WWJD?

In my early adulthood, I read books on Saint Francis of Assissi (1181/1182 -1226). I was especially impressed by his living his life in imitation of Christ (imitatio Christi) and that set me on a  certain path. Later, in the 1980's, I encountered the book, In His Steps by Charles Sheldon, that portrayed late nineteenth century imitatio Christi in light of the Social Gospel. In the late 1990's and early 2000's, I read books by Marcus Borg and Dominic Crossan on the Historical Jesus that further widened my path.

The subtitle of In His Steps is What Would Jesus Do? In the 1990's this phrase became popular with Christian youth and they used the letters WWJD.

In the lead up to the Iraq War, this question, "What would Jesus do?", kept coming to my mind. I knew the answer in that regard and I became quite distressed when my local church and local churches in general would not stand up for Jesus as the old song said. The heads of the major denominations, though,  including my own, had come out in opposition to the war. I took to the street in protest.

Recently, I was interested in the remarks of President Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on February 2. I was impressed at how he spoke of the role that faith, his Christian faith, plays in his job as President. He spoke of not leaving our values at the door. He spoke of the importance of the Golden Rule, treating others as we wish to be treated. He spoke of the financial difficulties of many Americans today. He spoke of treating people fairly and providing opportunities for all. He even mentioned the most vulnerable among us. He did have some good words.

There is a question, though, that I would like to ask our President. I have posted previously on our use of drones in warfare. The President has spoken of how few civilian casualties have come from our drone attacks.  However, in August of 2011, the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism produced a study that said at least 385 civilians had been killed by our drones in Pakistan in the last seven years and that at least 168 of these were children. Now my question is: Who Would Jesus Drone?

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As a postcript, I would like to link to a  very recent blog post-sermon by the Rev. Chuck Queen that speaks to WWJD. I believe it is quite worth reading.

What the World Needs Now

I have felt for some time that the religion writer Karen Armstrong is a prophet for our time. As a self-taught religious historian (comparative religion) she came to the conclusion that compassion is what ties the religions of the world together. She found that the main religions all developed in a time of conflict and that their answer was compassion based on the Golden Rule of treating others as one would wish to be treated.

This last book of hers, Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life, is a companion to her Charter for Compassion initiative. The Peace Advocate has its own page for that Charter (See the tab at the top or go here.) and the Charter's website is here.

I have read several of Armstrong's books now. (See the Beautiful Books tab at the top or go here.) I have thoroughly enjoyed them and have learned much. They read fairly academically in a dense, but interesting manner. The first chapter in this book may read that way, but the main thrust of the book is much more practical and straight forward.

Armstrong begins with compassion from and for the individual and ends up with compassion from nations for the world. She stresses the meditation of the Buddha on the Four Immeasurables and she continues to stress the Golden Rule.

She emphasizes that the book is a how-to. I have now read the book through and hope soon to reread it and study it. Reading groups are encouraged and there are resources for them available. The Charter's Facebook page has a page of its own devoted to the book.

As the old song says:

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.

I believe that time is now.

Uprising in Egypt

I am following the protests in Egypt while praying and hoping. I have not had much chance to post heretofore.

On Feb. 4, though I never read the advice column anymore, I happened to notice in Dear Abby the Thought for the Day which seems apropos: "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." -Anne Frank

I trust that Egypt will turn out for the better, but whatever happens I know that Egypt, the Middle East or the world will not be the same. It is now a new game plan especially for the Middle East.

I believed that 9-11 should have been the wake-up call for a new U.S. foreign policy. I guess there is always hope that it can start here. The U.S. needs to get away from supporting dictators and corrupt regimes who rule against their own people and against our own values. "White man speaks with forked tongue," the Native Americans said. We need to practice what we preach as another saying goes. Human rights are not just for Americans. I have said before that it is not naive to have a foreign policy based on the Golden Rule.

May Freedom, Justice, and Peace Prevail in Egypt. I Declare World Peace. Power to the People.

The Not OK Corral

I have been quite taken, shaken by the shootout killing in Tuscon, Arizona on Saturday, January 8.  Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, holding a constituents meeting called, "Congress on Your Corner" at a Safeway (?) supermarket, was critically injured. Six people, including a U.S. judge and a nine-year old girl were killed and several others were injured.

One of the earliest and most impressive commentaries I saw was a blog post/sermon by Fred Hamond, author of the blog, Unitarian Universalist Minister in the South, and a minister in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. His post was entitled, Find the Cost of Freedom.

Here are a couple of excerpts:

This treating others as we would have them treat us is hard work, it seems.  It is far easier to denigrate others, to ostracize others, to refuse to understand the other’s plights.  Yet, we must begin to see that each person is part of who we are as a people.  When one person suffers in our country, we all suffer.  When an injustice is done to one person; injustice is done to all of us.   

...

 To undo the history of our nation’s propensity to violence takes each of us to transform our own hearts towards peace, towards nonviolence in all areas of our lives.  Not just in reducing physical violence against another but also seeking to reduce emotional and spiritual violence towards others.  A harsh word as we have seen can engender physical violence in another. 

I recommend the full post.

May Peace Prevail in Arizona and in the United States! Condolences and prayers regarding the victims and their families.

A Need for Consciousness-raising

I call this post, “A Need for Consciousness-raising,”  but I guess it could just as well be called “A Need for Awareness-raising.” Whatever you call it, I believe there is a need in American society for something to bring about a change of mind or change of heart.



Robert Wright had an Op-Ed in the New York Times on Thanksgiving Day in which he wrote about having to write a column appropriate to the day. He wrote that he had a hard time giving thanks and that he tended to focus on the negative. He gave some of his examples:



(1) The New Start treaty — which just about every analyst, Democratic or Republican, says would make America more secure — is on the verge of being sunk by a few senators for partisan reasons. (2) This is symptomatic of intense political polarization, bitter division that is paralyzing our politics. (3) Some of America’s divisions, dangerously, are falling along ethnic lines. In particular, American Muslims are often the object of irrational fear and suspicion.



Then, turning to the positive, he wrote:



If people preaching tolerance, understanding, and cool reason prevail, the world won’t go down in flames. My point isn’t just that good may yet prevail. My point is that there’s a correlation between good prevailing and the world surviving in good shape. The more morally enlightened people get — the more they set aside their narrow perspectives and tribal passions and see how things look through the eyes of people from different religions, cultures, nations — the more orderly things will be.



My husband pointed out Wright’s piece to me and, agreeing with Wright  as I do, said he was reminded of the Native American legend or parable of The Two Wolves.



In that little story, a Native American grandfather, in explaining life to his grandson, tells him that a fight is going on within himself.



"It is a terrible fight,” he said. “It is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."



When the grandson asked which wolf would win, the grandfather said, “The one you feed.”



My husband and I agree that this country is in great need of the feeding of the good wolf. There is more than enough feeding going on of the bad wolf. A fight is going on within our society. The churches and other faith communities especially should be the ones feeding the good wolf. The political entities can not. We would like to see the faith communities stepping up in a pro-active manner. It is a job that needs to be done pronto, probably yesterday. The feeding needs to be done in today’s context, not just in a general, sentimental manner, either.



We do need consciousness-raising,awareness-raising, education, re-education, even. We need a higher consciousness.



As a member of a Unitarian Universalist community, I am reminded of the Principles that Unitarian Universalist congregations are called upon to affirm and promote ~

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;

• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Because of these stated principles, I believe that Unitarian Universalists and their communities have a special obligation and call in this feeding of the good wolf.

In fact, all faiths uphold what is called The Golden Rule, treating others as we would wish to be treated. (See here and/or here.)  I believe that Rule needs to be emphasized as a way of this feeding, too. The Charter for Compassion (See here.) upholds the Golden Rule and is an implement itself. It needs to grow into a major movement.



However we do it, we must raise the consciousness or awareness in this country. As Robert Wright wrote in his column, “If people preaching tolerance, understanding, and cool reason prevail, the world won’t go down in flames.“

9-11

911 is an emergency call, a call for help in distress. To me. that is part of what 9-11-01 was about.

Afghanistan was in distress, Israel-Palestine was in distress. People of the Muslims faith, especially extremists, were in distress. There was hurt and there was pain.

I deplored the response of my country. All out war was not the answer.

I believed that 9-11 was a wake-up call for the United States of America to change its ways in the world, to change its ways of doing its foreign policy business. 9-11 was blowback for our building up of the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan and the Taliban, too, and for our ungainly, overarching support of Israel against the Palestinian people who had lived in the Land for centuries.

For me. 9-11 was my own wake-up call. It was a call to learn of another faith, Islam, and to learn of and  involve myself in foreign policy. I have since learned about other faiths and I have devoted myself to working against war and for world peace.

I have always believed in the Golden Rule--treating others as they would wish to be treated--and I now believe that even foreign policy should be built on that rule. This is maybe wishful thinking, but it is not stupid thinking. I am convinced that the Golden Rule actually works. People respond as to how they are treated.

In accordance with the Golden Rule which is  held by all faiths and in opposition to the Islamaphobia that seems to be pervading this country and the ensuing acts engendered by it, I continue and especially at this time urge folks to sign the Charter for Compassion and to support it.

The Peace Advocate has been a supporter of the Charter and even has a separate page devoted to it. Please go to the tab at the top, learn about it, and sign on.

On this 9-11, there are people in this country who are in distress, too. May the Charter for Compassion be in effect.

Compassion: The Charter & the Principles

 

On Sunday, April 25, I led the Unitarian Universalist Community of Frankfort in a Circle Worship service entitled, Compassion: The Charter & the Principles. In the previous post, I gave the Compassionate Quotes that were read in its worship circle. In this post, I give the main substance, the background material, if you will, for that service.

~ ~ ~  

A special woman of and for our time, a woman named Karen Armstrong, has a special project/initiative. 

An Englishwoman, Karen Armstrong describes herself as a religious historian. She has a degree in English literature from Oxford, but has become known as a self-taught scholar of comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic nun, she has also referred to herself as a free-lance monotheist and is the author of twenty-two books. The four that I have read and found quite meaningful are A History of God, Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths, The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam and The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions. Her latest book is called, The Case for God (2009). She has also written a book on Buddha, one on Mohammed, and one on the Crusades. There is an entry about her in Wikipedia Encyclopedia.

In her study, Armstrong found, as she put it, that her work had continually brought her back to the notion of compassion. "Whichever religious tradition I study," she said, "I find I find that the heart of it is the idea of feeling with the other, experiencing with the other, compassion. And every single one of the major world religions has developed its own version of the Golden Rule: Don't do to others what you would not like them to do to you." She has said that Confucius was the first sage to state this rule and that Jesus was the one who, many centuries later, put it in its positive form: Do to others what you would have them do to you.

In 2008, Karen Armstrong was awarded the $100,000 TED prize to fulfill her wish to change the world based on her giving the talk of her life. TED, a small nonprofit, helped with the launch of a Charter for Compassion. A website was set up to begin developing a Charter for anyone, anywhere, online to contribute ideas. Eventually, these submissions were whittled and honed by a Council of Conscience consisting of eighteen high-level religious leaders and thinkers. The Charter itself was formally launched on November 12, 2009. The online Charter is open to affirming signatures by the general public. The website also consists of submissions of original, individual acts of compassion. There is also a Facebook page. The Charter has partner organizations and faith communities, including the Unitarian Universalist Association. There is even a Compassionate Action Network.  (On Saturday, April 24, organized by that Network, Seattle, WA signed the Charter and became the first Compassionate City. There was a day of events centering around the Charter and compassion. Karen Armstrong even gave a talk.) Armstrong who would like the Charter for Compassion to be the basis for a movement has said that she wants to make compassion "cool." I put it as compassion being "in" rather than "out." I firmly believe that compassion needs to be both widely practiced, furthered, and promoted especially in our world today.

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Charter for Compassion

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.

I urge folks to explore the website and affirm the Charter. (You can do so here.)

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Karen Armstrong's book, The Great Transformation; The Beginning of our Religious Traditions of 2006, was about what is called, The Axial Age, the period from about 900 to 200 BCE, when Confucianism and Daoism in China; Hinduism and Buddhism in India; monotheism in Israel; and philosophical rationalism in Greece, all came into being.

In the concluding chapter of The Great Transformation called, "The Way Forward," Armstrong wrote:

We are living in a period of great fear and pain. The Axial Age taught us to face up to the suffering that is an inescapable fact of human life. Only by admitting our own pain can we learn to empathize with others. Today we are deluged with more images of suffering than any previous generation: war, natural disasters, famine, poverty, and disease are beamed nightly into our living rooms. Life is indeed dukkha [suffering, out of kilter]. It is tempting to retreat from this ubiquitous horror, to deny that it has anything to do with us, and to cultivate a deliberately "positive" attitude that excluded anybody's pain but our own. But the Axial sages insisted that this was not an option. People who deny the suffering of life and stick their heads in the sand are "false prophets." Unless we allow the sorrow that presses in on all sides to invade our consciousness, we cannot begin our spiritual quest. In our era of international terrorism, it is hard for any of us to imagine that we can live in the Buddha's pleasure park. Suffering will sooner or later impinge upon all our lives, even in the protected societies of the first world. Instead of resenting this, the Axial sages would tell us; we should treat it as a religious opportunity.

We must continually remind ourselves that the Axial sages developed their compassionate ethic in horrible and terrifying circumstances. They were not meditating in ivory towers but were living in frightening war-torn societies, where the old values were disappearing. Like us, they were conscious of the void and the abyss. The sages were not utopian dreamers but practical men; many were preoccupied with politics and government. They were convinced that empathy did not just sound edifying, but actually worked. Compassion and concern for everybody was the best policy. We should take their insights seriously, because they were the experts. They devoted a great deal of time and energy to thinking about the nature of goodness. They spent as much creative energy seeking a cure for the spiritual malaise of humanity as scientists today spend trying to find a cure for cancer. We have different preoccupations. The Axial Age was a time of spiritual genius; we live in an age of scientific and technological genius, and our spiritual education is often undeveloped.

... We now have to develop a global consciousness, because,whether we like it or not, we live in one world. Even though our problem is different from that of the Axial sages, they can still help us. They did not jettison the insight of the old religion, but deepened and extended them. In the same way, we should develop the insights of the Axial Age.

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I believe the Charter of Compassion closely aligns with both the principles adhered to by Unitarian Universalists and the sources of faith of Unitarian Universalism. 

 

UU Principles and Sources of Faith

There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote:

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

 

Unitarian Universalism (UU) draws from many sources:

• Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
• Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
• Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
• Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
• Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.
• Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

These principles and sources of faith are the backbone of our religious community.

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During the sharing time, someone asked me why I thought the Charter for Compassion was so important. Since I have trouble thinking on my feet, I had trouble answering that question. I since have pondered some and am trying to express it. I could probably use a complete blog post to answer the question, but, instead, will try to do so here.

As someone said on the Charter's Facebook page, the Charter for Compassion is very close to my heart. I was a member of the Christian church most of my life and I believe the Charter speaks to Christianity's deepest affirmations and mission, especially that of Jesus himself. I have always been a strong believer in the Golden Rule. While still having a strong religious impulse and trying to follow Jesus, I have come to see the unity of the religions at their core. I believe that the Charter for Compassion is an answer for today's religious strife. I also believe it is an antidote to the mean-spirited and and hard-line approach that seems to have been so in vogue recently. 

Not believing that war is the answer, I believe that compassion is. I have never agreed with the War of Terror on Terror. I have always believed that 9-11 was, in the larger sense, a wake-up call for the United States and its foreign policy and relations. Revenge and killing were not and are not answering that call. I have believed that the United States was called to change its ways. To treat others in the world as we would wish to be treated. Every person is important. Every culture is also important. I look to the line in our Declaration of Independence about all being created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I have never believed that all this was to be just for Americans. I believe we need to put on different glasses.

By extension, I also believe that especially in this time of the earth's fragility and climate change, we need to have compassion for all the earth and its beings and creatures.

As people have said, we are all one. We are all connected.

I have been a big believer in the efficacy of and need for consciousness-raising or awareness-raising, as one might say. I also believe in putting my name one the line and standing up for for what I believe in. I see the Charter as a tool for the endeavor that peace may prevail on earth.

Compassionate Quotes

On Sunday, April 25, I led the Unitarian Universalist Community of Frankfort in a Circle Worship service entitled, Compassion: The Charter & the Principles.

Below are the "Compassionate Quotes" that we read in our worship circle:

1. Human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.–Albert Einstein

2. Because of our very vulnerable offspring, the fundamental task for human survival and gene replication is to take care of others. Human beings have survived as a species because we have evolved the capacities to care for those in need and to cooperate. As Darwin long ago surmised, sympathy is our strongest instinct.–Dacher Keltner, co-director of UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center 

3. If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.–New Testament Letter of James

4. Religion that is more life enhancing, affirming, and morally compelling advocates doing what is right and good, because it is the right thing to do. But still, we can go one step further. The highest form of religion empowers a person or community to do what is right and good, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because the person or community is permeated and immersed in a divine, magnanimous, unconditional love. Mature religion is self-validating; it is egalitarian, holistic, inclusive, transformational, and filled with compassion and grace. –the Rev. Chuck Queen

5. There's one rule that lies at the heart of every religion -- that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This truth transcends nations and peoples -- a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown; that isn't Christian or Muslim or Jew.  It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world.–President Barack Obama

6. Compassion is something that needs to be encouraged, like an endangered species, perhaps.–John Tarrant

The Golden Rule

Simple, ancient wisdom that is so needed, but seemingly so difficult and neglected. A beautiful video.