A New Age is Dawning

Oft heard I, Wise men proclaim
‘To all things there is a season’
to joy, and sorrow, pleasure and pain
And so, it stands to reason:

The reign of fear one day will fail
And Truth will be the victor
The dark unknown will the light assail
The New Age brought all the quicker

Whence we wander, weather we ponder
My brothers, this age is ending
Heralds asunder, hail the age of wonder
And start our race to mending.

Shine Forth

Smoke on the Horizon

I have looked out many windows. I have stood a top many mountains. I have heard the call of many birds. Today I looked out a window, and beheld something I will never forget.

In the land between two rivers in the dessert, a great oasis of life and fertility has existed since this land was young. These places have had many names, especially the city I am in today. ‘Baghdad’ is a Persian word. My friend tells me it means either the jungle or the garden that ‘is given’. If it is in fact "the garden that is given" (implicitly by God) you could make a reasonable argument that to a Persian, Baghdad means ‘Garden of Eden’.

It makes sense when you think about it. This whole area is the lush garden or jungle between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Such a large oasis in the relatively arid land of the Arabian peninsula would surely have been thought of as a gift from God.


I had this conversation with my friend atop a tower in Baghdad. My Iraqi friend was sad in his quiet accepted way. He told me of the ancient world, and the shame of war that has come to it. We talked about the state of this great planet, given by God unto man. God's creation, this beautiful and mystical land is God's greatest revelation to us. And so I come to my sorrow today.

I have looked out many windows. I have stood a top many mountains. Today I heard the distant call of a raven and when I looked out my window I saw smoke... smoke rising from the Trees of Eden.

Shine Forth the Light

God’s Advocate: Of Faith in Politics

I recently took part in a Facebook political poll asking “what role should a president’s faith play in the decisions he or she makes in office.” 64% of those polled said that it should not play any role whatsoever. While my first instinct as a zealous defender of our secular republic was to agree with the majority, I ultimately did not vote that way.

The question is based on a deceptive word; ‘faith’ does not appropriately refer to the religion a particular person ascribes themselves to. Dan Brown defined faith as “The acceptance of that which you imagine to be true.” Put a little less dramatically, faith is the psycho/spiritual construct with which we face the world. It is our belief, based on a distilling of all our experience in search of Truth.

With that definition it seems obvious that a president would have nothing but his faith by which to make decisions. If the solution to a problem is scientifically obvious, i.e. there is no other option, it will not fall to the president to make such a decision. When the matter requires subtlety, however, we turn it over to the duly elected representative of executive will of the people.

So if we can agree that a president’s faith will be the determining variable in how he or she will act on behalf of the people; it seems only logical that it be the determining factor in why we vote for the president. For example: the President of the United States should have a sense of moral justice that is simply beyond reproach. How would it be then if it was to emerge that a candidate agreed with a court ruling that allowed a child to be imprisoned because its father did not live long enough to be punished for a crime he committed. Such a position (which I admit is absurd) would seriously undermine the people’s confidence in the candidate’s faith (i.e. their world view).

How then should a candidate that calls themselves ‘Christian’ be judged? The defining characteristic of many Christian churches holds that the Creator of the universe, contrary to all conventions of moral justice, condemned all sons and daughters of man, for the sins of one man. As if this were not a perverse enough portrayal of the Almighty, a Christian candidate would also believe that a moral transgression could be paid for by another as if murder was a debt that could be paid by a rich friend. This type of logic, if brought to its extreme would allow a parent to compel its child to serve a criminal sentence imposed on the parent. After all the time tested law: ‘an eye for an eye’, doesn’t specify whose eye.

Now that said, it should be accompanied by a concession that most clear thinking Christians (if only sub-consciously) disagree with most of the obsolete and psychologically destructive dogma. I only raise the point of the double standard to illustrate the danger that comes when we as a society begin to ignore, for fear, the spiritual reality of our lives. Our open-mindedness is our greatest hope to, in our lifetime; understand the nature of the Almighty’s Creation. Our country dismisses too quickly, that which it does not understand. This is an act of supreme arrogance, and in our quest to know ourselves and our Creator, is the height of folly.

If You Are Christian.... Christmas Is Not Over

Merry Christmas to you on this 28^th of December… but wait isn’t Christmas over? Well if you sell ornaments and gifts it is, but what about if you’re a Christian. Few Christians realize that Christmas begins on 25 December. It is a 12 day celebration beginning on the Feast of the Incarnation and ending on the Feast of the Epiphany. It’s a shame that Christmas is not truly celebrated in this country.

The regular reader will recognize that I am not in favor of Christianizing our nation any more then we already do, but I am in favor of an extended period of time in which it is customary to reach out to our fellow man. When you really think about it our country has turned the traditional Christmas back into the pagan festival of the winter solstice. A single day to revere as the last day before light begins to come back into the world.

Once again…I’m not trying to move mountains here, I just want to point out another absurdity in our descent from spiritual to material ambition.

A True Meaning of Christmas

The Christmas Season is a time full of beauty: The natural quiet stillness of snowfall and the warmth of a family taking common shelter against the cold. As I will spend Christmas this year away from those I love, I thought I might take a moment to articulate one of the true meanings of Christmas

The proper name for Christmas is “The Feast of the Incarnation”. ‘Incarnation’, to paraphrase, means the coming of spirit upon flesh. It is well known that the date of Christmas is not meant to correspond to the actual anniversary of the birth of the Nazarene. The feast was adapted from a pagan feast celebrating the darkest time of the year (the winter solstice). Pagans believed that this was a time where Light was coming back into the world. The Christians adopted this feast as the best time to celebrate the birth of the ‘Lord of Light’. And so, we wish each other ‘Merry Christmas’. We acknowledge the Divine Light alive and well in our fellow man. We give each other gifts as an acknowledgment that the Light has come alive in them.

There is a custom that has traveled with eastern tradition to every corner of the globe. It is called ‘nemaste’. While the spelling and littoral meaning of this custom vary; it most nearly means ‘I bow to you’. It is the custom of people slightly inclining their heads in a bow of recognition. The idea is: “I see the Light in you, I feel the loving presence of the ‘Divine Source’ within you, because you are holy I bow to you”. The beauty of this custom is that people bow to each other at the same time. It is a custom without rank, simply an acknowledgment that the Light is within in all good people.

As we progress into the cold of winter let us reach out to our loved ones. The gifts we give are not always bought in a store. A hug, a smile, a kind word of encouragement, or even a slight bow of the head; these are all vessels of love and let us be generous with them this Christmas.

May the Great Light shine upon You

May It grow within You.

May You be for the World a beacon

May You shine the Light forth

May the World be comforted

For Truth and Light will prevail.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell. General Kerr did both.

Retired Brigadier General Keith Kerr caused a scandal at the Republican You Tube debate last week. He challenged the candidates with a question demanding that gays be allowed to serve in the military. It was discovered, later that he was on a steering committee for Gay issues in the Clinton campaign. General Kerr has said that he is still evaluating who he will vote for, and I believe his association with Clinton is because she is listening to his issue. I don’t believe that makes him ‘her man’.

As a Soldier I believe that a retired General, has earned the right to speak on his own merit. He is a gay man who took the high rode. He hid in the military so he could serve his country. Now years later, after faithful service, he says that he felt that the army was wrong to make him stay secretive. He has every right to feel this way, and I support his position that Soldiers are professionals able to work with gays in the workplace.

Fight the smear campaign against him as a ‘political pawn’. Generals are not pawns, he has earned the right to scream his outrage from the rooftops.

Baghdad Soldiers Debate Abortion

Recently I returned from a trip to Baghdad. While there I learned the true potential for debate and discourse in small secluded groups of people from all over our country. I only hope that Congress will emulate the intellectual forum I experienced while visiting Soldiers in a modest bunker in Camp Victory, Iraq.

While with them I started one such debate, er.. discourse when I brought up Congressman, Dr. Ron Paul and his candidacy for President. For liberals his position of non-interference in the rest of the world, and decreased federal interference in the affairs of state, can seem tempting. In fact I’m not totally sure that I disagree with him. There is one issue, however, that is sure to get national attention among liberals if he gets the Republican nod. Dr. Ron Paul is Pro-Life.

It was on this point that I entered a debate with half a dozen Soldiers in a modest bunker in Bagdad. Dr. Paul wants to legislate the beginning of human life at conception. I agree that a law has to be passed that specifically outlines when the protection of the 14th Amendment (that those born or naturalized in the United States are legally citizens) takes effect. I don’t agree that it should be at conception. It allows no latitude for the many situations in which Pro-Choice advocates have legitimate points.

Dr. Paul’s position is not a religious one. He is a physician that has delivered over 4,000 children. He has said that a civilization that holds itself as the beacon of freedom and justice must protect the innocent above all. Coming from him I see it as an idealist statement worthy of a champion.

I therefore present the outcome of the Baghdad debate: Congress should pass a law declaring the beginning of life as the first detectable heartbeat. This allows the untimely or assaulted woman a small amount of time to make a big decision. It also maintains the Christian ideal of the sanctity of life. Christians believe that life is ‘breathed’ into mankind by God. The mystical beginning of the heartbeat seems the most apparent physical manifestation of the biblical phenomenon. Scientifically, the heartbeat is also the means by which doctors tell if someone is living or dead. While six weeks (the coming of the heartbeat) seems like a small window for a life decision, such a policy will be strict enough to encourage a more responsible practice of sexuality, and lenient enough to allow the expanse of choice the American People demand.

The most important element of this issue, is that it be resolved. Too long has this politically polarizing issue been poisoning our government. Issues like abortion, homosexual marriage, and stem cells are viral afflictions in political process. They are so harmful because they eliminate moderate candidates from the ballot. As a result, our extreme and uncompromising policies on issues like abortion, are made by the same uncompromising people that decide our foreign, financial and domestic policies. It is time to put these issues to bed, so that America can emerge as shining Light of Freedom and Justice we are destined to be.

Shine forth the Light