Tribal Thinking

Tribal thinking, believe or not, is one the strongest characteristics of our human condition. Here is one of the best, if not the best explanation of “tribal thinking” that I have read. This comes from John Shelby Spong’s latest book on the Gospel of John, “The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic”.

            …It is the nature of human life to feed our ever-present security needs by displaying fear in the presence of anyone who is “different.” This fear grows out of not knowing how to interpret behavior that has not been vetted by the norms which govern tribal life and into which tribal members have been incorporated. This is why it is in the biological nature of human life for us to respond to the stranger with heightened suspicion. Strangers speak a language we not understand, so we do not know how to process their words; and as a result we fear their motives. When we do not understand their words, our latent paranoia is fed and excited. Strangers who are not of our tribe also have different ethnic characteristics. Tribal thinking always defines the characteristics of one’s own ethnicity as “normal,” which immediately suggests that to be different is to be “abnormal.” Strangers also worship in a different way and since the primary, primitive meaning of worship is to solicit divine protection for ourselves, worship that is different from our norms might turn out to put us at risk of losing the protection of our deity to the deity of another tribe, who might well be malevolent.

            For all these reasons, xenophobia is a natural human survival technique that is present in all of us. We cannot lay it aside because it is part of what it means to be human. We can escape it only by escaping the limits of our humanity. Making that escape thus reflects a transformational moment, one in which we cross a boundary and enter a new level of consciousness and begin to perceive the reality of human oneness. That is not easy, for survival drives all life, and survival always demands barriers behind which we can find security.

15 Things Jesus Did Say

 

“There’s only one litmus test to authenticate if someone gets what I’m about – love.”

“The kingdom of God is here and now, which means it’s not somewhere else and later.”

“If you’ve reached perfection on your journey, feel free to judge others. Otherwise, be quiet.”

“My peace is not as this world gives. Your strategy to control circumstances in order to be happy won’t work… ever.”

“You religious people have your nose buried in the Bible, feeling all smug about your spiritual maturity. But you wouldn’t know my truth if it knocked you in the head.”

“There is no mountain, sacred place or church building where God expects to be worshipped. True worship is a way of seeing – it’s spotting and honoring the divine in all things.”

“You think you are doing well because you have not been hauled off to prison for murder, but your harsh and critical spirit is no different.”

“Embracing my truth will make you a heretic in most people’s minds and you will be persecuted. No worries; you’re on the right track in my kingdom.”

“God and I are one, you are included.”

“I have to die. Otherwise, you’re going to create a religion around my human personhood and personality, rather than embrace and give expression to my spirit and truth.”

“Don’t say you love God and then hate people. Those two things can’t be true at the same time.”

“You and God are not separated and never have been. You are connected to God like a branch to a vine – the essence and nature of God is the sap running through your veins.”

“You can’t reduce my way to a book. The same spirit that filled and led me fills and leads you. Follow that spirit.”

“You think your humanity is an affront to God. If this were true how could I be one with God?”

“You look into the sky to find some God that sits on a throne. You want to see God? You’re looking at him. Now, see that same God as  yourself.

~paraphrase by Jim Palmer

My Personal Thoughts on Firearms in the U.S.

I have been a gun owner since I was a teenager. Lots of folks would say it's a part of the culture in which I grew up (Texas). The southern U.S., Texas in particular, has often been the object of derision for many of it's cultural characteristics. One of the prominent topics of derision, in recent years, is it's "gun culture". I was born in Texas and have lived here all my life. Guns, of all varieties, have been part of my life. I was taught as a child respect for firearms, gun safety, and the use of all types of firearms. Almost every male raised in the rural south has had experience in the use of them. My father, a former law enforcement officer,  taught me how to safely use rifles, shotguns, and pistols. As a teenager, I hunted rabbits, birds, wolves, and various other varmints. I have not done so in many years. In the 1970's, I took a job which required me to become a Commissioned Peace Officer. I held that license for two years before becoming an educator. When the State of Texas passed a Concealed Handgun License Law in the mid-1990s, I obtained mine that first year and have been "carrying" ever since. I have never had to use my weapon and hope never to have a reason to do so.
 I am realist when it comes to violence in today's society. I know that there are "bad people" out there who would do my family or me harm if they had the opportunity. That is why I "carry". I do not want to become a victim or have anyone in my family become one.
I fully respect the right of anyone to avoid weapons of all kinds. I know that not everyone feels the way I do about firearms. I respect everyone's feelings when this volatile issue is discussed.
The following article was taken from the Pew Research Center's website. It is an excerpt. If you wish to read the whole report, follow the link at the end of the excerpt.

National rates of gun homicide and other violent gun crimes are strikingly lower now than during their peak in the mid-1990s, paralleling a general decline in violent crime, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data. Beneath the long-term trend, though, are big differences by decade: Violence plunged through the 1990s, but has declined less dramatically since 2000.
Compared with 1993, the peak of U.S. gun homicides, the firearm homicide rate was 49% lower in 2010, and there were fewer deaths, even though the nation’s population grew. The victimization rate for other violent crimes with a firearm—assaults, robberies and sex crimes—was 75% lower in 2011 than in 1993.

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/05/07/gun-homicide-rate-down-49-since-1993-peak-public-unaware/

Simple Thoughts

If you need a scripture to tell you........

"As long as anyone is a slave, no one is free."