I have always been an avid supporter of parental rights. Yet, I have also worked and been involved in various settings that have tried my beliefs. We all want to believe parents have their children’s best interest in mind, but this is not always the case. I have been involved with many cases of horrific child abuse. I’ve know and even testified against a parent who killed their own child. I know of parents who have burned their children, kicked them across the room, molested them sexually or even sold them for drugs. There is no question that some parents should not have the right to raise children. However, what about the parents who are well meaning but their belief systems are unconventional, fundamentally religious or even cultic in nature? Should parents have the right to keep their children sequestered from the world, traditional education, traditional medicine or other established benefits of society? These questions are not easily answered. I just reviewed a court decision where a judge is forcing a divorcing couple to place their children in public school. See http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509687,00.html. Many groups consider this an attack against homeschooling parents, but this decision was primarily to allow both parents to be equally influential to their children in a joint custody resolution. Others feel this was a just decision and limits the influence of a potentially mentally ill mother who has been brainwashed by a cult.
Parents should have the right to point their children in the direction they feel is best for them. However, I do not believe that parents should ignore other routes youth can travel as well. Teaching our children to think is paramount. Rather than simply teaching them what is holy and evil, teach them to be discerning, logical and use reason to identify solutions for themselves. Parents may have the right to teach or program creationism, intelligent design or religious faith to our children, but it is much better to educate them to use cognitive tools to discover these mysteries for themselves. There is nothing wrong with giving our children direction and our opinion on specific issues, but it is important to point out our own bias and the reasons why we made the decisions we have. To give glib, simplistic answers that are intellectually bankrupt are hurtful to our children. We need to give them the “Why” with the “What”. If we tell our children, that being a Baptist is important; we need to explain why. If our answers are simplistic and full of logical fallacies, we do a disservice to them. This form of training is not much different than the reports we hear of the indoctrination of hate from Islamic schools of Hamas or Hezbollah. Public schools are far from perfect, but they do expose us to others; people of different beliefs and different cultures. They allow us to give our children a different frame of reference than ourselves and help them discover answers for themselves rather than relying on parents or other authoritarian figures. When I try to find the truth, I don’t exclusively listen to people with whom I agree; instead I intentionally seek out those who make me think and challenge me. I still may come full circle, such as those beliefs handed down by my parents, but they are now my own. I think one of the saddest things in this world, is when people hold beliefs that are not their own. They have not been taught to listen, learn, and think and to take ownership and responsibility for their own views and destiny. While blindly believing and obeying in authority figures is easier, I believe many suffer or will suffer for their ignorance and laziness.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Public Prayer
Why do people pray aloud? Are they really praying to God or simply choosing words for “people” to hear. I know when I was asked to pray aloud, I prayed for human ears. I could not help but think about what others were thinking about me and my holiness. As much as I wanted to, I could never drown out those thoughts. I felt like a hypocrite every time I was asked to pray. Whenever someone asked me to pray, they were forcing me to be a charlatan. Sunday rituals were also to blame for forcing hypocrisy. Now, I know that I am very introspective and have a tendency to think these issues out a little too far, but I can’t help but believe that others may feel the same way. It was not that I was embarrassed to pray it was that I have always preferred to talk to God in a personal way and not formalized. I once was asked why I address my prayers to Jesus and not to God the father. I was rebuked for this once by my own father. Yet, I prefer to talk to God as someone who is real and understands me. It is sometimes difficult to talk to God, THE FATHER, in this manner. I have also never understood praying to the Spirit…. without a name, and only a title, it makes communication even more difficult.
I believe that even saying grace at a meal has become ritualized and void of meaning for most people. Are they truly thankful when they pray, thanking God for their food? I can still remember my grandfather’s prayers over the family meal. He had a long version and a short version of the same prayer. The short version went like this… “Lord, we thank thee for this food. Make it useful and nourishing to our bodies. We ask for Christ’s Sake… [He would click his tongue here] Amen”. Now, I might have forgotten a line or two but it was practically the same at every meal. I loved my grandfather but I just can’t believe that he was praying to God but was praying for those present at the table. I believe he prayed (and many pray) before a meal as a ritual of thankfulness but not to truly talk to God. I also believe he memorized and ritualized his prayers not for God but because he was a quiet, almost shy man and didn’t want to mess up on a spontaneous public prayer. To screw up a public prayer before God is unthinkable. But… Why? When I pray, God understands and doesn’t condemn me. And that is the point. If we are truly afraid of making a mistake in our public prayer, this is a sign we are not praying to God but to people.
I believe another sign of fake prayers are when we change our English to the Victorian Times. We put in the thees and thous because we want to impress people, not God. If God can hear our thoughts, why would we revert to an unused language? I just don’t understand this. I believe that if we should pray, we should do it alone and not in public. I have no desire to impress people with my eloquent prayers and turning into a hypocrite which I loathe in myself. There is nothing more I hate about myself than when I am not genuine, a hypocrite or a fraud. I want to be myself… the good, the bad and the ugly. If God, and others, cannot accept me for who I am (faults and all), then they do not really love me.
And one last thought… If we pray to impress others and are not talking to God… are we not speaking God’s name in vain?
I believe that even saying grace at a meal has become ritualized and void of meaning for most people. Are they truly thankful when they pray, thanking God for their food? I can still remember my grandfather’s prayers over the family meal. He had a long version and a short version of the same prayer. The short version went like this… “Lord, we thank thee for this food. Make it useful and nourishing to our bodies. We ask for Christ’s Sake… [He would click his tongue here] Amen”. Now, I might have forgotten a line or two but it was practically the same at every meal. I loved my grandfather but I just can’t believe that he was praying to God but was praying for those present at the table. I believe he prayed (and many pray) before a meal as a ritual of thankfulness but not to truly talk to God. I also believe he memorized and ritualized his prayers not for God but because he was a quiet, almost shy man and didn’t want to mess up on a spontaneous public prayer. To screw up a public prayer before God is unthinkable. But… Why? When I pray, God understands and doesn’t condemn me. And that is the point. If we are truly afraid of making a mistake in our public prayer, this is a sign we are not praying to God but to people.
I believe another sign of fake prayers are when we change our English to the Victorian Times. We put in the thees and thous because we want to impress people, not God. If God can hear our thoughts, why would we revert to an unused language? I just don’t understand this. I believe that if we should pray, we should do it alone and not in public. I have no desire to impress people with my eloquent prayers and turning into a hypocrite which I loathe in myself. There is nothing more I hate about myself than when I am not genuine, a hypocrite or a fraud. I want to be myself… the good, the bad and the ugly. If God, and others, cannot accept me for who I am (faults and all), then they do not really love me.
And one last thought… If we pray to impress others and are not talking to God… are we not speaking God’s name in vain?
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The Bible and Bullets
When I heard the story about the pastor that was shot and killed this week, I was moved to tears. Senseless killing of innocent victims is always difficult to me for several reasons. They are as follows:
1. The sovereignty of God
2. The belief that there is a reason for everything
3. The need for people to confirm their own belief system and look for miracles
The Rev. Fred Winters was killed by a mentally ill gunman who opened fire at the First Baptist Church outside St Louis Mo. Rev. Winters was later pronounced dead at a hospital. He was a married father of two children and appeared to be a very good man who loved people and dedicated his life to God and his work. There was also another incident this week where a man went on a shooting spree in the south and randomly shot and killed several innocent people. He was determined to kill some individuals but his bullets were also going at random, once killing a mother, her 18mo. Child and wounded another child who was a young baby. The father, who was a police officer, was devastated that his family was almost wiped-out through this random act of violence. And then there were the other killings in Germany.
Were these acts, random? Did God guide the bullets? Or did God have nothing to do with the guidance of the bullets? I cannot believe that God had anything to do with these individuals being killed. I do not accept that God wanted these people killed in such a violent way. I also cannot accept that he would do this with purpose. If God had a purpose, then God would be no better than other monsters in our history who willingly sacrificed others to fulfill an alleged greater purpose. I do not believe that when People say that God has a purpose behind this form of hate and terror, they make God no better than Hitler. Under man’s own law (and I would believe that God’s morals and ethics would be higher than our minimum standards), God would be guilty of crimes against humanity.
I have heard about every argument from others to justify this dilemma (which, in reality, is the old problem of evil) but I have really never heard a logical argument that is truly compelling. The “God’s permissive will and perfect will argument doesn’t hold water. When I talked about this to someone close to me, His argument is that death isn’t that big of a deal. That the death of this pastor, the mother and the child and others only gives them a gold ticket to heaven. Of course, he would also believe that only a few are going to heaven, so most would be drawing the short straw to Hell instead of getting the gold ticket to heaven. And what of those who do not die, but are raped, tortured, and left with physical and emotional scars that will never heal? Not everyone who suffers dies. Did God plan and carry out his will in these cases? I can easily understand when someone dies or is maimed due to their own stupidity. Examples are those who receive the Darwin awards… just Google this if you want to know more. However, I cannot believe that a child deserves to be raped or raviged by a painful cancer.
So is there a purpose behind everything that happens? Absolutely Not! Those who believe this must hide their head in the sand because some incidents like those mentioned above just do not have a purpose. What about other natural disasters? It is hard to justify that God wanted some people dead and some to miss that fate. Now, this does not mean that people cannot find purpose, but if God was to kill children to carry out his purpose, then God is cruel and is not worthy of worship. I was once told that it was God’s will that Adam Walsh was molested, killed and decapitated because he wanted his father to start the TV program, America’s Most Wanted which has done great things. Here is an example where a man found purpose in a tragedy but if he would have done that to his own child to do something noble, we would think he would be a ghastly monster of a man, worthy of prison, punishment, death and eternal hellfire. Yet, we think God would do this and that he should be worshiped for such behavior because his ways are so above us and we cannot simply understand the full purposes of God. Nonsense! If God cannot stand under his own biblical principles, the universal understanding of right and wrong, the morality and ethics that are written on the conscience of us all, then why should we worship him? I believe in God but I have had to reevaluate the concept of God that others have given to me.
I wonder what would have happened if all of the bullets would have been deflected by the bible instead of one going directly into the heart of the pastor? I can tell you exactly what would have happened… every church in America would have their message for next Sunday. The sermon would be about being shielded by the word of God, how it protects, and preserves. People would have talked about it being a miracle about how God saved the pastor. A man firing at a pastor with a large bible in front of him is not a miracle but that is exactly what people would have called it. Yet, one bullet met its mark and the miracle claim was also killed.
I am so sick and tired of people claiming miracles, only to forget about the others who suffered. This belief is so egocentric and hurtful to others who wonders why they were not saved and why God chose them to suffer and why he spared others. Since, we look for meaning, many believe that God is punishing them or is against them, instead of one who loves them.
Some are reading this with all of the answers. I used to have all the answers. In my piety, I told many how I knew the answers and gave them the simple solutions that they just needed to believe, have faith or trust God. However, these issues cannot be rationalized. To make God the author of this type of evil ignores common sense, makes God break hi s own standards and paints for others an image of God that is revolting.
The first questions above are for logic and faith to figure out; the last question is for science. I do not believe there are magical powers in the printed bible. The Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters once took up the challenge of the urban legend about pocket bibles stopping bullets. Numerous stories claim that people have been saved by the miraculous power of a pocket bible stopping a speeding bullet. The story has been told to thousands, which has resulted in hundreds of souls being saved as well. The Mythbusters concluded from their experiment that anything larger than a 22cal bullet would easily go through a 400page pocket Bible (Quran or Tom Sawyer – it doesn’t matter) and potentially kill the individual.
People have a tendency to use only those stories that support their argument. People will hear about the 2007 story of private Schweigart’s and how a pocket bible may have stopped a bullet which entered from his side and went under his body armor. They will claim this to be a miracle but ignore this week’s case where the Bible didn’t shield all bullets and the pastor died from his wounds. If we are to test miracle claims we must look at statistics and probability, natural causes and empirical experimentation. For this reason, I cannot believe in miracles in today’s world. For me, a miracle is when something happens outside of natural law. This does not include something out of the ordinary that naturally occurs through chance. Raising a person, who has been dead for several days, is a miracle. A person, whose heart stopped and is revived within a few minutes, is not a miracle. Praying over a man who lost a limb, then watching a new limb grow were the old one was, is a miracle. A woman with chronic pain, no longer feeling pain, is not a miracle. To test whether there are true miracles in the world today, we must first define our terms and test our hypothesis.
1. The sovereignty of God
2. The belief that there is a reason for everything
3. The need for people to confirm their own belief system and look for miracles
The Rev. Fred Winters was killed by a mentally ill gunman who opened fire at the First Baptist Church outside St Louis Mo. Rev. Winters was later pronounced dead at a hospital. He was a married father of two children and appeared to be a very good man who loved people and dedicated his life to God and his work. There was also another incident this week where a man went on a shooting spree in the south and randomly shot and killed several innocent people. He was determined to kill some individuals but his bullets were also going at random, once killing a mother, her 18mo. Child and wounded another child who was a young baby. The father, who was a police officer, was devastated that his family was almost wiped-out through this random act of violence. And then there were the other killings in Germany.
Were these acts, random? Did God guide the bullets? Or did God have nothing to do with the guidance of the bullets? I cannot believe that God had anything to do with these individuals being killed. I do not accept that God wanted these people killed in such a violent way. I also cannot accept that he would do this with purpose. If God had a purpose, then God would be no better than other monsters in our history who willingly sacrificed others to fulfill an alleged greater purpose. I do not believe that when People say that God has a purpose behind this form of hate and terror, they make God no better than Hitler. Under man’s own law (and I would believe that God’s morals and ethics would be higher than our minimum standards), God would be guilty of crimes against humanity.
I have heard about every argument from others to justify this dilemma (which, in reality, is the old problem of evil) but I have really never heard a logical argument that is truly compelling. The “God’s permissive will and perfect will argument doesn’t hold water. When I talked about this to someone close to me, His argument is that death isn’t that big of a deal. That the death of this pastor, the mother and the child and others only gives them a gold ticket to heaven. Of course, he would also believe that only a few are going to heaven, so most would be drawing the short straw to Hell instead of getting the gold ticket to heaven. And what of those who do not die, but are raped, tortured, and left with physical and emotional scars that will never heal? Not everyone who suffers dies. Did God plan and carry out his will in these cases? I can easily understand when someone dies or is maimed due to their own stupidity. Examples are those who receive the Darwin awards… just Google this if you want to know more. However, I cannot believe that a child deserves to be raped or raviged by a painful cancer.
So is there a purpose behind everything that happens? Absolutely Not! Those who believe this must hide their head in the sand because some incidents like those mentioned above just do not have a purpose. What about other natural disasters? It is hard to justify that God wanted some people dead and some to miss that fate. Now, this does not mean that people cannot find purpose, but if God was to kill children to carry out his purpose, then God is cruel and is not worthy of worship. I was once told that it was God’s will that Adam Walsh was molested, killed and decapitated because he wanted his father to start the TV program, America’s Most Wanted which has done great things. Here is an example where a man found purpose in a tragedy but if he would have done that to his own child to do something noble, we would think he would be a ghastly monster of a man, worthy of prison, punishment, death and eternal hellfire. Yet, we think God would do this and that he should be worshiped for such behavior because his ways are so above us and we cannot simply understand the full purposes of God. Nonsense! If God cannot stand under his own biblical principles, the universal understanding of right and wrong, the morality and ethics that are written on the conscience of us all, then why should we worship him? I believe in God but I have had to reevaluate the concept of God that others have given to me.
I wonder what would have happened if all of the bullets would have been deflected by the bible instead of one going directly into the heart of the pastor? I can tell you exactly what would have happened… every church in America would have their message for next Sunday. The sermon would be about being shielded by the word of God, how it protects, and preserves. People would have talked about it being a miracle about how God saved the pastor. A man firing at a pastor with a large bible in front of him is not a miracle but that is exactly what people would have called it. Yet, one bullet met its mark and the miracle claim was also killed.
I am so sick and tired of people claiming miracles, only to forget about the others who suffered. This belief is so egocentric and hurtful to others who wonders why they were not saved and why God chose them to suffer and why he spared others. Since, we look for meaning, many believe that God is punishing them or is against them, instead of one who loves them.
Some are reading this with all of the answers. I used to have all the answers. In my piety, I told many how I knew the answers and gave them the simple solutions that they just needed to believe, have faith or trust God. However, these issues cannot be rationalized. To make God the author of this type of evil ignores common sense, makes God break hi s own standards and paints for others an image of God that is revolting.
The first questions above are for logic and faith to figure out; the last question is for science. I do not believe there are magical powers in the printed bible. The Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters once took up the challenge of the urban legend about pocket bibles stopping bullets. Numerous stories claim that people have been saved by the miraculous power of a pocket bible stopping a speeding bullet. The story has been told to thousands, which has resulted in hundreds of souls being saved as well. The Mythbusters concluded from their experiment that anything larger than a 22cal bullet would easily go through a 400page pocket Bible (Quran or Tom Sawyer – it doesn’t matter) and potentially kill the individual.
People have a tendency to use only those stories that support their argument. People will hear about the 2007 story of private Schweigart’s and how a pocket bible may have stopped a bullet which entered from his side and went under his body armor. They will claim this to be a miracle but ignore this week’s case where the Bible didn’t shield all bullets and the pastor died from his wounds. If we are to test miracle claims we must look at statistics and probability, natural causes and empirical experimentation. For this reason, I cannot believe in miracles in today’s world. For me, a miracle is when something happens outside of natural law. This does not include something out of the ordinary that naturally occurs through chance. Raising a person, who has been dead for several days, is a miracle. A person, whose heart stopped and is revived within a few minutes, is not a miracle. Praying over a man who lost a limb, then watching a new limb grow were the old one was, is a miracle. A woman with chronic pain, no longer feeling pain, is not a miracle. To test whether there are true miracles in the world today, we must first define our terms and test our hypothesis.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Metaphor gone awry
Dawn discussed with me an issue regarding a birthday present for Danae. Danae wants a costume for her birthday and I believe it is a complete waste of money. Dawn wants to give Danae what she wants. So we disagreed. Well, Danae texted Dawn on her phone about the costume while Danae was surrounded by her friends. Dawn responded to Danae that she had gotten Dawn in hot water with her dad (me). Danae had not heard that metaphor before and assumed that she had literally texted Dawn when we were both having and good hot bath together. This went over well with her friends.
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