When is a church not a church?

"A religion is any systematic approach to living that involves beliefs about one's origins, one's place in the world, or a responsibility to live and act in the world in particular ways."

A friend of mine posted a Tweet the other day quoting from a blog of the Avangelism Project [a group that thoughtfully feels the need to debunk organized religion, faith and belief in God]:

• "Unlike Santa, parents won't admit Jesus is imaginary when the gig is up and friends don't encourage you to outgrow it."

Then it struck me: They too are a religion and therefore their website is in reality a church, albeit online. Quite the oxymoron.

After sifting through some of the articles on Avangelism's site it becomes readily apparent their staff writers, though intelligent and well spoken, are not knowledgeable or learned about faiths, religion or middle eastern history. Most of their articles target and attempt to debunk the Christian faith as well as the "myth" of God or any deity. Like most arguments against God, faith, Jesus or Christianity, they use no relevant facts or truth to dignify their viewpoint.

Conversely, they do a great job of taking quotes out of context, making assumptions, embellishing the truth and telling outright lies. Though, to be fair, these same characteristics can be used to describe many Christians and church leaders, too. The difference lies in the admission of sin, plea for redemption and gift of grace by God.

Separate But Equal: A Lesson in Consociationalism

"We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all our citizens, whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization."
~Franklin Delano Roosevelt, January, 1940

"They (who) seek to establish systems of government based on the regimentation of all human beings by a handful of individual rulers... call this a new order. It is not new and it is not order."
~Franklin Delano Roosevelt, March, 1941

In my lifetime I've seen our country slip away from long standing roots of being a Democratic nation. Our country has stood tall and proud as a Democratic nation for over 200 years. We stood united and existed as the United States. In the last 30 years that has all but unraveled. Though we still call ourselves the United States we hardly stand united.

A more accurate description of who we are is best described as a Separate-But-Equal nation. We've become a nation of Consociationalism where everyone is accommodated. Whereas our nation stood for what was best for the majority, we now are a nation of Least Common Denominator. Our policies and practices have boiled down to being non offensive, non abrasive and all accommodating to all demographics regardless of prevalence. If it offends any ONE then it offends us all.

To put this tongue-in-cheek...

Company Memo:
FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: October 1, 2008
RE: Gala Christmas Party

I'm happy to inform you that the company Christmas Party will take place on December 23rd, starting at noon in the private function room at the Grill House. There will be a cash bar and plenty of drinks! We'll have a small band playing traditional carols... feel free to sing along. And don't be surprised if our CEO shows up dressed as Santa Claus! A Christmas tree will be lit at 1:00 PM. Exchanges of gifts among employees can be done at that time; however, no gift should be over $10.00 to make the giving of gifts easy for everyone's pockets. This gathering is only for employees!

Our CEO will make a special announcement at that time!

Merry Christmas to you and your family,
~Patty


***********************************************

Company Memo:
FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: October 2, 2008
RE: Gala Holiday Party

In no way was yesterday's memo intended to exclude our Jewish employees. We recognize that Hanukkah is an important holiday, which often coincides with Christmas, though unfortunately not this year. However, from now on, we're calling it our "Holiday Party." The same policy applies to any other employees who are not Christians and to those still celebrating Reconciliation Day. There will be no Christmas tree and no Christmas carols will be sung. We will have other types of music for your enjoyment. Happy now?

Happy Holidays to you and your family,
~Patty

***********************************************

Company Memo:
FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All Employees
DATE: October 3, 2008
RE: Holiday Party

Regarding the note I received from a member of Alcoholics Anonymous requesting a non-drinking table, you didn't sign your name. I'm happy to accommodate this request, but if I put a sign on a table that reads, "AA Only", you wouldn't be anonymous anymore. How am I supposed to handle this? Somebody?

And sorry, but forget about the gift exchange, no gifts are allowed since the union members feel that $10.00 is too much money and the executives believe $10.00 is a little chintzy.

REMEMBER: NO GIFTS EXCHANGE WILL BE ALLOWED.

***********************************************

Company Memo:
FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
To: All Employees
DATE: October 4, 2008
RE: Generic Holiday Party

What a diverse group we are! I had no idea that December 20th begins the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which forbids eating and drinking during daylight hours. There goes the party! Seriously, we can appreciate how a luncheon at this time of year does not accommodate our Muslim employees' beliefs. Perhaps the Grill House can hold off on serving your meal until the end of the party or else package everything for you to take it home in little foil doggy baggy. Will that work?

Meanwhile, I've arranged for members of Weight Watchers to sit farthest from the dessert buffet, and pregnant women will get the table closest to the restrooms.

Gays are allowed to sit with each other. Lesbians do not have to sit with Gay men, each group will have their own table.

Yes, there will be flower arrangement for the Gay men's table.

To the person asking permission to cross dress, the Grill House asks that no cross-dressing be allowed, apparently because of concerns about confusion in the restrooms. Sorry.

We will have booster seats for short people.

Low-fat food will be available for those on a diet.

I am sorry to report that we cannot control the amount of salt used in the food . The Grill House suggests that people with high blood pressure taste a bite first.

There will be fresh "low sugar" fruits as dessert for diabetics, but the restaurant cannot supply "no sugar" desserts. Sorry!

Did I miss anything?!?!?

~Patty

***********************************************

Company Memo:
FROM: Patty Lewis, Human Resources Director
TO: All F*%^ing Employees
DATE: October 5, 2008
RE: The F*%^ing Holiday Party

I've had it with you vegetarian pricks!!! We're going to keep this party at the Grill House whether you like it or not, so you can sit quietly at the table furthest from the "grill of death," as you so quaintly put it, and you'll get your f*%^ing salad bar, including organic tomatoes. But you know, tomatoes have feelings, too. They scream when you slice them. I've heard them scream. I'm hearing them scream right NOW!

The rest of you f*%^ing wierdos can kiss my *ss. I hope you all have a rotten holiday!

Drive drunk and die,

~The B*tch from H*ll!!!

***********************************************

Company Memo:
FROM: Joan Bishop, Acting Human Resources Director
DATE: October 6, 2008
RE: Patty Lewis and Holiday Party

I'm sure I speak for all of us in wishing Patty Lewis a speedy recovery and I'll continue to forward your cards to her.

In the meantime, management has decided to cancel our Holiday Party and give everyone the afternoon of the 23rdoff with full pay.

Happy Holidays!

~Joan


I truly believe the only way our country will return to the greatness we once knew is to become United once again. Though we will never have all 300,000,000 citizens in unanimous agreement on any issue. What we can do is realize that while we are all unique (education, gender, sexual orientation, background, heritage, native language and faith, along with different views on foreign policy, finance and health care, military and government), we still share many commonalities and goals.

We all share the goal of wanting to do better for ourselves and our children. We all want to worship how and when we choose. We all wish to enjoy the freedoms and rights ensured by our Constitution and Bill of Rights. We want to earn a good living and live in a nice home. We want peace. We want health. We want equality. We want respect. We want justice. Sometimes we want to be left alone and other times we want to be included and have a voice.

Diversity is a good thing. It helps us see the world in unique and relevant ways. We all matter and our opinions count but we must realize that everyone can't win everything all the time. We cannot keep accepting that no one will win if everyone can't win. That makes us all losers.

We need to accommodate as many as we can in every decision that we make; as a family, school, church, temple, community, county, state, nation and world. Rather than abandoning any benefit for anyone when everyone cannot benefit we should get back to making decisions that benefit the majority. Even if we all don't win, we all benefit from being one, United.

United We Stood

Eight years ago today something terrible happened in America. Three thousand lives were innocently snuffed out at the hands of those who wished to send a message. It was a moment in time that changed the way we live our lives; changed how we saw ourselves; changed our motivations; changed our focus. Countless tens of thousands since have suffered a multitude of health and mental issues related to that day in the aftermath. May we never forget those who fell and were injured at the hands of the 9/11 terrorists.

On that day, the lawmakers and representatives of our country stood united. UNITED! Every one of the men and women of Congress stood together and vowed to work tirelessly to seek out those responsible for the deaths and massive suffering and fix the cracks in the armor.




On that day the leaders of both political houses pledged to stand united in ending the root cause of so much suffering. There were no partisan messages, no arguing, no shouting, no name calling and no hidden agendas. They even sang a round of God Bless America together on the steps of the Capitol Building. What's more, in the weeks following 9/11 our Congress worked quickly and swiftly in unison with the President to enact the necessary funding and a plan. Not a perfect plan, but a plan to get this country and her resources mobilized.

As a citizen who remembers that day, and the days following, I don't think anyone thought the plan and funding was the perfect solution. But we all knew we needed to act quickly in order to ensure no American citizen would suffer similar circumstance. We needed to hit the ground fast and, if necessary, sharpen and refocus the plan as we went in order to be most decisive and effective. We Americans are pretty nimble in that respect.

Eight years later we face eerily similar circumstances, only from an enemy within. Our country is no longer united. Nor is our Congress. No one stands on the steps of the Capitol Building singing in unison. No one is shelving their political agendas in order to rescue their constituents from suffering and needless death. The leaders of the two major parties would just as soon tear their opponents arms off and beat them with it than sit in the same room and work out a plan for the betterment of most American citizens.

Conservative estimates indicate that approximately 25,000 American citizens die yearly from lack of health care or lack of affordable health care. Hundreds of thousands more suffer daily, weekly and yearly for the same reasons. We stand at the precipice of ending all the suffering if only we can come together united. Our country has the world's finest health care minds and scientists. We have the solutions at our disposal.

If we could throw the same personnel and money resources at a Health Care plan that we've thrown at the War on Terror I'm confident that needless medical suffering and death would be wiped away. I'm also confident that we won't get it right the first time. But again, we are a nimble and resilient country. We persevere. We overcome. We succeed.

Revamping the health care behemoth we have in our country today can overcome the seemingly insurmountable cost and access restrictions standing in the way of proper and decent medical services for the majority of American citizens. It won't be easy or quick but we can do it. That is as long as we all stand united and come together to solve instead of divide.

Why the Kindle Must Succeed

We've all heard about Amazon's Kindle. They are currently shipping the 2nd generation model that's slimmer, lighter, has more memory and a larger screen. The 3rd gen Kindle is already in pre-production and looks to improve yet again upon the original.

The latest Kindle looks to have an amazing, albeit gray-scale only, screen. The use of "E-ink" is the difference between reading a digital file on your laptop and a "print on paper" like reading experience of the Kindle. There are rumors of a color Kindle coming next.

The Kindle isn't alone on the market either. There are a few competitors on the market and it appears more on the horizon. Sony already has their PRS700 and Cybook is coming out with their own 3rd gen Opus. Both use "E-ink" displays for extended reading without the eye strain of digital mediums. Of course, every SmartPhone has some kind of "e-book" reader application though none of them are as easy to use, navigate or read.

I'm not going to discuss the differences or pros / cons of each. What intrigues me more is how important these devices are to the evolution of information distribution...i.e. printed medium.

We, as an internet connected, always on society need a digital information distribution system to work and work well. In order for it to work well it has to satisfactorily suit the majority of printed material needs. This includes not only news and periodicals but also text books, manuals, business cards, credit cards and a whole host of information that we all carry and take for granted on a daily basis.

The Kindle (and it's brethren) are step one. The great thing about the Kindle is Amazon is paving the necessary infrastructure for digital delivery and usage, albeit in the commercial world. We need the public and private sectors to take the baton and go the next lap. This means college, school and business campuses need to adopt the same technology and infrastructure. This not only eases the burden of text book heft and cost but also aligns them to deliver notes, study guides, memos (all the myriad print items created and distributed on campuses and in classes) and emergency alerts. Think how fast a college campus could deliver news alerts about a campus safety incident if all students and staff members carried an always-on, wireless connected information device.

The second step will involve the smaller items we carry and count on every day. Driver's licenses, credit/debit cards, library cards, coupons, airline boarding passes and more. We need a smaller version of the Kindle to replace all the items that represent our personal information. A "digital wallet" so to speak. The technology is available, it just needs refined. The use of OLED screens (small, light, flexible digital displays) will greatly help.

So many newspapers are going out of business. Partly do the economy bust but greatly in part to the shifting of information to a digital medium. People, businesses and educators are realizing that printed material is heavier, more costly, more harmful to the environment and more difficult to share. We must go digital but without sacrificing the quality, variety and availability of information. Furthermore we must protect integrity and propriety, which can all be handled with ease in the digital medium.

What are your thoughts?

Unfacebooked

OK, I admit it. I've spend WAY too much time on social networks...especially Facebook. Don't get me wrong; I think Facebook is a GREAT way to get in touch, keep in touch and stay in touch with friends, family, loved ones, work mates, social connections and so many more. But it can be addicting.

As I write this, I can think of five social networks where I keep active profiles (not counting this blog). That's pared down from ~10 this time last year. I'm wondering if I really need five!

I currently have active profiles on...
MySpace.com - Can't remember the last time I logged on. But it's my only tie to a few of my nephews. I'd like to be able to maintain some degree of contact with them.

OKCupid.com - A "dating" site as well as social portal. I write journals there and keep up with friends across the country. We share dating stories and have a sort of middle-life/divorced-parents support community. There are also tons of personality tests that can teach you a lot about yourself...and others.

Facebook.com - Of course. This is my main social portal and where I spend the most time, of all social portals. I'm officially going on a FB diet. That said, I've tied my Tweets to my FB Status Updates. So it may look like I'm constantly updating FB but in reality I'm Tweeting on my phone which auto-updates my FB status. That's killing two social birds with one geeky stone.

Twitter.com - Quite possibly my favorite of all social tools. I love to Tweet little tidbits about my life. It's easy and quick to "thumb out" Tweets with the ÜberTwitter utility on my BlackBerry.

LinkedIn.com - Designed for professional contacts and networking, I maintain a profile there for obvious reasons. I don't do much with the site other than check updates once in a while. I find it a useful tool for maintaining what I like to call a list of available resume contacts...should I need them. :)