Hi Robert, and good morning. Thanks for this; much to mull over.
It is very much testament (truly no pun intended!) to how the very idea of spirituality has been hijacked, both by the Christian Nationalists/Evangelicals, whose strained and constrained idea of what faith is has aligned with the most repressive forces in politics all too well, and the feckless consumerist "spirituality" (tm) that is used to sell pill and gel and salve panaceas to people desperate for easy answers in difficult times. (I believe faith supposes that sometimes there ARE no easy answers) that any serious discussion of faith, as yours is here, could get easily routed into one of those lanes. (I apologize for that Prog-like sentence!)
But the idea of active faith, one that is not passively waiting for others to act on injustice, that is connected to other humans, and perhaps, to me, connecting, is crucial to where we must go.
I like the idea of possibility. And to get to it, a lot of us are going to need to act without immediate gratification, and man, that takes a lot of faith to do.
Thanks so much for this, Glenn. I’m wishing I’d included some of your salient points! If I were to expound past the “six-minute read,” I would.
And I am a fan of the well constructed long (prog!) sentence, so no apology necessary.
Indeed it is all about connecting. Trump’s much-maligned rallies are all about that. They’re not even so much about what he says. All those folks connecting in real time - it tweaks that deeply human need. That same feeling I got at the Women’s March. At present, the Dems are understandably mired in shock and despair, and riveted to screens, but I hope they’ll pull out of it and find a better song to sing. One that includes gathering in the streets and making them holy.
I love and completely relate to your definition of yourself as a "Possibilian". I had heard of Bishop Budde's sermon and her plea to that monster -- but hadn't listened to it. Of course after reading your post I did listen and felt everything you're talking about. It was so powerful (yes I cried). All I can say is God (if at all possible) help us.
Hi Robert, and good morning. Thanks for this; much to mull over.
It is very much testament (truly no pun intended!) to how the very idea of spirituality has been hijacked, both by the Christian Nationalists/Evangelicals, whose strained and constrained idea of what faith is has aligned with the most repressive forces in politics all too well, and the feckless consumerist "spirituality" (tm) that is used to sell pill and gel and salve panaceas to people desperate for easy answers in difficult times. (I believe faith supposes that sometimes there ARE no easy answers) that any serious discussion of faith, as yours is here, could get easily routed into one of those lanes. (I apologize for that Prog-like sentence!)
But the idea of active faith, one that is not passively waiting for others to act on injustice, that is connected to other humans, and perhaps, to me, connecting, is crucial to where we must go.
I like the idea of possibility. And to get to it, a lot of us are going to need to act without immediate gratification, and man, that takes a lot of faith to do.
Thanks so much for this, Glenn. I’m wishing I’d included some of your salient points! If I were to expound past the “six-minute read,” I would.
And I am a fan of the well constructed long (prog!) sentence, so no apology necessary.
Indeed it is all about connecting. Trump’s much-maligned rallies are all about that. They’re not even so much about what he says. All those folks connecting in real time - it tweaks that deeply human need. That same feeling I got at the Women’s March. At present, the Dems are understandably mired in shock and despair, and riveted to screens, but I hope they’ll pull out of it and find a better song to sing. One that includes gathering in the streets and making them holy.
I love and completely relate to your definition of yourself as a "Possibilian". I had heard of Bishop Budde's sermon and her plea to that monster -- but hadn't listened to it. Of course after reading your post I did listen and felt everything you're talking about. It was so powerful (yes I cried). All I can say is God (if at all possible) help us.
Thank you. And I hear you. And maybe if we get a good messenger God can help us help ourselves. ❤️