I recall hearing in a Sociology course about a form of existentialism so dark that some people never accept they were alive until the moment of death itself. For most of us, even the slightest touch confirms what I'll jokingly call "our suspicion" that we actually exist. A handshake, pat on the back, or a hug can provide powerful validation. It's a mistake to take such an obvious thing for granted. Different Drummer: Leo Buscaglia
All of us benefit when children grow up with a strong baseline education, and all of us suffer when schools fail. Some form of "public education" is essential in this Information Age. It isn't optional; meaning, it isn't acceptable for any part of our society to opt-out. The most common abdication of responsibility in this area over the past couple of decades is the voucher proposal, which would allow some parents to take tax money away from public schools and use it as "tuition" for private sch...
Personally, the better answer to a question like "where would I be without God" calls up a lot of powerful memories. I know the Holy Spirit has moved in my life through specific people and situations, which I can recall as vividly as if the intervening decades disappeared. I can name the names, in fact, and I do a couple of times. They are people who loved me in a way that supersedes human understanding, empowering me to do God's will. I have loved. I do love. I will love. Different Drummer: Chr...
A few years ago, a question was posed to me online: where would you be without God? There are two answers, actually. One is personal, which I'll cover next week. The other is philosophical, a combination of ontological and cosmological arguments going back a thousand years. "God's existence is necessary for my existence" is, in some ways, a faith-based equivalent for "I think; therefore, I am." A very old and original Christian answer to this question is that without God, there would be no "me" ...
Idolatry can be described as making something other than God sacred, or treating things as objects of worship. It can be that direct, in the sense of idols, but it also can be as abstract as the notion of the "image" of ourselves that we show the world. Too often, these things interfere with our spirituality, even when they are deeply embedded within our rituals or temples. Different Drummer: Victoria Williams
It is almost a cliché to speak about strained communications between mothers and daughters or fathers and sons, but that doesn't make it any less true. The moments where my family has overcome those obstacles have had much to do with humor. Less successful situations tend to be hampered by either parent or child remaining silent, unable to find the right words. Long ago, a classic Swedish film taught me that sometimes talk, any talk, speaks volumes in these relationships whether the words are tr...
Citing language Jesus used to describe those who tell lies and defend deception in God's name, one of the most demonic spirits at work in our world has taken seed within Christianity. Lately, I have encountered politically active Christians who not only mislead people by putting words into Christ's mouth -- "Jesus tells us to hate" is one example -- but they also shrug their shoulders in confusion when taken to task for this. Jesus never taught that any ends would justify such means, and only a ...
Exactly 30 years ago tonight (from the time of this posting) I was the victim of an armed robbery, staring down the barrel of a gun. I know a bit about courage, not because I demonstrated such resolve in the face of fear, but because I didn't. Nothing about that experience changed or solidified my perspective on gun control or gun violence. It did bring other changes, though, like maturity in facing my fears. Different Drummer: Joni Mitchell Behind the song: "A Case Of You"...
True fidelity probably isn't about never being in a position to say "yes" to a temptation. Don't get me wrong, that's a smart way to live. Fidelity means a bit more, though, when you've summoned the strength to say "no" to such a temptation. I can speak to this from experience, and I'll refer to three specific occasions. One story I've never mentioned before on Inappropriate Conversations. Another is a follow-up to a story a partially relayed in #IC 107 "Eulogy For Homophobia." Even further back...
Should we tax adultery into oblivion or merely minister to its casualties? No, I don't really believe that using taxation as a punitive fine will stamp out infidelity in marriage, but it would stand a better chance of succeeding than other methods of "legislating morality." When I was a child, a wise man in our church taught me that the real answer to divorce is setting aside the urge to cast judgment and surrounding those dealing with the consequence of shattered relationships with the love of ...
In challenging emotional and ethical decisions related to the end of life, we are often told that no one can make that decision. "These matters belong to God," for example. Regardless of your religious beliefs, there is something false in such statements. By taking the ownership and responsibility for a life away from the person living that life, the control doesn't disappear completely; instead, it goes elsewhere and typically to those who neither know nor love the person facing the dilemma. Th...
The Nativity storyline runs throughout popular culture, but we often fail to notice even at Christmas time. Whether we don't expect it, or accept it, when it is told through rap music or in films like The Matrix, it's not hard to find examples of a chosen one entering into a dangerous and fallen world with a destiny to restore and renew. I hope you find the hope of Christmas in unexpected places this year. After all, "It's Christmas, Yes It Is"! Different Drummer: Phil Manzanera
With all the talk about Mayan calendars and the end of the world, it is past time to discuss Christian understandings, and misunderstandings, about end-times prophecies. The New Testament in the Bible contains more than one. More often than not, though, Christians fail to recognize fulfilled prophecy and presume instead that everything in a book like Revelations refers to future events. For those living in Jerusalem, though, the world (or, more precisely, the "Jewish Age") ended centuries ago. T...
After speaking boldly about questions of sexual identity and unacceptable answers presented by the "religious right," it's important to turn the other cheek. I do not speak as someone who has always stood up for the rights of non-heterosexuals. No, I understand homophobia because I have experienced it. I have felt that irrational fear; and, even though I was much younger then, it's still important to put it to rest. I've recently seen a hashtag on Twitter -- #LeaveItIn2012. Let's leave homophobi...
We may hesitate to conclude that it's an act of violence to deny that someone exists or that he or she is real. So much damage has been done, though, by denying that people are who they say they are and their rights can be compromised as a result. This may be a quiet violence, but it cuts to the very core of what "human" even means in the context of human rights. Evangelical Christianity has been increasingly guilty of this during the past five decades, and I call out a podcast that I've praised...
Charges of liberal bias in the mainstream media fail to take into account the power of publishers as an authority that is likely to be more conservative than writers and editors. At the same time, the rise of politically conservative and evangelical-Christian alternatives for "the press" have led many people to turn away from large media conglomerates altogether. More and more citizens who aren't obsessed with ideology are getting their news and commentary online from blogs and podcasts, and it ...
Lore of the United States' "founding fathers" is that they were brave, creative thinkers who were not afraid to discuss ideas and both learn from and break with the past to create a new vision of the future. So why are our current leaders so frightened? At election time, both Republican and Democrat candidates seem to be fearful about the future, their past, and anything resembling "truth." Above all, they are afraid of independent political thought and 3rd parties -- meaning, non-RepubliCrats. ...
As a genre, "thriller" is different from horror or other suspense films, but that distinction is in grave danger of being lost forever. Before the most common forms of scary cinema became slashers or demonic possession, when serial killer movies were crime-dramas rather than gorefests, the thriller was the TV equivalent of the midnight movie. Now, with Halloween approaching, you are more likely to see Friday The Umpteenth than any of the classics starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, or Vince...
Alcohol is a controlled substance -- a "drug" -- and it's the only one that I use. As a rule, I won't drink when I am angry or depressed. I also tend to invest more in the flavor than the feeling. More likely than not, this is another way that I don't quite fit in with most of society. My approach also doesn't work for fundamentalists. C.S. Lewis has rightly said that Christianity is not a teetotaler religion, but too many Christian legalists have found a way of compartmentalizing this fact with...
Here is a new promo for www.inappropriateconversations.org
The notion of "authorial intent" has been used to challenge literary and film criticism for as long as humanity has discussed art. Is the writer's vision the only point of view that matters? What if a critic or a number of readers find valid alternative subtexts? The dividing line may be revealed by separating the role of the author. From an artistic perspective, he or she is another reader with an equally valid view. I know that this marginalizes the influence of the creators on interpretations...
A little more than two and a half years ago, I didn't own a microphone and had never recorded an MP3 file. My experience as a podcaster was limited to the role of listener and, occasionally, a caller on live internet broadcasts. Now, 100 episodes later, I'm telling the story of Inappropriate Conversations through the voice of other shows, friends and fans. The extended length comes from more than 30 minutes of clips from me and others, none of which have appeared before on this show. Different D...
With stereotypes about "jocks v. nerds" it is easy to miss how much athletics have in common with other geeky fandoms. Quoting statistics, knowing the names of actors and characters, even those with the least screen time, and other examples are easy to note. Even from the perspective of the arts, I have once heard games like football described as "drama without a script." I've been to concerts, films, and plays this year, and I intend to see live sports now that both football and soccer are in-s...
Most of the vacation trips I've ever taken were driven by a lot of planning. Reservations and ticket purchases in advance essentially set the schedule. I've always been drawn to the idea of simply "hitting the road" or "going nowhere" for a dream vacation. My wife and I have come close once, and the only trip I've enjoyed more came this year, alone together in Hawaii. Different Drummer: Wim Wenders
Jesus once asked this question: "What can anyone give in exchange for their soul?" He was telling a crowd, not just 12 disciples, about what it meant to follow him. His answer had nothing to do with a "chosen people" or a "Christian nation." Jesus was speaking to a large group of individuals, and he asked each if he or she was willing to pick up their own cross and follow him. By "anyone" he meant "any one." This does not bode well for believers who think that electing the right leader or revivi...
When warfare turns ugly, as it so often does, how do we assign blame? I often (with an almost adolescent sense of justice) ask "who started it?" or look to moments when compromise or surrender should have occurred. It is from this perspective that I hold the Japanese military leadership during World War II responsible for the existence of nuclear warfare, even though they didn't develop the weapons that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki and they certainly didn't drop the bombs on their own count...
The terms "orgasm" and "ejaculation" are not synonyms. They mean something distinct, and the differences are important. The fact that many men believe they are one and the same reveals something, perhaps unsurprising, about masculinity and foreplay. It probably reveals something about auto-eroticism as well. Different Drummer: John Coltrane Sex Nerd Sandra #41: Orgasms For Everybody
Giving to charitable organizations is a good idea. It makes a difference. It helps. We must not confuse these types of contributions with missionary work, though. Being "in mission" is about intervening, and getting involved is not merely a financial offering. Different Drummer: Shane Claiborne Shane Claiborne and The Simple Way
Poetry takes something we know, or almost know, and makes it strange and wonderful, often transforming words heard before into a language we are hearing for the first time. Such moments of insight can provide a new perspective for anything: politics, religion, relationships, sexuality, anything. References include: "Old Man Bickford" from William S. Burroughs, and "Words Per Minute" and "Stop The Bleeding" from me. Different Drummer: Joyce Peseroff Poet Reads "The Hardness Scale"...
The door is only as open as the mind inside the office. For the success of both supervisor and employee, collaboration is crucial. I have been most successful when I understood how my supervisor's performance was being assessed. Likewise, I have been least successful when that type of information was withheld, making it impossible for me to make even small decisions to enable that success. Different Drummer: Toshiro Mifune
