Thank you for this piece, really resonated with me as someone who grew up very Protestant, and has tried to maintain the radical belief in human dignity even while not believing or practising much anymore.
p.S. also, I am amazed you wrote this within a day of the Pope passing, well done!
The Pope died of cringe after meeting Vance, just like the Queen died of cringe after meeting Liz Truss. Conservative politicians are a health hazard, I'm telling ya.
I loved this and I'm really looking forwards to your next piece!
It reminds me of a point that Slavoj Zizek always returns to, about the death of Christ being the death of this idea of God as the Father who already knows everything and His will is manifest even though we don't understand why things happen. Zizek, often quoting Hegel on this, says that the death on the cross is meant to instate in the community of believers the Holy Spirit, which is exactly this understanding that you talk of - that God in in our practice, in our love, in our devotion to a life as the one that Christ / God described.
Really appreciate you writing this. I grew up very Southern Baptist and the complete inversion of what I read in the gospels is sickening. Much of Christianity in the US especially among Evangelicals is trying to induce the rapture and judging everyone but themselves. I’ve been reflecting on the life of Jesus, a revolutionary rabbi in his time, and it’s actually led me to Buddhism.
Thanks for reading! Your comment made me wonder if you’ve read Thomas Merton? I personally went into Buddhism through him first, and from his work got into Thich Nhat Hanh and Zen Buddhism
Thank you for this piece, really resonated with me as someone who grew up very Protestant, and has tried to maintain the radical belief in human dignity even while not believing or practising much anymore.
p.S. also, I am amazed you wrote this within a day of the Pope passing, well done!
Footnote #6…🧿
The Pope died of cringe after meeting Vance, just like the Queen died of cringe after meeting Liz Truss. Conservative politicians are a health hazard, I'm telling ya.
I loved this and I'm really looking forwards to your next piece!
It reminds me of a point that Slavoj Zizek always returns to, about the death of Christ being the death of this idea of God as the Father who already knows everything and His will is manifest even though we don't understand why things happen. Zizek, often quoting Hegel on this, says that the death on the cross is meant to instate in the community of believers the Holy Spirit, which is exactly this understanding that you talk of - that God in in our practice, in our love, in our devotion to a life as the one that Christ / God described.
Here's a written version of this idea: https://medium.com/@pezike/christ-is-god-slavoj-%C5%BEi%C5%BEek-f9be4c5bcc39 but it's something that one will find in almost all of Zizek's discussions of Christianity and atheism.
(greetings from someone brought up Orthodox, btw)
Really appreciate you writing this. I grew up very Southern Baptist and the complete inversion of what I read in the gospels is sickening. Much of Christianity in the US especially among Evangelicals is trying to induce the rapture and judging everyone but themselves. I’ve been reflecting on the life of Jesus, a revolutionary rabbi in his time, and it’s actually led me to Buddhism.
Thanks for reading! Your comment made me wonder if you’ve read Thomas Merton? I personally went into Buddhism through him first, and from his work got into Thich Nhat Hanh and Zen Buddhism
No, I have not read Thomas Merton. I will, have been looking for some texts. Thank you!