Why I Don't Like Religion

I was in California a few weeks ago and read an article in the San Diego Union Tribune about the nativity scene set up in the Washington State capital building. Next to the nativity scene there was a sign posted that read, “There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but a myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.” (San Diego Union Tribune, December 7, 2008) I’m sure that will tick off some religious types. Sadly, while I personally disagree the ‘no gods or devils’ thing, and especially with the way irreligious types try so hard to denigrate what is important to so many religious types (like diluting the real meaning of Christmas or Easter) I can actually understand why they say what they say--about religion that is. Frankly, at one level, I agree with them. Religion does harden hearts and minds! And for that reason, I don’t really like religion. Religion has been the root of a great many atrocities. Religion has caused untold heartache. That’s a true statement. The weird thing about their perspective, however, is they seem to forget that the same thing is true about irreligion! While the Christians have the Crusades and the Muslims have their holy war and current jihad against infidels like myself, the irreligious types have Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. Talk about hard hearts and enslaved minds?! And all of those guys were atheists! So lets get off the “religion is the source of a great many atrocities” gig. The truth is, so is irreligion. The question really is why? What makes religion and irreligion the same or different? And why, would a guy like me, who is technically religious, not like religion? Hmmm. Sounds like the start of a series of blogs! More later!

What Sean Bell Tells us about Race Relations

Sean Bell has been dead for a while now. But he’s still talking. It’s been a few weeks more than two years since Sean Bell, a black man, was killed outside a strip club early in the morning on his wedding day, November 26, 2006. He died under a hail storm of bullets when a police sting went bad. Two of the three officers involved were minorities. One officer, a minority, fired 50 shots from his service revolver. The officers felt their lives were threatened and had understood one of the suspects to have a gun. There was no gun. There was no crime being committed. There was just one big bad mistake.

Last May a judge handed down a verdict of not guilty for any of the police officers on any charges. I was a little surprised at the time, as it seemed that manslaughter, at least, would have been something they’d be charged with but it was not guilty. The black community was outraged per usual. In all of this there seems to me to be several challenges as we consider race relations and our human condition. First, people want justice. And justice sometimes doesn’t seem to be just. What is just for one person seems unjust for another. Would it have been just to put the police officers in jail? Second, it seems that we all need to believe the best about others a little more. The police officers heard one of Bell’s friends say he had a gun in his car. These friends were formerly convicted felons and they were all outside a strip club at 4:00 am. We can’t bring Sean Bell back but maybe whites and blacks alike need to believe the best in each other a little more. I have some terrific African American friends. I believe the best of them not because they are black or white but because they are human, created in the image of Almighty God, and have demonstrated that they are trustworthy. I could give you the names of some white people I wouldn’t trust for a minute. It’s not a white or black thing! It’s a people thing. Third, I think we need to spend time getting intentionally involved in the lives of those who are different than we are. How many of us actually go to someone’s home and eat if they are of a different race or different religion than we are? It’s rare, even in New York.

Each racial community brings special reminders of God that should be mixed into the soup of life. The relational meal smells really really good when a variety of racial spice is added! I think we all need to recognize the contribution each ethnic community brings and celebrate it. We also need to be aware of the negative tendencies of our own racial community. If we started dealing with the junk our own racial groups contributes to the trash of life perhaps we’d be less likely to be critical of others.

Greed is Greater than Sex

I used to think that sex was the most powerful non-survival drive known to man. After reading this mornings paper, I’m beginning to wonder if its really greed! The financial markets are being shaken to the core today by the demise of yet another series of financial institutions—Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch. These failures have come because of these institutions participation in the recent mortgage scandals and risky real estate deals. What drove these smart men and women, who make millions of dollars a year, to take on such risky investments? Probably the same thing that has driven many “regular” people to buy things on credit that they cannot really afford: Greed! Not many of us are exempt. I’m sure not, but this whole ugly mess has really made me think. I keep running across friends who are either on the verge of declaring bankruptcy or in the process. The lesson for me is to not buy things I can’t afford, not live an extravagant lifestyle, and seek to value treasure that doesn’t fade away. To listen to the commercials on TV during sporting events, the only real way to have security is to allow some of these big financial institutions to invest your money. I guess that theory has been blown to hell! Maybe this will make some more people think! What really lasts? What is really secure? What do you think? Click the comment link to the bottom right, if you have an opinion, and lets dialogue.

Team World Vision and the Chicago Marathon

Rick Warren once said, “The purpose of influence is to speak up for those who have no influence.” With that in mind I’m taking a simple step to do something about the AIDS crisis in Africa. I’ll be running the Chicago marathon to raise awareness of AIDS pandemic and to raise sponsorship for children in the countries affected by it. I’m also raising money to provide clean drinking water for a village in Zambia. Through World Vision, over the last five years my wife Janet and I have sponsored several kids in underdeveloped countries. This year I want to invite others in the running and surfing communities to literally take on a child from one of these countries. It costs about $35 a month to sponsor a kid. For most of us, that’s dinner out. For the kids its clothes, an education, and food on the table! It’s an easy way to take our wealth and use it to help someone else.

I’ll run the Chicago marathon as a visual way to give people the opportunity to consider this opportunity. Maybe some of you would like to run it with me? Or maybe others would consider sharing this blog with a friend or perhaps sharing the opportunity with a friend. It won’t take a lot of time or energy and most of all it can make a difference in someone else’s life. Go to the “comment” section on this post and check “open ID” and post me your responses. Or you can click on the “Dave Miles and Team World Vision” link and consider what you might do. Thanks for reading this post.

Beauty--do we recognize it?

Do we really recognize beauty when we see it? I recently read a story about one of the world’s greatest violinist, Joshua Bell who in conjunction with a group of researchers, decided to test our nations capacity to recognize beauty. Bell, a handsome single man, is also one of the world’s best violinists. Gathering his $3 million dollar Stratavarious violin, Bell went to a busy subway station in Washington DC, and for 45 minutes, played some of the worlds best music created for violin. He was dressed like a street musician and opened his violin case to collect money for his performance.

Someone filmed the experiment and upon review, noted that 1097 people passed by Bell as he played. Of that number, only seven people stopped to take in the performance for at least a minute. Another 27 gave money, most of them on the run, for a total of $32 and change. The author of the article concluded that we have lost our appreciation for beauty in the modern world. At the end of the article the author made this intriguing comment: “If we can’t take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that—then what else are we missing?” Intriguing right? It made me wonder what I am missing.

Beauty draws us in an invites us to engage, touch, tap our feet, sing along, ponder, and look. I’ve decided to take beauty seriously. I’ve been trying to smell the smells and see the sites a little more intentionally. The ability to run, surf, smell the ocean, see the mountains and trees, read poetry, listen to music, enjoy architecture, food, and people is all part of the experience of beauty that God gives us. It is my opinion that all beauty points to the creator of all beauty; God himself. The Psalmist says, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple” (Psa. 27:4). The video is Pipeline in Hawaii. Beautiful!!

What's Driving Dave?

“What is driving you?” I’d said the words before. They sort of slipped thoughtlessly out of my mouth. I’d said those words to my wife, Jan, when she seemed to never take a break. I’d said them to friends whom I self-righteously thought were giving their lives to insane schedules or harried existences or ridiculous endeavors. I’d said them, frankly, to quite a few people. But this time the words, spoken to a friend while running, boomeranged around and hit me back in the head. In my mind the thought came back, “Well, what is driving you, Dave?” I’d slowed down my training for marathons after Boston but remained pretty intense in my regimen. I’d done this on top of an insane travel schedule and a very difficult work and ministry environment. “What’s driving me?”

The flippancy of my comments and the thoughtlessness behind them rattled my cage. “What’s driving me?” Another friend recently admitted that maybe he’d bitten off more than he could chew when it came to training for a half iron man triathlon. My response was muted this time because the thought keeps coming back, “What’s driving me?”

Blaise Pascal wrote a book many years ago entitled Pensees (or reflections/ponderings). Pascal was a brilliant mathematician but what he’s actually best known for is his writings on Philosophy and Theology. In Pensees he has entire section answering the question, “What’s driving Dave?” or to put it another way, “What is diving us?” The section is entitled, Diversions. Pascal, like Augustine, believed that humankind did what they do because they want to be happy. As a matter of fact, according to Pascal, mankind cannot help but want to be happy! He was created to be happy. But still, when pondering life’s difficulties, humankind becomes unhappy. To overcome this people involve themselves in diversions. These diversions, says Pascal, keep our minds off of the difficulties of our existence and the realities that we face daily. Pascal believed that to be truly happy one has to rest: “They have another secret instinct, left over from the greatness of our original nature, telling them that the only true happiness lies in rest and not in excitement.” (Pensees Section 136) But where does this rest come from? Augustine, speaking of a relationship with God through Christ, put it like this, “Our heart is restless until it rests in you.”(Confessions Chapter 1)

I believe that I get involved in diversions because I still don’t find my rest in Christ—at least not like I should. I still believe, erroneously, that I’ll be happiest when I am active. I don’t want to believe that I believe that, but I think I still do. I am finished with my ministry in Hawaii. I’m tired. I need a break but still I drive myself. Last week my body shut me down for several days. I couldn’t work. Yesterday I ran a half marathon and substantially missed my target time in spite of being in good condition. I need to take a break. I’m going to take a month off and during that time I’m going to extract myself from some of my diversions. I’m going to go to a monastery and be silent and rest. Who knows what I’ll find. I’ll let you know in future posts.

The picture on this post was taken at Volcano National Park near Hilo, Hawaii on the big island. It was a time of rest in a very difficult time of ministry. It is instructive. Life can be very barren, like what is left over from an irruption. But in the middle of that barreness, we need rest.

Let's Celebrate Twenty Eight

I like being married. I like my female friends. They are very dear. My male friends sometimes send me emails like the one I received yesterday with the title, Fairy Tale. It goes like this: "One day, long, long ago.......There lived a woman who did not whine, nag or bitch. But this was a long time ago....... and it was just that one day. The End." Apparently, some people don't like marriage. Maybe some men don't like women! The friend who sent this to me is a nice guy. He thought this was funny. But I get tired of hearing women constantly criticized by men. Perhaps my friend was constantly criticized by women or hurt deeply by a woman. It makes me wonder.

Saturday, Jan and I celebrated our twenty-eighth wedding anniversary. Not a bad accomplishment for a baby boomer. It doesn't even remotely resemble the Fairy Tale I quoted. I don't have as much hair as I used to and I'm not as muscular as I was the day we got married. Jan doesn't have the youthful appeal she did either. Should I expect her too? Beauty and physical strength is fickle and short lived. Even a sunset over the Pacific ocean, though beautiful, can't be completely captured. "The beauty of the natural world," says N.T. Wright, "is at best the echo of a voice, not the voice itself." The same thing could be said of relationships.

Everyone wants to be liked, loved, accepted, and special. Marriage is the deepest completion of that desire. And yet so many marriages end in bankruptcy. I think people were made for relationship, yet making relationships work, let alone flourish, is remarkably difficult. Jan and I have had our moments. Billy Graham's wife was once asked if she had ever considered divorcing her husband. Her answer is profoundly humorous, "Divorce? No. Murder. Yes!" There was a period in our marriage when, outside of divorce, I would have been happy to get out. Surprised? Sorry to disappoint you. I'm sure Jan felt the same way. But God in his grace and mercy invited both of us to take a deep inner look at what was real in us. It was hard. I'd have rather had a root canal. But in the end, it was worth it.

I had dinner last night with a friend in Christian ministry. He acknowledged that there were things in his marriage that were not right. It was eating him up. Just that morning he and his wife had had a terrible fight. I tried to encourage him and let him know that the best thing he could give his congregation was a healthy marriage. As a few of my friends have said, "The best thing you can give your kids, is a healthy marriage." I believe it. Gerry Scazzero recently asked a poignant question that went something like this, "How would it have benefited your marriage if your parents had gotten help for their own." Great thought! I hope my kids can someday look at me and Jan and answer in a positive fashion.