FU Arthritis.

Lessons From the Garden

I whipped this up at work the other night as I thought about what I have learned from being more aware of nature, and my part as a being not separate from it. It's some poor fruit that I offer to the world.

Lessons from the Garden

I dig my hands
Into the warm earth
I plant hope
And wait

Nestled safely in her dark womb
Nourished by decay
Drinking the sky
Reaching for the sun
To fill her veins with life
She hopes and waits

The morning sun on my back
Sweat pours from my creased forehead
As I tend, and hope, and wait

She dances to the rhythms
Dark and light
Breeze and calm
Inhaling death
Exhaling life
The song is nothing
And everything

Rainbows born from the earth
Flower and fruit
Triumphantly exploding into being
Given freely,
Completely,
Sacrificially
To the world

Dancing to the rhythm
She falls
Fully spent
Plowed under as
Nourishment for the next

Red and ripe
Realized hope
Drips down my chin
I thank the earth
And sky
And sun
And wind
From which, I to, am made
As I dance to the same song

Dying Well

Sometime ago I posted about my coworker who has terminal cancer. He seems to be deteriorating and his latest scan confirmed it. We had a tearful chat this evening.

So, here is my question:

How does one help someone "die well"?

Bible Altitude

I know that when someone has an “alternative” view of the Bible, or Jesus, it freaks some people out. It freaks the institutionalized church out so bad they call it “heresy”. In my opinion, heresy is just a stigmatized label placed on alternative views in order to control the masses, so I don’t pay much attention. In reality, what the church calls heresy is just another opinion that appears dangerous to those with a vested interest in power or money.

I have an alternative view (read: not the view of those in charge of institutional Christianity) of the Bible and Jesus that I would like to throw out there. The only way I can make sense of it is to see it as poetic, allegorical, mystical. It’s not new. Alan Watts had a very similar view in the 60’s and it jives with mine pretty well. If you wish to “push back” in a respectful way, I don’t mind at all. I’ll start with some general thoughts about the Bible and how I see it.

My interpretation of the Bible has changed over time. I began reading it as a new Christian, full of wonder, awe and zeal. It was special. It was an inerrant book of magic spoken by God threw his people for the good of all humanity (at least those that lived in the Bible belt which was my world at the time). Then I went to Bible college and took some classes. There the Bible was dissected in ways I didn’t know was possible. Textual, historical, and source criticism replaced magic. The Bible, for all intent and purpose, was worshiped as a fourth person of the Trinity. I finished my degree at a more “liberal” school that taught it was infallible (good for everything we need to know to live a “pleasing life”), which at least allowed a little room for science. I was trained in a particular way of reasoning in order to come to the same conclusions as the professor, and I was pretty good at it. However, there were to many hoops to jump threw, to many leaps of unnecessary faith, to much sterility, to much systematic theory divorced from reality.

I think one can look at the Bible from different altitudes. I was taught in college to look at the Bible from a microscopic point of view. Each word should be researched in the original language etc. When I was new to the Bible I looked at it from a higher altitude. I read chapters and books to get the main point etc, or tried to the get the overall point of the New Testament or Old Testament.

However, what if one pulled back to a higher altitude and viewed the Bible compared to other sacred texts (having an open mind might help too)? You might say that there is simply no comparison, the Bible is true and all other sacred texts are false. In my opinion, this would be like an astronomer saying there simply is no planet that compares to the Earth, so we must quit looking. Or, a scientist in the medical profession who says penicillin is the best thing ever, so lets not research further. The world is just to big and diverse for this kind of attitude in my opinion.

From this point of view the Bible is not unlike other sacred texts. It has a creation story, historical information, a metaphysical framework, mythology, heroes and villains, saints and rascals.

Here is an excerpt from Egyptologist, Sir Wallis Budge:

According to the writings of the Egyptians, there was a time
when neither heaven nor earth existed, and when nothing had
being except the boundless primeval water, which was,
however, shrouded with thick darkness. In this condition, the
primeval water remained for a considerable time, notwithstanding
that it contained within it the germs of the things,
which afterwards came into existence in this world and the
world itself. At length, the Spirit of the primeval water felt the
desire for creative activity, and having uttered the word, the
world sprang straightway into being in the form which had
already been depicted in the mind of the Spirit before he
spake the word which resulted in its creation.

And this from The Egyption Book of the Dead:

God is One and alone, and none other exists with
Him; God is the One, the One who has made all things.
He is eternal and infinite; ... He has endured for
countless ages, and He shall endure to all eternity.
God is a spirit, a hidden spirit, the Spirit of spirits,
the Divine Spirit.

He is a mystery to His creatures, and no man knows
how to know Him. His names are innumerable; they are
manifold, and no one knows their number.
God has made the universe, and He has created all
that is in it; ... He has stretched out the heavens and founded
the earth. What His heart conceived came to pass straightway,
and when He had spoken, His word came to pass, and it shall
endure forever.

God, Himself, is existence; He lives in all things, and
lives upon all things. He endures without increase or diminution;
He multiplies Himself millions of times, and He
possesses multitudes of forms and multitudes of members.

God is life, and through Him only man lives. He gives life to
man, and He breathes the breath of life into his nostrils.

God is merciful unto those who reverence Him, and
He hears those who call upon Him. He protects the weak
against the strong, and He hears the cry of him that is bound
in fetters. ... God knows those who know Him; He rewards
those who serve Him, and He protects those who follow
Him.

Considering these writings, which are a great example of monotheism, predate Judaic scripture, I would say it is not a far leap from this story to the creation story of Genesis.

Let’s play the “what if” game. What if the first few chapters of Genesis, and the perhaps the rest of the OT, were just a way that the Hebrews tried to describe life as they saw it? What if it is no different than any other culture that was trying to make sense of life and created a story to do so? What makes the creation story of Genesis better, or more accurate, or more useful than any of the other creation stories? Have you taken the time to read other creation stories to see what is similar?

Please keep in mind, this is no scholarly study. It's just one example of what I've found in my study. I'm not trying to change anyone's mind. It's just a glimpse of why I've changed how I choose to view and use the Bible. I'll throw some different points of view out there about Jesus in the future....