• WAYPOINTS: Resisting the Hate for “They”

• SOULPRINTS: A Picture of God

• CAIRNS: Enjoy My Book “Journey to Friendship”

“They’re eating dogs… eating cats… the people that came in are eating pets!”

“They” are always a threat. The hate multiplies faster than the truth could ever move.

The strategy of finding scapegoats who are different and threatening has worked for millennia. Ancient tribes on every continent fought incessant wars. Mayan versus Aztec, Persians versus Egyptians, American settlers versus Native tribes, Jews versus Arabs, Nazis versus Jews—the list covers all of humanity. Leaders denounce the others as the source of all the problems and a threat to livelihood.

The claims are outrageous, unscientific, and destructive. But they grab headlines and mislead voters by the millions. The promise is that a strong-arm leader will save us from what “they” are doing.

Let’s be honest. The accusations against the others aren’t true. The only truth is that the leaders who fan the hate gain support from the fearful and misinformed….

Watch the entire episode of “Resisting American’s Hate Problem” on Youtube

The Kindergarten Sunday School class was hard at work on the assignment. The young teacher said, “Draw a picture of God.”  With crayons in hand, the students got to work. One drew a bearded man preaching. Another colored white clouds on a blue sky since God was in Heaven. A curly-headed girl sketched what she claimed was her Grandmother, because Grannie is always kind.

All of us have a picture of God tucked somewhere in our mind. Adults may be more sophisticated than the five-year olds and realize God doesn’t live in the clouds. Years of life experience can alter the metaphors that help or hinder our faith. Some hold an image of a judge ready to pronounce a sentence, or a brilliant light shining on the horizon, or a woman caring for a child.

I taught a class that discussed some metaphors proposed by professor Jay McDaniel:

God is the energy of life, just as the ocean is the universal field of energy across the planet, existing in all organisms and holding all organisms within it. God, like the energy of the sun, stimulates and energizes the life-giving properties of the ocean. The ocean allows each creature the freedom for self-determination that each independent organism requires to thrive with life. Each wave motion and current connects to all others as input for future reactions

God is the conductor of the universal orchestra. Music is the universal field of Reality. The musical score is the influence of the past. The conductor is God who presents the future of what the music should sound like yet doesn’t control the players. Instrumentalists are the entities which receive the past and the future goals then determine their own interpretive actions. Each note played influences all the other notes in the future. The music produced creates an experience that lures listeners toward beautiful harmony with others.

God is the consciousness of the universe, the mind, or sentience behind all existence. All entities in the universe are interconnected, like the neurons in a brain, contributing to a grand consciousness that is the universe. God, in this view, is the consciousness—an eternal presence that permeates all things and beings, allowing for interaction, growth, and evolution.

God is the weaver for the intricate tapestry of the universe. Every thread symbolizing a living being or an aspect of existence, God is crafting and interweaving threads to form a cosmic masterpiece with its own beauty.

God is the womb of the universe, the nurturing space within which the universe unfolds. The universe is a continually evolving entity, growing within the divine embrace, with God as the creative source nourishing galaxies, stars, and life itself.

It’s worth your time to consider your metaphor, image, or picture of the Divine. No metaphor is perfect and none can encompass the mystery of God. I invite you to share your thoughts with the Trackers Community on the Facebook Trackers page.

Take a journey to the past with “Journey to Friendship.” This is a personal Memoir of my experience as a young minister in 1976. It was America’s becentennial year and the year I started serving my first church as Pastor.

I write about discovering the challenges of church vocation, the intrigues of starting a family, and the joys of building faith in this light-hearted memoir. Set in 1976, America’s tumultuous Bicentennial year, the easy-to-read story follows Jan and me growing up in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, embarking on newlywed adventures and launching careers in education and church leadership.

You can order a paperback or a Kindle ebook. I hope you enjoy it!

Click here to order the book on Amazon

My goal with the TRACKS FOR THE JOURNEY NETWORK is simple: promote well-being! I believe growth is possible for all of us. Using the resources of progressive theology, positive psychology, and justice ethics we can thrive!

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