Friday, May 23, 2003
Thursday, May 01, 2003
I'm feeling good today. The air is crisp and just right for my broken-in denim jacket.
I'm in touch with timeless elements...namely a fresh bowl of Cheerios. I mean, Cheerios have been here forever.
Don't we all remember them from the very beginnings of our childhood? Today's bowl is with bananas.
And I'm reading a good book. William Gibson's (of Neuromancer and Johnny Mnemonic fame) new novel Pattern Recognition
Here's an interesting part I read this morning concerning how the protagonist, Cayce, is troubled by her current employer's way of manipulating her into taking on a job she really doesn't want to do.
"She [Cayce] isn't feeling easy with any of this. She doesn't know quite what to do with [Hubertus] Bigend's proposition, which has kicked her into one of those modes that her therapist, when last she had one, would lump under the rubric of 'old behaviors.' It consisted of saying no, but somehow not quite forcefully enough, and then continuing to listen. With the result that her 'no' could be gradually chipped away at, and turned into a 'yes' before she herself was consciously aware that this was happening. She had thought she had been getting such better around this, but now she feels it happening again"
"Bigend, a formidable practioner of the other side of this dance, seems genuinely incapable of imagining that others wouldn't want to do whatever it is that he wants them to. Margot had cited this as both the most problematic and, she admitted, most effective aspect of his sexuality: He approached every partner as though they already had slept together. Just as, Cayce was now finding, in business, every Bigend deal was treated as a done deal, signed and sealed. If you hadn't signed with Bigend, he made you feel as though you had, but somehow had forgotten that you had."
"There was something amorphous, foglike, about his will: It spread out around you, tenuous, almost invisible; you found yourself moving mysteriously, in directions other than your own."
copyright 2003 by William Gibson
I had to buy new jeans last night. I'm down to a 38 waist, from my maximum of 42. 30 pounds since January. It reminds me of the time I was showering in the co-ed shower at one of the dorms at the University of California at Davis. I was sitting in the shower, letting the water spraw down over me in one of the few pleasurable moments of that time of my life. Looking down I noticed my stomach...that wasn't there...gee...I've lost weight. And I was glad...because weight had been a problem in my young life.
I'm in touch with timeless elements...namely a fresh bowl of Cheerios. I mean, Cheerios have been here forever.
Don't we all remember them from the very beginnings of our childhood? Today's bowl is with bananas.
And I'm reading a good book. William Gibson's (of Neuromancer and Johnny Mnemonic fame) new novel Pattern Recognition
Here's an interesting part I read this morning concerning how the protagonist, Cayce, is troubled by her current employer's way of manipulating her into taking on a job she really doesn't want to do.
"She [Cayce] isn't feeling easy with any of this. She doesn't know quite what to do with [Hubertus] Bigend's proposition, which has kicked her into one of those modes that her therapist, when last she had one, would lump under the rubric of 'old behaviors.' It consisted of saying no, but somehow not quite forcefully enough, and then continuing to listen. With the result that her 'no' could be gradually chipped away at, and turned into a 'yes' before she herself was consciously aware that this was happening. She had thought she had been getting such better around this, but now she feels it happening again"
"Bigend, a formidable practioner of the other side of this dance, seems genuinely incapable of imagining that others wouldn't want to do whatever it is that he wants them to. Margot had cited this as both the most problematic and, she admitted, most effective aspect of his sexuality: He approached every partner as though they already had slept together. Just as, Cayce was now finding, in business, every Bigend deal was treated as a done deal, signed and sealed. If you hadn't signed with Bigend, he made you feel as though you had, but somehow had forgotten that you had."
"There was something amorphous, foglike, about his will: It spread out around you, tenuous, almost invisible; you found yourself moving mysteriously, in directions other than your own."
copyright 2003 by William Gibson
I had to buy new jeans last night. I'm down to a 38 waist, from my maximum of 42. 30 pounds since January. It reminds me of the time I was showering in the co-ed shower at one of the dorms at the University of California at Davis. I was sitting in the shower, letting the water spraw down over me in one of the few pleasurable moments of that time of my life. Looking down I noticed my stomach...that wasn't there...gee...I've lost weight. And I was glad...because weight had been a problem in my young life.
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
Just Fine Music
I was dozing on the couch last night, and was suddenly wakened by the most delightful music.
It was Merle Haggard and the Strangers on Austin City Limits.
This music was just so delightful! I got a big smile on my face and couldn't stop chuckling.
I hadn't heard much of Merle...just a few songs on the radio on long trips hitchhiking in Oregon in the early 70's.
And "Okee from Muskogee".
But these songs were just great! The music was familiar...West Coast/Bakersfield with a nice touch of Texas Swing.
The the music had a familiar ring, they were different and unique with hooks that took me places. Fiddle solos, honking sax, blaring trumpet and Merle's understated lead quitar solos on his Fender tele.
Merle's voice is distinct and it seemed that his vocals were effortless. This band was perfect and lent many of solo performance.
I'll have to see if there's a rerun. This show also featured a segment with The Derailers.
It was Merle Haggard and the Strangers on Austin City Limits.
This music was just so delightful! I got a big smile on my face and couldn't stop chuckling.
I hadn't heard much of Merle...just a few songs on the radio on long trips hitchhiking in Oregon in the early 70's.
And "Okee from Muskogee".
But these songs were just great! The music was familiar...West Coast/Bakersfield with a nice touch of Texas Swing.
The the music had a familiar ring, they were different and unique with hooks that took me places. Fiddle solos, honking sax, blaring trumpet and Merle's understated lead quitar solos on his Fender tele.
Merle's voice is distinct and it seemed that his vocals were effortless. This band was perfect and lent many of solo performance.
I'll have to see if there's a rerun. This show also featured a segment with The Derailers.
Tuesday, March 18, 2003
...how was your weekend?
My son and I are sitting in the dark, watching "The Ring" on DVD on Saturday night.
Suddenly we see a spotlight, sweeping across the front of the house. I get up to look, and I see a police cruiser with it's spotlight playing across the front of the house. I turn on the hall light and go outside to see what is the matter. The cruiser pulls into the driveway and a cop rolls down the window,
"does Jonathan McCune live here?"
I'm thinking, "what has he gotten himself into this time?"
"Yes", I reply
"Is he a member of a rock band?"
"Yes, he is."
"Does he has a brown cadillac?" (Jonathan doesn't have a car, period)
"Is there a problem, officer?"
"Well, yes. Last night there was a call that incurred quite a large expense"
I'm puzzled.
Then Jonathan comes out on the porch.
"Is that Jonathan?"
"Yes, I'm Jonathan", he replies with puzzled look on his face.
The cops are out of the car. One of them pulls me aside to talk to me alone.
The story: Last night we got a call at the Mall about a suspicious package.
We had to call in the bomb squad from Allegheny County (the Pittsburgh, PA county) and it took them 3 hours to open this case.
We had to empty out half of the mall.
The case had a logo written on it that said "Better Off Dead" with a Pennsylvania Keystone picture.
There was a note in the case that said "If you find this then you are Gay" (not really accurate)
There was a web address. We went to the web and saw the page for your son's band.
My son's band is named "Better Off Dead"
I'm thinking about what the cops probably were thinking...a suspicious case...could be a bomb...says "Better Of Dead" on it...
Jonathan is beginning to put 2 and 2 together.
"There was a case that had our band's name on it, that we threw away, but that is the only thing I know about it."
Turns out that Jonathan's friends picked him up after work at the Mall. The driver had a bunch of junk in his car, and one thing was an old brief case that was empty, except for a microphone stand base. And a note that said, "If you find this, call this number" with a phone number; and on the reverse side it said "You are gay".
Well, they didn't just put it in the garbage, like a in a dumpster...they tried to throw it away in a garbage can near one of the mall door entrances. Since it didn't fit in the can, they just left it beside the can, and left to go home.
But then someone later took the case, ran into the arcade just inside the mall entrance, and left the case there, yelling something, ran out of the mall and jumped into a brown cadillac.
The cops ask Jonathan to go to the station to talk to them. He's questioned for a couple of hours.
The cops want someone to pay this bill. They want the band to admit that they set up some kind of publicity stunt. They try to coerce the band into signing a confession admitting to such. They read Jonathan his meranda rights and ask him to write a report of his story. He cooperates, because he asked if he doesn't and doesn't give up his rights, if he'd be arrested. They tell him, yes, they'd probably arrest him.
Fortunately they believe Jonathan's story. But they want to pin this on the kid who originally put the case next to the garbage can. Fortunately they have two girls as witnesses who testify that they just left the case next to the garbage and then left.
Suddenly we see a spotlight, sweeping across the front of the house. I get up to look, and I see a police cruiser with it's spotlight playing across the front of the house. I turn on the hall light and go outside to see what is the matter. The cruiser pulls into the driveway and a cop rolls down the window,
"does Jonathan McCune live here?"
I'm thinking, "what has he gotten himself into this time?"
"Yes", I reply
"Is he a member of a rock band?"
"Yes, he is."
"Does he has a brown cadillac?" (Jonathan doesn't have a car, period)
"Is there a problem, officer?"
"Well, yes. Last night there was a call that incurred quite a large expense"
I'm puzzled.
Then Jonathan comes out on the porch.
"Is that Jonathan?"
"Yes, I'm Jonathan", he replies with puzzled look on his face.
The cops are out of the car. One of them pulls me aside to talk to me alone.
The story: Last night we got a call at the Mall about a suspicious package.
We had to call in the bomb squad from Allegheny County (the Pittsburgh, PA county) and it took them 3 hours to open this case.
We had to empty out half of the mall.
The case had a logo written on it that said "Better Off Dead" with a Pennsylvania Keystone picture.
There was a note in the case that said "If you find this then you are Gay" (not really accurate)
There was a web address. We went to the web and saw the page for your son's band.
My son's band is named "Better Off Dead"
I'm thinking about what the cops probably were thinking...a suspicious case...could be a bomb...says "Better Of Dead" on it...
Jonathan is beginning to put 2 and 2 together.
"There was a case that had our band's name on it, that we threw away, but that is the only thing I know about it."
Turns out that Jonathan's friends picked him up after work at the Mall. The driver had a bunch of junk in his car, and one thing was an old brief case that was empty, except for a microphone stand base. And a note that said, "If you find this, call this number" with a phone number; and on the reverse side it said "You are gay".
Well, they didn't just put it in the garbage, like a in a dumpster...they tried to throw it away in a garbage can near one of the mall door entrances. Since it didn't fit in the can, they just left it beside the can, and left to go home.
But then someone later took the case, ran into the arcade just inside the mall entrance, and left the case there, yelling something, ran out of the mall and jumped into a brown cadillac.
The cops ask Jonathan to go to the station to talk to them. He's questioned for a couple of hours.
The cops want someone to pay this bill. They want the band to admit that they set up some kind of publicity stunt. They try to coerce the band into signing a confession admitting to such. They read Jonathan his meranda rights and ask him to write a report of his story. He cooperates, because he asked if he doesn't and doesn't give up his rights, if he'd be arrested. They tell him, yes, they'd probably arrest him.
Fortunately they believe Jonathan's story. But they want to pin this on the kid who originally put the case next to the garbage can. Fortunately they have two girls as witnesses who testify that they just left the case next to the garbage and then left.
Friday, March 14, 2003
...feelin' groovy
It's a nice day today. warming in Chicagoland.
We started the day listening to the Beatles "A Hard Day's Night" and "Beatles IV" albums.
"It's ok until you start singing", my son sez
On the way to work, I choose to walk on the street,
not through the underground station, as I've been wont to do in the cold.
On the street I see all the people's faces I've been missing all winter.
At the corner..."Isn't your head cold?" a nice older man (well, he's older than me) asks, as we cross the street.
"Not today", I reply with a smile.
I almost miss the elevator, but dash in at the last moment,
to a nice smile of the woman facing me in the car.
(and she's very nice looking too.)
This morning I get a dark Sumatra coffee...just because I'm feeling groovy.
We started the day listening to the Beatles "A Hard Day's Night" and "Beatles IV" albums.
"It's ok until you start singing", my son sez
On the way to work, I choose to walk on the street,
On the street I see all the people's faces I've been missing all winter.
At the corner..."Isn't your head cold?" a nice older man (well, he's older than me) asks, as we cross the street.
"Not today", I reply with a smile.
I almost miss the elevator, but dash in at the last moment,
(and she's very nice looking too.)
This morning I get a dark Sumatra coffee...just because I'm feeling groovy.
Tuesday, February 11, 2003
Before I Changed My Mind
I was brought to the Assembly by the efforts of Jim Sears.
I had become a christian in the spring of 1972. That was the spring I and my brother had attended WHLO Radio Appreciation Day at Lake Chippewa, in Ohio. It was an all day music festival, filled with music and drugs. I was on my third hit of acid, taking it all in.
The Glass Harp hit the stage. Phil Keaggy, dressed in a brown velour or suede blazer...sweeping his arm across the crowd seated in the field at the outdoor stage. "It's a wonderful day", he said, in the bright sun. "God made this day." He said...and the band began to play. Amazing music. Across the field of music fans, Jesus Freaks began to stand up and raise their hands to the sky, with eyes closed. It was surreal. I wasn't high anymore.
A spectator, taking this all in...after the concert a pocket of christians standing off to the side on the midway.
A middle-aged couple kneeling while christians laid hands on them.
"What are they doing?" asked my Thai friend, recently in the country. The friend who'd explained to me a about Buddah a few days before. "It's some kind of religious thing. They are praying to God"
Keaggy, playing his acoustic guitar...the first time I heard the song "They'll Know We Are Christians by our love"
Later, at the waters edge on the lake shore
Phil Keaggy, sitting small on his guitar case...playing his martin acoustic...testifying to his faith.
...the sinners prayer...me raising my hand...looking around to see who was watching...repeat after me...
the next day at home "Mom, guess what? Tom got saved!"
Her indignant Roman Catholic reaction.
Tom's denial...my silence about my own sinner's prayer.
a couple of months later...more acid...a church group witnessing at a carnival in Baltimore.
me saying the sinners prayer again. This time I was serious.
Not waiting for the "repeat after me"...but just going headlong into my own prayer for salvation.
Months of being a newby christian...sampling all of the community churches...I wasn't exactly methodistpresbyteriancatholicpentacostaletc... just a Jesus Freak.
During that summer...I began to receive letters from an old drug buddy...Jim Sears. Jim had really flipped out on acid
He'd thought he was Jesus. The last time I spoke with him was in his acid crazed talk of his vision of the Electric Church.
He'd climbed the stairs to the Electric Church in the sky...he saw Hendrix there.
The letters sent from Tulsa showed a lucid, healed Jim
Letters fill with scripture...doctrine about forsaking all
telling me how if I want to be a perfect christian, I need to follow Jesus like the apostles did.
months of letters...and I was convinced that I needed to go on to the next step in my christianity.
without ever having seen the brethren, or JR, or experienced their lifestyle, I left to join the brethren in Gainsville, FLA (hitchhiking in December in a snowstorm from Wellsville, Ohio to FL).
I had become a christian in the spring of 1972. That was the spring I and my brother had attended WHLO Radio Appreciation Day at Lake Chippewa, in Ohio. It was an all day music festival, filled with music and drugs. I was on my third hit of acid, taking it all in.
The Glass Harp hit the stage. Phil Keaggy, dressed in a brown velour or suede blazer...sweeping his arm across the crowd seated in the field at the outdoor stage. "It's a wonderful day", he said, in the bright sun. "God made this day." He said...and the band began to play. Amazing music. Across the field of music fans, Jesus Freaks began to stand up and raise their hands to the sky, with eyes closed. It was surreal. I wasn't high anymore.
A spectator, taking this all in...after the concert a pocket of christians standing off to the side on the midway.
A middle-aged couple kneeling while christians laid hands on them.
"What are they doing?" asked my Thai friend, recently in the country. The friend who'd explained to me a about Buddah a few days before. "It's some kind of religious thing. They are praying to God"
Keaggy, playing his acoustic guitar...the first time I heard the song "They'll Know We Are Christians by our love"
Later, at the waters edge on the lake shore
Phil Keaggy, sitting small on his guitar case...playing his martin acoustic...testifying to his faith.
...the sinners prayer...me raising my hand...looking around to see who was watching...repeat after me...
the next day at home "Mom, guess what? Tom got saved!"
Her indignant Roman Catholic reaction.
Tom's denial...my silence about my own sinner's prayer.
a couple of months later...more acid...a church group witnessing at a carnival in Baltimore.
me saying the sinners prayer again. This time I was serious.
Not waiting for the "repeat after me"...but just going headlong into my own prayer for salvation.
Months of being a newby christian...sampling all of the community churches...I wasn't exactly methodistpresbyteriancatholicpentacostaletc... just a Jesus Freak.
During that summer...I began to receive letters from an old drug buddy...Jim Sears. Jim had really flipped out on acid
He'd thought he was Jesus. The last time I spoke with him was in his acid crazed talk of his vision of the Electric Church.
He'd climbed the stairs to the Electric Church in the sky...he saw Hendrix there.
The letters sent from Tulsa showed a lucid, healed Jim
Letters fill with scripture...doctrine about forsaking all
telling me how if I want to be a perfect christian, I need to follow Jesus like the apostles did.
months of letters...and I was convinced that I needed to go on to the next step in my christianity.
without ever having seen the brethren, or JR, or experienced their lifestyle, I left to join the brethren in Gainsville, FLA (hitchhiking in December in a snowstorm from Wellsville, Ohio to FL).
Wednesday, January 22, 2003
a friend asked:
"So what would I do if I could do anything and everything?"
I would become an archeologist.
I would learn Latin. I think...for thousands of years, Latin was the main language of the learned. Can you imagine how much was written over the period of so many centuries? I'd like to haunt the old libraries and archives and see what the people of old wrote.
I'd also like to play my guitar in small intimate venues all over the world...little clubs or home concerts.
Like the lyrics of a song I once quoted here:
. . . I have an artistic bent
It's like a coin thats spent
On people deaf, dumb, and blind
They pay no mind
I wonder someday, I hope soon
Get my guitar in tune
And play that song here in my head
Before I'm dead. . .
I'd re-visit all of the old places that made an impact on me in this life:
- sleep under the stars in Montana...I want to see that breathtaking sky again...away from the light pollution of the big cities
- hike the dear trails of Cool, California
- hike the wash at Molino Basin on Mt. Lemmon
- take a warm shower in the water fall at the Sink Hole in Millhopper Woods, Gainsville, FL
- bake cookies with Chris Olson
- buy tacos from the street vendors in Juarez, Mexico
- ride the rapids at the river in Spokane, Washington
- Maybe I'd bungee jump
- Maybe I'd Skydive
- visit Alaska and look for Mastadon Ivory (I had a friend who used to make Alaska runs for ivory to do scrimshaw)
- finally eat an Abalone sandwich with Jeff Smith
- visit the volcanoes in Hawaii and Pompei
---there's so much more...and so little time
I would become an archeologist.
I would learn Latin. I think...for thousands of years, Latin was the main language of the learned. Can you imagine how much was written over the period of so many centuries? I'd like to haunt the old libraries and archives and see what the people of old wrote.
I'd also like to play my guitar in small intimate venues all over the world...little clubs or home concerts.
Like the lyrics of a song I once quoted here:
. . . I have an artistic bent
It's like a coin thats spent
On people deaf, dumb, and blind
They pay no mind
I wonder someday, I hope soon
Get my guitar in tune
And play that song here in my head
Before I'm dead. . .
I'd re-visit all of the old places that made an impact on me in this life:
- sleep under the stars in Montana...I want to see that breathtaking sky again...away from the light pollution of the big cities
- hike the dear trails of Cool, California
- hike the wash at Molino Basin on Mt. Lemmon
- take a warm shower in the water fall at the Sink Hole in Millhopper Woods, Gainsville, FL
- bake cookies with Chris Olson
- buy tacos from the street vendors in Juarez, Mexico
- ride the rapids at the river in Spokane, Washington
- Maybe I'd bungee jump
- Maybe I'd Skydive
- visit Alaska and look for Mastadon Ivory (I had a friend who used to make Alaska runs for ivory to do scrimshaw)
- finally eat an Abalone sandwich with Jeff Smith
- visit the volcanoes in Hawaii and Pompei
---there's so much more...and so little time
Unconditional
When my son James was born, I was immediately in love.
I was amazed at how this love blossomed instantly and I knew it would be forever.
James did not have to coax me to fall in love with him, or to pass any test of loyalty.
As his father I cannot help but love him.
And as he gets older, through thick and thin, I still love him.
Through discipline and heartache and adolescent angst, I still love him.
and I look back at my mother...and how she sacrificed and gave of her self for me and my siblings.
How she was patient in love
throughout all my screwball ideas, she loves me
throughout all the lonely time, she loves me
seeing the substance of my love as a father for my son;
I am not surprised that my mother loves me.
I am not surprised that God loves me.
one does not work for this kind of love...to give it or accept it.
I was amazed at how this love blossomed instantly and I knew it would be forever.
James did not have to coax me to fall in love with him, or to pass any test of loyalty.
As his father I cannot help but love him.
And as he gets older, through thick and thin, I still love him.
Through discipline and heartache and adolescent angst, I still love him.
and I look back at my mother...and how she sacrificed and gave of her self for me and my siblings.
How she was patient in love
throughout all my screwball ideas, she loves me
throughout all the lonely time, she loves me
seeing the substance of my love as a father for my son;
I am not surprised that my mother loves me.
I am not surprised that God loves me.
one does not work for this kind of love...to give it or accept it.
Friday, January 17, 2003
what lies beyond?
I've finished a book called The Seekers, by Daniel J. Borstin, and a very good
book by Carl Sagan titled
The Demon-Haunted World: Science As A Candle In The Dark which is a book that examines and authoritatively debunks such
celebrated fallacies as witchcraft, faith healings, demons, and UFOs.
What lies beyond?
In the beginning I was in awe of God.
When I went to mass on the first day of my first grade school year at
Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Elementary School in Wellsville, Ohio;
I was sure that I'd enter a realm of new knowledge.
I felt that the people around me knew something more about God.
I remember the sight of the host in it's golden chamber, held high by the priests.
I remember the smell of incense, and the smoke that filled the altar area as the priest swung the censer.
I remember the sound of the bells...the hand-held chimes that the altar boy rang strategically during the mass.
I took for granted that God was there, and that everyone one else who came before me already knew He was there.
God and Jesus and the Blessed Mother were as real as the fairies and elves that my mother dutifully pointed out to me. She'd point to the window and
say "Look, a fairy!" I'd swing my head so quickly...but just not quick enough to catch a glimpse of the elusive creature. When I get older, like
my mom, I'll be wiser and be able to see them before they jump away, out of sight.
And the Tooth fairy dutifully left the quarter under my pillow, in exchange for my tooth.
And Santa Clause even sent me a letter...in the summertime even. And when I
turned to catch a fleeting view of a man in a car driving down the tree-lined Broadway Ave in my hometown; as my mom said "Look!, there's Santa Clause!"
"That's no Santa", I replied. "Where's his suit?"
"Those are his summer cloths" was mom's wise answer.
And the Easter Bunny hid those eggs for us to find.
The world was full of invisible, spiritual, powerful beings.
+-------------
As a junior in high school, I began to seriously doubt my Roman Catholic faith. The faith that I had been so curious about during my 8 years of parochial schooling. I had always asked to many questions of my teachers.
"What if you were a bank robber your whole life, but you saved somebody by pushing them out of the way of an oncoming car...but got killed. Would you go to heaven?"
"What if you were a very good person, but was a Protestant? Would you go to heaven?"
When I asked the hard questions, the teacher would say "You'll have to ask Father about that one."
But I never really want to go ask Father. Maybe it was a fear of the wizened priest...would my questions be frowned upon...or thought frivolous.
But back to my loss of faith...I was sure that I was going to Hell. No stopping at Purgatory for me.
Why would I leave my childhood faith? Well, I thought I was already doomed.
Because once...during a moment of perverse curiosity, after going back to my pew from receiving Holy Communion...I stuck my finger in my mouth and actually TOUCHED the host. I immediately entered a state of remorse. How could I have done such a thing? How could I have desecrated the Holy Sacrament with my vile finger? This became the sin I never, ever confessed.
Even when I was about to receive the sacrament of Confirmation...and had to make a good confession so that I didn't have any sins on my soul when I received my Confirmation from the Bishop..I couldn't bear to speak what I'd done to the priest.
So I received my Confirmation, while having a mortal sin on my soul. So now, I compounded my sin. My soul must be black as coal. I am surely going straight to Hell. Do not pass Purgatory.
But slowly...as I began to mature and see just a little glimpse of the world around me. I began to doubt my faith...and my self-imposed sinful nature.
It was during this time that my new, hippie intellect began to take hold. I began to dabble in hippie religion (which was not yet called "New Age" at the time). A little Hinduism, A little Baba Ram Das, some Keroac by way of Tom Wolf, some Yippie propaganda. Some witchcraft and Anton Levey's Satanic Bible...and I was off to a roll-your own religious experience. A brief stop-off through Eckankar and Theosophy.
And then coming back full circle to a "Born-Again" Christian experience, which lasted 28 years. (which is another whole story)
And now, the big question mark is back. What lies beyond? What happens when I die?
I am now convinced that no one really knows. Everyone is believing a made up religion.
They believe because everyone else believes. They think that everyone else has a good understanding of the religion. It's just me, the individual who begins to believe what I think I should believe.
As in my first Catholic years...everyone else seems to know all about this religion. I'm sure I'll catch on when I get a little older...spend a little more time...learn a little more.
Carl Sagan had a good analogy in his book, "The Demon Haunted World". A chapter titled "A Dragon In My Garage". Let me quote:
---------begin quote-------------
"A Fire-Breathing dragon lives in my garage."
Suppose (I'm following a group therapy approach by the psychologist Richard
Franklin) I seriously make such an assertion to you. Surely you'd want to
check it out, see for yourself. There have
"Show me", you say. I lead you to my garage. You look inside and see a
ladder, empty cans, an old tricycle--but no dragon.
"Where's the dragon?" you ask.
"Oh, she's right here," I reply, waving vaguely. "I neglected to mention
that she's an invisible dragon."
You propose spreading flour on the floor of the garage to capture the
dragon's footprints.
"Good idea," I say, "but this dragon floats in the air."
Then you'll use an infrared sensor to detect the invisible fire.
"Good idea," I say "but the invisible fire is also heatless."
You'll spray-paint the dragon and make her visible.
"Good idea, except she's an incorporeal dragon and the paint won't stick."
And so on. I counter every physical test you propose with a special
explanation of why is won't work.
Now, what's the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all? IF there's no way to disprove my contention, no conceivable experiment that would count against it, what does it mean to say that my dragon exists? Your inability to invalidate my hypotheses is not at all the same thing as proving it true. Claims that cannot be tested, assertions immune to disproof are veridically worthless, whatever value they may have in inspiring us or in exciting our sense of wonder. What I'm asking you to do comes down to believing, in the absence of evidence, on my say-so.
The only thing you've really learned from my insistence that there's a dragon in my garage is that something funny is going on inside my head. You'd wonder, if no physical tests apply, what convinced me. The possibility that it was dream or a hallucination would certainly enter your mind. But then why am I taking it so seriously? Maybe I need help. At the least, maybe I've seriously underestimated human fallibility.
Imagine that, despite none of the tests being successful, you wish to be scrupulously open-minded. So you don't outright reject the notion that there's a fire-breathing dragon in my garage. You merely put it on hold. Present evidence is strongly against it, but if a new body of data emerge you're prepared to examine it and see if it convinces you. Surely it's unfair to me to be offended at not being believed; or to criticize you for being stodgy and unimaginative--merely because you render the Scottish verdict of 'not proved'.
Imagine that things had gone otherwise. The dragon is invisible all right, but footprints are being made in the flour as you watch. Your infrared detector reads off-scale. The spray paint reveals a jagged crest bobbing in the air before you. No matter how skeptical you might have been about the existence of dragons-to say nothing about invisible ones-you must now acknowledge that there's something here, and that in a preliminary way it's consistent with an invisible, fire-breathing dragon.
Now another scenario: Suppose it's not just me. Suppose that several people of your acquaintance, including people who you're pretty sure don't know each other, all tell you they have dragons in their garages--but in every case the evidence is maddeningly elusive. All of us admit we're disturbed at being gripped by so add a conviction so ill-supported by the physical evidence. None of us is a lunatic. We speculate about what it would mean if invisible dragons were really hiding out in garages all over the world, with us humans must catching on. I'd rather it not be true, I tell
you. But maybe all of those ancient European and Chinese myths about dragons weren't myths at all..
Gratifyingly, some dragon-size footprints in the flour are now reported. But they're never made when a skeptic is looking. An alternative explanation presents itself: On close examination it seems clear that the footprints could have been faked. Another dragon enthusiast shows up with a burnt finger and attributes it to a rare physical manifestation of the dragon's fiery breath. But again, other possibilities exist. We understand that there are other ways to burn fingers besides the breath of invisible dragons. Such "evidence"--no matter how important the dragon advocates consider it--is far from compelling. Once again, the only sensible approach is tentatively to reject the dragon hypothesis, to be open to future physical data, and to wonder when the cause might be that so many apparently sane and sober people share the same strange delusion."
-----end of quote-----
end of part I
book by Carl Sagan titled
The Demon-Haunted World: Science As A Candle In The Dark which is a book that examines and authoritatively debunks such
celebrated fallacies as witchcraft, faith healings, demons, and UFOs.
What lies beyond?
In the beginning I was in awe of God.
When I went to mass on the first day of my first grade school year at
Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Elementary School in Wellsville, Ohio;
I was sure that I'd enter a realm of new knowledge.
I felt that the people around me knew something more about God.
I remember the sight of the host in it's golden chamber, held high by the priests.
I remember the smell of incense, and the smoke that filled the altar area as the priest swung the censer.
I remember the sound of the bells...the hand-held chimes that the altar boy rang strategically during the mass.
I took for granted that God was there, and that everyone one else who came before me already knew He was there.
God and Jesus and the Blessed Mother were as real as the fairies and elves that my mother dutifully pointed out to me. She'd point to the window and
say "Look, a fairy!" I'd swing my head so quickly...but just not quick enough to catch a glimpse of the elusive creature. When I get older, like
my mom, I'll be wiser and be able to see them before they jump away, out of sight.
And the Tooth fairy dutifully left the quarter under my pillow, in exchange for my tooth.
And Santa Clause even sent me a letter...in the summertime even. And when I
turned to catch a fleeting view of a man in a car driving down the tree-lined Broadway Ave in my hometown; as my mom said "Look!, there's Santa Clause!"
"That's no Santa", I replied. "Where's his suit?"
"Those are his summer cloths" was mom's wise answer.
And the Easter Bunny hid those eggs for us to find.
The world was full of invisible, spiritual, powerful beings.
+-------------
As a junior in high school, I began to seriously doubt my Roman Catholic faith. The faith that I had been so curious about during my 8 years of parochial schooling. I had always asked to many questions of my teachers.
"What if you were a bank robber your whole life, but you saved somebody by pushing them out of the way of an oncoming car...but got killed. Would you go to heaven?"
"What if you were a very good person, but was a Protestant? Would you go to heaven?"
When I asked the hard questions, the teacher would say "You'll have to ask Father about that one."
But I never really want to go ask Father. Maybe it was a fear of the wizened priest...would my questions be frowned upon...or thought frivolous.
But back to my loss of faith...I was sure that I was going to Hell. No stopping at Purgatory for me.
Why would I leave my childhood faith? Well, I thought I was already doomed.
Because once...during a moment of perverse curiosity, after going back to my pew from receiving Holy Communion...I stuck my finger in my mouth and actually TOUCHED the host. I immediately entered a state of remorse. How could I have done such a thing? How could I have desecrated the Holy Sacrament with my vile finger? This became the sin I never, ever confessed.
Even when I was about to receive the sacrament of Confirmation...and had to make a good confession so that I didn't have any sins on my soul when I received my Confirmation from the Bishop..I couldn't bear to speak what I'd done to the priest.
So I received my Confirmation, while having a mortal sin on my soul. So now, I compounded my sin. My soul must be black as coal. I am surely going straight to Hell. Do not pass Purgatory.
But slowly...as I began to mature and see just a little glimpse of the world around me. I began to doubt my faith...and my self-imposed sinful nature.
It was during this time that my new, hippie intellect began to take hold. I began to dabble in hippie religion (which was not yet called "New Age" at the time). A little Hinduism, A little Baba Ram Das, some Keroac by way of Tom Wolf, some Yippie propaganda. Some witchcraft and Anton Levey's Satanic Bible...and I was off to a roll-your own religious experience. A brief stop-off through Eckankar and Theosophy.
And then coming back full circle to a "Born-Again" Christian experience, which lasted 28 years. (which is another whole story)
And now, the big question mark is back. What lies beyond? What happens when I die?
I am now convinced that no one really knows. Everyone is believing a made up religion.
They believe because everyone else believes. They think that everyone else has a good understanding of the religion. It's just me, the individual who begins to believe what I think I should believe.
As in my first Catholic years...everyone else seems to know all about this religion. I'm sure I'll catch on when I get a little older...spend a little more time...learn a little more.
Carl Sagan had a good analogy in his book, "The Demon Haunted World". A chapter titled "A Dragon In My Garage". Let me quote:
---------begin quote-------------
"A Fire-Breathing dragon lives in my garage."
Suppose (I'm following a group therapy approach by the psychologist Richard
Franklin) I seriously make such an assertion to you. Surely you'd want to
check it out, see for yourself. There have
"Show me", you say. I lead you to my garage. You look inside and see a
ladder, empty cans, an old tricycle--but no dragon.
"Where's the dragon?" you ask.
"Oh, she's right here," I reply, waving vaguely. "I neglected to mention
that she's an invisible dragon."
You propose spreading flour on the floor of the garage to capture the
dragon's footprints.
"Good idea," I say, "but this dragon floats in the air."
Then you'll use an infrared sensor to detect the invisible fire.
"Good idea," I say "but the invisible fire is also heatless."
You'll spray-paint the dragon and make her visible.
"Good idea, except she's an incorporeal dragon and the paint won't stick."
And so on. I counter every physical test you propose with a special
explanation of why is won't work.
Now, what's the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all? IF there's no way to disprove my contention, no conceivable experiment that would count against it, what does it mean to say that my dragon exists? Your inability to invalidate my hypotheses is not at all the same thing as proving it true. Claims that cannot be tested, assertions immune to disproof are veridically worthless, whatever value they may have in inspiring us or in exciting our sense of wonder. What I'm asking you to do comes down to believing, in the absence of evidence, on my say-so.
The only thing you've really learned from my insistence that there's a dragon in my garage is that something funny is going on inside my head. You'd wonder, if no physical tests apply, what convinced me. The possibility that it was dream or a hallucination would certainly enter your mind. But then why am I taking it so seriously? Maybe I need help. At the least, maybe I've seriously underestimated human fallibility.
Imagine that, despite none of the tests being successful, you wish to be scrupulously open-minded. So you don't outright reject the notion that there's a fire-breathing dragon in my garage. You merely put it on hold. Present evidence is strongly against it, but if a new body of data emerge you're prepared to examine it and see if it convinces you. Surely it's unfair to me to be offended at not being believed; or to criticize you for being stodgy and unimaginative--merely because you render the Scottish verdict of 'not proved'.
Imagine that things had gone otherwise. The dragon is invisible all right, but footprints are being made in the flour as you watch. Your infrared detector reads off-scale. The spray paint reveals a jagged crest bobbing in the air before you. No matter how skeptical you might have been about the existence of dragons-to say nothing about invisible ones-you must now acknowledge that there's something here, and that in a preliminary way it's consistent with an invisible, fire-breathing dragon.
Now another scenario: Suppose it's not just me. Suppose that several people of your acquaintance, including people who you're pretty sure don't know each other, all tell you they have dragons in their garages--but in every case the evidence is maddeningly elusive. All of us admit we're disturbed at being gripped by so add a conviction so ill-supported by the physical evidence. None of us is a lunatic. We speculate about what it would mean if invisible dragons were really hiding out in garages all over the world, with us humans must catching on. I'd rather it not be true, I tell
you. But maybe all of those ancient European and Chinese myths about dragons weren't myths at all..
Gratifyingly, some dragon-size footprints in the flour are now reported. But they're never made when a skeptic is looking. An alternative explanation presents itself: On close examination it seems clear that the footprints could have been faked. Another dragon enthusiast shows up with a burnt finger and attributes it to a rare physical manifestation of the dragon's fiery breath. But again, other possibilities exist. We understand that there are other ways to burn fingers besides the breath of invisible dragons. Such "evidence"--no matter how important the dragon advocates consider it--is far from compelling. Once again, the only sensible approach is tentatively to reject the dragon hypothesis, to be open to future physical data, and to wonder when the cause might be that so many apparently sane and sober people share the same strange delusion."
-----end of quote-----
end of part I
Thursday, January 16, 2003
My God-Search
Personally...my whole life is living for God.
I have been on a God-search since I was a child
I have stopped at many points along the way and believed many things.
My bro. Tom taught me a song--
"I've traveled far and wide, seen life from many sides;
many would be happy if they could.
I found the happy way
I met God the night I prayed;
I've tasted and I know the Lord is good.
--Good, the Lord's been good to me
He's filled my empty life with reality
Good, much better than I thought it would;
I've tasted and I know the Lord is Good.
Traveling far and wide;
many say you've got to do this to be totally for God
You've got to do that to be totally for God.
In the Assembly, we taught and believed that you had to sell and dispose of everything to be totally for God
others teach you got to keep certain rules and laws to be totally for God;
others teach that you've got to deny and forsake what God created to be holy (set apart) for God.
I wonder and think...how can I be totally for God? What am I doing wrong? How come I'm not perfect?
-in the search I embraced the idolatry of mankind's imaginations of God.
mankind's idea that God must require the ultimate sacrifice to be pleased
-sacrificing virgins on the altars of stone, and in watery cenotes so He will be pleased
feeding babies to Moloch so He will be pleased
there must be something we can do so that He will be pleased.
But the teacher Jesus boiled down all of the hundreds of years of tradition to what is needful;
anulled thousands of years of vain imaginations and schizoid religious voices to what was needful;
And I realize that with all my heart I already do such..."Love God with all your heart mind soul and strength"
and "love you neighbor as yourself"...striving to do unto others that which I'd want them to do unto me.
The Golden Rule, that was spoken by Confucius, taught by the Greeks and Jews, now quoted by Jesus.
Is that all? It can't be as simple as that. You mean, I don't have to keep 613 mitzvat...or the 10 commandments, or the 7 Noahide commands?
Well those two that Jesus said, wrap up the whole law. If you are keeping those two, then you are keeping all.
I realize that I already am totally for God.
I have been on a God-search since I was a child
I have stopped at many points along the way and believed many things.
My bro. Tom taught me a song--
"I've traveled far and wide, seen life from many sides;
many would be happy if they could.
I found the happy way
I met God the night I prayed;
I've tasted and I know the Lord is good.
--Good, the Lord's been good to me
He's filled my empty life with reality
Good, much better than I thought it would;
I've tasted and I know the Lord is Good.
Traveling far and wide;
many say you've got to do this to be totally for God
You've got to do that to be totally for God.
In the Assembly, we taught and believed that you had to sell and dispose of everything to be totally for God
others teach you got to keep certain rules and laws to be totally for God;
others teach that you've got to deny and forsake what God created to be holy (set apart) for God.
I wonder and think...how can I be totally for God? What am I doing wrong? How come I'm not perfect?
-in the search I embraced the idolatry of mankind's imaginations of God.
mankind's idea that God must require the ultimate sacrifice to be pleased
-sacrificing virgins on the altars of stone, and in watery cenotes so He will be pleased
feeding babies to Moloch so He will be pleased
there must be something we can do so that He will be pleased.
But the teacher Jesus boiled down all of the hundreds of years of tradition to what is needful;
anulled thousands of years of vain imaginations and schizoid religious voices to what was needful;
And I realize that with all my heart I already do such..."Love God with all your heart mind soul and strength"
and "love you neighbor as yourself"...striving to do unto others that which I'd want them to do unto me.
The Golden Rule, that was spoken by Confucius, taught by the Greeks and Jews, now quoted by Jesus.
Is that all? It can't be as simple as that. You mean, I don't have to keep 613 mitzvat...or the 10 commandments, or the 7 Noahide commands?
Well those two that Jesus said, wrap up the whole law. If you are keeping those two, then you are keeping all.
I realize that I already am totally for God.
Friday, December 06, 2002
i like...i don't like
I Like:
women
Jeans
baggy T-shirts
boxer shorts
sandles
loose swimming trunks
sleeping
pillows
taking showers
flowers
pine trees
waterfalls
Riding the Train to work
Star Trek
Coffee with cream and sugar
vanilla ice cream
chocolate ice cream
children
laughter
Movies
science fiction novels
thinking
history
genealogy
philosophy
libraries
new snow
clean sheets
computers
the Internet
altered states
guitars
music
headphones
The Beatles
Jimi Hendrix
Phil Keaggy
Loreena McKennitt
Enya
Clannad
Van Morrison
Mary Jane LaMond
Celtic Music
Soul Music
Rock Music
Punk Music
Blues
classical
world music
pizza
hamburgers
mexican food
chinese food
bleu cheese dressing
swiss cheese
american cheese
chili with mashed potatoes
Port wine
German Ice Wine
tuna fish
tahini sauce
hot sauce
honey
stuff rigatoni
chicken baked in wine
sean connery
angelina jollee
cool, california
tucson, Arizona
Ft. Lauderdale, FLA
Cancun, Mexico
I Don't Like:
liars
slavery
dictators
politics
pain
toothaches
gout
in-laws
tight swimming trunks
whitey-tighty underwear
strawberry cookies
strawberry icecream
postum
religion
oversleeping
thorns and jaggers
mud
slush
doing laundry
cat hair
dogs in the house
cleaning up after dogs in the house
paying bills
worring about money
women
Jeans
baggy T-shirts
boxer shorts
sandles
loose swimming trunks
sleeping
pillows
taking showers
flowers
pine trees
waterfalls
Riding the Train to work
Star Trek
Coffee with cream and sugar
vanilla ice cream
chocolate ice cream
children
laughter
Movies
science fiction novels
thinking
history
genealogy
philosophy
libraries
new snow
clean sheets
computers
the Internet
altered states
guitars
music
headphones
The Beatles
Jimi Hendrix
Phil Keaggy
Loreena McKennitt
Enya
Clannad
Van Morrison
Mary Jane LaMond
Celtic Music
Soul Music
Rock Music
Punk Music
Blues
classical
world music
pizza
hamburgers
mexican food
chinese food
bleu cheese dressing
swiss cheese
american cheese
chili with mashed potatoes
Port wine
German Ice Wine
tuna fish
tahini sauce
hot sauce
honey
stuff rigatoni
chicken baked in wine
sean connery
angelina jollee
cool, california
tucson, Arizona
Ft. Lauderdale, FLA
Cancun, Mexico
I Don't Like:
liars
slavery
dictators
politics
pain
toothaches
gout
in-laws
tight swimming trunks
whitey-tighty underwear
strawberry cookies
strawberry icecream
postum
religion
oversleeping
thorns and jaggers
mud
slush
doing laundry
cat hair
dogs in the house
cleaning up after dogs in the house
paying bills
worring about money
Thursday, November 21, 2002
jet plane view
I was flying into Chicago the other week ago. It was night and the lights of the city spread out below. Bright street lights trailing off into the distance. The perspective of the flat straight lines, a grid like some kind of game board from the Tron movie. Street upon Street of homes...lit for the evening.
The familiar thought I used to think when traveling at night...
hitchhiking from place to place.
Looking out of passenger side windows...
looking into the lighted living rooms of the homes that passed in the night.
See people talking, conversing, reading newspapers, living life.
What are those lives? What is in their orbit? What are their workaday lives? Who are their friends? What answers to my questions do they have?
And I thought of the windows of those friends' living rooms...of THEIR home fires and THEIR small worlds.
All of the thousands of places in this city.
Looking down from the sky from my jet plane view. The thousands of stories in these lives.
But as I fly on my route, I see hundreds of cities...thousands of lighted homes...thousands of car headlights heading for those homes.
This human machine (as I like to call it), repeats all across this country...and over into the next, to engulf the world with people...good and bad.
--------------
Loreena McKennitt has a song
"Night Ride Across The Caucasus".
Every time I hear it, I remember my time traveling with The Brethren. Night Rides.
"Once you have tasted the secrets,
you will have a strong desire to understand them"
"Ride On - Through the Night - Ride On
There are visions, there are memories
There are echoes of thundering hooves
There are fires, there is laughter
There's the sound of a thousand Doves
In the velvet of the Darkness
By the silhouette of silent trees
They are watching, they are waiting
They are witnessing Life's Mysteries
Cascading stars on slumbering hills
They are dancing as far as the sea
Riding O'er the land, you can feel it's gentle hand
Leading on to its destiny
Take me with you on this journey
Where the boundaries of time are now tossed
In Cathedrals Of The Forest
In the words of the tongues now lost
Find the Answers, Ask the Questions
Find the roots of an Ancient Tree
Take me dancing, take me singing
I'll ride on till the moon meets the sea.
© July 2005 Marc S. McCune
The familiar thought I used to think when traveling at night...
hitchhiking from place to place.
Looking out of passenger side windows...
looking into the lighted living rooms of the homes that passed in the night.
See people talking, conversing, reading newspapers, living life.
What are those lives? What is in their orbit? What are their workaday lives? Who are their friends? What answers to my questions do they have?
And I thought of the windows of those friends' living rooms...of THEIR home fires and THEIR small worlds.
All of the thousands of places in this city.
Looking down from the sky from my jet plane view. The thousands of stories in these lives.
But as I fly on my route, I see hundreds of cities...thousands of lighted homes...thousands of car headlights heading for those homes.
This human machine (as I like to call it), repeats all across this country...and over into the next, to engulf the world with people...good and bad.
--------------
Loreena McKennitt has a song
"Night Ride Across The Caucasus".
Every time I hear it, I remember my time traveling with The Brethren. Night Rides.
"Once you have tasted the secrets,
you will have a strong desire to understand them"
"Ride On - Through the Night - Ride On
There are visions, there are memories
There are echoes of thundering hooves
There are fires, there is laughter
There's the sound of a thousand Doves
In the velvet of the Darkness
By the silhouette of silent trees
They are watching, they are waiting
They are witnessing Life's Mysteries
Cascading stars on slumbering hills
They are dancing as far as the sea
Riding O'er the land, you can feel it's gentle hand
Leading on to its destiny
Take me with you on this journey
Where the boundaries of time are now tossed
In Cathedrals Of The Forest
In the words of the tongues now lost
Find the Answers, Ask the Questions
Find the roots of an Ancient Tree
Take me dancing, take me singing
I'll ride on till the moon meets the sea.
© July 2005 Marc S. McCune
Thursday, November 07, 2002
Birth Of Religion
While surfing the net this morning, I came across the official YES page, with links to Jon Anderson's pages. Jon Anderson is one of the greatest vocalists around. He is one of my favorite people to listen to. He's been featured on at least one Christian compilation CD, and Phil Keaggy has done some guitar work for an upcoming CD which also features Jon Anderson.
But I have a problem with Jon's religion. I'd describe his religious viewpoint as typical New-Age. He is currently a devotee to someone called Divine Mother. Divine Mother is from Hawaii.
On July 13, 1914, Divine Mother was born in the little sugar town of Waipahu on the Island of Oahu, in Hawaii. She was the second of eight children. Her family was very poor and could only afford to send her to school up through the eighth grade.
Throughout childhood, Mother was deeply spiritual and always prayed for others. She was sent to work as a maid and later married. She had five children and remained at home to care for the family. Around 1972, a divine messenger appeared to Mother and told Mother that Sri Ramakrishna had sent her to show Mother how to give out "God is" message for this age.
So here is yet another person who has received a personal divine revelation. As I stated in an earlier message...it seems that these divine messages come to people when no-one else is around. But they are so "miraculous" that they end up turning their experience into a religion, gather followers.
My question...why would I believe that a person's revelation is actually the truth? What do I have to base this belief on?
When I first became a born again Christian, I remember reading the intro to the Book of Mormon. I was mesmerized and astonished at Joseph Smith's story. I had to immediately tell my brother about my "discovery".
Fortunately, he put me in my place, and admonished me that the story was not true.
I had been of the New-Age kind of gatherer of religious beliefs. I kind of believed everything and anything metaphysical. From witchcraft, to theosophy and astral projection, to east Indian religions and everything in between. I believed what Jon's Divine Mother teaches, that God comes to men through various devoted masters through the ages. And all the religous teachers and icons are paths to the same place.
I really don't buy that now. I don't think that Zoroaster, Krishna, Buddah, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed etc., etc. are all perfect masters of the same path. I frankly think that most, if not all of these paths are just made up by mere men. Regardless of the antiquity of said religions, I cannot now see a clear path to God.
And even speaking from the viewpoint where I have the most experience...that is Christianity...what we see in today's Christian church is NOT what was started by Jesus. Throughout hundreds and thousands of years, the Christian church changed and permutated to what came down to us. And even during The Reformation times, those who protested against the P.C. church of the time, created their own versions of what they thought was the true church.
BACK TO JON
So is religion, just a feel-good, new-agey, religious feeling that we get? What are those beliefs based on? Where do they come from?
In Jon Anderson's case of his devotion to Divine Mother...she became enlightened when a "divine messenger" appeared to her. Said messenger was Sri Ramakrishna, an avatar, a divine incarnation of God who was born in India in 1836, and died on August 15, 1886.
Says Who?
And where did he get HIS beliefs. And stretch back in time to where all of it began. IMHO a lone idea of a single person who "saw" or "discovered" a belief.
Ancient Beliefs
Akhenaten's Religious revolution.
Akhenaten was Pharaoh in Egypt about 3,500 years ago. His claim to fame was in overthrowing the polytheistic religion of Egypt and instituting the monotheistic worship of one single god; Aten, the sun god.
When he did this, the priests were infuriated. Mainly because Akhenaten was putting them out of business. Though historians don't know the real reason for this religious revolution, some say it was politically based. After Akenaten’s death, the old priests and politicians sought to wipe any memory of Akenaten and his religion from the face of Egypt. They reverted to their old polytheistic beliefs.
Zoroaster (aka Zarathustra)
According to the sources, Zoroaster probably was a priest. Having received a vision from Ahura Mazda (which is simply the name meaning, "the Wise Lord"), the Lord appointed him to preach the truth. Zoroaster apparently was opposed in his teachings by the civil and religious authorities in the area in which he preached. It is not clear whether these authorities were from his native region or from Chorasmia prior to the conversion of Vishtaspa. Confident in the truth revealed to him by Ahura Mazda, Zoroaster apparently did not try to overthrow belief in the older Iranian religion, which was polytheistic; he did, however, place Ahura Mazda at the centre of a kingdom of justice that promised immortality and bliss.
Zoroastrianism evolved into the monotheistic religion that it is today. But it began from one person’s vision. But this religion taught certain beliefs about their version of the one true God, that came from some person’s mind. (see the detail at the URL linked above).
Abraham
Abraham was from polytheistic Ur, in Mesopotamia. He received a vision where he met Yahweh and was told to go out from his land to a new land that was promised to him and his descendants. For many years, Abraham's religion was that of his and his immediate family. It was after his descendants spent time in Egypt, and multiplied into a greater nation, that the religion of Abraham was embrace by the nation of Israel.
Moses
According to the Bible, Moses was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter, in polytheistic Egypt. Moses ultimately left the court of Pharaoh and Egypt and fled to Ethiopia. There, Yahweh appears to him in the form of a burning bush. Moses is given a mission to lead Yahweh’s people out of Egypt.
Another time, Moses goes up to the Mountain, alone, and receives the Law from Yahweh.
The Point
So, the point to this missive and my continued questions are these:
Who started these religions?
Is one religion as good or bad as the next? Why or Why not? Weren't they all just made up my the minds of men and women?
But I have a problem with Jon's religion. I'd describe his religious viewpoint as typical New-Age. He is currently a devotee to someone called Divine Mother. Divine Mother is from Hawaii.
On July 13, 1914, Divine Mother was born in the little sugar town of Waipahu on the Island of Oahu, in Hawaii. She was the second of eight children. Her family was very poor and could only afford to send her to school up through the eighth grade.
Throughout childhood, Mother was deeply spiritual and always prayed for others. She was sent to work as a maid and later married. She had five children and remained at home to care for the family. Around 1972, a divine messenger appeared to Mother and told Mother that Sri Ramakrishna had sent her to show Mother how to give out "God is" message for this age.
So here is yet another person who has received a personal divine revelation. As I stated in an earlier message...it seems that these divine messages come to people when no-one else is around. But they are so "miraculous" that they end up turning their experience into a religion, gather followers.
My question...why would I believe that a person's revelation is actually the truth? What do I have to base this belief on?
When I first became a born again Christian, I remember reading the intro to the Book of Mormon. I was mesmerized and astonished at Joseph Smith's story. I had to immediately tell my brother about my "discovery".
Fortunately, he put me in my place, and admonished me that the story was not true.
I had been of the New-Age kind of gatherer of religious beliefs. I kind of believed everything and anything metaphysical. From witchcraft, to theosophy and astral projection, to east Indian religions and everything in between. I believed what Jon's Divine Mother teaches, that God comes to men through various devoted masters through the ages. And all the religous teachers and icons are paths to the same place.
I really don't buy that now. I don't think that Zoroaster, Krishna, Buddah, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed etc., etc. are all perfect masters of the same path. I frankly think that most, if not all of these paths are just made up by mere men. Regardless of the antiquity of said religions, I cannot now see a clear path to God.
And even speaking from the viewpoint where I have the most experience...that is Christianity...what we see in today's Christian church is NOT what was started by Jesus. Throughout hundreds and thousands of years, the Christian church changed and permutated to what came down to us. And even during The Reformation times, those who protested against the P.C. church of the time, created their own versions of what they thought was the true church.
BACK TO JON
So is religion, just a feel-good, new-agey, religious feeling that we get? What are those beliefs based on? Where do they come from?
In Jon Anderson's case of his devotion to Divine Mother...she became enlightened when a "divine messenger" appeared to her. Said messenger was Sri Ramakrishna, an avatar, a divine incarnation of God who was born in India in 1836, and died on August 15, 1886.
Says Who?
And where did he get HIS beliefs. And stretch back in time to where all of it began. IMHO a lone idea of a single person who "saw" or "discovered" a belief.
Ancient Beliefs
Akhenaten's Religious revolution.
Akhenaten was Pharaoh in Egypt about 3,500 years ago. His claim to fame was in overthrowing the polytheistic religion of Egypt and instituting the monotheistic worship of one single god; Aten, the sun god.
When he did this, the priests were infuriated. Mainly because Akhenaten was putting them out of business. Though historians don't know the real reason for this religious revolution, some say it was politically based. After Akenaten’s death, the old priests and politicians sought to wipe any memory of Akenaten and his religion from the face of Egypt. They reverted to their old polytheistic beliefs.
Zoroaster (aka Zarathustra)
According to the sources, Zoroaster probably was a priest. Having received a vision from Ahura Mazda (which is simply the name meaning, "the Wise Lord"), the Lord appointed him to preach the truth. Zoroaster apparently was opposed in his teachings by the civil and religious authorities in the area in which he preached. It is not clear whether these authorities were from his native region or from Chorasmia prior to the conversion of Vishtaspa. Confident in the truth revealed to him by Ahura Mazda, Zoroaster apparently did not try to overthrow belief in the older Iranian religion, which was polytheistic; he did, however, place Ahura Mazda at the centre of a kingdom of justice that promised immortality and bliss.
Zoroastrianism evolved into the monotheistic religion that it is today. But it began from one person’s vision. But this religion taught certain beliefs about their version of the one true God, that came from some person’s mind. (see the detail at the URL linked above).
Abraham
Abraham was from polytheistic Ur, in Mesopotamia. He received a vision where he met Yahweh and was told to go out from his land to a new land that was promised to him and his descendants. For many years, Abraham's religion was that of his and his immediate family. It was after his descendants spent time in Egypt, and multiplied into a greater nation, that the religion of Abraham was embrace by the nation of Israel.
Moses
According to the Bible, Moses was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter, in polytheistic Egypt. Moses ultimately left the court of Pharaoh and Egypt and fled to Ethiopia. There, Yahweh appears to him in the form of a burning bush. Moses is given a mission to lead Yahweh’s people out of Egypt.
Another time, Moses goes up to the Mountain, alone, and receives the Law from Yahweh.
The Point
So, the point to this missive and my continued questions are these:
Who started these religions?
Is one religion as good or bad as the next? Why or Why not? Weren't they all just made up my the minds of men and women?
Friday, November 01, 2002
thoughts on morals
Thoughts
Our society is built on laws and morals that are tied directly to religion.
Historically
Laws, mores, socially correct behavior were based on the prevailing belief of the time. What may have been held as acceptable in one society may be viewed as reprehensible in another.
In am somewhat open society as the U.S., U.K., western Europe and other socially progressive areas, you see a wide array of social ideas.
Marriage, Swinging, Monogamy, Bigamy
The idea of married or unmarried couples swapping partners, or engaging in a threesome is viewed as healthy and fun by those who participate in such. But such is scorned as an assault on the "normal" marriage/family by others. Those others usually being of a religious persuasion of some stripe.
Same sex unions are free and natural to some, but intolerable to others.
Intergenerational relationships that are practiced and encouraged in other countries are punished with prison-time in this country. The same is true with Bigamy.
Digression: In the mideastern Muslim countries, men still take more than one wife. This was true in Biblical times with the Israelites as well. Modern Christian prohibition of having more than one wife is a misinterpretation of the new testament instruction by Paul to Timothy, when he wrote that a bishop or deacon in the church "must be the husband of one wife". This admonition was merely to say that men who have more then one wife are not suited to the ministry because their attention will be on family and not the needs of the congregation. This was not a prohibition of taking multiple wives. There actually is no such prohibition in the Bible. When the Mormons began taking multiple wives, they were condemned by a society that had its mores and laws fashioned by centuries of application and misapplication of Christian thought. That Christian thought being a distillation and evolving of years in the Dark Ages, where illiterate peoples who misunderstood the original message of Jesus. These people came to religious/political power with no spiritual intentions...but only lust for power.
Our society is built on laws and morals that are tied directly to religion.
Historically
Laws, mores, socially correct behavior were based on the prevailing belief of the time. What may have been held as acceptable in one society may be viewed as reprehensible in another.
In am somewhat open society as the U.S., U.K., western Europe and other socially progressive areas, you see a wide array of social ideas.
Marriage, Swinging, Monogamy, Bigamy
The idea of married or unmarried couples swapping partners, or engaging in a threesome is viewed as healthy and fun by those who participate in such. But such is scorned as an assault on the "normal" marriage/family by others. Those others usually being of a religious persuasion of some stripe.
Same sex unions are free and natural to some, but intolerable to others.
Intergenerational relationships that are practiced and encouraged in other countries are punished with prison-time in this country. The same is true with Bigamy.
Digression: In the mideastern Muslim countries, men still take more than one wife. This was true in Biblical times with the Israelites as well. Modern Christian prohibition of having more than one wife is a misinterpretation of the new testament instruction by Paul to Timothy, when he wrote that a bishop or deacon in the church "must be the husband of one wife". This admonition was merely to say that men who have more then one wife are not suited to the ministry because their attention will be on family and not the needs of the congregation. This was not a prohibition of taking multiple wives. There actually is no such prohibition in the Bible. When the Mormons began taking multiple wives, they were condemned by a society that had its mores and laws fashioned by centuries of application and misapplication of Christian thought. That Christian thought being a distillation and evolving of years in the Dark Ages, where illiterate peoples who misunderstood the original message of Jesus. These people came to religious/political power with no spiritual intentions...but only lust for power.
Wednesday, October 30, 2002
gods
Found this interesting quote today. Think about it.
"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do.
When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods,
you will understand why I dismiss yours." (Stephen Roberts)
"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do.
When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods,
you will understand why I dismiss yours." (Stephen Roberts)
Tuesday, October 29, 2002
Marc's Bibliography
A lot of the recent information that has been changing my mind.
-Marc
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Important Books, Films and Recordings
Non-Fiction
"The Discovers" - by Daniel J. Boorstin
"The Seekers: The Story of Man's Continuing Quest to Understand His World" - Daniel J. Boorstin
"The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark" - by Carl Sagan
"How The Irish Saved Civilization" - by Thomas Cahill
"The Gifts of the Jews - How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels" -
by Thomas Cahill
"History of the Church" by Eusebius
Fiction (important life views about life, religion, beliefs)
"Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" - by Gregory Maguire
"Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" - by Gregory Macguire
"Beowulf" (various translations)
"Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus" - by Orson Scott Card
"Saints" by Orson Scott Card
"Folk on the Fringe" by Orson Scott Card
"Atlantis" on-line shortstory by Orson Scott Card freely available at Orson's web site.
Movies (important ideas of what we believe, take for granted, and accept as doctrine)
"The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc"
"Dogma"
"Contact"
Music (important research, lyrics and ideas, as well as good music)
"The Book of Secrets" - Loreena McKennitt
"The Visit" - Loreena McKennitt
"Parallel Dreams" - Loreena McKennitt
"The Mask & Mirror" - Loreena McKennitt
Articles
"Black Sea Legends" on-line National Geographic.
-Marc
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Important Books, Films and Recordings
Non-Fiction
"The Discovers" - by Daniel J. Boorstin
"The Seekers: The Story of Man's Continuing Quest to Understand His World" - Daniel J. Boorstin
"The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark" - by Carl Sagan
"How The Irish Saved Civilization" - by Thomas Cahill
"The Gifts of the Jews - How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels" -
by Thomas Cahill
"History of the Church" by Eusebius
Fiction (important life views about life, religion, beliefs)
"Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" - by Gregory Maguire
"Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" - by Gregory Macguire
"Beowulf" (various translations)
"Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus" - by Orson Scott Card
"Saints" by Orson Scott Card
"Folk on the Fringe" by Orson Scott Card
"Atlantis" on-line shortstory by Orson Scott Card freely available at Orson's web site.
Movies (important ideas of what we believe, take for granted, and accept as doctrine)
"The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc"
"Dogma"
"Contact"
Music (important research, lyrics and ideas, as well as good music)
"The Book of Secrets" - Loreena McKennitt
"The Visit" - Loreena McKennitt
"Parallel Dreams" - Loreena McKennitt
"The Mask & Mirror" - Loreena McKennitt
Articles
"Black Sea Legends" on-line National Geographic.
Thursday, October 24, 2002
The Multiple Intelligences Test
This morning I took The Multiple Intelligences Test at www.tickle.com. The results:
"Marc, you're smartest when it comes to visual/spatial intelligence
Others may take their environments for granted but not you. Because of your visual/spatial intelligence you really see the world around you. This strength often helps you better appreciate the beauty and detail in everyday things. From shapes in nature to the structure of a fine automobile, a countless variety of things hold your interest.
Having this particular kind of heightened awareness can allow you to form accurate mental images of existing places and objects. In extreme cases, one might call this strength a photographic memory. Being visually/spatially intelligent also means that you likely have a vivid imagination that can be put to use in a variety of creative or professional endeavors."
Gee...
"Marc, you're smartest when it comes to visual/spatial intelligence
Others may take their environments for granted but not you. Because of your visual/spatial intelligence you really see the world around you. This strength often helps you better appreciate the beauty and detail in everyday things. From shapes in nature to the structure of a fine automobile, a countless variety of things hold your interest.
Having this particular kind of heightened awareness can allow you to form accurate mental images of existing places and objects. In extreme cases, one might call this strength a photographic memory. Being visually/spatially intelligent also means that you likely have a vivid imagination that can be put to use in a variety of creative or professional endeavors."
Gee...
Monday, October 21, 2002
things have changed
before...I thought I held faith in my hands
...thought I held belief that was pristine
...thought there were not doubts.
...the ones in the back of my mind...shoved under my rug.
I looked...I read...I thought
I changed my mind.
now, what was taken for granted
is seen as built on the shakey foundation.
whole belief systems built on sand.
And when the sand shifts the beliefs fall
When the foundation is seen for the fault that it is,
new ideas must emerge
...thought I held belief that was pristine
...thought there were not doubts.
...the ones in the back of my mind...shoved under my rug.
I looked...I read...I thought
I changed my mind.
now, what was taken for granted
is seen as built on the shakey foundation.
whole belief systems built on sand.
And when the sand shifts the beliefs fall
When the foundation is seen for the fault that it is,
new ideas must emerge
Saturday, September 07, 2002
Eleven:Eleven
"Eleven:Eleven" Lyrics by Christopher McCune: Copyright 2001
[listen]
How can I write a song about you
when there's no words to describe you?
Everyday I think about you and you're always on my mind.
Everynight I wish you were my girl
How I'd love it if you were my girl.
I would hate to let
a girl like you pass me by
11:11, and I'm wishing that you loved me
11:11, and I'm wishing you were mine
11:11, and I want your arms around me
11:11, and I want your hand in mine
How can I tell you that I love you
when I'm speechless everytime I see you?
There is no word that exists
that describes the way I feel.
If you can see the hole in my chest,
then I think it would be best
for you to return the heart
that I let you steal
11:11, and I'm wishing that you loved me
11:11, and I'm wishing you were mine
11:11, and I want your arms around me
11:11, and I want your hand in mine
[listen]
How can I write a song about you
when there's no words to describe you?
Everyday I think about you and you're always on my mind.
Everynight I wish you were my girl
How I'd love it if you were my girl.
I would hate to let
a girl like you pass me by
11:11, and I'm wishing that you loved me
11:11, and I'm wishing you were mine
11:11, and I want your arms around me
11:11, and I want your hand in mine
How can I tell you that I love you
when I'm speechless everytime I see you?
There is no word that exists
that describes the way I feel.
If you can see the hole in my chest,
then I think it would be best
for you to return the heart
that I let you steal
11:11, and I'm wishing that you loved me
11:11, and I'm wishing you were mine
11:11, and I want your arms around me
11:11, and I want your hand in mine
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