Society has always had its violent behavioral groups.
Society can end violence. It's well known violent behavior is part of the male gene syndrome and the elements have been isolated and identified by many university scientific groups. What my friends are suggesting, if there were a group of male individuals who would be willing to subject themselves to experiment under controlled conditions to ending the violence in the male syndrome, it would be a step forward to a new world. I don't know if there is such a group of males available. All I know is that scientists might welcome their participation and they can have enjoyable sex and produce many children. Listen, if I didn't believe we've got the answer to violence, I'd tell you so!
Monday, May 26, 2014
Sunday, May 11, 2014
(CP-6) Meta-Elements of Religious Knowledge
Unveiling God's Plan for your life
Religious knowledge is practical knowledge, and it is revealed to the individual believer. The guiding truth is God's plan for each of our lives within the cosmic schemata.. It is your intended contribution to the establishment of God's everlasting Kingdom. Even as Jesus endeavored to carry out God's plan for His life, including dying on the cross for the sake of the Kingdom, so we are exhorted to do what God intends each of us to accomplish in our lifetime.
Now the Kingdom is a community of believers. In Matthew Chapter 5, Jesus outlines how we are to relate to one another for the sake of the Kingdom. We should not act out of anger but love. In this chapter, he stresses the attitude we are to maintain in our dealings with one another. Essentially , we are to act as mediators for the sake of harmony and peace in His Kingdom--abandoning the intention to "do the right thing" irrespective of its affects on those around us nor without concern of how others will respond to our acts. Just as Jesus is our Mediator before the Father, so we are mediators to one another in the Kingdom of God.
Failing to show compassion in their actions was the very sin of the Pharisees. For the Christian there is no such thing as "tough love!" .
But how can we know God's plan for each of our lives? St. Paul talks of this in I Corinthians 12. He speaks of one's having spiritual gifts, some delegated to one person and some to others. Our bodies and minds display our inclinations and talents from within, just as Jesus instructed through His parables to make use of God's natural gifts we possess. For we are the temple of God.
And then Jesus adds in Matthew Chapter 5, "You will be blest!"
Applying the religious knowledge we receive
Since religious knowledge is practical and useful for us, when we apply the religious knowledge we receive to our lives, we live by the promise that God shall supply all our needs. We virtually conjoin ourselves through the power of God to the principles of the universe. It is that power Jesus called upon to do His miracles. We attune ourselves through prayer and worship to the cosmos (see the discussion of the Eucharist service). Importantly, we come to know ourselves as Children of God, retaining in ourselves godlike qualities that give us courage to live a beautiful life, despite its vicissitudes; and die with the hope of eternal life. We are never alone.
Religious knowledge is practical knowledge, and it is revealed to the individual believer. The guiding truth is God's plan for each of our lives within the cosmic schemata.. It is your intended contribution to the establishment of God's everlasting Kingdom. Even as Jesus endeavored to carry out God's plan for His life, including dying on the cross for the sake of the Kingdom, so we are exhorted to do what God intends each of us to accomplish in our lifetime.
Now the Kingdom is a community of believers. In Matthew Chapter 5, Jesus outlines how we are to relate to one another for the sake of the Kingdom. We should not act out of anger but love. In this chapter, he stresses the attitude we are to maintain in our dealings with one another. Essentially , we are to act as mediators for the sake of harmony and peace in His Kingdom--abandoning the intention to "do the right thing" irrespective of its affects on those around us nor without concern of how others will respond to our acts. Just as Jesus is our Mediator before the Father, so we are mediators to one another in the Kingdom of God.
Failing to show compassion in their actions was the very sin of the Pharisees. For the Christian there is no such thing as "tough love!" .
But how can we know God's plan for each of our lives? St. Paul talks of this in I Corinthians 12. He speaks of one's having spiritual gifts, some delegated to one person and some to others. Our bodies and minds display our inclinations and talents from within, just as Jesus instructed through His parables to make use of God's natural gifts we possess. For we are the temple of God.
And then Jesus adds in Matthew Chapter 5, "You will be blest!"
Applying the religious knowledge we receive
Since religious knowledge is practical and useful for us, when we apply the religious knowledge we receive to our lives, we live by the promise that God shall supply all our needs. We virtually conjoin ourselves through the power of God to the principles of the universe. It is that power Jesus called upon to do His miracles. We attune ourselves through prayer and worship to the cosmos (see the discussion of the Eucharist service). Importantly, we come to know ourselves as Children of God, retaining in ourselves godlike qualities that give us courage to live a beautiful life, despite its vicissitudes; and die with the hope of eternal life. We are never alone.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
(CP-5) Religious Knowledge: The Format
Religious knowledge is the theological proof of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. He lives today, enabling us who believe to access the Trinity God. And, what we believers gain is religious knowledge, which is unavailable to the un-believer.
This knowledge is personal--it's for me! It is directed to the believer himself. It is knowledge that the believer should use in his day-to-day activities. It could make him rich--in this the Texan preachers are right about, whenever the believer wants to make riches his goal--it could lengthen his life, and so forth. The believer in God through Jesus Christ as his access--sets the use of the religious knowledge he gains to his own advantage.
Since I live this knowledge daily and for the past upteen years, it is readily something I can discuss. In the Bible, it first appears in Genesis Chapter 1 verse 31 "and behold it was very good!" After God made the heavens and the earth and made man in God's image, He declares, "it is good!"
This is also evaluative knowledge. We work 6 days a week and on the seventh, we rest to look it all over, to see how far we've progressed in just one week! You know, going to church. a truly foreign environment, enables us to get away from the everyday and to evaluate how we're doing. Performing prayers enables us to get to the spiritual realm and away from the routines. In the spiritual, we come as penitents knowing we could have done better and using this moment of reflection to seek God's power to do better henceforth. It's that simple. But if you don't do that evaluation, from the Christian viewpoint, you're depriving yourself of an invaluable tool for personal growth.
You can't always keep going and going. You've got to take stock of how you're doing toward the goals you have set for yourself. Sunday morning, in church, is the time for evaluating your performance, even as God did after crating the world. The environment is set for the evaluation process.
Let me take today as an example from my life. I've got worlds of things I'm involved in and some of them could be important. But I took the day off, though I didn't go to church, and lying in bed reflected on how I'm doing, and I prayed a lot and just got away from everything mundane. I didn't leave the house until after 6 PM, then only to get groceries. Nevertheless, in those hours of complete solitude, I rehearsed what I've been doing recently and took stock of myself. As a Christian, that always implies what St. Paul called "edification--" how am I helping my fellow man to live better by what I am doing. Sure, I saw I could have done better and I've learned to do better!
In New Age Philosophy, it's the third eye, the one that knows what's really going on. But whatever it's called every human being needs to use it as a guide-post. God bless you!!
I've introduced you to religious knowledge; and I know you'll have a lot of questions about it. It's the most vital aspect of our faith. I can only get you started on your religious journey. It's up to you to follow through. Now, I must go on to the meta-elements of religious knowledge.
One more thing in this introduction. The human body is the temple of God. So, I can approach the Lord Jesus Christ today--you won't believe it; but I can't believe it, it's just the religious experience. But the fact is we're just humans; and we're not rational! And I welcome the religious tune-up of today! It got me to know what I must do, so off I go, refreshed!.
This knowledge is personal--it's for me! It is directed to the believer himself. It is knowledge that the believer should use in his day-to-day activities. It could make him rich--in this the Texan preachers are right about, whenever the believer wants to make riches his goal--it could lengthen his life, and so forth. The believer in God through Jesus Christ as his access--sets the use of the religious knowledge he gains to his own advantage.
Since I live this knowledge daily and for the past upteen years, it is readily something I can discuss. In the Bible, it first appears in Genesis Chapter 1 verse 31 "and behold it was very good!" After God made the heavens and the earth and made man in God's image, He declares, "it is good!"
This is also evaluative knowledge. We work 6 days a week and on the seventh, we rest to look it all over, to see how far we've progressed in just one week! You know, going to church. a truly foreign environment, enables us to get away from the everyday and to evaluate how we're doing. Performing prayers enables us to get to the spiritual realm and away from the routines. In the spiritual, we come as penitents knowing we could have done better and using this moment of reflection to seek God's power to do better henceforth. It's that simple. But if you don't do that evaluation, from the Christian viewpoint, you're depriving yourself of an invaluable tool for personal growth.
You can't always keep going and going. You've got to take stock of how you're doing toward the goals you have set for yourself. Sunday morning, in church, is the time for evaluating your performance, even as God did after crating the world. The environment is set for the evaluation process.
Let me take today as an example from my life. I've got worlds of things I'm involved in and some of them could be important. But I took the day off, though I didn't go to church, and lying in bed reflected on how I'm doing, and I prayed a lot and just got away from everything mundane. I didn't leave the house until after 6 PM, then only to get groceries. Nevertheless, in those hours of complete solitude, I rehearsed what I've been doing recently and took stock of myself. As a Christian, that always implies what St. Paul called "edification--" how am I helping my fellow man to live better by what I am doing. Sure, I saw I could have done better and I've learned to do better!
In New Age Philosophy, it's the third eye, the one that knows what's really going on. But whatever it's called every human being needs to use it as a guide-post. God bless you!!
I've introduced you to religious knowledge; and I know you'll have a lot of questions about it. It's the most vital aspect of our faith. I can only get you started on your religious journey. It's up to you to follow through. Now, I must go on to the meta-elements of religious knowledge.
One more thing in this introduction. The human body is the temple of God. So, I can approach the Lord Jesus Christ today--you won't believe it; but I can't believe it, it's just the religious experience. But the fact is we're just humans; and we're not rational! And I welcome the religious tune-up of today! It got me to know what I must do, so off I go, refreshed!.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
The Point/Counterpoint Dichtomy
I was introduced to the conceptual dichotomy in the mid-1970's, while I was an Instructor (non-ranked) in Philosophy at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a community college. I had just completed getting an MA in Higher Education at the University of Chicago--taking evening classes. I persuaded the college through the Public Relations Administrator to permit me to edit a journal in higher education that would present the views and ideas of Instructors about teaching I would then try to circulate among other colleges for support. We only had one issue! Anyway, this administrator chose the name for it--Counterpoint. He explained that since it would offer the ideas of those who taught, not administrators and heads of departments in higher education, the title was descriptive. If it were an educational journal typical in the field, he said, he would have recommended Point. Thus, the conceptual distinction: point/counterpoint.
It turns out that society is built on such a distinction. The "point" in the social hierarchy are those who head organizations, such as corporations and governments. They are the CEOs at the very top of the social chain of command. Whereas, the "counterpoint" is composed of members of the mass media to the extent that they offer critiques of the establishment, and would you believe, the religious clerics and leaders, e.g., Jesus; and the social leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm-X--all of whom serve as the conscience of society. The counterpoint's mission is to remind those in control of society to "do the right thing," implying they are privy to ethical and moral knowledge.
It will be seen at once the importance of the distinction. Those in power, wielding enormous control over the rest of society, must be checked. Their power must never become "unbridled." The power of the counterpoint group comes from the people, who upon occasion are motivated to rise up against the established power structure, e.g., during the French Revolution.
It turns out that society is built on such a distinction. The "point" in the social hierarchy are those who head organizations, such as corporations and governments. They are the CEOs at the very top of the social chain of command. Whereas, the "counterpoint" is composed of members of the mass media to the extent that they offer critiques of the establishment, and would you believe, the religious clerics and leaders, e.g., Jesus; and the social leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm-X--all of whom serve as the conscience of society. The counterpoint's mission is to remind those in control of society to "do the right thing," implying they are privy to ethical and moral knowledge.
It will be seen at once the importance of the distinction. Those in power, wielding enormous control over the rest of society, must be checked. Their power must never become "unbridled." The power of the counterpoint group comes from the people, who upon occasion are motivated to rise up against the established power structure, e.g., during the French Revolution.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Developing the Christian Pragmatics' Theme (CP-4a)
plan version: 4/24/14
I've been away from the field of Theology for some 50 years! Anyway, I have received peer reviews of the 4 items that comprise my initial attempt to develop my own Christian theology; and I've been encouraged enough to go on further with the project!
What I plan to do is offer one application or use of a particular concept within the Christian Pragmatics' theme and then move on to the next concept. So, when the initial version of Christian Pragmatics is completed, it should contain one application of each of the Christian Pragmatics' topics --the project thus surveyed in scope; but no topic covered in depth (which would include more than one application of the concept).
1. The first topic in CP is the religious experience--the application presented--the Eucharist or Mass.
then the other topics or concepts will follow and each offered with an application. I have tentatively identified the topics, but I won't indicate the application in this outline:
2. Religious knowledge
3. Christianity embedded in culture: the social Gospel
4. Our Christian life in the world of the power grid: the Christian's mission
5. CP in contrast to current trends in theology
I've been away from the field of Theology for some 50 years! Anyway, I have received peer reviews of the 4 items that comprise my initial attempt to develop my own Christian theology; and I've been encouraged enough to go on further with the project!
What I plan to do is offer one application or use of a particular concept within the Christian Pragmatics' theme and then move on to the next concept. So, when the initial version of Christian Pragmatics is completed, it should contain one application of each of the Christian Pragmatics' topics --the project thus surveyed in scope; but no topic covered in depth (which would include more than one application of the concept).
1. The first topic in CP is the religious experience--the application presented--the Eucharist or Mass.
then the other topics or concepts will follow and each offered with an application. I have tentatively identified the topics, but I won't indicate the application in this outline:
2. Religious knowledge
3. Christianity embedded in culture: the social Gospel
4. Our Christian life in the world of the power grid: the Christian's mission
5. CP in contrast to current trends in theology
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
I' m introducing, Bishop Dan Edwards
He's Episcopalian bishop of Nevada I've met with him; and I was surprised by his administrative skills. He can save the Episcopal Church in USA. He should be given a leading role in USA church governance. He must go to National Cathedral. Incidentally, can he bring me with him? .
Sunday, April 6, 2014
(CP-4) The Eucharist (or, Mass)
About the Nature of Religion
Emile Durkheim wrote much on this topic. What he could not see in the 19th Century was how religion becomes imbedded in a culture. The prime example is China. There's really no Confucianism today; it's the Chinese Culture! The Chinese just naturally place their passed parents in urns on their mantelpieces all over the country! They live in accordance with the teachings of Confuscius naturally, without thinking about it.
We're seeing the same thing in the West. There are Christian nations, the USA being a prime example (the Fundamentalists are right! Really?). A common complaint in Christian nations today is that the religion, Christianity, is waning. No, it's not waning, there's just no need to go to a specific place to practice it. Religious experiences are omnipresent. The preparations for the experience are within the structures of our court system and permeate our governmental, administrative apparatus; our social justice movements toward equality of the races, of the genders--of human being citizens; our outreach through corporate business worldwide, through our military bases around the world; through our cultural extensions to other cultures.
Nevertheless, I hope we always retain moments of the religious experience in our Christian churches, howbeit there be many fewer churches. In my opinion, there's nothing that can approach the Eucharist in the beauty and serenity of the Christian message acted out in this particular parishioner's religious practice. For me, it's the epitome of the religious experience in Christianity.
The Eucharist in its Meta-Elements
1. The Calling by God to worship. At eleven A.M. or so on Sunday morning, the church bells toll. It's time for church service. The organ loudly proclaims God is in on His throne, awaiting us parishioners. Hymns describing God's majesty, our humility are sung as the liturgical procession heads toward the altar, led by the cross of Jesus signifying our dedication to this moment we regard important for guiding our lives.
The priest leads the processional to the altar and declares the Service has begun by saying a prayer, invoking God's presence among those in attendance.
2. The Identity of the called. "Now, hear ye this!" The scriptures are read. God's response to the invocation is to declare to all who are in attendance the delight that He takes in those seeking Him. All those in the church are to listen to His words meant for us. We are the hearers of the Word.
3. The moment of instruction for us, the people of the Now generation. The presiding priest assumes an instructional role at the podium. He delivers the sermon in the service intended to strengthen the relationship between God and man by pointing out how we can improve our communication with God by doing as he, God's representative in the service, instructs us. He exhorts us, as if he were a salesman selling a medical product that would add years to our lives should we buy it and use it asap. And, the product he sells is free! It's our spiritual redemption; the cost only to pledge our souls to serious contractual relationship with God (e.g., the conversion call to the altar) to do God's will in our lives..
4. God's power sought. The parishioners together acknowledge our allegiance to Christian principles in the famous Nicene Creed said in unison. Followed by the Prayers of the People to make especial mention of our needs. Thereupon, we acknowledge our weaknesses and human frailties in the most important and illuminating statement of our humble condition in the world that He has created--the Confession of Sin. We, as parishioners, are sinners who cannot carry out God's plan for each of our lives without continual help that only God can provide to each and every one of us . "Please, Most Holy, Most High, help us!" We need help in dealing with some human malady or disease. We need God's spirit to design our transactions with one another, and in our personal, inner life. Help Almighty One! Give us Thy Spirit; and permit us the partaking in Thy power!
5 God's power received. Acting as God's emissary, the presiding priest conducts the Holy Communion ceremony. The stage is set for playing out the Last Supper of our Lord at the Communion Table. We are to be not only the onlookers to that event in remembrance but become its participants, even as the presiding priest proceeds to obtain for us God's special gift, His most precious body and blood In this way, we exhibit our Godlike being as we communicate with our inner nature of God in us.
We are welcomed at the altar to receive the symbols of God's power severally dispensed to us by the priestly representatives of God. We become recipients of the gifts of God in our hands. He has extended to us the elements of His most Holy Spirit to be retained in our being for a time to come. We feed on these elements in our hearts.
6. We who have received God's gifts express our gratitude. We sing a hymn, the liturgical procession exits; we are left alone in our pew, refreshed and exhilarated. We, the remaining congregation declare in heartfelt gratitude, "Thanks be to God!" 'You've done it again for
each of us!'
Now we know the Trinity through our religious experience: God the Father, creates us according to His design, God the Son establishes for us a way to gain knowledge of His design for us; and God the Holy Spirit enables us to carry out God's plan for our lives through the continuing inflow of God's power and might into our being through partaking in the religious experience.
Emile Durkheim wrote much on this topic. What he could not see in the 19th Century was how religion becomes imbedded in a culture. The prime example is China. There's really no Confucianism today; it's the Chinese Culture! The Chinese just naturally place their passed parents in urns on their mantelpieces all over the country! They live in accordance with the teachings of Confuscius naturally, without thinking about it.
We're seeing the same thing in the West. There are Christian nations, the USA being a prime example (the Fundamentalists are right! Really?). A common complaint in Christian nations today is that the religion, Christianity, is waning. No, it's not waning, there's just no need to go to a specific place to practice it. Religious experiences are omnipresent. The preparations for the experience are within the structures of our court system and permeate our governmental, administrative apparatus; our social justice movements toward equality of the races, of the genders--of human being citizens; our outreach through corporate business worldwide, through our military bases around the world; through our cultural extensions to other cultures.
Nevertheless, I hope we always retain moments of the religious experience in our Christian churches, howbeit there be many fewer churches. In my opinion, there's nothing that can approach the Eucharist in the beauty and serenity of the Christian message acted out in this particular parishioner's religious practice. For me, it's the epitome of the religious experience in Christianity.
The Eucharist in its Meta-Elements
1. The Calling by God to worship. At eleven A.M. or so on Sunday morning, the church bells toll. It's time for church service. The organ loudly proclaims God is in on His throne, awaiting us parishioners. Hymns describing God's majesty, our humility are sung as the liturgical procession heads toward the altar, led by the cross of Jesus signifying our dedication to this moment we regard important for guiding our lives.
The priest leads the processional to the altar and declares the Service has begun by saying a prayer, invoking God's presence among those in attendance.
2. The Identity of the called. "Now, hear ye this!" The scriptures are read. God's response to the invocation is to declare to all who are in attendance the delight that He takes in those seeking Him. All those in the church are to listen to His words meant for us. We are the hearers of the Word.
3. The moment of instruction for us, the people of the Now generation. The presiding priest assumes an instructional role at the podium. He delivers the sermon in the service intended to strengthen the relationship between God and man by pointing out how we can improve our communication with God by doing as he, God's representative in the service, instructs us. He exhorts us, as if he were a salesman selling a medical product that would add years to our lives should we buy it and use it asap. And, the product he sells is free! It's our spiritual redemption; the cost only to pledge our souls to serious contractual relationship with God (e.g., the conversion call to the altar) to do God's will in our lives..
4. God's power sought. The parishioners together acknowledge our allegiance to Christian principles in the famous Nicene Creed said in unison. Followed by the Prayers of the People to make especial mention of our needs. Thereupon, we acknowledge our weaknesses and human frailties in the most important and illuminating statement of our humble condition in the world that He has created--the Confession of Sin. We, as parishioners, are sinners who cannot carry out God's plan for each of our lives without continual help that only God can provide to each and every one of us . "Please, Most Holy, Most High, help us!" We need help in dealing with some human malady or disease. We need God's spirit to design our transactions with one another, and in our personal, inner life. Help Almighty One! Give us Thy Spirit; and permit us the partaking in Thy power!
5 God's power received. Acting as God's emissary, the presiding priest conducts the Holy Communion ceremony. The stage is set for playing out the Last Supper of our Lord at the Communion Table. We are to be not only the onlookers to that event in remembrance but become its participants, even as the presiding priest proceeds to obtain for us God's special gift, His most precious body and blood In this way, we exhibit our Godlike being as we communicate with our inner nature of God in us.
We are welcomed at the altar to receive the symbols of God's power severally dispensed to us by the priestly representatives of God. We become recipients of the gifts of God in our hands. He has extended to us the elements of His most Holy Spirit to be retained in our being for a time to come. We feed on these elements in our hearts.
6. We who have received God's gifts express our gratitude. We sing a hymn, the liturgical procession exits; we are left alone in our pew, refreshed and exhilarated. We, the remaining congregation declare in heartfelt gratitude, "Thanks be to God!" 'You've done it again for
each of us!'
Now we know the Trinity through our religious experience: God the Father, creates us according to His design, God the Son establishes for us a way to gain knowledge of His design for us; and God the Holy Spirit enables us to carry out God's plan for our lives through the continuing inflow of God's power and might into our being through partaking in the religious experience.
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