For the Joy of the Journey

Small Moments

George March 4, 2018 The Journey 0 Comments

As I have thought about spiritual milestones, I have concluded that such occasions are not always big, dramatic events. They may very well seem insignificant but as time passes their impact on our life becomes more and more apparent. There is one such occasion that comes to my mind.

It was in the 1970’s during a visit to Nashville that I was invited by a friend to attend Wednesday evening church. His church was not a typical Church of Christ but that was no deterrent. It was a time of questions and curiosity in my life. I was expecting a class experience that would satisfy my curiosity and questions. What happened was completely foreign to my church experience.

As the congregation gathered, the minister asked all the men come with him and the women were directed to another place. We followed him out of the church building to a building near by. We were ushered into a room that accommodated us but the quarters were close. I didn’t know anyone except my friend and had no idea what to expect. It certainly wasn’t a usual classroom setting. We were seated on the floor. The lighting was dim.

The leader of the session began to talk and share his relationship with Jesus. He encouraged others to reflect on their own experiences and thoughts about their relationship with Jesus. Men began to speak up and talk about their lives in ways that I had not experienced. There was emotion and passion, confession and repentance, prayers and tears. I was immersed in the moment. I was touched deeply, but I did not speak out.

That experience would seem inconsequential to many Christians in this day and time. For me, it was a small moment that had a lasting impact. It was like a first romantic kiss … awkward, a little repulsive, but oh so delicious … a taste that would linger …a glimpse of something mysterious and wonderful. It was discovery and the promise of adventure. I have remembered that event throughout the years and in that small moment; my eyes and heart were opened to wonderful possibilities of fellowship with Jesus and others who believe him. From then on, I could not be satisfied with less.

Aug. 31st, 2006

A Better Question (8)

George February 27, 2018 Echo chambers 0 Comments

The question..”Who Are We”? … in the previous post is relevant to each of us. Of course, I want to believe I am the person who would write the second comment. The reality is that all of us are both. Each of us is capable of either response. Each of us has the inclination to protect our rightness. Because we are “right” we give ourselves permission to use any and all tools available to protect the “truth”.

We believe we would do so in a civil manner, however, sheltered in our echo chamber, we are released from the constraints of civility. When we are certain of our rightness we justify ourselves and condemn dissenters.

To answer the question “Who Am I?”, requires self-assessment and introspection. Those qualities are counterintuitive when we are over-confident of our rightness. We are not only unable to see and hear dissenters, we are blind and deaf to ourselves.

That dilemma illustrates the depth of the challenge echo chambers present when we seek to answer the question, “Who Am I?”

Perhaps there is a a better question… “Who do I want to be?”

I believe in the basic goodness of humanity. Each of us have an innate desire to love and be loved.

Man’s nature is not essentially evil. Brute nature has been known to yield to the influence of love. You must never despair of human nature. Mahatma Gandhi

I believe each of us wants to be a good person. ‘Good’ means a lack of self-centeredness. It means the ability to empathize with other people, to feel compassion for them, and to put their needs before your own. *

Conversely, we do not want to be evil people. ‘Evil’ people are those who are unable to empathize with others. As a result, their own needs and desires are of paramount importance. *

I want to be a good person and I trust that you do also. 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.

How can the negative power of echo chambers be mitigated?

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Journey to the Cross

George February 20, 2018 Pew Note 0 Comments

Remember, this is a journey to the cross. On our way we need to learn why we must go there. It is not because of our great wisdom and ability to be good disciples. It’s because of our weakness and sinfulness, our lack of faith and spiritual insight, our failure to love and be generous toward others, our discomfort with God and his ways. It is because we need forgiveness, cleansing, and renewal.

Chaplin Mike

Edited with BlogPad Pro

Losing Weight

George February 19, 2018 Uncategorized 0 Comments

(Post from 2006 during a serious weigh loss effort)

I have found the process of losing weight interesting. Especially the response from people who have witnessed the changes. There were the usual comments: “I’m proud of you”, “Congratulations”, “You look great!”(I wonder what I was before)

As I have gotten thinner, the responses have shifted to warnings, concerns and direct orders: “Are you feeling OK?”, “Don’t you think you have lost enough weight?”, “You’re just too thin.”, “You should not lose any more weight.”, “Stop losing weight!”

I am not upset about these responses but they do give me pause for thought. Why didn’t I receive the same level of concern when I was obese, taking medications and obviously out of shape and my general health status was seriously deficient? My weight loss has brought me into the healthy category only about 6 pounds ago.

I have come to several conclusions: 1) As it was with me and is with most others, there is an absence of understanding with regard to what is normal and healthy. 2) In our thinking, we have changed the criteria for healthy to accommodate our own reality. 3) We are reluctant to express concern to one another because most of us are in the same boat. 4) Most people do not particularly want someone around that reminds them of their own deficiencies. 5) It is difficult to be humble and avoid self-righteousness when you have achieved a significant accomplishment. 5) Life is more than weight and diet. 6) Trust in God and is more important than ever.

re-post from 2006

Echo Chambers

George February 16, 2018 Echo chambers 3 Comments

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

…an unfortunate and largely unintended consequence of the rise of social media is that instead of being better informed and exposed to ever-broadening viewpoints, research shows that Americans today are more polarized and draw from shrinking pools of news.R. Sunstein

In the last decade or more, our government and society in general has become more polarized. The ability (willingness) to communicate with those who do not share our views/beliefs has become an endanger species. There seems to be general agreement that a prevalence of echo chambers is a significant factor contributing to the state our society.

Echo chambers are ubiquitous. Social media, news outlets, blog feeds, churches, families, neighborhoods, communities. If there is a context where differences exists, a “safe room” (echo chamber) will emerge and like-minded people will seek refuge.

Echo chambers are not a new phenomenon. They are the consequence of human nature’s inclination to tribalism.

Tribalism is pervasive, and it controls a lot of our behavior, readily overriding reason. Think of the inhuman things we do in the name of tribal unity. Wars are essentially, and often quite specifically, tribalism. Genocides are tribalism – wipe out the other group to keep our group safe – taken to madness. Racism that lets us feel that our tribe is better than theirs, parents who end contact with their own children when they dare marry someone of a different faith or color, denial of evolution or climate change or other basic scientific truths when they challenge tribal beliefs. What stunning evidence of the power of tribalism!

How Tribalism Overrules Reason, and Makes Risky Times More Dangerous

Not unlike many facets of our society, echo chambers are benefactors (victim?) of the digital and technological revolution.

Since we’ve become so attached to social media, we are less and less required to interact with people who disagree with us. Technology allows us to reach across state lines (and even oceans) to find people who share our beliefs and values. Until social media designers can address the fact that these platforms allow the increasing polarization of users into small, tight-knit communities, stopping the proliferation of misinformation will continue to be a challenge. The social media “echo chamber” is real

I would suggest that technology has unleashed the ever present malevolent potential of echo chambers in ways never imagined. Some would suggest that the existence of democracy is threatened.

The subject of echo chambers has become increasingly personally relevant. After recognizing my self imposed political/social echo chamber, I made a decision to dampen the echoes and open myself to different sources.

My efforts have met with mixed success. The peril of trading one echo chamber for another is real. The most significant result of my decision, thus far, is that it has become a catalyst for more serious thought and investigation into the character and nature of echo chambers. this blog post is the first, in what I hope to be a series of posts, addressing questions, ideas and issues that I have encountered related to echo chambers.

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