Vocation in the Valley

I’ve been catching up on podcasts with technical themes and ran across this one from an author named Sam Harris. He calls for the end of religious tolerance. Not meaning the outlawing of religion, but not giving a pass to people or their actions because of their religious beliefs. He correctly notes that there is a difference between Muslims and Christians with a clear example in Palestine where there are plenty of Muslim suicide bombers, but no Christian suicide bombers. He is correct in saying that religious differences should be examined. Of course his real argument is that all religions are based on irrational beliefs. He dismisses the Bible and the Resurrection with poor theological arguments that sound rational and are thus convincing to a room full of technical people. And, while he is wrong, I would give him more credit if he examined his own “beliefs.” He takes for granted evolution and the Big Bang which, if he were honest, require belief. Hey, I don’t mind his notion of religious intolerance. Question everyones’ beliefs. I have questioned my own, and I always end up back at the foot of the Cross.

I was catching up on some podcasts and was listening to a career coach, Dr. Marty Nemko. When asked about the trend toward generalists in any particular field he suggested becoming a serial specialist. It makes a lot of sense to me and once again puts a premium on life-long learning. I’ve been a QuickTime specialist, a Java specialist, a JSP specialist, a Struts specialist, a Ruby specialist (on the side), and now an XSLT specialist. I’ve probably got 10 - 20 more specialties left in my career, and I’m excited cause there’s a whole lot of learning to do in there.

Some things are with you so much that you forget about them. But when they’re gone, you really feel a void. I lost my wedding ring yesterday while running with my daughter (If you’re near Frankie, Johnnie, & Luigi’s in San Jose, look out for it). Now I feel so weird without it. The weight on my hand. The slight pressure it put on the adjoining fingers. Really subtle stuff. So, HB, I just want to say that I love you. You mean more to me than that symbol could ever relate.

[Update]
HB found my wedding ring in the washer. Woo hoo! I’ve been putting a band-aid on it to prevent it from falling off.

Being a Japanese-American, I’ve grown up with Buddhism. Mostly around funerals but also other traditions like the Obon festival. Being a firm Christian, I’ve never been attracted to Buddhism, but it has always raised some internal conflicts.

Let me start by saying that I’ve never researched exactly what Buddhists teach although it seems like there are different types of Buddhists and you can end up at different places. What I do understand is fundamentally you must do something like find wisdom or reach enlightenment to get to that place. How you know if you reach enlightenment is beyond me. This differs from Christianity that say that you can’t do anything to reach Heaven, except to have faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins. And even that faith is a gift from God. (For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9)

So this leads to that big conflict that nobody, including myself, wants to examine. What happens to our Buddhist and other non-Christian family members and friends when they die? If I’m true to my Christian faith, then I can’t honestly say they are with God. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6) See, that’s just not something I want to think about. So what am I to do? Start evangelizing all my friends and family. Sounds good until I start alienating everyone, which might be okay with friends but not really practical for family. So, I just pray that God will send the Holy Spirit into their hearts. Maybe my using me and my family or by some other divine means.