Eye on Faith

Monday, October 8, 2012

Christopher Columbus: What he did and didn't do

(Posthumous Portrait of Columbus)

These days, "hero" Christopher Columbus has fallen somewhat out of favor. In fact, he is looked upon as more of a villain by many.

His notorious treatment of the Native Americans he encountered has become quite well known. What is less known is the prejudice he displayed against Jews and Muslims.Understandingprejudice.org reports that Columbus wrote these words in the prologue to his first-voyage journal: YOUR HIGHNESSES [Ferdinand and Isabella], as Catholic Christians and Princes who love the holy Christian faith, and the propagation of it, and who are enemies to the sect of Mahoma [Islam] and to all idolatries and heresies, resolved to send me, Cristobal Colon, to the said parts of India to see the said princes… with a view that they may be converted to our holy faith… Thus, after having turned out all the Jews from your kingdoms and lordships… your Highnesses gave orders to me that with a sufficient fleet I should go to said parts of India…

Following Columbus' so-called "discovery of America," Pope Alexander IV issued a papal bull that "assigned" this "New World" to Ferdinand and Isabella. Thereafter, Spanish conquistadors adopted a "Requirement" that forced Native Americans to accept "the Church as the Ruler and Superior of the whole world" or face dire consequences.

All this is part of what Columbus did do. What he didn't do (according to Christopher Wanjek of LiveScience) includes the following: He didn't prove the world was round (this had already been proven by Pythagoras in the sixth century BCE, and by Aristotle in the fourth century BCE); He didn't discover

America (unless you discount the "millions of humans" who had been living there for centuries before Columbus' arrival – not to mention other explorers such as Leif Ericson); and he didn't die in poverty (although he wasn't rolling in gold, either)…

Resources

http://www.understandingprejudice.org/nativeiq/columbus.htm

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44846249/

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Resilience: Thriving beyond surviving

In his Huffington Post article The Science of Resilience, Professor Steven M. Southwick offers this American Psychological Association

definition of resilience: "the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or even significant sources of threat."

Southwick goes on to inquire why some seem to fare so much better than others under these types of grueling circumstances. After studying a number of groups that had endured extremely stressful situations, Southwick concluded that resilience is far more common than is usually thought. His other good news is that "everyone can learn and train to be more resilient."

Southwick reports that "neurobiological systems associated with resilience can be strengthened to respond more adaptively to stress." This can be accomplished through such practices as cognitive reappraisal training and mindfulness meditation – both of which "increase activation of the left prefrontal cortex." This activation enables people to "recover more rapidly from negative emotions such as anger, disgust, and fear."

In addition, animal studies show that "vigorous voluntary aerobic exercise increases levels of nerve growth factor," which "appears to protect against some of the negative effects of stress."

In his Huffington Post article Resilience, Recovery and Optimism, Clinical Psychologist Tian Dayton reports that "resilience seems to develop out of the challenge to maintain self-esteem." Rather than

presupposing that those with troubled childhoods are condemned to living "damaged" lives, Dayton concludes that "adversity can actually develop strength if we learn to mobilize and make use of the supports that are at our disposal."

Resources

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-m-southwick/trauma-resilience_b_1881666.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-tian-dayton/addiction-recovery_b_1854238.html

Friday, October 5, 2012

Wise Woman Weed(s)

Red Clover (Photo by Tony Wills)

In Susun Weed's October 2, 2012 ezine article "Herbal medicine is people's medicine," she describes the following three health-care

traditions: Scientific (linear) in which "we fix the broken machine," Heroic (circular) in which "we cleanse the filthy temple," and Wise Woman (spiralic) in which "we nourish the unique wholeness of each individual."

Nourishment within the Wise Woman tradition not only pertains to what we eat, but also to what we absorb from our surroundings. Weed explains that "everything we take in – sights, sounds, thoughts, stories, smells, everything – becomes part of us." She avoids television for that reason.

Because the Wise Woman tradition believes that "we are created in perfection," it defines "healing" as "wholing." Wise Woman healing

therefore involves "accepting ourselves exactly as we are, with love and compassion." It entails nourishing "what we want to be, rather than rejecting what we don't want" and trusting "our bodies… the earth… [and] our gut feelings."

Wise Woman nourishment often comes from the herbs that other traditions call "weeds." These include dandelion greens, burdock, plantain seeds, yellow dock, nettle and red clover. Weed herself regularly drinks

"nourishing herbal infusions" – which consist of "a large amount of [usually dried] herb brewed for a long time." Two to four cups per day is her usual allotment of these herbal drinks.

Resources

http://wisewomanherbalezine.com/october2-2012/index.html

http://www.nourishingherbalinfusions.com/

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Rupert Sheldrake: Angels, red teeth and claws

Song of the Angels (Bouguereau)

Those who believe that science is science, religion is religion, and never the twain shall meet will not likely be fans of Rupert Sheldrake's recent cosmological speculations.

Sheldrake, described by EnlightenNext's interviewer Hal Blacker as a "pioneering biologist," is unafraid to tackle "realms of thought usually eschewed by other scientists." These realms include the possibility of angels – not the plastic ones on Hallmark shelves, but real (honest to God) super-conscious beings (wings are optional).

In Sheldrake's estimation, the entire universe might not only be alive, but might also be consciously so. This could mean that our "third rock from the Sun" (Earth) is itself a living entity (Gaia). (It could also mean that the Sun is perhaps Apollo, and the Moon is perhaps Diana.)

This way of thinking replaces mechanistic views of nature with theories of universal "creative evolution." What this could mean is that "the universe is like a great organism…" This "new cosmology" also embraces "the idea of many forms of consciousness" (including those more evolved than our own). In between "divine consciousness" (which embraces "all things") and human consciousness could exist many interim levels of awareness (i.e., angels).

Sheldrake references Jewish and Christian beliefs concerning "many beings with greater levels of

consciousness than our own." He also quotes evolutionary biologist J. B. S. Haldane's answer to the question "What do your studies of life tell you about the nature of God?" Haldane's reply: He [God] seems to have an inordinate fondness for beetles.

As for the "red teeth and claws" part of this cosmological equation, Sheldrake explains that within "a universe of diversity and of becoming," bloody encounters could be nature's way of creating space for continued evolution.

Resources

http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/j20/sheldrake.asp?page=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._B._S._Haldane

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Nice baboons finish first

(Photo by Bjorn Christian Torrissen)

When cynics say, "Nice guys finish last," they must be referring to humans. In the baboon world it doesn't quite work that way.

According to LiveScience, being a nice baboon really "pays off." Researcher Robert Seyfarth of the University of Pennsylvania has found that personality counts when it comes to determining the

"strength of a baboon's social circle." No longer is baboon popularity thought to be just a matter of "dominance rank" and

"network of kin." Seyarth and his team discovered that it is also a matter of friendly tendencies.

So what constitutes a friendly (and/or not-so-friendly) baboon? Interestingly enough, sort of the same tendencies that apply to humans… "Nice" baboons are "friendly to all others regardless of status," offer compassionate grunts to their lesser-ranked buddies, and form "strong social bonds with long-term grooming partners." "Aloof" baboons form somewhat weaker bonds with their grooming partners, are more aggressive, and reserve their grunts for higher-ranking recipients. Least friendly are the "loner" baboons who

form "the weakest social bonds," grunt infrequently, and often change grooming partners.

Whereas "nice" baboons "with good friends often enjoy better health and longer lives," their "loner" counterparts often experience "higher stress levels, lower offspring survival and shorter life spans…"

Perhaps we should all take a cue from the baboons and smile more often. Or - at the very least – grunt out an occasional "Hello."

Resources

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49260161/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Stephen Prothero's American Debate

(King's "I Have a Dream" speech)

Calling his anthology of America's inspiring words The American Bible was bound to elicit strong responses from Prothero's readers. And Prothero didn't stop there. He not only called his overall book a "Bible," but also named each section after biblical books such as

Genesis, Lamentations, and the Gospels.

Prothero then matched the "core texts" of America's "de facto public canon" with his self-proclaimed biblical categories. His "Lamentations" section begins with Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address," and his "Gospels" section includes Jefferson's and FDR's inaugural addresses.

King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" matches up with "Epistles," as does Jefferson's 1802 "Letter to the Danbury Baptists." "Psalms" such as "God Bless America" and "This Land Is Your Land" help to round out the selections, as do "Prophets" such as Eisenhower (per his military-industrial-complex farewell address) and King (per his "I Have a Dream" speech).

Amazon.com presents a spectrum of reader responses to this "American Talmud" of a book. On the plus side, five-star reviewer John L. Murphy calls this "an affordable, thoughtful and balanced collection" - "a logical follow-up" to Prothero's 2007 Religious Literacy study. Far less enthusiastic was one-star reviewer "music lover." She or he found "the whole idea of this book" to be "offensive" because its author "hijacks the history of this multicultural nation for the service of a highly subjective Christian world view…"

Resources

http://www.amazon.com/The-American-Bible-Divide-Define/product-reviews/0062123432/ref=dp_db_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Monday, October 1, 2012

Saint Francis and Sultan Al-Kamil

(Saint Francis meets with Al-Kamil)

Sultan Al-Kamil was a nephew of the great Muslim leader, Saladin. (Al-Kamil's father was Saladin's brother). Some of Saladin's

renowned chivalry might have been passed on to him since Al-Kamil was willing to meet with Saint Francis while the Fifth

Crusade was raging all about them.

Wikipedia reports that Al-Kamil was known to have made many peace offers during this Crusade. He had not only agreed to negotiate with Saint Francis of Assisi, but had also "offered to return Jerusalem and rebuild its walls (which his brother had torn down earlier in the year) and to return the True Cross (which he probably did not have)."

Al-Kamil's many peace attempts were rejected by the Crusaders until he was finally "forced" to open the Nile's floodgates upon them. At that point, the Crusaders "accepted an eight-year peace." Al-Kamil was also able to negotiate the Treaty of 1229 with

Frederick II of Sicily (who had been planning a Sixth Crusade). This historic treaty, based upon diplomacy rather than upon military confrontation, led to the return of Jerusalem and other holy sites to the Crusader kingdom. It also fostered a ten-year period of peace.

Paul Moses, author of The Saint and the Sultan: the Crusades, Islam and Francis of Assisi's Mission of Peace, reports that Saint Francis "opposed the warfare" and "hoped to bring about peace by converting the sultan to Christianity." Sultan Al-Kamil did not convert to Christianity; nevertheless, Saint Francis "came away from the peaceful encounter [with Al-Kamil] with revolutionary ideas that called for Christians to live

harmoniously with Muslims."

Resources

http://www.saintandthesultan.com/about.html

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Kamil

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