But....

I while back a friend sent me a t-shirt that never fails to get the attention of passers-by:

"Jesus loves you, but I'm his favorite."

It's an artfully backhanded reminder of the illogic of any religion that claims that "God is love" but then adds "if you....." Inclusivity and exclusivity are, uh, mutually exclusive!

Perhaps it's an indication of the edginess of our times. The version I read on the back bumper of a rusty van today said:

"Jesus loves you. Everyone else thinks you're an @#$%"
(The language has been sanitized for this blog)

Roots, shoots and branches

The sad irony of religion is that it so often cuts itself off from its roots and then wonders why it finds itself struggling for survival. If a plant gets cut off from its roots, its branches will eventually wither and die.

Religious institutions are generally the result of the dogmatization of spirituality. While they have the potential for doing good, they are also very dangerous places because of their insistence on the application of uniformity of practice or belief. While differing from their so-called secular counterparts in that their self-validation is in the form of god-speak, they nonetheless share a propensity to harden and atrophy, eventually losing touch with the purpose in which they were originally rooted; to bring about change.

Never again?

This morning I overheard someone in Starbucks declare, "I'm never driving in Paris again!"

Such conviction. I'm sure that the whole world will benefit from this wisdom born of experience.

On my way home I wondered why I was being so critical. After all, I'd been sitting in a Starbucks, for goodness' sake. What did I expect? Did I think people would be talking about their tightening budgets, their fear of losing all that they've worked for? What did I expect, spending time in the netherworld of the rich?

I have nothing to complain about. I'm comfortable. I come from a family that has, for generations, been comfortable. But I'm NOT comfortable.

I'm not comfortable as long as there are people who are marginalized, overlooked, shunned, excluded. I'm not comfortable knowing that there is plenty to go around, but that the world's resources are being hoarded by an ever-shrinking minority that has convinced itself that their ueber-comfort is for the benefit of all, and that if someone's piece of the "pie" is too small (or non-existent) that she has no one to blame but herself.

As long as there is injustice and inequity, I'll find reason to be critical...thus the title of this blog, and all for the purpose of making this world a better place for everyone.