Instagram Posts from the Week of Sept. 22, 2019

Headlines and History - Sept. 22, 2019

In the USA Today article “Echoing Trump, Roy Moore Tweets That Rep. Ilhan Omar Should Go Back from ‘Whence She Came,’” Savannah Behrmann wrote on Aug. 28, 2019 about an Alabama GOP endorsed resolution. The purpose of the proposal is the removal of Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House of Representatives. Rep. Ilhan Omar responded by saying, "If you want to clean up politics, maybe don’t nominate an accused child molester as your Senate candidate?" She was referring to Roy Moore, who tweeted the next day his agreement with Donald Trump that Rep. Ilhan Omar should go back to Somalia.

The phrase “go back where you came from” has racist roots. The racist rhetoric and history of this ideology was explained by Michael Harriot for The Root on July 19, 2019 in the article “What They Mean When They Say ‘Send Her Back’.” He delineated a timeline that traced events of people advocating for black people to be “sent back.” 

Telling people they should be sent back or go back to where they came from is dangerous, and it is also racist in its dissemination, as Michael Harriot elucidated. This expression conveys the idea that some people don’t belong in the United States, which has harmful consequences for those who are seen as the “other.” We cannot make excuses for these words, especially not when they are tweeted and maintained by the President of the United States. Together, may we be people who tell the truth, lament, repent, and repair. Our present is intertwined with and informed by our past. We must face the past so we can heal the future.

*Edited to add: On June 17, 2020, I came across The Redemption Project with Van Jones for CNN. I read the words, “Face the past. Heal the future.” I will no longer use this phrase for my Headlines and History posts beginning in June 2020.

#istandwithilhan #ilhanomar #rashidatlaib #ayannapressley #alexandriaocasiocortez #aoc #squad #endracism #endwhitesupremacy #dismantlewhitesupremacy #antiracist #antiracism #endxenophobia #endwhitenationalism #socialjustice #loveyourneighbor #seekjustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #lament #repent #repair #facethepast #healthefuture #headlines #history #headlinesandhistory #historyandheadlines #broadeningthenarrative



Podcast Rec. - Sept. 24, 2019

Current Listen - The Bible for Normal People: Episode 95: Cheryl Bridges Johns-The Bible and Women’s Spirituality (Released August 12, 2019)

“I think we’re in another time of backlash where it’s a pretty strong and virulent reaction to women of power, women who have a sense of self-authorization or women with agency. It’s just a difficult time to watch women who are as kind and as good and yet as strong and powerful as Beth Moore be attacked so viciously. We watched Rachel Held Evans become constantly under attack.”-Cheryl Bridges Johns

“I didn’t see this coming. I did not see the kinder, gentler forms of patriarchy...But now you get these kind of ‘the beauty of complementarianism,’ and it’s so covered and cloaked in things that make it sound what it’s not, and you have this new neo-Reformed group. I just didn’t see that coming for some reason.”-Cheryl Bridges Johns

“When things become less and less culturally acceptable rather than taking kind of the substance of it, which is, ‘Maybe we need to divest power and maybe we need to be more equal-minded and egalitarian,’ that seems too difficult, so the easier thing to do is kind of repackage the old substantive thing in a new glossy,fancy packaging, and saying, ‘Well, no, you just have to really love your spouse in better ways.”-Jared Byas

“All this, ‘we’re equal, but we’re still in a big hierarchy,’ that fascinates me.”-Cheryl Bridges Johns

“[The Bible] has that redemptive thrust. It’s moving us to something, there’s something better. I love teasing out in a text, ‘What’s the better?’”-Cheryl Bridges Johns

“I just, sometimes, I go down to the level of just snark, calling out, but realizing that that’s just not going to move anyone very far at least...What transforms us...is the presence of God in a way that takes us outside of ourselves.”-Cheryl Bridges Johns

“We were strongly criticized for feminizing the Church. One good sign that we were of the devil was that we had women leaders.”-Cheryl Bridges Johns

“The worst ecumenist is the person who hates their own people, who so easily throws them under the bus.”-Cheryl Bridges Johns

In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Dr. Cheryl Bridges Johns, a theologian and professor, spoke about feminism. Her grace and kindness flowed freely, which challenged me where a sharp tongue comes easily and in the areas where I am jaded by evangelicalism. I also think it’s peculiar when, past and present, people are criticized for “feminizing the Church,” when the Church is, in fact, referred to as a Bride. It’s (not so) veiled sexism to use “feminizing” pejoratively. I listened to this episode at the request of a friend. Thank you for asking for my thoughts, Greg, and valuing me as a sister. 

What podcasts have you listened to recently?

#peteenns #jaredbyas #cherylbridgesjohns #thebiblefornormalpeople #podcast #podcastrecommendation #podcastrec #thebible #womensspirituality #loveyourneighbor #endsexism #endpatriarchy #dismantlepatriarchy #feminism #feminist #jesusfeminist #hermeneutics #repent #repair #empathy #equality #listening #learning #evolvingfaith #bethmoore #rachelheldevans #becauseofrhe #rememberingrhe #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative



Account to Follow - Sept. 25, 2019

As you can see in Kaitlin Curtice’s IG profile, she is a citizen of the Potawatomi Citizen Band Nation. She is also the author of Glory Happening: Finding the Divine in Everyday Places and numerous pieces that can be read on her blog and in other publications. In addition, she is a speaker and is booking events now.

I first heard Kaitlin Curtice on the HER with Amena Brown podcast. She was the guest on Season 1, Episode 11: The Body Native. I was captivated as she spoke about growing up as a Christian and her journey that has led her to where she is today, writing and speaking about the “intersection of Indigenous spirituality, faith in everyday life, and the church,” as stated on her website.

Follow @kaitlincurtice if you aren’t already, and support her work through purchasing her book, booking her to speak, and reading her blog, including her latest post “Are We Saved or Traumatized by American Christianity?”

#kaitlincurtice #accounttofollow #gloryhappening #supportindigenouswomen #antiracism #antiracist #antiracismwork #dismantlewhitesupremacy #endwhitesupremacy #decolonize #decolonization #deconstruction #reconstruction #evolvingfaith #seekjustice #restorativejustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #broadeningthenarrative

Additional Rec. Sept. 26, 2019

Additional Rec. - “Racialization/Nationalization of the Image” I Soong-Chan Rah

Soong-Chan Rah spoke at Wheaton College, and this video was published on April 13, 2015. He explored the racialization and the nationalization of the image of God, focusing at the beginning on four categories of assumptions made about the superiority of white bodies, language, culture, and theology over and against non-white bodies, language, culture, and theology.

By weaving historical contexts to present realities, Soong-Chan Rah answered questions like, “Whose gaze determines what the cities and suburbs look like, which is the New Jerusalem and which is Babylon?” I also appreciated his explanation of the scrutiny experienced by African American Evangelicals when he said, “The problem, though, is that as these African American Evangelicals began to explore not only the foundation of their Evangelical theology but began to explore a black national identity, an identity outside of white Evangelicalism, they were called into question.” He closed by asking, “Whose gaze will determine the narrative of American Evangelicalism going forward?”

Soong-Chan Rah delivered a lecture that was brimming with information but still accessible, while also embedding humor into a heavy topic. I highly recommend this video to learn more about the racialization and nationalization of the image of God, and have a notebook and pen nearby if you’re a note taker!

#additionalrecommendation #recommendation #soongchanrah #racialization #nationalization #imageofgod #empathy #equality #loveyourneighbor #evangelical #evangelicalism #checkbiases #checkassumptions #humanity #learning #takenotes #socialjustice #seekjustice #restorativejustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #repent #repair #challengethenarrative #broadeningthenarrative



Book Rec. - Sept. 28, 2019

Current Read - Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church by Rachel Held Evans

“Whether [demons] come from within us or outside us, whether they represent distinct personalities or the sins and systems that compete for our allegiance, demons are as real as the competing identities that seek to possess us. But rather than casting them out of our churches, we tend to invite them in, where they tell us we’ll be children of God when...we beat the addiction. we sign the doctrinal statement. we help with the children’s ministry. we get our act together. we tithe. we play by the rules. we believe without doubt. we are married. we are straight. we are religious. we are good” (Evans, 2015, pp. 19-20).

“Philip got out of God’s way. He remembered that what makes the gospel offensive isn’t who it keeps out, but who it lets in...Because we religious types are really good at building walls and retreating to temples. We’re good at making mountains out of our ideologies, obstructions out of our theologies, and hills out of our screwed-up notions of who’s in and who’s out, who’s worthy and who’s unworthy. We’re good at getting in the way” (Evans, 2015, p.39).

“We could not become like God, so God became like us. God showed us how to heal instead of kill, how to mend instead of destroy, how to love instead of hate, how to live instead of long for more. When we nailed God to a tree, God forgave. And when we buried God in the ground, God got up” (Evans, 2015, pp.45-46).

“It became increasingly clear that my fellow Christians didn’t want to listen to me, or grieve with me,or walk down this frightening road with me. They wanted to fix me...Looking back, I suspect their reactions had less to do with disdain for my doubt and more to do with fear of their own. As my mother tried to tell me a million times, they weren’t rejecting me for being different, they were rejecting me for being familiar, for calling out all those quiet misgivings most Christians keep hidden in the dark corners of their hearts and would rather not name” (Evans, 2015, pp.52-53).

“Imagine if every church became a place where everyone is safe, but no one is comfortable. Imagine if every church became a place where we told one another the truth. We just might create sanctuary” (Evans, 2015, p.73).

“Our reasons for staying, leaving, and returning to church are as complex and layered as we are. They don’t fit in the boxes we check in the surveys or the hurried responses we deliver at dinner parties. How easy it is to offer advice when what is needed is empathy” (Evans, 2015, pp.84-85).

“It seems those most likely to miss God’s work in the world are those most convinced they know exactly what to look for, the ones who expect God to play by the rules. Of particular concern to the religious elite was how Jesus associated with sinners...These were the people who wore their brokenness on the outside, people whose indiscretions were so other, so uncommon, their entire personhood was relegated to the category of sinner. They were the people the religious loved to hate, for they provided a convenient sorting mechanism for externalizing sin as something that exists out there, among other people with other problems making other mistakes. It’s the oldest religious shortcut in the book; the easiest way to make oneself righteous is to make someone else a sinner...We tend to look down our noses at these ancient people with their religious codes regulating everything from the fibers in their clothing to the people they touched. But we have our own religious codes these days. We have our own scapegoats we cast from our communities and surround with Bible-wielding mobs. We have sins we delight in taking seriously, biblical instructions we interpret hyperliterally issues we protect over-vigilantly because it helps with our sorting system. It makes us feel righteous” (Evans, 2015, pp.90-91,94).

“I often wonder if the role of the clergy in this age is not to dispense information or guard the prestige of their authority, but rather to go first, to volunteer the truth about their sins, their dreams, their failures, and their fears in order to free others to do the same. Such an approach may repel the masses looking for easy answers from flawless leaders, but I think it might make more disciples of Jesus, and I think it might make healthier, happier pastors...Church is a moment in time when the kingdom of God draws near, when a meal, a story, a song, an apology, and even a failure is made holy by the presence of Jesus among us and within us” (Evans, 2015, pp.112-113).

“The pagan writer Celsus dismissed Christianity as a silly religion, fit only for the uneducated, slaves, and women...Women, especially widows, found a home and occupation within the church, leading some to criticize it as too ‘effeminized’ (proof that some things never change)” (Evans, 2015, p.126).

“This is what God’s kingdom is like: a bunch of outcasts and oddballs gathered at a table, not because they are rich or worthy or good, but because they are hungry, because they said yes. And there’s always room for more...Sara advocates for what’s called an open table, the practice of inviting all who are physically or spiritually hungry to participate in communion, regardless of religious background or status...I don’t know exactly how Jesus is present in the bread and wine, but I believe Jesus is present, so it seems counterintuitive to tell people they have to wait and meet him someplace else before they meet him at the table. If people are hungry, let them come and eat. If they are thirsty, let them come and drink. It’s not my table anyway. It’s not my denomination’s table or my church’s table. It’s Christ’s table. Christ sends out the invitations, and if he has to run through the streets gathering up the riffraff to fill up his house, then that’s exactly what he’ll do. Who am I to try and block the door?...I’m happy to pass the bread to someone like Sara Miles or the neighbor who mows our lawn when we’re out of town. But Sarah Palin? Glenn Beck?...The table reminds us that, as brothers and sisters, adopted into God’s family and invited to God’s banquet, we’re stuck with each other; we’re family. We might as well make peace. The table teaches us that faith isn’t about being right or good or in agreement. Faith is about feeding and being fed...The church is God saying: ‘I’m throwing a banquet, and all these mismatched, messed-up people are invited. Here, have some wine’” (Evans, 2015, pp.148-149,151-153).

“But there is a difference between curing and healing, and I believe the church is called to the slow and difficult work of healing. We are called to enter into one another’s pain, anoint it as holy, and stick around no matter the outcome” (Evans, 2015, p.208).

“Cynicism is a powerful anesthetic we use to numb ourselves to pain, but which also, by its nature, numbs us to truth and joy. Grief is healthy. Even anger can be healthy. But numbing ourselves with cynicism in an effort to avoid feeling those things is not...Cynicism may help us create simpler storylines with good guys and bad guys, but it doesn’t make us any better at telling the truth, which is that most of us are a frightening mix of good and evil, sinner and saint. The annoying thing about being human is that to be fully engaged with the world, we must be vulnerable. And the annoying thing about being vulnerable is that sometimes it means we get hurt. And when your family includes the universal church, you’re going to get hurt. Probably more than once. This doesn’t mean we stay in unhealthy churches or allow abusive people to continue to abuse. It doesn’t mean we participate in congregations that sap us of our life or make us fight to belong. It just means that if we want to heal from our wounds, including those we receive from the church, we have to kick the cynicism habit first” (Evans, 2015, pp.222-223).

“But lately I’ve been wondering if a little death and resurrection might be just what church needs right now, if maybe all this talk of waning numbers and shrinking influence means our empire-building days are over, and if maybe that’s a good thing. Death is something empires worry about, not something gardeners worry about. It’s certainly not something resurrection people worry about...I don’t know exactly what this new revolution will look like...I hope it looks like altars transforming into tables, gates transforming into open doors, and cure-alls transforming into healing oils. I hope it looks like a kingdom that belongs not to the rich, but to the poor, not to the triumphant but to the meek, not to the culture warriors but to the peacemakers. If Christianity must die, may it die to the old way of dominance and control and be resurrected to the Way of Jesus, the Way of the cross...As the shape of Christianity changes and our churches adapt to a new world, we have a choice: we can drive our hearses around bemoaning every augur of death, or we can trust that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead is busy making something new” (Evans, 2015, pp.225-226,229).

“Jesus didn’t talk much about the church, but he talked a lot about the kingdom...In contrast to every other kingdom that has been and ever will be, this kingdom belongs to the poor, Jesus said, and to the peacemakers, the merciful, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. In this kingdom, the people from the margins and the bottom rungs will be lifted up to places of honor, seated at the best spots at the table...The church is not the same as the kingdom...The purpose of the church, and of the sacraments, is to give the world a glimpse of the kingdom, to point in its direction...We make something sacramental when we make it like the kingdom” (Evans, 2015, pp.252-253,255).

This is the book I needed in my current circumstances. I recently wrote a poem called “I Can’t Call it Quits on the Church,” and I have written about people in church trying to “fix” me while lacking empathy. After experiencing spiritual abuse, being silenced, and having my pain diminished, there have been more times than I can count where I just want to walk away from organized religion altogether. I don’t know what the future holds, but I have more hope because of RHE and Searching for Sunday.

#currentread #searchingforsunday #lovingleavingandfindingthechurch #bookrecommendation #bookrec #rachelheldevans #becauseofrhe #rememberingrhe #eshetchayil #womanofvalor #opentable #reading #learning #doubting #loving #growing #love #lovegod #loveneighbor #healing #broadeningthenarrative