BlogHide Resteemsdavid-laguardia (39)in book • 6 years agoBook 15 - Ch. 7 (1 of 1) - The Warrior's Path: What Makes a Hero?I believe America has a model of heroic warriors that transcends war. We celebrate the Americans who toiled through the Second World War, calling them “The Greatest Generation.” Sometimes the heroic…david-laguardia (39)in religion • 6 years agoBook 14 - Chapter 6 (1 of 1) - Violence and the Warrior Ideal(Note to the Reader: The next two chapters focus on our internal battle with selfishness. In these chapters, among other things, I grapple with a personal tension: can a person critique their…david-laguardia (39)in religion • 6 years agoBook 13 - Ch. 5 (1 of 1) - The Almighty Dollar: Self-serving and other-sacrificingReligious justification of exploitation and control has an ancient history. It did not start with Christians using god to justify slavery, colonization, and other evil realities. Leaders from…david-laguardia (39)in religion • 6 years agoBook 12 - Ch. 4 (1 of 1) - God on Our Side & at Our ServiceThe Christian tradition often invokes the term “our god.” On the positive side such language provides a personal and communal sense of relationship with god or the mystery of existence. However…david-laguardia (39)in spirituality • 6 years agoBook 11 - Ch. 3 (4 of 4) - The All-Good IdealALL-GOOD Within the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition, god has historically been understood as entirely good. As children of this all-good god, we sometimes assume ourselves to be perfectly good.…david-laguardia (39)in spirituality • 6 years agobook 10 - Ch. 3 (3 of 4) - The All-Knowing Ideal & Reflections on PrejudiceALL-KNOWING Another part of our idolatry of self is assuming, like god, that we are all-knowing. Christianity has often spoken about god in certain terms. That certainty easily translates into…david-laguardia (39)in spirituality • 6 years agoBook 9 - chapter 3 (2 of 4) - The All-Powerful IdealUnlike the traditional assumption regarding the “all-powerful” god, Jesus does not impose his will. The story of “The Rich Young Man” reveals Jesus to be uninterested in controlling others. In this…david-laguardia (39)in spirituality • 6 years agoBook 8 - Ch. 3 (1 of 4) Who or What is our god?WHO OR WHAT IS OUR GOD? The Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition’s creation myth connects our archetypal sin with the desire to be like god. The serpent tempts Eve to eat the fruit saying, “God knows…david-laguardia (39)in immigration • 6 years agoImmigration responseWell, I received my first critical response. I don’t enjoy debate. I am inclined toward right relationship and feel uncomfortable when someone is in disagreement with me (Regardless of whether that…david-laguardia (39)in politics • 6 years agoImmigration: How does one get people to re-think a political issue?I have been feeling down recently. It’s frustrating to see so much unnecessary hurting in America, and to feel so powerless to address the problems. Last week I attended a couple rallies where I…david-laguardia (39)in love • 6 years agoBook 7 - Ch. 2 (1 of 1) - Seeing Our Broken WorldSEEING OUR BROKEN WORLD Cardinal Joseph Cardign developed a popular approach to social justice described simply as the See-Judge-Act method. Reflective of modern, secular trends that adapted…david-laguardia (39)in spirituality • 6 years agoBook 6 - Ch.1 (3 of 3) -The Self Dilemma(This is the 6th post from a book I spent the last 5ish years writing. I published "I am not God: Searching for a path toward Personal and Global Well-Being" last June. I will continue to post the…david-laguardia (39)in christianity • 6 years agoBook 5 - Ch. 1 (2 of 3) - A Natural Response to a Natural QuestionA NATURAL RESPONSE TO A NATURAL QUESTION It is reasonable to ask, “Isn’t it natural to be self-centered?” Selfishness and self-centeredness can legitimately be viewed as natural. Ego and…david-laguardia (39)in religion • 6 years agoBook 4 - ch. 1: The Question (1 of 3)A friend of mine recently gave me a book titled "Divinity of Doubt: The God Question." The author, Vincent Bugliosi, offers reasonable critiques of famous religious thinkers as well as critical…david-laguardia (39)in love • 6 years agoBook 3 (Introduction 3 of 3) - Overview: A Spirituality Everyone Could Agree On(I am going to the mountains for a week, so I'll start posting Ch. 1 late next week - peace) OVERVIEW: A SPIRITUALITY EVERYONE COULD AGREE ON Ultimately, this book is an invitation to examine…david-laguardia (39)in introduction • 6 years agoBook 2 - Intro (2 of 3) - Going ForwardGOING FORWARD (a few notes) (1) While I have read and found life-changing inspiration in much non-Christian spiritual literature and find tremendous value in the discoveries of modern science, my…david-laguardia (39)in introduction • 6 years agoBook 1 - Introduction (1 of 3)(I intend to post my whole book on Steemit in the upcoming months. This week, I will post my introduction in three parts - the first of which follows this note. When I share my book with others, I…david-laguardia (39)in beautiful • 6 years agoOn failureThe summer of 2016 I was involved in organizing an alternative political convention. “The people’s convention for peace and justice” was to be a community effort to create a platform that didn’t…david-laguardia (39)in introduceyourself • 6 years agoIntroducing myselfThanks for visiting my new steemit page. Before I start putting out content, I’d like to spend my first post introducing myself and the blog. Currently I teach social justice to high school…
