Happy Caturday!
Here's a cat singing some Collective Soul karaoke.
Here's a cat singing some Collective Soul karaoke.
Theologian Thursday: Simone Weil (1909-1943)
Simone Weil was a French anarchist and political activist turned Catholic mystic. She was born to an affluent Jewish family in Paris, and despite her wealthy upbringing devoted her life to living among and fighting for the working class. One story tells how, when she was five years old, she refused to eat sugar in solidarity with the French soldiers, who had none on the battlefields of WWI.
Her Jewish heritage (which she, in many ways, rejected), combined with her study of philosophy and interest in anarcho-communism, makes for an interesting theology.
Weil's idea of creation is especially interesting: since God is perfect fullness, creation occurs when God withdraws--to make room, in a way, for creation to exist--and in this way humanity is separated from God, not necessarily as a result of willful sin. The incarnation of Jesus Christ bridges this gap, and in him God and humanity are reconciled.
What you should read:
- Gravity and Grace
- Oppression and Liberty
Ratings:
(To read more about my Theologian Rating System, click HERE)
Gender Equality:
Simone Weil pursued academic, activist, and even military life. The fact that she was a woman did not hinder her from doing what she wanted and fighting for what she believed in.
Environmental Sensibility:
With her emphasis on revolution and class equality, I think Weil had some sense of care for the environment. However, her belief in an inherently "evil" (or, separate from God) creation may imply something different.
Heretical Tendencies:
From fighting in the Spanish American War, to her various involvements with Marxists, anarchists, and other political activists, as well as teaching and writing, Simone Weil was always up to something and accomplished much in her short 34 years.
Gender Equality:
Simone Weil pursued academic, activist, and even military life. The fact that she was a woman did not hinder her from doing what she wanted and fighting for what she believed in.
Environmental Sensibility:
With her emphasis on revolution and class equality, I think Weil had some sense of care for the environment. However, her belief in an inherently "evil" (or, separate from God) creation may imply something different.
Heretical Tendencies:
Simone Weil has been accused of being an antisemitic Marcionite due to her basic rejection of the Hebrew Bible. Additionally, her creation theology is not exactly orthodox, and her ecclesiology was definitely lacking.
General Badassery: From fighting in the Spanish American War, to her various involvements with Marxists, anarchists, and other political activists, as well as teaching and writing, Simone Weil was always up to something and accomplished much in her short 34 years.
"The mysteries of faith are degraded if they are made into an object of affirmation and negation, when in reality they should be an object of contemplation."
Caturday: Cat v. Raccoon Edition
Ninja cat attacks a stuffed raccoon.
Happy Caturday!
Happy Caturday!
Theology I'm reading this Thursday but not sharing with you...
Welp, today has gotten away from me, and I'm knee-deep in about ten different books working on a project (will share later) and just didn't get around to Theologian Thursday today.
So sorry!
But you know, I went 8 weeks in a row without skipping, so I feel like that's pretty good.
Now I have to start over. Like a factory worker keeping track of the time since the last accident.
It's been ZERO weeks since I skipped Theologian Thursday. :(
If you're interested in what I'm reading this week, here's the stack of books sitting on my desk currently.
So sorry!
But you know, I went 8 weeks in a row without skipping, so I feel like that's pretty good.
Now I have to start over. Like a factory worker keeping track of the time since the last accident.
It's been ZERO weeks since I skipped Theologian Thursday. :(
If you're interested in what I'm reading this week, here's the stack of books sitting on my desk currently.
Top to bottom:
In Good Company // Hauerwas
Ambassadors of Reconciliation (vol. 1 & 2) // Enns & Myers
The Politics of Jesus // Yoder
The Subversion of Christianity // Ellul
A Faith Not Worth Fighting For // York
Anarchy and Christianity // Ellul
What are you reading this week?
On New School Years
Classes at Point Loma started last week, and I've been training up TEN new student employees. That's a lot, considering I currently have 16 total. It's been nice, and they all seem really enthusiastic and ready to learn, which is great.
It's especially interesting because now there are only 4 students left who were my co-workers before I became their supervisor. So the majority of my students just see me as their "boss," and not, you know, like a regular human being who was also a student worker not-too-long-ago. Which is good and bad, I guess.
Next year all the students will have been hired by me.
It makes me feel a little old. I realize that I graduated two years ago and have been in this position as long. It's really flown by, and what's weirder is that there's not really an end in sight. I could easily be in this office for five (or seven? or ten?) more years. Who knows?
Being a grown up is weird.
Anyway, classes of my second year of my MLIS start up in three weeks and I'm dreading having to actually do school again but looking forward to being a bit closer to completing my degree.
Welp. Boring post is boring.
Here is a photo of my and my friend/New Testament professor Kara wearing our matching shoes on the first day of classes:
It's especially interesting because now there are only 4 students left who were my co-workers before I became their supervisor. So the majority of my students just see me as their "boss," and not, you know, like a regular human being who was also a student worker not-too-long-ago. Which is good and bad, I guess.
Next year all the students will have been hired by me.
It makes me feel a little old. I realize that I graduated two years ago and have been in this position as long. It's really flown by, and what's weirder is that there's not really an end in sight. I could easily be in this office for five (or seven? or ten?) more years. Who knows?
Being a grown up is weird.
Anyway, classes of my second year of my MLIS start up in three weeks and I'm dreading having to actually do school again but looking forward to being a bit closer to completing my degree.
Welp. Boring post is boring.
Here is a photo of my and my friend/New Testament professor Kara wearing our matching shoes on the first day of classes:
Caturday
This cat is the cutest.
and so tolerant!
Happy Caturday!
and so tolerant!
Happy Caturday!
Theologian Thursday: Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)
This is the last post in my Month of Martyrs series. I hope you enjoyed it!
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Germany to a prominent family--his mother was a countess and his father was a well-known neurologist. He was one of eight children, and he was actually a twin!
When he was 17, Bonhoeffer began studying theology at Tubingen University, and a year later entered the University of Berlin. This began his struggle between the liberal theology popular at the time (and taught by his professors, which included Harnack--who at one point was the director of the Royal Library in Berlin) and the neo-orthodoxy espoused by Karl Barth, to which he had taken a liking.
Bonhoeffer also studied at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and did much work with churches in Harlem. This created in him a deep, abiding love for African American hymns and spirituals.
After various teaching and ministering positions around Europe, when the Nazis came to power in 1933, he became an immediate enemy of the regime, speaking out against Hitler's grab for power, the persecution of the Jews, and the Nazis' effect on the German church.
Bonhoeffer became an integral part of the Confessing Church, and was eventually barred from teaching in German universities or print or publish anything. The Confessing Church was also made illegal in Germany, and many of its pastors were imprisoned. He then began the underground Finkenwalde Seminary, to continue teaching in resistance to the Nazis.
He joined the Abwehr, which was a German intelligence organization that developed multiple plots to assassinate Hitler. His involvement in the organization and their failed assassination attempts is what eventually got him arrested, and after two years of imprisonment he was hanged on April 9 1945 at Flossenburg concentration camp.
Bonhoeffer's prophetic voice and focus on a practical, worldly theology and his emphasis on Christians (of all kinds) living out the gospel of the cross of Christ is what makes him still relevant today. Furthermore, his intolerance for injustice and his bravery in the face of outright evil is something we can all admire.
If you're interested in learning more, I highly recommend the documentary Bonhoeffer. It's on Netflix instant stream!
What you should read:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Germany to a prominent family--his mother was a countess and his father was a well-known neurologist. He was one of eight children, and he was actually a twin!
When he was 17, Bonhoeffer began studying theology at Tubingen University, and a year later entered the University of Berlin. This began his struggle between the liberal theology popular at the time (and taught by his professors, which included Harnack--who at one point was the director of the Royal Library in Berlin) and the neo-orthodoxy espoused by Karl Barth, to which he had taken a liking.
Bonhoeffer also studied at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and did much work with churches in Harlem. This created in him a deep, abiding love for African American hymns and spirituals.
After various teaching and ministering positions around Europe, when the Nazis came to power in 1933, he became an immediate enemy of the regime, speaking out against Hitler's grab for power, the persecution of the Jews, and the Nazis' effect on the German church.
Bonhoeffer became an integral part of the Confessing Church, and was eventually barred from teaching in German universities or print or publish anything. The Confessing Church was also made illegal in Germany, and many of its pastors were imprisoned. He then began the underground Finkenwalde Seminary, to continue teaching in resistance to the Nazis.
He joined the Abwehr, which was a German intelligence organization that developed multiple plots to assassinate Hitler. His involvement in the organization and their failed assassination attempts is what eventually got him arrested, and after two years of imprisonment he was hanged on April 9 1945 at Flossenburg concentration camp.
Bonhoeffer's prophetic voice and focus on a practical, worldly theology and his emphasis on Christians (of all kinds) living out the gospel of the cross of Christ is what makes him still relevant today. Furthermore, his intolerance for injustice and his bravery in the face of outright evil is something we can all admire.
If you're interested in learning more, I highly recommend the documentary Bonhoeffer. It's on Netflix instant stream!
What you should read:
- The Cost of Discipleship
- Letters & Papers from Prison
Ratings:
(To read more about my Theologian Rating System, click HERE)
Gender Equality:
Bonhoeffer taught both men and women at Finkenwalde Seminary, and I'm sure he felt that women had just as much business living the Christian life and following the way of Jesus than men.
Environmental Sensibility:
I think with the influence of liberal theology, Bonhoeffer had a fairly positive notion of the redemption of all creation.
Heretical Tendencies:
It's hard to do justice to how completely badass Dietrich Bonhoeffer is. He is a true hero of the faith and gave his life resisting real evil in the world.
Gender Equality:
Bonhoeffer taught both men and women at Finkenwalde Seminary, and I'm sure he felt that women had just as much business living the Christian life and following the way of Jesus than men.
Environmental Sensibility:
I think with the influence of liberal theology, Bonhoeffer had a fairly positive notion of the redemption of all creation.
Heretical Tendencies:
Even though the German "Church" anathemized Bonhoeffer and the rest of the Confessing Church, I think it's pretty clear who the real heretics were.
General Badassery: It's hard to do justice to how completely badass Dietrich Bonhoeffer is. He is a true hero of the faith and gave his life resisting real evil in the world.
“We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.”