Jesus: Modeling an Evolving Faith Ever Ancient, Ever New Monday, 12/31/18 Richard Rohr edit

poet Christian Wiman writes:

“Faith itself sometimes needs to be stripped of its social and historical encrustations and returned to its first, churchless incarnation in the human heart. 

Christian Wiman, My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux: 2013), 92.

Jesus was a “conservative,” in the true sense of the term, he conserved what was worth conserving and did not let accidentals get in the way, which are the very things false conservatives usually idolize. As a result, he looked quite “progressive,” radical, and even dangerous.

While honoring and emphasizing the essential and core elements of his tradition, he just ignored and even undercut most non-essential religious norms and mandates. This is rarer than you might think and is invariably the character of any true reformer. They know they are merely following the constant thread of Spirit.

https://cac.org/ever-ancient-ever-new-2018-12-31/

The Slaughter of the Innocents: The Dark Side of Christmas Brian Zahnd edit

The Slaughter of the Innocents: The Dark Side of Christmas
Brian Zahnd

most of civilization has been lived in the time of kings like Herod — that is, in the time of tyrant kings.💔.

It seems that the strain of constant political intrigue had made Herod a pathologically paranoid king.💔

 Matthew tells the story of a child born in the time of tyrant kings owing tyrant kings nothing. This is the glad tidings of good politics brought to us at Christmas.💔

 And Jerusalem was afraid too. The citizens of Jerusalem were well aware of how dangerous life can be when a powerful ruler with a fragile ego is afraid. 💔

So all of Jerusalem was on edge — anxious about what the paranoid king might do.💔

The church has called this horror the Slaughter of the Innocents, but modern day kings and kingdoms have sanitized it with the Orwellian term “collateral damage.”💔

So we let the dark side of Christmas speak to us. When contemporary superpowers adopt the ways of ancient tyrant kings, no matter how pragmatic the motives, we need to be honest about the fact that innocent people, even children, will be killed. 💔

We should always remember that the ends never justify the means; rather, 

the means are the ends in the process of becoming.💔

 If the means are death-dealing, the ends aren’t going to be life-affirming. 💔

 In the flight to Egypt we see the Holy Family as refugees, and once we have seen the Holy Family as refugees fleeing a violent Middle East despot, it must forever influence how Christians view modern-day refugees in similar situations — in the eyes of God, they too are a kind of holy family.💔

These acts of prophetic imagination (to borrow a phrase from Walter Brueggemann) are necessary for those who would read the biblical Christmas story with contemporary relevance and not just romanticized sentimentality.💔

One of the remarkable things about the Bible is that it doesn’t paper over atrocity or shy away from giving vivid depictions of the brutality of life in the time of tyrant kings. 💔

Are we shocked by Herod’s crime? Of course. But though we are horrified, we should not be surprised. 💔

Stanley Hauerwas says, “Rome knew how to deal with enemies; you kill them or co-opt them.”
Usually the rich get co-opted and the poor get killed. The Temple elite of Jerusalem are bought off while the peasant babies of Bethlehem are killed.💔

Jesus’ invasion by birth into the dark time of tyrant kings gives us a choice: we can trust in the armed brutality of violent power or we can trust in the naked vulnerability of love. 💔



We have to choose between the old way of Caesar and the new way of Christ. 💔

Reply to Jekylldoc

https://disqus.com/home/discussion/mercynotsacrifice/jesus_is_god8217s_rebellion_against_humanity/#comment-4259553764

Willingness and faith is personal and experiential MHO.  

I like this quote:
“We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community

 One has experiences of challenge to face inquisitors. Atheists / agnostics/ Evangelical fundamentalists/ nationalists / fascists demand "proof" of validity on their terms. One is always judged a liar or worse in some people's forums.  Trigger words like "faith" /"belief"/"God" are like tripwires setting off explosions of anger/ longing / loneliness inviting arguments ad infinitum. 
 Is one lying to oneself? No! One has to face some of the
people who have not lost their illusion of control/ self sufficiency & /or  they could only believe in a god who will be like themselves. One is not delivering up a choice that pleases a consumer of propaganda. There are some who have never known anything else.

 Here are quotes I like by Hannah Arendt:
"In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and nothing was true... The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness."/

" The result of a consistent and total substitution of lies for factual truth is not that the lie will now be accepted as truth and truth be defamed as a lie, but that the sense by which we take our bearings in the real world—and the category of truth versus falsehood is among the mental means to this end---is being destroyed."

CHECKING IN/ the artists way


🔸How many days this week did you do your morning pages?

🔸How was the experience for you?

🔸If you skipped a day, why did you skip it?


🔸Did you do your artist date this week?


🔸Were there any other issues this week that you consider significant for your recovery?

🔸Describe them.

CHECKING IN/ the artists way


🔸How many days this week did you do your morning pages?

🔸How was the experience for you?

🔸If you skipped a day, why did you skip it?


🔸Did you do your artist date this week?


🔸Were there any other issues this week that you consider significant for your recovery?

🔸Describe them.

CHECKING IN/ the artists way


🔸How many days this week did you do your morning pages?

🔸How was the experience for you?

🔸If you skipped a day, why did you skip it?


🔸Did you do your artist date this week?


🔸Were there any other issues this week that you consider significant for your recovery?

🔸Describe them.

CHECKING IN/ the artists way 12/31/18🔸

CHECKING IN/ the artists way

🔸How many days this week did you do your morning pages?

🔸How was the experience for you?

🔸If you skipped a day, why did you skip it?

🔸Did you do your artist date this week?

🔸Were there any other issues this week that you consider significant for your recovery?

🔸Describe them.

GROWTH.

Growth is not a steady,

 linear process. 

It is circular💔

 even as you move forwards you 

are also beginning to move 

backwards,

 as you are moving backwards you 

are also beginning to move 

forwards.

Creative recovery is a healing 

process.💔

 You are capable of 

great things on Tuesday, 

but on Wednesday you

 may slide backwards.

 This is normal.💔

 Growth occurs is spurts.

 You will lie dormant sometimes. 

Do not be discouraged. Think of 

it as resting.💔

Very often, a week of insights 

will be followed by a week of 

sluggishness.💔

 The morning pages

 will seem pointless. They 

are not. 

What you are learning to do, 

writing them even when you are 

tired and they seem dull, is to 

rest on the page.💔

 This is very 

important. Marathon runners 

suggest you log ten slow miles 

for every fast one. The same 

holds true for creativity.💔

“Easy accomplishes it.” 💔

doing one kind thing for

yourself 

every day,💔. 

 you will begin to notice a 

slight lightness of heart.💔

Practice being kind to yourself 

in small, concrete ways.💔

You don’t have to keep 

everything.💔💔

More than anything else, 

experiment with solitude.💔

Try to acquire the habit of 

checking in with yourself. 💔

ask yourself how you are feeling.

 Listen to your answer.

 Respond kindly.💔

 If you are doing something 

very hard promise yourself a 

break and a treat afterward.💔

Yes, baby yourself. Leave being 

you will be more productive when 

coaxed than when bullied.💔

Growth is not a steady,

 linear process. 

It is circular💔

You don’t have to keep 

everything.💔💔

you will be more productive when coaxed than when bullied.💔

rest on the page.💔

ask yourself how you are feeling. Listen to your answer.

 Respond kindly.💔

experiment with solitude.💔

If you are doing something very 

hard, promise yourself a break 

and a treat afterward.💔

Very often, a week of 
insights will be followed by

 a week of sluggishness. 💔

Practice being kind 

to yourself in 
small concrete ways.💔

Even as you move forwards you are 
also beginning to move backwards. 
As you are moving backwards you 
are also beginning to move forwards.

You are capable of 
great things on Tuesday, 

but on Wednesday you

 may slide backwards.
 This is normal.💔

“Easy accomplishes it.” 💔

 If you are doing something 

very hard promise yourself a 

break and a treat afterward.💔

Creative recovery is

 a healing process. 💔