God Laughs and Plays

I'd like to say that David James Duncan and I were friends in high school but the fact of the matter is that while we both went to Reynolds High School in Troutdale, OR, he was a few years ahead of me and would not remember me from Adam. On the other hand, I have enjoyed his books, The River Why and The Brothers K and now he has a new book titled, God Laughs and Prays. It's not a novel, like the other two books, but a series of essays on spirituality. The Eugene Register Guard has a nice article profiling Duncan and his latest book.

How Evil Are You?

Just for fun take this quick 20 question Machiavelli personality test. I scored a 53 . . .

God is Everywhere

Wanna see which parts of the U.S. various religions are strongest? Okay, maybe that doesn't sound the least bit interesting but check the Map Gallery of Religion in the United States anyway . . .

via The Onion

A Beautiful Mind

I hope all of you are having a great Easter. This is one of the great days of the year and a day I will always have great memories of wonderful times with my family. (My dog, Rudy, and I are having a good day today as well, so don't worry about us!)

Because I'm such a cheap ass bastard, I didn't come up with anything to send all of you for Easter. Today, however, it hit me. I should have gotten you copies of John Ortberg's book, God is Closer Than You Think. It's a pretty short book (less than 200 pages) that I have been reading over the course of the last few months. (That tells you how infrequently I get around to reading, I guess.) I read a chapter this morning that I really liked and thought I'd pass along a few thoughts that were really meaningful for me.

A Beautiful Mind

"A mystic is anyone who believes that, when you talk to God, God talks back." - Frank Laubach

In the movie, A Beautiful Mind, John Nash (a Nobel Prize winner and distinguished professor) suffered a breakdown. He interrupted a lecture to announce he was on the cover of Life magazine disguised as the pope. He claimed foreign governments were communicating with him through the media and he turned down a prestigious post at the University of Chicago because, he said, he was about to be named Emperor of Antarctica.

What makes John Nash's story so remarkable is that he was actually able to learn, over time, the art of discernment. He learned to test the voices, to find out which ones were false and which ones were true.

He had to learn to not listen to the ones that lead to death. He learned not to dwell on what they said. He learned not to do what they requested. And while never completely freed from his illness, he discovered that over time their hold on his mind could be greatly weakened. He experienced, in a sense, a revolution of the mind.

Nash speaks at one point in the film about how, in a way, his battle is the battle of all of us. "I'm not so different from you," he says to his friend. "We all hear voices. We just have to decide which ones we are going to listen to.

"We all hear voices . . ." At least I do. Some of them are distorted and destructive; they speak to me thoughts of envy and resentment and fear. Some of them are healthy and strong; they speak words of love and truth. The ones I listen to shape my life.

But there's one Voice above all to which we're called to listen. Jesus said that he is the Good Shepherd and that "his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

Throughout history, those who have practiced God's presence most have insisted they hear his voice. They have learned, so to speak, to program their minds to be constantly receiving the divine channel.

Every thought holds the promise of carrying me into God's presence.

In the painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, God and the man he created are just a hairbreadth apart. How far apart is that? Closer than you think. God is never more than a single thought away. Even if you haven't thought about him for days. Even when I have been immersed in selfishness and sin.

The reality is that your mind is never still. You are having thoughts, observations, perceptions, and ideas at such a staggering rate that you don't even remember the vast majority of them.

In reality, each thought we have carries with it a little spiritual power, a tug toward or away from God. No thought is purely neutral.

But there is a role for us to play. We can, by choice and by our actions, invite God to be present in our mind. Or we can close the door to him. It all depends on what kind of mind we want to cultivate.

To make my mind a home for Jesus, I deliberately fill my mind with the kinds of things God says are important. Paul puts it like this: "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."

Jenna works with a choir of kindergarten kids at our church. One member, a little older than the others, is a boy who has Down syndrome. When the boy first started attending, he would generally observe, but not sing. He liked the rhythm of the music and the energy of the other children, but he was mostly a spectator.

Then one day the kids sang a song based on a statement by the apostle Paul: "He who began a good work will not give up on me . . ." Jenna taught the choir hand motions - pointing toward the sky for "He who began," crossing their hands like an umpire signaling safe when they sang "will not give up," pointing to themselves at the word "me." It wasn't until they had run through the song several times that she looked over at the Down syndrome boy and say that this time he wasn't just watching. He looked Jenna in the eye as his little finger shot up in the air and out of the overflow of his heart his little mouth spoke, "He who began a good work will not give up on me."

When I was young, I wanted badly to be smart. I didn't like it when other kids in my class got better grades than I did. I wanted to be the one with the answers.

Now I'd like to have a mind that stores up good things. The way that boy does. I'd like a beautiful mind.

I love both Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Good Friday is a powerful reminder of the sacrifice Jesus made for me. Easter Sunday is the glorious celebration of the news that because Christ lives, I will live also. If there's anything I should focus on, dwell on, fill my mind with - it should be that. "We all hear voices. We just have to decide which ones we're going to listen to."

Holy Crap! Literally.

I'm not a big fan of South Park but they sure know how to make a point - and drive it all the way home. They certainly did that this week with their Cartoon Wars episode. I don't want to spoil the episode for any of you who haven't seen it yet, so let me just just point out two highlights. The first is what happens when an image of Muhammad is displayed. The second is how a group of radical fundamentalists choose to respond. Most Christians, including me, will find what happens to be plenty offensive - if not blasphemous. In my mind, however, the most interesting and controversial aspect of the show revolves around the decisions the network (Comedy Central) made in regard to what to allow and not to allow. I won't say more than that, so you can view the episode (if you can stomach it) without my having given everything away. Okay, just one more comment. Can you say: Hypocrisy?

And if you want to know more there is a good summary at Get Religion.

Remember: They Made It Up!

As much as I love The DaVinci Code (and, even better - Angels and Demons) it's important to remember that it's FICTION! Even if you kinda think there may be a shred of truth in it somewhere, once you read, oh say, Holy Blood, Holy Grail, the source of much of the material Dan Brown swears wasn't really the source material for his book, you'll realize how preposterous the whole idea is that Jesus and Mary Magdelene were married, had a kid and fled to France. But, if you're still not convinced, read this transcript of the recent Dateline NBC story on Michael Baigent, one of the co-authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail and author of the new book, The Jesus Papers. Out of almost thin air, not to mention information that is totally unverifiable, he tries to convince us that Jesus probably didn't die on the cross after all. Dumbass.

I Hate Florida!

If it weren't bad enough that Florida won the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament (which I was lucky enough to attend in person, by the way) now Florida State checks in with something equally idiotic. Check out this story from Beliefnet: Jesus may have walked on ice, not water. (By the way, I think there's a typo in this scientists first name - I think it starts with the letter "M" . . .)

The Gospel of Judas? No Really!

Is it possible that Judas was really a good guy just doing exactly what Jesus had asked him to do? A newly translated document called the Gospel of Judas begins with the following statement: "The secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot." If you want to know more, check out this story on Beliefnet: 'Gospel of Judas' Manuscript Says Jesus Requested Betrayal.