Fonda religion

Henry and Jane Fonda, 1943
PD-US

Jane Fonda's family might never have come to America if it weren't for religion.

Her father Henry's autobiography traces the family's migration from Genoa, Italy to the Netherlands in the 1500s.  This sudden move from Italy was a necessity, due to the allegiance of the Fonda family to the Protestant Reformation.  

During their time in Holland, the Fondas intermarried with the Dutch and ended up following them to the New World.  Rather than settling in Nieuw Amsterdam, the Fondas canoed up the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers to the Indian village of Caughnawaga.  Within a few generations, the place where they settled became known as Fonda, New York.

Douw Jellis Fonda (1700-1780) is considered to be the founder of this village.  There is a genealogical line from him all the way to Jane Fonda. Four of Douw Jellis' descendants were well-known clergy.  One, Jacob Douw Fonda (1793-1856), was the last regular pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church of Fonda (before the split in the congregation which resulted in the Reformed Church of Fonda).  Another, Jesse Isaac Fonda (1786-1827), was a minister at the First Dutch Reformed Church in Albany, New York.

Henry Fonda also reports in his autobiography that he was brought up as a Christian Scientist, and that his family avoided doctors and were very supportive of one another concerning health matters.  Jane Fonda reports in her own 2005 autobiography that this "third act" of her life will be the most significant one because of her then relatively-recent commitment to Christianity.  

During an interview with Beliefnet, Jane attributed this commitment to an initial "somatic feeling" of "being beckoned."  This powerful conversion experience, plus her proximity at the time to inspiring role models, led to a serious exploration of Christianity.  She has investigated it from many perspectives, including feminist ones.  

Resources

https://www.janefonda.com/2009/06/about-my-faith/

Altruism: The price of nice

Peter Kropotkin, circa 1900
Public Domain

It seems that religion is trying to teach humans what many animals already practice.  There are numerous examples of four-legged heroes that greatly assist their fellow beings.

Prince Peter Kropotkin, famous challenger of the narrowness of Darwin's "survival of the fittest" theory, published a book called Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution in 1902.  He offered this explanation for why mutual aid has been so prevalent within the animal world: The mutual protection which is obtained in this case... secure the maintenance of the species, its extension, and its further progressive evolution.  The unsociable species, on the contrary, are doomed to decay.

Although altruism might indeed promote the progression of a species, it often comes at an enormous price to the individual.  The individual cost often increases in direct proportion to the amount of risk and sacrifice involved (think martyrdom).

A dog that rushes back into a burning building to save its master can succumb to the smoke.  Humans have fared no better in this regard.  Many a firefighting hero died on September 11, 2001 while attempting to save those who were trapped in the towering inferno.

Why then do most religions teach the virtues of altruism?  Is it because they wish to promote survival of the species at the cost of the individual?  Or can it be that their view of existence goes far beyond either Darwin's "survival" or Kropotkin's "progression"?

When ultimate treasures are perceived to be "not of this world," then the rules radically change.  "Survival of the fittest" becomes "salvation of the meekest."  The last becomes the first, and the omega becomes the alpha.  It's a revolution that goes far beyond that of either science or politics.

Resources

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/altruism/

All you need is love and law

Fair Use

At the 2005 Q Awards, Yoko Ono mentioned that John Lennon was insecure about his songwriting abilities.  She had reassured him by saying: You're a good songwriter; it's not June with spoon that you write...

Lennon tended to tackle the BIG issues in his songs.  Two themes that he (and Yoko) often focused upon were peace and love.  All You Need Is Love was written by Lennon, although officially credited to McCartney also.  Brian Epstein, erstwhile manager of The Beatles, said that this is an "inspired song" because it has "a clear message saying that love is everything."

Nevertheless, Lennon was well aware that humans weren't there yet.  That is why he viewed his art as visionary.  If humans were to ever reach that pinnacle, then there wouldn't be a need for prisons, parole boards, or recurrent letters from Yoko Ono stating that Mark David Chapman (Lennon's assassin) should remain indefinitely behind bars.  In one such letter, Ono declared: Violence begets violence.  If it is at all possible, I would like us to not create a situation which may bring further madness and tragedy to the world.

The gap between visionary ideals and current realities is often the greatest tragedy of all.  With enough love, that gap may eventually be bridged.  In the meantime, laws must suffice.

Resources

https://www.npr.org/2022/09/13/1122633330/john-lennon-killer-mark-david-chapman-1980-denied-parole

Ice cream and religion: A dynamic tension

Photo by Nicolas Ettlin

Although ice cream and religion may appear unrelated, their paths have actually crossed in numerous ways.  These intersections have run the gamut from oppositional to strange bedfellows.

Most people associate Quakers with oatmeal.  Seems like a wholesome combination.  However, the "Quaker Man" on the box was never associated with the Society of Friends.  He was strictly a "Madison Avenue" ploy.

Yet the real Quakers, as well as the real Madisons, have indeed been associated with ice cream.  Dolley Madison, who was raised a Quaker, served ice cream at her husband James Madison's Inaugural Ball.  It is thought that the recipe for ice cream was brought to America by Quakers who enjoyed it back in Europe.  Other stories allege that Dolley discovered ice cream at a Wilmington, Delaware shop, and that it was invented by a former slave named "Aunt" Sallie Shadd.

By 1874, ice cream had met its match: soda.  At least three people claimed credit for the invention of this fizzy wonder.  There was only one problem.  Soda, having been marketed as a miracle cure, was considered to be a substance that needed oversight and control.  By 1890, blue laws were banning its use on Sundays.  Soda shops were therefore up the creek without a straw.

A Unitarian Church minister assisted with a solution to this dilemma.  One fair 1892 Sunday, Reverend John M. Scott and Chester Platt (an Ithaca, New York pharmacy co-owner) created the very first paper-documented ice cream sundae.  They cleverly substituted syrup for soda, thus bypassing the blue laws.  Platt's first newspaper ad called the dish "Cherry Sunday" in honor of the day it was created.  He also advertised "Strawberry Sundays" and "Chocolate Sundays."  When Sabbath adherents objected to the name "Sunday," the y was later changed to an e.

If this seems like a rather unholy alliance, consider today's ambiance.  Ice cream socials have become somewhat commonplace within church circles.  They often double as fundraisers.  Kosher ice cream is also very much in vogue.

As for oats - they too have survived the harsh tests of time and tradition.  Horses love them.

Resources

https://www.thedailybeast.com/an-investigation-into-the-delicious-origins-of-ice-cream

https://www.icecreamsundae.com/