guest post: a creed for community

Creeds fascinate me (I’ve even written my own). Thus, I am pleased to be able to publish a creed written by my good friend and occasional guest author, Joey Fuson.

I believe that God is love.
that Jesus is God’s love incarnate.
that through that love, we are saved.

It is because of that love, that I believe in non-violence,
in turning the other cheek,
that it’s no coincidence that Jesus is known as the other way,
that more can be accomplished by love than hate.

I believe that in order to eradicate violence, we need community;
that together, love can happen.

In order to create community, acceptance is necessary.
Christians must be accepting:
of homosexuals,
of other denominations,
of other religions,
of women,
of men,
of the possibility that we may be wrong.

Finally, community is created through sharing:
share your goods,
share your money,
share your food,
share your love,

Because God is love.

Amen.

guest post: judas as a tragic hero

I’m pleased to present another (probably controversial) guest article from Joey Fuson, who has previously contributed to the blog here and here. Enjoy, or hate, or ponder. And then respond.

We are all familiar with the tragic heroes of literature. They are typically initially well intentioned men who end up going astray thanks in large part to a tragic flaw (and a bad influence). A typical definition of the “tragic hero” describes a protagonist who has a fall from grace into suffering by means of his tragic flaw.

Judas Iscariot fits this definition. Think about it, Judas was a disciple. That’s typically a pretty good thing to be. He started out as a hero. He was a good man. But, his tragic flaw was greed. And this led him to sell the life of his Lord for 30 pieces of silver. This begins his “fall from grace” and also kills Jesus. However, as with all tragic heroes, he has a realization that he has screwed up, and commits suicide. This is his fall into suffering.

There is also the question of the tragedy part of it. A lot of times, we are taught to feel sorry for the tragic hero, generally because one gets the feeling it’s not always exactly his/her fault. However, this is never the case with Judas. Very few churches would herald Judas as an unlucky fellow. Even Pontius Pilate gets a better rap than Judas.

But consider just how important Judas’s action was. What if he hadn’t turned Jesus over to the authorities? Jesus had done a pretty good job of eluding them prior to this, he probably could’ve done it for longer. Maybe he could’ve grown to be really old, and have converted lots of people, and then just died peacefully, without pain and suffering. If this were the case, I just have one question about it all.

What’s the point?

The Easter holiday is really a pretty major part of the Christian religion for a good reason. Christ rising from the dead is a pretty significant thing to have happened. The resurrection and the ascension are what makes being a Christian different from other religions, at least in beliefs. So that alone points out the importance of Judas’s actions. But even more so than that, it highlights one of Jesus’ key ministries. Forgiveness is what ultimately comes out of this. Forgiveness and sacrifice. Forgiving sinners for their crimes, for those who know not what they do, and those who know exactly what they are doing. Sacrificing all for those less well off than you. And doing so without resistance of any kind. Jesus forgave the thief on the cross next to him on the spot. Jesus forgave those who killed him. And Jesus died for our sins, in the ultimate sacrifice for those who needed it most. These lessons might have lost a major amount of their importance had Jesus not died in such a horrible and tragic manner. So, as much as it pains me to say it, and as much as it will pain some of you to read it, thank you Judas. What you did was both terrible and great.

Don’t ever do it again.

Ignorance vs. Knowledge – a debate

Twice Infinity is pleased to host a battle of words between Matt Shafer and guest author Joey Fuson. The topic: Ignorance versus Knowledge. Which is better? Read on, decide for yourself, and join in the debate by posting comments.

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Joey Fuson: Knowledge Causes Unhappiness

“I know, that when I put this steak in my mouth, the matrix will tell my mind that it is juicy…and it is sweet. And then I tell myself…ignorance in bliss.” -The Matrix

But, just how blissful is ignorance? And does that mean with less ignorance comes less bliss?

In my humble opinion, yes, it does. As time has moved on, with more knowledge has come more suffering, and therefore, less bliss. Lets think back to the beginning of time, if you are a christian. The story of Adam and Eve. Regardless of its truthfulness, the point of the story was that they would not suffer and die until they committed the first sin…eating of the tree of knowledge. The gaining of knowledge, having your eyes widened is what causes your death. However, I’m certain that some of you all are not christians, and therefore don’t necessarily buy this story a proof of my theory. Remember that as more knowledge has been gained, the human life span has increased, more and more. Yet all we have done is cause more suffering. Now that people live longer, they get into old age. And old age, as the saying goes, “isn’t for sissies.” Old people are cranky and are often in constant pain of some kind. While we have made some progress for diseases, most of the most painful and deadly ones, all we have learned is that we cannot cure them. God is eternally punishing humans for the quest for knowledge, if you choose to look at it that way. Consider also Plato’s allegory of the cave. For those who are not in the philosophy inner circle, the allegory of the cave can be basically summed up as: Guy is chained from birth, so that he cannot move at all. There is a great fire behind him, that he perceives as the sun. There are shadows cast on the walls by people walking along the side of the cave, and he hears their voices. He assumes that those are people, and the people look like shadows, including he himself, as he has never seen himself since he cannot move. Now, the important part is this. The man is complacent as long as he knows no better. However, if you were to take him out of the cave, the real sun would blind him. He would struggle to adapt, but, would also hate to be returned to the cave. As he gained knowledge of his predicament, he lost his bliss. He will never be the same. It is similar to when there are some things you just shouldn’t tell people. Like, when someone lies to your friend to prevent their feelings being hurt. They are happy, and nothing will come of the lie, unless you see fit to inform them of the lie, which then ruins their ignorance, gives them knowledge, which removes the bliss and replaces it with suffering.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think the gaining of knowledge is going to be the doom of society, and we should all quit school or anything. This is just something to consider.

Perhaps there was a very good reason Cipher wanted to be re-inserted into the matrix, with no memory of the outer world whatsoever.

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Matt Shafer: Knowledge Is Valuable even when Painful

“What about [after he has seen what really exists,] when he reminds himself of [the cave], his fellow prisoners, and what passed for wisdom there? Don’t you think that he’d count himself happy for the change and pity the others?” -Plato, The Allegory of the Cave, The Republic

The value of truth and of knowledge is inestimable. Christ himself affirms this, declaring knowledge of truth a liberating force that frees those who have it: “And you shall know the truth, the truth shall set you free” (John 8.32).

Even so, there is no guarantee, within Christianity or outside of it, that truth leads to immediate happiness. Even in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the freed man is blinded and fearful of the true light with which he is presented. Though he may eventually be ‘happy,’ the transition is painful. This only goes to show that pain is essential to growth within the human condition, not that growth is bad because it is painful.

Happiness is overrated. Immediate happiness, at any rate, is certainly overrated. The trifold distinction between happiness, joy, and contentment is one that is lost in modern society; but the latter two are far more valuable than the former, and are possible (and indeed common) without it.

Knowledge can lead to unpopularity, to pain, to sadness. But ultimately, it leads to truth. There is worthin truth that goes beyond how it makes us feel, and it is a goal to be sought after even when the journey is difficult.

A Witch! A Witch!

Note: This is the first posting by Twice Infinity’s first guest author, Joey Fuson. Enjoy!
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Throughout the history of our country, we have periodically flipped out over various things, generally causing an uproar of some kind, and creating a tremendous amount of tension amongst the people living then. The first case was the Salem Witch Trials, with the massive witchhunt involved there, which involved trials fairly similarly ludicrous as the famed Monty Python and the Holy Grail witch scene. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, look it up on youtube. You’ll thank me later.) Anyway, these trials continued, and killed several innocent people, until the madness was finally stopped. The country relaxed, for quite a while. Until the 1920’s, with the first of the red scares of communism. Palmer raids searched houses at random, and people were again flipping out. This madness only ended with the famed Sacco and Venzetti trial, which sent two men to death with only sketchy evidence. Later, in the ’50s, the old adage rings true. “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Welcome to the Age of McCarthyism. People are brutally interrogated, and will accuse other people of being communists. It is chaos, until as in the 20’s, another trial occurs, this time sentencing the Rosenbergs to death. Funny how the only way to ease tensions in America is to kill people.

Now though, we are working on repeating history. Guantanomo Bay holds people suspected of terrorism. And I can betcha that with the waterboarding and other torture techniques used down there, people are confessing to anything and everything, naming names that don’t exist, anything to make it stop. We are so paranoid about it now that the patriot act now allows people to listen in on our phone conversations.

Does anybody else see a bit of a frightening pattern?