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February 2009 We do not make jokes, we simply watch the LA Times, the Orange County Register and CID/HOA board of directors and report the facts! |
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Jacob’s Ladder - Confessions of a Former Skeptic By John Locke I
am now convinced!
I accept that Jacob’s
Ladder makes regular stops in Laguna Woods
Village. Previously
I had rejected as hyperbole the Reverend Jim Juhan’s
claim, in a rambling e-mail addressed to Pamela
Grundke of Resident’s
Voice, that Cynthia Conners was an
angel. I rejected the claim due to the close relationship between
Juhan and Conners.
I viewed his statements as suspicious, just as
I viewed his statements made as a resident before
various LWV Third Mutual board meetings, because he
never, to my knowledge, prefaced his remarks with the
disclaimer that he is Cynthia’s husband and
thus his remarks might happen to reflect personal
bias. But
I have come to realize the power of the Juhan/Conners
prayer groups and thus acknowledge and abjure my
previous position as to the angelic qualities of
Conners and the efficacy of their prayer groups. Now
I harbor no negative feelings about any organized
religion, or disorganized religion for that matter. I do harbor skepticism about people or groups who find
miraculous pictures in rust stains, fruit and
vegetable shapes, or see metaphysical beings after
striking their heads on a countertop.
These images may or may not be miraculous but
if they elicit the inherent goodness of those who see
them, then they are great no matter what the source.
Similarly if someone or some group chooses to
believe that God
the Father was once human, has a wife named Mary
and whose sons are Jesus and Lucifer, well, we are all
blessed with the freedom to chose or reject any and
all religions. I
am fascinated by religions and the message they bring
to members. I
have taken a number of comparative religion courses
and was surprised to see the great similarities
between Eastern and Western religions.
At one point I researched the apparitions at
Medjugorje to learn the messages that believers say
come through the children there.
Local church officials of course view the
claims with suspicion or skepticism.
They even asked the Lady of the apparition a
series of questions apparently to learn of her
theology and determine its orthodoxy.
I found it heartening that when asked about the
value or validity of other religious denominations,
the Lady indicated that it depended on the qualities
of the leader. That
is, an honest loving leader could inspire those valued
qualities to his or her flock while a twisted one
would lead the followers along a twisted path.
We have certainly plenty of evidence of this in
our recent history: The Reverend Jim Jones led his flock to a mass murder/suicide
in Jonestown, Guyana.
The Heaven’s Gate cult suicided in Rancho
Santa Fe, California in order to hop a celestial ride
with the Hale-Bopp comet.
These events make headlines while those who
spread the good word often go unnoticed. A
great number of people believe that their God talks to
them on an ongoing basis.
Sometimes it is through a holy book, sometimes
through visions, sometimes through blessed
vegetables. In
the majority of these cases the message is good and
leads to personal improvement (holiness if you will
call it that.) The
problem is usually in the interpretation of the
message. Old
and new prophets have justified Crusades, pogroms,
jihad’s all in the name of their god.
Before
the recent Third Mutual board election George
Henderson, a member of Cynthia’s prayer group,
became a Positive Solutions candidate for the board
after they prayed over the decision.
George did not quite come in last but he
gathered nowhere close to the number of votes
necessary for election.
His defeat was so great that he would not allow
his name to be considered as a candidate to replace
Director Matson who left third upon his election to
GRF. I am
not doubting that George ran in response to prayer,
but considering the results the message perhaps was
intended to personally reshape his attitudes and be a
learning experience.
Remember
George was the person who said at a Resident’s Voice
meeting that people should stop complaining or more
specifically: “Jesus Christ, quit your bitching.” George prayed, responded and his prayers were answers.
But answers are not always those expected.
Just
a week or so ago, after another meeting of the Cynthia
prayer group, Sandi Henderson was apparently inspired
to write a letter to the editorial column of the
Globe, the OC Register’s local paper for Laguna
Woods. I
believe the purpose was to castigate and expose those
deviants who opposed the will of the Positive
Solutions crowd, among whom Cynthia plays a prominent
role. Although
some purport that her husband (oh yes, Sandi is George
Henderson’s wife, did I forget to mention that)
actually wrote the letter for her.
Personally I doubt that even George would have
included the mishmash of false statements,
half-truths, irrelevancies, and confidential
information taken out of context that was in Sandi’s
letter. I
truly believe that Sandi was inspired to write the
letter. I am sure that Sandi expected a great outpouring of support
from people whose eyes were opened by the letter.
The letter reminds us all that “A mind is a
terrible thing to waste.”
The letter may have also had an unintended
effect since it inspired one John Locke to write an
essay called the Christmas
Carol. The
point is that we are often told that our God listens
to our prayers and that prayers are answered. It is our own hubris that tells us that the answer is always
what we expect or demand when we pray.
Many religion teachers tell us that our prayers
are answered with what we need, not necessarily what
we asked for or wanted.
Recently Positive Solutions lost several
prominent, outspoken members (Portlock,
Kravitz) but I do not believe that was in response to
the Positive Solutions prayers.
In the Book of Kings the prophet Elijah was
expecting to hear God’s voice as a thundering
experience in a great wind or earthquake or fire, but
instead heard it after the fire “in a still small
voice.” One
wonders if this particular prayer group is mistaking
Cynthia’s shrill opinions for that still small
voice. I
seem to remember a proverb that said it is better to
be silent and thought a fool than to open one’s
mouth and remove all doubt.
Perhaps those attending Cynthia’s prayer
group should look up the meaning of the word hubris.
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