"You know I have the Lutheran curse. Conviction without action has no meaning for me. Yet what is conviction? How do we identify it? Is it to be found in the heart, or in the intellect? And what if it is only to be found in the one and not the other? ... I had no conscious faith, but if I acted, then the faith would surely follow. ... Perhaps that is how faith is born, I thought: by action and not by contemplation." Absolute Friends by John le Carre
I have been thinking about this a lot lately. It seems sort of like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg? As James said (James 2:17) faith without works is dead and as the author of Hebrews implies (Hebrews 11:6) works without faith is not pleasing to God.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
the dance continues
Okay, maybe I am naive in thinking that blatant sexism and discrimination is not a bigger issue than the subtle form.
There is currently a discussion at open source theology on female ordination and leadership in the church. Reading some of the responses really got my blood boiling, but others gave me hope. Obviously, the dance continues.
There is currently a discussion at open source theology on female ordination and leadership in the church. Reading some of the responses really got my blood boiling, but others gave me hope. Obviously, the dance continues.
Filed in: thoughts
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
the dance
In his sermon this weekend, my pastor talked about some of the more blatant ways society undermines women. I think that it is subtle sexism and discrimination that will cause the most problems for the Lutheran Church, middle-class America and our daughters and sons.
For example:
Sexism comes in many different forms, including blatant, covert, and subtle sexism (Benokraitis & Feagin, 1999). Blatant sexism is defined as obviously unequal and unfair treatment of women relative to men, whereas covert sexism is defined as unequal and unfair treatment of women that is recognized but purposefully hidden from view. Both blatant and covert sexism are intended, but only covert sexism is hidden. In comparison to these two forms, subtle sexism represents unequal and unfair treatment of women that is not recognized by many people because it is perceived to be normative, and therefore does not appear unusual. Sexist language is an example of subtle sexism in that it consists of speech that reinforces and perpetuates gender stereotypes and status differences between women and men.
Subtle discrimination is so woven into the fabric of an organization's status quo, that even women who feel the impact of these insidious, indiscernible barriers are often hard-pressed to know what hit them, say the writers and professors at the Center for Gender in Organizations at the Simmons Graduate School of Management.
A girl, forming her identity "also experiences herself missing from pronouns in scripture, hymns, and prayers. And most of all, as long as God "himself" is exclusively male, she will experience the otherness, the lessness, of herself; all the pious talk in the world about females being equal to males will fail to compute in the deeper places inside her." (Sue Monk Kidd, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter)
For example:
Sexism comes in many different forms, including blatant, covert, and subtle sexism (Benokraitis & Feagin, 1999). Blatant sexism is defined as obviously unequal and unfair treatment of women relative to men, whereas covert sexism is defined as unequal and unfair treatment of women that is recognized but purposefully hidden from view. Both blatant and covert sexism are intended, but only covert sexism is hidden. In comparison to these two forms, subtle sexism represents unequal and unfair treatment of women that is not recognized by many people because it is perceived to be normative, and therefore does not appear unusual. Sexist language is an example of subtle sexism in that it consists of speech that reinforces and perpetuates gender stereotypes and status differences between women and men.
Subtle discrimination is so woven into the fabric of an organization's status quo, that even women who feel the impact of these insidious, indiscernible barriers are often hard-pressed to know what hit them, say the writers and professors at the Center for Gender in Organizations at the Simmons Graduate School of Management.
A girl, forming her identity "also experiences herself missing from pronouns in scripture, hymns, and prayers. And most of all, as long as God "himself" is exclusively male, she will experience the otherness, the lessness, of herself; all the pious talk in the world about females being equal to males will fail to compute in the deeper places inside her." (Sue Monk Kidd, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter)
Filed in: quotes
Monday, January 31, 2005
transformation journal
I have created a transformation journal blog, to support an effort at my church to get folks sharing their ideas online. The transformation journal was created by Ginghamsburg Church and is a "guided" one year roadtrip with Jesus. Because it involves daily reading, many of my posts here have been reactions to that reading. So far I've been posting some of the same content in both places.
BTW, Ginghamsburg Church does some amazing things to foster faith, community, and commitment. I'll have more to say on my experience at one of their conferences later.
BTW, Ginghamsburg Church does some amazing things to foster faith, community, and commitment. I'll have more to say on my experience at one of their conferences later.
Filed in: thoughts
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
comfort zone
Once upon a time, there was a woman who lived very comfortably. Against her better judgment, she joined a small group. This small group was encouraging it’s members to share their faith journey. The woman was not comfortable doing this, but decided to get it over with sooner than later. Driving home and for many days after, she had this feeling that she had exposed too much in sharing her story. Sort of like the feeling you get after having that dream where you forget to put your clothes on. Turns out she had left her comfort zone. From then on, she found that she was often asked or called to leave her comfort zone. To continue the journey, the woman must learn to live more uncomfortably.
Filed in: thoughts
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