[Oe List ...] Salmon: Summary of a Framework for Living.doc

[W. J.]

The editorial Bill mentions is at
http://www.salina.com/news/story/Mattson---Being-Gay-column-for-Saturday--Oct--31--2009
Marshall



________________________________
From: William Salmon <wsalmon at cox.net>
To: Ecumenical Order <oe at wedgeblade.net>
Sent: Mon, November 9, 2009 12:56:31 PM
Subject: [Oe List ...] Salmon: Summary of a Framework for Living.doc

 
 
Family, Friends and Colleagues: 
            The following was
written as a summary of the class work of the Friends of Trinity, a ministry of
the SalinaUMC as it reaches out to the Gay/Lesbian/Queer community. Perhaps you’ll
find the insights interesting. Please dialogue when you have questions. Bill
 
WHERE
WE’VE BEEN during the last 5 weeks – Building a FRAMEWORK FOR
LIVING utilizing “Four Platforms.” 
 
I.          Platform
1: What it means to be human
            The human creation is characterized
by four basic experiences: 
            We Experience Mystery:
                        We neither know where we
came from nor where we are going after we die. Our angst of our death is
experienced in any number of pen-ultimate ways, or ways that are daily
reminders that we will die; sometimes we die daily and we die by inches. The hook used to remember this is
The Landof Mystery.
            We Experience Care:
                        Each of us has a care
for what happens tomorrow; the insurance companies get wealthy on this human
concern. Each of us cares for what happens to us, to our families, nation and
the world. This formula is affirmed in the Divine Commandment of Jesus to love
our selves as we love our neighbors and love God. The hook used to remember this is The Mountainof Care.
            We Experience
Consciousness:
                        The one thing that
distinguishes us from all other creatures is our Self-Consciousness. The hook used to remember this is
The Riverof Consciousness.
            We Experience A Sense of
Peace:
                        Another unique capacity
of being human is our ability to use our innate sense of Inner Peace even in
the midst of tragedy and stress. It is important to remind ourselves that our
sense of peace is not found in our circumstances, rather this peace is found
within us in spite of our life situations. The hook used to remember this is The Seaof Tranquility.
 
II.         Platform
2: Life is lived before only ONE REALITY
            There is only one reality. It
has been the same reality since the dawn of consciousness. However, our perception of reality changes as humanity experiences
various paradigm shifts in worldview. One such shift occurred during the time
of the  Early Church ;
afterward time itself was measured Before the Common Era (BCE – or BC)
and the Common Era (CE or AD). 
            A second major shift in
consciousness came during the 15th to the 17th Centuries
known as the Scientific Method, the Reformation, Industrialization, and the Renaissance.
It is during this period that religious language took on the characteristics of
science; every theological word becamean object to be
understood. This period is understood using a two-story worldview
with similar characteristics used in Greek Dualism; Heaven is located outside
of the known (visible) horizon. 
            The current worldview began with the publication of E=MC2 in 1917. At this moment our
worldview took on the characteristics of a UNI-verse; Heaven is located within us and is experienced rather than understood.
 
 
III.        Platform
3: Two kinds of People – Pigs and Persons
            According
to Socrates, Pigs are persons slopping through life largely unaware of what it
means to live authentically human. On the other hand, Persons are those who live profoundly awake and aware; these
people stand and salute as life passes by. A Pig is one who embraces his/her
situation as a victim. A Person is one who
embraces her/his situation as avictor.
            A working definition of what it
means to be human is that we fulfill our intended creation by,
“Living the humane and gracious life while working for justice and
mercy.” It is impossible to be humane and gracious without working for
justice and mercy. In like manner, it is impossible to work for justice and
mercy unless we live humane and gracious. 
            The problem we experience in being
HUMAN is that this does not fulfill our intended creation. We are created to
live in At-One-Ment with all of creation and with all other creatures both
human and animal. TO BE HUMAN is to live by our natural inclinations for
self-preservation, safety, to be fed, etc. 
            However, there is the deeper, inward
experience for living the humane and gracious life. We experience this hundreds
of times every day, but we fail to name these experiences using the words
humane and gracious. As Christians we fail to name these daily occurrences
using the Christian lexicon of God, Christ, Holy Spirit, Salvation, Hell, Sin,
etc. As secular humane people we find the words of Awakened or Awake to be
helpful because of the emphasis on our personal experience.  
            As Howard Thurman, mentor to Martin
Luther King, wrote, “We are not human beings having a spiritual
experience. Rather, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” 
            Or, as  St. Augustine wrote, “We are restless, O Lord, until
we find our rest in Thee.” 
            
IV:        Platform
4: Ethical Living
            Ethical
Living is best understood in the formula of What Would Jesus Do or WWJD. It is
experienced in self-sacrifice or in fulfilling At-One-Ment. It is when we live
in harmony, in synch, in tune, that we get the feeling that this is what it
means to live the humane and gracious life. It is at times like these that we
feel good about our selves, our neighbor and with Perfect At-One-Ment which is
one definition of God. Also, this is a definition of the Golden Rule, “Do
unto others as you would have them do unto you.” 
            During this session we read a
newspaper editorial written by Mike Mattson on, “Why Can’t I Become
Gay?” The conversation pushed to the level that what Mr. Mattson did was
done without selfish motives, and it succeeded in raising for the  Salina 
community an important question. We understood his act to be a demonstration of
WWJD. 
            
            Inner Peace, ya’all, 
            Pastor Bill 
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