In last night’s Ethics/Cross Cultural Counseling class we had a phone interview with Edward Gilbreath, author of Reconciliation Blues. I heartily recommend his book. See my side bar for a link to his blog. Here’s a couple of my personal take-aways: Continue reading
Category Archives: Cultural Anthropology
Does Christ trump culture?
How can the answer to this question be anything but yes? Of course being united to Christ should trump everything else about us. In Christ there is no Jew nor Greek, male nor female. In Christ our differences are (should be) smaller than our unity in the Body.
But there is something very wrong with my initial question. Continue reading
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Filed under church and culture, Cultural Anthropology, Doctrine/Theology, Race
Who do you represent? Race, identity, and the cost of being a minority
Has anyone ever asked you to speak for a whole people group? If you represent a racial or cultural minority, you have undoubtedly been asked to explain, defend–even apologize for–your group’s ideas, thoughts, beliefs, practices. I suspect most Christians have had that experience some time in their life. Some well-known Christian blows up his life and you are asked to explain how someone could get up on Sunday and say Christian words but in private be having an affair. You are asked to explain why, “you evangelicals talk about grace but hate homosexuals” or something similar.
So how do you feel when you have to speak for a whole people group? Continue reading
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Filed under church and culture, Cognitive biases, Cultural Anthropology, Identity, Race
Racism vs. Offensiveness vs. Sin: Take your pick
Let me commend to you a post and numerous comments about racism on Scot McKnight’s blog: http://www.jesuscreed.org/?p=2239. The dialogue there centers on the issue of stereotypes, racism, and using another’s characteristics for humor. One interesting point of dialogue caught my eye: Could using another’s ethnic identity be offensive without being racist?
If being an offense is a sin (and I would argue that it is–the Gospel is an offense to many be we should never be), then what impetus would we have to argue that something is sin but not racist. Seems the only reason to argue for one is that we see offensiveness as bad but not nearly as bad as racism. That is like being called a pedophile. Does our interest in defending against the claim of racism evidence a level of defensiveness (and therefore blindness) to the realities that racism is nothing more than systematic offensiveness–using another’s characteristics to put and keep them in a subservient position?
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Filed under Cultural Anthropology, Race, sin
Knowing your ROOTS
How important is your ethnic heritage to you? What if you knew nothing of your family tree? Would it matter to you? What if all you knew is that your ancestors were slaves? Would you ever wonder what life might have been like if slavery hadn’t happened? The power of heritage and knowing something about it is pretty important to a lot of people. It gives them a sense of identity. Case in point is when an adult learns for the first time that they were adopted and the parents they thought were biological were only adoptive. It causes significant confusion and disorientation for most.
But this morning I was listening this to Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on Tom Joyner’s morning show (yes, I listen to at times to TJMS, Imus, NPR, and sports-talk (when I want to hear the NY world go nuts over the Red Sox). That probably says a little too much about me…). He was talking about another episode of taking celebrity African Americans to learn what their genealogy and DNA tell them about their heritage. With certain tests, they can fairly accurately tell what percent white, Asian, African, and Native American blood a person has as well as what region of Africa they came from.
Anyway, Gates quoted some interesting statistics: Continue reading
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Filed under Black and White, Cultural Anthropology, Race
Jim Jones’ (People’s Temple) deception revisited
I watched the PBS special on Jim Jones and the Jonestown massacre that aired last night. I was struck by several things that at the same time disturbed and sobered me: Continue reading
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Filed under Abuse, Cultural Anthropology, Historical events, self-deception
Good jokes versus racial slurs
Okay, I admit I sometimes listen to Don Imus’ radio show in the morning on my way to work. He has a good list of politicians and authors on that have interesting points of view. He also has a comedian on who regularly impersonates various people like Dr. Phil, President Clinton, and other celebs. Sometimes he’s funny. Many times he’s cranky, overbearing with the green cleaning stuff, and offensive. Last week, he made some serious racial slurs against the Rutgers women’s basketball team. I didn’t hear them but because I have listened to him off and on, I’m not surprised. In fact, I’m surprised he hasn’t been kicked off the air before. He calls Arabs, “towel heads”, I’ve heard racial stereotypes about the Chinese, gay people, and his sidekicks are worse than he is.
But, what’s the difference between good fun at another’s expense and a slur? Continue reading
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Filed under Cultural Anthropology, News and politics
By what story do you construct your life?
By what story do you construct your life? What story dominates your life? Continue reading
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Buzzword watch: Let’s have conversation
In every good movement and cultural shift, there are words that signal these changes. However, just as quickly, the word gets picked up and used so frequently that it begins to mean absolutely nothing.
“Conversation” has become a buzzword of this present cultural moment. I heard Hillary Clinton invite listeners to join the conversation in the launch of her presidential campaign. Emergent/missional church leaders use the phrase.
Originally, the word signalled the change from hostile fights focusing on declaring the TRUTH of one’s position to that of dialogue and discussion, of understanding others rather than labeling them. Sounds good. But labeling and stereotyping others is a part of what it means to be human this side of heaven. And so, “join the conversation” quickly morphs into “join our conversation if you want what we want”. Pride and arrogance kill most catch phrases. WWJD (a phrase I never really liked anyway) may have had value to some but it also became meaningless to most.
My school uses the phrase and I think it is a good thing for seminaries to find ways to enter the world of those they serve. If we do it well, it looks like conversation (read John 4). And if we do it well, we learn so much from other cultural perspectives. But, I find myself not wanting to use the term because it sounds so superficial and bland.
Not sure what I’d replace it with given that any good catch phrase will have the same problem.
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Filed under church and culture, Cultural Anthropology, Missional Church
No hope for reconciliation between Israel and Palestine
I apologize for the delay in posting on the next chapter of Volf’s End of Memory. I’ve put it down briefly and am doing quick reads on two other books on the topic of division between people groups (Israel/Palestine; American Blacks/Whites). Volf has been exploring the matter of dealing with painful memories of past abuse. But what if the offenses continue, not just in the memory but in real life? How does one ever stop the cycle of hurt, hate, protectionism?
Carter’s new book, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid (Simon and Schuster), explores his involvement with trying to broker peace from the 70’s til more recently. If you are looking for a detailed historical analysis, look elsewhere, But if you have a good understanding the parties, he does have some interesting info and perspective and inside stories. I’ve read the first 4 chapters. However, he has a throw-away line in chapter one (p. 15) that really sticks in my craw, It has always b een clear that the antagonists cannot be expected to take the initiative to resolve their own differences. Hatred and distrust in the Middle East are too ingrained and pride is too great for any of the disputing parties to offer invitations or concessions that they know will almost inevitably be rejected.
While I agree that what he says has been true. The most progress has been made when the US has brokered and shuttled between the two and almost no progress has been made when outside pressures have been released. And yet, it is a sad day to say that a people group (or their leaders) are so unwilling to put aside pride and demands for autonomy/safety for the greater good of the world.
Seems true in Iraq today as well. Shia and Sunni leaders seem hellbent on giving up nothing for a greater good. There is no trust. So, the real question is how does one build/risk trust when there has been almost no space for it to the present. Does South Africa and the Truth and Reconciliation project have any capacity to teach us that victims give up rights and offenders give up silence and any pretense of being righteous?
I’m looking to see what Carter will suggest as the solution and whether he lays much blame at Israel’s feet. That’s the third rail of politics…
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Filed under conflicts, Cultural Anthropology, Forgiveness, News and politics
Musings on Faith and Psychology 