Where is God?

Sometimes, when presented with situations of what seems like insurmountable suffering or cruelty, we may have cause to question, "Where is God?" or "Why doesn't God fix this?" Recent examples may include the unrest in Libya and the earthquake in Japan. A better question might be does God intervene in worldly issues or not? Again this comes down to our fundamental ideas about who or what God is and what our relationship is with the Divine.

Marcus Borg describes this conflict in his book The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith. He talks about the supernatural, corporal type God versus the panentheistic "everywhere in everything" God.
For me God is everywhere and in everything. An energy of love and compassion that wishes for balance. Does God intervene in our world? I don't think so, but nobody knows for sure.
I am more comfortable with the concept of Karma in this situation than any sort of divine intervention. Karma suggests that there is a set of cosmic laws that have consequences, if you cause suffering you will intern receive suffering. Maintaining a Karmic balance works for me on an individual level but when extended to nations of groups it becomes problematic. To me saying that women in the Republic of Congo are raped because of bad Karma, would be a terrible miscarriage of justice. Or, to give another example, that the people of Japan deserved the earthquake because of bad Karma. This is just cruel and ignorant. There is no easy answer.

Whether God intervenes or not, we cannot blame God for the ills of this world. Most of the suffering we experience is a result of human nature, ours and that of others.Knowing whether or not God intervenes will not cause an end to suffering. This is precisely the reason the Buddha refused to answer his students questions on the nature of God.  In his book Zen Keys, Thich Nhat Hanh describes this idea, known by Buddhists as the Poison Arrow Teaching.

"Suppose a man is struck by a poisoned arrow and the doctor wishes to take out the arrow immediately. Suppose the man does not want the arrow removed until he knows who shot it, his age, his parents, and why he shot it. What would happen? If he were to wait until all these questions have been answered, the man might die first." Life is so short. It must not be spent in endless metaphysical speculation that does not bring us any closer to the truth."

Knowing everything about God will not make life any easier! I think this statement can have meaning for all of us, believer, agnostic, atheist and evangelical.

Namaste

Apple, please remove the Anti-Gay App!

Apple's Itunes store is openly supporting the bigoted Christian right by allowing the "anti-gay" app to remain. This is unbelievable to me! The people who run this application, Exodus International are responsible for so much negativity and oppression towards Gay and Lesbian people in the name of Christianity. It is disgusting.      If you feel as strongly as I do about this issue please sign the following petition.
http://www.change.org/petitions/demand-that-apple-remove-ex-gay-iphone-app#?opt_new=f&opt_fb=t

Namaste

Discerning the Call

I just returned from a weekend discernment process that was both intense and extremely rewarding.  There were just as many different visions of God as there were people discerning the call. I met people who are just coming out of high school who are looking for the next step in their journey and middle aged people who have worked all there lives in the church and now think it would be great to be paid for it.
There were people who wanted to be ordained ministers, people who wanted to work with kids, or the poor or work oversees. There were ordained ministers who work in rural settings and in inner-city missions, in spiritual direction, pastoral care, art therapy, social justice and gay rights.
It gave me so much hope that the presence of the Divine is working in so many lives, in so many ways. It is incredible the nourishment that you can receive through community spiritual experience. It also gave me hope that there are people out there who want to spend there lives caring for others, helping others through some of the hardest times in life, guiding others towards spiritual growth and well being.
I hope I can follow the example I was shown this weekend. To live a compassionate and useful life in service of others.

Namaste

Westboro Church Wins Supreme Court Ruling

Canada has hate crime and hate speech laws that prevent people like this from sharing their "views" with the general public.   
It is shameful and abhorrent to me that these lunatics can get away with spewing hatred in the name of God, at funerals no less! Worse though, is that America's highest court supports them.
If Jesus was alive today he would be a gay rights activist! He would be visiting AID's patients in the hospices, healing victims of gay bashing, protesting ignorant laws and heartless court judgments.
How do I know this? Because I have read the bible! Jesus loved those on the outskirts of society, he ministered to those others did not want or did not like. He did not go around protesting at the funerals of soldiers.
He did not support war, violence or even anger. He preached compassion, love and tolerance.
If they want to protest about something here are a few suggestions that are fundamental to Christian faith and heavily supported by scripture.
Wealthy bankers that caused the downfall of the American economy.
War, nuclear weapons and preemptive invasion.
The abuse of Chinese sweatshop workers just for cheap clothing from Walmart
Destruction of "Gods" creation through pollution, mining, oil production, factory farming and abuse of animals for food.

It is groups like this, rhetoric like this, that push people away from religion. The members of Westboro Baptist Church need to look at themselves and what sort of world they are creating with their hatred.
I will pray for them, that they realise the damage they are doing to our world and to their innocent children. 

Namaste

 

Interfaith Symbols

I was so excited today, to receive my interfaith necklace in my mail box. I found this necklace while doing a search for interfaith symbols around a year ago. I think this necklace is such a great idea. I hope thousands more people will order one as a sign of tolerance, friendship and interfaith solidarity. I also hope it affords me an opportunity to discuss interfaith issues with those who ask, "Ooo, what does your necklace mean?"
The necklaces are produced by interfaithing.com. This website is a great interfaith resource with interesting articles and useful links. Check it out!

Namaste

Images of the Divine

We seem to be seeking a new image of the divine. For many people I talk to the old man with the white beard sitting on the cloud just doesn't make sense. Our modern logic and lifestyle, our desire for personal choice and our exposure to eastern religions such as Buddhism, have all impacted our ideas about "God" or "The Divine."
 
So, considering this philosophical climate, does it matter what name or face we put on the Divine? Well yes and no.
First the yes. The presence of the Divine is something that cannot be described in words. But that is all we have to describe it, we are human and crave distinction. We want to say, "It is like this but not like that."
So in this way I think putting a name or face on the Divine is important. It is a symbolic claiming of the Presence for ourselves; naming helps us to pray, to have trust in and to relate to God.
This is one reason for the pantheon of gods we find in Hinduism. Brahman, the supreme spirit is "the all," without shape, distinction, personality etc. Brahman is everything and nothing, impossible to describe and harder to understand. Thus we see the development of thousands of Gods with human and animal features, representing nature, weather, beauty, knowledge, justice. This creates a human face for the divine and a grand history/mythology we can relate to.

And now for the no. For the exact same reasons I have mentioned, I don't feel we need to decide on one definition of God. For me God is sometimes a mother and father, sometimes a benevolent energetic force.
Sometimes God looks like the Buddha, sometimes Jesus and often like the Virgin Mary. Sometimes the Divine Presence is a deep feeling in the pit of my chest that tells me I am not alone, or the selflessness and compassion of a friend.
Sometimes I see God in the intricate perfection of nature, in awe of the natural balance of all things.
Sometimes I imagine myself as a small boat on a rough sea and God is a steadying hand, a soft breeze that keeps me afloat.
And sometimes, just for fun, God is that all powerful old man figure on the cloud, watching me when I am sneaking an extra  large piece of chocolate cake!

The most powerful lesson I have learned from my interfaith journey is that nobody has the answer, but we all have truth. So I say trust your image of God, if it brings you joy. But if not, allow the possibility of a new image that does. Allow the Divine to be Divine.

Namaste

Salvation

Salvation is a difficult concept that can be interpreted in so many ways depending on your religious bent.
The word salvation literally means "to save". Other meanings attributed to this word are, to sooth, to heal, to protect from suffering and in a theological sense, deliverance from hell and redemption from sin. Most of us will be familiar with the traditional Christian notion idea of "being saved" - if you are good and believe in Jesus you won't go to hell.
More progressive Christians would say that the kingdom of heaven and hell are here on earth now and that salvation can be achieved in this life. The notion of salvation in the now rather than the afterlife means we must focus our attention and intention on being compassionate and of service to those around us.
What about other faith traditions?

When the Buddha achieved enlightenment he returned to the world and began teaching. His first teaching, which deals directly with suffering and salvation, was The Four Noble Truths. Today this teaching is considered the foundation of Buddhism.The Four Noble Truths are:

1. Life is suffering: we get sick, we age, we die, our material wealth is impermanent, we cannot control everything.
2. The cause or origin of this suffering is our attachment to these things, (health, life, wealth etc).
3. Liberation from suffering is possible (i.e. Salvation)
4. The way to end this suffering is to follow the Eightfold Noble Path.

The Eightfold Noble Path is an excellent set of instructions that even the most vehement atheist can incorporate into their lives as it mentions nothing of God. The basics of this teaching are as follows:

1. Right view/vision/ understanding: You must look at the world as it truly is, with all it's suffering and pain. This clarity will help you move forward.
2. Right intention: After you see the world as it is you must form in your mind the intention to change, to renounce desire and attachment to the things that cause you suffering.
3. Right speech: Your speech must be kind and helpful, you must not partake idle chatter or gossip, lie, abuse others with words or use your words to be divisive.
4. Right action/conduct: You must work had to be morally upright in all actions. No stealing, no killing, no sexual misconduct and no stealing.
5. Right livelihood: You must earn a living in a way that is compassionate and does not harm others. You must not earn money from killing (people or animals), from slavery or prostitution, through creating toxins that destroy creation (pollution), from selling drugs, alcohol or any substance that harms others.
6. Right effort: To make an effort in your thoughts, words and deeds to be compassionate to others.
7. Right mindfulness: Keeping you mind focused on the path.
8. Right concentration: Meditation and contemplation.

So if you follow this path you will achieve "Nirvana" or liberation. I find it interesting that in Buddhism they talk of liberation or freedom from suffering rather than being saved. These words can mean very similar things however what is different here is that you do not need to believe in something outside yourself in order to be saved. It is up to the individual to save themselves. Further, Buddhism focuses on liberation in this life, not only in the afterlife.
The Buddha felt it was not important to waste time trying to work out whether or not the was a God when there was so much suffering to deal with in Samasara (the endless cycle of birth-suffering-death and rebirth). This makes a lot of sense; focus on today, on what matters now. Honestly, we cannot know 100% who or what God is, nor will this knowledge or speculation help us one iota in the here and now. It won't stop us from aging or becoming ill, it won't stop us from going broke or from death.
So in Buddhism the idea of salvation is one of liberation from the suffering that exists in this life and possibly in the next, without the necessity of God.

In Islam the message is much closer to that of mainstream traditional Christianity, if you want salvation you must believe in the one God Allah, avoid sin and follow the teachings of the Prophet. It's version of salvation is based solely on the afterlife. One must promise to fulfill the five pillars of Islam and to testify that "none has the right to be worshiped but Allah."
These five Pillars of Islam are:

1. To testify that none has the right to be worshiped but Allah and Muhammad is Allah's Apostle.
2. To offer the (compulsory congregational) prayers five times a day.
3. To pay Zakat (alms) to poor and the needy.
4. To perform Hajj. (i.e. Pilgrimage to Mecca)
5. To observe fast during the month of Ramadhan.

 These, like the eightfold path in Buddhism, are active things a person can do to ensure they remain on the good side of Allah. More importantly I think is that if you practice these principles it not only makes you a better person, it makes your community and your world a better place.
I find the second pillar, praying five times a day, particularly interesting. While at first it may seem too rigorous or even fanatical to fit into our busy lives. But isn't that why we want a spiritual practice, to maintain a connection with the divine. It is so important to stop throughout the day and focus on God, just to be where our hands are, instead miles away mentally. The physical, emotional and spiritual nature of bowing down in complete surrender to God five times a day is to me a very beautiful idea. In this act a follower of Islam must banish their ego, their desire and focus one pointedly on the divine.

So what does it mean to be saved? For me living without anxiety, being truly happy, feeling loved and loving others and spending time in the presence of the divine - whether that means in prayer, meditation or hiking in the woods - is the closest thing to salvation I will get to in this life. 

Namaste

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