Do More than Coexhist

Do more than Coexhist... Show Respect & Tolerance

Each Saturday a "Faith" article appears in the Life and Arts section of the Austin American-Statesman newspaper. This week  The Reverend John Elford, senior pastor at University United Methodist Church in Austin, explains how Americans can and should "respect other faiths" and do so while staying true to one's own. To start, Rev. Elford points out the "huge change in the American religious landscape" in the last 50 years. "Today, there are as many Muslim Americans as there are Episcopalians or Presbyterians. Los Angeles is the home of the greatest variety of Buddists in the world with more than 300 temples."

"It's a reality that has sneaked up on us, so much so that the United States has become the most religiously diverse nation in the world."

The article is so so well written that I can "hear" the soft spoken voice of this man whom I have never seen or heard. Just over 50 years ago I was baptized into the Sardis Methodist Church in Sardis, Georgia. In those days we were taught from the Bible in Sunday School classes and MYF (Methodist Youth Fellowship). The sermons delivered on Sunday were not hellfire & brimstone... at least not in my church. The sermons were taken from Scripture such as the story of the good Samaritan, the birth of Jesus, the three wise men, the Easter story. I do not remember other faiths being denigrated. I remember being taught to follow in the path of Jesus. At no time do I recall being told that I would know when I was saved; until a good, sweet woman began leading the MYF. Our MYF was attended by young people from the Sardis Baptist Church just down the street and as it turns out this woman was a Baptist. Her faith was different. She was convinced that it was not enough to believe in the goodness of Jesus and to do good works and to try to live one's life in that regard. Rather she told us that "you will know when you are saved".

In her case, as she was standing in front of her kitchen window washing dished, the Light shone through and lighted a line in the Bible that she had on the counter. At that point, she knew she was saved. Her recollection disturbed me greatly. No matter how much I read the Bible, prayed, went to Church I never knew I was saved. About 10 years later (when I was 25 or 26) I stopped believing it could be a possibility. (Twenty or so years later I found another church, St. James Episcopal Church in Austin, where I felt more at home. The invitation there is clear: "You are welcome at this table wherever you are in your journey of faith." That is the clearest, most inviting, most tolerant church I have ever attended.)

Religion has become more and more radical here in the Bible Belt and all across the South. Intolerance is the key. The notion that if one does not believe the right way, the Christian way... the Southern Baptist way... then one does not belong; one is to be pitied or vilified. One Southern Baptist woman told a Catholic woman, "you have the wrong religion". I know, I was there when she said it; rather than make an issue of those hearing it let the remark slide. I don't know if that was the right thing to do. Over the years this radical belief seems to be steered (by some, the more radical) by hate & intolerance; there appears to be no place for love and acceptance. It is not a path I wish to follow.

The radical right in our country wants everyone to believe that this is only a Christian nation. As it turns out we are a nation of many religions and each religion should be respected. It is a principle upon which this nation was formed. In the United States of America, the First Amendment in our Constitution states:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Rev. Elford states "it's good to recall that the Jesus who said, 'I am the way', is also the Jesus who welcomed all to his table, including outcasts and political revolutionaries". Elford believes "radical pluralism (that) recognizes the real differences between diverse faith traditions, but also sees beneath the differences a deep desire for communion with the divine and a call for the transformation of life toward a richer, kaleidoscopic community." It is a start. To read his article click on the link below; it is worth the time.

Doing Good Together: Respect other faiths while staying true...

Sunset

The sunset last night was beautiful as seen 

from the deck at Bastrop Brewhouse

downtown near the river.

The old metal bridge is used only as a 

pedestrian and bike way.

It spans the Colorado River and

goes into the heart of the business area.

When we arrived in town last evening

the Homecoming Parade was just ending.

This weekend is going to be a wet one

for any of the activities planned outdoors.

After suffering through a terrible drought and

resultant wildfires last year, we have 

learned to welcome the rain.

Late this afternoon I quickly mowed our yard

because heavy rains are expected over the weekend.

Most of my mowing was done in a light rain,

but it was a warm rain with a light breeze so I endured.

Suffragists: The Fight to Vote

I am ashamed to say that I did not know how much these women suffered to gain the RIGHT TO VOTE for WOMEN. I am appalled that officials (the warden of a prison and even President Woodrow Wilson) condoned the treatment of these brave women.

The next book I read (after finishing In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larsen) will be a book about the Suffrage Movement in the United States. Of course, this was not covered in American history when I was in school or when I taught, at least not the horrors that women went through to get the right to vote. 

More once a book on the subject is found and read. Thank you my sisters.

Fog

This morning the neighborhood was encapsulated in fog.

The whole of our country is foggy with all the chatter about the upcoming presidential election. We hear one thing from one candidate and the opposite from the other one. How do we know what to believe? The Republican candidate says we're doomed if the Democrat is re-elected and the President says the Republican will take us in a downward spiral leaving a mess for our children, grandchildren & perhaps great grandchildren to clean up.

Wouldn't it be terrific that in the long run none of it will make a great deal of difference. Somehow the United States has muddled along through the Great Depression, various wars, the McCarthy Era, the Civil Rights Movement and has come through in better shape than before those events. In the past the humanity of the American people has prevailed, but can we eventually come together on the issues that are dividing us today?
 

It concerns me that people who work hard and struggle to make ends meet for themselves and their families are consistently falling behind the American Dream. It concerns me that my generation (and maybe the one just after mine) may be the last to prosper more than our parents' generation. It concerns me that our education system is in such a mess. It concerns me that our citizens need a health care system that will always be available with or without insurance. It concerns me that we have many families that are homeless and jobless. It concerns me that the banks and large corporations cannot oversee themselves and do what is right rather than exhibit greed. Those are just a few of my immediate concerns about national issues.

Which of the Presidential candidates can steer us out of this mess? How will the Congress work with whichever candidate is elected? I am ready to come out of the fog, how about you?

Education Today...

In this age of Internet Information, one cannot just Google an answer; one must research deeper to make sure of the "information" one is reading. In the 2nd of his 3 beliefs, Dr. David Magill, Director of the University of Chicago (Education) Lab, addresses this in his opening address to his faculty September 2nd.

"I believe that information accuracy and communication will take on more significance than information acquisition."

When I taught school and was a school librarian I taught students to dig deeper, ask questions, do their best to discern facts. I explained that one cannot take an excerpt from someone's speech and call it true, but must be aware of the whole speech and judge it in its original context to validate what one is reading.

I hope that is still being taught, but I fear now students are only being force-fed information in order to pass tests. In many cases in public schools students are no longer taught to think critically.

Oh yes, I can get on a roll!!!

Thought for the Day

Thought for this Saturday...

"Want Less Government, Move to Somalia"

I've been mulling over the meaning & solution for a man wearing T-shirt yesterday morning on at the Hilton Hotel in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL that states: "The Best Kind of

Government is No Government". Solution: I
f you want no government, move to Somalia. There you will find the least government "interference" of anywhere in the world, but there your life may not be worth a plug nickle. So, the new T-shirt slogan should read:

"Want Less Government; Move to Somalia!"

It's a different take on "Love It or Leave It".

If that's not your cup of tea, check out this blog for other solutions: The Masalai Blog