Somehow, I'm realizing that there are these inter-religious voices within me, that come to the surface when anything gets too Christian-y or secular-y, maybe.
Somehow, with all this study of other religions, the voices of those religions have become my own, I think.
Two recent examples:
-In our latest Friday intern seminar which Bob led, we discussed Neihbur's Christ and Culture. In the seminar, we filled out a survey of how we view Christianity's relationship with the rest of the world (in which my dis-acknowledgement of "sin" in the traditional sense of the word, became an issue once again), and then after we reviewed the different categories that Neihbur puts forth of ways that Christ relates to culture, we were asked to assess where we think we ourselves are on that continuum, and where we see Sojourners on that continuum as well. My first answer was that I think I'm Jewish, so I'm not sure that Christ comes into the picture at all - in the sense that I don't necessarily think Christ alone has to be this agent of change, etc., but rather I would prefer to talk about God in general - and also in the sense that I have trouble looking at things in any kind of dichotomy, so it's hard for me to talk about Christ/God and Culture as two different entities, no matter how we're talking about them relating to one another. There's all this good and bad all wrapped up into the same package - and God's right there in every bit of it - hallelujah that it's that way, and may we also mourn the sad realities in the midst of it, too.
-Ok, and the other is that last night, Tim and Betsy were talking about dialogue/witness/how to effect social change/revolution/etc. And as they were talking about social change and revolution, I felt a very Buddhist voice within me - just the fact that in the very grand scheme of things, systems, institutions, etc. come and go, and sometimes, what is necessary is to look below the "surface" of how things are at the moment, and find peace. This is not to say that I don't think that we shouldn't stand up for the rights of the oppressed, be angered by the injustice we find around us in the world, or feel the real pain of ourselves and of everyone else that is hurting, etc. We should not ignore these things - rather, I just want to propose that while we do try to take actions to overcome these things, we should also be present to the current realities - really feel the pain, really celebrate the joys - really live in the present moment, be at peace with it - and live out of that, as opposed to living out of a continual search for something better - because life is continually changing, and what we think is bad now, may turn out for good, and vice versa.
Oh, how good it feels to express myself in writing, even if no one will be reading it!
1 comment:
so I am a few months late in responding to this, but figured it would serve 2 purposes, to let you know SOMEONE is reading this and to give some insights into your post.
Not a weighted question here, just something to wrestle with as many of us are wrestling together. Do you think your own "Christianity" gets watered down without strong "sin" language/belief? Do you think the exploration of other religions has caused you to lose any of your "core Christian beliefs"?
I found your "peace" paragraph inspiring....and frustrating at the same time. I heard one time, and firmly believe this now, that the way to REAL social change lies in each persons willingness to sacrifice. the reason the bus boycotts were so effective is because people were willing to walk. The reason wal*mart is still operating while paying people crap wages is because people still SHOP THERE! (I still do for the record) The reason gas companies can charge $2.20 a gallon and make RECORD profits is because people aren;t willing to give up their cars for public transportation in most urban areas. So while finding the "peace" is good - when are we going to start to sacrifice things to make the world better for other? I am talking to myself as well...
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