halinsalem

I just finished this book. I found it to be an easy read and I agree with his opinions almost 100% ( I cannot think right now of anything I did not agree with). He does point out something that many theologians ignore, that is: words like salvation, save, redemption, sin, etc. had different meanings in old English, Hebrew, and Greek. Language is very fluid and changing from generation to generation. This book is well worth reading.

I am neither Jewish nor anti-Semitic, but in this past year I have read three books, written by current Jewish Rabbis, that were quite knowledgeable and just made a lot of sense. Here is a review of the latest one that I have read. I got this from our public library and I have not checked with Amazon.com to see if is available as a Kindle edition. I apologize for the length of this review, but I did not know what to leave out. I could have made it three times as long. Hal Book Review: “The Great Partnership” (Science, Religion and the Search for Meaning) By: Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth since 1991) Pg. 74: Faith is not a form of ‘knowing’ in the sense in which that word is used in science and philosophy. It is, in the Bible, a mode of listening. The supreme expression of Jewish faith, usually translated as “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deut. 6:4), really means “Listen, O Israel”. Listening is an existential act of encounter, a way of hearing the person beneath the words, the music beneath the noise. Freud, who disliked religion and abandoned his Judaism, was nonetheless Jewish enough to invent, in psychoanalysis, the ‘listening cure’: listening as the healing of the soul. Pg. 164: The faith of Abraham makes two monumental claims: first, that the relationship between God and humanity is a matter of love, not power; second, that you can build a society on the basis of love, love of neighbor and stranger, that leads us to care for their welfare as if it were our own. These remain, even now, astonishing ideas, and one would say they were wildly utopian were it not for the fact that the faith of Abraham has lasted longer than any other known civilization. Its adherents may have allen short time and again, but they never quite lost their sense that there was something moving and humane about this ideal and the demand it makes of us. Pg. 190: Ecclesiastes, a man of untold wealth and sophistication, like Tolstoy, eventually finds meaning in simple things, love and work, eating and drinking, doing good to others and knowing that there is a time for all things: to be born and to die, to weep and to laugh, to acknowledge the eternity of God and to accept the limits of a human life. Pg. 246: My own view is that if God did not want us to seek justice in this world, why did he create it and why did he pronounce it good? If he did not believe that physical existence s a blessing, why are we here? As punishment? For what crime? Berdyaev wrote in 1923. Would he still have maintained his thesis once the full extent of the Final Solution had become clear: that suffering is to be accepted as “God’s inscrutable will and design”? There are such views in Judaism as well as Christianity, but I, for one, prefer the theology of protest. We must accept only that which we cannot change. Pg. 290: Abrahamic monotheism speaks on behalf of the poor, the weak, the enslaved. It tells a story about the power of human freedom, lifted by its encounter with the ultimate source of freedom, to create structures of human dignity. It bodies forth a vision of a more gracious world. It tells us that no one is written off, no one condemned to be a failure. It tells the rich and powerful that they have responsibilities to those who lack all that makes life bearable. It invites us to be part of a gentle revolution, telling us that influence is greater than power, that we must protect the most vulnerable in society, that we must be willing to make sacrifices to that end and, most daringly of all, that love is stronger than death. It sets love at the epicenter of the world: love of God, love of the neighbor, love of the stranger. If natural selection tells us anything, it is that this faith, having existed for longer than any other, creates in its followers an astonishing ability to survive. Pg. 295: We are in a desecularising and destabilizing age. That brings fear, and few things are worse than the politics of fear. It creates a sense of victimhood and a willingness to demonise those with and from whom we differ. One of its symptoms is the new secularism, so much angrier and intolerant than the old. Another is the new religiosity that claims to be, but is not, a continuation of the old. The best thing to do in such circumstances is for moderates of all sides to seek and find common ground.

I suspect that alcohol has a lot to do with lack of restraint. I believe that a majority of the pedophile priests were probably alcoholic. The Catholic church used to have recovery "clinics" for alcoholic priests. I am aware of this because I knew of one in Port Townsend, Washington in the 1970s that had more than 70 priests "recovering" from alcoholism. From reading hundreds of case histories of dysfunctional families, I know that alcohol (and sometimes drugs) was a primary factor in most cases. Alcohol definitely affects restraint and good judgement. I am not a teetotaler. But I do restrict myself to one beer (my favorite beverage) OR 6 oz. of wine per day. Hal

Each person has to make his/her own decisions about religion and the possible after-life. I try to read one non-fiction book each week and have 76 (I just counted them) books related to religious issues in my personal library. The authors range all the way from Philip Yancy, through Spong and D.M.Murdock and include some books on Islam and Buddism. I am 86 years old so it will not be long before I find out what is on the other side. I am the "Old Silverback" and my wife is the "Ape's Mate" of the family which includes 18 individuals, who support us wholeheartedly and we support them. Hal

It is not very open-minded - they preach Iron age theology, but they are a definite asset to the community. Hal

I don't know. It is not simple. They are, in my opinion, aggressive, selfish, self-serving (usually alcoholic or drug addicted) individuals who have little regard for the feelings or safety of others.

I am a “Progressive” Christian, a true hypocrite and/or agnostic, who attends a Christian and Missionary Alliance mega church because there are members of my family who still worship the way they were taught in their younger days. They are entitled to worship in the fashion in which they feel most comfortable and the conservative sermons appeal to them. It is not my business to tell anyone else how to worship. (Besides, I kind of enjoy the music.) I support this church because it supports the community. They have a free Medical and Dental Clinic, they feed the homeless who sleep under the bridge, they support foster parents with clothing and school supplies, they contribute regularly to the M-P Food Share program, they support the Boys & Girls Club, they have a Peace Committee which helps to solve community conflicts, they support the Union Gospel Mission and the Salvation Army, and they have a Benevolent Fund which is used for excessive medical expenses and miscellaneous things like unpaid utility bills. I probably have not listed all of the charitable activities that take place, but this gives you an idea. Small churches have difficulty getting involved in things that take a lot of money (like the free Medical Clinic). To me, this is what a church congregation is for, not just a location where the members can come every weekend to hear a sermon. I believe in Bishop Desmond Tutu’s philosophy: “Perfect Love is not an emotion, or a feeling, it is what you do.”

We are getting into a very complex subject here. As a supervisor of Parole Officers, who in turn supervised adolescent parolees, I have read hundreds of case histories, many of which involved dysfunctional families. Incest, a form of pedophilia, was not unusual and had to be dealt with. Our main concern was the welfare of the youth and the legal issues involved. None of these cases are simple and this subject cannot be enlightened with a few sentences. The bottom line is: harming other individuals, particularly the young and helpless, is absolutely unacceptable and those who do so must be held accountable. Hal

I agree with you Steve, that domination is much more apt to be the basis for pedophilia than attraction or genetics. In my book, any activity or behavior which brings harm or injury to an individual, particularly someone immature, is completely unacceptable and worthy of legal punishment. There should be no argument here!

I read in a recent book that Constantine, who was a Sun worshipper before he "converted", preferred Sunday as his day of worship, so he made it happen. No one contradicted Constantine and lived to tell about it. I suspect that anti-semitism had something to do with it. Christianity definitely became a gentile "thing" in the 4th century.

Marriage in this 21st century is very different from even one hundred years ago. A recent statistic stated that, in 2011, more than 40% of babies were born to unwed women. Another statistic: 57% of marriages end in divorce or separation. If a large number of couples are living together without a wedding ceremony and half of those who do go through the ritual do not see it as a commitment, what does "marriage" mean?

My favorite book (non fiction) for all time is: "Made For Goodness - Why This Makes All The Difference" by Desmond Tutu. The good Bishop is certainly one of the most loving individuals on the planet. I never forget the statement he makes early on in this book : "Perfect love is not an emotion, it is not how we feel. It is what we do." He ends the next paragraph with the statement : "We cannot choose how we feel. We can choose what we do, how we act." Hal

I will apologize at the beginning for preaching to the choir. There is an ancient adage that reads thus: AGING IS MANDATORY, MATURATION IS OPTIONAL. Let’s face it. We live in a society, a culture, that is adolescent in nature. That is right, most of us do not mature emotionally, intellectually, or culturally beyond our adolescent years. This whole nation is mired in adolescence and, one of these days, we are all going to pay the price for this. What are some of the indications? Here are a few: v We have allowed the national and state legislatures to be controlled, and corrupted, by the lobbyists. We are presently suffering another potential fiduciary disaster because these lobbyists will not let the Representatives and Senators do their needed chores. In addition, the southern members of Congress are still angry (not only angry, but enraged) over the fact that the country elected an African-American President, not once, but twice. v Wanting to carry a loaded gun is very adolescent in nature. Supporting the NRA in its rampant and narrow viewpoints is not only immature, but unreasonable, and definitely contributes to the violence that takes place every day in our country. But the NRA has money and it controls lobbyists, who, in turn, control the members of Congress. v Tithing, that is contributing ten per cent, or more, of income to charity, is a sign of maturity. I do not know what percentage of our population tithe, but I suspect it is not a majority. Granted, when a disaster occurs, or a severe need arises, people contribute, but it does not seem to be a normal, week by week, action. v Christmas (and other Holidays) materialism is definitely an adolescent activity. Need I say more? v Smoking marijuana, whether for medicinal or recreational reasons, is a very adolescent activity. Mature adults put addictions behind them. Chronic pain can be an excuse for addiction, but an excuse is an excuse, not a valid reason. v Paying professional athletes, and Hollywood actors, out-of-proportion salaries is unreasonable, particularly when we compare it with what is paid elementary and high school teachers. v Providing college athletes with scholarships, cars, entertainment, lodging, and whatever is more than unreasonable. Particularly when a normal college student has to put up any where from $25,000 to $100,000 just to get a Bachelors Degree.

This is not an issue that can be cured by stopping one thing like gun control. Gun control is needed, but also is help for the mentally ill. Also, the media needs to NOT make a celebrity out of the murderer. The only ones who should know the murderer's name and picture is law enforcement and very close relatives. Story after story on TV, showing the murderer's picture and name is incentive to make a big thing out of a suicide. A suicidal motive is often the desire to hurt close relatives or the world. I will not go into the basics of Psychology 101 as most of you already know of this. There will be others, you can count on it. Hal

It is several years ago now when I read a book written by an astronomer with a PhD. As a scientist, he had little use or respect for astrology. However, he realized that the scientists (the Magi or Wise men) of 2000 years ago were astrologers, not astronomers. To satisfy his curiosity he studied astrology so that he could analyze ancient astrological claims. With the help of computers, he could go back 2000 years and examine the heavens as they looked at that time. He discovered that there was an astrological combination of heavenly bodies in April of the year 6 BC that indicated a powerful leader was to be born at that time. The exact date was April 17th, 6 BC. Unfortunately, I did not keep track of the author’s or the book’s name. This may have all been fiction, but it was interesting to me and if I knew the book’s name now, I would purchase it for my personal library. April 17th makes a lot more sense than Dec. 25th. Also, astrology makes a lot more sense than a Wandering Star, but what do we know?

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, I spent several years as part of the administration of Hillcrest School, which was at that time Oregon’s “reform” school for delinquent teen-age girls. From time to time, altogether too often, a court-committed teen-ager would be pregnant and a decision would have to be made about how to deal with the situation. The pregnant girls were all the way from calm to frantic about being with child. The calm ones were generally reasonable, but the frantic ones were difficult to deal with, they just wanted to get rid of the fetus, any way and soon. IMHO For these persons it is much better to take care of the situation in a clean, sanitary, operating room with a qualified physician in charge than to have to deal with the results of an amateurish attempt and end up taking the youth to the Emergency Room or morgue. In a majority of cases the end result was full term and adoption but individuals are different and one solution could not be applied to every case. The Catholic and conservative belief that life begins at conception is “BELIEF”, not necessarily a scientific fact. Up until a few years ago, the prevailing belief was that the fetus acquired a ‘soul’, i.e. became a person, in the third or fourth month of gestation. At some point in time the Republicans picked up on the abortion issue because it is an easy issue to use politically. Being against abortion does not require money, time, or effort; a person just has to be righteous, nothing else is required. The issue also is a political benefit for the spinners because they can use terms like MURDER in the sound bites. The attacks on Planned Parenthood are completely wicked propaganda, satisfying someone’s ignorant, negative judgment, or, fulfilling a political objective without regard to right, wrong, damage, or injury to innocent parties.

Same sex marriage and abortion are both issues that have been picked up by the Republican conservatives because they are "easy" issues and they can invent "easy" sound bites that are practically indefensible and they do not have to provide statistics or reason to support them. Following is an excerpt from an essay that I recently wrote for another group: The Catholic and conservative belief that “life begins at conception is “BELIEF”, not necessarily a scientific fact. Up until a few years ago, the prevailing belief was that the fetus acquired a ‘soul’, i.e. became a person, in the third or fourth month of gestation. At some point in time the Republicans picked up on the abortion issue because it is an easy issue to use politically. Being against abortion does not require money, time, or effort; a person just has to be righteous, nothing else is required. The issue also is a political benefit for the spinners because they can use terms like MURDER in the sound bites. The attacks on Planned Parenthood are completely wicked propaganda, satisfying someone’s ignorant, negative judgment, or, fulfilling a political objective without regard to right, wrong, damage, or injury to innocent parties. And then there is the campaign against same sex marriages. Another ‘easy’ political issue that does not require anything but being righteous. Based on Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 which labels same sex relationships “an abomination (NKJ)” or “detestable (NIV)”. The biblical book of Leviticus describes a life and culture of the Iron Age, which took place approximately 3000 years ago. A scientist or medical doctor in 2012 will tell you that your only sexual instrument is your brain and that male or female tendencies are genetic and have little to do with body parts. People did not know this in the ‘Iron Age’. If two individuals love one another they need encouragement and respect, not criticism. If you want to obey the restrictions of the Iron Age then you should also observe God’s rules described in Lev. 11:4-12 (eat no pork, rabbits, horses, or shellfish); Lev. 19:28 (no tattoos); Lev. 19:33,34 (treat the stranger among you with love and respect); Lev. 21:5 (no trimmed beards). Women had no authority or power in that society. Obviously, we now live in the 21st century and a very different culture. Marriage in this 21st century is also very different from even one hundred years ago. A recent statistic stated that, in 2011, more than 40% of babies were born to unwed women. Another statistic: 57% of marriages end in divorce or separation. If a large number of couples are living together without a wedding ceremony and half of those who do go through the ritual do not see it as a commitment, what does ‘marriage’ mean? Frankly, I do not think either one of these issues (abortion or same-sex marriage) should be involved in today’s statewide or national politics. They are both personal issues that should be dealt with within the family, the individual’s church, or with local professional counseling Hal

Just finished a book titled “Kosher Jesus” by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach A very different view of the New Testament: the events that led up to the crucifixion, Paul, Peter and Jesus himself. The New Testament from the Jewish viewpoint. I’m not sure that I completely agree with everything in the book, but most of it makes sense and Rabbi Boteach writes very well. Even if you did not agree with some of it, it still would make very interesting reading. The Rabbi is not negative or blaming and believes that Judaism and Christianity should worship the same G-d shoulder to shoulder and I certainly do not disagree with him on that point. One point that the Rabbi makes several times, and a point that I very much agree with, is the fact that Jesus was put up for execution by the Romans, (not the Jewish hierarchy) i.e., the Romans executed Jesus, not the Jews. A fact that is glossed over in the gospels is that Pontius Pilate acquired a reputation as the most unforgiving, cruel Roman governor ever assigned to Judea. In fact, after Pilate had slain 2000 Jews for no good reason, Herod Antipas requested that he be relieved of his duties and the Roman Emperor did just that, recalled him and replaced him with another Procurator. The book is available in either hard cover or Kindle. I got it at our public library, but I am going to buy a copy for my personal library. It is worth sharing.

I ordered a new "Kindle Paperwhite" that is due here on Oct 15th. I will order this book as soon as I get my new Kindle. I am scheduled for back surgery on Oct 25th, so I will have plenty of time to read while I am healing. This all sounds very interesting.

I guess I am more curious than anything else. The LDS leaders obviously have some long-range plans. Why else would they put 52,000 "missionaries" on the streets of the U.S.? Also, they educate their middle-school aged children at 6:30 AM in the church fundamentals before these youth attend public school. They absolutely insist on tithing. They strongly recommend that each family maintain a year's supply of 'emergency' foodstuffs, batteries, and like items. They are secretive about policies. The 'upper' echelons of the organization do not share long range policies with the 'lower' echelons. This organization is very different from the ordinary WASP or Catholic church.

Nobody should be criticized for giving to a church (IMHO). The church that I belong to (C&MA denomination) conducts a free Medical clinic, a free Dental clinic, supports the local Boys & Girls club, supports foster care with clothing, has a group available for contention counseling, supports both the Salvation army and the local rescue mission, feeds daily lunches to homeless under the bridges, donates to Food Share program and has a Benevolent Fund for emergency surgeries and other needs. A person's church membership or citizenship is never questioned. This is the main reason that I belong to this church (that and the fact that two members of my family also belong). As far as I can determine, only Mormon members of the community may benefit from money donated to the three LDS temples in this community. I also know that tithing is absolutely required by the Mormon church, at least in this community. I am sure that individual Mormon members of the community donate to local charitable organizations in addition to their tithing because, in general, they are very good, responsible citizens and the individuals that I know are honest, hard-working and very easy to get along with. Most of the Protestant churches are completely transparent when it comes to their annual income and budgets. This is not true with the LDS churches. The LDS hierarchy is a secret organization and what they do with their money is also a well kept secret. If all of their membership truly tithes, they have an income that other church organizations only dream about.

Mr. Romney just revealed a recent tax return, which indicated that he donated 13 1/2 % to charity ( a charitable deduction). It is my understanding that the Mormon church is very strict about tithing, which means that the large majority of his "charitable" donations went to the Mormon church and 3 1/2 % went to other charitable causes (I wonder how many of those were non-Mormon). Unless the LDS policies have changed recently, the money tithed to the LDS church does not go out into the general community (except in Utah), but helps only those within the church membership. I am curious enough that I hope someone calls him on this.

The leaders of the LDS church are very controlling, particularly of prominent members and I am wondering what they will attempt. However, I do not think that they can outdo the money interests that promote lobbying - the lobbyists have complete control of Congress now and money speaks louder than anything else in Washington, D.C. By the way, I will vote FOR Obama, not against Romney. Hal

A book review: THE BOOK OF MORMON, A BIOGRAPHY, by Paul C. Gutjahr Paul C. Gutjahr is professor of English at Indiana University. He has written several books related to religious subjects. He does not indicate whether he is Mormon or non-Mormon and is very careful not to be pro or con. This book is not the Book of Mormon, but rather is a history (a biography) of its initial text and its several revisions. In other words, it tells us about the people who are responsible for its creation and the reasons and efforts made at later dates for the many revisions. The dust cover summary states: “He (Prof. Gutjahr) examines how a book that has long been a subject of ridicule – Mark Twain called it ‘a chloroform in print’ – has more than 150 million copies in print in more than a hundred languages worldwide.” I am interested because I have had some interesting contacts in the past years. In the period 1988 through 1991 I did contract work for three Mormon CPAs, and all of them asked me if I was interested in joining the church; me, my family, and our immediate deceased ancestors. I politely declined. It is tithe or leave, no exceptions (My Way Or The Highway, MWOTH). A Mormon in difficulty will get all the help he/she needs or is available. If the person is a non-member, forget it. MWOTH. In years past, I have asked for both (for others). There is a regional “Temple” not too far from where I reside. Walk by there at 6:30 AM on a week day and there are classrooms filled with children and youth, studying the Book of Mormon. The construction crews who repaired the “Temple” were forbidden to even have tobacco in their pockets when they were on the grounds, much less smoke. MWOTH. The LDS church is promoting itself very seriously, in fact, I think some of the other denominations could take a few lessons from their operations. There are 52,000 ‘missionaries’ on the streets promoting the BoM. Most of these missionaries are young men and women who are in training for a lifetime of church activity. They receive guidance and direction from the Temple leaders. The church advocates that each Mormon family keep on hand at least a 30 day supply of emergency items (food, paper items, flash lights, batteries, etc.) The national church owns every Wholesale Food distributor in the USA. (I have been told that, I do not know if it is true.) What is Mr. Romney’s relationship to the present national leaders of the LDS church? If Mr. Romney is elected, what further steps will the leaders of the LDS church take? Can they make a reasonable effort to contain a $150 million illegal drug market? Will they make an effort to appease the conservative, fundamentalist political element of our society? Can the Mormon effort affect the Congressional corruption created by the lobbyists? This country may be in for a most interesting four or eight year period. I will be honest and state that I am NOT going to vote for Mr. Romney, but one vote in Oregon is not going to make much difference. I am very surprised that this interests so few people. Are we so tied up in materialism and self-serving apathy that this is all ho-hum? Hal

Book Review (a new book): IN HEAVEN AS IT IS ON EARTH – Joseph Smith and the Early Mormon Conquest of Death BY: Samuel Morris Brown Samuel Brown is Assistant Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Utah/Intermountain Medical Center and the translator of Aleksandr Men’s Son of Man. I borrowed this book from our local library because I am curious about the Mormon Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). This book is almost completely about the founding of the Mormon Church and says nothing about the present day church. The author states (pg 306): “I have limited my scope of inquiry to documents from the Nauvoo period and before, with few exceptions. I have tried not to measure early Mormonism against modern Mormon or Protestant or rationalist viewpoints.” Why am I curious? We have a Mormon candidate for U.S. President who was born in a Mormon community in northern Mexico, where his grandparents moved to avoid being prosecuted for polygamy. What is Mitt Romney’s relationship with the current LDS church leadership? The LDS church is essentially a secret society with an extensive history of martyrdom, persecution, prosecution, and conflict with the U.S. Government. Experience, and this book, has indicated that the LDS hierarchy is very strict, secretive, and ambitious. I have had enough contact with local Mormon Church leaders to know that their basic philosophy is: “My way or the highway!” I there anyone in this forum who has an opinion about the forthcoming relationship of the LDS church with the U.S. Government if Mr. Romney becomes President? Is this going to catch us all by surprise? Should we be concerned? Hal