The Camerado Chronicles -- Part One -- Chapter VIII

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16 June
heading for Oklahoma

The problem with dualistic thought, or one of many I should say, is that it tends to make us think that our “side” has to defeat
another “side” in order to have a sense of superiority. This can mean military power, reflected in territorial gain, or athletic prowess,
reflected in points on a scoreboard. In the sphere of religion, it can get pretty strange, because the “prize” that is competed for, the
sense of superiority, is that most intangible of things: God’s Truth, reflected in a perception of God's blessings.

In the military sphere, victory means annihilation of the other side; formerly this

meant the

other side’s political structure –

the Allies won World War II and

divided Germany into

separate political units, the U.S. won the Cold War when the

Soviet

Union collapsed and

the original nation-states re-emerged— but chemical,

biological and nuclear weapons have

added a

grotesque literal sense to annihilating

the other side. (Albert Einstein once made an

ominous prophecy that made its

way to a

bumper sticker: “I do not know with what

weapons World War III will

be fought, but World War IV will be fought with

sticks and

stones.")

Sports gives us a venue where competition can be dramatic and fierce, but when

the game

is over the players shake hands,

take off the uniforms and go have some

beers together. I

think that’s one of the reasons why I love sports and still follow

them closely, despite the

ridiculousness of the hype and disproportionate salaries

etc.

When the game is over, you

can see

that all the players and coaches involved

are really on one side, and the role of that

side is to entertain people

–like actors in

play, who can be mortal enemies on stage and

best friends when the curtain

falls. In other words,

the competition on the

field or in

the arena is drama

for drama’s sake, and the underlying reality is unity

, and that

makes sports a

refreshing change from most of what else fills the daily newspaper.

So what about religion? What about the “competing” faiths on the world stage? What about the “competing” denominations within
each faith? (I haven’t mentioned this yet, but remember that Christianity is hardly the only religion with denominational strife. There
are Sunni and Shi'a Muslims, just to mention the two most prominent; there are Mahayana and Theraveda Buddhists; and the list
goes on.) Are they supposed to annihilate each other, literally? Expose each other as fallacies and frauds (thereby undoing their
opponent’s “political structure” and power)? Or…could it be that the whole sphere of religion is a complex game, and all the players
and coaches involved are really on one side, and the role of that side is to introduce the audience to the invisible God –to the
non-dual realities of eternity, infinity and omnipresence that form the basis of all sides’concept of God? Could it be that the
diversity of religions is drama for drama’s sake, and the underlying reality is unity?

I know that to say such a thing within the scope of any one religion is to commit a heresy, and I’ve become very comfortable with
that. The same is true on the athletic field: to let the other team win, or to consort with your opponents in a way that alienates you
from the unity of your own team, is the greatest heresy within that realm of competition, and the most entertaining, most successful
players in each sport are usually the fiercest competitors. But a player who extends that level of competition into his off-field life –
who doesn’t know how to shake hands, take off the uniform and have a beer or two with the opponents—will likely find his life is a
wreck. He won’t know when to relax and stop trying to prove himself superior; consequently, he won’t likely have many friends,
even on his own team, and love will always be a struggle.

What does this mean in the sphere of religion, where the field of play is supposed to be one’s entire life and beyond? I don’t know
really, that’s a tough call, other than to say that we all need to take everything less seriously, especially our own lives. One other
thing it tells me is that every religion, for its own health as much as everyone else’s, needs a few good heretics. An unchallenged
religion becomes bureaucratic, dogmatic and oppressive, and the spiritual lives of its followers take on those qualities as well. A
heretic stirs the pot. If they perform their roles well, the loyal heretics will lead some people “astray” (that is, help them find an
“open road” to God where they were feeling stuck in an oppressive room), and they will galvanize others into a stronger orthodoxy.
BUT, and this is crucial, they will provoke good, deep, soul-searching thought in all directions –and I believe that there is not a
single religious system in the world that can fail to lead a devout, soul-searching follower right to God’s doorstep, either directly or
through channels. So the liberated and the orthodox are both better off for the heretic’s work.

The Buddha was a heretic to the decadent Vedic (Hindu) system of the 6th century BC, and it was the “de-formation” he brought
about that led to the renaissance of the ancient mystical element of the Vedas, the Vedanta (“end of the Vedas”) and the recording and
compilation of its oral narratives into the Upanishads.

Lao-Tzu was somewhat of a heretic to the stagnant Confucian philosophy of China –which confined its emphasis to ethics and
external behavior—and his Tao Te Ching ignited a spiritual blossoming in the lives of all Chinese.

Yahshua ben Yosef, the man many would later call Jesus Christ, was the ultimate heretic to a Jewish religious system that hadn’t had
a noteworthy prophet in over 400 years, and founded a whole new faith that, say what you will about all its errors –many of which
are grave—has also been a dynamic force for the betterment of people’s lives. (And doesn’t it seem possible that the galvanizing
effect of Judaism’s rejection of Jesus as the Messiah has been a key factor of its amazing cohesiveness through the worldwide
diaspora of its people?)

Even the Muslim religion has the Sufis, the mystical dervish clan who worship Allah without
the aid of the Qu'ran. It’s unlikely they’ve had much effect on orthodox Islam, but guys like
Rumi and Hafez have certainly taken the rest of us on quite a trip.

And don’t forget Gandhi. Refusing to be pigeonholed in any one faith, he took lessons from
the gospel of Jesus Christ and gave a new, dignified status to the people left out of the Hindu
caste system, forever changing the way Indians look at the “untouchables” in their midst.

Like Islam, Christianity has a rather poor track record historically when it comes to handling
its heretics. Of course there was Martin Luther (by most accounts a detestable man, but he
did his job well), whose heresy against the Roman Catholic Church spawned the entire
Protestant movement. Since then, each heresy seems to bring about another mini-Refor-
mation and a new denomination is born. Both Catholics and Protestants have a mystical (and
therefore heretical) wing in their collective church building, but it is small and visited
infrequently. I dare say that, aside from the Second Vatican Council’s broad modernization
of the Catholic mass in 1962, nothing revolutionary has happened at all under the Christian
fold in the last few generations. It is all just one form of Biblianism or another, old thoughts
about an old book.

So, as I begin to offer reconciliation, I realize now that I must do it in the spirit of a loyal heretic. I pledge to use all that God gives
me to be a thorn in the side of the Western Orthodox Church –and to never forget that this Church and I are on one side, hard as that
may be to see sometimes. I am actually very well built for the role; as a youngster, growing up in the heart of Boston Red Sox
country, I was a (gulp) Yankees fan. Maybe you
will have to have spent some time in New England to know just how much
of an apostasy that is to Red Sox Nation. I have since grown older and
wiser, and by the grace of God I am wearing a Red Sox T-shirt today, but
I had to move away to come to this place of Truth. I was a Yankees fan
because even at a young age I couldn’t stand being one of the masses. I was
a black sheep long before I knew why and what that meant, and all through
my life I have felt most comfortable on the periphery of things, whether it
be cliques in high school or the workplace, the mosh pit at a concert,
prevailing trends and philosophies, my relationships (some might say,
not incorrectly)…so why not religion too?

Mind you I said religions need good heretics, and by that I mean loyal
–faithful to the cause, not taking a scattershot approach and opposing
everything like a punk rock lyricist—and informed, meaning “coherent,
sound, and principled” (to use the words I used before, saying what neither my pastor nor I had ever heard, within the Christian fold,
in opposition to Biblianity.) I also think a person has to really care about the people he or she hopes to reach. Whatever “movement”
comes out of the heretic’s work, it is all about the people, about God within them, not just between him and an “infinite” God that isn’
t in our world too.

Like I said, I have no interest in “reforming” anything. Biblian churches are here to stay, and they’re here because they have an
important function: to minister to those who have yet to find even a toehold on the understanding of their eternal nature.

Back in Ashland, I was considering becoming a part of a Calvary Chapel ministry to the Pelican Bay State Prison in not-too-faraway
Crescent City, California. The most violent, incorrigible criminals in the California prison system are sent to Pelican Bay, and a few
accounts I have heard of the place make it sound literally like a living hell. Naturally any good evangelical organization –and Calvary
seems to be one of the best—would see the vast potential for an outreach ministry, mostly corresponding by mail I imagine. I had a
chance meeting at ACF with a guy named Gary from Calvary Chapel of the Redwoods, near the prison in Smith River, and that
conversation is what gave me the idea to get involved. I still have the church’s business card in my wallet in fact.

My point in bringing this up: would I espouse all my heretical ideas to a prisoner at Pelican Bay –someone who is in the program
because he has expressed interest in Biblical Christianity, someone who might never have been given genuine love in his life? Of
course not. I wouldn’t be dishonest to myself with him either, but I’d shower the guy with all the “Jesus loves you” messages I
could find in the Bible; I’d encourage him to read every day and discuss what he’s read; I’d tell him eternal life is his through the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the best way to thank Him is to give your life to Him and live by His principles –the whole party line.

Does that mean there are different Truths for different people? Not really. I think the Truth is less like a destination and more like a
freeway, with many entrance ramps. And there’s no sense giving someone directions to get on at exit 10 when he’s sitting a block
away from the ramp at exit 1.

Well that’s about enough for one day. I’ve got an appointment with the Tulsa Drillers. They’re the Double A team of the Colorado
Rockies, and word is they have two major leaguers, Larry Walker and Preston Wilson, down on injury rehab assignment. Can’t pass
that up. HC—Tulsa, Okla.

a Fish Out Of Water production

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