AllTheseThings

Fear and Love: Politics and Religion

It's one week before a big election, so the time is right for politicians to morph into theologians.  Senate candidate Harold Ford, Jr., of Tennessee, did just that this weekend.  His noteworthy remark on the difference between Republicans and Democrats:  "Republicans fear the Lord. Democrats fear and love the Lord."  Just as with an athlete praying in the end zone, I have no idea if Ford really believes what he said.  But it is an interesting political tactic.

The general perception is that Democrat elites have unsuccessfully tried to remove religion from their party--and the country--for years.  Remember the booing of the Boy Scouts at the DNC 2000 convention and the partnership with the ACLU and others?  The average Democrat voter is not with them on this purge.  Electorally, it hasn't seemed to work either.  The reality is that most voting Americans believe in God and know His existence matters to our nation.  I'm not sure there is a national consensus on how much God should be in our national customs, events, and thinking on policy, but there is a general attitude that completely shunning Him from the public square would be foolish.

Hence the new campaign strategy used--cleverly I might add--by Ford.  "Both parties believe, Democrats believe the right way."  Democrats might counter that Republicans have been using religion in politics for years.  I'd agree, but my point here is that Ford's remarks are a shift in political strategy, showing a new and open tolerance for faith.  That is, openly embracing religion in the heat of a campaign, while simultaneously indicating all members of the other party don't have "true religion."  As a campaign tactic, I think it's intriguing.

As to the effect on religion and policy in America, I'm not sold.  One of the great debates of our times is over religion in the public square.  I am not one that believes if all the laws are just right, or "Godly," our nation will be fine.  I believe any party claiming--explicitly or implicitly--its members would pass laws God would approve of is off-the-chart arrogant, and theologically ignorant.  I think the ultimate battle is in the hearts and souls of all people--not just Americans either--and that government has only a limited role in enhancing our happiness.  That role is protecting us and keeping us free to interact, discuss, trade, and live.  Nevertheless, there is a profound difference between those that seek to extricate God from all public thought and those that realize our nation was founded under a system that only works when considering "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" and that people are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights."

As such, if a party that does not truly see a role for God in the public, policy, or political spheres, begins claiming a God-centered world-view, it muddies the debate.  I think a clear debate is worth having, and would prefer that the terms of the debate remain unchanged.  If Democrats like Ford, however, are now realizing that that position is an electoral loser for them, then it makes political sense to refine--change--their position.  I certainly understand that politically, and hope that it is genuine from a religious standpoint.  If it is, and people like Ford claim leading roles in the Democratic party in years to come, the national policy debate will be radically different in a decade.  If it is not genuine, and this is an election-year ploy, then the voters will ultimately sniff it out, and the debate will rage on.  My guess, even if Ford really believes what he said, his party's leadership is not ready to go down that road yet.

In the course of human events,

Thomas More

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Crossless

I'm gonna be 40 - soon.  And in all honesty I can look back on my life and say, "so far, not bad."  And by that I mean, I've done some good stuff, I've helped some people, I've been a good friend, husband and father.  Really, I'm not asking for anything else.

Reflecting on life as one does when a big birthday rolls around the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane has come to mind.  It is striking to me that up to that point Jesus could say about his life what I say about mine, "so far, pretty, pretty, pretty good."   Jesus could have done, and in fact did do, a lot of great things - without a cross.  His life would have been a wonderful testimony to the power of goodness - even without His cross.  Really, he wasn't asking for anything else.  But God had something else in mind for Jesus...

...as I suspect he does for me.  The question I've been asking myself is - where is my cross?  What am I doing that I would rather not do?  What I am doing only out of obedience and for the joy set before me? 

Being the man Jesus is inviting me to be requires cross carrying.  Living a life beyond being nice and good, actually living the life I was born to live requires many, "not my will but thine" decisions and moments and commitments.

Is nice and good, good enough?   For me the answer is no longer, "yes."  I don't want look back at my life and say, "pretty good."  I want to be able to say, while broken, blessed, given and spent, "it is finished."  And I'm beginning to think my final phrase will be determined by what I decide to do about this one thing...avoiding or taking up my cross.

Didymus

A listening ear

The wonderful post from Vincent of Saragosa reminded me of a seminar I attended recently, on HIV/AIDS. The speaker was studying AIDS awareness among young men, which involved getting groups of (mainly) adolescents together and asking them questions about their sexual interactions and how they perceived their risk of becoming infected with HIV. At the end of the talk the audience were invited to ask questions and someone raised his hand and asked the question probably on all of our minds: "How do you get these young guys to take part in the studies and open up about such personal issues?"  We were assuming some extreme form of bribary must be involved-free food or cold hard cash. The answer was very surprising. The speaker told us that guys were eager to talk in these sessions. Why? They had found someone willing to sit down, ask them to talk about their life and actually listen to the answers without condemnation. For many of the young men, this was the first time in their life this had happened. As a result, not only did they want to take part in the study, but they had to be chased out of the door when the time was up!

Now, this is a situation where information was being collected for a specific purpose so the people listening had a vested interest. But, its also a sad reminder that education can miss the point, focusing only on jamming enough information into childrens heads for them to regurgitate at the appropriate exam time. The result is that many kids come through the system feeling worthless and useless, that what they do with their lives doesn't matter. Who cares anyway? By contrast, what the student at PCH seemed to be communicating was that they felt not just informed but cared for. Caring and nurturing kids through their schooling should be part of "education" And by "nurturing" I don't mean telling them that everything is acceptable (which gives them the same message as ignoring them i.e. what does it matter??), but by providing clear boundaries and guidelines and tools for dealing with life, as Vincent of Saragosa said, by demonstrating "grace and truth". Congratulations PCH, and lets hope that many more kids can be educated this way.

Philomena

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Not That Bad After All--A School's Success Story

I serve on the Board of Trustees for Pacifica Christian High School - a new high school in Santa Monica CA, two years old with a current enrollment of 87 students. PCH is a long-standing dream for many of us who serve on its board, as staff, and as teachers. Our longing and our mission is:

1.  To teach students to know, understand, and think critically about the world around them;

2.  To express their thinking effectively through the written and spoken word;

3.  To stimulate real joy and interest in learning;

4.  To encourage students to live lives of faith and service to the glory of God; and

5.  To create a school culture that fosters friendship and unity.

The payoff for the many years of hard work and planning to establish this dream are the stories of individual students experiencing in their own way our mission. Here is just one of those stories that fills me with satisfaction and joy for what God is doing through the commitment and dedication of all those involved.

I have to admit, I never wanted to come to Pacifica. In fact, it was just the opposite – I did not want to come to Pacifica. I didn't want to come anywhere. You see, I had been at my old school, First Lutheran, Venice, for 9 years and was very attached there. There were 13 8th graders in my graduation class, and we were like siblings. I had grown up at First Lutheran (it’s my church too). I was the student representative for 2 years, I loved the staff and all the students there – it was my second home.

I can remember the day I made the decision to come to Pacifica. I was sitting at our kitchen table going over this list I had made of pros and cons at PCH and one other school I’d applied to. I counted and re-counted the list, and racked my brain for anything I could add. The pros of PCH far outweighed the cons (I think there was 1 con), and my decision was pretty obvious. But the moment I told my mom "I guess I’ll go to PCH," my stomach started hurting so bad I thought I was going to throw up, and my head started spinning. We had a confirmation dinner that night, and I recall shaking through the whole thing; I could barely talk to anyone. I’m not sure quite what it was – maybe the depression of deciding to leave my "home"; maybe the insecurity of a new place with new people – but every time someone mentioned high school, I would clam up. "It’ll be the best thing that happens to you!" people would say. "Oh, I loved high school!" That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I didn’t want to like high school. I was so afraid I would forget my friends and the life I had at First Lutheran that I dreaded high school. But it came anyway.

And I did love it. The first few days were filled with so much adventure, from trying to open my locker (unsuccessfully), to unexpectedly changing my schedule on the first day. There were all these new faces to get to know, these new textbooks to annotate, these new hallways and stairwells to figure out. Everything was so new and fresh, and every day brought something totally different. But I did still miss my old friends. And it wasn’t all fun and games…

About the middle of the second week I had a meltdown. I remember lying on the floor in our living room with my mom hovering above. "I just want my life back!" I said. Waking up at 6:15 every day had made me weary. And I wasn’t used to learning so much in one day. When I was leaving my old school, I wanted so badly not to like high school. But in the second week, I knew that wasn’t the answer. And I knew I couldn’t go through the next four years hating it. It was up to me to let high school be a good experience.

So first I started branching out a little. It wasn’t too hard, as the people at Pacifica are unconditionally kind, and the support of the teachers is unbelievable. Gradually, I made new friends – ones I think I’ll hang on to for years to come. I can’t believe how much I’ve grown in the past month. I’m so happy now… I just can’t stop smiling. It used to be the most I would say about my day was "it was good," but now I can’t wait to tell my parents everything that happened. (I know, it scares me sometimes.)

It’s really hard to admit this, but something powerful happened on the retreat we took this year. I had had an awesome day filled with Pacifica Olympics, playing Frisbee with my new friends, diving head-first through a slip-and-slide made of food, and even catching a frog. After dinner and an awesome talk from our guest speaker, we sat around in the cabins in groups of about a dozen and talked about the retreat, about God, and about PCH. One of our teachers was our group leader. After some incredibly wise words from Asiah and Chelsea, one of the girls patted my teacher on the knee, and we all realized she was crying. "I’m sorry, I just love you guys so much." She said. Then we all got choked up. One of the other girls in the cabin started crying and telling us a story about her life and how Pacifica had impacted it. Now, mind you, I’m not a person who cries often, at all. Even through all of my 9 years at First Lutheran, I don’t think anyone there has seen me cry. (Except maybe falling off the monkey bars in kindergarten or something but, you know…) I never really let myself. Even at our graduation ceremony, I couldn’t cry. But as I sat there, protected in the shade of the bottom bunk, with a dozen other girls around me, as we said the closing prayer, I cried. (Not a lot – just like, a tear.) I cried because I was so happy. I cried because I love PCH and the people there so much.

I feel funny saying this, but I really do love school. Last year I woke up at 7:15, and had to push myself out of bed, get dressed practically unconsciously, and I my brain was dead the whole way to school. This year I wake up an hour earlier, but I bounce out of bed, I get dressed really fast, and I’m so hyper on the way to school. I can’t wait to get there. (Freaky, isn’t it?) And when I get there it’s a blast. Before this year, I could think of maybe one or two dozen times in my entire life when I’ve laughed so hard I’ve cried. You know – when something’s so funny you think you’re going to explode laughing and you can’t say a word ‘cause you’re laughing too hard and it doesn’t even matter that your face is contorted because it’s so funny. But at PCH, I laugh that hard nearly every day. And I learn so much too. In the beginning it was overwhelming, and I thought my brain was going to overload from all the information. But the teachers are so thorough and passionate about teaching, and they explain everything in the most fun and interesting ways. I can name practically everything I’ve learned in every class so far (which is pretty crazy), and I’ll probably remember it all too. (At least until finals, I hope.)

So it’s not that bad after all. (And I do still see my friends from First Lutheran.) I’ve come a long way from the girl who would run the other way at the words high school. I’ve been so blessed to go to school at Pacifica, and to get to know all the students and teachers here. And I know God has a plan for me not only here but for the whole rest of my life.

Grace and Truth,

Vincent of Saragosa

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Talk, About A 12-Step Program

As St. Beth previously wrote, James Stenson's Successful Fathers is a must read.  You can get it by clicking on the link on the lower right.  Fathers, to-be fathers, or people interested in the concept of fathering, ought to pick this little book--66 small pages--up and read it.  It will be the best $2.99 you've spent in a long time.

Towards the end, Stenson--who has observed good and bad parenting in his 20 years teaching and administrating schools--lists 12 characteristics of successful fathers:

1. Successful fathers have a sense of supportive partnership with their wives;
2. Successful fathers think long-term about their children's future character as grown-up men and women;
3. As a consequence of this vision, they frequently talk with their wives about the children's character strengths and weaknesses;
4. These fathers frequently discuss things with their children;
5. And, of course, such fathers listen to their children as well;
6. Successful fathers keep television-watching to a minimum;
7. Successful fathers see discipline, not as punishment or mere behavior-control, but rather as a means of building the children's self-control;
8. Related to this, successful fathers are confident of their authority;
9. Successful fathers seem to have a number of close friends;
10. Successful fathers frequently have a deep and active religious faith;
11. Successful fathers teach their children to be "poor in spirit"; and
12. Finally, the most successful fathers always put their family's welfare ahead of their jobs.

I've just quoted the introduction lines for each paragraph on these 12 topics.  Each is loaded and well worth reading.  I particularly noticed the description under number 4.  It begins:  "Conversation is the most common leisure activity at home."  That's a wonderful notion, conversation as leisure activity.  Not telling kids what to do, not listening to squabbling, not staring at the T.V.  Just sitting there chatting with your little ones.  Mine are all pretty small, so it's hard to go on too long.  But when we do get those fun times of pure conversation, it really is sublime.

Of course, numbers 12 (work) and 6 (T.V.) sure play heavily on our ability to talk.  It is impossible to have leisure conversation if you always work until after the children's dinner and bed time.  It is also impossible to talk meaningfully if you are home during the waking hours, but watching T.V.  I'm trying to limit both--but it sure can be hard.  I also think number 9 merits a comment, but I will hold that for another day.

In the meantime, has your family had success in promoting conversation?  If so, give us some tips!

Thomas More

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Saving Kadyrov, And Me

Less than a week ago, on October 7, Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was gunned down in her apartment building.  Over the years she had gained a reputation for speaking boldly against Russian and Chechen government leaders.  She is the 42nd journalist killed in Russian since the USSR collapsed in 1991.

It's not clear who ordered Politkovskaya's killing, but many fingers are pointing to Chechen Prime Minister, Ramzan Kadyrov.  As I sat with my husband watching a CNN special on Kadyrov last night, I felt my skin begin to crawl.  We have lived overseas for 14 years, always in countries where the rich and powerful are free to live outside the law.  I encounter this reality multiple times each day as I drive the city streets and am forced to change lanes or yield my green light to the $80,000 speeding BMW heading my direction.  This particular aspect of the culture surrounding me is probably the most difficult one for me.

Ramzan Kadyrov has taken his privileged power to the ultimate by ordering the torture and murder of many who have opposed him.  When the CNN report finished, I turned to my husband, emotion welling up inside me and asked, "Why does God let a man like that live?"  My husband's gentle response was, "If not for the grace of God, we would be no different."  I cringed and said, "That's just a bigger leap than I can make."

This morning I was reading Ephesians and was bombarded with God's truth that had been echoed by my husband last night:

"You were dead in your trangressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.  Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.  BUT because of His great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved."

So I've spent the day today filled with wonder that God would have saved me, a dead object of His wrath who was truly no better or more deserving than the Ramzan Kadyrovs of this world.

By Grace,

Theresa Olive

An American Experiment

In the 1980s my father was a Big Brother to George, a junior high boy from China.  He did not do well in school, got along terribly with his mother and seemed only interested in football, not academics.  Years previously George’s parents had been purged during the Cultural Revolution as intellectuals and sent to the far western desert where there was so little food they almost starved to death.  Surviving, they emigrated illegally from China, but because it had cost so much to travel to Shanghai, only the mother, Bin, and one child were able to escape to America.  Once in the USA, Bin worked nights cleaning; in a few years she saved $30,000 to buy a house.  When there was a general amnesty for illegal immigrants from China, Bin was the first person in line.

I just heard from my father the following:

"I had dinner last night with George’s mom.  She is an accountant at the county civic center.  George is married with two children, working with computers, making $150,000.  Bin goes to see them almost every weekend.  The 5 year-old loves grandma, and she and George are getting along wonderfully.  Her other son came to the US in high school, is now married to a Vietnamese girl he met in ESL class.  They are both engineers also in Silicon Valley with a large home and lovely baby.  Bin is going to retire next year at 60, sell her house and move near the boys and grandchildren."

Yes, there are issues of immigration and materialism here, but there is also the will to live, to risk ones life for ones children that they may not only not go hungry but have plenty.

Yours sincerely,

Beth

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More on Thieves

"Those pears were truly pleasant to the sight, but it was not for them that my miserable soul lusted, for I had an abundance of better pears.  I stole those simply that I might steal, for, having stolen them, I threw them away.  My sole gratification in them was my own sin..." --St. Augustine, Confessions, Book 2, Chapter 6.

I will continue my theme of thieves here.  Within a week I have seen it in reading Mark 15, Confessions, and in life.  When the big trifecta hits--Bible study, reading, and personal experience--I figure it warrants a comment.

Last week, Mrs. More, many All These Things authors, and many more long-time friends gathered for a friend's wedding.  As part of the week's festivities, we all went snorkeling in a beautiful bay.  It was in a park that charged an entrance fee--you had to pay the man with the flaming sword to re-enter Eden, I guess.  In any event, the only people entering were tourists or park staff.  Everyone paid money to get in.  Like Augustine, everyone had pears.

As we wrapped up our dive, some of us stopped for a picture.  My friend was carrying his wallet in hand as his suit was wet.  To snap the picture, he set everything down on a nearby wall.  We were never more than 10 feet away.  Yet, in the time it took to snap the shot, the wallet was gone.

We spent the better part of an hour looking around, talking to the staff, and going to lost-and-found.  That hour had been devoted to a large group of us traveling up to see a waterfall and some famous beaches.  There's nothing to say in that moment, frustration and anger hit everyone, but most powerfully the one whose things were taken away.

In an instant, some stranger nearly ruined my friend's, his wife's, and others' day.  And for what?  A few more pears.  My friend had maybe $100 in the wallet.  I'm guessing most of the people in that park did not need his petty cash.  $100 to ruin someone's day, and it could've been worse.

We had to fly to get there, so my friend needed his i.d.--which, with his credit cards, was in the wallet.  He had to go to the police department, fill out forms, call all the credit companies, and begin to figure out how to board the plane a few days later.  All that instead of a waterfall with friends we only get to see every few years.  Even those who got to go on the drive were still thinking about the friend rather than fully enjoying the sights.  I'm sure we'd have all paid $100 to spend the time as we planned.  But that was not to be.  Someone stole for the sake of stealing.  Augustine did it, so maybe this guy will end up a theologian, or at least like our friend in Luke 23.

The episode got me thinking about just how easy it is to ruin another's day.  It takes a lot more effort to make things better.  It is easy to sin, yet gloriously hard to redeem robbers.  It's fitting then that sin entered by one man stealing fruit.  It's more fitting that another man made all right again by dying between thieves.

May your sole gratification be in Him,

Thomas More

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4,000 Hours To Go

Do you remember President Bush’s call upon all Americans to perform 4,000 hours of community service in his/her lifetime?  As mothers we are in a wonderful position to knock off those hours.

This note is an encouragement to mothers of children in school - or to all mothers who sense they may feel stifled or addled being at home with their young ones. Be not afraid.  We do not need to make money to be doing something worthwhile with our talents.  And our communities need our talents.  So many dynamic mothers are working - I know my top three picks in our community are a speech therapist, and two heads of preschools.  Because they are dynamic doers with young children I imagine they finish their house chores before most of us are awake. Then, help, who to organize, who to help?  Let me give them - and you - a few ideas.

Today a new mom who knows nobody in town and had a c-section and has been in hospital with few visitors got a visit from an at home extrovert mom.  The new mom is having trouble nursing the baby and has questions about sleep, nursing, etc.  So, she had an hour of chatting and felt better.  That is small and local. 

Volunteer once a week in your child’s classroom.  Organize a children’s choir and take them to retirement homes.  Tidy up the local playground.  Bake cookies and bring them to your neighbor.  Knock on everyone’s door up and down your block and introduce yourself.  (We got furniture and babysitters out of it!)  Meet the non-native English speaking mom in your child’s class and invite her for coffee (If it drives you crazy that people are not learning English, pitch in.)  If you are hyper-creative and organized, start a group of women doing any of the above - become the national headquarters.

Here is a good place to start in general. Have you heard of the corporal works of mercy?

   1. Feed the hungry
   2. Give drink to the thirsty
   3. Clothe the naked
   4. Shelter the homeless
   5. Visit the sick
   6. Visit those in prison (or in another rendering: To ransom the captive)
   7. Bury the dead

The spiritual works of mercy are:

    1. Admonish the sinner
    2. Instruct the ignorant
    3. Counsel the doubtful
    4. Comfort the sorrowful, afflicted
    5. Bear wrongs patiently
    6. Forgive offenses
    7. Pray for the living and the dead

These are part of the early traditions of the Church, taken from the Gospel of St. Matthew 25:34-40:

"Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me.'"

Our communities need mothers in homes keeping order and beauty alive.  And these same microcosms need us creatively engaging our culture, actively loving the elderly, the unborn, the immigrant, the prisoner and the on-the-outside-perfectly-coiffed-but-struggling-inside-middle-class-suburbanite.

“Ease, safety, rest, are good, not best”,

Beth

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Conversion

While recently reading Mark 15, I noticed something curious in verse 32.  Most are familiar with the passage in Luke 23:39-43, where one thief mocks Jesus, while the other seeks Him, and is promised Paradise that day.  But in Mark's account, those--not just one--crucified with Christ are mocking him:  "Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him."  Similarly, Matthew 27:44 has multiple robbers insulting Christ, mocking His ability to get down from the cross. 

Indeed, the traditional picture is of Christ and two thieves.  John 19:32 chronicles two men getting their legs broken.  I don't see any Gospel mentioning more than two other convicts.  That would be useful to explain the Luke difference, as many could mock, and one could convert.  But it seems the more likely reading is that there were only two, and Luke picked up on a change in one.  While there might be another explanation, I think this might be a case, like Saul, where an enemy of God converts upon experiencing or encountering Jesus.  Notably, this happens even while others around, having a similar encounter, do not convert.  The conversion story in Luke, together with Mark, is just what Paul wrote of in Romans 5:  "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."

"Through the death of His Son" seems to be exactly the way the thief was reconciled.  He had been, it seems, mocking Jesus as they both were dying.  Then, as the end got near, something in the very way Jesus died or the way the thief saw his own looming death, or both, changed him.  We often focus on the way Jesus lived, maybe there is more still to learn in the way He died.  As Romans 5 shows, we are reconciled through His death, saved by His life.

More to learn,

Thomas More

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