Doing background research for some forthcoming posts, I had to track down George Ritchie’s quotation of the proverb, “Birds of a feather flock together.”
The online copy I found of his report of his near-death experience is not well-written, nor is it well-formatted, but the story is so compelling I thought best to share the below link with my readers now. I urge you to read it.
Friday, October 14
At the homeless shelter where I stay, bunks are supposed to be assigned daily strictly on a first-come, first-served basis. But they try to give each man the same bunk as he had the night before. It’s an imperfect system.
About a month ago, we got a whole new crew of peacekeepers. They have their own favorites, and I am not among them. About ten days ago, Kelvin and Marvin were in line behind me. Steve, who was assigning bunks, sent word out to ask if they were there. They got called in and assigned their bunks. I got turned away.
Don’t torture your conscience over whether or not, on any given occasion, to give or not give to a panhandler.
Go with your gut.
(Originally posted 10/11/13. Transcribed from an e-mail I sent my mother 24 August 2010.)
Jesus said any number of things in large part, at least, for shock value.
Their outrageousness is easily lost on 21st Century students, for two reasons. First, we have heard or read these things so many times that any shock value they might have at first had for us — when we first heard them, say, perhaps at age 4 or age 5 — has long since worn off. We’re not likely to remember it, and also not likely to give the opinions of our 4- or 5-year-old selves, the credit they, in this case, deserve.
Second, by virtue of “respect for authority,” for centuries students of Chrstianity have trained themselves to ignore, deny or suppress any outrage they might feel at anything The Teacher says. Instead, one expects oneself and all one’s fellow students, approvingly, to “tip my hat … take a bow … smile and grin …”[*]
[*]The Who, “We Won’t Get Fooled Again.”
“BLESSÈD ARE YOU POOR.”
Continue reading Jesus’ outrageous parables
Many people are skeptical about prayer.
How many have prayed fervently, day and night, for an ailing loved one, and never obtained the desired outcome?
The parable of the widow and the judge promises, “[W]ill not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.” For African Americans, that deserves to be laughable.
No one has ever lived, nor is ever likely to live, more expert in prayer than Jesus. I cannot believe he set forth a teaching either so completely wrong in itself or so subject to complete misunderstanding.
So what is wrong, and what is right?
(Below appears a tract I passed out with the Hallowe’en candy in 2007. “Chaos overwhelms the poor” describes that neighborhood. Originally posted here 10/26/13. Reblogged 10/31/24.)
Hallowe’en is the night before a Christian holiday. The name of the holiday is “All Saints’ Day.” Years ago, they called it “All Hallows’ Day,” and the night before, “All Hallows’ Evening.”
(Originally posted 05/14/15. Reblogged 09/12/24.))
Bookmarks:
Poor children have smaller brains
(Originally posted 08/06/14. Reblogged 08/15/24.)
Some weeks ago, I stood in line awaiting check-in at the shelter. This place charges $3 a night. I was holding my money in my hand, and someone playfully tugged at it. I snapped. I said, “You don’t value your life much, do you?”
Minutes later, I explained this to someone else. I said, “Don’t take a man’s last dollar.” “Why not?” he asked. I said, ” ‘Cause that’s the one he’ll die for. That’s the one he’ll kill for.”
Don’t take my last dollar. That’s the one I’ll kill for.
I’ve been on hard times since 2004. If I lose, or am robbed or cheated, of $20 or $50, that’s a pretty significant amount. But it doesn’t hurt all that much if I have more, and know more is coming. However, if I lose, or someone robs or cheats me of my last $1 — that’s the one that really hurts. That’s the one I’ll kill for.
These memories came to me as I reflected on Maggie Fox’s 08/29/2013 article, “Poor people aren’t stupid; bad decisions are from being overwhelmed, study finds.”
Continue reading * Chaos overwhelms the poor
These words will scandalize some readers.
Sometime in the future, I will no doubt discuss the same ideas in a more well-ordered way. But I think I need to produce some expression now.
Jesus never called upon his followers to “change the world.” Jesus never confronted injustice, oppression, slavery or “the system.”
He had opportunities to do so.
A new thread at Messiah Truth.
This is most emphatically not Jewish teaching. I expect it correctly to be condemned as not-Jewish. I also expect it to be condemned, correctly or not, as just plain wrong.
The point is to facilitate understanding of what motivates belief in the Christian myth.
Sunday was Palm Sunday. The appointed “Gospel” text this year was Luke 22:14-23:56, which covers from the beginning of the Last Supper up to Jesus’ burial.
The pastor normally reads the “Gospel” lesson. Pastor’s voice quavered throughout this reading, which I found hard to figure since his beliefs are similar enough to mine. We waded through all the problems in the text, e.g. the impossible trial at the High Priest’s house on Pesach. But I also got re-acquainted with why Christians believe so fervently in this text.
The Homeless Blogger 