The importance of Safety

A grand flaw of many Christian institutions is the lack of genuine hospitality. For example, in many American mega-churches and Christian Universities such as APU there is a flawed idea of what community should be. Many people in Christian institutions think that community means a ‘safe place’ where a close-knit group of believers who ‘do life together’ can go. The problem is that community is not, as a rule, a ‘safe place’ for people to come when safe is equated to locked doors and a security team on patrol 24/7. I've been reading this book called Following Jesus In a Culture of Fear by Scott Bader-Saye, and in it he asks, “whether gated communities [think APU living areas] do not represent a kind of disordered love in which the desire to protect the lesser good of one’s property leads a person to reject the greater good of hospitality.” It has become evident to me that safety in community should be far less about physical security and far more about the emotional security of not being condemning and judging but rather accepting and loving of all people.
Much of the pressure to create a safe community is the pressure to have an appealing view of that community from the outside, and to put safety as a top priority is one of the easiest ways to do that. Safety is something that can be legislated and does not have to do with the hearts of the people within the community. Bader-Saye notes that, “communities often… provide a foundation for certain “church growth” programs that exhibit a faux hospitality that ultimately serves to reinforce homogeneity and resist true welcome of the other.” In our close Church or school communities the goal is to make those who are there feel comfortable, when this goal of comfort ends up excluding others, because including those who are different than us, who do not fit into our already decided community, makes us uncomfortable and is much harder work. Perhaps this is part of why we have so many specialized small groups- groups divided by age, gender, and even race. We hide behind our good intentions, and decide that people can 'connect' better with people like themselves, so it is better this way, but this theme only encourages homogeneity and excludes people who do not fit those standards. The only real way to be hospitable and to promote acceptance of those who are different than us is to unlock and open those doors and encourage inclusion of the other. It is never okay to sacrifice hospitality for safety.

"The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rebekah Tenney

I had the privilege of shooting the 'getting ready' photos for my dear friend, who was about to wed the man himself, Robert Schwandt. It was a glorious day, full of laughter, joy, and Bekah's radiant smile.

reality

We do not have a holistic understanding of spirituality, The supernatural is not unusual, it is real and everywhere.

Romantic

Imagine being born into a world that told you,
"You were born free!
And though you are now in chains,
liberation is at hand!"

What purpose, what passion you might feel.

New

School has begun.
It's Junior year of college.
I am now an English major with a literature concentration and Philosophy minor.
I like all my classes. So far.
And I am optimistic.

This is new for me.


Also, books are really beautiful.
And this is really cool.

analyze me

My faith has been severely challenged this past year, and a lot of it had to do with the classes I took and the books I’ve read and the conversations I have had with intelligent, influential people in my life. This year I took two philosophy classes: Comparative Religions, and History of 19th and 20th Century Philosophies. I also took two psychology classes: General Psychology and Personal and Social Adjustment. Along with these classes I put myself in counseling for (self-diagnosed) depression and overall discontentment. I have never been someone who is easily stressed out, but this year I have experienced more stress than ever before. All these factors, and many others that would take to long to go into detail about, contributed to my spiritual journey through the deconstruction of my religion.
Where psychology comes into the picture in all of this is this semester’s quest for reason and rationality within religions. I originally was interested in psychology because I wanted to know how to better relate to people, how to understand them better, but what happened, like so many other classes and subjects, is that it did not answer ANY questions, but only created more confusion and more questioning. I thought that by knowing how the brain works and learning about developmental theories I could figure some things out about people and about myself, and hopefully gain a better understanding of the nature of humanity, but alas, I am further away from understanding than I thought I was to begin with.
Psychology has been nothing more to me than science, and theorizing, and what W. V. O. Quine called ‘naturalized epistemology.’ Being the science that it is, psychology attempts to gain that understanding of human reasoning and decision-making by studying the anatomy of the brain, and observing human behavior and theorizing about it. This is a big conflict for me, because in these theories all I see are generalizations and assumptions about narrow groups of people, but are never solidified. And the scientific (anatomical/ physiological) aspect does nothing more than eliminate the magic and supernaturality of human emotion, love, and intimacy. And to me, since nothing can be proven, and we cannot be certain of anything, I would rather stick with philosophy, specifically the beauty and mystery of metaphysics and think of the mind as something spiritual, not just a bunch of neurons firing inside of my head.

Scout

little one that taylor and his roommate found and I am caring for :)

Wild Reeds

A beautiful day with my dear friends Sharon, Kinsey, and Natalie who formed an outstanding band with beautiful music called the Wild Reeds. We did a promo shoot at the huntington gardens and had so much fun doing it. I love these friends, they have so much laughter and take so much joy in finding the simple beauties throughout their lives.

J.S. Mill- On Diversity

Written for my 19th and 20th Century Philosophy Critical Analysis Paper:

The Quest For Individuality, according to Mill

J. S. Mill’s arguments in On Liberty are extremely important for the promotion of diversity. In this writing he argues for rights to individuality and advocated for these rights to be protected by the government. Throughout the book, Mill outlines his ideas of the importance of individuality. He gives us some basis for how the government should work to protect its citizens’ quest for that individuality by encouraging diversity.
Here at APU we are surrounded by the word ‘diversity’. It is one of our favorite topics. We write about it in each of our applications, and there are weeks devoted to exploring what it means as a campus community; it seems that we hear it constantly in chapel, the classrooms, and offices. It can at times seem overstated and it is easy for us to tune out when it is, yet again, the subject of another sermon. Because so many of us have become numb to this challenge of ‘diversity’ and we, as students, live in such a conformed demographic of people, I think Mill (in his time) might have sent a word of caution our way.
He explains simply that society has stifled individuality, far more so than the government. In this world and the world he lived in, the conformity of people to the majority is encouraged by what he calls the collective mediocrity. It is stifling the development of the ultimate goal of the good human life. He claims, “Society can and does execute its own mandates… penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself.” (p.4) He argues that the only way people can develop and achieve a better life is by being exposed to different ways of living. This is where his argument for diversity is boldest.
Mill’s main point, when it comes to diversity in lifestyles, is that they are instrumental goods (p. 49); they help us attain something good even if they are not good in themselves. We attain the intrinsic good of eccentric and diverse individuals that promote development of a better life. What diversity does for society is that it provides opportunities for people to compare their lives with others lives, this provides each person with differing lifestyles to bump up against and try out if they so choose.
In psychology, it is an accepted fact that a crucial part of development of the cognitive being is the allowance of the person to identify with and compare themselves to those around them. This is crucial to forming one’s own identity and growing into a fully functioning and adjusted human being. According to Mill, this is all for the purpose of achieving the best life possible and more fully developed human beings. These individuals are better for the health and service of the society as a whole, promoting the development of that very society. He states, “In proportion to the development of [one’s] individuality, each person becomes more valuable to himself, and is therefore capable of being more valuable to others.” (p. 52-53).
He also includes that people living in a society that would promote such individuality and diversity would have certain obligations. Each person should be responsible to tell the other what each has found out works and what does not in trying to attain the best life. This is helpful to distinguish the better from the worse without wasting time trying everything out for ourselves (p. 64-65). Most of this should be taught and learned in the formative years and the education system provides opportunities to teach children what adults with more experience have already found to be useful or not in attaining the better life.
Once an individual is out of school and becomes an adult it is up to them to try out different lifestyles and to discover, for themselves, what is the best life. This is an intrinsic good, and is true freedom that the government should protect. Mill believes that the government cannot infringe limitations upon people except to protect this freedom, sustaining diversity and the development of humanity.
One of the main critiques of this argument, as he himself points out, is the idea that no man is an island. There is nothing that people can do as free individuals that will only affect the individual, that no one is alone in the consequences of their actions (p. 67-68). He argues this objection by saying that although many times individuals, in their efforts to achieve the best life possible, make bad decisions that cause harm. To let them choose to live this way is a necessary sacrifice that society must make in order to allow true human freedom. People need to make mistakes, and try out different ways of living for themselves. Like previously stated, society is given ample time in the raising of children to teach what is a free and individually satisfying life versus what is a harmful life. What a society must punish is not the personal error, for that in itself becomes it’s own consequence, but the definite damage or definite risk of damage to another individual or to the public caused by that personal error. (p. 69)
What has become a large problem for the development of individuality and diversity is the allowance of customs and traditions, such as religion, to become the tyrannical majority. Most of religion’s primary objective is to conform people to one way of thinking, thus stifling individuality and diversity, and ultimately stifling the development of humanity. Western Christianity is especially known for its use of guilt and shame in the efforts of conformity. (34-35, 42, 51)
In thinking about Christianity in this way, I wonder if what the religion is really trying to do is not eliminate individuality, but to help show people what the ideal perfection of human nature is. I think that genuine Christians believe that Jesus was the example of the best human life and by evangelizing and converting others they are showing people how develop more fully into better human beings. Though this often times falls short of its goal. Mill makes a valid point in highlighting the disconnect between the commands and doctrines of the religion and the actual practices of those who claim to follow it. He points-out that, “[Christians] are not insincere when they say they believe these things. They do believe them… But in the sense of that living belief which regulates conduct, they believe these doctrines just up to the point to which it is usual to act upon them.”
When it comes to any religion, people cannot be forced to believe anything. Coinciding with Mill’s argument, we see that we must allow for people to experience life for themselves and to experiment for themselves. This is why diversity is so extremely important.
Individuality creates diversity. When there are healthy disparities, disagreements, and just people who are different, that is where diversity is found. It is important and it is something that every society (be it workplace, school, or what have you) should be afraid of losing. (p. 56) Without differing opinions and lifestyles to compare to one’s own, a society runs the risk of becoming stagnant. I am terrified of the complacency that I often feel, and often see in others. We need to be challenging each other to be better and to question all types of lifestyles, including our own. I hope that we feel refreshed by this idea, not numb to it. We, as humanity, and as a part of this small community at APU, need to challenge one another.

Woe to you who are rich

...There's nothing like poverty to get you into heaven.
They got a lot of wine and fish up there and the bread's unleavened
They got a lot of ears that heard a whip go crack
Lots of missing toes and fingers and scars upon their backs
...Mama says God tends to every little skinny sheep
So count your ribs and say your prayers and get to sleep
Nothing is louder to god's ears than a poor mans sorrow
Daddy is poor today and will be poor tomorrow...
-Patty Griffin

Friedrich Neitzsche

He was a total badass, but at the same time, I feel like he was just dying for someone to prove him wrong. Yea, he argues against Christian morality, and insists that everything that we value (meekness, humility, compassion) is all out of resentment for the low position of the slave or worker. Christianity sprung from those who needed a religion, not those who didn't. How can we ignore the fact that it completely favors the oppressed and pitiful. And I don't think any Christian would argue that, but now, looking at Christianity in the wealthy, powerful society of America I wonder what Nietzsche would say. Maybe it just goes to show that we have used our religion to gain power, or maybe it just shows an extremely distorted reflection of Christianity, if America really was mostly "Christian", it'd look obviously different. Either way, something's wrong with this religion, regardless of Friedrich being right or wrong... I sure wish I could chat with him.

divine liberation!

i deleted my facebook.

So far i have accidentally signed back in and therefore reactivated it once (then immediately deactivated it again), and once (today) i gave into the satan and signed back in just to make certain i had not left any messages unanswered. But thats it. I am done. Life is just a bit simpler now, and face to face, or even phone to phone, interaction is far more interesting when people do not already know the details of my life.
If you need to contact me and do not already know how, my email is the best alternative to facebook, and you can find me at lhamlett07@apu.edu

the effects of J.S. Mill

When there are healthy disparities, disagreements, and just... people who are different- that is diversity.
It is important.
It is something that every society (be it workplace, school, or what have you) should be afraid of losing.
Without differing opinions and lifestyles to compare an individual's own with, a society runs the risk of becoming stagnant.
I am terrified of the complacency that I often feel, and often see in others.
We need to be challenging each other.

Diversity is one of APU’s favorite words and is heard every day-
in chapels, classes, offices... everywhere
I hope that we feel refreshed by it, not numb to it.

relatively detached

Spring '10 semester has begun.
It is only 11:30 in the morning and I feel like the day should be over, but alas, I have two more classes to trudge through.
As usual, I had too optimistic of expectations for the classes I enrolled in, and have thus far been sorely disappointed.
It is unreal how much I miss my friends who are studying abroad/moved away.
High Sierra memories are resurfacing, and being torn from it once again has left me raw and exposed.
Alaska seems so far away.
I am so tired.
I do not want to think about things.