It's coming...

Over at the RevGalBlogPals they have a tradition called the Friday Five - each Friday a meme is posted and the blogger members are invited to post their own responses on their own blogs. This week's is hilarious - and given that I've been quite cranky already (it's the paper, folks, and just being tired of not sleeping in my own bed for more than a few nights in a row every week), I thought I'd post it here & just throw it open. Let's get it out of our systems now, before I round up a posse to go blow up the local radio station that's been playing Christmas music 24/7 since way before Thanksgiving...

This is not a tagging meme. Play along if you like, or ignore it - but if you play along, please let me know so I can go read yours at your blog! My answers are in italics.

What is your least favorite or most annoying...

1) dessert/cookie/family food

mince or pumpkin pie; peanut butter cookies, cakes, brittle - I like peanut butter on toast not in sweets; I take the Fifth on family food...

2) beverage (seasonal beer, eggnog w/too much egg and not enough nog, etc.)

tie between homemade wine and brandy slush

3) tradition (church, family, other)

"Adopt-a-family" programs, because of the inappropriate use of the word, adopt. We're not adopting the family, we're sponsoring them, or gifting them, or something else - but we're not adopting them. (Don't get me started on "adopt an animal" programs at zoos.)

4) decoration

tacky manger scenes with too much glitter or fiber optic stuff (see the "Cavalcade of Bad Nativities"); inflatable lawn ornaments of any kind; "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" or "Put Christ Back into Christmas" lawn signs.

5) gift (received or given or both)

coupons - not to be confused with gift cards

BONUS: What song or cd makes you want to tell the elves where to stick it? (My addition: And what song do you love to hear this season?)

Too Cutesy: "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" and "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer"

Too Gawdawfully Serious: "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

But I Love: "Santa, Baby" by Eartha Kitt!

I feel better already. I'll post a "most favorite" list when we're closer to the holiday.

Randomness

A few random thoughts...

Still plugging away at the constructive theology paper, though I've had a minor breakthrough. A methodology section used to be required for this thing, but is no longer. In a meeting with my professor I asked if it would be o.k. if I wrote an introductory section, because I was repeating information about being a UU in each chapter, AND none of the chapter drafts I've written (so far) has dealt with how my theology is informed by three different religious faith traditions which are in some tension with each other. She said that would probably be helpful for the readers. So I've written a rough draft of an introduction and part of it reads like a rudimentary methodology section. Heh. The good part is that I really do feel like I have a better handle on what I've been struggling to say in the drafts I've done - and in the draft I have to write over this coming weekend. And this final draft to turn in before the end of the semester is the one that is really going to show the harmony and tension between the traditions.

Another "gratitude" - for my good friend and classmate, Mike, who houses me for a few nights each week, loans me cash for coffee when I forget my wallet, offers insightful comments on papers, and has been my built-in study partner for the last two years. We often carpool on the 45 minute commute to school from his house, and always have things to talk about. Our conversations are often enlightening, sometimes quite silly, and always delightful. I'm grateful for his radical hospitality! (And yes, I do the same for him - cash & comments that is.) He got me through Gospels with a passing grade, and says I've shown him that a non-theistic non-Christian CAN be a person of real faith. Dare I say this is real interfaith dialog we've been engaged in? Gratitude for Mike's partner Vince as well - if I'm really lucky Vince plays piano while I'm in town and I get to hear wonderful music as I work away. Thanks, guys.

Some of the folks I know who read this may have known CTS alum ('05) Anthony Hollins, but may not have heard the sad news that Anthony died suddenly this past weekend. Anthony was in his last year of seminary when I began, and I never had a class with him or much interaction besides the occasional "hello" on the stairs. However, one could not be at CTS and be unaware of Anthony - elegant, slim, handsome, exuberant Anthony with a passion for liturgical dance. The chapel was standing room only for his memorial service today, and there wasn't a dry eye in the place. Made me want to believe in a heaven.

Pausing to Give Thanks

Only nine were at our table this year - my long-suffering spouse and I, our three young adult children, my in-laws, and our two young adult nephews. The nephews' dad, my brother-in-law, and his spouse spent the holiday with her adult children and grandchildren. My mother went to my brother's to eat with him, his companion, and her children and grandchildren. Families spread out sometimes at the holiday, as well as gathering in and close.

Still, I'm grateful for those who feasted with us - I even had a small piece of the turkey to make sure I still remember how to cook it! I'm grateful my mom had a place to be and people to be with, even if she wasn't here with me. I'm grateful we were able to have one of our nephews overnight, on his way from college to home.

And I'm grateful for whoever reads this, or any of these blog posts. There are many layers to the connections in my life - and I'm grateful for that, too.

Now I've had my post-Thanksgiving feast long soak in the tub, and I'm ready to slip between the flannel sheets and sleep a good long time.

For these and the multitude of blessings in my life, I give thanks.
Amen

More on "The Secret"

Update: If you're here because you read about this post in the "UU World," welcome! I'm happy you're here. But I'd also like to direct your attention to this post on The Secret by Elizabeth, which I personally think is fabulous!

I've gotten some comments on my original post, I've done more research, and I wanted to write an update on my thoughts about this phenomenon. I have a lot of questions about "The Secret," and a lot of misgivings about the way Rhonda Byrne grafts concepts together from various traditions - without trying to understand the concepts in context - and then uses those concepts to support a hypothesis, seemingly without real evidence.

I've continued to have conversations about this book. As a skeptic I've tried hard to have an open mind, but what I've read and heard is a pastiche of bits and pieces from other traditions that seem half-explained and half-understood. Coincidentally, there's an article about it by Fred Small in the online UU World.

One commenter wrote that he thought "The Secret" was like Karma. I'm no expert, but I think that Karma is more complex than "what you give is what you get returned," although I concur that this is the way most Western minds understand it. I also have no problem with the "positive thinking" aspects, which are straight out of Norman Vincent Peale & Andrew Carnegie. There's nothing wrong with giving oneself a pep talk or affirmation of worth - or offering the same to someone else. I start running into trouble with the idea of treating the universe like a gift catalog, and believing that positive thoughts can bring me whatever I want - more about that later.

I have real problems with some of the troubling ideas in this book. Fred Small points out some of these in the UU World article: the idea that one can lose weight by thinking thin thoughts (should we believe one can also avoid depression by thinking happy thoughts?); the idea that groups of people bring repression and death upon themselves (think Darfur, or Bosnia); the idea that people attract discrimination to themselves; or, the idea that one can cure oneself of dreaded diseases by belief alone. What if one doesn't get better? Is one then told one's belief wasn't strong enough? Smells like "blaming the victim" to me, and I do not believe it.

I'm very wary of relating theoretical physics to everyday life, knowing the little I know about it and living with a person who takes such ideas very seriously. I doubt that Ms. Byrne miraculously "understood" everything about string theory, multiple dimensions and dark matter - because many physicists don't understand all of it yet.

I also worry about the egocentrism inherent in all of this. Does it strike anyone else that all of it plays into an "it's all about ME" mentality? Why on earth should I believe I'm the center of the universe? Why should I support a philosophy that appears to promote greed? Just doesn't seem healthy or mature to me.

I still have way more questions than answers, but I gotta tell ya - the fact that I now know that many quotes from famous people in this book either were never spoken or are lifted out of context makes me very suspicious.

At YouTube you can find the first 20 minutes of the movie, "The Secret." I'll let you go find that yourself if you want, but here's a comedian's take on "The Secret," especially the universe as gift catalog bit.

Communion?

I think the writer is a little snarky about "not caring" about traditions or scripture, but I am a Unitarian. Nice image of Emerson.

Eucharistic theology created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Unitarian You're a Unitarian. You don't really care about tradition or Scripture or Christian teaching. You'd rather tiptoe through the tulips than through theology. Unitarian 75% Zwingli 56% Calvin 44% Orthodox 13% Luther 0% Catholic 0%

I've seen it.

(Rant ON)
Don't forward it to me. Really, it's o.k., I don't need to read the joke about how a UU minister asks the owner of a new Ferrari what a blessing is. Or the joke about what you get when you cross a UU with a Jehovah's Witness. Or any of the "how many UUs does it take to screw in a lightbulb" jokes. (I know we like to say we have a sense of humor - but do we really need to laugh at ourselves this much? Or encourage others to laugh at us?)

I also don't need any other cute jokes that have been making the rounds on the internet for the last several YEARS. Nor do I need chain letters that ask me to keep the candle burning for cancer survivors, or the animated .gif file of a person walking around the world for a cause. I don't need the "send this to every woman you love" email with cutesy and cranky cartoons and one-liners about how we love our men - even if they are stupid boobs who never ask for directions, lower the toilet seat, or take a turn at doing the laundry.

Besides the jokes, I don't need the emails asking me to send a card to a dying child (who recovered, thank you, and would like people to stop sending him cards - it's embarrassing to still be getting them a decade later), or pray for a miracle, or whatever. I'll say this once: Before you forward something like this, check Snopes.com for its legitimacy. You'll likely find out it's a hoax.

All this stuff is in the "mostly harmless" category, but I'd still appreciate not receiving it, o.k.?

Then there's the stuff that is infuriating and maybe dangerous, like the forwarded letter I received from a family member. It was titled "VERY IMPORTANT NEWS MESSAGE. VERIFIED WITH SNOPES." The message was about Citgo being run by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who (according to the message) is building a Russian weapons factory AND has Iranians building an oil refinery off the shore of Venezuela. To quote the message,

"It is likely only a matter of time, if not already, before Chavez has
Iranian ! built LONG RANGE missiles, with a variety of warhead types aimed
at: Guess Who?" [sic]

Hmmmm... I checked with Snopes myself. Needless to say the message is full of half-truths and innuendo - very jingoistic, very xenophobic. (sigh) Send me one of these and I will ask you to stop and explain why. Send me another and I'll get cranky with you. Persist and I will not accept email from you.

Stop sending this crap around. Please.

Yeah, I know, I'm preaching to the choir here, right?
(Rant OFF)

Why, yes, I was up waaaay past my bedtime last night finishing my fourth chapter draft. Why do you ask?

The more things change...

the more the music from my youth is still relevant. Two cases in point.

One from John Prine from way back:



and a very old favorite, from one who left us too early and too young...



Thanks to Lizard Eater, here's another! (Waist Deep in the Big Muddy comes after a couple snippets of others.)

Insights of the Day

There were two:

(1) Think of "and" instead of "or." Simple, really - but it makes a big difference.

(2) In a biblical metaphor, one is supposed to build one's (theological) house upon a rock, not the shifting sand, theoretically because the rock is more stable. But what is sand but former rocks? Risk the sand.

That's what I got out of an hour of spiritual direction, folks. Yes, it's worth it.

Of Course it is...

Moltmann's eschatology is one of the few that does NOT say the earth and all the unbelievers will be destroyed. He borders on universal salvation and definitely has an eco-friendly message. Too bad about the trinitarian Christian thing, or I could really get behind much of his theology. (He's the theologian I'm in dialog with throughout my constructive paper/project - which is painful, in the way working out at the gym is painful.) *and thank you to Ms. Kitty for the link to this quiz...

What's your eschatology? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Moltmannian Eschatology Jürgen Moltmann is one of the key eschatological thinkers of the 20th Century. Eschatology is not only about heaven and hell, but God's plan to make all things new. This should spur us on to political and social action in the present. Moltmannian Eschatology 100% Amillenialist 100% Preterist 50% Postmillenialist 25% Dispensationalist 25% Premillenialist 0% Left Behind 0%

Looking for Info...

...on The Secret. In a discussion today, someone I know was talking about the movie very enthusiastically. I'm under the impression that believers are kind of like the folks who really think Dan Brown was writing non-fiction when he wrote The DaVinci Code. The only discussion I've had about this book previously was with a colleague who bemoaned its popularity, blaming it for the worst sins of the purveyors of the "prosperity gospel."

When I checked it out of the library, I was appalled by the first chapter, which was blatantly telling people that all they had to do to get what they wanted was purify their energy, or some such twaddle. (OK, so I'm biased. I hate this kind of swindle - if it works, the runners of the con get the glory; if it doesn't, the marks aren't trying hard enough. Bah.)

Am I right? Or is there something better here than I found in the first chapter of the book? Anybody out there know more, or do I have to wade through it sometime after graduation (almost 2 years away...)? Please keep your comments on topic, folks. Thanks.

Not really a quiz, but interesting

Adoption Creates Families

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is over.

Now, November is National Adoption Month! As someone touched by adoption in many ways - not the least of which is as a parent - this is a permanent part of my and my families' identity. The image I post here is from an annual poster series from FRUA, Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption. We are proud members of our local chapter, which includes families who've adopted from other East European countries. Programs run by the group are important for many children and parents, who get to compare notes about experiences, have a lot of fun together, and form peer groups that help in times of need. We are a blended family - biological and adopted kids, as well as periods of being a foster family some years ago.

I'll never forget the early days, when our child would ask about the other children from the orphanage, wondering where they were. Then our agency called to ask if we'd be open to contact with a family who had adopted a child from the same orphanage - the family who'd adopted our kid's "best friend." When our kid heard the other kid's voice on the phone, she was almost too excited to talk! Then they talked for an hour.

"I've got a brother." "I've got a sister."

"I've got a sister, too!" "I've got a dog."

"Oh. I wish we had a dog. I've got a cat!" "We don't have a cat. My mom's allergic."

"Do you have Barney?" (purple stuffed dinosaur toy) etc., etc. ...

You get the idea. They've graduated from phone calls to instant messenger in the years since. I don't believe much in fate - but I do believe we were meant to be together. I celebrate our blended family!