Theology notes - more definitions

Ebla- a city of ancient Syria. Edomites – Traditional enemies of the Israelites, the Edomites were the descendants of Esau who often battled the Jewish nation. Edom was in southeast Palestine, stretched from the Red Sea at Elath to the Dead Sea. Enuma Elish – the creation of the world begins with the universe in a formless state, from which emerge two primary gods, male and female. Etiological stories - creation stories or stories that explain or justify certain things. Exile- The Babylonian captivity of the Jews, 597 – 538 B.C.E. Gilgamesh epic – the hero of Sumerian and Babylonian epics. Henotheism – the worship of a particular God without disbelieving in the existence of others. Hexateuch – the first six books of the Old Testament. Hittite Grant – is similar to the grant of the dynasty of David. It is found in the decree of Hattsilis concerning Middannamuwas, his chief scribe. Jamnia – A place near Joppa. circa 90 where a council of rabbis declared the Old Testament canon to be completed. This eventually became known as the Masoretic text. Levites – The subordinate ministers appointed in the Mosaic Law for the service of the Tabernacle and of the Temple. Mari – an ancient city on the Euphrates, in Syria. Masoretes, Masoretic Text (MT) The authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible regarded almost universally as the official version. This text was completed by a meticulous group of Jewish scholars called the Mesoretes who flourished between the 6th and the 10th century (approximate) . They devised a system of marks that could surround the Hebrew consonantal text and describe the manner of reading without disturbing the consonants.

Scam alert - This is a very poor attempt but still about 55 Canadians a day were victims of a scam last year according to the gov't of Canada- so I shall post it.

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The Internet Murders cont... For your signed copy www.silvaredigonda.ca

“He looked up at the entrance to the building and began looking for cameras. Nothing. How could there not be a surveillance camera in this day and age? How does that happen? He joined Philip, once his partner stopped talking to the blond man, who seemed to be the only one sober. “So, did city boy blondie give you anything good? That boy is so good looking he should be a girl.” “No, nothing much, Tomo. But, if not for them, that girl would definitely not have made it. Let’s go to the hospital.” *** The next morning, Sandra opened her eyes slowly. Her entire body ached, including her eyelids, which did not want to open. She heard herself moan. Is this what it feels like waking up from the dead? She slowly peered out from her jellied lids and the room began to come into some focus. She was in a hospital room, hooked up to a machine with intravenous. The male nurse walked in.” Excerpt From: Silva Redigonda. “The Internet Murders.” iBooks.

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During the Black lives era (notes from a day lecture)

I attended a day long lecture held by Dr Brown. He has a doctrine in theology and born in Panama. He said that the first time he felt different was when he went to Costa Rica to study theology. He found that they spoke different. His roommate told him that people there found him greedy. In the 1950’s they offer you food and you take it. That’s how he experienced cultural differences. During the break out session what was discussed, was understanding coming from privilege. Ageism - now openings for minorities and others are losing. Prism of lenses - body shape and weight - cultural differences. Single groups - stigmatized. Toronto has mixed housing and therefore there are more opportunities for education. People look at height and physical attraction has a positive. CEO’s are extremely tall. There is discrimination at an unconscious level. Language : a big thing in Canada and the U.S. - it’s more about accents. In Canada the two dominant languages are English and French. In the States it is English and Spanish (I am going to include here that English is the universal language, not mentioned in the seminar). Dr Brown’s definition of culture is a way of seeing and making sense of the world in a community context. He talked about people refusing to see ethnicity in themselves. He spoke of a son’s dad, Irish in descent who was ostracized because he married a black woman. The father never spoke about his family. He over compensated when he moved to a new country because he didn’t get it in his old country. How do people see me as different? How do I see others who are different from myself? When you look up at someone, you miss the downside. When you look down at someone, you miss the upside. Dr Brown indicated that just by showing with a client, you have power because of the therapeutic relationship. Be aware of that blind spot. He said that sometimes black people (did I mention that Dr Brown is a black man?) don’t want to show vulnerabilities. They want to appear perfect. Desire to appear perfect. People see them as defective. It is important for families to understand that it is true. How to advocate for the child’s need: sometimes parents do not know. You need to advocate in the system - organizations are there. Skin colour - Canadians tend to be of the notion of no slavery - not so. There was slavery in Canada. Dr Brown also spoke of scientific racism, the spread of bogus theories of supposed black inferiority in an attempt to rationalize slavery and centuries of social and economic domination and plunder. Racialized by complexion - appearance and public perception (1894 Supreme Court decision: Don’t look black, but still black: Plessy v. Fergusson). 1950’s Population Act declared that all South Africans be classified into one of three races - white, native, (black African or coloured) neither white, nor “native”. Lighter hue and straighter hair - greater privilege. He spoke of generalizations even regarding the police. He spoke of the definition of Ontario Human rights Commission - Criminal profiling - defers from racial profiling which relies on actual behaviour or on information about suspect. Racial is based in stereotypical assumptions. He spoke of a man who was lynched for looking at a woman. They threw his body in a river. The mother showed her son’s body to the world which caused a civil movement. Dr Brown said that white people march in black lives matter because of shame (I may not agree with this. I find it too general. Would like to see research). Black lives matter has begun a conversation if not anything else. Protests were led primarily by whites and went global. He spoke of Multicultural Churches in Canada. White man rules. When a church is considered black, white people leave. This happens whenever there is a 30% representation of a particular group. This disrupts the system. Essential diversity - I may be losing power in what I am used to. I may be the last person standing. He spoke of the Catholic Church has a shift in the priesthood. The Church is replicating society when it shifts. Now the key leader - European American goes to the extreme to find balance. It’s about power and not power with but power over. Powers in Canada are still safe - white male. Dr Brown said that he lived in Maryland, U.S. with a population at the time of 150,000. He never saw the diversity there as he sees here in Toronto. For reverse to exist, the culture needs to reverse. He said that Blacks don’t stay in therapy. He suggested building a therapeutic alliances. He said that Black people are loud because they are angry - not so. He talked about Canadian politeness. He said to look at Canada as posh. Express views of some people. Some people feel need to be polite. He suggested helping the understanding of mixed race. There is a struggle with identification trying to identify to the mother and or father and identity issues all around. Dr Brown said that colour is seen. He suggested taking the time to hear the fall out. He said that in one study therapists intended to intercept female clients over men. Dr Brown spoke of a list of Cultural humility when listening: 1. Listening with empathy. 2. Stand with patients in pain - no fix. 3. Neither look up or down on them. 4. Listen to self talk (opinions, judgements) 5. Examine your fears, prejudice and unquestioned assumptions - comfort level with vulnerable and disempowered groups. Blacks may look down or away as a sign of respect. Even looking a parent in the eye is defiance. From slavery days - whipped. How they see themselves is very important. What can we do to change the system or challenge the system? I found Dr Brown’s lecture very interesting and thanked him. I have waited to write this, because his lecture led to much upset among the black people in the audience to a point where they were turning their backs to him. I don’t agree with this type of disrespect even within cultures. A guest, is a guest. You don’t have to agree with a speaker. You can question and disagree but to display such anger is inappropriate in my opinion. I had never seen this before. This was during a webinar because of the pandemic. I wondered if this was a live audience what would have happened? I don’t necessarily agree with everything I heard, however, I can take away with me. It may manifest with with anyone I encounter. We need to remember how we are reflective of everything we have been exposed to and genetics as well as the environment. I normally have an equal amount of men and women I see at one point or another. I see people from many cultures, religions etc…I have insight about cultures and religions but I need to hear it from the client’s perspective as well. That is more important. There may be more than one reason why a person will not look you in the eye. I have found that more white people than others have not looked me in they eye. What does that mean? I do think we need to be careful to generalize because there is differences within cultures and religions but also the individual. If we assume that a person will be a certain way because of culture, skin colour or religion, than we are missing the main objective - the individual. What do you think?

Happy Independence Day

I just wish to wish my American neighbours a wonderful day. Keep safe.

Brief Therapy for couples in crises cont……

Take away: 1. Clarify goals: one thing that brought to crises. 2. Re-assurance - they feel overwhelmed and need to have you know you are there to support them, by creating timely responses and consistent email, text etc…3. Timely and consistent. This is available to all Canadians but cannot be extended to the States at this time due to legality issues. Regarding children (as for others) - Where are they 0/10? What is the goal? What is the best for the three sessions? Who are the important people in your lives? Are they supportive? Brief therapy was found to be very effective with one problem. In brief work we may not complete the goal but get a step there. Have client see a new way of looking at something. Brief solution therapy is on the web site which is a good one. This concludes this aspect of the meeting which was offered by CAMFT. Have a good weekend everyone.