Even though there’s an entire page on the urban legend website snopes.com dedicated to this story and its origins, I’d never heard of it, until I told someone the story of what had actually happened to me. On a cold winter day in 2011, I was surprised to find a dollar bill while reading a hotel Bible. In fact, I was so surprised, I took a picture (the photo shows the actual Bible in its page as I found it). And then I left the bill right where I’d found it, for the next reader to stumble upon.

Consider the last time you were completely surprised, opening a Bible. It could have been the last time you read it, as some perfect phrase spoke directly to you, and your situation. Maybe that happens to you so frequently you aren’t surprised by it anymore, or maybe it hasn’t happened yet.

The incident at the hotel got me thinking: what if I have the power to assist God with that surprise? In my case, I’m sure someone chose to leave that bill in that very location, like a calling card. They were telling the next reader, whom they didn’t know, “this is your money verse, consider it and take it to heart. You see, it is already paying off in cash!”

It worked; I’ve considered that verse quite a lot, since that unexpected discovery. The bill was in the middle of Proverb 4, which is about the pursuit of wisdom. Wisdom will protect you from stumbling and falling, and which will be like a crown on your head: ¹⁸ The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. ¹⁹ But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.”  Proverb 5 warns against adultery, and the Proverb 3 has always been a favorite, including this advice: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not into your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.”

The finding of the bill led me to reflect on wisdom. It also led me to the discovery of the legend of the Gideon Bible, when I told a friend what had happened. Had I known the Legend of the Gideon Bible, I would have considered exchanging that $1 bill for a larger one, to surprise and delight the next reader, as I had been surprised and delighted, myself.

Next time I am in a hotel, I may just plan on participating in the legend, as a mysterious do-gooder, leaving a bill in a Bible. It’s a random act, and harmless. When I do, I’ll consider the page, and the message,  because it’s a “calling card,” to point the reader to what they need.
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¹ The Gideons are an organization that, among other things, places Bibles in hotel rooms. If you were in a hotel and saw a Bible, it was probably placed by them. Some hotels no longer offer Bibles except on request, for fear they may not be appreciated or to appear “hip.” Other hotels know many guests look for them. More about the Gideons is available at www.gideons.org.

Many ministers have likely been approached with questions about 2012 as a popular date for the ‘end times’ described in Revelation. If they haven’t been approached, they can rest assured that it’s a topic on people’s minds. It’s captured people’s imaginations so much that even NASA has now come out to reassure folks that the world is not expected to end in 2012 just because a calendar does.

When we originally posted about the year 2012 it was in December of 2009. The planned release of a Hollywood blockbuster movie, “2012,” was causing a big sensation. Everyone was talking about the end of the Maya calendar in December of 2012, and what that could possibly mean, even though their own check book calendars ran out in a few years, because of limited printing space.

Many of us who have been around long enough to remember the transition from 1999 to 2000 remember there was doom saying then, as well. Computers were going to blow up, many people said. When nothing happened during the transition, the day slipped into obscurity. Yet systems administrators, computer programmers and other computer professionals had worked very hard to ensure that the transition, known as Y2K, would be a non-event.

In the last few years, a number of loud predictions of the end of the world have come and gone. Just last year, when one group predicted rapture would occur on May 21, 2011, a group called American Atheists cheerfully capitalized on the prediction, buying out billboards inviting people to a “rapture party.” The one billboard I spotted on stated “The Rapture: You KNOW it’s Nonsense. 2000 Years of ‘Any Day Now.’” The atheists made it clear: doomsayers have been predicting end times since Revelation was written. Of course, a biblical tradition of doom saying and calls to repentance had existed for ages before that (the prophets). And to lump all Jesus followers together wasn’t fair play.

So, how does the Non Harming Minister react? Simply: with love and understanding, working to replace fear with faith. Counsel prudence, telling people not to sell or give away everything they own in expectation of the end of the world.  Walk them through their actual fears, understanding that times are, indeed, hard right now.  Perhaps the counsel in 1 Peter 1:7 could be useful in helping people get through the troubles they face.

Finally and most importantly, remind them that Jesus Himself assures followers: “”No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32).  Jesus also tells us “fear not,” over and over again, and reminds us, in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

It was recently pointed out in an op-ed piece in The New York Times¹  that the media, perhaps in an effort to protect the reader, avoids certain words in rape cases. In doing so, it does a disservice not only to the victim of sexual assault but to all readers.   Talking about victims having sex with perpetrators underplays the violence associated with the crimes.  It also suggests consent, which is impossible in the case of children and in any case demeans and inaccurately portrays the situation.  

Rape is an act of violence.  It is very different from an act of love. Consensual sex is impossible in the case of children or adults who are too intoxicated to freely and willingly consent clearheadedly.  Consensual sex is impossible when the victim is in fear of mortal danger. 

The word rape should definitely offend our ears. We shouldn’t get used to it. But it should offend our ears to hear about a person having “sex” with a child. Because sex didn’t happen, rape did. And when we blur the lines between sex and violence, everyone pays a price. 

We live in a culture of violence, and the way actual acts of sexual violence are reported in the media is only part of the problem. Another large problem is the media itself, that reinforces our culture of violence. Ads and television scenes often show women as objects, to be taken at pleasure.

 Just as an exercise, you might challenge a team to take a notepad and jot down how many times women are portrayed as soulless sex objects over the course of a week, and how many rape scenes you see. Consider the portrayal of the victims, and whether the writers were at all sensitive to the fact of rape as an act of violence (or conversely, did they make rape actually seem  attractive, at all?).  Did the television show or movie portray any of the after-effects of rape, including the higher likelihood of depression, post-traumatic stress, alcohol and drug use, or suicidal thoughts, in the victim? 

Nine of ten rape victims are women. 15% of sexual assault victims are under the age of 12. ²  And one in four college women are raped or suffer attempted rape, and 84% know their assailants. The age group 16-24 has a rate of risk four times higher than other age groups.

Consider possible sermons on self respect, the value of all persons under God, and even the dangers of alcohol, which is often involved.  Also, consider sermons dealing with the aftermath, since you are likely preaching to some survivors, perpetrators, and parents.   

We can do better, and awareness is a powerful first step. 

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¹Brisbane, Arthur. “Confusing Sex and Rape”, The New York Times  Public Editor Opinion pages. November 19, 2011.

²Statistics from Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, online at rainn.org /get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-victims/ and  accessed November 22, 2011.

Oxymoron, as in diametrically opposed? Seriously? How could it be that someone considered non-harming and ministry so different as to be the opposite of each other? My lunch companion was telling me, in a word, that, in her experience, ministry was generally harmful. Yet ministers, for the most part, are committed to healing the world, and to spreading a message of God’s peace, hope and love.  If anything, in the best of all worlds, our Center’s name should be a redundancy.   I managed to answer her, lamely, with a simple “I hope not.”

Authors and advocates use oxymorons and non sequiturs as literary devices, to point out the patently absurd. Examples of oxymorons include “working holiday,”  “extinct life,” and “living dead.”  I don’t include “military intelligence,” because I know some of the people working on cybersecurity, and they’re brilliant. Some advocates for child mental health would point to the juvenile justice system as a non sequitur, because of the foreseeable consequences of woefully inadequate treatment¹, education and rehabilitation.  They prefer to refer to the incarceration of our youth in the “criminal legal system.”   Even so, dedicated individuals exist within this system, working for the betterment of our youth every day.  

What a long way non harming ministers have to go, if ministry could be held in such low esteem. 

So, what is a non harming minister to do, when confronted with such an attitude? It would help to know what underlies it. Perhaps a previous minister has been a disappointment, or let someone down, or even caused harm. Perhaps doctrine has been taught unskillfully, and hurtfully. Or, some other misunderstanding may exist.

Be open, and listen. Keep actively engaging with the world in a peaceful and non-violent, non harming way, spreading God’s peace, hope and love. And let us know what you learn. 

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¹See American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform, Recommendations for Juvenile Justice Reform, October 2001. Available online at http://www.uiowa.edu/~nrcfcp/dmcrc/pdf/everything6.pdf  and accessed November 19, 2011.

The handshake was a a medieval means of allowing two enemies to speak together without fear:  the right hand, usually dominant, was engaged by the strong grip of the enemy.  With the right hand occupied -and obviously disarmed - each warrior could negotiate with the other, without fear of being harmed.  So, a handshake occurred originally within the context of war.

But handshakes themselves can hurt. The image, above, shows the damage that came to the hand of a fragile, elderly Christian Brother, after repeatedly shaking hands at the end of a mass.  No harm was intended.  Many people — men and women alike — are taught that your handshake signifies your character.  Perhaps it does. This author, a violinist, once dared to shake hands with baseball giant Hank Aaron, whose hands are very powerful. I  was struck by how sensitively he shook my hand, without causing any harm. He wasn’t afraid of being perceived as gentle, which I believe shows more interior strength than those who indiscriminantly use a macho death grip on all comers. Many musicians simply shy away from handshakes completely, but at that moment I realized that the sensitive handshake can show both insight and a non-harming character, as it did when Hank Aaron took such care not to hurt my hand.

The extra-firm handshake is just convention. And we can change convention. In flu season, there is another reason to reinvision the greeting: handshakes are a great way to spread infectious disease, the majority of which is spread by contact. People touch their face thousands of times a day, and they don’t run for hand sanitizer between handshakes.  Every Sunday, during the passing of the peace, handshakes pass germs such as cold and flu viruses as well. That’s why the NBA banned the handshake for players, and implemented the fist bump in 2009.

There are many creative alternatives to the handshake:

• the fist bump
• the Hawaiian hang-loose sign
• hand over heart, as when we say the Pledge of Allegiance
• the peace sign, for a retro feel
• blowing air kisses, Italian style
• the Vulcan greeting (a practice that actually was adapted from ancient worshipful practice)
• bowing your head with hands in a symbol of prayer: the holy in me bows to the holy in you (as long as both parties bow equally.)

The possibilities are endless. Let your imagination run wild, and we wish you fun, creative, non-harming cold-and-flu season’s greetings!

Praise God with lyre and harp, praise God with drums and dancing… (Psalm 150)

Praise/worship/biblical/Davidic dancing is not only a means of worship, it can enhance the worship experience of others, as they contemplate space, time, rhythm, interconnection, and the fleetingness of the moment.

Does the concept seem new? It isn’t. Thousands of years ago, in ancient Judaism and then early Christianity, it was part of worshipful prayer[1]. There are many biblical references to dancing in praise of the Lord[2].. Then, during the time of Reformation, it was suppressed along with other bodily expression, as unseemly.  We have experienced a resurgence in the past century, with liturgical dance serving many purposes, including witnessing to faith, inspiring congregants, challenging our thinking, or acting as a form of prayer.

Styles of dance are as wide-ranging as the dancers themselves, including: spontaneous, choreographed, modern, ballet, lyrical, African, clog, Davidic, and hip hop. Dancers can be few or many. Their attire can be simple or ornate. They can have props – streamers, banners, tambourines, flutes, and such – or have none.  Inspiration frees the dancer of limitations, so this genre is continually growing and changing.

Below is our example. Dancer Rena Jones-Guidry of the Providence Baptist Church provides an original interpretation of a song that speaks to the promise of a second chance:

Filmed at Providence Baptist Church and edited at Elfenworks Productions, LLC. Dancer: Rena Jones-Guidry. Filmed by: Jennifer Thomas, for Elfenworks Productions, LLC. Mastering: John Watkins, for Elfenworks Productions, LLC.  Copyright 2011 Elfenworks Productions LLC. All rights reserved.  For music credits, please see the band website, www.commodorecallahan.com.

The recommendations below will be of use to you in moving to a potentially philo-Semitic production. They’re based on some 1984 recommendations for changes to the Oberammergau Passion Play in Germany:

• Convey, correctly, that Jesus was Jewish. Avoid conveying that he was other than Jewish. Address Jesus as “Rabbi” and perhaps even as Rabbi Yeshua. If you are feeling daring, then, as with the groundbreaking scene in the movie Godspell where Jesus performs the bread and wine blessing in Hebrew, your Jesus could do so as well.  A helpful MP3 for both Hebrew prayers is available on our JesusSangha website.
• Jesus’ followers would not have used the word “Christ,” which is a Greek translation of Messiah, or Meshiach, so why not consider using that word instead?
• Avoid stereotypes. Do not stereotype the others around Jesus who are Jewish, and where there is a discussion or discourse, include dissent. Especially important: avoid the “good guy” Romans and “bad guy” Jews. Changing some names can help break unconscious stereotypes; using “Old Testament” names already sets up negative connotations, but many Jews of the time had Greek names, such as Demetrios and Bacchides, which could be substituted.
• Of critical importance: portray Pilate and his condemnation of Jesus historically accurately: as a self-serving and tyrannical ruler who was responsible for putting Jesus to death, not some good Roman who, wholly misled by “evil” Jews, was reluctant to perform the task. If for dramatic effect you are wedded to keeping the “washing my hands of it,” statement, perhaps Pilate can look back at his wife, whose counsel he ignored, as if he is washing his hands of the whole matter and wishing to be rid of it.
• In light of the other gospel accounts, it is imperative to remove any references to “his blood is on you people.” As is summed up in the recommendations, “isolating Mt 27:25 from its New Testament context as a whole, would contradict the words of St. Peter in Acts 3:17 where it says that the Jews and their leaders acted in ignorance, hence without malice; such a splitting off would also totally contradict Lk 23:34 and I Cor 15:3.”¹
  

As pointed out in the recommendations to Oberammergau, these changes are all biblically sound and historically well grounded. Jesus besides being Messiah, was also a rabbi. Pilate, besides putting Jesus to death, was a known tyrant, and also killed many people, including rabbis, before crucifying Jesus. During Jesus’ day, the high priests, in positions of appointed power, were not greatly loved by the people. And the gospels were written during a time when writing these truths about the Roman Empire would not be politically correct.

For years, especially after the holocaust, the anti-Semitic overtones of the original Oberammergao Passion Play were criticized. Finally, in 2000, director Christian Stückl undertook the biggest revision of the script since 1860, and an estimated 520,000 guests saw the play. The 2010 play incorporates even further changes to reduce anti-Judaism. We applaud their progress.

Easter is the holiest time for Christians, the time when God had the last word over death itself, taking what satan had worked for evil and creating resurrection and everlasting life. The passion play tells this wonderful story; and with sensitivity in the telling, it can be a source of love and light, like Jesus. Without such sensitivity, though, the story can have lasting negative consequences. Pope John Paul wrote “Forgive us the curse we uttered against the name of the Jews. Forgive us for crucifying you for a second time in their flesh.”  This Easter, let us know how your Passion Play is helping to heal old wounds. Or, if you have a script you’d like to share as a resource, please contact us.

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¹The Passion of the Jew Jesus; Recommended Changes in the Oberammergau Passion Play after 1984.
http://ecumene.org/SHOAH/oberammer.htm accessed March 31, 2011

But what if we could know the actual date of Jesus’ birth? Would we celebrate differently, perhaps in a more spiritual and less commercial way? In a post last August, we discussed astronomer Michael Molnar’s research into Jesus’ birth an why he postulates April 17, 6BCE as the date.  Even if that isn’t the date, is there room in our hearts for two celebrations? If so, what would a second celebration look like? And, perhaps more importantly:why not celebrate Jesus in our hearts, every day?

While Church and state should be separate so that all may have their freedom, it sometimes feels that, to anyone whose viewpoint allows for a transcendent aspect outside the domain of science, there is almost a dismissive shunning. Has this, perhaps, gone slightly too far, towards worship of the secular, where all that is ‘of God’ must be stricken as anathema? This is what Chris Hedges wonders, in his little book When Atheism Becomes Religion.

Our webmaster is the songwriter of the awareness-raising song Such a Crime. This song, performed by the band Commodore Callahan, was meant to raise awareness about the criminalization of poverty and the rising tide of inequality. The thought was to simply write a ballad, a story of how one person with pretty inarguably good credentials was affected. That person? A disabled, Vietnam-era veteran, who was a minister, to boot.  He was swept up in the criminal legal system when the police swept through a homeless shelter looking for outstanding warrants. His warrant? Criminal vagrancy (that is, homelessness). The city? Washington, the town responsible for his disability. This story was inspired by an op-ed piece in the New York Times by Barbara Ehrenreich.

What’s wrong with the song? We are told (off the record) by administrators in the San Francisco public school system, the song is too “Christian” to be appropriate for school children, because the subject of the song happens to be a minister.

In this ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation. Commodore Callahan will be producing a vanilla version [words say 'that man Al' instead of 'our reverend' for example], but by not telling the whole story of this individual the song is less powerful, and the case against the criminalization of poverty is also weakened.   Check out the youTube channel and judge the song for yourself…  and if you are a famous country singer and would like to help us out, please do contact Commodore Callahan, because the band needs your voice for the vanilla version!

Yes, God is not a puppeteer, and God gave us free choices. Our sinful and hateful choices lead to institutionalized sin in which the innocent continue to suffer, and we are called to put this to right.  God understands and weeps with the suffering, and when we turn to God in our suffering, God can comfort.  But sometimes this is not enough of an answer. especially at a time of crisis.

We all struggle and words can fail, so we thought we’d add a few of our favorite resources to point people to, in case that is of use to you. Beware of pointing the casual reader to Moltman or Polanyi, though. Those are for you…

• God, Actually; Why God Probably Exists, Why Jesus was Probably Divine, and Why the ‘Rational’ Objections to Religion are Unconvincing – Roy Williams
• Who Needs God – Harold Kushner
• The God We Never Knew; Beyond Dogmatic Religion to a More Authentic Contemporary Faith – Marcus Borg
• The Reason For God; Belief in an Age of Skepticism – Timothy Keller
• God, The Evidence; The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason in a Post-Secular World – Patrick Glynn 
• I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Athiest – Norman Geisler & Frank Turek
• A Christianity Worth Believing; Hope-Filled, Open Armed, Alive-and-Well Faith for the Left Out, Left Behind and Let Down in us All – Doug Pagitt
• The Heart of Christianity; Rediscovering a Life of Faith How We Can Be Passionate Believers Today – Marcus Borg
• What’s So Great About Christianity – Dinesh D’Souza 
• God for a Secular Society – Jurgen Moltman
• Personal Knowledge; Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy – Polenyi