Just One Thing

The last time I tried to write, I had to pack it up half way. I did more research. Time passed. Summer came. Worked a number of Festivals! I can tell some things are changing. My news, I will be starting a new job! Before the chapter changes, figured I’d better look around, see what needs doing.
I need to thank Canada. Sure I wish you could be a little less aloof when you come to shop, a little less just passing through. Say hi, how’s it going, now and then? Ok? I do think Canada is leading the discussion of Diversity and Freedom!
I started listening last year to Honey Badger Radio, via Girl Writes What. They aren’t all from Canada, there are regulars from the States, and from Britain (More Milo, Go Man, GO!). I hear ideas I haven’t heard before, and mostly, THEY, Do Diversity! Growing up in what became Silicon Valley, it is hard not to have some interest in Gamergate. [A Neo News Story; How do you capture a Movement of nearly anonymous sources? This is the Neo-Journalists of Reddit, where Tweets are gleaned like second hand stores, for treasures and trash; “Changes! Don’t tell them to grow up or out of it!”] I don’t want to trade legal systems, though I applaud the Free thinkers.
One of the things that is rather new about Social Media, it is becoming the Court of Public Opinion. People are aware of Cyber Bullying, though it appears that one can be lynched in Cyberlife. Media has always had power, graffiti dates back thousands of years. Shunning is nothing new. It still hurts. I hope my friends remind me if I forget import things, gently.
I for one, didn’t like Bernie Saunders being interrupted in Seattle, not because a couple people wanted to communicate important and urgent issues; I support Free Speech, however, they forgot their Speech! MLK could speak for an hour, while in less than two minutes, they ran out of words! And nothing new was even said, except to publically denounce Seattle Progressives. “Love may fail, though courtesy prevails!”
Working in Sound, we often joke about musicians asking for, “More Me in the Mix”. It is understandable, though still bears some mention. Basically that is what I heard from the famous disruption. In a free market, you can’t force people to buy your brand, except if they have no other choice? Viva Diversity! Our humans stories, may they be told, may they be heard, and remembered.
Attitude makes a difference. If we would all treat each other a little better than we deserve. Change can happen quick. I have seen some in my life, and I hope to see more. It is a great honor to work with musicians, and although often somewhat crazy, I really love it as no other multitask. I make mistakes all the time, and I try and learn how to prevent, what can be changed. I know I can be a pain insisting some things be done certain ways. Ask Stone. Though he might mention a few times when I have been right!
Consensus is really important. We are prone to misunderstandings, and we fight with real talent.
Some say the Salem Witch Trials ended when one of the Accused, took his Accusers to Court for Slander, and won!
Time is perhaps the Ultimate Appeals Court. One of my favorite films, The Zero Effect, quips, “Judicially Acquitted, though Karmically Convicted in the Public Eye”!
I quit writing my last Blog because I thought folks might think I was being too nice to the Bible. I read it, though perhaps in ways, that is less popular. I wonder who these people were, what they felt, what did they dream? I like to learn, and if one likes mysteries, this is a great time to be alive!
My brother mentioned the Jesus Seminar back in the early 1990’s. I didn’t get around to reading about it, till last year. Basically, over 150 scholars voted, through a form of consensus, on what they thought the authentic words of Jesus are. Part of the rules adopted, is that two Sources are required, and the Synoptic Gospels of Mathew, Mark, and Luke, only count as one Source! This is because they are thought to have been based on the Lost Gospel of Q.
The Gospel of John is consider another Source, and many scholars include the Gospel of Thomas too. There are a few early sources which have some hope of re-assembly in the Future, the Gospels of Judas, and Mary, though the later is mentioned several times, we have only fragments.
Some scholars mention Josephus as an early source, though he mentions the Teacher of Jesus, John the Baptist, and his brother James. This is perhaps not as implausible as one might imagine. The only source I have found in my study, which I tend to not hear mentioned by historians, is the son in law of the Roman general Agricola, who is known as Tacitus. Oh and I ought to included Paul the tent maker, and Peter the former fisherman. There are a few others, Jude, maybe Enoch. There are a handful of “Gnostic Gospels, though most weren’t written by Gnostics. The little I have read seem rather dream like, or visions written in the early centuries, prior to the Fall of the Roman Empire.
Of all the modern scholars I have learned from, I am most impressed by John Dominic Crossan. I have watched a number of his talks, I love his wit, humor, and humility. A skilled preacher can help one see things differently, without changing the past. I do have concerns that we are blocking ourselves from our connection to history. Sometimes it seems like people would rather feel above the people of the past, rather than acknowledge our connections.
I watched a bunch of lectures from the Open Yale series. I found Dale Martin to be a sharp scholar, though I have some quibbles with his Trinity Doctrine as authentic Christianity (as it is much older), he makes a rather succinct case of what is known about Jesus.
He was from Nazareth.
He was a disciple of John the Baptist.
He was recognized as a healer, and Rabbi.
It is unclear if Jesus thought he was the Messiah, though some people did, and claimed him to be King of the Jews.
He was executed by the Romans.
He died, though the Movement survived.
Personally, I don’t call myself a Christian, though it is part of my Culture. I hear people talk a lot of trash, both for and against Jesus. At the end of the day, there is a Story, and it takes time. You’ll never figure it all out on your own, though if you study, and search, and listen, you’ll find clues all around. I don’t expect to make sense of it all. I have encouraged my kids to be tolerant of faiths, and to make room for possibilities. As the Man said, “You may lose your psyche, trying to help people, it is certain, if you don’t!”
I want to hear about the people! How we met, the disagreements we have had, and the solutions we have found together. To me this Story has something of the Divine, that can be heard, and maybe we can still learn some of these tunes, and put others to rest. May we have the courage to make peace, to risk, and to trust. Thanks for the good wishes, thanks for reading, and hang in there!