Let it be said of me, too, please!

"Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are."

or put another way, 

"Teacher," they said, "we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don't play favorites."

~ Pharisees to Jesus in Matthew 22:16

Thank you, Father, for your blessings on us all!

"He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."  Matthew 5:45b


~*~Happy birthday, Samer! ~*~

April Books

Wow, these months do fly on by, huh?  One third of 2011 is nearly over!  Hope it's going well for you!   Here are the books I finished this month.




Islam Today by Akbar S. Ahmed -- a "short introduction to the Muslim world." I was especially interested in the talk of the Central Asian Muslim countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union because I didn't know much about them.  The author tended to focus more on Asian Muslims rather than Arabs. That was a change so I Iearned a bit from that perspective which was good.  see previous posts about this book (they are in March)



Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives In North Korea by Barbara Demick -- The author told the story of northern North Korea - a city called Chongjin - through the tales of defectors she met while living in Seoul.  I heard about this book from Bridget's blog and when I found it at my library, I checked it out.  It's so interesting and sad. Several times I had tears in my eyes as I thought of the difficult lives of these people.  The author described party faithful and those who were questioning of the regime, but dared not say anything for fear of neighbors who would report them.  The lies told about how poor the capitalists were and how privileged the North Koreans were by comparison were heartbreaking especially when people finally realized the truth.  So many people starved to death.  Ugh.  The author also told how hard it was for many North Koreans to start over in China or South Korea. After having the government tell them what to do and basically make every decision for them and provide everything, they didn't know what to do with the array of choices available in South Korea.  Due to lack of nutrition, North Koreans average about five inches below their southern counterparts in height.  Also the north has kept more of the traditional culture than the south.  South Koreans worry about the reunification because of the problems of having millions of extremely poor people in their country. Also imagine a group of people who don't know much about how to use ATMs, internet, cell phones and so forth. They've been literally kept in the dark. Great book. And the title is from a North Korean song in case you were wondering.



Motoring with Mohammed by Eric Hansen -- This library book published twenty years ago tells of the author's adventures first getting shipwrecked in the Red Sea, his rescue, burying his travel notebooks and later - a decade later - his return to Yemen with hopes of locating these.  I enjoyed the tales from his weeks living amongst the Yemenis and meeting Westerners who lived there.


The Gifts of the Jews by Thomas Cahill -- "How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels"  -- see previous post


Feather in the Storm: A Childhood Lost in Chaos by Emily Wu and Larry Englemann -- This book describes the early life and teen years of Emily as she grew up during the Cultural Revolution as a daughter in a "black" family - one where her father was considered "ultra-rightest" due to his intellectual and American ties (he was a professor and had been university educated in Chicago.)  I really enjoyed this book though it was not uplifting and sweet and cuddly at all. Still the determination and hard work and the strength of some people is admirable.  I was glad to see glimmers of compassion and community in certain characters.  Emily was interviewed for a documentary described here.  Wow, I just saw where one of the relocated youth teaches at Duke University which is about a half hour from my house!  Here he is now.  Oh,oops!  It seems he died last Christmas at age 59 and his memorial service at Duke was held just yesterday! Freaky coincidence since I'm just learning about him today (April 9).  Here's the notice.   Sad!




Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter by Thomas Cahill -- see previous post; this book talks about how the Greeks contributed to our western culture



Historic India by Lucille Schulberg.  -- see previous posts


Himalayan Passage by Jeremy Schmidt -- a traveler's tale of his seven month journey with his wife and friends through the high country of Tibet, Nepal, China, Indian and Pakistan. I enjoyed the tales of people they met, sights they saw and experiences with officials, locals, dogs and so forth. Got this at my local library.


North Korea by The Voice of the Martyrs with Todd Nettleton -- a brief book with a bit about the situation of Christians past and present in this country



The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization by Richard W. Bulliet -- This Columbia University professor discusses how Islam and the West are like siblings and how very similar their paths have been. He discusses democracy and fundamentalism within the world.   The book consisted of four rather lengthy chapters and number three was my favorite.  It was especially interesting to read this in light of what has happened this year in many Arab countries.



Why Do You Kill?  by Jurgen Todenhofer was recommended to me by a Moroccan Facebook friend. I read much of this book with Samer (I read it to him) and finished it on my own.  It gives the story of the Iraqi resistance. I thought one mother's summary was good. "Can you not make your American friends understand that they have to stop presenting our children with this horrible alternative -- either to stand by and watch their families being slaughtered or kill someone themselves? Tell them to end this war, which is killing both their young soldiers and our sons - for no reason at all."  (pg. 138)  It really helped me see the Iraqi perspective as so many people have been affected by what the United States has done over there. 



The Jesus You Can't Ignore by John MacArthur -- This is one of my brother's books that he gave me to read. The theme is that Jesus thought so much of Truth that he didn't always be nice and tolerable to people who were distorting it. The author showed several confrontations Jesus had with Pharisees and false teachers and how he stood up for the Truth.; also see previous post

"Truth was his only weapon. He did not assault the false teachers in Corinth the same way they had attacked him - with innuendo, distortions of his teaching, purely personal insults, and webs of deceit.  He answered their deception with truth."  (pg. xxxii)



A Deadly Misunderstanding by Mark Siljander -- a great book about a former Republican Congressman from Michigan as he changes his views about Islam once he meets Muslims and starts listening to them; saw this mentioned first by an Arab Christian friend on Facebook, Nabeel Jabbour, and got it for Christmas off my Amazon Wishlist.



What have you read lately that has most interested you?  :)

On *God* Having To Learn Justice and Morality

I'm currently read Joseph's Bones by a - I think - Jewish guy, Jerome M. Segal. He doesn't say "I am Jewish," but he teaches Torah to children and young people.  Anyway, this book deals with the Torah from a different perspective: as the Bible being written not as God's words, but "a perception of...humanity's message to itself."    Thus far we have Abraham teaching God lessons. Like justice.  Not punishing the good with the evil in the event of Sodom. And holding people individualistically accountable rather than the whole of society suffering for the sins of individuals.  The author brags on Joseph and how his morality seems to be more "firmly lodged in his self-identity" than in God's self-identity.  (pg. 66)

Because of Eve eating the fruit, mankind now has the ability to know good and evil. Thus Eve is "vindicated" -- she is part of the "human process that, if successful, will result in a world of justice, a world achieved by transforming God."  (pg. 72)

Yes, God is the one needed to be overhauled and taught morality and justice.  Perhaps this was the reason God created man. I'll have to keep reading to find out.



Now I'm on a section about the Tower of Babel as recorded in Genesis 11.  Read it and tell me what stands out to you and/or what your understanding of it is symbolically or literally or in harmony with religious tradition and holy books. I am curious. 


 ¹ Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
 ³ They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
 ⁵ But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
 ⁸ So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹ That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.





Thoughts?  What do you think of the idea presented about the Bible's message and God needing to be taught by His creation how to be just and merciful and moral?


Don't forget to share your Tower of Babel interpretations.  :)

The Religious Culture of the Pharisees

I read this and wondered how often we put our religion and doing extra things "for God" over God Himself and what He truly wants from us.  How often do we focus on external things and appearances of religiosity rather than the things that truly matter to God? 

To the eye of a superficial observer, the religious culture the Pharisees had cultivated in first-century Israel might have appeared to represent a kind of golden age for Jewish law. It was certainly not the same variety of overtly false religion we read about so frequently in the Old Testament -- those repeated epochs of backsliding and idolatry with golden calves, Asherah worship, and worse.

 

No one could accuse a Pharisee of any overtolerance for pagan beliefs, right?  They were, after all, strongly opposed to every expression of idolatry and totally committed even to the incidental minutiae of Jewish law.  Plus, for safety's sake they had added many surplus rituals of their own making, as extra shields against accidental defilement.  If biblical law demanded ceremonial washings for priests offering sacrifices, why not add extra washings for everyone, and make them an essential part of common daily routines?  That is precisely what they did.

 

From a human perspective, these things all had the appearance of profound devotion to God. Looked at in that way, the Pharisees might have been thought the least likely men of their generations to become Messiah's worst enemies.  They were profoundly religious, not careless or profane.  They certainly weren't avowed atheists openly undermining people's faith in God's Word.  They promoted piety, not licentiousness. They advocated zeal, rigor and abstinence - not worldliness and indifference to spiritual things.  They championed Judaism, not the sort of pagan syncreticism their Samaritan neighbors and so many earlier generations of Israelites had dabbled in.  Their religion was their whole life.

 

It even took precedence over God Himself.

 

And therein lay the problem. The Pharisees had devised a slick disguise, concealing their self-righteousness and hypocrisy under a veneer of religious zeal. They were careful to maintain the appearance of - but not the reality of - sincere devotion to God.  (pg. 9,10*)

Isaiah 1

¹¹ “The multitude of your sacrifices—
   what are they to me?” says the LORD.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
   of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
   in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
¹² When you come to appear before me,
   who has asked this of you,
   this trampling of my courts?
¹³ Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
   Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
   I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
¹⁴ Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
   I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
   I am weary of bearing them.
¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer,
   I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
   I am not listening.    Your hands are full of blood!







"But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  ~ Jesus  (Mt. 9:13)

 

 

 

*The Jesus You Can't Ignore by John MacArthur

Defining Things

A few things I noted from The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization by Columbia University history professor Richard Bulliet ...


"Books offering new looks at Islam -- this one included -- appear every month. The problem is integrating this mass of information about Islam with the perspectives of those charged with determining government policies.  The policy community, and the scholars on its fringes, continue to shun alternative visions of modernity that might embody a Muslim rather than a western perspective. At worst, they posit Islamic politics as a malignant and inveterate foe, debating the best strategies for holding the Muslims at bay while simultaneously whining 'Why do they hate us?'"  (pg. 115)


This made me wonder how people view modernity.  How would you describe it? Must you own a smart phone or Kindle in order to be modern?  How might a Muslim differ from a Western perspective on this subject? What mights an alternative view of modernity include or exclude?



"Like latter day missionaries, we want the Muslims to love us, not just for what we can offer in the way of a technological society, but for who we are - for our values. But we refuse to countenance the thought of loving them for their values."  (pg. 116)


Do you think this is true? If so, how do we remedy this problem?


"Virtually all thoughtful Americans shudder at the idea of Islamists forming governments, even through free elections. But they are generally hazy on what the world 'Islamist" actually means.  Liberals shudder because of the illiberalism they see at the heart of Islamic movements. Conservatives shudder because of the anti-Americanism they see in those same movements."  (pg. 125)


This reminds me so much of what is happening in the Arab world this year. I recall when Egypt was going through its peaceful revolution, many people here kept saying the Muslim Brotherhood was behind it and they might gain power and put in some very anti-American government that kept minorities within Egypt (whether that were the Coptic Christians or women) down.  How do you define Islamist for yourself? And does the thought of Islamists in power make you shudder or squirm?  Why or why not?


"From the dawn of Christianity down to the nineteenth century - and still today in evangelical Christian circles - the winning of souls took precedence over wealth and power as a sign of success."  (pg. 41)


This was said in context of Islam and Christianity spreading. The author noted that Islam spread to many areas that already had a monotheistic view of God compared to Europe which tended to have the idea of many gods or spirits.  But what I wanted to ask about this is how do you define success? For yourself and/or for others (i.e., societies, governments, etc.)?


You know how you often read about Westerners not crediting Muslims for the scientific achievements and not recognizing cultural superiority during the time when Europe was in its dark ages?  The author draws this parallel. 

Postcolonial thinkers from lands subjected to imperialism concentrate on forms of subjection involved with European imperialism that were virtually unperceivable to past generations of traditional European intellectuals. The latter were prone to stress the economic and technical benefits of relations with Europe in the imperialist era, a phenomenon usually described as westernization or modernization, even as they grudgingly acknowledged the oppressive nature of the colonial system.  People from formerly colonized societies see these as benefits for which no one is owed any gratitude, given the immensity of the burdens inflicted by the putative imperialist benefactors. In exactly the same manner, the Latin Christian of the twelfth through fourteenth centuries (as well as their descendants today) saw no reason to express gratitude toward, or to recognize the scientific and artistic superiority of, the Muslims societies from whence they were obtaining the ideas, techniques, and industrial processes that would soon catapult Latin Europe along a new and immensely fruitful developmental path. Borrowers have their pride.  (pg. 32)

Thoughts?


P.S. --  I hope you all had a nice Easter yesterday!

Good Friday Sadness

So today was Good Friday, the day many Christians remember Jesus' crucifixion.  I found out about an event at a rescue mission located about 45 minutes away and went there to help serve lemonade to the people from the community who came to eat. The day was cool and rainy, but we had a large crowd to feed. I had a wonderful time smiling at others, talking to the adults and making funny faces at the children.  I wanted them to see Jesus in me and I hope they did.  The mission gave away bags of groceries, nice clothes, Easter baskets and had games and balloons and prizes for the children.

On the way down I was listening to a CD from a message my pastor spoke a few months ago. I remember liking it then so I saved it and today I remembered why. One part he talks about suffering with people.  How we enter into their suffering the same way Jesus suffered with us.  So this evening I've been suffering for Syria.

They had "Great Friday" there.  Each Friday they have had names for their protests -- the day of persistence and .. I'm drawing a blank, but you get the idea. Today being Good Friday for Christians, they decided to show solidarity with the Christians within Syria and gave it the Arabic version which Samer told me translates to Great Friday. So, Great Friday was a horrible day!  Almost 90 people killed and I saw some gruesome videos!  I "liked" Shaam News Network* on Facebook so my news feed has been full of the reality of the day there!  And it's awful!

So I am sharing in their suffering and am heartbroken for the beautiful people throughout that country who are seeing their country fall apart and for those precious souls who lost their lives today.  I weep with them.

Edited to add this video. A Syrian friend (not Samer who has been asleep in Germany for hours now) asked me to share it on Facebook just now and I decided to add it here. It will break your heart.






* Click the link, but be prepared for some graphic stuff. Some of my Facebook people seemed to have problems with a couple things I posted from it today.  Reality is too difficult for many folks whose vision of reality is Survivor and Hell's Kitchen.

India: Rethinking God, His Oneness, Intuition Over Reason

My last few notes on Historic India by Lucille Schulberg

EVOLVING THOUGHTS OF GOD


"Even as he reaffirms the ancient concept of oneness, Krishna reveals a shift in the concept of god and of man's relation to him. God, or the prevailing spirit behind the universe, remains one with creation, but he is no longer impassive; he is a personal god who loves man, who desires love in return and - most significant - he is a god who will assist man in his course through life."

"Such a god as Krishna is a far remove from Brahman, the impersonal world spirit put forth in the Upanishads.  Krishna's words indicate how the concept of the deity have evolved.  By the Fourth Century A.D. the loving kind of deity of which he spoke had grasped the hearts of the people -- and as it took hold there arose a new form of worship appropriate to such a god." 


I think it is interesting to consider the concept of oneness and how it is understood by different religions.  Here you see these words and may think of monotheism in the Islamic sense..especially if you aren't familiar with Hinduism at all and are just reading this quote plucked from its context.  Yet this oneness is a oneness of God with his creation.  Not "there is no god but God."   Hindus worship a variety of gods though they have their favorites.  (The book states "Vishnu, Shiva and Shiva's wife in several guises get the lion's share of" worship, that is bhakti: "a form of intense personal devotion.")  Likewise, the Trinitarian Christian's concept of oneness is also different from what a Jew or Muslim would understand it to be.  Perhaps two becoming one in marriage is a simple though imperfect way to better understand how three persons can make up one God.

Also isn't this quote interesting in that God is no longer impersonal, he loves and desires love in return? Also he will help us throughout our lives.  I couldn't help but think of Jesus's words about God loving us and us loving Him.  The assisting part reminds me of the Holy Spirit who would be sent to guide us into all truth.  Did this also make you think this way?




INTUITION OVER REASON


In the 9th century one of the greatest Indian philosophers Shankara "did for Hinduism what the 13th century Thomas Aquinas did for Christianity: he took his religion apart and examined it in minute detail, then drew the pieces together again in one cohesive whole."  He preferred the impersonal Brahman rather than the "concept of a warm and loving deity," yet "he persisted in writing eloquent hymns in praise of Shiva."  He wasn't a fan of Buddhism yet "employed missionary techniques similar to theirs."  After accepting without question his religious scriptures as divine revelation, he set about verifying his faith through reason yet in the end discarded reason in favor of intuition which was "the ability to seize on truth without recourse to reason."  Intuition was to be prized more than reason.  "All knowledge, he said, is warped and inconclusive, for the senses impair man's grasp of reality. Hampered by illusion and ignorance, man sees many forms where there is in truth only one reality -- Brahman: a reality that is changeless, timeless and unified in all things."


ISLAM IN INDIA

The final chapter dealt with the Muslims coming into India. Here is how the author contrasted Hindu and Islamic beliefs.

Muslims -- rigid monotheism; no God but God and Muhammad is His prophet

Hindus -- flexible theology; a "private affair" where each was able to find religious truth "in God, gods or a godless intellectual concept"

Muslims --  "all Muslims were brothers and that all men were equal before God regardless of their class or color"

Hindus --  "social inequality was the law of the universe and that if there was such a thing as blasphemy, it was to be found in the act of tampering with social order"




Any thoughts, corrections or observations on any of this?  What do you think of the shift of God from impassive to loving and personal and helpful to people?  Shankara preferred the former. Which do you like more? What do you think of Shankara's views about intuition trumping reason? Do you agree that "the senses impair man's grasp of reality" so knowledge is "warped and inconclusive"?  Other thoughts or comments?