Sense of hope
I'm sorry I have left profmarcus to carry the load here, but I have been in Berkeley attending the Spiritual Activism Conference. I have been listening to well-known leaders such as Jim Wallis, Rabbi Michael Lerner, George Lakoff, Matthew Fox among many others. I have participated in workshops and work groups, and connected with the members of my own small group.
The purpose of the conference is simple. It is to take back territory that we on the left have ceded to the religious right. In the absence of an alternative voice, where will people turn when seeking a greater sense of meaning and purpose to their lives?
The execution will be more difficult. For many, fear of "looking like the religious right" deters them from expressing their own faith or spiritual path. For others, concern with the separation of Church and State has held them back. The wish not to impose one's religious view on another is held as a sacrament by we on the left. And yet, there must be room for us in the discussion as well. As one speaker at the conference said, and I paraphrase: "Religious values have always been part of and reflected in politics in America. The question is, what values do you want reflected?"
And furthermore, we need to be here to remind those on the right who sincerely believe in the moral teachings of their faith and strive to follow them that there are more than two issues that determine a moral platform. In my faith, and in all the others in this world, care of the poor, the sick, the helpless and the hungry rank high, as does peacemaking, good stewardship of the resources of our planet, and pursuing a world in which there is no want, where domination by one person, party or country over another is a distant memory. In other words, the values of connectedness far surpass the values of us vs them, the "I've got mine, and there isn't enough for my neighbor" value system that is so prevalent in our culture and across the world.
Gotta go. I will try to write something more cohesive after I get home. Today is the last day and I am off to a non-violence workshop. Submit To Propeller
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The purpose of the conference is simple. It is to take back territory that we on the left have ceded to the religious right. In the absence of an alternative voice, where will people turn when seeking a greater sense of meaning and purpose to their lives?
The execution will be more difficult. For many, fear of "looking like the religious right" deters them from expressing their own faith or spiritual path. For others, concern with the separation of Church and State has held them back. The wish not to impose one's religious view on another is held as a sacrament by we on the left. And yet, there must be room for us in the discussion as well. As one speaker at the conference said, and I paraphrase: "Religious values have always been part of and reflected in politics in America. The question is, what values do you want reflected?"
And furthermore, we need to be here to remind those on the right who sincerely believe in the moral teachings of their faith and strive to follow them that there are more than two issues that determine a moral platform. In my faith, and in all the others in this world, care of the poor, the sick, the helpless and the hungry rank high, as does peacemaking, good stewardship of the resources of our planet, and pursuing a world in which there is no want, where domination by one person, party or country over another is a distant memory. In other words, the values of connectedness far surpass the values of us vs them, the "I've got mine, and there isn't enough for my neighbor" value system that is so prevalent in our culture and across the world.
Gotta go. I will try to write something more cohesive after I get home. Today is the last day and I am off to a non-violence workshop. Submit To Propeller
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posted by cls at
7/23/2005
