water.

I was watering the plants in the backyard, to be perfectly honest, I was not too happy about it...I had much better things to do.  I was dealing with these plants that persisted to die even with my constant devotion and care. I was wasnt paying much attention to the water streaming over the edge and onto my foot, pants, and the ground. I just wanted to be done. 


It took me a couple more minutes for this scene to really hit me. Here were these plants that were just flowers, there was not immediate need for them. I scaned the backyard, a nice big pool, deep green grass, and plethora of plants and bushes. Dont get me wrong, I love gardens, I think they are beautiful and a celebration of some of the most beautiful things on this earth. 


It just got me thinking about the water I was using and how many people in the world die from lack of clean water. While I could have picked up that hose and drank right from it. Water I was using to feed my unnecessary plants people were literally dying for due to its absence. 


I thought about the rest of my day. 


I washed my car, did laundry, swam, and watched TV. So many things that I take for granted, so many lives, so many children. Goodness, it really hit me. 


But then I asked myself, how can I constantly live my life thinking about the people who are suffering...my actions are not directly causing their suffering. Are they? or maybe it is my inaction that is causing their suffering. hmmm....

Allah, Yahweh, and God were sitting in a bar...

In my ample time to think about life, at times externally...much to the chagrin of those around me,  I have unabashedly declared that I do not like religion. I think it is awful and has done horrible things to this world and those who are ensnared in it. To those who may be praying for "my salvation" at this minute let me clarify, I do not like organized religion. I do not like the hierarchical, power chasing, dehumanizing, controlling role which church has created for itself in this world.

The church has the power to do good. But for some unknown reason, ahem...power and politics, the MAJORITY of the church does not seem to be living or acting in a life that well one might expect. This is not every church, I have ran across some churches and communities who really do seem to care about those who are in need.

I do not like organized religion because it places emphasis on doctrine, purity, and the theological correctness of minute details which I hope, honestly, that God does not care about. REALLY, do you actually think that God cares about whether you dunk or sprinkle your child during baptism. Maybe, just maybe, God is, I hope, trying to put this broken world back together again. This leads me to my original point....thank you tangential mind and subversive fingers.

Anyways, I believe that there is ONE God, that there are different ways to get to God, and those might be set along the different cultural, language, and societal norms which already divide society. If I may use the rhetoric of the evangelical church, God knows all things, She is in control, He is powerful, omniscient....etc. Well, if God is all of these things then why would it be impossible for there to be more than one path to God. If Christ died for us all, why does that suddenly not include half of the world? Additionally, there are so many truths within other religions that we fail to see just because they are Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, or even Atheist.

Islamic theological tradition teaches that the Jews and Christians are people of the book, Christianity is predicated upon Judaism and still relies heavily on its values. However, taking each religion in its historical, cultural understanding....how different are they really? and why does it matter? Why can we live and let live, love and let love. Does the person next to you, or the person across the world, do their beliefs really affect you?

Now, I am not talking about the insanity of terrorism or Islamic extremism, or the KKK, or the growing idiocy of the Christian right (because these things can have a direct and incredibly painful effect on our lives) I am referring in a macrocosmic perspective....

Would it be crazy for me to suggest that there is one substance in a bar, and it represents Allah, Yahweh, and God. I dont think so... for the cry for peace that I am earnestly seeking, it is a beautiful picture.

Good or Evil?

It seems to me that there are two ways one can view the world...and, in my humble opinion, it all stems from, or is heavily influenced by, the concept of human nature. Are we in fact good by nature or are we evil?

I sat in my Theology and the Christian Life class earlier this year and listened to my professor roll off multiple views of human nature within Christian doctrine. It got me thinking about our nature, our ability to change, and why it is so important to have an opinion on the matter.

This question has enormous repercussions on religion, politics, and society in general. If you take the majority of the philosophers which emerged from the Enlightenment, except Rousseau, their concept of human nature was negative; in the words of Hobbes, life was expected to be "nasty, brutish, and short" if we are left to our own devices. In fact, the entire American political system is based on the concept of human greed and our own selfish nature that is constantly striving for self-preservation above all else. If you are unsure about what I am referring to it is the Montesquieuian concept of checks and balances; a concept that is deeply rooted in Western political theory and has become language by which international relations exists. Essentially, we are not looking out for each other, we are only attempting to ensure that our interests are being fulfilled.

So it seems that in Western society the majority of our social institutions, laws, and political system are predicated on the idea that we are by nature evil. But this, this really bugged me. It did not leave much hope for this world. Although, it did seem to explain the misery of this world which one does not have to look hard for.

Well what then is the argument for humanity being by nature good. It can be found in Christian doctrine, which argues that God created us good but we were corrupted in some way from Adam or something called inherited sin. The most hopeful viewpoint in humanity comes from Buddhism...it truly believes that we are by nature good, that we can improve ourselves, that it is mainly a product of our mind which creates the obstacles that we face. The weight that social construction plays is much heavier and the GUILT is not placed upon us as it is in Western tradition (mainly due to Christianity). But have we not proven time and again that we can be horrendous, awful, heartbreaking. Just look at some of the stuff we  have done...genocide, mass murder, horrible world wars. On the other hand, how is there any hope in the world if we are not good. Maybe we would have less depression in this world if we were less compelled to think so negatively about ourselves.

But beyond attempting to create a hopeful and idealistic view of the world, what are we!? does it matter? I think it does....

1+1=1

It may seem like a stupid statement, one that defies the past centuries of mathematical and scientific development. However, it is one that has become the focal point of my life...the only thing which I can know without a shadow of a doubt.

1+1=1 is a zen concept that can also be equated to the Christian doctrine of imago dei. Both of these points, from separate points on the globe and different religions, provide the foundation for the interconnected nature of humanity. The zen concept is rather self explanatory: we are all equal to each other, we are made of the same, we are the same. Imago Dei means that we are all created in the image of God, thus suggesting there is an undeniable connection between all of humanity beyond any humanistic deconstruction or identification.

It is a compelling testament to our responsibility to one another. It suggests that we have an enormous responsibility toward one another, a responsibility that cannot simply be shrugged off. Over the last century different identities have developed, mainly due to the rise in nationalism, solidifying identities around the globe that have both unified and alienated people from each other. While this is an extensive question with many complex tangents, the point I am attempting to make is there is a concept that transcends our national, political, religious, and cultural boundaries; a concept that has the potential to overcome many of the violent struggles facing our world.

Is it ignorant to hope for a world where there is some concept which can unite people? If we were all to be more considerate of people that are not our neighbor, or even a fellow American...but someone who we did not know, have never seen, but was inherently connected to them due to their simple humanity....would we pay more attention to our actions, our wars, the way we vote, how we spend our money?

It is easy to buy a cheap shirt at wal-mart, or a pair of running shoes...we do not have to think about the child who made it, the grandmother who may have spent 12hours a day stitching your "must have fashion"? It is easy to dehumanize and choose not to think about it. But what if we thought about it, we thought about the humanity inherent within us all...would that change your mind?

Alright, well think about it...

Hello World.

Well, to be frank, it would be pretentious of me to think that anyone would care to read my musings...yet, I persist. For anyone who takes the time to read this I welcome comments and hope that I challenged you rather than just waste your time.

I recently graduated with a degree in all things pointless: history, political science, and philosophy. It was quite the combination, history taught me about the fallibility of well everything, political science revealed the vain quest to put faith in people and institutions, and philosophy taught me to question everything and hold to my morals. My main problem that I emerged from this unsure of morals, religion, the basis of law, and the purpose of life.

So what does one do? The pressure is on...life is coming full force and I have no idea how to face it. Head on? Ninja style? Curled up in the fetal position?

For the time being I am taking a step back, sort of forced due to unemployment, and try to reassemble the past four years, a Cartesian quest if you will, to find the peace in my soul, my passion for this world, and the source of hope which drives it all.