For years it was happening to THEM. THEY were in the spotlight, not US. But things change... and it is about time. For years the Catholic Church has taken a lot of hits for cases of priests taking sexual advantage of parishioners... especially (but not exclusively) young ones. I must be honest that I have …
Category: Christian Ethics
Salvation as a Human Right? (pt 1 of 3)
I have been reading the essay, “Women Confronting State-Instigated Violence” by Darlene Marquez-Caramanzana. This is not normally the type of writing I would be reading, but it was part of a book that was gifted to me by Father Terry from Aglipay Central Theological Seminary. The book is a collection of essays and poems of …
Learning a New Term: “Symbolic Interactionism”
I have recently begun reading the book Participant Observation by James Spradley. I suppose I should have read it years ago... but better late than never. In Chapter One he references Herbert Blumer (1969) and his work Symbolic Interactionism. Three premises of this theory are (in my own wording) People act towards objects (nouns of …
Continue reading Learning a New Term: “Symbolic Interactionism”
Religiopolitical Power
Sometimes things are funny in hindsight. Just about two years ago now, the campaign for the US presidential election was in full swing. Some people lobbied me to vote for one candidate or another. I have no problem with that. While I have never tried to convince someone to vote the way I do in …
Christians and 21st Century Tribalism
"Tribalism" is a great word that has become bandied about in recent days. There are different definitions: a very strong feeling of loyalty to a political or social group, so that you support them whatever they do (Cambridge Dictionary) loyalties that people feel towards particular social groups and to the way these loyalties affect their …
Bigamy and Missions
I have fallen out of the habit of getting involved in discussion boards. I guess part of the reason is that over the decades they attract trolls. But even when they don't they often draw people in based on their ability to type rather than their ability to discuss or think. Recently, I saw a …
Ministerial Recovery
We all fail sometimes. Sometimes the failure is minor... sometimes it can be spectacular. Sometimes one has control over the situation of the failure, and sometimes not. Failure is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, failures are great opportunities to grow. But not all failures are equal to each other. Consider three forms of …
The Patriotically Incorrect Missionary
When I was in college (30+ years ago) many of us were struck at the excesses of a movement that showed itself in the term “Political Correctness” or PC for short. It sought to avoid language that appeared to demean or sound judgmental. At its best, it reminded us to be careful with our language... …
What Not to Say to Someone Who’s Been Hurt by the Church • ChurchLeaders.com
<An Excellent List in an excellent article. I have heard most all of them said in one way or another.> Whenever you meet someone who's been hurt by the church, tread carefully. Here's what not to say. Source: What Not to Say to Someone Who's Been Hurt by the Church • ChurchLeaders.com