(inspired by a picture of Scott and Mabel Derksen posing in front of railroad tracks)

Reconciled

singular tracks
laying down
mutually submitted

properly placed
for travellers
to pass through

stations pointing
one direction
pursuing reward
in any season

prepared to trust
unscheduled stops

No time can be perfect; Some time must be enough; All time may be innocent.

Already Extended

We in the West pride ourselves that our removal of faith from the public sphere has delivered us from so-called "sectarian" violence that bloodied Europe in the 17th century. The language of faith is assigned to a private, irrational (i.e. subjective) sphere....

If religion enters the public realm, so we imagine, the result will be conflict, if not violence. The outburst that followed Benedict's lecture seems a case in point. Such rage not only horrifies us, but strikes us as deeply irrational. We cannot make sense of it. And we pride ourselves that we have chosen more wisely than the Islamic world. We are free to have or not have our own religion, the reasoning goes, as long as we keep it to ourselves....

Even more, we can add, it becomes easy to condemn irrational sectarian violence while imagining our violence is rational -- and unfortunately necessary to stop their violence.

We have long since passed the time when "the West" and Christianity were in any meaningful sense synonymous. The danger for us who follow Jesus is not that some coming Islamic tide will flood the Western world and "break the Cross" as one website put it. What threatens the followers of Jesus in North America and Western Europe is that we have so accommodated ourselves to the world around us that we have no distinctive alternative by which to understand or to address the challenges facing us.

One such alternative might be the Pope's assertion that peacemaking is the most profoundly rational course of action to follow, because at its heart is the peace that God in Christ has already extended to the world.

from "What the Pope really said by Beth Newman, emphasis mine

[via abpnews.com, HT: Jesus Politics]

Global Scales

We are indeed living at a time when Muslim-Western relations are at an all-time low. It is also a fact that the divide between the Western and Muslim worlds is not a neutral one, but rather one based on unequal and unjust divisions of power, wealth and privilege. However in order to redress this imbalance and injustice on a global scale, a global view of the world is needed which sees humanity as a singular community. Divisive speech on either side of the divide will do little to help the situation; and if anything it can only perpetuate the very differentials of difference and power which is at the root of this injustice.

Stupid, insulting and even destructive comments from either community should be met with a rational voice tempered with logic and morality, and not threats of violence couched in the flimsy rhetoric of victimhood. If Muslims felt insulted by the Pope’s comments, then we need to realise that many non-Muslims likewise feel insulted by the barbed accusations and slander that have come from some self-appointed spokesmen for Islam.

[via Muslim Wakeup MWU!, emphasis mine]

The Heart of the Dilemma

From Violence, Truth, and the Perfection of Allah -- Pope Benedict's Dilemma by agnusdei:

More than this, the Pope has a deep appreciation for the fact that the entire culture of Muslims is saturated in faith and devotion to God. In that sense, Muslim society -- Muslim culture -- resembles the Church, or at least -- a church. A community of people that follows God shares in the perfection of God. And this is the heart of the dilemma of the Pope's speech at Regensberg.

Pope Benedict, with his enormous grasp of the history of the Church, went all the way back to the 12th century, to a conversation between a Christian and a Muslim, to raise the issue of violence in the supposed adherence to God. The conversation was about the differences between Christianity and Islam, but Pope Benedict was interested in one aspect in particular. In honing in on the part of the conversation dealing with violence, the Pope honed in on the very question with which he, as Cardinal, had previously grappled: can a religion steeped in God act wrongly? ....

What is really unfortunate isn't that Pope Benedict reached back to a flawed and bigoted 12th century conversation in order to have a context for speaking about religious violence today. What is unfortunate is that he had to. For centuries, the West refused to talk to Islam at all, because we didn't share the same faith. Now, we've lost even the ability to talk to Islam, and we've lost that ability because we don't share a belief in faith itself -- a belief that is central to Islamic culture. Unless we reclaim the ability to talk about faith without sneering, we will insult Muslims at the very core of their culture, at the very core of their existence. In that state of insult, there can be no peace.

What Pope Benedict is saying, is this: It is the insistence that faith has no part in a modern and rational world, that is the hobgoblin of little minds.

How NOT to Go Astray, III

The earlier sections have briefly explored what underlies the controversy surrounding the Davinci Code and the Capitalist Piglet cartoon. The first part determined that the imprecise structures of each still pointed to genuine problems within organized Christianity that are unavoidable. Allowing for honest reflection by Christians about their history and genuine struggles by others about their disenchantment was thought to be in the best interest of Christ.

The second part then accessed the quality of the proposed alternatives within the Davinci Code and the Capitalist Piglet comic. Both were found lacking while illustrating how cheap and comforting responses avoid satisfactory corrections. Any substantial development by Christians require more than a partial comprehension and superficial reaction. What that would involve will be unpacked next.

III. How NOT to be Tempted

"Maybe the human is divine."

- Professor Langdon, The Davinci Code

Both the Davinci Code and the Capitalist Piglet cartoon ask why mainstream Christianity appears to fail or goes astray. Is it due to premodern origins, accumulated time, advantageous opportunism, or something else entirely? The Davinci Code suggests that imposing the divinity of Jesus by historic Christianity obscures a more mundane and realistic portrait. Consequentially, it supposedly inspired an oppressive and punitive institution. The Capitalist Piglet comic implies that historic Christianity became too engulfed with a calculating, imbalanced economic system. Hence, the Church tends to shame and sabotage herself currently.

Regardless of whether or not these portrayals of established Christianity are exaggerated, it reveals an uneasiness with at least the appearance of a monolithic power. The common factor here is from the abuse and dominance generally associated with increased influence. Many organizations over some period can lose their identity and vision somewhat, becoming corrupt and crippled. Institutional Christianity is no exception, and any discounting of that resolves nothing.

At its best, the Davinci Code is really trying to restore some semblance of humanity into the Church by bringing Jesus down to earth, so to speak. This may not justify it sufficiently, mind you, but it wants to reduce the harm being done by historic Christianity. Yet it just does not do as much good as it appears, because by making Jesus more ordinary, it also makes humans seem more irrelevant in the process. Why follow in Christ's footsteps at all if there's no major difference between us? This is partly what worries critics here.

Whereas with the Capitalist Piglet, the crude exposure of a representative appearing like Christ makes the relationship with materialism seem superficial yet vivid. The cartoon's emphasis is on the shocking revelation provoking a more proactive position. However, if this interaction is not unique to established Christianity, then the impact is reduced to some degree. It does not strictly indicate whether religion is especially prone to acquire status over other venerable institutions. Why progress if it is nothing special?

These examples challenge Christians to become more sensitive and responsive to entrenched patterns of power within established Christianity. It seems as if the struggle is simply between survival and service. Perhaps examining something from the life of Jesus will provide more clarity for disciples of Christ.

In the Gospels, Jesus was confronted by tests of integrity after being in the desert fasting and praying for forty days. He had a mission approaching and had to be ready for anything. The devil devised three challenges for Jesus, starting with hunger. Which took priority, self-preservation or service? Jesus preferred the substenance of God that offered more than self-interest and could include satisfaction for all in many ways. Next, the deceiver proposed a sensational and potentially dangerous feat that might reinforce God's approval of Jesus to others. Which would take priority, survival or service? Jesus would not ask God to be rescued in isolation, since others needed rescuing even more. Jesus thus refused to participate in the stunt. Last, Jesus was offered the cursed world in exchange for serving others. Which took priority, hierarchy or service? Jesus chose to be in solidarity with others rather than with the tempter.

This is how to be better equipped to take on the seduction of power. Established Christianity must benefit more than its leaders to be like Jesus. It must conquer itself first before it is taken seriously. Otherwise, who else would want to share and participate anyway?

If being lost is abandonment, then being found is claustrophobia.

Five years out from the attacks, why do we still know so little about what really happened that day?

[via Common Dreams, HT: Mainstream Baptist]

Nonviolent 9/11

This day not only marks the five year anniversary of 9|11, it also marks 100 years to the day that Mahatma Gandhi launched the modern nonviolent resistance movement. Completely ironic, isn't it? It makes me wonder where in the world we would be without the shining model Mahatma left for us. Certainly the Civil Rights movement here in the US would have taken on a very different flavor if Dr. Martin Luther King had not emulated Gandhi's movement for nonviolence. But still, I can't help but believe we've made such small strides following in their footsteps. Where are the Gandhis and Dr. Kings of our time? ....

The first lesson [my grandfather] taught me was to understand anger, and being able to channel anger into positive action. He said that anger is like electricity. It is just as useful and just as powerful, if we use it intelligently. It can be just as deadly and destructive, if we abuse it. Just as we channel electricity, bring it into our lives and use it for the good of Humanity, we must learn to channel anger in the same way. We can use that energy for the good of Humanity, rather than abuse it.
~ Arun Gandhi

[via Visual_Voice.NET, HT: Streak's Blog]

From Cynical Poem at Paper Clip Town:

Words written on the wall.
They are meant to say it all.
Unfounded speech on your lips.
I do a total eclipse,
My mind walks away.
Do I know any more than him?

Drained of all there is.
Got nothing left to give.
Swimming in a different pool.
Governed by a sad misrule.
Small change in amount of fuel.
Such long drives, I feel a fool.

Cynical and spellbound.
Stand up and astound.
Preaching words that are unsound.
Perhaps the laughter is well-found.