Thursday, July 19, 2007
I normally don't post this often, to be honest, I usually forget this is here, using it to jump start myself on those days when other writing is slow to come. But tonight I was watching a show on the 60's on PBS here in NYC and felt compelled to post something, at least for myself if no one else, (to be honest that is the only reason I write anything, but don't tell my clients etc).
What compelled me to write was the fact that many of the leaders of the revolutionary '60's, the fight against injustice, whether that injustice was war or poverty, many of the leaders were from the church. Which church? You name it. Baptist, Catholic, Jewish...it didn't matter. What mattered is that those brave people saw injustice and they took to the pulpit and to the streets and they raised their voices to fight it.
What do we have today?
Coiffed and groomed multi-millionaires who sometimes even charge people (Hey there Joel Osteen) to hear the "word of God". In so far as the word of God tells us it is good to be sucessful because when God talks about abundance he means money, clothes and cars. We get Criss Angel type healing (Benny my man!) or rock shows or preachers trying to show us and tell us how "hip" it is to be Christian and abstain from sex and drugs.
What we don't get is what Christ taught. What we don't get is His fight against what was wrong or unjust. What we don't get is his teaching of the peace that passes all understanding.
We get "Jukebox" Christianity. Pay your money and hear the song. Hell, I can get that from the Scientologists.
But the Mega preachers aren't alone. We also get nothing from our every day ministers, perhaps because they fear reprisal from the government, perhaps because they don't care or more than likely perhaps because their congregations don't care.
Our government is perpetrating great crimes against it own citizens and against the world at large, and yet our clergy stands silent.
The church stayed largely silent within Germany during WWII as well, and look at what went on there.
I get a lot of grief from folks who say that I tailor Christianity to suit me. Considering the state of Christianity in this country, can you blame me?
I'm gonna get a drink.
Peace,
RW
What compelled me to write was the fact that many of the leaders of the revolutionary '60's, the fight against injustice, whether that injustice was war or poverty, many of the leaders were from the church. Which church? You name it. Baptist, Catholic, Jewish...it didn't matter. What mattered is that those brave people saw injustice and they took to the pulpit and to the streets and they raised their voices to fight it.
What do we have today?
Coiffed and groomed multi-millionaires who sometimes even charge people (Hey there Joel Osteen) to hear the "word of God". In so far as the word of God tells us it is good to be sucessful because when God talks about abundance he means money, clothes and cars. We get Criss Angel type healing (Benny my man!) or rock shows or preachers trying to show us and tell us how "hip" it is to be Christian and abstain from sex and drugs.
What we don't get is what Christ taught. What we don't get is His fight against what was wrong or unjust. What we don't get is his teaching of the peace that passes all understanding.
We get "Jukebox" Christianity. Pay your money and hear the song. Hell, I can get that from the Scientologists.
But the Mega preachers aren't alone. We also get nothing from our every day ministers, perhaps because they fear reprisal from the government, perhaps because they don't care or more than likely perhaps because their congregations don't care.
Our government is perpetrating great crimes against it own citizens and against the world at large, and yet our clergy stands silent.
The church stayed largely silent within Germany during WWII as well, and look at what went on there.
I get a lot of grief from folks who say that I tailor Christianity to suit me. Considering the state of Christianity in this country, can you blame me?
I'm gonna get a drink.
Peace,
RW
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Just a quick follow up.
When I speak of the resurrection I am speaking of it as a metaphor. I don't personally believe it happened, nor feel the need to believe in it to be a Christian.
I tend to believe that God knows we make enough mistakes for the both of us, so no, I don't think he (or she) does.
"Townsend" (my web series) can't go live until it wins or loses in the Xbox Fest this September, when it does it will be under my production company "Deep Fried Studios" (site being built as we speak) I also plan a show with a "Messianic" character.
Peace,
RW
When I speak of the resurrection I am speaking of it as a metaphor. I don't personally believe it happened, nor feel the need to believe in it to be a Christian.
I tend to believe that God knows we make enough mistakes for the both of us, so no, I don't think he (or she) does.
"Townsend" (my web series) can't go live until it wins or loses in the Xbox Fest this September, when it does it will be under my production company "Deep Fried Studios" (site being built as we speak) I also plan a show with a "Messianic" character.
Peace,
RW
Wow. my last posting was June 4th, where did the time go?
Oh yes, in June, I wrote and directed a pilot for a web series called "Townsend" about an alcoholic, former cop who gets blackmailed by the police to come back onto the force to solve a serial killer crime. It is currently in the Xbox live competition at the New York Television Festival after that it's off to brightcove.com. I am also finishing the second re-write of my first novel so that has kept me busy as well.
It appears that I left off with a reconciliation post (of sorts) over my previous post where I stated that I believe that Christianity must be destroyed in order to come back again the way that Jesus intended for it to be in the first place. Since that time I sat down with my 12 year old and watched the Scientology/Tom Cruise episode of South Park. And as much as I feel there is no plausablity nor credibility to what Scientologists believe, the plausablity of Christian doctrine is just as suspect. My son is being raised Jewish (my ex-wife is Jewish) largely because I felt that Christianity with it's virgin birth and ressurection story is amazingly difficult for grownups to grasp, so forget about a kid.
Also, I think that to me as a Christian, whether or not Mary was a virgin (which I do not believe) or whether the resurrection occurred (which I also do not believe) are not as important as the lessons Jesus taught while he preached. Religions have used mythology for centuries to explain the unexplainable. The creation story in Genesis has its own roots in the ancient Babylonians, baptism was around a long time before John started his ministry in the river.
So what?
Does it really matter, does faith in an event change the way we live or breathe or does understanding the symbolic meaning that the author was trying to convey matter more? Jesus's ressurrection shows us that we can break the bonds of the physical plane here on earth. That whatever misery we endure on earth can be released by living according to the instructions he left, love God, love our neighbor as ourself.
Do we go on to another life?
I don't know. If we do, I hope it is much the same as here, either way I won't know until I die, if then. What I do know is that as a Christian I bear a responsibility to do the best I can while here, on Earth, at this time.
There is no mythology involved in helping someone who needs it and there is none involved in loving God.
Peace,
RW
Oh yes, in June, I wrote and directed a pilot for a web series called "Townsend" about an alcoholic, former cop who gets blackmailed by the police to come back onto the force to solve a serial killer crime. It is currently in the Xbox live competition at the New York Television Festival after that it's off to brightcove.com. I am also finishing the second re-write of my first novel so that has kept me busy as well.
It appears that I left off with a reconciliation post (of sorts) over my previous post where I stated that I believe that Christianity must be destroyed in order to come back again the way that Jesus intended for it to be in the first place. Since that time I sat down with my 12 year old and watched the Scientology/Tom Cruise episode of South Park. And as much as I feel there is no plausablity nor credibility to what Scientologists believe, the plausablity of Christian doctrine is just as suspect. My son is being raised Jewish (my ex-wife is Jewish) largely because I felt that Christianity with it's virgin birth and ressurection story is amazingly difficult for grownups to grasp, so forget about a kid.
Also, I think that to me as a Christian, whether or not Mary was a virgin (which I do not believe) or whether the resurrection occurred (which I also do not believe) are not as important as the lessons Jesus taught while he preached. Religions have used mythology for centuries to explain the unexplainable. The creation story in Genesis has its own roots in the ancient Babylonians, baptism was around a long time before John started his ministry in the river.
So what?
Does it really matter, does faith in an event change the way we live or breathe or does understanding the symbolic meaning that the author was trying to convey matter more? Jesus's ressurrection shows us that we can break the bonds of the physical plane here on earth. That whatever misery we endure on earth can be released by living according to the instructions he left, love God, love our neighbor as ourself.
Do we go on to another life?
I don't know. If we do, I hope it is much the same as here, either way I won't know until I die, if then. What I do know is that as a Christian I bear a responsibility to do the best I can while here, on Earth, at this time.
There is no mythology involved in helping someone who needs it and there is none involved in loving God.
Peace,
RW
