Does Anyone Believe in Sin Anymore?

           

A member of Cross~Wind UMC gave me an article with the title, “Does Anyone Believe in Sin Anymore?” It refers to the idea of updating the traditional “seven deadly sins,” namely, pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, and sloth. They derive from Pope Gregory in the 500s AD. The article refers to Bishop Gianfranco Girotti as thinking of modern behaviors that can adversely affect people, such as drug abuse, pollution, contributing to the widening divide between rich and poor, excessive wealth, and creating poverty. He refers to the Ten Commandments, but also, one offends God by wrecking the environment, carrying out morally debatable experiments, and so on. The article refers to Mahatma Ghandi drawing up a list of the seven blunders of the world, for the seven deadly social sins, of wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, science without humanity, knowledge without character, politics without principle, commerce without morality, and worship without sacrifice. Arun, his grandson, added number eight, rights without responsibilities.

            A survey (http://www.greymatterresearch.com/index_files/Sin.htm) of Americans listed several possibilities and asked whether they considered them sins. 

The behaviors a majority of all Americans describe as sinful are: 

· Adultery  8

· Racism  74%

· Using “hard” drugs such as cocaine, heroine, meth, LSD, etc.  65%

· Not saying anything if a cashier gives you too much change back  63%

· Having an abortion  56%

· Homosexual activity or sex  52%

· Not reporting some income on your tax returns  52% 

A number of other behaviors are considered sinful by a significant portion of all Americans, although not a majority.  These are: 

· Reading or watching pornography  50%

· Gossip  47%

· Swearing  46%

· Sex before marriage  45%

· Homosexual thoughts  44%

· Sexual thoughts about someone you are not married to  43%

· Doing things as a consumer that harm the environment  41%

· Smoking marijuana  41%

· Getting drunk  41%

· Not taking proper care of your body  35% 

Then there are behaviors that fewer than one-third of all Americans see as sinful: 

· Gambling  30%

· Telling a “little white lie” to avoid hurting someone’s feelings  29%

· Using tobacco  23%

· Not attending church or religious worship services on a regular basis  18%

· Playing the lottery  18%

· Watching an R-rated movie  18%

· Being significantly overweight  17%

· Not giving 10% of your income to a church or charity  16%

· Drinking any alcohol  14%

· Working on Sunday/the Sabbath  14%

· Spanking your child when he/she misbehaves  7%

· Making a lot of money  4%

· Dancing  4% 

            I wonder, however, if the problem is not failure to believe in sin, but failure to envision the possibility of redemption.

            It gratifies me that so many Americans think of racism as a sin. For the percentage to be that high, regardless of political affiliation, racism is sinful.

            Parker Rice and Levi Pettit were members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the University of Oklahoma. The video of their racist sing-a-long gained much press in the early part of 2015. Eventually, the President of the school expelled them, he shut down the fraternity, and the fraternity itself would go through a nationwide examination. Given the circumstances, all of this may well be the best path of action. I do not know the individuals involved, so I am not passing on evaluation of their actions.

            However, I find it striking that Isaac Hill, the president of the Black Student Association at the University told Megyn Kelly that people should forgive the students. His counsel was to fight hate with the power love. Cal Thomas, columnist, was quite right to suggest that the goal of actions by fellow students and especially by the university should have been redemption. Redemption is a harder path to travel, but the destination is to change the thinking of the students.

In her article, "The Power of Forgiveness: Why Revenge Doesn't Work," Dr. Judith Orloff writes: "...revenge reduces you to your worst self, puts you on the same level with those spiteful people we claim to abhor."

Now, let us step back and consider a larger issue.

Yes, America has its faults and sins. They flow from its history of connection to Europe. Most of us can list them. Slavery and treatment of the Native American would rate high on the list. Critics will implicate Christianity and white people in these sins.

Such imperfections are there. No one can erase it from the history.

What would redemption look like?

Maybe you would have preachers throughout the country, known as abolitionists, encourage America to abolish slavery. Maybe you would fight a war at great cost in human lives to remove it, and maybe you would work tirelessly for another 100 years to remove racism from any form of respectability. An avowed racist could not receive a majority anywhere in this country.

Yet, the path of revenge will lead to your worst self. You might become like the people you hate. It might lead to riots and violence in the streets, destroying the businesses your community needs to make progress. It might lead to harming relationships with the police, the people you need to protect you from those in the community who wish harm.

Many Americans are quick to label almost anything a “sin,” even if they do not use the word. For some people, the only path to redemption is to agree with them.

Sexual Sin in America: Nothing New

$1,877,442,835. This is the amount of money, almost $2 billion, that was paid by the Catholic church between 1950 and 2008 to settle with victims of abuse, including treatment for victims and attorney fees. The actual amount is probably more. According to some reports, "Catholic priests who have been accused of sexual abuse number between 5,700 and 10,000, but because of restrictive statutes of limitations, only a few hundred have been tried, convicted and sentenced for their crimes."

In our society, we use the word "adult" in odd ways. We take a store where X-rated videos and magazines are sold and we call it an "adult" store. We have Web sites where people are shown breaking the commandment regarding adultery in multiple ways, and we say those are "adult" sites. Well, yes, we do not want children there, but if they do find their way to such a store or site, we would not want to tell children that what they are seeing is mature behavior or the way grown-ups should relate to others. The seventh commandment tells us not to break the rules of being an adult.

A woman whose husband said she committed adultery by writing steamy computer messages will sue him for defamation and invasion of privacy, her lawyer said Tuesday. The husband has already filed for divorce. Diane Goydan also claims extreme cruelty in the couple's deteriorating eight-year marriage, and says John Goydan violated state wiretap laws by retrieving her e-mail, said lawyer Thomas M. McCormack. He described her exchanges with a North Carolina man whose online name was "The Weasel" as "romantic" and "daydreams." Mrs. Goydan did not commit adultery because she never had sex with "The Weasel," he said. "It is ludicrous to characterize this dialogue ... as adulterous," McCormack told reporters at a news conference. "My client is devastated by the allegation of adultery, which I believe is without basis in law or fact. "Dozens of the exchanges - some sexually explicit - were described in John Goydan's January 23 divorce lawsuit, which also accuses Mrs. Goydan of extreme cruelty and seeks custody of their 7-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son. Goydan said in court papers that he learned about the cyber-romance by reading his wife's electronic mail. McCormack said Mrs. Goydan never shared her password with anyone and said the messages could not be retrieved without the password. Furthermore, the online account is in her name, he said. The marriage failed, McCormack said, because "he became distant and removed from her, which may have led to her going online."[1]

More Americans than you might think are practicing what is commonly known as polygamy, but what adherents prefer to call "polyamory": loving more than one person simultaneously and - this is crucial - openly. No one has taken a survey on polyamory, but as with many fringe movements, it has grown on the Web. "Ten years ago, there were maybe three support groups for polies," says Brett Hill, who helps run a magazine (circulation 10,000), a Web site (1,000 hits a month) and two annual conferences for an organization called Loving More. Today there are perhaps 250 polyamory support groups, mostly on the Internet, but some that meet for potluck suppers. Sure, most of them are in such expected precincts as Boston and Los Angeles, but there are also outposts like KanPoly, where polyamorous residents of Kansas can meet others like themselves and even download a "poly pride flag."[2]

 

Here is another example, broadening out from sexual sin. Dan Savage is an agenda driven writer for his self-styled Leftist views. He went on a crusade against virtue a few years ago. His stated purpose, as preparation for his new book, was to travel across the country and find the best places where he could commit the seven deadly sins. He thinks someone needs to stick up for the sinners, is the way he put it. He is a syndicated sex columnist (“Savage Love,” not a column we recommend), has written a most unusual book, one that you will not want to use as a source of bedtime stories for your children or grandchildren. Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Pursuit of Happiness in America contains the stories of a number of average American citizens as they gleefully commit each of the Seven Deadly Sins — lust, greed, gluttony, sloth, anger, envy and pride. Savage discovered that it was rather easy to find these sinners. In fact, he found that they were very conventional in their sinning — conventional in the sense that they seem to enjoy gathering with large numbers of like-minded souls in conventions devoted to their favorite sins.

            Savage took part in a lust convention by attending a gathering of 6,000 wife-swappers. Gluttony was seen at a convention of hundreds of overeating members of the National Association for the Advancement of Fat Acceptance. For his chapter on greed, Savage watched mobs of avid gamblers frolicking in Las Vegas. For an exposé on anger, he joined gun fans as they blasted away in Texas.

            “It’s amazing,” Savage told The Washington Post. “If you spent any time sinning in America, you spend a lot of time at conventions.” He said that the 42 American guys who like to have intimate relations while dressed up as stuffed animals have managed to find each other over the Internet. “And now they have conventions, too.”

            We have been to Sodom; we are on our way to Gomorrah.

Of course, as Pastor Bill Perkins put it, “If you think you can’t fall into sexual sin, then you’re godlier than David, stronger than Samson and wiser than Solomon.”[3] We also need to be careful how we respond to what is happening in the culture. When asked by a reporter whether he thinks young women today are too promiscuous, Vice President Al Gore responded, “I just have no firsthand experience.[4] 

Here is a reminder from Augustine that such concerns are not new. 

I want Christian wives to be jealous wives. I say this with all emphasis. I order it. I command it. Your bishop commands it. And Christ commands it through me. Yes, I say this and command it to you. Do not suffer it if your husbands make themselves guilty of unchastity. Appeal against them to the church. In all other things be subject to your husbands, but where this matter is concerned, defend your cause.[5] 

Blondie and Dagwood are watching television. Dagwood remarks, "Boy, there sure is a lot of nudity on TV lately!" "I'll say," replies Blondie. They continue to stare at the TV, eyes wide open. Says Dagwood, "Darnedest tire commercial I've ever seen."[6]

            How did we get ourselves into this mess?

How do we deal with the mess?

Here is one story. 

Egad, that Vlad! After overthrowing his half brother to take the Russian throne, the 43-year-old monarch was "at the top of his career" in Kiev Rus, says Per-Arne Bodin, professor of Slavic languages at the University of Stockholm. So effective was Vlad, the illegitimate son of a slave and Prince Sviatoslav, at unifying western Russia that his subjects happily overlooked his drinking, five wives and 800 concubines. "He just couldn't get enough of women," says Professor Jonas Granberg of Sweden's University of Goteborg. That is, until 988, when Vlad set his eye on the legendary beauty Anna, sister of Byzantine Emperor Basil II. To permit their marriage, Basil demanded that the pagan Vlad convert to Christianity. After that, until his death in 1015, the once-ragin' Russian lived a life so exemplary - and monogamous - that in the 1300s the Russian Orthodox Church awarded him sainthood.[7] 

King David's behavior in II Samuel 11:1-15 was destructive -- on many levels.

I am convinced that many people are going down this path of view virtue as confinement or a prison. Virtue limits our freedom, and we Americans cherish our freedom. I am also convinced that the New Testament is quite right to teach us that sin is our real prison from which we need liberation. Reflect again on the pain and hurt caused in engaging in the sins listed here. It sounds fun and freeing, at one level. Yet, we should learn from the experience of David by using whatever influence we have to lift people up, to heal them rather than hurt them.

---

[1] -Associated Press, February 7, 1996, Roseland, New Jersey.

[2] -John Cloud, "Henry & Mary & Janet & ..." Time, November 15, 1999.

[3] —Pastor Bill Perkins, quoted in Leadership, Winter 2001, 89.

[4] Cited by Newsweek, January 24, 2000, 17.

[5] -St. Augustine, Sermon 392.

[6] -Young & Drake, "Blondie," The Washington Post, January 28, 2000, C12.

[7] -"The 9 most intriguing people of 999," People Magazine, December 31, 1999, 196.

 

Sin, Grace, and Forgiveness

             Faith founded on the knowledge of forgiveness does a couple of things.  First, it provides us with a new insight into the nature of sin.  It reveals to us what we could not see before — namely, the insult to God.  When I think of the insult to God, I think in terms of an analogy drawn from my own professional experience.  I worked for a few years as a reference librarian at the Columbus (Ohio) Public library.  The librarian in charge of the reference section and my immediate supervisor was Gretchen DeWitt.  I admired and liked her, and she liked me in return.  We enjoyed a fine working relationship.  One Friday afternoon, I was working on a particularly complicated reference problem.  Knowing that the library would be closing in an hour or so, I was concentrating diligently to finish up.  Miss DeWitt came to my desk and asked me to come with her to the workroom for a conference.  I told her I was busy and asked if it could wait.  No, it couldn’t wait.  I began to feel anxiety over time.  I was frustrated at being interrupted.  I began to remember previous occasions on which Miss DeWitt had interrupted me.  Rage arose within me.  Taking liberties that might strain our otherwise healthy, working relationship I insisted that I keep to my project.  She insisted with equal vehemence that I drop the work and go to the workroom.  Then she turned and walked, expecting me to follow.  I did.  All the way I nagged her by complaining.  She said nothing and walked on.  Seeing that my complaining was ineffective, I scolded her.  Then I raised the pitch of my scolding.  Soon we arrived at the workroom door.  We entered and found the entire library staff standing around a table holding a cake and lit candles and singing `Happy Birthday’ — to me.  Miss DeWitt had planned the party in my honor.  How humiliated I felt.  Once the truth of Miss DeWitt’s graciousness became clear to me, I became aware of how I had insulted her.  However, Miss DeWitt showed not even the slightest sign of retaliation for my rudeness.  She was elegantly gracious.  Because of her grace, my insult didn’t harm our relationship.  Our relationship to God through faith is similar.  Once we understand that God forgives out of divine love, a sense of personal affront to God is added to any previous legalistic understanding of sin we might have had.  Once we understand that God forgives freely, we become aware of our own ingratitude.  This is not intended to be manipulative.  Rather, it is intended to be revelatory of the seriousness with which God takes the task of redeeming sinners.  The point is that once we realize how God justifies us, a new dimension of nature of sin opens up to our perception, `Only those who are justified by God are awakened from the sleep of the opinion that their acts can be justified of themselves,’ says Karl Barth.[1]

---

[1] Ted Peters, Sin: Radical Evil in Soul and Society, 1989.

King David

         
            In the wake of the success of faith-based movies like God's Not Dead and Heaven is for Real, and, specifically, a resurgence in the popularity of Bible-based films such as Noah, Son of God and Exodus: Gods and Kings, Hollywood has announced the development of a movie based on the life of David. The Warner Brothers film is to be an adaptation of David: The Divided Heart, a book by David Wolpe, rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, California.

Wolpe's book, in the words of the summary on Amazon.com, "is a fascinating portrait of an exceptional human being who, despite his many flaws, was truly beloved by God." It is easy to see moviegoers flocking to theaters to see him brought to life on the big screen. David's story contains elements that are Hollywood gold.

 Part of the story is a rags-to-riches tale of the youngest, almost forgotten, son who is plucked from the obscurity of tending his father's sheep to be the next king of Israel.

 It contains the Rocky-like underdog story of a boy defeating a giant with a single stone.

There are battle scenes to be staged with swords and shields. There are elements of strategy, intrigue and even a betrayal or two.

More than a warrior, David is also a poet, musician and songwriter, who, while waiting for his coronation, soothes then-King Saul with his music between battles.

There are also elements of a buddy-movie in David's relationship with Saul's son, Jonathan.

Casting for this movie tentatively titled King David should also be fun. The Bible tells us David was "ruddy and handsome," more Hollywood gold. The hot part, though, included in today's Scripture lesson, will no doubt be one of the scenes in the trailer, because nothing sells quite like sex. Many who know little of the Bible are familiar with the story of David and Bathsheba. While this scene in the story contains the steamy parts that sell movie tickets, it is not a story of forbidden love, but a cautionary tale about the abuse of power.

 The author of II Samuel sets the scene for II Samuel 11:1-15 with a glimpse into David's mindset at this period in his life. He does not tell us about David's home life, his family or even his reputation as a remarkable public servant. Instead, the story opens, "In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem" (v. 1).

As we might say summer is baseball season or beach season, David and his people have come to view spring as "war season." Battles have become so common, it seems that every spring David is sending "all of Israel" out to fight someone somewhere. This time, however, David does not join his commanders in battle. Has he become slothful? Has he become prideful?

This fulfills the warning God gave to the Israelites back in I Samuel when they begged Samuel for a king other than God so they could be just like every other nation. Samuel shared with them the words of the Lord about what a king would do, which included "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots" (I Samuel 8:11).

Once again, the people are noticing that God and Samuel were right. Having a king is not all it was cracked up to be. David, it seems, has fully transformed from shepherd and servant to a king like all the others.

To illustrate the point, we now read of his "relationship" with Bathsheba.

Make no mistake about it; this is not a Nicholas Sparks romance novel. This is not about sparks flying or instant chemistry. No, this is about a man of privilege taking advantage -- because he can.

Thus, the story of David holds an ambiguous and puzzling place in the massive history of Israel that we read in Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, a story that connects the time of the Patriarchs and Moses on the one hand with the exile on the other hand. That history shows the disobedience of Israel, and especially its kings, as they broke their covenant with God. The height of that covenant was the Ten Commandments. The kings broke the commandments. The power of the story of David is that the most successful king militarily and politically, the king who sought direction from God, also dramatically broke covenant with God and with Israel.

David sees Bathsheba on the roof of her house. Filled with lust and drunk with power, David sends for her so that he can have sex with her.

Some readers of this story suggest that Bathsheba was complicit in this. They suggest she went up on the roof that day knowing David was watching, and therefore engaged in some kind of seduction. The text does not suggest this. Quite the opposite is true. David takes Bathsheba against her will. David sends his servant "to get" her. The Hebrew word is actually better translated "to take" her. Bathsheba, a woman married to a foreigner, certainly did not have the power in that ancient culture to refuse the advances of the king. Thus, David breaks the commandment against committing adultery and that you shall not covet the wife of your neighbor.

When David is done with her, she returns to her home, and that appears to be that. Until, that is, Bathsheba utters the only three words she says in the entire story, "I am pregnant." Now, David has a problem.

His solution is a cover-up that quickly spirals out of control. Abusing his power again, David calls Bathsheba's husband home from battle. He hopes they will spend a night together, alleviating suspicion when Bathsheba has a child eight or nine months later.

What David does not count on, though, is that Uriah the Hittite, a foreigner fighting in David's army, is far more loyal and moral than the warrior king of Israel. Uriah refuses to enjoy the comforts of home while his platoon is out on the battlefield. He has a sense of unity with his fellow soldiers that he refuses to betray.

David abuses his power one more time, giving orders that are certain to have Uriah, Bathsheba's husband, killed in battle. If we were to continue reading a few verses beyond where the lesson stops, we would learn that the Ammonites killed Uriah just as David planned. David has broken the command not to kill.

David does not do this because he is in love; he does it because he is in trouble. This murder is a cover-up. David goes through all of these machinations so that he may hide his sin and maintain his reputation and power.

David, the former shepherd, is now King David. He could have used his power to influence people toward liberation and healing. Instead, he sends his people into a battle he does not deem important to attend himself. He uses Bathsheba for his pleasure and sends her away when he is through. Eventually, he uses his commanders to put Uriah in a vulnerable position that not only gets Uriah killed, but other soldiers as well (11:24).

Hollywood may romanticize the affair of David and Bathsheba, but it is actually the story of one who has allowed his status to affect his judgment. David has lost sight of the value of other people. He sees other people as means to his ends. He has come to view people as objects, and disposable ones at that.

His behavior is deplorable on so many levels.

Fifty shades of David, you might say.

 

            You may think reading the story of David, because you are not king. Yet, if we reflect upon it, the story of David reads our culture – and it may well read us. You have influence upon others. You can also abuse the influence or power you have. To use another Old Testament image, we are moving toward the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah.

This blog has its basis in Homiletics, a preaching magazine.

Robots, Twilight Zone, God, and Us

The modern field of robotics offers a concept called “uncanny valley.” Professor Masahiro Mori states that as we make robots to resemble human beings, our emotional response to them becomes increasingly positive and empathic.

As robots look and act even more humanlike, there is a point at which our emotional response becomes that of strong revulsion. Our empathy toward these sort-of-but-not-really human beings crashes off a cliff, as it were, and tumbles down in this "uncanny valley." Then, as we encounter robots that even more closely resemble actual human beings, our emotional response climbs back out of that valley, becomes positive once more and approaches human-to-human empathy levels.

Therefore, the uncanny valley is the area of repulsive response aroused by a robot with appearance and motion between a "barely human" and "fully human" entity.

This is easier to grasp with an example: We will feel little or nothing toward an industrial robot that essentially looks like a piece of machinery. But give that robot a "personality," such as with WALL-E, of the film and video game of the same name, or Number 5 from the earlier movie Short Circuit (whose greatest fear was of being disassembled), and we feel some empathy with it. Nevertheless, as the nonhuman becomes "almost human" -- such as in the case of a zombie -- our empathy crashes down into the "uncanny valley" of revulsion. Something even more humanlike, however, like Data, the humanoid crewmember on Star Trek, can cause our empathy to climb out of the valley and will evoke enough emotional connection for productive human-robot interaction.

A 1959 episode of the old Twilight Zone TV series titled "The Lonely" told the futuristic story of an inmate named Corry who was sentenced to solitary confinement on a distant asteroid for 50 years. Four times a year, a spacecraft piloted by a Captain Allenby arrived to bring him supplies. Allenby feels sorry for Corry, alone on this desolate planet. On one supply run, he brings Corry a crate, telling him not to open it until the ship has departed. When Corry opens the crate, he finds inside a female robot -- but one that looks completely human -- named Alicia. At first, Corry detests it, seeing it as a mere machine with synthetic skin and wires inside (he's in uncanny valley). Then Corry discovers that Alicia is capable of crying, and his feelings change; he begins to fall in love with Alicia and it -- or "she" -- becomes a companion to Corry, alleviating his loneliness.

Eventually, the ship returns and Allenby brings news that Corry has been pardoned. He may leave the asteroid and return to Earth immediately. The ship will be departing in 20 minutes, so Corry, anxious to leave this desolate place, hurries to get his things together. But then he learns that there is no space on board for his robot companion. By now, Corry has deep feelings toward Alicia, so he tries desperately to find some way to take her along. He argues with Allenby that Alicia is not a robot, but a woman, and insists that Allenby does not understand.

Allenby, however, knows that Corry's feelings aside, Alicia is still a machine. Deciding he must do something to break Corry's illusion, Allenby draws his gun and shoots the robot in the face. Alicia collapses, her face now a tangle of wires and broken circuitry, though she keeps repeating the name, "Corry."

Allenby then takes Corry to the ship, telling him that all he is really leaving behind is his loneliness. "I must remember that," Corry says tonelessly. "I must remember to keep that in mind."

If we make the relationship between Corry and Alicia a metaphor for that between God and us, how might this story have ended differently? Corry perhaps would have chosen to forgo his pardon and remain on the asteroid with Alicia. In a sense, that is what God did. He sent his only Son to where we are that he might restore us to himself, that our joy might be complete and full.

Moreover, that gives us direction for how to live a life of faith. We should embrace the relationship restoration God offers so that our life will be a place where God will be glad to be present with us.

Greatest Gifts

New Jersey. Drought-resistant wheat seeds. The Trojan Horse. The World Wide Web. Human freedom. Penicillin. A green bike. Jesus Christ.

 What do the items in this list, as diverse as they are, have in common?

 All are gifts.

 Maybe the greatest gifts in history.

 New Jersey was given as a present in 1665 by the Duke of York to two royalists, Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley. Fortunately, the territory did not remain in their hands; it reverted to the English crown in 1702, and later became part of the United States. If the land had not been returned, the descendants of Carteret and Berkeley would now be in control of nearly nine million people and a half-trillion-dollar economy. Not to mention Princeton University, the New York Giants, the New Jersey Turnpike and Chris Christie.

 Another great gift was much smaller, but was equally significant. A man named Norman Borlaug developed tiny wheat seeds that were resistant to drought and disease. These seeds were planted across Latin America and South Asia, and ended up feeding more than one billion people. They also put many poor countries on the road to self-reliance.

 Clearly, good things come in small packages.

 Another significant gift was The Trojan Horse. Well, maybe it was not such a terrific present for the Trojans, since Greek soldiers hid inside the horse and then conquered the city of Troy. However, the destruction of Troy led to the foundation of Rome and the Roman Empire, which had a profound effect on Western civilization.

 How about the present Tim Berners-Lee gave to the world? Tim Berners-who, you ask. He gave us the World Wide Web, says economist Paul Collier, choosing to make it a public good instead of a personal source of income. The benefits to people around the world have been tremendous.

 The idea of human freedom. This has been America's gift to the world, from Thomas Jefferson to Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom for all people has always been the guiding light of our foreign policy. When we are true to ourselves, freedom is what America is all about.

The greatest gift given by God is Jesus. He has meant freedom as many human beings have found their liberation for self-destructive forces in Jesus. He has meant peace with God with others, for those who travel his path. He has meant reconciliation for those who accept the challenge. 

Technology and Isolation: Sherry Turkle

Sherry Turkle, a professor at MIT, believes that social media can isolate us and cause us a lot of harm. She has written a book, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, and in it she writes about how we have so many opportunities to communicate today, using emails, texts, instant messages, Facebook messages, Twitter messages, phone calls and Skype.

 Such light-speed communication is great for making links. Which is good. Yet, as messages bombard us and as we make hurried responses, we can slowly but noticeably dumb down such conversations. Conversation with depth and meaning -- the kind of thing that connects us as humans -- often gets lost. We find ourselves linked by technology, but, sometimes, we also (as a consequence) feel alienated, estranged from community and from God.

 Alone. Cut off. Isolated. Even in the middle of a bustling city.

Well, such reflections have become common. A picture has ruined them for me. The picture is from a 1940s New York train, in which everyone has their heads buried in a newspaper. The point is that we are social creatures. We will seek society, regardless of how independent technology might make us.

Shall We Dance?

Suzanne and I like to dance. We met dancing. Would you like to see us dance? We are not very good because we do not get to do it very often. We have a few steps that are part of the swing type of dancing. One thing about dancing is that the man leads. Suzanne is very good at reminding me of steps I have forgotten. She is also very good at noticing little pressures on hand or side to let her know what we are going to do next.

Dancing With the Stars. It has been a wildly popular TV show, number one in its time slot.

So You Think You Can Dance? is another hit show, with a collection of young dancers competing in a rapid-fire series of traditional and contemporary dance styles. Combine these shows with the movies Dance With Me, Take the Lead and Step Up, and you have a genuine dance sensation sweeping the nation.

            What is surprising — even shocking, given our couch-potato tendencies — is that Americans are not simply watching these shows. No, we are actually hitting the dance floor ourselves. Tango, swing and ballroom dancing have been on the rise for more than a decade, pre-dating the TV dance craze. Studios are seeing a 30 or 40 percent increase in students during the past 10 years, despite the fact that dance lessons can cost up to $100 an hour.

            So we are not only watching dance, we are doing dance. Or trying to, anyway. And with the rising popularity of reality-TV dance shows, this white-hot trend shows no sign of cooling off.

            One thing that stops us is that we think other people are watching. We get self-conscious. We are afraid that, like David in II Samuel 6, someone will react with disgust. In that case, it was the wife of David. Yet, in that case, a large group celebrated and worshipped, to the point where David was willing to do something more contemptible than this if it meant worship.

            The point is, to learn to dance, you cannot be too worried about what people think. Even Mikhail Baryshnikov once said that he does not try to dance better than anyone else does. He only tries to dance better than himself.

            When we dance, we have to focus upon the moment. The joy that can come in dancing is so refreshing. Problems you have had do not disappear, but you can gain some perspective. James Brown once said that one could solve any problem in the world by dancing. He was going too far, of course, but I find it amazing how much better I feel when I have had chance to be around people who are dancing.

            Of course, dancing can get you into trouble. Mark 6:14-29 tells of the beheading of John the Baptist by a reluctant King Herod, who experienced the seduction of a dance with the wrong person. I imagine that some religious traditions look down upon dance for that reason.

            Bishop Woodie White brought dance to Indiana at a pastor and spouse event during the years he was bishop in Indiana. Yes, it was a great time for Suzanne and me.

            I suppose dance, especially in a group, can help us spiritually. Too many people ignore the body in their spirituality. I think that is a danger.

There is a Hasidic tale about a famous rabbi who accepted an invitation from a small village to come visit and answer questions about the Torah. The long-awaited day finally came. The excited villagers ushered the wise man into a large room, where they had all gathered. Rather than inviting the people to ask questions, the rabbi walked slowly and deliberately around the room, silently looking each villager in the eye as he softly hummed a religious tune. So engaging was the rabbi’s gentle manner that, before they knew it, the people found themselves humming his tune. Slowly, the rabbi started to dance. Soon the people found themselves dancing with him. The movements grew wilder and more frenzied, and the people of the village soon lost themselves in the dance. Together, they moved as one. When the dancing finally ended, the rabbi took one more walk around the room, looking deeply into the eyes of each person in turn. “I trust I have answered all your questions,” he said.

In Renewal Journal (No. 6), Lucinda Coleman writes about worshiping God in dance:

“Paul reminds Christians that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and that they should glorify God with their bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). He further indicates physical movement is an approved part of prayerlike expression when he exhorts Timothy to pray lifting up holy hands (1 Timothy 2:8). The biblical stance for most prayers included raising arms and hands above the head (1 Timothy 2:8). In prayers of confession, kneeling or prostration was common, and in thanksgiving prayers or intercession, standing with arms raised was common . … “In the Aramaic language which Jews spoke, the word for ‘rejoice’ and ‘dance’ is the same. Hence, in including ‘dance’ with ‘rejoice’ there are references to dancing and leaping for joy (Luke 6:23), as well as ‘dancing in the Spirit’ (Luke 10:21).”