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Jaime's July 1 Tuesday for ST
by via OE 30 Jun '14

30 Jun '14

Forwarding 4 outputs for Saipan Tribune this week. The usual caveat; curious, you are welcome, not, see you at the next bend. Jaime Whangara’s whalerider I did not make it to Whangara when my second wife and Idrove around the North and South Islands of New Zealand one half-a-month azillion years back. My second daughterwith my primal spouse spent her last year in High School in a town in the SouthIsland near the ferry town of Nelson in the 90s, and I recently visited herfamily (Irish husband and two boys) in Concord CA by the Diablo mountain whereshe let me watch her copy of the movie, the WhaleRider, set in the novel, and filmed, in Whangara, North Island, New Zealand. I recently celebrated the bonne femme of colleagues who gathered in Bonham, Texas a few weeksback as we recognized once more that we are as a specie way behind in walkingour talk on gender equality. For thoseof us who benefit from the shadows of patriarchy, we can never be confessionalenough about our active participation in ignoring the Chinese sage’s wisdom thatdeclares: “women hold half of the sky” (funu neng ding ban bian tian). The movie. The main character, played by a young Aussie girlKeisha Castle-Hughes who three years later showed up in Star Wars III, and ayear later, Mary in Nativity, isnamed Paikea “Pai” Apirana. In themovie, she is the daughter of a young Maori father Porourangi, whose wife, andson, a twin to “Pai”, die at childbirth. Porourangi is strained from his father, the chief warrior of hiscommunity; he refuses to follow after his father’s footsteps, and will notallow his father to “use” him again to sire another child. Thefather, Paikea’s grandpa, is Koro, dye-in-the-wool stuck in the maleprerogative to lead the Maori. But notjust male prerogative; he must be the first son, for his second son is just asable but he refuses to bestow on him the privilege to train as the new chiefwarrior. While he was emotionally closeto first born granddaughter Paikea, he resisted letting “Pai” grow up to leadthe community, although she was willing and able to play the role. Koroprepares the male kids to be warriors; Pai learns how to be one on the side,including the ability to utter traditional Maori chants without grandpa’sassistance, in spite of grandpa’s disdain for her progressive assertiveness. TheMaori of Koro’s chants claim to have come from the island of Havai’i, whichwould be in Tahiti of French Polynesia, previously from Sava’i in Samoa. From Havai’i, legend had it that a warriorrode a whale to lead the Maori to the island. Thus, the whale rider. Korotakes his students to the ocean and drops the chief’s main symbol of a whalebone into the deep water, admonishing the students that whoever brings it backup gets to be the new chief. Two boys cannotlocate it, another two fight over it, subsequently dropping it on the way upfor air. Koro’s #2 son who was with the groupwhen the whalebone was dropped takes Pia to the site, and, of course, she comesup with it, alongside with a live lobster for the pot for good measure! I amgoing in details here because this story, more than a decade old, is couched inthe metaphor of a Polynesian culture that may easily be dismissed as a relic ofthe past. In reality, the ascendancy ofthe female of the specie to be at par with the social status of their malecounterpart is clearly non-existent even in supposedly enlightened civilsociety like the United States. Worst,females getting beaten up globally seemed to have gotten more prominence in thereporting of late. Backto the movie. A pod of whales strandthemselves on the sand of Whangara to die, resistant of any attempt by theMaori to get them back into the water. Pia decides to ride the biggest one, and ride she does, holding herbreath under water as the rest of the herd heads out to the open sea. Koro meanwhile gets his whalebone backinformed that it was retrieved by the granddaughter! A melodramatictale, it is. Controversial issues areoften better dealt with in metaphors rather than objective logicaldiscourse. My life has been surroundedwith feminine presence throughout my existence so far, and partly matriarchalin my upbringing since Dad went to graduate school in another country when Iwas but ten, the matrilineal line of our Pacific culture (as opposed to theSpanish patrilineal bent) got accented. That’s probably why I have sensitivity to my own contribution in thedastardly affair of reflexive cultural machismo. What has becomeclear, like any liberation movement of note, is that the outsider cannot holdthe fort. The insiders will have to plottheir own assertiveness to succeed. Butlike the Caucasians and non-Africans during the U.S. civil rights movement, wewere but a useful fodder to assault the “guilt” of the dominant white society;it took the blood, flesh, and broken bones of descendants of former Africanslaves in the South to finally get the point across. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the U.S. was costly. With an African-American President, Obamacrowns a journey that was costly. As tothe bonne femme, Pia notwithstanding,I’d be lying if I say, you’ve come a long way, baby! j'aime la vie pinoypanda2031(a)aol.com yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!

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Fwd: GMCA June 25-26
by David Zahrt via OE 30 Jun '14

30 Jun '14

*WED Jun 25* The route from the high school to Otis, CO suggested a dirt road. I chose to ride all the way on Hwy 34 from Akron to Otis because the bike lane was 7 ft wide. The route published for those who plan to walk every step of the way—they classify themselves as Spirit Walkers—was 3 miles beyond Otis. I got to Otis in time to do some journaling and to adjust my bike seat. We have a rest day tomorrow in Yuma, CO. I’ll get some hardware there and have time to fix it. We set up the tents in the City Park right across from the Presbyterian Church. A highway patrol came and said that his department was going to help find us places to stay inside because the weather was too dangerous the next few days. The cooks were cooking dinner under a patio roof in the park when the wind and lightening came in. We rushed the meal prep from our ‘kitchen’ to the Otis Presbyterian Church. The meal was ready in half an hour and we ate dinner in the church hall. While we were eating the storm broke. There was lightening, wind, and torrents of rain. The wind was so strong that I feared that the tent I had my equipment in had blown down. In an hour the rain let up to a steady sprinkle. By that time the church host told us that we could sleep in the church hall. I checked my tent. There was some water on the floor but my equipment was dry. I chose to spend the night in the tent rather than take my equipment through the rain and re-settle in the church hall. *THU Jun 26* The night before, in the church hall, it was announced that we would leave at 8 AM. The route was only 13 miles from Otis to Yuma, CO. At 8 it looked like it would take another ½ hour before people would be packed up and ready to March. I left at 8 on my bike and got to Yuma by 10:30. I shopped for material to fix my bike seat and got to the Laundromat by noon. After lunch I set up the tent—labeled Tasha Mahal, a 9 person tent. Before dinner there was a meeting focused on sharing the impact the Marchers wanted to have on friends, acquaintances, and society in general. There were a multitude of opinions, but no way to establish a consensus. After dinner a thunderstorm arrived. We had received permission to go to a church, which was a half block from the park. So we went to the church to avoid danger from the lightning. It rained for an hour and ½. At that point we were given permission to stay in the church. I returned to the tent, grabbed my air-mattress and sleeping bag, returned to the church, and spent the night there, so grateful to be inside. -- Peace, David

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GMCA June 23-24
by David Zahrt via OE 28 Jun '14

28 Jun '14

*MON Jun 23* This morning I did my assignments and left at 7:30 to visit a dentist. I wanted an assessment on my molar transplant that has come loose. He looked at the x-ray, took a tweezers, and pulled it out. He suggested that I wait some time before I decide what to do next. In the meantime I need to rinse my mouth when I brush teeth so that nothing sticks in the implant pit. He said that some people have difficulty with implants and suggested that I might consider a bridge. It was scheduled to be a 19-mile ride.today; I got on my bike about 9. I was behind most of the Marchers but caught up with them eventually. On the roadside shoulder there were piles of snow. I suspect it was hail that accumulated and looked like snow. I went through Brush, CO about 10 miles. At the 13- mile point the commode truck driver stopped me and said that we were going to camp at Brush City Park because of weather conditions. So I rode back to Brush (15 mile ride). When Lin called she reminded me that Bruv Ravnsborg had lived in Brush before he died in an airplane crash. I was unable to get a hold of his sister to see if any of his children lived in this town. It was dinnertime, and immediately after dinner the thunderstorm started. It lasted for about 1 ½ hours. Luckily the City Park had a dining hall that we could get inside. We had a community meeting for 1 ½ hours. It was still raining when the meeting was over. We shut the lights off and went to bed. Most of us slept inside on the floor. *TUE Jun 24* It took awhile to straighten up the hall that we'd slept in. Breakfast was served outside under the shelter roof. There were puddles of water in the driveway and parking lot. Ethan finally got tired of driving the Gear truck and has left for awhile. Since we had camped short of yesterday’s route, and were planning to keep the original schedule today, it would be at least a 22 mile bike ride, so I volunteered to drive the Gear truck. We camped at the high school in Akron, CO. We were given permission to sleep in the gym because bad weather was predicted. I got my gear out and placed it in the gym. I found a café in town that had WiFi and did some journaling. At 3:30 PM I took a shower in the boys locker room. At 4 there was a meeting to get out our expectations about what the March should accomplish and how it should affect society. We were asked to create a statement in advance. People read their statements and the rest of the group commented on the reading. I had a list of actions we need to take in order to change our Consume-and-Throw-Away culture. Dinner was ready before we had a chance to get all of the statements read. I handed mine in to the chairperson. We had dinner and were able to sit outside. After dinner I went to bed. -- Peace, David

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Fwd: GMCA June 21-22
by David Zahrt via OE 27 Jun '14

27 Jun '14

*SAT Jun 21* At Circle-up—a tradition after breakfast is cooked and eaten, lunches are made, the kitchen is cleaned up, gear is packed and the campground cleaned up—the summer solstice was acknowledged. The route went from Riggon to Wiggen. It was another 17-mile route and it had 14 miles of dirt/gravel road. I checked out I-76. It had a 9-foot shoulder and 7 foot of it was concrete washboard. That meant I could ride on the shoulder 7 feet away from traffic. I chose I-76. Our Wiggen, CO campsite was at the community church. They let us use the basement in the afternoon. It was cooler, they had restrooms, a kitchen with snacks, and WiFi. The mealtime conversation focused on events/environment that thrilled/amazed you. I volunteered that I was seeing all the prairie that I recognized in the Loess Hills, and indicated that’s why I sing *Don’t Fence Me In*; because that’s where the prairie of the West starts! There was another conversation after dinner but I went to bed. *SUN Jun 22* We got out of Wiggen by 7:50 AM. I rode my bike 17 miles to Riverside Park in Ft. Collins. I scouted out the dentists so I could try to get an appointment on Monday to have the molar transplant that has come loose looked at. I got to camp in time to eat lunch. The park has a swimming pool. So after I ate my lunch I went over to the pool. The pool temperature was 80 degrees. So it was comfortable. There was a team—transportation; medical; kitchen; etc—meeting scheduled at 4. We shared the issues that each team is working on, or needs to consider. We had dinner at 6:30 and at 7 clouds and a thunder shower approached from the west. I got my sleeping bag, clothes, and air-mattress out and put it under one of the nearby shelters—roof, picnic tables, no sides. The thundershower blew hard. The rain came in under the roof. Then it turned into a hail storm and water streamed through the park. It started coming in on the floor so I moved my equipment to a picnic table. I took off my shoes and socks and walked in the water to get ready for bed. There was so much water that people had to move their tents during the hail storm. The group in the shelter nearby put their tents on the tables to dry out. Some simply went to the local motel. I slept on the table though my equipment was damp. -- Peace, David

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Ship and the Storm
by via OE 27 Jun '14

27 Jun '14

I posted earlier a request for the Antigone quote we used on the "ship and the storm". I found it. Thanks. Jaime

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Antigone
by via OE 27 Jun '14

27 Jun '14

Tried locating a quote we used on the "ship and the storm" where the captain shoots into the crowd though the one shot might be one he had coffee the night before ... but I could not locate it on the Pathway. Anyone familiar with this quote? Thanks. Jaime in SF heading for Calgary and China

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Global Buzz Submissions reminder for July
by ICA International via OE 27 Jun '14

27 Jun '14

Auto email to all ICA Global Buzz responders. (English - Français Español) Hello everyone. Here is the monthly Global Buzz reminder. We hope that you will share the events and happenings of the past few weeks at your ICA, with all ICA members. This reminder is for the Global Buzz that will be published July 5th. 2014 (Please send your entries a day ahead) Send details of news items, training programmes, your peer to peer connections with other ICAs, any concerns you may have and of any events that are coming up at your location. Your report can be long or short, but remember that all other ICAs would really like to know about the things that matter where you are, and what you are doing as an ICA. To Send your information: please use the link below, Go directly to: www.ica-international.org/globalbuzz or if you wish, send by regular e-mail to: inform(a)ica-international.org The Global Buzz is now published monthly. All submissions received prior to each publication date will be included in that issue. Submissions arriving later will be included in the next issue. To read Global Buzz anytime including all back issues......... Go directly to www.ica-international.org/buzz/buzzpast OR use the Members Section of the ICAI website. www.ica-international.org Peter, for ICAI Communications Bonjour tout le monde. Voici le rappel de Bourdonnement Global mensuel. Nous espérons que vous partageriez les événements des quelques semaines dernières passées chez votre ICA, avec tous les membres d'ICA. Veuillez envoyer des détails d'articles de nouvelles, de programmes d'entraînement , des connexions entre camarades avec d'autres ICA , n'importe quelles inquiétudes vous pourriez avoir et de n'importe quels événements qui auront lieu chez vous . Votre rapport peut être long ou court, mais il faut se souvenir que tout autre ICA aimerait savoir vraiment des choses d'importance où vous êtes , et ce que vous faites comme un ICA. Pour Envoyer vos informations : s'il vous plaît utilisez le lien ci-dessous, Allez directement à : www.ica-international.org/globalbuzz Ou si vous souhaitez, envoyez par l'e-mail régulier à : inform(a)ica-international.org Le Bourdonnement Global est maintenant bimensuel - a la mi-mois et a la fin de mois. Toutes les soumissions reçues avant chaque date d'édition apparaitront. Les soumissions qui arrivent plus tard seront incluses dans la prochaine apparition. Pour lire le Bourdonnement Global n'importe quand y compris tous les apparitions postérieures . ........ Allez directement à www.ica-international.org/buzz/buzzpast OU utilisez la Section de Membres du site Web d'ICAI. www.ica-international.org Peter, pour les Communications d'ICAI Hola a todos. Aquí le mando el recordatorio para el Global Buzz. Esperamos que ustedes envíen los sucesos de las pasadas semanas en su ICA, para compartir con los miembros de ICAI. Por favor envíen detalles sobre nuevos temas, programas de entrenamiento, las conexiones con sus pares, cualquier preocupación que puedan tener, y sobre los muchos eventos que están por suceder en sus localidades. Sus reportes pueden ser largos o cortos, pero recuerden que a todos los otros ICAs les gustaría conocer las cosas importantes que suceden donde ustedes están, y lo que ustedes están haciendo como un ICA. Para enviar su información utilicen el siguiente link, Vayan directamente a: www.ica-international.org/globalbuzz o si prefieren enviarlo por e-mail, hacerlo a: inform(a)ica-international.org El Global Buzz ahora está siendo publicado dos veces al mes a la mitad y al fin de cada mes. Todos los envíos hechos antes de la fecha de publicación serán incluidos en esa edición. Los envíos que lleguen después serán incluidos en la siguiente edición. Para leer Global Buzz en cualquier momento, incluso ediciones pasadas vayan directamente a www.ica-international.org/buzz/buzzpast O utilicen la Sección para Miembros de ICAI en el sitio web www.ica-international.org Peter, por ICAI Comunicaciones

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6/26/14. Spong: Part XXIII Matthew – Analyzing the Implications of Atonement Theology: Part I
by Ellie Stock via OE 26 Jun '14

26 Jun '14

Sent from Chautauqua Institution, NY where Spong is speaking this week on the Gospel of John--Tales of a Jewish Mystic. HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR Part XXIII Matthew Analyzing the Implications of Atonement Theology: Part I In recent columns, we have looked at the origins of what has come to be called “The Doctrine of the Atonement.” We noted that the day, in the calendar of the Jewish liturgical year called “Yom Kippur – The Day of Atonement,” was observed in the fall of the year and was marked by emotions of deep penitence. We looked at what this day meant in first century Judaism. Its various elements included a 24-hour vigil, the use of an animal chosen from their flocks for sacrifice and the requirement that this animal must be physically perfect with no scratches, no bruises and no broken bones. We noted how over time, this idea of physical perfection grew to include the suggestion that this animal was also considered to be morally perfect. Animals, it was argued, lived beneath the level of decision-making freedom, so they literally could not choose to do evil. This sacrificial animal of Yom Kippur thus became symbolic of the human yearning for perfection both physically and morally. At Yom Kippur the people were encouraged to recognize their own sinfulness, which, they believed, kept them separated from the presence of God. In this Yom Kippur liturgy, however, they were taught that they could still be “at one” with God if they came to God through the blood of the sacrificed perfect “lamb of God.” In this way, at least for this one day of the year, they could not only share in God’s oneness, but more importantly they also could be reminded that they had been created to be more than what they knew themselves to be. That was the essence of Yom Kippur. Then we looked at how that first generation of Christians, who were almost totally Jewish, applied the symbols of Yom Kippur to Jesus. Paul, writing to the Corinthians about the year 54 CE, had said of Jesus: “He died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures.” Mark, writing about 72 CE, had used the word “ransom” to describe the death of Jesus. The Fourth Gospel, written in the last decade of the first century, portrayed John the Baptist, upon seeing Jesus for the first time, as saying: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” All of these biblical references indicated clearly that Jesus had been interpreted by his Jewish followers under the symbols of Yom Kippur. As long as the Christian movement was made up primarily of Jewish people, who were familiar with these images, no great misunderstanding of Jesus developed. Jesus, like the lamb of Yom Kippur, represented the human yearning for perfection and for oneness with God. By the year 150 CE, however, the Christian Church had become primarily a Gentile movement and Gentile people, who were by and large ignorant of the Jewish background of the entire New Testament, began to read and understand Jesus in a distorted non-Jewish way. This misunderstanding ultimately became the essence of what came to be called “Orthodoxy.” The doctrines that are still reflected in the Christian creeds were born in this misunderstanding. This became in my mind the beginning of what I now call a “Gentile Heresy!” The major “culprit” in this development, I believe, was a man named Augustine, who came to Christianity out of Manichaeism, which contained a dualistic understanding of human life. It divided the world into competing spheres of good and evil. Spirit was good, but flesh was evil. Souls were good, but bodies were evil. Heaven was good, but earth was evil. Augustine ultimately became not only a bishop, but also the gigantic thinker, who laid the foundation for what we call today “Traditional Christianity.” It has five basic elements: 1. The original goodness of God’s creation 2. The “fall” from that perfection into sin caused by human disobedience. 3. The inability of human beings on their own to extricate themselves from this fall. 4. The necessity of a divine rescue accomplished by God in the death of Jesus. 5. The restoration of human life through Jesus’ sacrifice to its original “saved’ status. Augustine saw the basis for these theological claims in the opening chapters of the book of Genesis, which he assumed were both the literal words of God and historically accurate. He did not know, for example, that the story of God’s perfect creation of the world in seven days, found in the first chapter of Genesis, was actually written some 400-500 years after the story in chapter two of Genesis, which describes how God’s perfect creation was ruined by human disobedience. Nor did he understand that this tale of how human life, now fallen, was banished from the presence of God in the Garden of Eden was mythological. Augustine simply assumed that since Genesis 1 was the first chapter in the “Word of God,” it must describe the original perfection of God’s creation and that Genesis 2 described the later corruption of that original goodness by human sin. In this misreading of the Bible the concept of “original sin” was born. With the story of the human fall into original sin now fully set, Augustine then proceeded to view Jesus as God’s divine rescue operation and thus to interpret his death on the cross as the price that Jesus was required to pay to redeem or to rescue human beings from this primeval fall into sinfulness. We call this religious idea “substitutionary atonement,” which means that God punished the innocent Jesus instead of punishing you and me who deserved this divine wrath. So the mantra “Jesus died for my sins” emerged. That understanding of salvation then became the foundation upon which the Christian faith would be built and Christian practices would be developed. This was when cleansing power began to be attributed to the blood of Jesus. This was when the cross came to be understood as the place where Jesus bore the pain that we had caused. This was why baptism, understood as the ritual washing away of the effects of the “fall,” became essential. The corruption of the sin of Adam was the reality into which every life was born and so baptism became a cleansing act. A baby unfortunate enough to die unbaptized was said to have no hope of heaven. This was also why the Eucharist involved “eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus.” The saved had to participate personally in Jesus’ death. The service of communion thus became one more cleansing ritual, opening the sinner to redemption and atonement. Finally, that is also why the Christian message became so totally and completely a guilt message and that is why the Christian liturgy has so often wallowed in sin and guilt. Christian liturgies were devised to force worshippers to recognize their fallen, hopeless status. These liturgies dominate Christian worship to this day. Christian worship regularly insults our humanity. We are forced in worship to call ourselves “miserable offenders,” to confess that there is “no health (or wholeness) in us” and to state that “we are not worthy to gather up the crumbs” underneath the divine table. We are encouraged to approach God as a beggar, that is, upon our knees, pleading for “God’s mercy.” We use a threefold Kyrie (Lord have mercy) and a nine fold Kyrie. “Lord have mercy” became the primary language of worship. Have you ever stopped to entertain the possibility that the proper approach to God might not be the stance of one begging for mercy? Have you ever wondered about just how such a prayer understands either the nature of God or what it means to be human? “Have mercy on me” might be a proper prayer for a trembling child standing before an abusive parent. It might be a proper prayer of a convicted felon standing before a hanging judge, but is it ever a proper prayer for a child of God standing before the source of life and love that we call God? What does it do to our humanity for our lives to be constantly defined in worship as fallen, broken, sinful, helpless or hopeless? Yet this is what happens in church Sunday after Sunday. We victimize our humanity in worship every week. Why do we tolerate that? Is it healthy? Is there a connection between the victimizing liturgies of Christianity and the lamentable fact that throughout Christian history, we Christians have been the chronic victimizers of others? Out of what does our anti-Semitism rise? Look at how hostility toward Muslims, called infidels by Christians, fueled the Vatican-organized Crusades in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. Was not much of today’s Muslim hostility toward the west born in those Crusades? Out of what mentality did the Inquisition arise in Christianity? Why have we Christians burned at the stake those we called “heretics” throughout so much of our history? Why did we Christians enslave people of color? Not only did the Pope once own slaves, but the institution of slavery thrived in America primarily in that region known as the “Bible Belt.” Why were slavery’s bastard step-children, segregation and apartheid, tolerated in those nations that defined themselves in Christian terms? Why were women treated both as sub-human and as second class citizens in the Christian West? Why were women in “Christian nations” not allowed to be educated until the early 20th century, or admitted into the professions in any significant way until the late 20th century? What was it that caused most Christian churches to refuse to ordain women until the last decades of the 20th century? Why are women still not allowed to be ordained in the two largest churches of the Christian world, the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox? Why are homosexual people condemned today primarily by Christian bodies? Is it possible that our victimizing liturgies predispose us Christians to be chronic victimizers of others? “Atonement theology” begins with a definition of human life as corrupted by the fall into original sin. It postulates a violent God who punishes the divine Son in order to satisfy some inner need in the divine nature, producing a concept of God as the ultimate child abuser. It gives us a Christ who is himself a chronic victim. It turns Christianity into a religion of guilt and control. Unless Christianity escapes this mentality it has no future. Atonement theology is bankrupt. Facing that reality is the first step into a living Christian future. Will the Christian Church ever take that step? We will look at that possibility when this series continues. ~John Shelby Spong Read the essay online here. Question & Answer Arthur Stillwell, via the Internet, writes: Question: First, thank you for your writings which, I believe, are indicative of your great mind. One question: if, as you say, the gospels were written from a Jewish perspective, why were they not written in Hebrew or Aramaic? Did the Jews read and talk in Greek in their synagogues? Answer: Dear Arthur, Thank you for your letter and for your assessment of my mind. My mother would probably agree with you, but I would not want to face the voters if that were a proposition on a ballot! Your question is a good one. While Aramaic and, in rare cases Hebrew, were the languages of the street in the land of the Jews, Greek was the language of the intellectual discourse and of business. Even the Hebrew Scriptures had been translated in Greek around the year 250 BCE by seventy scholars, which is why this translation is called the Septuagint. Paul wrote all of his epistles in Greek to synagogue communities living in Greek cities or regions like Galatia, Thessalonica, Corinth and Philippi. He obviously wrote in Greek for most of them would not have understood anything else. Though we are not sure exactly where each gospel was written, the best guess would locate Mark in Rome, Matthew in Antioch, and John in Ephesus. Luke is harder to locate. The reality is, however, that all were Greek speaking cities. By the time the gospels were written (72-100) almost every Christian community was made up of Jewish followers of Jesus and Gentile proselytes. Almost all of these proselytes would be Greek-speaking and so would almost all of the Jews once one journeyed a hundred miles out of Jerusalem. The problem for most people comes in that they really do not embrace the span of time between the crucifixion and the writing of the gospels. They also do not embrace the low level of literacy present in the world at that time. We can date the crucifixion with some conviction around the year 30 CE. We can now also date the writing of the gospels with little debate as occurring between 72 CE and 100 CE. That means that the gospels were written 42 to 70 years after the life of Jesus. In the Middle East in the first century only about one of every hundred people could read and only about one out of every thousand could write. The synagogue was the womb in which Christianity was born, but while Matthew is the most Jewish of the four gospels, he himself might not have read Hebrew. Every time he quoted the Old Testament, for example, he quoted from a Greek translation of that text. The best indication of this is when he quotes Isaiah 7:14 in his birth story. Matthew quotes the text to read: “Behold a virgin will conceive.” The word “virgin” is not in the original Hebrew text of Isaiah. If Matthew had gone to the original Hebrew, he would have known that. Isaiah’s text says rather: “Behold a woman is with child.” Those two translations are obviously not the same! So by the time the gospels are written, they are addressed to a Greek-speaking church. In Mark and Matthew it is probably still part of a synagogue. By the time Luke and John are written, the fracture between church and synagogue had probably taken place. I hope this helps. John Shelby Spong Announcements Emerging Spirituality and Awareness with Ian Lawton and expert Bishop John Spong June 30 - July 4, 2014 Join Ian Lawton, founder of Soulseeds.com, for transformative conversations with renowned spiritual leaders from many traditions as we explore awareness. Beyond all the things that divide us, both from ourselves and each other, awareness brings up back to our essential oneness. Through this conference, you will come to a deeper understanding of your own wholeness and your connection to all else. Together, we can increase the peace, both within and in the world. Sign Up Today!

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Fwd: GMCA June 19-20
by David Zahrt via OE 26 Jun '14

26 Jun '14

*Thu Jun 19* When we got up this morning the storm had passed. I discovered that Marie was making a shopping trip to Denver so I asked if she could stop at a Mac App store and pick up the piece I needed for my charger. She agreed to add it to her shopping list. When the Marchers set off, I got on my bike and rode 17 miles to the next campsite. The route directions were not completely accurate. I stopped and asked for help several times. I was in camp early enough to go to the Library where I used one of their computers to catch up on my journaling. When I got back to camp Marie had arrived with the part needed for my charger and they had supplied it at no cost. That makes it clear that the Apple Store and the Mac App store have a completely different style of doing business. After dinner there was a ‘city counciI’ meeting. The main topic of discussion was the practical details for taking The Great March for Climate Action to NYC at the end of September to participate in the Peoples Climate March. They finally moved to have a sub-committee work out the practical details and report back. When I brushed my teeth my molar implant came loose. I made arrangements with Kim, our health resource person, to find some dental care. I went to bed expecting that I would need emergency dental care the next morning. *Fri Jun 20* In the morning my implant had settled down firmly so I am keeping my fingers crossed. We left Hudson, CO by 8 AM. I rode my bike. The route was 17 miles NE on a frontage road to I-76, which was paved for the first 11 miles. Then it turned into gravel complete with washboard and piles of gravel so deep that I had to walk the bike. It was a difficult road. Our campsite was at the Lions Club Park at Roggen. It had a 150 x 75 ft building with a roof, concrete floor, and picnic tables. Before dinner Tom, a participant in the Peace March in the 80’s, told us about the differences between the Peace March, with 400+ people, and the Climate March that he has experienced since joining us in Denver. After dinner I got out my bass and the amp and did a trial run with Izzy on his guitar. I’m pleased that he thinks our music will work out. It was dark when I packed up my equipment. It has to go in the gear truck but I will wait till morning for that. -- Peace, David

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Jaime for June 30 - Ramadan
by via OE 26 Jun '14

26 Jun '14

Ramadan2014 The season begins on Sunday evening, June 29, and endson Sunday night, July 27, thirty days later. In the Hijri Islamic calendar, it is the 1435th observance of fasting from sun-upto sundown. Like many religious observances, this one haspractical origin. The fasting of theSyrian Christians Lenten season preceded it, but Ramadan was also a response tothe scorching heat and extreme dryness of the year, thus, fasting andinactivity during the day made lots of physiological sense. Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. Shahadahis the foundation, declaring the oneness of God (“la ilaha illa Allah”),and Muhammad is the messenger of a radical lucidity on the unity of life. Five times each day, the ritual of prayer, salat, is observed. Social responsibility is pegged at 2.5percent of one’s savings, the zakat,shared with the poor and needy in one’s community. Sawm isthe fasting and the discipline of self-control during the month ofRamadan. Once in a lifetime, a devoteeundertakes a pilgrimage to Mecca called the Hajj. “Salaammalaikum” and “Malaikumsalaam,” are greetings approximating the salutations of “Peace be with you”and “And also with you.” The Muslimgreeting is heard on the streets of Saipan as muezzins of two mosques on islandcall the faithful to prayers. As aminority group, they are perhaps more dismissive of the Shia/Sunni divide thatis wrecking havoc in areas where the Muslims are a majority, and be moreconciliatory to each other in the manner prescribed in the Quran. In predominantly Muslim Iraq, the Kurds,Shiites and Sunnis have difficulty getting their act together, not just for theethno-nationalism predominant in the region but also the economic powerstruggle on who has access and control of the black gold on the ground. Recent diplomatic effort of John Kerryof the U.S. State Department to promote a unity government in Iraq got a turn downfrom PM Maliki who do not see a greater representation of the Sunni Arabcommunity led previously by deposed Saddam Hussein. The sectarian and authoritarian policies of Malikiare exploited by jihadist militants fomenting for Islamic States in Iraq andthe rest of the Levant. We demonize Islam similarto what progressives and liberals in the U.S. do when we go after the pick-upriding white Kristian rednecks thatare alleged cousins to the Ku Klux Klan. In the devotion to Allah, the ethos of unity is an overriding concern,thus, the harmony of its faithful is a given expectation. The same expectation surrounds the overarchingpower of “love” in the Christian tradition. The assertive defense of Israel towards its ancient borders isunderstandable in light of its history since the Roman Empire took overJerusalem to Germany’s policy and practice of genocide in the Holocaust duringWWII. One cannot say the same of theimperial designs of both Christendom and Islam. Still, it is well to glean the gifts of three traditions from theLevant. I was introduced to the authority of scriptures inProtestant Christianity that led to the priesthood of all believers and the confidencein each one to decide on one’s own on matters of faith and practice. The reality of the-way-life-is I took to bethe all-powerful faith statement of YHWH folks of Jerusalem, leading them todecide ethnically to be the covenant people to lead in “praise” of thatreality. The covenant to be personally chosen became a matterof choice, to play the role of the Christ, unfortunately deformed in thecurrent idolatry of Jesus. Mohammadbrought that back to the complete freedom of the “prophet-hood” but instead ofsticking to the night of power when the Quran,Allah’s self-revelation, wasfirst revealed to the prophet, now celebrated in Ramadan, followers quickly convertedthe event into the idolatry of the book, the authority of those who perceivethemselves to be its keepers, and the exclusiveness of its male-centeredhierarchy. Authority has become an issue in our time. The Zionists understandably established theLand of Israel after the western millennial anti-Semitic history. Ecclesiastical authority was the Church’sconcern since Constantine that got anchored in the primacy of the Bishop ofRome, later supplanted by the paper pope and the integrity of allbelievers. Mohammed had the prospect ofpulling authority out of social structures into the authenticity of freedom butthe politics of the bubbly crude in the desert got his followers into powerstruggles. In our time, the whole issue of “authority” is inquestion. The reality of authenticity,not authority, is the ascendant human spirit. The divesting of “things,” faithfully adhering to Allahas the “no-thing” during Ramadan, is in tune to Christian existentialist and phenomenologists’move from creed to social action, but now, as a thorough-going secularist, Isay, a return to the wisdom of YHWH, the way-life-is, without authority of learned“experts”, but on the authentic witness of individual instinct, intuition,intellect, and intention, we might yet turn the arid air of the desert to theproductive human spirit of the world. "Salaamu`Alaykum." j'aime la vie pinoypanda2031(a)aol.com yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!

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