Volkswalking in Jenks

This picture was taken on MainStreet in Jenks this evening. Next to me is my five-year old granddaughter, Ayla (who has a fascination with flashlights).

Some thoughts on the destruction of Jericho

I had heard the story of the “walls come tumbling down” many times in Sunday School or Vacation Bible School. Like in so many other stories in the Bible which I heard growing up, I identified with Joshua. I could see myself as Joshua or one of his army. It was not until later that I was able to identify with the people of Jericho.

We talk about this incident as if it were an actual occurrence. It may or may not have happened as the Bible tells the story. Jacob Bronowski in his book The Ascent of Man writes, “But did the walls come tumbling down? We do not know. There is no archaeological evidence on this site that suggest that a set of walls one fine day really fell flat. But many sets of walls did fall, at different times. There is a Bronze Age period here where a set of walls was rebuilt at least sixteen times. Because this is earthquake country.”

What is important is not whether the walls fell down when Joshua sounded his horn. What is important about this story is the injustice dealt to the people of Jericho. Does the Old Testament character by the name of God actually think he did the right thing by having the army of Joshua pillage and lay ruin the city of Jericho? What did the citizens of Jericho do to deserve being slaughtered? Yes, even the infants were killed. Is that right? What about the commandment that says “Thou shall not kill?” Does might make right? What would you do if you were convinced that God wanted you to harm another person?

This is just one incident where God dispossesses people from their land. The Old Testament is filled with similar injustices. The Israelis were convinced that they were the “chosen people of God.” The very idea that a God would choose one people over another gives the lie to the idea of God being a “just” God. Would a just God play favorites? Would there be winners and losers? Think of how much death God is responsible for in the Old Testament.

Whenever I hear the story of Noah and the Ark, I no longer imagine myself being inside the Ark but outside with the 99% plus who perish. My empathy is with those who perish for being essentially in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Recent happenings

I had a visit to my doctor last Tuesday. I have had a rash under both arms for three months, at least. The doctor said I have contact dermatitis. (Jan said he was wrong. She thinks the rash is caused by a virus.) He suspected it might have been caused by the underarm deodorant I have been using. He suggested I stop using deodorant for one week and see what happens. So as of last Tuesday, I have forgone using deodorant. A nurse also give me an injection in my left hip.

That evening I went to Joe’s for drumming. Lou was not feeling well and did not participate. Also not feeling well was Marva, who was also absent. Eric did not show up. So the group consisted of Joe, Joel, and myself.

Next day, I went to the credit union and withdrew enough money to cover our property taxes for the year. I then drove to the bank and deposited the check in our checking account. On the way back home, I stopped at Papa Pat’s truck parked on the parking lot of the old Wal-Mart. Papa Pat sells smoked meats out of his custom built truck (looks like an RV). I took the sandwich home and ate it.

In the afternoon, I drove to nearby Sapulpa and went to the Dollar Tree store there. My cousin Vicki, who lives in Houston, started a Christmas tradition a few years back. We each go to a dollar store and buy ten items for each other as Christmas gifts and put them in a stocking. We have been doing this for ten years now.

The next day, Wednesday, I walked a couple of miles at TCC and came home and got ready for Gail who came over around 3:30 to practice once again. (We had previously practiced on Monday.) We have a performance at Restoration this coming Sunday. We will be playing “Sedona Sun” and “Majestic Grand Canyon.” Both pieces were written by Melody Bober.

Gail and I have talked about playing for the residents at Greentree Assisted Living Center, which is located about a mile from my house. I phoned the Center today and spoke with a lady whose title was something like “Life Enrichment Specialist” (not the exact title, but close) and told her that Gail and I would be interested in playing duets for the residents there. I told her I would come in tomorrow and look the place over.

I walked three miles at the Fitness Center this afternoon while listening to a CD of music by Tchaikovsky, Borodin, and Rimsky-Korsakov.

December calendar

December 2008
Activities of Interest to Freethinkers

Sat., Dec. 6, 7:00pm
Movie Night at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th St.
Movie selection: TBA

Wed., Dec. 17, 7:00 pm
Atheists Meetup Mid-Month Social Gathering. Venue: Rib Crib, 5025 S. Sheridan Rd.

Sun., Dec. 21, 6:00pm
HumanLight Celebration at home of Randy and Dawn Bradley, 6705 E. 54th St.

Sat., Dec. 27, 11:30am
Food & Fellowship at Te-Kei’s Asian Restaurant, 1616 S. Utica.

Sun., Dec. 28, 1:00pm
Atheists Meetup at Agora Coffee House, Fontana Center.


Questions? Call Randy at 622-6975 or Dan at 798-3629.

Secular Singers, Humanist Study Group, and Liberal Action Network will not meet in December.
The HumanLight Celebration takes the place of the monthly third Sunday meeting.

Book quote

I am presently reading a book by Bart Ehrman titled God’s Problem. From the book jacket we read, “For renowned Bible scholar Bart Ehrman, the question of why there is so much suffering in the world is more than a haunting thought. Ehrman’s inability to reconcile the claims of faith with the facts of real life led the former pastor of the Princeton Baptist Church to reject Christianity. In God’s Problem, Ehrman discusses his personal anguish upon discovering the Bible’s contradictory explanations for suffering and invites all people of faith—or no faith—to confront their deepest questions about how God engages the world and each of us.” The following quote is about the destruction of Jericho.

How are the Israelites to conquer such a well-fortified city? Simply by following God’s instructions. Joshua is ordered to have the warriors of Israel march around the city’s walls once a day for six days. On the seventh day they are to march around seven times, and then have the trumpets blown, and “the walls’ll come a’-tumblin’ down.” They do so and it works. The walls fall, the warriors enter the city—and they murder every man, woman, child, and animal in the city (with the exception of the prostitute Rahab and her family). A complete and resounding victory (Josh. 6).

Anyone interested in the problem of suffering might wonder, of course, about the inhabitants of Jericho. For the God of Israel, these were foreigners who worshiped foreign gods, and so were fit for nothing but destruction. But one might want to think about all the innocents who were murdered. Is this really what God is like, one who orders the slaughter of those who are outside his people? It is not as if the people of Jericho were given the chance to think things over or turn to him. They were all slaughtered, even the infants, in a divinely appointed bloodbath.

On churches

At church today, Church of the Restoration UU, to be more precise, there were not many people at the Sunday morning service. The Music CareRing did not meet this morning. Not counting the visitors from the speaker’s church, I would guess we had no more than ten in attendance. The church is going through hard times and may not survive. Should it fold, I will be without a church to attend.

Today was a day without the minister. In the pulpit was Rev. Ron Robinson. His message was titled “Advent, A Third Place, LivingRoomChurch.” (No spaces between those last three words.) Ron is a community organizer in North Tulsa. Everyone who works for the church has outside incomes to support themselves. His church is located in the worst part of Tulsa. It’s in the skid row part of town. His church is part of the Christian faction within UUs.

I had no other meetings today. Jan brought Luke and Alya home from the Methodist Church, and they spent the afternoon with us.

The Secular Singers

This picture was taken at Gail's house this afternoon. There were seven of us getting ready for our annual HumanLight celebration which will take place at Randy's later this month. Shown in this photo are (L to R): Dan, Randy, Steven, Gail, Marilyn, Bea, and Ray.

Black Friday and Good Friday

We made a trip to Springfield, Mo. on Tuesday to visit my parents and my sister, Paula. We noticed that additional apartments were being built at The Abbey. When the apartment complex is finished it will be in the shape (more or less) of a circle. I did not take my GPS receiver or any geocaching sheets since we just stayed overnight and returned home the next day. Traffic was not bad traveling to Springfield, but it was heavier coming home.

While in Springfield we ate first at the Golden Corral, and for lunch we ate at Red Lobster. A breakfast was provided at the Arbor Suites where we stayed.

Today was Black Friday – the day when merchants sell enough to go “into the black” on their ledgers. It is supposed to be the biggest shopping day of the year. This is not to be confused with Good Friday, the Christian holiday. It strikes me that the two names should be reversed. Black Friday should be the day when Jesus was crucified, and Good Friday should be the day when merchants reap large sales.

I usually stay in on Black Friday, but today I wanted to order some “business” cards for TAM. We made a trip to Office Depot where I ordered a thousand cards. On the way home we stopped at McDonald’s, and I used another of my Free Big Mac cards. Then we went to Books-A-Million in the same shopping center. The bookstore just recently opened at the new Tulsa Hills shopping area. We spent well over an hour looking at the books there. Jan bought a few books for the grandchildren.

God's Problem

It has been about a week since I have last posted anything on this blog. Sometimes I get so busy with activities that I neglect to keep this record of my activities updated.

We had a Food & Fellowship last Saturday at a place that used to be a Rib Crib. On the way to the Rib Crib, Jan received a call from Marilyn who was already at the location. She said it was no longer a Rib Crib, but was now some kind of diner. Eight of us found the location. One member drove around looking for the Rib Crib and not finding it went back home. Anyway, eight of us found the diner and went inside to have a meal together.

Sunday morning I went to church. There was once again a small crowd, maybe 15 at the most. During the candle lighting part of the service, one member got up and lit a candle for each of the missing members. The split in the church weighs heavily on the hearts of the remaining members. The split occurred during the time I was away recuperating from my hospitalization. The special music on this day was provided by Gayle Williamson. The Music CareRing did not meet.

Today Gail came over and we played some duets. We have two gigs coming up. First, we have the HAT Movie Night at which we will play “I Saw Three Ships” and “Silent Night.” In a couple of weeks, we will be the special music at Church of the Restoration. There we will play two pieces for piano duet by Melody Bober: “Sedona Sun” and “Majestic Grand Canyon.”

This evening we attended the community Thanksgiving service which was held at Broadway Baptist Church in Sand Springs.

I have been reading a book which came out earlier this year by Bart Ehrman. The title is God’s Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question – Why We Suffer. I don’t understand how any thinking person with empathy could read just the first chapter of this book and continue to call himself or herself a Christian. If anyone reading this is a Christian, please read the first chapter of Ehrman’s book and let me know how you respond.

Action

I wrote a letter to Nancy Pelosi last night at the Liberal Action Network meetup. I urged her to investigate the corruption of the Bush years in the White House. I would have hoped others would have joined me in this cause, but unfortunately, no one else showed up. I sat at a table in the east part of the library, and putting pen to paper, wrote my letter.

I arrived about a quarter to seven and departed about a quarter after eight. After I finished writing my letter, I browsed the stacks. I checked out eight books (mostly music books), so I did not come home empty-handed.

While there I talked to a librarian who used to work at Pratt Library – Becky. I had not seen her in quite a while. We chatted a while, and I got caught up on her family happenings.

A cold walk

Last Friday, Jan and I ate at Cracker Barrel. I had won a drawing sponsored by the walking club and the prize was a $25 gift card to Cracker Barrel. We had a nice meal, and with the remaining money I got some chocolate covered peanuts.

The next morning, we did the November volkswalk at Turkey Mountain. It was COLD. The temperature was in the upper thirties. To make things worse, the wind was blowing about 20 MPH, with occasional gusts of 30 MPH. After the walk, we went to McDonald’s, where I used a gift card for a free Big Mac. We had picked up our son before we went on the walk. He and Ayla went with us. Nick is a vegetarian and could not make use of a card for a Big Mac.

Next morning, Sunday, the Music CareRing was in charge of the service at Church of the Restoration. Gayle brought his flute and we all made music for about an hour. I played piano and Ken played guitar.

That afternoon we had the November HAT meeting. Barbara, who had been at Restoration, rode with me to the Hardesty Library. We had 14 people at the meeting. (Details will be posted on the HAT blog.) Afterwards, I took Barbara back to her apartment. She lives on the twentieth floor of University Towers. I had left my jacket there the night of the election. Once again, I got a good view of Tulsa. The downtown was to my right; the river to my left.

Blood donation

Yesterday, I got a haircut at Roary’s. Afterwards, I went to TCC West to walk. I noticed that the Red Cross van was parked outside. When I went indoors, I saw that a blood drive was going on. Since I had not donated blood since my surgeries in January 2007, I decided to make a donation. It took about an hour and a half to go through the entire process. After sitting in the “canteen” for ten minutes, drinking orange juice and eating cookies, I moved to the fitness center and walked two miles. I came home and watched news, showered, and went to drumming at Joe Price’s.

Minister plays the sax

Attendance at church today was 15 to 20. There was a lot of joy among the “parishioners” with the outcome of the presidential election. A group of members pooled their money and bought Gerald (the minister) a saxophone, which he played today. It had been a number of years since Gerald had played the sax, but he sounded pretty good on it today.

For the special selection today, I played piano and Ken played guitar. Gwen sang “What a Difference a Day Made.” Was this a reference to the recent presidential election?

After church I gave Barbara a ride to her apartment. Her daughter had driven her to church. From there I went on over to Randy’s. At Randy’s, we listened to a Point of Inquiry broadcast. You can hear POI episodes at www.pointofinquiry.org.

When we left Randy’s, Bob, Marilyn and I met at Panera Bread for a discussion of people who might fill the vacancies in TAM for next year. We came up with a few names of people we felt might be good officers.

Activities 5-8 November

On Wednesday evening, I went to drumming at the Prices. It was just Joe, Lou, and myself. This was my first time to attend drumming since Oct. 8. I told of my trip to Mountain View, Ark., including the mountain music and geocaching.

On Thursday evening, I attended session 8 of “Reading Shakespeare Aloud.” It seems each week the workshop is attended by fewer people than the week before. All of the men have dropped out except for myself. We read five scenes from various Shakespeare plays this night. Next Thursday will be the final night for the workshop.

On Friday, Jan went to Dr. Coggins for a routine check-up That evening we watch our favorite TV shows: NOW with David Brancaccio and Bill Moyers Journal.

Today I went to the BOk office in the Food Pyramid store on Peoria. I met Bob there and we transferred the TAM treasury into his name. Marilyn was also there. Marilyn and I will serve as second signatures on checks written from the account. Following this, we went to the Schusterman-Benson Library for the Nation magazine discussion group. Attending were Marilyn, Jan, the two Larrys and myself.

This week I have been building a database of sheet music I have. After typing in the titles from 11 books, I have reached 1,359 titles.

Watch party

On Monday, Gail came over and we practiced piano duets for almost two hours. Then in the evening, Nick came over and we played duets for about an hour. I got in about three hours of piano that day.

On Tuesday, I drove Jan to her eye doctor, an ophthalmologist, whose office is near Hillcrest Hospital. When she came out, her eyes were dilated and she had to wear shades for the rest of the day. This evening, we went to Barbara’s apartment to watch the election returns. Barbara is 83 years old and is an old-time liberal. She still remembers FDR and speaks of him fondly. She was so glad Obama won the presidency. She felt an enormous relief to learn that Obama won.

Each of us brought some food to the watch party. Besides Jan and myself, there was also Barbara’s daughter Lori, Randy and Dawn, and Marilyn, and Barbara’s next-door neighbor. Barbara lives in a high-rise apartment building on the 20th floor. There is a great view of downtown Tulsa and the Arkansas River from her balcony.

Better Late Than Never

I don't too often check my blog at Liberal Action Network, but tonight I noticed a comment had been posted there. The poster had wanted to post it under my personal blog, but could not do so. Therefore, I am posting the comment below:

To Dan Nerren,Sorry to post this comment on the wrong blog, but I could not find any place to comment on your "Dan Nerren" blog. I just wanted to let you know that in your post about your visit to Siloam Springs, you wrongly described JBU as affiliated with the Church of Christ. In truth, JBU is not affiliated with any denomination, but is an interdenominational Christian school. Always has been since its founding in 1919. I know, I work there. Would you please make a correction to your blog post so as not to confuse your readers? Thank you for your consideration.

Day of the Dead

This Saturday I met with Kenny Nipp at The Hideaway Pizza Parlor at 3pm. We talked about current affairs in TAM while we each ate a Cobb salad.

That evening we went to Randy and Dawn’s for Movie Night. Gail was away so we skipped with the piano playing and went directly to the movie. We watched Silver City.

Today I went to Church of the Restoration UU. I got there around 9:30 am and played piano while Ken and Gwen sang. We played several songs and decided upon “Unforgettable” as the special music for the service. The theme of today’s service was “Day of the Dead,” a celebration of Mexican origin. We decided that “Unforgettable” was an appropriate piece for this service. Those taking part in the service brought with them photos of deceased relatives and got up and spoke about their departed loved ones.

Then this afternoon, I attended a TAM meetup in which we discussed some problems we have been having and how to resolve them. The meeting lasted two and a half hours and went well.

November Freethought Schedule

November 2008
Activities of Interest to Freethinkers

Sat., Nov. 1, 7:00pm Movie Night at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th St.
Movie selection: TBA

Sat., Nov. 8, 2:00 pm Secular Singers, meet at Gail’s house, 4630 S. Victor Ave.

Sun., Nov. 9, 1:00pm Humanist Study Group at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th.
We will listen to and discuss a Point of Inquiry podcast.

Tues., Nov. 11, 7:00 pm Liberal Action Network at Agora Coffee House, Fontana Center.

Sat., Nov. 15, 7:00 pm Atheists Meetup Mid-Month Social Gathering. Venue TBA

Sun., Nov. 16, 1:00pm HAT monthly membership meeting at Hardesty Library.

Sat., Nov. 22, 11:30am Food & Fellowship at The Rib Crib, 6902 S. Lewis.

Sun., Nov. 23, 1:00pm Atheists Meetup at Agora Coffee House, Fontana Center.


Questions? Call Randy at 622-6975 or Dan at 798-3629.

Today we voted

We voted early today. We had to go to the Election Board offices on North Denver Ave. Lots and lots of people were there to vote. It took us 45 minutes from beginning to end.

I had my portable CD player with me and listened to the beginning of lecture 3 by McWhorter. I voted a straight Democratic ticket in all elections.

After we left we went to the Fitness Center at TCC. There we walked for two miles, and I listen to the reminder of lecture 3 and all of lecture 4. We then returned home.

I just returned home from Central Library where our Reading Shakespeare Aloud workshop got together for our 7th session. There are just two more sessions to go until the end. Tonight we read scenes from Much Ado About Nothing and As You Like It.

Earlier today, I took my car, a 1996 Saturn, to Robert’s Auto Upholstery and had them replace the headliner. The headliner is the cloth area – what might be called a ceiling in a building. The job was really needed badly as the headliner had tears in it and had come loose in the rear.

This morning Jan and I went to the Fitness Center at TCC West and walked three miles (Jan walked two miles.) While I walked I listened to two lectures on CD by John McWhorter on The Story of Human Language produced by The Teaching Company. I checked the CDs out of the Tulsa Library.