tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4000642393175378494.post4444798683577778619..comments2023-09-15T04:44:05.493-07:00Comments on Crumbs at the Feast: A Thought on WorshipNeil Ellis Ortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4000642393175378494.post-32937600653970230562009-06-13T21:48:42.040-07:002009-06-13T21:48:42.040-07:00To be honest, I haven't read Left to Tell, so ...To be honest, I haven't read Left to Tell, so I don't know. My guess is that the difference is that Left to Tell is shelved in Biography and Mirror to the Church is shelved in Christianity. The former looks like a memoir of one who lived through the genocide, the other is a theologian who was not there doing theological reflection on the event. (To be fair the theologian, though absent, has personal investment in the events---though he grew up in Uganda, his parents were Rwandan.) But these are guesses based upon the back cover. I suppose I'll have to read Left to Tell before commenting further.Neil Ellis Ortshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4000642393175378494.post-90737881353307639422009-06-13T08:02:45.292-07:002009-06-13T08:02:45.292-07:00How does this book differ from Left to Tell?How does this book differ from Left to Tell?Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09574483490655576692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4000642393175378494.post-62694089201934173732009-06-12T08:44:46.775-07:002009-06-12T08:44:46.775-07:00I am fairly convinced that time limits on worship ...I am fairly convinced that time limits on worship is strictly a racial thing. It is so freeing to be in an environment where no one sits there checking their watches. In fact, the last thing I do in the sacristy is take mine off.John Dornheimhttp://churchstuff-moreorless.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4000642393175378494.post-74898774407409644672009-06-12T07:10:29.556-07:002009-06-12T07:10:29.556-07:00Thanks for the response, Neil and the mini-blog po...Thanks for the response, Neil and the mini-blog post :)<br /><br />I, too, find ritual essential. Yes, there is something inherently artistic and theatrical about ritual that resonates with me, but also, ritual is what communicates with that part of us that is non-verbal. Ritual bypasses the intellectual, analyzing self - ritual goes for the "right brain", for the "heart"...I think it is the ritual element that initially drew me to non-Christian ecstatic paths, and it is ritual that draws me to "high" church stuff that the Catholics and Greek Orthodox embrace.Sirenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18442037187145114418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4000642393175378494.post-18466403828683316282009-06-10T20:44:36.502-07:002009-06-10T20:44:36.502-07:00Yes, it is all a test. :)
The disconnect between...Yes, it is all a test. :) <br /><br />The disconnect between religion and spirituality is probably worth of a book. It may just take a book to define the terms. I'm not one of those who say "I'm spiritual but not religious" because I'm both. While I might be able to talk about the two terms separately, I find it really hard to separate them in my life. I'm spiritual and religious. <br /><br />I think "religion" has become a dirty word, and I can even understand why that is so. I'm careful in how I use. Usually. I can be as careless with my words as anyone. But the Latin root for "religion" is also at the root of a word like "ligament." There's a connecting, binding aspect to it. The word religion has come to bring up ideas of separation and discord, when at its root, it speaks to connecting people, binding us together (in a good way, I should add, not in a restrictive way). <br /><br />Christianity has always had some trouble with the word "religion," though. Some would say Christianity is the religion-less religion, that, despite the centuries of layers of doctrines and rules and whatnot, at it's most basic, Christianity is about relationship with God and freedom from law. I can go along with that. I'm also quite fond of my religious rituals, which I recognize as being not at the core of being a Christian, but is tightly interwoven with my spirituality. <br /><br />I'm also reminded of the 1970's Jesus people movement slogan: "I'm not religious, I just love the Lord." I can commend that, but I also have to confess that's not who I am. I am religious and I love the Lord. <br /><br />I seem to have written a blog entry in a reply. This will likely happen again. :)Neil Ellis Ortshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12055904122133673244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4000642393175378494.post-5385861911247246952009-06-10T17:16:57.422-07:002009-06-10T17:16:57.422-07:00TestTestSirenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18442037187145114418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4000642393175378494.post-13712095896677187052009-06-05T06:27:30.573-07:002009-06-05T06:27:30.573-07:00I wonder if your post speaks to the disconnect bet...I wonder if your post speaks to the disconnect between religion and spirituality? My guess is there are many more people who identify themselves as a particular religion, than have understanding of spiritual life. I think of religion almost as a cultural identity, and spirituality as, ultimately, the potential fruit of religious teachings. Y'know: religion is the finger pointing at the moon.Sirenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18442037187145114418noreply@blogger.com