Sunday Morning Thoughts

1) Had my first good church experience in way too long this morning. It's always nice to have three strangers engage you in conversation within five minutes of walking in the door. And have seven more do so before you leave.

2) It is a sad testament to the state of the American cultural consciousness that we extend altruism suspiciously, and treat any altruism extended in our direction with suspicion. We have become so accustomed to being exploited that we can't handle genuine selflessness.

3) I'm really not accustomed to only needing five to ten minutes to get places.

4) When it doubt, picardy third. When not in doubt, picardy third.

5) The principles of Affirmative Action should also be applied to relationships. Don't have many black/Hispanic/gay/transgender/atheist/agnostic/Muslim/liberal/nerdy friends? Get some. It'll improve and expand your perception of the world and the people in it.

6) Never underestimate the emotional impact of singing the fifth over a picardy third in progress.

7) It's interesting to notice the ragtime roots of Southern Gospel piano music.

8) Too many of the atrocities suffered by the Hebrews in the Old Testament are treated by the writers therein as their own fault. No wonder centuries later the Pharisees wanted to know whose fault it was that the man Jesus healed was born blind. Also no wonder that we've had centuries of Christians trying to blame the victims of oppression, poverty, and injustice since then.

9) In my experience, a person whose mind is entirely undivided, who does not struggle with difficult questions, is either a fanatic or apathetic.

10) We assume that everyone needs unfettered access to information, that information is the key to a more educated society and thus a more enlightened society. But we also need guides to help interpret, extrapolate from, and apply that information. Otherwise we're just dumping an ocean into a bucket and hoping it will fit.

11) It's amazing how big a gap exists between "peace on earth, good will toward men" and "peace to those on whom his favor rests." This is why studying Biblical Interpretation is necessary for intellectual honesty.

12) Rituals take us out of our routines, bringing us into a communal experience away from our complicated lives as individuals. Thus, faith communities who omit or minimize their rituals set themselves on a path to splintering into factions based on dogma. Not because individual thought and study and opinion naturally leads to such, but because they have removed and/or made impotent their shared experiences and demonstrations of faith. Removing rituals removes symbolism from religious communities, and without symbolism, a religion is just a philosophy with some divine salad dressing sprinkled on top.