groundwork

More on Halloween...

I posted a link yesterday to an article describing the decisions that some Jewish families between Halloween and the Sabbath.  The Columbus Dispatch had a 'companion' article this morning.  There is a similar struggle between Halloween and (of all things) football. 

The Dispatch included another article in their Religion section outlining the challenge Halloween presents to  many Christian homes.  A growing number of families are opting to back away from the overt dark overtones of the holiday.  I thought it was an interesting look at how the Christian community wrestles with this holiday.

I thought the following quote was interesting from the article Hallowed Halls:

Halloween can be a scary time for the grown-ups who run Christian schools.

They have to decide whether to celebrate the holiday of ghosts and ghouls as they're trying to teach about Christianity and God's love.

For some, that poses a contradiction. Others don't see a problem.

Halloween was born as the ancient pagan festival of Samhain, marking the end of summer for Celtic people in what is now the United Kingdom, Ireland and northwestern France.

As Paul Harvey says - you can" wash your ears out" by considering another view of this holiday.  I would recommend the article Halloween:Treat or Trick?

Halloween or Sabbath?

I stumbled upon an article posted on a Jewish oriented website.  I was unaware that there are those in the Jewish community who observe Halloween.  Until this article, I didn't know about the plight of the Jewish families struggling to choose between the Sabbath and a secular pagan holiday.

I am amazed at the mental gymnastics that some seem to go through in order to justify their personal choices.

One key quote:

"As the day approaches, a debate between traditions is raging in many Jewish homes: challah vs. candy, the Sabbath Queen vs. the Pumpkin King, blue homes vs. orange. It's a serious give and take, with the youth vote swinging one way and the Shabbat moms and dads the other.

 

Who wins? Considering the holiday's murky Celtic origin and Christian association, wouldn't it be better to simply abstain?"

The obvious answer would be 'yes'.  But later on in the article, we are treated with this amazing quote:

"So what should you allow your children to do this Halloween night? It is a difficult and personal choice. I try not to think of it as trick or treat, much of the candy handed out is kosher and sortable. The trick here is how to treat the evening Jewishly."

I am not sure what it means to observe Halloween in a "Jewish" manner. I wonder if there is a better way to approach this question - and to simply abstain?

You can read the rest of this article here.

an attitude of thanks

I would be the first to admit that I loathe the loss of daylight savings time.  The sun seems to set sometime around 2 PM leaving the rest of the day in the chilly fog of evening.  But I have found that I do look forward to a couple of bright spots during the depressing month of November.

One of the bright spots is that my wife and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary later this month. Why did we get married at the end of November?  Well that is another story to tell.  But the other bright spot for me is the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

Thanksgiving has always been a highlight for my family.  Some of my favorite memories of my parents and brothers seem to be connected to the annual celebration of the holiday.  We would sometimes travel to a relative's house to enjoy an afternoon of dry as dirt turkey (it needed a lot of gravy), instant mashed potatoes, and football (of course). 

It was not until I was older that I thought about the purpose of Thanksgiving.  The meaning of the day was not a part of our discussions around the dinner table.  In recent years, I have attempted to add this missing dimension to our own celebration.

There is a new article posted on the Vision website on the subject of Thanksgiving.  The article takes a helpful look at the subject of genuine thankfulness.  I especially appreciated the following paragraph near the end of the article:

An attitude of thankfulness puts us in a humble frame of mind. It teaches us to whom we are in debt for all that we have. There is no room for pride when we are in the thankful mode.

I encourage you to read the article Thanks, but No Thanks during the next few days!

I wish all of you a genuine and thankful celebration of the upcoming holiday.  We do have much that we can be truly grateful for at this time.

A Tipping Point?

I have been thinking about the recent confrontation happening in the Palestinian-held Gaza and Left Bank.  It seems that the area trips back and forth between slow simmer and full boil.  There are times when there is little discussed in the news concerning Israel and the Palestian situation.   Only to find the region landing near the top of the headlines seemingly overnight. 

In the past few days, I have read some interesting material on the current situation. 

Rick Lowry has written a thoughtful column for National Review Online .  Lowry reaches back into the history of the region to provide insight on the events of today.  He asks the crucial question - Is the Middle East about to self destruct?

He writes:

Historian Theodore Von Laue argued that the ascendance of the West in the 20th century subjected non-Westerners to “the psychological misery of knowingly belonging to a ‘backward’ society.” Many non-Western countries adapted, reconciling modernity to their particular cultural contexts. But the Middle East tended to import the failed Western ideologies of socialism and fascism, and watched itself fall further back. As Ralph Peters explains, in such circumstances, “people look for somebody to blame, and they default to blood and belief, ethnicity and religion — fundamentalist religion.”

read the entire article - Tipping Towards Catastrophe

Religion is playing a crucial role in the current circumstances.  It is indeed an  important story that may have ramifications beyond the borders of Israel and her neighbors.

A New Golden Rule?

Those of us who are familiar with the Bible have heard of the "Golden Rule".  We may even be able to recite it from our distant memory - more or less verbatim.   

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

While it may be a common statement in some circles, I have to wonder if it would be considered a common practice? 

There is a new article on Vision concerning the famed 'golden rule'.  It contains some food for thought for all of us in this busy world.

The author of the article submits the following points:

The Golden Rule says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Some would say that this just isn’t enough: in our global village, we need to consider cultural differences and the desires of others. This thinking suggests that we humans have never found ourselves in a multicultural setting before now. 

The new Golden Rule goes something like this: Do unto others as they would have you do unto them. This mindset really reflects a narrow view of the original intent of the Golden Rule. In fairness, calls for a new rule point to the very real need to explain the meaning of the original. That it should and would need to be explained properly to each succeeding generation is a fact of life.

read the entire article

The National Trust

The first sentence of a recent article immediately caught my eye. 

What do Volvo, Ericsson, Saab and IKEA have in common?

I took a few seconds to think about the question.  I have owned a few older Volvo models (the 240 series), maybe owned a Ericsson radio, seen a Saab on a local highway, and been in an IKEA store in Houston, TX.  Besides the fact that they all produce a product that may leak oil on your driveway, I could only come up with thinking that they had the nation of Sweden in common.

The article continued with their explanation. 

The people of Sweden have more faith in them than in the church.

The rest of the article was a sad commentary of the state of religion in a prosperous western nation.  The fact that individuals have faith in a mammoth corporation instead of their religious affiliation has much to say about our society. 

Key Quotes:

According to the poll, taken by the business weekly Dagens Industri, 80 percent of Swedes said they had "much or very much trust" in the world's largest furniture store chain, which was founded by Ingvar Kamprad. But only 46 percent of the 800 people surveyed said they trusted the Swedish church, which counts 80 percent of the 9 million residents living in Sweden as members.

IKEA isn't the only company Swedes trust more than the church -- the list also includes Volvo (69 percent), Ericsson (59), Saab (57) and pharmaceutical giant Astra Zeneca (47) as well as four other companies that beat out the church on the trust factor. Indeed, the church landed in slot 14, behind Sweden's public television station, its universities, small business, the central bank and the daily paper Dagens Nyheter.

click here to read the rest of the article

I have to wonder what the results would be if a similar survey was taken in the US or UK? 

Poll: Does God Exist?

The results of a recent survey by Harris Poll on the question regarding the belief of God's existence are not encouraging.  It is a clear reminder of the mindset (or worldview) that exists in many people in society.

"Nearly half of Americans are not sure God exists, according to a poll that also found divisions among the public on whether God is male or female or whether God has a human form and has control over events."

You can read more about this survey by visiting the following link:

Nearly half of Americans uncertain God Exists: poll