I'm reading a book called "girl meets God" (borrowed from Hattie) by Lauren Winner (who has quite the interesting background when it comes to finally meeting Jesus...Kat and Carole also are big fans of hers), and she writes much in the book about tradition & liturgy within the Christian church (she is an Episcopalian, if that means anything to you...I need to research more about denominational traditions). In many ways I have struggled to see some traditional parts of the Christian church as "valid" (for lack of a better word at this time of night - sorry), since they are not always "spontaneous", and therefore potentially run the risk of not really coming from my heart. Yet through reading parts of Winner's book, I have come to understand how well these traditions (i.e. liturgy) may assist in moving toward a more disciplined walk with Christ...something which I realized I have somewhat of a lack of due to some lack of structure that happens when everything in my life must be constantly changing, spontaneous, new. It leaves no room for tradition. Of course, there is always the danger of everything within this structure having to become rigidly defined, as observed of the Pharisees. Grar.
Another enjoyable point of Winner's book (and the other one she wrote, "Real Sex"...yeah, try to have that one lying around on your coffee table) is her writing about congregational/communal aspects of sin. So often (especially in this nation, I fear), we see sin in the Christian church as so individual (i.e. "it's not my business what my neighbor's doing"). I know I've seen my own sin that way so many times - it's what makes confrontation so difficult for me. My gut reaction is to tell my confronter to "butt out" - this is *my* situation, *my* sin to deal with...go deal with your own. The truth is, of course, that in Christian community it *is* your business what I am doing, because what hurts me, no matter how "private", will also end up damaging the entire body of Christ in some way. The other reality is that you are sinning unless you confront me about my sin. This doesn't mean we're supposed to be nagging on each other, right? But rather, we seek to build each other up through seeking out what is best for one another...and that doesn't include sin.
Ok, 'nuf said for a bit. And I am so not prepared to be up in 5 hours...
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2 comments:
Hey Cat.
I just want to say that you are a really awesome girl and I really like reading what you have to say. I read a really good article in Christianity Today a few months ago by Lauren Winner about chastity. I think it was probably an excerpt from "Real Sex." I found it really interesting. Especially as she talked about it as a spiritual discipline, just like fasting, tithing, prayer, solitude, etc. I found it thought-provoking... how all of those spiritual disciplines are connected (ex: fasting from food can help you remember that you can also control your appetite for sex.) Because of that, the rate of extra-marital sex between Christians, especially among engaged/dating couples, shows us not only a lack of sexual restraint, but some kind of reflection on our lack of spiritual discipline in general.
Hope all is well. We should hang out soon! Love.
Anna
My church actually did a book study together on "Real Sex" this Summer and it was great to study her thoughts on promoting chastity in community IN a community. I really like "Girl Meets God" for its honesty and openness. Someday I'll run into here in Durham (she's at Duke for Divinity School right now and people I know interact with her regularly).
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