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What warms us and lights up this globe is in fact the Sun.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/5526496188844016357\/comments\/default\/1432272621453644984"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/5526496188844016357\/comments\/default\/1432272621453644984"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/09\/dual-belonging.html?showComment=1506952050791#c1432272621453644984","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"forrest"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13861950371962268402"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"21","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_mgqG6aklvp8\/S15dxgsQbPI\/AAAAAAAAAAM\/NZ2dBtE3_n0\/S220\/me.JPG"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/09\/dual-belonging.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-5526496188844016357","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/5526496188844016357","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-742990470"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"October 2, 2017 at 6:47 AM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-1050239805903174737"},"published":{"$t":"2017-03-11T13:00:28.884-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-03-11T13:00:28.884-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Jesus was never about religion.  He was about rela..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Jesus was never about religion.  He was about relationships.  See the Shack or read the book.  There\u0026#39;s no reason to get too deep on the subject."},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/6754037772273936719\/comments\/default\/1050239805903174737"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/6754037772273936719\/comments\/default\/1050239805903174737"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/03\/to-build-bridge-first-survey-canyon.html?showComment=1489266028884#c1050239805903174737","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"brother Jim"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/15532314668524344544"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/03\/to-build-bridge-first-survey-canyon.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-6754037772273936719","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/6754037772273936719","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-967882072"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"March 11, 2017 at 1:00 PM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-4850526757629476859"},"published":{"$t":"2017-03-05T19:33:20.020-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-03-05T19:33:20.020-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Forrest: That\u0026#39;s lovely if you can do it, but I..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Forrest: That\u0026#39;s lovely if you can do it, but I mistrust the purported universal story or religion. We are creatures of specificity, and we tend to have different specificities one from another. That\u0026#39;s why I like actual historic myths with names and places over Joseph Campbell\u0026#39;s monomyths. And I think often because we demand specificity, when all we are presented with is that universal, we draw it into our own context anyway. Working on an essay now about how we tend to make our mountain the center of the universe. Anyway, thanks for commenting!"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/6754037772273936719\/comments\/default\/4850526757629476859"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/6754037772273936719\/comments\/default\/4850526757629476859"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/03\/to-build-bridge-first-survey-canyon.html?showComment=1488771200020#c4850526757629476859","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"natcase"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18058664776852941599"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/03\/to-build-bridge-first-survey-canyon.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-6754037772273936719","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/6754037772273936719","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-1731408522"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"March 5, 2017 at 7:33 PM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-847419975739185952"},"published":{"$t":"2017-03-05T11:02:34.018-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-03-05T11:02:34.018-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"\u0026quot;You don\u0026#39;t do it through intellectual pro..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u0026quot;You don\u0026#39;t do it through intellectual processes. What you do is you telepathically tap in to the one great world religion,\u003Cbr \/\u003Ewhich is only one,\u003Cbr \/\u003Ewhich has no name,\u003Cbr \/\u003Eand all of the other religions are merely maps of that.\u0026quot;\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E[Stephen Gaskin]\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThat one religion is not \u0026#39;syncretism\u0026#39; and it isn\u0026#39;t any of the other maps. One map may be good for seeing the contours of the landscape, another one better for finding yourself a gas station.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELikely we\u0026#39;ll always have some map in our head. But when I can [occasionally] look from that \u0026quot;How things is\u0026quot; level, that\u0026#39;s where the meaning Jesus\u0026#39; words fit into makes the most sense."},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/6754037772273936719\/comments\/default\/847419975739185952"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/6754037772273936719\/comments\/default\/847419975739185952"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/03\/to-build-bridge-first-survey-canyon.html?showComment=1488740554018#c847419975739185952","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"forrest"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13861950371962268402"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"21","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_mgqG6aklvp8\/S15dxgsQbPI\/AAAAAAAAAAM\/NZ2dBtE3_n0\/S220\/me.JPG"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/03\/to-build-bridge-first-survey-canyon.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-6754037772273936719","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/6754037772273936719","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-742990470"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"March 5, 2017 at 11:02 AM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-5988281513299977899"},"published":{"$t":"2017-03-05T08:28:50.901-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-03-05T08:28:50.901-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Forrest:\nI think the charge against syncretism in ..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Forrest:\u003Cbr \/\u003EI think the charge against syncretism in and of itself is a mistake, but I also think the sense that syncretism is the sole path to goodness has some roots in the most liberal end of religion (including liberal Friends) that is also a problem. The balance you describe is certainly one good approach. I really like Richard Kelly\u0026#39;s essay \u0026quot;Truth as a Moving Target on a Local Train\u0026quot; on the subject: https:\/\/www.friendsjournal.org\/3011121\/.\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe notion that because it works to put God and love of neighbor together in a self-reinforcing loop, means that that is the only such loop that really makes sense is to me a big problem. But it seems to be part and parcel of how we humans do loyalty: once you have established a relationship with a particular person or group or idea, that idea becomes centered in the universe you live in. And that\u0026#39;s just how we are. And that secularists are often scared of this often fierce loyalty and try to argue against it is a problem. But it\u0026#39;s also a problem to be in that it often ends up fighting the \u0026quot;love your neighbor\u0026quot; piece. Not in every case, but that slope also seems pretty common. And I don\u0026#39;t think it\u0026#39;s as simple as \u0026quot;well, then, you\u0026#39;re loving God wrong or incompletely,\u0026quot; although that maybe is a way of putting it."},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/6754037772273936719\/comments\/default\/5988281513299977899"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/6754037772273936719\/comments\/default\/5988281513299977899"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/03\/to-build-bridge-first-survey-canyon.html?showComment=1488731330901#c5988281513299977899","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"natcase"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18058664776852941599"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/03\/to-build-bridge-first-survey-canyon.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-6754037772273936719","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/6754037772273936719","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-1731408522"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"March 5, 2017 at 8:28 AM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-2615124244428409517"},"published":{"$t":"2017-03-05T08:15:58.957-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-03-05T08:15:58.957-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Alphabetty: \n1. You are welcome.\n2. Good luck, and..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Alphabetty: \u003Cbr \/\u003E1. You are welcome.\u003Cbr \/\u003E2. Good luck, and politics is not the only thing needed.\u003Cbr \/\u003E3. I think humans need faces. Even Buddhism ends up telling stories about the Buddha to get us to look at the pretty severe and abstract ideas that make up his teaching. The anti-religious Marxists, in order to make things stick, created cults of charisma. And so on. I don\u0026#39;t think the Lord God we love with all our heart, the singular force, is necessarily anthropomorphic. But that sure does seem to be a gravity well in human history. And I think having a focus and discipline allows a richer tradition in a collected group to emerge. Pastry chefs and people who play the oboe for years and years develop a deep appreciation for the specialty they are working within than people who dabble in all kinds of food and all kinds of instruments. But of course some crossover is also good if you\u0026#39;re going to not be stiff as a board, creatively speaking. So it really is both as full equals.\u003Cbr \/\u003E4. Jesus is pretty impressive as a figure. If you haven\u0026#39;t read Reza Aslan\u0026#39;s book Zealot, I highly recommend it. Very nice, rich portrait from a different enough perspective to shed (to me at least) a lot of interesting light.\u003Cbr \/\u003E5. [blush]"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/6754037772273936719\/comments\/default\/2615124244428409517"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/6754037772273936719\/comments\/default\/2615124244428409517"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/03\/to-build-bridge-first-survey-canyon.html?showComment=1488730558957#c2615124244428409517","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"natcase"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18058664776852941599"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/03\/to-build-bridge-first-survey-canyon.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-6754037772273936719","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/6754037772273936719","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-1731408522"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"March 5, 2017 at 8:15 AM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-797722452170892428"},"published":{"$t":"2017-03-04T21:06:00.441-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-03-04T21:06:00.441-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"It\u0026#39;s been a mistake to turn \u0026quot;syncretism\u0026q..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"It\u0026#39;s been a mistake to turn \u0026quot;syncretism\u0026quot; into a term of abuse; every religion that\u0026#39;s ever been has been a syncretic construct ever since God created a second religion... while before that, I doubt you could find two holy-folks who weren\u0026#39;t talking shop and learning from their disagreements.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELikewise, from a straight atheist position you won\u0026#39;t understand why Jesus put those two \u0026#39;commandments\u0026#39; together and said the second was \u0026#39;like the first.\u0026#39; They aren\u0026#39;t \u0026quot;damned near impossible\u0026quot; to do together; neither is possible without the other. They become possible when you recognize that your neighbor is yourself, and that God is the very life that takes shape as each person.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAs for what \u0026quot;patriotism\u0026quot; might mean, all I can think of is a certain illusion that took me many years to shed, having grown up thinking we were the Good Guys (and wondering why our actions so often fell short of the ideals I\u0026#39;d been told we embodied.) The love of a few ideals we once claimed, plus that old familiar loyalty to \u0026quot;Our Gang\u0026quot;. But it really isn\u0026#39;t \u0026#39;ours\u0026#39;, you know."},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/6754037772273936719\/comments\/default\/797722452170892428"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/6754037772273936719\/comments\/default\/797722452170892428"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/03\/to-build-bridge-first-survey-canyon.html?showComment=1488690360441#c797722452170892428","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"forrest"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13861950371962268402"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"21","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_mgqG6aklvp8\/S15dxgsQbPI\/AAAAAAAAAAM\/NZ2dBtE3_n0\/S220\/me.JPG"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/03\/to-build-bridge-first-survey-canyon.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-6754037772273936719","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/6754037772273936719","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-742990470"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"March 4, 2017 at 9:06 PM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-4876608689722581058"},"published":{"$t":"2017-03-04T02:41:48.989-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-03-04T02:41:48.989-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"1. Thank you. 2. Send apolitical liberals my way s..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"1. Thank you. 2. Send apolitical liberals my way so I can try to convert them into political liberals :-)  3. If we can agree on the golden rule, and live it, isn\u0026#39;t that spiny? Tell me again why we need the first great commandment? I\u0026#39;ll reread your post. 4. Jesus is awesome �� says this atheist 5. I think you are pretty awesome too"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/6754037772273936719\/comments\/default\/4876608689722581058"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/6754037772273936719\/comments\/default\/4876608689722581058"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/03\/to-build-bridge-first-survey-canyon.html?showComment=1488624108989#c4876608689722581058","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Alphabetty"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/00836602564516105175"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2017\/03\/to-build-bridge-first-survey-canyon.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-6754037772273936719","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/6754037772273936719","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-1621429920"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"March 4, 2017 at 2:41 AM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-4416474224087546110"},"published":{"$t":"2016-07-08T20:35:00.430-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-07-08T20:35:00.430-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"My husband, J P Wagner, loved maps.  He collected ..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"My husband, J P Wagner, loved maps.  He collected maps.  He drew crude maps for his fantasy novels.  \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut one of my favourite memories was of a short essay he wrote entitled, \u0026quot;The Cartographers\u0026#39; Conspiracy.\u0026quot;  In brief the essay posited the notion that map-makers were behind the tumult around the world because the changes in the borders of nations would keep them in business."},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/619502184174043597\/comments\/default\/4416474224087546110"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/619502184174043597\/comments\/default\/4416474224087546110"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2014\/10\/commodities-and-experts-part-2.html?showComment=1468035300430#c4416474224087546110","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Lila1"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08421480926773930569"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2014\/10\/commodities-and-experts-part-2.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-619502184174043597","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/619502184174043597","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-351627553"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"July 8, 2016 at 8:35 PM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-8305892294368925236"},"published":{"$t":"2014-12-07T19:56:41.863-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-12-07T19:56:41.863-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"All my education trained me to be rationa and conf..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":" All my education trained me to be rationa and confident.  In fact, I suppose I was also harsh.  In any case, it seemed mightily important to find my voice.  And then, most unexpectedly, that voice dissolved and there didn\u0026#39;t seem to be as much to say.  I find it increasingly difficult to be present in debate.  I used to love to seize others\u0026#39; words and deconstruct them, refashion them, and lob them back.  Not so much now. Now I want to hear where the words come from."},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/509317915988640259\/comments\/default\/8305892294368925236"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/509317915988640259\/comments\/default\/8305892294368925236"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2014\/12\/voices-late-2014.html?showComment=1418011001863#c8305892294368925236","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Hystery"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/02044678910937934731"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"22","height":"32","src":"\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-Yrg4Bx2V0vg\/Ywf89pBX_sI\/AAAAAAAAAps\/mxHN3m8UHQIx3lXKojl2WnSxoFU9KmngQCK4BGAYYCw\/s220\/IMG_4027.jpg"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2014\/12\/voices-late-2014.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-509317915988640259","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/509317915988640259","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-191559601"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"December 7, 2014 at 7:56 PM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-1532468162038694922"},"published":{"$t":"2013-12-03T11:12:39.919-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-12-03T11:12:39.919-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"I like your use of the word \u0026quot;dreamlines\u0026quot;..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"I like your use of the word \u0026quot;dreamlines\u0026quot;  It reminds me of Bruce Chatwin\u0026#39;s travel writings, especially his \u0026quot;Songlines\u0026quot; I worked for Mn State Parks for 40 years as a park manager and people almost never woaked off the marked trails even when told they could walk anywhere in the park.  People need to get \u0026quot;off the grid\u0026quot; in more ways than  one."},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8472206539998753762\/comments\/default\/1532468162038694922"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8472206539998753762\/comments\/default\/1532468162038694922"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/overmapped.html?showComment=1386097959919#c1532468162038694922","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Dan B."},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/blank.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/overmapped.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-8472206539998753762","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/8472206539998753762","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-1995346322"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"December 3, 2013 at 11:12 AM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-6706147258179428657"},"published":{"$t":"2013-11-18T18:31:40.127-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-11-18T18:31:40.127-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"As someone new to Conservative Friends (Ohio Yearl..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"As someone new to Conservative Friends (Ohio Yearly Meeting), I think Marshall\u0026#39;s post from OYM Friends.  Their book of discipline specifically mentions testimonies only in reference to not taking oaths and in being against all war."},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/6706147258179428657"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/6706147258179428657"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html?showComment=1384828300127#c6706147258179428657","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Connie"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/02358608397253057971"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-8921503040122151963","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/8921503040122151963","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-515538190"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"November 18, 2013 at 6:31 PM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-7615612864712340930"},"published":{"$t":"2013-11-04T18:26:40.030-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-11-04T18:26:40.030-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"I too appreciate Marshall\u0026#39;s contrast of \u0026quot;..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"I too appreciate Marshall\u0026#39;s contrast of \u0026quot;our testimony\u0026quot; with \u0026quot;the testimonies.\u0026quot; It is an important distinction that had been mostly lost on me before.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EEric Moon from Berkeley had an article about this in Friends Journal, which was pushed online 5\/31. (But you know that, because you commented there in July!)\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.friendsjournal.org\/categorically-not-the-testimonies\/\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe comment thread on that article reawakened just in the last 4 days..."},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/7615612864712340930"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/7615612864712340930"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html?showComment=1383618400030#c7615612864712340930","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Chris M."},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11651283601238351902"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-pktrTqIvCtg\/U3q5-LIU8PI\/AAAAAAAAAOk\/Tar8wXOLlQY\/s1600\/IMG_5819.JPG"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-8921503040122151963","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/8921503040122151963","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-1648074000"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"November 4, 2013 at 6:26 PM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-4302624587161547504"},"published":{"$t":"2013-11-01T07:28:58.260-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-11-01T07:28:58.260-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Forrest: Yes, but shouldn\u0026#39;t it be Peace, Equal..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Forrest: Yes, but shouldn\u0026#39;t it be Peace, Equality, Truth and Simplicity? My dog thinks so.\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/4302624587161547504"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/4302624587161547504"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html?showComment=1383316138260#c4302624587161547504","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"natcase"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18058664776852941599"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-8921503040122151963","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/8921503040122151963","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-1731408522"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"November 1, 2013 at 7:28 AM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-1676339033558413397"},"published":{"$t":"2013-10-31T12:15:41.519-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-10-31T12:15:41.519-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"\u0026quot;Peace, Equality, Simplicity and Truth\u0026quot; ..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u0026quot;Peace, Equality, Simplicity and Truth\u0026quot; makes a perfectly good and appropriate word, yes?"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/1676339033558413397"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/1676339033558413397"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html?showComment=1383246941519#c1676339033558413397","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"forrest"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13861950371962268402"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"21","height":"32","src":"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_mgqG6aklvp8\/S15dxgsQbPI\/AAAAAAAAAAM\/NZ2dBtE3_n0\/S220\/me.JPG"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-8921503040122151963","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/8921503040122151963","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-742990470"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"October 31, 2013 at 12:15 PM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-3610954736423447816"},"published":{"$t":"2013-10-31T09:09:43.539-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-10-31T09:09:43.539-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"It\u0026#39;s interesting to me to see Community in Bri..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"It\u0026#39;s interesting to me to see Community in Brinton\u0026#39;s list. Friends who were children in First Day School in the 80s and 90s have told me that they were taught 4 testimonies, while children now are taught 6 (SPICES, the second S is Stewardship). \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe list my friends say they were taught does not spell a word all nice and neat: peace, truth, simplicity, and equality, and so \u0026quot;community\u0026quot; is regarded as a \u0026quot;new\u0026quot; one (or \u0026quot;testimony creep\u0026quot; similar to the \u0026quot;feature creep\u0026quot; one sees in designing a product\/program\/plan)."},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/3610954736423447816"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/3610954736423447816"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html?showComment=1383235783539#c3610954736423447816","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mackenzie"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/03695808411116664337"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"32","src":"\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-N9D9Fe4TvzM\/VxHIiSv8D4I\/AAAAAAAABNM\/pFxzAMb9UIgapP9GvdlhEj_mBFtUepdagCK4B\/s220\/maco.jpg"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-8921503040122151963","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/8921503040122151963","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-396855528"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"October 31, 2013 at 9:09 AM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-1018776761402167408"},"published":{"$t":"2013-10-31T09:01:55.984-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-10-31T09:01:55.984-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Thanks Marshall. It should be noted that the origi..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Thanks Marshall. It should be noted that the original link I made (to a 2009 blog post by LAQuaker), points not to Friends for 300 years, but to the earlier guide to Quaker Practice. LAQuaker says of this, \u0026quot;Howard surveyed this jumble of advices and distilled them into four distinct and memorable social testimonies—simplicity, peace, community, equality—and one personal testimony (integrity).\u0026quot; I don\u0026#39;t have the originals of either in front of me, so I can\u0026#39;t tell if LAQuaker is paraphrasing or quoting here, but in any case, he\u0026#39;s pointing to a different book, and he does note that of the later SPICE formulation, Brinton distinguishes four social and one personal.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI like the Punshon quote, and will see if I can get a copy. I think it says something similar to what I am saying, though you\/he and I differ about the specific source of that singular trunk. But the point of plural loyalties is an good one. My further question is whether \u0026quot;hyphenated\u0026quot; loyalties are truly divided, or are pointing towards a common unnameable source. I personally lean strongly towards the latter explanation. To me the divided loyalties this distinction points to are between the \u0026quot;cut timber\u0026quot; of human formulations and the \u0026quot;living wood\u0026quot; of a sense of spiritual engagement and presence.\u003Cbr \/\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/1018776761402167408"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/1018776761402167408"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html?showComment=1383235315984#c1018776761402167408","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"natcase"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18058664776852941599"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-8921503040122151963","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/8921503040122151963","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-1731408522"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"October 31, 2013 at 9:01 AM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-5572756730582633525"},"published":{"$t":"2013-10-31T08:43:22.313-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-10-31T08:43:22.313-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"I suppose you are already aware that Brinton’s lis..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"I suppose you are already aware that Brinton’s list of testimonies was \u003Ci\u003Enot\u003C\/i\u003E “Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community and Equality (SPICE”) but Community, Equality, Simplicity and Harmony (viz., \u003Ci\u003EFriends for 300 years\u003C\/i\u003E, 1952).  The SPICE formulation arose some time in the 1990s.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIf this is indeed a subject that interests you, let me recommend John Punshon’s booklet \u003Ci\u003ETestimony and Tradition\u003C\/i\u003E (UK, 1990).  Speaking of London Yearly Meeting, he writes,\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E“The written form of the Discipline throughout the eighteenth century was called the Book of Extracts.  This was a collection of short passages (extracts) from the epistles and minutes of Yearly Meetings which contained directions relative to Friends’ conduct and the life of the church. ... Arranged quite arbitrarily according to the alphabet, it runs from Affirmations and Appeals ... to Wills, Women’s Meetings and Youth.... It often does not answer the questions a different age wishes to put to it, and there is certainly no one set of entries under the heading ‘Testimonies’. ...\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E“There are fewer references to particular testimonies than in our present book.  The ones mentioned are against bearing arms (which we still have), observing days (that is, festivals like Christmas, or thinking of Sunday as a sabbath), mixed marriages (that is, against union with non-Quakers) and defrauding the revenue (which we still have).  Plainly there is much advice about other matters, but the word ‘testimony’ is not used in those connexions. ...\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E“We can see from the book that the word ‘testimony’ in our sense is a shortening of a longer form of words arranged round the notion of branches of one central testimony.  Thus we get phrases like ‘any branch’ or ‘the several branches’ or ‘in all its branches’.  The trunk from which the branches come is single and entire, it is ‘Our Christian Testimony’, or in other words, the Christian faith in its Quaker understanding.  Other words are also used in these combinations, notably ‘truth’, as in ‘our Testimony to the great truths of the Christian religion’, or a fulmination against practices which ‘lay waste the testimony of truth and cause the offence of the cross to cease.’\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E“Thus, there are matters that could be called theological or doctrinal, as well as ethical, which can be the subject of testimony, like not ordaining ministers, or baptizing in water, or holding that good works are necessary to justification.  They may not preoccupy this Yearly Meeting at this time, but elsewhere in the Quaker world the preservation of the ‘Distinctives’ is of considerable importance.  The concept of testimony is less than comprehensive unless due weight is give to them.”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI think this passage, though lengthy, is pertinent at several levels.  One which I would like to point out here is the shift from the “our Christian testimony” [singular] of the classical age to the “Quaker testimonies” [plural] of the present.  This shift is comparable to a shift from monotheism to polytheism:  it sets up plural loyalties that can sometimes come into conflict.  The original Friends commitment was not to interpret and balance and reconcile the demands of multiple testimonies, but to keep the eye single and focused on Christ, and walk accordingly."},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/5572756730582633525"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/5572756730582633525"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html?showComment=1383234202313#c5572756730582633525","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marshall Massey (Iowa YM [C])"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/journal.earthwitness.org\/"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/blank.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-8921503040122151963","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/8921503040122151963","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-1995346322"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"October 31, 2013 at 8:43 AM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-7639794567336692875"},"published":{"$t":"2013-10-31T07:51:34.545-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-10-31T07:51:34.545-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Adding to your allegory is that people often outgr..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Adding to your allegory is that people often outgrow their house and have to add to it.  What if Quakers can\u0026#39;t grow because they have decided their house is too small to have any more children?  What if what is required is a \u0026quot;new\u0026quot;, at least to Quakers, testimony requiring the cutting down of more trees for another wing?  What if it\u0026#39;s time to serve our neighbor by restoring him?  Where does the \u0026quot;R\u0026quot; go?"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/7639794567336692875"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/8921503040122151963\/comments\/default\/7639794567336692875"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html?showComment=1383231094545#c7639794567336692875","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"broschultz"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/07390392524612907532"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"32","height":"23","src":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_QSHiepSzEtA\/SPTu37Vrq3I\/AAAAAAAAAAM\/cJamXE4I45w\/S220\/g4jguitar002.jpg"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/wooden-testimonies.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-8921503040122151963","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/8921503040122151963","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-303831562"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"October 31, 2013 at 7:51 AM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-2701026816687609926"},"published":{"$t":"2013-10-24T20:03:46.612-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-10-24T20:03:46.612-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"She does. But it\u0026#39;s interesting to me that it\u0026#..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"She does. But it\u0026#39;s interesting to me that it\u0026#39;s not just farm country, but farms specifically. The rural towns are all noticeably less tilted to Bachman than neighboring rural townships. I think there\u0026#39;s something impatient of nuance in farming: farmers don\u0026#39;t have time for subtlety and debate; they have stuff to do that will die if they put it off. This from a very small sample of farmer friends. It\u0026#39;s so much bloody work, and so much of it is less about getting along with diverse people, and more about dealing with crap right here. That\u0026#39;s my theory for this evening anyway."},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/4378103953803013026\/comments\/default\/2701026816687609926"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/4378103953803013026\/comments\/default\/2701026816687609926"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/where-is-crazy.html?showComment=1382670226612#c2701026816687609926","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"natcase"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18058664776852941599"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/where-is-crazy.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-4378103953803013026","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/4378103953803013026","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-1731408522"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"October 24, 2013 at 8:03 PM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-8165876797606313762"},"published":{"$t":"2013-10-24T07:26:28.630-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-10-24T07:26:28.630-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"“...Why does farm country breed the kind of attitu..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"“...Why does farm country breed the kind of attitude that permits Bachmanns?”\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWell, as a start:  Farm country is the home to a more ordered, traditionalist, predictable society and culture than one finds in cities, and farmers want that defended.  Which includes not only a defense of mores and of cultural tics, but also a defense from meddling by outsiders with alien values.  Bachmann plays on all of that, does she not?"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/4378103953803013026\/comments\/default\/8165876797606313762"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/4378103953803013026\/comments\/default\/8165876797606313762"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/where-is-crazy.html?showComment=1382624788630#c8165876797606313762","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Marshall Massey"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/journal.earthwitness.org"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/blank.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/10\/where-is-crazy.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-4378103953803013026","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/4378103953803013026","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-1995346322"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"October 24, 2013 at 7:26 AM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-4895025218399554876"},"published":{"$t":"2013-09-10T13:34:08.397-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-09-10T13:34:08.397-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Nat – \n\nThank you for writing your essay. It reson..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Nat – \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThank you for writing your essay. It resonates deeply with me because like you, I have been a voracious reader since childhood and like you, I feel powerfully the pull of the intangible yet indispensable nourishment of the spiritual imagination. It’s difficult for me to pin down this pull to any one specific book, or even an author (maybe E. Nesbit? C.S. Lewis? H. Rider Haggard? Jules Verne?)—but even though I’ve never read The Summer Birds I understand very well the pang you felt when finishing it. Right now, that same delight spilling over from childhood is a large part of what motivates me in my studies as an undergraduate Literature major.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EBut I wonder if perhaps the distinction between fact and imagination isn’t as firm as you think it is. Like you said, we need more than physicality to be whole—something beyond mere matter must tell us who we are. But what if we could find spiritual fulfillment that’s true not only internally but also externally? Not only in imagination but also in reality? Not only in the drawing on the page but also in the glorious landscape outside the window?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI ask because unlike you, I am a Christian, and I believe that the currents of internal and external fulfillment, imagination and reality, both spring from the same fountain: Jesus Christ. Jesus unites the external reality—the God who formed, sustains, judges, and redeems the universe (and, I might add, makes it beautiful without deceit)—with the internal reality: God has become man, with hands and feet and a face for talking to. I like the way that C.S. Lewis described this: he called it the “myth become fact.” And actually, his memoir, Surprised by Joy, is all about how he, as an atheist, pursued the internal fulfillment of myth (he calls this fulfillment “joy”) until he found it culminating in external fact. I highly recommend his book—even if you disagree with him, you would probably find it interesting as a record of one man’s wrestling with the same insatiable desire that it sounds like all three of us share.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EAgain, thanks for your insightful and poignant article. And sorry about the uber-long comment.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E—Harrison"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/4681262063785465985\/comments\/default\/4895025218399554876"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/4681262063785465985\/comments\/default\/4895025218399554876"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/08\/a-new-essay-in-aeon-magazine-on-being.html?showComment=1378845248397#c4895025218399554876","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/08519269192194097924"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/08\/a-new-essay-in-aeon-magazine-on-being.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-4681262063785465985","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/4681262063785465985","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-535880549"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"September 10, 2013 at 1:34 PM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-4660781918290249487"},"published":{"$t":"2013-09-02T16:13:12.051-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-09-02T16:13:12.051-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Thank you all, I\u0026#39;m glad it resonated with you...."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Thank you all, I\u0026#39;m glad it resonated with you. It was a bear to write.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorge: Tim Minchin is wonderful.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EJonathan: I read your 2005 sermon and very much enjoyed it too. Neil Gaiman is I think a really important undercover religious figure in our times. I like the cut of your spiritual jib.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003Ebon tres ami: I am glad this helps untangle threads. That kind of clarity is my favorite result from spirit-led work. Love it when that happens."},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/4681262063785465985\/comments\/default\/4660781918290249487"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/4681262063785465985\/comments\/default\/4660781918290249487"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/08\/a-new-essay-in-aeon-magazine-on-being.html?showComment=1378163592051#c4660781918290249487","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"natcase"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/18058664776852941599"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/08\/a-new-essay-in-aeon-magazine-on-being.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-4681262063785465985","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/4681262063785465985","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-1731408522"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"September 2, 2013 at 4:13 PM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-3980618549355058536"},"published":{"$t":"2013-09-02T12:14:33.907-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-09-02T12:14:33.907-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Nat , thankyou . Your piece resonated hugely with ..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Nat , thankyou . Your piece resonated hugely with me too  . I completely am in tune with the storytelling and power of the Imagination Muse... I walk with my feet on the ground and my head in stories looking to make sense of them in all I meet and see.\u003Cbr \/\u003EI am waxing and waning about not belonging , that I want to but dont want to , that I want to be part of a community .... I have in the past ... Social action where I was in touch with Philadelphian group and non violent training, . Rudolf Steiner and Waldorf schools ( I began a Kindergareten in the 80.s) brushed closely with Quakers ... My son went to Sibford School in the UK..... I still wish to be part of these wonderful communities with their liberal spirituality but cant seem to commit .... I find solace and questions and answers , wonderment daily but dont have any sense of wanting to commit to any one group gathering... Very push me pull me ... HOWEVER your relationship with GOD\/god  touches me ...I dont want to be a phoney  and belong amongst those good people as mentioned because I dont believe in G-o-D and atheist sounds so harsh.... So circling back I get more joy out of Greek Myths and Legends  and Paganism .... OH dear I might seem like a messy minded 65 year old .... I just have to say your piece got me happliy untangling my  threads .\u003Cbr \/\u003EAnd  drat I cant seem to be able to move my page back to read what Ive written ... Thats an ipad for you .. \u003Cbr \/\u003EiIsabel"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/4681262063785465985\/comments\/default\/3980618549355058536"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/4681262063785465985\/comments\/default\/3980618549355058536"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/08\/a-new-essay-in-aeon-magazine-on-being.html?showComment=1378149273907#c3980618549355058536","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"bon tres bon"},"uri":{"$t":"https:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/11355379395094551016"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/08\/a-new-essay-in-aeon-magazine-on-being.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-4681262063785465985","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/4681262063785465985","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-285554162"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"September 2, 2013 at 12:14 PM"}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-2877169305470189391"},"published":{"$t":"2013-09-01T11:50:10.828-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-09-01T11:50:10.828-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Hi Nat.  That was an excellent essay!  You clearly..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Hi Nat.  That was an excellent essay!  You clearly expressed sentiments that are very difficult to put into words at all.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI\u0026#39;ve come to a much similar place in my own life, except from the theist direction.  I mean, I can see the atheist perspective and I often think God\u0026#39;s an atheist (I mean, it\u0026#39;s not like God\u0026#39;s got anyone up the ladder to pray to) but the \u0026quot;living presence\u0026quot; you write about was always just a matter of undeniable observation to me, made manifest by the works of believers.  Maybe God\u0026#39;s just a personality we\u0026#39;ve collectively invented, a complex and often conflicting package of our aspirations and ideals, but that\u0026#39;s still a mighty powerful thing, in and of itself, actually existing in reality.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EYou put it so well, I hesitate to add anything else.  I just wanted to say thank you.  I might be theist and you might be atheist, but what you wrote resonated with the heart of my experience of religion, and I\u0026#39;m glad you put it out there.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E--Jonathan"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/4681262063785465985\/comments\/default\/2877169305470189391"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/4844458687369955274\/4681262063785465985\/comments\/default\/2877169305470189391"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/08\/a-new-essay-in-aeon-magazine-on-being.html?showComment=1378061410828#c2877169305470189391","title":""}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jonathan"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/revjack.com\/jack\/jesus.html"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/blank.gif"}}],"thr$in-reply-to":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","href":"http:\/\/maphead.blogspot.com\/2013\/08\/a-new-essay-in-aeon-magazine-on-being.html","ref":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4844458687369955274.post-4681262063785465985","source":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4844458687369955274/posts/default/4681262063785465985","type":"text/html"},"gd$extendedProperty":[{"name":"blogger.itemClass","value":"pid-1995346322"},{"name":"blogger.displayTime","value":"September 1, 2013 at 11:50 AM"}]}]}});