The stated purpose of one [briefing], about allegedly religious-sanctioned lying, is to “identify the elements of verbal deception in Islam and their impacts on Law Enforcement.” Not “terrorism.” Not even “Islamist extremism.” Islam.

Pretty un-American indoctrination in a federal agency whose motto is, “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity.” Read the full article at Wired

The Alhambra of Granada: Muslim Nasrid Fortress; Holy Roman Emperor Charles V's palace; Catholic churches and ex-mosques in view. Photo taken outside the Saint Nicholas church in the Albayzin "Muslim quarter" of the city.

Newt Gingrich states,

“The proposed “Cordoba House” overlooking the World Trade Center site – where a group of jihadists killed over 3000 Americans and destroyed one of our most famous landmarks – is a test of the timidity, passivity and historic ignorance of American elites.  For example, most of them don’t understand that “Cordoba House” is a deliberately insulting term.  It refers to Cordoba, Spain – the capital of Muslim conquerors who symbolized their victory over the Christian Spaniards by transforming a church there into the world’s third-largest mosque complex.” [Emphasis mine.]

I’ll overlook Gingrich’s gross overstatement of the historical facts (this excellent post by a medieval historian refutes his statements in detail) and get to the more glaring irony in his statement. Say hello to the “world’s third-largest mosque complex,” that symbolic victory over Christian Spain (which before the conquest was neither unified in religion nor statehood):

Yep, that just makes ya tremble in fear of Islamist conquerors, doesn’t it? Newt Gingrich uses Córdoba as an example of the Muslim destruction of Western or Christian culture, yet the very building in question stands today not as a mosque, but a cathedral. (Ironically, the world’s third-largest Christian complex lies a couple of hours’ drive away in Seville – a mosque converted into a cathedral after the Catholics conquered the Muslim-ruled Al-Andalus.)

A not-so-subtle assertion of Catholic superiority in the post-reconquista Nasrid palaces of Granada

But I think there’s a better lesson in Córdoba and medieval Spain than a simple “who-oppressed-whose-culture-at-what-time” argument. The Iberian peninsula’s unique location both geographically and historically (the bridge between Africa and Europe; the southern limit of the Roman empire; the northern limit of the Umayyad caliphate; a reluctant modern abandoner of monarchy) give Spain a cornucopia of cultural clashes, harmonies, and completely new creations – an example of how different groups come and go from the ruling class, but the culture beneath them evolves as its own independent force. Such wide cultural influences are found in the region’s languages, art, architecture, genealogy, music… really just about anywhere you look.

Parts or the whole of the Iberian peninsula since the beginning of written history has been ruled at times by Phoenicians, Greeks, Visigoth Romans, Berbers, Arabs, Catholics, Socialists, Fascists, and finally a modern democracy. Before the united kingdoms of Castille and León retook Granada in 1492, a state could only hold onto its reign for a century, maybe two. (The exception to this may be the Cordoban caliphate, which held much of the peninsula from 716-1031.)

So while rulers came and went pretty quickly, the people stayed much the same. Christians under Muslim rule – the Mozarabs –  adopted Arabic culture and language, but not the religion. When the Catholic monarchs took the final Muslim stronghold at Granada, they promised the Muslim inhabitants could continue in their faith as Mudéjar Spaniards. (They did, however, expel all the Jews at the same time.) Not much later, though, the Spanish Inquisition defied the Mudéjars’ expectations by forcing their conversion to Christianity. They did so, at least in name, but their cultural traditions continued at such a strong level that the “Morisco” name was eventually used as an accusation of these citizens’ continued Muslim allegiance. (Much like Newt Gingrich’s usage of “Islamism” as a way to denigrate Muslim Americans’ place in our society.)

All these groups of second-class citizens tremendously influenced period architecture, art and music. Today, the most devout Catholic Spaniard will speak with reverence for monuments built by Jewish, Muslim and Catholic hands. The ability to combine such strong cultural traditions, preserve them, and make something new out of them at the same time is pretty remarkable. al-Andalus and Spain were practicing post-modernism centuries before modernism was born! The United States’ “melting pot” has nothing on this.

I don’t want to claim that cultural influence confers equality or power. I’m speaking of a region with a tumultuous history of conquest after conquest, succeeded by revolution after revolution. I just want to show how regardless of political constructs or the dominant class, Spain is a great example of diverse cultures coexisting in a way that both continues strong traditions and promotes the creation of new ones at the same time.

(All photos in this post ©2009 Zeke Weeks.)

I haven’t been posting a lot about daily life this semester because I am lucky enough to actually be very consumed with school and the career search. I really didn’t expect things to hit me so hard all of a sudden, but I’ve been going seemingly nonstop since January or February. For the most part I’ve been handling it OK, though I’ve definitely had to shift gears on my daily routine.

One unfortunate truth is that I get so distracted having my desk in my bedroom that it’s pretty hard to be productive from home, so I find myself kicking myself out of the house a lot to get stuff done – to the CSU library if the time is right, but more often than not, I’m at the Alley Cat, Fort Collins’ 24/7 coffeeshop near campus. I quickly gained my FourSquare mayorship, I’ve had more than one precarious 4 AM bike ride home in varying levels of snow, and I am not going to tell you how much money I spend there. (The cost of the coffee and food is far offset by my productivity gains from the removed distractions.)

Currently on my plate are two big midterms and one case study on my own while working together on a huge paper and presentation with another group. Somewhere in there, I also need to find room to squeeze in a freelance project and the hunt for a job (Not knowing what I’m doing a month from now? Not the greatest feeling!) Despite all that, I feel like I’ve been ramping up the workload so steadily now that I can still manage to get stuff done without self-destructing. It’s interesting, though – I really haven’t felt this intense, stressful-yet-exciting kind of routine since my last senior year, back in high school. Back then I was juggling AP exams, college applications, understaffing at work, and a family with a 14 year old and a 4 year old at home. The situation has changed, but it’s the same old story: I’m super busy, but it’s almost all really worthwhile stuff that has me excited for what lies ahead.

I’m still actually working on the answer to what does lie ahead. On the practical level, I’m looking for systems analysis, sales engineer, and web developer opportunities in Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins and San Francisco. But I’m wondering a lot more about long-term stuff: what do I want my life to look like? Do I want to move to a big downtown area and try the urban yuppie lifestyle? Do I want to travel? Do I go back to Spain or do I take care of my massive international “to-do” list? Since I’m at a point in my life where I have the freedom to make those decisions, I feel like I should really think a lot about them before I commit myself to one path for a while, since I’m just finishing up this 4-year “chapter.”

I find myself thinking back to a walk I took a year ago alone on the dunes of the Sahara: it was there that I felt the most clarity and perspective I’ve ever experienced. That wasn’t really a “what am I going to do with my life” kind of moment; it was more like a time where all distractions were removed to the point where all that remained was the pure essence of being in communion with all that really matters in the world. A few months later, I was back in the daily grind when this line from Six Feet Under hit me like a ton of bricks:

All we have is this moment, right here, right now. The future is just a fucking concept that we use to avoid being alive today. So, Be. Here. Now.

I never expected to get a serious philosophical revelation from an HBO show, but it really does explain it all. The stuff I have going on isn’t necessarily irrelevant, but it’s really important to me that I don’t get lost in it. I want to go after a lifestyle for my future. My goal is not to save for retirement, or be super successful, or be the best person in my professional field. I don’t want to burn out on stress to the point that I need a vacation to recharge my spiritual batteries. I want to work towards making every aspect of my life: personal, professional, social, financial, spiritual, whatever – into things that enrich my life and the lives of everyone around me. And that’s it. Anything that doesn’t work towards that probably shouldn’t be there.

Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

For everyone who has made up their minds and fears a negative outcome, comfort.

For the polarized and disagreeing, understanding and respect. May we not be a nation divided by our different ideals, but one nation that is strong because of our freedom to be different and united in our stand for that freedom.

For those who serve their country and their community, courage.

For our leaders, discernment. May they be humble and servants of the people, not self-righteous abusers of the powers we entrust to them.

For the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, hope and justice.

As this government is an institution of fallible people, and therefore is itself fallible, and as no elected official or written statute under such a system will be without its shortcomings and imperfections, I pray for grace and mercy after our inevitable mistakes.

For all in the world, peace and prosperity.

Amen.

Some protestants get random visits from the F.S.B. (think post-Soviet K.G.B.) and can no longer rent spaces of their own or express their beliefs in public- many have moved into hiding, meeting in private homes.

There are definitely much worse places in the world as far as freedom of religion is concerned – Turkey and China especially come to mind. But it’s disappointing to see a country take a step backwards when it comes to freedom. I hate to think of what life for followers of non-Christian faiths must be like in Russia.

Any religion can fall into the self-righteous trap of believing it is the only true one and all others are false, making this decision by faith alone. But even then, this does not give that group a free pass to do wrong to those with other beliefs. As Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

I surely hope that I will never make the mistake that the Russian government and Orthodox Church has made.

For some reason, I have recently felt existence – both my own and that of everyone and everything around me – from a much less linear perspective of time. Yes, there is the past, which is out of my control. There is the near future, which I spend most of my waking hours trying to control. But there is also the vast amount of the infinite future which I cannot control. My own death is inevitable, and in the grand scheme of things, even the most meaningful life will have minute significance in comparison to eternity.

So why waste time worrying about the little things? Surely, this is no excuse to abandon all care for things that are important. But right now, at least for a short time before I throw myself back into the mundane routine, I recognize that I should not let the relatively insignificant need to control my immediate future define me. When I think, “Who am I?” I shouldn’t worry about petty things like “I go to CSU,” or “I’m trying to get into a career in music and/or technology.” I’d much rather recognize the really important things for what they are, and be defined by those things:

• How have I loved the people around me?
• How have I served and sacrificed to benefit others?
• How much of my short existence was I truly aware of these important things, and how much time did I waste on the mundane and irrelevant?

I believe that, except for Governor Huckabee, who is himself a clergyman who chose to run for office, these issues have no relevance to any political campaign, and can only be used as personal proxy attacks with limited factual significance.

However, as this issue currently dominates national news, and it touches on two very important issues – my faith and my politics – I think it deserves to be addressed.

Rev. Wright’s comments post-9/11 were taken out of context by the media – he was quoting a US Ambassador as part of a larger sermon with a different message. Consider his comments in context, compared to those of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson on 9/13/2001:

I do not share viewpoints with either of the above videos. I disagree with parts of both. I agree with other parts of both. But the issue deserves better attention than the sensationalism being encouraged by the media and by desperate campaigns right now.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
[...]
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

(all verses ESV)

I’ve been in a weird place recently. Not an overall positive or negative state, but definitely a “something isn’t quite the way it should be” kind of feeling.

Over the past week or so I have taken notice of which really drive me. I could rattle off a list of things that I currently have that give me pleasure, and another list of things that I desire – the things that get me to kick myself in the butt and do what it takes to get them (which is very surprising, and those who have seen how lazy I can be will agree with me!)
The actual things that I thought of are not my concern here – some of them are sinful, and some of them are actually very good things. But what they all have in common is that they are motivated by the desires of my flesh. I do them because the part of me that is of broken, sinful, worldly origins enjoys doing them – even if they aren’t sinful themselves.

It just blows my mind to think of how much I spend chasing after these things that, in and of themselves, are temporary pleasures and vain pursuits. I know that I can only find ultimate satisfaction in God. And here’s where I feel really convicted and kinda stupid: If I can find the greatest of satisfaction from intimacy with God, why am I not desiring it more than anything else and doing nothing but working towards it?

In other words, why do I spend so much time running after what my worldly flesh desires, and so little on what the spirit desires? Romans 6:16-18 refers to believers as “slaves of righteousness,” but I feel that I’m not even fulfilling a slave’s job description! “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

I want to be motivated for intimacy with God like I’m motivated by my own flesh. I want that drive and desire to be so strong that I can’t help but to run towards Him and do whatever I can to get closer with Him.
I want the good things that I do out of fleshly enjoyment to turn into mere channels through which I can get closer to God.
I want my desire of God to be so strong that I can joyfully repent of the sinful things that the flesh leads me to do, instead of struggling with guilt, conviction, or addiction.

I’ve been praying for a while for that kind of a desire, and I got kind of frustrated with God because it didn’t start happening in the way I wanted it to. I expected Him to make that desire just start growing in me, since I know that I am incapable of overcoming my flesh – a part of myself – on my own. But day after day, that desire didn’t start growing..
But recently, something unexpected happened – God started showing me other things – little things here and there in my own behavior – that, through his grace, I am capable of overcoming and improving. He kind of told me that these things are little personal “prerequisites” that, when satisfied, will bring about changes in my character that will make that desire for God grow.
(I should clarify here: I’m not saying that God told me “Stop doing X,Y, and Z and you will have an insatiable desire for intimacy with me,” as there is no magic trick to make it work. I see it as a never-ending, never-complete process with which God can bring himself closer to us.)

So. It is what it is. God is working in ways smarter than I think he should work. He is faithful. I am willing. All praise to God, who strengthens me!

1. I have a tendency to be prideful, arrogant, controlling, and overly confident in my own work.
2. I react with strong negativity towards others who are prideful, arrogant, controlling, or overly confident in their own work.

Reconciling the two is obviously difficult. I know that part of the solution comes in humbling myself and opening myself to others’ ideas… But when that happens, how do I protect myself from those who don’t do the same?

A lot of my life has been about recognizing that because everyone is imperfect and makes mistakes, we should try to find the best solutions to protect ourselves from our own mistakes so that we can live in relative peace with one another, even when we disagree over what is wrong or right.  Recently, I have been feeling more like there is a more obvious standard of right and wrong that can be derived from observation and logic. I recognize the slippery slope that puts me on, and I’m not sure if this change was brought about by an unchecked hardening of my own ego, or by “maturing” or something else completely.

While this definitely has implications in the spheres of politics and culture, I think that the place where it really hits home for me is in the spiritual realm. I have directly witnessed a pretty wide range of spiritual opinions, from “All roads lead to heaven,” to “there is no such thing as good or evil or God,” to “[Monotheistic religion] is the only true religion, all others are false and evil because they aren’t ours, and the world will only be at peace once it is a global theocracy under our control.”

Part of me is troubled by the apparent majority of people who adopt their religious, political, or cultural perspective because of their circumstances rather than a conscious logical evaluation of each alternative. I go to Christian churches, but I don’t know if I would had I been born in, say, Indonesia. Statistically, most people tend to vote for the same parties that their parents voted for. This doesn’t tell us which (or if) one is “wrong” or “right,” but people on either side fully believe in their decisions, and thus rifts are caused between people of different ideals – even though they would likely change their tune had they been born into different circumstances.

This might be my ego talking, so please treat it with the obligatory grain of salt, but I would like to think that I’ve done things a bit differently. Maybe it’s just been because I am the product of multiple divorced households with vastly different perspectives, but I think I’ve put a lot more thought into my choices where most just go in agreement with their peers and predecessors.  But even in this, I am unsure of myself – surely, my decisions are still influenced by “circumstance over logic” at an undetectable, subconscious level.

It hurts most when I see people with whom I have something in common, but were not there because of an educated decision. It is saddening to realize that people are most influenced by misinformation and personality smears in politics, or to see churchgoers who improperly use faith as an excuse to abandon the biblically commanded logic and questioning that protects them from false prophets and heretical teachings. While these people happen to have some views in common with me, there is really nothing different between them and the people they disagree with.

And amongst all of this, I am still plagued by the nagging feeling that I am being far too arrogant to think that I am above all of this – that I myself am guilty of the very same things I accuse others of doing. Part of me says, “Just worry about yourself and let others do the same,” and another part says, “Just because you’re being arrogant doesn’t mean you aren’t right!”

In all of this, my faith is the one thing that I do not doubt. I believe without doubt that God will not lead me astray, and that he is in control while we are all so messed up. I’m not sure of much beyond that, but I at least have the confidence that whatever reaction I have to these big questions, much wiser hands than my own are on the wheel.