Author: RadicalDiscipleship

What is Prayer?

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Biography as Theology, Subverting Empire, Theological AnimationLeave a comment

ed loringBy Eduard Loring, from the April 2016 issue of Hospitality, the newsletter of Atlanta’s Open Door Community

“I will never pray again. I have prayed and prayed and nothing ever happens. I am finished.” So said the 90-year-old grandmother last week when her grandson Mark overdosed on heroin. Mark’s father died 6 years ago from esophageal cancer. Face, mouth, throat deranged. Spoken word distorted. Unintelligible if more than one syllable. Tobacco kills. God forgives a repentant addict; God does not stop the side effects of the sin, though the power of Love’s prayer, and medicine, exercise and nutrition can mitigate the fury of the Evil One and her daughters Tobacco and Heroin. Often heal. Continue reading “What is Prayer?” →

The Maddening Thing

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Subverting EmpireLeave a comment

tabbiAn excerpt from Matt Taibbi’s recent Rolling Stone piece “Democrats Will Learn All the Wrong Lessons From Brush With Bernie:”

The maddening thing about the Democrats is that they refuse to see how easy they could have it. If the party threw its weight behind a truly populist platform, if it stood behind unions and prosecuted Wall Street criminals and stopped taking giant gobs of cash from every crooked transnational bank and job-exporting manufacturer in the world, they would win every election season in a landslide. Continue reading “The Maddening Thing” →

Confronting Legion

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Subverting Empire, Theological Animation5 Comments

DemoniacBy Ched Myers, Fifth Sunday of Pentecost, Luke 8:26-39

Note: This is part of a series of weekly comments on the Lukan gospel readings from the Revised Common Lectionary during year C, 2016.

This Sunday’s text is Luke’s version of the infamous Markan “political cartoon” of the Gerasene Demoniac (Mk 5:1-20). Here Luke follows Mark relatively closely (whereas Matthew changes and shortens it significantly, Mt 28-34), including placing it on the heels of Jesus’ crossing and storm-stilling on the Sea of Galilee (which Luke insists on calling a “lake”). Continue reading “Confronting Legion” →

The Price of Political Ambivalence

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Subverting Empire3 Comments

water shut offsBy Tommy Airey

When I see an act of evil, I’m not accommodated. I don’t accommodate myself to the violence that goes on everywhere; I’m still surprised. That’s why I’m against it, why I can hope against it. We must learn how to be surprised. Not to adjust ourselves. I am the most maladjusted person in society.
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

Detroit, Michigan

Last month, water shut-offs were ramped up for residents of this city two months behind on their bills. Tens of thousands already live in homes that do not have running water. Leaders of the city make claims that both payment plans and cash assistance are available for those who cannot afford water. Unfortunately, a vast majority of people take them at their word. Continue reading “The Price of Political Ambivalence” →

Daniel Berrigan: Ten Commandments for the Long Haul

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Cloud of Witnesses, Uncategorized1 Comment

Berriganre-posted from http://rosemarieberger.com/

1. Call on Jesus when all else fails. Call on Him when all else succeeds (except that never happens).

2. Don’t be afraid to be afraid or appalled to be appalled. How do you think the trees feel these days, or the whales, or, for that matter, most humans?

3. Keep your soul to yourself. Soul is a possession worth paying for, they’re growing rarer. Learn from monks, they have secrets worth knowing. Continue reading “Daniel Berrigan: Ten Commandments for the Long Haul” →

I Will Not Serve As An Empire Chaplain

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Biography as Theology, Subverting EmpireLeave a comment

AntalFrom former U.S. Army Reserve Chaplain Captain Chris Antal, who spent time based in Afghanistan. In April, he wrote an open letter to President Obama detailing his reasons for leaving the U.S. Army Reserves, citing his opposition to the administration’s use of drone strikes, its policy on nuclear proliferation, and what he calls the executive branch’s claim of “extraconstitutional authority and impunity for international law.” Continue reading “I Will Not Serve As An Empire Chaplain” →

Sabbath Economics

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Sabbath EconomicsLeave a comment

Sabbath EconBartimaeus Cooperative Ministries has proclaimed a Jubilee on their Sabbath Economics curriculum, packaging their regular Sabbath Economics book bundle with the Mammon to Manna DVD at a super Sabbath price of just $7.77 for all three (plus shipping, and tax where applicable). Click here to order. This is a quote from The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics by Ched Myers (2001):

Privately controlled wealth is the backbone of capitalism, and it is predicated upon the exploitation of natural resources and human labor. Profit maximization renders socio-economic stratification, objectification and alienation inevitable. According to the gospel, however, those who are privileged within this system cannot enter the Kingdom. This is not good news for First World Christians–because we are the “inheritors” of the rich man’s legacy. So the unequivocal gospel invitation to repentance is addressed to us. To deconstruct our “inheritance” and redistribute the wealth as reparation to the poor–that is what it means for us to follow Jesus.

Be welcomed again and again

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Biography as Theology, UncategorizedLeave a comment

RDnetlogo1.jpgAn Invitation. By Lydia Wylie-Kellermann

This is a space that lives in the
unknowable interweb,
that lives beyond the boundaries
of state or nation.
It is rootless
and yet is always honoring the rooted.

It is a space that is dreamed
and humanly kept
with love and foibles
for a movement of radical disciples. Continue reading “Be welcomed again and again” →