tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16929029.post2814758451189816178..comments2023-10-14T06:01:11.514-07:00Comments on Sermons in Stones: why do i do this to myselfbrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07980991938571462863noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16929029.post-82758904571766542010-11-25T15:45:35.654-08:002010-11-25T15:45:35.654-08:00All things are inconstant except the faith in the ...All things are inconstant except the faith in the soul, which changes all things and fills their inconstancy with light, but though I seem to be driven out of my country as a misbeliever I have found no man yet with a faith like mine.cure for candidahttp://www.howtocurecandida.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16929029.post-70889944777376843842010-11-22T04:56:51.937-08:002010-11-22T04:56:51.937-08:00Zac:
yeppers!
which is why i am considering build...Zac:<br />yeppers!<br /><br />which is why i am considering building a hermitage<br /><br />i have been a bit overwhelmingly emotional about this lately. i think i've desperately trying to separate God from religion, from people, because its all so tiring and discouraging.<br /><br />really, i don't think there is any perfect community. so how do you deal with that? do you walk away? how do you deal with the pain that you feel in this?<br /><br />and how can i extend grace to my own imperfections without extending grace to others?<br /><br />as estranged as i pretend to be, i obviously still care or i wouldn't be writing so much about it.<br /><br />hello existential angst!<br />bbrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07980991938571462863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16929029.post-89680632134198119212010-11-21T07:34:08.659-08:002010-11-21T07:34:08.659-08:00Bre,
I appreciated and agreed with much of what y...Bre,<br /><br />I appreciated and agreed with much of what you said in this post. I guess the lingering question I have and that I would like your input on (as I think you could speak to this better than most people I know) is to what extent do you feel this is a problem inherent to religion specifically OR the human condition universally? <br /><br />What I am trying to get at is, from what I understand you have found that in many ways you have had to distance yourself from certain forms of community because of how they perpetuate certain social injustices. To what extent do you feel that EVEN in moving away from those specific communities, you may move into a similarly unjust situation?<br /><br />You said: <br /><br />"what fascinates me about the bible and about countless other societal examples is how those fighting against oppression seem to blindly continue it within their own communities."<br /><br />do you think this same "blindness" occurs within non-religious or religious communities whose specific goal it is to work for justice? If so, why should one distance oneself from one form of community and not another (and I DO think that sometimes we should! I just want to hear why you think one should). Once again, thanks for your thoughtful post.Zachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18004622931726551015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16929029.post-68551942339967965652010-11-20T17:23:20.431-08:002010-11-20T17:23:20.431-08:00'wheels within wheels' some parts are goi...'wheels within wheels' some parts are going in the right direction, others not.<br /><br />I have a better understanding of your post.<br /><br />thanks.David S Pankratzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03358112184656896153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16929029.post-53452571825654101692010-11-20T17:06:36.289-08:002010-11-20T17:06:36.289-08:00thanks, David. that makes a lot of sense! let me...thanks, David. that makes a lot of sense! let me clarify<br /><br />the bible is so INTERESTING<br /><br />there is a lot of truth in what you say - much of the text is written from the view of the underdog - of an oppressed people trying to find their security in the world and through God<br /><br />what fascinates me about the bible and about countless other societal examples is how those fighting against oppression seem to blindly continue it within their own communities. <br /><br />so contextually that's what i was referring to; i could have made that more clear. thoughts are fuzzy sometimes<br /><br />so within the oppressed Israelite community, there was a very specific social heirarchy, in so many ways - gender, the 12 tribes, etc<br /><br />i don't understand why a community which is fighting for liberation would simultaneously bond women by telling them to be silent, physically outcast those who are ill, and so forth<br /><br />well, i understand why, but i don' t understand WHY. y'know? so that's what i was referring to - speaking words of societal liberation - waiting so patiently for a savior, while they are actively resisting the liberation of those within their own communities who are dragged down by their own social exclusionary hierarchical teachings<br /><br />thanks David! I hope to see you again soon!brehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07980991938571462863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16929029.post-62066069610402982492010-11-20T15:27:10.781-08:002010-11-20T15:27:10.781-08:00You say in yr blog that the bible was written by p...You say in yr blog that the bible was written by people on top of the heirarchy for people at the top of the heirarchy.<br /><br />That surprises me - I've gleaned much from it by reading it as the experience of people at the bottom of the heirarchy seeking to find dignity within that, and to find a way to address the dominant heirarchy without using the violent means of the heirarchy.<br /><br />Perhaps you are referring to some of the writing of Paul (a person converted out of the dominant heirarchy into this new faith that wouldn't climb the heirarchical ladder for another 400 years); or perhaps the decisions made at the Council of Nicea that shaped what we know as the Bible today - definitely by that time Christianity had climbed the heirarchical ladder (which wasn't particularly good for it).<br /><br />I'd be interested in hearing why you read that text in that way. As I said at the start, for me the value of the text is the lessons it gives in how to live at the bottom of the heirarchy in a way that is strong and authentic and promotes positive change.<br /><br />Said by someone who is arguably near the top of the heirarchy in some ways.David S Pankratzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03358112184656896153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16929029.post-33705248701525757442010-11-18T06:58:47.494-08:002010-11-18T06:58:47.494-08:00I really enjoyed reading the posts on your blog. ...I really enjoyed reading the posts on your blog. I would like to invite you to come on over to my blog and check it out. God's blessings. LloydSolid Rock or Sinking Sandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04815501572621378327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16929029.post-90504156749260155062010-11-17T09:33:13.841-08:002010-11-17T09:33:13.841-08:00hi Kelster, thanks for the question
I think that ...hi Kelster, thanks for the question<br /><br />I think that God transcends boundaries of gender, and other things, so I try to use feminine terms for God, Jesus, Spirit, as much as possible, to sort of counterbalance the excessive use of overmasculine terms for God.<br /><br />thanks!brehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07980991938571462863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16929029.post-33987903564522688812010-11-16T12:53:54.917-08:002010-11-16T12:53:54.917-08:00you think jesus was a woman?you think jesus was a woman?Shadowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08638328579146781729noreply@blogger.com