Social Justice

[rebeccmeister]

So. A brief chat about religion. I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic schools for much of my life, but after graduating from college I've allowed apathy to encroach on that aspect of my life. The reasons are many--a lack of time, disillusionment with many of the leadership decisions in the Church, and an inability to comfortably reconcile my perceptions of God and Jesus and all that with the understandings held by the majority of Catholics. In other words, the Catholic church just doesn't really do it for me most of the time.

But there are always small voices that call me back, and I don't think they're the usual voices one associates with Catholicism, so they're worth talking about. One of those voices appeared in an e-mail sent by my mother to my parents' church's listserv. My mother is apparently working to get a group of people together to talk about social justice in everyday life. In other words, considering how the small choices that we make impact society at large. For example, do you buy fair trade coffee or cheap coffee, and why? Do you contribute regularly to charitable groups (not just all at once)? Do you vote?

How often do most people have an opportunity to have conversations about social justice? Do they happen outside of religious contexts? Or even within most religious contexts? The aspect of my parents' church in particular that has always blown me away is that it's a church that's focused on dialogue. I can't say I've encountered many other churches that have the structure to encourage dialogue. Obviously the part that most people tune in for, the Mass, is mostly a monologue or a collection of scripted lines. It's hard to even get past that bit.

Anyhow, I have to cut off this train of thought to go and weigh ants. Any thoughts from my readers?

Comments

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

A lot of Catholic parishes aren't actively focused on dialogue. I think every so often a bunch of socialist Catholics end up at the same parish and they bring up issues that most don't think about too often.

The thing is, Jesus was all about the dialogue and social justice and discussing everything. You would think people would catch on to that.

[boolean263.livejournal.com]

I was raised as a Protestant Christian, and I drifted into agnosticism due to a bunch of reasons. For one thing, organized religion seems to be such an empty act. People go to church and then fall asleep in the pews (sometimes literally).

So I'm really pleasantly surprised to find that your mother's church is focused on dialogue, on contributing as well as listening/preaching. I think a lot more people would be more involved with religion if it was more involved with them.

[cusackam.livejournal.com]

I just started going back to church in the last couple of years. Primarily because we found an awesome church in Anchorage. The priest is a former Methodist minister who is MARRIED with 4 kids. Just an awesome church all around. I really miss that. I think it is great your parents church has opportunities for dialogue. The churches down here....... ugh very old school traditional. I can't wait to leave the south.

On a totally unrelated note here is a coffee company from Ketchikan that just got its ebay store up and running http://stores.ebay.com/The-Green-Coffee-Bean-Company made me think of you

[jwatriss.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with most of what I've read so far... dialogue in a church is an awesome thing. Unfortunately, it's rare that it happens, and so the "red states" with all of their hugely over-blown uber-churches make a bad name for the few that involve themselves with thinking people.

As for Catholicism... I think it's a mixed bag. I have my doubts about the piety of a religion that sprouted from the heart of the old roman empire. The church is roughly structured in a military manner, with general pope presiding over all. To be sure, there's something to be said sometiems for having such a structure... The sheep analogy they use to describe people is generally accurate. Most of them are. But there are also the thinking, intellectually engaged folks out there, and I think they get left by the wayside somewhere.

I smiled at the comment about Jesus being all about the dialogue. It's true... and he also preached, almost word for word, sometimes, principles written about in the taoist texts. The sermon on the mount was a paraphrase of a similar passage in teh Tao Te Ching... which isn't really a normally sructured "book." It's a series of points to meditate on, in order to formulate your own answers with regard to whatever's on your mind at a given time. It's all about discussions... but it's also about making up your own mind about things. And that's something I don't think the Catholic church, or most organized religions, are too big on.

Now, like I said, there's something to be said for such a rank structure, becuase there are a few wayward sheep who will come up with answers that really don't jibe with anyone else's... and from time to time you need the authority figures to look at those wayward ones, swat them across the nose, and say "no."

The problem, of course... is an old one... who do you trust to be such an authority? How do you weed out the power-hungry assholes form the people who actually have something resembling hope and caring in their souls. As it is, there are church and religious leaders who are advocating the killing of Iraqis in the name of the lord... which goes against both old and new testament doctrine. Granted, some of these folks are notorious nutbags, but some aren't... and after a while, it's people leading the flock in their own direction, instead of in the direction outlined in the bible. Thou shalt not kill is clearly not quite making it through, and turning the other cheek isn't either. This may very well be the only time any of you ever hear me saying people should follow the teachings of the bible, but better that than to follow the dictates of the lunatic fringe leading the church going herd.

It's pretty ironic. The neo-conservatives managed to mobilize the christian herd to get Bush re-elected. But all the little things we need on a regular basis... schools, health care, and a welfare system that makes sense, those get ignored. I find it morbid that the only people who are able to successfully pull the herd together are Neo-conservatives.

In that light, I guess having a military hierarchy clearly makes sense... because democracy really is turning into "mob-ocracy." We're being ruled as a country by ignorant and supertitious piles of people. Maybe if they actually paid attention to being "christian," our country would be in better shape than it is. Maybe if their church leaders taught them to seek and to think for themselves, instead of believing blindly what they're told, the Great American Empire wouldn't be such a terrifying specter.

On the other hand....

[jwatriss.livejournal.com]

Maybe I shoudl just snap, and decide for a week or so that I am, in fact, the earthly incarnation of Christ all-fucking mighty. I'll hire a homeless person to be my herald, and he will announce me in just that way, and I'll drop a quarter in his cup every time he does so, and kick him in the ass. And then I'll tell everyone that even the littlest thing they do unto him, *kick again* they do unto me.




Or maybe I'll be buddha. I look more like him anyway.