If our Blessed Jesus wept as he turned His eyes upon Jerusalem, knowing its fate, do you think we are any less by grieving our 'Jerusalem' ? I would say for those of us whose spirits are struggling, look above the fray for our strength and then carry on as we are meant to do: Heal the sick, feed the poor, welcome the stranger. Be filled with joy, even while contacting our DC representatives. There is work to do, but it cannot be accomplished with shattered hope. Our reward awaits us.
As always, you have not only (more beautifully) stated what is in my own heart, but you have again given me that touch of community that is - sadly - missing in this current timeline.
John, you always write just what I'm thinking and feeling about these difficult times. It is so sad to see friends and relatives who claim to be Christian embracing the orange idol, who is the total antithesis of Jesus Christ. It's no wonder church attendance, especially in traditional churches like mine (UMC), is declining. The only thing I know to do is to keep doing what Jesus taught. Love your neighbor. Forgive freely. Welcome the foreigner. Feed the hungry. Heal the sick. Pray.
I'm fearful for the future of this country. I hurt for my friends, relatives, and former students who live in fear, or whose rights are being threatened. We just have to keep speaking out.
I still keep the name Christian, despite what the nasties have done by pirating it. It is my birthright, and despite being rubbed in the filth of extreme Evangelicalism's excrescences, it is still my name and I will not let them steal it from me.
How we make a difference is by being Jesus to the brokenhearted and the downtrodden. There's no law against that. Not yet, anyway.
I do too. I don't know what to suggest. Maybe pray silently? It's sort of like meditation and will help get your mind off the situation we are all in. One that I never imagined our country would have to deal with. I bet the Germans, Japanese and Italians were perking along before WWII and were hit by the same feelings.
I think this may have shortened my lifespan, due only to the additional daily stress, the endless acts of authoritarianism, one after another. It seems like you don't have time to process one crazy event when another one pops up.
I think you are right about the daily assaults on our humanity shortening our lives. Emotional stress at a fast pace. It feels like vampires are sucking away at our life force to fill their empty voids that can never be satisfied
I grieve...and I write. I never asked to be someone who speaks out, but I cannot stay silent. I write a blog that unashamedly says that I am a "Preacher's Kid" and I share from the perspective of being a daughter of ministers, a wife and mother of ministers, and a minister myself. While I don't very often use the phrase "I am a Christian" because of how it has been co-opted, I DO identify myself as a follower of Jesus or a "Follower of the Way" (an early description of his followers.
I don't know if "Christianity" will survive--and maybe it needs to die so that something new can break forth...something that will be more in line with what I believe Jesus intended--a community bound together in love and care for all of creation...a community that is focused on FOLLOWING Jesus, not necessarily BELIEVING IN him.
The Christian name and the image of Jesus have been highjacked by people who claim be christians and prophets, they claim to speak for God burt they are like empty vesssels and claming gongs. We muct take back the name and the image of Christ, making that image ourselves.
I give myself an hour or more a day to read the awfulness and grieve and feel rage and helplessness. Then I turn to the things that give me a sense of who I am as a human being. I grew up in a home where our parents were right in the same camp as MAGA folk. I know what it's like to be indoctrinated daily with the "party line" and to be treated as subhuman, so it's important to me to hold on to my humanness and humanity.
My daily worship time is critical to my well-being. There have been times when I couldn't turn to God because I felt so numb. But, for several months straight, this has not been the case. I'm not sure why. I feel I do have the gift of prayer. When something(s) comes/come to me, I pray. I take part in protests and contribute to those causes I feel particularly led to support (although it's been painfully difficult to whittle that down as there are so many crying needs.)
I am a retired pastor who does supply preaching. Fortunately, I belong to a denomination that has been organized on the precepts of care for the least of these, advocating for the marginalized, and following (imperfectly) Jesus' imperative found in the Beatitudes. That being said, many of our churches are purple. When I supply for another pastor, I take a lot of time to prepare so as to be as faithful to the text as I can. I bring who I am and my honest struggle with the text along with the hope that the words I speak are not mine alone. So far, I have not been run out of town on a rail... It probably also helps that I am not the settled pastor - those who might disagree can slough it off and go about their day.
I have had a love/hate relationship with the church. There has been much to criticize and yet much that is worth keeping. The future of the church? I think Roman Catholicism may possibly move in a more all-embracing way and gain traction. More mystical forms of Christianity may gradually emerge. My sense is that whatever greater form Christianity may take it will not happen until we have enormous suffering visited upon us by Christian Nationalism. It will be a pitched battle, but I do believe in an outcome where Christ-like love and justice will prevail. A remnant will survive and flourish.
Thanks for all you do. I don't know how you continue to dig deep and clear-eyed without collapsing under the load, but I really appreciate your work.
Thanks for sharing, I get it. I used to be a an evangelical Pentecostal and worked in missions with an organization called Youth with a Mission (YWAM). Seems like so long ago and I have changed so much and lean less on doctrine or dogma leaving shame and guilt behind and embracing a daily practice of seeking to be an imitation of Christ to those around me in simple gestures and the way I engage the world. I believe a remnant is emerging who want that and will not reject those of other faiths who carry the light as we hope to. God is not exclusive but inclusive, I have found in my many years of faith. God belongs to no one, no denomination, no faith, no political party, no nationality. God is ONE, and is all and in all, wishing to be revealed and seen by us as we live and move. My walk Christ finally helped me realize that and learning about other faiths and knowing people of other faiths helped me be a better follower of Yeshua (Jesus). Safe Journeys!
I stopped going to church several years ago for a few different reasons. But I still try to follow the teachings of Jesus. I don’t know that I “believe” in Christ, so hesitate to call myself a Christian.
Christianity has always had sects, like every other religion. I wouldn’t be concerned about the extreme prosperity gospel/evangelical sect except that it has become so powerfully dangerous to our country and people. I’m probably more furious at our elected officials who have allowed and encouraged the dismantling of the constitutional wall between government and religion.
I am not a Christian, although I am a big fan of Jesus as a character. Having read the history of crusades, Inquisition, and excerpts from The Witches' Hammer, it doesn't surprise me that those who profess to love Jesus the most turn out to resembled him the least. After all, in his day, Torquemada was considered a perfect Christian.
What continues to astonish me is that these people keep asking, "Well, if you don't believe in God, how do you know what's wrong and what's right?" Is that what they NEED? The big booming voice from the sky and the fear of eternal hellfire to not be utter sh*ts to other people? Because, if that is the case (and for many of them that's EXACTLY the case), all of their declarations of love toward Jesus are worth precisely. ZIP.
This is pretty much how I ended up first as agnostic and now a full blown atheist. Once my doubt set in I could no longer believe in a benevolent deity. I believe we are on our own and have to rely on ourselves to solve this mess. I do respect those who are able to retain some hope and faith, like Pope Leo. He is speaking out. And you John, as well. That's why I subscribe. I think all people of good will must come together and fight this....whether they belive in a higher power or not, living simply by The Golden Rule.
Joan: Exactly! That’s actually what my mother taught me as a young child: just follow the Golden Rule. I raised my children to follow the Golden Rule as well. None of them are Christian but they are all compassionate, good people.
Brian McLaren has written extensively about this. His book Do I Stay Christian answers it three ways and explores the implications for each answer (yes, no, maybe). In the end, it doesn’t matter if we follow Christ’s teachings of Love. The historical Jesus isn’t the same as the archetypal Christ who transcends denominational titles. Theology matters and white Christian nationalism’s theology is patriarchy, exploitation, domination and extraction cloaked in piety and sentimentality. Remember, Christ was not Jesus’ last name!
Isn't it weird how the Venn diagram between these MAGA types today and people who were asking 20 years ago why the Muslim world couldn't bottle up and control their Islamofascist element overlap nearly 100%?
How I process this, how I have been responding is to remind myself that the map is not the terrritory. Jesus, as a mystic taught that the kingdom is within, closer than hands and feet, and greater things than these can you do. He wasn't pointing to the need for a church...church was within. And although i also lament the ignorance, duplicity and capacity for human nature to use religion in profitable and self serving ways, I also tend to see Christianity as having a barbaric history of violence and judgmental-ism: dividing rather than uniting. I've been revisiting study of the gnostic gospels, The Gospel of Thomas, which transmit consciousness of the presence of our origins and remind me time and again of the deep and astounding possibility of connection with the divine. And, I am failing daily in my ability to extend love to those who profess holiness while destroying the lives of others.
I have been extremely troubled by the evil presenting itself as god’s will. The action in the Middle East is directly tied to this evil. Our defenses are down. Our experienced generals pushed out. Our Veterans Administration decimated. Our Homeland Security has been diverted to chasing immigrants who work in the fields and are showing up for their hearings.
The United States is not on a war footing.
Nothing makes sense to someone who has lived through multiple wars and has had many veterans in the family.
If our Blessed Jesus wept as he turned His eyes upon Jerusalem, knowing its fate, do you think we are any less by grieving our 'Jerusalem' ? I would say for those of us whose spirits are struggling, look above the fray for our strength and then carry on as we are meant to do: Heal the sick, feed the poor, welcome the stranger. Be filled with joy, even while contacting our DC representatives. There is work to do, but it cannot be accomplished with shattered hope. Our reward awaits us.
As always, you have not only (more beautifully) stated what is in my own heart, but you have again given me that touch of community that is - sadly - missing in this current timeline.
John, you always write just what I'm thinking and feeling about these difficult times. It is so sad to see friends and relatives who claim to be Christian embracing the orange idol, who is the total antithesis of Jesus Christ. It's no wonder church attendance, especially in traditional churches like mine (UMC), is declining. The only thing I know to do is to keep doing what Jesus taught. Love your neighbor. Forgive freely. Welcome the foreigner. Feed the hungry. Heal the sick. Pray.
I'm fearful for the future of this country. I hurt for my friends, relatives, and former students who live in fear, or whose rights are being threatened. We just have to keep speaking out.
We are all in this together Blessings on your joureny!
I still keep the name Christian, despite what the nasties have done by pirating it. It is my birthright, and despite being rubbed in the filth of extreme Evangelicalism's excrescences, it is still my name and I will not let them steal it from me.
How we make a difference is by being Jesus to the brokenhearted and the downtrodden. There's no law against that. Not yet, anyway.
Yesm being Jesus to the brokenhearted Well put!
I grieve. Daily.
I do too. I don't know what to suggest. Maybe pray silently? It's sort of like meditation and will help get your mind off the situation we are all in. One that I never imagined our country would have to deal with. I bet the Germans, Japanese and Italians were perking along before WWII and were hit by the same feelings.
Me too…
Me too! Bless you!
I think this may have shortened my lifespan, due only to the additional daily stress, the endless acts of authoritarianism, one after another. It seems like you don't have time to process one crazy event when another one pops up.
I know. It’s insane.
I think you are right about the daily assaults on our humanity shortening our lives. Emotional stress at a fast pace. It feels like vampires are sucking away at our life force to fill their empty voids that can never be satisfied
I so hear your frustration, me too!
I agree.
I'm sure it's shortening mine.
I grieve...and I write. I never asked to be someone who speaks out, but I cannot stay silent. I write a blog that unashamedly says that I am a "Preacher's Kid" and I share from the perspective of being a daughter of ministers, a wife and mother of ministers, and a minister myself. While I don't very often use the phrase "I am a Christian" because of how it has been co-opted, I DO identify myself as a follower of Jesus or a "Follower of the Way" (an early description of his followers.
I don't know if "Christianity" will survive--and maybe it needs to die so that something new can break forth...something that will be more in line with what I believe Jesus intended--a community bound together in love and care for all of creation...a community that is focused on FOLLOWING Jesus, not necessarily BELIEVING IN him.
Pam: yes, I agree, being a community of people who follow the teachings of Jesus and not necessarily believing in him is my hope as well.
The Christian name and the image of Jesus have been highjacked by people who claim be christians and prophets, they claim to speak for God burt they are like empty vesssels and claming gongs. We muct take back the name and the image of Christ, making that image ourselves.
Totally agree. Maybe there is a "Christ-ian" community that's beginning to break through.
MAGA = Make America Greedy Again
GOP = Greed Over Policy
Sad but true. Thanks!
I give myself an hour or more a day to read the awfulness and grieve and feel rage and helplessness. Then I turn to the things that give me a sense of who I am as a human being. I grew up in a home where our parents were right in the same camp as MAGA folk. I know what it's like to be indoctrinated daily with the "party line" and to be treated as subhuman, so it's important to me to hold on to my humanness and humanity.
My daily worship time is critical to my well-being. There have been times when I couldn't turn to God because I felt so numb. But, for several months straight, this has not been the case. I'm not sure why. I feel I do have the gift of prayer. When something(s) comes/come to me, I pray. I take part in protests and contribute to those causes I feel particularly led to support (although it's been painfully difficult to whittle that down as there are so many crying needs.)
I am a retired pastor who does supply preaching. Fortunately, I belong to a denomination that has been organized on the precepts of care for the least of these, advocating for the marginalized, and following (imperfectly) Jesus' imperative found in the Beatitudes. That being said, many of our churches are purple. When I supply for another pastor, I take a lot of time to prepare so as to be as faithful to the text as I can. I bring who I am and my honest struggle with the text along with the hope that the words I speak are not mine alone. So far, I have not been run out of town on a rail... It probably also helps that I am not the settled pastor - those who might disagree can slough it off and go about their day.
I have had a love/hate relationship with the church. There has been much to criticize and yet much that is worth keeping. The future of the church? I think Roman Catholicism may possibly move in a more all-embracing way and gain traction. More mystical forms of Christianity may gradually emerge. My sense is that whatever greater form Christianity may take it will not happen until we have enormous suffering visited upon us by Christian Nationalism. It will be a pitched battle, but I do believe in an outcome where Christ-like love and justice will prevail. A remnant will survive and flourish.
Thanks for all you do. I don't know how you continue to dig deep and clear-eyed without collapsing under the load, but I really appreciate your work.
Thanks for sharing, I get it. I used to be a an evangelical Pentecostal and worked in missions with an organization called Youth with a Mission (YWAM). Seems like so long ago and I have changed so much and lean less on doctrine or dogma leaving shame and guilt behind and embracing a daily practice of seeking to be an imitation of Christ to those around me in simple gestures and the way I engage the world. I believe a remnant is emerging who want that and will not reject those of other faiths who carry the light as we hope to. God is not exclusive but inclusive, I have found in my many years of faith. God belongs to no one, no denomination, no faith, no political party, no nationality. God is ONE, and is all and in all, wishing to be revealed and seen by us as we live and move. My walk Christ finally helped me realize that and learning about other faiths and knowing people of other faiths helped me be a better follower of Yeshua (Jesus). Safe Journeys!
I stopped going to church several years ago for a few different reasons. But I still try to follow the teachings of Jesus. I don’t know that I “believe” in Christ, so hesitate to call myself a Christian.
Christianity has always had sects, like every other religion. I wouldn’t be concerned about the extreme prosperity gospel/evangelical sect except that it has become so powerfully dangerous to our country and people. I’m probably more furious at our elected officials who have allowed and encouraged the dismantling of the constitutional wall between government and religion.
I am not a Christian, although I am a big fan of Jesus as a character. Having read the history of crusades, Inquisition, and excerpts from The Witches' Hammer, it doesn't surprise me that those who profess to love Jesus the most turn out to resembled him the least. After all, in his day, Torquemada was considered a perfect Christian.
What continues to astonish me is that these people keep asking, "Well, if you don't believe in God, how do you know what's wrong and what's right?" Is that what they NEED? The big booming voice from the sky and the fear of eternal hellfire to not be utter sh*ts to other people? Because, if that is the case (and for many of them that's EXACTLY the case), all of their declarations of love toward Jesus are worth precisely. ZIP.
This is pretty much how I ended up first as agnostic and now a full blown atheist. Once my doubt set in I could no longer believe in a benevolent deity. I believe we are on our own and have to rely on ourselves to solve this mess. I do respect those who are able to retain some hope and faith, like Pope Leo. He is speaking out. And you John, as well. That's why I subscribe. I think all people of good will must come together and fight this....whether they belive in a higher power or not, living simply by The Golden Rule.
Joan: Exactly! That’s actually what my mother taught me as a young child: just follow the Golden Rule. I raised my children to follow the Golden Rule as well. None of them are Christian but they are all compassionate, good people.
So simple too. No 1000 page rule book needed.
Brian McLaren has written extensively about this. His book Do I Stay Christian answers it three ways and explores the implications for each answer (yes, no, maybe). In the end, it doesn’t matter if we follow Christ’s teachings of Love. The historical Jesus isn’t the same as the archetypal Christ who transcends denominational titles. Theology matters and white Christian nationalism’s theology is patriarchy, exploitation, domination and extraction cloaked in piety and sentimentality. Remember, Christ was not Jesus’ last name!
Isn't it weird how the Venn diagram between these MAGA types today and people who were asking 20 years ago why the Muslim world couldn't bottle up and control their Islamofascist element overlap nearly 100%?
How I process this, how I have been responding is to remind myself that the map is not the terrritory. Jesus, as a mystic taught that the kingdom is within, closer than hands and feet, and greater things than these can you do. He wasn't pointing to the need for a church...church was within. And although i also lament the ignorance, duplicity and capacity for human nature to use religion in profitable and self serving ways, I also tend to see Christianity as having a barbaric history of violence and judgmental-ism: dividing rather than uniting. I've been revisiting study of the gnostic gospels, The Gospel of Thomas, which transmit consciousness of the presence of our origins and remind me time and again of the deep and astounding possibility of connection with the divine. And, I am failing daily in my ability to extend love to those who profess holiness while destroying the lives of others.
I have been extremely troubled by the evil presenting itself as god’s will. The action in the Middle East is directly tied to this evil. Our defenses are down. Our experienced generals pushed out. Our Veterans Administration decimated. Our Homeland Security has been diverted to chasing immigrants who work in the fields and are showing up for their hearings.
The United States is not on a war footing.
Nothing makes sense to someone who has lived through multiple wars and has had many veterans in the family.