deity does, so does George Bush’s deity as well as the Pope‘s. - they are always blogging back and forth. Most of us must be content with a less talkative deity. Does our blogging accomplish anything? Obviously it depends about what we are blogging about. For instance:
-Pray for Peace blog - that blog has been going on for centuries and obviously falls on deaf ears.
-Pray to win the lottery blog - that works for some but for most it does not or was it just a matter of luck.
-Pray to overcome disease blog - someone must be listening, look at the advances in medical science.
-Pray for the Indians to win the pennant blog - it worked for the Red Sox and White Sox although their owner’s might well argue it was the millions they poured into the effort.
-Pray for forgiveness blog - just willing to admit one’s transgressions is probably enough, no blog needed.
-Pray as an expression of faith blog - no harm done as long we do not forcibly impose that faith on others
Publishing a blog provides “ a feel good experience”. Offering up a prayer can do the same. Praying is indeed blogging. What to name that blog? Is "Prayer" too simplistic?

Tragedy Comes In All Sizes

Tragedy comes in all sizes - one size does not fit all. We are overwhelmed with media coverage of tragedies such as 9/11, the Columbine shootings, and the Virginia Tech massacre . A neighborhood shooting, a drunken driver fatality or a heartbreaking suicide find their way to a newspaper’s metro section or obituaries. No matter the size or the media coverage there is a common thread in all tragedies. Someone always suffers a personal loss. If its a tragedy worthy of extensive news coverage those suffering the loss will be asked to grieve in public through requests for interviews in a backdrop of endless bell tolling and candlelight vigils. If a minimum of media coverage is warranted , those suffering the loss will grieve with family in relative privacy. The hurt is no less than that resulting from those losses making headlines. In either case the hurt lives on for a lifetime. Ask anyone who has lost a loved one in a tragic event, no matter the size!

A Theologian I Am Not But........

A theologian I am not but I do muse about the existence of GOD so The New York Times Magazine (3/04/07) article Darwin’s God by ROBIN MARANTZ HENIG looked like it might answer some of my questions. It did present a scholarly assessment of why we believe in a God but I must confess I did not fully comprehend many of the anthropological or Darwinian terms. Overall the article did not give me any reason to champion either an atheistic or religious point of view. After reading the article I went back to something pointed out at the very start . “ Call it God; call it superstition; call it as Atran does, “belief in hope beyond reason” - whatever you call it, there seems an inherent human drive to believe in something transcendent, unfathomable, and otherworldly, something beyond the reach or understanding of science” (I would add that it is also beyond the reach or understanding of theologians). That I could buy. Does that make me an agnostic or just someone who recognizes a need to believe in something beyond the teachings of mortal man?

The article did shed some light on my current attitude toward organized religion. Among the references to the works of Scott Atran, Henig points out that people’s belief systems often need an emotional component. Per Attran “If your emotions are involved, then that’s the time when you’re most likely to believe whatever the religion tell you to believe. Religions stir up emotions through their rituals - swaying, singing, bowing in unison during group prayer, sometimes working people up to a state of physical arousal that can border on frenzy.” WOW! Is that why I strayed?

Looking back at my own history with organized religion I realize that what eventually led me to divorce myself from the Church was a distaste for emotion arousing practices. As an example I found it difficult to participate in the practice of exchanging “ peace be with you” via a handshake or an unwanted hug from the people around me . I did not need what I felt was an expression of emotion per the instruction of Rome when I knew full well this was a ritual and bore little relationship to what people really felt about one another.

My distrust of theologians is best illustrated by an Associated Press news report on 4/21/07 in which it was reported “Pope Benedict XVI has reversed centuries of traditional Roman Catholic teaching on limbo, approving a Vatican report released Friday that says there were "serious" grounds to hope that children who die without being baptized can go to heaven.” Catholics have long believed that children who die without being baptized are with original sin and thus excluded from heaven, but the church has no formal doctrine on the matter. Theologians have long taught, however, that such children enjoy an eternal state of perfect natural happiness, a state commonly called limbo, but without being in communion with God“. Innocent children not being in communion with God? Whose God could this possibly be? Why did it take centuries to reverse the teaching? Probably because it no longer provides any emotion arousing purpose.

Laws, rituals, unique personal garb, what real purpose do they serve? Organizing the masses so that they are subservient to some religious hierarchy? I can’t help but think about Muslims and their 72 virgins. It is believed by some that Muslims are motivated to terrorism because the Koran, the Bible of Islam, tells them that fighting non-believers is a duty of every Muslim and the only way to be certain of going to heaven is to die fighting in the cause of Allah. What awaits them is the pleasure doled out by 72 virgins. The Koran is quite specific that the only way to be certain of getting to heaven is to die in jihad. How accurate these teachings are occupies the time of theologians. Accurate or not, a religion provides an emotional component which arouses frenzy which in turn results in deaths so that the perpetrator can live out eternal life in a place called heaven in a pornographic state of ecstasy.

In the final analysis this whole subject “why do we believe” and in addition “what we believe” is incomprehensible. I guess that makes me a religious agnostic !

Virginia Tech Massacre

President Bush was horrified when he learned of the massacre at Virginia Tech today. Senator Reid was mortified. Senator McConnell called for a moment of silence. Why horrified? It implies that the shootings are a rarity! President Bush, a resolve to champion meaningful gun control would provide more solace to the nation! Why so sad Senator Reid - you have had ample opportunity to champion gun control. A moment of silence in the Senate? It seems like we have had an eternity of silence in the halls of Congress when it comes to effective gun control. It will be interesting to see what the NRA spins on this latest high profile example of gun violence . Of course it will be that guns do not kill - bad people do. Remember, good people with guns can become bad people with guns more often than we care to admit.

More On Gun Control

Today's New York Times had a sobering report on gun violence in Philadelphia. Especially disturbing is the assessment that gun control laws in Pennsylvania are thwarted by a large rural population . According to the story "Pennsylvania’s cities are forbidden by state law from making their own gun laws, and so must conform to the political will of a largely rural state that, according to the National Rifle Association, has around a quarter of a million gun owners". Why does one feel comfortable out in the "boondocks" with his gun arsenal while his urban brothers decimate themselves? I still question the assertion of the NRA and some politicos that gun control is an infringement of the Constitution.

Chief Wahoo Revisited

Wake up Cleveland Indians mangement! Racist symbols are no more acceptable than racial remarks. The Indians owners should follow the decision of CBS and NBC. The networks have seen fit to get rid of Don Imus for his foolish and stupid remarks thus sacrificing a lucrative show. The Cleveland Indian owners must bite the bullet and finally retire Chief Wahoo in spite of any dollars it may cost. The team's uniforms in the Civil Rights game a couple of weeks ago sans Chief Wahoo looked great.

About Racist Remarks

Run a Google search on racist remarks and there will be more than one million hits. The latest entry is of course the remarks made by Don Imus concerning the Rutgers female basketball team. We became sensitive to the issue with the infamous remarks made by Al Campanis twenty years ago during an interview on the late-night ABC News program Nightline . During the interview Campanis stated that blacks "may not have some of the necessities to be, let's say, a field manager, or, perhaps, a general manager". Elsewhere in the interview he said that blacks are often poor swimmers "because they don't have the buoyancy." A protest erupted the next morning and he resigned his position with the Los Angeles Dodgers two days later. (The fate of Don Imus has yet to be determined). Racist remarks by other celebrities such as Jimmy " The Greek" Snyder ( lost his job), Michael Richards ( future career questionable), Andrew Young ( resigned his WalMart position), Trent Lott( no longer a majority leader but making a comeback), Mel Gibson (still raking the money in, apparently forgiven), Steve Lyons (lost his job) and George Allen (lost his bid for the Senate) have had their share of newsprint. Of course no one ever admits that they are racist - stupid yes, but not racist! Whether the remarks are directed at blacks, Jews, Latinos ( I came across a web site recently referring to Mexican immigrants as “mexcrements”) or Indians they only remind us that we still have a long way ago before we can declare this country free from racism. As long as we are a nation of immigrants there will be ugly racist remarks and as long as we see fit to tolerate religious zealots there will be religious slurs and gay bashing. Acceptance of differences whether they be color, religion, lack of religion, ethnic background or sexual orientation has improved and will continue to improve (I haven’t been referred to as a WOP since I was a teen). Assimilation is the key which will bring about change! and we should embrace every opportunity we have to foster assimilation. Generation X will be much more tolerant and blind to differences than the Baby Boomers who were and are more tolerant than the Silent Generation who in turn was more tolerant than the "Greatest Generation". Although I can't say the same for myself I have never heard a racist remark from my children or grandchildren.

While still a child my granddaughter wrote this poem which says it all.

Same Difference
White ,wide wimpy or lame
We're all different, no one's the same
Talented, teasing, toothless or tall
We depend on each other one and all
Black, blue, or beaming with pride,
We don't always take the same side.
We're dreamy, dreadful, and all different too,
Each one of us is special and so are you!
-jenny

Pelosi's Visit To Syria

The Washington Post editorial page published a vicious editorial attacking Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), calling her “ludicrous” and describing her bipartisan trip to Syria as an “attempt to establish a shadow presidency”. What is wrong with attempting to establish a dialogue which may provide a blueprint for peace efforts? What is wrong with trying to get a better understanding of what motivates an Assad? What is wrong with a legislator getting a first hand feel for what the prospects are for peace in the Middle East when the executive branch has failed to mount any strong peace initiatives? In the face of this administration’s rejection of one of the key recommendations of the Iraq Study Group that a dialogue with Iran and Syria should be given a chance in order to secure peace in the Middle East, Pelosi should be applauded for her visit to Syria. The editorial also accused Mr. Assad as being “a corrupt thug whose overriding priority at the moment is not peace with Israel but heading off U.N. charges that he orchestrated the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri”. Why refer to a head of state as a thug? Isn’t that what got us involved in present and past conflicts. The definition of a thug ( a ruffian, a miscreant or a person who behaves in a violent manner)? might well fit some heads of state we call our allies yet we invite them to state dinners at the White House.

Civil War Or Evil?

On April 4th President Bush told soldiers and family members at Fort Irwin, Calif. “ What's happening in Iraq is not a civil war. It is pure evil and I believe we have an obligation to protect ourselves from that evil." The Reverend Bush may be right for all the wrong reasons. War is evil ! It is not civil!

About Poetry

Recently a poet asked me to critique a poem which she wrote on the spur of the moment. My reaction was “this is good ,but its dark and depressing”. Her response was “that’s what poetry is all about. You write about how you feel”. At the time she was depressed and the words of her poem exquisitely reflected her feelings without verbosity. I realized at the time why I have never written a poem. Poetry represents the soul of literature and as such requires that the poet sheds all inhibitions as he probes his innermost feelings. Poetry is beautiful and can say in a very few expressive words what a lengthy essay attempts to say.

I search for words
And I'm repulsed at every turn
I have something to say
But my soul says nay
Tongue tied I am
With my soul I can't communicate
Was it something I ate
Or something I forgot
Oh yes, a poet I am not

Baseball Is Here

Its opening day! Time to enjoy my favorite pastime. I predict that the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs will make it to the World Series! (On the other hand it is April 1st.)
What is not a joke is this announcement -
MLB ticket prices increase 2.5 percent this season
Apparently the exorbitant salaries being negotiated in baseball these days demands more sacrifice from the fans. Why athletic skills warrant millions of dollars is probably a joke. It becomes more ludricous when some of the aging superstars spend more time healing their aging bones rather than playing. Still the sport is entertaining - hopefully team owners and the players union will realize that there is a limit to what fans will consider good business practises.