Well, I start school in ten days! I am feeling nervous, excited and a little stressed out. Time is my main concern. This is my first time being a student and the mother of two children. The baby, although he is a year and a half, is still very much a "momma's baby." He freaks out when he is not the center of my attention! Just now I had to take a break from typing this to feed him and I really don't think he was hungry. My summer and my extended break from school is winding down quickly. I have really enjoyed my time at home just being mommy.

This summer we took a small trip to my parent's. We spent some time there with the family. While we were there my brother, sister and I had our portrait taken for my mom. She does not have a portrait of all three of us together. This was my sister's idea and I think its wonderful. We also went boating with my dad. Dad pulled my daughter and my husband in the inter-tube and we all swam in the lake. It was nice. The baby really enjoyed the water. He was so amazed at the vastness of the lake. We went to the Zoo in Tyler, as well. It was nice. It was very well shaded and we were able to see all of the animals. I was amazed at how the entire zoo was uphill! It was a nice little vacation and a nice end to my break.

Believe it or not I let my children play in muddy water this last weekend. I was cleaning out the car and the kids were playing with the water hose. There is a place in the sidewalk that gathers water where the baby discovered he could splash with his hands and his shoes. They had so much fun! I am impressed with myself for allowing them to enjoy themselves. Small steps make big progress...

I have been thinking lately about Christianity. Let me be more specific. I have been thinking about Christianity and exclusivity. I have been mulling over some questions in my mind. Just how exclusive is God? Is Christianity the only way to salvation?
I remember growing up in the church and being taught to "witness." I was told about the importance of telling other people about Jesus, lest they end up in Hell. I was about my daughter's age when all of this teaching began. I seriously question the ethics of telling a young child about this horrible place of eternal suffering that people will go to if they do not subscribe to a certain methodology. I would pull my own child out of such a class. I remember feeling guilty for not witnessing during the week. Saving people from Hell seemed to be the main focus of the children ministry and youth ministry in my childhood church. God seemed to be quite exclusive. Club Heaven was the group to join and the password was 'A, B, C.’ (The Baptist path to salvation is Admit, Believe, Confess.) Christianity was the only way to receive deliverance from Hell, which was what I understood salvation to be. I am well beyond defining salvation as a “get out of hell free card.” I feel it is a deliverance from the powers of sin and death and a realignment of allegiance with the Kingdom of God.
I memorized quite a bit of the Gospel of John in my formative years. In my university study I took a class; I can't remember which one, in which the professor taught that the picture of Jesus in the Gospel of John is the one who replaces and supersedes various aspects of Jewish worship. (In writing that I remembered which professor it was because I could hear him saying this.) The author adopts a negative tone towards "the Jews" within the book; however this is probably referring to a group of leaders within the religious hierarchy. It is likely that the community that produced at least the core concepts of the work was being evicted from the synagogue community. (All of this is a matter for historical critics.) The author relies on well known images of God to portray Jesus. Jesus is identified as the word. The beginning of John echoes the beginning of Genesis. God as the word was well understood by Jews. The word contained the creative power as well as wisdom. John portrays Jesus to the Jews as the incarnation of these things. Even the Greeks of the time understood the concept of the word being the part of the universe that was cohesive or better, rational, as the Stoics taught. Essentially, John presents Jesus as a relatable presence of God.
The question still remains for me, however, is Jesus the exclusive path to God? (My hands are a little shaky writing this last sentence. What if I feel there may be other ways to salvation? Would I still be a Christian? Am I ok with the implications of my query?) One statement keeps troubling me: "No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14.6b) (How ironic that the beginning of the discourse is, "Do not let your hearts be troubled.") Is this a statement of exclusivity? I was always taught in church that it is. Perhaps it is and if so then Jesus is the only way to know God. Perhaps it is not and there are other paths. Even if Jesus is the only way is he always known by that name?
All of these questions have come to the forefront of my mind recently because I am reading a history of the Arabic world. (To be specific, I am reading "The Great Arab Conquests, How the Spread of Islam Changed the World we Live in" by H. Kennedy.) Muhammad was known as a reluctant prophet. He was not looking to start a new religion. He would periodically visit caves for the in search of solitude. It was upon one of these visits that he becomes enthralled by a presence that is only later attributed to the angel Gabriel. Muhammad is frightened by the experience and only through the convincing of his wife, Kadijah, does he share the revelation, "Recite. Recite in the name of your Lord who created, created man from clots of blood. Recite! Your Lord is the most Bountiful One, who by the pen taught man what he did not know." He continues to receive more revelations and develops a small following that through time results in the Islamic religion. Muhammad was a citizen of Mecca, in modern-day Saudi Arabia. At the time of Muhammad, (early 600's), Mecca was a hub of trade and religious worship. There was a shrine, the Kabah, said to be built by Abraham where pilgrims came to worship. It was quite the commercial venture, with the Quraysh tribe controlling the shrine and collecting fees from worshippers and profits from idol sales. It was within this environment that Muhammad receives a message from a god claiming to be singular. In a sea of gods and idols in the Kabah, this ‘One God’ is a relatable presence.
The voice that Muhammad continues to hear claims to be the voice of the same God who had previously revealed himself to the Jews and the Christians. The messages received by this reluctant prophet hold many similarities to the messages previously given by God to Jews and Christians. The words of the prophet are now compiled into the holy book, the Koran. Much of the writings rely on well known images of God. Mecca and the surrounding area were populated with Jews and Christians and many of the images from these traditions are incorporated in the Muslim faith. The beginning of the revelations is an allusion to the beginning of Genesis. The voice speaking to Muhammad is attributed to the creative creating God. Interestingly the concept of word is even present. Here it is "pen" because much emphasis is placed on the miracle of the writing of the Holy Scripture in the beautiful Arabic language.
The ideas are so similar that I can not easily dismiss the possibility that Muhammad encountered the same God in the cave that Abraham encountered in Haran. God chose Abraham and his descendants as keepers of his promise and word. He did this in order that they may be a blessing to all nations and peoples. God revealed himself as flesh through Christ to the oppressed of the Roman Empire. Perhaps he also revealed himself to the Arabic peoples through the words of "the lone voice in the wilderness," Muhammad.
I wish not to think that God is exclusive but I can not know all the outworkings of his sometimes mysterious ways. “Whereupon he spoke and said: ‘I am the servant of God. He has given me the Book and ordained me a prophet. His blessing is upon me wherever I go, and He has exhorted me to be steadfast in prayer and to give alms as long as I shall live. He has exhorted me to honor my mother and has purged me of vanity and wickedness. Blessed was I on the day I was born, and blessed shall I be on the day of my death and on the day I shall be raised to life.’ Such was Jesus son of Mary.” (Surah Mary 19.30-35)

We spent the Fourth of July weekend in Odessa at a family reunion. The family was my husband's father's family. Two thirds of the people attending were from my town. There were probably sixty or so from here. I had never been to a family reunion. It was not quite what I was expecting. First of all, I was expecting it to be held at a park or large facility. It was in the backyard of some distant uncle. They had an average size yard with a small pool. There were about thirty kids swimming in this small, maybe eight to ten thousand gallon, pool. (At that moment I was thankful that we no longer have a pool! I would have been so stressed out with all those kids in my pool.) We were all crammed into this backyard.
Another thing that I found interesting was this: We all stayed fairly isolated. There were only a few people that went around introducing themselves. So I found that we were sitting at a table with our family that we see everyday. I thought, I could do this at home. There was no need to drive to Odessa for that! Even the kids in the pool were only socializing with their own siblings or first cousins. It was a little sad.
After the reunion we went to the motel, which was the type with the indoor rooms and an indoor pool. We had a really nice time. All of the kids, including my son spent hours in the pool. My husband was carrying the baby in the pool. He kept laughing and squealing; he was so happy to be with his daddy in the water! I wish I had taken my camera but I forgot it. (I did, however, bring my camera charger.) I sat down on one of the lounge chairs and read some of The Odyssey. It was a very relaxing evening. Later that night, we went outside and sat on our cars and watched some great fireworks. (It turns out the county park where the city was having their Fourth celebration was very close.)
All in all it was a nice weekend. The family reunion was not at all what I was expecting. The nice evening poolside and the firework show afterwards were great. My family spent some quality time together relaxing. It was worth the drive for that alone!