I want to understand the “other” side and why they are so adamant about things that seem downright scary and weird to me so I’ve read several books on the “orange” man, Evangelicals and even watched a good deal of the “other” national convention. I wanted to look at the individuals and picture them as my neighbors and boy did I find all sorts of prejudice in my thoughts. That disappointed me as well as pointed out how quick I am to judge. Then, Nadia, you wrote about Jesus putting his finger in that guy’s ear and spitting on him and I was like “Duh!”, I have my finger in my own ear. It’s been such a great metaphor for me. (I think a lot in pictures) I still don’t get “them” and their passions but I am working on seeing them as my neighbor, the one I talk to over the fence. Some of my friends look at me as if I were a bad guy - also a good reminder of our whole f**ked up country right now. Carolann
Dammit, Nadia! I was already half dressed in my unassailably self-righteous outfit and then you go and say all this stuff. Sigh. Guess I’ll just change back into my pensive shorts and tee.
It’s so good to hear the best of biblical wisdom. In my deconstruction I had to distance myself from the Bible for some years. I’m beginning to be able to reengage with it as a book of interactive wisdom as opposed to an inerrant transcript of sorts directly from God.
Peace and power and joy to you in your work and life!
I share your distancing from the primary document. The text has been so abused and misused I have had to keep my distance as well. Nadia and a few others keep me attached and appreciative of the text and its capacity to undercut my own ways of not seeing myself and those ways I tend to dismiss my own capacity to do harm.
Thank you for your post. I am in a similar place and feel, as you do, that the Bible is a book of interactive wisdom. Your explanation makes it easier for me to understand and accept.
I so needed to read this right now—especially “I guess what I am saying is that my ego loves being “righteous” but my soul can only rest in a God whose mercy is great enough for all.” About the only way I find to shut off the madding, manic crowd across the political spectrum these days is to consciously limit intake of media noise—except for The Corners, of course: Thanks for your Voice in times like these, Nadia! And thank God that God isn’t made in our own image—Jonah’s or anyone else’s.
Thank you for your post. Like you, I turned to Nadia and other authors on Substack, NPR, and PBS to stop the flow of manic noise and distress. The voice of reason speaks to my cranked-up soul and lets me calm down and experience peace.
Thank you, Nadia. Sometimes, when I'm in the middle of a rant (out loud, on line, or just in my head), a little voice comes to me: "But Jesus died for them, too."
🙄
It's like God elbows me with a little snort and maybe a wink (the way a good friend would) to nudge me back to the truth. And sometimes I flip Him off while I'm putting my ego back into its playpen because I don't know how to get over my angst without a big tantrum.
The truth is that I'm scared. But I'm hanging in there. Sort of.
No whales have scooped me up and spit me out on a beach, so I guess I've not been called to rant.
I'm scared, too. I'm afraid political violence will erupt no matter how the election is decided. Is this nation so divided that we will start another Civil War and kill one another because we have learned it is an accepted way to gain control? We already have an Uncivil war online that has injured souls, killed innocent people, and led to suicides. I've just read that ammo vending machines are legal in Oklahoma, Texas, and Alabama. Colorado, among other states, is set to install them soon. I moved from Colorado to SW Utah a year ago and am saddened that my former home is doing this.
The metaphor of "The Whale" reminds me of a study of the 12 Steps I did with Father Richard Rohr of Albuquerque, NM. This program is entitled "Breathing Under Water, Spirituality, and the Twelve Steps." It begins by reading a poem by Carol Bialock, CSCJ, which makes for interesting reading and reflection. Both stories speak to my soul, overwhelmed by what is happening today. I can either be swallowed by the whale or drown in the sea if I don't remember to listen to myself as I read this Bible story of Jonah and Breathing Under Water. I can seek wisdom, take a breath, and know I can share the voice of reason and knowledge, but I cannot control anything more than myself.
Nadia, I feel your pain. I don’t want to demonize anyone. I just want my country back. I think of all the people who have deeply felt religious convictions that still support a bigot. We have a candidate who keeps saying that we have more that unites us than divides us, but it doesn’t seem that many are listening. I am starting to get very worried.
Me too! Thanks for your genuine honesty....we just have to push on, pray a lot, and continue to believe that somehow this will all turn out for the best for all of us.
Amen amen amen! I'm - I cannot possibly overstate this - OBSESSED with the book of Jonah! I've read it more than any other book in the Bible, at least every 2-3 months. It's blue collar slap-stick comedy gold. I cannot help but to cast Lucille Ball as Jonah in the mind's-eye-movie version that plays out in my head as I read it. Just as the ending gets overlooked, I think there's a lot of grace to be found in the opening scenes as well. When it becomes abundantly clear to me that the metaphorical ship is going down in my own life, I become MUCH more willing to dump a whole lotta crap that once seemed crucial to my survival. May we all be willing to part with that which no longer serves us this and every season. For instance, maybe it's time to toss our sorting systems and label makers overboard, because I've found that every time spiritual dodge-ball games get split into "Team Us" and "Team Them" Jesus is left sitting on the sidelines.
We got back to our neighborhood after a groceries run a week or so ago -- and discovered that our next-door neighbors had planted a small yard sign, expressing a preference for a current Presidential candidate who we, y'know, simply can't believe anyone wants to see in the Oval Office. My initial response was disappointment: the neighbors, after all, have struck as perfectly lovely people in the 18 months we've lived here. How could they betray our 100% reasonable view of what "goodness" is like?
But then I thought about it some more. In the old days -- like, oh, say, the pre-1980s maybe -- nobody openly declared their electoral preferences. Many of the people we knew and loved or for that matter had no opinion at all about -- many of them had probably helped Evil Doofus X,Y, or Z get elected. And it worked the other way, too: many of the people we loathed or felt indifferent about had probably voted, line by line, exactly as we had...!
I'm not sure where it started, but I wish to God that we could return -- in that one respect -- to those days. I'm soooooo ready just to love the way someone for the way they treat their pets, or to be p!ssed off at them for the casual way they care for their lawn, without (respectively) dismissing them out of hand or making excuses for them.
You're right, Nadia: it *is* exhausting to be lured so unrelentingly into the trap of judging people -- especially people we know -- for this sort of reason.
PS - having come out of evangelicalism I understand the blinkered fear that motivates so many to embrace ideologies antithetical to simple goodness. And I know many of my former friends to be good people whose lives are marked by a lot of goodness and kindness. Empathy undermines bigotry. Love does and will conquer all.
One of my favorite musicals is "Into the Woods." In it, one of the characters sings, "Someone is on our side; someone else is not. While we're seeing our side, maybe we forgot: THEY are not alone. No one is alone." Mr. Sondheim was right--no one is alone. On the continuum between right and happy, I still choose to be right waay more often than I'd like to admit, because deep in my feral little heart I believe being right means I have more of God's favor than the other person. And that's one of the reasons (among many) I need a God--so I can remember that the extravagant welcome is for everybody.
Yup! Somehow we need to realize that we are all human beings. And yes, God loves all of us. Thanks for sharing that message. It seems to be one I need to hear over and over again.
I want to understand the “other” side and why they are so adamant about things that seem downright scary and weird to me so I’ve read several books on the “orange” man, Evangelicals and even watched a good deal of the “other” national convention. I wanted to look at the individuals and picture them as my neighbors and boy did I find all sorts of prejudice in my thoughts. That disappointed me as well as pointed out how quick I am to judge. Then, Nadia, you wrote about Jesus putting his finger in that guy’s ear and spitting on him and I was like “Duh!”, I have my finger in my own ear. It’s been such a great metaphor for me. (I think a lot in pictures) I still don’t get “them” and their passions but I am working on seeing them as my neighbor, the one I talk to over the fence. Some of my friends look at me as if I were a bad guy - also a good reminder of our whole f**ked up country right now. Carolann
Dammit, Nadia! I was already half dressed in my unassailably self-righteous outfit and then you go and say all this stuff. Sigh. Guess I’ll just change back into my pensive shorts and tee.
Funny!!!
LOL! Good one!
It’s so good to hear the best of biblical wisdom. In my deconstruction I had to distance myself from the Bible for some years. I’m beginning to be able to reengage with it as a book of interactive wisdom as opposed to an inerrant transcript of sorts directly from God.
Peace and power and joy to you in your work and life!
I share your distancing from the primary document. The text has been so abused and misused I have had to keep my distance as well. Nadia and a few others keep me attached and appreciative of the text and its capacity to undercut my own ways of not seeing myself and those ways I tend to dismiss my own capacity to do harm.
Thank you for your post. I am in a similar place and feel, as you do, that the Bible is a book of interactive wisdom. Your explanation makes it easier for me to understand and accept.
I so needed to read this right now—especially “I guess what I am saying is that my ego loves being “righteous” but my soul can only rest in a God whose mercy is great enough for all.” About the only way I find to shut off the madding, manic crowd across the political spectrum these days is to consciously limit intake of media noise—except for The Corners, of course: Thanks for your Voice in times like these, Nadia! And thank God that God isn’t made in our own image—Jonah’s or anyone else’s.
Amen!
Thank you for your post. Like you, I turned to Nadia and other authors on Substack, NPR, and PBS to stop the flow of manic noise and distress. The voice of reason speaks to my cranked-up soul and lets me calm down and experience peace.
I would return to church if I could find one that told bible stories like that.
Thank you, Nadia. Sometimes, when I'm in the middle of a rant (out loud, on line, or just in my head), a little voice comes to me: "But Jesus died for them, too."
🙄
It's like God elbows me with a little snort and maybe a wink (the way a good friend would) to nudge me back to the truth. And sometimes I flip Him off while I'm putting my ego back into its playpen because I don't know how to get over my angst without a big tantrum.
The truth is that I'm scared. But I'm hanging in there. Sort of.
No whales have scooped me up and spit me out on a beach, so I guess I've not been called to rant.
Love your comment.
I'm scared, too. I'm afraid political violence will erupt no matter how the election is decided. Is this nation so divided that we will start another Civil War and kill one another because we have learned it is an accepted way to gain control? We already have an Uncivil war online that has injured souls, killed innocent people, and led to suicides. I've just read that ammo vending machines are legal in Oklahoma, Texas, and Alabama. Colorado, among other states, is set to install them soon. I moved from Colorado to SW Utah a year ago and am saddened that my former home is doing this.
The metaphor of "The Whale" reminds me of a study of the 12 Steps I did with Father Richard Rohr of Albuquerque, NM. This program is entitled "Breathing Under Water, Spirituality, and the Twelve Steps." It begins by reading a poem by Carol Bialock, CSCJ, which makes for interesting reading and reflection. Both stories speak to my soul, overwhelmed by what is happening today. I can either be swallowed by the whale or drown in the sea if I don't remember to listen to myself as I read this Bible story of Jonah and Breathing Under Water. I can seek wisdom, take a breath, and know I can share the voice of reason and knowledge, but I cannot control anything more than myself.
https://left-ventricle.squarespace.com/poetry-to-inspire/2015/2/16/breathing-underwater-carol-bieleck-rscj
Nadia, I feel your pain. I don’t want to demonize anyone. I just want my country back. I think of all the people who have deeply felt religious convictions that still support a bigot. We have a candidate who keeps saying that we have more that unites us than divides us, but it doesn’t seem that many are listening. I am starting to get very worried.
Me too! Thanks for your genuine honesty....we just have to push on, pray a lot, and continue to believe that somehow this will all turn out for the best for all of us.
THANK YOU! This is exactly it. I am so exhausted and stressed right now - needed this perspective. Also - please come to North Carolina!!!
OMG, yes, we need Nadia to come to NC! How to make that happen?
Yes please!!!
Amen amen amen! I'm - I cannot possibly overstate this - OBSESSED with the book of Jonah! I've read it more than any other book in the Bible, at least every 2-3 months. It's blue collar slap-stick comedy gold. I cannot help but to cast Lucille Ball as Jonah in the mind's-eye-movie version that plays out in my head as I read it. Just as the ending gets overlooked, I think there's a lot of grace to be found in the opening scenes as well. When it becomes abundantly clear to me that the metaphorical ship is going down in my own life, I become MUCH more willing to dump a whole lotta crap that once seemed crucial to my survival. May we all be willing to part with that which no longer serves us this and every season. For instance, maybe it's time to toss our sorting systems and label makers overboard, because I've found that every time spiritual dodge-ball games get split into "Team Us" and "Team Them" Jesus is left sitting on the sidelines.
We got back to our neighborhood after a groceries run a week or so ago -- and discovered that our next-door neighbors had planted a small yard sign, expressing a preference for a current Presidential candidate who we, y'know, simply can't believe anyone wants to see in the Oval Office. My initial response was disappointment: the neighbors, after all, have struck as perfectly lovely people in the 18 months we've lived here. How could they betray our 100% reasonable view of what "goodness" is like?
But then I thought about it some more. In the old days -- like, oh, say, the pre-1980s maybe -- nobody openly declared their electoral preferences. Many of the people we knew and loved or for that matter had no opinion at all about -- many of them had probably helped Evil Doofus X,Y, or Z get elected. And it worked the other way, too: many of the people we loathed or felt indifferent about had probably voted, line by line, exactly as we had...!
I'm not sure where it started, but I wish to God that we could return -- in that one respect -- to those days. I'm soooooo ready just to love the way someone for the way they treat their pets, or to be p!ssed off at them for the casual way they care for their lawn, without (respectively) dismissing them out of hand or making excuses for them.
You're right, Nadia: it *is* exhausting to be lured so unrelentingly into the trap of judging people -- especially people we know -- for this sort of reason.
P.S. Highly recommended:
https://www.5bigideas.com/p/what-really-matters
PS - having come out of evangelicalism I understand the blinkered fear that motivates so many to embrace ideologies antithetical to simple goodness. And I know many of my former friends to be good people whose lives are marked by a lot of goodness and kindness. Empathy undermines bigotry. Love does and will conquer all.
Empathy undermines bigotry. Amen to that!
So, I'm a friend of Bill W., who urges us to pray for those we have a resentment towards. Changes us subtly.
Scripture tells us to pray both for our neighbors AND our enemies.
Ouch..
One of my favorite musicals is "Into the Woods." In it, one of the characters sings, "Someone is on our side; someone else is not. While we're seeing our side, maybe we forgot: THEY are not alone. No one is alone." Mr. Sondheim was right--no one is alone. On the continuum between right and happy, I still choose to be right waay more often than I'd like to admit, because deep in my feral little heart I believe being right means I have more of God's favor than the other person. And that's one of the reasons (among many) I need a God--so I can remember that the extravagant welcome is for everybody.
Oh, yes.
Yup! Somehow we need to realize that we are all human beings. And yes, God loves all of us. Thanks for sharing that message. It seems to be one I need to hear over and over again.
Love ya, Sistah Nadia!
LOVE ya even MORE for writing this!