After Church chat on Sunday, July 4, 2021, in SoCal

( True story with names changed to protect all the guilty participants clinging to a well-appointed building whose governing denomination still believes that anyone with a different belief system is SUPPOSED TO DIE HORRIBLY.)

Parishioner#1:
That 4th of July prayer: Did God give us this land? Uhhhh... did not colonialists from abroad take it from the peoples who were here already? This is troubling theology to me. Just saying
(Three LIKES)

PARISHIONER #2
I was thinking the same thing, Parishioner #1!
Three Likes

The-Degreed-and-Licensed-Theologian-in-Charge Responds:

"Indeed. Much of our theology around stewardship still gives us a pass for stealing from others under the guise of it being a blessing from God. We can and must do better."*
Three Likes
*((( N.B.: The educational leader ignores a teachable moment, never telling our THREE parishioners how "We" can do better. )))

PARISHIONER #2:

Manifest Destiny should be Dead! So many wrongs done in its name!
Three likes

VISITING Theologian and educator of 49 years (PARISHIONER 3):

Dear PARISHIONER #2:
And yet, it has never died. As long as we intervene on either side (typical government military engagement) or both sides (too many American corporations and small businesses as a universally accepted legally protected process), Manifest Destiny remains a deadly game.

Note to all remaining organized spiritual practice groups: To become helpful, nurturing, inspiring, and relevant again, small group discussions like these must be offered whenever pastors, ministers, and Christian educators lead and teach groups of 2 or more. This is a Biblical Promise which needs to be supported by a mandate.
Educators have known since the first teachers worked with the first students that engagement in multiple formats is essential for mastery of seminal materials. If you are not constantly making connections to lived experience using curricular content, whatever you communicate one or two days each week becomes "white noise". No one, except perhaps some dedicated custodians, lives 24/7 inside churches. What passes for Christian Education is, by definition, massive open free public insanity =
doing the same thing over and over and expecting/ DEMANDING(!?!) a different result.
Speaking as a former Educational Specialist Dual- credential-in-progress District Intern and Masters Degreed Theologian with clinical training in Pastoral Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy, there are basically ZERO supports/ accommodations for anyone except the fully-abled and high-functioning (FAAHF), the blind (FAAHF) and or the deaf (FAAHF). Homeschooling is the sole pathway for spiritual literacy-- and even their parents must take the initiative to offer it as a non- Carnegie-credited "elective". That is fancy teacher-speak because being able to engage in civilized discourse about spirituality has never been considered necessary for life in a spiritually diverse village, town, city, county, state, or nation. This bears repeating:
"Being able to engage in civilized discourse about spirituality has never been considered necessary for life in a spiritually diverse village, town, city, county, state or nation; let alone any democratic republic."

Theology is a rare bird in that it mandates licensed practitioners as a best practice but provides no effective safeguards or disincentives for malpractice. In fact, ignorance, fear, abuse, prejudice, discrimination, injustice, revenge, cruelty, homicide, genocide, suicide, and endless wars are consistently supported by one or more religious groups worldwide. There is no standard of informed consent even when participation in its largest global cohort, Judaism, is an automatic birthright with benefits, whether the beneficiary ever chooses to practice. It's main antagonist/hero(?), Roman Catholicism is a 100% pay-to-play-and-wield-power-command-control institution.

Think back to the day AFTER POTUS46 and his team were sworn in. I made it a scheduled appointment to watch the televised appearance of those " Officially State-recognized religious groups in the United States featured during the broadcast. From my POV as a Black man unconditionally loving all of who I am becoming, the first thing is that none of them promoted finding common cause over most of 2021’s apparently intractable social problems. Ecumenicalism has never had consistent acceptance of core leadership or mandated throughout all vertical and horizontal divisions. Orthodoxy is its life-blood. Anything less is a universal sign of weakness.
Infinite variations of end-times scenarios promising that their people will survive means they all have a financially vested interest in the current status quo. Fear and Greed are Equally GOOD AND ESSENTIAL. Hells on Earth are required and more ubiquitous than the legendary Hells' Angels motorcycle gang.
The SCOTUS once again has a majority of mainstream religious believers and practitioners. Listen to any current reality TV judge speaking on or off brand and see this for yourself.

If Jesus, Buddha, or Mohammed wanted us to die defending our right-to-die, don't you think each would have said that throughout their lifetimes? This next piece is offered for your daily consideration
from now on:

A Radical, Fundamental Perspective: SHARE IT IF YOU FEEL IT. X

[A Facebook video posted by Artist and Writer Matthew Cooke May 2021]

Shalom

Peace

Salaam

Do you want to live in a Jewish state?

I hope so.

It's wonderful and it's easy.

All you have to do is follow Moses and The Ten Commandments

Thou shalt not worship material things or idols

or Covet

Meaning don't yearn for or steal thy neighbor's possessions

Take care of the poor and oppressed

Or

Would you like to live in a Christian State?

Fantastic!

All you have to do is follow Jesus;

Who reminded us to also follow Moses and the 10 Commandments

Don't worship material things or idols

Don't steal or kill

LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY

Judge no one

Care for the poor and oppressed.

Or

Would you like to live in a Muslim state?

Beautiful.

All you have to do is follow Muhammad ( PBUH)*

*Peace Be Upon Him

Who told us to follow Jesus and Moses

And the Ten Commandments

Don't worship material things or idols

Don't kill or steal

Submit to the highest,

All Merciful, All Compassionate Good.

Take Care of the Poor and Oppressed

Or we can live in all three states at once

Because they are highly compatible, to say the least,

And

That sounds like heaven on earth, which I think was the idea.

The teachings of Islam and Christianity and Judaism,

Came from three extraordinary human beings

After each of them fasted for a month or longer

To reduce the influence of this material world

To reduce the influence of their own desires

And leave themselves empty

To possibly receive something

From that which is the most high

And they each had a revelation

Which was that human beings

Should not associate anything physical, not land or

Material Wealth, or anything that comes from our own self-interest

With an unfathomable, all encompassing God, Allah,

Yahweh, that which is everything

That proceeds and postdates

And surrounds and exists within and outside

Of All that can be seen and all that cannot be seen

And these three human beings who had this incredible revelation

They were from the same family

They shared a common ancestor named Abraham

Who shared a similar message

That this world is temporary

A test of our willingness

To be a good and truly humble person

Willing to let go of everything

Who therefore uses their earthly desire as fuel

But never direction.

Each one of them in succession said that the world had forgotten

And wasn't listening to their sibling who'd come prior

And it turns out that all the beliefs the children of Abraham

Are conveniently completely compatible with Gautama Buddha

Who reminded humankind that our ongoing attachment

To material things only leads to suffering

And that corresponds to Hinduism

Which warns humankind

To be aware of our karma

Which can be interpreted very simply

As "that which we hate,

We become."

"And that which we love LOVES us back."

All these wisdoms of the world

Practiced as their founders prescribed

COEXIST AUTOMATICALLY

BUT ONLY IF THEIR MESSAGES ARE

ACTUALLY FOLLOWED

Only if we devote ourselves

To peace on earth

To goodwill to our sisters and brothers

To judge not

But be in service

Act only to honor

This precious gift of life

For the good of all of us

And not just ourselves or our perceived tribe.

And it should go without saying that there's nothing that

Ever justifies killing a child.

Or Evicting a family.

Or taking revenge on the innocent

Attacking somebody in the street

Or in a restaurant

Or bombing a building with civilians

Seizing land by force

Or voting to finance those crimes

Or doing anything

That inflicts harm upon somebody,

and because of their religion

Which is madness.

Because there's no difference between our religions

And nor is there any difference between those who

Have no religion and who, in fact, may be following the traditions

Of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam better than those who

Claim to be its ambassadors.

Who are we to claim we know anything

Other than that there is one tribe and nation

The tribe and nation of humanity

Let's celebrate the ways

Each of us were uniquely created,

And respect the differences,

Especially those that are none of our business

We do not have the divine wisdom

To truly know what lies within

What came before and what will come after

The objects of our judgments.

The nature of the universe

And that which has authority over it

And this on little world

Is certainly not within the grasp

Of any of us

Its tiny temporary guests

May we be worthy of the test of this life

And prove it by our actions

Let us all sincerely wish and act for peace

And peace within ourselves.

For as long as there is war within us as individuals

There will be war in the world

So I wish

For you

ASSALAMUAlAIKUM

WARAHMATULLAHI

WABARAKATUH

Please forgive my horrific Arabic.

That means

May peace be upon you

And may the unfathomable oneness

The creator that encompasses everything

That proceeds and post dates and surrounds

All of us

And within you and me

And was within us

And is within each of us

And will be after we're long gone.

Bless every aspect of your life.

Peace

Shalom.

- "I believe he was inspired by Desiderata, and that's a VERY GOOD THING!'- My Fav Home Diva, Martha! with an S!

End of Essay # 1