Jack's Essay: Living Up to Ideals - 9/27/05

Everybody thinks of Henry David Thoreau roughing it at Walden Pond. But when he wanted a good home-cooked meal, he used to show up at his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson’s house.

  Once, when Thoreau was at his dinner table, Emerson, who had been a preacher, asked, “Henry, what do you think about the afterlife?”  Henry, as the story goes, said, “One world at a time.”
Emerson knew Thoreau was a man of few words, but that seemed too theologically thin. “Is that all?” Emerson asked.
“No,” Thoreau said. “Pass the salt.”
That may not be enough for divinity school, but it strikes me that Thoreau’s theology is exactly the attitude we need in secular life. 

You may believe whatever you want to, and you may believe that those who worship differently will suffer after death.
But until then, live and let live.

That’s what America always was supposed to be about. We haven’t always lived up to our ideals, of course.

We’ve persecuted Catholics in this country. Anti-Semitism flourished openly before World War II. Since September 11, we’ve been flooded with hate e-mail about Muslims.
And the one belief that gets the least respect – even in the media – is non-belief. In Gore Vidal’s 1964 movie, The Best Man, an actor playing an ex-president confides that he is a non-believer.

But in politics, he added, “you have to spread God over everything, like ketchup.” The one politician who I think got it right was John F. Kennedy, a practicing Roman Catholic. He ended his inaugural address by saying he was asking for God’s blessing, but that he knew that “ here on earth God's work must truly be our own.”
Amen. And, by the way – pass the salt.

Comments

[Marina B. Brown]

I find the discussion of if there is a god or not much less satisfying than discussing our own deeds. What are we doing to alleviate our fellow human beings lives? Living honestly and with integrity is the important thing. Loving our neighbors and living in peace with our neighbors. What kind of stewardsipo of our beloved earth are we practicing? We are part of the web of life! If we concentrated on these questions we would improve life for all.
Hurray, both guests were excellent!

[Jill - Grand Rapids]

My stomach hurt after listening to the program Tuesday. Listening to people be so flipant about Christianity, spirituality and religion made me feel sick. And to have the host openly agree with the guests and make no attempt to be the least bit neutral on the subject really made me feel like the minority and that being a part of the family of God is passe at best. This show was a huge turnoff (which I will do from now on) and I want to cast my vote to get rid of this show as soon as possible!! I miss Day to Day!!!

[Rev. Jeremy Peters]

I want to add one more comment. I've been critical of this particular show, but I want to encourage the host to keep on chugging. I'm proud to have a 'big ideas' show produced here in Michigan, and I'm sure the formula is still developing. It would have been nice to have another point of view represented--maybe the host can have someone like Jim Wallis or Tony Campolo on another show, so they can point out that the god in which the guests of this show claimed to disbelieve is a god in which many Christians also disbelieve.

It would have been nice of Jack (can I call him that?) to be a bit more critical of his guests. I couldn't help but notice that both guests essentially admitted that in their wonderful, open, congregations, where everyone's on a journey and questions are welcome and nobody tells anybody what to believe, there aren't actually any people who disagree with them. Apparently, non-belief can be just as authoritarian and exclusive as belief.

Still, I'm looking forward to seeing how this show develops. It's caught my attention--don't give up now!

[steve wortley]

Given Chris Ward's attempt about 3 years ago to give away 283 acres of Island Lake State Park, I'm curious if or how emminent domain might be used to violate the public trust when it comes to public lands.