I'm Losing (And Finding) My Religion - Again

When I was a young boy my mom sent me off to Sunday School. I remember that church attendance in my parent's home was mostly limited to special occasions; Christmas, Easter, and funerals. That is not to say that my parents weren't spiritual or even religious in their own way, but it was a bit out of the ordinary to be sent off to Sunday School with my little sister that bright Sunday morning.

I don't recall exactly what the Sunday School teacher said one day, but I do remember thinking to myself that it was totally unscientific, even impossible. Science was my world, and even though I was only nine years old, I realized that there was a gulf between modern science and literalistic religious dogma - so I quit going to Sunday School.

At the beginning of the Jesus People Movement I returned to that church and was swept up in the excitement and comfort of finding a deeper meaning to life, especially during a time when the whole nation and my personal life was in turmoil.

To fully embrace my new found faith I was faced with a choice... Accept a literal reading of the six day Creation Story in the Bible and the popular evangelical thought that the earth was only about six thousand (6,000) years old, or believe that the earth was about four-and-a-half billion (4,500,000,000) years old as I had been taught in the public school system.

My dilemma was that if the first few verses of the Bible were not correct how was I to believe the sixty-six books that followed? So, knowing God to be a higher authority than the Los Angeles Unified School District, I chose the suspension of all scientific thought. I believed that the geologists and astrophysicists were wrong, that they simply had too many zeros in their calculations.

I spent the next forty years as a student of the Bible until 2009 when my dad passed away. My dad's passing triggered within me what I called a mid-faith crisis. I questioned everything, but mostly I questioned the gulf between modern science (which I loved but had abandoned forty years earlier) and ultra conservative fundamentalist Christianity.

I read everything I could find on the Young Earth vs. Old Earth debate, and as most debates go there are good arguments on both sides. With my personal leanings heading towards an Old Earth point of view, I began seeking out how to reconcile my Christian faith and current scientific understanding of the universe.

In my search for reconciliation I came across the book Thank God for Evolution by Rev. Michael Dowd. Michael Dowd makes the statement that "Facts are God's native tongue" and that "The discovery of facts through science is one very powerful way to encounter God directly." Rev. Dowd's book has revolutionized my faith and revitalized my love of science.

I have come to believe that Scriptures proclaiming a six day creation story, given at a time when scientific knowledge was limited to a flat earth perspective, were an acceptable explanation for the origin of the universe for that time. With our current scientific understanding of the cosmos, the six day creation story serves us best as a mythic account intended for a time when scientific knowledge was limited. How could the ancients have known about super novas, black holes, or plate tectonics? How else could they explain the creation of the earth but in the terms we find in the Genesis account?

My rejection of a literal interpretation of the six day creation story is not a rejection of the inspiration of the Bible, but rather a new understanding of the creation story as inspired for a particular time. It is a beautiful metaphor for a Creator who lovingly provided for His creation all of the essential life giving elements of a complex and interdependent world.

With the return of my love for science I feel like I have been born again. I feel as if I have been cured, if you will, of schizophrenia. The marriage of faith and science in such a way as to be intellectually honest and at the same time true to my Christian faith has liberated me from a sense of denial. I am no longer in denial of scientific facts or in denial of my personal experiential spirituality. I am free from having to be an apologist for fundamentalist beliefs and free from having to explaining away scientific observations about the universe as lies of the Devil.

I know that God is real, and I know that the earth was created 4.5 billion years ago. These two are not mutually exclusive nor does one invalidate the other. There is a richness in my faith now that is derived from acknowledging the complex majesty and deep time age of the universe that was lacking in my past due to a narrow literal reading of the first chapter of Genesis.

"It is this mythical, or rather this symbolic, content of the religious traditions which is likely to come into conflict with science. This occurs whenever this religious stock of ideas contains dogmatically fixed statements on subjects which belong in the domain of science. Thus, it is of vital importance for the preservation of true religion that such conflicts be avoided when they arise from subjects which, in fact, are not really essential for the pursuance of the religious aims." ~Albert Einstein

Peace, Love, and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

Has The Peace Sign Become Just A Fashion Accessory?

The peace sign is trendy again, and it is being merchandised just the same way hippie fashions were in the '60s and '70s. It is everywhere these days, on hats, t-shirts, handbags, shoes - you name it, the peace sign is on it!

Will the over saturation of the peace sign by the fashion industry dilute the message?

Will the peace sign lose its meaning and become nothing more than a fashion accessory?

Will the original message be lost on this generation, much the same way the cross has become more of a fashion statement and less of a proclamation of one's faith?

I have to admit that seeing the peace sign everywhere provides me hope that another generation has taken up the cause and that the message of peace and nuclear disarmament remains relevant.

"...Seek peace and pursue it!"
Psalm 34:14

Peace, Love, and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

Photo: Peace sign I spotted on the side of a barn on the road to Nojoqui Falls Park near Solvang, CA.

Hippie-English Dictionary

Just for fun I thought that I would post the Online Hippie-English Dictionary by Gamma Ray and Satellite. These guys were like a Christian version of Cheech and Chong. I don't know where they are right now and their website disappeared awhile ago but I recently found a YouTube channel featuring some Gamma Ray and Satellite videos. I am sure they are up to some sort of Cosmic Hippie Christian fun.

Here is what Gamma Ray and Satellite had to say about themselves:

Gamma Ray and Satellite, The World's Most Lovable Hippies

Turn On to Jesus, Tune Out all the noise,
Drop Out of your sinful life, Experience his joy!

We are refugees from the 1960s. Hair, clothing, music styles, and language have passed us by in the last several decades, but our message never goes out of style. It's true for all generations, man. Surf with us a while, and dig our cool music, comedy, and philosophy of life and eternity.

Note: While many hippie words are derived from drug use, their inclusion here does not constitute endorsement of illegal drugs. Please note that Gamma Ray and Satellite are now drug-free and do not condone recreational drug use. Dig?

So here is Gamma Ray and Satellite's Online Hippie-English Dictionary...

acid (n) LSD, a narcotic drug popular among hippies. see psychedelic, bad trip.
Afro (n) haircut popular among African-Americans during 1960's and '70's.
Aquarian (adj.) we're not sure exactly what this means, but it has something to do with the "Age of Aquarius" and the musical Hair.
bad scene (n) a bad situation. see scene.
bad trip (n) originally described a bad experience using drugs, characterized by frightening hallucinations. Can be used to describe any bad experience.
bag (n) one's main interest or purpose in life.
black light (n) a decorative light, dark blue in color to the human eye, which makes objects or artwork in flourescent colors appear to glow.
blow your mind (v) to have an enlightening or illuminating experience.
bread (n) money.
bummer (n) bad experience.
bust (v) to arrest someone, (n) an arrest.
cat (n) a person. derived from beatnik language of the 1950's.
chick (n) a girl or woman.
commune (n) an community of people who share possessions, living accommodations, and work (or lack thereof). Usually encompasses a farm and other fashionable industries.
crash (v) to sleep, rest, or do nothing.
crash pad (n) a place where one sleeps, rests, or does nothing.
dig (v) like, enjoy, be interested in.
drag (n) an unfavorable situation or state of affairs.
dude (n) person, usually male.
establishment, the (n) traditional business and government institutions, believed to stand in the way of human progress. see "system, the."
far out (adj) very interesting, good. Also an exclamation.
free love (n) love without expectations or commitment.
fuzz (n) police.
get it on (n) successfully interact with others.
groove (v) enjoy, achieve proficiency at. see "groovy."
groovy (adj) good, interesting, enjoyable.
hang out (v) to be some place, usually doing nothing, with no purpose.
hang-up (n) inhibition, usually due to morals, beliefs, or culture.
happening (adj) exciting, new, good.
heavy (adj) thought-provoking.
hippie (n) [still searching for a definition here]. hip (adj) knowledgeable of, or consistent with, the latest trends and ideas.
Iron Butterfly (n) a rock band which had one popular song, "Inna Gadda Da Vida."
lava lamp (n) a cylindrical glass container filled a semi-solid viscous material which breaks apart and forms globules while floating in a clear fluid.
like (?) word used to fill up space in an utterance when the speaker is unable to think of a suitable adjective to describe something. Use of this word has also been adopted by adjective-challenged subcultures of more recent generations.
love beads (n) colorful beads worn around the neck to symbolize love.
man (interjection) used as an exclamation to draw attention to one's utterance. related phrase: "hey, man."
mood ring (n) a ring worn on the finger which contains a large stone, the color of which is supposed to indicate the wearer's emotional mood. Mood rings were a fad in the mid-1970's.
oh wow (interjection) exclamation uttered in response to new, thought-provoking, or exciting information.
out of sight (adj) excellent, outstanding. Often used as an exclamation.
pad (n) living accommodation--house or apartment.
peace (n) absence of war. To see a peace sign, click here.
psychedelic (adj) of or related to a mental state characterized by a profound sense of intensified sensory perception, sometimes accompanied by severe perceptual distortion, hallucinations, or extreme feelings of euphoria or despair. see acid.
rap (v,n) to talk, conversation. More recently used to name a category of music where words are spoken, rather than sung.
San Francisco (n) worldwide center of hippie activity and general weirdness.
scene (n) place, situation, or circumstances.
sock it to me (phrase) let me have it.
spaced out (adj) dazed, not alert.
split (v) to leave, depart.
square (adj) old-fashioned, not aware of new thinking and customs. (n) one who is square.
system, the (n) the system of laws, governance, and justice. see "establishment, the".
tie dye (v) a method of coloring clothing where the article of clothing is tied in knots, then dying it to produce an abstract pattern. (n) an article of clothing dyed in this manner.
trip (n) an unusual experience. (v) to have an unusual experience.
turn on (v) to become enlightened to new ways of thinking or experiencing reality.
uptight (adj) concerned about maintaining set ways of thinking and doing things.

Was that a cool trip? Can you say flashback?

Peace, Love, and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

Updated 7/20/2019

The Gadget - July 16, 1945

Sixty-six years ago today in the Jornada del Muerto Desert basin of New Mexico the first atomic bomb, code named "The Gadget", was detonated marking the beginning of the Atomic Age. In a flash of blinding light the genie had been let out of the bottle! Just weeks later atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. More bombs were being readied to be used if Japan didn't immediately capitulate. The afternoon of August 15, 1945 Japan announced its surrender.

It is a measure of arrogance to assert that a nuclear weapons-free world is impossible when 95% of the nations of the world are already nuclear-free. I think that the vast majority of people on the face of this earth will endorse the proposition that nuclear weapons have no place among us. There is no security in nuclear weapons. It is a fool’s game.”
~General Lee Butler, head of US Strategic Nuclear Forces 1991-1994

"...for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword."
~Jesus the Christ (Matthew 26:52)

Peace, Love, and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

The Fourth of July in Santa Barbara

On the Fourth of July I took the family to Santa Barbara to watch the fireworks show on the beach. We had a front row seat with an unobstructed view from our hotel balcony... we hadn't been that close to a fireworks show in years. The Fourth also happens to be my beautiful Bride's birthday, so it is always a party on a national scale. I felt so bad for my wife, I had planned on taking her out for an expensive dinner on her birthday at one of the restaurants overlooking the bay, but I came down with food poisoning and she had to eat microwave macaroni and cheese in the hotel room.

The whole vacation wasn't a total loss, I did recover enough to have some fun the next two days and take in some of the sights that are unique to Santa Barbara. We rode bikes along the waterfront, went to the zoo and fed the giraffes, and we explored the marine center on the wharf where we were able to pet stingrays and starfish.

While we were down by the waterfront we came across One Feather and his "original hippie van"... this guy was a total trip-and-a-half!

Check out this Noozhawk.com story about One Feather:

A Hippie and His Van: They’re a Piece of Work, Man

Peace, Love, and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

The Great American Novel

I know I posted this before, this time I added a video of Larry Norman...



THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL
by Larry Norman

I was born and raised an orphan
in a land that once was free
in a land that poured its love out on the moon
and I grew up in the shadows
of your silos filled with grain
but you never helped to fill my empty spoon

And when I was ten you murdered law
with courtroom politics
and you learned to make a lie sound just like truth
but I know you better now
and I don't fall for all your tricks
and you've lost the one advantage of my youth

You kill a black man at midnight
just for talking to your daughter
then you make his wife your mistress
and you leave her without water
and the sheet you wear upon your face
is the sheet your children sleep on
at every meal you say a prayer
you don't believe but still you keep on

And your money says in God we trust
but it's against the law to pray in school
you say we beat the Russians to the moon
and I say you starved your children to do it

You are far across the ocean
in a war that is not your own
and while you're winning theirs
you're gonna lose the one at home
do you really think the only way
to bring about the peace
is to sacrifice your children
and kill all your enemies

The politicians all make speeches
while the news men all take notes
and they exaggerate the issues
as they shove them down our throats
is it really up to them whether
this country sinks or floats
well I wonder who would lead us
if none of us would vote

Well my phone is tapped
and my lips are chapped
from whispering through the fence
you know every move I make
or is that just coincidence
will you try to make my way of life
a little less like jail
if I promise to make tapes and slides
and send them through the mail

And your money says in God we trust
but it's against the law to pray in school
you say we beat the Russians to the moon
and I say you starved your children to do it

You say all men are equal all men are brothers
then why are the rich more equal than others
don't ask me for the answers I've only got one
that a man leaves his darkness
when he follows the Son



Peace, Love, and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

Don't Bother Me God, I am Trying To Be Spiritual

Here is a fun little animation that caught my eye. So often we get stuck trying to be spiritual that we don't notice God trying to break through.

How about at church when our best efforts to be spiritual are interrupted by the crying baby, the old man singing Amazing Grace off key, the fidgety toddler, or the single mom with two kids in tow that is fifteen minuets late every Sunday. How about at home when your darling three year old jumps in your lap and wants to play when you would rather watch some televangelist on tv.

Remember... Dog Is God Spelled Backwards


The Misguided Monk - An old monk must learn the value of companionship after losing sight of his teachings. Animation by Tom Long.

Peace, Love, and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

Quick, Slow, Slow...

More times than I like to admit, I hear Robert Shaw in my head from his 1976 role as Captain "Red" Ned Lynch in Swashbuckler...

"I'm not a gentleman; I'm an Irishman!"

"Quick, Slow, Slow" ...That is what I wrote at the top of my notepad yesterday morning before the start of an important budget meeting to remind me to keep the Redheaded Irishman in check.

Given the ongoing budget crisis in California and the continuing downward spiral the economy is in, budget meetings at a non-profit can be become frustrating at times. I needed to keep myself centered for this meeting, so I wrote myself that little shorthand reminder.

"Quick, Slow, Slow" is a reference to a Bible verse found in the Epistle of James, most likely authored by James, the brother of Jesus.

"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires" James 1:19-20

The meeting went quite well, still a lot of work to be done. Not to overuse pirate movie quotes, but as Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow said in Pirates of the Caribbean, "We have our heading". How we get there and what we will encounter along the way still remains to be seen.

My little "Quick, Slow, Slow" reference helped me keep my Redheaded Irishman in check. I think that I will be writing that little note to myself more often.

Peace, Love, and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

May Remembrances

This May was filled with remembrances... Memorial Day, a day to remember the men and women of the armed services... My dad's birthday, he would have been 89 this month... And the anniversary of his passing on Memorial Day two years ago...

I believe my dad's experiences serving in the Army Air Corp during WWII and as a cop in Los Angeles gave him a jaded view of right wing politics. I remember my dad supporting Barry Goldwater for president in 1964, and then later in his life he ended up at the polar opposite end of the political spectrum staunchly opposed to the republican agenda.

My dad's life's story is one seasoned with service to his country, service to his community, explorations into Buddhism and Unitarian Universalism, and in his later years travel to to far off lands like Bali where he enjoyed meeting new people and learning of their fascinating culture.

My father's personal quest for justice and peace has also been my lifelong quest. To honor his memory, his life, his service, and his quest for peace I will continue to respect our country and those who serve while at the same time work to end war.

I have been opposed to the war machine for as long as I can remember, it is part of who I am. It is rooted in my faith in the Prince of Peace, it is rooted in my Quaker ancestors, and it is handed down to me from my dad who not only served his country in WWII and his community as a policeman for twenty-six years, but who ended up as one who spoke out against war later in life.


Peace, Love, and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

(Photo: My dad with his mother soon after basic training c1944)

Yosemite - Light, Water, Earth, Sky, Spirt, and Time

Yosemite Valley at sunset. Truly, a magical event when a shaft of red-orange sunlight moves up the Merced River and strikes the eastern Yosemite Valley wall, adding a reddish glow to Bridal Vail Fall for just a brief moment of awesome wonder.

I am amazed at the grandeur of Yosemite. I can see why the native peoples wanted to keep it a secret and sacred place. I can't help but feel the presence of the Creator calling out to me, yet at the same time my analytical, science craving brain is questioning my earlier "Young Earth" literalistic views.

A mossy grove at the base of Bridal Vail Fall that I almost missed. Yosemite is all about light, water , and time.

None of this would be here without water and ice and the time required to carve out the valley.

None of the flora and fauna would be here without life giving water and sunlight.


Yosemite Falls, the Merced River, and Yosemite Valley Floor. None of this could be enjoyed without light.

We are blessed to have eyesight enabling us to interpret the sunlight reflected off the landscape that was created by stardust flung into the cosmos at the beginning.

When I am in such a magnificent place it is impossible for me to deny the Creator's existence or the events that pushed up the granite mountains that were then carved out by glaciers long ago.

The plate tectonics that pushed up the Sierra Nevada mountain range, and the carving out of solid granite by glaciers and rivers that created Yosemite Valley speak of a planet that is older than I can imagine.

The beauty and majesty that is Yosemite declares a Creator's hand and an invitation to a spiritual connection to our universe created in deep time.

"For from the world's creation the invisible things of him are perceived, being apprehended by the mind through the things that are made, both his eternal power and divinity, so as to render them inexcusable." (Romans 1:20)

"In God's wildness lies the hope of the world."
~John Muir

Peace, Love, and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

Autism, Kids, and Animals

Here is our little one at the 2011 Walk For Autism. Everywhere we go she says "Excuse me, can I pet your dog?" Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder tend to connect with animals is such a way that one has to wonder if some form of communication is happening between them.

William Stillman, a writer and lecturer with autism, suggests in his book Autism and the God Connection that the Autistic experience often includes a special connection with the animal as well as the spiritual world.

Temple Grandin, Ph.D., assistant professor of animal science at Colorado State University, and author of the book Thinking in Pictures, relates how her Autistic brain thinks in pictures in much the same way animals think. Dr. Grandin's article Thinking the Way Animals Do gives some insight as to how our animal friends and our Autistic loved ones think alike.

Peace, Love, and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)

The Empty Tomb

This is one possible site in Jerusalem where Jesus' body may have been placed after the Crucifixion. The four Gospels proclaim that Jesus' tomb was found empty and he later appeared several times to upwards of five hundred of his followers over a forty day period before he was then taken up into heaven.

Jesus' life and teachings gives us inspiration to get through each day and the empty tomb gives us hope for eternity.

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
(1 Corinthians 15:55 KJV)

(Photo: The Garden Tomb, originally uploaded by Dennis1980 at de.wikipedia)

Peace, Love, and Light!
Kevin (Cloud)