Posts of the Week
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"Kingdom of God and The Church" are they the same? Dan Icolari - 09:34am Sep 24, 1997 PST (#1 of 10)
I've been thinking about this question for a while, though as a liberal Jew I think about it in somewhat different terms from those with which you introduce this thread. My awareness of G-d's presence in the world, made evident to me principally though not exclusively through creation, seems to require a response. For me, the texts, laws, rituals, liturgy, holidays, festivals, and community (peoplehood) of Judaism provide that way of response. I see that way of response as perhaps inspired by the Divine but devised by human beings. That doesn't lessen its truth or beauty or moral authority, but it does allow me to separate the tools we have devised to help us know the Unknowable, from the Unknowable itself. The rabbi is a teacher, not a divine spokesperson. The synagogue is a building, not a sacred site. Religion is a tool put to all kinds of uses, not all of them so good. And the Unknowable exists beyond all of it--a presence, as Maimonides asserted, about which we can say nothing except what it is not. HOW BAD DOES IT HURT? kate sholl - 06:11pm Sep 21, 1997 PST (#26 of 96)
... giving birth for me was the most enlightening thing i have ever done. to know that my body was capable of going thru such extremes and come out the other end, whole, amazed and satisfied, despite the discomfort of stitches and 'piles' (this must be a southern colloquilism--i have heard it all my life) and engorged breasts (talk about discomfort) and adjusting to nursing. you look into your baby's sweetest face (your's will be the lovelist and most intelligent and perceptive ever born) and fall head over heels in love. giving birth the first time is one of the most extrodinary experinces ever; the most personal and most in touch with the forces of nature all of mankind tries to control but in this, thankfully, you ride with it and work together to make it happen. well, i see that this sounds all far fetched and hokey. just for the record i am pretty practical and not given to much high falutin' dreamy stuff and hate the whole concept of new age. but i have to say that my second to last birth and only home delivery was remarkable. i knew i had some time to spend in just letting my contrations work and so i simply let go and let it happen and had this incredible experince; my thoughts or consiousness seemed to drift out to a different plane of existence and just touch on something 'other' and then flood back into me at the end of the contraction. for a few hours this happened and it was as if there were two things going on: i was physically breathing through the contractions and feeling them but relaxing into them and then mentally going out to this other place and back, like riding waves in a warm sea and it was stunning. when i had my last child i looked forward to trying to recreate that, but in fact my labor was so fast with him that basically i just sneezed and he was here. i know i should count my blessings, but part of me was greatly disappointed. To Rehabilitate Rather than to Punish: Reforming Our Prison
System reid tamashiro - 11:50pm Sep 20, 1997 PST (#31 of 93)
While discussing different methods of rehabilitation is important, it seems we also need to discuss the public's desire for rehabilitation. Basically, there is none IMO. I think most people want punishment, period. If there's going to be any rehabilitation, there better be a whole lot of serious suffering thrown in there too. It's an understandable desire, especially from the victim's point of view. However, as I see it, these two things, punishment and rehabilitation, are diametically opposed. And it's important tho realize that the fulfillment of this need, in no way, leads to any kind of meaningful rehabilitation. This is important for the public to understand because there are serious negative repurcussions to not rehabilitating these people, and until the vast majority of the public want rehabilitation, it's not likely to happen. |
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