The Unholy Family of Christmas (Part 2)

Have you ever heard the Christmas story told in a way that included a woman named Tamar? Perhaps no one has. But that’ s how Matthew tells the story of the birth of Jesus. We have to ask, “Why?” Well, by 80 or 90 CE, when Matthew was writing his gospel, it was six decades after Jesus’ life. Matthew was part of the Jesus movement, his life having been transformed by the divine consciousness Jesus embodied. Furthermore, he saw how the Christ consciousness of Jesus was transforming the world views of all who sought to embrace it. Instead of being shaped by empire-think and control, the more people got into Christ consciousness the more their world views became shaped by caring, cooperation, and interdependence.

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The Unholy Family of Christmas (Part 1)

Artists depict the holy family of Christmas on everything from cards to pieces hung in galleries. One pose that has may variations shows Joseph standing with a staff and looking over Mary’s shoulder. Both of them are focused on their newborn lying in a manger. The scene is iconic and conveys a holy hush.

Mothers and fathers everywhere are photographed similarly holding their newborn in adoration and quiet amazement at this new life now in their lives. Though these poses also hold a sense of the sacred, only Joseph, Mary, and Jesus are called “the holy family.”

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Solidarity with Occupy: Move Our Money from Banks-too-Big-to-Fail

You may want to pack your tent and join those camping out. Or, perhaps joining in decisions about which actions Occupy can take that are most strategic to the democratic work of the 99% suits you better. Another possibility is to move your bank account to a credit union or locally-owned bank if you’re still banking at Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, or any of the few hundred banks that brought us to the 2008 crisis, were bailed out, and now are making profits in trading derivatives and speculating on currencies and markets rather than helping small businesses create jobs.

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"A Jubilee Economy? What's That?" I Was Asked

Updated on Tuesday, November 8 by Webmaster

The questioner was interested in a different economy, but “jubilee” did not connect with anything in his experience of economies. So, I said that it was a sustainable economy, an ecologically friendly economy—one that fit our planet. The global, capital-driven economy, I explained to him, required multiple planets even though we have only one. So it’s essential that we shift to an economy that can fit inside of Earth and restore her. A jubilee economy is a one-Earth economy. That made sense to the questioner.

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Austerity?! Let's Talk about Abundance for All

By now we see that all the talk about austerity in these economic hard times does not apply to the wealthiest whose wealth has increased as their taxes remain low  It does not apply to military spending or the budgets of the intelligence community.  It does not apply to the bankers in the too-big-to-fail banks. It does apply to those with no jobs, low-paying jobs, and insecure jobs. It does apply to students in state universities, to people without health insurance, and to many who can no longer self-identify as middle class.

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Organic Valley—A Big Cooperative of Small Farmers

You may be quite familiar with the “Organic Valley” label on dairy products or eggs when you buy food. But if you aren’t following the story of this farming cooperative, you’re in for a tasty treat. Here are some reasons why:

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Putting Ourselves in the Geological Epochs

What time is it in Earth’s story? Thinking in terms of geological epochs, we currently live in the Holocene epoch, a subcategory of the Pleistocene Era. The Holocene dates from 12,000 years ago, or 10,000 BCE. That is when the last epoch of glaciation across the northern hemisphere receded and temperatures began to moderate globally. All of what we call the “history of civilization” has happened within this Holocene period (Wikipedia) —a period of relative climate stability. The story of homo sapiens goes back well before civilization to 200,000 years ago. That puts the emergence of our homo sapiens ancestors in the latter part of the Pleistocene epoch which measures back to 1.8 million years ago.

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