I'm in one of those places of liminality. I'm learning faster than I can assimilate and the things I am learning are messing with my plausibility structure. I'm swimming between certainties while contemplating giving up certainty altogether.
My teachers are a variety of books, Randy Woodley, my North Valley Community, and a variety of others "too numerous to enumerate." (quote from a wonderful movie, "The 9th Configuration.")
Some soundbites from the process are:
I am learning to attempt to understand Christianity from the perspective of its victims. For example: Gender justice in Northwest Yearly Meeting is sabotaged by this problem: The dominant culture (patriarchal) is the arbiter of justice. So when things are made to be "a level playing field" it only means that Men allow Women equal access to a predominately male paradigm of leadership. We (men) assume that a level playing field is the end of gender justice. Actually justice demands that women's paradigms of leadership, and the assumptions that go with them be given equal value as men's. More than that, they should be considered essential to a full expression of God's kingdom on earth. These paradigms aren't in competition with one another, they are essential components to a single paradigm of leadership through which they inform and complete one another.
Victims of Christianity abound. More later about ethnicity, spirituality, dualisms, etc. If I get time and energy. (don't hold your breath)
I'll continue this thread in further posts. That's all for now.
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2 comments:
Stan, this is a great post with a superb point that I wish more Christians understood. Until we can get that though we will be missing out on a huge part of who God made us to be and women will still be given a message of inferiority from the very place where they should be so celebrated.
I haven't seen you around town for a while which is a bummer, so hopefully I'll run into you soon, and we'll actually have to get together for a cup of coffee sometime!
Blessings,
Bryan
yeah, its like unpeeling an onion. The deeper one probes the more one sees the roots of sexism in/through the Church.
I've been hanging at coffee cat... more privacy for good conversation.
I'll hang around Chapters a bit..maybe run into to you.
Or, we could actually schedule an appt. lol
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