parables of a prodigal world

She is a broken system. Yet she lives and breathes. She chokes the beauty and the life out of that which she is designed to administrate, her patron, if you will. Her patron is good, is life-affirming, is a representation of what it means to be human. She is not. And yet her patron has become seemingly powerless to stop her. We have created a monster, and it is overpowering us. She is a monster, but we need not demonize her. She is not fully to blame. She was given power and entrusted to use it to the benefit of her patron, without self-interest. But she is composed of human beings. Fallen human beings. And there has never existed, in the history of humankind, a system composed of fallen human beings, entrusted with power and asked to administer it for the benefit of others who did not, eventually, become corrupted by that power. Some more than others, but all corrupted. Such a system will naturally, in a fallen world, in good time, operate not for the interests of its patron but for t...

A few days back, one of the 3 or 4 loyal readers of Parables sent me this email. With his permission, here's the question: Raffi, we have not met -- but I am a fan of your blog. dont remember how i originally came to your blog, but I connect with it and your way of thinking... if i remember correctly you commented on swearing on a post about George Carlin a while back. anyway, I got the email below from someone & (if you have time) - i would appreciate your advice on how to respond. i swear sometimes when i speak. honestly, i don't even notice it most of the time - because i do that in normal conversations at times also. i just dont think it is that big of a deal -- but someone who was listening to me did. anyway, this might seem kind of random -- but any input would be appreciated. peace, greg That "email from someone" was also sent, but since I'm not sure how the questioner would feel about posting his question/comments, I'll just summarize by saying ...

What do you think about this?... Bahá'í: "Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not." "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself." Baha'u'llah "And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself." Epistle to the Son of the Wolf Brahmanism: "This is the sum of Dharma [duty]: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you". Mahabharata, 5:1517 Buddhism: "...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another?" Samyutta Nikaya v. 353 "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." Udana-Varga 5:18 Christianity: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12 Confucianism: "Do not do to others what you do not want the...