The Bible: A Biography by Karen Armstrong

A while back, way before I ever even knew what a blog was, I began to read books about the Bible.  I'm an avid reader, and usually stick to nonfiction.  I love God and the Bible, but have always felt I could learn more about both. 

In particular, I always felt ignorant about the Bible.  When I was younger, Southern Baptist churches were the ones I attended most because of my family and friends.  But I didn't attend regularly and when I did go, I always felt like I had missed some basic lessons and didn't know as much as everyone else who were memorizing Bible verses like crazy.  I've never been good at rote memorization, so that never worked for me anyhow. 

I'm also more of a big picture learner.  It is hard for me to make sense of something when all I have is information on the micro, not macro, level.  So a while back, I began to pick up books on the Bible which helped give me more of a big picture understanding of the Bible.  It was really helpful.  And I think that is a good place for us to start here, as I take a step back and ask us to consider what Christianity is.

One of the first books I read in this genre was a terrific book whose name and author I unfortunately did not take time to write down.  Urgh!  I've gotten much better about that sort of thing since then, but I vaguely recall that the book was named something like A Biography of the Bible.

I've done some internet research and am not quite sure which book it was that I read, but I think it might have been Karen Armstrong's 2007 book, The Bible: A Biography.  I found a blurb about it on the NPR website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16220762.  I encourage you to take a read.

Whether it was Ms. Armstrong's "biography" or some author's book, a couple things in particular struck me as I read this mystery book whose title and author I don't recall with precision.

First, the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament have not been the same static documents over time.  The excerpt from the link above states:

"The Jewish scriptures and the New Testament both began as oral proclamations and even after they were committed to writing, there often remained a bias towards the spoken word that is also present in other traditions. From the very beginning, people feared that a written scripture encouraged inflexibility and unrealistic, strident certainty. Religious knowledge cannot be imparted like other information, simply by scanning the sacred page. Documents became 'scripture' not, initially, because they were thought to be divinely inspired but because people started to treat them differently. This was certainly true of the early texts of the Bible, which became holy only when approached in a ritual context that set them apart from ordinary life and secular modes of thought." 

Later, the excerpt continues,

"From the very beginning, the Bible had no single message. When the editors fixed the canons of both the Jewish and Christian testaments, they included competing visions and placed them, without comment, side by side. From the first, biblical authors felt free to revise the texts they had inherited and give them entirely different meaning. Later exegetes held up the Bible as a template for the problems of their time. Sometimes they allowed it to shape their world-view but they also felt free to change it and make it speak to contemporary conditions. They were not usually interested in discovering the original meaning of a biblical passage. The Bible 'proved' that it was holy because people continually discovered fresh ways to interpret it and found that this difficult, ancient set of documents cast light on situations that their authors could never have imagined. Revelation was an ongoing process; it had not been confined to a distant theophany on Mount Sinai; exegetes continued to make the Word of God audible in each generation."

A second major point I took from the book is related to the first: judging the factual truth of the Bible is not something that has been of interest to our spiritual forbearers.  As the excerpt at the link above notes:

"When their sacred texts tell stories, people have generally believed them to be true, but until recently literal or historical accuracy has never been the point.  The truth of scripture cannot be assessed unless it is--ritually or ethically--put into practice." 

The excerpt goes on to state,

"It is, for example, crucial to note that an exclusively literal interpretation of the Bible is a recent development. Until the nineteenth century, very few people imagined that the first chapter of Genesis was a factual account of the origins of life. For centuries, Jews and Christians relished highly allegorical and inventive exegesis, insisting that a wholly literal reading of the Bible was neither possible nor desirable. They have rewritten biblical history, replaced Bible stories with new myths, and interpreted the first chapter of Genesis in surprisingly different ways." 

Aren't these points fascinating?  That blew my mind that the Bible was written and frequently rewritten as new understandings arose.  Wow.

We fight so much about literalism these days.  It impacts bitter theological arguments, as well as legal and political battles over school curriculum, foreign policy, and the rights of women, sexual minorities and others.  But maybe this focus on literalism misses the point. 

Maybe when we insist on literal interpretations we are copping out and looking for easy answers.  However, no one said being a person of faith--or a Christ follower in particular--was easy. 

I believe that Jesus came to earth in part to put into human language important teachings our Heavenly Father wanted us to learn.  Human language is an important tool to impart information and meaning.  But it is imperfect.  Whenever I read the Gospels in the New Testament, I am continually amazed--and frankly comforted--at how even Jesus's closest disciples who lived with, worked alongside and learned from him directly did not understand his words. 

This is not easy stuff.  I wish I had a magic wand to make it all crystal clear, but I don't.  I don't think anyone does.  However, I can appreciate wishing that literal interpretations make it all clear.  Based on my study--which I'll explain more in future posts--I don't think literalism makes everything clear and simple.  It leads to plenty of contradictions that then require lots of creativity to resolve.  More on that later.

But a second thought concerns me about this apparent modern focus on literalism.  Perhaps when we insist on literal interpretations of Scripture, we are not just being lazy and refusing to do the heavy lifting necessary to find the truth of God's Word.  Maybe we insist on literal interpretations--at least in part--to justify our own prejudices and hardened hearts.  After all, if we assert that God is on our side in verbally condemning, systematically oppressing, or outright physically harming people, that can seem to give legitimacy to actions that otherwise might seem clearly wrong and cruel, or even outright un-Christian. 

I don't like to think the worst of people, but the more I study, the more I worry that this type of justification is one reason for the insistence on Bible literalism.  This is frankly a scary thought to me.  I find it horrifying to think that people might distort the gift of Scripture to serve ungodly and even evil ends. 

But maybe if that is what is going on, it is not done consciously.  Perhaps no one goes around thinking, "I know that God loves all his children equally, but I'm going to come up with arguments based on literal interpretations of passages taken out of context to justify finger wagging and discriminatory policy."  I suspect that people who insist on literalism in ways that harm others do so earnestly believing that is God's will. 

In life, I find we mere mortals are often not fully aware of our own motivations in how we react to different situations.  As a result, I think it is important for us to focus on examining our own lives.  I think that was one reason at least for Jesus's teaching on the Mote and the Beam in Matthew 7:1-5 and Luke 6:37-42.  Terrific food for thought.

I also find the following passage from the above excerpt fascinating and relevant to today's debates:

"Some of the most important biblical authorities insisted that charity must be the guiding principle of exegesis: any interpretation that spread hatred or disdain was illegitimate. All the world faiths claim that compassion is not only the prime virtue and the test of true religiosity but that it actually introduces us to Nirvana, God or the Dao. But sadly the biography of the Bible represents the failures as well as the triumphs of the religious quest. The biblical authors and their interpreters have all too often succumbed to the violence, unkindness and exclusivity that is rife in their societies."

Source of Our Faith

I've written before that in my faith journey, I've spent time with different denominations and non-denominational churches.  My husband and I were Roman Catholic for a very long time, but have journeyed on for the last decade.  We've been a part of an Episcopal church for the past four plus years now. 

When we were thinking about putting down roots at the local Episcopal church, the pastor had a "what we believe" reception for those who were interested in possibly joining.  The pastor began by explaining the roots of Episcopal faith.  She noted that Evangelicals look solely to the Bible to inform their faith, and Roman Catholics rely on the Bible plus tradition.  She said that Episcopal tradition builds on that--the denomination's theology is based on the Bible, tradition and also reason.  She then noted that John Wesley added one more source; the Methodists rely on the Bible, tradition, reason and experience.

Over the years, I've thought often about those different sources that inform the faith of Christians.  The commonality to all Christians is, of course, the Bible.  But what is really interesting to me is that even those of us who study the Bible frequently and with much vigor rarely understand what the Bible is.  Many of us have no idea where it came from.  Some of us think it fell from the sky or someone found it laying around in the desert.

I've heard Christians cite verses as if they were a well-drafted legal code presented intact, in English for us to simply follow without the need to struggle over interpretations.  I wish it were that easy.  As I understand, in the Muslim tradition and in the LDS tradition, respectively, the Koran and Book of Mormon were essentially handed over in one piece to the followers of those religious traditions.  Not so for the Hebrew Bible or the Christian New Testament. 

Moreover, I've been to churches where both laypeople and pastors quote verses out of Scriptural context and without much, if any, cultural or historical context to inform the words.  I've also heard Christians focus on the precise wording of a particular translation, without recognizing that the meaning that translation seems to give in English is very different from other well-respected translations. 

These things all trouble me greatly.  To me, they signify a tragic disconnect as to the source of our faith.

When I began this blog, I wanted it to be ecumenical.  I wanted it to be a place where anyone, regardless of their brand of Christianity or their interpretation of Jesus's teachings, would be welcome.  (I also aspired that people who are agnostic, atheist or adherents of other religions might be interested to take a read as well.)  Because of this aim, I've tried to avoid theology.  My real interest in writing this blog is not to convert anyone to my denomination or my personal views on Scripture.  I'm not a pastor or a Bible scholar, that is not my place.  But in the reading and reflecting I've done over the years, I've come to realize that because the umbrella of Christianity is so vast, it is not possible to avoid theology entirely. 

I recently read an excellent book by journalist Jeff Chu who did a year long "pilgrimage" and study of different churches' approach to the topic of homosexuality.  In the book, Mr. Chu writes several times that there is so much variation in what we, who embrace the term "Christian," actually believe that it can be impossible to reconcile our differences.  He even goes so far as to characterize different Christians as embracing different religions.  I appreciate his point.  And it goes way beyond the issue of homosexuality, it goes to much broader, even more basic religious beliefs.  These end up manifesting themselves in different positions on hot button issues.  Moreover, these different positions then get carried over into the political landscape when people cite their Christian faith as justification for various political positions they advocate.

Because of this dynamic, I've come to the conclusion that before I go any farther in this blog, I need to back up a bit.  Before I can discuss the intersection of Christianity and the secular law, I need to go back to what Christianity is.  That may seem obvious to some, and thus unnecessary.  I think that was my initial view.  But I no longer feel that way. 

So, in coming posts, I will share and discuss some resources for understanding what the Bible is (and is not).  As that document is the common source that informs all Christians' faith, we need to spend some time considering what it is and even what it says.  I'm looking forward to this series and hope you do too.

Sharing Knowledge and Admitting Ignorance

I like to listen to the radio when I work in the kitchen.  Yesterday I had the radio on while I prepared dinner.  I heard an interview with author Leah Hager Cohen, who discussed her book I Don't Know: In Praise of Admitting Ignorance (Except When You Shouldn't).  The interview briefly discussed the concept of the book, which seems to fit nicely with the prior post.  The interview is available at the following link:

http://www.npr.org/2013/09/18/223402246/dont-know-just-admit-it

Ms. Cohen describes instances when people in secondary or supporting roles had knowledge or ideas that could have been helpful to those in positions of greater authority.  She illustrated the phenomenon that sometimes people in greater positions of authority don't want to hear what those below them have to say and may even send signals that the subordinate should hold his tongue.  Conversely, even without such signals from one's superior, people in subordinate roles may feel inhibited to vocalize too loudly their concerns.  (Indeed, in my professional experience and in my husband's, we've both known plenty of folks who have been fired just for voicing concerns to leaders who did not want their opinions.) 

However, Ms. Cohen describes how such phenomenon can be dangerous--even deadly in certain circumstances.  I think her point is that people in authority need to be open about the fact that they don't necessarily know everything, those below them in the organization's hierarchy might have helpful insights, and that is ok.  This makes sense to me.  Leaders don't have to have all the answers.  That is why they are not the only ones in the organization.  They have surrounded themselves with others who also have knowledge and skills, from which the organization will benefit.

Ms. Cohen encourages us to admit it when we don't know something.  It is liberating.  And the alternative is faking it, which can be counterproductive and a waste of resources to say the least.

She also made an interesting point that our current culture breeds this reluctance to admit it when we don't know something.  We are conditioned that knowing the right answer is critical.  She is particularly concerned about our current younger generation who've grown up in the context of the No Child Left Behind Act, which has raised the role of standardized tests.  She explains that emphasis puts "a premium on knowing the right answer, being able to fill in the correct oval on a test.  I worry that we may not be teaching enough the value of experimentation and failure and risk-taking and the process of inquiry."

As an educator, I echo Ms. Cohen's concerns.  I've been frustrated by students who seem to have no interest in exploration or experimentation, but instead just want to know the bottom line right answer to every problem.  In disciplines like law, there may not be such an answer because analysis and persuasion are important in driving outcomes.  And in disciplines like science and engineering, there may be one right answer, but it may not be known yet.  In technical disciplines, it takes a lot of trial and error before we discover truth.  We cannot insist on correct answers in all cases.  That won't allow us to progress.

I think that similar points are valid in our spiritual walk. 

Do I believe in an absolute truth in a spiritual sense?  You betcha. 

Do I think I know and understand that absolute truth?  I'm not so sure. 

I really hope that I've been able to glean at least some of God's truth.  But frankly, I don't kid myself that I have it all down.  Not anywhere near it.  I don't pretend to have all the answers.  But I continue to work at it.  I read and reflect and pray. 

And frankly sometimes I wonder if we humans are even capable of comprehending all of God's truth.  God is a spiritual being of infinite power and knowledge.  We are much less impressive.  In every way, we're much punier than God. 

It seems to me quite egotistical to think we could know and understand everything about God.  It reminds me of the Anne Lamott joke I shared recently. 

It also brings to mind the story of the fall of Adam and Eve.  The serpent promised Eve that if she ate of the forbidden fruit, she would be like God.  Maybe that is one interpretation of original sin, the attempt to be like God.  I'm not saying we shouldn't keep studying his Word and attempting to draw closer to God in understanding his teachings.  But maybe the Bible begins as it does because we are to remember our tendency to try to be like God and the catastrophic repercussions of that tendency. 

Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age

As mentioned in the prior post, I became aware of Ms. Crawford’s book recently when I caught part of Moyers & Company where she was interviewed.  It was a fascinating dialogue and I look forward to reading her book. 

 

To begin, I think Ms. Crawford’s title is fascinating.  The concept of a new gilded age with monopolies, dramatic disparities in standard of living, and unfettered power of the rich is one that seems to be discussed more and more in recent years. I will elaborate on that concept in a coming post.

 

However, beyond references to a “new gilded age,” Ms. Crawford several raises interesting points.  She notes the monopoly that internet and cell phone carriers enjoy.  She describes the economic disincentives such monopolies create to upgrade the existing infrastructures to give us all faster, more reliable services. She compares internet and cell phone service to traditional utilities to argue for more government involvement to ensure more widespread access to these services that have become so important to modern life. 

 

Ms. Crawford observes that the United States really helped create these modern communication technologies, but through complacency and governmental neglect, we as a country have really fallen behind.  She gives specific information of how other industrialized countries have made internet and cell phone access an infrastructure priority.  Such countries recognize that cheaper, faster, widespread access is critical to economic development.  We thus risk falling behind in terms of economic development because we don’t have such infrastructure.

 

Moreover, beyond economic issues, Ms. Crawford also makes a good argument that such access is also becoming critical to a functioning democracy since technology has become more the norm for modern communication.  She points out that those who don’t have access to those communication media are shut out of participation in civic discourse.

 

 

 

 

Luke 9:46-48

 

They started arguing over which of them would be most famous. When Jesus realized how much this mattered to them, he brought a child to his side. “Whoever accepts this child as if the child were me, accepts me,” he said. “And whoever accepts me, accepts the One who sent me. You become great by accepting, not asserting. Your spirit, not your size, makes the difference.”

 

 

 

 

Technology and Poor Kids

Another concern I have about the role of technology in our modern communications is quite distinct.  As many have noted, there is a growing technological divide based on socioeconomic status in this country. 

 

The affluent have all kinds of gadgets.  They are deeply enmeshed in electronic communication.  But the less affluent are not.  If technological communication is the new norm in how we interact in our professional and civic lives, then the poor are at a huge disadvantage in terms of professional attainment and participation in civic discourse.

 

I had heard about this problem for well over a decade, but it started to become less abstract to me over the years as I have worked with at-risk teens in various ministries and nonprofits.  In various contexts, I have seen a pattern.  One reason these teens were labeled as “at-risk” to end up in these programs was that they had stolen cell phones or smart phones, or they had appropriated such devices that the owners had lost.  They were considered to have engaged in various forms of theft, a criminal activity.

 

Let me acknowledge that in the base case I don’t tend to have a lot of sympathy for theft of non-essential items.  In Les Miserables, Jean Valjean stole bread to feed hungry children.  Inspector Javert is relentlessly unforgiving, but most readers (or members of the audience) believe Javert’s heartless approach is not deserved or appropriate.  I too appreciate the desperation of a man trying to feed starving children.

 

But when we are taking about non-essentials like electronics, I just don’t understand.  I have been a victim of property crimes at different points in my life.  It is not fun.  It is not fair.  When you don’t have a whole lot, it is particularly tough when what you do have is stolen.  It is easier for me to sympathize with the victim rather than the perpetrator of property crimes.

 

Perhaps I’m hard-hearted, but I have not been inclined to be sympathetic when the teens I’ve met have stolen or misappropriated the cell phones or smart phones of others.  But I’ve worked with so many teens who have engaged in such behavior that I’ve at least become aware that it is not an uncommon phenomenon.  And I’ve tried to understand the mindset and the emotional difficulties of a teen who would engage in such activities.  I have listened to their perspective.  It is not easy for me to understand, but I try. 

 

It has to be acknowledged that the teens with whom I’ve worked have been from economically deprived families.  These are not kids from affluent families taking someone else’s cell phone or smart phone though they have access to one through legitimate means.  Instead, these are kids who live in cramped, ugly apartments.  Their parents have dead-end jobs or are unemployed.  There is not always food in the house.  Health care is available only if the state budget guidelines are inclusive enough.  In these households, luxuries like electronics are non-existent.  On some level, I can conceptualize that it is tough to not have the ability to text or e-mail or get information from the web when it feels like everyone else in our society has that ability.

 

Recently, I caught the tail end of a program Bill Moyers did on this issue of the high price of access to mobile phone and internet.  Mr. Moyers interviewed Susan Crawford who had been a special assistant to President Obama for science, technology and innovation.  She has written a book: Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age.  The interview is accessible at the link below

 

http://billmoyers.com/segment/susan-crawford-on-why-u-s-internet-access-is-slow-costly-and-unfair/

 

In the next few posts, I will discuss some thoughts about Ms. Crawford’s ideas.

 

 

Matthew 7:11

As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

 

Frugal Family Fun

Our family is rather frugal. 

We’ve certainly been very blessed.  My husband and I are well-educated.  We’ve had good jobs in fairly lucrative professions.  We’ve had some good breaks.  We’ve worked very hard. 

But both my husband and I come from humble families.  As kids we weren’t poor, but money was certainly not abundant.  Our grandparents lived through the Great Depression in agricultural communities.  They were not fans of debt.  We inherited that aversion. 

I’ve always been grateful neither my husband nor I are big spenders.  We like to go out to eat and travel, but neither of us is into buying fancy cars, clothes or electronics.  Both of us have non-glamorous, dependable cars with over a hundred thousand miles on them.  We hope to double that mileage before relinquishing those vehicles.  We live in Arizona, but keep our thermostat at 80 degrees or higher at all times.  (Fans work well in the desert and we do consume a lot of iced beverages.)  Neither of us has a smart phone.  After having the same cell phone for about a decade, I just recently traded it in for a free phone with texting and picture taking capabilities.  Whoo-hoo!  It feels like decadence to me.

My husband and I simply do not like debt.  When one is indebted, one must work more to service the debt and one is more vulnerable to downturns in the economy.  That takes one away from one’s family and creates tremendous stress.  Financial problems are cited as the number one cause of divorce. 

Because my husband and I have been careful to take on as little debt as possible, and to pay as much of it off as soon as possible, we have had a lot more freedom than we might have otherwise had.  For example, we had the wonderful luxury of having my husband stay home full-time when our kids were little until the present time. 

My husband and I set a goal a while back of being completely debt-free by the end of 2013.  Throughout 2012, we have been even more frugal than ever to meet that goal.  We’re so excited about the prospect of being completely debt-free that we don’t mind the short-term sacrifices.

Though eating out is our favorite indulgence, we have not spent any of our income going out to eat in all of 2012.  We still enjoy trying new cuisines and different dishes, but this year we have been trying to get inventive in our kitchen at home.  It has gone better than I would have imagined.

We also love traveling, but we have not gone on any vacations all year.  We are middle class and run in middle class circles.  Last summer and over the Christmas holidays, our friends have been going to the Disney parks, the beach, and cabins in the mountains.  Meanwhile, we’ve been staying put at home.  Even during the scorching Arizona summer, we stayed put.  We have not been resentful and do not feel deprived.  Plenty of families don’t have a roof over their heads, so we’re very grateful to have a home where we can stay put!  As it turned out, last summer was actually our best summer in a long time.  We were not rushing anywhere.  There was no packing, no travel logistics.  We just stayed home and enjoyed each other’s company.

Lots of families have been facing tough times this year.  By choice or not, they do not have money for luxuries.  I wanted to share a brainstorm of the things our family has been doing to have fun this year without spending lots of money.  Maybe it will give others some ideas or otherwise be helpful. 

It is not meant to be an exhaustive list and I’d certainly welcome other ideas.  These are just things our family has enjoyed.

I began this list last summer, so some of these are geared more towards that season.  Perhaps they might be helpful in a few months if they cannot be adapted for the winter.  But plenty of these things are adaptable year round.

1.      Library Summer Reading Program.  Public libraries—LOVE THEM!!  And I’m not just saying that because my mom used to be a librarian.  Libraries are terrific resources all year, and they particularly do a great job of ministering to kids during the summer.  Several of my ideas on this list involve the library.  The first involves the summer reading program.  Our library, like many, had a program to encourage kids to read over the summer.  Our family reads a lot of books, so this is something our kids do every year.  They would read anyhow, but it is fun for them to keep track of all they read and then get little prizes for the books they’ve finished.  This past summer, my older child even won a random drawing of all the kids who had signed up for the summer reading program.  She got free passes to a local zoo and a bowling alley. 

2.      Library Activities.  The libraries are always doing neat activities for kids, but we rarely go to them during the academic year.  There are too many neat things going on and we just don’t have time.  Sadly, when we do go, we’re often the only ones who show up!  One summer activity we always enjoy is the kids’ morning movie series at our library.  They used to provide the kids with popcorn, but I guess with budget cutbacks they cannot afford that anymore.  But they are nice to let us bring our own snacks.  I put some grapes or snack crackers in a Tupperware for each of my kids and that makes the movie experience more fun.  We could have watched The Muppet Movie at home, but somehow watching it on a big screen at the library with big office chairs is more fun.

3.      Reading Aloud.  This may sound a little dorky initially, but be open-minded.  In past eras, families didn’t have as many entertainment opportunities, and books were hard to come by, so they read together.  It is still a great way to spend time with family and to get kids excited about books.  In past summers, I’ve read to our kids from the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series, the Little House books and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Last summer, I read several of the Harry Potter books to our kids, who were quite impressed by my rendition of Hagrid’s cockney accent.  My husband cracked us up with his reading from the Bunnicula series.  This fall, I read to our kids Little Women and several books from the Chronicles of Narnia series.  Good stuff.  And the kids get involved too.  Our youngest child reads every day aloud to practice her reading skills.  That can be rather entertaining too as she practices proper enunciation of sentences with an exclamation point.  Our older child then likes to get into the action by reading to us story books with pictures.

4.      Borrowing Movies from the Library.  Our local library has a pretty good selection of movies that you can check out.  We’ve not had time to do that in the past, but we’ve done it several times last summer and during the winter break.  We introduced our kids to the wonders of family classics like E.T., Lassie and The Trouble with Angels.  And after reading the first few Harry Potter novels, we checked out the movie versions.

5.      Dinner Parties.  During the academic year, our family is super busy and so are our friends with kids.  Summer and winter breaks are a great time to catch up and entertain.  Last summer, we had friends over for dinner several times, and were invited to friends’ houses for dinner.  This winter, we hosted a Hanukah dreidel and latke dinner party among others.  And we’ve been invited to several dinner parties to celebrate my husband’s recent graduation from nursing school.  Whether or not there is a special occasion, it is a lot of fun to try new recipes and linger over a delicious meal with great company.

6.      Swimming at the City Pool.  When we decided to expedite the paying off of all debt, one of our economizing moves was to drop our beloved YMCA membership.  Bummer!  We really enjoyed it, but thought we could live without it, at least for the next couple of years.  One of the main reasons we joined the Y was to have a place to go swimming in the summer.  A frugal friend of mine tipped me off to getting a family summer pass to our local municipal pool.  Indeed, that was pretty darned economical.  A summer pass for our whole family to use the city pool was less expensive than just one month of our former membership at the YMCA.  The city pool had more circumscribed hours, so we had to plan more when we went to swim.  And the city pool is more crowded at certain times.  (Though it is almost empty at others.)  But the cost savings is so huge, we didn’t mind these things.  Our kids love the city pool.  And my husband and I swam laps in the lap lane when we went.

7.      Free Day at the Pool.  Several local municipalities have free days at their pools.  Last summer, we took advantage of several of those dates.  We had a blast!  Several such pools had fabulous water slides and several had diving boards, which our kids loved. At one municipal pool’s free day, the life guards even had relay races.  Our older daughter had a great time participating in a few—including a greased watermelon relay which was not quite as messy as I had envisioned.

8.      Movies in the Park.  Our city’s parks and recreation department always has a summer movie series.  They show family-friendly movies in a local park.  There is usually one per month.  Our kids love it.  We take some snacks and lay out on our picnic blanket.  The films are outdoors, but in the evenings when the sun has gone down.  The absence of sun at that hour--combined with sitting on damp grass--makes for a very comfortable temperature even in the most brutal of Arizona summers.  Sometimes our kids even get cold and need a jacket!

9.      Slumber Party.  Last summer we hosted our first slumber party for our kids’ friends.  I wasn’t sure what to expect and had some simple crafts lined up despite my ineptitude for all things crafty.  But it turned out the kids were pretty good at entertaining themselves with Barbies and Legos.  Later in the evening, we baked and decorated cookies with left-over sprinkles from Christmas.  The kids were very excited to get a decadent snack of chips and popsicles.  My husband had removed furniture from the living room to accommodate sleeping bags.  So later on, we set out bowls of microwave popcorn and popped in some DVDs from the library.  Eventually the kids conked out around midnight.  In the morning, I made them pancakes while they played a bit longer.  I even let them have the option of regular pancake syrup or chocolate syrup.  It was a wild and crazy time!  We hosted another slumber party just before Christmas.

10.  Vicarious Travel via Television.  Our family loves traveling.  We also love learning about different cultures.  Since we’re being particularly frugal and not traveling this year, a trip to Buenos Aires, Johannesburg or Hanoi is just not in the cards for us in the short-term.  Heck, we haven’t even gone camping locally.  But there are a ton of great travel videos out there.  PBS has some great shows: Rick Steves, Rudy Maxa, and Globe Trekker.  We don’t have cable, but some of the Travel Channel’s programming is available on DVD or streaming video from various sources.  Dhani Tackles the Globe is a neat concept that my kids enjoyed.  Pro football player, Dhani Jones goes to different countries to learn local sports in an effort to learn more about their culture.  Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations is similar but instead of using sports to explore various cultures, Mr. Bourdain uses the medium of cuisine.  Rudy Maxa and Rick Steves are older and less hip, but just as fun to our family.  We enjoy watching travel shoes like these.  It is a vicarious travel experience to places we aren’t visiting this summer, but might one day get to experience in person.

11.  Vicarious Travel Via Grocery Shopping.  Another fun substitute for travel is exploring non-mainstream grocery stores.  Last summer we began regularly shopping at a local grocery store which markets to Latino customers.  Not only do they have great sales on produce, but we feel like we’re taking a 30 minute trip to Mexico whenever we go to that store.  The kinds of packaged foods sold are different from those in our regular grocery stores, the announcements are often in Spanish, and the bakery has pan dulce.  Last summer, we also came across a grocery store that caters to Asian Americans.  It is not as close to our house, so we don’t go often.  But the store is huge and has a wide variety of goods from all over the globe.  When we go to that store, our family methodically goes up and down every single aisle looking at all the exotic foodstuffs.  We come home with a variety of items to try.  Shopping at this particular store has prompted me to cook different East Asian and South Asian dishes at home.  It has been a lot of fun.

12.  Celebrating the Olympics.  Our kids looked forward to the Olympics for months and we particularly made a big deal out of the opening ceremony.  Inspired by our watching of travel shows, we decided it would be fun to cook some meals indigenous to the Olympics host country.  Because I’m of English heritage, I think I am entitled to be blunt: my people have not developed a palatable cuisine.  My husband and I went on vacation to London years ago, and we experienced the awfulness of English food first hand.  The only decent food we had the whole time was when we went for tea and when we stopped in at a mom-and-pop Indian food restaurant.  We saw a BBC travel show last summer where British chef Gordon Ramsey traveled to India and described how Indian cuisine is the “national cuisine” of his home country.  As a result, our family decided to attempt butter chicken and saag paneer (two of our favorite Indian dishes) the afternoon of the Olympics opening ceremonies last summer.  It was delicious!  Beyond the opening ceremony, we also watched a fair amount of swimming and most of the women’s gymnastics. (Go, Gabby!)

13.  Household Projects.  Ok, this may not sound like fun, but hear me out.  During the academic year, my husband sorely neglects his honey-do list.  And I’ve had several design-type projects on my own to-do list, but never had time to do them.  Our older child is a Papa’s girl.  She truly enjoys helping him paint and pull up linoleum.  Our younger child is a Mama’s girl.  She loves flowers and aspires to learn to embroider.  So, actually tackling our household projects list is family fun.  In the tackling, we’ve even identified other projects we’d like to try in the future.

14.  VBS.  Our kids have been going to Vacation Bible School for as long as they were old enough.  Every year it is one of the highlights of our summer.  My kids love the games, crafts, skits and songs.  I help out and have been asked to play Biblical characters in the lessons.  One year I was an over-the-top Doubting Thomas sort of character who thought Mary was off her rocker as she told the kids about how special Jesus was.  Another year I dressed as a Babylonian-era woman who led the kids in a sort of Bible study with anachronistic (but attention-grabbing) props. 

15.  Advent Activities at Church.  This year we participated in several fun family church activities leading up to Christmas.  We participated in Las Posadas.  Our kids were shocked at how rude the volunteers were to the Holy Family seeking shelter, but they knew it was just pretend.  The participants then concluded with a feast of tamales and hot chocolate.  On another occasion, our church’s choir participated at an interfaith Christmas concert at a local LDS church.  The music was beautiful and it was neat to celebrate the season with folks from other faith traditions.  Our kids also participated in our church’s annual Christmas pageant.  The director had us say an extra prayer at the last rehearsal because the prior rehearsals had gone so poorly.  But on the day of the pageant, all went well.  The kids were adorable.

16.  Spending Time With Family And Being Grateful.  This is the best part of the summer or winter holidays.  During the academic year, we are all so busy and life is so hectic.  Just having time to hang out, not rush through a meal, take walks, play board games, or watch a DVD together is a lot of fun.  It is important to stop and smell the roses instead of always speeding by them.  Once you pass them, you can’t ever go back.

 

 

Mark 4:8
Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.

A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver by Mark K. Shriver

Mark K. Shriver has apparently written a memoir of his dad: A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver.  NPR interviewed Mark Shriver recently and the book sounds fascinating:

http://www.npr.org/2012/06/16/155026881/a-shriver-learns-its-harder-to-be-good-than-great

For those who are not familiar with him, Sargent Shriver was married for 56 years to Eunice Kennedy.  He was a deeply religious Catholic Christian who attended daily mass.  He is well-known for running Special Olympics and the Peace Corps.  He also founded Head Start, Job Corps, Foster Grandparents and Neighborhood Health Services.  But his son’s book focuses apparently on the elder Mr. Shriver’s parenting and what he was like outside of the spotlight.  The younger Mr. Shriver describes his father as giving his five children “unconditional love.”

The title of the younger Mr. Shriver’s book apparently comes from his observation that “great” people have power, prestige and money, but “when the lights are turned off and no one’s paying attention, they’re not good.”  His son describes his father as being kind to everyone from waitresses to presidents or cardinals. 

There were two anecdotes from the interview that really moved me.

The first involved Sargent Shriver in his later years when he had Alzheimer’s.  The Messieurs Shriver were at a lacrosse game of Mark Shriver’s daughter.  Mark Shriver was yelling at her and encouraging her to be more competitive.  Sargent Shriver asked his son, “Did I yell at you like that, too?”  Mark Shriver was stunned at his father’s question and realized that at that moment, despite his disease, Sargent Shriver was still fathering him.

The other anecdote involved Mark Shriver’s brother falling down and crying when he was a kid.  Their uncle, Bobby Kennedy, was around at the time, and reportedly said “Don’t cry.  Kennedys don’t cry.”  In response, Sargent Shriver scooped up the little boy and said, “That’s OK, you’re a Shriver, you can cry.” 

1 Samuel 24:17

And he said to David, “You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil.

Mark 6:20

[F]or Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him.

Render Unto Rome by Jason Berry

Following up on the last post, religiously affiliated organizations are often on the front lines of providing relief services to those in extreme poverty.  I mentioned that unfortunately there is no guarantee that private organizations are using their funds appropriately.  Indeed, oversight of private organizations is often a real problem in many contexts.  Somewhat related to this point, there is a fascinating, new book I want to recommend: Render Unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church by Jason Berry. 

This book particularly intrigued me because of my own experience with the denomination profiled.  I’ve mentioned before in this blog that for most of my Christian walk, I was a Roman Catholic.  To be sure, I was not a once-a-year-on-Easter Catholic.  I was a devout, active parishioner for well over a decade.  My husband and I met in the Catholic Church.  Many of our “dates” were going to mass and/or taking part in other activities at our church.  We were married in a wedding mass, the liturgy for which we planned in great detail and with much enthusiasm.  Every member of our nuclear family was baptized in the Catholic Church.  My husband and I were very involved in a variety of ministries over the years; they were so numerous that I don’t think I could even list them all at this point. 

Before I say anything about this book by Jason Berry, I want to be very clear that I do not have an anti-Catholic bias or even any hard feelings against the Church.  Our family did not leave the Catholic Church because of a big disagreement over theology or policy. Instead, we simply grew to feel more spiritually at home elsewhere.  I mention this explicitly because sometimes when former Catholics engage in constructive criticism of the Church, they are characterized as being bitter and having an ax to grind.  Nothing could be farther from the truth for me.  The Catholic Church was my initial gateway to Christianity, and it was my spiritual home for most of my adult life.  As a result, I have tremendous gratitude towards the institution, and much love for my brothers and sisters in that denomination. 

Reading Jason Berry’s book, I realized that when I was a member of the Catholic Church, I had not asked tough questions about budgetary matters and I had had too passively accepted vague information I was given about finances.  This happened repeatedly in multiple parishes over many years, not just in one or two churches in an off year or two.  I now recognize and regret my passivity.  I won’t make excuses for it, but will endeavor to do better in the future even though I now have become a member of a different denomination.

Indeed, Jason Berry’s book is an in-depth examination of a lack of financial transparency in the Catholic Church, but similar issues exist in other churches.  Like most nonprofits, church finances are often run by volunteer laypeople and full-time staff (typically clergy).  There may not be enough financial savvy of those doing the books.  Volunteers are important and such a blessing.  But when busy people with primary responsibilities elsewhere are merely doing church financial review and planning on the side, things can easily get overlooked.

Further, I think that as Americans, we’re often not comfortable talking about finances in the base case.  In a church setting, we may feel particularly uncomfortable.  In my experience and observation, many Christians feel like it might be insulting or simply bad form to ask questions or request more detail on church finances.  Many of us have been taught to tithe.  There is a sense of religious obligation to give to the church.  As a result, we often feel that it might be contrary to that obligation to ask what happens to the money once we give it to the church.  That shouldn’t be the case.

It is not disloyal to ask questions about church finances.  No one should feel attacked if congregants seek more information on financial topics.  God provides us with whatever material goods we have.  It is up to us to be good stewards of those gifts.  We need to be good stewards of our personal and familial gifts.  But we are called to fellowship in churches; we must also be good stewards of the collective gifts God brings to our faith communities.

1 Peter 4:10

[E]ach according as he has received a gift, ministering it to one another, as good stewards of [the] various grace of God.

Amish Christians and Christmas

A while back I wrote about the book Amish Values by Suzanne Woods Fisher.  In her book, Ms. Fisher mentioned a blog called “A Joyful Chaos.”  It is written by a woman mothering young children and reminiscing on her own happy childhood in a close-knit Amish family.  It a beautiful blog, which I have enjoyed tremendously.  I recommend it highly.

However, for purposes of this blog and the recent themes I’ve been exploring, I particularly wanted to recommend an account the “Joyful Chaos” blogger shared of a typical Amish Christmas from her childhood.  The link below contains that post. 

http://ajoyfulchaos.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-memories.html

Again, like the account in Little House on the Prairie, the celebration of Christmas in the blogger’s family was not just about gifts.  It was about spending time together with those you love. 

Personally, I like that emphasis.  It seems to better honor the reason we as Christ followers celebrate Christmas.  And in my opinion, the gift of time together is the best gift there is anyhow.  Happy memories last longer than material objects.

In her post, the “Joyful Chaos” blogger describes having no money such that the material gifts that were given at Christmas had to be made by hand with items already in her home.  When you have to make your own gifts, that certainly puts a limit on how many you give and how extravagant they can be.  Forcibly, material gifts become less important in that context. 

I’m not sure that our family will ever limit our gift giving entirely to handmade items.  But it is something to consider.  At the very least, giving homemade gifts is something we could incorporate more in the future.

Psalm 66:8

Bless our God, O peoples, give Him grateful thanks and make the voice of His praise be heard.