Rainy day thoughts

I have now been in school for a month, and really love it. My classes are mostly intro level, which means that I have spent more time familiarizing myself with the Bible, its contents, and its historical context. I wish we could spend more time on the philosophy, but I understand the need of a firm foundation before we get to tackle the "big" questions as a class. Thus, we've had papers and map tests and a fair amount of reading (not too bad though).

I never thought I'd know where the ancient city of Tyre was, but I guess it'll be useful. ----------------------------------------------- Otherwise, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be a socially just Christian. Both terms imply, on all levels, a radical break with the world as it is. You cannot make a new world with the tools of the old, according to someone whose name I forget (help? who said this? Ah, it's bothering me....). In my studies thus far, I am finding a similar message in the teachings of Jesus. After all, here was the man who threw the tables of the money changers around in the Temple on Passover (whoa) and preached of a new world where the poor and meek would be valued. This is the Jesus that didn't cuddle everyone-- he was radically loving and uncompromisingly in the margins of society. Thus, for folks who wish to follow this message--the original message and not the human distorted one we often hear today-- what do you do? How do you be both in the world and not of it? This is a question for all those who see the possibility of a better world, a world in which there are strong, healthy communities and justice in relationships. I was reminded of this quote: "It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." --Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance," 1841 It is not a new thought for me, but certainly a new framing. I find it fascinating how similar the rhetoric of Jesus is to other writings I have come across who do not necessarily identify as Christian, such as bell hooks, Paolo Freire, Myles Horton, and other great social justice thinkers. Now, my task is to combine, process, and sort the new/not so new concepts from seminary into previous ideas. I am trying to balance this statement by the Buddha: "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it - even if I have said it - unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense" with faith, which right now to me means believing that which does not agree with reason. Or rather accepting that which goes contrary to reason? Other question: how does one accept privilege and the joys that come with it, while also remaining humble and cowed by its power? I find this particularly stark in the DC area, where I live in the posh, wealthy NW while still trying to be a non-oppressive organizer and advocate. Is this incompatible? Or is it instead what it makes you become that is important? (Thanks for that thought, Beth!) As you can see, I have a lot of thoughts swirling around in my head right now... and I am so excited and blessed to be in a degree program where this is the point! I think this is my favorite thing about seminary so far-- questions are meant to be grappled with, and the point of the school is something beyond human comprehension. Religion is about the soul, the meaning of a good life. I am so fortunate to be able to attend such a place. And be able to see such wonderful sunsets.

Finally, two more quotes I found particularly appropriate right now: "I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education." --Wilson Mizner “The radical, committed to human liberation, does not become the prisoner of a 'circle of certainty' within which reality is also imprisoned. On the contrary, the more radical the person is, the more fully he or she enters into reality so that, knowing it better, he or she can better transform it. This individual is not afraid to confront, to listen, to see the world unveiled. This person is not afraid to meet the people or to enter into dialogue with them. This person does not consider himself or herself the proprietor of history or of all people, or the liberator of the oppressed; but he or she does commit himself or herself, within history, to fight at their side.” --Paolo Freire