Blogging Against Theocracy

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.


Reprinted with permission of The A.A. Grapevine, Inc.

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What does the Preamble of Alcoholics Anonymous have to do with blogging against theocracy? I'm glad you asked, because it is the greatest example of acceptance I have found anywhere.

Let's start with this line: AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution... No. Let's start with this. Alcoholics Anonymous is the most important spiritual development to come out of the 20th Century. Why do I say that? Because AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization, or institution. ANYONE who has a desire to stop drinking can join; ANYONE who says they are a member is a member; NOBODY tells you what to believe.

I stayed away from AA for a long time because I thought it was a cult for white male Christian lowbottoms who wore dirty, torn raincoats and had bad teeth. But one of the first 100 members was an atheist who eventually came to believe in a power greater than himself - he defied religion, accepted a god of his own understanding, and had the founders insert after the word God as we understand him in every reference to God in the twelve steps.

There are days when the God of my understanding is simply Good Orderly Direction. Doing the next indicated thing, like going to work or calling my daughter or son - that is God. God is in the details of my day, not in whether I go to a Church, Temple, or Mosque. God is in how I treat my co-workers; am I tolerant? Am I kind? Do I listen? Or am I a bully, demanding my way or the highway?

The God of my understanding does not involve "mandating the death penalty for homosexuals and drunkards," as proposed by Rousas John (R.J.) Rushdoony. (hat tip to Traveling Man of Movable Jewel. I think that Jesus probably doesn't have any involvement with Rushdoony, either.

Here is what the God of my understanding does: this God leads me to meetings with other recovering alcoholics, and there I can hear stories of recovery. I learned how to get divorced without drinking. I learned how to not wake up in bed with a husband belonging to someone else. I learned how to not steal. I learned how to be a good worker, and to give my employer a dime for his nickle.

The God of my understanding has given me a group of friends, many of whom do not share my liberal political view, but who are there for me when I need help just as I am there for them when they need the same. The God of my understanding has taught me to honor the soldiers who have been sent to Iraq because the are not the makers of policy. The God of my understanding has taught me that quality of life and dying with dignity is essential, and that our government denied Terry Schiavo both.

Intolerance is nothing new. Here is a story. Rabbi Hillel, who lived some 2000 years ago in Jerusalem, was approached one day by a non-Jew who challenged him to sum up the Torah - the first five books of the Jewish Bible - while standing on one leg. Accepting the dare, Hillel stated, "What is hateful to you, do not do unto your neighbor. That is the whole of the Torah; all the rest is commentary. Now go and learn it."

That is the essence of human rights. Look at what various religious prophets have said about it:

Regarding war: "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD." — Torah Leviticus 19:18

Regarding undocumented immigrants: "When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." — Torah Leviticus 19:33-34

Regarding torture: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." — Jesus (c. 5 BCE—33 CE) in the Gospels, Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31, Luke 10:27

"None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." — Muhammad (c. 571 – 632 CE) in a Hadith.

"This is the sum of duty; do naught unto others what you would not have them do unto you." — Mahabharata (5:15:17) (c. 500 BCE)

"What you do not wish upon yourself, extend not to others." — Confucius (ca. 551–479 BCE)

I go to AA meetings because nearly 19 years ago, I reached a state of pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization. I was a hopeless, helpless drug addict and alcoholic, and an observant Jew who regularly attended Synagogue - I was a drunk with RELIGION. I have been sober since July 18, 1988, and through that time I have gone from being an observant Jew who had no God at all to an unaffiliated Jew who believes in a God of my own understanding. I have come to believe in the existance of this Higher Power because I don't drink or use drugs and was unable to stop doing this on my own. I have little personal use for religion. AA is not a religion. It is not a "self help" group. We are people who normally would not mix, but who wound up in the same lifeboat and there we are. AA has given me tolerance, and some modicum of patience. We have atheists, pagans, Catholics, Liberals, Right Wingers, Christians of many denominations, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, Democrats, Republicans, Doctors, Actors, Welders, thieves, cops, airline pilots, you name it, we've got it.

And nobody demands that I change my belief or faith to be a member of AA. The ONLY thing I need to get right on a daily basis is to not pick up that first drink. All the rest is commentary.

Blogging against theocracy

On March 31st, a New York Art Gallery cancelled a proposed exhibit of a sculpture of Jesus Christ, before the exhibit opened to the public. The sculpture was a life-size statue of Jesus made entirely from chocolate, and was to be displayed for two hours each day. Chocolate melts, it goes bad. It was a truly edible body of Christ. And, with contempt prior to investigation, the The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights whipped up a shit-storm.

Founded in 1973 by Jesuit Father Virgil C. Blum SJ, the Catholic League is a lay group funded by individual donations and is outside the control of the Church. The Board of Directors, headed by William A. Donohue, have guided the League towards conservative and traditionalist cultural activism in the manner of groups like the Christian Coalition. You know them, they're the ones who are defending America's Godly Heritage. But I digress. Back to the art exhibit that never was.

Donohue called it "an all-out war on Christianity." That's a pretty strong statement for a big piece of chocolate, in my opinion. To me, all-out war is what we're doing in Iraq, against the will of the American People. But again, I digress. Donohue heads an organization that purports to be about Civil Rights, yet his primary thrust is always toward censorship. The organization vocally protested films like The Last Temptation of Christ and Dogma because they broke with conservative views. Donohue said about the statue: "They wouldn't show a depiction of Martin Luther King Jr. with genitals exposed on Martin Luther King Day, and they wouldn't show Mohammed depicted this way during Ramadan. It's always Christians, and the timing is deliberate."

"It's not just the ugliness of the portrayal, but the timing, to choose Holy Week, is astounding."

Let's review: it's not just the ugliness of the portrayal...

Look at the photo of the piece. It is well-made. It looks like so many statues of Jesus nailed to the cross made from wood, or clay, or bronze, that I am really hard-pressed to get what the flap is about. Oh, I know. It's CHOCOLATE. Chocolate is ugly in a religious context.

Further, there are no sculptures of the prophet Mohammed - Islam, like Judaism, doesn't build statuary because it is too much like idol worship. So Donohue is right at least about nobody building a statue of Mohammed out of anything.

Is the fact of this being made out of Chocolate the problem? Or is it the fact that Jesus is naked? Someone explain this to me, because I don't understand. Art must be challenging, and it must make the viewer have a response, but that is only after the art has been seen. Donohue NEVER SAW IT. He didn't see the sculpture, he simply condemned it outright. Contempt prior to investigation. I gotta tell you, it is really difficult to sculpt using food stuff - I used to know a woman who was a butter sculptor (and she once had to make a butter sculpture of Jesus for a Christening party) - she said working with food of any sort is difficult - butter melts so they make a butterish substance that is not edible; chocolate is brittle AND it melts - just all kinds of techinical problems.

But Donohue protests, and the Roger Smith Hotel which hosts the Gallery caved in, and the Gallery Director, out of consideration for the Hotel cancels the exhibit and is searching for another venue.

Meanwhile, New Orleans is still not rebuilt, and we've spent well over $400,000,000,000 on an illegal war in Iraq. Where are our nation's priorities?

Be sure to visit The Blogswarm Site for links to all the other posters.

(cross posted at The Katrinacrat

Blogging Against Theocracy

We make the strangest assumptions about people. I don't exclude myself from this, I do it all the time. I assume. I have opinions - sometimes they come out of contempt prior to investigation, which I think is what most of us do anyway. In our closed little minds, we assume, we form opinions, we judge, and we offend.

Here is an example of normal assumptions about me. First, I am a Jewish woman living in a predominently Christian area of Los Angeles. I am fair skinned, with strawberry blond hair. Many people think I am Irish. But here's the thing: People assume I celebrate Easter, or Christmas. I have a client who, when he signs his emails, BLESSES me in the name of Christ. He is not a member of any clergy, either. I go to the grocery store and am overwhelmed with all the Easter material, and foods - and a small little section for Passover goods, some of which are not actually Kosher for Passover. It is marked by a condescending sign, "Happy Passover to our Jewish Friends."

Imagine the reaction that client would have if I were to wish him a Happy Passover.

Here's the deal: I am happy if you celebrate a holiday other than what I celebrate. Just don't push it in my face. I HATE Christmas as it is presented in the United States - it is a co-opted Pagan ritual, and has evolved into a consumer frenzy that is designed to make non-participants feel small and left out. I hate the way Christmas music is blared out 24/7. I hate the ASSUMPTION that everyone celebrates it.

On my drive home from work, I sometimes come around the Peninsula, and there is one house with a GIANT wooden cross facing the route. I mean this is one honking big cross. And I have jumped to the conclusion that this person is an angry, judgmental individual who condemns free choice, who believes that our current Administration is right to be fighting a war in Iraq, who hates Gays, or single women. I assume this because he has a giant wooden cross. Would I not be moving toward acceptance if I knocked on his door and said, "I want to have a dialogue with you, I want to understand your beliefs. I want to be open to hear your ideas."

If I don't want people to make assumptions about me, should I not also give up my own assumptions about others?

Please note the graphic that accompanies this post was made by Flaring of Virtual Flaring

Blogging against theocracy

My religion, my faith, should have no bearing on matters of state. There is a blogswarm scheduled for this weekend, with Blue Gal spearheading and organizing the bulk of it. There is a link archive at Blog Against Theocracy with instructions, but the goal is to publish at least once over the Easter Weekend about separation of Church and State.

I am not anti-religious. I am opposed to using Religion as a weapon for hate.

Please note the graphic that accompanies this post was made by Tengrain of Mock Paper Scissors