Best Father

There are lots of images of fathers in our minds from both our own experiences with our dads and also from television. Growing up in the 60s, one of my favorite dads was Ben Cartwright on Bonanza (played by Lorne Greene). The series ran from 1959-1973 and Ben had this neat ranch, affectionately named the Ponderosa, near Virgina City. He had 3 adult sons - Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe. Seems like only yesterday when our neighbors bought a color TV and we all were invited over the their house to watch the program in LIVING COLOR!

There was always a bad guy to wrestle with when you watched Bonanza. Hoss or Little Joe was most commonly involved, seems like in the later years Adam made only cameo appearances. In fact, Adam was hardly ever on the show after 1965. Anyway, can't tell you how much I loved cowboys when I was little. My grandmother bought us cowboy boots, cowboy shirts and cowboy hats whenever she could. Here's a pic (below) of my brother (left) and I (right) all dressed up in our outfits. When I was a little older, we got Hopalong Cassidy (another cowboy hero) watches and our TV interests expanded into "The Lone Ranger" and "Roy Rogers."

I wonder why I needed a cowboy hero? Why did I love to watch Ben Cartwright hand out advice to his sons and ultimately watch good would win out over bad? This image of the perfect father certainly doesn't exist today. The examples most of our kids watch on TV is Homer from the" Simpsons", the ultimate bumbling idiot. There is Al Bundy from "Married With Children" and the bad guy Tony Soprano.

My own dad wasn't a cowboy hero, but I still saw him as my hero. Just not the white-hat kind. I did love him and missed him when he was gone.

In 1959, he went to a remote missile base with the Air Force and was gone for a year. My mom was left with raising 2 boys by herself.  I was three years old and quit eating. My mother put me in the hospital for a condition we call "failure to thrive" today, it includes pronounced protein malnutrition and weight loss due to dehydration.

For some reason I have retained memories of that hospitalization, the needles plunged into my legs with IV fluids and a dark room with a hard, cold table when they took X-rays. They were just about ready to start tube feedings when my behavior changed. Mom had drove to the hospital after picking up the mail. She had just collected a letter from my father. Back at that time, air mail was completely different in appearance. Actually, there wasn't much junk mail in those days. If you got letters, it was a happy occasion. These were letters from people. In retrospect, I came to know the letters from my dad at this tender age. It had light blue had a flag-type logo around the edge.

Anyway, when she opened the letter to read it to me I guess my eyes lit up. She remembers them bringing in some jello and I ate it. No vomiting. The letters made a difference. After about 3 weeks in the hospital, they let me go home.

Growing up you would think my dad and I had a fantastic relationship. But, we didn't. My dad was around physically, but not always mentally.  In 1968-69 he went to Vietnam. When we got him back, he wasn't the same. Maybe I had changed too, I don't know. We grew apart and argued a great deal. He and mom didn't get along and ultimately they divorced after 22 years of marriage. When I went in the Air Force, he never came to visit. About 15 years ago he died in loneliness, after years of smoking and drinking.

Many of us live our lives longing for a father, the one we never knew. I have hurt feelings about my own dad, no doubt about it. But, I still try and remember those times when we were close. What amazes me though, is how could a letter from dad saved me from near certain death as a child. Why would that light blue airmail envelope have such a deep and lasting impact in my mind, even today?

Listen, maybe you are reading this thinking you had a great dad. Maybe you had a lousy dad. Maybe you were sexually, physically or emotionally abused by your father. If you were really blessed, maybe you have a Ben Cartwright father.

Why do we have this notion of God as a father? Your view of your father, without a doubt, influences your view of God. I didn't make that connection for many years, but it is true.


I guess the reason I am writing this is rather simple. You have a letter waiting. It doesn't matter how sick you are, even if you can't stand the idea of a loving God or even deny that he exists. A visitor has brought you a letter. If you are lying on a theological hospital bed wondering if there really is a father who loves you, at least open the envelope to find out if he is still there. These are love letters and the message is found in the bible. Hey, maybe you don't believe all the hype about "a bible" and think it is full of errors and misprinted information. It is OK, still check it out. You don't have to "buy" everything written there. Just start with God's letter to you. I recommend the book of John in the new testament. Also, check out Hebrews 12:9-10 if you had an abusive father. Let me know what you think.

Mad Men and Glad Men

Don Draper is a fictional character on AMC 's television series "Mad Men" as many American viewers know. This program is about the 1960's, and Don is an advertising executive on Madison Ave, hence we see a glimpse of sexism in the workplace about this time period. If you follow the TV show you know that "Don Draper" is an alias; his real name is Richard Whitman.

Why is Don hiding his past? For starters, his birth mother was prostitute who died giving birth to him and his biological father didn't want much to do this him as he was growing up. His father and stepmother regularly abused him and he was eager to join the Army during the Korean war. After combat fatigue set in, Richard (Don) had an opportunity to place his dog tags on a dead soldier (the real Don Draper) and return home with a new identity. Arriving back in the states, be began work as a used car salesman when he was tracked down by Anna Draper, the real Draper's widow. He subsequently felt an obligation to her and wanted this woman to keep his secret. As his income rose, he purchased her a home and took care of her throughout her life.


Don's business contacts took off and over the years concealing his identity mad business sense. You see, he was a high school drop out, son of a prostitute and a US Army deserter by taking the new name. As a highly paid business executive in the advertising firm Sterling Cooper, he married and lived the happy materialistic life of the 60s.

Keeping that secret about the past was only half of it though, Don Draper is also a womanizer. In fact, nearly every woman he meets gets an invite to a hotel. He has one golden rule though, that he doesn't "bed" his women colleagues, especially his mentee Peggy Olsen. Nevertheless, each episode of the TV is fascinating. On the one hand you really care about Don, he is obviously hurt and acting out with his promiscuity, and on the other had you see the deep pain he inflicts on his wife and children by living a lie.

 
Indeed, the fictional "Don Draper,"  lives an absolutely depressing life. Constantly trying to bury his guilt in alcohol, sex, money and influence, he very seldom opens up to anyone. One minute he is in bed with a strange woman and the next minute he walks into the living room and cuddles his children in front of the TV set sipping on a martini. He is a master at changing roles. His only gift is deceiving or telling people what they "want" rather than what they "need" as an advertising guru. No one really knows much about him, he doesn't talk up the past. He is ashamed of it and if any of his clients found out about his identity the firm could lose business.

This "covert" Don Draper is a lot like many people. Attractive on the outside, cunning, and even admirable in a business sense. But on the inside, conniving.   Maybe we don't open up to everyone and we try to live like someone else. It is really hard to reveal everything about our past when we have something we are ashamed of. We would like to "bury" that terrible thing and leave it behind on the Korean war front or at least wrap a dog tag around our neck of someone more successful, more educated or more charismatic than we are.  We  couldn't get a role on the TV show, but nevertheless we truly live the life of "Mad Men" in the way we hide part of ourselves from others.

There is one person though who might make us "come clean." He was there when we were hurt. He was a witness to all those times of pain in our lives. He didn't stand idly by, but knew something had to be done about all the evil we experienced and all the evil WE perpetuate (just like you were hurt from someone in your past, you deliver pain to someone in the present). It is an endless cycle. Maybe you are angry God never did anything right when it happened to you in the past, you don't think God can do anything now. God can't exist because he didn't do anything to stop the hurt you felt and anyone who believes in God, this God who didn't do anything when you were hurt, is like a child believing in Santa Claus. God is a fantasy, a big fat elf on a sleigh. 


What are we to do? Live our lives in despair? Hate God or deny that he exists? We think we are happy, just like Don, or do we go on living as "Mad Men" in our daily lives?

The bible says that we can become a new person if we acknowledge our creator and confess our wrongdoings. In fact, in so doing we can be healed from all the hurt in the past.

You see, Jesus of Nazareth, a son of a carpenter and the born into the least influential family in ancient Palestine was  God incarnate in the flesh. He had no formal education and wore homespun. He had no debate instruction, but argued with the most influential men of his time. He was God intervening in the history of man. He intervened in the past, and he can intervene in the present if you want him to do so.

Matt 4:23 says ... And Jesus went round the whole of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every bodily weakness among the people.

Before you close the book on Don Draper and slap the bible shut as a text full of fairy tales, try and take a few minutes to explore who this man "Jesus" really was and is. Leave all the baggage and preconceptions you have  about religion or church steeples, get to know the historical person of  Jesus Christ as recorded in the scriptures. Start with the gospel of John, it is easy to read. I would love to hear from you!

A Stumbling Block

The Iron Cross is a distinctive symbol that represents bravery and courage; it was a medal awarded to soldiers and sometimes civilians in Germany. This Iron Cross signifies power, military strength, a country at war would use the cross similar. Interesting, since the historical perspective indicates the original cross was one of wood. Anyway, the war was often annotated with the year indicating the era in which it was issued. For example, an Iron Cross from the First World War bears the year "1914", while the same decoration from the Second World War is annotated "1939".

The pop singer  Madonna was criticized for being "offensive" in 2006 while performing with a large hanging mirrored cross wearing a crown of thorns on the stage. In her song "Live to Tell," advocate "interpreters" say she is performing "a woman's right to stand in Jesus's place."

Even if you are not a Christian, do you find this artistic expression offensive?  As a follower of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) and as a person who doesn't believe in the historical Jesus, should we care if she offends anyone or any religious group? Would a symbol like this have been tolerated in the Muslim world? PLEASE DON'T MISUNDERSTAND, I DO NOT ADVOCATE THAT IT SHOULD AND DO NOT WISH TO OFFEND ANY ISLAMIC PERSON. But, isn't it interesting that there is a freedom to do this for the Christian religion?

Like Madonna, the line is somewhat blurry on other manifestations in society. For example, crosses are used as tattoos as body decorations. Are these for religious and spiritual reasons? Does the location of the tattoo have a special meaning? Is it a mockery or an expression of faith? If the cross is inked on your skin and you are marked, are you ever ashamed to display the tattoo?

 

In some ways the church is a lot like popular culture, especially when it comes to displaying the cross. It is a decoration. Something to hang behind the pulpit or in the hallway leading to the Sunday school rooms. It goes nice with the yellow paint or perhaps it provides symmetry to the wall hangings. It is a "no-brainer" for the most part. It does it's job, a symbol of Christianity. Nothing more.   


In fact, for many reading this the cross is fine. What gives? It is nice to put on jewelry or whatever, but please don't talk about the meaning of the cross. Is it repulsive to go into the real meaning behind it. Perhaps even to even mention the cross brings up past experiences of being proselytized.

Perhaps you remember a "Catholic" school moment with a nun with a big cross hanging from her neck slapped a ruler across the rear seam of your jeans.

The cross seems too, well.... infantile. The cross, such a child thing. Any dummy would know what the cross is, so why go into it? After all, you are an intelligent human being and just reading this blog is rather insulting. We know what the cross is, so what talk about it?

OK, a disclaimer. I am not meaning to insult anyone's intelligence.I am not superior in my understanding of the cross, so I am not looking down my "religious nose" pointing fingers as to why we need to talk about the cross. In fact, often times I find it terribly uncomfortable to do so. It is just not the "social thing" not to do it.

No proselytizing here.  All I ask is for an open mind.

However, (oh gosh, you knew that was coming) what is the real meaning of the "cross" and why is this particular symbol so polarizing?

Under Roman tradition the cross was not only a way to cause death, but to punish one with intense pain and suffering. The "gnash your teeth" type of suffering.  The nails went through a certain part of the hand in order to support the body, but nails were also put in the feet. A person had to push himself up to get a breath of air on these feet or ankles with the nail (crucifixion caused one to basically die of suffocation because of the intense pain of doing this). One would ask, why would the historical Jesus even have to do this? I guess that is a deep theological question, one that I am not really qualified to answer. With that preamble, my answer would be that "he didn't have to do it."    

We have a number of places in the bible where Jesus certainly had a opportunity to run. He didn't need to die on a cross or go through a trial (both a religious one and a civil one). Actually, the fact there was both a civil and a religious trial point to the fact that men don't do well with justice by either religious or judicial standards. This while "God is the Judge" thing or "Jesus paid for my sins" is a silly rationale to you.  I hear you, ok? So why do we have a judgment anyway? God is a loving God and he wouldn't want to hurt anyone.

Why couldn't Jesus just preach a simple message like that? Isn't that what Christianity is all about? God loves us just "Let it Be" like the Beatles used to sing.

So, why didn't Jesus just take off? In the garden, that would have been a great place to say "Asta laveista, baby." Good luck with all that warm, fuzzy "God loves ya messages" I preached about the last 3 years.

OH, I know another place he could have taken off. When all the crowds gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover!  What a strategic time for this carpenter to "take a fiesta." In fact, didn't his parents fill out a "missing persons" report in Jerusalem when he was 12 years old? After all, his disciples disappeared for the most part (although John was there). It could have been a remarkable end to this whole "good news" and "stop sinning" preaching if Jesus would have just disappeared. 

As an academic, I really don't want to talk about the cross. In fact, you wonder why it is so central in the "gospels" as recorded in the bible. Why did the bible say it would be a "stumbling block" for many? Why is the cross so central that the Apostle Paul warned that if the Christian were to leave it out .. it would empty the message of gospel of all it's power?

We know this "leaving it out"  happens today in modern churches. If a pastor doesn't want to talk about the cross, he or she just does a message on "getting healed" or "praise the Lord." Let's get the latest popular psychology textbook and base the sermon on that! Positive thinking, maybe something on "releasing negative energy" this week? That is what the people need to hear - a "feel good" gospel!  Give everyone a smile and a healthy dose of self esteem!  In fact, you are loved no matter what. Christianity should be about sin or hell or a judgment.

So, what does the cross mean to you?  If you have" no spiritual interests," what do you think it means for Christians? Should we just leave it out? How does the cross, as you know it, conflict with these modern media messages?

Were You lost in "Lost"?

If you are like me and millions of other Americans, you've been watching the ABC hit series "Lost." In fact, last week 13.5 million viewers tuned in to watch the American airing of the 2.5-hour Lost finale. Anyway, most of the time I felt like the characters in the plot with those bewildered looks on their faces. Did you feel that way too? When we first started watching it the first year, I was rather bored. I couldn't follow the plot that well and it seemed to ramble on and on (sort of like this blog).

How did it all get started? What is all the fuss about this program?

Lost opened with a group of passengers on Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 who were on a scheduled flight  from Sydney, Australia to Los Angeles, California when the plane crashed over the sea. Strange things started happening to the surviving passengers who were stranded on the island. For example, a paralyzed man named John Locke suddenly gained use of his legs and began walking around. 

What finally aroused my curiosity in the program though was something called the The DHARMA Initiative (Department of Heuristics And Research on Material Applications).  Supposedly this was a scientific research project that had a large presence on the island and started to flirt with "time travel" based on a magnetic force hidden deep in the earth. Most of the Lost plot went in different directions, to the 50s when an atomic bomb was discovered when an eccentric physics professor from present day tried to help them disarm it.  Anyway, the DHARMA "scientific" group came into conflict with another group known as the "Hostiles" who were island natives. They resented the scientific expeditions and accused DHARMA group of murder and mayhem through their many years as island inhabitants.

Hostiles frequently stayed on their side of the island and the DHARMA initiative erected complex electronic fences around their compounds. The two groups finally formed a "truce" in the 70s, but DHARMA occasionally violated the peace accord.

Survivors from Oceanic Flight 815 became even more confused by these two groups, each making what appeared to be valid accusations about the other people. Some survivors of the crashed airplane sided with the DHARMA group and some survivors took up the cause of the Hostiles. Did I forget to mention "Jacob" was a mysterious figure of authority of the Island who was "in charge" of the Island. Jacob would appear at various time points in history - sometimes dating back to the childhood of survivors of the "future" airline crash. The characters vaguely remembered him in their "flashbacks" in time, but this was also confusing. Who was Jacob? Who was his fraternal twin (the man in black) as he was portrayed as "evil" and why was Jacob going back in time to bring the survivors together on the island?  

What does all of this "taking sides" have to do with the "Lost" passengers aboard Oceanic Flight 815?

I guess this isn't easily answered in the short take I am doing here. It certainly wasn't always clear in the plot. I think sometimes both the actors and the audience began to feel "Lost." It was fun, I guess.

For the characters "Lost" was part delirium, part time travel and part confusion in discovering "truth." I was particularly amused at some biblical themes in the plot as the story aired. There was a resurrection (really, a dead person coming back to life), good and evil, a false prophet, lies, alcoholism, violence and murder, justification for doing wrong, struggles with guilt, and a sense of wanting to do something right given a second chance.

We were all entertained, watched faithfully (if you were hooked) and we ate our popcorn in front of the television. In essence, we were allowed to determine what the "door of light" at the end meant and could leave it to our own interpretation. This was designed to be a humanistic ending, encompassing all religious viewpoints and perhaps even embracing agnosticism.

What was the door of light to you? What is beyond our human experience; our lifetime of experiences? Do you ever feel lost like the characters on Oceanic Flight 815? Is life simply a "mindless wandering" through time?

The last thing I want to do here is get all religious here, but the film really took the "pot shot" at discussion spiritual things. What happens when you die? Will there be a reconciliation with long, lost friends? A reunion with a deceased father? A self-realization that you actually died? A casket in the back room?

If you are searching for answers, there are lots of places to begin from a religious perspective. For me, I found the answers in Christianity a long time ago. Some will say it was because I was born Caucasian, in Western culture and simply followed the direction my parents taught me. It isn't so, my embracing Christianity has everything to do with free will and making my own decisions.  I would love to share my own journey there, it had many curves in the plot just like the Lost film series. I also made many mistakes and hurt people in trying to get to that point in my life where Christ became a real person. Not a fantasy like John Locke, but a real person as revealed in the book of John. Better yet, find out what John has to say for yourself. Pick up a bible, just start reading John Chapter 1.   

Or, go back to eating popcorn. Really, it is all up to you....

Beer Can Parable

In the fall of 1973, anxious to leave home, I enlisted in the Air Force and was to report to active duty immediately after high school graduation. Confident that I was now economically secure, I went to Melvin's Ford in Hampton and ordered a Mustang with my new found freedom. The new car in 1973 came to $3329 (I have the invoice in front of me as I write this). I traded in a 1967 Pontiac for this car, so it helped a little bit. Just like the hit single by Everclear, we only listened to the "AM Radio" back in 1973. It was also during this time that gas prices went up. During my junior year, a gallon of gas was 32 cents, if you were lucky and could drive into Mason City you might get gas for 30 cents. Sometimes there would be a "gas war" and it might dip down to 28 or 29 cents and you thought you were lucky. It wasn't uncommon for us at all to pull up to a full-service station and say "put in 2 dollars worth" and you would easily have a half tank of gas!

With the oil embargo gas shot up to 39 cents a gallon in January of 1974. I didn't know how this was going to work out, and since the economy was "shot" new for sure that I wasn't going to college and the Air Force was the best option. My parents were not at all excited about my career plans, but on June 3 put me on the bus and off I went to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas for basic training.

We got our heads shaved a day or so later. As we were in-processing, the "experienced" Airman called us "rainbows" as we still had our civilian clothes and hadn't been issued anything more than the haircut. We came from all walks of life. No sooner had we checked into the barracks, the same buildings my father stayed in during the Korean War (he was retired Air Force), that I discovered we had people without a high school diploma to guys that had been in college.

One guy in particular had been "simple minded" and there was always somebody like that in the Air Force. We were learning to march and the drill sergeant would yell "COLUMN-RIGHT" and this guy would turn left. He did it every time.

There would be a long pause as the platoon leader would yell "HALT." He went up to this guy, the sergeant stood maybe 2 inches from his nose" and said "YOUR OTHER RIGHT."

IT was really funny. We would march along again for an hour, this guy did the same thing. The platoon sergeant stops the entire squadron and spots a beer can along the side of the road. It was squashed from a car tire. He gets an idea and sends the young soldier over to pick it up.

Our drill instructor proceeded to yell at him and asked him to sniff it and let us all know if it smelled good.

"NO SIR," the young airman replied.

We chuckled. This was hilarious.  If you laughed out loud though, the sergeant would walk over to your face so one tended to keep it to a smirk he couldn't see.

"From this day forward, every time I see you, you are to carry that beer can around in your RIGHT HAND. I want you to polish it, wash it, and it is to smell like a rose every morning, DO YOU HEAR ME AIRMAN?"

"YES SIR," the shaking soldier responded.

For the next six weeks, this guy carried around the beer can in his right hand. He never left the barracks without it. It was always a joke among the rest of us, but I learned a life lesson out of it as I grew older and never forgot it.


That airman paid a price for his mistake, an embarrassing one. At times this guy was hated by all of us. He made our squadron look bad. Whenever an officer would walk by our platoon he would order us to halt, walk up to this guy and just shake his head. We became the laughing-stock on the whole base. Nobody felt sorry for this guy. The best thing we could do is "hide" him in the middle when we marched.

In the "chow line" we made this guy suffer. He would never be first when we were hungry and bumped him to last. When we hit the showers it was worse than gym class, this guy would walk into the stall with his beer can. When he went to the sink to shave, he had his beer can. We ridiculed him, naked and all. Didn't bother us.

Sometimes I think back to that hot summer day and remember that beer can. How often I should know right from wrong, the right from the left. But, I don't do it. I mess up, just like that Airman. There is a moral choice to be made, but I fail God and go the other direction. So, who gets stuck with the beer can?

I guess Jesus is sort of like that guy when we screw up.

Isaiah 53:2-5 says of Christ "We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God for his own sins! But he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed!" (New Living Translation).

I know, you don't want to read bible verses, but if you made it to this sentence - congratulations! Most people don't think of a beer can when they look up at a "cross" in a church. That symbol just doesn't fit. But for me, I sometimes think of it that way.


Enough, ok? I won't push it. But, if you've never really saw the cross for what it was or the claim that Jesus Christ is there to pick up the pieces when you make a bad choice, would you consider that claim today?

Was That Jewish Peasant Girl Lying?

There are probably a million other things you could be doing right now rather than reading this post, I truly am humbled by the fact you visited here today.

We truly don't read much about inspiration or hope anymore and as Easter 2010 rolls around this weekend it is even less likely that you are going to hear anything positive in the news or even be reminded of what happened nearly 2000 years ago. If you turn on the nightly news on TV you might see a little video clip of the pope giving an Easter Mass in the Vatican. It is all but certain that there will be a Whitehouse Easter Egg hunt with lots of children running on the lawn. So, these things that happened long ago are mostly forgotten. This is a holiday to celebrate Spring, the new life is in nature. It is not about historical events, the historical accuracy or facts. Anti-Jewish sentiment long has influenced history, so even if you are not feeling like Easter is any different this year, I understand. Anything I write here will most likely not make any difference in how or what you believe about Easter, but can you give me a chance? Even if it doesn't work, at least you have ammunition to  get into a scholarly argument with some Christian on these talking points. Who knows, you might even talk some sense into them and they will give up this fable called Christianity.

There is a scholarly group who has studies these Easter events extensively. They formed a group called the "Jesus Seminar" and, for lack of a better word, disenfranchised evangelical Christians with their conclusions. Dr. John Crossan is an original member of the Jesus Seminar group and co-chaired it. He has excellent academic credentials and was a professor at DePaul University for 26 years. Basically, his premise is that we have a historical Jesus Christ and a second one, a Jesus hailed as the leader of the Christian religion as we know it today. So, bottom line what are his historical conclusions about the events we know as Easter? I mean only be fair and objective, it is very difficult for me to articulate his position and some of you may "blast" me for trying to do this. Anyway, here we go.

1. Jesus of Nazareth actually did exist, but the resurrection is more of an allegory than a historical event.
2. The burial story of Jesus is inaccurate; most likely Jesus was buried in a common "ditch" much like the other common criminals executed in his day. Most like his body was eaten by dogs.
3. The visit of women to an empty tomb was a fabrication made up by the gospel writer, Mark.
4. The disciples never experienced any postmortem appearances of a risen Jesus.
5. The disciples never really believed in the literal resurrection of Jesus.

These conclusions for many non-Christians will seem perfectly plausible and will carry much weight because this group, the Jesus Seminar, was based on a consensus of responsible scholarship. So, there you have it. Stripped of all the embellishments of tradition and objectively written and published by professors who know a great deal about history.

If you want to quit here, I completely understand. Maybe you don't want to read a rebuttal or some persuasive argument to the contrary of the five above points. Or maybe, in the interest of being politically correct and because you might know me, you let me have a shot at it. Fair enough, exit now or read on!

Christianity is unique from other world religions for on two key issues about their "religious leader." What are these? It all relates to Jesus of Nazareth's 1) Virgin birth and 2) Resurrected body following his death.

Got it? These 2 facts only. Now there are differences in claims and identity as well. BUT, I am trying to keep things simple.

On fact #1, I guess the real question is was that Jewish peasant girl lying? She said she was a virgin and that she was pregnant. Let me "up" the "spin" of this story, she said an angel had visited her and told her these things.  OK, right. You don't believe it. On the surface, I wouldn't either. Yes, there are some other facts on this story like "God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to verify Mary's story." But, really an entire world religious movement dependent on this young woman's claim that she was a virgin and that this child was conceived by someone other than a human being? I could go off on so many tangents right now, but I won't. Let your imagination run wild if you wish here. Hey, I am with you. Honestly, that single fact alone doesn't convert me to Christianity and I don't expect it will you either.

On fact #2, I don't even know how to write this. It is my sole basis for being a Christian. It is a matter of faith that I accept fact # 2. Yes, and so a lot of you are going to shut me down right there. You might say, "OK it works for you." Great. To be honest, when you say it that really ticks me off. It seems like you have put me in a category of blind, stupid people who somehow believe in fables. Even though on the surface, you won't offend me with saying that out loud. You believe it, don't you. You believe something about me that is false.

What am I trying to say? No, I don't believe in the resurrection simply because I believe, I believe that I believe. Maybe you've been watching too many "Shrek" movies.

Jewish belief in a resurrection at the time of Jesus death was just about as strange a concept as it is today. According to Jewish law, the execution of Jesus proved that he was a heretic. The Messiah, as they knew it, was going to raise the dead at the end of earth MAYBE.

Bottom line, the death of Jesus was proof that the Jewish peasant girl was lying. The historical Jesus, according to Crossan, was really an ordinary man sent by God with an extraordinary message. Dr. Crossan would argue that he also believes in "a resurrection," but not the one most Christians believe in. He sees it as an "equal and important" resurrection, but one that is about the resurrection of new beginnings. He sees Easter as a embellished story of good news for everyone, that we can have a fresh start in life. But, a physical resurrection of a dead body? No.

So, there is NO REASON to my faith in the resurrection. Only a "belief" in a mystical fable that was written many times though the centuries. Thank you Dr. Crossan - that is a message of hope to me personally. I can know that I will die, maybe my friends will have a funeral for me, and what an encouragement that will be in my post-mortem unconscious existence.

Or, do we have a very detailed account of what happened. Was Joseph of Arimathea, a leader in the Jewish Council that convicted Jesus of heresy in the middle of the night, a wealthy man and did he have an unused tomb? What was the social cost of him sending a formal request to Pilate to remove the remains? We still have the clock "ticking" folks. The next day, after a hurried burial, a political theory is emerging. The religious leaders knew his teachings about "rising on the third day" and asked for a Roman Seal to be placed on the tomb. Clock is still ticking, plenty of time to prevent any misunderstanding. What else could be done, they knew the body was going to be stolen by the disciples. After all, none of them were afraid. During the crucifixion didn't you see them marching around Jerusalem with their signs "RELEASE JESUS NOW" ????

Historical credibility in what happened after, you ask? Now if Jesus appeared to the leader of the Jewish Council, the Sanhedrin, maybe you would be convinced. Wasn't that the ultimate most trustworthy person to document a risen Christ? Why not Pilate or Herod? After all, Herod was involved in the legal proceedings and hoped that Jesus would do some magical trick at this house. Pilate, all he had was his wife begging to let him let Jesus go because she had a bad dream that night.

No, again the credibility of this story lies with women. Gender is a common theme in Jewish tradition. If a you have a woman on the witness stand in court, you lost buddy. Women were prone to gossip and lies, they were not valid character references. However you feel about what I just wrote, that is the historical context. So, on Easter morning we have women as the first witnesses.

What about Jesus corpse? Was it possible he was only wounded and revived? After all it was a hurried burial. See my later blog posting on where that premise goes.

Did we have any eye witness appearances? You know, no matter what I write here many of you are going to blow it off. Not that I am being pessimistic, it is just that there is no mound of evidence that is ever going to persuade you to believe in the resurrection. So, don't review the evidence. But, all the disciples were witnesses. MAYBE THAT WERE WILLING TO DIE for an embellished tale told by Jewish women. I don't know, your call on that one. Maybe those names are not enough, or the list of eyewitnesses who were not part of the Jesus inner-twelve. Maybe you find that a member of the Jewish court, Joseph of Arimethea, a likely candidate to ask for the body of the religious leader. Maybe it is the stuff of legend, maybe 500 people didn't see the risen Christ. First-century Palestine skeptic, James (the brother of Christ and the one who tried to get him thrown in the insane asylum) was certainly not a prime candidate to know to about the risen Christ.

Oh my, what do we do with James. His own mother probably didn't talk about the virgin birth thing much while he was growing up. He had no sibling rivalry over his childhood brother, did he?

Why did Jesus specifically tell his disciples, please tell my brother James I am alive.

Jame's mother, the Jewish peasant woman. His mom.  Was she lying? Tell me what you think!

Is He Risen?

Easter is absolutely the most polarizing holiday in Western culture. Some simply anesthetize the controversy of the most remarkable claim in human history, you know, the one about a man who claimed to be the Son of God who physically rose from the dead, with Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies. Others think Christians are absolutely insane.

So what is the legacy of Easter to you? An empty tomb or an empty promise?  Is the whole notion of Jesus rising from the dead the "Frankenstein" of human religion or is it a mythological story penned by pathologically grieving disciples? Maybe there wasn't this disenfranchised Judas, the most trusted guy in the bunch who Jesus appointed as treasurer of his "band of brothers." Maybe there was no crucifixion at all, perhaps Jesus was a carpenter fellow and this whole story of death on a cross is about some guy who was deified posthumously.

What do all of these stories of the resurrection prove anyway? Is the resurrection of Jesus Christ a historical fact or is it fiction? Certainly there are opposing positions on the bible narrative. Islam claims that Christ was a prophet, not God incarnate, as no God-equal would himself to suffer the humility of persecution and death on a cross. God simply would not do this. Christ was a prophet, a notion that Muslim people at least admit openly. He was indeed mortally wounded, but suffered unconsciousness and regained cerebral perfusion after being entombed for a few hours. Besides, Christians are polytheists believing in a "trinity" or 3 gods. Pagans, infidels, lost people who worship the pope and have sex at the center of their culture.

Besides, was Jesus really dead? I mean the fact that the staff sergeant on duty broke the legs of the other two men crucified with him and shoved a spear into the thorax of this Jesus guy, well it probably means he was only wounded when he was taken down from the cross, right? A little IV fluids, some putting his legs up on a pillow, and yes - Jesus good as new in a couple of hours.

Listen, I know you don't want to hear the sublime monotheism explanation offered by evangelical Christians, do you? There are many things in the biblical narrative that defy any rational explanation -  a virgin birth. Yes, come on you don't really believe that do you? Who would claim such a thing? A risen Christ, why bother? This man, Jesus, is dead. Let him rest in peace.

Imagine you are not a Christian in first century Palestine, you are walking along a dusty road and you hear this story of this prophet or teacher or whatever you want to call him - was recently arrested for civil disobedience and that his misfit followers were all scattered because they also feared for their lives.

After all, this Lazarus story (see prior blog entry) was circulating around town and you were in a hurry to get to Jerusalem. It is early Sunday morning and this story about some women going to cemetery to put a few flowers on the grave are now reporting that he is alive again. What does it mean to you?

There are many reasons why you should not believe this story. First of all, any good Jewish man will tell you that women are not allowed to testify in a court of law. The WORST WITNESS you could have, if you were trying to prove some legal or historical fact, was to have a WOMAN testify on your behalf.  Women are naturally more charitably inclined to embellish their stories. If you were trying to popularize some story about a Messiah rising from the dead - definitely put a woman on the witness stand. Oh, also put a fisherman who denied he even knew you a few hours before on the stand. Oh, also call this fisherman the "rock" on which you build this new religion. Definitely a plus, don't you think?

Also, don't draw any attention to your funeral. In fact, die penny-less. Borrow someone's tomb as you know lots of people are going to show up for your funeral.

Speaking of funerals. Who was this Jesus, the president or something? Why post soldiers around his grave? Did we miss the parade through the rotunda or the flag-draped coffin somewhere? Besides, there's some misunderstanding about all of these Roman soldiers falling asleep on the job. I see this happening a lot at funerals, don't you?

OK, what about the state funeral procession for this Galilean? After all, wasn't he in Jeruselum the week before and thousands of people were waiving palm leaves as he rode into town on a donkey, side-saddled, like King David.  Everyone knows that carpenters from Nazareth (especially those that belong to the carpenter's union and have expanded fringe benefits)  have expensive funerals and soldiers posted by their government-sealed burial sites, right?

Also, the accounts of the resurrection are all messed up by these women. Most likely they just saw a ghost. Everyone knows that when you lose a loved one, well you just miss them so much it just sort of happens that you don't sleep well the night after the funeral and people bring all these strange foods to your house that cause you to have bad dreams.

Don't you agree? Tell me what you think.