tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post652333003905179881..comments2024-03-22T03:10:08.766-05:00Comments on The Good Raised Up: More about individualism and the corporate nature of QuakerismUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post-37637455452210458022008-03-19T12:44:00.000-05:002008-03-19T12:44:00.000-05:00As usual, Liz, I find yours to be the only voice a...As usual, Liz, I find yours to be the only voice asking some truly important questions. (Wonder why that is?)<BR/><BR/>Just over the past few days I've been writing something which just happens to answer your question with another question. (And I would not be surprised to learn that mine is the only voice asking the following question.)<BR/><BR/>"Thus the problems of ministry in the Twentyfirst Century constitute not only lighting a light, but also fashioning a suitable lampstand and reaching dark corners [Matthew 5:15] — the places in our homes which are currently illuminated only by the harsh, artificial glimmer of television. Given all that, in this electrified wasteland, there are nevertheless valued voices for sanity. Over the violent dim, we can discern not only the voices of civic leaders, educators, professional people, and scientists, but also the voices of people of faith. How do they “break through the clutter” long enough to be heard? I am not prepared to answer the question I have raised; instead, I propose that we find the answer together. Somewhere in the metaphor of the high lampstand there must be a way for a community to raise up its light so that it can be seen above the hateful, mesmerizing flicker. Should we really be so impressed by John F. Kennedy's old vision, in which citizens ask only what they can do for the nation and never what it can do for them? Does this sound more like the American prospect or Maoist China? Isn't that a false choice—a betrayal of the concept of a nation? Isn't nationality a reciprocal relation? More to the point, are faith communities likewise called to join their members to the same extent that members join communities?"gen1pichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17356764449769660998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post-1473628527484849892008-03-13T20:42:00.000-05:002008-03-13T20:42:00.000-05:00Hi, Danny -Thanks for taking the time to comment. ...Hi, <B>Danny</B> -<BR/><BR/>Thanks for taking the time to comment. I see you've written quite a bit yourself about <A HREF="http://coldfire.wordpress.com/2008/03/13/individualism/" REL="nofollow">individualism</A> on <A HREF="http://coldfire.wordpress.com" REL="nofollow">your own blog</A>. I'd be curious how you made your way to <I>The Good Raised Up,</I> and I hope to read your posts more thoroughly in upcoming days.<BR/><BR/>Blessings,<BR/>LizLiz Opphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09802348848085930901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post-48154613708053273742008-03-13T16:04:00.000-05:002008-03-13T16:04:00.000-05:00I am glad to see so much thought going into the co...I am glad to see so much thought going into the corporate nature of the Quaker experience. There really is no replacement for corporate worship, and I am glad that you took the time to speak to this. <BR/>DannyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post-61219821986669007092008-03-08T21:21:00.000-06:002008-03-08T21:21:00.000-06:00liz,That would be really nice. I'm on the program...liz,<BR/><BR/>That would be really nice. I'm on the program committee for Yearly Meeting again and it looks very exciting. By all means do come if you can.RichardMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08564152237574253857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post-31775618566885171832008-03-08T00:07:00.000-06:002008-03-08T00:07:00.000-06:00RichardM - Glad to know you are happy, busy, and s...<B>RichardM</B> - Glad to know you are happy, busy, and still blogging, even if the blogging is taking place primarily among <A HREF="http://www.earlham.edu/~fahe/" REL="nofollow">FAHE</A> Friends!<BR/><BR/>I have had times in my own life when I felt I could say I was both busy and happy, so I am glad for you in that regard. I trust that if more words and writings are needed from you in the wider Quaker blogosphere, Way will open again for your contributions in that regard.<BR/><BR/>And who knows? I am keeping alert to the possibility that I might attend <A HREF="http://ncymc.org/" REL="nofollow">NCYM(C)</A> sessions this summer, if God wills it, so I might see you there!<BR/><BR/>Blessings,<BR/>LizLiz Opphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09802348848085930901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post-85735560969235021742008-03-07T20:08:00.000-06:002008-03-07T20:08:00.000-06:00Liz,Sorry if I sounded like a college professor, a...Liz,<BR/><BR/>Sorry if I sounded like a college professor, after all I am one. I'm very well thank you. I haven't been blogging much on QuakerQuaker lately because I've been doing some blogging with my fellow Quaker philosophers over on a blog we set up after we met at this summer's FAHE meetings. Also I've been quite happily busy with other things I feel led to do. (I think it's important to mention the "happily" busy as many people complain about being busy because they feel that what is occupying their time is a burden. I feel the things that are keeping me busy these days are a blessing. Maybe when things slow down a bit I'm blog about it some on my site.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for asking.RichardMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08564152237574253857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post-27907443887583392052008-03-07T15:57:00.000-06:002008-03-07T15:57:00.000-06:00Michael - Nice to see you here again. I just took...<B>Michael</B> - <BR/><BR/>Nice to see you here again. I just took a quick look at your blog, <I><A HREF="http://emptypath.wordpress.com" REL="nofollow">The Empty Path</A></I>, and I hope you'll be able to update it soon with another thoughtful post. I also hope you'll give us the links to your other two posts in the "Am I a nontheist...?" series.<BR/><BR/><B>Richard M</B> -<BR/><BR/>Nice to see you here, too, and thanks for adding a bit of historical context, connecting Quakers, the Enlightenment, and postmodernism. Since I'm not a history buff, I need others to share the bits and pieces that connect the dots in ways I don't know about or understand. <BR/><BR/>I hope you are well. <BR/><BR/>Blessings,<BR/>LizLiz Opphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09802348848085930901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post-85834041037886033752008-03-07T15:13:00.000-06:002008-03-07T15:13:00.000-06:00Its a truism that we live in the postmodern age. ...Its a truism that we live in the postmodern age. What this means is that we are coming to see the limitations of the Enlightenment worldview that essentially took over the Western mind in the 18th century. A big part of the Enlightenment was its attempt to give more freedom and power to the individual at the expense of larger entities like the state, or the church or local communities. Modern liberal theology has been strongly influenced by the ideals of the Enlightenment. In the postmodern age we are coming to see that the stress on the individual should not be taken to extremes and that some kind of counterbalancing must take place. So more and more people are becoming aware of the need for community and accountability. While this is in some respects a new phenomena it is also very old. Quakerism arose before the Enlightenment and was never a child of the Enlightenment. In fact I think it represents a contrast and a challenge to the Enlightenment and that maybe, just maybe, in the postmodern age our time has finally come. We Quakers have something to offer that is not only distinctly different from the secular ideals of the Enlightenment but is also a way of living and relating to the world and to each other that has been tried and tested for centuries albeit on the very small scale of the size of our communities. <BR/><BR/>Quakerism's past is the world's future.RichardMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08564152237574253857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post-46544971353117785892008-03-06T08:11:00.000-06:002008-03-06T08:11:00.000-06:00Liz,Thanks so much for this post.I've been working...Liz,<BR/><BR/>Thanks so much for this post.<BR/><BR/>I've been working for about a month on the third and final part of my "Am I a nontheist...?" series on <A HREF="http://emptypath.wordpress.com" REL="nofollow"><I>The Empty Path</I></A> (Spoiler: I'm not).<BR/><BR/>Your piece has conked me on the head with a needed reminder and shown me where my writer's block is.<BR/><BR/>I've been leaving out that the struggle and growth I describe in those essays does not happen without the community within which I grow.<BR/><BR/>(See <A HREF="http://emptypath.wordpress.com/2007/06/10/but-not-alone/" REL="nofollow"><I>But not alone</I></A>.)<BR/><BR/>You quote Lloyd Lee Wilson:<BR/><BR/>"There is a communion with God which takes place in the context of the faith community that can not be replicated in solitude..."<BR/><BR/>What I might add is that communion with God must take place in the context of the <I>whole</I> community, not only in the faith community.<BR/><BR/>Meeting feeds us, yet my quest recently has been to find ways of witnessing to my faith and practice beyond Meeting and across faiths.<BR/><BR/>Hence the challenge I have given myself of finding language which is not religion-specific in order to talk about religious truth.<BR/><BR/>In any event, thanks again.<BR/><BR/>Blesséd Be,<BR/>MichaelAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com