275 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/23ec785bf3ededb6797cbfce7292046a.jpg 3b19ca219a8fe79ab7fbe1d4ed160975 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Merrill_Films_B_007 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1936-09-19 Title A name given to the resource Ditch looking north Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a man standing in a ditch filled with water. Two men are squatting at the edge of the ditch and another man is standing next to the ditch in the background. Subject The topic of the resource Hopkins (Mich.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b9e60daac2dd4a48d3d6157d9b8827b3.jpg dd03fbdb564cfdd6df6e9b154210a44c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Merrill_EastmanAlbum_1_1909_008 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909-06-15 Title A name given to the resource Ditch Station 5230 east, Erie Canal Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a ditch, Eerie Canal. Subject The topic of the resource Canals Waterworks--Design and construction Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0084f98ce722830c7a34ef249fdfd81c.jpg 52f2d40434bc912017d0861bb033042d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Merrill_October_1933_001 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1933-10-06 Title A name given to the resource Diver Hill, East Pit at Plainwell, Mich. Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of two men in front of a stone wall. One man is sitting in a diving suit, and the other man is standing next to him, holding the diving helmet. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Plainwell (Mich.) Diving suits Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/126ba9825c60dbc7351e7d14ab62377b.pdf fb19e087d6d022f041936c8bd7663b6c PDF Text Text   Diversity in Faith – Unity in Christ By Shirley C. Guthrie, Jr. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1986) Book Review by Richard A. Rhem Minister of Preaching and Theological Inquiry Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Publication of Review Unknown This is a book addressed to the Church, to the Christian community. It is not an apologetic to instruct the inquirer in the content of Christian faith; rather, it is an explanation of the respective postures, attitudes and nuances of orthodoxy, liberalism and pietism. Guthrie's purpose is to enable self-understanding within each of these camps and thereby to create the possibility of understanding across the spectrum of the Church. Although a broad spectrum of the Christian community might agree on a basic definition of what it is to be a Christian, as soon as the discussion gets to specific theological, ethical and practical implications of Christian faith, division will be immediate - “Churches choose up sides, get red in the face, and either yell at each other or refuse to talk together at all.” To address the all too often rancorous divisions within the Christian community, indeed, within the same confessional family, denomination and local congregation, Guthrie suggests as a starting point the question: “Why is it that people who read the same Bible and talk about the same Christ, even when they belong to the same church, have so much trouble getting along with each other and committing themselves to a common Christian witness in the world?” His answer is that, before conversation begins, we all bring certain “conscious or unconscious presuppositions about the meaning of Christian faith and life that determine what we are able and willing - and unable and unwilling - to hear from scripture, from fellow Christians, or even from God!” Thus Guthrie sets for himself the task of identifying and clarifying the presuppositions operative and determinative of the respective postures of Orthodoxy, Liberalism and Pietism. Part I is divided into four sections (Liberalism being treated in two sections, Moralism and Social Activism). Each section is divided into a “In defense of ...” and “Criticism of ...” This first part is largely descriptive with Guthrie giving a fair and balanced analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each position. Part II is Guthrie's positive contribution toward transcending the division “Beyond Orthodoxy, Liberalism, and Pietism.” He suggests as a key to getting © Grand Valley State University   �Guthrie, Diversity in Faith-Unity in Christ, Reviewed by Richard A. Rhem Page  2   beyond the three conflicting positions, the concept of “witness.” A Christian, he contends, is first and last simply a witness to Jesus Christ and to begin there, he claims, will enable one to avoid the weaknesses and combine the strengths of the three positions described in the first part of the book. The last three chapters discuss what it means to witness to Jesus Christ, to the suffering love of God, and to the liberating power of God. Guthrie's discussion is helpful and convincing. This book would make a fine text for an adult education class in which there was a serious purpose to deepen one’s own understanding of the faith and commitment to Christian service, while broadening one’s perspective on the essential unity of the faith that comes to expression with varying accents and nuances. A more gracious spirit within the Church and a more effective witness without would result from a study of this text. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RA-4-19870401 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987-04-01 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Title A name given to the resource Diversity in Faith - Unity in Christ Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Perspectives: A Journal of Reformed Thought Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource eng Description An account of the resource Book Review created, delivered, or published by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on April 1, 1987 entitled "Diversity in Faith - Unity in Christ", on the book Diversity in Faith - Unity in Christ, written by Shirley C. Guthrie, it appeared in Perspectives, November 1987, p. 15. Tags: Diversity, Community of Faith. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Community of Faith Diversity https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/083622944449da30898952d110778a3f.pdf dc1a770e5ec617765f48f8230f72f035 PDF Text Text Divine Improvisation – Human Wonder From the series: Cosmic Symphony Scripture: Genesis 1:1-5; Psalm 9; John 1:1-14 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan June 22, 1997 Transcription of the spoken sermon Sometimes when I reflect on what I try to communicate to you by way of writing or preaching, I question myself. I realize that I am on a fascinating quest that never quits. Always, always I am trying to understand, understand the Mystery of God, the mystery of the human being, and then it strikes me that that is really the same quest. Do I not try to understand God, the nature of Reality, because I am trying to understand myself, my human nature, the meaning of human being? Sometimes I question myself for dragging you along on my quest. I cannot help myself - these questions stalk my every waking moment and obtrude from my unconscious at times during sleep. But, certainly not everyone is dogged with that drivenness to search the mysteries of life. When I doubt myself in the execution of my preaching/teaching ministry, I hear voices from the congregation say, "We really only want to know that God loves us and that in the end all will be well." And then I am struck by the realization that that is precisely why I carry on my quest - am driven by the need to probe, to discover. It is because, more than anything else, I want to be able to say with honesty and conviction, God loves you; all will be well. For that reason, I keep thinking and letting you in on my own reflections. We have inherited a faith tradition - the biblical story, Israel and Jesus, 2000 years of interpretive tradition - the Christian theological tradition. But all of it, the biblical story and the interpretive tradition, was shaped in terms of a conception of the world-creation and of God that we know is other than what is being discovered in our day. Our knowledge of the cosmos is exploding, it is awesome; it places the most brilliant scientists before Mystery. That knowledge, gained through the sciences, is always tentative, open-ended, constantly being confirmed or corrected, and that knowledge will not provide for us either proof or disproof of God and the mode of God's engagement with cosmic reality. But, what we learn from the sciences will make evident the conceptions of God and God's © Grand Valley State University   �Divine Improvisation Richard A. Rhem Page 2   working derived from pre-scientific ages that no longer speak to us, because they were based on an understanding of the world and its origin that has been rejected. The conception of the cosmic reality, which our best knowledge provides, does not give a proof either of God's existence or non-existence, but it is the context of understanding within which we must finally understand our experience of God. Images of God and God's working which do not accord with our knowledge of reality will not be convincing or adequate. Therefore, faith's understanding needs new language, new concepts, and new analogies. That is the task that drives me and, to the extent that you continue to tolerate me and even encourage me, I believe it is the gift we can bring to our world as a faith community. A biblical scholar, John Knox, wrote something that struck me when first I read it and continues to keep me at the difficult and risky task in which I am engaged. He wrote, For our hearts cannot finally find true what our minds find false. If they could, we should be hopelessly divided and any firm grasp of reality would be impossible. What we mean by "the heart" in this connection is not something alien or counter to the mind, but is the mind itself quickened and extended. The wisdom the heart has found, if it be wisdom and not fantasy, is the same wisdom the mind all the while has been feeling after, if haply it might find it. It is a wisdom which, far from bypassing the understanding, enters through the doors of it, fills and stretches the space of it, and only then breaks through and soars above it. The Humanity and Divinity of Christ, p. 1 Perhaps another way of saying this is that the "heart" cannot find rest in a story or a symbol which our reason shows to be out of sync with our experience and knowledge of reality - not in accord with the reality we know from observation and rational reflection, or, again, we will not "rest" in that which our common sense rejects. Given the fact that our knowledge of the physical universe, of the human being, of global human society, and of historical development in a global perspective has revolutionized our understanding of ourselves and the reality of which we are a part, our faith formulations must be translated into new language and conceptuality if they would continue to be compelling, convincing, meaningful and awe-inspiring into the Third Millennium. If you are of my generation, you can perhaps live and die with inherited stories, symbols, and faith understanding. However, it is not just for ourselves, but for © Grand Valley State University �Divine Improvisation Richard A. Rhem Page 3   our children and grandchildren that we must re-think the faith in order that they, too, might live in the assurance that God loves them and that all will be well. Finding new language, a new translation of biblical faith does not mean that the tradition in which we have been nurtured did not point us to and connect us with reality, with God, that it did not provide a meaningful framework for understanding our human experience. It did that for the Christian community for all these centuries and still does so for millions. But the truth, the Reality to which our faith formulations point, is beyond those formulations and increasingly in the last three centuries those formulations have been shown to be inadequate; they no longer image reality as we are coming to know it through observation and scientific investigation. In this situation a serious error has been committed by both the Academy and the Church: both tend to identify the symbols, the interpretive story, with the Reality itself. Thus as Science images a cosmos that is contradictory to the biblical story and symbol, Science tends toward atheism or the denial of God, while Religion grows defensive and engages in a futile effort to disprove the findings of Science. Both efforts are wrong because both mistake the story/symbol for the reality itself. It is not the Reality – In this case, God - that is disproved, but simply the inadequacy of the interpretive story, the symbolic imaging, that no longer connects what we know from scientific investigation with what we experience of a transcendent reality as human beings. How many years ago was it that the Mackinaw Bridge was built? I vaguely remember that, soon after it was opened, a car pulling a mobile home was overturned by a gust of wind while crossing the bridge. The occupants of the car said they feared the bridge was collapsing. But, the bridge was just fine. The storm overturned car and trailer on the bridge. But one can identify with the initial fear of those folks - thinking bridge and themselves were plunging into the sea. So it is with our theological theories and explanations. New information shows them up as picturing the world or God or the human person in a manner not in accord with the reality discovered. But, that does not touch the reality of world or God or person. It simply calls for re-thinking, revising our conceptions, re-telling the old, old story. In the re-telling, the tradition will be mined for stories and nuances forgotten or overlooked. Certain language heavy with sacred association will be retained but given new meaning in a new framework. The dismantling of old conceptuality is not to destroy, to leave barren, but to find a more adequate expression that will be resonant with a fresh authenticity. Such an enterprise has always been going on and must ever continue. A reactionary defensiveness on the part of the Church always proves futile and © Grand Valley State University �Divine Improvisation Richard A. Rhem Page 4   dangerous as religious leaders have not often trusted the people with full knowledge of the best information available, thinking that, by shielding them from advancing human knowledge, they will preserve them in the faith. But to do so is dishonest and a disservice. James Fowler, the religious educator who defined the stages of faith development points out that often the Church itself is responsible for arrested spiritual development, keeping people stuck at the adolescent stage rather than calling people to maturity in Christ. To keep the people of God from maturity leaves them vulnerable to a David Koresh, a Jim Jones, to militant, violent fundamentalism. And if we do not continually re-think our faith formulations in light of ongoing knowledge available to us, when we are confronted with such knowledge, there is often anger, the rage of having one's core beliefs disrupted and perhaps rage and rejection of the institution that misled, that failed to pass on an honest faith interpretation in light of the best knowledge available. Let me add one more thought: Our traditional story has hints that point to the universality of God's grace, but we must honestly acknowledge that, in the wake of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, that early movement reflected in the New Testament documents shaped a religious tradition - Christianity - which has for the most part been exclusivistic. Once again parts of the Church will declare even now - Salvation by grace, but through Jesus Christ alone. But today in our global society, where we have come to know other traditions and the people who worship God in those traditions, we simply must recognize that tribal conceptions of God and narrow religious traditions can no longer be pitted against each other. Not only does a rigid exclusivism no longer make sense, it is downright dangerous. Our world is too small, too inter-connected, too interdependent to allow the volatility of religion to fuel tribal, ethnic and national conflict. If in the foregoing I give the rationale for my struggle to re-tell the story, I must move on now and attempt to speak of God in new imagery. I have been endeavoring to do that in these weeks since Pentecost, finding myself, as I've said, in an accidental series. In light of the fascinating story of the origin and evolution of our universe, how can we speak of God? On Trinity Sunday I confessed my surprise at finding myself imaging God in the threeness of the Trinity symbol: God is a Mystery beyond our comprehension, yet present to the Cosmos, which flows out of that infinite well of creativity as Energy, Matter, Time, and Space. All that is given existence by the Breath or Spirit of God. I borrowed an analogy from St. Augustine who imaged God as an infinite ocean, limitless, beyond knowing, and this whole universe, the whole creation as a © Grand Valley State University �Divine Improvisation Richard A. Rhem Page 5   sponge submerged in that infinite ocean. The sponge has limits, is finite, though vast and there is not a molecule or atom of the sponge that is not saturated with the ocean's watery reality. So, argues Augustine, God is infinite, beyond knowing - more than the whole of Reality, yet present totally to, in and with the cosmos, giving it existence and life. Interestingly, that image from the Fourth Century vividly expresses our best sense of the relationship of God to the cosmos - more than (Transcendent); God is more than the creation, yet present in (Immanent); God is intimately present in all that is. We have then gone on to claim that the nature of the Mystery, the Mystery's meaning, intention, and purpose is defined in a Face - Jesus is the human face of God; in his face we see the light of the knowledge of God; God gains definition as the Word becomes flesh. From Jesus' life and teaching we discover that devotion to God is the doing of compassion - creating a humane community, where justice is done, compassion is practiced, the hungry are fed, the oppressed set free, the homeless given shelter. That is the end of religion, the purpose for joining in a faith community. In that community we worship, being lifted beyond ourselves through liturgy, symbol, music and artistic expression, recite the story, nurture, and join in the action of compassion, following the way of Jesus. Can we do that honestly, with authenticity in light of what we have learned of this awesome cosmic drama of which we are a part and the experience of God in the biblical faith tradition, as well as that attested to in other religious traditions? I do believe we can. Not only do I believe we can re-imagine God in light of all we know and experience of our world, but I believe the wonder of that Mystery is more than our forbears could have dreamed of. Let me suggest an image of God and God's relation to the cosmos and to humankind that I find fascinating and profound. I take it from the British Biologist/Theologian, Arthur Peacocke, whom I quote in the back pages of your liturgy from his Theology for a Scientific Age. The image of God is that of a composer, indeed, of a jazz improvisor. The chapter title where this image appears is "God's Interaction With the World," and the subsection is "Models of God's Activity as Creator." Peacocke points out two classic ways of speaking of the activity of divine creation - the model of "making," and the model of "emanation." The maker model speaks of God as the craftsman, the mechanic. This is the most common biblical manner of speaking. However, the emanation model also finds expression - God from God's own being goes out to be actively involved in giving and sustaining the being of all that is. © Grand Valley State University �Divine Improvisation Richard A. Rhem Page 6   The "Maker" model lends itself to the idea of God's transcendence - God beyond the world. The "Emanation" model points to God's immanence in Creation God's presence in and with all that exists. In light of our knowledge of cosmic reality from the sciences and our reflection on God in the biblical tradition, Peacocke suggests the model of artistic creation as best imaging God's creative action and interaction with the world. It is in such a context that he writes the section that appears in the pages of your liturgy. I find the image of Jazz Improvisor fascinating and exciting - highly illuminating of the manner in which God might interact with the cosmic reality. I am woefully lacking in knowledge of music, music theory, tonality and all related matters. But I can follow Arthur Peacocke's argument - that the composer forms "cosmos" out of "chaos." I can create chaos on a keyboard; the result is noise. The artist uses the same instrument to create music, melody, harmony. And I can also sense that the execution of a musical score unfolds - the immediate moment following on what has preceded and flowing into what follows. It also makes sense to me that both chance and necessity are operative in a jazz improvisation. I spoke with the master of improvisation last Sunday - Ken Medema. I told him what I was going to attempt to do today. I said to him, " You are all over the keyboard with creative freedom; yet you know some things will work and some will not." He agreed. And I said further, "You are not sure just where you will end up nor how you will get there." Again, he agreed. That is the fascination of improvisation - the future is full of surprise; yet there are certain limits, parameters within which the creative artist must work. It also makes sense to me that creation is endowed with infinite potentiality which might be actualized in this manner or in that. I can see then that, if on the scene of an evolutionary unfolding of billions of years there emerges a creature like humankind with self-consciousness, awareness, being the vehicle of spirit, such a creature plays a very real role in the future of cosmic development. If the Creator took the risk of creating a creature in the image and likeness of the Creator, self-conscious, creative, free, then a whole new dimension has emerged in the cosmic drama. Now there is a whole multitude of composers determining scores of infinite variety raising the complexity of the whole to unimaginable heights. It makes sense to me, further, that the emergence of creatures of consciousness, able to become observers of the cosmic symphony and players in that symphony, would be the intention of the Creator Who delights in the cosmic play and delights in the delight of those who come to share that delight, to wonder, to stand in awe of it all. And then I love the manner in which God as Jazz Improvisor illumines the idea of the Creator's transcendence over the cosmos, but is at the same time immanent © Grand Valley State University �Divine Improvisation Richard A. Rhem Page 7   in its unfolding as the composer is in her music, so that in the playing of the score musicians are experiencing the very being of the composer. So, to be engaged in creative living in this cosmic drama is to know in intimate communion the Creator Whose Spirit gives life to all. The human creature, self-conscious, aware, attentive becomes the discerner of God's amazing creative work in its infinite variety and depth and also the actualizer of God's intention and purpose. And that actualization follows no rigid, ironclad form. Actualization will take place in a great variety of ways through the multiplicity of possible configurations. That is to say - now the creature becomes herself a jazz improvisor, bringing new patterns and forms to expression out of the infinite potentiality with which the Creator has endowed the cosmos. That points to the incredible responsibility and exhilarating challenge of being "co-creators" with God. In awe before the Mystery, creative fount of all that is, in adoration before the wonder of grace as revealed in the face of Jesus, in openness to the enlivening Spirit that breathes through our being, we worship full of wonder. The ancient Hebrew poet captured, beyond what he could have known, the paradox O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, The moon and the stars that you have established, What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crown them with glory and honor. In a cosmic symphony of such dimension, who are we - fragile, vulnerable, indeed, small. Yet it is we who have become conscious, aware, who are able to wonder, to worship and, with the Mystery Creator at the center, become cocreators moving the musical score toward humane community, spirituality, and compassion, actualizing the Eternal Purpose of God for cosmic harmony - a Divine Oratorio whose theme is "God loves you; all will be well!" References: John Knox. The Humanity and Divinity of Christ: A Study of Pattern in Christology. Cambridge University Press, 1967. Arthur Peacocke. Theology for a Scientific Age: Being and Becoming – Natural, Divine and Human. Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1993. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fd29781c32366d18e4cd4362e87e72fb.mp3 8f526b892d7d774d54518eab995f2bc4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost V Series A Cosmic Symphony Scripture Text Genesis 1:1-5, Psalm 8, John 1:1-14 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References John Knox, The Humanity and Divinity of Christ, 1967 Arthur Peacocke, Theology for a Scientific Age: Being and Becoming-Natural, Divine and Human, 1993 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19970622 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1997-06-22 Title A name given to the resource Divine Improvisation - Human Wonder Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on June 22, 1997 entitled "Divine Improvisation - Human Wonder", as part of the series "A Cosmic Symphony", on the occasion of Pentecost V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Genesis 1:1-5, Psalm 8, John 1:1-14. Compassion Nature of God Re-imagining the Faith https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d14da7577da90789c0d8de8e3d5dc4e8.pdf 728e4b4290a1996fa6ba70b1aa79dd4f PDF Text Text Divorce Support Ciroup Informational network, resources, & support in your time of need Tuesday, Oct. 27th Tuesday, Nov. 17th Tuesday, Dec. 8th KC2264 Noon - 1:00 pm Co-facilitated by: Marlene Kowalski-Braun, Women's Center & Sue Sloop, Work Life Connections � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource GVSU Sexuality and Gender Flyers Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource The Rainbow Resource Center Women and Gender Studies Department Women's Commission Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity Description An account of the resource Digitized posters, flyers, event notices, and other materials relating to gender expression and sexuality at Grand Valley State University, with materials spanning from 1974 to 2019. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1974/2019 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digitized from collections at the Rainbow Resource Center (formerly the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center), Women and Gender Studies Department, Women's Commission, and Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Subject The topic of the resource Gender identity Gender expression Sexual orientation Women's studies Queer theory Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-09 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-09_SGF_Womens-Center_2009_Divorce-Support-Group.pdf Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Women's Center Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009 Title A name given to the resource Divorce Support Group Description An account of the resource Dates, time and location for informal network meetings. Subject The topic of the resource Self-help groups Divorce Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Women's Center Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2c4ac04b22ded02f47fcd14a76a88b82.jpg bafbf8d9ee872e52ecf387eec987d4d6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Grand Valley State University Photographs Subject The topic of the resource Aerial photographs Universities and colleges Michigan Grand Rapids (Mich.) Allendale (Mich.) Building Facilities Dormitories Students Events 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Description An account of the resource People, places, and events of Grand Valley State University from its founding in 1960 as a 4-year college in western Michigan. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource News & Information Services. University Communications Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/41">News &amp; Information Services. University Photographs. (GV012-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-03-03 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s-2000s Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Local Subject Subject headings specific to a particular image collection WSRX radio station 1980s Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987 Title A name given to the resource DJ at WSRX radio station Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-01_UAPhotos_001507 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/41">News &amp; Information Services. University Photographs. (GV012-01)</a> Description An account of the resource DJ broadcasting the WSRX radio station. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University Michigan Allendale (Mich.) Universities and colleges University radio stations Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In copyright - Non-commercial use permitted.</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives black and white photo https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/48b757b26b09a365dddc8b7f3473f85e.jpg c152053b3293320604e04690dfd57946 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Grand Valley State University Photographs Subject The topic of the resource Aerial photographs Universities and colleges Michigan Grand Rapids (Mich.) Allendale (Mich.) Building Facilities Dormitories Students Events 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Description An account of the resource People, places, and events of Grand Valley State University from its founding in 1960 as a 4-year college in western Michigan. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource News & Information Services. University Communications Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/41">News &amp; Information Services. University Photographs. (GV012-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-03-03 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s-2000s Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Local Subject Subject headings specific to a particular image collection WSRX radio station 1980s Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987 Title A name given to the resource DJ at WSRX radio station Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-01_UAPhotos_001550 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/41">News &amp; Information Services. University Photographs. (GV012-01)</a> Description An account of the resource Staff DJ working the control panel at WSRX radio station. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University Michigan Allendale (Mich.) Universities and colleges University radio stations Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In copyright - Non-commercial use permitted.</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives black and white photo https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/61285191d7c293fce1b2b5dcee303e4f.jpg 78ee0a5bb3fa78ba4f25265b8ec59021 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Grand Valley State University Photographs Subject The topic of the resource Aerial photographs Universities and colleges Michigan Grand Rapids (Mich.) Allendale (Mich.) Building Facilities Dormitories Students Events 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Description An account of the resource People, places, and events of Grand Valley State University from its founding in 1960 as a 4-year college in western Michigan. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource News & Information Services. University Communications Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/41">News &amp; Information Services. University Photographs. (GV012-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-03-03 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1960s-2000s Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Local Subject Subject headings specific to a particular image collection WSRX radio station 1980s Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987 Title A name given to the resource DJ at WSRX radio station Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GV012-01_UAPhotos_001559 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/41">News &amp; Information Services. University Photographs. (GV012-01)</a> Description An account of the resource DJ playing vinyl records for the WSRX radio station. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Subject The topic of the resource Grand Valley State University Michigan Allendale (Mich.) Universities and colleges University radio stations Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-NC/1.0/?language=en">In copyright - Non-commercial use permitted.</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives black and white photo https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/275c2a0185ff8550f4a8ece38409507b.jpg 66ad89e467007243700b16f26ce01306 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Naval Recognition Training Slides Subject The topic of the resource Slides Military education Airplanes, Military--Recognition Warships--Recognition World War, 1939-1945 Description An account of the resource Slides developed during World War II as a training tool, for top-side battle-station personnel on board ship and for all aircraft personnel, by the US Navy. In 1942 a Recognition School was established by the Navy at Ohio State University where the method of identification was developed. In 1943 the school was taken over by the US Navy. The importance of training in visual recognition of ships and aircraft became even more evident during World War II. Mistakes resulting in costly errors and loss of life led to an increased emphasis on recognition as a vital skill. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides (RHC-50)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017-04-04 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-50 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1943-1953 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Source <a href="http://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/477">Naval recognition slides, RHC-50</a> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-50_883 Title A name given to the resource DMS US Minelayer Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United States. Navy Description An account of the resource DMS US Minelayer, October 1, 1947. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Navy World War, 1939-1945 Military education Warships--Recognition Slides Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/?language=en">No Copyright - United States</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Naval recognition slides (RHC-50) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1947-10-01 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bdfd6929f469b9879237b6dec7866225.pdf 268c849bddaf0a8f91cdde2291f53b3c PDF Text Text Do I Need Religion? From the series: Can I Honestly Believe? Text: Psalm 8:1; Psalm 42:2; Acts 17:22 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan July 12, 1998 Transcription of the spoken sermon I announced a summer series in a recent Courier entitled With Heart and Mind United. I cited a sermon from 1984 with that theme. In that sermon, I pointed back to my return to this congregation in 1971 when we determined to be a congregation marked by intellectual integrity and evangelical passion. We have been on such an adventure of faith now for over twenty-seven years. When I determined the series theme for this summer, it was not a case of conscious recycling; rather, it was a determination to do once again what we have been engaged in over all these years - to understand the faith we profess and live, to bring our experience of God, of the sacred, the Holy, into connection with the whole reality of our human experience. Working over that theme, I have named the series Can I Honestly Believe? By that I mean, can I as a person at the end of the twentieth century, aware of the universe of which I am a part, still believe in God as Source, Guide, and Goal of all that is, to paraphrase St. Paul? Faith, religious awe, worship and devotional practices arise from our depths, not from rational analysis; we will never by exercise of our reason be able fully to explain the human experiences of the Mystery we call God. In a 1917 classic study of religion, Rudolf Otto wrote on the idea of the Holy, the description of the experience of the Holy or a God as the ganz andere, the wholly Other, that mystery beyond that breaks through to us but, breaking through to us, making us unalterably aware of the reality in the presence, remains the hidden one, the hidden mystery. The religious experience, Otto describes very, very wonderfully when he says, it is ... the feeling that remains where the concept fails. It is an experience that transcends the possibility of conceptualizing it, articulating it, putting it into idea form. But, put it into idea form, we will. We seem to have to do that. We will try to understand. The understanding is never the same as the experience in itself, but © Grand Valley State University   �Do I Need Religion? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   being human as we are, rational creatures, reflective, self-conscious, we will inevitably think about and seek to bring to expression at least in some symbolic form that which will point beyond itself to the experience that has broken in upon us. That seems to be the universal human experience, and that is the origin of religion. Religion has at least these three basic components: There is that which is believed, or the doctrine. There is the mode of worship, devotion, practice, the ritual, the liturgy, which seeks to be an expression, an action that gives expression to the idea. And then, there is the drawing out of the implications of the experience for daily living, or ethics. So, doctrine or theology, cult or worship, ethics or morality - that’s the nature of human religion. I have said this before a number of times, but I’m going to say it again until you wake up in the middle of the night and repeat it to yourself - religion is a human, creative construction. Religions don’t fall out of heaven full-blown. We make them up. Not arbitrarily or capriciously, but we make them up in response to the in-breaking of the sacred or the Holy or God, the experience that is still there when the concept fails, but the experience that drives us to seek to articulate the nature of it. We construct our human religion in response to the in-breaking of the mystery that is God. Therefore, and this is critical, the knowledge of the world, the universe, the human being and society, in a word – the worldview, because it provides the framework of human religion and will from time to time move beyond an earlier understanding, will leave the religious structure, imagery and symbol with a framework that no longer makes sense. For a time the religious community will do a translation - the three-storied universe heaven earth hell is translated into modern cosmology with meanings spiritualized. But, at some point, a symbol system breaks down and it no longer speaks, it can no longer point beyond itself to the Ultimate. Then one must decide - either to chuck religion as nonsense, or to recognize that an outmoded structure does not spell the death of God. Edward O. Wilson, in his recently published book, Consilience, talks about his experience as a good Southern Baptist lad who went through the evangelical experience of conversion and all the rest, but having a curious mind from the © Grand Valley State University �Do I Need Religion? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   beginning, eventually went off to school where he says, "I chose to doubt." Then, in his distinguished career as a biologist who recognized the place of religion in people’s lives, he recognized the importance of religion in giving orientation, in giving meaning, significance to life, and so forth. But he also recognized that he was one person who could not continue to understand reality as continually being unfolded in our presence before the pursuit of the natural scientist and still somehow or other believe that there was a literal anchoring of conceptuality back 2000 or 3000 years. He refused to believe that the final revelation of God was put in stone by an agricultural culture 2000 years ago at the eastern end of the Mediterranean. He experienced cognitive dissonance. Wilson raises the interesting question whether science, the examination and exploration of reality, may not be a continuation of "Holy Writ," only on better tested ground. He suggests the data of scientific investigation may play the role that once revelation played in religion - satisfying the religious hunger to know one’s place in the universe. So far, the theory of everything has eluded even the great intellects of an Einstein and a Hawking. And if one day the unity of knowledge becomes a reality, even then one will have to choose whether or not behind it is still the Mystery that manifests itself, yet remains hidden. The questions we will be asking this summer are questions that arise because our religious system, its imagery, symbol and conceptuality derives from another time, based on an outmoded worldview. Therefore, in Wilson’s terms, there is widespread cognitive dissonance. Many have simply given up religious faith. Some of us struggle to bring religious experience into meaningful conversation with our present knowledge of the world. That is my challenge for this summer season. But, the question arises: Do I need it? - Not if my religious practice was only a way to please a God Who might condemn me to eternal punishment. - Not if I practice religious devotion just to cover the bases, just in case ... I read last night again The Grand Inquisitor, by Dostoevsky. Chilling, chilling! Jesus appears in Seville, Spain, during the time of the Inquisition. They had just burned 100 heretics at the stake and Jesus appears before a crowd of people and the Cardinal, the church ecclesiast, sees him, has him thrown into jail, then goes to speak with him, and tells him how the freedom of which Jesus spoke and for which he gave his life cannot be handled by the people. The people need authority. They live by miracle, mystery, and authority. Let them submit. Let them be slaves, simply obedient, unthinking. Give them bread. That’s what the © Grand Valley State University �Do I Need Religion? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   masses need, not the freedom of spirit of which Jesus spoke and incarnated. And then the Cardinal says, after Jesus refuses to respond, but only arises and plants a kiss on the wizened old face, the Cardinal says, "Get out! Get out and never return!" Well, we don’t need a lot more of that religion, even though there’s a lot of it alive and well on Planet Earth. But, do we need it? No. No, not absolutely. But, I think that there’s a loss without it. There’s a loss to our humanity and a loss to world community. The scripture lessons were read to indicate different experiences of God. I’m used to watching the sunset. It’s been magnificent, but Friday morning I had to take Nancy to the airport early and I caught a sunrise. Huge, flaming globe just over the horizon. I said, "My goodness, it comes up like it goes down!" I’m not a morning person, but the sunset or the moon, the stars say, "O Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your name in all of the earth. When I consider the stars, the moon, the wonder of it all, I say how small am I." The sense of humility and smallness before the vastness, the wonder of the world. But, I am a little less than God! How can I give expression to that in a secular fashion? What if I can’t sing? What if I have no song, no songwriter, and no one to whom to sing? Or, in life’s anxieties and depression, the hunger for God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Or, like Isaiah, to come someday and to have the place filled with smoke and to hear the rumbling and to be encountered by the mystery, the fascinating and terrorizing mystery and to feel one’s own guilt and uncleanness and unworthiness, and then to hear the word, "You’re cleansed. Your sin is forgiven." And to be commissioned to significant living and service. You don’t need religion. But I believe that to fail seriously to engage, to practice, to be observant is a very great loss and leads to a truncated human experience and a distortion of all that we’re intended to be. Paul said to the Athenians, "You’re really religious. There’s an idol to an unknown God just in case you missed one." I don’t need that kind of religion. But, yesterday I had the privilege of being invited to the Bar Mitzvah of the son, David, of Rabbi Alan and Anna Alpert, and in that Jewish community again, on Bar Mitzvah day, which is high celebration, I felt the warmth, I felt the solidity of family and of community. I regret that I wasn’t born Jewish because it’s not like being born a Christian where you have to keep worrying about becoming one, where you have to get converted, you have to keep wondering if you’re in or out. A Jew is just a Jew! Can’t do anything about it. So, they celebrate, and those who are observant, who are serious, celebrate it in wonderful warmth of community. And there’s something more there than just good friends and family ties. It is in the presence of a Mystery that here and there, now and again, has broken in upon us, creating awe, wonder, gratitude, drawing forth worship, enhancing our humanity and nudging us toward the things that make for peace. You don’t really need it, but you’ll miss a lot if you don’t have it. © Grand Valley State University �Do I Need Religion? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   APPENDIX . . . I found it a wonderful feeling not just to taste the unification metaphysics but also to be released from the confinement of fundamentalist religion. I had been raised a Southern Baptist, laid backward under the water on the sturdy arm of a pastor, been born again. I knew the healing power of redemption. Faith, hope, and charity were in my bones, and with millions of others I knew that my savior Jesus Christ would grant me eternal life. More pious than the average teenager, I read the Bible cover to cover, twice. But now at college, steroid-driven into moods of adolescent rebellion, I chose to doubt. I found it hard to accept that our deepest beliefs were set in stone by agricultural societies of the eastern Mediterranean more than two thousand years ago. I suffered cognitive dissonance between the cheerfully reported genocidal wars of these people and Christian civilization in 1940s Alabama. It seemed to me that the Book of Revelation might be black magic hallucinated by an ancient primitive. And I thought, surely a loving personal God, if He is paying attention, will not abandon those who reject the literal interpretation of the biblical cosmology. It is only fair to award points for intellectual courage. Better damned with Plato and Bacon, Shelly said, than go to heaven with Paley and Malthus. But most of all, Baptist theology made no provision for evolution. The biblical authors had missed the most important revelation of all! Could it be that they were not really privy to the thoughts of God? Might the pastors of my childhood, good and loving men though they were, be mistaken? It was all too much, and freedom was ever so sweet. I drifted away from the church, not definitively agnostic or atheistic, just Baptist no more. Still, I had no desire to purge religious feelings. They were bred in me; they suffused the wellsprings of my creative life. I also retained a small measure of common sense. To wit, people must belong to a tribe; they yearn to have a purpose larger than themselves. We are obliged by the deepest drives of the human spirit to make ourselves more than animated dust, and we must have a story to tell about where we came from, and why we are here. Could Holy Writ be just the first literate attempt to explain the universe and make ourselves significant within it? Perhaps science is a continuation on new and better-tested ground to attain the same end. If so, then in that sense science is religion liberated and writ large. Such, I believe, is the source of the Ionian Enchantment: Preferring a search for objective reality over revelation is another way of satisfying religious hunger. It is an endeavor almost as old as civilization and intertwined with traditional religion, but it follows a very different course — a stoic’s creed, an acquired taste, a guidebook to adventure plotted across rough terrain. It aims to save the spirit, not by surrender but by liberation of the human mind. Its central tenet, as Einstein knew, is the © Grand Valley State University �Do I Need Religion? Richard A. Rhem Page 6   unification of knowledge. When we have unified enough certain knowledge, we will understand who we are and why we are here. If those committed to the quest fail, they will be forgiven. When lost, they will find another way. The moral imperative of humanism is the endeavor alone, whether successful or not, provided the effort is honorable and failure memorable. The ancient Greeks expressed the idea in a myth of vaulting ambition. Daedalus escapes from Crete with his son Icarus on wings he has fashioned from feathers and wax. Ignoring the warnings of his father, Icarus flies toward the sun, whereupon his wings come apart and he falls into the sea. That is the end of Icarus in the myth. But we are left to wonder: Was he just a foolish boy? Did he pay the price for hubris, for pride in sight of the gods? I like to think that, on the contrary, his daring represents a saving human grace. And so the great astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar could pay tribute to the spirit of his mentor, Sir Arthur Eddington, by saying: Let us see how high we can fly before the sun melts the wax in our wings. Edward O. Wilson. Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge. Vintage, first edition, 1999. © Grand Valley State University � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c556fae286f8b082232fe1d616637d9f.mp3 45bf0dbd3358e49fbf9b439bb93e4aaf Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Pentecost VI Series Can I Honestly Believe? Scripture Text Psalm 8:1, Psalm 42:2, Acts 17:22 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Edward O. Wilson, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, 1999 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19980712 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998-07-12 Title A name given to the resource Do I Need Religion? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 12, 1998 entitled "Do I Need Religion?", as part of the series "Can I Honestly Believe?", on the occasion of Pentecost VI, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Psalm 8:1, Psalm 42:2, Acts 17:22. Critical Thinking Nature of Religion Religious Quest https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8d74e6caeacfe75432386231f15d2ab9.pdf f8ad22f29d8c7b39f83e73a292868105 PDF Text Text Do We Need a New American Dream? Matthew 5: 38-48; Romans 12: 1-2; 14-21 Richard A. Rhem Lakeshore Interfaith Community, Mother’s Trust Ganges, Michigan July 14, 2010 Prepared text of the sermon A week ago we celebrated once again the independence of this nation, a nation that was founded on a magnificent vision of human rights, of freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. Those who created and signed our founding documents were a rare gathering of visionaries whose labors established the foundation of a very great nation. As one of my friends said recently, those leaders were a miracle; they would never be able to establish the Constitution or the Bill of Rights today in the present feverish climate of political partisanship. One of my most respected mentors whose funeral I conducted lived to the age of 92. He would often say how blessed one is to live long because one gains a perspective on the ebb and flow of human events. One has seen it all before, as it were, and is not quick to despair no matter how dark the day. And that is certainly true. Nevertheless, one has to be wholly out of touch with the current affairs of state not to wonder if we haven’t reached a very dark period of our national life. The partisanship in our federal government obstructing the legislative process, the degree to which financial power trumps dealing with critical global issues, the serious economic situation of the present, dealing with the worst ecological disaster ever – one could go on but, of whatever political stripe, I think there is a general consensus that we are not in a good place. It is in recognition of the present state of this great nation and its failure to live by its founding vision that I raise the question, “Do We Need a New American Dream?” The New York Times columnist, Paul Krugman, opened his column on July 2 writing: When I was young and naïve, I believed that important people took positions based on careful considerations of the options. Now I know better. Much of what serious people believe rests on prejudices, not analysis. And these prejudices are subject to fads and fashions. Krugman, a Nobel Prize economics scholar from Princeton, has been warning that the stimulus has been too little and now warns against cutting off stimulus © Grand Valley State University   �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   spending too soon. He finds the claims of deficit hawks similar to the claims of Herbert Hoover as we plunged into the Great Depression. Well, I’m not here to argue for or against Krugman; this session is not economics 101. His statement about how we take positions based on prejudice rather than analysis struck me because I have been wrestling with that very same realization. When one wants to raise questions about the American Dream, one is not likely to have before one open minds eager for critical analysis. I’m not certain if religious views or nationalism and patriotism breed the greater emotional bonds that result in more prejudicial positions and less critical awareness; maybe they are equal. This I know, a preacher courts disaster addressing any one of them. That’s why I’m glad I’m not a preacher any longer – just a senior on the edge of senility who will be forgiven for rushing in where angels fear to tread. With all of that being recognized, nonetheless, I raise the question, “Do we need a new American Dream?” The question was raised by the best selling author Jeremy Rifkin, one of the leading social thinkers of our time, whose many titles cover a wide range of subjects, and whose counsel is sought by the European Union and heads of state around the world. His recent book, The Empathic Civilization – The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis, is not focused on the United States particularly; rather, he is thinking in global terms about the human race. He did, however, write an essay entitled, “Empathic Civilization: Is it Time to Replace the American Dream?” It is in that essay that he deals specifically with the theme of my presentation. He defines the American Dream: For two hundred years the American Dream has served as the bedrock foundation of the American way of life. The dream, reduced to its essence, is that in America, every person has the right and opportunity to pursue his or her own individual material self interest in the marketplace, and make something of their life, or at least sacrifice so the next generation might enjoy a better life. The role of the government, in turn, is to guarantee individual freedom, assure the proper functioning of the market, protect property rights, and look out for national security. In all other matters, the government is expected to step aside so that a nation of free men and women can pursue their individual ambitions. He goes on to write of the present state of that dream which he thinks is in crisis and then suggests that to recognize that fact is one thing; to do an analysis of the Dream’s underlying assumptions is another. Rifkin writes, Although American history is peppered with lamentations about the souring of the dream, the criticism never extends to the assumptions that underlie the dream, but only to political, economic and social forces that © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   thwart its realization. To suggest that the dream itself is misguided, outdated, and even damaging to the American psyche, would be considered almost treasonous. Yet, I would like to suggest just that. I opened with Paul Krugman’s statement that “much of what serious people believe rests on prejudice, not analysis,” because the task Rifkin takes on – examining the underlying assumptions of the Dream – is where analysis will run into prejudice. Nevertheless, his examination is critical for an understanding of our present national situation. His particular attention to the American Dream arises from his large work, The Empathic Civilization, which gives an overview of the human story in its evolution and holds hope and possibility for a new stage of the human project. Rifkin portrays the broad sweep of human history as far back as we can probe, but, for our purposes, Rifkin notes the cultural divide between faith versus reason, faith dominating the first millenium and a half of the Common Era, with reason becoming dominant with the Age of Enlightenment. It is his contention that we are moving beyond the faith-reason divide toward an empathic civilization. In a blog entitled “Empathic Civilization: Why Have We Become So Uncivil?” (posted 03/01/2010), Rifkin writes, At the dawn of the modern market economy and nation-state era, the philosophers of the Enlightenment challenged the Age of Faith, that governed over the feudal economy, with the Age of Reason. Theologians and philosophers have continued to battle over faith vs. reason ever since, their debates often spilling over into the cultural and political arenas, with profound consequences for society. The empathic advocates argue that, for the most part, both earlier narratives about human nature fail to plumb the depths of what makes us human and therefore leave us with cosmologies that are incomplete stories – that is, they fail to touch the deepest realities of existence. That’s not to dismiss the critical elements that make the stories of faith and reason so compelling. It’s only that something essential is missing – and that something is “embodied experience.” Both the Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – as well as the Eastern religions of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, either disparage bodily existence or deny its importance. So too does modern science and most of the rational philosophers of the Enlightenment. For the former, especially the Abrahamic faiths, the body is fallen and a source of evil. Its presence is a constant reminder of the depravity and mortality of human nature. For the latter, the body is mere scaffolding to maintain the mind, a necessary inconvenience to provide sensory perception, nutrients, and mobility. It is a machine the mind uses to impress its will on the world. It is even loathed because of its transient nature. The body is a © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   constant reminder of death, and therefore, feared, disparaged and dismissed in the world’s great religions and among many of the Enlightenment philosophers. But, Rifkin argues, the worldviews of both faith and reason, while still very much alive in the present, are giving way to what he calls the age of empathy. He points to recent developments: New developments in evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and psychology are laying the groundwork for a wholesale reappraisal of human consciousness. The premodern notion that faith and God’s grace are the windows to reality and the Enlightenment idea that reason is at the apex of modern consciousness are giving way to a more sophisticated approach to a theory of mind. Researchers in a diverse range of fields and disciplines are beginning to reprioritize some of the critical features of faith and reason within the context of a broader empathic consciousness. They argue that all of human activity is embodied experience – that is, participation with the other – and that the ability to read and respond to another person “as if” he or she were oneself is the key to how human beings engage the world, create individual identity, develop language, learn to reason, become social, establish cultural narratives, and define reality and existence. Rifkin is making a bold and daring claim that human nature at its core is empathic – in contrast to widely accepted views – from both the religious and the Enlightenment thinkers, that human nature is “fallen,” is depraved in religious parlance and competitive, even predatory, self-serving, acquisitive – every man for himself and winner take all in the view of a market economy stemming from Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, Adam Smith and others. Just what does he mean when he claims the deepest core of human nature is to be empathetic? Let me expand a bit on the nature of empathy as he explains it and then illustrate it with stories that reveal it. As I indicated above, the recognition of an empathic core to the human being is a relatively recent discovery with much work remaining to demonstrate and document it. Why has the realization of human empathy taken so long to understand? According to Rifkin, There is still another reason why empathy has yet to be seriously examined in all of its anthropological and historical detail. The difficulty lies in the evolutionary process itself. Empathic consciousness has grown slowly over the 175,000 years of human history. It has sometimes flourished, only to recede for long periods of time. Its progress has been irregular, but its trajectory is clear. Empathic development and the development of selfhood go hand in hand and accompany the increasingly complex © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   energy-consuming social structures that make up the human journey. (We will examine this relationship throughout the book.) Because the development of selfhood is so completely intertwined with the development of empathic consciousness, the very term “empathy” didn’t become part of the human vocabulary until 1909 – about the same time that modern psychology began to explore the internal dynamics of the unconscious and consciousness itself. In other words, it wasn’t until human beings were developed enough in human selfhood that they could begin thinking about the nature of their innermost feelings and thoughts in relation to other people’s innermost feelings and thoughts that they were able to recognize the existence of empathy, find the appropriate metaphors to discuss it, and probe the deep recesses of its multiple meanings. We have to remember that as recently as six generations ago, our greatgreat-grandparents – living circa mid-to-late 1880’s – were not encultured to think therapeutically. My own grandparents were unable to probe their feelings and thinking in order to analyze how their past emotional experiences and relationships affected their behavior toward others and their sense of self. They were untutored in the coming of the age of psychology. Young people are thoroughly immersed in therapeutic consciousness and comfortable with thinking about, getting in touch with and analyzing their own innermost feelings, emotions, and thoughts – as well as those of their fellows. The precursor to empathy was the word “sympathy” – a term that came into vogue during the European Enlightenment. The Scottish economist Adam Smith wrote a book on moral sentiments in 1759. Although far better known for his theory of the marketplace, Smith devoted considerable attention to the question of human emotions. Sympathy, for Smith, Hume, other philosophers, and literary figures of the time, meant feeling sorry for another’s plight. Empathy shares emotional territory with sympathy but is markedly different. (The Empathetic Civilization, p. 11f) Rifkin connects empathy to its origins in sympathy and makes the distinction. The term “empathy” is derived from the German word Einfuhlung, coined by Robert Vischer in 1872 and used in German aesthetics. Einfuhlung relates to how observers project their own sensibilities onto an object of adoration or contemplation and is a way of explaining how one comes to appreciate and enjoy the beauty of, for example, a work of art. The German philosopher and historian Wilhelm Dilthey borrowed the term from aesthetics and began to use it to describe the mental process by which one person enters into another’s being and comes to know how they feel and think. © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page 6   In 1909, the American psychologist E.B. Titchener translated Einfuhlung into a new word, “empathy.” Titchener had studied with Wilhelm Wundt, the father of modern psychology, while in Europe. Like many young psychologists in the field, Titchener was primarily interested in the key concept of introspection, the process by which a person examines his or her own inner feelings and drives, emotions, and thoughts to gain a sense of personal understanding about the formation of his or her identity and selfhood. The “pathy” in empathy suggests that we enter into the emotional state of another’s suffering and feel his or her pain as if it were our own. Variations of empathy soon emerged, including “empathic” and “to empathize,” as the term became part of the popular psychological culture emerging in cosmopolitan centers in Vienna, London, New York, and elsewhere. Unlike sympathy, which is more passive, empathy conjures up active engagement – the willingness of an observer to become –part of another’s experience, to share the feeling of that experience… (p. 12) Is that the core of the human being in your experience? Why, if it is so, has human history seemed to describe quite another human being? Rifkin acknowledges that the official chroniclers of the human story – the historians – “have given short shrift to empathy as a driving force in the unfolding of human history. They write about social conflicts and wars, heroes and evil wrongdoers, technological progress and the exercise of power.” Only rarely is the other side of the human experience covered – the side that speaks of our deeply social nature and the evolution and extension of human affection. Rifkin contends, History, on the other hand, is more often than not made by the disgruntled and discontented, the angry and rebellious – those interested in exercising authority and exploiting others and their victims, interested in righting wrongs and restoring justice. By this reckoning, much of the history that is written is about the pathology of power. Perhaps that is why, when we come to think about human nature, we have such a bleak analysis. Out collective memory is measured in terms of crises and calamities, harrowing injustices, and terrifying episodes of brutality inflicted on each other and our fellow creatures. But if these were the defining elements of human experience, we would have perished as a species long ago. All of which raises the question “Why have we come to think of life in such dire terms?” The answer is that tales of misdeeds and woe surprise us. They are unexpected and, therefore, trigger alarm and heighten our interest. That is because such events are novel and not the norm, but they are newsworthy and for that reason they are the stuff of history. © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page 7   The everyday world is quite different. Although life as it’s lived on the ground, close to home, is peppered with suffering, stresses, injustices, and foul play, it is, for the most part, lived out in hundreds of small acts of kindness and generosity. Comfort and compassion between people creates goodwill, establishes the bonds of sociality, and gives joy to people’s lives. Much of our daily interaction with our fellow human beings is empathic because that is our core nature. Empathy is the very means by which we create social life and advance civilization. In short, it is the extraordinary evolution of empathic consciousness that is the quintessential underlying story of human history, even if it has not been given the serious attention it deserves by our historians. (The Empathic Civilization, p. 10) I was given The Empathic Civilization for my birthday in February and I was reading it during the Winter Olympics. I was reading about empathy at the deepest core of our being when I actually experienced an instance of the human family being one. Did you watch the recent Winter Olympics in Vancouver? If you did is there one moment in particular that stands out for you? For me it was the moment when Joannie Brochere, the Canadian figure skater, finished her first program – a brilliant performance and, at its completion, burst into tears. Her parents had come to Vancouver to support her bid for an Olympic medal. A day after arriving her mother died of a heart attack. It was decided Joannie would skate nevertheless. She did. She did it beautifully – for her mother – and then burst into tears. I think there was not a dry eye in the Olympic stadium nor anywhere in the world where people were watching. The TV commentator Scott Hamilton’s voice cracked with emotion. In those moments the world was one, united in empathetic embrace of that young woman. I was a beautiful moment. I knew immediately that Rifkin’s claim for empathy at our core was right. Rifkin knows that claim will not prove convincing through all sorts of scientific studies of the brain – not through any form of rational argument where various voices debate the issue. Thus before making his case for human nature being empathic he relates an historical incident that has the same effect on us as did the Joannie Brochere moment. He opens chapter one relating the story of December 24, 1914, in Flanders, Belgium: The evening of December 24, 1914, Flanders. The first world war in history was entering into its fifth month. Millions of soldiers were bedded down in makeshift trenches latticed across the European countryside. In many places the opposing armies were dug in within thirty to fifty yards of each other and within shouting distance. The conditions were hellish. The bitter-cold winter air chilled to the bone. The trenches were waterlogged. Soldiers shared their quarters with rats and vermin. Lacking adequate latrines, the stench of human excrement was everywhere. The men slept upright to avoid the much and sludge of their makeshift arrangements. Dead soldiers littered the no-man’s-land between opposing forces, the © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page 8   bodies left to rot and decompose within yards of their still-living comrades who were unable to collect them for burial. As dusk fell over the battlefields, something extraordinary happened. The Germans began lighting candles on the thousands of small Christmas trees that had been sent to the front to lend some comfort to the men. The German soldiers then began to sing Christmas carols – first “Silent Night,” then a stream of other songs followed. The English soldiers were stunned. One soldier, gazing in disbelief at the enemy lines, said the blazed trenches looked “like the footlights of a theater.” The English soldiers responded with applause, at first tentatively, then with exuberance. They began to sing Christmas carols back to their German foes to equally robust applause. A few men from both sides crawled out of their trenches and began to walk across the no-man’s-land toward each other. Soon hundreds followed. As word spread across the front, thousands of men poured out of their trenches. They shook hands, exchanged cigarettes and cakes and showed photos of their families. They talked about where they hailed from, reminisced about Christmases past, and joked about the absurdity of war. The next morning, as the Christmas sun rose over the battlefield of Europe, tens of thousands of men – some estimates put the number as high as 100,000 soldiers – talked quietly with one another. Enemies just twenty-four hours earlier, they found themselves helping each other bury their dead comrades. More than a few pickup soccer matches were reported. Even officers at the front participated, although when the news filtered back to the high command in the rear, the generals took a less enthusiastic view of the affair. Worried that the truce might undermine military morale, the generals quickly took measures to rein in their troops. The surreal “Christmas truce” ended as abruptly as it began – all in all, a small blip in a war that would end in November 1918 with 8.5 million military deaths in the greatest episode of human carnage in the annals of history until that time. For a few short hours, no more than a day, tens of thousands of human beings broke ranks, not only from their commands but from their allegiances to country, to show their common humanity. Thrown together to maim and kill, they courageously stepped outside of their institutional duties to commiserate with one another and to celebrate one another’s lives. While the battlefield is supposed to be a place where heroism is measured in one’s willingness to kill and die for a noble cause that transcends one’s everyday life, these men chose a different type of courage. They reached out to each other’s very private suffering and sought solace in each other’s plight. Walking across no-man’s-land, they found themselves in one © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page 9   another. The strength to comfort each other flowed from a deep unspoken sense of their individual vulnerability and their unrequited desire for the companionship of their fellows. It was, without reserve, a very human moment. Still, it was reported as a strange lapse at the time. A century later, we commemorate the episode as a nostalgic interlude in a world we have come to define in very different terms. (p. 6f) I get goose bumps reading that story even though I’ve read it many times. Something happens to me inside – some “Yes, yes, that is the way it should be – always, among all people.” I know in my “heart,” my inner being, what rationally I cannot prove. I’m reminded of a statement of Rudolph Otto in his classic, The Holy: “The feeling which remains when the concept fails.” Whether or not one can argue the biological, psychological, or spiritual bases of empathy at the core of our being, one knows that it is true in one’s heart of hearts. As Rifkin comments on that Christmas Eve, he denies it was some sort of fluke: But was it a lapse or was it an epiphany moment when what is deepest in our human nature came to expression in a most remarkable fashion? Yet what transpired in the battlefields of Flanders on Christmas Eve 1914 between tens of thousands of young men had nothing to do with original sin or productive labor. And the pleasure those men sought in each other’s company bore little resemblance to the superficial rendering of pleasure offered up by nineteenth-century utilitarians and even less to Freud’s rather pathological account of a human race preoccupied by the erotic impulse. The men at Flanders expressed a far deeper human sensibility – one that emanates from the very marrow of human existence and that transcends the portals of time and the exigencies of whatever contemporary orthodoxy happens to rule. We need only ask ourselves why we feel so heartened at what these men did. They chose to be human. And the central human quality they expressed was empathy for one another. (p. 8) I tell the story of Joannie Brochere and relate the Christmas Eve “epiphany moment” because we can “feel” what occurred in both instances, whereas simply to cite the claim with supporting scientific analysis of child development, psychological and cognitive data invites arguments, and it is so easy to move into an intellectual discussion when we are dealing with the deepest level of feeling which defies rational statement because it is the language of the heart. I began with Rifkin’s question, “Do we need a new American Dream?” He raises the question out of his sense of our present national condition and his convection that humans are empathetic at their core. As we’ve noted, he sees the American © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page10   Dream rooted in Enlightenment thought of the modern period that replaced the theological view that prevailed for the first 1600 years of the Common Era. The Enlightenment philosophers saw human reason as the apex of being human and that is what Rifkin challenges with his claim that empathy marks us rather than the ideology of faith from the feudal period or reason from the Enlightenment Age. In a word, the present is increasingly a world of growing global consciousness and we have a dream born of eighteenth-century thinking when the Age of Reason and the amazing vision of our founding fathers set us on the course to greatness. Rifkin suggests the vitriolic rhetoric, the nasty partisanship, the “take the government back” and “get government out of the way” represent a sense of panic that we are losing the American Dream and the reaction is precisely a lack of empathy which, like it or not, will increasingly mark our global civilization. That is where we have arrived and are increasingly moving: the global civilization, the empathic civilization, are understood as threatening the American Dream – and they are. In a blog posted 02/08/2010 Rifkin asks “Empathic Civilization: Why Have We Become So Uncivil?” He suggests, When we talk about civility, we are really talking about empathy: the willingness to listen to another’s point of view, to put one’s self in another’s shoes and to emotionally and cognitively experience what they are feeling and thinking. To civilize is to empathize. Below all of the fiery rhetoric and finger pointing, the acid comments and degrading personal attacks, is a deep-seated fear and mistrust of “the other” – in other words, a lack of empathy. My sense is that the fear that is spreading like a wild fire across America is due, in large part, to a seismic shift occurring in our thinking about the most cherished values of American life: our notions of freedom, equality, and democracy. In other words, what we are really discussing – underneath the surface of the political and ideological debates – are our beliefs about the basic drives and aspirations of human beings. Freedom in the nation state era has been closely associated with the ability to control one’s labor and secure one’s property, because that is the way to optimize pleasure and be happy. The classical economists argued that every individual is free to the extent he or she can pursue their individual self-interest in the material world. Freedom, in the rational mode, is the freedom to be autonomous and independent and to be an island to one’s self. To be free is to be rational, detached, acquisitive, and utilitarian. The role of government, in turn, is to safeguard private property relations and allow market forces to operate, unfettered by political constraints. The conventional American dream is personal opportunity to succeed in the marketplace. © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page11   Against that “conventional American Dream,” Rifkin sets out our new global situation: The empathic approach to freedom in the emerging Biosphere Age is based on a different premise. Freedom means being able to optimize the full potential of one’s life, and the fulfilled life is one of companionship, affection, and belonging, made possible by ever deeper and more meaningful personal experiences and relationships with others – across neighborhoods, continents and the world. One is free, then, to the extent that one has been nurtured and raised in a global society that allows for empathetic opportunities at every level of human discourse. The new dream is the quality of life of humanity. Rifkin makes a strong case for the incivility of the present being the result of “what we are really discussing underneath the surface of the political and ideological debates,” – that is our beliefs about the basic drives and aspirations of human beings.” What we fail to do is carry on civil discourse. As I cited earlier in this essay, Rifkin contends that our criticism “never extends to the assumptions that underlie the dream, but only to political, economic and social forces that thwart its realization”. He knows well that what is needed is to recognize that “the dream itself is misguided, outdated, and even damaging to the American psyche and, as he writes, that “would be considered almost treasonous.” However, before we call for his head, we need to hear him further; empathy need not threaten our human existence at its best and highest. Rifkin writes, The ability to recognize oneself in the other and the other in oneself is a deeply democratizing experience. Empathy is the soul of democracy. It is an acknowledgment that each life is unique, unalienable, and deserving of equal consideration in the public square. The evolution of empathy and the evolution of democracy have gone hand in hand throughout history. The more empathic the culture, the more democratic its values and governing institutions. While apparent, it’s strange how little attention has been paid to the inextricable relationship between empathic extension and democratic expansion in the study of history and evolution of governance. Reimagining freedom, equality, and democracy from an empathic perspective has far-ranging consequences for the kind of society that we choose to live in. We would need to rethink our parenting styles, educational systems, business practices and even governance itself to reflect our empathic nature. This would constitute nothing less than a cultural revolution. No one would deny that there is merit to our long-standing ideas about freedom, equality and democracy – especially the notions of personal responsibility, self-sufficiency, and the protection of basic economic and © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page12   political rights. Still, it’s hard to deny the fact that a younger generation is beginning to broaden and deepen its sense of freedom, equality and democracy in an increasingly interconnected, interdependent and collaborative world. Perhaps what is needed is a more transparent public debate around our core views of freedom, equality and democracy. Maybe it is time to suggest a moratorium on the hyperbolic political rhetoric and incivility and begin a civil conversation around our differing views on human nature. This would offer us a moment in time to listen to each other, share our feelings, thoughts, concerns and aspirations, with the goal of trying to better understand each other’s perspectives, and hopefully find some emotional and cognitive common ground. Had I another life, that is the conversation in which I would love to be engaged. I would love to set forth the claims made by Rifkin in the preceding paragraphs and engage in a transparent public debate around our core views on freedom, equality and democracy. These are his claims: • The evolution of empathy and the evolution of democracy have gone hand in hand throughout history; • The more empathic the culture, the more democratic its values and governing institutions. Thus, the inextricable relationship between empathic extension and democratic expansion. Our problem today is not that there is a lack of conversation although perhaps conversation is too positive a term for the constant diet, 24/7, of political posturing and media anchor types’ inflamed rhetoric and betrayal of the truth. Our problem today is the lack of civil discourse, where we genuinely listen to each other, genuinely seek to hear each other and understand each other. That requires empathy. Antonio Damasio, a noted neuroscientist, has demonstrated through extensive studies of brain functioning that there is no such thing as a “cool headed reasoner.” (Descartes’ Error, 1994, cited by R. I. Benjamine in an essay on mediation). That means even as I recognize the critical necessity of civil discourse I must be aware that the human problem resides in me as well. I can become aware. I can “catch” myself. I can keep checking myself. That I must do. Further, I can be vigilant over against those who try to influence me. For example, the cable opinion shows or Talk Radio – let me mention three: Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, Keith Obermann. There are many others but in the case of these three I have to ask, are they appealing to my better angels or to my demons? Are they stoking my fears, my prejudices, my darker emotions or aiding me in being civil, open and fair? Living with such awareness is the best way to be © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page13   a critical listener and not just one of the sheep being led to aberration, hate and even violence. Let me cite one example. A writer I have come to appreciate is Robert Wright who writes an occasional column in the New York Times on culture, politics and world affairs. On June 29, 2010 he wrote, “The Myth of Modern Jihad.” It concerned the response of Daniel Pipes to the Times Square bomber’s confession in which Shahzad said, “I’m going to plead guilty a hundred times over. I consider myself a mujahid, a Muslim soldier.” Pipes, I’ve discovered, is located on the right end of the political spectrum, known for his anti-Islamic position. (His father before him was an anti-Russian crusader.) Daniel Pipes is a Harvard Ph.D. and has lectured there and is presently at Stanford. His pedigree thus indicates scholarly achievement. His response to the Times Square bomber’s confession, however, bespoke his anti-Muslim bias and confirms what I stated above about how none of us escapes bias. Wright responds to Pipes’ response to the bomber’s confession: This got some fist pumps in right-wing circles, because it seemed to confirm that America faces all-out jihad, and must marshal an accordingly fierce response. On National Review Online, Daniel Pipes wrote that Shahzad’s “bald declaration” should make Americans “accept the painful fact that Islamist anger and aspirations” are the problem; we must name “Islamism as the enemy.” And, as Pipes has explained in the past, once you realize that your enemy is a bunch of Muslim holy warriors, the path forward is clear: “Violent jihad will probably continue until it is crushed by a superior military force.” At the risk of raining on Pipe’s parade: If you look at what Shahzad actually said, the upshot is way less grim. In fact, at a time when just about everyone admits that our strategy in Afghanistan isn’t working, Shahzad brings refreshing news: maybe America can win the war on terrorism without winning the war in Afghanistan. As a bonus, it turns out there’s a hopeful message not just in Shahzad’s testimony, but in Pipes’ incomprehension of it. Pipes exhibits a cognitive distortion that may be afflicting Americans broadly – not just on the right, but on the center and left as well. And seeing the distortion is the first step toward escaping it. Cognitive distortion. Wright points to it even more sharply and confirms the tendency that afflicts all; but in Pipes’ cognitive distortion Wright sees hope. Now on to the second cause for hope: Pipes’ confusion itself. For these purposes, it doesn’t matter whether Shahzad was telling the truth, because Pipes certainly thinks he was. Pipes applauds Shahzad’s “forthright © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page14   statement of purpose,” adding, “However abhorrent, this tirade does have the virtue of truthfulness.” So then why doesn’t it bother Pipes that Shahzad’s depiction of Islamic holy war as defensive counter-attack is the opposite of the depiction Pipes has peddled for years? How can he possibly hail Shahzad’s comments as confirming his worldview? It’s only human nature. Once you decide that some group is your implacable enemy, your mind gets a little warped. Virtually all incoming evidence is thereafter seen as consistent with that model. The same tendency to which he points in the case of Pipes’ reaction to Shahzad’s confession was at work in the Cold War according to Wright: This cognitive distortion reared its head in America’s previous cosmic struggle. Just about all cold war historians agree that Americans bought into the “myth of monolithic communism.” Once we decided that the communist menace was a single, vast, implacable force, we failed to appreciate, for example, tensions between Russia and China that in retrospect seem obviously important. We had our model, and we were sticking to it. Pipes has his model, and he’s sticking to it. He needn’t dismiss evidence inconsistent with it, because he can’t really see the evidence to begin with. This same tendency may now be impeding America’s ability to conduct the war on terrorism wisely…. The analogy with communism is worth dwelling on. People warned that if Vietnam fell, the dominoes would keep falling until America itself was under communist control. After all, Russia and China – the sponsors of our Vietnamese enemy – would join with the Vietnamese government to use Vietnam as a forward base if we were chased out. You know – kind of the way al Qaeda would join with a Taliban that controlled any chunk of Afghanistan to torment America. Wright ends the piece suggesting what Rifkin would affirm. I’ve been kind of hard on Pipes – in parts of this column and in an earlier column. So I’m glad to have the opportunity to emphasize that he’s just an example of the human mind at work, albeit a particularly revved up example. It’s only natural to attribute to your enemy more cohesion and menace than is in order. We used to do this with communism, and now we do it with radical Islam – and radical Muslims, for their part, do it with us. It’s a temptation we all have to fight. Maybe if we fought it as hard as we fight other enemies, we’d have fewer of them. © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page15   Because this whole train of thought has been so much with me, over the past decade or so, I’ve taken note – even before Rifkin’s Empathic Civilization – of moments that have changed the face of history. And since reading Rifkin and deciding to address this matter today, I’ve clipped instances of reconciling moments when I’ve become aware of them. For example: In April-May 1940, nearly 22,000 Polish officer corps, intellectuals, professors, lawmakers, and professionals were murdered by Russia in the Forest of Katyn in Russia. The whole occasion is now being studied. (The official Russian version points to German responsibility.) That historical tragedy has been annually remembered by the Poles. Recently there has been communication between the Poles and the Russians. On February 10, 2010, Prime Minister Putin invited his colleague Donald Tusk to attend a Katyn memorial in April. The visit took place on April 7, 2010, when Putin and Tusk commemorated the 70th anniversary of the massacre. On April 10, 2010, a plane carrying the Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, his wife and 87 other politicians and high ranking military crashed in Smlensk killing all 96 aboard. They were on their way to attend the 70th anniversary of the massacre. That was the occasion for an op-ed column by Roger Cohen, appearing in the New York Times. Cohen wrote, My first thought, hearing of the Polish tragedy, was that history’s gyre can be of an unbearable cruelty, decapitating Poland’s elite twice in the same cursed place, Katyn. My second was to call by old friend Adam Michnik in Warsaw. Michnik, an intellectual imprisoned six times by the former puppet-Soviet Communist rulers, once told me: “Anyone who has suffered that humiliation, at some level, wants revenge. I know all the lies. I saw people being killed. But I also know that revanchism is never ending. And my obsession has been that we should have a revolution that does not resemble the French or Russian, but rather the American, in the sense that it be for something, not against something. A revolution for a constitution, not a paradise. An anti-utopian revolution. Because utopias lead to the guillotine and the gulag.” “Katyn is the place of death of the Polish intelligentsia,”Michnik, now the soul of Poland’s successful Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, said when I reached him by phone. “This is a terrible national tragedy. But in my sadness I am optimistic because Putin’s strong and wise declaration has opened a new phase in Polish-Russian relations, and because we Poles are showing we can be responsible and stable.” Michnik was referring to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s words after he decided last week to join, for the first time, Polish officials © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page16   commemorating the anniversary of the murder at Katyn of thousands of Polish officers by the Soviet Union at the start of World War II. Putin, while defending the Russian people, denounced the “cynical lies” that had hidden the truth of Katyn, said “there is no justification for these crimes” of a “totalitarian regime” and declared, “We should meet each other halfway, realizing that it is impossible to live only in the past.” The declaration, dismissed by the paleolithic Russian Communist Party, mattered less than Putin’s presence, head bowed in that forest of shame. Watching him beside Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, I thought of Francois Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl hand-in-hand at Verdun in 1984: of such solemn moments of reconciliation has the miracle of a Europe whole and free been built. Now that Europe extends eastward toward the Urals. I thought even of Willy Brandt on his knees in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1970, a turning point on the road to a German-Polish reconciliation more miraculous in its way even than the dawning of the post-war GermanFrench alliance. And now perhaps comes the most wondrous rapprochement, the Polish-Russian. Cohen concludes the piece on a strong note of hope. So do not tell me that cruel history cannot be overcome. Do not tell me that Israelis and Palestinians can never make peace. Do not tell me that the people in the streets of Bangkok and Bishkek and Tehran dream in vain of freedom and democracy. Do not tell me that lies can stand forever. Ask the Poles. They know. Another recent event on the world scene is the attack by Israel troopers on the flotilla heading toward Gaza in an effort to break the Israeli blockade. I need not rehearse that event. I refer to it only to give another example of how empathy or the lack of it has serious consequences. A New York Times editorial just yesterday records the continuing discord between Israel and Turkey, as the flotilla was supported by Turkey and nine Turkish citizens were killed in the Israeli operation. After the Flotilla Published July 9, 2010 Nearly six weeks later, Turkey and Israel are still stoking anger over the disastrous Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound aid ship. Their posturing and threats are playing into the hands of extremists. Both countries need to find ways to cool things down. © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page17   Turkey is furious about the death of eight Turks and one TurkishAmerican in the raid. Israel claims that its soldiers acted in self-defense and that the flotilla was organized by radical activists, supported by Turkey, who were bent on provoking an incident. Israel’s government has opened its own review, with outside observers, but ha resisted calls for an international investigation – the only chance of getting Turkey to answer questions. Since the raid, Turkey has recalled its ambassador from Jerusalem, halted military exercises with Israel and banned Israeli military planes from its airspace. It is now threatening to sever all diplomatic ties if Israel does not apologize, compensate the victims’ families and accept an international investigation. Israel has withdrawn its defense advisers from Turkey, warned Israelis against visiting their once solid Muslim ally and impounded the seized ships. It is refusing to pay compensation or apologize. Of course, this is a minor moment in a massive international problem. Nonetheless, one sees how hardened positions lacking the empathic dimension can create a threat to global peace and well-being for all Earth’s children. One more example. This one again creating hope coming from yesterday’s Times. The headline: “For Final, South Africans Put Past Aside.” The “Final,” of course, refers to this afternoon’s World Cup Final between The Netherlands and Spain. The editorial notes many in South Africa will cheer for the Dutch because of the long colonial connection, even though what is brought to mind by that connection is apartheid and the oppression of blacks for so long. Reading that I was reminded of Nelson Mandela and the movie Invictus. If you haven’t seen it, do so. It is an inspiring movie about the inspiring man, Mandela, who after serving a total of 27 years in prison for his engagement in winning human rights for blacks, was elected the President of South Africa in 1994, serving a five-year term and, because of his age, choosing not to run for a second term. The movie records how Mandela used the South African rugby team to unite the nation. He realized the power of sports to bring people together. In 1995 South Africa hosted the Rugby World Cup and it was a powerful uniting force in South Africa, the Springboks defeating New Zealand in the final. Mandela presented the trophy to Springbok captain, Francois Pienaar, wearing a Springbok Jersey with Pienaar’s number 6 on it. That was a major step forward black and white reconciliation. Mandela had early experience with the Methodist tradition. It was, however, the Hindu Gandhi who influenced Mandela, putting him on the path of Satyagraha © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page18   – non-violent resistance – in South Africa. And Gandhi was greatly influenced by the Way of Jesus. I read from the Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 5: 38-48. Jesus transcends what was an advance in human relations – an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth – in other words, response in proportion to the injury. No taking of a life for a minor offence in other words. The Mosaic tradition had made progress to get to that point. But Jesus goes all the way – no violence. In his own ministry nonviolent resistance was his way. And the power of that non-violent resistance brought him to a crisis point. The powers that be, imperial and collaborating religious leaders condemned him to death – crucifixion. He died the way he died because he lived the way he lived. He died for a cause, the cause of God as he understood God and his people on whose behalf he brought his historical moment to a crisis. A cross, not a place of atonement for the sin of the world in my understanding but a place of integrity, authenticity, giving the seal of faithful love to his life and ministry. Therefore a symbol ever after of love and faithfulness to the end. I have on occasion confessed that for most of my ministry I did not preach on the Sermon on the Mount. I didn’t know what to do with it. My Christian faith was a salvation cult. I honestly, desperately desired people to believe and be saved. The Jesus of atonement provided salvation to be experienced here and consumated in the hereafter. I was sincere. I was passionate, and I missed the glory and wonder of Jesus. I just didn’t “get it” and I’m afraid the vast majority of the Christian church still doesn’t get it. Love your enemies, he taught. Love beyond the bounds of your clan, your tribe. Take your cue from God whose sun shines on the evil and the good, whose rain falls on the gardens of all indiscriminately. In a word, be mature as your Father in Heaven is mature. The Greek word telios is translated “perfect” but that gives the wrong impression. The word really means having attained the purpose/end for which one is created – thus perfect in the sense of full grown, mature. Talk about empathy! There you have it. The Greek word for love is agape. It is God’s love. It is a love that sees the value of another and affirms it. It is not eros – erotic love, though that is one of creation’s great gifts. It is not philia –brotherly (sisterly) love, wonderful as that is. It is agape – the love that in loving creates worth and value in the other. In the anguish of crucifixion Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” That takes my breath away! True to the end. Loving to the end. Do we need a new American Dream? Dear God, yes! In a world become a neighborhood there is only one hope of survival – loving our enemies until they become friends. Refusing violence, making an end of war. © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need a New American Drean? Richard A. Rhem Page19   I regret it took me so long to find the Way of Jesus and move ever so slightly toward maturity – the maturity that is God-like. God have mercy on us all. References: Jeremy Rifkin. The Empathic Civilization – The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis. New York: The Penguin Group, 2009. Jeremy Rifkin, “Empathic Civilization: Is It Time to Replace the American Dream?” The Blog, posted February 22, 2010. Robert Wright, “The Myth of Modern Jihad,” The New York Times, June 29, 2010. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lakeshore Interfaith Community Scripture Text Matthew 5:38-48, Romans 12:1-2, 14-21 Location The location of the interview Lakeshore Interfaith Center, Ganges References Jeremy Rifkin. The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis, 2009. Jeremy Rifkin, "Empathic Civilization: Is It Time to Replae the American Dream?" The Blog, posted February 22, 2010. Robert Wright, "The Myth of Modern Jihad,"The New York Times, June 29, 2010. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20100714 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-07-14 Title A name given to the resource Do We Need a New American Dream? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on July 14, 2010 entitled "Do We Need a New American Dream?", on the occasion of Lakeshore Interfaith Community, at Lakeshore Interfaith Center, Ganges. Scripture references: Matthew 5:38-48, Romans 12:1-2, 14-21. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Empathic Civilizations Human Nature as Empathic https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f95ee11e55ec3ffa2d96d092211d351a.mp3 e1d25acf08967a6f99316386a0bfb7d1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/533eb73fdac64b2d4dbf4df34b56c9a8.pdf 4c918a1a3cacc55e71cf229571fd3d0d PDF Text Text Do We Need God to be Good? From the series: A Fresh Look at an Ancient Story Text: Luke 6:36; Romans 12:2 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Lent, March 18, 2001 Transcription of the spoken sermon I have a question this morning that I invite you to consider with me. It is a genuine question, not some rhetorical question, not a question for which I have an answer. It is an honest question about which I invite you to think: Do we need God to be good? The question came to me a month or so ago. The Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance sponsored a diversity summit at Hope College involving hundreds of people from this area. It was a very significant event, a day spent looking in the face of racism primarily, but at all forms of exclusionary behavior that hurt and wound and divide. The keynote speaker that morning was Dr. Greg Williams, the author of a book, Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He was Black, which narrates his life, his experience. It is a most extraordinary story. There were many of you from Christ Community there, and others I am sure, became aware of the event through news stories. I won’t try to give you the whole story of Greg Williams except to say that he grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, in some affluence as a white son in a white family. But the family broke up. The father was an alcoholic, the mother fled because of abuse, and at ten years of age Greg found himself with his younger brother and father on a bus headed for Muncie, Indiana, which was the birth home of his father and his mother. In the midst of the journey, the father told the boys, “In Virginia you were white. In Muncie you will be black.” The shock could hardly be taken in. They came to Muncie where Greg’s father, who had passed for white in Virginia, was identified clearly with the black community. Since the father had lost everything, the three made their way to an aunt’s place, and here’s an address for you: 601 Railroad Street. Being white, Greg was not accepted by the black community, and being black in Muncie, was not accepted in the white community. © Grand Valley State University   �Do We Need God to be Good? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Greg told his story with great grace and passion, a most moving story, indeed. He told of the incredible pain of a little white boy discovering he was black and of having his whole world turned upside down. He was exceptionally bright, industrious, and hardworking. Eventually, he and his brother were taken in by a wonderful black lady who had no bloodlines to them at all, but simply provided home, safety and security, as well as encouragement. To make a long story short, and it is a long, tortuous story, Greg Williams graduated from high school, from college, earned a master’s, a Ph.D., and graduated from law school. Presently he is the dean of the Law School of Ohio State University. What a remarkable story! It is one thing to read it in the book, but quite another thing to hear the story from the person who lived it. As I drove from Holland to Spring Lake along the highway that day lost in thought, having been deeply moved, the question of this morning arose in my mind: Do I need God to be good? What went through my mind was the fact that I was so horrified once again with the pain that we inflict on one another. I felt so inwardly devastated by the reality of racism that confronted me with such power and potency that morning. I thought about the question from last Sunday’s sermon: What’s the matter with us? What’s wrong with us? Then I thought to myself, as a Christian leader, a preacher and a theologian, do I need God in order to call myself and you to be good, to be good in the sense of goodness that contrasts to the ugliness that is so much a part of the human landscape? Do I need to call in God as some external, supernatural being, a lawgiver who holds us accountable, a lawgiver who restrains our behavior, a lawgiver who models another way of being? Do I need God in order to be convinced of that or in order to persuade others? Because what I was thinking, what I was feeling was that I, myself, ought to know enough to be good, that is, to be a moral, decent, civil, human, and humane being. I know in my depths what goodness is and I know enough to be good without having some external support or some external law code or manual of behavior. I am a self-conscious, free and responsible person. Why do I need God to be good? Why can’t I simply be good, because I would be good for goodness’ sake? Is it not enough for me to see that, to experience that, to be moved at a deep level? Is that not enough to transform my consciousness and to shape my life? Do I need God to be good? To be sure, that is how God has been used. That is how the religions, the great religions have imaged God. God is the supernatural, external being communicating laws to the universe. This is the way it was in Israel, of course. Israel was a nation of people structured by laws which were claimed by scriptures to be God-given. With its moral code, the Ten Commandments, but also with all the civil legislation and ceremonial © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need God to be Good? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   law, Israel was a nation of law. They had a manual, a code of divine revelation, and we as a Christian Church took that over. In the gospel reading this morning Jesus set forth that impossible ethic. Did it strike you as I read it again—that impossible ethic to which Jesus calls us? To love our enemies and finally concluding the paragraph with, “Be compassionate as your father is compassionate.” Over and over again the Israelites heard the word, “Be holy, for I am holy.” Jesus said, “Be compassionate as your father is compassionate.” That is the way that the great religious traditions have communicated the imperative to goodness. The apostle Paul said in the twelfth chapter of Romans, the great chapter, almost as difficult as the Sermon on the Mount to follow, “Be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is the perfect will of God.” And then in a very particular fashion he calls us to graciousness, to generosity, to humility, to integrity, to love—again an impossible ethic. That is the way God has been used in the great religious traditions. Negatively put, God is the law-giver and the law enforcer, and if you break the law, there is hell to pay. Positively stated, God is the moral example. God is the exemplar of that which is good. Therefore, follow God. The religious traditions have arranged a way by which ordinary humankind, obviously unable to live up to such high demands, can find a way of atonement and of reconciliation through priestly mediation, and it seems to me that in our great religious traditions, that is pretty much the way we have come to settle in. We co-exist with the evil, the pain, the anguish, the brokenness, the pain we inflict and the pain inflicted upon us. We co-exist with it almost easily because we recognize our own brokenness. We plead for mercy, and we go on our way in a kind of co-existence with a world replete with hurt and pain and violence, of which racism, or exclusivism of any sort, are simply the outward symptoms. But do we need that kind of external reinforcement or threat or promise? Might it not be possible for me as a human being, having come to self-consciousness and awareness, being a responsible and relatively free individual, to decide and to determine to be good? For example, what if God “out there” doesn’t exist? What if that traditional religious image of God, that biblical image of God as the supernatural creator/law-giver, doesn’t exist? Would it make any difference in the way we live? At the beginning of the twentieth century, Nietzsche, in the light of the whole modern development, the development of modern atheism, cried out those famous words: “God is dead, and we have killed him, and now everything is permitted.” Nietzsche saw the collapse of the whole western European moral structure, and went mad. Dostoevsky, in what arguably may be one of the © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need God to be Good? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   greatest novels ever written, The Brothers Karamazov, has a minor character say, “If God does not exist, there is no virtue. Virtue is useless.” Would you agree with that? Do you need God to guarantee value, virtue? What if that God “out there,” that superhuman being, that human being writ large, what if that God doesn’t exist? How would it affect your conduct? Are you good because of God? Do you need that kind of God to be good? In the eighteenth century, Immanuel Kant, who was identified with that great movement of the human spirit, the Enlightenment, was convinced that the human species had come to a hinge point in history, a new level of consciousness: Auf Klärung, the German phrase “enlightenment.” Kant was convinced of the rationality of the human being. He thought that, being free and responsible, the human being would no longer need that external demand, but could selfconsciously and self-critically determine to act morally. Of course, then came the twentieth century, the most bloody and violent century on record. So we can say, “Well, Kant, it isn’t true after all that there is a kind of movement of the human race out of adolescence and into maturity, into adulthood.” That was his claim, that the adolescence of the human race was over and we were moving into another level. But what if the thing that Kant saw is a thing that doesn’t happen overnight, not even in a century or two? What if we are in the midst of a process, a process which has been underway for fifteen billion years? What if the whole process of nature that has brought us to the present moment, what if that whole cosmic process has issued a moment like this, where individuals like us can sit together, considering such a question? What if that process is reflective of that within the process itself which has moved us to this present point and, as Kant saw, we can come consciously to understand? We know so much about our world through scientific investigation, but have only scratched the surface. Nonetheless, I suppose, we have knowledge, and we come self-consciously to the appreciation of the wonder of life, the marvel of the world. This morning I looked out as the sun came up. It caught the ice floes on the lake, and they glistened like a thousand swans. Then, as I was driving across Little Pigeon Creek, that same sun caught two swimming swans in all of their white radiance. One catches one’s breath at the wonder of it all; even in the frigid March, the pussy willow begins again to bud. What if, after fifteen billion years, after the torturous process of the evolutionary, biological, historical development of which we are the product, what if we are the meaning of it all? What if we are beginning to see that invitation to be good without external application of law or threat or promise, but goodness for goodness’ sake? © Grand Valley State University �Do We Need God to be Good? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   “Ah,” you say, “you’re a dreamer.” Yes, I’m a dreamer. There have always been prophets and poets and philosophers and theologians and middling preachers such as myself who have dreamed of another possibility. Certainly Isaiah did in that marvelous sixty-fifth chapter where he talks about the lion and the lamb lying down together and no one hurting or destroying in all God’s holy mountain. And the classic Christian conception of heaven—what is it but the recognition that everything that we know and experience here is only a shadow of what should be, could be, ought to be? Finally, beyond the ambiguities of history in all of its pain and all of its anguish and all of its brokenness and all of its violence, that vision of heaven, that perfect state, that kingdom of God—those are biblical images that emanate from the depths of the human being that knows something other than has ever been. But what if we’ve come to a point where we no longer looked for that external God to intervene and to bring it to consummation? Certainly that was Isaiah’s hope. That was Jesus’ hope. What if we have come to see that God is not “out there,” ready to snap the finger and shape things up, but rather, God is coming to expression in the human? What if it’s our play? What if it’s our move? If God “out there” doesn’t exist, then might there be a spirit within us that is beckoning us to be good for goodness’ sake? Then might we see the function of our religious life as the creation, the recognition of meaning, of living with wonder? What if in this Lenten journey we might come to a fresh awareness, a new understanding, a deeper appreciation and an overwhelming sense of gratitude? In that case, we could fall to our knees and say, “O God!” For what is God but that which is trying to come to expression, to create paradise, heaven on earth, community? Then I wouldn’t need God to be good. God would be good through me. Then the world would be changed and we would live with reverence and awe in the milieu of love and the bonds of community. Then, just then, maybe God would be God. References: Gregory H. Williams. Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black. Plume/Penguin Books, 1996. © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lent V Series A Fresh Look At an Ancient Story Scripture Text Luke 6:36, Romans 12:2 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI References Gregory H. Williams. Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black. Penguin, 1996. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20010318 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2001-03-18 Title A name given to the resource Do We Need God To Be Good? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 18, 2001 entitled "Do We Need God To Be Good?", as part of the series "A Fresh Look At an Ancient Story", on the occasion of Lent V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 6:36, Romans 12:2. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Compassion Inclusive Lent https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/88c12d7a4ae1848325092ec9fa3744ba.mp3 1b2f9b2d0c88e2c9a12367ebece80f4e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lent I Series Following Jesus Scripture Text John 13:15 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19920308 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1992-03-08 Title A name given to the resource Do You Get the Picture? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 8, 1992 entitled "Do You Get the Picture?", as part of the series "Following Jesus", on the occasion of Lent I, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: John 13:15. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/87cdb0ced4a3d16f007d53c3636f2be1.mp3 90957c6f29184b8a51818ef031c77f7b https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2607c859a56f899d2d90cf4b3340027e.pdf 81ecea92cae914c9386c8b847ed03491 PDF Text Text Do You Really Think He Is Going To Come? Acts 3:11-21; Revelation 22:8-12 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan Advent I, November 29, 1992 Transcription of the spoken sermon Advent is a season in which we celebrate within the Church the one who came, the one who comes, and the one who will come. Advent means coming, to approach for a visitation. Israel was that nation of people who throughout their history looked for one who would come, who would be anointed with the Spirit of God. The Hebrew word Messiah means “the anointed one.” The Messiah was the one that Israel hoped for, prayed for, and longed for in order that God’s will might be done on earth as in heaven. The anointed one, the Messiah, the longedfor one was anticipated every time a priest was anointed with oil or a king was enthroned and anointed again with oil, for the oil, the sign of the Spirit, was a sign of God’s empowering through the Spirit. Every priest and every king was a sign pointing to that one who one day would come supremely, full of the Spirit of God, and would bring justice and peace and Shalom. The Christian Church believes that the awaited one indeed did come, and that one was Jesus of Nazareth. Sometimes we speak of Jesus Christ as though it is a first and last name, but that is not correct. Christ is a title. Jesus of Nazareth was believed in the Church to be the Christ, the anointed one, the Messiah, the one long looked for by Israel, the one who would bring the will of God into effect on earth. In the Christian Church, the expectation that this Jesus of Nazareth was the one grew in various ways among his disciples and his followers. And then he was crucified. Those who had hoped despaired, for they said, “We thought that Jesus might be the one! But a crucified Messiah? No way!” But when Jesus was raised from the dead and he appeared to them, they rejoiced. They also began to see that the fulfillment of God’s plan and purpose came in a way quite other than they had expected. It was a new and surprising way, but they believed that this Jesus who was crucified, resurrected and in the presence of God was the reigning Lord whom they expected imminently. I read from the Book of Acts this morning because it reflects one of the very earliest conceptions of these events that would mark the end. Peter, who had presented Jesus as the one who was crucified and raised by God, says to those who were listening, “Repent.” That is, change your mind. Turn around. Repent and understand that this one whom you crucified was God’s servant, indeed the © Grand Valley State University   �Do You Really Think He is Going to Come? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   Messiah. He says, “Repent. Turn to God that your sins may be wiped out, so that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed, that is, Jesus.” Now when you think about that for a moment, it is rather interesting. “Repent that the seasons of refreshing may come. That he may send the Messiah.” Well, didn’t they believe that Jesus was the Messiah who had already come? Yes. But it would seem as though in this conception, at least in those early days when everything was fuzzy, they were saying Jesus was the Messiah, but that he was in the presence of God now, as though heaven is keeping him until you repent and turn, and the seasons of refreshing come and there is the universal restoration. Then God will send the Messiah appointed to you again, that is, Jesus. Now that conception of things did not prevail in the New Testament Church, but it was one of the earliest understandings—Jesus of Nazareth, Messiah, in heaven for a while but soon to return. The expectation of the return was obviously very vivid and the return was to be imminent. At the end of the Revelation to John, the revelation of the ascended Lord, the Book of Revelation, Chapter 22, we have these words of the ascended Lord who gives the vision to John. He says, “Behold I am coming soon.” How soon is soon? What do you think? What would be soon? He says at the tail end of the first century, “I am coming soon.” What do we give him? Six months? Or would you give him a year? Ah, somebody over here says, “I’ll give him two years.” How soon is soon? What do you think? How about two thousand years? That’s not soon. That’s not soon according to any kind of soon I’ve ever understood. And yet for two thousand years there have been preachers taking this text and saying, “Go outside and watch the sky because it may be today.” If we had more time this morning I’d sing for you a chorus of “Jesus Is Coming Again.” I am really tempted to do it, but I won’t. “Jesus Is Coming Again,” and you can flip your dial anywhere you want to on the radio today and you’ll hear preachers all over the country saying, “Repent, because Jesus is coming and it may be today.” How long can you hold your breath? How far can you stretch this thing out and still talk about Jesus coming soon? Do you think he is coming? Do you think he is coming soon? I don’t think you do. In all honesty, I don’t think you do. I think after two thousand years, anybody that expects Jesus to appear on earth soon and establish a kingdom is simply going along with a traditional conception of things that has had a strong hold on the Christian Church. But I don’t think we really believe it. That raises a question for me. Was perhaps what the New Testament Church understood about Jesus true, but cast in a form that really could not carry the freight for us into modern or postmodern times? This is the way I have come to understand it, the way I have found most helpful in trying to translate all of the © Grand Valley State University �Do You Really Think He is Going to Come? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   imagery of the second coming, the end events, and the rapture (or is it the rupture), the great white throne, the final judgment, heaven and hell and all of that–the end events. The way that I have come to translate that for myself is in the same way that I have come to translate the opening chapters of Genesis. Somehow or other, in the stories of the beginning we have been able to accept the symbolic presentation of profound truth, moving away from the literal understanding. But at the other end, we’ve never been able to shed the literal translations of those images and understand them symbolically. Think about the beginning. You don’t really think there was a garden called Eden, do you? You don’t really think there was a Mr. Adam or a Mrs. Eve. Do you believe there was a snake, a tree, an apple? Well, with Adam and Eve, of course, there was a pair. And they do say of Eve that she was a peach, but not an apple with a worm! Not a snake, a talking snake! Yet the story’s message was full of truth. It was the Hebrew understanding of what was going on in their own time and in their own existence. What they said essentially was, “Everything that is, is, because God said, ‘Let there be.’” God said, “Let there be.” And “It is very good.” Well, then they said, “If it was created very good, why it is so bad? How come everything is so rotten?” And they said, “It’s not God’s fault. It is our fault, because we, who were created to worship and adore and serve, usurped God’s place in proud rebellion and self-assertion. We wanted to be God. And so it was we who made hell on earth.” That’s what those chapters tell us. And what they tell us is profoundly true of our existential experience of the human situation where we are drawn to heaven and mired in earth, caught in the tension of worshiping and rebelling, wanting to be God and yet wanting to be God’s. In those symbolic representations of garden and tree and snake and apple, all of the most profound truth of the cosmos of God, of the human situation, comes to the fore. It has been a long time since I’ve been able to negotiate all of that and come to a deeper understanding of biblical truth. Yet it is only recently that I dealt with the other end of it in Revelation in the same way. All of those images of the golden city, the streets of gold, the tree for the healing of the nations–all of those images picked up from the Old Testament really tell us that paradise was lost. But in the End, paradise will be regained. The garden out of which we were driven becomes the city into which we are invited. Essentially the Bible says that God, who in the beginning had good plans for us, will consummate those plans ultimately in the end. What the Biblical message is trying to say in those allusions to Jesus crucified, risen, ascended, reigning, and returning may have meant to intimate a pouring out of his Spirit, the Spirit of God for us, the community which is the body of Christ. Jesus did say, according to John’s Gospel, “I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you.” Pentecost was the coming of the risen one. The Spirit of God, or the © Grand Valley State University �Do You Really Think He is Going to Come? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Spirit of Jesus, is with us forming the community. The community is the body of Christ, which is to live out the life according to the example of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was the anointed one. Jesus was full of the Spirit. And Jesus lived a life according to the intention of God. Those who follow Jesus are those who form concretely the community of God’s people where God reigns, where there is righteousness and justice and mercy and peace, where love abounds. Those end references are simply the only way we can talk about these kinds of things, by which we bear witness to our conviction that it’s not all going to come to naught, but that ultimately God’s way will prevail. God’s purposes will be realized and we will be gathered into the eternal brightness of God’s presence with all God’s people. All of the imagery and symbolism of the New Testament is simply a testimony to the conviction of the early Church that God had acted decisively in Jesus and the end was no more in question. It is something like a chess game, to which I get subjected every once in a while by my grandson Derek on Sunday afternoon when I am tired and brain dead. The mistake I made was to let my son Joseph, when he was a little boy, teach me to play chess . . . a little bit. Now I’m humiliated week after week by my grandson. But two weeks ago I was doing quite well. I actually had more off the board than he did, and I thought I might have a chance of licking him until that fateful move when I unthinkingly did the wrong thing, and I knew it. I thought, the good news is I am going to be able to take my nap! It was over. So I just put my king out there where he could get me. He said, “Oh, no, Bumpa. No, no, no. There’s another move you can make.” So I made the move, and he had to make another move, and I could make another move. But it was all over. All he was doing was dancing me all over the board until finally he got me into the corner where there was no more wiggle room. “Checkmate!” In the early Church, in God’s chess match with all that was opposed to God, what happened in Jesus was that decisive move. There is no possibility that God will not be all in all. But there is still a little wiggle room. As people of God, we believe in that already, of the presence of the kingdom, a kingdom not yet in its fullest expression. In the meantime God is with us. Do you want me to tell you three things that sum up everything that I could possibly suggest you believe and bet your life on? They are these: God in the beginning, God in the end, and God in the meantime. In the beginning all that is, is because God said, “Let there be.” In the end, God will be all in all. And in the meantime, Immanuel, God is with us in the flesh of Jesus who came to us and continues in the ongoing community of God’s people in the bread and in the cup, tokens of a presence with us now. © Grand Valley State University �Do You Really Think He is Going to Come? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   Where is history going? I don’t really know. What will happen to planet earth? I haven’t got a clue. I simply know that for myself and those I have loved and lost, and for my children and my children’s children—in the beginning, God. In the end, God. And in the meantime, God in tokens of bread and cup, and word, and in the flesh of the community—in the other that one loves and in whose face one sees God. That’s enough. I will sing, “He is coming, He will come again,” and by that I mean poetically in song, liturgically in worship, that I adore the God who has called us into being and has come to us and will finally fulfill every promise when we are gathered eternally in the brightness of God’s presence. Thank God. Do you really think God is going to come? No, you don’t. But don’t you know that God is with you and that you could never move beyond the grip of God’s grace? Of course, you do. And that’s enough. That’s all you need. That’s true! © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Advent I Scripture Text Acts 3: 11-21, Revelation 22:8-12 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-19921129 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1992-11-29 Title A name given to the resource Do You Really Think He Is Going To Come? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on November 29, 1992 entitled "Do You Really Think He Is Going To Come?", on the occasion of Advent I, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Acts 3: 11-21, Revelation 22:8-12. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Advent Community of Faith Grace Revelation Spirit of God https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cf4c036db374f1b659f4f609aa92ab6b.mp3 c8c52a05841e676edb84320be595fcd1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d8f005ffe23ce033843fa4664a70281e.pdf cf4f3cea3f0eee57773bddf9a55fba14 PDF Text Text Do You Suppose God Is Really Like That? The Prodigal Son’s Father From the series: Stories Jesus Told Luke 15:11-24 Richard A. Rhem Christ Community Church Spring Lake, Michigan March 28, 2004 Transcription of the spoken sermon This Lenten season we are remembering Jesus, hoping thereby to experience God, and we remember Jesus not because he was alien, a God-figure from beyond that entered our history, donned our human nature and effected our salvation only to return to that eternal state. Rather, we remember Jesus because as John’s Gospel said, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” and that marvelous insight which is much more profound, I think, than anyone has ever plumbed, is that God has become human. So, in remembering Jesus, we are remembering a human being about whom our tradition has said, “There God is embodied.” A couple of weeks ago, Walter Wink was with us to suggest that our calling as human beings is not to become God-like, but to become fully human, because God is the only Human Being with a capital H and a capital B; and, that this cosmic process of billions of years has been evolving and has issued into this present state in which we are the products of that emerging process - alive, conscious, able to contemplate it all. That cosmic process of billions of years has culminated in the likes of us, but as Walter Wink reminded us, we are only primitively human, we are only human on the way, and if that insight of Jesus as the Son of the Man would indicate, then it is toward that full human existence that we are moving, by God’s grace, in order that we might become human as God is Human. And so, in remembering Jesus, we are seeking to experience God. Jesus is our story. There have been other human beings who have been overcome with encounter, who have been overwhelmed by some moment of epiphany, some rifting of the sky, some theophany, some manifestation of that Ultimate Mystery. Abraham heard a voice or saw a vision or had a dream and the instruction was to leave his family and his environment and go out. For Moses, it was a burning bush. The experience of the Buddha in enlightenment was not other than that, and Mohammed had visions which he then recorded in the Koran. Our window on God is Jesus and in John’s Gospel again, in that conversation with Phillip, as we noted, Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have © Grand Valley State University   �Do You Suppose God is Really Like That? Richard A. Rhem Page 2   seen the father.” To look upon the face of God, look upon the face of the human. And so, we have our window, Jesus, and it was Jesus’ life. But in his life, Jesus was a storyteller, and he told the story which I read a moment ago which is perhaps his most familiar and best-loved parable, the parable of the Prodigal Son. The story has a lot to say about the son, about human nature, but it’s more profoundly a parable about a prodigal God. It is a parable about the nature of God, for the father in the story is obviously God. As Jesus tells that story, he reveals his understanding, his sense of the nature of God. I want to think about that with you this morning with a question, and this is my question to you: Do you suppose God is really like that? The father represents God in Jesus’ parable. Do you think God is like the father in the parable? If the father image bothers you, if that is too much a throwback to an old, supernatural being beyond us, or if the father image as father bothers you, let it go. Think in terms of the Ultimate Mystery, or a source and ground of being, that abyss of limitless being out of which flows all that is. I don’t care how you think of it; image it any way you want to, it doesn’t matter. But, Jesus was talking about that which was ultimate. He was talking about Ultimate Reality. He was talking about the sacred, the holy, the Mystery. He was talking about God. I wonder, and I want you to keep asking yourself this morning, “Do I really suppose that that Ultimate, that God, is like that? Like the father figure in the story?” The story is so familiar. There is the request of the younger son against all tradition and all decency, really, to have his inheritance ahead of time so that he can depart, and he goes off into the far country. Since we’re focusing on the father figure, I want you to simply note that there was total freedom given to the son. There was no injured pride. There was no weeping and wailing. There was no judgmental attitude. There was no alienation. Jesus says the son made the request and we know the request was contrary to family order. But, there was no protest. The father gave him his inheritance and he left without any brokenness, any estrangement, which says to me that the Ultimate Mystery in Jesus’ mind is that which offers freedom, total freedom, that we write our own script. Now, when I say total freedom, I know I am speaking in a community where we have such ability to write our script. We are, of all people, most blessed with our resources, with our context. And I know that that is not true of millions and millions of earth’s children, so when I speak about the freedom to write our own script, I am mindful of the fact that that freedom has in some cases severe limitations. You perhaps have been reading again about women in Afghanistan immolating themselves, setting themselves on fire. Can you imagine? Can you imagine how tragic must be the human existence of one who would be driven to that kind of absolute desperation? Did you catch in the newscast last night that in Palestine the little children are collecting cards like our kids collect cards? Baseball cards, right? No. The Palestinian children are collecting martyr cards. Some Palestinian entrepreneur has created cards with the pictures of those who have been martyred. There were all these little children with their cards and they © Grand Valley State University �Do You Suppose God is Really Like That? Richard A. Rhem Page 3   were filling their albums with martyr cards. Can you imagine a child growing up who, rather than having baseball cards, has martyr cards? Or, that young lad, 14 years old, with a bomb strapped to him who was fortunately intercepted by the Israelis, a suicide bomber really not wanting to die? So, when I think about freedom to write our script, I know I’m talking to those of us who have so much, so much beyond so many of the world’s peoples. There are limits to that freedom, but nonetheless, if there is no longer any freedom, there is no longer any humanity and so I would say that in the story Jesus tells, what he is saying in that getting over the yielding to the request of the younger son is that there is no absolute script that is written; there is no predestinated story that is unfolding according to some eternal plan; there is no sovereign, ultimate, absolutism in history. It is rather that we write the story with freedom in greater or lesser degree. Do you think God is like that? Do you think that reality is like that? Do you think that our human experience is like that? We can go from the departure of the son directly to his return. We don’t have to go into the far country and linger there, although a lot of great sermons have satisfied prurient interest about what went on in the brothels and the pig sties, but we don’t really need to go there because this story isn’t about the experience of the son. It’s really about the father. And so, from that granting of freedom, we go to that gracious welcome, a welcome that if you knew the color of the local society, the father an elderly gentleman picking up his robe and running to meet the son, defies all of the local custom about dignity and honor and what is right and proper, the father who doesn’t let the son get his well-rehearsed story out, but rather, embraces him with tears. Eighteen months or so ago, a few of us were in St. Petersburg and I stood in the Hermitage before that huge canvas of Rembrandt’s “Return of the Prodigal,” and pictured there is that old man, his arms straight from his shoulders, the son stooping before him, with a welcome without recrimination, with a welcome without any sign of alienation, with a welcome without any word of rebuke, that spoke not at all of some period of probation, a welcome that simply was a reunion and a celebration full of love and grace. © Grand Valley State University �Do You Suppose God is Really Like That? Richard A. Rhem Page 4   Do you suppose that God is really like that? Do you suppose that the ultimate mystery of reality is like that? Well, if we would put it in contemporary terms that we have been talking about God becoming human, do you suppose that the cosmic process of 13 billion years has a bias toward love and grace? Would you think that maybe in this evolving process onto which stage we have emerged there is something intrinsic in the process itself that has a bias, a tendency toward love and grace, that kind of magnificent picture that Jesus drew for us? Or, would you say “No. No, a cosmic reality has no bias toward love and grace. It is a random process, a random, neutral process unfolding.” You may be right about that. But, if that is the case, we have emerged and one emerged about whom they said there is the embodiment of what is ultimate in the mystery of God, and that one told a story about this kind of love and grace and we have made that one our centerpiece, that one we say is our window on God; and that one spoke about that which is ultimate in terms of love and grace. So maybe it is a random process. Here we are; who would have thought it? Nobody directed it. That’s one possibility, but here we are and we can gather around a story like that © Grand Valley State University �Do You Suppose God is Really Like That? Richard A. Rhem Page 5   which says that the ultimate values are freedom and love and grace effecting reunion and reconciliation. So, whether the process has that within itself or we come on the stage and recognize that and invest it with ultimate meaning, it doesn’t really matter. Whether intrinsic in the process or affirmed by us, love and grace and reconciliation and reunion are the Ultimate. Do you think, do you suppose that that’s the way it is at the heart of things? That’s not the way it is in traditional religious understanding. That’s not the way it is in traditional Christian understanding, for while in traditional Christian understanding the parable of the Prodigal Son is a piece of the puzzle, it is jammed into the blender with a lot of other stuff and what we get is an homogenized view in which you have to add some stuff to the parable of the prodigal in order to get a decent God. In the traditional view, there is something more that you have in the parable of the prodigal. The father who, in freedom, allows one to write one’s own story, and with gracious openness receives that one back into the bosom of love, in traditional Christianity you have, and it’s right at the heart of this season, you have the whole atonement thing and of course, the world will never be the same after Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.” It will take another whole generation to wash out that popularization of the very worst conception of the death of Jesus. But there that violent suffering, that horrible suffering of Jesus is a sign of the costliness of the sacrifice that was demanded in order for God to be able to forgive us. That’s 180 degrees from the parable of the prodigal, for the father in the prodigal needed no payment, no pound of flesh nor pint of blood. The father in the prodigal parable simply, with heart broken with joy, received the son home. And that is 180 degrees from traditional Christian atonement theology which says yes, God is loving and because God is loving, God provided a way, but God is also just and therefore needed God’s honor to be satisfied. Those two are in irreconcilable conflict. I see it more clearly every day of my life. Those are two conceptions of God. Those are two conceptions of Ultimate Reality. In yesterday’s paper, perhaps you read that the final volume of the Left Behind series is out. This is a series of novels about the last things, the end times, a dramatization of the Book of Revelation. It is a total misreading and misunderstanding of the revelation of Jesus Christ to John, the last book of the Second Testament. It is a literalization of that which is highly symbolic, and it makes that writing, which was aimed at its own historical context in a time of intense persecution in the early days in the Christian movement, into history written ahead of time of the last times; and it is a travesty of any kind of intelligent biblical understanding or interpretation. But, be that as it may, other than that, how did I feel about it? This is more serious. This is a book review. The title of the book is Glorious Appearing, The End of Days. Apparently, those few believers who were not raptured at the time that Jesus came to take them out of history, those who were left and those who were converted during the time of tribulation are hovering in a rock fortress, and this review says, © Grand Valley State University �Do You Suppose God is Really Like That? Richard A. Rhem Page 6   ... This rock fortress has been protected by God time and time again, but now its inhabitants face a mighty army whose sole goal is absolute annhililation. This battle is the Battle of Armageddon, it is the battle of the end time. Armageddon is a valley in Israel and this is the final battle when Jesus comes and encounters Satan and Satan’s hosts who have been, of course, afflicting the believers. Apparently this head dog is Carpathia and Carpathia himself leads the charge. But, he is no match for Jesus Christ who returns as prophesied to save the fortress. The battles continue with Jesus’ words alone wiping out hundreds of thousands of troops. The culmination is at the holy city of Jerusalem fractured into three by earthquakes as Jesus wins his final victory. Judgment comes for followers of Satan, but it is the peace that Jesus brings to believers that touches the heart. While Jenkins’ writing is swift and a bit colloquial, his use of scripture is truly inspired. Nothing but scripture is spoken by Christ, portions of the Bible that bring comfort, judgment, war and love. That Jesus is a warrior. That Jesus slays thousands with his words. That Jesus wins the final triumph, and effects the salvation of those that believe and the eternal damnation of those he destroys. That Jesus is totally contrary to the Jesus who tells the story that we looked at this morning, where the Ultimate Mystery is love and grace, where there is no final “No,” where the door is always open and the light is burning forever in the window. This is not just an incidental matter. This conception, the traditional conception of a God who needs a pound of flesh and a pint of blood, whose son will return as a warrior to destroy the wicked, this God is a God drawn by the myth of redemptive violence that ultimately the peaceable kingdom will be issued in by violence. Walter Wink used that phrase, the myth of redemptive violence. It is a totally different conception of the heart and center of reality, and in that myth of redemptive violence, you effect finally peace through war. President Woodrow Wilson had a dream of the League of Nations which his own Senate voted not to enter when it was established, but he led us into the First World War, a war to end all wars. More recently we have gone into Iraq in order to bring democracy into the Middle East and we continue to live under the delusion of the myth of redemptive violence. You may say to me, “Well, what is the other answer, then? Passivism?” I would say no, not passivism. It is non-violent resistance, and the cost of non-violent resistance may well be crucifixion and there may be hell to pay for a long time, but I’ll tell you this - it is the way of Jesus and it is the only hope of salvation of the world. There will never be peace brought by violence if we believe Jesus. If we believe Jesus, then there is wonderful news and scary news. The wonderful news is that the ultimate values are freedom and grace and love, that love and grace alone transform. Violence can coerce. Violence can control. Violence can keep the demons at bay. Love and grace alone transform. Love and grace alone alter consciousness. Jesus told the story about the Ultimate Mystery, God, being a God of freedom and grace. That’s the good news. The scary news is that it is in our hands. It is in our hands. © Grand Valley State University �Do You Suppose God is Really Like That? Richard A. Rhem Page 7   So, do you suppose that God is really that? Where did you get your image of God? Handed down, of course, as with all of us. But, isn’t it time for us to receive those traditional images critically and then take responsibility for the choice we make as to what is ultimate? The choice we make will determine whether the human family has a future, whether the peaceable kingdom will ever be realized. What do you think? © Grand Valley State University � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Richard A. Rhem Collection Description An account of the resource Text and sound recordings of the sermons, prayers, services, and articles of Richard Rhem, pastor emeritus of Christ Community Church in Spring Lake, Michigan, where he served for 37 years. Starting in the mid 1980's, Rhem began to question some of the traditional Christian dogma that he had been espousing from the pulpit. That questioning was a first step in a long and interesting spiritual journey, one that he openly shared with his congregation. His journey is important, in part because it is reflective of the questioning, the yearnings, and the gradual revision of beliefs that many persons in this part of the century have experienced and continue to experience. It is important also because of the affirming and inclusive way his questioning was done and his thinking evolved. His sermons and other written and spoken materials together document the steps in his journey as it took a turn in 1985, yet continued to revolve around the framework and liturgies of the Christian calendar. Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Religion Interfaith worship Sermons Sound Recordings Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Rhem, Richard A. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/514">Richard A. Rhem papers (KII-01)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Kaufman Interfaith Institute Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1981-2014 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 text/pdf Sound A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. Event Lent V Series Remembering Jesus, Experiencing God Scripture Text Luke 15:11-24 Location The location of the interview Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context KII-01_RA-0-20040328 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004-03-28 Title A name given to the resource Do You Suppose God Is Really Like That? Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Richard A. Rhem Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Clergy--Michigan Reformed Church in America Christ Community Church (Spring Lake, Mich.) Sermons Relation A related resource Richard A. Rhem - An Archive of Sermons, Prayers, Talks and Stories: http://richardrhem.org/ Language A language of the resource eng Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Description An account of the resource A sermon given by Richard A. Rhem (Dick) on March 28, 2004 entitled "Do You Suppose God Is Really Like That?", as part of the series "Remembering Jesus, Experiencing God", on the occasion of Lent V, at Christ Community Church, Spring Lake, MI. Scripture references: Luke 15:11-24. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives Eschatology Grace Shalom https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3d6fe80932a6f6a41994137ee597f162.mp4 32b4960e74d210bffd93a8a9e705561e https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/711356597bac8ac36b136888d3cc865f.mp4 988edb24034b2d2be299ec143059bc1a https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/14a15f56a57bcdc39178be97b94bd5fc.pdf b293a48ce0610edf5c25bfdfc1ffeb85 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans' History Project Marshall Doak World War II Part 1 – 2 hours 3 minutes 40 seconds (00:00:13) Early Life -Born in Sturgis, Michigan at 220 Grove Street on March 3, 1921 -Father worked for CL Spence factory in Sturgis, but also played music -Died on Christmas Eve when Marshall was seven years old -Everybody was poor during the Great Depression -Made do with what they had -Mother remarried in 1933 -Moved to Benton Harbor, Michigan -Got along well with the black children, because they were poor too -Graduated from Buchanan High School in 1938 (00:03:45) Enlisting in the Navy -Interested in going to the Naval Academy -Had a scholarship to Rutgers University -Packed his belongings and planned on hitchhiking to Rutgers -Went from Benton Harbor to Detroit to Canada to the New York border -Couldn't get back into the United States through New York -Returned to Detroit and his parents took him home -End of any attempt to go to Rutgers University -Talked to people that had been in the Navy -They said they learned a lot -Recruiter thought he'd be a good fit for the Navy -If he made it through basic training he would be eligible for the academy -In June 1938 only the Navy accepted new recruits -Enlisted on November 9, 1938 (00:08:59) Basic Training -Sent to Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island for basic training -Used to doing hard work -Felt the Navy had good food -Almost felt like a vacation -Enjoyed the Navy -A lot of marching and discipline -Learned to follow orders -Had no problem adjusting to that -Met men from all over the United States -Men from larger cities were arrogant toward men from the country -Lasted four months -Worked on the historic ship USS Constellation (00�:11:30) Service on the USS Salt Lake City -Originally ordered to join the USS Cimarron -Orders were canceled -Ordered to go to the World's Fair in New York City -Those orders were also canceled �-Joined the USS Houston in Virginia and sailed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -Athletic competition held by the Atlantic Fleet in Guantanamo Bay -Reassigned to the USS Salt Lake City (heavy cruiser) -Given extra duties by one of the boatswains because Marshall was a Naval Academy candidate -Later reassigned to the Salt Lake City's sickbay -Enjoyed that duty -Invited to go to the Naval Academy -Enjoyed working in the sickbay and found medicine training -Decided to decline the invitation to the Naval Academy -Captain was furious, but understood (00:16:16) Hospital Corps School -Captain got him sent to Hospital Corps School in San Diego, California -Went to Hospital Corps School in late 1939 -Four month course -Concentrated course work -Worked day and night -Almost never got leave -Finished the top of his class -He was in charge of the other recruits -Meant he got into trouble if another recruit made a mistake -Which is why he didn't get leave that often -Visited San Diego a few times and Tijuana once -Goal was to complete Hospital Corps School and become a hospital apprentice -After that he would become a pharmacist's mate -Learned how to mix compounds and make drugs -Taught first aid -Worked in surgery, pharmacy, and X-ray in the hospital (00:19:59) Training at Great Lakes Naval Station -Sent to the hospital at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois for a short time -Able to visit his family -Served as a hospital apprentice -Spent four or five months there (00:20:32) Norfolk Naval Hospital -Sent to the Norfolk Naval Hospital -Became the senior corpsman in the urological ward -Handled a lot of venereal disease cases -No cure at the time for gonorrhea -Only cure for syphilis took four years -Worked with a new drug that caused kidney failure and killed 80 to 100 soldiers -Primitive antibiotic -Norfolk, Virginia was a Navy-friendly town -People got along well with the Navy, because most of the people were affiliated with the Navy (00:25:16) Serving at Great Lakes Naval Station -Sent back to Great Lakes Naval Station to Building #7 to work in the dispensary -Had a 1935 Ford that he used to drive home -Gas cost only five cents a gallon -Completed that assignment in March 1941 (00:26:42) Assignment to the USS Wakefield -Sent to join the USS Wakefield in New York City �-Troopship being used to transport Allied soldiers -Secret assignment because the United States was still neutral -Use of an American ship and an American crew violated American neutrality -Practiced amphibious assaults with the Marines (00:29:50) Voyage to Singapore Pt. 1 -Sailed out of New York City in early November 1941 -In August 1941 the British were trapped in North Africa and needed help -Germans controlled the sea and air around Africa -Made it impossible for British ships to reach the troops in North Africa -President Roosevelt decided to help the British and fight the war by proxy -Give the British transportation and supplies, and let them fight -The USS New Mexico and other ships were sent to the United Kingdom -Escorted British ships from the United Kingdom to Halifax, Canada -USS Wakefield sailed to Halifax to meet the convoy of American and British ships -British troops boarded the Wakefield in the middle of the night -No newspapers, radios, letters, or cameras -Maintain secrecy to maintain American “neutrality” -Had a lot of contact with British soldiers -Interesting to hear the variety of accents -British were interested in hearing the American accents -First stop was Capetown, South Africa -Knew they probably weren't going home until the war ended -Had eight American destroyers, USS Cimarron, and USS Ranger escort them part of the way -Allowed to drop depth charges on U-Boats when they entered the Caribbean Sea -There were 5,500 British soldiers on board -Stopped in Trinidad -British troops were shocked to get sugar, butter, and fresh fruit -Hadn't gotten those things since the war began -Sailed from Trinidad toward Capetown -Most of the crewmen were “pollywogs” (men that had never crossed the Equator) -Went through the King Neptune's Ceremony -Getting paddled and had to kiss the “Royal Baby's bellybutton” -”Royal Baby” was a black cook -Angered the Southerners that had to participate in the ceremony -Sailed to the Caribbean with the Ranger then sailed to Capetown without the aircraft carrier -Still had cruisers and Marines to protect the convoy -Passed the Equator and spotted the German submarine tender Python -Knew U-Boats were in the area -Had the HMS Dorsetshire, HMS Achilles, HMS Ajax, and HMS Exeter escorting the convoy -HMS Dorsetshire sank the Python -Never knew if it was technically an American or English convoy (00:44:22) America's Entry into the War Pt. 1 -On December 5, 1941 he went into the radio shack and saw a lot of messages coming in -Reported coordinates of two Japanese task forces -One moving toward British Malaya (Malaysia) and the Philippines -Knew something was going to happen -On December 6, 1941 no new messages came in -That night they were called to general quarters -Captain announced Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor �-Also said British Malaya, the Philippines, and Wake -On December 8, 1941 the Japanese attacked Guam -Later learned that on December 5, 1941 the U.S. had over 50 bombers at Clark Field, Philippines -Japanese destroyed every one of those bombers on December 7 -USS Houston and USS Marblehead left Manila on December 5 and sailed to Borneo -Out of reach of the Japanese offensive -Pulled into Capetown, South Africa on December 8, 1941 -Germany and Italy declared war on the United States on December 11, 1941 -Meant President Roosevelt didn't have to convince Congress to declare war on them too (00:52:18) Voyage to Singapore Pt. 2 -Went ashore in Capetown -Set up a temporary office in the Capetown police department -Jan Smuts, the Prime Minister of South Africa, came into the department -Congratulated Marshall on the United States' entry into the war -Didn't know who it was until after Jan left -Allowed the British troops to go ashore in South Africa (00:56:00) America's Entry into the War Pt. 2 -On December 5 the British heard radio chatter implying a Japanese attack on the U.S. -Sent the information to Washington D.C., but received no response -Mexico received similar information and tried to notify the United States -Also ignored -Patrol planes out of Alaska were grounded -All American forces were ordered to stand down the week of December 7 (00:57:38) Voyage to Singapore Pt. 3 -Pulled out of Capetown along with British ships -Arrived in Bombay, India in late December 1941 -Stayed for a week -Able to go ashore -Still no idea what their final destination was -Sailed through the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra -Heavily mined area -Cut the mines loose and then blew them up -Passed through the Bangka Strait -Only had a few .50 caliber machine guns for defense and WWI-era helmets for protection -High-altitude Japanese bombers attacked the convoy -Japanese planes flying missions out of occupied Indochina -Bomb hit the USS Wakefield -Pulled into Singapore on January 29, 1942 -City was being bombed by the Japanese -Japanese bombers hit the city every hour -Only a few fighter planes and antiaircraft batteries to ward off the attackers -Singapore eventually fell to the Japanese on February 15, 1942 (01:05:42) Bombing at Keppel Harbor -Wakefield sailed to Keppel Harbor in Singapore on January 30 -Pulled 60 patients out of the sickbay and at 11 AM a bomb hit the ship and knocked him unconscious -Destroyed almost all of the ship's medical equipment -Woke up from being unconscious and was handed morphine syringes -Told to give morphine shots to a man covered in third degree burns -Gave the man 20 shots, he stopped screaming, and died �-Looked at the man's dog tags, and it was his good friend Paul (01�:11:43) Return Voyage to the United States -Sailed from Singapore to Batavia, Java -Dutch cruisers fought off the Japanese ships that followed the Wakefield -USS Houston was in the Java Sea -Lost at the Battle of Sunda Strait -Sailed to Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) -First ship to pull into the harbor -Civilians were selling star sapphires for $1 each -He bought 20 or 30 of them, but lost them when he abandoned the Wakefield -Left Ceylon and sailed back to Bombay, India and got the ship repaired -Met an American dentist working in Bombay -Told Marshall he could have half of the practice after the war if he wanted -Always wonders what would have happened if he'd taken the offer -Saw the diverse mix of religions in India -Left Bombay and sailed back to Capetown -Anxious to get back to the United States -Sailed across the Atlantic Ocean -Passed through the Equator and received destroyer escorts back to America -Pulled into New York City on March 23, 1942 and greeted with ships saluting them with fire hoses -Sent to Philadelphia for repairs -Japanese said they sank the Wakefield -Obviously not true -Mother called the War Department to ask if it was true -War Department said yes, the ship sank, and Marshall was probably dead -When Marshall got back to the U.S. he called home -Mother always had hope the ship hadn't sank and Marshall survived -First group of troops back from the Pacific Theater -Learned about the fall of Allied territories in early 1942 -Given 10 to 15 days of leave -Told not to talk about his experiences for secrecy's sake (01:25:19) Transportation of Marines to Guadalcanal -Reported back to the USS Wakefield -Sailed to New Zealand with the 1st Marines which were sent to invade Guadalcanal -Sailed alone to New Zealand -Marines were healthier than the British soldiers, but the British troops were equally good fighters -British were a little more polite than the Marines, but Marines were also friendly -New Zealanders were friendly and hospitable (01:27:58) Convoy AT-18 -Sailed to England with a large convoy, AT-18, bound for Glasgow, Scotland -First major movement of American troops to England for service in the European Theater -Stopped in Belfast, Ireland -Pulled into Glasgow -A lot of Free French soldiers and Polish troops gathered there -Stayed in the city and got bedbugs (01:31:00) British Friend -Befriended a British soldier, Morris Barnes, while en route to Singapore -British soldier was captured at the fall of Singapore and made a prisoner of war -Kept in touch with the soldier's wife throughout the war �-Learned that the soldier died a week before Japan surrendered (01:32:20) Fire on the USS Wakefield -On the return voyage from Glasgow a fire alarm went off -Went to his fire station and grabbed as many first aid kits as he could -A fire broke out near the sickbay, but didn't know that -Fire had spread throughout the ship -Captain came to Marshall's fire station and told him to get off the ship before it sank -He abandoned ship and got picked up by the destroyer USS Mayo -Slept on the deck of the Mayo and used a first aid kit as a pillow -Examined the first aid kit and found it was filled with narcotics -Realized someone was trying to smuggle the drugs into the United States -Reported his discovery to the captain of the Mayo -Captain wanted nothing to do with it -Made sure he held onto the first aid kit -When he got back to the United States he was sent to Ellis Island for identification purposes -All of his records were lost in the fire on the Wakefield -Called a medical supply depot in Brooklyn to hand over the narcotics he'd found -Believes someone started the fire on the ship -Fire gutted the ship -He lost all of his personal effects -Got back to the United States in late September 1942 (01:40:55) Treatment of a General on the Wakefield -First patient he treated on the Wakefield was the general of the British 18th Infantry Division -Most likely Lt. General Arthur Percival, captured at the fall of Singapore -General loved having an American dentist work on his teeth -Invited Marshall to have a drink with the other British officers if he had time -Unfortunately, he was too busy with medical work to take up the invitation (01:42:27) Waiting in New York City -After reporting to Ellis Island he was sent to Pier 92 with only the clothes on his back -Finally got his records back -Volunteered for a work detail and got to see the 1942 World Series -Makeshift teams because all the major player were serving in the military -Conducted patrols, but got to watch the game (01:45:23) Commissioning the USS Arapaho (AT-68/ATF-68) -Sent to Charleston, South Carolina to commission the USS Arapaho, a fleet ocean tug -Arrived in Charleston around Thanksgiving 1942 -Ship was almost completed when he arrived -Helped a Navy doctor in the naval yard -Did a lot of the work -Charleston was a segregated and racially tense city -Black sailors were harassed -Residents of Charleston didn't like sailors regardless of race -Racist gangs tried to attack groups of black sailors returning to the naval yard -White sailors stood by the black sailors and fought off the racists -Strange for Marshall to witness -USS Arapaho was commissioned on January 20, 1943 (01:48:36) Shakedown Cruise on the USS Arapaho -Went to sea with a skeleton crew for the shakedown cruise -German submarine fired two torpedoes at the Arapaho �-Traveling light which meant they went underneath the bow; causing no damage -Returned to port -Captain Wootton had to be relieved of command because he couldn't handle the stress (01:50:12) Duty on the USS Arapaho -Got a new captain, C.B. Lee, with 30 years experience -Helped train the new officers -Got more of a crew and went out to sea for a couple days -Had his own surgery, pharmacy, and office near the officers' quarters -Worked on his own -130-140 enlisted men and 8 or 9 officers -Learned to disperse medical equipment rather than keep it in one spot like on the Wakefield -Inspected fresh food and food products coming onto the Arapaho -Cleaned fruits and vegetables from local sources -Kept track of canned food and dried food so it didn't spoil -In the Pacific Ocean temperatures on the ship reached 120 degrees -Slept on the deck when he could to escape the heat (01:55:10) Voyage to Casablanca-USS Arapaho -Sailed from Charleston to Key West, Florida to the submarine base there -Vice President Truman frequently visited Key West, but Marshall never met him -Ordered to sail to North Africa on March 19, 1943 -En route to North Africa they ran into a hurricane and had to stop in Bermuda -One of the ship's in the convoy had been left behind and the Arapaho went to recover it -Towed the ship back to Bermuda, only to learn it wasn't one of the convoy's ships -Happy coincidence for the ship stuck in the hurricane -Sailed from Bermuda to the Mediterranean Sea -Almost got sunk by a British torpedo plane -Stopped in Gibraltar -Italian divers tried to mine ships in the harbor -Used depth charges to kill and ward off the Italian frogmen (combat divers) -Pulled into Casablanca, Morocco to collect the USS Almaack (AKA-10) -While waiting for the ship he went ashore and tried to communicate with the French locals -The French laughed at him, not to be mean, but because his French was so proper -Towed the USS Almaack back to the United States -Sailed alone -Never attacked by U-Boats, but they were still a constant threat End of Part 1 Part 2 1 hour 50 minutes 27 seconds (00:00:16) Return to the United States from Casablanca -Returned to the United States after 15 days at sea -No change in clothing or showers during the return voyage (00:01:03) Operating around Funafuti -Sailed through the Panama Canal -Pulled into San Diego, California on July 15, 1943 to pick up a barge to tow to Pearl Harbor -Had escorts -Hauled ammunition barges around Funafuti �-Hundreds of pounds of bombs -Sometimes barges broke loose during rough weather -Men were injured by steel cables breaking -Japanese bombed the islands at night and out of reach of the antiaircraft guns -Sailed between the Ellice and Gilbert Islands -Japanese bombers targeted the runways on the islands and the aircraft on the runways -Not allowed to interact with the natives -Didn't spend much time ashore anyway -Whenever they got beer they shared it with the fighter pilots -In return, the pilots brought it up with them because it got chilled at the high altitudes (00:06:15) Pacific Theater Battles -Participated in the battles of Eniwetok, Kwajalein, and Makin -Assisted Carlson's Raiders (Marine Raiders) during a raid -Five of the men got left behind and were executed by the Japanese commanding officer -Arapaho served as a lookout ship before the raid -Got to the island a day early and had to wait until night to move in at the planned time -Japanese officer was captured and hanged at the end of the war (00:08:22) Battle of Tarawa Pt. 1 -Served as a chief pharmacist's mate during the Battle of Tarawa -November 20, 1943 through November 23, 1943 -Island was heavily defended -Fleet of 150 American ships poised to attack the island -17 aircraft carriers -12 battleships -Eight heavy cruisers -Four light cruisers -66 destroyers -36 transport ships -Arapaho was part of the ancillary fleet supporting the invasion -Prior to the invasion he saw Japanese bombers approaching the Arapaho -Reported his sighting to the bridge, but was ignored -Went back down into the ship and put on his “lucky dungarees” -Told the men around him to expect trouble -Returned to the deck and went to the 20mm antiaircraft cannon -Japanese bombers buzzed the ship and dropped depth charges to no effect -Wished he knew better how to use the cannon -They were gone before he got a shot off -Captain never apologized for doubting Marshall -Tarawa was only 800 yards across and about a square mile of actual fighting area -Misjudged the tide at the time of the invasion -Sent landing craft in while the tide was still out -Arapaho was at the point between Red Beach 2 and Red Beach 3 -Remembers that it was a massacre when the first wave went ashore -Navy bombarded the island before the invasion -Chased the Japanese across the island with a rolling bombardment -Japanese had constructed a concrete wall that not even the battleships could break -Japanese reacted quickly and set up machine guns on a concrete pier that extended off the shore -Marines attacking Red Beach 2 had to wade through debris while being shot at -Marines on the second wave knew what happened to the first wave �-Marines on the first wave either drowned or were killed by the machine guns -Only three men survived the first wave -Took a lot of casualties over the course of the invasion -Note: 1,696 men killed and 2,101 wounded in only three days -Had 15 gallons of grain alcohol -Distributed it among the Marines to try and raise their spirits before they invaded -Marines needed medics to go ashore to treat the wounded -He volunteered -He went ashore at Red Beach 3 -50 yards from the command post -Landscape was unbelievable -Found over a dozen dead Japanese soldiers with no apparent wounds -Most likely killed by the concussion from the artillery -Saw a Landing Ship, Tank (LST) being used as a Navy field hospital -Remembers one doctor having a nervous breakdown -Marshall went up to the doctor and put his arm around him -In retrospect, he feels he should have slapped the doctor -Not to be mean, but to get the man back to reality -He was suffering from “hysterical convulsions” -You start to believe in an alternate reality to escape trauma (00:27:15) Hysterical Convulsion -Taught to never give a sedative to a man experiencing hysterical convulsions -Near Makin he remembers the gun crews firing tracers at Japanese torpedo bombers -At night the tracers looked like they were coming at the gun crew and not away from them -Remembers one gun crewman believing he'd been hit by one of the rounds -Marshall was called to the gun crew to treat the wounded sailor -Saw the man had no apparent wounds and was having hysterical convulsions -Had to start slapping the man to get him out of the episode -Couldn't give him a sedative until he pulled out of the episode -Once the man was back to reality he could safely give him a sedative (00:32:12) Treating Burns -Most common wound at the start of the war was flash burns caused by bombs exploding -Originally used boric acid to treat burns -Found out that in large doses it was toxic -Moved on to using sulfa -Realized it was also toxic -At the end of the war used sugar water and wet dressings to treat burns -Successful and nontoxic (00:34:01) Battle of Tarawa Pt. 2 -On the fourth day at Tarawa the Arapaho towed a destroyer off the beach -All of the other ships had left Tarawa -Arapaho was the only ship left at the island -Had to account for nearly 5,000 Japanese corpses -Beaches were filled with decaying bodies -President Roosevelt finally allowed for pictures to be taken of the aftermath of the battle -Believed the American people needed to get used to seeing the cost of war -On the fifth day none of the bodies had been buried -Clouds of flies buzzed over the bodies of the dead -Had to use bulldozers to cover the bodies and create mass and unmarked graves �-As of 2015 efforts are finally being made to find the exact location of the bodies (00:38:44) Battles of the Northern Marianas Islands -Participated in the liberation of Guam, Saipan, and Tinian -Had a lot of new firefighting seamen on board -Majority of the men had received courts-martial -Given two choices: jail or hazardous duty -Some of the finest men he ever served with (00:41:05) Battle of Kwajalein -Participated in the battle of Kwajalein -January 31, 1944 to February 3, 1944 -Known as “Execution Island” -Found a couple British prisoners of war -Had been tied to poles on the Japanese airfield to deter American attacks on the airfield -Survived the bombardment of the island and the subsequent battle -He brought them back to the Arapaho and gave them showers and new clothes -To show their appreciation they gave Marshall a handcrafted grass token -Their only possession and they wanted him to have it -Took a lot of casualties at Kwajalein, but not nearly as bad as Tarawa -142 killed and 845 wounded at Kwajalein as opposed to the nearly 4,000 casualties at Tarawa -Battle of Tarawa is considered one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific Theater (00:46:40) Duties in the Pacific Theater -Towed an aircraft carrier to Pearl Harbor -Escorted the aircraft carrier USS Makin -Arapaho had depth charges and a three inch gun for defense -Steamed in the wake of the Makin -Easier travel in rough weather -When in harbors they towed ships to various places (00:48:20) Ulithi -Got to the island of Ulithi in late summer/early fall 1944 -Could have put the entire Pacific Fleet at Ulithi -Idea was to use Ulithi as the eventual staging area for the invasion of Japan -Still within reach of Japanese planes and submarines -Japanese used suicide torpedoes called kaiten -One was used to sink the USS Mississinewa on November 20, 1944 at Ulithi -Filled out four death reports for four of the men found in the water -Found one body with the head sheered off -Later found out it was the Japanese pilot of the torpedo -Buried with dignity -Between November 4 and 10, 1944 they helped the USS Zuni tow the USS Reno to Ulithi -The Reno was the sister ship of the USS Juneau and had been torpedoed on November 3 -Arapaho left Ulithi and joined a task force (00:54:14) Mutiny on the Arapaho and Problems with the Captain -Remembers being called to the bridge where a group of officers were waiting -One of the officers, Alexander Turak, asked Marshall what he thought of the captain -Captain was drunk and had a severe drinking problem -Marshall invoked Article 184, citing the captain was mentally unfit to command the ship -Able to order the captain off the bridge because he was drunk -Kept the captain in his room for three or four days until they reached Ulithi -Once they reached Ulithi Marshall let the captain out of his room �-Prior to the mutiny, the captain referred to Mr. Turak as “Jew Boy” and “Christ Killer” -Note: Mr. Turak was a Jewish officer -Turak told the captain he'd turn him over to his superiors if he endangered the ship and its crew again -In retaliation, the captain made sure Turak had bad jobs on the ship -Marshall wanted to get off the Arapaho, but couldn't leave until his replacement came aboard -Had to wait until November 24, 1944 -Captain never directed any animosity toward Marshall -The novel, The Caine Mutiny, was written after the war and based on the incident on the Arapaho -Prior to the mutiny, the captain issues courts-martial for two sailors for allegedly stealing peaches -Captain claimed the men were going into the storeroom and taking peaches -Ruling came back 'not guilty' -One reason was the men were allotted a ration of peaches -So the men charged with stealing were only getting their ration on their own -Other reason is technically they were breaking and entering, not stealing -Marshall kept a bottle of medicinal brandy on board -Gave a shot to the divers to calm their nerves after they completed a dive -Captain decided he wanted the bottle of brandy, and naturally, Marshall couldn't do that -Captain ordered Marshall to get a second bottle of brandy so he could have a bottle -Marshall complied only because he feared arbitrary punishment from the captain (01:08:22) Aiding Civilians -Helped a young man, named Jesus Cruz, who was from Guam, go ashore to visit his village -Came from a troubled family life -Regrets letting him go ashore (01��:10:11) Medical Duties -At one point met up with the doctor from the USS Wakefield -Met on the doctor's new ship, USS Cascade -Talked about his service on the USS Arapaho -Told him about how he had had to euthanize his best friend at Keppel Harbor -Asked the doctor what his extent of liability was as a medical officer on a ship -Meaning, how much leeway was he given if he made a mistake -Doctor told him there was no extent of liability given the circumstances -Basically, do the best you can with the skill and resources available to you -Whenever they participated in an invasion Marshall would treat wounded ground troops (01:14:10) Postwar Trauma Pt. 1 -The war was difficult, but dealing with the effects of the war was more difficult -Can't explain to his sons what he experienced during the war -Still wakes up in the middle of the night, haunted by the memories of the war (01:15:12) Transfer to USS Enterprise (CV-6) -Marshall was relieved from the USS Arapaho on November 24, 1944 when his replacement arrived -Captain thanked him for his service, but was happy to have Marshall off the ship -With Marshall gone the captain could deal with Mr. Turak without Marshall's interference -Transferred to the USS Enterprise -Worked in the aircraft carrier's air-conditioned sickbay -Would go up on the flight deck to watch planes take off for missions -Offered the chance to go on a training flight over the islands of Truk and Yap -Initially accepted the offer, but then decided not to go on the flight -Knew he was close to getting home and didn't want to get killed (01:18:07) Flying -After the war he went on a flight with a civilian pilot �-Flew over Lake Michigan -When they landed the pilot confessed that he'd forgotten to take the blocks off the plane -Meant the pilot had very little control of the plane -Took flying lessons and got his pilot's license -Stopped flying after a flight during the winter (01:19:56) Service at Brooklyn Naval Hospital -After returning to the United States he was assigned to the Brooklyn Naval Hospital -Boss was John McCormick -Had great duty at the naval hospital -Largely because he'd served under McCormick at Great Lakes Naval Station -Had a good relationship with him while at Great Lakes (01:21:30) Service with John McCormick -At the Great Lakes Naval Station dispensary there were a lot of reserve officers -One officer came from Michigan -Prior to the war they went to the University of Michigan -Conducted physicals for the Navy's college training programs -Marshall helped process the lab work for potential recruits -Officer from Michigan pulled out half a dozen urine samples before they were processed -Said they weren't fit for service -Marshall discovered those samples were from Jewish men -From the University of Michigan they went to Northwestern University -Officer pulled out Jewish urine samples again -After that Marshall reported the officer's behavior to John McCormick -After the war he was working in medical supply and ran into the anti-Semitic officer -Learned that McCormick had called out the officer after Marshall joined the USS Wakefield -John served as Marshall's mentor -While at the Brooklyn Naval Hospital John told Marshall that he felt Marshall deserved better duty -Three or four weeks later John received orders for Hunter College in Bronx -Training station for thousands of WAVES (women in the Naval Reserve) -He'd be one of only about a dozen men at the college (01:29:18) Service at Hunter College -Commander's name was Helen Jacobs -In charge of medical inventory at Hunter College -Discovered the college was missing medical equipment -The doctors at Hunter College had their own private practices on the side -They were most likely taking medical equipment for their own practices -Alerted the Brooklyn Medical Supply Depot -War was nearing its end -Offered a commission if he helped with medical inventory in the Pacific Theater -Knew it would be stressful and exhausting work to inventory equipment -Declined the offer for that reason and because he wanted to go home -Had 150 women under his command at Hunter College -Learned that he had to communicate with women differently than men -And older woman mentored Marshall at Hunter College -Remembers going on a date with a former Women's Army Corps volunteer -While at dinner he received a call from the older woman mentoring him -Told him the girl he was on a date with was pregnant, so be careful -He was the only male chief at Hunter College -Whenever he walked in the dining hall all of the women watched him walk to the officer's hall �-Couldn't yell at the women like he yelled at men (01:38:00) Life after the War -Note: Discharged from the Navy on October 8, 1945 -After he got out of the Navy he returned to Michigan, met his wife, and got married -Had three sons -Attended the University of Michigan -Had a hard time adjusting -Wanted to go to medical school, but still had to do pre-med school -Already 25 years old -Didn't want to take four years to go through pre-med school -Had forgotten how to study (01:39:42) Postwar Trauma Pt. 2 -Knew he had psychological trauma from the war -Tried to go to the VA Hospital for treatment shortly after he returned to civilian life -No help -Doctors were treating patients and also, essentially, running the hospital -More concerned with maintaining their position than treating patients -Negative environment -Doctors were suspicious of new patients -Difficult to get into the hospital for treatment -Learned later the better option was to just go to a public hospital for treatment -More convenient for him now -Hardest part of the war was not the war itself, but living with the memories of the war -One of his sons and daughter-in-law lives across the street and help him -Never got a chance to talk about his experiences until recently -Being a part of a group of veterans in St. Joseph, Michigan has been helpful Part 2 ends at 01:47:46 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_DoakM1906V Title A name given to the resource Doak, Marshall (Interview outline and video), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-12-03 Description An account of the resource Marshall Doak was born in Sturgis, Michigan on March 3, 1921. He enlisted in the Navy on November 9, 1938 and went to Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island for basic training. He served aboard the USS Salt Lake City then went to Hospital Corps School in San Diego, California in late 1939. He trained at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois and served in the urological ward at Norfolk Naval Hospital. From Norfolk he returned to Great Lakes Naval Station to work in the dispensary then got assigned to the USS Wakefield. In November 1941 the Wakefield joined a convoy in Canada and helped secretly transport 5,500 British troops to Singapore before the United States entered the war. By the time they dropped off the troops, Pearl Harbor had been bombed and the U.S. was in the war. He served aboard the Wakefield until Thanksgiving 1942 when he was reassigned to the USS Arapaho. Aboard the Arapaho he served as the ship's doctor. Through the summer of 1943 the ship operated in the Pacific Theater and during the Battle of Tarawa he went ashore to treat Marine casualties. He also participated in the liberation of the in liberation of Eniwetok, Kwajalein, Makin, and the Northern Marianas Islands. He experienced a quasi-mutiny on the USS Arapaho before being transferred to the USS Enterprise on November 24, 1944. He returned to the United States and served at Brooklyn Naval Hospital and Hunter College before being discharged on October 8, 1945. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Doak, Marshall Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Navy Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Language A language of the resource eng Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/x-m4v application/pdf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fd65181d9a4e731f6a4e8b12b5c2ea84.pdf 2a2d13d99230d37ee06640388f0846ba PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview Daniel Doane U.S. Army Length of interview (8:16) (1:50) early life and service         (1:00) Born on June 29, 1926. Served in the army Before he entered the service he went to George Davis Technical High School, graduated in 1944 (3:15) He went to college on the G.I. Bill, graduated in 1952 (3:30) he had three siblings in the navy, one was a quarter master on a LST (4:23) He tried joining the navy, air force, and marines but was turned away because of bad vision (4:40) signed up for a chemistry course at Grand Rapids Junior College but on the first day of class he was in Detroit joining the army (September 1945) (5:00) after spending a few weeks in Fort Sheridan, he was sent to Texas and then Mississippi, he was very homesick. Mississippi was much better than Texas because there were more trees (7:20) Daniel was eventually sent to Chitose Air Base in Japan, most of the base was under-ground � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27_DoaneD1803V Title A name given to the resource Doane, Daniel Edward (Interview outline), 2015 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2015-05-22 Description An account of the resource Daniel Doane was born on June 29, 1926 to a family of six children. He joined the army in September 1945 and was sent to Fort Sheridan Illinois. After spending several months in the United States, Daniel was sent to Chitose Air Base in Japan. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Doane, Daniel Edward Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Doane, Lindsay (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American United States. Army Air ForcesOral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Veterans Video recordings Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/aaa98df801f9f7fccb4d1974b292cf11.mp4 092698976fd5caab3b5f483536ec6cd1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e361b9d30d00761a4e86afd1ad54da54.pdf 880cb3a0b5a5954ebd957ab27cdafc80 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project Interview World War II Edward Dochod 53:46 Introduction (00:18) We’re talking today with Mr. Edward Dochod of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the interviewer is James Smither of the Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project. Now, Mr. Dochod, can you start with some background on yourself, and to begin with where and when were you born? Grand Rapids, Michigan. January 1st, 1919. Very good, now did you grow up in Grand Rapids? Yes I did. All right, and did you finish high school? No, I went through 11th grade. Okay, and then, why did you leave school then? Well, I wanted to go to work. Now, what did your family do for a living when you were a kid? My dad was in furniture, all his life. And I had a couple of brothers that were caretakers of bowling alleys, and I had a sister, she did babysitting. Did your dad keep his job during the depression? No, he was laid off during the depression. But he always found an odd job to pick up a few bucks and that. When you went to work what kind of job did you get? Oh, I got in a factory the first time, at the Grand Rapids Plating Company. Then I got in with the Hoover Vacuum Cleaning machine outfit and then I went to McEnerny Spring and Wire, Dowler-Jarvis, American Seating, then I started maintenance work at one catholic school. Then I ended my maintenance work at Saint Ann‟s Home on Leonard Street. I worked there twenty years; I retired from there last November twenty five years ago. �All right, so that’s your full career. Now, before you went into the Army, what jobs were you in then, the very first jobs? (2:19) That was the last one I worked at, McEnerny's Spring and Wire, then I went into service. Do you remember hearing about Pearl Harbor? No, I just remember what I read in the papers, the bombing of Pearl Harbor and that. After that happened, did you think about enlisting? No, I didn‟t think of enlisting. Were you married at that time? Yes I was. Did you have any children yet, or on the way? Yes, I had three of them. Ok, so you had things to do at home. Oh yeah. When did you receive your draft notice? Oh, it was sometime in January of 42‟. After you got the draft notice, what did you do? I kept working at McEnerny‟s until about three weeks, then I said that‟s enough, I‟m taking a vacation before I go into the Army. And then where did you go first for the Army? Fort Custer, Michigan. Now was that just processing there? That was just first entry, then I went to South Carolina, Fort Jackson. I had my basic training there. From there I went to Fort Devens, Massachusetts and I was assigned to the division and that, to the 45th Division. (4:27) Ok, let’s back up a little bit to Fort Jackson, how did they get you from Fort Custer to Fort Jackson? �They took me down there by bus. A bus? All the way from Michigan to South Carolina? Yeah So, not a train? Oh yeah, we went on a train too. Had you made long train trips before that? No. Had you been very far outside Michigan before that? Well, I was the furthest I was away from Michigan was at that camp in North Carolina. So, what was basic training like? Basic training was all infantry, different guns and weapons that we used in the infantry and that. Rifle range, pistol range, bayonet course, and how to give emergency first aid into battle, when you‟re in battle if you can‟t get in touch with the aid. Did they have a lot of emphasis on discipline? Oh yeah. How easy was it for you to adjust to life in the Army? (6:04) It took quite a while after I got through with basic training. There was people with the training academy that thought they were generals, but when we got through with basic training, we seen some of those corporals and that and you can kiss my butt now, I‟m done with you guys. They acted like generals, but that was their job. Now, when you were at Fort Jackson, do you know where the other men were from, the men you were training with? Oh, I met a lot of men from all over the country; from many different states. And did you ever get off the base at Fort Jackson, did you go any place else? Oh went out to town, when we had a weekend pass. And then, did you notice the racial segregation there? �Did I what? Well, you know, that was the south and the south was segregated in those days. Did you notice that? Well, I noticed it some, yeah. And did you know it was going to be like that? Yes and No. Because it’s a little different from how they did things here. Oh, I guess so. How long was basic training? Thirty two weeks. So, for over half a year? Now it‟s cut down to practically, so many weeks. Right, two or three months. So your in Fort Jackson for a long time, and then after that? After our basic training at Fort Jackson, we went to Fort Devens. So, some of your training was at Fort Devens, it wasn’t just at Fort Jackson, ok. When you’re at Fort Devens, is that near Boston? (8:08) Boston, yeah. So did you get a little bit more time to go into town? Oh yeah, we got our weekend passes and that to go to town. And now and then we would get a furlough to go home for a week and come back. So you got to see your family before you went overseas. Yeah. What Division were you a part of? �I was always with the 45th Division, then when I went to the discharge camps, I was assigned with the 103rd Division, because that division was going home; Being deported back to the United States, ahead of the 45th Division. They took the high pertinent first. And you had been in so early, and you had been a combat infantryman all that time, you had a lot of points. The 45th Division, was that a National Guard Division? That‟s an old National Guard unit from Fort Sill, Oklahoma. That’s what I thought. My father-in-law was in that, a little later. So you had a bunch of older guys who were guardsmen or men who had been in the unit already? Oh yeah, a lot of the older men, they got discharged on account of their age. So, most of the Division was sort of new men who were added to it? Well, mostly new men. So, there were some guys who were actually from Oklahoma and then you had all the extra guys from everywhere else. Yeah, that‟s true. Alright, now when did you ship out? Ship out, it was July 10, 1943. And what kind of ship did they put you on? (10:12) Well, it was a transfer from a civilian ship to a military boat, I can‟t think of the name of the ship. But when you crossed the Atlantic, were you on the civilian ship or on the military? No, we were on the military. And, about how many men do you think were on the boat with you? Well, a whole division, they were big boats. So, several thousand men probably. They were transferred from civilian ships into military boats. So, converted ocean liners. �Yeah. Ok, those could hold thousands of men, all right. Did you sail in a convoy? Yeah, in a convoy. And, what was the weather like when you went across? Oh, pretty rough before the invasion. We thought they were going to call the invasion off, but we went through it. Now, the invasion then was the Sicily landings in July of 43’ and Salerno is in September. When you crossed the Atlantic, what was the first stop you made? First stop we made was Sicily. You didn’t stop in North Africa first? Yeah, we stopped at first in North Africa for a few days. Then from there we had our combat assignments and went for the invasion of Sicily. Now when you went across, were there already Americans ashore when you landed in Sicily? No. So you were making a beach landing? (12:04) We were making all beach landings. Can you describe a little bit what that’s like? They load you up on… It was hell, we were being bombed and strafed and machine gun fire, they had barbed wire entanglements, we had to put them bangalore torpedoes to blow them barbed wire entanglements out of the way so we could get on land. Ok, now how much training did you have for a beach invasion, had you ever practiced one before? No. Did they put you in the small landing craft to go up to the beach? Oh yeah, they put them in landing invasion boats, they hit the shore and when you hit the shore they opened that flap door and there you went. �How did you get in the landing boat? You're in a bigger transport ship, how do you get in the landing craft? We went down on cargo nets, they had a big rope cargo net on the side of the ship and we went down like monkeys into the invasion boats. How much gear did you carry when you made that landing? We had all our equipment, we had packs on our back and our ammunition and everything, we were packed down like a camel. Did guys have problems getting into the landing boat? Oh no, a lot of the landing boats were shot and sunk from bombs and that, and we kept going through that fire and we were getting artillery fire from the beach. And do you know which beach you landed at or what town you were near? (14:09) No, I don‟t know. They had names for the beaches but I don‟t remember their names. Ok, well we can look that up, and when we put it on the internet we’ll note all that. So, you land then on shore and you use bangalore torpedoes to blow through the wire, and once you got through the wire, then what? Then we moved forward, to go after one town after another town. Right near the beach, once you got through the wire were there a lot of Germans or did they get away? Oh, I guess so. The shore was full of Germans protecting their shoreline, we had machine gun fire, artillery fire, mortar fire, bomb fire, strafing of enemy planes. So how did you get rid of them? Well, our outfits did their best of shooting them out of the sky, and us infantryman did the best of killing them all I mean. So then you break through the beach defenses then, and were the Germans counterattacking in those first days? Oh, they tried a counterattack, but we always knocked off the counterattack. Then we went forward and took our objective and that. Right, so when they counterattacked you, did they have tanks? Oh yeah, they had everything but the kitchen sink. �Now, your infantry unit, what could you do about a German tank? Well, we did the best we could. Did you get air support or naval guns? Oh yeah, we had naval support and air support, but then the enemy was shooting at them and that too, you know. Now, were you fighting pretty constantly then in Sicily, or did you get any breaks? No, we just kept on moving. One objective after the other. No much stopping either or no relief, you just kept going. No stopping and helping your wounded buddy, just move, move. What kind of casualties was your company taking? (16:42) From machine gun fire and air strafing from the air force and that, the bombing and mortar shells, everything but the kitchen sink. I‟m surprised we didn‟t get the sink thrown at us. Now, out of your original platoon or your company, how many of the men were still with you at the end of that campaign? Oh, not very many. We got a lot of replacements. Were you just a rifleman that whole time? Yup. Did you become a squad leader or anything like that? No, towards the end I was in a squad but I was like second in command of each squad I mean. So, you still had some sergeants and things like that? Oh yeah. As your moving across Sicily, what do you remember about the country, what sort of land was it? Oh, it was mostly blown up country, but some of the little cities we passed through were really nice. The villagers would go out to see that they were liberated from the Germans and they waved the American flags you know. They come out into the street and brought us flowers, and girls coming out to us, they were so glad to see us. Alright, did you go all the way up to the tip of Sicily? (18:38) �After each objective, we got, sort of, a few days of rest, then we trained for more goings on forward what our objective would be. Were a lot of the Germans in caves or in the sides of mountains? Oh yeah, they had their dug outs and everything hidden, all well camouflaged, or in buildings and that, we were a perfect target for them. Does an infantry company carry any sort of heavier weapons, did you have bazookas or flame throwers? We had heavy field artillery behind us, we had tank support, air support, but if the weather was bad, we didn‟t get much air support. But when it cleared up, here they came. And we saw big bombers in the air and we said, “Hey, go give em‟ hell and that”. Alright, so now, about how long do you think the campaign in Sicily was? Was it about a month or a month and a half? Oh, all of that. Do you get much of a break before you land in Italy? (20:10) Not much, we got maybe a couple of days, and back up the front. So now you have to make another landing. We get through with one, then we practiced for more amphibious landings. Dry runs we called them. So now you’re getting training after you’ve already done it once. Yeah. Where did you land in Italy? We landed in near Naples. Now, the area where you landed, was there a lot of opposition there? Not too much. Salerno was bad but Naples was not as bad. Anzio Beach was the worst. �Oh yeah, and that’s later. So, you land near Naples, so this time you’re not being shot at a lot, were there still some Germans around? Still some Germans around. And then, after you landed, then what did you do? We kept on moving forward, we kept on moving forward for so many days, then you would get a couple days off then back again, forward, forward. Ok, now eventually those movements kind of stall don’t they? You get stuck someplace? Oh yeah, we got held back quite a few times. Was that at Cassino or in that area? Cassino was really a bad place; we couldn‟t get to that monastery on the mountain there. The Germans were just like in a lighthouse, looking down our rifle barrels. Did your division fight at Cassino or in a different place in the line? After we got, they were sent to the Pacific after we were sent home. That’s much later. What we’re doing here is following your division through its campaign. Now, you’re getting in to the end of 1943, and the Germans are holding the Cassino line, their going to hold that all winter, and we don’t really move, ok, were you fighting along that line for a while? (22:46) Oh yeah. And physically, can you describe the conditions there? It was hell on earth. We were wondering if we were ever going to get out of there alive. But, finally the Air Force came through and our long range artillery got through ok, and blasted the hell out of that monastery. That will come later after the Anzio invasion. What was the weather like at the end of 43’? Miserable. Rain, rain, rain. We dug our foxholes and like laying a swimming pool, I mean. Did you cross the rivers to attack, like that Volturno? Oh yeah, we had to go in boats across the Volturno and that, oh yeah. What kind of boat would you use? �We used them, we had a name for them boats and that. Were they metal boats that you put together or rubber rafts or what were they? It was sort of a boat put together, I mean. And the Remagen Bridge was really a tough battle. Again, that’s later. Before we knocked it out. You mentioned at a certain point your division gets pulled out of the Cassino front, because you go to Anzio. Yeah. Now, was your division going into Anzio right at the start? Were you part of the invasion? (24:36) We were the main force of the invasion, when we landed in Anzio. There was other divisions on our flanks, but we were the main division. Right, one corps landed, the 3rd Division, 36th Division and you guys. Ok, and you're right in the middle. Can you describe the Anzio landing, what was that like? Oh, that was, we were stuck on the beach there for three days, because the Air Force couldn‟t get through and that. Then after that, we had many, many casualties, we thought we were going to get blown off that landing, but after three days, our Air Force got through and opened up some room for us to go forward and that. Dead, laying dead all over the place. When you first landed, like on the very first day, were there a lot of Germans yet? I don‟t know where all them Germans came from, but that beachhead was full of Germans. Cause some of the reports say there weren’t too many there right away, but then they all came and attacked you. Well yeah. Alright, you’re stuck, you get a little bit more room, and then basically do you just dig in and hang on, or are you attacking a lot or defending? We were defending then we attack. Defending then we attack. Get reorganized, push again. There were also some British forces there; did you see much of them? (26:29) Oh yeah, we had some British forces with us and that too. �And did you see much of them? No, but we, they had funny humor, we met some of them and they joked with us. They were laughing their heads off, us G.I.‟s and we said „what the hell is so funny‟ and that. I think that still happens. Yeah, yeah. And you’re stuck in Anzio for a long time, right, for months before you get out. Was there a point in Anzio where it got easier or at least felt like you were winning? Was there a turning point anywhere? Well, I think they were all good points after we start to move and go and that. We felt that we were starting to win. Now, did you get tank support, did you get armor coming in to help? Oh yeah, and then when we attacked we always had that armor help, and field artillery help, a lot of them wouldn‟t get the right range before the observer could raise the artillery fire, landed on our troops and that. Now, the Germans had some really big guns? Oh, we used to call her the Anzio Express, we could hear that thing, that thing shot for a good forty miles I think. It was a big railroad gun. And when they knocked it out we come by there and theirs your Anzio Express over there all blown to hell and that. Did that gun mostly fire at the port, or did you get those shells landing on your lines? (28:32) Well, we got them on top of us too. We could hear our big shells, would give us such close support we thought they were going land right on us, but they landed right in front of us. Once you finally break out from Anzio, were there still very many guys left that you trained with or was everybody else a replacement? Well, most of the old timers were gone and we met a lot of new replacements that come in. Then from Anzio we moved forward until we come to Rome. Well, Rome was an open city, so we relaxed there in Rome, trained for more targets and that, in Italy and that. But then not too long after that, you start preparing for the next invasion? They were there. We thought we knocked them all out, but hell no. �So, there were still more Germans in Italy to fight first. Lot of Germans that surrendered were glad that they surrendered, I mean. So you saw some of the German prisoners in Italy then? Oh yeah. What did they look like to you? They smelled. Were they regular military age? Yeah, just like us. Now, at a certain point then, because in August your division lands in southern France? (30:31) Yeah. How much of a break did you get before you made that landing? We had a couple of weeks. To relieve the pressure off the Normandy landing and you know, we didn‟t meet much force, but the second day we were there, they sent in a bunch of Germans. So they didn’t fight you right on the beach so much, they were in the hills. And you know, we noticed we were barely inside that beach and we seen G.I.‟s having sex with gals already. So the French were very happy to see you. Oh yes. But, pretty soon it’s back to business. Do you remember what town you landed near? It was early morning, but I can‟t remember the name of the towns. You run into some Germans in the interior, but do you move pretty quickly though? Oh yeah, we started reaching our objective a lot more faster, cause they were losing more and more Germans I mean. Did they have as many tanks and aircraft as they had before? �They had just as much stuff as we had, but a lot of it was slowly knocked out, knocked out. And once you knocked them out they couldn’t replace them? They couldn‟t replace them fast enough because their factories were being bombed. And their rail lines too. (32:29) Yeah, that‟s right. So now, do you go into Marseille the big city or did you just go up the valley north, up the Rhone River Valley? No, we went up into the valley and I ended up, where you going get sent back to the states, we went to Marseille. So you did that on the way back, but not on the way in. Yeah, on the way back. As you’re working your way up north into France, was there as much battle damage as there was in Italy? Oh, there was a lot of damage, and a lot of towns were evacuated. We found little kids coming to us, we would give them our k-rations, they were so glad to see us and that you know. And then, did you get stuck or did you slow down eventually? Because you’re going up north, you get up closer to Germany. Oh yeah, we got stuck, slowing down and that. And we liberated the Dachau concentration camp that was just outside Munich, Germany, and our final stop was Munich, Germany. We took control of Munich; we had our military headquarters set in a Munich City Hall To go back before that, go back into France again, you kind of get up into northeast France, and that’s kind of where you’ll be in the fall of 1944. Yeah. Now, were you still trying to clear out those last parts of France then, and before the Battle of the Bulge you’re still in France? I was still in a part of France. Was the German resistance tougher at that point? (34:40) �No, it started weakening. We were feeling, boy maybe the end was coming. Then we reached Rome and that, oh we were so glad, we were in the rest area for quite a while. Then they took us to town to the Rome Opera House where they showed us the American version stage show, “This is the Army”. So, you got some breaks. Beautiful opera house, those ushers wore them stockings with short pants just like in George Washington days. Alright, now, you get into the end of 1944, what was the winter like? The winter 1944-45, was that a cold winter? Oh yeah. Especially when we left Germany, I would have come up to Germany to the Vachies woods and that. That was awful cold country through there, it was hell all the way, I can say. Cause that’s where you have to go through part of the Siegfried line, the German fortifications along their border? (36:19) What? Did the Germans have a lot of fortifications along their border, the Siegfried line? Oh yeah, lots and lots of fortifications. But they were very weak. They had, oh, I forgot those German names of the lines and that. But all their lines got weaker and weaker as we kept advancing and that. Did you cross the Rhine River at Remagen or someplace else? Rhine River. Yeah, where did you cross the Rhine. Was it Remagen or somewhere else? Right near the Remagen bridge. And could you see the bridge when you were crossing? Oh yeah. Did you go over in boats? Yup. Were those the same kind of boats or were they bigger boats? No, same kind of boats and that. �And when you were crossing, were the Germans shooting at you? Oh, still there oh yeah. Now, once you kind of got across the Rhine and your getting into Germany, did the country look different from France or Italy? No, but it was getting more peaceful, I mean the war. Cause it was coming near the end for Germany. Were you capturing a lot of prisoners then? Oh man, they were giving up by the hundreds. They were glad to surrender. Were their some who kept fighting though? Oh yeah. Could you tell the difference between the SS and the regular guys? No, no, no. Yeah, but we could tell they were sort of rookies cause they didn‟t know how to go about it I mean. Where you take the veteran soldier, he knows how to. Were they using a lot of very young soldiers now? Did they have teenage boys? (38:14) They were using the women, everything. Older men, boys, they were running out of people. When you moved through a town in Germany, how did the civilians behave? They were happy to see us. So they were glad it was over? Oh yeah. Their towns all destroyed, I don‟t know where they hid from all that shelling and that, but in front of us, they were glad to see us. But I don‟t know if they really meant to see us or forced to see us. You said you got to Dachau, the concentration camp, now, were the inmates still there? Were the prisoners still there? Oh yeah, they were giving us their dry moldy bread, kissing our dirty combat boots, so glad. There were a couple of Polish prisoners I talked to, and they were so happy to see us, they looked like human skeletons I mean. They used to burn I don‟t know how many thousands of �people a day out of those incinerators. That black smoke used to come out of them smoke stacks and the smell of death was something I‟ll never forget. Now, were the German guards still there or had they gone away? Most of them had gone away. And then you got in and you went into Munich. About how long were you in Munich then? A couple months? (40:29) Yeah, I would say we were there a couple of months, then we went to a rest area and prepared for coming back home. That took quite a while. While you were still in Munich, what duties did you have? What did you do in Munich? Well, there was not so much to do, the war was practically over I mean, and we were glad to see what Munich looks like. We know it was bombed out, and that was good enough for us. And a lot of those German people coming and offered us beer as we marching through you know. Did they have rules about no fraternizing? They‟d knock so many points off you if you were caught fraternizing with the frauleins. Oh yeah, because you had to have 85 points to be discharged and for every infraction you got caught, you got knocked down on those points. So, a good way of making men behave. But there wasn’t a lot of work to do or anything, just kind of spending time there? Because they had the other outfits that came in after the war had ended, like mop up outfits and that you know. So you got actually taken out of your own unit and assigned to another unit to go home? (42:13) Yeah, we were assigned to the 103rd Division. Cause the 45th was being sent to the Pacific because the war wasn‟t over there yet in the Pacific. They sent you back down to Marseille, France, what was the trip home like? Glad and before we hit Boston commonwealth pier, they had boats with orchestras while you listened to the harbor and big bands in the harbor and you know. But when we walked down the gangplank and we kissed ole‟ mother earth, boy good ole‟ USA. What kind of ship were you on this time? Oh, this was a US Frederick [Liese], it was a converted luxury ship into a troop carrier. �So you didn’t have to go in a liberty ship or anything like that? No, no, no. And what was the weather like on the way back? Not too bad, it got stormy there for a while, we were glad that no German submarines were still around you know. Yeah, because you didn’t have to do a convoy anymore. No, no, no. When did you get back to the states? 45‟ August, I think it was in August sometimes of 45‟. Once you landed, what did they do with you? They sent us to an induction center, then they sent us to a camp in Pennsylvania. Then from Pennsylvania, we were waiting to get on our trains that was heading to Michigan. Did they discharge you in Pennsylvania? (44:26) Yeah, I got my discharge in Pennsylvania. Alright, and then, when did you get home? I got home, it was sometimes in October. We got discharged on the 1st of October, and there was sometimes, I think about the 3rd or so of October that I got home. So you had to spend a few weeks in the other camps before you got to go home? No, we went to this one camp, they called it Camp Lucky Strike, that was the camp to go home. That was back in France. Yeah. What kind of reception did you get when you got home? Did your family know you were coming? Oh man, we got such a welcome, like big war heroes and that. Oh the hugs and kisses from people we didn‟t even know you know, American flags waving. �While you were overseas, how much communication did you have with people at home, do they write letters to you? Well, we could write V-letters, and they would get the letter home and it would be in a small photograph. Right, the V-Mail. Yeah the V-Mail. Did they write to you a lot? Oh yeah, we were glad when it was mail call, if we didn‟t no mail we forget we were lost. But a lot of times, while the mail was being brought over they were shot down or bombed out. So did you have some periods where you go a few weeks before you got a letter? How long would it be between letters? (46:32) Oh, quite a while sometimes. Now, you also mentioned, you went to the Rome Opera House, did you ever get to see a USO show or anything like that? We saw Al Jolson, and quite a few other top stars that come visit us with the US, Bob Hope, yeah, it was quite a few USO people. Was that after the war was over? Yeah, yeah. Even at break times when we were in the rest areas the USO would come in there you know, pass the Frances Langford and that, come around and give us kisses and that you know. How would you describe the morale of the company, were the men, you know, in good spirits most of the time? Some of them were, and low spirited, most of them were good spirited I mean. Did you have good leaders? A couple of them, I could have…but most of the leaders were, our company commander got killed in one of the battles, Captain Afly, he was from Colorado, he was the greatest captain. They had a stretcher bearer, who‟s that? that‟s Captain Afly, oh my. What were the bad ones like, what made somebody a bad officer or a bad sergeant? (48:30) �Some of them, came from Officer Training School, we called them 90 day Wonders, they thought they were four star generals. We were all experienced fighters and that; we thought „who the hell is that?‟ 90 day Wonder. The smart ones, did they learn from you? Oh yeah, they learned our ways in a hurry, and they turned out to be pretty good officers. If you think back a little bit on the time that you spend over in Europe, are there other particular events or memories that you have, that you haven’t talked about yet? Oh, when we had that big gathering at Nuremberg, where Hitler started his, his way and that, oh that was a big outside stadium and that, and thousands of soldiers all reviewing the things we went through and that. So, you had a big Army review in Nuremberg, ok, and did you travel around in Germany otherwise, or just stay in Munich? No, we didn‟t do much of that. I remember we used to call General Patton, Blood and Guts. We‟d say, „yeah, his guts and our blood‟. You were in the 7th Army, he’s 3rd Army so he’s not usually your problem. Yeah, they got transferred over to the 3rd Army then. You did work with him for a while. Did that make a difference in terms of how your unit was used? (50:31) Some of them had different methods that we didn‟t like. But who were we to argue about four stars, I mean you know. Shut our mouths or else we‟ll get shoved in a can. Did you have any impression of General Patch? He was the 7th Army commander. Yeah, he was a good leader, General Patch. We all liked him, he was better than ole‟ Blood and Guts. He took care of the men? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Once you went through all of this stuff, what effect do you think this experience had on you, did you learn anything over the course of all those years? Did you change a little? All I said I learned, I‟m glad I‟m still alive, that I made it through ok. And I said, when I ever get home, I had rifles home and pistols, I said I‟m going to get rid of those things. And I sure �did, when I got home. I learned a big lesson out of the war. And that‟s what these war-mongers and that, like today wars going on. So you weren’t very happy when we invaded Iraq then? When we went in to Iraq and places like that, you didn’t like that? No. War is nasty, war is bad and you saw it first hand. Now, were you able to, kind of go home and pick up with your life where you left off? (52:21) We did, we did I mean. It was memories I used to have, nightmares of the war and that, I‟d get up screaming and that in bed and I thought „oh, I‟m just home, I‟m ok‟, scary as hell. Memories that you‟ll never forget. That‟s how I feel about these boys going into war today, why, why, why all this war. Why can‟t the world live in peace. War-mongers, that‟s what I call them, I mean. Always someone trying to capture, and Hitler, he come pretty close. But in the end you guys stopped him, alright; well it makes for a very good story so thank you for taking the time to talk to me today. Well, thank you, a pleasure. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Veterans History Project Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. History Department Description An account of the resource The Library of Congress established the Veterans History Project in 2001 to collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and to preserve these stories for future generations. The GVSU History Department interviews are part of this work-in-progress, and may contain videos and audio recordings, transcripts and interview outlines, and related documents and photographs. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1914- Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Afghan War, 2001--Personal narratives, American Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981--Personal narratives, American Korean War, 1950-1953--Personal narratives, American Michigan--History, Military Oral history Persian Gulf War, 1991--Personal narratives, American United States--History, Military United States. Air Force United States. Army United States. Navy Veterans Video recordings Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James Boring, Frank Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-27 Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project interviews (RHC-27)</a> Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Dochod, Edward (Interview transcript and video), 2013 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Dochod, Edward Description An account of the resource Edward Dochod was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on January 1, 1919. He grew up in the area and was drafted into the Army in January 1942. He was sent to Fort Custer, Fort Jackson and Fort Devens before being sent on a ship across the Atlantic to North Africa. He took part in the invasion of Sicily, Italy, fought at Cassino and Anzio, and then landed in southern France. Edward and the rest of the 45th Division then fought across France and on into Germany, and liberated the concentration camp, Dachau, on their way to Munich. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smither, James (Interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oral history Veterans History Project (U.S.) United States--History, Military Michigan--History, Military Veterans Video recordings United States. Army World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Language A language of the resource eng Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-07-26 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DochodE1488V Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/455">Veterans History Project Collection, (RHC-27)</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf video/mp4 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a2de23cc0100e8b80483a9ff12801c6c.jpg b93e86e1b95f37b007c53a2ef929665a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-O_Leary-03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource O'Leary, Virginia Title A name given to the resource Dock Description An account of the resource A photo of the water. There are cattails and other water plants in the front of the photo. In the top left corner, there is part of a dock. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Lakes Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of Local History from the Saugatuck Douglas History Center for the Stories of Summer project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7faa5a41d756e75a602207cccf8605c4.jpg e3f0259105305c1f9a8ac87866478acb Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robert H. Merrill photographs Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1909/1950 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-222 Description An account of the resource Photographs, negatives, and lantern slides digitized from the papers of engineer and archaeologist Robert H. Merrill. A Grand Rapids native, Merrill held an accomplished career as a civil engineer. He founded the company Spooner & Merrill, which held offices in Grand Rapids and Chicago. From 1919-1921, Merrill lived in China, working as Assistant Principal Engineer on a reconstruction of the Grand Canal - the oldest and longest canal system in the world. Merrill became fascinated by archaeology, and among other projects, he traveled to the Uxmal Pyramids in Yucatan, Mexico, with a research expedition from Tulane University. Merrill's photo collection includes images of his travels and projects, friends and family. Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Merrill_HotelItza_13_1930_002 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930 Title A name given to the resource Dock at New Orleans Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a crowd of people standing on a cement dock next to a warehouse. One of the warehouse garage doors are open and people are visible standing inside the warehouse. Subject The topic of the resource New Orleans (La.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Robert H. Merrill papers (RHC-222) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpg Language A language of the resource eng Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Merrill, Robert H., 1881-1955 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3ba40264b8a1fa80cf9e0ed9be634d30.jpg bb8b3ace10e8ff3dd1cce16c238ba0b9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Slides_Docked-Boats Title A name given to the resource Docked boats Description An account of the resource A picture of multiple boats of various kinds docked on a pier. Towards the center of the shot there is a brown building, and a blue building is located in the far center let. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Boats Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of History as part of the Stories of Summer Project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/50204e403cca154d5c06ff0902a36ca7.jpg 5b84abd634a223949865d9981f467310 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Slides_Docks Title A name given to the resource Docks Description An account of the resource A wide shot of many boats docked in front of several large buildings. In the lower left corner, two men fish, although one is partially obscured by a black object seen on all corners. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Boats Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file collected by the Kutsche Office of History as part of the Stories of Summer Project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/263b74c66e8ecffae6873c6909262a30.jpg 19f3ba06c943ed4710c34d0ea7894b36 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Summers in Saugatuck-Douglas Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Stories of Summer," supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant. The collection aims to document the twin lakeshore communities of Saugatuck and Douglas, Michigan, as they transformed through the state's bustling tourism industry and acceptance of minorities. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1910s-2010s Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Various Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Douglas (Mich.) Michigan, Lake Allegan County (Mich.) Beaches Sand dunes Outdoor recreation Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Saugatuck-Douglas History Center Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Stories of Summer (Common Heritage project) Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Text Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-07_SD-Oxbow-18-33 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists' Residency Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1958-10 Title A name given to the resource Dockside Plein Air Painting Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of a group of people painting dockside along what appears to be the water of Lake Macatawa near Holland, Michigan. Plein air painting in Macatawa, Michigan was a tradition for students attending Ox-Bow "Summer School of Painting" in Saugatuck, Michigan. In the photograph, one woman can be seen painting while seated on the dock while another stands and paints on an easel. The other three individuals can be seen painting while seated along the shore on various rocks and driftwood, while parked cars and boats can be seen in the background. A handwritten note can be seen on the left hand side reading "Mae Naber Van Ark, In shorts and Hotter." Circa October 1958. Subject The topic of the resource Michigan Saugatuck (Mich.) Allegan County (Mich.) Kalamazoo River (Mich.) Art school Docks Plein air painting Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by Mike Van Ark for the Stories of Summer Project. Relation A related resource Stories of Summer (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/">Copyright Undetermined</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives