Update: where I am

Prior to a post I made earlier today, it had been over two months since I had last posted, and prior to that it had been spotty. Part of the reason is that my previous frequent posting was quite therapeutic for me and helped me work out a lot of stuff I’d been pinging around in my head. Another significant factor is life — work, kids, etc., plus I’ve entered the phase of my life where I’m now completely conscious of my unbelief and I’m taking it all in — observing and trying to reflect on what it all means.

I’m gradually becoming more confident in my unbelief — I’ve told more and more friends and I’ve been going to mass less and less (I’m at about 50/50 on Sundays). My oldest son will be starting kindergarten at a (albeit very relaxed) Catholic school in the Fall, so I’m interested to see how that goes. Speaking of my son, he’s been asking a lot of questions about god and the universe, and it’s been interesting trying to answer them without throwing other (religious) family members under the bus.

Additionally, despite all of unbelief, I’ve been appreciating some (non-fundamentalist) spirituality and ways of appreciating Christian metaphors (see links below).

Some topics I’d like to post on in the relatively near future, assuming I have the time and energy:

• Talking to my children about god and the universe when they get religious fervor from other family members
• How Eastern Christianity played a role in my questioning of Christianity
• Dealing with conservative Christian friends and family as the culture wars heat up
• Expressing frustration with basic Christian concepts while not being fully “out” as a nonbeliever

Some links to interesting stuff I’ve discovered recently:

• AUDIO: Richard Rohr on Pete Holm’s podcast “You Made It Weird”
• VIDEO: Richard Rohr on “Alternative Orthodoxy”
• VIDEO: Rev. James Martin, SJ on StarTalk
• Neil Carter on Christians’ use of the term “atheist”
• Colorado Republicans reduce abortion by increasing abortions
• NSFW: Caitlin Stasey on sexuality
• MUSIC VIDEO: Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment’s “Sunday Candy”

Getting out of life alive

If you want to know what it feels like to be under a power, it is exactly to be possessed by the desire to get out of life alive…

-Stanley Hauerwas

First, I will acknowledge that Hauerwas goes on to say that Christianity is the alternative to this subjection, which is basically the opposite of what I’m about to say. But, I like this quote, and it’s an idea that Hauerwas repeats often – that like modern approaches to medicine, American Christianity tries to offer “getting out of life alive,” which is of course impossible. None of us will get out of life alive, but we often do whatever we can to escape that reality.

Reflection on the commandment to honor your parents

Libby Anne over at Love, Joy, Feminism has two new posts up about adult relationships with parents. The first post describes how her relationship with her father evolved (or devolved):

My father simply didn’t know how to let me grow up. He didn’t know how to switch from interacting with me as his golden daughter to interacting with me as an adult making my own way in the world. He couldn’t handle me disagreeing with him, because in his mind that meant he had failed me. Perhaps he was so afraid of seeing me hurt and so sure that his way was the only way for me not to be hurt that he simply couldn’t handle it when I saw things differently. Perhaps he simply wanted to protect me, but in doing so he forgot that he couldn’t protect me forever, and that at some point he had to let go and let me grow up.