creator/destroyer

Gimme that old time religion
That old time religion
Gimme that old time religion; it's good enough for me

It was good for my grandma
It was good for my grandpa
It was good for my mom and it's good enough for me

The Hindu god Shiva is known as the creator/destroyer. He is the Hindu version of the Egyptian Pheonix. He destroys and creates from that which is destroyed. Christianity has the story of Noah and the arc... how God destroyed the world with a flood and then brought species back from extinction from two of every unclean and 7 of every clean animal stored in Noah's arc... I believe Cathy Lee Gifford was headlining that particular cruise with a show of Broadway favorites which may have acutally BROUGHT ABOUT the apocalypse. I could be mistaken.

Shiva smears the ashes of his destruction over his body and from his phallus springs the seed of a new creation. Noah's arc, beached on the side of Mt. Ararat opens the doors to a world to start over. The Phoenix rises from the ashes to fly the skies and bring healing to the earth.

I'm tired of destruction. I'm weary of our soldiers being killed; I'm over hearing every day how hundreds of people are killed in a market somewhere in western Asia. Though some people would lay this problem at the feat of our President, I do not. I don't believe he initiated destruction. Only that he created a crucible for the forces behind the conflict to engage. I lay this conflict at the feet of a confrontation that has continued throughout history. The conflict between that which is new and that which is old.

As I write, secular forces of the Lebonese security force battle with Al Queda/Hezbollah forces for the soul of Lebanon. Christian fascists, yes I said it, fascists in this country believe that they and only they are the arbiters of the Christian religion and will this week picket the Funeral of another of their faith because he wasn't "Christian Enough."

When will this blood war in Iraq be over? How many people have to die in Lebanon before they can conduct their goverment without interference from fascist militant Muslims? When will the destruction of what currently constitutes the Christian church be complete so that the rest of us can go back to focusing on worshiping God? I hear the song "That Old Time Religion" and I wonder how many people are slaves to their religion and miss out on a relationship with God...??? I wonder how many more horrible movies will Lindsay Lohan be in before she's banished to Celebrity Fit Club 12?

When I look around me, It's difficult to believe that a Phoenix will rise from this destruction. It's hard to believe that the God who destroys will create again, be he christian, muslim or hindu. It's easier to believe, with Tony Kushner, that God has somehow left us to deal with an imperfect creation on our own and that everything is somehow "cycling down" into oblivion.

But I do believe in a God who is actively creating the future of this universe. I believe in beauty and new creation in this world. It is an act of faith, but I do believe.