In the Exodus story (picking up in chapter 15), there is a celebration after the Israelites watch Pharaoh's forces get swept away by the waters of the Red Sea. The Jews sing a song crediting God with their escape from Egypt with the plunder they stole from the Egyptians and their safe passage into the wilderness. Until they have trouble finding potable water, that is. Then, there are complaints until Moses works some magic with a water-purifying stick, and God is once more praised for watching out for the Israelites. Until they have trouble finding enough food to fill their bellies, that is. Then they tell Moses that he should have left them all in Egypt instead of taking them out into the desert to die. So, Moses instructs them on how to gather food from the harsh environment so that the community has plenty, and everyone praises God for providing.
This trend continues: The Israelites have trouble finding water again. They gripe at Moses for taking them into the wilderness to die. Moses uses a magic stick. God is praised. The Israelites face hostile nomads. Moses determines the outcome of the battle by raising or lowering his magic stick. God is praised. Then, Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, pays a visit. He tells Moses that it isn't wise to be the only person to whom the entire Israelite community comes for advice and leadership. Jethro suggests bureaucracy, a formula of delegation that will spread authority out a bit among the people. Moses likes the idea and puts it into practice.
It's interesting that God isn't credited with the idea of bureaucracy, but Jethro's suggestion to "teach them the decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave" is essentially an admonition to encourage spiritual maturity in a people whose faith is threatened by every troublesome circumstance. Not a bad suggestion. Build up the faith of a people and they will be a little more able to take care of themselves. It's a far cry from the practice of some twenty-first century spiritual leaders who think it's best to tell people what to think and feel with an overbearing volume and repetition that prevents people from thinking for themselves.
If a people believe that a higher power is watching out for their well-being, expressions of gratitude seem appropriate. It is perhaps dubious for modern-day Christians to look back at the Song of Miriam and formulate a philosophy of international relations based on the assumption that God will smash their enemies, unleash his blazing fury, and consume them like straw. Being grateful for the good things that happen in life is healthy, though, especially when you consider just having enough food and water to be a blessing. Those with a more mature faith might even be able to express gratitude when survival is in question or when they experience some degree of unpleasantness in life. That seems to be where Jethro's idea could ultimately lead, even if his goal at the time was just to spread out Moses' leadership and authority a bit.
The problem with Moses' identity among the wandering Israelites is that he has become the only man with the answers. He is the only one who is entitled to say what God wants from the people. He is the only one who can provide sustenance for them. Moses is essentially their god, even though they aren't recorded as praising him directly. He has set himself up with unassailable authority because he communicates with God and the people do not. They need him in order to receive God's blessings. They need him to survive. Or so it would seem, at least. Jethro saw clearly that nothing good can come of one person wielding that level of power over a community.
As the story continues, we'll see that there is still a great deal of "I know what God wants and you don't." When the governing rules of the community are delivered, they still come with the threat of "do what God wants or die." It would seem that spiritual maturity is a scary prospect for both sides. It isn't as easy for a leader to compel people to do what he wants once those people start thinking for themselves a little more. But there's also a great deal of vulnerability in developing personal responsibility for one's own beliefs. In a way, the whole of the Bible (and perhaps every religious text) is about that struggle to accept the responsibility of spiritual maturity in order to reap the tremendous rewards.
Historically, there may never have been an Israelite exodus from Egypt. Still, if there was, I believe that the Israelites would have been able to survive without Moses. It may not have been pleasant, and they may have lost many of their number in the process, but perhaps they would have become a more tightly woven community as well. People are capable of a great many things, whether it's purifying water to drink, surviving off the food that the land provides, or defending themselves against actual aggressors. To give all the credit for such things to a single individual in a community is lazy and immature. Consistently waiting for Moses or God or someone else to act on your behalf reflects not only a sense that you are too weak to take care of yourself, but also that you deserve to have your every need provided for you by someone else. People are capable of more than that. Be sincerely grateful and earnestly praise God if that makes sense for you. But also recognize your own responsibility for your thoughts and actions. Personal responsibility is at the very heart of spiritual maturity.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Friday, December 23, 2011
Prophecy and the Reason for the Season (Hint: It's not to bludgeon people with religious compulsions)
Prophecy has become a topic of conversation for the Christmas season, as Christians point to the prophet Isaiah, as well as a couple of other Old Testament prophets, to prove Jesus as the son of God. The word prophecy doesn’t quite mean the same thing that it used to, which is perhaps part of the issue. Whereas “Prophet” was once the title given to a person who was inspired to proclaim divine will, at some point it came to mean a fortune teller, prognosticator, or predictor of future events. Thus, at this time of year, many Christians go on a short-term crusade to “prove” the legitimacy of the church’s claims about Christ’s singular divinity, adding on the insistence that people say “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays” in the hopes that people will remember the “reason for the season” and turn to the Christian God.
My tone may suggest that I have some problems with that attitude. I don’t actually care what Christians want to believe about Jesus in the privacy of their own homes or churches. It does bother me, however, when I hear other people attempting to dictate what everyone else should believe. And here’s why: people can’t see into the future. Smart and well-informed people might make some insightful predictions about a particular trend, and sometimes listening to those people is a good idea, especially when it concerns the national economy and such. But a smart person also checks the facts. A prediction based on faulty information isn’t a very reliable prediction. Nostradamus (perhaps the most widely known “prophet” outside of the Bible) only has a 9% success rate with his forecasts, but of course some devotees will claim that the other 91% just hasn’t happened yet.
The Jewish prophets weren’t even trying to predict the future, though. They were “prophets” – proclaimers of divine will. They were sharing their insights about what was wrong and right with the world in which they lived from a divine perspective. Later on, people were so insistent on labeling Jesus as the Messiah figure who appears in some of that “prophecy” that they even write some silly things about his actions just to make the story fit together. The bottom line is that the prophets were writing for their contemporaries. Incidentally, this goes for the writers of the books of Daniel and Revelation, too, but that’s another topic altogether.
Just as one cannot use a word as its own definition, one cannot prove Biblical fortune-telling by the Bible itself. Instead, it would perhaps be more satisfying to actually remember the reason for the season, by which I mean, the meaning ascribed to this time of year before it was reclaimed and repurposed by a zealous imperialistic religion. The winter solstice has meant a lot of things to different cultures throughout history. Some see the passing of the solstice as a time of renewal, passing from dark to light as the days gradually begin to lengthen once again. It is a time for generosity, for sharing what we have with an attitude of abundance. It is a time for human warmth and affection to stand in for the warmth that is lacking from the sun. Winter reminds us of many things worth celebrating. We run the risk of missing the actual peace with one another and joy with life itself when we put on battle gear and set ourselves on a mission.
So, whether you prefer “Blessed Solstice” or “Happy Hannukah” or “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” or any other iteration of the spirit of this time of year, remember that it isn’t the words that matter most. It is the attitude we cultivate, the people we honor, the gifts of life we appreciate, the hope we maintain for the future, and the joy we are willing to share in spite of differences. Which is largely what the prophets were getting at anyway. We are the reason for the season, actually. All of us who share this time and place together.
My tone may suggest that I have some problems with that attitude. I don’t actually care what Christians want to believe about Jesus in the privacy of their own homes or churches. It does bother me, however, when I hear other people attempting to dictate what everyone else should believe. And here’s why: people can’t see into the future. Smart and well-informed people might make some insightful predictions about a particular trend, and sometimes listening to those people is a good idea, especially when it concerns the national economy and such. But a smart person also checks the facts. A prediction based on faulty information isn’t a very reliable prediction. Nostradamus (perhaps the most widely known “prophet” outside of the Bible) only has a 9% success rate with his forecasts, but of course some devotees will claim that the other 91% just hasn’t happened yet.
The Jewish prophets weren’t even trying to predict the future, though. They were “prophets” – proclaimers of divine will. They were sharing their insights about what was wrong and right with the world in which they lived from a divine perspective. Later on, people were so insistent on labeling Jesus as the Messiah figure who appears in some of that “prophecy” that they even write some silly things about his actions just to make the story fit together. The bottom line is that the prophets were writing for their contemporaries. Incidentally, this goes for the writers of the books of Daniel and Revelation, too, but that’s another topic altogether.
Just as one cannot use a word as its own definition, one cannot prove Biblical fortune-telling by the Bible itself. Instead, it would perhaps be more satisfying to actually remember the reason for the season, by which I mean, the meaning ascribed to this time of year before it was reclaimed and repurposed by a zealous imperialistic religion. The winter solstice has meant a lot of things to different cultures throughout history. Some see the passing of the solstice as a time of renewal, passing from dark to light as the days gradually begin to lengthen once again. It is a time for generosity, for sharing what we have with an attitude of abundance. It is a time for human warmth and affection to stand in for the warmth that is lacking from the sun. Winter reminds us of many things worth celebrating. We run the risk of missing the actual peace with one another and joy with life itself when we put on battle gear and set ourselves on a mission.
So, whether you prefer “Blessed Solstice” or “Happy Hannukah” or “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” or any other iteration of the spirit of this time of year, remember that it isn’t the words that matter most. It is the attitude we cultivate, the people we honor, the gifts of life we appreciate, the hope we maintain for the future, and the joy we are willing to share in spite of differences. Which is largely what the prophets were getting at anyway. We are the reason for the season, actually. All of us who share this time and place together.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Exodus 14: The Other Side of the Coin (Recognizing When You Are the Leader and When You Are Not)
Thus far in the Exodus story, I’ve suggested that it’s more accurate for us to identify with the personal power of Moses rather than the victimhood of the other Israelites. I’ve also suggested that what we think of as the divine is not an external intelligence but an inner part of ourselves. It’s important to remember that the same is true for everyone, that each person has the capability to tap into a deep truth, beauty, and creativity. Exodus 14 provides a couple examples of what happens when we fail to acknowledge our personal power and the personal authority of others.
Moses leads the Israelite plunderers on a cunning escape route that provokes the Egyptians to pursue them and attempt to reclaim their stolen goods. When the Israelites see the Egyptians coming, their response to Moses is, “Were there not enough graves in Egypt that you led us out into the wilderness to die?” Encouraging words from a devoted following? Hardly. And yet, there are probably similar accusations leveled at leaders all over the world each and every day. While spiritual leadership can be abused, it’s also important to realize when someone else is exercising their capabilities for the greater good.
Every leadership role lives and dies by the trust of other people. Some people are good at winning trust and fall short on the follow-through. Some people are incredibly capable but have a difficult time helping other people see a lofty vision. Some people fail to recognize how their strengths could turn the tide of a situation, so everyone loses out. And some people are too busy trying to maintain control to recognize where their strengths end and another person’s strengths begin. There is a balance that must be struck between embracing our own personal power and opening space for the capability of other people to shine. When we tap into the deep truth, beauty, and creativity within us, our perception of equality may be challenged.
All people are equally valuable as human beings, but all people are not equally skilled in all things. It’s simply dishonest to treat life like a game of kids’ “fair and fun” sports, where no score is kept and there are no winners and losers. A false sense of equality leads to frustration, stagnation, and separation. We wind up complaining about leaders instead of giving their ideas a chance to succeed. We sometimes decide that we are being overlooked and spend our time trying to outdo someone else rather than focusing on the things that we are uniquely capable of doing. Recognizing the deep truth, beauty, and creativity within ourselves and others leads to an honest sense of what we are able to contribute to the world and honest acknowledgement of the contributions of others.
As the story of the parting of the Red Sea continues, the people following Moses become convinced of his capability for a short time. His connection with the divine was perhaps stronger than theirs was at the moment. They don’t make much effort to develop their own connections to the divine, though, and before long, they are complaining once again and demanding that Moses’ leadership look like what they want it to. They complain about things without suggesting any practical alternatives. They make demands without considering what is required to satisfy those demands. They expect to have something done for them rather than being part of a cooperative effort to make things better. And as we’ll see later on, when leadership apart from Moses does emerge, it’s shallow and irresponsible.
Connection with the divine brings a certain amount of personal responsibility with it. This goes for people who claim the labels of organized religions as well as people who chart their own spiritual courses. It’s unwise to blindly accept the words of everyone who claims to speak for God. But it’s also unwise to dismiss everyone who speaks with authority just because they may say something we don’t like. Hostility and petty conflicts most often result from fears and false beliefs. Our connection with the truth, beauty, and creativity within us combats those fears and beliefs and opens paths of cooperation. Paths where we can confidently bring our honest strengths forward while allowing space for the honest strengths of others to shine as well. Trying to tear other people down, or building ourselves up in dishonest ways, can never yield the same level of satisfaction that honest and authentic partnership brings. Great satisfaction comes from partnership that places equal value on people as human beings while recognizing diverse abilities.
Moses leads the Israelite plunderers on a cunning escape route that provokes the Egyptians to pursue them and attempt to reclaim their stolen goods. When the Israelites see the Egyptians coming, their response to Moses is, “Were there not enough graves in Egypt that you led us out into the wilderness to die?” Encouraging words from a devoted following? Hardly. And yet, there are probably similar accusations leveled at leaders all over the world each and every day. While spiritual leadership can be abused, it’s also important to realize when someone else is exercising their capabilities for the greater good.
Every leadership role lives and dies by the trust of other people. Some people are good at winning trust and fall short on the follow-through. Some people are incredibly capable but have a difficult time helping other people see a lofty vision. Some people fail to recognize how their strengths could turn the tide of a situation, so everyone loses out. And some people are too busy trying to maintain control to recognize where their strengths end and another person’s strengths begin. There is a balance that must be struck between embracing our own personal power and opening space for the capability of other people to shine. When we tap into the deep truth, beauty, and creativity within us, our perception of equality may be challenged.
All people are equally valuable as human beings, but all people are not equally skilled in all things. It’s simply dishonest to treat life like a game of kids’ “fair and fun” sports, where no score is kept and there are no winners and losers. A false sense of equality leads to frustration, stagnation, and separation. We wind up complaining about leaders instead of giving their ideas a chance to succeed. We sometimes decide that we are being overlooked and spend our time trying to outdo someone else rather than focusing on the things that we are uniquely capable of doing. Recognizing the deep truth, beauty, and creativity within ourselves and others leads to an honest sense of what we are able to contribute to the world and honest acknowledgement of the contributions of others.
As the story of the parting of the Red Sea continues, the people following Moses become convinced of his capability for a short time. His connection with the divine was perhaps stronger than theirs was at the moment. They don’t make much effort to develop their own connections to the divine, though, and before long, they are complaining once again and demanding that Moses’ leadership look like what they want it to. They complain about things without suggesting any practical alternatives. They make demands without considering what is required to satisfy those demands. They expect to have something done for them rather than being part of a cooperative effort to make things better. And as we’ll see later on, when leadership apart from Moses does emerge, it’s shallow and irresponsible.
Connection with the divine brings a certain amount of personal responsibility with it. This goes for people who claim the labels of organized religions as well as people who chart their own spiritual courses. It’s unwise to blindly accept the words of everyone who claims to speak for God. But it’s also unwise to dismiss everyone who speaks with authority just because they may say something we don’t like. Hostility and petty conflicts most often result from fears and false beliefs. Our connection with the truth, beauty, and creativity within us combats those fears and beliefs and opens paths of cooperation. Paths where we can confidently bring our honest strengths forward while allowing space for the honest strengths of others to shine as well. Trying to tear other people down, or building ourselves up in dishonest ways, can never yield the same level of satisfaction that honest and authentic partnership brings. Great satisfaction comes from partnership that places equal value on people as human beings while recognizing diverse abilities.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Exodus 4-13: The Exodus Model of Spiritual Leadership and the Dangers of Blind Obedience
The tale of the ten plagues visited upon Egypt is famous. When the Israelites were under the heavy burden of Egyptian slavery, Moses compelled the Egyptian pharaoh to release them by proclaiming a series of increasingly costly events, enacted by God upon the Egyptians. The Israelites were spared the direct cost of the plagues, and eventually left with stolen goods from Egyptian households with Egyptian soldiers in pursuit. The story of the plagues culminates in the ritual of Passover, a significant piece of Jewish culture that reminds participants of God’s favoritism toward his chosen people and his promise of redemption.
There is considerable doubt in the archaeological community that the Israelites were ever slaves in Egypt, much less that they proclaimed and were spared from an epic series of plagues upon the Egyptian people. Some suggest that the assumed timeline of Egyptian history is incorrect, and at least one researcher has offered that significant volcanic activity could account for almost all of the plagues. However, to take the story as pure documentation of historical events misses its point. The three essential messages of the story are (1) Our god is better than your god, (2) God chooses spiritual leaders whom the multitudes must follow, and (3) Ritual has meaning.
While it seems silly to put the first message in terms of a grade-school taunt, there are plenty of people in the world today for whom that simple statement is the summation of their faith. “My god is better than your god, and therefore you are less worthy as a human being.” Less worthy of respect, less worthy of societal rights, even less worthy of life in some cases. It’s a central problem to the concept of an external deity, especially when certain people believe that they can understand that deity’s character and intentions better than anyone else. It must be incredibly frustrating for believers to hear such a cacophony of voices all proclaiming to know what God wants and rarely agreeing on anything. Responsible believers would do well to research their own scriptures and decide for themselves what spiritual truths lie therein, but the message “people need leaders to guide them into spiritual understanding” often stands in the way.
When we started looking at Exodus, I mentioned that we would do best to identify with Moses rather than the masses of Israelite “victims” in the tale. That isn’t implicit in the text, though. The story clearly suggests that there is a vast gulf between the chosen spiritual leaders and the masses they lead. The role of the masses is to be obedient to the leader, because the leader is proclaiming the will of God. To be obedient to the spiritual leader is to be obedient to God. And if you aren’t obedient, you will suffer – perhaps even the death of a child. Blind obedience is a fine way to maintain cultural integrity. Not so much for developing personal spirituality.
The problem, of course, is that people eventually abuse that spiritual authority. It would almost be a respectable system if those leaders cared first and foremost about the spiritual well-being of their flocks, but when a spiritual leader develops a personal agenda, it becomes a personal crusade. People with the authority of a pulpit or a microphone speak for God and proclaim who should be persecuted, who should be defended, who people should fall in love with, what people should legally be allowed to do with their bodies, who should be elected to office, what country the United States should bomb, what movies to watch or avoid… They strive to influence all manner of beliefs, behaviors, and decisions. And within the context of a religious culture teaching people that obedience to spiritual leaders is equivalent to obedience to God, people sometimes fail to use their own personal discernment in the face of messages from these authorities.
Then there is the matter of backlash in the face of disillusionment. Some people, upon recognizing that a spiritual leader has in some way failed them or led them astray, decide to take charge themselves. Religious institutions are filled with people on a quest for personal power, sometimes with a sense of righteous purpose, but almost always fueled by a measure of vindictiveness toward a person or group that didn’t quite fill out the role of spiritual leader satisfactorily. In many cases, these selfish campaigns for personal power ignore the impact on the broader spiritual community, and the negative ripples may spread further than the crusader even realizes.
It’s probably fortunate for some people that there is not an intelligent divine being looking on to the chaos caused by those who claim to be his mouthpieces. It’s dangerous to believe that you have a corner on the market of understanding what a god wants from his followers. Prophets and their devotees spend more time and energy arguing with one another than they spend on actually living spiritually meaningful lives. Unless, of course, arguing incessantly has some spiritual merit in a person’s belief system. I suppose that’s possible. I believe that there is a more satisfying way to live.
Leaders are important. I don’t mean to suggest otherwise. Innovators, visionaries, and mobilizers are necessary to propel a system forward, whether it’s an organization or a nation or a world. The key is for people to realize that these human beings are just that. Leaders are not granted divine immunity from fault or criticism. There are a lot of people who speak for particular beliefs or causes, but there is no one who speaks for God. Anyone in leadership benefits from people who are willing to think for themselves and evaluate the direction in which they are being led.
Which is where the third point of the Exodus story comes into play. Ritual is powerful. The Passover probably began as a bit of witchcraft, smearing lamb’s blood on a doorframe to keep evil spirits away. It evolved into a colorful story about a people’s relationship with their god and a practice that preserved a culture. The ritual embodies what is held to be spiritual truth, and it is a powerful symbol that touches the deepest parts of the human psyche. The Passover ritual also becomes translated into Christian communion, the church having converted the ritual into a new spiritual context, as organized religion so often does. Without the ritual, people may understand a set of beliefs intellectually, but the ritual reaches into places that the intellect doesn’t tread.
People have created rituals for a very long time. Rituals were initially ways to connect people with the natural world around them. Some of our contemporary celebrations (religious and otherwise) have been adapted from rituals honoring the natural occurrences of solstice and equinox. The key is to recognize what beliefs a ritual is establishing for you. Don’t take part in rituals that are not in alignment with what you truly believe. If you want to become more deeply in touch with the divine, be a part of or create your own rituals that speak to that truth. That goes for any belief system. If the rituals you participate in have become habitual and empty, find a way to revitalize the practice. When you are more deeply aware of who you are, you are more apt to see that value in others. This goes for people who believe that they are forgiven children of God as well as people who believe that the divine is something they embody within themselves.
When we are honest about the deep and undeniable truth, beauty, and creativity within us, we are able to inspire that awareness in others and we are able to guide progress in a direction that truly honors our connection to ourselves, the rest of humanity, and the natural world. In those moments of clarity when we set aside fears and personal agendas in order to consider the truths that run deeper than doctrines, then we stand a chance of speaking for the divine. And in those moments of clarity, it doesn’t matter who we convince. Truth does not need a bullhorn. Truth does not need to attack anything. Truth does not need defending. Truth does not need anyone to agree with it. Truth is simply and undeniably true.
There is considerable doubt in the archaeological community that the Israelites were ever slaves in Egypt, much less that they proclaimed and were spared from an epic series of plagues upon the Egyptian people. Some suggest that the assumed timeline of Egyptian history is incorrect, and at least one researcher has offered that significant volcanic activity could account for almost all of the plagues. However, to take the story as pure documentation of historical events misses its point. The three essential messages of the story are (1) Our god is better than your god, (2) God chooses spiritual leaders whom the multitudes must follow, and (3) Ritual has meaning.
While it seems silly to put the first message in terms of a grade-school taunt, there are plenty of people in the world today for whom that simple statement is the summation of their faith. “My god is better than your god, and therefore you are less worthy as a human being.” Less worthy of respect, less worthy of societal rights, even less worthy of life in some cases. It’s a central problem to the concept of an external deity, especially when certain people believe that they can understand that deity’s character and intentions better than anyone else. It must be incredibly frustrating for believers to hear such a cacophony of voices all proclaiming to know what God wants and rarely agreeing on anything. Responsible believers would do well to research their own scriptures and decide for themselves what spiritual truths lie therein, but the message “people need leaders to guide them into spiritual understanding” often stands in the way.
When we started looking at Exodus, I mentioned that we would do best to identify with Moses rather than the masses of Israelite “victims” in the tale. That isn’t implicit in the text, though. The story clearly suggests that there is a vast gulf between the chosen spiritual leaders and the masses they lead. The role of the masses is to be obedient to the leader, because the leader is proclaiming the will of God. To be obedient to the spiritual leader is to be obedient to God. And if you aren’t obedient, you will suffer – perhaps even the death of a child. Blind obedience is a fine way to maintain cultural integrity. Not so much for developing personal spirituality.
The problem, of course, is that people eventually abuse that spiritual authority. It would almost be a respectable system if those leaders cared first and foremost about the spiritual well-being of their flocks, but when a spiritual leader develops a personal agenda, it becomes a personal crusade. People with the authority of a pulpit or a microphone speak for God and proclaim who should be persecuted, who should be defended, who people should fall in love with, what people should legally be allowed to do with their bodies, who should be elected to office, what country the United States should bomb, what movies to watch or avoid… They strive to influence all manner of beliefs, behaviors, and decisions. And within the context of a religious culture teaching people that obedience to spiritual leaders is equivalent to obedience to God, people sometimes fail to use their own personal discernment in the face of messages from these authorities.
Then there is the matter of backlash in the face of disillusionment. Some people, upon recognizing that a spiritual leader has in some way failed them or led them astray, decide to take charge themselves. Religious institutions are filled with people on a quest for personal power, sometimes with a sense of righteous purpose, but almost always fueled by a measure of vindictiveness toward a person or group that didn’t quite fill out the role of spiritual leader satisfactorily. In many cases, these selfish campaigns for personal power ignore the impact on the broader spiritual community, and the negative ripples may spread further than the crusader even realizes.
It’s probably fortunate for some people that there is not an intelligent divine being looking on to the chaos caused by those who claim to be his mouthpieces. It’s dangerous to believe that you have a corner on the market of understanding what a god wants from his followers. Prophets and their devotees spend more time and energy arguing with one another than they spend on actually living spiritually meaningful lives. Unless, of course, arguing incessantly has some spiritual merit in a person’s belief system. I suppose that’s possible. I believe that there is a more satisfying way to live.
Leaders are important. I don’t mean to suggest otherwise. Innovators, visionaries, and mobilizers are necessary to propel a system forward, whether it’s an organization or a nation or a world. The key is for people to realize that these human beings are just that. Leaders are not granted divine immunity from fault or criticism. There are a lot of people who speak for particular beliefs or causes, but there is no one who speaks for God. Anyone in leadership benefits from people who are willing to think for themselves and evaluate the direction in which they are being led.
Which is where the third point of the Exodus story comes into play. Ritual is powerful. The Passover probably began as a bit of witchcraft, smearing lamb’s blood on a doorframe to keep evil spirits away. It evolved into a colorful story about a people’s relationship with their god and a practice that preserved a culture. The ritual embodies what is held to be spiritual truth, and it is a powerful symbol that touches the deepest parts of the human psyche. The Passover ritual also becomes translated into Christian communion, the church having converted the ritual into a new spiritual context, as organized religion so often does. Without the ritual, people may understand a set of beliefs intellectually, but the ritual reaches into places that the intellect doesn’t tread.
People have created rituals for a very long time. Rituals were initially ways to connect people with the natural world around them. Some of our contemporary celebrations (religious and otherwise) have been adapted from rituals honoring the natural occurrences of solstice and equinox. The key is to recognize what beliefs a ritual is establishing for you. Don’t take part in rituals that are not in alignment with what you truly believe. If you want to become more deeply in touch with the divine, be a part of or create your own rituals that speak to that truth. That goes for any belief system. If the rituals you participate in have become habitual and empty, find a way to revitalize the practice. When you are more deeply aware of who you are, you are more apt to see that value in others. This goes for people who believe that they are forgiven children of God as well as people who believe that the divine is something they embody within themselves.
When we are honest about the deep and undeniable truth, beauty, and creativity within us, we are able to inspire that awareness in others and we are able to guide progress in a direction that truly honors our connection to ourselves, the rest of humanity, and the natural world. In those moments of clarity when we set aside fears and personal agendas in order to consider the truths that run deeper than doctrines, then we stand a chance of speaking for the divine. And in those moments of clarity, it doesn’t matter who we convince. Truth does not need a bullhorn. Truth does not need to attack anything. Truth does not need defending. Truth does not need anyone to agree with it. Truth is simply and undeniably true.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Exodus 3-4: Purpose, Passion, and "Calling" Come from Within (no shrubbery conflagrations required)
Moses’ story continues in Exodus 3-4, in which he is called by God to return to Egypt and negotiate the release of the Israelites from the country. When Moses argues that he isn’t capable of the task, God teaches him some magic tricks (gimmicks that were known by other “sorcerers” of the time). When Moses still resists, God angrily suggests that Moses’ brother Aaron can help. God also promises that there will be “dramatic displays of power” that will convince Pharaoh to do what God wants, and that God will forcibly keep Pharaoh stubborn until the displays of power have run their course. If Pharaoh acquiesced after the first couple of plagues, it would be like the audience leaving before the grand finale. As icing on the cake, God promises Moses that the Egyptians will heap wealth upon the Israelites when they leave, going so far as to label it a robbery on the part of the Israelites.
Then there is this tricky little scene that is so fraught with pronouns and euphemism that every translation says something slightly different. Basically, when Moses fled Egypt and ran to Midian for safety, he married Zipporah and adopted the cultural and religious practices of the Midianites. As such, Moses’ son went uncircumcised. When Moses and his family set off for Egypt, after God has gone through a great ordeal to convince Moses to even consider the journey, the Lord decides that Moses’ son needs to die because he wasn’t circumcised. So, with her son in the throes of what appeared to be a life-threatening illness, Zipporah gave in and circumcised her son. Depending on the translation, this was either something done with an understanding of symbolic ritual, or it was a repulsive act she performed out of desperation for her son’s life. Either way, once he’s circumcised, the boy gets better.
The matter of free will is certainly central to how things play out for the character of Pharaoh, and there will be plenty of opportunity to explore that in later passages. Having established the character of the biblical patriarchs and their god in our exploration of the book of Genesis, it is not of utmost importance to go through each verse in meticulous detail to point out further moral, ethical, and psychological issues with the narrative and its characters. It is more useful to look beyond the assumptions of the text and draw spiritual insight that can be meaningful in everyday life.
Accepting that the divine is something within us rather than outside of us, there are some significant ideas in Moses’ confrontation with the divine that are worthy of consideration. The divine is displayed as a burning bush which is never consumed. Fire can be frightening and fascinating. We talk about a people having a “fire in their bellies” or being “on fire” for a particular cause because we recognize the similarities between actual fire and human passion. Passion for an ideal or for another person can at times be frightening as well. It may threaten to overwhelm us and take precedence over everything else in our lives. Some of us tend to be afraid of being controlled by our passions, but it’s foolish to try to ignore them completely.
The things that we are passionate about stem from our essence. They are deep truths about us becoming manifest. Everyone isn’t passionate about the same things or in the same way, but there is something that burns within every person, untamed, unquenchable, and ultimately unavoidable. When we stoke our passions, they burn brighter, and when we ignore them, our own energy and sense of purpose gets consumed. There are ways to focus our passions and maintain them in a way that doesn’t run roughshod over every other aspect of our lives. However, in order to manage that fire, we have to embrace that it exists and that it is divine.
To say that the passions we have are divine is to acknowledge that they originate in that place of deep truth, beauty, and creativity within us. If it seems that the most obvious way to express our passions is to do something harmful to ourselves or another human being, we are missing something. The fires of our true passions are not about gaining power, but rather they inspire us to exercise the power we already possess in a meaningful way. That may seem like a challenge sometimes, but the reward is authentic connection with ourselves.
When Moses asks the burning bush for a name, the response is “I am who I am” (depending on the translation). While this is often interpreted as an indication as to the character of the Israelites’ god, it is also a healthy point of view for us to adopt about ourselves. We spend so much time worrying about being healthier, skinnier, more beautiful, wealthier, happier, more socially connected, more influential, more knowledgeable, more vindicated, and on and on. We are who we are. We can aim for lofty goals, provided those goals are tempered in the reality of our capabilities. That is precisely what our passions drive us to do. But any time and energy we spend detailing the ways in which we don’t measure up to some arbitrary ideal is squandered time and energy.
All of us can name some essential truths about ourselves. They may be character traits or things we experience for just a moment. We may think of them as positive or negative, but truth is simply true. If a person is sad… or unsociable… or fearful… or obese… or angry… or whatever, judging that state of being as inappropriate or wrong is a denial of truth. People are able to take action and make changes, but in order to travel to any destination, you have to be aware of your starting point. You are who you are. I am who I am. That is a divine truth.
Acknowledging who we are includes acknowledging the passions that blaze within us. If your passion is making birdhouses, it doesn’t make sense to spend all of your time campaigning for a political cause. There are other people who are passionate about various political causes, and it wouldn’t make sense for them to spend all of their time building birdhouses. Other people do not have to validate who you are. Who you are is simply true. People will not always agree on what is most important in life, in politics, in industry. But no one can determine what is most important to you except you.
Like Moses, we often make excuses as well. Fire is scary. Passion is scary. Truth can even be scary if we are accustomed to thoughtlessly accepting other people’s opinions as our own truth. There are plenty of resources on the market to help people stop procrastinating, stop making excuses, and take action. The key is that you know when you are making excuses. You may fool yourself into thinking that the excuses are true, but the part of you that burns with inspiration knows better. The truth of who you are is not a secret to you, although for some there are decades of excuses piled on top of that unquenchable fire.
Within each of us, that which we call “divine” burns with a passion for something that honors the truth of who we are in congruence with the value of every human being. It may be birdhouses. It may be freedom for people suffering in addiction. It may be dancing. You are who you are. You know what your excuses are. You can be done with them whenever you are ready.
Then there is this tricky little scene that is so fraught with pronouns and euphemism that every translation says something slightly different. Basically, when Moses fled Egypt and ran to Midian for safety, he married Zipporah and adopted the cultural and religious practices of the Midianites. As such, Moses’ son went uncircumcised. When Moses and his family set off for Egypt, after God has gone through a great ordeal to convince Moses to even consider the journey, the Lord decides that Moses’ son needs to die because he wasn’t circumcised. So, with her son in the throes of what appeared to be a life-threatening illness, Zipporah gave in and circumcised her son. Depending on the translation, this was either something done with an understanding of symbolic ritual, or it was a repulsive act she performed out of desperation for her son’s life. Either way, once he’s circumcised, the boy gets better.
The matter of free will is certainly central to how things play out for the character of Pharaoh, and there will be plenty of opportunity to explore that in later passages. Having established the character of the biblical patriarchs and their god in our exploration of the book of Genesis, it is not of utmost importance to go through each verse in meticulous detail to point out further moral, ethical, and psychological issues with the narrative and its characters. It is more useful to look beyond the assumptions of the text and draw spiritual insight that can be meaningful in everyday life.
Accepting that the divine is something within us rather than outside of us, there are some significant ideas in Moses’ confrontation with the divine that are worthy of consideration. The divine is displayed as a burning bush which is never consumed. Fire can be frightening and fascinating. We talk about a people having a “fire in their bellies” or being “on fire” for a particular cause because we recognize the similarities between actual fire and human passion. Passion for an ideal or for another person can at times be frightening as well. It may threaten to overwhelm us and take precedence over everything else in our lives. Some of us tend to be afraid of being controlled by our passions, but it’s foolish to try to ignore them completely.
The things that we are passionate about stem from our essence. They are deep truths about us becoming manifest. Everyone isn’t passionate about the same things or in the same way, but there is something that burns within every person, untamed, unquenchable, and ultimately unavoidable. When we stoke our passions, they burn brighter, and when we ignore them, our own energy and sense of purpose gets consumed. There are ways to focus our passions and maintain them in a way that doesn’t run roughshod over every other aspect of our lives. However, in order to manage that fire, we have to embrace that it exists and that it is divine.
To say that the passions we have are divine is to acknowledge that they originate in that place of deep truth, beauty, and creativity within us. If it seems that the most obvious way to express our passions is to do something harmful to ourselves or another human being, we are missing something. The fires of our true passions are not about gaining power, but rather they inspire us to exercise the power we already possess in a meaningful way. That may seem like a challenge sometimes, but the reward is authentic connection with ourselves.
When Moses asks the burning bush for a name, the response is “I am who I am” (depending on the translation). While this is often interpreted as an indication as to the character of the Israelites’ god, it is also a healthy point of view for us to adopt about ourselves. We spend so much time worrying about being healthier, skinnier, more beautiful, wealthier, happier, more socially connected, more influential, more knowledgeable, more vindicated, and on and on. We are who we are. We can aim for lofty goals, provided those goals are tempered in the reality of our capabilities. That is precisely what our passions drive us to do. But any time and energy we spend detailing the ways in which we don’t measure up to some arbitrary ideal is squandered time and energy.
All of us can name some essential truths about ourselves. They may be character traits or things we experience for just a moment. We may think of them as positive or negative, but truth is simply true. If a person is sad… or unsociable… or fearful… or obese… or angry… or whatever, judging that state of being as inappropriate or wrong is a denial of truth. People are able to take action and make changes, but in order to travel to any destination, you have to be aware of your starting point. You are who you are. I am who I am. That is a divine truth.
Acknowledging who we are includes acknowledging the passions that blaze within us. If your passion is making birdhouses, it doesn’t make sense to spend all of your time campaigning for a political cause. There are other people who are passionate about various political causes, and it wouldn’t make sense for them to spend all of their time building birdhouses. Other people do not have to validate who you are. Who you are is simply true. People will not always agree on what is most important in life, in politics, in industry. But no one can determine what is most important to you except you.
Like Moses, we often make excuses as well. Fire is scary. Passion is scary. Truth can even be scary if we are accustomed to thoughtlessly accepting other people’s opinions as our own truth. There are plenty of resources on the market to help people stop procrastinating, stop making excuses, and take action. The key is that you know when you are making excuses. You may fool yourself into thinking that the excuses are true, but the part of you that burns with inspiration knows better. The truth of who you are is not a secret to you, although for some there are decades of excuses piled on top of that unquenchable fire.
Within each of us, that which we call “divine” burns with a passion for something that honors the truth of who we are in congruence with the value of every human being. It may be birdhouses. It may be freedom for people suffering in addiction. It may be dancing. You are who you are. You know what your excuses are. You can be done with them whenever you are ready.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Exodus 1-2: Identifying with the Oppressed, Idolizing the Heroic, and Being Truly Human
First, it bears mentioning that, after a century of archeological research, no physical evidence has been discovered to suggest that the Exodus story is factual, while considerable evidence has been discovered which contradicts the biblical account. I mention this not to write off the story completely, but to clearly justify an examination of the story from a purely spiritual perspective rather than getting caught up in the debate about what parts of the story are fact or fiction.
That said, there are many people who identify with the oppressed, at least in their own minds. In popular media and in conversation, we often demonize people with power or wealth. Quite understandably, we can feel somewhat oppressed by comparison. Even when we do what we believe is right, like the Israeli midwives in the story, we lie about it when confronted by people we fear. We either turn ourselves into weak and vulnerable caricatures of people, or we see ourselves as shadow agents working through subterfuge under the radar to stick it to the Man. “We’ll show you, Pharaoh! We won’t kill those boy children, and then you’ll get your comeuppance!”
When we see ourselves as weak, we often do things that artificially make us feel strong. That included ordering larger meals at fast food restaurants in one recent study. In our minds, more food somehow equals more power. So the things we do to counteract our perceived weakness aren’t always healthy. Quite the opposite, actually. It’s a clever way of spinning our wheels and maintaining a false sense of victimhood in the long run while not making any real difference in the world. Some individuals manage to turn their awareness of oppression into purposes that change reality for many people, and that requires something slightly different from wallowing in victimhood and taking potshots at the villains we create in our own minds. The people who make a difference recognize two things: They understand that people are not the enemy, and they acknowledge their own strength.
This sort of person becomes something of a hero in the eyes of others. Like Moses, we may invent a dramatic origin story for them. All of the boy-children were getting drowned in the river by the CEO’s henchmen, but Moses escaped (through the will of God) and was raised as the CEO’s grandson until he became a violent civil rights activist and had to go into hiding because of his crimes. We build up certain people into heroes partly because what they accomplish is so extraordinary. Unfortunately, part of the reason we build up other people into heroes is that we don’t want the responsibility of making a difference on our own shoulders. If we realized that our heroes are not superhuman, we may start to see how we could take action in small healthy ways, not to reclaim a false sense of power, but simply to do what we know is right.
There are many characters in the story. It may be fun to identify the people we despise as the Egyptians and to identify ourselves as the poor oppressed Hebrews, but the truth of the matter is that every person is potentially Moses. Of course, Moses’ first response to injustice went too far. He killed a man and made another human being the enemy, and he was ashamed of that act. He knew that standing by and watching another person get beaten was wrong, and he knew that he had the power to do something about it. He just hadn’t figured out how to use that power effectively. We are no different, when we are willing to acknowledge our own power to act. We may not get it right the first time out of the gate. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try.
So, understanding spiritual truth comes from an awareness of what archetypes we identify with and how that alters our perception of the world. We have authentic power that stems from a deep truth, beauty, and creativity. And we can balance exercising that power with value for the truth, beauty, and creativity in others. When we embrace those two truths, we can do extraordinary things. And the more we do those extraordinary things and inspire others to do likewise, the more those acts will seem like ordinary behavior. After all, it isn’t really a matter of being heroic; it’s just a matter of being human.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
The End of the Beginning: Concluding Genesis and Articulating Spiritual Premises to Move Beyond the Biblical Purpose of Cultural Preservation
Except for an odd tale of intrigue in Genesis 38 and a scene in which God renames Jacob "Israel" (even though the stranger Jacob wrestled with by the stream had already done so), the remainder of Genesis is about Joseph, one of Jacob's sons. It is through Joseph that Jacob and his children wind up settling in Egypt, which is important for the cultural narrative of the Jewish people. Basically, the story is that Joseph's brothers conspired to kill him because he was Jacob's favorite (and Joseph had prophetic dreams that his brothers would be bowing down to him), but then decided to fake his death and sell him into slavery. These are the same men that wiped out a city because their sister had been defiled, but perhaps matters are different when it's your little brother that Daddy likes best.
Through various events, Joseph gets himself into and out of prison in Egypt and winds up as an influential overseer helping Egypt prepare for a coming famine. Jacob's other sons go to Egypt to buy grain, and Joseph toys with them for a few trips before revealing that he is their brother, alive and well and bearing no grudge against them. He tells them to get everyone from Canaan and come to live in Egypt, where he'll see to it that they're taken care of. Of course, things don't turn out as well for Jacob's descendents in Egypt as the generations wear on, but through the momentary use of his influence, Joseph is able to make life a little bit easier on his father and brothers.
The stated lesson derived from Joseph's story is that God was working in the actions of Joseph's brothers when they sold him into slavery; God took a malicious act and used it for good. Good toward the people who had committed the malicious act and good for the victim of the malicious act. Given the entire narrative up to this point, this benevolence may seem slightly incongruous, since the paradigm has been set that wicked people earn punishment and righteous people earn reward. In that Genesis 38 story, God even puts one of Jacob's grandsons to death because he "spills his seed on the ground" when he's supposed to be impregnating his brother's widow.
But actually, the bottom line in all of this is that God takes care of Abraham's descendents because he and Abraham had a deal. Of course, Jacob's son Judah had gone off the reservation and had children with a Canaanite woman, so his children from that marriage weren't covered by the deal. Thus, when Judah's sons do wrong by God's standards, they get instant death. The God of the Old Testament is more of a cultural deity than a moral absolutist, and it's clear that the primary goal of the book of Genesis is cultural preservation.
If we twenty-first century people are interested in spiritual truth, in an understanding of the divine that has meaning for us in our lives, we cannot accept the Jewish deity as he is presented in the Old Testament. This is why the New Testament is necessary for Christians, although many of them continue to look back at the culture and narrative of Genesis to determine how people and governments should behave today. There is certainly some value in the spiritual truth conveyed in the Bible, but that truth is not always what people focus on when they look to scripture. An abundance of cultural clutter gets in the way.
So, putting aside the cultural narrative and recognizing that people universally have much more commonality than they have difference, how can the book most Westerners turn to for spiritual guidance be re-evaluated? There are some foundational assumptions that will guide us forward, and I've already articulated most of them through our look at Genesis:
First, spiritual truth is not the same as historical or factual accuracy. Concern for validating the historical accuracy of what is written is a distraction from seeing spiritual truth that can be meaningfully applied in day-to-day life.
Second, people are not broken or in need of some external redemption. Human beings have value because human beings have value. People are capable of making decisions and taking actions without having to attribute the outcome to a deity or external spiritual entity. When things go well, people are worthy of acknowledgment, and when things go poorly, people are strong enough to handle the criticism.
Third, that which people call the divine is a human characteristic. The divine is the deep sense of truth, beauty, and creativity within every person. Sometimes it is hidden, and sometimes it is more obvious. The divine is a part of ourselves. We are capable of ignoring it or working actively against it, and we are capable of tuning into it and trusting it. It is the stranger we wrestle with internally when we are of two minds about something. It is the voice that defends us to our internal critic. It is the vision within us that connects us to the world, other people, and ourselves.
Fourth, we exist in the finite spectrum of an earthly life. What happens after a person dies is a matter of faith, but we do know with certainty that we have an impact on the people around us. If there is good that we are capable of doing, it is up to us to do it. If there is any reason to seek reconciliation with someone, it is up to us to ask for and offer human forgiveness. We have the precious resources of this world and the people around us at our disposal for only a lifetime; it is up to us to value them.
Through various events, Joseph gets himself into and out of prison in Egypt and winds up as an influential overseer helping Egypt prepare for a coming famine. Jacob's other sons go to Egypt to buy grain, and Joseph toys with them for a few trips before revealing that he is their brother, alive and well and bearing no grudge against them. He tells them to get everyone from Canaan and come to live in Egypt, where he'll see to it that they're taken care of. Of course, things don't turn out as well for Jacob's descendents in Egypt as the generations wear on, but through the momentary use of his influence, Joseph is able to make life a little bit easier on his father and brothers.
The stated lesson derived from Joseph's story is that God was working in the actions of Joseph's brothers when they sold him into slavery; God took a malicious act and used it for good. Good toward the people who had committed the malicious act and good for the victim of the malicious act. Given the entire narrative up to this point, this benevolence may seem slightly incongruous, since the paradigm has been set that wicked people earn punishment and righteous people earn reward. In that Genesis 38 story, God even puts one of Jacob's grandsons to death because he "spills his seed on the ground" when he's supposed to be impregnating his brother's widow.
But actually, the bottom line in all of this is that God takes care of Abraham's descendents because he and Abraham had a deal. Of course, Jacob's son Judah had gone off the reservation and had children with a Canaanite woman, so his children from that marriage weren't covered by the deal. Thus, when Judah's sons do wrong by God's standards, they get instant death. The God of the Old Testament is more of a cultural deity than a moral absolutist, and it's clear that the primary goal of the book of Genesis is cultural preservation.
If we twenty-first century people are interested in spiritual truth, in an understanding of the divine that has meaning for us in our lives, we cannot accept the Jewish deity as he is presented in the Old Testament. This is why the New Testament is necessary for Christians, although many of them continue to look back at the culture and narrative of Genesis to determine how people and governments should behave today. There is certainly some value in the spiritual truth conveyed in the Bible, but that truth is not always what people focus on when they look to scripture. An abundance of cultural clutter gets in the way.
So, putting aside the cultural narrative and recognizing that people universally have much more commonality than they have difference, how can the book most Westerners turn to for spiritual guidance be re-evaluated? There are some foundational assumptions that will guide us forward, and I've already articulated most of them through our look at Genesis:
First, spiritual truth is not the same as historical or factual accuracy. Concern for validating the historical accuracy of what is written is a distraction from seeing spiritual truth that can be meaningfully applied in day-to-day life.
Second, people are not broken or in need of some external redemption. Human beings have value because human beings have value. People are capable of making decisions and taking actions without having to attribute the outcome to a deity or external spiritual entity. When things go well, people are worthy of acknowledgment, and when things go poorly, people are strong enough to handle the criticism.
Third, that which people call the divine is a human characteristic. The divine is the deep sense of truth, beauty, and creativity within every person. Sometimes it is hidden, and sometimes it is more obvious. The divine is a part of ourselves. We are capable of ignoring it or working actively against it, and we are capable of tuning into it and trusting it. It is the stranger we wrestle with internally when we are of two minds about something. It is the voice that defends us to our internal critic. It is the vision within us that connects us to the world, other people, and ourselves.
Fourth, we exist in the finite spectrum of an earthly life. What happens after a person dies is a matter of faith, but we do know with certainty that we have an impact on the people around us. If there is good that we are capable of doing, it is up to us to do it. If there is any reason to seek reconciliation with someone, it is up to us to ask for and offer human forgiveness. We have the precious resources of this world and the people around us at our disposal for only a lifetime; it is up to us to value them.
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