Existential Experiences: Sometimes Make Sense

Albert Camus was an author who was considered an "existentialist" writer. What that means and the term existential may be of great interest to us. Life to that person can not be brought into complete focus. Its paradoxes and conflicts can not be resolved. Life ultimately will not make sense. The only sensible path is to not seek truth for it does not necessarily exist. Sometimes our lives seem to not make a lot of sense. To some of us those are times we call periods of doubt. An existential crisis is a place of great terror as we seem lost. Yet, it can be a time in which a follower of Christ can grow the most in their life's walk. I'll add thoughts in a later post or add to this post as thoughts develop.

Reason Enough To Take Up Writing

I love this quote. It is the response of a well known author to this question. What do you think about? Her reply was, HOW DO I KNOW WHAT I THINK UNTIL I HAVE READ WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN?"I heard the quote during an interview the author had with Charlie Rose on Public Television. I am sorry that I can not find her name, but she is quite "deep" in her novels and challenges the minds of her readers. Her statement, which I could never have come up with, expresses perfectly to me why I love to read and write. Think about her statement and idea. Try writing your thoughts out in detail. You may find that you begin to know yourself much, much better.

A Trilogy Worth Reading And Acting Upon

I am almost done with the first of Taylor Branch's three historical writings about the civil rights movement in the United States from 1954-1968. I am in a wonderful dream world of reading that I can not explain to you if you don't do much reading. It may sound odd that I say fondly that I am in a dream world when, in fact, for most participants in the civil rights movement life was more like a nightmare. Within my heart I have such a deep sense of remorse for the sins committed against blacks and empathy for those who were suffering such terrible injustices at the hands of the established, bigoted, white power structure in the south during those years. (Remember that bigotry continues.) What is more important is that I am developing a much greater respect and sensitivity for those who suffer in our country even to this day. My heart is broken. I have had folks look at the thickness of "Parting the Waters" and they seem dazzled that I would be attempting to read such a long book. All I can say is, "I wish is were longer. I wish it were more detailed." Having been born in the early 50's and having always, from the youngest years, been intrigued by news reports and history, I have a strong sense of the truthfulness of Mr. Branch's accounts and his chronology. I am sure that there are those who may have some opposing views on Mr. Branch's take on the history of the civil rights movement, but those challenges are most likely not on issues of great consequence. They may be about a perspective on an event or about a particular role one individual had relative to the outcome of some protest or legal process. I remember so very much of what Mr. Branch records. I find myself saying over and over again, "Oh, I remember that murder, that arrest, that protest, the name of that racist judge/cop." This book is a walk down memory lane. I do not think that anyone needs to have my back ground to enjoy the books or learn from them. I just feel a special affinity to the subject due to my personal history. I am conflicted in that I don't want the first book to end yet I can not wait to get going on the next two.

Mr. Branch received a Pulitzer Prize for the first book in the trilogy. Interestingly, Carl Sandburg received a Pulitzer Prize for the first two books of his biography of Abraham Lincoln, which eventually turned into a six volume set. I think, and this is just a guess, that Mr. Branch had read, was fully aware of, and wanted to follow up on Mr. Sandburg's effort in that the subject matter is so seamlessly connected. Mr. Branch talks of Martin Luther King Jr. as being in the center of the movement, but clearly not the movement itself. Mr. Branch sees Mr. King as either its heart or at the heart of the movement for sure and much of what is written is about Mr. King and his activities. Yet, there are so many more individuals involved one of which was Roy Wilkins for whom the "Roy Wilkins Arena" in Saint Paul, Minnesota is named. It may be argued that the entire Xcel Energy Center building should be named after him rather than just its oldest arena. Then again, we are in Minnesota, bastion of Scandinavian heritage. But, Mr. Wilkins was the "Big Time." He was the President of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) during this entire experience. He had been the head of the Minnesota branch and was promoted to the national office in New York City and was responsible for much of its success in the legal battles that were waged. He ended up succeeding the NAACP's founder W.E.B DuBois who is an interesting character to the extreme. There are huge books written about this complex gentleman, who was the first black man to achieve a PHd from Harvard, and the many influences he had on the civil rights movement. Mr. DuBois was once asked about the honor he had of being the first black man to achieve a doctorate from Harvard. He responded by saying that, "The honor was Harvard's." Mr. DuBois was a man of great intellect and a force to be reconded with. Interestingly he died of natural causes on the same day that Martin Luther King Jr. made his famous speech in Washington, D.C.

Back to Sandburg/Branch and the seamlessness of the subject matter; I look forward to the story of the behind the scenes activities that lead to the huge march on Washington, D.C. where, at the foot of the Lincoln monument, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered one of, if not the most moving addresses ever given in our nation's history, that famous "I Have A Dream" speech. The poetic nature of the setting, the 100Th anniversary of the signing by President Lincoln of the Emancipation Proclamation, at the foot of this martyr's marble image and Grecian pillars of remembrance, must not be lost on us to history, time, and complacency.

I have a dream. My dream is that all of my students read at least the first of these three books and that some of you will get through the entire trilogy. In this dream you read them now, in your youth, and your lives are invariably altered for the good of God's purposes. Then justice "flows down like a mighty river" in your later years and you will remember the lessons of the civil rights movement, you will have positively contributed, and perhaps you will remember me. Don't, like me, wait until you are fifty-five to get going. You will always be "too busy." Remember what great coaches always say, "I Can't really means I Won't." If you are ever to assert your "will" to do something good, assert your will and read these books. Another great teacher once said; to a violin student that a particular challenging work of music was frustrating, "It isn't hard. Somethings just take longer than others." Get going, take the time. You won't be disappointed, you will be changed forever, for the good.

Sometimes A Pastor Might Lose You Some Votes.

The man who pastored the church that Barak Obama attended for twenty years has interesting points of view. He sees Jesus as a poor black man living in a world dominated by rich white men. He sees the evils of the September eleventh attack as a possible just result of America's sins. He suggests that AIDS and illegal drugs are viruses and chemicals produced by the white man to infect and destroy the colored people of the world. He sees President Bush as a spoiled, white, rich, C student, who isn't as qualified as many black men for the job he holds. He suggests that President William Jefferson Clinton is not the "first black president", but that he treated the colored community of America in the same way he treated Monica Lewinsky. Pastor Jeremiah Wright has given a church sponsored community service award to Louis Farrakhan for his service to the black community. Mr. Farrakhan is as racist and anti-Semitic a person as you will find. Pastor Wright has had a long and personal relationship with Barack Obama, the currently leading candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for president of the United States. Pastor Wright officiated at the wedding of Mr. Obama to his wife.

So, here is the question. When you learn of something like this in what way will it affect your thinking and your vote? Should Mr. Obama be held accountable for the thoughts and words of his pastor? If so, what should Mr. Obama say to the American people about his association with Pastor Wright and also the church that he pastored and Mr. Obama attended? Do you think, and you should do more research on Pastor Jeremiah Wright as this note is not enough to go upon, that a man who holds such views can actually be a "follower of Chirst?" I'd appreciate some perspective from you guys on this matter. Let's hear your voices. Keep in mind that Pastor Berg believes in the sanctity of life and is aggressively anti abortion. He is most likely a capitalist, literally applies Scripture, believes in conservative takes on male/female gender roles in the church and society, and my guess, has a pretty conservative voting record (though that is none of my business). Suppose you were running for political office and those views were perhaps unpopular with your constituency, how would you respond?

Who Would Make The Best Christian, Ah...President?

Here we are again in the midst of a presidential election. Every four years, based upon our nation's constitution, we elect a new "man" to head our exectutive branch of government. This year could be one of the most interesting in our nation's history because of the prominence of the race and gender issues. In the past two elections the values issue has been of tremendous importance. The misbehavior of our former Commander and Chief brought this to the surface and a candidate's faith became paramount in the list of considerations in the minds of many voters. Those voters were mainly conservative and "Christian" according to media poles and reports. Something seems a tad different this year. Perhaps it is the complexity of the issues; war, economy, experience, progressiveness, greenness, gender, race and many more. Interestingly these issues have been part of every presidentail election in the past. It may seem that race and gender were not part of the mix, but actually they were. You had to be white and male, period. That was a political decission we have always had to make, now we might just decide differently. But, these other issues have always been part of presidential politics and important parts of any election cycle. But, where have the values gone? How can something that seemed so important before just evaporate from our collective consciousness?

During the Regan years in some evangelical circles to be a Christian was to be a Republican and vise versa. The terms were practically synonyms. Is it still that way? Can someone be a dedicated Christ follower and be a Democrat or an Independant, or member of the Green party? Remember my comments about Desmond Tutu, labels, and litmus tests? What are your feeling regarding what you hear about this year's choices? And, if values are important, if having a "Christian" in the White House is imporant to you, which of the current three possibilities seems to fit your vision best? I'd love to read what you have to say about this.

Parting The Waters...A Miracle No Doubt

"Parting The Waters- America in the King Years 1954-1963" has totally hooked me. The author, Taylor Branch, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for this work. I can remember it coming out, but I had no time to read it. On top of that I had not yet experienced my renaissance in education and reading. I was busy with my family newly moved to Minnesota. Many of the men in my current class had not been born. I have been keenly aware of how important this book is and how well respected. Taylor writes not only about an important subject, but he writes beautifully and clearly.

I've placed pictures of Charlton Heston parting the Red Sea in the 1956 film version of "The Ten Commandments" along with the cover page of "Parting The Waters". I am not far enough along in the book to make all the connections I need to understand its title fully. However, I can take a bit of a guess as to what one of the meanings "might" be. As the children of Israel had their backs to the Read Sea with Pharaoh and his army pursuing them, intent on their destruction, the sea represented a barrier, that if not overcome, would lead to the people of Israel's destruction. The recorded miracle of God parting the waters, so that they could cross over, made the sea bed and the water "the way" to salvation. The feat of parting the sea was beyond human capacity. In like manner America, and for that matter all of humanity, in the 1950's through at least 1968 (we still have to fight) had their social and spiritual backs up against a sea of racism, which effectively would lead to the destruction of the "American way of life", democracy, and perhaps lead to the moral collapse of western civilization. There needed to be a supernatural path, a way, so that we all could escape destruction. The men and women of the civil rights movement were perhaps the miracle that God ordained. This is just one possible guess as to the meaning of Mr. Taylor's book title. Needless to say the film version had many unbiblical and extra biblical additions and subtractions to the Exodus story, some made for film art's sake, some made for political and religious reasons. But, as I read this account of the civil rights movement, it seems to me to be the real thing.

I can remember as a teenage boy/man hearing such terrible things about Martin Luther King Jr. His politics were wrong, he was black, ignorant, a trouble maker, arrogant, communist puppet, revolutionary, womanizer, and much more. I can remember him coming to the Chicago land area to lead a civil rights march in Cicero and Skokie, two of the nation's most segregated and racist communities. You wouldn't think of northern cities as being in the running for such a horrible title, but it was true then. I don't think so now. That is a long story you can ask me about. The hate aimed at Mr. King and his activists was so great that for the first time Mr. King chose to not march for fear of assassination and the potential of a counter productive riot. To save his life, the lives of his family and friends, and to keep his movement peaceful, he respectfully retreated to fight another day. It was wise, and also a learning experience for him and the civil rights movement. I was born in Cicero, Illinois in 1952. The first church I ever attended was "The Cicero Bible Church." Hard core fundamentalists that they were, they didn't step up to the plate for equal justice under the law. A sad commentary on a church body, a sad chapter in the life of a small suburban town.

One of the great secrets of the 1950's and 1960's was just how smart, educated, and wise Martin Luther King Jr. was. His education put "all" of his critics to shame. Couldn't let that little bit of information out in those racist times, now could we? Anyway, he was amazingly and highly educated. Nothing he did was without serious social and spiritual thought. Here is a quote I lift from the text as an example of Martin Luther King Jr's thoughtfulness as a young college student.

Even as a student, King believed that religion was alive only at its edges, and that doubt was as important as belief. In a paper obviously influenced by Hegel and Niebuhr, King wrote that "if a position implies a negation, and a negation a position, then faith carries disbelief with it, theism, atheism, and if one member of a pair comes to be doubted the result may be disastrous to religion itself."

Chew on that awhile fellas. There is lots there that pertains to all of our lives and I think you will find some "margins" when you take a look at the churches in Revelation. Also, Christ brings up the margins in The Sermon on the Mount.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an amazing man. I need to learn more about him. You do too. He was a "brother in Christ". I have no doubt. Less than perfect, but wonderfully equipped, he lead a movement that perhaps has shaped your lives more than any other. I've got to finish this book! You've got to read it too!