Dale Woloshin

I'm not too much into the personal bio thing. I believe that my thoughts and feelings more adequately tell someone who I am, as opposed to where I've lived or what I've done.

SelfMonikers and identifying Labels

Conscious Christian
InfpType

a thought

The last, some would say only, truly great Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau.

Ideas

1. There are two forms of Christianity. I used to call them Liberal and Conservative, but MarcusBorg calls them SupernaturalTheism? and PanEnTheism?.

Supernatural Theism is the God of ChristenDom?, and served well from the 16th century to earlier this century, culminating with FundamentalIsm?, a set of beliefs that came about at the turn of the 20th c. Panentheism is God as the encompassing Spirit; everything, including us, are in God, and God is in everything. This concept was brought into thinking originally by AlfredNorthWhitehead, and later others.

For many, including myself, we were raised with the God of Supernatural Theism, explored DeIsm?, and came out with either AtheIsm? or PanEnTheism?.

I just noticed this very interesting section, Dale, a hour or two after first referring to MarcusBorg on WhyClublet. If you ever had time or inclination we'd be very interested for your summary over there on Borg, Whitehead and the topics you mention here. Try http://clublet.com/c/c/why?MarcusBorg and see if the empty space tempts you. -- RichardDrake

2. As borrowing costs fall, profits for lenders and big borrowers alike tend to rise.- Ottawa Citizen, 970306

Corollary: As borrowing costs rise, profits for lenders tend to rise.
Comment: profits for lenders tends to rise, period.

We are in a global economic downturn, which of course began in the fall of 1997 in the East. It is of course, inevitable, predicted more than once by John Kenneth Galbraith. The timing was always unclear, as large monies were able to create 'paper' wealth that artificially held up the global economy. The question for the present is whether the artificial economy is sufficient enough to keep the recession minor, or whether because of its size it will take a larger and longer fall.

George W. Bush does not seem to have done much for the United States in the economic realm. Rather, he may have forestalled a deepening recession with the contracts for the War against Terrorism (ie--Iraq) and may continue to try to do so by continuing warfare against others, and hence stay in a state of aggression. Ultimately, this is hurting the american economy, and will worsen the global economy because its last stable player is no longer so. It remains to be seen whether the EEC can rise quickly enough to help keep the collapse from continuing.

Update: I wrote the above paragraph about George W. before the beginning of the war in 2003. I regret to say it was prescient.

3. Cognitive studies have led GeorgeLakoff to understand that there are two basic worldviews in America, Progressive and Conservative, and two metaphors control them, the nurturant parent versus the strict father. My nurturant faith and the teachings of Jesus, and the movers of many world religions put me firmly on the progressive side. What Lakoff has done is help me understand this better.

Books These books which I have read have special interest or meaning for me (If I were stranded on a desert island...)

John S. Dunne, The Way of All the Earth: Experiments in Truth and Religion, 1972, ISBN 0-26-801928-2 James P. Carse, Finite and Infinite Games, 1994, ISBN 0-34-534184-8 Marcus Borg, The God We Never Knew, 1997, ISBN 0-06-061034-4 Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, The Last Week: A Day-by-Day Account of Jesus's Final Week in Jerusalem, 2008, ISBN 0060845392 George R. Stewart, Earth Abides, 1951, ISBN 0-44-921301-3 Galbraith, John Kenneth, The Good Society: The Humane Agenda, 1997, ISBN 0-39585-998-0 Tsai Chih Chung, Zen Speaks, 1994, ISBN 0-385-47257-9 George Lakoff, Moral Politics, 1994, ISBN 0226467716

To-Read List

Dale, I loved "The Genesis Question," Hugh Ross (can find at: http://www.reasons.org ) and "A Case for Christ," Lee Strobel (find at any book store) BrucePennington

The Genesis Question was quite an interesting read, but, ultimately, falls short in the light of the best scienctific hypotheses. The first 11 chapters of Genesis, having multiple authors from more than one tradition, is a metaphorical compilation of stories, where the meaning is what is important, not fact.

(mailto:Woloshin@sympatico.ca)

CategoryHomePage