the Seems Like God blog,
by David Keating

2008
 

	Desiderata - No Doubt And whether or not it is clear to you; No doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. No, it isn't always clear to me that the universe is unfolding as it should. In fact, there are times when it seems more like a train running down hill full tilt with no brakes. I think we sometimes believe that God is supposed to not only guide the universe, but should keep us from feeling any of the bumps in the road as well. God however, seems to have left it up to us to make each other comfortable on the way. Sometimes that's a little discouraging. And then I come across something like this...
	A (rather progressive) Conservative Pledge - May 17, 2008 If a conservative Christian followed the Golden Rule, what would their actions look like?
	Gimme a Hug - April 19, 2008 The very first sermon that a friend of mine wrote was about hugs. What she asked was simple. That everyone just reach out and give someone else a hug.
	No Junk - April 12, 2008 I've raised three young 'uns. One of the most rewarding aspects of that frequently daunting task is to see them overcome some of the unpleasantness that life can throw their way
	Spring Cleaning - April 5, 2008 Every so often faith needs a little spring cleaning too. It can get so littered with debris that it's totally smothered. Or at least so hazardous to navigate that it never lives up to its potential.
	The Good Old Days - March 29, 2008 One of the things I like to do while shoveling snow, besides use colourful language, is contemplate life.
	Tragedy into Triumph - Easter This is the between time. Jesus was gone and all this metaphysical stuff about coming back wasn't very reassuring. How empty they must have felt. Triumph had become tragedy.    But wait until tomorrow. Wait until the Resurrection proves once and for all that God cannot be done away with. That it's impossible for priests or kings or swords or anything else to sever our connection to the Creator.
	Triumph and Tragedy No doubt the backroom boys who plot political strategies were looking things over and rubbing their hands. What were the odds that Jesus would start an insurgency this week?
	It's Always Darkest When The Christian calendar squeezes everything that happened in Jesus' life into just about three months. It doesn't matter whether you take the Bible literally, consider it myth and metaphor, or fall somewhere in between. For most people, all the important stuff happens between Christmas and Easter.
	7 Questions - Part 4 - Ripples in Our Communities We're in a community if we go to church or belong to a club. We're in a community wherever we work. We're even in community, a temporary one, if we go to a sporting event, the theatre or a restaurant.
	7 Questions of the Golden Rule - Part 3 To "do unto others as we'd have them do unto us" means that we need to have respect for ourselves as well as the "other".
	7 Questions of the Golden Rule - Part 2 - February 27, 2008 Some people have reworded the Golden Rule to say that we should "do unto others as they would have us do unto them." But what if they want us to help them commit suicide? Or give them all of our money?
	7 Questions - an aid for making Positive Choices - February 10, 2008 I was looking for a way to summarize the the Golden Rule in a way that reflected how I actually applied it in day-to-day life. These 7 Questions are what I came up with.
	God Must be Busy - January 26, 2008 That everything happens for a reason lost any tiny bit of credibility it might have had with me when my sons' mother died in a car accident. When I tried to use this reasoning with my three year old son the words stuck in my mouth.
	Anointing - January 19, 2008 It was an opportunity to connect with that Spirit that motivates all and of which we are all, without exception, a part.
	A Little Bit - January 12, 2008 There's a little bit of good in the worst of us, and a little bit of bad in the best of us.- You may have heard this before. It's a variation on a saying by Robert Louis Stevenson who wrote, among other things, Treasure Island. Strangely enough, I first read the quote in a comic book.
	Community - January 5, 2008 I'm writing this column from a chair at the foot of Meaghan's hospital bed. I'll be here several more days. Which has given me ample time to reflect on just exactly what community looks like.

2007
 

	Confession is Good for the Soul - April 14, 2007 Any good therapist, or even the ones on TV, will tell you that the first step in changing negative behaviour is to admit that it's happening. That, to me, is the value of confession.
	an Easter Reflection - April 8, 2007 Easter, and the Resurrection, are about the ultimate triumph of faith over fear. Of hope over despair. Of the all encompassing, unconditional, spiritual love, the agape relationship, between the Creator and the Creation. Us.
	Who Are We Fooling? April 1, 2007 When things didn't go quite right, my father used to smile, shake his head, and remark "Might as well laugh as cry." I've always thought that was pretty good advice.
	Always in a Hurry - March 24, 2007 Years ago I worked with a fella who had a sign over his workbench that said - "the hurrier I go, the behinder I get."
	St. Patrick's Day - March 17, 2007 Sometimes we're all a little green
	We All want to Change the World - March 10, 2007 There’s a song by a group called Five For Fighting that asks "what kind of world do you want?" It’s a good question.
	A Golden Rule Resolution - March 3, 2007 Creating a tolerant, pluralistic society is a critical step for harmonious human growth.
	a Little Love in our Hearts - February 14, 2007 As human beings we all have a need to feel loved. To know that someone else cares about us and appreciates us. Which is one of the contradictions of our society's focus on the individual.
	No Snowboard - January 13, 2007 The Golden Rule, in Christianity usually rendered as do unto others as you would have them do unto you, can be applied to the planet as easily as it's applied to each of us.
	A New Perspective - January 6, 2007 A fresh perspective lets us look at the world in a new way. And if we look at the world differently, we just might want to treat it, and each other, differently as well.
	New Years 2007 Folks, let's face it; we're in a cosmic rut. In the literal sense, that's a good thing. But on the human scale of things, I wonder if it isn't time for a bit of a shakeup.