{"id":744,"date":"2012-10-21T00:05:50","date_gmt":"2012-10-21T05:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/?p=744"},"modified":"2012-10-19T15:05:32","modified_gmt":"2012-10-19T20:05:32","slug":"poem-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2012\/10\/21\/poem-2\/","title":{"rendered":"POEM: I am"},"content":{"rendered":"

The other day I got kicked out<\/span>
\nOf an atheist’s club<\/span>
\nTold in no uncertain terms<\/span>
\nThere is science<\/span>
\nAnd no other!<\/span>
\nAnd I am left<\/span>
\nTo wonder<\/span>
\nWow, where did that come from?!<\/span>
\nI was raised<\/span>
\nA Christian<\/span>
\nA long story (some may say tall)<\/span>
\nWhich makes some short<\/span>
\nRed chapters<\/span>
\nHeavenly verse<\/span>
\nTo love<\/span>
\nOne, an other<\/span>
\nTo bless<\/span>
\nNot curse<\/span>
\nA Palestinian Jew<\/span>
\nNamed Jesus<\/span>
\nWe could do much worse!<\/span>
\nI once heard a Muslim<\/span>
\nOf five pillars he spoke<\/span>
\nComing down to One<\/span>
\nAnd as a Muslim<\/span>
\nI woke<\/span>
\nThen along came Buddha<\/span>
\nWho said: “Don’t follow me,<\/span>
\nExperience it first!”<\/span>
\nWhich made me want to follow<\/span>
\nThis unslakable thirst<\/span>
\nTo find compassion and justice<\/span>
\nA home<\/span>
\nHere on this suffering Earth<\/span>
\nA little man<\/span>
\nNamed Gandhi<\/span>
\nTo kingdoms united<\/span>
\nHe spoke<\/span>
\nI am<\/span>
\nA Hindu<\/span>
\nA Christian<\/span>
\nA Muslim<\/span>
\nA Jew<\/span>
\nAnd undoubtedly a Sikh he<\/span>
\nSo many will accuse<\/span>
\nWell<\/span>
\nMe too!<\/span><\/p>\n

I have considered myself a theological mutt as long as I can remember. \u00a0While I have never found a home in atheism, I have a deep appreciation for those who have rejected theism when they experience theistic followers as extremely unwelcoming and exclusive. \u00a0Probably one of my most basic theological beliefs is that God is love, and that God’s love is unconditional. \u00a0I find it difficult to imagine such a “condition” that is any more inclusive! \u00a0This wreaks havoc on virtually every conventional way of thinking. \u00a0This is one of the major reasons why I consider spirituality as countercultural. \u00a0A healthy spirituality is constantly turning up statist views of reality and human conditions. \u00a0I see spirituality as basically a struggle of life over death. \u00a0How does one enliven, incarnate, the inanimate matter that is the object of science (there is no subject<\/em> in science!)? \u00a0I don’t see differences of opinion around spirituality primarily as theists versus atheist, but rather as fundamentalists versus welcoming dynamicists. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0In the myriad world of either\/or propositions, the dynamicists welcome the answer of “YES!”, as opposed to “this, “that,” or “yes, but.” \u00a0Or, more simply put, does it enhance living? \u00a0Unfortunately, living in this both\/and world can be quite disconcerting for those demanding hard endpoints or absolute certainty — which are dangerous to coming to healthy terms with the\u00a0irreducible\u00a0uncertainties of life. \u00a0In theological terms, this would probably be called process theology<\/a>, where: “it is an essential attribute of God to be fully involved in and affected by temporal processes, an idea that conflicts with traditional forms of theism that hold God to be in all respects non-temporal (eternal), unchanging (immutable), and unaffected by the world (impassible). Process theology does not deny that God is in some respects eternal, immutable, and impassible, but it contradicts the classical view by insisting that God is in some respects temporal, mutable, and passible.” \u00a0But enough theology, suffice it to say that I believe that fundamentalism is a death knell for healthy spirituality and a living religion. \u00a0Perhaps ironically, I don’t see that atheism has done any better of a job than theism\u00a0of minimizing fundamentalism. \u00a0I don’t see much difference between militant atheists and fundamentalist religionists.<\/p>\n

But, alas, such debate has being going on for millennia, and with much dissatisfaction; so I would propose that the dividing line can be summed up by the attitudes represented in one’s response to this statement by Albert Einstein: “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” \u00a0Or, to frame it somewhat differently, when Einstein was asked what the most important question that a human being could ask is, he answered: “Is the universe friendly?” \u00a0I don’t know if this question is answerable in some ultimate, final sense, but I do know that I can vote for the universe being friendly, and make the universe a little more friendly, by practicing kindness. \u00a0And the gratitude manifest by seeing everything as a miracle helps empower me to behave kindly. \u00a0But, you be the judge…or not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The other day I got kicked out Of an atheist’s club Told in no uncertain terms There is science And no other! And I am left To wonder Wow, where did that come from?! I was raised A Christian A … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,15],"tags":[355,353,358,25,339,229,289,385,304,428,474,154,65,255,356,24,296,493,402,456,359,273,457,441,253,669,18,658,94,110,601,83,390,357,30,545,340,439,487],"class_list":["post-744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poems","category-political-and-philosophical-musings","tag-atheist","tag-attitude","tag-buddhism","tag-christian","tag-compassion","tag-conventional-wisdom","tag-counter-cultural","tag-death","tag-einstein","tag-experience","tag-fundamentalism","tag-gandhi","tag-god","tag-gratitude","tag-hindu","tag-jesus","tag-jewish","tag-job","tag-justice","tag-kindness","tag-life","tag-love","tag-militant","tag-muslim","tag-muslims","tag-palestinian","tag-philosophical","tag-poems","tag-poetry","tag-power","tag-reality","tag-religion","tag-science","tag-sikh","tag-spiritual","tag-spirituality","tag-suffering","tag-theology","tag-universe"],"yoast_head":"\nPOEM: I am | Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! 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