What “Surfwise” Really Tells Us About Wisdom

My friends and I watched one of the most fascinating movies of recent. Surfwise is a documentary about the Paskowitz family (see their famous surf camp here), a renegade and maverick Stanford educated father, a 24 foot camper trailer, surfing, and an unconventional way of living and raising a family.

I would consider the film “earthy” overall. A short review, and some comments below.

Leaving conventional life pursuits behind, Dorian Paskowitz — a Stanford educated M.D. — discovered a new kind of life made up of a mixture of sexual exploration and discovery, primal instinctive behaviors, a deeply carefree and adventurous spirit, and a militant ethic of discipline. This philosophical cocktail led him to raise his family, one wife and nine children throughout their upbringing in a 24 foot camper trailer. Eating, sleeping, traveling, and sh*%ing together, they formed a family bond and a very unique and unconventional human identity, perhaps much different from the world around them. Traveling to anyplace from anywhere, their main love and passion became the sea, and specifically surfing. Throughout this time, and as they built a family business, various dramatic turns of events take place in each of the children, and in distinct ways making for a fascinating, albeit voyeuristic look at the positives and negatives of this kind of behavior, especially from someone so well known, well liked, and seemingly well grounded in society — Dorian Paskowitz.

In the end, the majority of the family rejects much of the father’s ways; only one son decides to follow in his footsteps. That reality highlighted some principles of raising children, raising a family, and general life principles that are common no matter how conventional or unconventional your techniques.

LIVING IS THE BEST EXPERIENCE, BUT NOT ALWAYS THE BEST EDUCATION. One of Dorian’s principles was a rejection of academic education because it gave the kids “knowledge” not “wisdom.” But, in the end we see that to be a false dichotomy. The fault is not that one is better than the other, but rather in choosing one over the other. That is to say, the classroom is important, just as much as the open road.

SEXUAL FRUSTRATION IS THE ROOT OF WARS. He didn’t say it quite like this, but it’s the general gist. There does seem to be something extremely fascinating with various cultural views on sex and sexuality. The Paskowitz family were very open with having it, expressing it, and being very frank with their children at the appropriate ages. This is obviously one of the highlights of intrigue as both the mother and the father kept very little from their children. But again, there seems to be a balance, as the end results were not necessarily sexual health, but rather it left many of the kids coping with their parents sexuality as well as their own. One thing I think Dorian did get right however.; if there is a God, sex is His gift to us.

MY OVERALL OBSERVATION IS THAT HUMANITY IS A VERY FLEXIBLE, SUBJECTIVE, ADAPTABLE, AND CURIOUS CREATURE, AND TRUE LIFE IS NOT FOUND IN THE VARIABLE MECHANISMS, BUT IN THE INTRICATE TIE BETWEEN THE TANGIBLE ENVIRONMENT, AND INTANGIBLE, INTERNAL, AND MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES. All that to say that no matter what kind of upbringing you get, it can change, and you can and most likely will adapt well. And, no matter how deviant your father may be, there is something deep within us that allows us to return to central normal. True, various environments and experiences will always shape how far we swing on the “crazy” pendulum of life. But as time goes on, and as generations emerge, humanity has a way of zeroing itself out. This family is highlighted as an anomaly, because they are just that, an anomaly that has swung far on the side of the pendulum. Their kids? They’re trying to swing back to the center. This perhaps explains Dorian’s question in the movie, “Why are you filming us?”

Second to that, is because that mechanism exists, true life is found in the full swing of the pendulum, not just in its current location. That is to say, as we swing back and forth between extremes of crazy and conventional, we must receive and accept all that life gives us along the way. And add to that the spiritual component — God is able to redeem it for something of greater good, no matter how bad life has been.

Hamas & Al Fatah

This is just a point of education for me on this post.

While I’ve heard much about the Palestinian political parties, I actually know very little about them. These “Times Topic” explanations were helpful.

HAMAS

Hamas, one of the two main Palestinian political groups, derives its name from an acronym for the Arabic words ”Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya,” which translates into English as the Islamic Resistance Movement. It was founded in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising with its roots in Muslim Brotherhood politics in Gaza and became more active in the second Palestinian uprising which started in 2000.

The groups’ 9,000-word charter, written in 1988, includes a description of the struggle for Palestine as a religious obligation, saying the land is an endowment that cannot be abandoned.

It recognizes the fact of Israel but refuses to recognize its right to exist, and has been responsible for many of the deadliest suicide attacks in Israel.

But the social programs that were the group’s initial focus made the group widely popular among ordinary Palestinians — it created centers for health care, welfare, day care, kindergartens and preschools along with programs for widows of suicide bombers. In January 2006, facing a divided Fatah, the party created by Yassir Arafat, Hamas won a decisive victory in parliamentary elections.

Since Hamas took office, it has faced increasing turmoil. Israel withheld tax revenues it collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, and Western assistance to the Palestinian government was cut off until Hamas renounced violence and agreed to recognize Israel. After months of negotiations, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyah of Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of Fatah, agreed in March 2007 to form a national unity government in an attempt to end the Palestinians’ international isolation. The pact did not succeed in restoring the flow of aid, and clashes between gunmen loyal to Fatah and Hamas began to increase, particularly in Gaza, where militant branches of Hamas operate independently of the government. A series of cease-fires have been proclaimed and quickly broken, raising fears of a civil war. (Christine Hauser, June 12, 2007)

AL FATAH

Fatah, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, is the larger of the two main Palestinian political parties. It was founded in the late 1950s by Yasir Arafat and a small group of Palestinian nationalists.

Its name is the reverse acronym of Harakat al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Falastini, meaning the Palestinian National Liberation Movement. The name also means Conquest or Victory in Arabic.

In its early program, Fatah was committed to an armed guerrilla struggle for Palestine’s liberation from Israel. Its official emblem shows two fists holding crossed rifles and a hand grenade in front of a map of Palestine.

It was initially based in Jordan and later Lebanon; its leadership was dispersed during the 1970s and 1980s but returned to Gaza and the West Bank in the 1990s.

Fatah became preeminent among Palestinian factions in the 1960s though a series of strikes against Israel — in its eyes, successful military campaigns, though condemned by Israel and the West as terrorism — and by the end of the decade it was the largest and best funded of the Palestinian organizations. It became the vehicle for Mr. Arafat’s control of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the umbrella group for Palestinian movements.

In 1993 Mr. Arafat signed the Oslo peace accord with Israel, which sought to negotiate a peaceful end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on a two-state solution. In the legislative elections for the Palestinian Authority created by the accord, Fatah captured a majority of seats, and Mr. Arafat became president. Mr. Abbas, another original member of Fatah, became president in 2005 following Mr. Arafat’s death.

By then, however, Fatah had become strained by internal divisions and tarnished by accusations of corruption, and began to lose ground to the more hardline Hamas. It lost power to Hamas in legislative elections in January 2006.

Hamas and Fatah in early 2007 formed an unsteady coalition government, a so-called unity government, but tensions reemerged between the two groups that quickly erupted into violence.

In June 2007, Fatah was completely routed from Gaza by Hamas, raising the prospect that the Palestinian territories would be divided between a Fatah-controlled West Bank and a Hamas-controlled Gaza.

As a result, Mr. Abbas dissolved the unity authority and appointed a new emergency government dominated by Fatah. It drew immediate support from Israel, the United States and the European Union, who were eager to isolate Hamas. Fatah had become the moderate alternative. (Graham Bowley, June 20, 2007)

Israel’s Messianic Jews Under Attack - The Cost Of Discipleship

This article was posted in Time recently about a bomb that was sent to a Messianic Family on Purim. My friend sent me the news videos that made its way to YouTube. Part One here. Part Two here. The text is difficult to read, so I have transcribed it below.

For those who need a bit more background or information on what Messianic Judaism is, a quick Google search would yield sufficient information. I would also suggest Wikipedia, Hebrew 4 Christians, MessianicJewish.net, and a prominent congregation called Kehilat Ariel in San Diego.

Given the solemnity of the events that have transpired with the Ortiz family, I offer a few devotional sentiments, and a commentary on the cost of discipleship.

O LORD, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death, that I may declare your praises in the gates of the Daughter of Zion and there rejoice in your salvation. - Psalm 9:13 10

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” - Matthew 5:10-11

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘Servants are not greater than their master.’ [b] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Those who hate me hate my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ [c] - John 15:18-25

THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP

As events such as these plague our brothers and sisters, I am struck at the distinction between these kinds of believers, and the kind of discipleship and faith that is found amongst the vast majority of (or at least the popularly known) American Christians. This may be perhaps why some of Jesus’ words don’t speak to us, in America, in the same depth and power than they do in other parts of the world. This may be why, perhaps, we make up imaginative interpretations regarding the difficult and challenging words of Jesus about the most difficult and challenging issues of life; namely enemies, hate, forgiveness, grace, compassion, etc.

There is great security in being respectively blind to potential acts of violence against oneself or one’s family for matters of faith. Our constitution and our culture protects us from these kinds of acts of aggression. But that safety can also produce a sense of complacency regarding cost. Our battles are generally ideological, not concrete, tangible, costly battles. And if that continues to be the norm, we may be fooled into believing that this is really the only cost to discipleship.

Now, I do not want to diminish the importance of theological and ideological discussions. Worldviews are powerfully influential in the tangible and concrete world of justice and wars. And, I would be remise if I did not acknowledge that acts like the one reported here is not deeply connected to ideology. But for the rest of us, if we are truly going to think globally about our theologies — a worldview that includes faith being a universal explanation — then we also ought to be aware and fully engaged with the consequences of this kind of faith on a universal scale. Our hearts ought to be reminded frequently of how the “body of Christ” (as we say) is not limited to the one body part called “America.” And we ought to especially be reminded that there is a cost to our faith, in spite of our comfort, and we are often the ones getting a bargain deal. In some ways, there exists a sort of “faith-classism,” that is not separated by social rank, but by culture and geography.

As a believer, as a person of faith, and as a global citizen, I hope that this story prods us on towards closing the segregation of the “classes of faith,” by raising the costs of our discipleship wherever we are.

—

[b] John 13:16
[c] Psalms 35:19; 69:4

—

AMI ORTIZ NEWS VIDEO TRANSCRIBED FROM THE YOUTUBE.COM VIDEOS LINKED ABOVE:

Israel is a democratic state that generally upholds the rule of law, and has excellent police and intelligence agencies. We hope that they will uphold the law in this case which you are about to see; to apprehend and prosecute those responsible for this heinous crime. We all know that unchecked abuse of minority religions in the Middle East is a slippery slope. What you are about to see is a news documentary program which was which was produced by Amir Gera, and shown on the Channel 1 prime time news program “Yoman Shishi’ on May 30th, 2008.

Here is another example of people who the (Israeli) authorities are ignoring. We are going to show you people who are citizens, serve in the army, and who see themselves as Israeli as anyone else. They believe in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. That is probably what leads to threats, persecutions, and violence.

The culmination of it is the sending of a bomb in a (Purim) package that exploded in the hands of a teenager in Ariel. He is the son of Messianic Jews.

The police are withholding information bout what happened and how the investigation is proceeding. Channel One, funded by the government, asked the court to reveal the investigation details. Twice, it overcame the police requests to the Jerusalem courts to stop the broadcasting of this video. This is how we can reveal the first details about the attempted murder tonight. This is Amir Gera reporting.

[A's Father, Ariel Congregation]

I was in darkness. I said, “God we are in your hands. Give me a miracle. Give me a miracle. Thank God, in the morning, we spoke to the doctors. They said, ‘your son is a miracle this morning.’ now we see there is hope for his body, his eyes, and everything. The doctor said, ‘He is born again. He is born again.’

[singing] “I am persuaded, I am persuaded, tha tneither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities…(Romans 8:38-39)

The whole week he was between life and death. Laying in the hospital unconscience [sic]. Having pain and burned, full of metal fragments, that an evil hand had put in him.

[A's Mother & Father] I am in pain all the time to see my once perfectly strong son, with these wounds, and for nothing. He was in danger but thank God. We received a miracle from God. He has more than 100 pieces of metal still left in his body. You can see safety pins inside him! His throat was lacerated from here to there! Also pieces of glass from the 12 windows that were blown out. this was all open wounds, and he received skin grafts. two on his (left) leg and his stomach too. Yes, this is after the grafts, and now he looks so excellent! Excellent!

[A] Someone sent to our home a Purim gift. With a bomb inside of it. When I opened it, it exploded.

It was such an innocent looking package. It was sent to the family in Ariel, last Purim. It was a Purim package any child would be happy to get. A, 15 years old, opened the package and his life was changed in a moment.

[A] It was not meant for my parents. My parents would not have opened a Purim package. If they wanted to hurt my parents, they would have hurt them directly. It was directed towards me.

At 2:30pm, a huge explosion ripped through the building. The neighbors ran to the source of the blast; this apartment on the third floor. They found the boy wounded and bleeding. From the polic report, we found out that his family belonged to a Messianic cult. But it is still unclear, that this information has any connection with the explosion.

[Mother] Flyers were distributed throughout the whole city of Ariel with pictures of Messianic Jews. As if we are masquerading as Jews. As if we are “dangerous” people to be avoided. it seems that through these flyers they recognized us

[narrator] Like someone marked you?

[M] Yes.

About 10,000 Messianic Jews live in Israel. Spread out in different cities. Meeting in small closed congregations. they are just like every other Israeli, except for their beliefs. They believe in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and Yeshua the Messiah. They are so peaceful, that you cannot see any difference form normal citizens.

[interviewer] A month and a half ago, these people were sent a package with a bomb in it. To a 15 year old boy. Messianic Jews.

[interviewees] It looks like a political issue, and I do not want to discuss it. The truth is, we are so busy working. Exactly… That we did not even have time to hear about it.

[interviewer] I can’t believe it! You live here and you don’t know about what happened so close to you?!

[interviewees] [shaking their head's "no"]

Also at the flower shop they did not know what had happened.

[dialogue] Here, his parents have arrived. I just came now to reconnect the gas. Great! Thank you.

A’s father immigrated 20 years ago from New York, and became the leader of a congregation in Ariel. There are 30 believers in this quiet congregation. He’s a digital technician who one day found himself and his family in the eye of a storm.

[witness] We came upstairs and we saw the guy laying on the floor. His body was ripped apart. First thing I did was to treat [sic] him and talk to him.

Five and a half years ago…please tell them the story.

[witness] The terrorists entered my house and killed my wife and three of my children. And their son was seriously injured and also my daughter. My son lost a leg. I was left with four children. Two of them got married and I have two granddaughters. Today I am a grandfather. This is happiness… When you look ahead and leave everything behind. Though you never forget, when you look ahead, everything looks small in the past. The main thing is that he is alive like my son that lived, and that he was rescued. These are the important things. The moment you see it that way, it gives you strength to give also to your children.

[Father] This was our table. It was solid wood. This package that was here, only a professional could do it. I think it is someone who is an expert in explosives.

[witness] From the shockwave of the explosion, everything flew out through the window. I never saw things like this. This is shocking!!! It is an explosion just like the terrorists! You know what I mean. But for Jews doing this to other Jews? I don’t know!

[narrator] You are an Orthodox Jew. they are called Messianic Jews. Does that mean anything to you?

[witness] No. Maybe there will be friends who say, “How can you speak up for these people?” There is no for or against. Everyone lives his own life. God gives every person choices to choose between good and evil. God gives us the choice. So who are we to force a person to change his beliefs? No.

[narrator to Mother] Are you a Jew?

[Mother] Yes.

[narrator] Why should we have to be afraid of you?

[Mother] I don’t know.

[narrator] Actually, people who don’t like you, accuse you of missionary activities. Right?

[Mother] Yes.

[narrator] Are you a missionary?

[Mother] No. We are Israeli citizens. What is a missionary? I don’t understand that?

[Father] This is our country. This is our place. We want to live here. All of our children were in the army and in special units: the airforce, canine unit, and in a battalion in Shechem. I was also in the reserves in Shechem. We were stoned frequently.

The flyers that were distributed and the scratches on the family vehicle were just the beginning. And the bomb that was sent was not the only bomb as it seems. We’ve been told that in the same day, more bombs were going to be sent to other Messianic families in the town. By a miracle, greater disasters did not happen. After the explosion, the police asked the school principals where the children study to be alert. Because of the danger to their lives. Therefore, it is not just about one package, but this is an underground network of criminals. In order to plan for many bombing attacks.

[dialogue] How are you? — O.K. Thank God.

[family attorney] We asked the police how can it be that so much time has passed from the moment the explosion happened in this apartment, and A was injured so badly. With all the evidence that the police have, how can it be that there is no progress in the investigation? The Israeli police have excellent evidences. They have a good starting point. Much more than a good starting point… They have a way to find and bring in the suspects and to interrogate them and to prosecute them. Why Israeli police don’t do that this is a question with a huge question mark at the end. We don’t know the answer.

The day after the murder attempt, the courts issued a “block” on the details of the investigation. We have been left with questions without answers as to where the investigation stands. Has there been any progress? Have any suspects been found? Have the police tried to cover up their incompetence with the “block”? Are the police going to find the truth?

[family attorney] Does the family need to “apologize” that their son didn’t get killed? And then maybe they would have treated it in the right way?

Ido Atzel: On Wednesday, the Shalom Court in Jerusalem cancelled [sic] the media “block” that was put ont he case from the beginning.

[Father] What am I afraid of? I am afraid that his is not the last time. I am afraid for other Messianic families. That they need to fear that if maybe one day they will receive a package. That someone will put something in their car? Or something will happen again. That’s my fear. And the police and everyone doesn’t take it seriously. What’s going to happen?

[Mother] For me it’s an absurd comment. That I need to run away from here. They need to run away, not me. They are the criminals, we are the victims.

On Lag B’Omer, in Or Yehuda, Ultra Orthodox students, condoned by the deputy mayor, burned hundreds of copies of the New Testament. This action was aimed against the Messianic community living in the city. The government advisor on legal affairs ordered the police to open an investigation against the deputy mayor and those suspected of burning the holy books.

[Mother singing] “Who shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Messiah Yeshua, our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

[narrator to A] What is your dream now?

[A] To keep on living…to keep on living normally!!!

Where does the investigation stand? Who did it? We still don’t know. The police say, as a response to the accusation, that a special team of investigators are running an intensive investigation. At this point the police do not intend to give details about the investigation.

[closing commentary] If you have been moved to concern after viewing this program, please contact Israel’s Minister of Public Security requesting justice in this case.

The Experience Economy - Why Bears Don’t Talk And Kids Can’t Make Them

Joseph Pine and James Gilmore have written intelligently on the various forces of economics and consumerism. This book is one I use in the class I teach at a local Christian college to discuss experience as a human phenomena. My main contention is that wanting and desiring an experience is not bad. We should not stand in judgment for that drive in the human psyche/spirit/soul. What is shifting in our culture is that the burden of responsibility for providing the experience has shifted away from the individual as it looks towards others to being the provider of bigger and better experiences. This concept is very related to consumerism, and has fairly decent ramifications for how society works and behaves.

My wife told a story the other day that illustrates this beautifully, and with a new twist.

My wife, who works with children, mentioned an incident when a young girl, pre-adolescent, picked up a stuffed bear that was provided for her entertainment, and the first thing she did was ask,

“What does it do?”

“What does it do?” replied my wife.

“Yeah, does it talk, sing, dance,…what does it do?”

My wife replied, “It doesn’t do anything. You get to make it do stuff. Use your imagination. It’s fun to pretend!”

The girl looked at her with that disdainful and an almost “you’re so weird and out of touch” look. She put the bear down and walked away.

The four of us chatting about this began reminiscing and pondering our pasts. Remember when a toy truck was sufficient to provide hours of entertainment, imagining the various jobs and adventures it was going on? And that was without a driver. I remember Lincoln Logs, and Legos, and Tinker Toys, things that required your imagination, your involvement, your engagement with the item, but also with yourself and your soul. And what about before that? I even remember a box of sand in the backyard. After picking out all the cat poop, we were good to go, building tunnels, using leaves as cars, and creating entire metropolises (or metropoli) out of billions and billions of grains of sand. And that brought joy.

Here’s the rub. The era that is losing ground (and is possibly already lost) is the time in which items were not entertaining, but we were entertaining. Toys brought us joy, not because the toy made us alive, but because our imaginations made the toys alive. And that, I lament, is gone.

What I didn’t notice before about the Experience Economy (perhaps because I need to read the book more thoroughly) is that not only are experiences becoming commodified, but imaginations are becoming old, obsolete, fossilized, and nearing extinction.

Perhaps it doesn’t have to be. Perhaps we can again teach our kids to make bears talk, make sticks into swords, trees and blankets into forts, and sand pits into cities. Instead of the need for complex (and costly) things to bring us joy and entertainment, maybe we can return to the time when simple things were made beautiful by the very imaginations God gave us.

Why Extreme Makeover (Home Edition) Does So Little With So Much - A Critique of Corporate Philanthropy

People love this show. There’s a reason why it is popular. It’s touching, moving, inspiring, and does good for those who seem to be doing bad.

However, while channel surfing with some friends of ours, we happened upon an episode, and instead of being moved to tears, we were moved to laughter and cynicism. Now, that’s definitely due in part to the company we were with, but as I began to think more about the show, something struck me about the actual good that shows like this do, and all of the consequences, good and bad, that result from productions of this scale.

I offer these inquiries and observations as an honest critique to hopefully move us towards a better society, and a better way of philanthropy.

1. ALL REALITY SHOWS ARE CONTRIVED. THIS PROGRAM IS NO DIFFERENT. No matter how much you want to get away from it, what you see on the screen is not reality. So, while the appearance is that there are great things happening, we must remember it’s produced in such a way as to contrive that effect. That’s not real philanthropy, that’s good television. So, that for me, poses a bunch of questions as to what is actually happening, and what are the real consequences of benevolence of this form and through this kind of medium (cf. Marshall McLuhan).

2. CORPORATIONS ARE HELPING THOSE WHOM THEY MARGINALIZED IN THE FIRST PLACE UNDER THE AUSPICES OF BEING THEIR SAVIORS. This inquiry may be too cynical so I’ll be cautious. I sense that much of what ABC is doing is actually quite deceptive in their motives and in their driving values. There are plenty of arguments about capitalism and the kind of society it produces, intentionally or incidentally. Suffice to say, one could make the argument that the disparaging distance between the wealthy and the poor is caused by the very same capitalism that is producing these shows. Therefore, in effect, while they may be helping in small ways the individuals that are the focus of each episode, they are on a grander scale further perpetuating the systems and values that keep marginalized people poor in the first place. [1]

3. THE SHOW IS SUBVERSIVELY SELF-AGGRANDIZING. The product placement and self-promotion of the network is overwhelming. Again, while being cautious of overt cynicism, the show does appear to capitalize on the compassionate nerve of the audience, being coyish and manipulative for the ends of bigger and more profitable companies.

4. THE STANDARDS OF LIVING VALUES THAT ARE COMMUNICATED ARE OF UPPER CLASS PEDIGREE. Everything in the home is of the best quality, etc. Now, whenever you act compassionately and philanthropically, never use leftovers; always give the best. That way you ensure a more authentic and altruistic way of compassion. However, I have to ask what happens to a people or a community after they’ve been given the best of everything when they were unable to afford those items in the first place, and they’re probably incapable of sustaining that kind of standard over the long haul. Given the law of diminishing returns, will their joy ever be satisfied again if they eventually have to diminish their standards or quality of living?

5. THERE IS AN IMBALANCE OF RESOURCES, THUS DOING A LOT OF GOOD FOR VERY FEW, AND SO LITTLE GOOD FOR THE GREATER WHOLE. This is my main contention and question. Millions of dollars, thousands of man-hours, hundreds of companies, and one family. Is this what it takes to do good for people? If that’s the case, who is ever going to benefit except the very few, leaving behind the many, which puts us back into the imbalanced percentages of classism? Could not these resources be utilized and leveraged in different ways? In other words, which is better, huge benefit for very few, or small incremental benefits for many? And, if we only benefit a few, does that actually do more damage to the greater whole?

6. LONG-TERM RESULTS STUDIES HAVE NOT BEEN PUBLISHED. Now I recognize this is unfair for a program that is less than ten years old. However, if any “thus-far” studies or reports are available, I’d be very interested in seeing what kind of results this kind of big-bang-benevolence has on families and individuals in the long-term. Does this really help to create a better society, a better people, and a multiplying ethic of benevolence and philanthropy in the social conscious and in society? Or does it just spoil people? Do the tangible things actually improve their quality of living, or only their perceptions of their quality of living?

REBUTTAL TO FOLLOW.

I think I have some immediate responses to some of the critical questions above. So, should anyone think that my questions and concerns are imbalanced, I’ll post a rebuttal to my own sentiments listed above soon. Again, these are questions, and I’d encourage some thoughtful responses to help us all understand better so we can behave better.

—

[1] I realize that the program’s focus is not just on poverty. Often it is of disease, or unfortunate events, etc. But, the show only chooses people who are impoverished.

Thomas Friedman’s Obama On The Nile - Letting The Future Bury The Past

What makes New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman’s op-ed posts interesting, to me, is that his global (flat) perspective allows us to glimpse a little bit of a bigger picture that many others simply cannot provide.

Why is this important?

Because life is a simultaneous tension between “individualness” and interconnectedness. Humanity, in order to be more human, must be dedicated and committed to the self (self-interests, self-preservation, etc.) while at the same time being willing and able to see reality through the lens of others with whom we are connected. Both must be embraced, contrasted and compared with each other, and evaluated for making considerations and decisions about life and faith and all that encompasses existence. That is, if we are committed to the fullness of reality and the value of truth in our world.

And as Friedman has already written about extensively, the boundaries and barriers that have once segregated the global community are fading fast.

So, below I’ve reflected on one article, hopefully contributing positively to the global conversation.

OBAMA ON THE NILE - The Past Buries The Future

It seems that the American community needs to be reminded of a few things every now and then.

One, that this country provides opportunities unlike no other, in spite of the fact that there are still people here who are utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion in their thinking. That is an amazing paradox of existence, and we should be thankful that though our system doesn’t work the way we want it to all the time, what it has created is phenomenal, and what is happening now in the political scene is historic. I’m reminded of Winston Churchill’s quote,

Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried.

How does this happen? Perhaps something in the collective psyche of the American mind? Friedman noted that in the Middle East (at least in Egypt, though I would attest, given my travels there that this is a common theme),

…the past always buries the future, not the other way around.

I believe most of us would consider that ethic to be dehumanizing and destructive. Who wants to move one day forward knowing that our past not only haunts us, but pins us to the ground? However, if we invert that value-system, we find something powerful and beautiful (and with hardly any need for complex paradigm-shifting, philosophical Judo). What if the world operated by,

…letting the future bury the past?

Perhaps this is what has given so much steam to the campaign of “hope” we’ve heard so much about. Perhaps this is the ethic that makes the “idea” of America so great. Perhaps this is not an invention of the United States, but rather a profound truth about the very nature and essence of humanity.

There is something spiritually powerful about the teachings found in the Scriptures, especially in Jesus, in light of that culture. How much more powerful the statements of love, peace, redemption, and especially forgiveness in a world that buries your future because of the things you’ve done in the past. How radical and amazing that teaching is, and how contrary to the natural instincts of our primordial urges. There is a powerful lesson to be learned, as mentioned above, both on an individual scale and global. Burying the past in light of the future makes for great personal, individual spirituality and great global politics at the same time.

And one more question. What if we demanded that ethic to be exemplified first, not by others for us, but by ourselves towards others, loving our neighbor as we would love ourselves?

The Templeton Foundation

Discussions between science and faith continue to flourish in public discourse. Just this weekend, another volunteer of mine mentioned her need of resources for addressing the evolution debate. Though we talked very little about it, I’m assuming there is rhetoric on both sides that is continually difficult to mitigate. Both sides continue to be passionate and emotional, that it is often difficult to get to the truth of anything without spin, manipulation, irrationality, and sometimes downright contempt.

The tension between being a faithful believer in the text of Genesis, or simply a theist, while dismissing the dogmatic impositions of Creationism upon the Text, balancing that with continued scientific discoveries and newly emerging philosophical arguments for compatibility in these areas…a person’s mind could explode (which isn’t very progressive).

So…

My friend referred me to this site this weekend: http://www.templeton.org/. While I have not yet thoroughly read through the material, I’m very intrigued with what I’ve seen thus far, and believe that the questions they’re asking, and their apparent approach to the subject in very thoughtful and honest ways will help aid the discussion and actually propel us forward rather than backward.

In keeping with Sir John Templeton’s intent, his Foundation serves as a philanthropic catalyst for research and discoveries relating to what scientists and philosophers call the Big Questions. We support work at the world’s top universities in such fields as theoretical physics, cosmology, evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and social science relating to love, forgiveness, creativity, purpose, and the nature and origin of religious belief. We also seek to stimulate new thinking about wealth creation in the developing world, character education in schools and universities, and programs for cultivating the talents of gifted children. Learn more about the Foundation’s “Core Themes.”

THE BIG QUESTIONS:

* Does science make belief in God obsolete?
* Will money solve Africa’s development problems?
* Does the universe have a purpose?

I hope to post some responses to papers and articles on the questions above that I read over the upcoming weeks and months ahead.

MOST the Movie - Responses From The Children

On April 30, 2008, I posted this on the movie MOST. A volunteer in my ministry asked a few of her students (elementary age), and here are their responses that are somewhat fascinating.

1. What did you think about the movie?

• It was good but he should have saved his son instead.
• I think this movie was sad because that man let his son die.
• It was very strange.
• It was not a fun movie to watch – it was sad.
• That man should not have never left his son.
• I think that the dad was being dumb, not responsible and stupid.
• I thought it was sad.

2. What would you have done differently?

• I would have saved my son and let the people on the train die.
• I would have ran and got my son because I would not have let my son die.
• I would have done the same.
• I would not have taken my son to work.
• I would have died with him.
• I would have never left the kid alone; it had them die and I need to protect my kid.
• I would have cried and let the people die.

3. What does it mean to be true hero?

• Saving People.
• What it means to be a hero is by helping someone and saving people’s lives.
• Think for others.
• I don’t know.
• Hero’s do not only save people they have someone to talk to in order to express their feelings.
• I don’t know.
• I don’t know.

4. Would you recommend this film to anyone?

• Yes. Because it was really good.
• I would not recommend this movie to anyone because it is to sad to watch and that man was stupid for not letting his son live.
• Yes because you are going to like it.
• No.
• Yes I would recommend this film to prisoners because lots of them have kids especially for the people doing life. That is who I would recommend it to.
• No. Because the dad was stupid.
• Yes.

VIA:

So what does this tell you about the human condition and the message of the sacrifice of Christ in light of that condition? Would most of us also answer towards self/family-preservation? And then, if this is the way in which to live, according to the message of Christ, and so few of us are willing to live this way, what does that really tell us about heroism? Wouldn’t most of us now answer “I don’t know” when it comes to the “hero” question?

The LORD Bless You and Keep You - Reflections from Jonathan Sacks

Because I just needed to hear this myself, so I wanted to share. The Chief Rabbi’s “Covenant and Conversation” reflection this week was on the Priestly Blessing from Numbers 6. A few of the poignant snippets are below and worth absorbing.

יברכך יהוה וישמרך

יאר יהוה פניו אליך ויחנך

ישא יהוה פניו אליך וישם לך שלום

THE OLDEST SURVIVING FRAGMENT OF THE BIBLE, is a 2700 year old piece of parchment housed in the Israel Museum, and contains 15 words, this blessing from Numbers 6. It comes from the era of the First Temple, built by King Solomon. It is so old that it is not written in the Hebrew alphabet as we recognise it today, which dates from the Babylonian exile, but rather in the ancient Semitic script, the first alphabet known to mankind.

Why someone wrote them down on this piece of parchment, it is impossible to say, though it is likely that it was used as a kamea - a charm of good luck or blessing. I find it intensely moving that these words, first said so long ago, still stay with us in this physical form as well as in our prayers.

THE LITERARY STRUCTURE IS PRECISE. In the original Hebrew, the first line has three words, the second, five, and the third, seven (as I have pointed out elsewhere, these prime numbers have special significance throughout the Mosaic books: three-, five- and seven-fold repetitions always signify a key-word). Equally precisely, the first has 15 (3×5) letters, the second 20 (4×5) and the third, 25 (5×5).

Grace is that quality which sees the best in others and seeks the best for others.

G-D’S [1] CREATION IS FUNDAMENTALLY GOOD. Against the idea basic to many other faith systems - which embrace poverty, asceticism or other forms of self-denial - in Judaism the world as G-d’s creation is fundamentally good. Religion is neither otherworldly nor antiworldly. It is precisely in the physical world that G-d’s blessing are to be found.

THE GREAT IRONY: MATERIAL BLESSINGS CAN SOMETIMES DULL OUR SENSITIVITIES TOWARD G-D. The great irony is that when we have most to thank G-d for, often we thank Him least. We tend to remember G-d in times of crisis rather than in eras of prosperity and peace:

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your G-d for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your G-d, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your G-d, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery . . . You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” [2]

THE DECLINE AND FALL OF CIVILIZATIONS. In the early, pioneering years civilizations are lifted by a collective vision and energy. Then as people become affluent they begin to lose the very qualities that made earlier generations great. They become less motivated by ideals than by the pursuit of pleasure. They think less of others, more of themselves. They begin to be deaf and blind to those in need. They become, in a word, decadent. What happens to nations happens also to individuals and families. Hence the first blessing. “May the Lord protect you,” means: May He protect you from the blessing turning into a curse.

WHAT IS GRACE? The word “grace” has such strong Christian associations that we sometimes forget its centrality to Judaism. Judaism is a religion of intellect: of study, questioning, ideas, argument and the life of the mind. The historian Paul Johnson described rabbinic Judaism as an “ancient and highly efficient social machine for the production of intellectuals.” Yet the Book of Proverbs says:

Let kindness and truth not leave you. Bind them around your throat, inscribe them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find grace and good intellect in the eyes of the lord and man. [3]

Grace (חן) takes precedence over good intellect (שכל-טוב).

MAY HIS PRESENCE BE EVIDENT IN YOU. The second priestly blessing is: May G-d “make His face shine on you,” meaning, may His presence be evident in you. May He live a visible trace of His being on the face you show to others. How is that presence to be recognized? Not in severity, remoteness or austerity but in the gentle smile that speaks to what Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature.” That is grace.

MAKING PEACE WITH OURSELVES TO MAKE PEACE IN THE WORLD. “May the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” To make peace in the world we must be at peace with ourselves. To be at peace with ourselves we must know that we are unconditionally valued. That does not often happen. People value us for what we can give them. That is conditional value, what the sages called “love that is dependent on a cause”. G-d values us unconditionally. We are here because He wanted us to be. Our very existence testifies to His love. Unlike others, G-d never gives up on us. He rejects no one. He never loses faith, however many times we fail. When we fall, He lifts us. He believes in us more than we believe in ourselves.

The genius of Judaism is that it is not predicated on superhuman virtue; its ideals are surpassingly high, its psychology is realistic throughout.

SEEKING RECOGNITION. We speak of “seeking recognition.” It is a telling phrase. More than power or wealth or success or fame we long for what we believe these things will give us: standing in the eyes of others, respect, esteem, honour, worth. We can dedicate a lifetime to this search, but it is not a good one.

MAKING EYE-CONTACT WITH G-D. People do not confer respect for the right reasons. They follow politicians who pander to their worst instincts. They feel the charisma of pure power. They flatter the wealthy. They are like moths to the flame of fame. The recognition that counts is our reflection in the eyes of G-d. He loves us for what we are and what we could become. He loves the good in us, not the successful or persuasive or charismatic. He ignores the image we try to project because He knows us from within. His is the voice within us that says, “With Me, you do not have to pretend. I know you. I knew you before you were born. I know you because I made you, and I made you because I need you - or more precisely, because the world needs you. There is a task only you can do. Now, therefore, be strong and do it. You need not seek praise; you shall not be deflected by criticism; for I will be with you every step of the way. When you feel most alone, that is when I will be closest.” That is making eye-contact with G-d. It is the meaning of the third blessing: “May the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

THE INVISIBLE HAND. It was Adam Smith in his masterwork, The Wealth of Nations, who pointed out that self-interest, when properly channeled, led to the welfare of all. Smith himself sensed that there was something religious about this, and he gave it a quasi-religious name. He called it the invisible hand, which was as near as he could come to speaking about divine providence — the mysterious yet benign way in which, though each of us may be concerned about our own narrow welfare, we are part of something larger than ourselves, in ways we cannot always understand. Our separate strands are part of a larger pattern.

PRAYING IN THE PLURAL. The great Spanish poet and philosopher Judah Halevi noted that almost all our prayers are in the plural. We do not pray that G-d should give me something; we pray that he should give us something. “Bless us, O our father, all of us together.” There is a spirit of community written into the liturgy. We do not ask our G-d to listen to the prayers of individuals, but of those of the Jewish people as a whole. When Moses prayed on behalf of the people, he was answered. When he prayed for himself - to be allowed to enter the promised land - he was not. Halevi adds that there is nothing mystical in this idea. he explained it with the following analogy.

BUILD A WALL AROUND THE CITY. Imagine, he said, trying to defend your house against enemies. There are two ways of doing so. One is to build a wall around the house. The other is to combine with neighbours and build a wall around the town. The former is more expensive and offers less protection. To act with others for everyone is easier and more secure. They asked for protection, the right to live true to themselves without fear; for grace, the ability to be an agent for good in others; and peace, that fullness of being in which each of us brings our individual gifts to the common good. So, he said, with prayer: If we pray by ourselves for ourselves, then we rely on our own merits, about which we can never be certain. But when we pray together with the whole community, we combine our merits with theirs. Prayer is like a protective
wall, and praying together is more powerful and effective. We do not need superhuman piety - merely enlightened self-interest - to realize that our destinies are interconnected. When we are blessed, we are blessed together. Prayer is community made articulate, when we delete the first person singular and substitute the first person plural.

[The full text of Jonathan Sacks reflections can be found here.]

—

[1] Using a dash in reference to the divine is a traditional (Jewish) way of showing respect.
[2] c.f. Deuteronomy 8:11-18
[3] Proverbs 3:3-4

Criminal Justice - The Corrective System’s Oxymoron

My wife recently made a pastor’s visit to the son of a parishioner who is in jail for drug use. She called me on her return home with some musings (and lamentations) about how awful the conditions are, and what jail actually produces, in the incarcerated, and in society.

THE SYSTEM SETS THE INCARCERATED UP FOR FAILURE

There are several rules and regulations that inmates have to live by, and many of them don’t really make any sense. Simply put, the system is unrefined.

1. If you are incarcerated for drug use (which was the offense of the person my wife visited, from here on known as “our inmate”) you could be placed in high security with murders and rapists if there is any glitch in your process of prosecution.

2. In those areas, in order to survive, you must immediately identify yourself with your race and enter into a “gang” just to survive. It has happened more than once, that one particular group will just simply decide you should die, and kill you, for no other reason than race, or any number of arbitrary crazy reasonings.

3. When “our inmate” transferred jails, he was not allowed to take any physical possessions with him that he had accumulated, either by gifts or purchasing. So for his court hearing, where he wanted to look presentable, instead of having any toiletries or clothes, he was forced to attend in his orange jail suit.

4. When they release you from jail (and this makes no sense to me), they do it at midnight! What agency, social organization, apartment complex, or anything that can help you reassimilate back into society is open at midnight?! “Our inmate” was release a while back (this incarceration is his second offense) and was immediately picked up by police, wandering the streets at 1:00 in the morning. Where else is he going to go? The police released him, because he showed them his release papers, but does anyone else think this is ridiculous?

HUMANIZING PEOPLE: THE PURPOSE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Now, I do understand that it doesn’t always work this way. I also understand that jail in other parts of the world are worse, much worse. I also understand that there are different levels of incarceration for different levels of offenses [One young man (18) I visited from my youth group was only "detained" for his first offense at commercial theft, and was released in two days in the morning when his mom picked him up.]

However, it posed for us the question, What is the purpose of jail?

Saving the long discussion for this blog, we concluded that any correctional system ought to be set up to re-humanize people rather than de-humanize them. The irony is this: The very elements in the person’s life that may have led him/her to becoming incarcerated are only reinforced in the incarceration, hence creating a greater criminal not correcting the behavior.

Things like humiliation, disrespect, unfairness, loneliness, are all major ways in which someone is made less than human, and are often major contributors to dysfunctional and delinquent behavior. Not always, but often. And when someone gets to jail, these things are often exacerbated many fold. Is this really corrective of bad behavior, or reinforcement of bad behavior?

WHY JESUS TAUGHT TO VISIT THOSE IN PRISON

This illuminated for me a nuance of Jesus’ teaching about visiting others (hence visiting him) in prison. It’s not just because visitation is the “benevolent” thing to do, but if we understand this teaching in light of His mission of putting together everything that is wrong, perhaps a visit to the jail is an effort to humanize those who have been incarcerated, a system that is designed to de-humanize.

EYE FOR AN EYE

And then the brilliant teaching of Leviticus 24:20, a law designed not for retaliation, but rather for limitation of what kinds of punishments one puts on someone who has offended. Moses is correcting those who are doing correctional work, ensuring that the punishment suits the crime, and goes no futher. This, in many ways, keeps the punishment issue orientated, rather than personal oriented. Could we also believe that all people are capable of fulfilling their destinies of being fully human, in spite of their behavior?

VIA:

Maybe we can become a society who, through courage, faith, and discipline, help others become more fully human, even in their sin, just as in their suffering, thereby ushering in the Kingdom of God in the very way the Scriptures teach us to do.