In Corpus Domini

Was watching something the other day that said in the wake of the 14th Amendment the corporation through a process of 288 court cases established itself as a "person." Meaning that the rights of a person were transferable to this Corporation.

So that is weird.

But I was thinking that if each corporation is a person, then, if a corporation is owned by largely Christian members, that Corporation should then act as a Christian person? Right? Other wise the corporation is being owned by Christians and operated as an atheist? That's really bizzare...

What's more interesting is the whole workers thing. If a corporation is making people work in sweatshops and then telling us that a portion of the proceeds are being donated to help children... i mean, if the corporation is a person, then this person must be insane. Paying people 3/10 of 1% of the retail price for the manufacture of this stuff just can't possibly be ok.

Then we look at the level of pollution that corporations put out. The number of chemicals that have come through "the magic of research" is staggering.

There was a time when public regulation kept these things in check... In the 14th and 15th century there was a shared collective responsibility. Things were shared as commons, the church and lords administered this as stewards...The privatization of everything runs against this idea, and in someway could be considered un-Christian as well.

The same corporation that makes the seed for the food we eat made agent orange and paid 80 million in damages to the guys who spread the stuff during Vietnam. Think on this for a moment... we create seeds that have "terminator" genes in them. After one generation of life every seed it creates is dead. Aside from the the health implications this has (what kind of nutrient does a "dead" seed have when a lot of what we eat are seeds?) this is a new kind of insanity. For thousands of years every human on the face of the earth has worked to keep and refine better and better generations of seeds. Through this process many have survived famine and pestilence. What would we do if all the current seed were corrupted? And we had no others to rely on? Where would our food come from?

If the corporation has the freedoms of a person, then we need to perceive it as such. Do we really want to be around this person? Should we hold this person accountable for its actions? The truth is calling something a "corporation" seems to only make it easy to pass of the incredibly evil and heinous actions as part of a faceless thing that cannot possibly be held for its actions.
If the corporation is a person, it might be a psychopath: Callous unconcern for the feelings of others, incapacity to maintain enduring relationships, reckless disregard for the safety of others, deceitfulness, incapacity to experience guilt, failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behavior...The present day corporation has the diagnosis of a frightening guy.

Fanta Orange was created by Coke for the Nazis.
IBM systems were in place in every railroad and concentration camp.
FDR was undermined by involving General Butler who was fed up with being a "gangster for capitalism" who admitted to setting up a faciast regime. GP Morgan, Dupont and Goodyear Tire were fingered as the main men in the conspiracy.

What do you Really Want...

During worship while we were praying we did something so powerful that it actually made me stopped praying in order to really focus on what we were saying. The prayer said that we were asking Christ to change our world and our lives. It struck me that we pray this sometimes without fully being prepared for what the answer to that prayer might entail.

A few months ago there was a speaker in Charlotte NC addressing the situation between Palestine and Israel. This little hotbed hasn’t gotten much attention in the wake of our own financial woes and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. An interview was preceding his speaking engagement, the interview being broadcast on “Charlotte Talks.” So much of what the man said was so false, the interviewer couldn’t have possibly been expected to keep up with it all. The guy stated statistics of casualties and injured civilians, never mentioned the equal or greater number that the Israelis are also responsible for. Not to mention the American civilians that Israel has murdered. (See Racheal Corrie, a 23 year old who went to bid for peace and fairness on behalf of the Palestinians in 2003 and was crushed by a bulldozer)

He mentioned the relationship between Palestine and other Arab nations and even the Russians, and all I could think was that when an overwhelming force is opposing you, there is no where you won’t turn to protect your homeland and your freedom. I mean, the US even turned to France once upon a time. The truth of the matter is that Israel pushes the Palestinians into seeking allies wherever it can because of the level of injustice being visited on it. Israel is trying to make the other Arab countries responsible for the Palestinians so that Israel can continue to push them out of a country that was theirs to being with.

He cited a 1947 UN Agreement that established the statehood of Israel (one that was made without the input of the people that lived on the land that was being declared a state), and yet failed to mention that even though it was Harry Truman’s vote and persistence that forced the vote through, Truman was never comfortable with the idea. He is quoted as saying, "I am sorry gentlemen, but I have to answer to hundreds of thousands who are anxious for the success of Zionism. I do not have hundreds of thousands of Arabs among my constituents."

The truth is that the creation of Israel is not a Jewish practice. Nor is it a religious one. It is a political movement created with propaganda to do what men have been trying to do since the dawn of time. Establish their own greed and consolidate their power. That it comes in the guise of a holy nation should come as no surprise. Somehow they did such a good job of convincing the first world powers of their gentleness and peaceful nature we allowed them to secure nuclear missiles. As the only country in the Arab world that has them an imbalance of power was immediately created. This daggers drawn mentality does nothing for peace in an already tumultuous arena.

As I was listening to this interview a thought struck me in conjunction with our prayer from church. We don’t want peace. And we do not desire change. Our asking for Christ to change our world can only be one of two things; simple lip service, or a conditional asking that is based on our own expectation. Our actions as a country are neither Christian nor just, and in the face of these we cite that some things must be protected, must be fought for. But these things are the way of the Christian or of Christ, and no matter how we try to dress it, our actions to the contrary are in betrayal of our allegiance God.

Solving our Differences

William Ury

TEDx Midwest Talk October 2010

Solutions to peace: actions as a surrounding community to any conflict

Living with Saan Bushmen
One person hides the poison arrows
The community comes together and talks for days until there is resolution or reconciliation
Or people are placed with family in order to cool off

The Third Side : the surrounding community (Them v. Us + Community)
Remind the parties what is at stake
Easy to loose sight of things, we are reactionary beings
Need to “go to the balcony” get perspective for a distance

Where is the third side in the Palestine?
Stories Matter
Are the key, keeping us engaged in this conflict
What is the story here?
Origin story, 4,000 years ago Abe walked across the dessert
A message of Unity, family and of all things
Respect and kindess to strangers, hospitality
The symbolic 3rd side
Retrace the footsteps of the third side, gain the balcony perspective
Walking from Urfa, to Haran, Alepo, Damascus, Ajloun, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and to Hebron
The Abraham Path


Terrorism
Taking a stranger who is treated as an enemy who you kill to create fear
Hospitality
Taking a stranger who is treats as a friend who you treat well to create hope

Space Grace

What is it that captivates the mind of our nation these days? Is it possible that something aside from sports or the latest “Hoarders” episode could draw the national attention to a single focal point in this age of over stimulated instantly accessible viral videos?
The unification of our country was once more than just a collective vote on the latest “American Idol.” There was a time when almost every eye looked skyward, and every neck craned to watch a chosen few go further than any other man or woman. There was a time when our astronauts were heroes.
The shuttle program, star of the national space transportation system, is coming to a dire close in February of 2011. The last flight of the shuttle Discovery is set for the end of this month. More than nine-thousand people who are a part of the shuttle program will loose their jobs, and a bright chapter in the history of innovation and spirit in this country will likely go with them.

The shuttle program was more than just a part of some government organization. In its heyday, the men and women who traveled that ultimate distance into space were like movie stars. We sought out their pictures and autographs with wide eyes and rapture in our faces. Sadly, the years have not been kind to the program. It suffered through an age where practicality and the bottom line over-ruled the wonder and desire for exploration the people of this country used to feel. The money to give the program the updates it needed never came, and it began an inevitable decay despite the best efforts of the people who loved it.
But there was another time I remember. In school we all had posters of the shuttle orbiter on the wall and knew the names of the astronauts currently circling the globe faster than any other thing on earth could ever possibly go. The math and physics of the missions could be studied, as well as the biological experiments and even the effect of space travel on the astronauts themselves. We were all space nuts, and dreamed of the lucky few who could afford to go to space camp and consume Tang® and dehydrated ice cream.

But something happened. It somehow became passé, this feat of American ingenuity and incredible science. Cape Kennedy and Cape Canaveral became far away places once more, and Major Nelson and Jeannie were replaced with other TV Shows. Florida’s association became one of alligators, beaches, hanging chads and citrus fruit.
We lost sight of the dream we once shared together, brought our eyes low and began to forget; a new generation was born without even knowing about the vision we all once shared.
Of course how could we continue a new breed of space nuts? The starting fees for entry into the Kennedy Space Center are at $43.41 per person (including minors over 11 years of age) and go up from there. What family could afford to show their children the wonders of the Space Center? Our country does a wonderful job of making the National museums in D.C. free to all citizens, yet somehow funding for this amazing center cannot be made even affordable for the average family. Is it any wonder we all lost connection to the dream?
The space program will most likely descend into the private sector. Perhaps that’s not all bad. In the long run we will probably achieve more, and get into space quicker and in greater number. However, we will miss the unity of a national space program. It was something that every American citizen could look skyward to the launches and think, “I had a hand in that,” You could watch the tax dollars and hard work applying itself spaceward in a vaunt of fire to further a noble dream of exploration, scientific discovery and maybe something more.
Without our national space program we will not be any weaker as a country, but we will have lost a part of our heart and imagination. So here’s to Enterprise, Discovery, Atlantis, and especially Challenger and Columbia; we will always remember you and your crews. Noble men and women of science, faith, and passion who did something incredible and were the brilliant heroes we desperately still need.

not by me

The creaking boards
Beneath my shoes talk back
As I dance upon them.
They shout they are in pain
From years of lying hinged against nails and beg
For mercy as I twirl and spin
You join in with my step and catch my hands and clasp my waist
Spin. Stomp, slap, hug,
Release

The circus of movement against
The old boards provides harmonizing
Notes of heels stomping and the boards
Receiving the blows
Although
They sound shattered, shoes still clatter against the straining floor.
Dane with me, dance with me, dance just once more

My love grows
Stronger with ever movement closer
As the colors fade
Around us
Time to end the charade. Good night, dear floorboards

And thanks again
For the wonderful complaining.

Got REAL Milk?

Milk still does a body good.
Though, like any food, there is such a thing as good milk and bad milk. Sadly, for some reason, consumers have taken this miracle drink for granted and allowed industry to take control of it.
I think it’s interesting that Katie Scarvey’s recent article failed utterly to ask one simple question: Why are our children and babies having these allergic reactions to milk?
The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network puts milk allergies on the rise from 2-3% to 6-8% of children in the US. Additionally, they quote a study done in 2007 that could mean that these allergies are lasting longer than previously expected. Out of 800 children in the study only 19% had outgrown it by age 4. Certainly in the moment of diagnosis food avoidance is the way to initially deal with these allergies. Though, as the dust settles, our minds should attack the question head on – why is our food making us sick?
Initially we blame the milk, human nature is not to ponder reflexively, and fear mongering certainly draws more attention to our news articles. What we should be doing is analyzing the changes in our human behavior and food preparation that have occurred over the past 50 years.
There is something wrong with bodies that do not produce enough “lactase,” which is the bodily enzyme that allows us to break down the “lactose” sugars found in milk. These are small intestine enzymes, which can be harmed or destroyed in any number of ways. There is also something beyond mere genetics that keeps our bodies from breaking down the whey and casein proteins. One thing that Scarvey failed to mention was that during the processing of milk, the casein peptides and micelle structure become disturbed or denatured to form simpler structures.
Whey proteins are used in a lot of the foods we eat. Wonder how Kashi now has as much protein as an egg? Special “K” with added protein? You can bet it came from milk. Yet, this overabundance of the processed protein in other areas of our diet might be what is at the root of these new intolerances for it in milk.
“Drink your milk.”
The phrase was probably coined in the latter half of the 1800s when milk consumption was on the rise as a replacement for breast milk. Though even at that time, there were some city “farms” who kept their cows on feeder lots in confinement and fed them leftover grain from breweries--which produced sick, toxic milk. Even with that, I don’t think our American ancestors could have possibly foreseen the problems with milk our children are having today.
Problems which once again can be traced to huge conglomerate feeder farms where the average lifespan for a cow is 3-4 years. Lifespan on a normal dairy farm? Closer to 15 years. What I find incredible is that we think we can take milk from sickly, over medicated, over milked animals and then wonder innocently why our children are getting sick.
Milk in it’s raw forms is made for digestion, is nutrient rich, and almost the perfect health food providing good fats, lymphocytes, and macrophages that our bodies need and, in our health poor society, crave. Every process that we put it through (see homogenized, pasteurized, ULTRA-pasteurized, skimmed, etc) only serves to drive it further and further from being actual food. These processes are not for our health but for the profitability of stores and mega-farms. The further you can ship it, and the longer it can stay on the shelf the more people you can sell it to. Raw milk has also been given to those people with “Milk Allergies” who, by and large, can consume it with no problems. How is that possible?!
Delicious, wonderful milk is not the problem. How many children have to be taken off milk, and peanuts, and eggs, and wheat before we realize that our food has got to change!
Maybe it should start with milk. Wouldn’t it be great to have milk from farms in our own area, rather than some faceless corporation farm in Texas? We are blessed to live in a farm rich area of North Carolina and it should be our glad privilege to consume the vast richness that our area provides for its community. The trade off is that the cost is greater – but I would rather put $10 in my neighbor’s pocket, than $5 in the pocket of some faceless stranger from hundreds of miles away. I would rather pay $20 for food that won’t make me sick, than $8 for food that gives my kids eczema, asthma and IBS.
Our farmers should be the most well paid profession in the country. Yet, it’s our doctors who are buying new boats (no to disrespect another noble profession). Wouldn’t it be incredible if our farmers had summer homes, and our medical profession was just barely making it? What if we were so healthy from eating wonderful, safe foods that we no longer needed to go to the doctor so often! What a world that would be.
If we refuse to do anything, if we continue to expect our food to be cheap and incredibly inaccurately inflated, we will continue to get sicker, more obese, and have more food sensitivities as a nation. It wont be too long before our children will be so allergic and sensitive to food there won’t be anything left for them to eat.

verb-ose

You are the “she”
And the “her”
and the “you.”

My grammatical insanity
pleads for your ownership
Of all its pronouns.

and now "I" can't exist without
the "they" "we" became
when the "us" that we are
overcame the "me"
that was there

The “it”, is, well, easy;
As are “his” and “him”

“those” are the arms
meaning ownership
meaning plural,
meaning mine
entwined

“that” is "my" wonder
meaning descriptively
meaning awe,
meaning possesively regarding you.

“this” is our love.
Meaning demonstrative
Meaning action
Meaning more

"who," "which" and "whom"
will always be you.
must always be
can't ever not

"everything" is indefinite
cause we still don't know
but I will do "anything"
and "many"
to find out

reflexive and reactive
"myself" retreats
favoring "ourselves"
finding a beat
a skipping of time together again
making a new thing when people say "them"

his name is Robert Hodgell...

Amazing work. I love it. I saw it at a methodist church in Clover, SC. I can't eem to find hem on the netin an easy way. How spoiled we are! Ha.

The Sequel

Davidson Forum on Reformed Theology

Dr. Otatti,

• Matthew’s Lord’s Prayer
• to “ ..father who is in secret…”
• understood to be an instruction as well as an actual prayer

• Luke, Ch. 2-4
• After “teachings” in other areas
• Prayer then is also a teaching on how to pray

• Heidelberg Catechism (2^nd Gen)
• Lords Prayer
• Important because
• Part of our gratitude
• 120, 129, catechumen learns by doing and reflecting

• John Calvin “Institutes of Christian Religion”
• Ch20, Bk 3, Topic of Prayer
• “True wisdom is knowledge of God and ourselves”
• knowledge of self = knowledge of God
• prayer = secret and hidden philosophy
• = experientially wisdom, insisting self is a relation to God and others
• “our father” indicates love and excellent care
• also, out, we are all one family
• Communion with God = Community with others
• Pray for only what is modeled in the prayer

• Walter Rauschenbusch
• Claimed we had missed the meanign of the prayer
• Does NOT focus on individual soul and eternal reward
• Kingdom – precedes and outranks all religion
• We pray the divine resolution
• It is a political and social institution
• Again OUR daily bread

• Leonardo Boff
• Process.. the prayer is headed for a destination
• A Final place of “ peace and justice”
• Sees the prayer as a prayer of liberation, it PUTS you in a place
• Kingdom = total revolution of structures
• Fears that “our daily bread” is “reduced” to just the sacraments
• This prayer takes bodily need seriously
• Material meaning serves the Eucharistic meaning

Usually we press piety and prayer into the service of our own selfish desires --- we NEED to be taught how to pray.

What is the background of the apostle’s original question, how should we pray?

I try to have a little cheese every day

From Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, quite possibly one of the best shows created in recent years...

...its better that way

"Roll your leg over, Roll your leg over
Roll your leg over it's better that way..."

As one of five men in your trailer we knew you were ready for us
Cause we saw the wide smile--beneath your abused clitoris.

If all the young lasses were as lusty as you
Then all men alive would need not one cock but two.

A bride for Frankenstein's monster is how you got your start
But, you being so ample they couldn't scrounge enough parts.

I thought to console you but then heard you screaming
Then I saw Igor leave your room, his face wet and beaming.

When I asked of his obvious talents to munch
He shrugged and he sighed and said, "Call it a hunch."

With bosoms that ample who could want more?!
Although more hands I could wish, three... maybe four?

If washing's your trade and quick wit your joy,
It's no wonder the men leave you alone with your toys.

"Roll your leg over, Roll your leg over
Roll your leg over it's better that way..."