Questioning MO

It's one thing to make a pronouncement, another to practice what you preach, and so only today did I finally sit down to read in my prescribed manner. I finished Chapter 1 and began chapter 2, where William James discusses how he will define religion, namely: the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine. He leaves out theology, and argues for religion as a somber, un-sneering, not laughing or satirical, approach to what a person believes is true. At least I think so, not having finished the chapter. P.S. I used to be embarrassed to show my left arm in public, after praying just quickly enough to cover the basic blessings and the Shema, thinking that the lightness of the imprint of leather in my arm exposed my lackadaisical attitude to prayer and subsequently religion. But by this standard, reading William James is sufficient devotion.

I've been absolutely slammed with work the last few days, leaving little time for religious contemplation. But for a short while this evening I sat down to celebrate a recent purchase of a printer and the concomitant return to pre-digital days, by reading an anonymous insurance agent's explanation of what happens when the big Chinese Weimar-style Renmibi bubble pops. Next into my hands came a copy of William James' "The Varieties of Religious Experience", borrowed from my parents, its dust cover pleasant to the touch. After Shavuot I'd been exhorted to read selected chapters, and hopefully the whole book, because doing so would be important and answer some questions. I'd read the chapters on Conversion, a bit of Saintliness, and Mysticism, but through habitual laziness never continued. However, some of it stuck, for anytime I was tempted to discount religion completely, the words of William James rose up as a counterweight to such thoughts. I don'...

The principal question I asked myself before creating this blog was - why tie it to my name and online identity? There's enough online to pretty definitively tie it to me. And the answer is of course complicated, and will invariably change depending on how I'm feeling each day. Right now, the answer is that I don't want to hide who I am. God will understand, even if people might not. But why make it public? Why not a private diary via private-view posts? Why not a series of posts on Dropbox or a private website? Maybe I'll switch to that later. Maybe because it constrains the writing, keeps it focused. If it's private only, invariably things will be shared that sully the overall thoughts. Perhaps, think of this as a semi-private coming out, for who will find it? You'd have to see my blog, click on my profile, then see this other blog. Google shouldn't be able to index it. So it's public, but hopefully won't be saved for all eternity. And even if s...