Existential Punk

My other favorite singer...

Bono is being honored by Queen Elizabeth "for 'his services to the music industry and for his humanitarian work'..." WAY TO GO, BONO!!!!!!!!!!

Some Moby thoughts to chew on...

HT to Jonny Baker and Mark Berry for the heads up on Moby's thoughts on Christians and Christianity. THANK YOU Moby, for always being authentic and humble!

"i don't want to burst anyone's(or everyone's)bubble, but i'm a weird sort of christian myself.
i don't go to church.
i find dogmatic and judgemental christians to be just as offensive as dogmatic and judgemental muslims, jazz fans, pure-bred dog owners, etc(for the record:
nothing wrong with islam, jazz, or pure-bred dog owners.  my criticism is reserved for dogma and judgementalism).
i won't ever argue with anyone about religion or claim that i'm right and they're wrong.
but in my own weird and subjective way i'm a weird little christian.
i believe that there's something somehow divine about the teachings of christ, and the fact that christ's teachings compel us to be selfless and forgiving and humble and loving and non-judgemental.
this is one of the reasons that i get so annoyed with contemporary christianity and it's seemingly comprehensive disconnect from the actual teachings of christ.
but, nonetheless, i find it odd when people come to moby.com or myspace to say 'moby, we christians do this/that/etc'.
i kind of want to say, 'uh, dudes(notice the contemporary colloquialism, that's me trying to fit in)i'm one of you, ok?'
christ compels us to be better than we usually are.
christ compels us to forgive those who've wronged us.
christ compels us to love our enemies.
christ compels us to be humble and non-judgemental.
christ compels us to care for the neediest.
christ compels us to be non-violent.
christ compels us to recognize that the material world and all of our posessions will ultimately turn into dust, so we shouldn't get too attached to our bodies, our lives, and our stuff.
and, most importantly(in many ways), christ compels us to love one another and look after one another, and to see all people as our own family.
so when i call myself a christian it's because i find christ's character and teachings to be incredibly compelling and, well, divine(cos they're too weird/impractical/perfect to have ever been invented by a human being).
all of the other stuff: virgin birth, apocryphal gospels, did christ have a wife/brother/twin/dog/etc?,
i find to be interesting window dressing.
if someone came to me and said: 'i have proof that there was no virgin birth and that christ had a brother and a wife and a boston terrier!' i'd say: 'ok. but his teachings are still pretty remarkable, regardless of the circumstances of his life, right?'
i also have great respect for other religions, especially those that stress the virtues of love and compassion and forgiveness and humility.
and i'll never, not for a second, say 'what i believe is right, and what you believe is wrong.' what i believe is what i believe. it's subjective and it makes sense to me and it changes as i change and as my experience in the world changes.
constancy is not, in my opinion, defined through rigidity, but rather through love and adherence even through changing circumstances.
and as for christmas, i hope that everyone has a wonderful christmas, regardless of how you choose to celebrate it(or not celebrate it).
i always hope that somehow we can see past the fun and awesome pagan trappings of christmas(trees, mistletoe, december 25th, candy canes, etc) to remember that on christmas we celebrate the birthday(even if jesus wasn't actually born anywhere near december 25th)of a man who wanted us all to be more forgiving, more compassionate, less judgemental, less violent, and less materialistic.
ultimately christmas is about celebrating the birthday of a man who wanted us to love one another and to look after one another regardless of our religious or political or ethnic or gender differences.
thanks, and merry christmas."
moby

I've been tagged!

Thanks to my friend Roy, who has tagged me to share FIVE things you may not know about me:

1. In my conservative days, i was arrested in 1992 for blockading an abortion clinic. It was a very peaceful, nonviolent act of civil disobedience. The court through it out saying the law we were arrested under was unconstitutional. The abortion clinic appealed and won. I was supposed to serve 3 days in jail, but was living in Virginia at the time and my mom failed to inform me I had been served time! (I don't think i'd ever do this again!)

2. I used to be a bigoted, fundamentalist Christian who judged and criticized many people. May God and those people forgive me for my harsh and demeaning attitudes.

3. I was allergic to live Christmas trees as a little we'an and I eventually outgrew it, THANKFULLY!

4. I am against the death penalty, i am pro-choice, and i am pro-gay (rights, ordination, marriage, et. al)

5. I bought a fake id in college before i turned 21 from a guy named "FLETCH". It gave me many a happy time drinking and bar hopping before i turned 21! :)

I hereby tag these friends: Jason Clark, Pete Rollins, Ray McKechnie, Corey Fields, Alicia Farrell, Daniel Farrell, and Jamie Arpin-Ricci. 

"The Invitation"

From "The Invitation" by Oriah:

The Invitation

         

            It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
              I want to know what you ache for
              and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
             
              It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
              I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
              for love
              for your dream
              for the adventure of being alive.
             
                It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
                I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
                if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
                or have become shrivelled and closed
                from fear of further pain.
               
                I want to know if you can sit with pain
                mine or your own
                without moving to hide it
                or fade it
                or fix it.
               
                I want to know if you can be with joy
                mine or your own
                if you can dance with wildness
                and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
                without cautioning us
                to be careful
                to be realistic
                to remember the limitations of being human.
               
                It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
                is true.
                I want to know if you can
                disappoint another
                to be true to yourself.
                If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
                and not betray your own soul.
                If you can be faithless
                and therefore trustworthy.
               
                I want to know if you can see Beauty
                even when it is not pretty
                every day.
                And if you can source your own life
                from its presence.
               
                I want to know if you can live with failure
                yours and mine
                and still stand at the edge of the lake
                and shout to the silver of the full moon,
                “Yes.”
               
                It doesn’t interest me
                to know where you live or how much money you have.
                I want to know if you can get up
                after the night of grief and despair
                weary and bruised to the bone
                and do what needs to be done
                to feed the children.
               
                It doesn’t interest me who you know
                or how you came to be here.
                I want to know if you will stand
                in the centre of the fire
                with me
                and not shrink back.
               
                It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
                you have studied.
                I want to know what sustains you
                from the inside
                when all else falls away.
               
                I want to know if you can be alone
                with yourself
                and if you truly like the company you keep
                in the empty moments.

"I Am (Not) As Smart as Peter Rollins"

The title of this post at Theoblogy by Tony Jones, where he has these things to say:

"I will no longer respond to any critics of Emergent
who have not read
How (Not) to Speak of God."

AND

"If you want to get the emerging church, read this book."


So, WHAT ARE  YOU WAITING FOR? Get off your duff, buy a copy, and read it! OK?!! "How (Not) to Speak of God"  by Peter Rollins