Portland churches: Sandy (II)

more at Flickr.

Portland churches: Sandy (I)

more at Flickr.

Sam Harris in well-measured words

November update: God LLC's faith intact

Another Thanksgiving has passed, providing another opportunity to converse with relatives on the topic of faith and spirituality—a sort of faith-o-metric probing I due each year, with no such plans or intentions.

But alas, coming from a big family such as mine means being one among a plurality of beliefs and opinions and making an effort to understand one another. I feel fortunate to be a twig on such a diverse family tree, especially one that gets along so famously, and teaches me so much. I'm reminded often of my minority status as an atheist.

Still, the topic of spirituality continues to occupy me, in fact it enacts the most high-functioning part of my brain, that tier reserved for an uncharacteristic seriousness, or what might get called "discourse."

What is that special thing that happens when large groups of people get together with a unified purpose? That sense of oneness?

What is that feeling of elation you get when a scenic vista is reached amidst a day-long hike?

What happens in the brains of Pentecostal churchgoers during a cathartic outpouring of song and dance?

What I've realized is that I have my own way of describing these experiences. And it's important to recognize that I do so by way of a mix-and-mash of inherited vocabularies (things I've read/been taught, conversations I've had, life experiences that have shaped me). This is true for everyone; we are shaped and limited by our use of language, and I'm lately coming to terms with the rarity of my current vocabulary, that what I take for granted as prevalent, or common wisdom in describing 'spiritual' matters, is in fact newfangled, an emerging but underutilized dialect.

Evolving alongside this dialect is a new one for the faithful as well. A morphing set of ever-nebulous descriptions that shun the specific in favor of unity and tolerance. A Shack-esque permutation. In one sense, this is a good thing, as it means less blatant unthinking, less partitioning off of the mind to allow a refuge for pure unreason—but I wonder if the religious will wake one day soon and realize that really there is nothing concrete left to stand on; that what they really wish to hold onto, aside from the promise of a neatly grounded morality, is this notion of the 'spiritual,' and the comforts of ceremony. Both are notions which, I feel, can be redescribed; in psychological terms; in scientific terms; and through poetry.

As for the alleged supernature professed by most of the world's religions, with their stories of miraculous interventions and divine oversight, I continue to see these matters through a pane so pure, so clear—as clear and as pure as the most crystalline holy water, distilled from the tears of all of heaven's most chaste angels—that these accounts are merely hearsay, the memetic flotsam of our more primitive, fearful and ignorant ancestors, and it troubles me, when others can't see what appears so obvious; that the Jesus story, and all those of the world's religions are purely terrestrial, not divinely inspired, entirely without supernature—at least none that we can sensibly comment on.

Absurd seeming church names

Ever notice how some church names are downright unintelligible? Or read less like a welcoming handle, and more like a jumbled-together string of keywords from a website's meta tag?

Take these for example:

Assemblies Of God Faith Christian Fellowship
Sound Doctrine Missionary Temple of Praise
Apostolic Assembly Of The Faith In Christ Jesus
Christian Science Eighth Church Of Christ Scientist
Greater Solid Rock Church Of God In Christ
Mt. Zion Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas
Praise All Day Church of the Redeemer Christ Our Everlasting King

It's almost as if there's a master list of select church jargon that gets assigned to some lottery balls, and the first four or five to pop up indicate the name of a new sect:

Come on in, the fire's warm!
Photo: Jason Rinka

Here are some others that are funny for one reason or another:

Ark Of Safety Church Of God In Christ
Holiness Or Hell Church Of God In Christ
Boring United Methodist Church (Boring, MD)
The Entire Bible Church
C.R.A.C.K. House Ministries (Christ Resurrects After Crack Kills)

Petty Friday: The Jesus Coin Holy Medallion Of Life

Courtesy of the Miami-based, The National Center For Religious Collectibles, you too can own this "special keepsake of His Eternal Love."



That's right, "in these uncertain times, don't be without this most important symbol of hope."

And if you're having second thoughts, remember, "True collectors recognize the majesty of this hand sculpted, master-crafted collectible."

HE WHO BELIEVES HAS ETERNAL LIFE!

Xhurch update: Part II

I forgot to mention. I found out some interesting history on the church. A neighbor tipped me off that there was an historic photo of the church at the Oregon History Museum. So I visited the OHS website to see if I could access it online but struck out, so I called their office and they referred me to the research library, to whom I sent an email soliciting historical materials. They got back rather promptly with two photos and a newspaper clipping(!)—all dating to-or-before 1952.

The newspaper clipping, stamped October 9th, 1952, told of a neighborhood controversy that was spurred when the church—then a synagogue—was in the process of being sold to, as the article states: "a negro congregation." Nothing like old periodicals to prove the impermanent nature of language.

Having the names of the two congregations involved in the sale, I was then able to poke Google's brain for more info, and Google responded faithfully, like a giant sea anemone that first turned inward—all its tentacles aflutter, and then spat back a name—that of a man called Samuel Gruber, who has a blog: Samuel Gruber's Jewish Art & Monuments.

His September 10th, 2010 entry pretty much tells it all.

The Xhurch, circa 1950. Photographer: unknown

Xhurch update

As you may have read, October was a chilly month here. The heat has since been turned on however, and now I eagerly await my first bill so that I can know the cost of the relative luxury I've been enjoying within the newly warmed church walls. Seriously, I have high hopes for this bill. I feel that most of the obvious places where heat was bound to escape have been plugged up.

In the meantime, I've gotten use to cooking on two small camping-style burners and with a toaster oven (a highly efficient way to cook for up to two people). Also, my sleeping situation has changed somewhat, at least for the time being. Previously, I had unwittingly recreated the sleeping conditions of my infant-hood, when I shoved two pews together to create a cradle-like bed—the 'manger' as I liked to call it. Lined with wadded-up newspaper to level out the sleeping surface and then layered with two sheets of egg-crate foam, this was a surprisingly comfortable arrangement. Now I'm on a small mattress on the floor. Neither are as comfortable as my old queen-size bed, but I'm avoiding my former mattress in favor of stowaway-ability. It's important I'm able to make my bed disappear with no fuss to free up space for other of the church's functions.

At large, the xhurch feels more and more like home. I've become accustomed to a radically different color palette. The light and objects found here are strikingly distinct from anyplace I've ever lived. This is owed largely to the deep red carpets and blue-green stained glass windows, which mediate every bit of light that enters the building. I've found that it's best if I start the day by getting outdoors (even if just for a walk around the block) so as to expose myself to true daylight, and avoid the feeling of being shut-in. Working from home, and generally eating here too, the tendency is to be indoors a lot. It takes surprising discipline sometimes, especially in wintertime, just to get out.

I guess the good news is, I like my cell. There are trade-offs of course—I've outlined a few. But the church is a most-nurturing workshop, endlessly flexible, warm and spacious—accommodating, but just moody enough to keep my interest. I think I'll stay awhile.

Richard Dawkins stands and talks with Wendy Wright

Wow. Where to begin. I think what makes this interview remarkable (and I haven't even watched past Part 1/7) is the way it's staged. It reminds me of the unsteadied, hyper-realistic quality that modern sitcoms have—where the line between reality TV and the traditional sitcom is blurred to the point where now, not only are the cameras shaky—reminding us there are operators behind them—but it almost seems normal to have an actor turn and face the the viewer in furtive acknowledgment, or for a confessional aside.

The participants in this interview do not do this. In fact, their ability to ignore the camera is astounding. But, it's clear both players—especially the perma-pleasant, plastic faced, crazy-eyed Wendy Wright—are aware they are making a media appearance.

Meta critique aside, this interview—while being viewer crack like a sitcom—is a momentous example of the cultural divide between Faith and Reason. A distillation of the all-cliched debate between a hard-nosed, incredulous (and in this case, admirably accommodating) scientist, and a hard-line, provincial, painfully oblivious, psychologically walled-off, unable-to-see-past-her-own-nose, faith-head.

It's the sort of thing where if you encountered it at a cocktail party, you might roll your eyes and kindly steer your date toward more promising company. Or perhaps (depending on your temperament) you might just shrink and repel from the ungodly awkwardness.

Of course, there's always those doting spectators who linger quietly on the periphery. Easy enough to be one of those on the internet.

Okay back to the fireworks (Part 2/7).

Catholic Church sees decrease in nuns and monks, members of clergy

As BBC reports, the Catholic Church has seen a dramatic decrease in the number of "members of the consecrated life"—basically, nuns and monks, but also priests and deacons. This, despite a reported overall increase in Church membership to over 1.1 billion.

Inherently skeptical of such attempts to quantify religiosity, I did some poking around online. If the National Council of Churches' Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches is any indicator, then it can be expected that such statistics (which are reported annually by participating churches to the NCC) are representative of the state of the Church two years prior to the year of a given report being published, as the 2010 numbers are representative of polling that occurred in 2008. Given this two year lag time, I would be interested to see the 2012 figures given the torrent of controversy that engulfed the Church earlier this year.

BBC correspondents also pointed out the increase in membership "failed to keep pace with the overall increase in world population."

Even still, if the Catholic Church continues to grow in the face of all the scandal that plagues it it will not be to my surprise, as the troubled third world is being evangelized evermore; a nettlesome side effect of the much needed help they are receiving.

Meow Kids

Every once in a while you encounter something and you know right where to put it.

Petty Friday: The Truth About Mormon Undergarments

Of all faiths, Mormonism is perhaps the most open to ridicule on account of its relative newness. Minted in 1830 by the self-proclaimed prophet, Joseph Smith Jr., the Book of Mormon (though penned in the 19th century) is written using 17th century english.

Fast-forward 180 years and we see the Mormon meme in action:

"Banned" Mormon Cartoon

When's Momanism the movie coming out? This would be radical in 3D!