Eye on Faith

Thursday, January 26, 2012

To the moon, Gingrich!

Osiris (by Jeff Dahl)

As Newt Gingrich moons over his presidential possibilities, his so-called grandiosity knows no earthly bounds. Why just the other day, he promised “to create a moon colony by 2020 if elected president.”

This claim has raised some eyebrows (and ire) amongst those who consider it to be the lie-detector equivalent of “a chicken in every pot.” Gingrich’s response? I was attacked the other night for being grandiose. Lincoln standing at Council Bluffs was grandiose. The Wright Brothers standing at Kitty Hawk were grandiose. John F. Kennedy was grandiose…

Gingrich might just as well have referenced the Shangqing Daoists. They, too, were preoccupied with moon colonies. In fact, they were convinced that an overall celestial realm existed “that was populated by gods, immortals, demon

kings, converted spirits and ancestors.” Their means of travel to the moon and beyond consisted of meditation and visualization. Dee Finney of greatdreams.com also tells us that during such excursions, some Shangqing

meditators would “accompany the stars on their heavenly journey, nourish in their effluences and play around in the paradises they protected.”

The Ancient Egyptians were also noted for their lunar proclivities. Finney reports that their moon god, Ah, was very likely “the son of the great Mother deity Apet, who was identified with the female hippopotamus Taurt…” Osiris, whom Wikipedia reports is “usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead,” was also known as “the son of the sacred hippopotamus.” This connection between Ah and Osiris resulted in Osiris absorbing “the attributes of the moon spirit…”

If these deities and spirits have indeed been populating the moon for eons, then what would they think of Newt’s plan to turn it into a mining camp (the likes of which the American Southwest has never seen)? Would they think his plan grandiose? Or would they instead deem it to be essentially small-minded?

Resources

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/25/10237875-gingrich-promises-us-moon-colony-by-2020

http://www.greatdreams.com/moon/moon_worship.htm

http://www.answers.com/topic/chicken-in-every-pot

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

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

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Big Miracle: That whales still even exist

Harpooning a Whale (Engraving by John H. Clark)

Whales have been featured within humankind’s sacred tales for centuries. This is understandable, given the majesty of these aquatic mammals.

Worldtrans.org reports that whales have been represented in “mythology from around the world.” Yu-kiang was an ancient Chinese water deity – a whale that turned into a giant bird whenever it got really angry. This bird then

whipped up “terrible storms” as it emerged from the ocean into the air. The Inuits believed that the whale was the most “magnificent subject” of their sea goddess, Sedna. An East African story tells of a whale that was sent by God to teach King Sulemani a lesson in humility. Icelandic legend speaks of a man who “threw a stone at a fin whale and hit the blowhole, causing the whale to burst.” As punishment, the man was ordered to stay away from the sea for the next 20 years. When he disobeyed, “a whale came and killed him.” The moral of this story is said to be that “whales can forgive a crime, but only if it had been properly atoned for.”

If this moral is accurate, then many humans could be in whale-sized trouble (as in Moby Dick times ten tremilliaducentredecillion). Although humans have been hunting whales since at least 3000 BCE, by the late 1930s “more than 50,000 whales were killed annually.” Wikipedia reports that by the middle of the 20^th century, “catches far exceeded the sustainable limit for whale stocks.” Therefore, whales were (and perhaps still are) in danger of becoming extinct due to their mass slaughter by humans.

That is why Paul Watson, “a co-founding member of Greenpeace,” formed the Sea Shepherd Conservation

Society (SSCS) – which Wikipedia states is “a non-profit, marine conservation organization based in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington in the United States.” This organization utilizes “aggressive actions” in order to discourage what seems like “species-endangering whaling and fishing practices.” Animal Planet’s weekly series, Whale Wars, is based upon the SSCS’s opposition to the Japanese Whaling Fleet in the Southern Ocean.

Resources

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Big-Miracle-Trailer-Drew-Barrymore-Gets-On-The-Ice-And-Saves-Some-Whales-26908.html

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

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

http://www.worldtrans.org/creators/whale/myths0.html

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

http://isthe.com/chongo/tech/math/number/tenpower.html

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Year of the Dragon: Not so lucky for everyone

The 2012 Chinese New Year began on January 23^rd. This year of the water dragon is being heralded by theholidayspot.com as potentially “a very energetic year, filled with optimism, power and entrepreneurship.” The website further explains that “even the most powerful will give a patient hearing to the weaker, and will try to see through their point of view.”

However, Jane Macartney of The Australian has already reported that “Chinese forces shot dead three Tibetans and wounded about 30 amid a mass refusal by Tibetans in China to observe the Chinese

New Year.” She then quotes a Tibetan source as saying: “The situation is very volatile and the police are particularly sensitive because Tibetans have refused to mark the New Year to show their

discontent with Beijing rule.” Since it is quite unusual for this type of an open-fire response, the situation is being called “one of the most

serious incidents since the 2008 [Lhasa] riots.”

Less tragic, but disturbing nevertheless, are the results of a survey that was conducted by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs. According to VOA News, 70 percent of migrant workers in China’s six biggest cities are hesitant to go home for the traditional New Year celebration. Many are dreading the trip itself – often a long and arduous one. One microblogger described her journey by train, bus and ferry as “absolutely

terrible.”

Others dread appearing like failures to their families. A nervous microblogger posted this as he waited for

the train that would take him back home: “I have been in Beijing for three years now and I don’t have

anything.” This fear of not meeting high family expectations is compounded by “the rising burden of the hongbao, the traditional red envelopes filled with money that people hand out to relatives during the holiday.”

Fortunately, some are beginning to challenge this intense preoccupation with “wealth and achievements.” In a popular Soho.com article, Beijing sociologist Zhou Xiaozheng stated that it’s far better to instead focus upon the “sense of happiness” that celebrating with family can bring.

Resources

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/tibetans-shot-dead-for-failing-to-observe-chinese-new-year/story-fnb64oi6-1226252287686

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/east-pacific/China-Starts-Lunar-New-Year-of-the-Dragon-137884878.html

http://www.theholidayspot.com/chinese_new_year/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_(zodiac)

Monday, January 23, 2012

Cheating and heart attacks: Are they related?

(Autopsied Human Heart)

Coveting thy neighbor’s wife (or husband, or friend) has been an age-old recipe for disaster – but now there is new evidence to suggest that it might also be a recipe for death.

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that “most people being treated for heart disease can safely have sex”; however, “the risk of sudden cardiac death may rise for men when the amorous activity occurs during an extramarital affair.” Nevertheless, Professor of Medicine Glenn Levine states that he’s never yet had a patient who asked him “about the cardiac risks of an extramarital affair.” (Bet he’s never had a patient who asked him about the spiritual risks of such, either.)

Levine - who conducted the research behind Bloomberg’s report - goes on to elucidate that in the “autopsy reports of 5,559 cases of sudden death” which he and his team reviewed, 75% of those men who died while having sexual intercourse “were having extramarital sex, in most cases with a younger partner and after excessive food and alcohol consumption.” (Maybe those seven deadly sins weren’t so far off the mark, after all.)

Now this isn’t to say that all sex is sinful – or even that all desire is sinful. However - there’s desire, and then there’s covetousness. The Free Dictionary defines “covetousness” as “excessively and culpably desirous of the possessions of another” – but also more simply as “marked by extreme desire to acquire or possess.” So if your desire for either your neighbor, his/her possessions, or both is morphing you from Good Neighbor Sam (who wasn’t that good to begin with) into Casanova – then internalizing the Tenth Commandment may be long overdue.

Resources

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-20/sex-safe-for-heart-patients-not-having-an-extramarital-affair.html

http://bible.cc/exodus/20-17.htm

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/covetousness

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058153/

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

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Al Green: The singing Reverend

(Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)

It’s not that Al Green needed the publicity. He’s certainly been getting enough of that on his own for decades. However, when President Obama recently cut loose with the opening line from one of Green’s L-O-V-E songs, “Let’s Stay Together” – the Reverend was yet again making headlines.

Reverend Green was deemed “born to make us smile” by Rolling Stone magazine in 2005, which listed him as 65^th of the 100 all-time greatest artists. That was ten years after Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which called him “one of the most gifted purveyors of soul music.” Wikipedia reports that to date, “Green has sold more than 20 million records.”

Born Albert Greene in 1946 - he began his music career at age 10, and has not stopped since. In 1974 - while his popularity soared, tragedy struck. His then-girlfriend, Mary Woodson White, “doused Green with a pan of boiling grits while he was showering, causing burns on Green’s back, stomach and arms.” Shortly thereafter, she killed herself, and was found with this note to Green still in her purse: “The more I trust you, the more you let me down.”

To Green’s credit, he viewed this “as a wake-up call to change his life.” He therefore entered the ministry, and two years later began serving as ordained pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis, Tennessee. Green still serves in this capacity, as evidenced by the “Full Gospel Tabernacle” section of his website. Those who click upon algreenmusic.com are therefore privy to this greeting: Thank you for visiting my website. I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to bring Christ into your life…

As this greeting indicates, the line between Green’s music career and his ministry is somewhat blurred. During an interview with Sophie Harris of Time Out New York, Green explained that “the man upstairs” affirmed his singing of “Love and Happiness.” Green “quoted” God as saying: Yeah! ‘Cause if it hadn’t

been for love and happiness, how’d we all get here?

After perceiving this affirmation, Green then put his whole heart (and presumedly soul) back into singing those sexy songs. He further explained to Harris that it felt like God was saying: I gave you this special ministry, don’t nobody else have it. I gave it to you, Al Green… that love; L-O-V-E love. That’s a signature for you to be able to cause families to grow, husbands and wives to come back together, to give children a chance to blossom.

Resources

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

http://www.examiner.com/christian-tv-in-national/obama-sings-rev-al-green-s-let-s-stay-together-video

http://www.algreenmusic.com/fullgospeltabernacle.html

http://www.algreenmusic.com/news.html

http://www.metrolyrics.com/love-and-happiness-lyrics-al-green.html

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Mitt Romney: His Mormon genealogy

(Helaman Pratt)

Wikipedia reports that Mitt Romney is “a sixth-generation member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” and “is descended from a genealogically interconnected political family sometimes known as the Pratt-Romneys.” The Pratt-Romney family is linked by marriage to the Smith family – the most famous member of which was Joseph Smith, Jr., founder and prophet of the Latter Day Saints movement.

The genealogy chart that is depicted in Wikipedia’s “Pratt-Romney family” article shows that Mitt Romney’s maternal great-grandfather is Helaman Pratt, and his paternal great-grandfather is Miles Park Romney. These men were both key figures in Mormon history.

Helaman Pratt, who was “born in a covered wagon during a one-hour stopover on the Mormon Trail near Mount Pisgah, Iowa,” became one of the first Mormon missionaries in Mexico. Todd Compton tells us that before Pratt’s missions to Mexico in the 1870s, Pratt had “lived a full life of Mormon leadership, exploration and colonizing, including numerous confrontations with American Indians.”

Miles Park Romney was born in the Mormon city of Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois in 1843 (within a year of Joseph Smith’s martyrdom). Ethel Romney Peterson tells us that Miles Park Romney was an “ardent admirer” of Brigham Young, the second president of the Church of Latter Day Saints. After being ordained a High Priest and then a Bishop – Miles Park also resettled in Mexico.

Both these great-grandfathers of Mitt Romney were polygamists. They believed that it was their religious duty to be so. When the United States government began outlawing polygamy, both these staunch believers chose to insure what they saw as their religious rights by permanently moving to Mexico. Todd Compton reports that “these remarkable men allow us to see where Mitt Romney and George Wilcken Romney’s talent for leadership came from.”

Resources

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt%E2%80%93Romney_family

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_(family)

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

http://www.orsonprattbrown.com/Romney/miles-park-romney1843-1904.html

Friday, January 20, 2012

February 2: Babies and bellies and bears, oh my!

Meeting of the Lord (Russian Icon)

Although in Western culture, February 2^nd often seems like just another hurdle on the way to Valentine’s Day – in many other cultures it is supremely important.

There is an ancient Jewish tradition of ritual purification after childbirth that goes back to these instructions from Leviticus 12: “A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremoniously unclean for seven days… Then the woman must wait [another] thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding… She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over…”

Judaism 101 explains that, in the days of the Temple, ritual purity was deemed to be especially important. The Holman Bible Dictionary defines “ritual purity” as being “free of some flaw or uncleanness which would bar one from contact with holy objects or places, especially from contact with the holy presence of God in worship.” One theory regarding ritual purification after childbirth is that blood “is related to the mysterious power of life,” and therefore “any loss of blood called for purification.”

Cin.org tells us that Mary, in keeping with these Leviticus laws, “submitted to the childbirth purification ritual… for the same reason that Jesus submitted to circumcision…” It is said that neither of these sinless ones actually needed to submit to these laws - but both were humbly obedient, nevertheless. Mary’s “Purification of the Virgin” took place 40 (7 plus 33) days from the birth of Jesus. When Jesus’ birthday is celebrated on December 25^th, Mary’s purification is then celebrated on February 2^nd. This purification celebration is commonly referred to in Christianity as Candlemas. Because Mary brought Jesus to the Temple with her that day (in accordance with the “redemption of the firstborn” Torah laws) – the celebration is also known as the “Presentation of the Lord,” or as the “Meeting of the Lord.”

Interestingly (but not necessarily coincidentally), the (likely) pre-Christian Gaelic celebration of Imbolc (from the Old Irish i mbolg – meaning “in the belly”) also occurred in early February. This was the time of year that the ewes were “with lambs” (so to speak) – thus the reference to “in the belly.” The ewes therefore

began lactating, and Spring was in the air. The blackthorns were blooming, and agrarian festivals were in full swing. Celebrations included bonfires, candles, divinations, and weather prognostications.

That’s where the serpents, the badgers, the groundhogs, and even the bears joined in. It is said that if a

hibernating bear awakes long enough to see its shadow – look out! Six more weeks of winter will follow. (And if a winter-starved bear sees you instead, it might be best to look out anyway…)

Resources

http://www.jewfaq.org/birth.htm

http://www.cin.org/users/james/questions/q051.htm

http://www.studylight.org/dic/hbd/view.cgi?number=T5157

http://niv.scripturetext.com/leviticus/12.htm

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6138-first-born-redemption-of

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