Happy Mother’s Day!
Others,
Women’s rights are part of being human. Rights are
natural. Why is it that we have to “fight” for our rights? The organization for
civilization has not been civil. Please look at this view of history for
herstory.
Julian of Norwich
http://www.julianofnorwich.com/t_aboutjulian.php
“Julian was born in 1342, a contemporary of Chaucer and believed to be the first woman to write a book in Middle English, Revelations of Divine Love. She lived well into her seventies, experiencing the turmoil of the Hundred Years’ War, three outbreaks of the Black Plague, the Peasants’ Revolt, the Great Western Schism and gale winds of hurricane force.”
“When she was thirty, Julian experienced a desperate illness during which she witnessed dramatic, mystical visions which healed her and radically changed her. She wrote extensively of these “showings” for the rest of her life. Thomas Merton proclaimed her the “greatest theologian for our time.””
http://www.julianofnorwich.com/t_aboutjulian.php
“Julian was born in 1342, a contemporary of Chaucer and believed to be the first woman to write a book in Middle English, Revelations of Divine Love. She lived well into her seventies, experiencing the turmoil of the Hundred Years’ War, three outbreaks of the Black Plague, the Peasants’ Revolt, the Great Western Schism and gale winds of hurricane force.”
“When she was thirty, Julian experienced a desperate illness during which she witnessed dramatic, mystical visions which healed her and radically changed her. She wrote extensively of these “showings” for the rest of her life. Thomas Merton proclaimed her the “greatest theologian for our time.””
---------------------------------------
Julian of Norwich (1342-1416) lived after the Norman
Conquest. It was during the Hundred Years’ War, when the kings of England were
fighting to claim the crown for France. It was a time of turmoil, but the competition
for the claim was not explicitly religious. It was largely economic.
It was after the consolidation of the Church with
papal authority in the west. It was before the Protestant reformation of the
sixteenth century, but the Lollard movement was gaining force. The Lollards
grew in size with the work of John Wycliffe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Church_of_England#Separation_from_Papal_authority
The movement opposed a number of practices of the Roman Catholic Church. It was prompted by the translation of the bible into English. It was characterized by anti-ritual and anti-clerical postures that were supported by John of Gaunt, father to Henry IV; Henry deposed Richard II Gaunt’s nephew. Monastic holdings were being viewed as a source of revenue for the selection of the next “suitable war.”
Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant churches still oppose
the claim to papal supremacy that is ascribed to Gregory the Great (540-604). The “first phase” of the claim is based on
his debate with Eutychius, as patriarch of Constantinople. It is claimed [without
substantiation] that Eutychius had argued that the resurrected body of Christ
would no longer be “palpable.” Gregory
argued for palpability.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_I#Controversy_with_Eutychius
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_I#Controversy_with_Eutychius
Gregory’s papacy (590-604) included a period where
the papal office claimed public authority in government. It was during a period
when the Lombards were attacking Rome. Constantinople refused to send military
support. He established alms for the people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_I#Alms
Papal supremacy claims authority over secular power
and other Christian leadership. It was used to orchestrate the crusades and the
inquisition. Opposition to papal supremacy [and the yet to be added
infallibility] is comparable to that of manifest destiny. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_I#Alms
Free government cannot be imposed by military force.
When military force is used, government is not elected by the people. Faith in
a loving God cannot be forced by claims to supremacy or infallibility. War,
violence, cruelty and usury impair free will.
The Avignon papacy had been instituted in 1309 after
the crowning of Louis X as King of France in 1305.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon_papacy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_X_of_France
There was Gallican opposition to papal supremacy in France. The Gallican articles would eventually declare that the pope did not have authority over secular power; that ecclesiastical power supersedes papal authority; the papacy must defer to regional custom and papal decrees must be adopted by the church for recognition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_supremacy#Gallicanism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallican_articles
Julian of Norwich was not a princess. She was not of
noble birth according to aristocratic claim to the throne. She was a layperson;
an anchorite; who devoted her life to prayer and simple living. While she
described herself as “unlettered” her writing about the revelations to her
shows evidence of having read or heard some influential written works.
Julian had written:
“And in this dying was brought to my mind the words of Christ: I
thirst.For I saw in Christ a double thirst: one bodily; another spiritual...”
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich
The “bodily” dimension for Christ is the role that
religion plays in politics. People do not have to belong to the same religion
as the political leader. People of religion however have a voice in
representing what decisions are made in civil authority. Freedom of religion
then allows free exercise and prohibits the establishment of a state religion
by government.
Ultimately,
civil and human rights are the driving force for government. Rights are the
common concern for religion and government.
Debate is necessary for forming the best decisions. Debate has to be reasonable however in order
to be functional.
Knowledge of history has often been used to repeat
errors from the past. Karl Popper, a professor of philosophy at the London
School for Economics, called this use of knowledge “historicism.” The elitist
model for the economy, agriculture, politics and education has been used to
impose dictatorship on society with tyranny.
The establishment of religion by the state was an
intricate part of the brain washing of people into compliance. The basic
assertion that God rules creation for the peace and benefit of all was twisted
to mean that the dictator is the Creator by means of destruction and oppression.
The threat of attack by alien agents had been used
to elicit alliance to fight against the “enemy” with war. Some empires had used
war and genocide in an effort to destroy the “threat” of opposition. Support
from people had been coerced by the claim that war is necessary for peace and
security (for the alliance of kingdoms known as empire “under” the king of
kings).
How is faith in the bodily resurrection of Christ
supposed to deal with this historicism? Civic government has to be civil in
order to achieve civility in building civilization. The role for religion then
is NOT to endorse concession to the force of tyranny as perpetuated by elitism
(this ascribes absolute power to an individual human being).
Religion is to teach morality so each citizen can
choose to live ethically (like your mother taught you). How is that different
from concession to forced compliance? Opposition to war, genocide, murder, violence,
cruelty, usury and oppression is required. The commandment against killing is a
categorical imperative against evil action. While opposition to evil is a
condition for loving others, it is the external proof for love.
Has the US with the bill of rights been a bastion
for civility? Experientially, the great society was an exercise in corrective
action. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy had extended
the claim to civil rights, the proper province for manifest destiny, to “the
people.”
President Lyndon Johnson had directed the nation
into a greater concern for civility with the plan for the great society, but
there was a concession to disrespect for human rights in the escalation of
involvement of US forces with “boots on the ground” in Viet Nam.
The extension of concern for civility increased the
amount of investment that was placed into social security and education, but it
was an investment that was beneficial for society, not just the elite. Why
question a nation that has the goal of government by the people as a
constitutional element?
Look at this aspect of American history. Consider
what Sen. Calhoun of SC had to say about manifest destiny in 1848.
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Manifest_Destiny
"W]e have never dreamt of incorporating into our Union any but the Caucasian race—the free white race. To incorporate Mexico, would be the very first instance of the kind, of incorporating an Indian race; for more than half of the Mexicans are Indians, and the other is composed chiefly of mixed tribes. I protest against such a union as that! Ours, sir, is the Government of a white race.... We are anxious to force free government on all; and I see that it has been urged … that it is the mission of this country to spread civil and religious liberty over all the world, and especially over this continent. It is a great mistake."
Calhoun's definition of the US is racist, but his protest against the use of military force in imposing manifest destiny was valid. It also has to be noted that the bill of rights for that time was racist AND sexist. Only white male landowners could vote.
White women and people of color could not. Children were
defined as slaves. Slavery was still legal. The argument against forcing free
government on others however is something western expansionists have to use to
re-think what had been regarded as acceptable in coalition alliance.http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Manifest_Destiny
"W]e have never dreamt of incorporating into our Union any but the Caucasian race—the free white race. To incorporate Mexico, would be the very first instance of the kind, of incorporating an Indian race; for more than half of the Mexicans are Indians, and the other is composed chiefly of mixed tribes. I protest against such a union as that! Ours, sir, is the Government of a white race.... We are anxious to force free government on all; and I see that it has been urged … that it is the mission of this country to spread civil and religious liberty over all the world, and especially over this continent. It is a great mistake."
Calhoun's definition of the US is racist, but his protest against the use of military force in imposing manifest destiny was valid. It also has to be noted that the bill of rights for that time was racist AND sexist. Only white male landowners could vote.
Compare the percentage of native Americans to native
Mexicans to get an idea of how racist the development of the USA has been.
It is estimated that only 0.9% of the US population is indigenous. That is less than 1%!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States#Population_and_distribution
Native Mexicans weigh in at 13% of the population.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_Mexico#Statistics
Calhoun's estimate of "Indians" in the Mexican population was probably overstated, but the contrast of US and Mexican populations for natives puts the US to shame.
It is estimated that only 0.9% of the US population is indigenous. That is less than 1%!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States#Population_and_distribution
Native Mexicans weigh in at 13% of the population.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_Mexico#Statistics
Calhoun's estimate of "Indians" in the Mexican population was probably overstated, but the contrast of US and Mexican populations for natives puts the US to shame.
Our record of respect for civil and human rights is
disgraceful. It took Lyndon Johnson's great society to bring about a change in
respect. It is a change that needs to be reinstituted for our society, but sending
the military anywhere on the planet to force regime change for violations of
human rights is exactly what the world does not need.
The ideals expressed in the bible hold a vital
potency for civility anywhere. Opposition to cruelty has to be regarded as a
part of “doing no harm” for the benefit of civilization in the world.
The following re-write expresses faith that the
Creator has invested goodness into the design for nature. Our job is to find
the design.
Islands
from Psalm 97
Let the earth rejoice.from Psalm 97
Let the islands be glad.
Let the waters be happy.
The LORD shines.
The clouds tremble.
The sea sends out her sound.
Clouds echo with radiance for justice.The clouds tremble.
The sea sends out her sound.
The ocean hugs shores for comfort.
The islands sing silence to the pounding pulse
of her surging down.
Star fire burns without extinction.
Goodness consumes shadows of substance;
deliberately expressing statements to be found.
Lightning lights the earth.Goodness consumes shadows of substance;
deliberately expressing statements to be found.
The world hides under darkness.
The thunder rumbles around.
Mountains melt like wax as radiant rays
blast trees standing their ground.
Shadows follow to unify forest.
The heavens declare righteousness.blast trees standing their ground.
Shadows follow to unify forest.
People see glory with light.
The world understands nothing without sight.
Let the earth rejoice.
Let the islands be glad.
Let the waters be happy.
Zion feels sadness.Let the islands be glad.
Let the waters be happy.
The cities praise civility.
Your judgments stand out in time.
You are the LORD most high.
You shine over all the earth.
You are exalted from the heavens.
You love those who respect others.You shine over all the earth.
You are exalted from the heavens.
You preserve those who live with respect for life.
You abhor war, violence, cruelty,
killing, destruction and usury.
Light shines for the righteous.
Joyful gladness radiates from hearts for love.
The LORD shines from the heights
so our light may shine for others
like islands of sight for the sky.
Let the earth rejoice.Joyful gladness radiates from hearts for love.
The LORD shines from the heights
so our light may shine for others
like islands of sight for the sky.
Let the islands be glad.
Let the waters be happy.
Rejoice in the LORD for being.
Give thanks for your thinking with singing
to his holy Name. ;-)
=======================Give thanks for your thinking with singing
to his holy Name. ;-)
King Crimson – Islands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky5qjU8LEQI
“Gaunt granite climbs where gulls wheel and glidehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky5qjU8LEQI
Mournfully glide o'er my island…”
“Islands join hands
'Neathe heaven's sea.”
Stand united for love.
Steve K.
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