Today, I'm posting about the American enterprise of war but really more about how precious is each person's life and the cost of war to our humanity. "American Sons" is the poem. I apologize to all women because our daughters are now being sent to the front lines but when I wrote this poem, it was not the case. I beg your indulgence.American Sons by Randy Woodley © 2000 At what cost O God has this country been born? That of a fifteen year old Cherokee boy, Bird Clan-His Father’s only so … [Read more...]
Return to a Theology of Normalcy or the Same Old Homogenous Imperialism? By Randy S. Woodley
January 23, 2013 by 7 Comments
It is coming….the signs of restored racism in our society are beginning to show… Increased hate crimes, record gun sales, White Male Supremacy is definitely on the rebound! It was precipitated by the organized resistance to the first Black President, (think Tea Party and the hijacking of the Republican led House). The Tea Party and their corporate donors have mastered the redistricting game and are now working on gerrymandering on a state level. They intend to win again and "they" mostly rep … [Read more...]
Grab some popcorn,the crucifixion was for entertainment
December 28, 2012 by 3 Comments
It is in the crucifixion of the desert rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth that we come to discover the pleasure and pain of the spectacle. In psychoanalysis, the term to denote the experience of pleasure and pain is embodied in the French word, jouissance. A better direct translation would be: orgasm.Why do I make this distinction? Because, today, especially in the West we are drawn to anything that is centered around the spectacle. The pleasure of entertainment but the discounted pain of knowing it is … [Read more...]
May Christmas be Filled with Mouse Poop and Camel Spit By Randy S. Woodley
December 24, 2012 by 7 Comments
In this cynical and snarky world in which we live, we are getting pretty good at diagnosing the problems in the world, sometimes even to the point of paralysis. We blog about them, we read about them, (many Christians today would like to read themselves into Heaven),we discuss what's wrong with the world and we even preach about them. Being informed is not a bad thing but it is often the only thing we do. Our Western worldview has come to equate knowledge with real spirituality. I would like to … [Read more...]
Finding Current Meaning In Jesus’ Birth (Part 1) By Randy Woodley
December 5, 2012 by 3 Comments
It Was A Night Around Christmas The meaning of this poem will be reflected in Part 2 in two weeks. (Spoken to the cadence of “T’was The Night Before Christmas”) It was a night around Christmas, in a crowded old caveWith camels and horses and cattle she laidKnocked up by the Spirit, baby daddy besidePsycho girl in some trouble, or maybe she lied No time for a cleaning, no time for midwifeThe st … [Read more...]
Heal Me: Why Tommy and the White Western Colonial Church? By Randy Woodley
October 10, 2012 by 4 Comments
I began this conversation I called, See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Heal Me as a challenge to the colonial Western Church to be more inclusive of ethnic minorities at all levels. Here are titles of the prior post:Intro to SeriesSee MeFeel MeTouch MeThis series has taken quite a turn of events and has spread to voices well heard and seldom herd, representing both dominant and minority ethnic cultures. Feelings have been hurt and misunderstandings have occurred. In spite of all the … [Read more...]
THE SHOE FETISH: THE EVIL OF ALTRUISM
October 6, 2012 by 4 Comments
there was a woman who had a shoe fetish. no matter what, she had to have shoes. couldn't do without them. according to karl marx, the fetish is creating meaning or giving meaning to a meaningless object. trying to fill in a gap rather than allowing it to be. we live in a society built upon an addiction toward meaning, toward filling the gaps. in a simple sense, when your boss calls you up to come in early because your colleague called off sick, that is a filling in of the gap.Christ becomes … [Read more...]
Can You Feel Me? Yes, Somebody Did? by Randy Woodley
September 12, 2012 by 4 Comments
I actually began the series See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Heal Me as a challenge to the colonial Western Church to be inclusive of ethnic minorities at all levels. (intro to series) Then, almost as if it was planned, it broke wide open and the next thing I knew, I was calling for a boycott of "Whites Only" and "Tokens Only" conferences by White speakers and attenders (See Me). With some help from Andrea Smith (her post), Curtiss Paul DeYoung (his post) and a bunch of interested Emergent folks, (see … [Read more...]
See Me: A Call to Christians in the West to Invite Those Different Than Them to the Table by Randy Woodley
August 29, 2012 by 8 Comments
(Read the Introduction to this series)So, what is the cost to the whole community of faith when a particular part, in this case indigenous followers of Jesus and other minorities, are shut out?One of the most severe and indicting statements made by the Apostle Paul concerned those advantaged believers “hogging” the whole table and keeping out those who were disadvantaged. … [Read more...]
(G)od With(Out) Religion OR The God Who BeCame an Atheist
August 10, 2012 by 1 Comment
There is this moment of intrinsic subversion to exclusivity in the Jesus Narrative. But what is moment, if not something captured in and by time. An idea bound and contingent in space, a dependent object that relies upon its own ontological teleology. Meaning that the moment itself finds its purpose in being that very moment, and the events that transpire are then transcendentalized by their very innate placement within the narrative. A few of Jesus friends encounter people who dont … [Read more...]
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