SOLIDARITY

BODY IMAGE

I think it's fair to say that every woman struggles with body image. Even those women who are confident and happy with their body are so because they think about it. I don't think I know any women who don't consider the way an article of clothing will look on their body.

I guess that's normal and healthy? Everyone considers what is complementing or uncomplementing. I think the ever-so-slight difference between the healthy and unhealthy is the "er." There's a difference between thinking this makes my butt look good and this makes my tummy look smaller. While thought a is enhancing or complementing, thought b is hiding or manipulating.

Then there is that whole other level involving strange eating habits, the inability to pass a mirror without darting your eyes toward a perceived bulge, and the insistence of "lights off" and a big t-shirt over the swimsuit.

I hate the media's portrayal of women. I'm touchier about it than most. Body images oriented toward women are typically less-than-healthy (being thinner than "healthy body weights" is one thing, but the fashion industry's use of women all significantly underweight gives the average woman nowhere to go but "fat"). Body images oriented toward men are typically unnaturally proportioned and are often only achieved with surgical enhancements. The "everday" woman given to women to look at and feel good about? Ugly Betty? This is horrible! The protagonist's identity is based on how unattractive she is (as judged by who? Don't call her ugly, you jerks!). Goodness, no wonder so many women are competitive with their own friends! Don't let yourself be the ugly one!

Okay, where I mean to go with this is to a few recent articles I've found which seem to be living in similar issues.

What size was Marilyn Monroe? Many women seem to run to poor dead Marilyn in defense of "men don't like stick figures!" That's nice, but I think the reality is that Marilyn may not have been a stick figure, but she was still moderately thin with larger-than-average curves. She wasn't big, she was curvy (and not the kind of curvy that is synonymous with fat). This is something that we need to get into our heads: skinny isn't average, but neither is fat. BE HEALTHY!


Women and their comfort food. Yes, we often go to chocolate to make ourselves feel better, but the reality is that women who do that too often are overweight! Yes, it's normal to eat a piece of cake every once in a while and just as normal to do so when you're having a down day (it's probably healthier than drinking off a bad day), but too much of this and it'll be reflected in your pant size.

I love Tina Fey. I love that she's not covered in sultry makeup, that she's not cleavaged-out (despite having a lovely figure), and that she keeps her character "normal" and not dependent on relationships with men (while being honest about the reality that no one likes being alone), but if she binge ate in reality as much as she did on the show, her character would have a little more junk in her trunk, let's be real.

The good part about Liz Lemon is that she's healthy-looking. She's silly and binge eats. She can't find a man. She's not high fashion. She doesn't wear a ton of makeup. She's a healthy weight. She's not overweight and unnecessarily proud of it, she's not underweight and perpetuating a myth that underweight is normal, she's an average weight and that's healthy. I'll bet you $5 that Tina Fey eats healthier than Liz Lemon. That's the reality that we should be honest about.

We like to feel better about ourselves by thinking "men don't like skinny girls." To an extent, that's true, but when a guy says that they don't prefer skinny girls, they mean "stick figure." They mean curveless skinny girls. Yes, men like curvy women, but curvy women who are curvy like Marilyn. Curvy and chunky are not the same thing, ladies! Don't justify your unhealthy diet by convincing yourself that overweight is normal and that thin people are not. Nobody's body is perfect, but that doesn't mean we should normalize an unhealthy body image. It's not any healthier to be overweight than it is to be underweight.

A new study shows that overweight women are not as happy in relationships. This is probably largely because of the psychology of thin=attractive perpetuated by the media, but it doesn't make it any less real. AND a reactionary response that supports obesity as healthy by virtue of not being skinny-like-a-model is no less damaging... but this time to your physical health!

I dunno. Just eat healthy and consider normal weights attractive. Or you're not allowed to have health insurance.

images from Sharing Machine

PRIDE PARADE

Today I'm marching in the Pride Parade. It was awesome last year. I expect it to be equally as awesome this year. We didn't win the Prop 8 struggle. I hesitate to say "Yes We Can," but... we will win.

Anyway, today is for celebration. Pictures will follow.

image from Toothpaste for Dinner

HEALTH INSURANCE (NOT RELATED TO PREVIOUS ABORTION POST)

I voted for Hillary in the primaries. FYI.

I understand arguments for private health care. I understand the flaws of socialized systems. I used to be on the fence.

In February, I lost my health insurance. My company doesn't yet have in place a group policy and while my employer offered to pay $X a month for an individual policy, because of a preexisting health condition, I'm not allowed to open an individual policy for another 7 years.

I think about this a lot lately. I fought treatment for this condition for a long time. I finally decided to get help. If I hadn't, I could have health insurance right now.

Single payer health care sounds pretty dang awesome when you're not allowed to have health insurance. Maybe a competitive system allows for some amazing care, but I think it also allows for some amazing abuse and crappy motivation. Of course a socialized system allows for its own share of flaws and malpractice, but I could at least fill my prescription affordably and maybe get my back looked at.

I'm just saying.

image from Superpoop

IT'S BARBIE'S FAULT

After the thought of owning a castle started to seem like somewhat of a stretch, I started looking at that Barbie doll. Barbie can do anything. And she’s gorgeous. And she marries (in an awesome gown, btw) and has an amazing family.

Barbie. She’s beautiful and can do anything. She’s a lawyer and a doctor and a dancer and she owns 45 bathing suits and looks dang good in all of them. She’s executive; she’s sexy; she’s domestic.

Barbie can do anything. She could be a ballerina and a model and a singer. She just has the skills, I guess.

Now I wanted to be a ballerina, too. Unfortunately, I never made it to 5’3”. Barbie can do anything. I’m a little more limited.

Honestly, though, I think we’re all glad that we gave up the ballet fantasy. But the Barbie fantasy? It still lingers. I still want to be a career woman with amazing legs and hair, a faithful husband, and a family of perpetually smiling people.

I don’t dislike Barbie because she’s a bad example. I dislike her because she’s the perfect example. She makes me feel bad that I’m not an international superstar with a medical degree and a fashion design career.

Barbie is successful.

Ken never asked me on a date, let alone to marry him.

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Percentage of U.S. Women today who dye their hair: 55
--according to Proctor & Gamble

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GRACE

Grace: the extravagantly generous extension of community to all of humanity (including the most self-righteous, the most downtrodden, the wealthy, the unwealthy, family, friends, and strangers) in a way that equalizes us all in the realization of God's active presence spread in and through each of us so continuously that we cannot think of ourselves as separate from each other in any meaningful way.

SO I GUESS MICHAEL JACKSON DIED.

Michael Jackson died. It's sad when people die, whether they are homeless people, celebrities, politicians, children, adults, etc. ANYONE'S death is a loss. I care about Michael Jackson's death because I listened to him a lot when I was younger. However, I didn't know Michael Jackson and to obsess over this would be retarded. I don't get celebrity obsession. I do get death processes. Hello, I work in cemeteries.

Me: yeah, i dunno. i mean, that sucks. michael jackson was amazing
Friend:he was. and i'm reading people's comments on TMZ calling him a pedphile and saying
Me: but i don't think i'd go to the hospital
Friend: good riddance may he burn shit like that
Me: because i didn't know him, ya know? like, let his family and friends mourn
Friend: yeah but he was a cultural icon like Princess Diana. that's why the whole UK mourned when she passed away
Me: yeah, but there's a difference between repecting someone's life/death and not. it's one thing to care about someone you didn't know dying
Friend: true. you don't know if thos epeople are there for the media attention or to pay their respects
Me: but it's another to get involved and make the process really difficult for the people who really did know them. like, if there are PUBLIC events to pay tribute to deaths of famous people, that's one thing, but don't fucking go to the hospital. a vigil is one thing, interfering is another. like, a family is probably touched by people having vigils and probably annoyed by a bunch of retarded fanatics wailing outside the hospital. it trivializes the family's grief
Friend: true. because they want to see them roll out the body <_<
Me: yeah, that's just sick. like, yes, he's dead. yes, that sucks. yes, we all loved his contributions to the world and his life is a loss, but he has a family and friends and they need to be left to deal with this how they wanted and how HE wanted. get out of the way
Friend: wow. the gathering of people. *shakes head*
Me: that's just disrespectful. yes, people are sad, but they didn't ACTUALLY know michael and it's selfish to get all up that situation when there are people who REALLY knew michael and need their space right now
Friend: oh, they're here for the PRESS conference not for the body.
Me: whatever. either way. death is a sensitive time and people need to back off
Friend: right. but this is the press conference which is set up for the media, which gets annoying when people are like
Me: yeah, so there should be media
Friend: "OMG I WANT TO HEAR" and then the media can't get access
Me: exactly. that's why people shouldn't be so retardedly fanatical.

HEAVEN

The idea of an afterlife is something I have a hard time embracing. I'm pretty sure I just stop happening at some point and I'm pretty cool with that. I think I will continue to exist in whatever contributions I make to the world and if I'm not contributing now, I might as well not exist, because wtf is the point if I just sit around and watch American Idol until I die? I think the best way to approach religion is to relate it to the present, because that's kind of what we have to work with. I think religion is about now and it's completely possible to have religion that says nothing about what happens after death… or at least a sense of "it's not what's important." I mean, if all I'm doing is trying to live up to expectations of a deity in order to gain admittance to a certain realm or stay out of a certain realm or get to a higher level of a certain realm, that strikes me as shallow.

"PRO-DEATH"?

So it's no secret that I'm a flaming liberal, but I'll admit something: I can occasionally like Bill O'Reilly. I understand some of his viewpoints.

Ann Coulter? Oh.my.effing.buddha.

Now I don't have FOX news channel, so I no longer have the luxury of seeing this stuff on a daily basis, but can I please get someone to "terminate" Ann Coulter? I'm kidding!

Her language, which she undoubtedly thinks is witty and reclaimative (I'm fairly certain that I just made that word up), is grating as it makes its way into my brain. I fully expect my ears to start bleeding any minute now.

1) "Pro-Death." Are you serious??? I can understand thinking that abortion is wrong, but really now, from a woman who supports the death penalty, let's cut down on that language. While I am Pro-Choice, I can understand believing that a fetus should be considered a life. I don't agree with it, but I can understand it. I can understand thinking that a life (fetus) should have more or as many rights as a mother and can understand thinking that that "child's" health should be given as much consideration as the mother's. However, "Pro-Death" is incredibly sweeping and hypocritical language for a woman that believes in playing God. I've heard her (many a time) proclaim that certain people should be killed. Perhaps I'm just a nutty liberal, but I think maybe medical doctors have a little more authority in deciding when it is healthful or unhealthful to terminate a fetus when its existence plays a direct role in the health of a living, breathing, not-reliant-on-the-system-of-another-person-and-legally-recognized-as-alive person than any old random uninvolved person. And maybe Ann Coulter shouldn't be spouting her views on who she thinks deserves to live or die, since bigotry, insanity, and flaming conservatism are probably not so universally recognized as merits which can earn one authority to make decisions concerning health, well being, or sentience.

2) Annie's statement: "I am personally opposed to shooting abortionists, but I don't want to impose my moral values on others." Really? Really? It kind of sounds like that's what you're arguing for in the whole abortion debate. That argument also suggests that whoever one decides should be killed is one's own prerogative and we can all just go around killing whoever we think deserves to be killed with no justifications beyond whatever "morals" we have swimming around in our heads. I'm sure said that somewhat tongue-in-cheek (or maybe I just hope it), but I admit this is one of the times I'd love to see a Bill O'Reilly freak-out.

Ya know, on Ann Coulter.

image from Natalie Dee

I WISH

• everyone in the world were as dorky about religious studies as i am
• i could dance like cursive
• i could sing like joan sutherland
• i could live like my grandfather
• i could go camping every weekend (i would totally read all of my classes' reading if i could do it in a forest)
• my willpower was a little more powerful
• Harper's magazine didn't publish articles giving any credit to the Gospel of Thomas
• my head (as in headaches & med. side effects) wouldn't freak out at such inconvenient times
• there were about 12 more hours in every day
• the-middle-of-the-forest, WY was in my back yard
• all of my family lived nearby
• i was still close to my cousins
• i could be more outgoing
• i could take a walk through a record store and take everything i wanted
• allison would COME BACK HOME
• i didn't live so far from school
• my family didn't live on carbs
• my mom wouldn't make 16 desserts every week
• chocolate had weight-loss effects
• *secret wishes*
• wishing worked

I SHOULD STOP THINKING

Being affectionate (for me) is like jumping into a pool of cold water.

Some people are good at jumping in cold water, but I'm the person who stands at the edge in horrified anticipation. I slowly stick one foot in, then pull it back as if bitten. A little bit more, PULLBACK. A liiiiiitttllle bit more, PULLBACK! Ultimately, I make my way in. I love water, after all.

This is how I behave with the opposite sex, too. It's horrible. I sit there, worried about touching and terrified of doing so in the same way that I stand by the edge of the pool. I don't know what is so frightening. No one's ever reacted horribly to my touch or given me reason to believe that initial touching is as uncomfortable as freezing water.

And yet...

image from Natalie Dee

I DO NOT LIKE RELIGIOUS FANATICS

(comic from toothpaste for dinner)
So, some idiots religious people like to make the assumption that God is behind the disasters of the world. For instance, earthquakes strike California because there are so many gay people here. And God doesn't like gay people or something.

For many of us, this suggestion is laughable. However, people (like Pat Robertson and the nutty televangelists) start making a lot of noise and convince a lot of uneducated, scared, or ignorant, or simply gullible people that this is a sign of God's distaste for homosexuality. And these people, sadly, can vote.

As you may have noticed, there's a slight flaw in this logic, in that it only imposes recognizes those connections that benefit their cause. To illustrate this, I'd like to point out an article that "proves" that God hates Baptists (a large, successful denomination in this country)...

Proof: Baptists cause Tornados!

Pat Robertson and Statistics: Do Unnatural Acts Cause Natural Disasters?

Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition, recently warned Orlando, Florida, that it was courting natural disaster by allowing gay pride flags to be flown along its streets.

"A condition like this will bring about ... earthquakes, tornadoes, and possibly a meteor," Robertson said.

Apparently he was referring to his belief that the presence of openly gay people incurs divine wrath and that God acts through geological and meteorological events to destroy municipalities that permit gay people the same civil liberties as others. (Robertson also warned Orlando about terrorist bombs, suggesting the possibility that God may also employ terrorists.)

Before Pat and his Christian cronies get too carried away promulgating the idea that natural disasters are prompted by people who displease God, they should take a hard look at the data.

Take tornadoes. Every state (except Alaska) has them-- some only one or two a year, dozens in others.

Gay people are in every state (even Alaska). According to Pat's hypothesis, there should be more gay people in states that have more tornadoes. But are there? Nope. In fact, there's no correlation at all between the number of gay folks (as estimated by the number of gay political organizations, support groups, bookstores, radio programs, and circuit parties) and the annual tornado count
God seems almost neutral on the subject of sexual orientation. I say "almost" because if we look at the density of gay groups relative to the population as a whole, there is a small but statistically significant (p 05) correlation with the occurrence of tornadoes. And it's a negative correlation
For those of you who haven't used statistics since 1973, that means that a high concentration of gay organizations actually protects against tornadoes. A state with the population of, say, Alabama could avert two tornadoes a year merely by doubling the number of gay organizations in the state. (Tough choice for Alabama's civil defense strategists.)

Although God may not care about sexual orientation, the same cannot be said for religious affiliation. If the underlying tenet of Pat's postulate is true--that God wipes out offensive folks via natural disasters - then perhaps we can find some evidence of who's on God's hit list.

Jews are off the hook here: there's no correlation between numbers of Jews and frequency of tornadoes. Ditto for Catholics. But when it comes to Protestants, there's a highly significant correlation of .71.

This means that fully half the state-to-state variation in tornado frequency can be accounted for by the presence of Protestants. And the chance that this association is merely coincidental is only one in 10,000.

Protestants, of course, come in many flavors-- we were able to find statistics for Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, and Others. Lutherans don't seem to be a problem--no correlation with tornadoes. There's a modest correlation
But Baptists and Others share the prize: both groups show a definite correlation with tornado frequency
What, you are probably asking yourself, about gay Protestants? An examination of the numbers of gay religious groups (mostly Protestant) reveals no significant relationship with tornadoes. Perhaps even Protestants are less repugnant to God if they're gay.

And that brings up another point--the futility of trying to save the world by getting gay people to accept Jesus. It looks from our numbers as if the frequency of natural disasters might be more effectively reduced by encouraging Protestants to be gay.

Gay people have been falsely blamed for disasters ever since Sodom was destroyed by fire and brimstone. (We have been unable to find any statistics on disasters involving brimstone).

According to a reliable source, the destruction of Sodom was indeed an act of God. (see Genesis 19:13) Its destruction was perpetrated because the citizens thereof were, according to the same source (see Ezekiel 16:49-50) "arrogant, overfed and unconcerned (and) did not help the poor and needy"--not because they were gay.

Now Pat would have us believe that gays are the cause of tornadoes (as well as earthquakes, meteors, and even terrorist bombs) in utter disregard for evidence showing that Baptists are much more likely to cause them.

I say "Kudos!" to Orlando. Despite Robertson's warning that Orlando is "right in the way of some serious hurricanes" (hardly a revelation), note that it was not struck by the very destructive Hurricane Andrew a few years ago. And amid the recent conflagrations (that's fires) in central Florida, which occurred just after Pat sounded his alarm, Orlando was spared. Keep those flags waving!

As any statistician will tell you, of course, correlation doesn't prove causation. Protestants causing tornadoes by angering God isn't the only explanation for these data. It could be that Baptists and Other Protestants purposely flock to states that have lots of tornadoes (no, we haven't checked for a correlation between IQ and religious affiliation).

But if Pat and his Christian crew insist that natural disasters are brought on by people who offend God, let the data show who those people are.

- Janis Walworth July 16, 1998 -

Sources: Tornado Occurrence by State, 1962-1991 1990 Churches and Church Membership; Population by State, 1990 US Census; Gay & Lesbian< A> Political Organizations, Support Groups, and Religious Groups from Gayellow Pages, National Edition, 1987.

This article was found here.

I kind of love the article, because it points out the ridiculousness of this viewpoint... but it also illustrates just how crazy certain Christians have managed to make the rest of the Christian world look. I mean, just today, there was a group of people with signs on campus shouting that my professors were lying to me about evolution and citing the Christian scriptures as if they mean a damn thing to the secular public.

It seems to me that the goal of a Christian should not be to oppose scientific discovery or blame natural disasters on the "Other" (whatever that Other may be) or discriminate against people...

But then again, according to these people, my brand of corrupt Christianity is working for the devil or something.

A similar argument is posed about Hurricane Katrina... People have said that the shape of the hurricane resembled a fetus and therefore was God's wrath against abortion, our sinful country, and specifically, sinful New Orleans. Of course Katrina didn't happen because people in New Orleans are sinful... and whoever came up with the theory, however absurd it might be, seems to have forgotten that it's tourists at Marti Gras, for the most part.

Of course, though, this line of thought is much more reasonable than the million other scientific explanations for hurricanes. *sarcasm*

REVISITING THE DEATH OF MY IPOD

So I just accidentally deleted a pretty awesome rant. I am going to try to recreate it, but LBH, it won't be the same.

MY IPOD IS BROKEN. I listen to music kind of a lot, so this basically is ruining my life. I use my ipod (hooked up to a speaker) as an alarm clock, so I am struggling along with my cell phone and hoping that I don't push snooze too many times.

I also use my ipod to hook into the PA at work, since I don't want to listen to the "work ipod," which is full of such OMG-I-want-to-commit-suicide music as: Tim McGraw, Kelly Clarkson, Ashlee Simpson, Pussycat Dolls, and other American Idol-esque stars who have little vocal talent and whose writers (since they don't write their own stuff) have little skill beyond memorizing what chordal patterns appeal to 15-year-old girls and using them repeatedly to create completely unemotional melodies which are used to carry lyrics with absolutely no depth. ANDTAKEABREATH

So I trundled over to the Apple store, where I was informed that my hard drive had failed, which apparently happens, generally, after about 2 years. My ipod made it 4.5. So, my options are, according to AppleMan: replace the hard drive in my ipod, which would cost roughly $225 (plus tax) or purchase another product with Apple's "buy-back" (aka: we-feel-sorry-for-you-because-we-make-products-which-only-last-two-years) program, which gives me 10% off of a new product.

Now, my ipod is one of those ancient 40gb ones with the grey screen and which only holds music. While a nano might not be the hugest investment ever, I need at least 40gb, seeing as how my ipod hosts 30gb right now... in just music. Yes, I know, I'm rad. Anyway, something with comparable storage would cost me at least $225 (plus tax). Since I am below middle class, I don't really have that much disposable income.

Now, because I am not a downloader (I still buy CDs and import them), this means that I am not entirely music-less. I can still use my loverly stereo, which plays 60 CDs through some pretty decent speakers. So thank Buddha I am not normal about downloading.

Now, some high school kid told me yesterday about something called the internet and something else called ebay. Using these strange things, I can apparently buy an ipod for far less than $250 and avoid listening to American Idol marathons at work for much longer. Of course, it didn't occur to me to buy something on the internet because... I don't buy things on the internet. I still listen to CDs and shop in stores like it's 1991 or something.

Let's just hope I can save enough money to buy myself a used ipod before I do something horrible like, oh, watch televison.

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image from http://www.marriedtothesea.com

IF YOU DRIVE AN SUV

If you drive an SUV, screw you (and your little dog too). You're ruining the environment, using up our limited sources of fossil fuels, and my car (a corolla) is now less safe because your monster can effing crush it. I hate you and I hope you burn in Hell.

So here's a cool thing from Duncan Hall:



And here are some cool trees:



So my fun experience on the train today... I fell asleep (part of my fun new medication) and woke up to the smell of baby poo. There was a woman behind me changing the diaper of her child. Now, I suppose it has to be done, but for shit's (ha) sake, people sit on these seats. Where is your changing pad???

I wish my day was this awesome:




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SHADOW SELF

Mary Midgley (a Religious Studies Scholar) says that when most people commit an “evil,” it is against their better self. The evil exists in this “shadow self” that we like to deny exists and pretend doesn’t. It might not tell us (hopefully) to go murdering people, but it might tell us to speed on the freeway when we don’t think there are CHP around, or something of that nature. We like to deny that this shadow is a portion of our personality.

Jung: “Painful though it is, this [unwelcome self-knowledge] is in itself a gain– for what is inferior or even worthless belongs to me as my shadow and gives me substance and mass. How can I be substantial if I fail to cast a shadow? I must have a dark side if I am to be whole; and inasmuch as I become conscious of my shadow I also remember that I am a human being like any other.”

GENESIS

Humanity esixts not for the sake of God, but for the sake of humanity. So that we will have the knowledge beyond fact and instinct: knowledge of conscious decision-making skills and a moral compass. We have the ability to choose. We can choose a way of living Life and understand that choice.

I think Humanity exists for Humanity's sake. So that we can live and feel and love. Whatever pain or joy there may be in that, I find the most perfect beauty not based on how happy each of us are or the greater utility of the world, but because it is real... because everything has meaning to us and because that meaning is real. For me, there is no more profound truth than the reality of meaning. That said, what the heck do I know, eh?

In any case, it is abundantly clear to me that the point of the creation story is not the specifics of how and when God created the world... that there were two people living someplace called "Eden" means squat. The specifics of any story are never the point of telling it.

Biblical literacy should not simply mean that the Bible has been read and that passages have been memorized; it should mean that available resources have been used to supplement the material so that it can be understood to the deepest extent possible. History, archaeology, biology, philosophy, sociology, linguistics, psychology, literature... all frameworks should be applied to best understand the Bible’s themes, context, and relevance. An interdisciplinary approach should be taken when studying the Bible instead of simply taking it at face value. I note the stupidity of doing so, since the Bible is, in fact, a translation that cannot fully translate over both language and history. Human advancement is in vain if we cannot use the brilliance of our species to understand that which we like to say has the most meaning.

If there is nothing anyone can take on faith, the most "sure" claim is that this world exists. If there is a God and if God did create it and create us and create anything, then this is it. Beyond it... whatever, maybe. If there is anything I should be working for, it should be this world, because I know it's here and that if God created it, God must have liked the idea of it being around. If no one created it? Then everything I do matters because it is all that matters. I don’t really embrace “creation” at all. I like an “evolution of being” or something. Meh.

IT'S NOT AT ALL MORBID

“If heaven is on earth, it’s hardly contradictory to love sunshine chevroned with tree shadows in the woods, plus the low-slung moss, a tiger-colored butterfly, the Tiffany glitter of a spider’s web after a gust of rain, and the yellow-spotted salamander emerging from under the nearest log—yet feel content to die.”
--from Curtain Calls: The fever called “living” is conquered at last by Edward Hoagland

JESUS AND SALVATION

I want, when I say “Christian,” for people to think of the teachings of Jesus… how he healed the sick and welcomed those who society spit at… how he forgave the unforgivable and ate with those that most people of his day would not even look at. I’m tired of “Christian,” meaning pamphlets with hellfire and gay-bashing. I’m tired of it meaning Bush-supporter and anti-evolutionist. I want it to mean “follower of Jesus” again.

I think that the idea of Jesus as a salvational figure is not useful. It becomes a shallow selling tool and, if it is even true, it is horrible motivation for being a Christian. As far as I’m concerned, one’s motivation for being Christian should be selfless… it should be about a profound connection with Jesus’ message and a will to live a certain way of Life—one in which the primary goal is to better Humanity, to help those in need, and to reach out to other beings in order to maximize the meaning that each derives from existence.

Jesus’ message is lost to mainstream Christianity —his significance is no longer as teacher, but as tool. He is the yellow brick road to Heaven, his ministry trivialized by the exclusivist claims of Christianity. He is no more than the baptismal water that initiates us. The MESSAGE of Christianity has become to love Christians, to make Christians (whether by breeding or conversion efforts), to protect ourselves from heretics and Satan, and to fall in line behind the leaders that ask for 10% of our income so that they can convince teenagers to keep their fetuses and biology teachers to abandon science for Truth (with a capital T). His importance has become that he DIED for our sins… not that he LIVED a selfless Life preaching nonconformity and radical inclusivity.

The problem is that a scholarly approach to scripture is absent from mainstream Christianity. The lay community is given no plausible alternative to the popular image of Jesus. This unfortunate truth is, as I see it, the core of the problem. If scholarly research could make it into Sunday school, perhaps Creationism wouldn’t be seeping into public schools. If Jesus could be given his context back, his ministry might start to have more importance than his death.

To be a follower of Jesus should mean that we were profoundly moved by his Life and ministry, not simply that we’re glad that he died so that we could go to Heaven. How shallow.

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Song of the now: Passing the Hat
I know everyone I know has already heard the Cold War Kids, but please listen to the lyrics on “Passing the Hat.” It kind of makes me want to hug my pillow.

THAT GOVERNOR OF OURS

thanks for the inspiration, Arnold!

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HUNGER

The first presentation I went to discussed issues of hunger. I gained a whole bunch of resources, which I’m jazzed about.

Something I though of was part of the stereotypes associated with hunger: the image of the lazy homeless guy who begs for food so that he doesn’t have to get a job. Of course most people’s issues of hunger are not so simple, but how can we help hunger without furthering it? By showing up every day to offer a person a sandwich, are we enabling them? By what virtue do people deserve free sandwiches? I have to work for mine.

I thought about the things that I have that I don’t necessarily deserve. What “earned” me birth into a middle class family? Nothing, yet I have the benefits of a middle class white person. Is it better to be fed without effort or to be hungry despite effort? Does it make me less of a person because I’ve never been homeless, starving, or raped? Does my caring matter when I’ve not struggled to the extent that so many others have? Is it inevitable that a homeless person other me as they’re othered? Does my offering only appear as pity or charity at best?

I guess these are just the types of things I think about. Of course I believe that hunger, like any other problem, has causes as much as it has symptoms. The causes of hunger need to be focused on if we’re ever to approach eliminating it. Similarly, the painful symptoms are as necessary to treat, no matter their cause.

My affirmation: sandwiches are good.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE DAY 2 (PART 1)

Today was awesome.

It began with a giddy speech by a 20-something girl. However sweet she seemed, she didn’t really do it for me. Her attitude was so joyful and sugary that it seemed to lack the level of scholarly intellect and critical inquiry that I like to see in my God-talk. My bias.

I think I’m turned off by this attitude because it reminds me of conservative Christian people, who are so effing glad to be “saved” that they just can’t stop smiling. Of course, if one’s adopted rapture theology, there is little to be concerned about beyond salvation. Hunger, homelessness, inequality, and environmental destruction are all irrelevant when the world changes in a flash of lightning for the apocalypse. These concerns that the rest of us are tied up in? We wouldn’t worry if we’d just believe in the power of God! Gag me.

In any case, it becomes an us vs. them mentality. Oh, the joy and comfort Jesus brings you when all he signifies is your ticket to Heaven. For me? It’s hard to say I’m a Christian because it means 1) I have to worry about stuff like hunger and homelessness and 2) it means I have to constantly explain the ways I differ from the brand of crazy promoted by people who’ve run off with my title.

For me, religion isn’t something that helps me sleep better at night or provides me with some sense of comfort that people who die end up in some kind of Disneyland. Religion is a system which provides a holistic approach to bettering the world and one’s person. Derived from a history of people seeking to do good in the world, it’s a study of this history, a commitment to justice, and a lens with which to look inward at the kind of relationship I seek to have with myself, others, and the higher order of being. While religion provides me a sense of inner peace and orients my life in a way that enhances meaning, it doesn’t make me giddy.

image from Toothpaste