TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD...June 24, 2023

This movie I think has the potential to transform the person who actually takes it all in. And it's a transformation still sorely needed in this world. It covers so much of honest living: a meaning of childhood, unity of humanity, neighborliness, a true picture of character, manliness, courage and tenderness. And even a model for facing evil and ignorance in the world. It made me more proud to be an Alabamian,home of the creative author.

Gregory Peck’s mighty performance as decent attorney Atticus Finch is the anchor of this adaptation of Harper Lee’s inspiring novel. Lee herself agreed—the author and actor kept in private touch for decades. The film is also about surrogate fathers and defenders; watch for a young Robert Duvall as the mysterious Boo Radley, a ghost and a hero. -- It puzzles me why it did not more profoundly and lastingly affect the eternal race problem in our nation..when one of our own, perhaps somewhat unconsciously, can lay it out so clearly in story? The nation has continued to violate its message all along with every imaginable excuse. But maybe it did help alter history...The'Civil rights' movement.

TO HELL WITH IMPERIAL CHRISTIANITY ....June 24, 2023

What an excellent preaching effort by Jim Rigby of Austin, Texas. To put into words for today what was originally wordless and unexplainable living symbols. Symols that captured many persons' hearts in early first century Palestine. The experience brought with it a clarity beyond ordinary words or preaching. A clarity, which seemed from God, of how one person supposedly modeled for others how humans are designed to highly value each other human. This indescrible falling-star beginning was quickly, within two centuries at most and probably sooner in some places, undermined by its own leaders for self serving power. We can hope for such a collective clarity, that fits our times and needs,again.

"TO HELL WITH IMPERIAL CHRISTIANITY When Christianity spread into the Roman Empire it went through a terrible reframing. The Roman emperor Constantine forced bishops to come up with creedal statements that had little or nothing to do with the original teachings of Jesus. For many, the Christian religion was reduced to supernatural claims and cultic moralisms. For many, Christianity was reframed from a religion of empathy to one of mind control. If the new imperial Christians were superstitious and ignorant about this world, it was okay because they became experts on the world to come. If they couldn’t be good neighbors to the poor and outcast, it was okay because they were good neighbors to their new and improved Jesus who was no longer concerned with the poor and outcast. I believe there is confusion in calling the Christianity of Constantine and that of Jesus by the same name. I’m not saying we should argue about who gets the label, but it is important to remember that, if some Christians want to force their dogma into the public square- it is the Christianity of Constantine, not Jesus. If some Christians are more concerned with maintaining their culture's norms than including their culture's scapegoats- it is the Christianity of Constantine, not Jesus. If some Christians are more concerned about the the success of the American economy than with liberating workers enslaved in sweatshops all over the globe- it is the Christianity of Constantine, not Jesus. And, if the cross is a symbol of Christian exceptionalism instead of a call to suffer on behalf of the oppressed- it is the Christianity of Constantine, not Jesus!"   

Jim Rigby

Beautiful Love Is Never Easy. April 20, 2023

 

Tap and open.

https://carljungdepthpsychologysite.blog/2020/08/11/carl-jung-love-is-like-god-both-give-themselves-only-to-their-bravest-knights-2/#.ZED5L6ROmk_

EASY TO THINK ONE'S EGO IS EVEN MORE AMAZING THAN IT IS...March 25, 2022

 Our ego, our 'me' or 'I' came into our awareness at some point in early childhood. Before that we were out and about entertaining the adults but we were very unconscious little beings with little conscious ego presence. This is how we each began our mind development, fully apart from our own conscious plan or personal willing. 

Once 'in' us and somewhat conscious to us  as our 'me' our ego kept expanding and eventually it came to believe it was all that we are.  And it remained unaware of any vast Unconscious in us which contains all possible development and from which the ego was given its birth to start with. 

This unawareness is the reason the ego tends to feel itself quite superior in its assessments of reality and accounts for our human general lack of humility the first half of life. It is usually at midlife that the ego slows down enough to ask ourselves questions about what we are beyond only our ego me. 

This 'talking to our self' or reflection can begin an expansion of the deeper, still mostly unconscious, part of us that the ego in it's rapid growth the first half of life had ignored and remained mostly unaware of. 

For example we were aware we dreamed at night but we felt no real connection or responsibility to our dreams. We were emotionally moved by stories, movies, pictures and family and religious rituals but little did we know all these themes and impressions were already present in us unconsciously waiting to be awakened. Even our 'falling in love' was more about an awakening of what was already in us than in our really 'knowing' our beloved one.

FOR WHAT WAS JESUS WILLING TO DIE, HIS PASSION? ..March 13, 2022

Thank you for joining this second of six Lenten devotionals with 1st Congregational United Church of Christ.  

Focusing on the story of the last weeks, and especially the last days, of Jesus' life are central in the earliest gospel we have about Jesus. 

*That earliest gospel is Mark. It was written about 40 years after Jesus died. Like the other gospels it was not an eye witness report but one creatively inspired by a gifted believer to try to capture how the words and deeds of a simple-living, poor, roaming teacher had touched and uplifted so many lives. 

Jesus is shown providing the most oppressed and rejected persons of his homeland renewed hope in life and in God. 

Mark's emphasis is important because it shows what to some earliest Christians was most important to know about Jesus. We will try to capture some of that central emphasis in this devotion. This is important because the  emphasis in telling the old old story has changed through the centuries and risks losing what the original story says is most important for us to know and practice.

For example the popular movie The Passion  Of Christ eighteen years ago excited many Christians that Jesus was again in the secular headlines. Churches were renting and showing the movie to their people and guests. How could all this excitement not be good? Unfortunately what the movie emphasized above all else was the horrible suffering of Jesus' death. There were continuous graphic images of his beating, bleeding and slow murder by Roman crucifixion. 

The expression 'Christ's passion' has often been equated to his horrible death and we've been  told that the Jews and even the rest of us are guilty of killing Jesus. This has resulted in worldwide centuries of persecution of Jews and a general sense of false guilt among Christians. We Christians have our share of guilt to bear but I don't think killing Jesus is one of them.  This misguided understanding of the meaning of Jesus' passion implies that God is unable to forgive humans of our wrongs if Jesus did not suffer this horrible way. 

But Mark does not aggrandize Jesus death that way. He writes simply, " After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then lead him out to crucify him."  Mark 15:20. As we will see the movie unfortunately failed to even come close to capturing Mark's emphasis.

Another, and our most common, meaning of a person's passion is what is most important in life to them, what is it they most love and want to be real and true in this world? So what does Mark's gospel clearly show was Jesus' true passion?

Whoever the actual inspired author of this creative gospel was, he frames his story around contrasting Jesus' passion with that of his high powered enemies who wanted him killed. Mark makes clear that Jesus' true passion was not about dying a cruel suffering death. Jesus did not want that anymore than you and I or any sane person does. 

Yes he was certainly willing to endure that suffering in order to follow his real passion which Mark says was his longing for what he called the, 'coming of the kingdom of God' into this world.  Jesus saw his human and sacred purpose in life was to do what he could to bring forth a new and different humanity, a transformed humanity with a raised appreciation of and compassion for each other, especially those who at any time are most oppressed and crushed by life. 

Jesus'  passion then is his world view that every human no matter her religion, ethnicity, color, sexual orientation, gender, economic status or any other natural differences is an equally loved and valued child of God. The Kingdom of God breaking into human life was Jesus' dream, his passion- that all persons come to be seen as having authoritatively equal dignity and respect in life and death. 

But then, as still now, that is not how the world is. Instead of desiring the equal valuing of all persons some have an opposite view, that our primary goal as humans be to accumulate power, wealth, status and authority over others as much as we can.  And the winners of this competition are said to deserve the necessities and the overflowing fruits and gifts of the Earth, while the ones who fall behind in this competition are not.

This opposite view of life's purpose was what Jesus eventually ran into head on in Jerusalem, even to the point of dying for his passion and his message. This opposing view is what the Roman emperor and his empowered underlings believed. They called the emperor King, Lord and son of God.

Jesus had daily seen ordinary poor people not being given opportunity to live in a valued and respected way but instead suffering much for the high life styles of the Roman elite and the ranking leaders of the Jewish religion who had become political puppets of Rome. These of course were the ones who in ignorance crucified Jesus.

Mark shows Jesus throughout his teaching ministry as never entering big cities where the rich and powerful lived. He knew his message would enrage them. Jesus was not a coward but had his own sense of Divine timing. 

Mark shows Jesus in his last week finally and purposely entering the largest city in his homeland, Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the center of political and religious power. Jesus knew he would likely be killed. And we all know how the situation resulted in his murderous crucifixion.

Mark creatively crafts his story leading to the ultimate climax of this true passion of Jesus.This was six days before Jesus was killed and what what came to be called Palm Sunday. The remainder of Mark's  gospel (more than a third of it)is devoted to his last week. Here is how Mark begins these last days with words of chapter 11 verses 1-11. ....

Today the church in the form of individual persons can desire to have the passion of Jesus grip our very inner beings, to capture our souls. It is from that same passion, only possible in individual hearts, that something grand, good and redeeming can still come in the world. Such can come in spite of the intervening centuries of injustice, power grabbing, war, materialistic world views and lack of respect for humanity including all our diverse brothers and sisters across this rapidly shrinking world .

Our prayer this Lenton season can surely be, "May it be so. May the kingdom of God come. Amen."

*The information shared here is influenced by the scholarship of Marcus Borg, co-author of 'The Last Week.'

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INTRODUCTION TO THIS BLOG...June 20, 2011(edited February 25, 2022))

 

This blog's purpose will be to share aspects of my spiritual journey of the past thirty seven years. It will consist primarily of short essays I write and personal  *dream reflections. I have attempted to be more aware of my dreams  during these same years and have recorded  and reflected on many of them. 

Some of the earlier  essays are  my responses to a conservative Bible Scholar and friend who's email essays I think reflect  accurately the conservative standpoint  of Historical Christianity. My respected friend Edward Fudge gave me this permission. Portions of his essays will be included with any such posts I make. Edward passed away November 25, 2017.

During these same  years I have moved from a very conservative view of the Bible and Christian tradition informed by my non-instrumental Church of Christ background(A heritage I'm very grateful for) to a point of seeing a need for major re-visioning of parts  of mainline Historic Christianity's usual interpretation of scripture and tradition. After a sad break with the Church of my heritage, in time I became a licensed minister in the United Church of Christ and Presbyterian Church(USA) where I served three rural churches for twenty years. I was ordained in the United Church of Christ in 2007 through its 'multiple paths to ordination' pronouncement. Until the Covid 19 pandemic I had been a part time  hospital/hospice chaplain. I am a member of a local United Church of Christ congregation.

Dreams are far more presented as avenues of the 'voice of God' in the Biblical and other Sacred narrative than most any Christian denomination values them in our day. I am of the view they are a  kind of  'royal road to the unconscious' and thus serve what in Biblical  and ancient times was considered a 'voice of the Sacred.' I believe this personal avenue of Spiritual discipline is open to all persons regardless of  interest or affiliation with organized religion.  Essays I continue to write express my concerns, insights  and beliefs about  important areas of  Biblical/Spiritual/Psychological  ideas and realities. At the risk of any reader not having before them the sequence in my  'changes ' of perception in these areas I plan to begin with recent essays and dreams rather than starting in the far past. For one thing this will keep it more interesting and challenging to me for I will be sharing present inner concerns. Then if a reader has questions or comments I may draw from my archives of personal writings something that may fit the particular area of interest.

 I realize I will be inviting friends to this blog who knew me and worked with me before these significant changes outwardly began to take shape. I think I can assure them they would find anything good they experienced then in my character and attitude is still in tact. They would likely observe  they were speaking with the 'same old Jim  Hibbett.' I'm glad for that. Other readers may have known me since much of this change has taken place but they also may find that I have more, than they are aware of, concern with some typical interpretations and doctrines regarding the Christ story, along with hope of how it could be re-visioned. 

Whoever an interested reader my be I welcome your thought and feedback. Most of what I will share here  has been quite personal and private except for my efforts to share some of it the last twenty years I was preaching and a few editorial pieces in local news papers.

I do not offer this blog as a place of argument but where a person is invited to disagree with me and to ask for explanation or clarification of what I express.  I'm blogging to fulfill some sense of responsibility to make some of my inner journey more public. Perhaps my experience  can be of some encouragement  to others who are still finding their way through the vicissitudes of life including the various teachings/traditions  of the Christian Church and their applications to daily life and culture; people  who may  have similar questions as I have.  I feel the questions and doubts that arise for some of us and the tentative answers we find can have a major impact on the quality of our lives and indirectly  on the spiritual/psychological/religious needs that face our culture and the world.  

Respectfully, Jim Hibbett

*The reader may wish to read the post entitled  'Dreams 101' before reading other Dream Reflections: http://jhibbett.blogspot.com/2011/07/dreams-101.html

RUSSIA'S PUTIN HAS INVADED SOVERIGN UKRAINE...February 24, 2022

 The world is experiencing a spinning into irrational chaos....which war always is. Are we being  personally taught worldwide to turn to our deepest inner human resources...beyond the rational, national, political and traditional religious views?

One needs to be careful what she takes as her deepest authority or certainty. Former outer certainties are fast giving way. Take care to seek the truly undefinable Ultimate Sacred not our former exclusive piecemeal ones. 

Hopefully we will find our deepest inner realities are compassionately dedicated and inclusive of all humanity and the Earth...not our still determined tribal, religionist and nationalistic values.

Our prayer seems best now to be,"God bless your whole world not just our ego centered  'us' anymore.  Bless the whole of creation. Let us see the whole more clearly and our one place in it but not at the head of it. May  present human decisions and behavior be much more concerned for the whole. We can strongly confess we do not know where or how yet to lead in this present world. May we learn the new lessons for these new times."

I'm relieved that Biden is in the White House.  I hope his full human experiences can dominate his judgment above any dependence on clever once functional political know-how. We must rely on genuine inner divine guidance, not grand stories of how we once solved threats in a past world.

Being Honest, our American spirit has been dominated, as it had to be evolutionarily, by self interests. And not primarily focused on the good of global humanity or the Earth. It was born of a scrapping survivor-underdog mentality. And tends to return to that in crisis.

It requires a giant moral step by humans to make it otherwise. I pray Biden and others on the globe are up to it. May the 'all inclusive good increase and the small self serving decrease.' We surely must be at a global turning point. 

Putin is seeking to undermine the future of humanity. Unlike his similarly but weaker minded U.S. buddy, Putin at least has a personally intellectualized, however sinister and flawed, view of history he's determined to press upon the world beginning in Ukraine.