Busy...

I haven't had time lately to even think about posting since I've been working so much. However, I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I hope that next year will bring some relaxation back into my life. Atleast all the hard work is paying off. Business is booming and I'm blessed to be in a place in my life to take advantage of it while it lasts. The things I'm doing now will free up my wife and I to make a difference in the world.

Although I haven't blogged too much, I am still reading a good bit. I just haven't felt like blogging. Here are some things I've read lately....

Elections are in full swing and I hope books like this have a huge impact in the outcome.










I'm working my way through this book a little each day so it soaks in. The one thing I find in almost every book I've read by Buddhists is that they offer real practical ways to follow Christ. It isn't a "pie in the sky" mentality that pleads with a diety to fix your problems. Instead they offer simple instructions... do A, B, C and D and you will gradually become more like Christ.




This is wonderful! I've read bits and pieces from this series before, but this full DVD series was better than I expected. It is 6 hours of interviews with Joseph Campbell by Bill Moyers done back in the 70's. It ties in Campbell's extensive knowledge of world religions with the concept of the very common "hero myth" that George Lucas has woven into the movie Star Wars.

"...a mythology is a control system, on the one hand framing its community to accord with an intuited order of nature and, on the other hand, by means of its symbolic pedagogic rites, conducting individuals through the ineluctable psychophysiological stages of transformation of a human lifetime - birth, childhood and adolescence, age, old age, and the release of death - in unbroken accord simultaneously with the requirements of this world and the rapture of participation in a manner of being beyond time."
- Joseph Campbell

Is God Green?

Bill Moyers has created a great TV series about some key American issues on politcs with a religious point of view.

Bill Moyers on America

Last week's program was an examination of the corruption that has taken over our government and highlights the detailed flow of money that leads from american indian casinos through republican lobbyists straight into the hands of the power broker of the religious right Ralph Reed.

This week's program was an interesting story about some Evangelical Christians that finally figured out God might care about the environment. At the heart of this story was the Vineyard church of Boise, Idaho. It was nice to see a glimpse of hope for Christianity and a fresh perspective on the Vineyard that has be devolving into a conservative church in sheeps clothing.

Why do Evangelical Christians somehow think that liberal equals evil? Don't they read the teachings of Jesus? Don't they care about things other than their comfortable lifestyle. As Jim Wallis said, "how did Jesus become pro-rich, pro-war, and only pro-American"?

I hope this is a sign that Christians will soon realize that they have been scammed by the Republican party. Republicans have convinced millions to vote for them by "claiming" that they supported Christian ethics but it was a complete lie. The whole time they were taking our votes and our money and stealing the very heart of Christianity. I hope the realization that God really is green will help free Christianity from their blindness in other areas as well. The next time the oil industry props up a political puppet and holds up a pro-life and pro-bigotry sign, I hope Christians will be better informed and vote for the values of Jesus instead of voting for their checkbook and their SUV.

FYI... Bill Moyers also has a series on "faith and reason" (check out the website above). It has a series of online interviews with various authors from a wide variety of faiths. I watched all the interviews last week and will be reading a couple of interesting books that they mentioned.

Choosing Against War...

This is one of the better books available that explains the Christian case against war. In a time when people are concerned with questions of justification for war, maybe we should be asking God if war is ever the right thing to do.


I highly recommend it. It will challenge you even if you don't come up with the same conclusions.