In the Absence of Power and Light

On Wednesday morning my Christian book club has been reading and discussing Barbara Brown Taylor's book An Altar in the World. One of the chapters I have been thinking about this week focuses on a personal time in Taylor's life where she and her husband lived several days in their rural home without power and light due to an ice storm. Many of us have had this experience through the years, but her spiritual insight is interesting.

Since we equate Christianity (even Christ Himself) with the idea of power and light, she raised the question as to what happens when we are without them. For her, she realized that the absence of power and light for a few days caused her to move from being self-centered to other-centered. She had an epiphany that she had to be even more responsible for not only herself but also her animals, in this case, dogs, cats, and horses. She found herself breaking up the ice which formed in their water several times a day, keeping them extra warm with kerosene heaters, and making sure they were dry and well fed. How could this analogy apply to current day church theology?

Many believe, and have described it in their books, that we are living now in a post-Christian world. To them, the old theology of the past seems to be failing the average believer. Some even question the inerrant nature of the Bible and its historical record. They see the Bible's authority eroding in our modern age. They suggest that, in the absence of traditional power and light, we replace old views of the past with community and fellowship of believers instead. After all, isn't that what happened after Jesus' Resurrection. When He was no longer able to be with them physically, and before Pentecost, the disciples had to form small groups and develop closeness to keep the ideas of Christ's teaching alive.

I have found it difficult as a conservative believer for the majority of my life not to believe in the divine Truth of Scripture. Yes, I have modified my belief somewhat and moved away from a very literal interpretation of the Word to a more metaphorical and symbolic interpretation. Even with these changes, I cannot move into the idea that we fallible humans can provide the authority once held through the Bible. We are simply too human to do so. If we begin to place our faith in fellowship, we are sure to be disappointed.

The Latest In Out Group

One of the most interesting topics I have heard recently centers on the plight of the homeless. As we Americans know, we are quite involved in protecting the rights of minorities in our country. After all, it's in our genes as immigrants removed by several generations ourselves. My own heritage is Scotch-Irish and goes back to the eighteenth century when my ancestors came over from the Old Country in order to make a better life for themselves in the rural South. As a group we were largely uneducated, but yet hard workers with an optimistic belief that life could be good by applying a diligent work ethic to the tasks ahead.

A review of our Southern history for the past one hundred or so years reveals first the freedom of the slaves, followed by the vote and equal rights for women, followed by civil rights legislation, and followed by laws protecting gays. The new in out group now appears to be those who are homeless since hate crimes against this group have evidently proliferated in recent years.

A recent NPR program discussed this subject in detail. I also attended a political discussion group this past Monday night in which homeless needs of both adults and children were presented. The problem is certainly not a new one (we remember that Jesus spoke about it some two thousand years ago by saying, "For you have the poor with you always" - Matthew 26:11). The emphasis today, I believe, comes from an epiphany many of us have had in the most recent recession. Because the financial and job losses have impacted all classes of society, I believe we are now developing more of a sense that homelessness can possibly be one paycheck away from all of us. My short experience in working with the poor and homeless as a volunteer is that they often defy the stereotypes we have placed upon them in the past, i. e. they are drug addicts, alcoholics, mentally challenged, and so on. Many today are well dressed and embarrassed to be in a position of dire need.

I applaud the idea that the homeless will now be an area for focus in our society. They deserve all the assistance we can provide of our time, our money, and our talents to enable them to move back into mainstream society. In America it's only right.

We Are Extensions

As I was listening Sunday afternoon to Dr. Cornel West, a guest on the Tavis Smiley show on NPR, I became interested in his comments about the primary influences on his life. People who have read my memoirs, The Skagway Connection and Four Women One Century have often asked me this question, "Since your early life was so chaotic, how did you turn out to be a decent person? After all, you too might have turned to alcohol, drugs (since you came of age in the '60's was the implication), or a crazy life yourself." I have always known the answer to that question, but Dr. West's comment solidified my belief. He reminded us listeners that we are basically extensions of the people in our lives who have invested their lives in us and have loved us.

In my life, I would choose the three influences easily: my mother (thought imperfect as most mothers are), my grandmother (who took me into her home when she was 63), and my sister (who is older by four years and has always been there). I frequently think of the first few verses of 2nd Timothy in the New Testament where the apostle Paul is remembering and giving thanks also for Timothy's mother and grandmother who became the early examples for the young man on how to live.

As recipients of time and love, I believe we also have an obligation to pass that influence on to the young ones around us now. That includes grandchildren primarily who are often in non-traditional families these days--being products of divorce, single parents, gay parents, or so on. It also includes at-risk children especially in cities like Little Rock who could also benefit from tutoring, volunteer time, or just friendship. As as we are a result of those who have invested time and love in us, we must pass the tradition on to the next generation of young people as well.

Justice for Some but Certainly Not All

Since I was a victim of a child pedophile, who escaped any punishment for his crimes with other children and me, I have no sympathy for any of those charged in current cases. Yesterday we learned of the capture of one of those monsters who had raped, slit the throat (cutting into her windpipe), and thrown his eight year old victim into an ant hill to die. She lived, set up a Website, and worked tirelessly to bring justice for herself and courage for others to come forward to do the same. DNA evidence will convict the pedophile.

On the Today Show this morning, we see the first pictures of another victim--the twenty-nine year old Jaycee Dugard on the cover of People magazine. As an eleven year old, she was kidnapped, raped, forced to live eighteen years in tents, and made to bear two children by the pedophile. She will testify against him soon.

On the other hand, we hear that direct Roman Polanski is now very depressed as he sits in his jail cell in Switzerland awaiting word of his extradition to California for the pedophilia he committed with a thirteen year old girl some thirty years ago. She was given drugs and alcohol, and then sodomized. Yet Hollywood A listers have stood proudly on steps and spoken loudly on talk shows to demand lenience for him. The only excuse they can offer is that he has made good movies since the rape.

Will we ever be able to give justice to all instead of just those who cannot afford a fleet of high-powered attorneys? I would hope that we could apply the law equally for all. Otherwise, our justice system becomes a travesty for the protection of children.

The Effect of Brokenness

Today was a good day for reflecting upon some of the deeper issues of life. I stepped outside for my usual morning walk and felt the slight mist falling upon my hair and rain jacket. The October fog had once again enveloped the mountains which lay behind our house. The air was cool with my favorite NPR station reporting the temperature as sixty degrees. I always think about Seattle weather, where our daughter lives, on days like this. The story on the radio was an interview with former Senator Max Cleland who is a decorated war hero. In his new memoir he quotes a famous line from Ernest Hemingway, "The world breaks everyone and afterward many are stronger at the broken places."

I have especially been thinking about some of my friends' health issues this week. Yes, we are all older now, and I know we should expect to be bombarded with health issues at this time of our lives. A rash of new diagnoses, however, within the past few months has once again brought before me the issue of life, brokenness, and healing. One friend was diagnosed a year ago with terminal breast cancer and now struggles to walk since the disease is affecting her bones, one is dealing with just being told he is HIV positive, one is having surgery this morning for a malignant melanoma, and one is trying to hang on in her house, with her beloved cats, in spite of a very obvious problem with her memory.

How should we then live with the brokenness of our bodies and our minds? The Old Testament addresses the problem of old age most poignantly in Ecclesiastes 12, " . . . the strong men bow down; / When the grinders cease because they are few, /And those that look through the windows grow dim . . . ." God gives us an answer at the beginning of the chapter, "Remember now your Creator." Our brokenness--whether it be through the infirmities of aging, the families which have scarred us, or the trauma of war as with Max Cleland--remind us that our strength and very being come from God. Even as we are broken physically, we can become stronger in our broken places by depending upon His grace.

Of Mice and Women

My mind has been overwhelmed lately by the continuing violence against women. After completing part four of Roberto Bolano's 2666, which chronicles the senseless murders of hundreds of young women in the town of Santa Theresa in Mexico, I am numb. Here in the United States, the media has focused within the past week on the murder of Yale student, Annie Le, who ironically was killed on the week in which she was to be married. The police have now arrested Ray Clark III, a lab person who cleans cages of the mice Annie and others work with for medical experimentation.

Today the discussion rests on the motives which would lead to this horrific event. On one side, we hear the police describe it as "workplace violence." They indicate perhaps there was an argument between the two individuals about the cleanliness of the cages. Women who are interviewed, however, tend to believe the murder is clearly related to the idea of anger, power, and violence against women. I tend to believe the latter theory as well.

In my personal life, I have witnessed and been a victim of violence against women both as a child and as an adult. In other writings I have documented my sexual abuse as a child. In the past year I have witnessed bullying and threatened violence against a friend of mine. I am always at a loss to explain the continuing violence. Is it simply that men are physically stronger for the most part and know they can win in a struggle? Are we failing to teach our young boys respect for girls as they grow into manhood? Are these men emasculated somehow in the workplace by competition with other men or women? Are we simply failing to teach ethics and morality any longer?

I have no answers, but like most all Americans today will continue to read and seek answers on how to win in this continuing war against women worldwide.

Armstrong's Case

This week's Newsweek contains an interesting article by Lisa Miller that basically reviews Karen Armstrong's nineteenth book entitled The Case for God. In the article there were two points that made me think about my past beliefs and my current ones. The first point Armstrong makes is that believers in the three major religions--Jewish, Christian, and Muslim-- are all capable of reading the Bible symbolically, rather than literally. If one does so, he or she is likely to realize there are multiple interpretations of the Word. The second point is that the Bible does not present just one revelation only in the far distant past but rather continuing revelations. I would like to consider these two points carefully since they are the reverse of my previous theological teaching.

The church in which I was a member for over fifty years always taught the one should interpret the Scriptures absolutely literally. The snake was a real one in Genesis, the donkey actually spoke in the Old Testament, and the whale actually swallowed a fellow named Jonah. As I grew older, however, and became an English major, I realized there were numerous verses in the Bible which we cannot take literally but symbolically. There are many, but a few examples will make the point: "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out" (Luke 19:40); " . . . hide me under the shadow of thy wings" (Psalm 17:8); and "I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, . . ." (Revelation 13:1).

On the second point, likewise, I have been taught in the past there there was one revelation only and that the time for revelation ended with the completion of the Biblical Word. Yet, we realize that the Muslims base their religion on revelations from the prophet Mohammad and the Mormons base their faith on the prophet Joseph Smith.

Does God evolve His Word in a dynamic creative way today? If we believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to teach Truth to us, I have come to believe the Word is ever changing in its ability to speak to us in different ways. I do not believe, like our American Constitution, that it is a static document--but it is one that is constantly in motion to teach us new Truths daily.