Father Rick on the staff delivered the sermon 7/10/16. He claimed that Christians must be bold and fearless to act according to God's Will for them, even as the Good Samaritan did the unusual thing of stopping to help someone in distress.
The notion that this act of the Good Samaritan, helping one in urgent need, requires reaching out to another person one doesn't know--an act of love and kindness. It implies abandoning one's ordinary routines in life to make this act realized. What courage! (as Paul Tillich, American Theologian, would contend.)
Monday, July 11, 2016
CD at St. Clement's: The Love of the Disciples for Jesus
During the Anchor Club meeting this past Sunday, I theorized that the disciples of Jesus must have been hugely discouraged with the death of their leader at the cross. But wonder of wonder, it was Paul who converted to Christianity on the road to Damascus who came upon the scene to encourage them to carry on. For Peter, the leader of the Christian Church in Jerusalem, Paul's encouragement included financial gifts to support the church there. We think of the disciples as the backdrop of Jesus' ministry, since the Gospels do not relate their real function as ministers to Jesus, to encourage him to do bold and wondrous acts on behalf of His Father. Nevertheless, they supported, i.e., did what they could to help, Jesus carry out his mission.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Christian Theology of Peace & Well-Being
This is a new Christian philosophy-theology, taking its foundations in German philosophy of the 19th Century, originating in the writings of Professor F. Hegel and in English philosophy of the 20th Century, through Alfred North Whitehead's process philosophy.
There are 3 points or premises about which this Christian theology is formed: its Scriptural foundations, its cosmological underpinnings as revealed through history; and its development in a personal identity of each Christian believer.
I. Scriptural Foundation
The underlining metaphysical premise of this theology is that the world's Prime Mover is love. This love is the principle of attraction by which all things--stars, planets, and even persons--are bound together through the creative, physical force of love.
We are told in John 3:16 that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." It is through Jesus that we become members of the mystical Kingdom Of God, bestowed with the gift of eternal life. Truly, in the Kingdom we exist forever more.
The keys to this kingdom, the New Testament claims, is just two rules or commandments believers are committed to follow. These are exemplified in the kind of love that binds us in holy fellowship: (1) love God as the Creative force pervasive in the universe; and (2) love each other and other beings in Creation as one loves oneself. In loving oneself, man comes to know himself as a creature of God's creation; and from that love is expressed one's place in God's plan for one's life.
II. Manifestations of our love for God
Because we are members of the Kingdom of God in which the love of God is a pervasive force, we strive to effectuate love in our dealings with one another and with other entities in God's universe. Meaning, we seek to express that love in what we do and say.
For instance, when dealing with others, we strive to do the loving thing. As cited in the Scriptures, Jesus sought to meet the spiritual and physical needs of His followers. When the crowd needed food,or drink, He worked miracles to produce the food. That presupposes His empathizing with His people in order to feel their desires. Similarly, a Christian believer must display an attitude of concern for others so as to relate to their situation. He must ask the ever-present question "How can I express God's love in my dealings with another?" If, for instance, he determines that his brother is in need of a job, can he find something the brother can do for him, if only on a part-time basis? Or could he ask of his friends whether they know of anybody who's hiring a jack-of-all-trades person?
Indeed, it is the hallmark of Christian peoples to extend to the poor and helpless physical and mental relief. This tendency in evidence since the days of the Early Church.
But this desire to express the love of God in our daily lives is manifest in the way we look upon the world in general. As believers in the God who so loved the world that He gave His son, we go out of our way to find the paths of love open to us to preserve God's creations, including maintaining an environment conducive for mankind to live and prosper in. We want to know the bounds of God's love in His Creation and so wander to foreign lands and alien worlds. The result of our striving to express God's love is new knowledge by which we gain greater control of our environment.
IIa. The Historical Record of our Journeys to express the love of God through our interactions
It was the great German philosopher Hegel of the 19th Century who proclaimed the epochs of history as Thesis, Antithesis, and Synthesis. These allude to the times in which man strives to reach historical pinnacles of human achievement in the world, met with resistance by those counteracting a purpose or aim, thereupon resulting in a period of chaos and strife--necessarily followed by a period of reconciliation of these two antithetic historical forces in a period of Synthesis (that has lasting duration). In this way, God's will becomes the world's destiny.
IIb. Fundamental affirmation of Christianity: Our expressing God's love through what we do and strive to do produces world peace and harmony among all peoples
The ultimate aim of world and universal order is achieved by striving to express God's love in all that we do. This is the theology of peace that passeth all understanding!
III. Personal Well-being
Each of us must live with oneself. That is, we must come face to face with who we are in contradistinction with who we wish we were or who we desire to be!
IIIa. The question of self-identity. Jesus would ask His disciples: 'Who do they (i.e., the crowd) say that I am?' And He received back the labels--"teacher," "rabbi," etc., but never "The Christ!" It would take the event of Jesus' crucifixion to attain that appellation from those who knew Him.
So too, each one of us is in search of hearing the identity from those around us that is what we want to be known as: "a good father," "a sharp lawyer," and so on.
Note that Jesus told His disciples the identity each of them would become, namely, fishermen of mankind. It was each's identity as members of the Kingdom of God, since each would live up to His calling.
IIIb. As members of the Kingdom of God, each should strive to maintain a balance between the emotional highs and lows, an equilibrium that enables him to tackle life's stresses and achievements equally well, Indeed, Jesus cautioned those who followed Him, to neither delight that He ranks among the spiritual greats, e.g., Moses, nor to become depressed over the death of a dear friend. Simply, he urges, accept today's encounters and remain prepared to cope with whatever befall in the future. This emotional state of equilibrium is known in Greek Philosophy as the Doctrine of the Mean.
IIIc. Withal, the believer who does what should earn him the true self-identity for which he seeks knows with certainty already that his spiritual journeys through life merit him God's blessing; and so he declares with confidence: "it is well with my soul."
There are 3 points or premises about which this Christian theology is formed: its Scriptural foundations, its cosmological underpinnings as revealed through history; and its development in a personal identity of each Christian believer.
I. Scriptural Foundation
The underlining metaphysical premise of this theology is that the world's Prime Mover is love. This love is the principle of attraction by which all things--stars, planets, and even persons--are bound together through the creative, physical force of love.
We are told in John 3:16 that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." It is through Jesus that we become members of the mystical Kingdom Of God, bestowed with the gift of eternal life. Truly, in the Kingdom we exist forever more.
The keys to this kingdom, the New Testament claims, is just two rules or commandments believers are committed to follow. These are exemplified in the kind of love that binds us in holy fellowship: (1) love God as the Creative force pervasive in the universe; and (2) love each other and other beings in Creation as one loves oneself. In loving oneself, man comes to know himself as a creature of God's creation; and from that love is expressed one's place in God's plan for one's life.
II. Manifestations of our love for God
Because we are members of the Kingdom of God in which the love of God is a pervasive force, we strive to effectuate love in our dealings with one another and with other entities in God's universe. Meaning, we seek to express that love in what we do and say.
For instance, when dealing with others, we strive to do the loving thing. As cited in the Scriptures, Jesus sought to meet the spiritual and physical needs of His followers. When the crowd needed food,or drink, He worked miracles to produce the food. That presupposes His empathizing with His people in order to feel their desires. Similarly, a Christian believer must display an attitude of concern for others so as to relate to their situation. He must ask the ever-present question "How can I express God's love in my dealings with another?" If, for instance, he determines that his brother is in need of a job, can he find something the brother can do for him, if only on a part-time basis? Or could he ask of his friends whether they know of anybody who's hiring a jack-of-all-trades person?
Indeed, it is the hallmark of Christian peoples to extend to the poor and helpless physical and mental relief. This tendency in evidence since the days of the Early Church.
But this desire to express the love of God in our daily lives is manifest in the way we look upon the world in general. As believers in the God who so loved the world that He gave His son, we go out of our way to find the paths of love open to us to preserve God's creations, including maintaining an environment conducive for mankind to live and prosper in. We want to know the bounds of God's love in His Creation and so wander to foreign lands and alien worlds. The result of our striving to express God's love is new knowledge by which we gain greater control of our environment.
IIa. The Historical Record of our Journeys to express the love of God through our interactions
It was the great German philosopher Hegel of the 19th Century who proclaimed the epochs of history as Thesis, Antithesis, and Synthesis. These allude to the times in which man strives to reach historical pinnacles of human achievement in the world, met with resistance by those counteracting a purpose or aim, thereupon resulting in a period of chaos and strife--necessarily followed by a period of reconciliation of these two antithetic historical forces in a period of Synthesis (that has lasting duration). In this way, God's will becomes the world's destiny.
IIb. Fundamental affirmation of Christianity: Our expressing God's love through what we do and strive to do produces world peace and harmony among all peoples
The ultimate aim of world and universal order is achieved by striving to express God's love in all that we do. This is the theology of peace that passeth all understanding!
III. Personal Well-being
Each of us must live with oneself. That is, we must come face to face with who we are in contradistinction with who we wish we were or who we desire to be!
IIIa. The question of self-identity. Jesus would ask His disciples: 'Who do they (i.e., the crowd) say that I am?' And He received back the labels--"teacher," "rabbi," etc., but never "The Christ!" It would take the event of Jesus' crucifixion to attain that appellation from those who knew Him.
So too, each one of us is in search of hearing the identity from those around us that is what we want to be known as: "a good father," "a sharp lawyer," and so on.
Note that Jesus told His disciples the identity each of them would become, namely, fishermen of mankind. It was each's identity as members of the Kingdom of God, since each would live up to His calling.
IIIb. As members of the Kingdom of God, each should strive to maintain a balance between the emotional highs and lows, an equilibrium that enables him to tackle life's stresses and achievements equally well, Indeed, Jesus cautioned those who followed Him, to neither delight that He ranks among the spiritual greats, e.g., Moses, nor to become depressed over the death of a dear friend. Simply, he urges, accept today's encounters and remain prepared to cope with whatever befall in the future. This emotional state of equilibrium is known in Greek Philosophy as the Doctrine of the Mean.
IIIc. Withal, the believer who does what should earn him the true self-identity for which he seeks knows with certainty already that his spiritual journeys through life merit him God's blessing; and so he declares with confidence: "it is well with my soul."
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Linguistic Analysis; and Concepts and Meanings
When I was in graduate school, New York University, 1960-69, the philosophical technique in hot vogue was Linguistic Analysis. Though NYU's philosophy department fundamentally favored the 1930's American espousal of pragmatism, it nonetheless courted the 'forefront' philosophies, which in the 1960s and 1970s, was Linguistic Analysis, as espoused by Ludwig Wittgenstein, many years prior. The thrust of the movement was to dissect meanings of terms appearing in contexts of discourse as functional items descriptive of situations either real or imagined.
But where they came short was in highlighting the concept that has several meanings in situ. In essence, they were featuring logical atoms but failed to pay close attention to the molecular structure that the concept provides. Hence, they bogged down over miniscule discussions about the meaning of terms or concepts, when in fact while there are conventional meanings there are also stipulative or nominal meanings a speaker can designate for use in a particular context. Wittgenstein was taken with the contextual use of terms, i.e., the power of the concept to take on a particular meaning to represent some action or thing. Its adjectival power, so to speak in coming to know what we're talking about.
For me, the power of logic is in the concept, even as Aristotle argued centuries ago. Sentential logic merely describes the properties of a situation--yes, in situ.
But where they came short was in highlighting the concept that has several meanings in situ. In essence, they were featuring logical atoms but failed to pay close attention to the molecular structure that the concept provides. Hence, they bogged down over miniscule discussions about the meaning of terms or concepts, when in fact while there are conventional meanings there are also stipulative or nominal meanings a speaker can designate for use in a particular context. Wittgenstein was taken with the contextual use of terms, i.e., the power of the concept to take on a particular meaning to represent some action or thing. Its adjectival power, so to speak in coming to know what we're talking about.
For me, the power of logic is in the concept, even as Aristotle argued centuries ago. Sentential logic merely describes the properties of a situation--yes, in situ.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Religious Pragmatics (RP): Making Ideals Practical
30,000 Years ago, mankind appealed to the gods in dance and chants to try to live a better life on earth. Disease and hunger still took its toll upon them.
But then another way was found to deal with Creation and the world in which we live. Act as a god, yourself! Take command of the world, to the extent possible.
The Existentialists of the previous century cautioned that in the end, the forces of nature will destroy mankind. Everyone must die. You can prolong life by diet and medicine, but in the end, all must be placed in the ground.
Nevertheless, religion holds hope for mankind. What I call Religious Pragmatics is the attempt to make religious ideals in morality and education practical to improve our living. It starts with centering prayer: emptying your mind of all its contents to concentrate on the presence of self in this world, in one's particular physical and mental surroundings. Its an attempt to become a child once again, eager to know what he can do and what he can learn--since he can't enter the womb again! Religion teaches us the basics in the world of ideals. For instance, love your neighbor as yourself. In practice, we aim to realize this ideal, but we know we just cannot. It's not practical. We must make compromises and acting as a god, know what we can do to realize some particular ideal in our particular circumstance. That is, we come to know and recognize sin as part of our human condition. We confess our sins, knowing that as humans, we aim at performing the ideal to the extent possible for us.
Similarly, we may aim at monogamy, but we recognize our shortcomings. We may have sex in and out of wedlock, for example.
In our quiet time of prayer, we come to know ourselves and our capabilities; and we recognize our shortcomings as mere elements of our sinful nature.
But then another way was found to deal with Creation and the world in which we live. Act as a god, yourself! Take command of the world, to the extent possible.
The Existentialists of the previous century cautioned that in the end, the forces of nature will destroy mankind. Everyone must die. You can prolong life by diet and medicine, but in the end, all must be placed in the ground.
Nevertheless, religion holds hope for mankind. What I call Religious Pragmatics is the attempt to make religious ideals in morality and education practical to improve our living. It starts with centering prayer: emptying your mind of all its contents to concentrate on the presence of self in this world, in one's particular physical and mental surroundings. Its an attempt to become a child once again, eager to know what he can do and what he can learn--since he can't enter the womb again! Religion teaches us the basics in the world of ideals. For instance, love your neighbor as yourself. In practice, we aim to realize this ideal, but we know we just cannot. It's not practical. We must make compromises and acting as a god, know what we can do to realize some particular ideal in our particular circumstance. That is, we come to know and recognize sin as part of our human condition. We confess our sins, knowing that as humans, we aim at performing the ideal to the extent possible for us.
Similarly, we may aim at monogamy, but we recognize our shortcomings. We may have sex in and out of wedlock, for example.
In our quiet time of prayer, we come to know ourselves and our capabilities; and we recognize our shortcomings as mere elements of our sinful nature.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
On Islamic Pragmatics (IP):
Religious Pragmatics, whether Christian or in the present case, Islamic, is the study of how a religion (particularly, through its religious experiences of encoiunter) enables us to cope with our world by calling upon God as Divine Creator to direct, protect and comfort us.
Tomorrow is the beginning of Ramadan. It is fitting that this series take up Islamic Pragmatics during this holy season of the Muslim faith.
The thesis of this study is that the Islamic religion in practice, i.e., its pragmatics, contains principles pertaining to our experiencing God. By means of this religious experience we are enabled to lead a better, more productive and fruitful life. This is because the experience, since it becomes the focal point of our lives, encompasses the presence of God in revelation as guide and nurturer of our physical and spiritual being on a continuing basis. In short, for our own salvation, we come to ever seek God; and the experience is the conduit that brings God to us and us in God.
.
Below I present comments, each numbered, pertaining to various topics in Islamic Pragmatics. But I don't actually get into the theology and textual exegesis of Islamic scriptures, simply because I'm not a Muslim jurist. Herein, I attempt to point out elements in Islamic practice that are useful in our quest to lead a satisfying and prosperous life by means of God's direction. That is to say, I keep to those features of the Islamic faith in which God's presence is essential for our self-development and preservation.
1. Centering Prayer.
5 times a day the Muslim believer is called to prayer. I say this prayer is 'centered,' in that the Muslim, as he faces toward Mecca, prays. It is also centered in that his prayer may be the recitation of his basic faith: there is one true God and Muhammad is His prophet.
Prayer is said in a prostrate position to express humility, submission and adoration before God. It is an act of confessing the Muslim's own condition of weakness and need, for which divine guidance is the proper remedy. That Muslims are implored to say a prayer so frequently during the day suggests the need to draw nigh to God frequently; constantly, to learn of His will and acknowledge that as a Muslim, he is prepared to follow it.
In short, the mendicant will be facing toward Mecca. It may contain the Muslim mantra that there is one God, Allah, and Muhammad is His prophet. In this fashion, the individual is focused inward, seeking the presence of the Almighty Creator in his ken.
Would that Christianity made prayer so central an activity in a believer's life, since it is fundamental for communion with the divine!
When praying, Muslims are focused physically (turning to the East) and spiritually (reciting some mantra).
2. Fitting into the nature of things.
We are told God (the Creator) has established a harmony to created matter, such that there's an order and a rhythm to natural things. With respect to humans, this order is in the heart beat and emotional equilibrium; and it becomes erratic whenever we become upset or sick. Humans must maintain an equilibrium that God has commanded, e.g., 120/80 blood pressure. Moreover, it is a human duty to preserve the balance in the world by using earth resources wisely, so that these be sustained in time and place. Don't waste them, God warns, nor be extravagant in their use. Don't destroy the balance in nature that God has planned and instituted.
While this may be common sense, it is also non-scientific. The sciences change nature in accord to achieve human desires and wants. We know the world will come to an end sooner, if man cannot find a way to preserve the planet in its orbit longer than is predicted today.
Specifically, while global warming is a reality today, perhaps science will obviate its effects, if not rid the phenomenon entirely over time.
So too, there may be a cornucopia of drugs yet to be discovered, that can maintain our physical being, and stabilize our emotional equilibrium.
Muslims are frequently proud of their allegiance with science ever since the founding of the religion, but that allegiance seems tied to science as it once was--not as dramatic a control of the earth that is currently envisioned in science today.
3. Predestination and Free Will
From mankind's vantage point, man can freely choose good from evil. There is a sort of calculus in Islam that God uses to weigh the worth of an individual--how much good he does in the world--to help his fellows, nature; and preserve his own body and mind e.g., by laying off liquor and by refraining from leading a life of a profligate. Interestingly, his community--friends, neighbors, and moral leaders--have a pretty good idea how he is doing in this life. Of course, paramount, an individual must declare Allah the Almighty One and submit to God's plan for his life: and do more good than evil in his lifetime. If he's an outstanding individual in his community, he is probably doing a lot of good. In the famous Day of Judgment his deeds will be totally evaluated by God Himself, Muslims believe.
Now, as to God's omniscience, He has preprogrammed the events of the world, including what man chooses to do. Note that God knows not only the deed that each person will do beforehand, but knows the agent's intent, too. So, God allows the agent to act as he will act; and will have through His calculus a way to determine whether each individual is worthy to enter Paradise.
We are exhorted to study the life of Muhammad to know how to live from day to day. At a certain point in his life, he gave up leading a prosperous existence in favor of the simpler things. Yet withal, he wanted not and had the means more than he needed. He was respected, and at one time served as arbitrator among disputant tribes. As one who emphasized bodily cleanliness and mental piety, he teaches Muslims that there are disciplined pleasures to be enjoyed in this life, even while enduring the sorrows of human existence. This truly is a man worthy of imitating his spiritual life. Moreover, his community was profoundly influenced by his many deeds, not the least of which was founding the Islamic faith. "Well done, thy good and faithful servant of Allah!"
Nevertheless, we should recognize that the Islamic religion is fatalistic--"The it is written in the Koran" is for the believer a harkening from Allah that He is in control and man must obey!
4. The Sexes
While Islam claims man and woman are equal, there are distinct differences in the commands God expects them to obey. Man is to protect woman. Man goes out to make money. Woman presides over the household. In courtroom trials, man's testimony is counted twice that of a woman's. There may be differences in how an estate is to be divided up between members of the family on the basis of one's sex. But the really pronounced difference is in the clothing. A woman's appearance is to be modest, not capable of inciting a man sexually. She ought not to be given to stylist trends in fashion. If she works, I cannot conceive that she gets the same pay as her male counterpart, assuming they both can hold the same job.
This is a conservative lifestyle bordering on prudishness.. Islamic exhortation: fit in with your community and don't be a sexual object, except for your spouse, certainly not for any other man!.
5. The Caliphate established by Jihad
Contemporary Islamic extremists want a return to the caliphate government, where rulers by virtue of their lineage. However, the current proclaimed caliphate of northern Syria--western Iraq would have grave difficulty in proving rightful inheritance to the caliphate these traditionalists wish to establish.
The so-called army of this caliphate is wreaking havoc in the Middle East, taking advantage of the political chaos caused by the break-up of the dictatorships in the Muslim world (that left a void in legitimate governance in country after country). After a thousand years, governments have come and gone in the Middle East; and there is no place in the the Middle-East for a return to a former Islamic style of governance. Today, Islam is being reduced to a religion only, divested of its long-ago governmental dominance. Today's countries in the region will not tolerate their being uprooted by those who claim a traditional role of Islam in politics. Already, you can see the governments in the region are forming coalitions to root out these traditionalists and destroy their military power.
In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church attempted to be a governmental major power, but it could not capture the Near East nations for long. Islam must see its place reduced to a religious vehicle as an approach God and must give up its political aspirations by conquest in the region.
Tomorrow is the beginning of Ramadan. It is fitting that this series take up Islamic Pragmatics during this holy season of the Muslim faith.
The thesis of this study is that the Islamic religion in practice, i.e., its pragmatics, contains principles pertaining to our experiencing God. By means of this religious experience we are enabled to lead a better, more productive and fruitful life. This is because the experience, since it becomes the focal point of our lives, encompasses the presence of God in revelation as guide and nurturer of our physical and spiritual being on a continuing basis. In short, for our own salvation, we come to ever seek God; and the experience is the conduit that brings God to us and us in God.
.
Below I present comments, each numbered, pertaining to various topics in Islamic Pragmatics. But I don't actually get into the theology and textual exegesis of Islamic scriptures, simply because I'm not a Muslim jurist. Herein, I attempt to point out elements in Islamic practice that are useful in our quest to lead a satisfying and prosperous life by means of God's direction. That is to say, I keep to those features of the Islamic faith in which God's presence is essential for our self-development and preservation.
1. Centering Prayer.
5 times a day the Muslim believer is called to prayer. I say this prayer is 'centered,' in that the Muslim, as he faces toward Mecca, prays. It is also centered in that his prayer may be the recitation of his basic faith: there is one true God and Muhammad is His prophet.
Prayer is said in a prostrate position to express humility, submission and adoration before God. It is an act of confessing the Muslim's own condition of weakness and need, for which divine guidance is the proper remedy. That Muslims are implored to say a prayer so frequently during the day suggests the need to draw nigh to God frequently; constantly, to learn of His will and acknowledge that as a Muslim, he is prepared to follow it.
In short, the mendicant will be facing toward Mecca. It may contain the Muslim mantra that there is one God, Allah, and Muhammad is His prophet. In this fashion, the individual is focused inward, seeking the presence of the Almighty Creator in his ken.
Would that Christianity made prayer so central an activity in a believer's life, since it is fundamental for communion with the divine!
When praying, Muslims are focused physically (turning to the East) and spiritually (reciting some mantra).
2. Fitting into the nature of things.
We are told God (the Creator) has established a harmony to created matter, such that there's an order and a rhythm to natural things. With respect to humans, this order is in the heart beat and emotional equilibrium; and it becomes erratic whenever we become upset or sick. Humans must maintain an equilibrium that God has commanded, e.g., 120/80 blood pressure. Moreover, it is a human duty to preserve the balance in the world by using earth resources wisely, so that these be sustained in time and place. Don't waste them, God warns, nor be extravagant in their use. Don't destroy the balance in nature that God has planned and instituted.
While this may be common sense, it is also non-scientific. The sciences change nature in accord to achieve human desires and wants. We know the world will come to an end sooner, if man cannot find a way to preserve the planet in its orbit longer than is predicted today.
Specifically, while global warming is a reality today, perhaps science will obviate its effects, if not rid the phenomenon entirely over time.
So too, there may be a cornucopia of drugs yet to be discovered, that can maintain our physical being, and stabilize our emotional equilibrium.
Muslims are frequently proud of their allegiance with science ever since the founding of the religion, but that allegiance seems tied to science as it once was--not as dramatic a control of the earth that is currently envisioned in science today.
3. Predestination and Free Will
From mankind's vantage point, man can freely choose good from evil. There is a sort of calculus in Islam that God uses to weigh the worth of an individual--how much good he does in the world--to help his fellows, nature; and preserve his own body and mind e.g., by laying off liquor and by refraining from leading a life of a profligate. Interestingly, his community--friends, neighbors, and moral leaders--have a pretty good idea how he is doing in this life. Of course, paramount, an individual must declare Allah the Almighty One and submit to God's plan for his life: and do more good than evil in his lifetime. If he's an outstanding individual in his community, he is probably doing a lot of good. In the famous Day of Judgment his deeds will be totally evaluated by God Himself, Muslims believe.
Now, as to God's omniscience, He has preprogrammed the events of the world, including what man chooses to do. Note that God knows not only the deed that each person will do beforehand, but knows the agent's intent, too. So, God allows the agent to act as he will act; and will have through His calculus a way to determine whether each individual is worthy to enter Paradise.
We are exhorted to study the life of Muhammad to know how to live from day to day. At a certain point in his life, he gave up leading a prosperous existence in favor of the simpler things. Yet withal, he wanted not and had the means more than he needed. He was respected, and at one time served as arbitrator among disputant tribes. As one who emphasized bodily cleanliness and mental piety, he teaches Muslims that there are disciplined pleasures to be enjoyed in this life, even while enduring the sorrows of human existence. This truly is a man worthy of imitating his spiritual life. Moreover, his community was profoundly influenced by his many deeds, not the least of which was founding the Islamic faith. "Well done, thy good and faithful servant of Allah!"
Nevertheless, we should recognize that the Islamic religion is fatalistic--"The it is written in the Koran" is for the believer a harkening from Allah that He is in control and man must obey!
4. The Sexes
While Islam claims man and woman are equal, there are distinct differences in the commands God expects them to obey. Man is to protect woman. Man goes out to make money. Woman presides over the household. In courtroom trials, man's testimony is counted twice that of a woman's. There may be differences in how an estate is to be divided up between members of the family on the basis of one's sex. But the really pronounced difference is in the clothing. A woman's appearance is to be modest, not capable of inciting a man sexually. She ought not to be given to stylist trends in fashion. If she works, I cannot conceive that she gets the same pay as her male counterpart, assuming they both can hold the same job.
This is a conservative lifestyle bordering on prudishness.. Islamic exhortation: fit in with your community and don't be a sexual object, except for your spouse, certainly not for any other man!.
5. The Caliphate established by Jihad
Contemporary Islamic extremists want a return to the caliphate government, where rulers by virtue of their lineage. However, the current proclaimed caliphate of northern Syria--western Iraq would have grave difficulty in proving rightful inheritance to the caliphate these traditionalists wish to establish.
The so-called army of this caliphate is wreaking havoc in the Middle East, taking advantage of the political chaos caused by the break-up of the dictatorships in the Muslim world (that left a void in legitimate governance in country after country). After a thousand years, governments have come and gone in the Middle East; and there is no place in the the Middle-East for a return to a former Islamic style of governance. Today, Islam is being reduced to a religion only, divested of its long-ago governmental dominance. Today's countries in the region will not tolerate their being uprooted by those who claim a traditional role of Islam in politics. Already, you can see the governments in the region are forming coalitions to root out these traditionalists and destroy their military power.
In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church attempted to be a governmental major power, but it could not capture the Near East nations for long. Islam must see its place reduced to a religious vehicle as an approach God and must give up its political aspirations by conquest in the region.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
In favor of Confederations of Independent States
After having a part in the formulation of the Russian Confederation of Independent States' constitution put into effect in the 1990's, and observing its historical development through some 20 years of service, I can say I wholeheartedly endorse the confederation of independent states' structure.
It is that which I am hopeful is taking root in Europe today--in the UK, with the attempt by Scotland to break away from English dominance; and in Spain, where there has been provincial unrest for some years now. China and India are prime candidates for break-up, too. Witness the current struggle in Hong Kong for independent status, such that Beijing will not have control of the candidate's list for the province's head. Not to mention countries in Africa, where provincial strife could be cast into check by permitting independence of warring parties and states. Then too, in Iraq several legislators have argued for an independent status of Islamic groups over regions--the Sunnis, the Kurds (which will probably soon assert their own independence) and the Shiites. That is to say, anywhere in the world where there is clear coalesce of groups into an independent state should be permitted to break away from centralized dominance of a ruling class or political system.
The Ukrainian War
Russia took the Crimea and will use it as a key port in the area. I understand China is to develop its maritime significance.
However, Putin has tried to use the rest of the Ukraine as a jumping off point to re-establish the Soviet Empire. In that he has met with much resistance. The Russians in the Southeastern Ukraine might want an independent status for the region, but it is unclear they want Russia to dominate them. Some may, but I think, they are united in trying to establish their own regional governance.
More to the issue at hand, the Russians in the other satellites and in the independent countries of the Baltic geographical area are reluctant to accept the Russian Empire concept. At most, they might argue for independent governmental control in their regions from a central government they believe is adverse to Russian culture. Note that Georgia (nor its part dominated by Russians) is not yearning to re-unite with Russia; nor are Russians in Moldova. In short, the Russian Empire is a dead notion, because nobody but Russians in Russia are for it!
Not only are Russians outside of Russia itself acquiescing to the status quo of independence, but many of these satellite countries have secretly approved of a NATO role in their regions, countries not under NATO, i.e., not NATO members. These lands clearly want to maintain their independent status from Mother Russia! What we are witnessing, ladies and gentlemen, is the emergence of a dominant and pervasive NATO presence in all of Europe, including countries once under control of the Russian government in Moscow.
How Long Will It Take to Establish the Federation of Independent States Worldwide?
What I advocate is to establish the Federation of Independent States' concept worldwide.
This will take centuries--long after I'm dead. But people are feeling their roots and their history, more profoundly than ever before. It is no accident that the movement started in the Russian culture, but it will greatly spread, as people become aware of its advantages over any other system, where decisions are made for regions by a centralized bureaucracy.
Did I see this notion emerging as an alternative form of cohesive interaction? You betcha! Carry on Hong Kong democrats!
It is that which I am hopeful is taking root in Europe today--in the UK, with the attempt by Scotland to break away from English dominance; and in Spain, where there has been provincial unrest for some years now. China and India are prime candidates for break-up, too. Witness the current struggle in Hong Kong for independent status, such that Beijing will not have control of the candidate's list for the province's head. Not to mention countries in Africa, where provincial strife could be cast into check by permitting independence of warring parties and states. Then too, in Iraq several legislators have argued for an independent status of Islamic groups over regions--the Sunnis, the Kurds (which will probably soon assert their own independence) and the Shiites. That is to say, anywhere in the world where there is clear coalesce of groups into an independent state should be permitted to break away from centralized dominance of a ruling class or political system.
The Ukrainian War
Russia took the Crimea and will use it as a key port in the area. I understand China is to develop its maritime significance.
However, Putin has tried to use the rest of the Ukraine as a jumping off point to re-establish the Soviet Empire. In that he has met with much resistance. The Russians in the Southeastern Ukraine might want an independent status for the region, but it is unclear they want Russia to dominate them. Some may, but I think, they are united in trying to establish their own regional governance.
More to the issue at hand, the Russians in the other satellites and in the independent countries of the Baltic geographical area are reluctant to accept the Russian Empire concept. At most, they might argue for independent governmental control in their regions from a central government they believe is adverse to Russian culture. Note that Georgia (nor its part dominated by Russians) is not yearning to re-unite with Russia; nor are Russians in Moldova. In short, the Russian Empire is a dead notion, because nobody but Russians in Russia are for it!
Not only are Russians outside of Russia itself acquiescing to the status quo of independence, but many of these satellite countries have secretly approved of a NATO role in their regions, countries not under NATO, i.e., not NATO members. These lands clearly want to maintain their independent status from Mother Russia! What we are witnessing, ladies and gentlemen, is the emergence of a dominant and pervasive NATO presence in all of Europe, including countries once under control of the Russian government in Moscow.
How Long Will It Take to Establish the Federation of Independent States Worldwide?
What I advocate is to establish the Federation of Independent States' concept worldwide.
This will take centuries--long after I'm dead. But people are feeling their roots and their history, more profoundly than ever before. It is no accident that the movement started in the Russian culture, but it will greatly spread, as people become aware of its advantages over any other system, where decisions are made for regions by a centralized bureaucracy.
Did I see this notion emerging as an alternative form of cohesive interaction? You betcha! Carry on Hong Kong democrats!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)