Missed

I am reading a modern book right now (yeah I do read modern ones sometimes).  It's by Daniel Quinn, whom I've mentioned before.  He wrote Ishmael, which is one of my favorite books.  Then he further developed the ideas in the book I'm reading now called The Story of B, and others to follow.

I read Ishmael back in the 1990's and it opened my eyes to a new way of seeing and thinking.  Then later, I read the sequel, My Ishmael, which is actually third in written order.  I liked this one nearly as much as the first book.  I'd skipped B because the plot sounded questionably interesting and was only tangentially in the storyline of the other two.

I don't agree with everything Quinn says, his history is often in error, and his philosophical/logic skills are often faulty.  But I have practised being able to "eat the meat and spit out the bones" as a friend says, so that doesn't bother me if there's good to be had in it.  But then I decided to pick up B.  It's terrible.

I get the distinct sense that Ishamel may have received such a bad reaction that Quinn went a little "Moses striking the rock".  I've seen that with other storytellers that have a message, but this one is just not good.  It's too full of sour grapes and brow-beating ideas.  As he mentions in the book itself, this time he's taking a different approach.  He shouldn't have.  But as I don't do book reviews, I'm going to leave it at that, and focus on my reactions.  If you want more, read it yourself, then we can talk.

The biggest flaw in Quinn's vision, as portrayed in the book, is that it's a reaction to an entirely phantom image of Christianity.  He seems to have a certain idea of Christianity, which I've seen practised by many self-styled Christians.  But he doesn't recognize that this may or may not be a correct view, nor that there are other interpretations that are almost diametrically opposed to this view within the diversity of Christendom.

If Christianity was what he portrays it: a sort of Dan Brown-esque conspiracy laden jumble of contradictions to dupe simpletons, which any thinking-person ought to be able to see for what it is, I would hate it too.

But here's the kicker: his alternative is very much the Christianity I know and follow!  He just attempts to rebrand it as a universal animism.  Even the strict conservative Christianity I was raised in had many of the elements he seems to be seeking in his reconstructed nature-based religion.

For example, in B he propounds that every place is sacred, every living thing.  That all are interconnected and that in a real sense, they all live out their lives in the hand of the god.  He makes a distinction that he doesn't mean the all-powerful creator God, but the less distinct animus of the single place.

Well, my understanding of the Bible is exactly this, except of course that the deity is the universal Good, the all-powerful God.  Which is very much more to his point, I think.  Coming from the obvious Hippie perspective he originates in, the Universe (which he actually refers to at one point) is by definition ONE thing.  If all life is part of this big ONE thing.  Why divide that into myriad animi of place?  Wouldn't the world itself be one thing as much as all things in it are one?  If there is an animus of each of the small expressions of the one, how much more a single grand Animus in which all the others were collected, reflected, and imagined?

In fact, I know many Christians that actually do operate in a worldview of lesser spiritual beings guarding and shepherding places and activities.  The Romantics, and even CS Lewis routinely referred to these beings as part of their cosmos.

So what is to be gained by stepping so insistently outside of Christianity as Quinn tries?  A sense of place?  Heck, I know more Christians that HEAVILY venerate places, even natural ones, than those that don't.  Even to the point that I think it's silly, since obviously one place is no better than another IN ITSELF.  As Quinn agrees, ALL places are sacred.  To me this is so only because of the presence of God in them, not any aspect of the atoms, as such, in that locale.  So my prayers are no better heard in one spot over another. Like the Centurion praised for his faith that Jesus didn't have to come to his house to heal someone.

I've seen this far too often: someone gets an idea of something locked in their head, especially if it was a bad experience, and they judge all other similar things as that.  This is especially true with Christianity.  This is the very reason I'm so dogged against Christians who knowingly or unknowingly play into these stereotypes.  Because when it comes down to it, the burden of communication is on the communicator.  If someone gets the wrong message from what I say, that's my fault, not theirs.  If for no other reason than I am the one who wants them to hear me.  I can't expect people who aren't asking the question to do the work necessary to get my answer.

But back to the former side, it never pays for us to misjudge, misunderstand.  To understand, we have to listen and explore with openness.  Not to say lack of critical thought, by any means, but with openness.  It also never pays to assume one perspective or case is true for all others.

The ironic thing, is that I learned that in large part FROM Quinn!

Uncommercial

I haven't posted in a while because I've been busy with many things and haven't felt a pressing need to lay out my thoughts in this way. That in itself is a good thing. Life is storms and calms. This must be one of the calms.

I've been working on a stand up paddle board of my own design. It's plywood and very short. The idea is to make something that is ultra cheap and portable. It turned out to be a bit more work than I anticipated, but it floats well. One more small modification and it will be finished. As a prototype, I've already got some better ideas for the next one. The plan is for three personal craft that fit in my short bed small pickup. One for each person in my family. It's my first foray into boat building and I'm learning a lot. It's a skill that I feel bridges a big gap for me and ties two great interests...water and woodwork.

My parkour training has continued and I'm seeing slow progression while not injuring myself. My training partner had his first injury this week, but I think he's ok. My mind has been centered on flow more lately. Obviously there is still need for drilling basics, but I am ready to start stringing them together and taking routes. It's an interesting art. Like many urban activities that are real and dangerous, it is forced to be a guerrilla sport. Find a location, climb it, and keep moving before people have a chance to run us off. We're also getting good at spotting potential nay-sayers and avoiding a meeting.

One thing I've learned is the difference in the training demo technique and the actual practice. Like most things, they don't often match exactly. At some point, you just have to go for it and find what works for you as an individual. Not to mention that there are variations among the experts too. Not in large part, but every master teaches what works best for them. This gives rise to various styles. As a very new and very unexploitable art, I feel connected to something primal. It stands amidst our commercial culture, but distinctly outside it. It ignores rules of how people should move through a built environment. It ignores rules about how we should train...no schools. People of course are forever trying to force it into those molds, but it has resisted largely thanks to the philosophies of David Belle and many of the current masters.

I've also been reading My Ishmael, third in Daniel Quinn's series. It dovetails nicely with what I've said above. As always, I don't entirely agree with Quinn's take on history or on what should happen in the future, but he does bring many excellent things to light about education, economics, and what it means to be human. Most notably this time, I have been thinking about commercialism. How we base everything on products and selling. Trade of goods and services. Commodities. It doesn't have to be this way. It isn't this way in many places. I used to think we needed overhaul of many paradigms, but they remained closely rooted in what is...for example, I love steady-state economics. But now I'm seeing this as just a spin on the same product exchange economy. Better yes. But not ideal. Not everything has to be sold. Not everything has to be taken stock of and comparatively evaluated. It is possible to live as humans in a society that does not operate on commercial principles...and it's possible to do that now, as we are. Not in some luddite fantasy. Truthfully, we already do to a large extent. Many societal structures, many of which we view as negative, are natural attempts at this...or rather, natural states, breaking through our systems.