3/5/2008

Doing some theology study since there hasn't been a class in two weeks due to illness. It was going great and I finished a section on the different aspects of God's goodness (mercy, grace, long suffering, etc). Anyway, I started to daydream (which happens a lot) about Ghost Hunters (sci-fi show), mediums, psychics and what not. What are the point of these people? I mean really?! So they "ghost hunters" catch a voice on tape or a thermal image, so the medium commons with the dead, so the psychic can describe the after life. So what?! What is the ends? High-five to you for confirming there is an after-life, spirits, or whatever. Since the dawn of man, they have been saying the same thing, cave painting, ancient scripture of ALL religions. My question is so what are you going to DO with that confirmed "knowledge". Are the ghost hunters telling you how to live better so you don't have to be "trapped" here after death? Are they really revealing anything? NO! The medium that talks with deal loved ones, they accomplish nothing except maybe where grandpa buried the family fortune! The psychics that tell you about past lives or what the after life looks like. What!? How does that info help? People seem to be so concerned about proving, validating, and confirming that there is a life after this one that they forget to concentrate on this life, here, now. A motivated person would take their confirmation, and with their eased doubts set out to live by whatever moral code or religion they believe in to make sure they have the best possible next life, whether in heaven, next rebirth, or whatever. Instead, most just hop from book to book, show to show, confirmation to confirmation, doing nothing but spouting off about what they read or saw to try to confirm someone else. Just a random rant and thought. I'm just as guilty as everyone else, after all.

I watched the Ghost Hunters show and own got spiritual books. Like they say "Don't just sit there, do something." Or in my case and beliefs of Zen/Christian contemplation, "Don't just do something, sit there." Which reminds me, I finished reading Living Zen, Loving God and found it fascinating. I'm re-reading it again and highlighting parts that speak to me. Habito, the author, showed me it is possible to still practice Zen and study Buddhist scriptures and be a devout Christian at the same time. Both are separate and neither subtracts from the other. Beautiful. Back to theology. Later.