Right in the middle of some of the most violently cruel conflicts in the world is RELIGION. Religion, as a general proposition, is not that great a thing. The simple acceptance that 'religion is good for humanity' reveals a poor understanding of human history, human nature, and religion.
When I was a graduate student in Religion at Vandy, Sue and I got to the be friends with a couple from Yugoslavia: Ronco (husband) and Branca (wife). He was a mechanical engineering graduate student, and he told me that he was Serbian, but had absolutely no use for religion. He did say: "But, I am impressed that you don't kill each other over your religion. That's all I know of religion from my country." Freedom from religion was for him freedom from bloodshed and prejudice and all sorts of crazy misunderstandings.
Of course, in the U.S., we had our days of hatred between Protestant and Catholic, but those days are pretty much over. An anti-semitic strand won't seem to go away. But, we have had a few decades of religious peace in our country, where there has seemed to be a growing tolerance. But, now, since we have joined the centuries old East v. West religious battle, we are learning what my friend from Yugolslavia knew: RELIGION CAN BRING HELL ON EARTH.
And, the anti-human, anti-God nature of violent extremist religion shouldn't make us proud of our own religion, but critical of it, as we acknowledge the hatred and self-interest we smuggle into something that started with a deeply holy experience. Religion in the end gets to be about humans and not about God, unless we criticize our religion by confronting it with our genuine experience of the living God. A man, filled with the spirit of his "religion" and devoid of any experience of the living God filled 31 people full of bullet holes. Now that is what I call bringing hell to earth.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
A Prayer of Thanksgiving for the Love of Family
God, thank you for your grace and your mercy - your faithfulness in the life of my family. Thank you for seeing us through our struggles to find a way in our own way that hopefully finds your way for us in this world. We have borne the burdens of worry, of even being tempted to doubt each other, but the faith that comes from you has held us together - the love you have for us has bound us together when it seemed we would fall apart.
And, we celebrate today, O Lord! We celebrate that love which is eternal, and we praise you from the depths of our lives. For you, O Lord, are the source of all goodness, the bringer of new life, the dreamer of a new reality. You continued to dream for us when we had quit dreaming for ourselves. In your grace and by your goodness we are dreaming again - dreaming again those wonderful dreams of faith, hope and love. Amen and Amen.
And, we celebrate today, O Lord! We celebrate that love which is eternal, and we praise you from the depths of our lives. For you, O Lord, are the source of all goodness, the bringer of new life, the dreamer of a new reality. You continued to dream for us when we had quit dreaming for ourselves. In your grace and by your goodness we are dreaming again - dreaming again those wonderful dreams of faith, hope and love. Amen and Amen.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Listening
Almost everything I do, whether in court, at church, at home goes so much better if I listen to others. When I have the attention to really listen to another person, it means I am at peace and focused. Paying attention to what is going on around you, even right in front of you is a way of listening. And, there is also an inner listening: listening to the movements of your own heart and mind. Buddhists speak of "mindfulness." I like that word.
But, so many days are spent in anxious movements, both physical and mental. And, so many conversations are nothing but alternating making noises come out of our respective mouths. When speech arises out of real listening, then it is part of an engaged conversation. That's when good things come to us, through us, and among us.
When we don't pay attention to what is really going on around us, in front of us . . . when we aren't listening to others . . . when we are unable to listen to the movements within ourselves; that is being in a state of "mindlessness." Mindlessness leads to meaninglessness which lands us in despair. Listening, really listening, is like sending roots down into the source of life. In listening we are renewed. Maybe we have to be renewed in our souls to be able to listen, but maybe in the simple act of listening, the renewal begins.
But, so many days are spent in anxious movements, both physical and mental. And, so many conversations are nothing but alternating making noises come out of our respective mouths. When speech arises out of real listening, then it is part of an engaged conversation. That's when good things come to us, through us, and among us.
When we don't pay attention to what is really going on around us, in front of us . . . when we aren't listening to others . . . when we are unable to listen to the movements within ourselves; that is being in a state of "mindlessness." Mindlessness leads to meaninglessness which lands us in despair. Listening, really listening, is like sending roots down into the source of life. In listening we are renewed. Maybe we have to be renewed in our souls to be able to listen, but maybe in the simple act of listening, the renewal begins.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
These three things I want to be rid of
It's Sunday evening. I'm typing slowly because I smashed my finger in the church door today. That is a big, old door, and my right middle finger is feeling it as it turns a darker shade of blue every hour or so.
Three things I ask to be delivered from: a spirit of anxiety; a spirit of self-importance; a spirit of criticism. These three problems came to me clearly a couple of years ago. Clearly, the anxiety is primal, at the deepest level. If I trust at that deep level in God, then the other evil spirits don't arise. But, my trust is lacking and so a spirit of self-importance arises and then with it criticism of others to justify my spirit of self-importance.
These three things I have learned in my almost 49 years of living. Three things I pray of you, O God:
Rid me of a spirit of anxiety
Banish that spirit of self-importance within me
Do away with that spirit of criticism (of others) within me
Amen.
Three things I ask to be delivered from: a spirit of anxiety; a spirit of self-importance; a spirit of criticism. These three problems came to me clearly a couple of years ago. Clearly, the anxiety is primal, at the deepest level. If I trust at that deep level in God, then the other evil spirits don't arise. But, my trust is lacking and so a spirit of self-importance arises and then with it criticism of others to justify my spirit of self-importance.
These three things I have learned in my almost 49 years of living. Three things I pray of you, O God:
Rid me of a spirit of anxiety
Banish that spirit of self-importance within me
Do away with that spirit of criticism (of others) within me
Amen.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Post-conviction DNA testing
As of January of 2009, there had been 229 exonerations through DNA testing of people convicted of very serious crimes in this country. That means that physical evidence that had been preserved from the crime scene was tested (for the presence of DNA) that established the actual innocence of the person that had been found guilty. One man who was acquitted was Dwayne Dail, who had served 18 1/2 years for the rape of a 12 year old girl. This 12 year old girl was raped, but by a man other than Dwayne Dail. On testing the sample from the crime scene, it was established that the rapist was not Dwayne Dail, but was another man about 10 years older (I think this other man was a convicted sex offender, but I'm not sure).
If you want to look at stories of two men who were wrongfully convicted and sent to prison, there are fairly detailed interviews on the internet. Just Google: "Dwayne Dail" or "Ronald Cotton."
When I went to this Post-conviction DNA conference in January, the most amazing thing I learned was that 20% of those proven innocent by DNA testing had actually confessed (and, pled guilty) to the crimes. That is really something to think about. It not only raises questions about errors in the investigative processes of law enforcement and the judical system; it raises some real concerns about real power of coercion involved in the criminal justice system. If we are concerned with justice, and if we do have respect for the right against self-incrimination; then, it should really worry us that 20% of those proven innocent by scientific testing actually confessed to crimes they didn't commit. That's what torture is supposed to produce, not a system that respects the dignity of human beings. Talking about getting it not just a little wrong, but completely wrong. It is frightening to think that this statistic about false confessions may just be "the tip of the iceberg." I hope that's not the case.
If I have a client who is on tape confessing to a crime, I think absolutely that that client is guilty. He did it if he said he did it, especially in a detailed account. But, that's what Bruce Godschalk did, in Pennsylvania v. Godschalk. He admitted to two rapes, with a fair amount of detail given. But, then insisted he was innocent. Years later after being in prison for about a decade, a lawyer convinced a Federal District Court Judge that Mr. Godschalk had a due process right to be conduct DNA testing on available samples from the evidence preserved in his case. The lawyer who convinced the judge to order DNA testing didn't think his client was innocent - nobody did. HE HAD CONFESSED IN DETAIL TO THE CRIMES. But, when the testing was done, it was proven that Mr. Godschalk was innocent of these rapes! When the whole story was told or revealed, serious law enforcement misconduct on was discovered and Mr. Godschalk and his lawyer settled for a fairly large sum, I am told.
That's the kind of worries I am talking about. Wondering about a process that can bring an innocent man to confess. It is something to wonder about. Perhaps we need to reconsider that old saying: "sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Those detectives in Godschalk didn't use any "sticks or stones," only words.
If you want to look at stories of two men who were wrongfully convicted and sent to prison, there are fairly detailed interviews on the internet. Just Google: "Dwayne Dail" or "Ronald Cotton."
When I went to this Post-conviction DNA conference in January, the most amazing thing I learned was that 20% of those proven innocent by DNA testing had actually confessed (and, pled guilty) to the crimes. That is really something to think about. It not only raises questions about errors in the investigative processes of law enforcement and the judical system; it raises some real concerns about real power of coercion involved in the criminal justice system. If we are concerned with justice, and if we do have respect for the right against self-incrimination; then, it should really worry us that 20% of those proven innocent by scientific testing actually confessed to crimes they didn't commit. That's what torture is supposed to produce, not a system that respects the dignity of human beings. Talking about getting it not just a little wrong, but completely wrong. It is frightening to think that this statistic about false confessions may just be "the tip of the iceberg." I hope that's not the case.
If I have a client who is on tape confessing to a crime, I think absolutely that that client is guilty. He did it if he said he did it, especially in a detailed account. But, that's what Bruce Godschalk did, in Pennsylvania v. Godschalk. He admitted to two rapes, with a fair amount of detail given. But, then insisted he was innocent. Years later after being in prison for about a decade, a lawyer convinced a Federal District Court Judge that Mr. Godschalk had a due process right to be conduct DNA testing on available samples from the evidence preserved in his case. The lawyer who convinced the judge to order DNA testing didn't think his client was innocent - nobody did. HE HAD CONFESSED IN DETAIL TO THE CRIMES. But, when the testing was done, it was proven that Mr. Godschalk was innocent of these rapes! When the whole story was told or revealed, serious law enforcement misconduct on was discovered and Mr. Godschalk and his lawyer settled for a fairly large sum, I am told.
That's the kind of worries I am talking about. Wondering about a process that can bring an innocent man to confess. It is something to wonder about. Perhaps we need to reconsider that old saying: "sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Those detectives in Godschalk didn't use any "sticks or stones," only words.
Friday, October 9, 2009
So Many Things Left Undone
As our lives come to an end, so many of us have "so many things left undone." There is always another thing you want to get finished, a person you want to see make it through trouble, and young person you really want to see grow into adulthood. But, we don't have too much control over the ending of our lives, just like we don't have any control over the beginning.
So, we might as well accept that we will die with many things left undone. But, we have this day, and there are things we can do or not do today. Maybe the most important ones to do are not the things we think we "need to get done," but the things that deep down in our hearts we would really like to do.
So, we might as well accept that we will die with many things left undone. But, we have this day, and there are things we can do or not do today. Maybe the most important ones to do are not the things we think we "need to get done," but the things that deep down in our hearts we would really like to do.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
"On the Outside Looking In"
That 10th commandment, "You shall not covet . . . " gets to something very deep and very tragic and twisted in human beings. It really means "don't become envious of others."
Soren Kierkegaard says: "envy is admiration grown sick." It is twisted or perverted admiration.
Envy is when we feel ourselves "on the outside looking in." The Indigo Girls have a song called: "Love Will Come to You" that expresses the longing of human beings for love, and the experience of being "on the outside looking in."
The words are vivid: "my face pressed up against love's glass . . . to see that shiny toy I've been hoping for, the one I never can afford . . . "
It is that haunting feeling that comes around for us that what we really long for is just out of reach.
Now, I know that sometimes a deep longing is very good and ought to be nurtured even if it is not fulfilled. But, I can't help think that so many of our "deep longings" are created out of some real brokenness and twistedness inside of us. What I am talking about is the tendency of human beings to manufacture a series of dreams that are just out of reach to keep ourselves miserable and in a state of always feeling like we are on the outside looking in. Watching a movie and feeling how wonderful it must be to share a love with another like it is portrayed in the movie, while you've got somebody back in the living room who loves you and would enjoy talking with you and sharing a hug with you right now. Not enjoying the nice place to live that we have because it's not as big and expensive a place as the family next door. Not appreciating the healthy body we have because we don't quite meet the standards for Miss or Mr. Universe.
Maybe when we feel like we are on the outside looking in, we ought to take some time to look inside of ourselves. The true longing of human beings is not to live up to some standard in the world outside of us, but to conform ourselves to a mystery deep within us. Now, with regard to that mystery, we may be "on the outside looking in."
Soren Kierkegaard says: "envy is admiration grown sick." It is twisted or perverted admiration.
Envy is when we feel ourselves "on the outside looking in." The Indigo Girls have a song called: "Love Will Come to You" that expresses the longing of human beings for love, and the experience of being "on the outside looking in."
The words are vivid: "my face pressed up against love's glass . . . to see that shiny toy I've been hoping for, the one I never can afford . . . "
It is that haunting feeling that comes around for us that what we really long for is just out of reach.
Now, I know that sometimes a deep longing is very good and ought to be nurtured even if it is not fulfilled. But, I can't help think that so many of our "deep longings" are created out of some real brokenness and twistedness inside of us. What I am talking about is the tendency of human beings to manufacture a series of dreams that are just out of reach to keep ourselves miserable and in a state of always feeling like we are on the outside looking in. Watching a movie and feeling how wonderful it must be to share a love with another like it is portrayed in the movie, while you've got somebody back in the living room who loves you and would enjoy talking with you and sharing a hug with you right now. Not enjoying the nice place to live that we have because it's not as big and expensive a place as the family next door. Not appreciating the healthy body we have because we don't quite meet the standards for Miss or Mr. Universe.
Maybe when we feel like we are on the outside looking in, we ought to take some time to look inside of ourselves. The true longing of human beings is not to live up to some standard in the world outside of us, but to conform ourselves to a mystery deep within us. Now, with regard to that mystery, we may be "on the outside looking in."
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