I find that I read a lot of books, or more aptly, I read some of a lot of books, and while I'm reading, there are things that jump out to me. So, I jot them down. Then, at some point, I end up misplacing the notes I've taken, or if it actually makes it onto on my computer, I eventually file it away, never to be heard from again. Well, this is my attempt to store my notes in a place where I can easily go back and find them when I need them.

It's also convenient that you can comment on the notes that I have taken because most of you are probably smarter than I am. So, I look forward to learning for you.

Eyes With Which to See the World

The second chapter started off with an excellent paragraph:

Religion is not primarily a set of beliefs, a collection of prayers, or a series of rituals. Religion is first and foremost a way of seeing. It can't change the facts of the world we live in, but it can change the way we see those facts, and that in itself can often make a real difference.

In chapter two, Rabbi Kushner gives examples from real life where changing your perspective can allow you to see something completely differently: in a hospital one person may see pain and suffering while another person witnesses human courage and resiliency, coming out of a broken relationship, someone might feel unlovable until someone else makes them believe that they are lovable. The facts are no different, but the people see something different.

He goes on to conclude that people with faith see the world through a different lens. He quotes Paul's letter to the Hebrews, which I find odd, given that he is a Jewish Rabbi, where it defines faith as believing in "the evidence of things not seen." He talks about the value a Jew sees in the Torah beyond words on parchment and the value Christians see in a cross beyond a simple geometric design.

Both the Torah and the cross convey a message about God's reaching down to express His love and concern for His creatures on earth, but they convey that important message only to the person who knows how to read the symbolic language of religion.

That is what a symbol does. It says something profound and important, but only to the person has learned to see the message in it. The wedding ring I wear is more that a piece or jewelry; it is a symbol of intimacy and loyalty. The flag I salute is more than colored cloth; it is a symbol of hundreds of millions of people, strangers to each other but connected to each other by a shared vision of what our country stands for. Those symbols elicit strong feelings in people only when the have been taught to read the hidden messages in the objects. Without that comprehension, the flag is only cloth, the scroll is only parchment. When religion has trained our eyes to recognize the reality of things not seen, those important messages disclose themselves to us.

This chapter wraps up with the author talking about the book of Psalms. He says that he thinks that Psalms is God's favorite book in the bible and that he often feels that the authors of the Psalms are not much different that him, or us. He breaks down Psalm 30 and indicates that he plans to use the Psalms throughout the rest of the book.

Chapter two felt pretty disconnected from chapter one, but both chapters stood on there own quite well. Thus far, I have enjoyed the book and have gotten good stuff out of each chapter.

Your thoughts?

Labels: Harold Kushner, Who Needs God

Does God really make a difference?

I really liked chapter one. I think the chapter can be summed up in the excerpt below. Paul is a young Jewish man, who only came to talk to Rabbi Kushner to please his father.

Paul, whose conversation with me years ago ultimately flowered into this book, assured me that while while he did not believe in religion, he believed in God. I asked him what he meant by that, and he told me that when he contemplates the beauty and intricacy of the world, he has to believe that God exists. That's very nice I told him, and I'm sure that God appreciates your vote of confidence. But for the religious mind and soul, the question has never been the existence of God but the importance of God, the difference that God makes in the way we live. To believe that God exists the way you believe that the South Pole exists, though you have never seen either one, to believe in the reality of God the way you believe in the Pythagorean theorem, as an accurate abstract statement that does not really affect your daily life, is not a religious stance. A God who exists but does not matter, who does not make a difference in the way you live, might as well not exist. He would be like a modern European king, a benevolent figurehead trotted out for ceremonial occasions and beloved by everyone because he never does anything. The issue is not what God is like. The issue is what kind of people we become when we attach ourselves to God.

This, then, is our question: In a world where atheists are often wonderful people and ostensibly religious people disappoint us, in a world where God is a remote presence even for people that claim to believe in Him, what promise does religion hold for us? What difference does it really make in our lives?

The statement the stuck out the most to me was, "To believe that God exists the way you believe that the South Pole exists, though you have never seen either one, ... is not a religious stance. A God who exists but does not matter, who does not make a difference in the way you live, might as well not exist."

Thoughts?

Labels: Harold Kushner, Who Needs God

Several months ago, a friend of mine asked me to read Who Needs God by Rabbi Harold Kushner. At the time, I started it, but failed to get past chapter two, not because the book was not interesting, but due to my lack of commitment.

Recently, I picked it back up and have been reading it, slowly. I'll be sharing my thoughts on a chapter-by-chapter basis in the coming posts.

Below are two write-ups about the book taken from Amazon.com:

Attaining and then maintaining religious sense or persuasion is often difficult today. Our culture of individualism, self-sufficiency, and competitiveness thwarts, even nullifies spiritual inclinations, with technology a prime contender for our reverence even though it is totally "witless and unimaginative" on its own. Yet many people are vaguely aware of something lacking in their lives. Rabbi Kushner (best known for When Bad Things Happen to Good People ) believes that "human life has meaning . . . but only in religious terms." According to this crucial realization, it is religion that connects us to God and community. In the end, Rabbi Kushner goes so far as to define religion as community rather than theology--a point of contention. What, then, would be the point of his title? But mainly, he attempts to transcend differences while conveying basic spiritual truths.

And the more concise...

Using an approach that is "pragmatic and ecumenical rather than didactic," rabbi and spiritual counselor Kushner asserts that all people need God. "This is an inspirational book for all, no matter whether religious or skeptic."

Labels: Harold Kushner, Who Needs God

Today, I stopped by the library here at work to pick up a laptop to use for some testing. While I was waiting, I was perusing the books on the shelves closest to the check-out counter. They were mostly leadership books, some of which I had heard of and some that were new to me.

There was one book in particular that I was drawn to. I decided to pick this one up based on two things. The book was The Servant Leader by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges. I knew the title, which obviously lead me to believe it was about servant leadership, and that the book was not very long. Given my proclivity to start books and not finish them, I thought a book of only one hundred pages was just about right for my commitment level.

When she was checking me out, the librarian said, "That's a great book." So, I felt pretty good about it when I left the library. It wasn't until I was in the elevator, headed back to my office, that I realized that the book was a "Christian" book. It is a book about using Jesus as your leadership model. I am kind of surprised that our "work" library had this book, much less multiple copies of the book.

Today, at lunch, I am going to start reading this book. I look forward to sharing what I am learning from it here.

Labels: jesus, leadership

When I am reading, whether it is the latest book I am bound not to finish or the bible, I often think of questions or just have random thoughts that loosely relate to what it is that I am reading. This blog is to be the place where I chronicle those thoughts.

This will either be a catalog of the randomness that churns between my ears, or it will be yet another testament to the fact that I am a visionary, dreamer that can come up with brilliant ideas, but can never seem to follow through on those strokes of genius. Let's hope it's the former.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will join in the conversation that the voices in my head are having.