A Radical Understanding of Grace

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From Maki Ashe Van Steenwyk, executive director of The Center for Prophetic Imagination

I find myself increasingly drawn to a particular understanding of “grace.”

Perhaps the most dominant theological definition of grace is “unmerited favor.” Often, this is understood in contrast to merited judgement or punishment. We are so messed up, mired in sin, and rebellious against God that we have earned wrath…either in the form of judgement in this life or in the life to come (hell). Yet, God chooses not to punish his children, because of God’s great love.

Most of us know that this logic applied to our own children is cruel. Imagine telling a child that they deserve to live on the streets without food or care, but because of our own great benevolence, we offer them food and lodging.

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What Racism Really Is

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Cloud of Witnesses, RaceLeave a comment

An excerpt from Killing Rage: Ending Racism by bell hooks (1952-2021)

A vision of cultural homogeneity that seeks to deflect attention away from or even excuse the oppressive, dehumanizing impact of white supremacy on the lives of black people by suggesting black people are racist too indicates that the culture remains ignorant of what racism really is and how it works. It shows that people are in denial. Why is it so difficult for many white folks to understand that racism is oppressive not because white folks have prejudicial feelings about blacks (they could have such feelings and leave us alone) but because it is a system that promotes domination and subjugation?

Not a Disembodied Hope

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Biography as Theology, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Mt Erbal caves
Mt Arbel Caves

By Wes Howard-Brook and Sue Ferguson Johnson, reposted from Advent 3 2017

Just north of Magdala in Galilee stand the cave-pocked cliffs of Mt. Arbel. Twice in a hundred years, Roman soldiers shot fire into the caves to destroy Israelites who refused to give in to imperial rule. The first occasion was the imposition of Herod as king in 40 BCE, while the second was during the Roman-Jewish war of the mid-60s CE.

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A Secret Oasis for the Birds

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By Ériu Erin Moran Martinez (Detroit, MI), re-posted with permission from Facebook

Calling my kin who are in need of a strong dose of wonder, connection, and mystery…

Please come birding in the alleys with me. I walk the alleys in my neighborhood a few times a week, and it is a deeply nourishing experience. Yes, there is unsightly business back there, and vigilance is required. But the birds (and other kin) I encounter there remind me that we are surrounded and supported by our non-human relatives, all the time and everywhere, even here in the heart of the city. Our alleys, in their “weediness”, are a secret oasis for the birds, where they feed on seeds, insects, and rodents. It’s in the alleys where many birds shelter in the overgrown brambles and bushes from harsh weather. It’s there where so many secret away to mate, nest, and raise their young.

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An Indigenous Soul

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An excerpt from Martin Prechtel’s classic 2001 interview with The Sun Magazine.

Every individual in the world, regardless of cultural background or race, has an indigenous soul struggling to survive in an increasingly hostile environment created by that individual’s mind. A modern person’s body has become a battleground between the rationalist mind — which subscribes to the values of the machine age — and the native soul. This battle is the cause of a great deal of spiritual and physical illness.

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Liberating Christmas

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Subverting Empire, Theological Animation2 Comments

A note from Will O’Brien, director of the Alternative Seminary in Philadelphia.

Peace On Earth and the Politics of Christmas

A VIRTUAL PROGRAM

Saturday morning, December 11

10:30 am – 12:30 pm EST

Join  the Alternative Seminary on December 11 for a virtual Bible study, “Peace on Earth and The Politics of Christmas” Alternative Seminary coordinator and contributor to RLC Will O’Brien will lead a program reflecting on the “nativity narratives” in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke to see how they express core biblical themes of justice and liberation.  For more information, go to the Facebook page.

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Reading the Torah towards Liberation

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Melad Jajou, “The Re-Creation of Adam,” July 2021, Gouache and Prismacolour on Mylar, 13.25 x 7.5 inches.

By Kendra Watkins. First published in Geez 62: Dismantling White Theology.

Twice a week, my chevruta (learning partner) and I, both of us Black, Trans Jews, spend a few hours working our way through a page of Talmud, word by word.

Between the dictionaries and notebooks stacked up beside us, we catch a glimpse of the future, a shared vision in which we, and our people, are free.

Talmud plays a central role in my life, and the chevruta relationship is vital to studying as a practice. We learn from each other, witness each other’s brilliance, hold each other accountable, and offer each other a soft place to land when the text (and the world it represents) hurts. Together we can reach backwards into our tradition to find tools and strategies, and practice the love and care it takes to move us towards a world liberated from anti-Blackness and transphobia. We know that when we bring ourselves to meet each other and the rabbis in any given text, we aren’t passively receiving a set of laws; far from it. We receive the offerings of our ancestors and offer parts of ourselves in turn, and we are both changed because of it.

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Love

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From James Baldwin in The Fire Next Time.

Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within. I use the word “love” here not merely in the personal sense but as a state of being, or a state of grace – not in the infantile American sense of being made happy but in the tough and universal sense of quest and daring and growth

Anchoring the Gospel Story in the Real World

On By RadicalDiscipleshipIn Theological Animation, Uncategorized1 Comment

JordanBy Ched Myers, the co-director of Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries (if you’ve been inspired and challenged by Ched’s posts this year following the lectionary, consider making an end-of-the-year donation to BCM, day in and day out, doing the work of radical discipleship)

Note: This is reposted from Ched’s occasional comments on the Lukan gospel readings from the Revised Common Lectionary during year C, 2015-16.  

The second and third Sundays of Advent focus on the ministry of John the Baptist, first locating him in the wilderness (2. Advent), then focusing in on his prophetic message (3. Advent). Following on his infancy (and young childhood) narrative about Jesus, Luke commences the gospel story proper. More than the other N.T. evangelist, Luke anchors his story in real political space, signaling that we ought not be afraid to do the same.
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True Self-Fulfillment

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By Maki Ashe Van Steenwyk, director of the Center for Prophetic Imagination (please consider making an end-of-the-year donation to this compelling organization doing the work of radical discipleship)

You’re under no obligation, whatsoever, to maintain relationships with people who treat you dismissively or disrespectfully.

This idea that you need to embrace self-diminishment in a way that shows love or compassion or empathy towards others is toxic.

Christian folks in particular seems to misunderstand Jesus’ admonition to “take up your cross.” The idea that your deepest fulfilment is at odds with love and liberation of others is false.

Self-fulfillment in a capitalist way is a lie. But true self-fulfillment is bound up in collective liberation.