Action: A Divine Directive

I recently read an article from a secular humanist and was struck by the essential difference between nonbelievers and believers. Nonbelievers come to human rights from a perspective of ego (in the traditional sense of the word - it benefits society and humanity long term, which benefits the self) and in the best case, empathy (understanding others' perspectives.

Believers, people of faith, have additional incentives to act morally. We have something that an atheist does not have, can never have. In fact, it is the point which separates the nonbeliever and believer - believers serve Divine will.

In each world religion, it uses different language, but there are serious overlaps and in fact, much common ground between the cultural interpretations of Divine will. These surround issues of charity and treating others as we would like to be treated (compassion and empathy). These are Divine mandates.

Keeping this in mind, it behooves the believer, if he or she is practicing, to act. It would be immoral not to.  We must live our faith through actions directed by Divine will.

In the present socio-political climate, I see two rallying points for people of faith. To live one's faith requires addressing one of the following:

1. Economic inequality
2. Climate change

Within each of these areas are additional foci. Let's first unpack economic inequality.

Economic Inequality

Economic inequality is much more than issues of class or fiscal responsibility. It encompasses the following issues (in no particular order):

1. Racial inequality
2. Gender inequality
3. Healthcare
4. Shelter
5. Education
6. Labor protections
7. Taxes

This is a large list that requires much action for these issues to be addressed. A person of faith can work on any of these issues and be living their faith. However, if a person is not actively seeking to redress these issues, then I urge them to reconsider their faith and question their life choices.

Climate Change

Within the issue of climate change are a group of issues that require people of faith to act:

1. Food consumption and production
2. Energy consumption and production
3. Corporate greed
4. International trade
5. Manufacturing practices
6. Reproductive justice
7. Sustainable living practices

 

Now that you know...

This may seem scary and overwhelming, because this list of issues essentially calls for complete social revolution. That level of change frightens many people. After all, it is comfortable to go through the drive-through at fast food restaurants. It is comfortable to let the water run when brushing teeth. Brown lawns are ugly. Being on the top of the social hierarchy is nice. Why rock the boat?

Yes, why rock the boat?
Because God calls.

We can sit here, comfortably ignoring the fact that a black woman was murdered by a police officer for saying what was on her mind. We can sit here, comfortably ignoring the fact that Shell Oil company is drilling for oil in the arctic when we know using oil may bring about the death of humanity.

We can sit comfortably, plug our ears, cover our eyes, and watch as the world burns. That is possible. However, as believers, that would amount to ignoring God. We cannot ignore God. The Divine will, the directive to act, is overwhelming.

What does this mean for my life?

There are a few things that you can do right now.

1. Figure out which political candidate platforms address the most of above issues. Vote for them.
2. Sign petitions calling for policy changes in these areas.
3. Educate yourself on these issues.
4. Educate your family, friends, and neighbors on these issues.
5. Pick a few non-profit agencies that are doing things in your community to address these issues and volunteer.
6. Pick a few other agencies addressing either the same issues or others on the above list, and donate.
7. Eat local or make your own.
8. Walk more.
9. Use public transportation.
10. Practice empathy.
    

This is a start, but it is by no means an exhaustive list. We must overhaul our lives, and that takes time, resources, and practice. Each step brings us closer to our goal of living our faith in the world.

Morality, Calling, and Signposts

Bleak? Or a change in the weather?

I am struggling to see the good in the world today. Last night I read another article about another group of politicians intending to hurt people by taking away basic necessities and it kept me awake. It made me physically sick. It made me so angry that someone who claimed to be for family, for God, would do something, even if it is only political strategy, at the expense of people's lives.

There is no excuse.

No major world religion I have read about wants this. And I have read a LOT about gods. I have read a LOT about religion. A LOT. It is one of the things that comes up in my life over and over.

And I love people. I mean, I hate them, but I love them. Sort of like Jonah. Sometimes I don't want to save people from themselves...some of them may not deserve it...but then again, even the worst can repent.

And they should have a chance. But shouldn't there be consequences for hurting thousands of people? Isn't that - more than anything - immoral?

But I cannot focus on this. I cannot keep turning towards this, except as motivation to spur me forward - to create positive change around me. And I am motivated. Everything I read stokes my fire. Every conversation I have pushes me in the same direction.

This past week I met a person who gave me a huge jolt of positive energy. Talking with her affirmed what I am doing. I realized that God wasn't content with closing all the other options, but decided to send me a few more signposts. I received positive responses to my speaking inquiries. I received positive responses to my story from more than one quarter - from friends, strangers, and professional acquaintances.

If there was any doubt, it is gone. Whatever happens from here on out, I am not worried. Whatever happens, at least I know I'm fulfilling my calling. And that is edifying, even as it requires fire.

To End The Drought

Sitting down in front of the keys, a thousand thoughts go through my head. I think of ISIS, of little girls with books, of insane people conflating Christianity with "God on America's Side," of chocolate bunnies, of frightening droughts, of lying billionaires moving suited pawns across legislatures...

I think of my bank account, of my aching foot, of the fact that my computer is on its last leg, of the fact that capitalism doesn't work well for people with my kind of motivation and values...

I think of all the flaws and the fears of the world in the span of a moment. They flash before my mind's eye. It is a dizzying, horrifying, freak show, and I really don't recommend it. It's vomit inducing.

I could write about any single one of these things, and while they each could be twisted into a faith post, the reality is together, they mean so much more.

The world is scary. It is dark. It is full of awful, terrible, no good things. People use the same ideology and evidence to support their views, often with selfish aims, and with complete disregard for the consequences if they win their arguments.

In this season of Lent, I have to remind myself, and you, that it is darkest just before the dawn. All of these things are true...are present...and they must be addressed. You must decide what to do with the chocolate bunny, and how to re-landscape your lawn because grass is not going to work any more. These are bitter pills for the average Californian (and the rest of the US). You must decide how to address your faith - and work, or not, with others across the world to bring about Shalom - that yearned state of the Divine.

And for us Christians, yes, these things weigh on us, and it is hard and scary and we want to hide our faces under our pillows and stay in our cozy beds. But Jesus still died a horrible death...and returned.

As my father likes to quote, in his best imitation of a whooping preacher...

"It's Good Friday...BUT EASTER'S COMIN'!"

One more time...

"It's Good Friday...BUT EASTER IS COMIN'!"

We are not alone. In the midst of the faithful, is a large bubbling, untapped wellspring of love and light. It is time to end the drought.

Rush forth my brothers and sisters - come forward - your time in now.

The Hebdo Attack is Not What You Think

With the Paris attacks fresh on everyone's mind, the question of pluralism, freedom, capitalism, and Islam must be discussed.

Some of you may wonder how all these things are connected, but I assure you, they are.

First, know that capitalism, democracy, and secularism are intrinsically linked together through Western philosophy and cultural development. Capitalism thrives in the democratic model. Secularism, particularly in the market, is necessary for capitalism to thrive. Religious tolerance, and pluralism, is expected for capitalism to work. Goods and services must be traded across cultural and religious lines. By putting beliefs and life expectations on the back burner, capitalism thrives.

It is quite difficult to make a profit if you are fighting with the only person who will buy your goods.

Christianity is ideally suited for cosmopolitan structure because it does not require ritual in daily life in the same way as say Judaism or Islam does. Christians do not have to stop to pray five times a day, or worry about which fork to use when eating animal products. Christianity, by its dogma and praxis, is fairly accepting of diversity (even if all of its adherents are not). Part of this is because of the religion itself, and part of this is because it developed in the same cultural contexts as democracy and capitalism did - primarily in Europe and the US.

Islam developed within a different cultural context from Christianity, though they are connected by scripture and history. The revelation of the Quran does not allow for diversity of opinion in the same way as the Bible. Outside of Jews, Christians, and Muslims are infidels (though if we look at ISIS, one wonders who might be considered a protected class of Jew or Christian at all).

Capitalist ideals are not allowed in Islam - cosmopolitanism is not possible for the strict Muslim. How could a good Muslim interact with someone who is destined to Hell? When the religious revelation is so clear, how can a good Muslim earn interest at another's expense? When the religious revelation is so clear, how can a good Muslim allow his daughter to be exposed to dangerous ideas purported by continental philosophy or scientific inquiry? How can satire or difference of opinion be allowed when the religious revelation is so clear?

It does not surprise me that Muslims committed violent acts in defense of their faith. Within a Muslim cultural context, such satire as Hebdo created would have required such defense. God's justice is swift - black and white, according to such thinking.

I understand the appeal of such thinking. Islam, and religion generally, is the last counter to capitalism. It does not surprise me that people are attracted by the value difference in Islam. Capitalism is deeply flawed and yields to horrible situations for many people (think: Industrial Revolution). The Marxist model in practice, communism, was highly problematic, and so it died despite its important critique of capitalism. Without another ideological counter, there is only one place for people to turn. There is only one rebellion remaining.

Messy as it is, I like democracy. I like freedom of ideas and thinking. My soul is after all, a teacher and counselor. That said, we in the West must recognize the problem. We must admit this battle is not just about resources or race. This battle is over something much more dangerous. If we want democracy to remain in the world, we must consider ways in which to counter the problematic context of its development - capitalism. If we can do that, it becomes much more difficult for the extreme ends of the spectrum to gain momentum and adherents. It becomes much more difficult to say democracy is a cancer if the associated hurtful capitalist actions no longer exist.

Don't you just miss the Cold War?

Prayer in Practice

Prayer is something that all religious traditions have to some extent. The format of the prayer may be different. The deity being prayed to may be different. Still, there is something to this concept of talking to the creative force in the universe.

As I sat in my dad's office and listened to some interviews on prayer, I got to thinking about it. Then when I started fiddling with my world religion curriculum (hopefully to be published digitally very soon!) I thought more about the nature of prayer, and how it is practiced, as opposed to how it is supposed to be practiced. Two things bother me about how most people tend to pray.

It seems to me that most people pray in order to ask for things. But here's the catch - I think there is a tendency to ask for very specific things. The irony is of course, that specific things don't tend to happen. Attachment to particular processes or results will inevitably lead to disappointment; the universe simply does not go the predicted path. We are too small, too simple, with too little information to know what the right result should be. Even in cases where something incredibly horrible happens, we cannot know the long term effects. We are finite.

As far as I can tell, God, or the Divine (however you'd like to refer to the creative force in the universe) is far from finite. And I, small as I am, am at least smart enough to concede I have no concept of what infinite really means.

So when I pray, how can I ask for a specific result? That specific thing may in fact be the worst possible situation. I am incapable of knowing! Instead, I should pray for resolution to a situation that will make life more wonderful, according to my needs and those for whom I pray. Open-ended is the rule of the day when it comes to prayer.

I also noticed that most people interviewed in the video did not mention once that they thanked God for the good things in their lives. This seems really strange to me. It seems strange because even when our lives are full of difficulties, there are many things for which to be thankful.

Sometimes (in fact, I would say more often than not) my prayers at night are solely things I'm thankful for. I will go through one thing after another, no matter how small, and thank God for each and every thing. Sometimes if I'm having a really difficult day, I will have to start with those basic things - like having a soft pillow, or my sweet cat, or having eaten a hot meal. Sometimes I'm able to jump to other higher level things right from the beginning of my prayer, like having a loving husband, or a loving family, or good friends. No matter if I start with basic needs being met or relationships or even something more, any time I pray like this, I notice my mood changes and I feel so much better about my life.

It makes me think that all prayers should thank God, at least a little bit, because there is always something to be thankful for, no matter how small. There is so much beauty in the world, so much wonder. Only a person with a blinded spirit could not see the glory of creation and the blessings bestowed on even the lowliest.

Prayer is a good thing. It is something that is part of the human religious experience, and crosses our traditions. Yet when we pray, we should keep in mind that we cannot know the specific answers to our prayers - only that the Divine will certainly provide for us. Likewise, we are already so blessed, we cannot forget to be thankful for each and every blessing - no matter how small. Prayer is so much more than a request. It must be a conversation, and conversations must consist of more than questions.

What The Boston Bombings Can Teach Us

I know it's been some time since the attacks in Boston. And some people would say there was only one thing to take from such a tragedy - we in America need to toughen up security. Fear increased and so did accusations - about the people responsible as well as their motives.

I would argue this has actually taught us quite the opposite. By living in one of the most diverse countries in the world, necessarily there will always be differences. We are a nation of immigrants. The idea that we could some how homogenize our society is preposterous.

Rather than point fingers and stereotype, it behooves us to spend time learning about one another. How can we do that? What is the common ground on which we can stand?

Ironically, those fingers pointing to religion as a wall, could just as easily point us to a solution. By spending time educating ourselves about the commonalities between religions, we can start to have not only conversations, but work on the issues that concern all of us - like poverty and hunger - as opposed to getting hung up on doctrine or dogma.

Moving forward, I pray we will build bridges and extend hands, instead of erecting walls and throwing stones.

Tolerance, plurality, or co-existance? - an Aside

I saw this video on pomomusings. It caused me to remember many of the lessons I learned while I was in India which I think are relevant to our discussions here. Particularly, I think of how we all seek something more than "this" and how difficult it is for so many of us to find "it". Beyond that, when we do, frequently we tend to be hurtful to those who have a different way of accessing the divine. This is a problem in our globalizing world where so many cultures and religions are interacting at an increasing rate.... the question becomes, how do we deal with this?

Now I would not say that I am tolerant of others views. In fact I am actually quite hard and fast about where I come down. This doesn't mean I won't give you air time. If I were merely tolerant I might simply condescend to allow you to believe whatever it is and smirk behind your back saying my way was the high way. By being forthright and admitting inconsistencies and conflicts, it's much easier to respect the other.

This should not only be practiced in India in political elections, or even on an interfaith level, but rather needs to be practiced on an intrafaith level. That is, different denominations of Christianity need to come into conversation with one another and really talk. May the most pragmatic begin!!

Indian Elections : A Mammoth Democratic Exercise from Shashwat Gupta on Vimeo.