Living In Memory

In Memoriam

This week at unTapped we're going to remember those who have gone before us. We will be gathering to bring together stories of those who have passed away, but remain in our lives by inspiring us. Our memories of these people motivate us in such a deep, powerful way that their influence is spiritual.

Join us with stories and memories of the people who inspire you from beyond the grave. We meet every Thursday at Short's Brewing Company, 7pm. See you then!

Doomsday?

As you may have heard, the world is ending on the 21st. Actually, we're being told that the world is ending by a fringe Christian group in California. The group, Family Christian Radio, is a fundamentalist Christian sect that has spread the doomsday message across the country. Using a confusing, convoluted mathematical formula, a healthy dose of questionable scholarship, and a firm conviction that God prefers the Roman calendar, the group has decided the world will end this Saturday.

You can check out more 'doomsday' coverage on Belief Blog.

If Family Christian Radio's 2011 prediction turns out to be wrong, have no fear, there is another doomsday close behind. The Mayan's gave special significance to 2012 as the end of this world. So, of course, people have decided to flipout.

What is your response to this and other doomsday messages that come along from time to time? Why do you think that people continue to believe in these types of prophecies even when the prognosticators are continually wrong?

Join us this Thursday for a conversation about Doomsday, or the lack thereof. We meet at Short's Brewing in downtown Bellaire at 7pm. See you there!

Sobriety or Celebration?

As you are no doubt aware, this past week Osama bin Laden was killed by American forces in Pakistan. There has been a mix of reactions from different portions of our society. Some members of the media could hardly contain their glee, spontaneous street parties have broken out, and even sporting events have taken time to celebrate.

CNN's Belief Blog chronicled several responses by faith leaders. While nobody decried the justice of what was done, all were a bit taken aback by party-like atmosphere that celebrated a man being killed.

Our very own Drew Filkins chimed in on the subject also. You can read his whole take here. He advocates mourning as a better response:

I am mourning Osama bin Laden because he was not able to experience the restoring, renewing, redeeming work of the resurrected Christ. As a Christian, I feel that we ought to mourn when anyone dies without having the restoring work of the resurrected Christ in their life, whether that be a close friend, family member or a terrorist. The power of the resurrected Christ could have moved Osama's life of violence and destruction to one of compassion and love, just as that power is doing in my life and maybe in yours.

What do you think? from your spiritual/ethical perspective, is Osama bin Laden's death a reason to celebrate or mourn or what?

Bring your thoughts this Thursday to Short's Brewing Company in downtown Bellaire at 7pm.

unTapped: Holy Week Break

We are on break due to several different Holy Week events taking place at the same time, but we will be back next week for another conversation!

Who Is My Neighbor?

AS Huston Smith pointed out, every religion has some version of the golden rule. The Christian equivalent of the Golden Rule is Christ's ethical imperative to 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

This begs the question: who is my neighbor? Are my neighbors just those who live around my house? Are my neighbors only the people who share my faith? What about people I have never met, or people who live on the other side of the world? Who is my neighbor?

Join us, Thursday night 7pm at Short's Brewing for a conversation about priorities and ethics.

Monetary Obligations

This week, unTapped returns right in time for tax season. This is the time of year Americans are finalizing their tax forms and finding out how much they owe the government or how much the government owes them.

Taxation is a topic that has ethical and spiritual implications. For instance, the Christian Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives a remarkably ambivalent response to a question on taxes. In part, this was the response that Jesus recommended to his fellow Jews for unfair taxation that stained their entire history.

Taxation is an enforced collection of money by a government. However, some faiths refuse to pay taxes to any government.

Even people that are not necessarily joined to a faith refuse to pay taxes on grounds of morality, conviction, and ethics. A classic example of this is the American Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau, who refused to be any part of government. he thought paying taxes made him a moral accomplice with a nation state that he never chose to be apart of.

Another form of enforced collection is found within faith. In Christianity and Judaism it is called tithing. Other faiths have versions of this. For instance, one of the Pillars of Islam is the Zakat.

From a spiritual perspective, are you obligated to pay taxes? What about tithing? What are your monetary obligations to your secular and faith communities?

Join us Thursday, 7pm, at Short's Brewing in Bellaire for a discussion about monetary obligations.

Afterlife Perspectives

Recently, two dramas have been playing out in front of the national media that involed spiritual/faith subjects. First, a congressional committee this week started holding hearings examining radicalization within Islam. Despite wide support, the hearings have wide support as a large majority of Americans are concerned about radical Islam and want Congress to look into the issue. This type of hearing is unprecedented. The hearing specifically is targeting a particular faith and examining the extremes of that one faith.

One of the major concerns people have is the motivations of radical Muslims. It has been well documented that some suicide bombers are hoping to receive a reward of 72 virgins in the afterlife. In all actuality, most Muslims find this story to be a silly exaggeration that is necessary. Additional descriptions of these Virgins seem to reinforce the silliness of the notion - they are ninety-feet tall, transparent, they never urinate or menstruate, etc.

But, even as political leaders examine these radical ideas, many Christians are pausing to consider some the stranger elements of their afterlife beliefs. For instance, a Grand Rapids pastor is receiving a lot of (mostly negative) attention because of an upcoming book which re-examines some evangelical beliefs.

Where does your ideas about the afterlife come from?

Join us Thursday night, 7pm, at Short's Brewing for a conversation about faith and the afterlife.