It's the day after Christmas. But sometimes it takes me a long time to write these things. So I'll get started.
Reading David Leemings biography of James Baldwin. Fascinating. Inspiring. A great deal about preaching and prophesy. He was a preachers kid, and a preacher himself when he was 14.
My dad was a preachers kid. My dad never talked about his father much. I never knew him as a kid. We lived in California and he lived in Illinois, near Chicago. I visited him once when I was older (21 or 2) . He called black people the n word. Not very Christian. I kind of understood why my dad put some distance between himself and his dad. Seems being a PK is not necessarily a blessing.
Recently read a collection of essays by Jelani Cobb called “Three or More Is A Riot”. In it he quotes a Rev. Dr.William Barber concerning The Moral Majority's' version of evangelicalism. “They speak so much about areas where the Bible says very little” (like abortion and homosexuality) “and speak so little about the issues where the Bible says so much.” (like poverty, empathy, justice).
Jack White talks about this in a song on his record, “No Name” called “What's The Rumpus?”.
Well when I feel frustration coming when I hear them call his name. Like they did so long ago
It feels just like his reputation is back on the line again. It doesn't matter who you know.
I'm covering this song now.
Speaking of Christianity, or what passes for it in the eyes of some, I was going through a pile of notes; random bits, ideas on scraps of paper that I tend to collect, and I found the lyrics for a song on this subject. I had set it aside because it is so angry. I have come to think of anger as a negative emotion, and when it can't be avoided, it should at least be tempered with love for its object. Perhaps when I feel I have done that in this song, I will consider it finished.
I gave up the idea many years ago that the churches that call themselves Christian have any connection to Christ. Since roughly 300 AD, when “the church” was integrated into the Roman government, and it was determined by those in power what texts should be burned and which ones would be incorporated into the doctrine of the church for the purposes of that government, the real teachings of Christ have been obscured. Martin Luther made a step in the right direction when he broke with some of the teachings of that organization but went too far by starting another one.
Emanuel Swedenborg, (1688 to 1772) was another who made a step in the return to the real teachings of Jesus. He was a Swedish scientist and industrialist who, in his mid fifties, began receiving communication from angels and other spiritual entities, and spent his remaining years writing about his experiences and interpreting scripture according to instruction from the spirit world.
This communication between heaven and earth is the foundation of real Christianity. If it's not there then it's nothing but a man-made religion. Jesus told us to do as he did, the will of our father in heaven. How is this to be done? By following some interpretation of a set of rules? That is not what he was talking about. He was talking about following guidance from above.
I recently attended a meeting at the Swedenborg church in San Francisco. My interest in this group is based on the fact that these folks follow a guy who talked to spirits. You would think that following a guy like that, you would want to do that as well. That does not seem to be what this group is about. Seems like it's about studying what he wrote instead of doing what he did.
That's about enough of my rant about Christianity. I'll conclude with the words of the chorus of that Jack White song.
I've got a feeling that the truth's become opinion these days
That train has left the station, but our love will grow
It's floor to ceiling unappealing but who cares what they say
Cause it doesn't matter who, it only matters what you know
In music news, Barbed Wire Valentine is coming back around with our friend Andrew back from heart surgery and once again able to play drums. We're looking forward to playing the feature slot at Ceni's Open Mic (HopMonk, Sebastopol) on March 17th. Be sure to put that on your calendar.
Thanks for reading,
Richard