Obama Approves Talarico: https://www.
What has become increasingly clear to me is that "transcendentally faithful conviction" is the most powerful quality/force on earth.
Furthermore, Trump-voting "Christian" "conservatives" -- despite having their heads up their ass -- overturned 200 years of America's existing political order because they believed, unflinchingly, that they could "move mountains."
In fact, FAITH is so strong that when "unflinchingly faithful" people join together, they can -- and do -- "move mountains."
In order to overcome the collective power of these mendacious, nonsensical, "QAnon" believers -- people who put the old testamental "Thunder Sky god's" infernal cruelty above compassion, I think it will be necessary -- indispensable -- to generate the same kind of unshakeable faith in the core truth of kindness-over-cruelty if we are to be serious about turning the tide.
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We must move a MOUNTAIN, and it ain't gonna happen without collective religious fervor.
It's just not.
So the choice becomes, "Do we want to lose by being traditionally liberal-progressive?"
Or, "Do we want to win by insisting on the primacy of divinely-ordained Kindness, Compassion, Love and Truth?"
I encourage you to take the following observation to heart: God doesn't need to exist in order for belief to "work."
In Buddhism, sunyata (emptiness) is considered central.
The void itself is creative.
Fundamentally creative.
Fundamentally generative.
A strong agument can be made that the void/sunyata is "the Creator God."
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Google, "James Talarico's Sermon Against Christian Nationalism."
It's on YouTube, and easy to find.
In fact, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/
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And here is Bob Dylan's rationale for shifting his spiritual center from Judaism to Christianity (which was originally a sect within Judaism): https://www.youtube.
Gotta Serve Somebody (Wikipedia):
Gotta Serve Somebody, the song: https://www.youtube.com/
Update:
Currently, Dylan has put down roots again within his Jewish tradition.
Personally, I hold that the best thing that could happen on the planet's religious "plane," would be for Christianity to become a sect within Judaism again, just as it was in the beginning, with Jesus being an observant Jewish rabbi throughout his adulthood. But don't hold your breath for the institutional change to recur.
What I am fundamentally driving home is that sunyata (the emptiness-nothingness of "God") is a motive force of incomparable power. And we ignore it at our peril.
Buddhist emptiness
(śūnyatā) refers to the foundational principle that all phenomena, including the self, lack inherent, independent, or permanent existence. It is not nihilistic nothingness, but rather a "boundless potential" or "non-separation". Emptiness means things are empty of a fixed, separate identity, existing only in dependence on causes and conditions.Key Aspects of Buddhist Emptiness:
- Dependent Origination: Because all things arise from, and depend on, other factors, nothing has a "self" or separate existence.
- The Self is Empty: The idea of a permanent, unchanging self (soul) is an illusion; we are a shifting, interdependent flow of physical, mental, and conscious processes.
- Beyond Extremes:Emptiness is not simply "existence" or "non-existence," but rather a middle way that transcends conceptual, black-and-white thinking.
- Experience of Freedom: Realizing emptiness is described as a joyful, safe experience, akin to waking from a nightmare and realizing the fear was based on a misunderstanding of reality.
- Implications: Emptiness is central to Mahayana Buddhism, particularly the Heart Sutra, and is used to dissolve fixed mental patterns and habits.
Two Types of Emptiness (via Analysis):
- Analytical Emptiness: This involves deconstructing phenomena by breaking them down into their parts to show they lack a singular, independent essence.
- Non-dual Emptiness: A direct perception where the strict, rigid, and often conflict-ridden separation between subject (self) and object (world) softens into a fluid, interconnected, and open way of being.
Emptiness is ultimately a pedagogical tool to help practitioners move from ignorance to understanding, which is key to overcoming suffering and achieving enlightenment.
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In its 1st-century infancy,
Christianity was an apocalyptic, messianic sect within Second Temple Judaism known as "The Way," with Jewish followers observing Torah, Sabbath, and Temple worship. Followers believed Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah. This sect became a distinct, rival religion as it expanded to include Gentiles, moving away from Jewish law and adopting Hellenistic influences.Key Aspects of Early Christianity as a Jewish Sect:
- The Nazarene Sect: Early believers (Jewish Christians) did not consider themselves as founding a new religion, but rather fulfilling Jewish prophecy.
- Worship and Practices: Early followers continued to pray in the Temple in Jerusalem and maintained Jewish lifestyle practices, including circumcision.
- Core Beliefs: Centered on Jesus’s resurrection and the belief that the Kingdom of God was imminent.
- Internal Diversity: Like other 1st-century Jewish movements, this group held varying views on Jesus's relationship to the divine.
The Separation (Breakaway) Process:
- Gentile Inclusion: The move to include non-Jews (Gentiles) without requiring adherence to the Mosaic Law (dietary laws, circumcision) caused significant tension.
- Theological Shifts: The focus on the divinity of Jesus (God the Son) was considered heretical by broader, traditional Judaism, which regarded it as a form of dualism.
- Historical Events: The destruction of the Temple (70 CE) and later restrictions following the Bar Kokhba revolt (135 CE) accelerated the separation, forcing the two groups apart.
While starting as a Jewish offshoot, the church gradually became predominantly Gentile, resulting in a distinct, non-Jewish identity by the 2nd century.
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Preview YouTube video James Talarico Delivers Sermon Against Christian NationalismPreview YouTube video James Talarico Delivers Sermon Against Christian NationalismPreview YouTube video Bob Dylan Reveals Why He Left Judaism for ChristianityPreview YouTube video Bob Dylan Reveals Why He Left Judaism for ChristianityPreview YouTube video Bob Dylan - Gotta Serve Somebody (Official Audio)Preview YouTube video Bob Dylan - Gotta Serve Somebody (Official Audio)
