As I stopped my last post, I left with speaking about individual justice. I must say, a good read on this subject is Stanley Hauerwas "A Community of Character." Within the first chapter, he uses the adult novel, "Watership Down" by Richard Adams as a story to help illustrate and illuminate his thesis therefore I recommend that novel as well, it was really good.
To then move on to the theme of justice, within Christianity, we have lost our sense of community therefore we lost the ability to practice justice. Justice has become programs that the local church does while staying out of the daily life of the congregation. Example: the church hands out free diapers to needy moms every Thursday for so many hours at a local parking lot. What does this do? It helps moms out for a short period of time, giving them that financial relief. what else? does it solve the problem? Should it be the church's responsibility to find out solutions to the economic problem of single mothers or just simply needy families? Or is the the state governments problem while the church is just supposed to minister to the soul?
Or picture it this way. How is it that there can be churches that have the business owners and managers that are well-to-do while in the same congregation there are people that go without? Is that community? Is that what we are all about?
I think that we do not know how to live/be Christian, that we have lost our sense of community or our ability for community. Therefore we are not able to perform justice. How can it when it is just a bunch of individuals gathering together for a couple of days to sing? There is no power in the individual outside the individual. What we need is community where we are a part of one another, live around and with one another, share the burdens of and with one another. Not just sing together. Or maybe that is just my individual thought?
what do you think?
Friday, March 21, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Power in the word
I have heard that there is power in words. I can agree with this statement for i believe that there is power in words but I will only go so far with this. This idea has been in the back of my mind for sometime now and has been revived by recent conversations I have had.
I believe there is a certain power in what I speak, for instance, I can come home everyday and speak to my wife in a derogatory way and call her by bad names and the results of this abuse will be bad. She will leave me or her self view or esteem will be eventually destroyed. The same can go for my children, I can give them love with my words or give them death and destruction with my words. I believe this.
But now, I have heard about some idea of "speaking it into existence." My basic understanding of this is, for example, I have the power to speak things into existence. This idea also involves my beliefs about the things, whatever the the things are. Therefore, if I am poor, it is because I believe and talk like I am poor and I have the power to lift myself out of this situation through proper belief that I am not poor and speak my new found debt-free life into existence by talking like I am not poor. I do not think that this power necessarily exists. If I try to speak my un-poorness into existence, that does not make me un-poor. Nor does this constitute faith in God about him lifting me out of my poorness. This is like thinking that I could pray about my poorness and then speak as if He already worked and that it then happens that way.
A different angle, I think that the little girl who is being molested by her father cannot lift herself out of that situation or exhibit faith in God by speaking like it is not happening, or however she should speak that liberation/justice into existence. This makes the words have some sort of magical property.
Then, let me say for the sake of argument, is it only the spoken word or do the written words have magic too? I have read many works about non-violence and ending the war, but the war is still in existence and there is still violence. Maybe these authors should stop writting and start speaking.
Therefore, I do not think that this notion of "speaking it into existence" actually happens the way it has been introduced to me, even when it concerns faith in God. Otherwise, my faith is found wanting. I guess I should talk as if i can afford to pay my child support and give her the extra money she needs while still being able to afford to travel there and magically the funds will appear, or else God will finally see that i have the proper faith in his power and will grant me my wish.
Or else, maybe I can keep praying that I have needs and keep trying to get a real job, understanding that simply speaking it into existence does not work but patience, faith, and perseverence will help me grow and last through this situation.
The way i see it, Jesus Christ did not come and work his life and make disciples in the world to bring justice into the world by individuals "speaking it into existence." I think that there is a reason that he established a community of believers or in other words, the Church which is the body of Christ. The body of Christ is where justice is brought to the world, by all the things that the New Testament talks about. The church becomes a "community of Character" as Stanely Hauerwas wrote about.
I will post about this justice next time because, "speaking it into existence" i believe, is basically about justice but on an individualistic level.
I believe there is a certain power in what I speak, for instance, I can come home everyday and speak to my wife in a derogatory way and call her by bad names and the results of this abuse will be bad. She will leave me or her self view or esteem will be eventually destroyed. The same can go for my children, I can give them love with my words or give them death and destruction with my words. I believe this.
But now, I have heard about some idea of "speaking it into existence." My basic understanding of this is, for example, I have the power to speak things into existence. This idea also involves my beliefs about the things, whatever the the things are. Therefore, if I am poor, it is because I believe and talk like I am poor and I have the power to lift myself out of this situation through proper belief that I am not poor and speak my new found debt-free life into existence by talking like I am not poor. I do not think that this power necessarily exists. If I try to speak my un-poorness into existence, that does not make me un-poor. Nor does this constitute faith in God about him lifting me out of my poorness. This is like thinking that I could pray about my poorness and then speak as if He already worked and that it then happens that way.
A different angle, I think that the little girl who is being molested by her father cannot lift herself out of that situation or exhibit faith in God by speaking like it is not happening, or however she should speak that liberation/justice into existence. This makes the words have some sort of magical property.
Then, let me say for the sake of argument, is it only the spoken word or do the written words have magic too? I have read many works about non-violence and ending the war, but the war is still in existence and there is still violence. Maybe these authors should stop writting and start speaking.
Therefore, I do not think that this notion of "speaking it into existence" actually happens the way it has been introduced to me, even when it concerns faith in God. Otherwise, my faith is found wanting. I guess I should talk as if i can afford to pay my child support and give her the extra money she needs while still being able to afford to travel there and magically the funds will appear, or else God will finally see that i have the proper faith in his power and will grant me my wish.
Or else, maybe I can keep praying that I have needs and keep trying to get a real job, understanding that simply speaking it into existence does not work but patience, faith, and perseverence will help me grow and last through this situation.
The way i see it, Jesus Christ did not come and work his life and make disciples in the world to bring justice into the world by individuals "speaking it into existence." I think that there is a reason that he established a community of believers or in other words, the Church which is the body of Christ. The body of Christ is where justice is brought to the world, by all the things that the New Testament talks about. The church becomes a "community of Character" as Stanely Hauerwas wrote about.
I will post about this justice next time because, "speaking it into existence" i believe, is basically about justice but on an individualistic level.
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