Category Archives: Religion

The Gospel According to Aesop

Religion

In reference to several of the recent posts on this blog, my wife has pointed out, “For an agnostic, you’ve been quoting scripture an awful lot.”  And each time, I come back with the same justification, “There is a lot of wisdom in both the Old and New Testaments which should not be ignored just because you question whether it is divinely inspired.”  However, the more I thought about her comment, I wondered if it made any difference whether biblical texts were the “literal word of God” or nothing more than the writings of thoughtful individuals.

I often wonder if the teachings of Moses, Jesus and Muhammad would have more universal appeal if they were not tied to a parochial religious movement. Would the history of the world been significantly changed?  Did these thought leaders fear their message would be ignored without the backing of some almighty power?

Comedian Lewis Black reminds us the Old Testament was written at a time when humans were “one hair short of being an orangutan.”   Was an invisible “boogeyman” necessary to keep these semi-savages in line?  Did Jesus question whether anyone would listen to the sermons of a carpenter who was born in a barn?  Did Muhammad think no one would heed an orphan who spent 34 years in a cave before emerging as a prophet of Allah?

Image result for aesop's fablesWhich brings me to the title of today’s post.  In many cases, the morals contained in Aesop’s Fables are not much different from the lessons and parables in the holy books associated with any religion.  “The Fox and the Sour Grapes” is about coveting and envy.  “The Ant and the Grasshopper” reminds us hard work and good deeds are rewarded.  “The Tortoise and the Hare” is about the virtues of patience and perseverance.

So, why didn’t Aesop become the central figure of a major world religion?  Like Jesus, he came from humble origins.  He was a slave in ancient Greece believed to have lived some time between 620-564 BCE.  His stories re-emerged during the Renaissance when they were used as ethical guides in European schools.  Aesop departs from Moses, Jesus and Muhammad in that he never claimed his storytelling was a mission ordained by a divine being.  Nor did he suggest any unique connection to or communication with a god or supernatural entity.

There is one other major difference between Aesop’s Fables and the Torah, New Testament or Quran.  To my knowledge, no civilization has ever launched a crusade or jihad in the name of the ant, the tortoise or even the fox.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

 

Red Hat Comedy Tour

Politics, Religion

Besides being one of the funniest road shows in years, the Blue Collar Comedy Tour often delivers a nugget or two of common sense.  For example, Ron White, a member of the troupe reminds us:

If your eyes go bad, you can have LASIK surgery and have 20/20 vision at any age.  If your hearing starts to fail, they can put a device in your ear that will make you able to hear as good as the day your were born.  But let me tell you something folks, you can’t fix stupid.  There’s not a pill you can take.  There’s not a class you can go to. Stupid is forever!

Not to be outdone by White, Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy, the Trump administration assembled its own quartet of jokesters to entertain us following the 2018 mid-term elections.  Here are excerpts from their latest album.

Donald the Cabal Guy

After a less than successful national tour in October and early November, Donald realized many of his favorite jokes–build the wall, lock her up, drain the swamp–had lost their punch.  So, this week he decided to try out some new material before hitting the road again.

On voter fraud, Trump came up with some truly fresh content.  Instead of the three million illegal immigrants who cost him the popular vote in 2016, he found multiple voting to be more riotous.  In a pre-performance interview with The Daily Caller, Trump explained:

When people get in line that have absolutely no right to vote and they go around in circles.  Sometimes they go to their car, put on a different hat, put on a different shirt, come in and vote again. Nobody takes anything. It’s really a disgrace what’s going on.

I would not be surprised if Trump provided the above FL identification as proof his humor was based on fact.  YOU CAN’T FIX STUPID!

Donald Trump, Jr.

First son Donald, Jr. thought his dad had challenged him to a game of “Can You Top This?” Trump’s oldest acorn claimed Democrats allowed convicted felons to cast ballots.  To prove his point, Junior highlighted the example of the Parkland school shooter who did, in fact, register to vote while awaiting trial.  First, at the present time, the shooter has been convicted of NOTHING and is still eligible to vote under Florida law.  You can chalk that up to ignorance of the law.  But, more importantly, the shooter registered as a REPUBLICAN.  Failing to check that out is more than ignorant.  It’s just plain STUPID.  And, YOU CAN’T FIX STUPID!

Sarah Huckabee Saunders

After no one was buying her boss’ blaming the weather and then the secret service for his decision not to attend a  ceremony to commemorate the World War I armistice at the Aisne-Marne cemetery outside of Paris, the White House press secretary took the ship of state on a different tack.  According to Ms. Sanders, “President Trump did not want to cause that kind of unexpected disruption to the city and its people.”  Sure.  Just ask the residents of Palm Beach County, Florida about disrupting the city or its people.  Or the same way Trump did not want to disrupt memorials for the Jewish victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting despite bi-partisan requests for him to wait until after their funerals.  YOU CAN’T FIX STUPID!

Marco Rubio

There is nothing a Red Cap Comedy Tour audience appreciates more than a good biblical gag.  And Senator Rubio did not disappoint.  Yesterday, he brought the crowd to its feet with a punchline straight out of Ecclesiastes via the digital Bible, TWITTER.

15  What is crooked cannot be straightened, what is lacking cannot be counted.

If only he had not taken the sentence out of context.  The overarching message in Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 is how fruitless it is to assume we can understand all we observe and learn.  It ends with King Solomon admitting, “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.”  Mario, thanks for warning us.  As you inadvertently suggest, the more we learn about Trump and his complicit supporters, the more we grieve for the nation, democracy and the rule of law.  YOU CAN’T FIX STUPID!

But as we learned last week, you CAN vote it out of office.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

 

Enough Already

Religion

Related imageNext Spring Jews around the world will again come together for the Passover Seder, a ritual meal during which the story of the exodus from Egypt is commemorated with the reading of the Haggadah.  The service also includes various songs, the most beloved of which is “Dayenu,”  which in Hebrew loosely translates into  “it would have been enough.”  After each verse beginning with, “If He (the Lord) had brought us out of Egypt and not carried out judgment against them,” all assembled respond “Dayenu.”  The final verse, “If He had brought us into the land of Israel and not built for us the Holy Temple, Dayenu.”

Even as a devout agnostic, I still enjoy the Seder for its cultural and historical significance.  In recent years, modern prayers have been added to the traditional text in which Jews acknowledge the Exodus is not complete until all people are free from slavery and persecution.  It is this universal message that Jews have not fully escaped the bondage of slavery until all share in our freedom which makes me still proud of my Jewish heritage and upbringing.

However, this coming Spring it will be more difficult to listen to the words of “Dayenu.”  I wonder if it is time to further modernize the Passover observance with a different song.  In Hebrew the title reads, “מספיק כבר” (transliterated mahs-peek key-bar).  In English, “Enough Already.”

Let me share a few possible verses.

Though Russian Jews were persecuted and driven from their homes by the czars and Bolsheviks, did six million have to die in the Holocaust?
מספיק כבר, Enough Already!

Though six million died in the Holocaust, did so many more have to die in wars to preserve the State of Israel, our homeland?
מספיק כבר, Enough Already!

Though many more died in wars to save our homeland, did Israeli athletes have to be murdered at the Munich Olympics?
מספיק כבר, Enough Already!

Though Israeli athletes were murdered at the Munich Olympics, did 11 American Jews have to be gunned down in their own synagogue?
מספיק כבר, Enough Already!

As Tevye the dairyman pleads in the musical Fiddler on the Roof, “I know, I know. We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can’t You choose someone else?”  Tevye, sadly your God has become less discriminating.  The chosen now include:

  • elementary school children in New Town,
  • gay patrons of The Pulse club in Orlando,
  • fans of country music at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas,
  • students at Mary Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland,
  • participants in a bible study class at Emanuel AME church in Charleston,
  • Amish girls in their school house in Nickel Mills, PA,
  • members of a Sikh temple in Wisconsin,
  • workers and children in day care at the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City,
  • journalists and editors at the Annapolis Capital Gazette.

All victims of DOMESTIC terrorists motivated not by some disdain for capitalism or the American way of life, but rooted in hatred of fellow Americans.  Recruited, emboldened and enabled by our national discourse.   

So often, in times of tragedy, I hear religious leaders talk about how acts of violence and the attendant loss of friends and loved ones are God’s way of challenging us to be strong and to act to make the world a better place.  Christian clergy will refer to the New Testament passage in James 2:14, “Faith without works is dead.” Regardless of one’s motivation, spiritual or humanistic, perhaps it is time for all people of good will to declare, “מספיק כבר, Enough Already!”

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

Was It Worth It?

Politics, Religion

Based on early reports, eight to ten congregants at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania are dead.  Upon entering the synagogue, the shooter Robert Bowers yelled, “All Jews must die.” We have a right to be shocked, but not to be surprised.  It was inevitable.

And you may call the timing coincidental but as former CIA officer Malcolm Nance always says, “Coincidences take a lot of planning.”  Just last week, Donald Trump referred to himself as a proud nationalist.  His declaration was celebrated by The Daily Stormer, an on-line neo-Nazi publication which, within an hour of the Pittsburgh shooting, posted the following, “Please Jesus Christ let it be Moslems.”  Sorry, it appears to be one of your own.

I am more angry than shocked.  Angry at any American who thinks he or she (though it always seems to be a male) has a right to gun down people who are different from themselves.  Angry at the current occupant of the White House who cannot find it within himself to unequivocally condemn those who profess white supremacy, antisemitism and xenophobia.  Angry at the GOP sycophants who would be screaming to high heaven if such behavior was coming from someone other than the leader of their party.  But mostly, I am angry at my fellow “members of the tribe” who continue to support Trump.  To this last group I say:

If you are enjoying your massive tax cut, in light of today’s massacre of your Jewish brethren, was it worth it?

If you are pleased your stock portfolio has increased over the past two years, in light of today’s massacre of your Jewish brethren, was it worth it?

If you think deregulation and climate change denial are the keys to economic growth, in light of today’s massacre of your Jewish brethren, was it worth it?

If you are happy with the symbolic relocation of the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in light of today’s massacre of your Jewish brethren, was it worth it?

For whatever reason you believe you should continue to support a public official who is the darling of the most extreme elements of hatred and prejudice, I ask, “Was it worth it?”  To paraphrase Democratic candidate for Florida governor Andrew Gillum during his recent debate with Republican opponent Ron deSantis, “I am not calling Donald Trump antisemitic, but anti-Semites think he is one.”  Maybe, it’s time to take them seriously.  And while I find it increasingly difficult to understand why any Jewish voter with a conscience would ever support Donald Trump, the same can be said of anyone, regardless of race or religion, who claims to be a person of good will, but turns away when confronted by their own role in enabling a culture of hatred and bigotry.

Perhaps there is no better time to recall the words of Martin Nielmöller.

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Now is the time to speak up, before it is too late for all of us.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

Be SOMETHING

Culture, Politics, Religion

Well, Melania, what do you have to say about Jamal Myles?

Image result for jamal pierceAt the beginning of the school year, nine-year old Jamal told his mother he was gay and was going to tell his schoolmates because he was proud of who he was.  Less than a week later, Jamal took his own life.  In an interview with Denver television station KDVR, his mother Leia Pierce shared her loss.

Four days is all it took at school. I could just imagine what they said to him. My son told my oldest daughter the kids at school told him to kill himself. I’m just sad he didn’t come to me.

Again I ask, “Melania, what do you, the supposed ‘Be Best’ champion of bullied children, have to say?”   So far, silence.

At the launch of your anti-bullying campaign, you said:

I will also work to shine a spotlight on the people, organizations and programs across the country that are helping children overcome the many issues they are facing as they grow up.

Did you include children like Jamal when you made the following comment at the Federal Partners on Bullying Prevention summit earlier this month?

Our children deserve all the opportunity to give them to grow up happy, healthy, socially responsible adults.

This is your chance.  You could make a difference by suggesting to Secretary Devos, instead of redirecting education funds for the purchase of guns for school faculty and staff, perhaps those dollars would be better spent to train teachers and administrators to be more vigilant and recognize the signs where bullying is putting a student at risk.  You could point out to the religious right who support your husband that Jesus reminds us we are all God’s children.  You could take Donald’s phone away and suggest he start taking Ambien.

I know there is a difference between correlation and causation, but it is sadly ironic this event occurred in the same community where bakery owner Jack Phillips refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple on the basis of his religious beliefs.  Or that the suicide rate among African-Americans is rising at a time when Donald Trump refers to black athletes who dare express themselves as “sons of bitches.”

Again, this is your chance.  Above all, you could go to Denver, hug Leia Pierce and publicly apologize, telling her you wish you had done more to alleviate the causes of bullying.  You want our children to “Be Best.”  You could start by being something other than an enabler for those you contribute to bullying and hatred of others.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP