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A Few Thoughts

…it is very hard to expect change from people who benefit from the system as it is. Change requires us to listen to voices outside of what has become our norm.”
Danielle Strickland

If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.
Rene Descartes


Do yourself a favor

Once we stop expecting, needing, or demanding that something or someone be perfect, we’re much happier. We’re doing ourselves and the world a favor. It’s not easy to do apart from the life and grace of God flowing through us. That’s why, for me, the notion of God as Trinity, the flow of relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is so important. Without that daily flow, we get trapped in the negatives. We all do. We all will, unless we tap into the love of God flowing through us.  

Richard Rohr


Men

·  Men are 50% more likely than women to struggle with alcohol and substance abuse.

·  “Men died of overdose at 2-3 times greater a rate than women.”

·  “Men outnumber women… about 2 to 1 among people with gambling addictions.”

·  Married men are almost twice as likely to cheat on their wives than vice versa.

·  The male suicide rate is approximately 4 times higher than the female rate.

·  Men commit 69% of violent crimes.

·  Men comprised 98% of active shooters in 2022-2023.

·  Men comprise 90% of the prison population (1,653,600 men, 174,000 women; not a typo).

·  Almost 400,000 men in the prison population are Protestant.

·  An appalling number of male pastors and ministry leaders, including 700+ SBC pastors, have sexually abused girls and women, then attempted to cover up the abuse.

It’s important to note that the above behaviors and statistics do not apply to all men! But they nevertheless provide compelling evidence that an enormous number of men engage in emotionally driven behaviors that ironically fit the Merriam-Webster definitions for irrational, illogical, and dare I say… hysterical. Yet the false belief that all women are irrational, illogical, and hysterical endures, due to its underlying premise: that women are allegedly inferior to men.

https://scotmcknight.substack.com/p/confronting-systemic-cultural-sexism


Reading Scripture

Imagine that every time you receive the Holy Eucharist, your mind is filled with thoughts of the chemistry of bread and wine. Indeed, the thoughts become so dominant that the presence of Christ is largely forgotten. In particular, the relationship of heart to sacrament is disrupted. If, in such circumstances, someone began to absent themselves from communion, it would not be surprising.

The reading of Scripture in the life of the Church is quite properly compared to the reception of communion – for the Scriptures are best described as sacramental in nature.

If the whole time you read, the question is, “Did this happen? Did it happen like this?” etc. there is no engaging of the Scripture as Scripture. The distance between reader and text could hardly be greater.

Fr Stephen Freeman


A dose of reality

I have had an X (formerly know as Twitter) account for several years. I do not recall ever posting to it, but regularly scrolled through to get a feel for what was going in the Twitter world. I did not find it to be particularly beneficial. in my opinion, since Elon Musk bought Twitter , the cesspool seem to descend into an even darker realm.
Discovering Bluesky, a new social media platform that presents itself as an better alternative to X, I deleted my X account and signed up for Bluesky — @grezell.bsky.social . I have no anticipation of posting on a regular basis but I am interested in seeing how it contrasts to X and follow some relevant users.

To introduce myself, I decided post a link to one of my recent posts. I usually only share my posts with subscribers to my blog, a small number of faithful readers I know and who seem to appreciate what I write. Needless to say, my post on Bluesky did not go viral, but I did one comment :

“What an absolute heaped and steaming pile of shit. The authors need to reevaluate their conscience as do anyone who agrees with this utter nonsense.”

It is hard to describe the impact that comment. It was a dose of reality on several counts:

  1. Clearly my subscribers are an echo chamber. I do not get a lot of comments but they are, almost without exception, positive. My posts are generally unchallenged. As a result, agreeable comments have produced an inflated and unhealthy self-perception about my writing. Don’t get me wrong, I love positive comments. They are wonderful and a positive reason for echo chambers. The shocking negative comment I received was a reminder of the necessity of dissenting voices for a healthy echo chamber and ego.
  2. The comment disabused me of any idea that there is any “safe/sane” social media platform. Living in an echo chamber creates a false notion that everyone is basically a good person. Reality is, there are mean spirited people who live for an opportunity to express their dissatisfaction in hateful and or destructive ways. Social media is a petrie dish for evil. There are positive aspects to social media but the likelihood of getting a serious infection is dangerously high and requires careful precautions.
  3. Receiving that comment exposed my spiritual vulnerability. Despite my “love your enemy” conviction, my first reaction was anger and resentment followed by an impulse to retaliate — a “Nathan/David” moment. Her comment was a needed wake-up call.
  4. I would have preferred some thoughtful, cogent criticism but I must say,”steaming pile of shit” and “utter nonsense” got my attention. I have re-read the post several times and continue to reassess my thoughts and conclusions. Some times you beed a slap in the face. OUCH! I struggle between dismissing the comment out of hand and deleting the post. Those are false choices. I need to reassess and, revise my post if needed
  5. I have not decided to post any more on Bluesky or whether I will even keep my account. Withdrawing from social media most likely would mean seeking comfortable confines of an echo chamber. Not a bad idea. It is a lot easier to love my enemy from there and feel really good about myself and my writing.

STILL ON THE JOURNEY

A Few Thoughts

Sometimes I shock myself with the smart stuff I say and do. Then, there are the times I try to get out of the car with my seat belt on.

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 If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living? Why?


EVIL

Going back to biblical notions of evil. Evil in the bible is very simple. It is transgression. Evil isn’t a prerequisite for sin. Evil is sin. That is the biblical view. Evil is not a noun. It’s a choice.

Richard Beck


Separateness 

We go through our lives, our years on this Earth, thinking of ourselves as separate. That sense of separateness basically causes every stupid, sinful, silly thing we ever do. The little, separate self takes offense when people don’t show us proper respect. The separate self lies, steals, and does unkind things to other people. When we’re separate, everything becomes about protecting and defending ourselves. It can consume our lives. 

One word for overcoming that false sense of separateness, that illusory self, is heaven; quite frankly, that is what death offers us. It is simply returning to the Source from which we came, where all things are one. The whole gospel message is radical union with God, with neighbor, and even with ourselves. I think that’s why so many people are drawn to church each week—to receive communion and eventually, hopefully, realize that we are? in communion

Richard Rohr


Belonging

Social group identities and norms, as opposed to theological beliefs, as the primary psychological drivers of religious interpretation and expression.”
Our religion is about what our group defines as sacred. Belonging before believing.

Samuel Perry


Humility

…humility simply means living in the reality of the human condition. The word “humility” comes from the Latin root for “ground” (hum-) which it shares with both “human” and “humus”—that nutrient rich soil that gardeners love. In this way, humility suggests a kind of groundedness or acceptance of our limits as earthbound creatures. Humility puts us in our place, teaching us that for all our ambitions and aspirations, our lives are lived in this moment, in this time, in this place.

Hannah Anderson


WE ARE STUPID!

Prov. 12: 15 Stupid people always think they are right. Wise people listen to advice. (GNT)

Wise people are really aware of how often they are wrong. Even when they are right they feel a sense of wrong.

Stupid people always think they are right. They never have to justify their actions. They never have to justify their choices because they think they’re right. If you are always right you’re not always right, you’re always stupid.

By choosing to listen you begin to attack the stupidity in your life. Wise people listen to counsel. You never get so wise that you do not need advise.

Stupid people think that wise people don’t need advise. And that’s why they are stupid. Wise people need less advice and want it more. Wise people need less advice and seek it more. Stupid people need more advice and seek it less.

Here’s how to know where you fall on the spectrum of stupid or wise. If you are asking people for counsel and input in your life you are wise. If you are looking for people that agree with you, you are being stupid. Ironically, stupid people always pretend they are getting advise.

Irwin McManus

Now can we stop screaming?

Lord, if we are pleased with the results of the election, let us in humility remember that every earthly authority must one day give way to your eternal rule – so let us in grace love all our neighbors well.


Or, if we are disappointed, let us resist all fear, anger, accusation and bitterness, but instead renew our trust in you – and let us in grace love all our neighbors well.


Whatever the outcome of this election, let our citizenship and our hope be rooted first in your heavenly kingdom, that we might live as winsome ambassadors of our soon-returning King – always in grace loving our neighbors well.

Jessica Smith Culver and Douglas McElvey
via Chris Seidman

I very much appreciate the prayer above. My prayer, not nearly as thoughtful, sadly, betrays my shallow expectations. A veiled request to love our neighbors well. “Lord, help us quit screaming at each other!”

The election over but it is not the end, it is the the beginning. What our nation will look like during the next four years, and beyond, will be largely determine by whether we can stop screaming at each other.
Rhetoric for unity, peace, cooperation, et al, will not, cannot, be heard until the screaming stops. An obvious question is “How do we stop screaming?”. To answer that question we need to understand why we are screaming at each other. It is my premise that Why we have been, and will continue to scream at each other is because almost everyone resides in an echo chamber 1An echo chamber is a metaphorical description of a situation in which information, ideas, or beliefs are amplified or reinforced by communication and repetition inside a defined system. Inside a figurative echo chamber, official sources often go unquestioned and different or competing views are censored, disallowed, or otherwise underrepresented. The echo chamber effect reinforces a person’s own present world view, making it seem more correct and more universally accepted than it really is. (Wikipedia). It is the simple adage: “Birds of a feather stick together”.
Despite some pleasant post election rhetoric, each side, rather than un-circling wagons, are reinforcing defensive positions. The election has been conceded but not the fight.
Echo chambers exist because of our tribal instincts as human beings.

Despite all the contrary rhetoric, contemporary Americans are not highly individualized: we are tribal, in the extreme. It is the group, however constructed, that gives identity, for the identity that is sought is one that covers us, that hides our vulnerability and gives us the safety of those who agree. A tell-tale sign of this dynamic is found in our culture’s anger. Anger is largely driven by shame and we can affirm our tribal protection only by shouting at the outsider. Everything outside the group threatens to unmask us. To an increasing extent, the group to which we belong is that set of people who share our anger.
Fr Stephen Freeman

Humans are designed to be tribal. We are wired to organize ourselves socially into in-groups (our own group) and out-groups (others’ groups), and to organize ourselves cognitively so that our reasoning processes and even our sensory perceptions support in-group solidarity. “Believing is belonging,”
Jonathan Rauch

Life in an echo chamber is paradoxical. There are positive experiences of belonging (comfort/identity) and strengthening of our beliefs (rightness). Negatively, living in an echo chamber has potential for unhealthy even destructive outcomes. Whether we are right or wrong, our echo chamber has potential for harmful and/or destructive consequences. Living outside an echo chamber is a rare exception.

Dynamics of echo chambers


Using the concept of natural frequency (resonance)2Natural frequency is the frequency at which a system tends to oscillate in the absence of any driving or damping force. can help us understand the dynamics of echo chambers.

Accepting I am not a physicist, let me propose an analogy between the physics of natural frequency and echo chambers. Supposing the natural frequency of our echo chamber is ƒr [rightness]. An external application of ƒr[rightness] will cause the echo chamber to oscillate and achieve resonance — i.e. “resonate with us”. In simple terms, “playing our tune” or “on my wave length”. The application of ƒr[rightness] at increasing amplitude can grow enough too, as in case of a glass, shatter the object.

Perhaps the analogy breaks down with destruction, but, at a minimum, it supports Nicholas Kristof’s assertion: “Whatever our politics [beliefs], inhabiting a bubble makes us more shrill.” When we are exposed to continual reinforcement of our rightness, it will result in unhealthy consequences [i.e. screaming at outsiders].

We scream [become shrill] at one another because we live in echo chambers sating ourselves on ƒr. Because we are human echo chambers will always be our preferred residence. Eliminating echo chambers is not realistic,
Neither is Eliminating input of ƒr an option; reinforcement and validation of beliefs and values is crucial.
Because we reside in an echo chamber does not mean we are evil people. However, the nature and character of echo chambers is such that if we choose to reside in an unmitigated echo chamber the trajectory of our lives will bend toward evil not good.

Destined to dwell in echo chambers, how can we survive and thrive ?

Consent echo chambers are a reality.. Hopefully this post is helpful.

Embrace our fallibility. Counterintuitively, mitigating the power of echo chambers requires acceptance that we, as humans, are fallible. The reason we reside in echo chambers is because of our desire for confirmation that we are infallible. The most significant human trait that sustains and encourages the proliferation of and participation in harmful echo chambers is our unwillingness to entertain the possibility that we may be wrong.
Self-delusion is the adhesive which keeps us confined to echo chambers. Self-delusion is a two-sided coin: One side the delusion of omniscient, the other side the delusion of infallibility. Unfortunately, whichever side comes up, we lose.

Myth: My opinion/belief is TRUE, therefore I have no reason for concern.
The negative impact of echo chambers is indiscriminate. Relative to negative outcomes, it does not matter whether we are right or wrong. If we are certain of our opinion/belief, the reverberations within our echo chamber confirm our certainty, deafening and blinding us to any dissenting voices. In our self-deluded infallibility, we are able to justify responses, that we would never otherwise consider, toward any and all dissenting voices.

Self awareness is essential to surviving and thriving in echo chambers.
To see and truly understand ourselves is the only antidote to the self-deceiving nature of echo chambers. Self-deception is a path of least resistance. The lure of self-deception is so consuming that any thought that we can will ourselves into self-awareness is, ironically, self-deceiving. We become self-aware when we are exposed by light from external sources, stripping away shadows of self-deception, leavingus profoundly naked and humiliated. In those moments that we cannot only see who we truly are, we are also able discern who we should be and what changes are needed to transform us.

Humility is a product of self-awareness.

Humility is not about having a low self-image or poor self-esteem. Humility is about self-awareness.

irwin McManus

Absent of any driving or damping force a system, subjected to increasing amplitude of its natural frequency, will oscillate to its destruction.
Humility, produced by awareness of fallibility, is a dampening force which can modulates the amplitude of ƒr permitting validation and confirmation of beliefs to occur while overruling the impulse to scream.

SUMMARY

  • our human default is tribal.
  • self-delusion is a plight of those residing in an echo chamber,
  • self-awareness is essential to surviving and thriving in echo chambers,
  • there is inherent resistance to self-examination,
  • prevailing, relentless narratives engender fear and rejection of dissenting voices.
  • Facts don’t necessarily have the power to change minds. More education/information is not a solution. [even what presented in this post] We are faced with the discomforting reality that any solution must come from outside ourselves.
  • ever-present and complex, echo chambers are an obstacle to a society characterized by virtuous human values.

Conclusion

For too many of us it’s become safer to retreat into our own bubbles, whether in our neighborhoods, or on college campuses, or places of worship, or especially our social media feeds, surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. In the rise of naked partisanship and increasing economic and regional stratification, the splintering of our media into a channel for every taste, all this makes this great sorting se em natural, even inevitable.
And increasingly we become so secure in our bubbles that we start accepting only information, whether it’s true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that is out there. 
Obama farewell speech


The poor in spirit do not commit evil. Evil is not committed by people who feel uncertain about their righteousness, who question their own motives, who worry about betraying themselves. The evil in this world is committed by the spiritual fat cats, by the Pharisees of our own day, the self-righteous who think they are without sin in because they are unwilling to suffer the discomfort of significant self-examination.
The major threats to our survival no longer stem from nature without but from our own human nature within. It is our carelessness, our hostilities, our selfishness and pride and willful ignorance that endanger the world.

Unless we can now tame and transmute the potential for evil in the human soul, we shall be lost. How can we do this unless we are willing to look at our own evil?
The major threats to our survival no longer stem from nature without but from our own human nature within. It is our carelessness, our hostilities, our selfishness and pride and willful ignorance that endanger the world.

M. Scott Peck – People of the Lie

STILL ON THE JOURNEY

  • 1
    An echo chamber is a metaphorical description of a situation in which information, ideas, or beliefs are amplified or reinforced by communication and repetition inside a defined system. Inside a figurative echo chamber, official sources often go unquestioned and different or competing views are censored, disallowed, or otherwise underrepresented. The echo chamber effect reinforces a person’s own present world view, making it seem more correct and more universally accepted than it really is. (Wikipedia)
  • 2
    Natural frequency is the frequency at which a system tends to oscillate in the absence of any driving or damping force.