tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post4300945907002329255..comments2023-10-28T02:59:37.028-07:00Comments on E m e r g i n g ...Q u a k e r i s m ..L i t e r a t u r e ..R e l i g i o n ... L i f e: New Age Girls (and Boys), Quakers and sweat lodgesDianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12396312339372162866noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-778179673250445312010-06-30T15:51:47.108-07:002010-06-30T15:51:47.108-07:00Deborah O'Keefe is a good writer! Her stories ...Deborah O'Keefe is a good writer! Her stories are funny! This book is very entertaining. Thank for you recommendation!viagra online without prescriptionhttp://www.safemeds.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-39330660314443390642009-11-07T06:06:17.699-08:002009-11-07T06:06:17.699-08:00Thanks KarimThanks KarimDianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396312339372162866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-32954468684392332152009-11-06T20:53:34.305-08:002009-11-06T20:53:34.305-08:00Very thoughtfull post onPositive Thinking. It shou...Very thoughtfull post onPositive Thinking. It should be very much helpfull.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Karim - <a href="http://www.affirmationsforpositivethinking.com/" rel="nofollow">Positive thinking</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-20504891571632662342009-11-06T20:53:18.259-08:002009-11-06T20:53:18.259-08:00Very thoughtfull post onPositive Thinking. It shou...Very thoughtfull post onPositive Thinking. It should be very much helpfull.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Karim - <a href="http://www.affirmationsforpositivethinking.com/" rel="nofollow">Positive thinking</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-67909202646480093652009-11-04T05:07:37.245-08:002009-11-04T05:07:37.245-08:00Rudy,
Anne of the Green Gables is on my list! And...Rudy,<br /><br />Anne of the Green Gables is on my list! And thanks for your comment.<br /><br />Chris,<br /><br />Including sweat lodges wasn't random--I wanted to point to the significance of the three people recently killed in a New Age sweat lodge. The "spiritual warrior" program ripped the sweat lodge out of its context to try to give people an easy (and expensive) religion-lite experience. To me, that was a crucial metaphor for the dangers of de-contextualizing the religious experience. However, I can't speak to the sweat lodge issues you refer to as I don't know enough about what they are.Dianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396312339372162866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-62833901737111498132009-11-04T05:03:01.586-08:002009-11-04T05:03:01.586-08:00Ted,
I agree with you that the Inner Light has to...Ted,<br /><br />I agree with you that the Inner Light has to be under authority, which I think sometimes gets lost in our individualistic society.Dianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396312339372162866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-45092722266080522572009-11-04T05:02:13.965-08:002009-11-04T05:02:13.965-08:00MX,
Thank for this: It is prophetic gift to face...MX,<br /><br />Thank for this: It is prophetic gift to face evil and call it for what it is, knowing that the prophet is usually forfeiting his or her own personal safety. <br /><br />And this: Yet, he who embraces evil as a friend, speaks to its vulnerability and leads it down a path of rebirth and renewal, has a much higher survival rate.Dianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396312339372162866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-72921977385909525452009-11-03T20:55:53.658-08:002009-11-03T20:55:53.658-08:00I must object to the specific inclusion of sweat l...I must object to the specific inclusion of sweat lodges in your title based on one random example, if for no other reason than the fantastic sweat lodges that George Price used to run at PYM and PYMYF events.Chris S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06739976272047425977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-73587672456456637802009-11-03T06:08:12.551-08:002009-11-03T06:08:12.551-08:00Is "Anne of Green Gables" on your list? ...Is "Anne of Green Gables" on your list? I think the traveling salesman that sells her the hair dye was evil :)<br />The classic "boys" books, like Treasure Island, deal with evil pretty directly. <br /><br />Whenever I use the phrase "they're evil" (usually about some corporation, or politician) in his hearing, my older son will correct me: "Dad! We're Quakers! we don't call people evil!" (For some reason "evil" was popping to the top of my lexicon a lot this last year.)<br /><br />So I say, yeah, you're right, everyone has the Inner Light, but still... some people do evil things. They don't listen to the Inner Light. It's harder to explain how corporations can be evil without boring him with my reading of Walter Wink so I haven't gotten into that so much with him.<br /><br />We were talking the other day about how power hurts people, and how some people are rewarded by wielding power, because he read "1984" last year, and we were talking about the "Torture is Wrong" banner on our Meetinghouse and why we haven't taken it down.<br /><br />For my part, I'm one of those Quakers who'd like to trim the Bible down (keep the Epistle of James too, the Gospels, and Proverbs, and Job, big chunks of the Psalms, and Acts, and Isaiah and OK, most of it). But the tribal mythology in some parts doesn't just deal with evil and warfare, it promotes evil and warfare. "God" orders warfare and genocide. Put Bob Dylan's "With God on Our Side" or Mark Twain's "The War Prayer" into my imaginary Bible instead.Rudyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04691715150100698476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-40355910946495459602009-11-02T14:36:14.435-08:002009-11-02T14:36:14.435-08:00Diane,
Very thought provoking post, and I especial...Diane,<br />Very thought provoking post, and I especially appreciate the emphasis on how hard being true to faith and the faith is. But paradoxically that begins to result in something beyond our grasp or understanding. That is in a sense of God and of being led by God. In Jesus the way is hard, because it is the way of Jesus, the way of the cross.<br /><br />As for Quakers, I'm learning from you on this. I've known very few. The Inner Light seems to me to need subjected to authority. But it isn't only Scripture, though Scripture must be the chief means of how this knowledge or discernment in testing the spirits, is derived, I think.Ted M. Gossardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10580691315315271791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-6164014781333234102009-11-02T12:25:49.730-08:002009-11-02T12:25:49.730-08:00As a person who has only been a Friend for 23 year...As a person who has only been a Friend for 23 years, attended E.S.R, and all that after a military career dodging death on a regular basis and teaching folks how to do it more effectively, acting for good and standing in the face of evil seems like a no-brainer. Doing real good is hard. It is risky. Fortunately, there are doctors and hospitals to patch us up when evil seems to win. It is prophetic gift to face evil and call it for what it is, knowing that the prophet is usually forfeiting his or her own personal safety. Yet, he who embraces evil as a friend, speaks to its vulnerability and leads it down a path of rebirth and renewal, has a much higher survival rate. Even then there are no guarantees. Change is a fearful spectre to most people good and evil. Failing to change when it is needed may blur the line between them allowing evil to undercut the good. Friends are as guilty of that as anyone. What such congregations are comfortable with becomes more important than doing the graceful thing.Mx. MBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00284704559313478918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-46518337408923524052009-11-01T12:23:40.838-08:002009-11-01T12:23:40.838-08:00Hi Jeff,
I agree with you that we have to love ou...Hi Jeff,<br /><br />I agree with you that we have to love our enemies. Love, paradoxically, is probably our greatest "weapon" in combating evil, but it does demand speaking truth to power and being willing to die (but not kill) for our beliefs.Dianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396312339372162866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-60125521051492182092009-11-01T09:40:46.147-08:002009-11-01T09:40:46.147-08:00I understand what you are saying concerning “relig...I understand what you are saying concerning “religion-lite”. This was pretty much my experience while attending a Unitarian-Universalist church. We would go through the rituals of many different religious traditions, but would never do more than that. Like the stereotype of eating Chinese food, an hour later and I was hungry for more. <br /><br />I have been very happy since finding our Quaker Meeting and feel like I’ve found something where the roots run deep.<br /><br />As for Pollyannas and thinking you can change the evil in the world by sending out good vibes or beating drums or whatever. I agree this is naive and doomed to failure. But even as we recognize evil and stand in opposition to it, isn’t it still important to look for that of God in our enemies? Isn’t that one of the things that can make a religious path so difficult? That we are tasked to recognize that our enemy is also our brother/sister? Not some nameless/faceless other. I may have to stand and even fight against evil, but I do so with a reluctant heart. <br /><br />I was working out at the gym a few months back and overheard two young men talking. One was in the military and was hoping to be deployed soon. He was itching to see some action. <br /><br />In his words, “I’ve had all this training man. I’m ready to jump out of a plane and shoot something.” <br /><br />He didn’t say “someone”. He said “something”.<br /><br />We can not smile away the evils of the world, but we shouldn’t risk hardening our hearts either.Jeffhttp://viewfromthecrossroads.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-20568447231636493572009-10-31T09:20:05.066-07:002009-10-31T09:20:05.066-07:00Thank you for this post. It is true to my own expe...Thank you for this post. It is true to my own experience.<br /><br />Micah Bales<br />http://valiantforthetruth.blogspot.com<br />http://lambswar.blogspot.comMicah Baleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06849915973708989620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-77903306290020688512009-10-30T15:03:04.499-07:002009-10-30T15:03:04.499-07:00Hystery,
Thanks!Hystery,<br /><br />Thanks!Dianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396312339372162866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-42681445773151904832009-10-30T14:58:15.347-07:002009-10-30T14:58:15.347-07:00RantWoman,
I loved Nancy Drew and I loved Jo from...RantWoman,<br /><br />I loved Nancy Drew and I loved Jo from Little Women! I didn't know much about Madame Curie. But if you are "into" Nancy Drew, there's my blog donnajanenancyemily.blogspot.com that's kind of a mash up of jane austen, nancy drew, emily bronte, donna parker -- and it occurs to me we need to get Jo March in there somewhere.Dianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396312339372162866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-18213083025161302332009-10-30T14:57:27.269-07:002009-10-30T14:57:27.269-07:00Diane,
I love this post. You speak on a topic th...Diane,<br /><br />I love this post. You speak on a topic that is very important to me and you do so with great skill. Thank you.Hysteryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02044678910937934731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-7051547815171887472009-10-30T12:49:01.506-07:002009-10-30T12:49:01.506-07:00Friend speaks my mind!
As for powerful female fig...Friend speaks my mind!<br /><br />As for powerful female figures, I was heavy into Nancy Drew, Jo from Little Women, and Madame Curie. Okay the last was kind of a maniacal Polish nationalist with weird obsessions related to her science and a husband who died tragically. At least it wasn't sugarcoated.RantWomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17611656459134372290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-79761610926908344862009-10-30T12:39:00.453-07:002009-10-30T12:39:00.453-07:00Tyler,
Thank you for that comment!
ML 1959,
Tha...Tyler,<br /><br />Thank you for that comment!<br /><br />ML 1959,<br /><br />Thank you for the Ehrenreich reference! I agree that a positive outlook is a good thing, but, as you and I say ... to an extent.Dianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12396312339372162866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-2570844241750167532009-10-30T12:20:52.912-07:002009-10-30T12:20:52.912-07:00It seems to me a matter of balance. There is some ...It seems to me a matter of balance. There is some truth to the idea "what you believe to be true you create". For example if you believe the world is against you will tend to look for evidence to support this belief, and will thus find and in sense create your victimhood. But one can take this too far, as Emerging Quaker well pointed out.<br /><br />If you are interesting in going further in the direction EG has pointed, but from a non-theistic perspective, check out Barbara Ehrenreich's new book: "Bright-sided: How the relentless promotion of positive thinking has undermined America"ML1959https://www.blogger.com/profile/09421334989785130215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-265511791146423221.post-66596324657750216412009-10-30T11:32:04.828-07:002009-10-30T11:32:04.828-07:00Diane,
I have seen some evidence of what you'...Diane,<br /><br />I have seen some evidence of what you're talking about, and I think that a great deal of it comes from people who aren't confronted by the adversary very often...for example, it's very easy to have a vague "peace testimony" as a person who is privileged to live far from the threat of violence. It's easy to think that we humans can change the world on our own when you are used to having the power/money to get what you need/want. I have to admit that with my stable, wholesome midwestern upbringing I grew up thinking that people were pretty great. But as I came of age, came out as a gay man, struggled with mental illness, and now live in a city that a lot of folks liken to a slice of the developing world in the US.....my outlook has changed. I know there is an adversary and I have seen his work. I know what Barclay is talking about when he says that we are all fallen, depraved, dead. Maybe like Fox we have to have that moment of despairing when we realize that we need a Savior. Could be that that woman who spoke in meeting was becoming poor in spirit and closer to God.<br /><br />-Tyler Hampton.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com