Zaadz = Way Cool

I recently joined the online community Zaadz. It's social networking with a purpose. I'll just let the head honcho describe it:

Welcome! Let's Change the World.

This is Brian, your friendly Philosopher & CEO here at Zaadz. On behalf of our entire team, I’d like to welcome you to our little Oasis on the web. Thrilled you’ve found us. Here’s a quick intro to what we’re up to:

Our Name. We’ll start with the name. zaad. It’s Dutch for “seed.” Amazing how much potential is in a tiny seed, eh? We think so, too. That power reminds us of the amazing potential within each of us. We thought the idea of creating a company that inspires and empowers you to bring your “seed” to actualization would be pretty powerful. So, we created “Zaadz.”

Our Mission. We’re gonna change the world. Our math goes like this: you be the change + you follow your bliss + you give your greatest strengths to the world moment to moment to moment + we do everything in our power to help you succeed + you inspire and empower everyone you know to do the same + we team up with millions like us = we just affected billions = we (together) changed the world.

Our Plan. Ours involves Conscious Capitalism infused with Spirituality and a healthy dose of Enthusiasm, Love, Service, Inspiration, Passion, Humor and Teamwork. People CRAZY enough to think they can change the world, Courageous enough to do something about it, AND Committed enough to stick to it when they feel like giving up.

We’re in the process of building THE most inspired community of people in the world…social networking with a purpose, a community of seekers and conscious entrepreneurs circulating wisdom and inspiration and wealth and all that good stuff. We’re passionate about inspiring and empowering people to bring their dreams to life, learning and growing and getting paid to do what they love, using their greatest gifts in the greatest service to the world. (And having fun in the process!)

Our Community. You (& Your Friends). Yes, you. You want more than the 9-5, the house and the car, the conditioning. The blah! Life is to be lived - Fully. In spirit. In love. In service. In celebration. (You’ve already swallowed the red pill, so let’s go…)

Us. A community of Leaders, Visionaries, Thinkers, Artists, Writers,
Healers, Teachers, Activists, Environmentalists, Conscious Entrepreneurs, and Many (many!) Others. People
of many ages (from 12 to 90), many nationalities, from different countries
(over 110!) and different backgrounds. Some already making huge differences
in thousands of lives, others working to make a difference starting with
themselves.

We’re thrilled you’ve joined us so early on and are excited to change the world together.

Namaste,

Brian Johnson, Philosopher & CEO

What are you waiting for? Check it out!
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Jesus Camp

I'm in Fort Wayne, eating some DeBrand chocolate, sipping some mint green tea, and relaxing. I decided to pop in Jesus Camp, a 2006 documentary about Evangelical (Pentecostal, actually) child-raising. Now, it seems like recently a slew of new media has come out to take on the Christian right. The book Why the Christian Right is Wrong, the documentary With God On Our Side, and a number of other books, movies, and scholarly articles are analyzing the rise of the Moral Majority, the Christian Right, or whatever you want to call it, whether in passing or as the main focus of the work. Some are insightful, some are vitriolic, some are scholarly, some are, well, not scholarly. As a religion major, I'll take what I can get. I can usually find some sort of silver lining to even the most banal treatments of a religious topic. Taking shots at extreme Christianity is about as ubiquitous as Starbucks and as cheap as Raman noodles these days, but even then I can salvage some good, add it to my ever-growing bank of religious knowledge, and move on.

I'll go ahead and say that Jesus Camp is no exception, although it suffers from the fact that I'm getting sick of the subject. The reason I'm writing, though, is because I have a special connection to this particular angle on the matter. Let's review some facts about me and my background:

- I was born into a Christian family; my Mom was raised Catholic and became a Charismatic mostly-Evangelical, while my Dad has remained Presbyterian most of his life.
- I fall into Jesus Camp's statistics neatly: I first "accepted Jesus into my heart" when I was about 5 years old. Do I think it was a genuine conversion? Honestly, yes. Do I have some sort of empirical justification for this? Not really, but do you have some sort of empirical justification for any belief or behavior held at the age of 5? I didn't think so. However, theologically, I don't really believe in a single conversion moment per se. I don't want to get too technical here, though, so I'll just say that I first converted to some form of Christianity - whether socialized or not - at 5, only to adhere to a more personal form of the faith in high school.
- I attended Christian school from kindergarten through third grade.
- I went to, yes, a Jesus Camp when I was eight years old.
- I experienced all those crazy things you see in Jesus Camp: speaking in tongues, falling down, crying uncontrollably, etc. I earnestly believed in all of it...for a period of time.
- During 11th grade, I entered a second phase of my faith, culminating in a dramatic experience around the time of my grandfather's death.
- In college, I ventured over to the Presbyterians, flirting with Greek Orthodoxy and some other things along the way.
- I study Christian history like it's my job. It sort of is for these four years in college.

Now let's review some other facts about myself:

- I like gay people. Imagine that.
- I don't think George W. Bush is a saint.
- I love The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.
- I love NPR, The Nation, and all kinds of other semi-liberal to liberal media.
- I love the Civic Media Center in Gainesville.
- I love America.
- I hate a great deal of things about America.

Now, don't get me wrong here. I am not, by any means, making this a saccharin, bleeding-heart post to say, "Hey! I turned out okay! Those creepy Christians didn't get to me, I'm a liberal!"

No. Not at all - I shy away from a label of "liberal" or "conservative," though we all know I'm no Sean Hannity. But I am writing to say that I simultaneously believe in liberal political causes, conservative political causes, the absolute sovereignty of God, the infallibility of Scripture, the need to love everyone (yes, even gay people - sorry Turlington preachers!), and a number of other seemingly contradictory things. But hey, don't we all? Who tows the party line in every facet of their lives? And don't we live this way regardless of or even because of how we grew up?

What's my point? Well, for starters, it's that movies like Jesus Camp are a tremendous oversimplification. Turning footage of a Pentecostal church camp in South Dakota into an ominous statement about the future of our children is not exactly five-star work. I could do the same thing with a McDonald's around the corner (oh wait, that's been done too).

Clarity: I do think that Evangelical children's ministry and education contributes to a so-called "army of Republicans," but it'll take a while to convince me that it has a role any greater than rampant materialism, socioeconomic disparity, or, of course, the fact that Republican parents often raise Republican children.

Wait a second, can't we make the same argument about liberal parents? About public education? About secular humanism? About YMCA Day Camp!? For goodness sake, any time you teach children something, you indoctrinate them! Aren't we making value judgments here? Now who's intolerant?

On a more specific level, the film is a huge oversimplification of the sociological elements of religious indoctrination. Which comes first: political leanings, socioeconomic status, or religious belief? If you can answer that in less than six pages and a bibliography (and that's being pretty generous), you're oversimplifying. Jesus Camp focuses on the latter without any mention of the other components of moral or religious development.

Come on, folks, let's get real. If there's anything I've learned from my liberal arts education, it's that life is complicated. History is complicated, religion is complicated, and, for crying out loud, the moral and intellectual development of society is complicated.

All of this reminds me of Dr. Sommerville's book The Decline of the Secular University (shameless plug), as well as some of Dr. Richard Horner's work. What is the centering text here? What frames what? Why is it that democracy can frame religion but not the other way around?

My suggestion: read Sommerville and the classic Habits of the Heart.

Okay, the last thing I'll do is criticize the subject of Jesus Camp - Evangelical Christianity as represented in the film. What's my main criticism? There's absolutely no mention of grace, which is probably the defining characteristic of Christian doctrine in the history of religion. But that's for another post.

My next criticism? Politics, of course. But you already knew that.

Peace,
Sam
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love

lately, i've been thinking a lot about the following:

love is patient and kind;

love does not envy or boast;

it is not arrogant or rude.

it does not insist on its own way;

it is not irritable or resentful;

it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

love bears all things,

believes all things,

hopes all things,

endures all things.

it's amazing how difficult these simple words are to follow. my relationship with melissa tries me and tests me and stretches me.

but listen: "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." all things. geez.

that's a bit of a stretch for this divorce-happy culture. it seems like people get divorced these days over all things. undivided loyalty is pretty hard to find.

so i haven't been writing in a while. i really should. i have a lot more time now that it's the summer. well, sort of. i'm doing a lot of things, as usual.

but hey, this blog has been around for almost a year. that's pretty spiffy.

miss you all.

peace,
sam
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Help Stevie!

Borrowed from Molly Hedrick:

Steve Hedrick (aka Riverman) is a 21 year-old musician from Orlando. At various moments you will find him playing guitar, piano, percussion, accordion!, bango, violin, or the harmonica. He writes all his own music and sings. He describes his music as "neo-folk-rock with a Beach Boys twist."

Steve works at Starbucks in his off-time. Recently, Starbucks had a contest to find untapped talent from within their ranks, and gave their employees the chance to submit original music. Out of 800 submissions, Steve's song, "Light of the Moon" was one of 15 who made it on the CD, "Off the Clock"(available at locations nationwide).
We now have the opportunity to vote on the 15 finalists to decide who will be the Grand Prize Winner. Let's make it happen! Here's how:

Go to Hear Music. At the bottom of the screen, there is a picture of "Off the Clock." Click on it. At the bottom of the screen, you will see some brightly colored dots. Click on the one that says, "Listen and Vote." The list of the contestants will come up. Steve is listed under the name 'Riverman.' All you need is a valid e-mail address. If you could each take 2-3 minutes and enter any addresses you could think of, we could really help Steve. Those 2-3 minutes could mean a big opportunity for him. Thank you!

Molly (The Proud Little Sister)

Stevie is a really, really good friend of mine. Please, please, PLEASE vote for him!! He is amazingly talented -- one of the greatest musicians I know in my age group. He deserves this so much. It could easily be his big break.

So, click here and help him out!

Peace,
Sam
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StumbleUpon

Holy cow, I'm addicted to StumbleUpon, a Firefox extension that allows you to surf the web by category.

Wow.

Check it out.
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on finishing perks

today i finished reading the perks of being a wallflower. melissa gave it to me. i wouldn't have thought that i would like it if you told me about it ahead of time, but for some reason i did. i really felt like i could relate to it. and it gave me a little insight into myself.

the thing is that my personality is very similar to charlie's, especially when i was in high school. quiet, introspective, insightful. but what strikes me is that charlie found outlets for what he felt through drugs or sex or drinking. of course, the point is that he just went along with everything, not really knowing whether he enjoyed those things or not. but still. it makes me think. i relate to charlie so well in feeling like there is something wrong with me, or in feeling like things are slipping away or spinning out of control. but i when was in high school, i suppressed most of those feelings and spun into my own imaginary world. fantasies of lsd, not lsd itself. and only a select few knew of my crippling depression until it started to seep out my senior year. but i can't help but wonder if part of the seriousness of my depression in high school was because i felt trapped. i felt like i had to bottle everything in. i wasn't allowed to go to parties or whatever. and girls didn't like me. unlike charlie, i didn't have girls ask me on dates. instead, i had to live vicariously through my friends' acid trips and their first forays into relationships and sex.

i don't know. i just think it's interesting. i just wonder how that has affected me.

peace,
sam
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blue like...

Well, once again it's been ages. I guess between school and wedding planning, I have a lot on my plate. But I'd really like to get back into blogging. That is, if anyone is still reading this thing.

I spent spring break at the Palmer Home for Children. It was a good experience: raking, cutting down trees, clearing brush, roofing, and spending time with some pretty cool kids. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts on the trip another time, but right now I'm still taking it in and chewing on it.

That's what happened last year with our trip to Waveland to help out folks through Lagniappe Church, the latest project of Jean Larroux. The guy is a stud, hands down. But when I was on the trip, I didn't really feel like I was getting anything out of it. A year later, though, and I can see what an influential trip it was for me.

On a somewhat unrelated note, I finally read Blue Like Jazz. I gotta say, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I did enjoy his candor, and I particularly liked his thoughts on loving people who aren't like us. On the other hand, I thought his version of Christianity seemed pretty watered down. The biggest flaw was that it seemed like his feelings pretty much determined everything he did. Rather than really seeking for the meaning of Scripture, he just sort of wandered around, letting the Bible influence him just as much as a TV show or a poem. That seems like a somewhat flaky version of Christianity, in my opinion. I think intellectual rigor needs to be a prominent part of Christianity, especially a devotion to attempting to understand the Bible on its own terms.

And it's entirely possible. I went to see a lecture by N.T. Wright, the formidable scholar, eloquent speaker, and Bishop of Durham. He spoke on "Paul's Jewish Gospel for a Gentile World," an extremely engaging and accessible lecture regarding the distinctive Jewish qualities of Paul's message. Partway through, he shifted gears and discussed "Paul's Gospel for a Post-Modern, Post-Secular, Neo-Imperialist World," an extremely relevant discussion of how to proclaim Christ as Messiah in the 21st century. He did it with charm, insight, feeling, and sound reasoning. I guess it can be done.

The other thing that bothered me about Blue Like Jazz, aside from the fact that it sounded like it was written by a seventeen year-old kid, is that Miller seems almost entirely ignorant of Christian history. His tone makes it sound like he has discovered some revolutionary version of Christianity. His whole account of his spiritual journey really doesn't differ much from Augustine, Wesley, Ignatius, or even Nathan Cole, a farmer who converted after hearing a sermon by Whitefield. I just feel like Miller could use a little perspective. American Christianity is by no means representative of all of Christianity. It's only a small facet of hundreds of years and hundreds of cultures. And each has had its flaws.

That's all for now. I'm tired. But I'm really going to try to write on this thing again. I'm now reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Life at the Bottom. You know, in addition to writing a ton of papers and reading a ton of books about Jesus and the Hindu goddess Sitala.

Peace,
Sam
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More Merton

The wise man has struggled to find You in his wisdom, and he has failed. The just man has striven to grasp You in his own justice, and he has gone astray.

But the sinner, suddenly struck by the lightning of mercy that ought to have been justice, falls down in adoration of Your holiness: for he had seen what kings desired to see and never saw, what prophets foretold and never gazed upon, what the men of ancient times grew weary of expecting when they died. He has seen that Your love is so infinitely good that it cannot be the object of a human bargain. True, there are two testaments, two bargains. But both of them are only promises that You would freely give us what we could never deserve: that You would manifest Your holiness to us by showing us Your mercy and Your liberality and Your infinite freedom.

- Thomas Merton, No Man is an Island
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what do you expect?

Melissa and I just watched a couple of hours of To Catch a Predator, a series of Dateline special investigations about so-called "child predators." Feel free to check out the site and watch some videos. Ultimately, though, I believe this series is doing more harm than good.

Here's how it works:

1. Random guy starts talking to police decoy online.
2. Decoy pretends to be a 13 year old girl (or boy) and starts talking about sex.
3. Random guy starts to enjoy the fantasy, starts saying stupid things.
4. Decoy gets guy to agree to meet.
5. Random guy, in a moment of sheer stupidity, agrees to meet.
6. Random guy goes to decoy house.
7. Guy gets busted by Dateline and then the cops.
8. Guy's life is essentially ruined.

In 90% of the cases, I'd say the guys were in a moment of stupidity. I doubt any of them would have really done anything with a child. They were scared out of their minds when they got caught, not like the smug serial killers or rapists who say they'd do it again. One of the men was a doctor who was probably just having a mid-life crisis. Now he has probably lost his medical license. Just reading stories of child molesters shows you the kind of people who really do the molesting. Most of the time, they are pretty deranged and a lot more clever than to fall into the trap of a sting. A lot of them also prefer sex with minors (shudder), whereas most of these men were just playing around with a fantasy - like playing with fire. Yes, it's a sick fantasy, but the internet is a pretty sick place.

Most of these men were completely normal. They weren't smarmy, shady creeps. They were normal guys. Guess what? They had sexual addictions. And guess what else? Odds are that the cops arresting these guys have a sexual addiction as well.

According to one site, there were 27.5 million U.S. visitors to adult-oriented pornographic Web sites in January 2002, of which about 72% of visitors were men and 28% women.

Did you catch that? 27.5 million Americans in 2002. And that's five years ago, folks. According to US News and World Report, the pornography industry takes in more than $8 billion a year (I've seen higher figures elsewhere), which is more than rock and country music, and more than all Broadway productions, theater, ballet, jazz and classical music combined.

So here's the problem. What on earth is randomly throwing in prison a bunch of normal guys going to accomplish? A 2002 study determined that Hollywood currently releases 11,000 adult movies per year – more than 20 times the mainstream movie production. You get the idea. You can find more of these shocking statistics here (at a site which is a particular favorite of mine). I'm betting that given enough prompting and begging and goading, a lot of men in this country would succumb to the temptation of illegal sex. If you don't believe me, go read up on sex tourism.

Maybe we should start working on the root of the problem. You know, like the fact that there was a Victoria's Secret ad on the Dateline web site when I was working on this post (see screenshot). My point is precisely the title of this post: what do you expect? In a country where the revenues of the porn industry are more than those of the NFL, NBA, and MLB combined, is it any wonder when women have become degraded so much that children are being sought after as the next "sexual high"?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not defending any of these men. What they did (or intended to do) was wrong, and with Proverbs I ask: "Can a man take fire to his chest and expect not to be burned?" I am saying, though, that simply generating criminals through baiting ordinary sex addicts and then throwing them in jail isn't going to solve anything. How can we only condemn the illegal aspects of these cases without condemning first the widespread problem of infidelity through porn?

That's enough for tonight.

Peace,
Sam
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another

(begin stream of poetic consciousness)

a morning of slick winter coats
pushes and pulls and
destroys whatever
distant thoughts of driving
or flying
i once knew.
it is
a drop of spring rain
a sunset
a grain of sand
that permits me to sing
that permits me to run
past jade hills
and towering brick sarcophagi.
but there are black eyes
and black skin
and black steel
ominous tongues of metal
double-barrelled death
gripped by tiny hands
tiny teeth clenched
falsely masked by ferocity.
counterfeits.
frauds.
it is they
it is they
who cause me to cry.
who cause me to scream.
it is for them
that i clench my teeth.
that i tighten my fist.
it is for them
that i will fight.
that i will live.
i will turn these tears
to flight
and i will sing
until morning.

(end)

peace,
sam
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short

sorry it's been so long. i've been busy changing my life and starting a new semester. i'll have more later, but i just streamed this little guy:

what are we coming to?
breathing in smoke
breathing in stars
sleeping in flames
twisted
turning
revolving around
burning cinders
of complacency
i am a slit wrist
i am a shooting star
i am a smoldering wick

peace,
sam
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