Posted by Serenity in things I love | 17 Comments
when we let each other in
Today my sister and I were talking about letting people in. It all started because I saw this cuh-razy news report about a church in one of the Carolinas that is having a book burning on Halloween. They will be burning all satanic books by heretical authors, including, but not in one million-trillion years limited to, any bible except the King James version and any books by Billy Graham, Joyce Myers, MOTHER TERESA, and other people the world generally acknowledge to be decent and acceptable until I’m not sure who’s left. The good news: They’ll be serving barbecue chicken with the charbroiled literature. And further (and actual) good news: Only fourteen people attend said church.
I really hate dissing other people who claim to be washed in the blood. It’s not pretty, it tears us apart, and it accomplishes nothing. But DISS I DID. I tweeted and facebooked the life out of that video, and got just the responses I was hoping for, i.e, “This is disheartening.”
Now to tread lightly into my past and confess something. I’ve been there. This is what Felicity and I were talking about. We’ve been under a circle of influence that seemed to suggest that possibly no Christian author (let alone, oh my gosh, the nonChristian ones) had anything to say that we should hear. (This suggestion did NOT come from my parents, who are both well-read, wonderful people).
And as Felic and I were talking, I felt so grateful that we didn’t stay there. (Not a physical location but a mindset). I’m so glad that I eventually knocked on some doors to see what other people in the world had to say about things (random movie quote: Sense and Sensibility: “I like them. They talk about things. We never talk about things). And I’m especially, supremely grateful that those people let me in when I did.
Here are some doors on which I’m so glad I’ve begun to knock:
My agent, Holly Root, and with her a world of writers and readers and people who love, love books. Technically, Holly knocked on my door, a stroke of luck I will forever think of as the climactic you-can-do-it heroine song in a musical. She sent me a memoir right away that moved me to this day and I knew, Anything is possible now. Since writing my memoir, I have awakened to this whole wide world of literature that I somehow completely ignored before. I HAVE SO MUCH CATCHING UP TO DO. But I’m getting there. And I am so glad.
Travel. I traveled around the midwest with my fellow youth-groupers in high school performing a play, and I drug my feet every single time. I hated being away from my small town and my crush and my bedroom with all my stuff. And I was just such a homebody! I went to Colombia, South America, my first year of college and, again, almost threw up from the homesickness. But after a few days I started to get the appeal. Today I have a husband and three children and two jobs and the pursuit of a writing career, and I don’t get out of town much. But I’m ready now. I want to get out of town more. I want to see more of the world. And I work for a place that lets me get even more aware of what’s out there, so I’ll know where I’m going when I go. I’m grateful for that.
Philosophy. I’m not sure that’s the right word, because I have a friend who is actually in philosophy, and I’m hardly even on the stoop of the house that holds that door. Still, I love that in reading and listening and watching the world and its people, you hear things like, “Humans seek comfort” and you realize that this explains why our lives tend to be BORING, or “We tend to consider any person we recognize, a member of our tribe,” and you realize why you care that Brad and Angelina had the twins out the other day. These little realizations that philosophers have gathered and put into words and scattered about the universe for us to discover in books and art and film and each other – I like these things. They’ve opened my world.
It’s nice to be let in, isn’t it?
There’s so much in the world for us all if we only have the eyes to see it.
~Anne Shirley
holly just interviewed on my blog this week – you are lucky to have her :)
keep knocking!
Fabulous post. There’s such a danger in being narrow-minded and feeling *superior* about it. With that said, there are definitely still a handful of things I believe and think that might make me seem small-minded to other people, but being willing to listen and learn and grow is huge.
And yes, it is nice to be let in :)
Right on–nothing has humbled me and made me carefully reconsider what I hold dear so much as having the privilege to peer into the life of someone who thinks, acts, believes, or lives differently than I do. (And, incidentally, travel, whether to Mexico, Kazakhstan, or the world of a book, has had much to do with this for me.)
I think it would be hard to live and work where I do (NJ & NYC) and remain “closed.” Most of the people I know were born in other countries, and that’s not just because I’m married to a Brazilian and go to a Brazilian church. My coworkers are mostly from other countries, and those who aren’t are Jewish, so there’s a difference. It’s far easier to be bigoted, I think, when everyone else you see every day resembles you in background and upbringing.
Adam – you bring in this whole other perspective. In this light, my “bigger world” is mostly in theory. Even my online community is largely of my background and upbringing.
To Shelli – I am so lucky! And great interview with Holly!
Sarah – Yes, many convictions are narrow in their very nature. I’ve had to come to terms with some of mine that are. But I think good listening is used way too little.
Matt, it’s cool that you include traveling through a book. I’ve definitely done more of that than the literal kind. This is another area where I could stand to broaden my horizons.
Great post, Serenity Beth. I’m glad to be on this journey with you.
I agree that travel – both real and literary – has opened my world in ways I never imagined possible. And I’m so glad to be living in this bigger world, with all these doors just waiting to be knocked on.
(Love the quote from Anne!)
One thing I think I’ve learned over the years is that many of these cases where Christians are encouraged to reject or ignore various influences is really about the insecurity of the person asking for the ban. And ultimately, I believe it signals a lack of trust in God and corresponding lack of trust in an individual’s ability to hear from God. Some leaders are so sure they must “protect” their followers from outside influences that they forget how capable God really is! He is able to keep us, able to guide us, able to keep us from falling (Jude 23-25).
*note: Please don’t misunderstand that I believe we ALL need guidance in our spiritual lives; I’m speaking here of extreme examples of control and censorship, not normal teaching on guarding what comes into our homes and hearts.
You should introduce me to your friend in philosophy, I’d like to talk to them.
As regards being able to be on the stoop of that house, etc… I worry that some of that is the fault of philosophers. One wonders if things have gone astray when the door seems so inaccessible. Not to say that thinking straight is not a challenging endeavor, but once upon a time there was an assumed duty that went with being a philosopher, a duty to serve the polis.
To Wit: “Philosophy recovers itself when it ceases to be a device for dealing with the problems of philosophers, and becomes a method, cultivated by philosophers, for dealing with the problems of men.” – John Dewey
Great post. I have probably grown and expanded more from travel than any other category. Being from the Caribbean and moving to small towns in Illinois and Minnesota was certainly eye-opening. Even in small town settings, associations with non-locals can be a broadening experience for both sides.
From there to traveling around and beyond the US to currently living in South Florida, I now have a huge appreciation for the melting pot in which I live. Different languages, foods, accents, cultures and colors abound and I am still amazed at my patience towards this current environment not as my own character trait but as a result of my past experiences.
I struggle a bit with these things too. On one hand I look at what God COMMANDED the Israelites to do when they came into a place with foreign gods and idols…TO DESTROY THEM COMPLETELY. And when they disobeyed, they fell prey to the idol worship and gave themselves over to it.
Then, I know that Christ changed everything, but His coming doesn’t do away with the law, but fulfills it. I still don’t “get” that phrase, but I understand it for the most part. So then I think we’re not called to destroy these “other influences” but are called to rise above them and teach the love and gospel of Jesus Christ as our risen Savior.
The danger lies in that many “christians” can’t delve into and try to understand the other influences without succumbing to their attraction and falling into sin.
NOW, having said all that, how are we to know the difference in what “influences” are good or bad? We have to judge them by scripture and see what comes up lacking. Ultimately, we can only control what is in our own lives. Holding public book burnings on Halloween isn’t about living a righteous life… it’s about attention-mongering and trying to stir people up…and not necessarily for good reasons.
Den, I’m pretty sure you’d like him. And like I said, I think some great thoughts seep out of that community into all kinds of art (at least) so those of us who want to understand more, can. But this problem isn’t exclusive to philosophers. Any unit can be inaccessible to those not in it – literature, Christianity, film, parenthood, blogging – we all tend to find a niche and settle there. It takes deliberate effort to branch out and share the good parts of anything with the rest of the world? And it’s a shame, because so often the good parts of one add beautifully to the others.
Carol, I’m glad you pointed these things out, because they represent valid and common internal dilemmas for Christians. Here’s a couple things I think about. I no longer believe that any Christian or Christian group preaches the absolutely pure, agenda-free message of Jesus. There’s too much humanity and tradition and even other influence that has shaped the church and our sermons and our worship and EVERYTHING. So when I knock on other doors I feel I’m giving God more chances to show himself to me. I sometimes wonder, for instance, if he came today in as unconventional a method as he came the first time – would we recognize him? But many people feel I’m treading on dangerous ground there because it’s too hard to sort out God from the things that deceive. My other point is surely more relatable though. I’m literally talking about people here. I want more people in my life. People are all flawed, all filled with really great convictions and really poor opinions. I understand how some people write off the entire film industry or another religion or philosophy as deceptive and/or amoral. But I can’t do that with any one person. I feel that connecting with other people enriches us, almost without exception.
“I sometimes wonder, for instance, if he came today in as unconventional a method as he came the first time – would we recognize him?”</b
I’m so with you on this point. I think about this all the time and wonder to myself “Will I recognize him, or will I scoff and say it’s fake?”. I am such a skeptic at heart about nearly everything I encounter it makes me afraid.
I think (make that TRUST) that God will make it plain to those who believe when it is the true Christ returned to earth…All those verses about “God closed their eyes and hardened their hearts” and “God opened their eyes and they saw that it was Jesus” tell me that is what He will do. Those who aren’t meant to see will have their eyes closed. I have to believe that if I am truly His, He will make sure I know the truth when I see it.
And I actually don’t relate to your second point quite as well. I just moved away from “people” and am not quite ready to jump back in the pool with all of them… :-) Still being refreshed by my small-town life…
Well, Carol. I guess I understand that too. :)
I was saved and spent 5 years in a Christian cult, where the leader attempted (with significant success) to control every aspect of the members’ lives. One are where I maintained a secret rebellion was my loyalty to the public library. I went there every two weeks & came home with an armload of books, mostly on religious themes, but not entirely. As time passed and I read the Bible with greater understanding, I began to question our leader, who told me that, although I thought I knew what scripture meant, I was a new Christian & needed his guidance to avoid going astray & becoming worldly. I became more & more uncomfortable with the 10-day fasts and harsh parenting advice, & one day, checked out a book about Jim Jones & The People’s Temple. I couldn’t put it down. I realized that our little church was about 2/3 of the way down a very similar road. I left that church, and have found myself on a wonderful spiritual journey ever since. I learn a lot from folks who have very different ideas from mine, and am realizing that God is so much bigger–and loving–than I ever thought possible. I love your blog. Thanks for letting me in.
So sad to hear about what these people are doing. I have a friend who is dyslexic and has a hard time comprehending what he reads. He loved God and wanted to delve into the Bible, but couldn’t. I bought him a ‘Message’ Bible. He could hardly put the thing down. And I will tell you this. Each time I have audibly heard God’s voice (not too often, mind you), He has NEVER used a ‘thee’, ‘thus, or ‘wherefore’!!