I’m delighted that The Confessional is back! Like most episodes, this one got me thinking. In particular, it was the discussion about whether intentions matter or not when considering actions that do harm. The discussion in the episode is good, but I found myself bristling at the very idea that intentions don’t matter. First of all, it seems like a clearly flawed notion that intention is irrelevant. Our laws very much take intention into account. Our gut moral instincts are tuned in to intention. Taken to its absurd conclusion, one could say that great harm has been done by those who have misunderstood Jesus’s teachings, and even though Jesus intended no harm.... Too often, I think we’re tempted to dismiss intention because it’s hard to discern and because it makes for less moral and emotional ambiguity. If I can dismiss your intentions, I can judge you much more straightforwardly and get about the business of feeling superior & claiming the moral high ground.
Maybe we should challenge ourselves to let intentions matter more. Intentions don’t erase harm, but they might help pave a path to greater compassion.
I’m intrigued by how comfortable you are, Nadia, to draw a straight line between cult influence and practices in evangelical Christianity.
I grew up Evangelical and have only recently been able to attach words like heresy or cult to explain the disconnect I feel to what was before.
I still don’t quite know how to rebuild without that- particularly in parenting. Every time I open my mouth to answer my kids questions about God I feel like I am indoctrinating. I want to know how to stop.
I can’t read the Bible without my evangelical cult glasses. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy your work so much. I love your Bible story re-imaginings.
Excellent, you can really feel sarah is most compassionate not about herself but about leading her friend into it, and the comparison you make between the guilt she feels and the guilt of innocently recruiting friends into the narrow mindedness of a former church strikes close to home. Thank u, nadia
That last line of the trailer. "Nobody joins a cult; they join a good thing." That is hauntingly true. I've often said that people join a cult one step, one belief at a time. It's hard to explain to people but once you've been through it, you completely understand the how it is possible.
I’m delighted that The Confessional is back! Like most episodes, this one got me thinking. In particular, it was the discussion about whether intentions matter or not when considering actions that do harm. The discussion in the episode is good, but I found myself bristling at the very idea that intentions don’t matter. First of all, it seems like a clearly flawed notion that intention is irrelevant. Our laws very much take intention into account. Our gut moral instincts are tuned in to intention. Taken to its absurd conclusion, one could say that great harm has been done by those who have misunderstood Jesus’s teachings, and even though Jesus intended no harm.... Too often, I think we’re tempted to dismiss intention because it’s hard to discern and because it makes for less moral and emotional ambiguity. If I can dismiss your intentions, I can judge you much more straightforwardly and get about the business of feeling superior & claiming the moral high ground.
Maybe we should challenge ourselves to let intentions matter more. Intentions don’t erase harm, but they might help pave a path to greater compassion.
I’m intrigued by how comfortable you are, Nadia, to draw a straight line between cult influence and practices in evangelical Christianity.
I grew up Evangelical and have only recently been able to attach words like heresy or cult to explain the disconnect I feel to what was before.
I still don’t quite know how to rebuild without that- particularly in parenting. Every time I open my mouth to answer my kids questions about God I feel like I am indoctrinating. I want to know how to stop.
I can’t read the Bible without my evangelical cult glasses. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy your work so much. I love your Bible story re-imaginings.
Excellent, you can really feel sarah is most compassionate not about herself but about leading her friend into it, and the comparison you make between the guilt she feels and the guilt of innocently recruiting friends into the narrow mindedness of a former church strikes close to home. Thank u, nadia
That last line of the trailer. "Nobody joins a cult; they join a good thing." That is hauntingly true. I've often said that people join a cult one step, one belief at a time. It's hard to explain to people but once you've been through it, you completely understand the how it is possible.
I’m so excited The Confessional is back!