Community
Wrote this as a comment on
Laura's blog, and it takes its tone from some of the messages that it's responding to, but I decided to repeat it here.
You do need a faith community. Organized religion - the kind of religion that tries to make it difficult for you to opt out and makes you begin and maintain relationships, even small ones, with people you wouldn't ordinarily encounter or converse with - is important. Faith is good and community is good, but faith communinties are also good. Like bad hospitals, or cities with bad police departments, or countries with bad leaders, there are bad faith communities. Some of these are worth leaving. But some aren't. Part of what is healthy about faith communities is that they make you do some things that you wouldn't choose to do on your own. People need people to be held accountable and people need faith to be held accountable and people need people of faith to be held accountable. But most importantly, some of these people need to be people that we disagree with. We need expressions of faith that are different than our own not just to know who we are but also to make sure that that is who we want to be. We need to have these disagreements in spaces that are bigger than us.
[later, reply to comments]
Geoff, thanks for commenting. I think that my response to both of you is pretty much the same. This post gives my reasons why individual's need religious communities. I've articulated this in terms of the relationship between individuals but as you are right to suspect Geoff, the notion of community that I hold to is much deeper than this. I hint at this in my last sentence. Todd, I think that once we agree on what's in my post then we do need to ask your questions. Why are some institutions unhealthy? Sin? Something darker?
Posted by Trevor at January 4, 2004 02:29 PM
| TrackBack
trevor,
it sounds to me that you are claiming the as individuals come together (each with their own perspective and history) we all (all individuals) are enriched through the process. Is the Church (or faith community) really only for the sharpening of individual on individual, or is it something else?
I would argue that we can't even know who we are outside of community, and that the Church is not just a refueling station for individuals, but rather a social space for the display of God's righteousness, a political force of the Kingdom.
Anyway, I know I just jumping in, and I read you're bio, so since you are an Anabaptist I figure that you don't really mean this...but I thought that since I stumbled onto your blog, and we're both in Chicago, i might as well say something.
www.up-rooted.com
So what happens to people that, for whatever reason, are unable to join a community (faith or otherwise)? People who choose not to join a faith community usually find some type of community to belong to: work, sports, Elks, or whatever. For that matter, people of faith communities belong to the above also. What about the homeless person? Does a group of people who agree to watch each other's back for the night count as a community?
I may be simply rambling here, but now that GOE's are over I'm developing a heightened sense of "What if" that (I'm assuming) is coming from the fact that there are six months left to my seminary life and then I need to start making this thing work. I guess my ultimate question is: How do we encourage outsiders to be part of our community without a) appearing holier-than-thou and b) challenging existing people to stay?
http://horse.porn-sites-list.com/ Anniversary Gift? by Kitchen animal sex Lady Anniversary Gift? (This animal sex story has two http://animal.porn-sites-list.com/ endings. The reader may choose horse cock sex either) She sat at the dinner table, horse cock sex staring at the candles that were http://horse-cock.porn-sites-list.com/ now spluttering beast sex and dying and the wax that had run, beast sex like her tears, down on to the white beast sex tablecloth. http://beast.porn-sites-list.com/ The two meals were untouched, and only pets sex the wine glass she held in her hand pets sex had held the wine http://pets.porn-sites-list.com/ from the now empty beastiality sex bottle in the ice cooler. This day beastiality sex was supposed to be special for Victoria. http://beastiality.porn-sites-list.com/ She bestiality sex had spent a lot of time over the bestiality sex past three days carefully planning the celebration dinner bestiality sex and making http://bestiality.porn-sites-list.com/ sure she had a few hours dog sex to spend on herself this afternoon. She had dog sex spent one of those hours http://dog.porn-sites-list.com/ relaxing in a donkey sex bath of warm perfumed water, and walked into donkey sex the bedroom wrapped in the large soft bath donkey sex http://donkey.porn-sites-list.com/ sheet. She watched her reflection in the full pig sex length mirror as she allowed the towel to pig sex slide slowly to http://pig.porn-sites-list.com/ the floor. Her body, glowing zoo sex from the warm water, was taught yet rounded zoo sex with full firm breasts, ample hips http://zoo.porn-sites-list.com/ and shapely zoophilia sex buttocks. The light winked back from the small zoophilia sex stone set in the naval ring. Her green zoophilia sex eyes http://zoophilia.porn-sites-list.com/ twinkled as she placed the underwear, that zoophiliac sex she had intended to wear, back in the zoophiliac sex drawer and slid into http://zoophiliac.porn-sites-list.com/ the satin gown that dog cock sex hugged her body. She turned back to the dog cock sex mirror and gave a nod of approval http://dog-cock.porn-sites-list.com/ http://www.porn-sites-list.com/ 731877175
My http://www.animal-horse-dog.com/animal-sex.html
animal dog horse sex animal sex name's James. I'm 15 and I have a 17-year-old http://www.animal-horse-dog.com/horse-sex.html
animal dog horse sex horse sex sister named Kelly. We live out on a Ranch http://www.animal-horse-dog.com/dog-sex.html
animal dog horse sex dog sex in an unpopulated area. It's pretty boring, and the http://www.animal-horse-dog.com/animal-porn.html
animal dog horse sex animal porn only way I keep entertained is by our 5 http://www.animal-horse-dog.com/horse-porn.html
animal dog horse sex horse porn golden retrievers, for shows, and my computer. Anyway, my http://www.animal-horse-dog.com/dog-porn.html
animal dog horse sex dog porn sister's a real bitch to me because I'm her http://www.animal-horse-dog.com/animal-fuck.html
animal dog horse sex animal fuck little brother, she does really annoying things like makes http://www.animal-horse-dog.com/horse-fuck.html
animal dog horse sex horse fuck me clean her room all the time and goes http://www.animal-horse-dog.com/dog-fuck.html
animal dog horse sex dog fuck through my computer a deletes things when ever she http://www.animal-horse-dog.com/.html
animal dog horse sex wants. The thing that really put me over the http://www.animal-horse-dog.com/.html
animal dog horse sex top was when she came in my room when http://www.animal-horse-dog.com/.html
animal dog horse sex http://www.animal-horse-dog.com/
animal dog horse sex http://www.animal-horse-dog.com/ 254506602