Eye on Faith

Friday, January 21, 2011

Governor Bentley, who's your daddy?

Dexter Avenue King Baptist Church

Governor Robert Bentley of Alabama has an impressive official biography. Not only is he an applauded doctor, a former Air Force captain, plus a Sunday-school teacher and deacon – but he is also a dedicated family member. However, Bentley’s definition of “family” might differ sharply from the definition that is used by many of his recently-disgruntled constituents.

On Martin Luther King Day 2011, just hours after being sworn in as Alabama’s new governor, Bentley made a rather shocking announcement. Standing before a big crowd at Montgomery’s Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church (which Dr. King once pastored) - and shortly after proclaiming that he intended to be the “color blind” governor of all people” (italics mine) – Bentley added: …if you’re a Christian and if you’re saved… it makes you and me brother and sister…

Perhaps realizing that he had just dug himself a political hole, Bentley went on to dig himself an even deeper theological one by attempting this off-the-cuff “exegesis” of his own prior remark: Now I will have to say that, if we don’t have the same daddy, we’re not brothers and sisters…

Although Governor Bentley has highly praised his biological father, David Harford Bentley, as having been a fine example of “All American” work ethics – this aforementioned use of the word “daddy” seems to go far beyond worldly ties. That, in and of itself, is not incompatible with Christianity. Even Jesus was prone to asking: Who’s my mother, and who are my brothers?

However, Jesus used the term “Abba” (the Aramaic equivalent of Bentley’s term “daddy”) in reference to God. Without getting inextricably tangled up in creedal debates, suffice it to say that most Christians follow suit – in that they generally refer to God as “Father” (and to Jesus as “Son”) in everyday speech.

Did Bentley therefore mean to imply that followers of other religions are not just as much God’s children as Christians are? If so, it’s no wonder that his Jewish and Hindu “siblings” were vociferously opposed to these ill-advised remarks.

Resources

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1348977/Alabama-governor-Robert-Bentley-aologises-offensive-non-Christian-comments.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/01/gov-elect_robert_bentley_inten.html

http://www.robertbentley2010.com/index.php?page=biography

http://www.biblebrowser.com/matthew/12-48.htm

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Tu B'Shevat: A tree grows in Zion

Flowering Almond Tree (Nicolas Perez)

Tu B’Shevat (literally, the 15^th of the Jewish month Shevat – which coincides with late January or early February) in Zion is the equivalent of apple blossom time in North America. It is the time when the wild almond trees begin to flower, and springtime has arrived in the holy land.

It is also a time to sow. This Jewish New Year of the Trees is particularly honored by the planting of more and more trees. The Jewish National Fund’s (JNF’s) reforestation efforts have turned barren lands into (literally) fruitful ones. Participants can either plant trees with their own hands, or purchase certificates that equate the planting of a tree with the honoring of an individual or event. This planting of trees, as well as the symbolic sowing of Passover crops such as parsley, takes place outside of Israel also.

The sacred relationship between trees and Judaism began way back in Genesis 1. As soon as the land had dried, seed-bearing plants and fruit-bearing trees were produced. And G_d saw that was good. Not too long after that, in Genesis 2, came the Garden of Eden with its central Tree of Life. This tree has become a key symbol of Judaism.

According to My Jewish Learning, Talmudic tradition considers trees to be as sacred as the Torah does. Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, who lived through the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, said this: If you should be holding a sapling in your hand when they tell you the Messiah has arrived, first plant the sapling, then go out and greet him. Planting trees is also looked upon as a way of passing goodness on from one generation to another.

It is also customary to eat the fruits of these sacred trees on Tu B’Shevat. The fruits that coincide most with this tradition are dates, pomegranates, figs, grapes and olives. An accompanying blessing is this: Blessed are You, L_rd our G_d, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the tree.

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu_Bishvat

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/260798/jewish/Tu-BShevat-Customs.htm

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Tu_Bishvat/Practices/Tree_Planting.shtml

http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=1&CHAPTER=1

http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=1&CHAPTER=2

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Dolly Parton: Biblically adorned

Joseph's Brothers Fooling Jacob

Long known for her neon fashion statements, Dolly Parton is still singing about one technicolor article of clothing.

According to Wikipedia, Parton regards “Coat of Many Colors” as her favorite of all the (3,000 or so) songs she’s ever written. It tells the true story of a coat that her mother patched together from rags for her when Dolly was a child in the hills of Tennessee. (Today that coat hangs proudly in the Chasing Rainbows Museum at Dollywood, along with the original dry-cleaning receipt that Dolly first penned the lyrics on.)

The lyrics explain that Dolly’s mother told her young daughter the biblical story of Joseph and his coat as Dolly’s coat was being stitched together. The moral of the song is summed up in these last two lines: Now I know we had no money, but I was rich as I could be In my coat of many colors my momma made for me.

The biblical coat of many colors was given to Joseph by his father, Jacob, as a token of Jacob’s intense love for him. Hopefully, Dolly’s mother didn’t favor Dolly over her 11 siblings in the way that Jacob favored Joseph over his. Jacob’s favoritism, as symbolized by his gift of the coat to Joseph, resulted in a tragic degree of sibling rivalry. Joseph’s brothers contemplating killing him, but instead settled upon selling him into slavery. How did they explain Joseph’s sudden absence to Jacob? Again, the coat played a significant role. The brothers seized it, then smeared it with blood in order to fool Jacob into thinking that Joseph had met an untimely end.

The ruse worked until karma (not instant in this case) caught up to them. A severe famine took hold, and Joseph’s brothers were forced to seek goods from Egypt. There they met up with Joseph, who was now the Vizier. Although they didn’t recognize Joseph, he sure recognized them. Things could have gotten quite ugly had Joseph’s better nature not ultimately prevailed.

As Dolly’s song concludes – people are only as poor (or as rich) as they choose to be. This seems especially true when dealing with matters of spirit.

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_Parton

http://www.dollyon-line.com/archives/albums/coatomc/co_co.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_many_colors

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_Many_Colors_(song)

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/845463

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_(son_of_Jacob)

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Kings of King: MLK once stood on these shoulders

MLK: Library of Congress Photo

Martin Luther King, Jr. was nothing if not eclectic.

He is often associated with the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, as well as with the social-gospel heritage of his African-American Baptist roots. However, during his crucial years of doctoral study at Boston University, King was heavily influenced by the two reigning theological giants of that time: Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Tillich.

In a 2005 essay, Arthur Schlesinger called Reinhold Niebuhr “the most influential American theologian of the 20^th century.” Niebuhr was not a believer in “national innocence” (a phrase widely used in the United States after 9/11). His was a Calvinist background with an emphasis upon the sinful human condition. Certainly, America - with its historical persecution of Oriental railroad workers, African slaves, and Native American tribes – was in no position to claim a spiritually clean slate. Niebuhr summed up his political philosophy in this now-famous quote: Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary. He is also the author of the Serenity Prayer that is well known for its use in Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs.

Not only did Niebuhr share his own theological gifts generously, but he was also largely responsible for

introducing Paul Tillich to Americans. Tillich, like Niebuhr, taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York City for years. He was famous for his correlation of Christian insights with the questions that modern-day sciences were asking. According to Wikipedia, Tillich’s three main sources for determining these insights were the Bible, church history, and the history of religion and culture. He believed that faith was the ultimate human concern, and that it is “ecstatic” (“standing outside of oneself”) in nature. He also believed that God is both personal and transpersonal.

Standing upon the gigantic shoulders of Niebuhr and Tillich gave King vantage points that he had not

previously had. King's genius was that he was able to blend diverse socioreligious perspectives in ways that the world is still trying to catch up with.

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.

http://www.stanford.edu/group/King//gospel2.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/books/review/18schlesinger.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Tillich

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer

Monday, January 17, 2011

Eisenhower, Martin and John

Eisenhower in the Oval Office

As Russell Baker recently pointed out on the Coast to Coast radio show - today is not only Martin Luther King Day, but it is also the 50^th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s inauguration and Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farewell speech. Although Baker strung these events together like pearls on a specific necklace, the pearls of wisdom within Eisenhower’s speech seem universally shiny.

This speech has come to be known as Eisenhower’s Military-Industrial Complex Speech because it prophetically warns the nation of the dangers that such a union entails. Eisenhower’s knowledge of these dangers was born of arduous firsthand experience. He who had been a five-star general in the United States Army, as well as the World War II supreme commander of the European Allied Forces, ultimately concluded: I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.

Highlights from Eisenhower’s Farewell Address to the Nation include the following:

…America’s leadership and prestige depend, not merely upon our unmatched material progress, riches and material strength, but on how we use our power in the interests of world peace and human betterment.

We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage.

You and I - my fellow citizens - need to be strong in our faith that all nations, under God, will reach the goal of peace with justice.

This stirring address ends with a prayer, not only for Americans, but for "peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations..." This emphasis upon faith in God had been an overriding theme throughout much of Eisenhower's

life. His mother had been a devoted member of the Mennonites, and then of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Eisenhower himself, who had lobbied for the insertion of the phrase “under God” into the Pledge of Allegiance - as well as for the phrase “In God We Trust” onto the currency, was eventually baptized into the

Presbyterian Church.

With the words of Eisenhower’s prayerful speech still ringing across the land, the mantle was passed on to America’s first Catholic president. John, Martin, and countless others were then left to carry on the noble ideals that unprecedented numbers of Ike’s generation had fought and died for.

Resources

http://www.h-net.org/~hst306/documents/indust.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military%E2%80%93industrial_complex

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/dwightdei136897.html

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Ophiuchus revisited: Now wait just a minute

The Pizza Model

Pretty much everyone agrees that Ophiuchus has, indeed, been a known constellation right along. Nevertheless, many adamant astrologers are still insisting that this mighty serpent-wielder be discounted.

Why is that?

According to one such astrologer, Dr. Craig Martin, the addition of Ophiuchus would imbalance the popularly-accepted astrological model in which each sign of the zodiac has the “same amount of ‘sky’ assigned to it.” Twelve signs make it mathematically easy to divvy up a planetarium-like universe into segments of 30 degrees each. Thirteen (besides being the proverbial “unlucky” number) would just make it that much harder to teach third-grade astronomy.

With Ophiuchus in the mix, Virgo gets to have 45 days, whereas Scorpio only gets to have seven. Not fair… hints Martin. He then specifically states: It’s like saying, ‘let’s change the clock…’

But is it really? The clock is a human invention, whereas the heavens are not. Besides, people do mess with the clock on a regular basis. It’s called “Daylight Savings Time.” And the calendar? Same difference. There are lunar ones, solar ones, religious ones, secular ones – and still they are regularly being adjusted

in order to account for what’s really going on up there.

Besides, who ever said that Life is fair (in the human sense)? Or that fair means anything even close to equal?

Shoehorning the vastness of Everything into lowest-common-denominator fractions might not be the shortcut to enlightenment that it seems to be. Even pizza slices differ – why shouldn’t astrological ones?

Resources

http://glo.msn.com/relationships/zodiac-shock-1534099.story?GT1=49006

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/culture/110113/zodiac-signs-astrology-ophiuchus

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Circumcision: Sanctification or mutilation?

The Circumcision of Christ (Durer)

The results of yet another study touting the health benefits of circumcision have been in the news lately. Reuters has reported that not only can circumcision protect men from the AIDS virus, but it can also protect their female sexual partners from the cervical-cancer HPV virus.

Nevertheless, there is a growing movement against what many consider to be mutilation without consent. According to the Doctors Opposing Circumcision (DOC) website, DOC is “an organization of physicians, and others who are opposed to non-therapeutic neonatal circumcision.” Their stated goals are “to protect the normal genitalia of infants,” and to discourage this “unnecessary” surgical altering that occurs solely “for cultural reasons.”

Dr. George Denniston, founder and president of DOC, presents a quiz on the DOC website in order to separate what he calls circumcision “myths” from circumcision “scientific facts.” Inherent within this quiz are the following conclusions: circumcision is excruciating for both infant and adult recipients; the foreskin is far from just a useless appendage; the practice of circumcision violates both the Golden Rule and the AMA Code of Ethics; and the loss of the foreskin has caused many sexual difficulties and diseases.

Many adherents of Judaism, Islam and Christianity might beg to differ with Dr. Denniston’s quiz conclusions about circumcision. The Jewish “covenant of circumcision” (brit milah in Hebrew, or bris miloh in Ashkenazi) traces its roots to God’s covenant with Abraham in Genesis 17:1-14. Leviticus 12:3 reiterates that this circumcision shall occur on the eighth day of the child’s life. Converts to Judaism were (and often still are) also expected to undergo this procedure. Rather than viewing circumcision as a mutilation, Jews often view it as a completion (almost like sculpting out what’s not necessary in order to further perfect the male body).

Although circumcision is not mentioned in the Qur’an, it is mentioned in some Hadith. Many Islamic scholars endorse male circumcision, but do not consider it to be a conversion requirement. Circumcision occurs within many African churches, and the Circumcision of Christ (as mentioned in Luke 2:21) is celebrated by a number of Christian groups throughout the world.

Resources

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE7063PB20110107

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brit_milah

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision

http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision_of_Christ