“Respect, I think, always implies imagination—the ability to see one another, across our inevitable differences, as living souls.” (Wendell Berry, The Art of the Commonplace) In South Africa where I lived for many years, the basic “hello” greeting, sawubona, translates literally, “I see you.” In this mundane greeting, people declare to each other a tiny reminder that “I see you as a human, and I respect you.” Writing offers an opportunity to say the same: “I see you; I respect you.” In writing, we slow down long … [Read more...] about Writing Exercises My Respect Muscles (Writing As a Spiritual Discipline Series)
anthropology
Lent: Frames of Reference and a Global Perspective (Scholar’s Compass)
Anthropologist Kevin Birth explores what it means to have a global perspective on the church calendar. Estamos en el sur y como estamos en tiempos de recuperar nuestra identidad, el Gobierno boliviano está recuperando nuestro Sarawi, de acuerdo a nuestro Sarawi, que significa camino, de acuerdo con nuestro Ñan, en quechua, nuestros relojes deberÃan girar a la izquierda. Translation: We are in the south and since we are in times of recovering our identity, the Bolivian Government is recovering our Sarawi, and … [Read more...] about Lent: Frames of Reference and a Global Perspective (Scholar’s Compass)
Scholar’s Compass: Lent and Easter’s Timing
The time when Easter is ordained to take place is, like the Paschal celebrations as a whole, redolent with sacred mystery. In the first place, we are careful to wait until after the equinox to celebrate the Lord's Passover . . . so that the feast-day on which the Mediator between God and man, having destroyed the power of darkness, opened the way of light for the world, might show its inner [significance] by means of the order of time. -- Bede, 0 (trans. Faith Wallis) Reflection It was a revelation to one of my … [Read more...] about Scholar’s Compass: Lent and Easter’s Timing
Omri Elisha: The Moral Ambition of Evangelical Christians
Last year, I began a series reviewing academic perspectives on evangelical Christians, beginning with James Bielo's Words Upon the Word and T.M. Luhrmann's When God Talks Back. I'm picking up this series again with Moral Ambition: Mobilization and Social Outreach in Evangelical Megachurches by Queens College anthropologist Omri Elisha. Elisha's work came highly recommended by two trusted sources. First, friend-of-ESN and occasional guest blogger Kevin Birth suggested I review Moral Ambition when I asked for … [Read more...] about Omri Elisha: The Moral Ambition of Evangelical Christians
Evangelicals and Suffering (When God Talks Back)
Last week, in my discussion of what evangelicals can learn about themselves from T.M. Luhrmann's When God Talks Back, I mentioned our approach to suffering. Originally, I wasn't going to write another post on the book, but I wanted to come back to this important topic. Luhrmann discusses suffering in a chapter titled, "Darkness," along with the related issue of feeling distant from God. Early in the chapter, Luhrmann describes the Vineyard's approach in this way: Churches like the Vineyard handle the problem of … [Read more...] about Evangelicals and Suffering (When God Talks Back)