Thoughts on Belief on Passover, Easter

As a humanist (non-theist), I understand the desire that people have to believe that there is a force for good looking over and protecting them and their loved ones and forgive them for their seeming lack of ability to imagine how that might seem when applied to those whose lives are negatively impacted in any given situation. It always drives me crazy to hear someone describe some incident in which others were hurt or died, but they or their loved one survived by saying, "God was watching over (me or them)."

"Oh, really," I want to say, "but He didn't care about the others?" Of course they would likely come back with "He has his own plan" or some such.....But, that is just what they need to make sense of the world, and many studies have shown that people who believe in these ways get health benefits from this kind of thinking, although it looks like denial to me.

I wrote the above in response to a Facebook post in which someone had made a similar observation regarding lyrics in a Garth Brooks song about souls being called to earth to be born to wonderful mothers. She wondered about the babies being born to less desirable parents and situations.

And then I remembered that last night was the beginning of Passover and tomorrow is Easter. No, I did nothing to observe Passover last night. 

I was raised in a Jewish family by educated parents who were not terribly religious, though we attended services in a Reform congregation somewhat regularly through the year and on holidays, I attended Sunday School and had Hebrew lessons twice a week for a couple years preparing for Bar Mitzvah. But part of the rebellion of my young adulthood was a disavowal of religious belief, and I have only been back in synagogues for family weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, and funerals since.

Passover, which celebrates the escape of the Jews from slavery in Egypt recounted in the Book of Exodus, is a perfect example of a religious belief in which God is watching over only certain people, not others. Moses demands that Pharoah release the Jews; he refuses, and God unleashes various plagues until finally the Jews are instructed to mark their doors with the blood of a lamb and the Angel of Death is sent to kill all the firstborn sons of the unmarked households. Hence the holiday is named "Passover," since the Jewish households were passed over and their children spared.

According to the Christian Bible, Jesus and his disciples were eating the Passover dinner, the Sedar, in what has come to be called the Last Supper. Jesus was a devout Jew, a rabbi, though his teachings challenged the powerful Jewish priesthood at the Temple in Jerusalem and the Roman notion that Caesar was a living god.  The Romans could put up with an invisible Jewish god, but not with a man who had thousands of followers who proclaimed him King of the Jews and possibly the Messiah.

The message of Easter (apologies to any Christians who may ask how a lapsed Jew has the chutzpah to interpret their religion), while broadening the extent to which the heretofore God of the Jews would extend his love and protections to anyone, Jew or Gentile, limits his favor to those who acknowledge faith in Jesus Christ. 

I don't hate religions or religious people, but I recognize that religions are exclusive clubs. They subscribe to the "only-one-True-religion" thesis. While most of them invite others to share their beliefs, too often they find other religions or even sects within their own religion threatening, and since in their belief system God favors them, blesses them, they sometimes feel justified in discriminating against or even attacking others. While there are benefits in belonging to religious groups, such as the wonderful charitable work they do for their own members and for others outside their groups, and for the teaching of moral lessons inherent in all religions, I would on this holiday pray if I were religious, but hope since I am not, that my religious friends would contemplate whether the sense that their god protects and favors them affects the way they think about people who are different or believe differently than they do.

Call Me Humanist, Not Atheist

Before I tell you why I prefer the label humanist to atheist (literally, “not a theist”), I have to ask, what is a theist? Easy, you answer, someone who believes in a god or gods. 

A majority worldwide, and over 70% of Americans believe there is one God, and they generally agree they are worshiping the same God, but in different ways, ways they often believe will give them a good result in this life and/or an afterlife.

So really, when we ask a person what they believe, we are usually more concerned with, and they are more likely to answer with something that reflects their religion of choice or birth. “I’m a Christian. Jesus is my savior.” “I’m Jewish. one of the Chosen People.” “I’m a Muslim, praise be to Allah (God).” And in the United States, where most are Christian, “I’m Catholic.” or Episcopal, Baptist, etc. with all the distinguishing beliefs that each carries.

Theists not only believe in a higher power, but usually subscribe to a specific shared set of beliefs regarding that higher power and the possibilities of an afterlife, and how one should live one’s life in order to fulfill the higher power’s wishes or demands. 

There is also a fairly large group of people who one might call unaffiliated or agnostic who will say they believe in or at least don’t disbelieve in God or a higher power or say they are “Christian,” only meaning that they believe Jesus existed and was special and agree with the concepts associated with him. They generally go along with God or Christ being a force for good, and maybe if they live a good life, they’ll probably have a good result if there is an afterlife. Of course people move between agnosticism and belief and change beliefs in the course of their lives.

What does an atheist believe? The short answer is whatever hum (the non-gender pronoun hum can mean he, she, him, her, etc.) wants. Since hum does not subscribe to one of the world’s religions, hum does not have a set of rituals to follow, like praying at certain times, attending meetings on certain days of the week to talk about shared beliefs or receive instruction on them, eating or not eating certain foods or following certain rules or laws written in ‘sacred’ texts and interpreted over hundreds or thousands of years by scholars or visionaries, or powerful leaders. 

Many theists wonder if an atheist feels free to steal, kill or rape freely without fear of retribution. Rest assured, we live in the same world you do and follow the same laws which are enforced in the same way. There are many who make the case that atheists, because we have to think through what we believe to be right or wrong as we consider where our natural instincts or desires lead us rather than referring to an ancient text or asking a clergyman, are more moral than the many throughout history who have at times followed their religious leaders to commit atrocities. 

When I think about what I believe, I’m not thinking about what I don’t believe. That list is very, very long, and extends to all kinds of supernatural phenomena and conspiracy theories, from a burning bush that is not consumed and talks to Moses to paranormal activity or ability such as ESP, ghosts, or psychic abilities. Essentially, I’m a skeptic.

Humanism sprang up in the early 20^th century and, according to Wikipedia, “rejected revealed knowledge, theism-based morality and the supernatural.” Sometime later religious conservatives began to refer to it as “Secular Humanism,” to distinguish it from some religious, non-fundamentalists who adopted humanist principles.

As a humanist (I prefer no capital H, because it’s just a label, not a religion or organization), I believe that no one has the answers to “life’s persistent questions,” which Guy Noir, a character of Garrison Keillor’s, seeks. I believe that this is the only life we have and our goal as humans should be to make the most of it: learning, loving, laughing, creating. I believe that through science, we have the potential of solving problems and making our lives better.  I value kindness, taking care of the planet, being a force for good. I acknowledge that not everything is known, and therefore many things are possible, such as that there is a remote possibility life or memory may continue in some form after death and even that there could be a “higher power” that in some way influences life on earth. That doesn’t make me a theist, or even agnostic, but it allows me to be a humanist.

Happy Gratefulbeing!

Being thankful implies there is someone or something to be thankful to--as in a higher power, a supernatural being. And when people begin to think in that manner, it implies that that hypothetical being has been especially favorable to them by providing these things, perhaps to them rather than someone else (perhaps to their family, their co-religionists, their country).

However, I see a slight, but significant difference in being grateful. I can be grateful for what I have because of my good luck or my hard work, the vagaries of the natural lottery--being born in the time and place and to the family that I was with a gene code that gives me certain advantages and presents certain challenges. And I am. Grateful. I have a wonderful life. And I am grateful that you are my friend and are willing to read this and click like. For what it's worth. Happy Gratefulbeing. Eat turkey (or tofu). Watch football. Read a book. Hug your family and friends.

A Non-Religious Prayer

*2 Day Diet Report at end

I was musing (isn’t that the promise of this blog?), about how I ended up so incredibly busy working the last couple months, even though I’m now fully retired. Somehow my musing led me down the rabbit hole of religion and my beliefs (or lack of). Because the way that I have approached the creation of the project that has consumed so many waking (and dreaming) hours, AWARE: Artists Working in Alliance to Restore the Environment (www.awarewv.org), is not very different from the way “true believers” approach their lives.

Though I don’t attribute my mission to an outside force, or God, I do feel an inner compulsion that is probably very much like the feeling religious people express when they say they were “meant” to do something or any of the many ways that idea is expressed.

When I consider the compulsion that drives most of the human population to attribute their success or failure, their purpose in life to an outside force, who are willing to give money and time to create organizations, buildings, cities, and even whole countries (and dreams of all humanity) dedicated to worshiping or celebrating that force, I can’t help but believe that there are, at the very least, biological and physical properties that these ideas derive from.

What I mean by that is that the practice of religion or the practices of religion have real benefits for people whether the beliefs of religion are scientifically observable or confirmable or not. For instance, we know that prayer, or meditation, has value whether the mind is focused on a supreme being or on clearing the mind of clutter. Singing and dancing in large groups or chanting has benefits and can result in states of euphoria whether this occurs among groups of worshipers or attendees of rock concerts or dance events.

So, to me, it’s no big surprise that soon after retiring in the months following the chemical spill into the Elk River which tainted the water of Charleston, WV and 9 surrounding counties, after attending meetings and rallies and lobbying on Earth Day, I began to feel as if there was something important I could contribute. In retrospect, my dreams and fantasies about how I would accomplish this were wildly optimistic. Like someone who reports having received a “vision from above,” it was very difficult for people I talked to about this to convince me that success would be difficult, slow, or unlikely.

Stories abound in all human endeavors of people who believe: in their religious visions, their business endeavors, their scientific pursuits. Rarely is it smooth sailing from vision to reality.

On Thursday, July 3^rd, a scaled down version of AWARE’s first event (my first idea for helping raise money for environmental organizations involved a stadium or the Civic Center) will take place at the Woman’s Club of Charleston. There will be some popular local bands, singer-songwriters, and a few artists selling work. There will be snack food and a cash bar with wine and beer. How many people will show up? Hopefully advance ticket sales do not tell that story, because that number is small. How much money will actually make its way to the groups I hope to help? It’s all in the hands of….no, not a magical power. It’s in the hands of a small group of people who are dedicated to the idea that it’s important to be ACTIVE in environmental issues, and the many other people who have heard of this event, seen the posters, handbills, e-mails or Facebook invites, and are balancing the possibility of going out on a Thursday evening before a holiday for a good cause.

Yes, it’s in their hands…your hands. I hope to see you there if you’re in the area! And, I offer this blessing, as blessings and prayers, I believe, need not be solely for the religious to dispense or benefit from: May your life be enriched through generous giving of your thoughts, time, and resources to finding ways to help make our planet a cleaner, healthier, and more beautiful place for all life.


*My 2-Day Diet Progress Week 34, June 30, 2014

I took a week off from blogging last week, but maintained 177 at weigh in both last week and this week. I seem to have reached a plateau for the past month or so, and will now stop posting weekly, but I will continue posting once at the beginning of each month for at least the next 6 months. I'm still hoping to reach my goal of 165 pounds and maintain that weight, but for now I am very satisfied with my weight and as long as I remain below 180 will remain so.

Beginning weight 11/3/13: 209 lbs.

Height 5'8" Age: 62

Goal weight: 165 lbs.

Total loss goal: 44 lbs.

Beginning waist size: 43 in.

Current waist size: 37.5 in.

Weight end of this week:  177 lbs.

Gain/Loss this week:  no change

Total Gain/Loss:  -32 lbs.

Death Trumps All

*2 Day Diet Progress at end of post

Death trumps all. With many topics in mind as I sit down to write today, the funeral I attended yesterday has to come first. For seventeen years, from 1975-1992, I lived on 17 acres in Roane County, WV, between two Moores: Daryl and Nina (pronounced nine' ah -- she was her mother's ninth child, and I suppose she'd run out of names) Moore and Frazier and Bernice (pronounced Ber’ nis ). I built a house there, and it’s where, with my ex-wife, Pat, we raised our daughter, Hannah (thirty-seven this week), who now lives in Albuquerque, NM. Daryl was Frazier’s uncle, and when I first moved there, they were friends who helped each other out, plowing a garden with a pony, getting a chain to pull a stuck vehicle out of the ditch on the steep, muddy road we shared with two hairpin switchbacks (that’s redundant, but maybe everyone will understand one or the other).

Frazier worked for Pennzoil in the local oil and gas fields and Daryl drove a water truck delivering water to schools (hmm, correlation? I don’t think so; just a lack of a water system and dependence on wells) Sometime in the eighties Pennzoil went on strike and Daryl’s son-in-law took a temporary job as what was euphemistically called a “replacement worker”, known among union guys as a scab. Frazier held Daryl responsible for his son-in-law’s choice, and they never spoke again, that is, Frazier never spoke to Daryl, and he also did some unkind things I won’t go into. Not quite a feud, but definitely a falling out. Daryl was a very laid back country boy at heart, he loved to farm and he had, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful, well kept, “head of the holler” properties you’ll ever see. He died a few years ago of complications from diabetes, and Nina, now 84, still lives in the house alone, her daughter and son-in-law who live on the paved road at the top of the property her only lifeline. She never learned to drive.

Frazier, who had moved to South Carolina to be near children and grandchildren, died in a car accident last week at the age of seventy-six. His children brought him back to West Virginia to be buried on the homeplace, just down the holler from my (former) property. I’d watched the kids grow up, and two of three of them are parents now. Ginny (Virginia), told me that Frazier used to stay up late into the night sitting on their porch to listen to the fiddle music drifting down the creek from my house.

Ginny asked me to sing Country Roads (aka Almost Heaven, West Virginia) at the gravesite ceremony. He was to be buried across the small creek from his house in an area he had used as a garden that would now become a family cemetery. Kenny asked me to sing Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven.” I spent the last few days learning and practicing it.

The funeral itself was in a little country church, one room and some picnic tables outside. A woman who sounded a lot like Hazel Dickens sang a couple hymns, including Will the Circle Be Broken. A soft spoken man Ginny had asked to lead the bulk of the service talked about Frazier, read some handwritten tributes in a hesitant and stumbling way, and spoke confidently about the need for all of the forty or so people, local folks who have no doubt been hearing this message all their lives, to understand that death is only temporary if they just give themselves over to Jesus to be saved. The regular preacher took up that message a little later in the Evangelistic preaching style full of praise Gods, dear Lords, shortness of breath and exclamatory explosive Hut’s and such. It was somewhat hypnotic, but thank goodness he did not actually do an alter call and ask people to join him, and no one offered to.

I don’t think Frazier was that much of a churchgoer, and I don’t think his kids are either. He struck me as the type who might stand in the back of the room with some of his buddies. If Tears in Heaven as a choice is any indication of belief, it reflects a bit less certainty, “Would you know my name if I saw you in Heaven?” And the youngest, around thirty, spent some time in front of the open casket speaking to his father, begging him tearfully to open his eyes, “just open your eyes, just come back to us, it’s easy,” and assuring him when he didn’t respond that he would see him again someday, and reassuring himself that even though they disagreed about a lot of things, that they always talked later and forgave each other.

I also took the opportunity on that beautiful cool spring day to sit on the porch with Nina, who, perhaps reflecting on Frazier’s passing, showed me a quilt she was working on. She has always made quilts. She does the embroidery by hand, but the actual quilting on a machine; I’m not sure if among aficionados that counts as hand-made. She told me a story about a grandson who had asked for a quilt to put in Daryl’s casket, and when he’d come down from the upstairs room where she keeps them with one he said Daryl had always claimed as his own, she decided she ought to have one for her own casket. As I left her, I said, “Don’t be in a hurry to finish that quilt.”

I love the tilt of Daryl's cap. They were married in 1947.

Nina's making this for her casket....

Writing and Health

Week 11: January 19, 2014

Beginning weight 11/3/13: 209 lbs.

Height 5'8" Age: 61

Goal weight: 165 lbs.

Total loss goal: 44 lbs.

Beginning waist size: 43 in. 

Current waist size: 41 in. 

Weight end of week 11:  189 lbs.

Gain/Loss this week: -1 lb.

Total Gain/Loss:  -20 lbs.

“His connection between writing and self-knowledge, even spirit-knowledge is just right, at least for me. One's own writing is the true Book of Revelations, as much for the writer as the reader, I think.  Time for writing/contemplation is tied to making right choices (like food)-- again, at least for me.”

--Marie Tyler McGraw

My last post, long and rambling though it was, garnered some very satisfying feedback from some friends, including Marie, as well as some friends who credit me with inspiring them to try this diet. I assure you, this week’s post will be much shorter! At least two, maybe more of you, appreciate the connection I made in my stream of consciousness between writing and health. In the post, I posited that writing about my efforts to lose weight these last couple months had aided the loss. I am by no means the first to have made the connection between writing and improved health. A quick Google search brought up this recent BBC article, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23637013, which references Professor James W. Pennebaker’s 1986 research linking “expressive writing”, or writing about emotions, with better health outcomes. Interestingly, the article goes on to cite a recent study by Professor Azy Barak and others in Israel, which achieved similar results with students writing in online blogs. Barak is quoted saying, “I think online writing is individually perceived and felt as a private experience, despite its actual openness and publicity.”

This is certainly how I felt as I wrote last week. The downside to publishing such first draft writing online is that, at least in last week’s post, I tried to cover way too much ground, and, as some writer friends of mine pointed out, should or could have made three or four smaller, more concise entries out of all that material. When I saw one quote that another writer friend pulled out of my piece and posted on her FB page, I wished I’d spent some time revising. And that’s what I’ll do now to the passage she liked to end this week’s abbreviated message: "I am a writer. I believe in the power of writing to change lives—of readers as well as the writer. To me, the power of writing is the power to reveal deeply held beliefs, Truths, unconscious desires, emotions, issues, self-knowledge."