question the assumptions of power

Sorry everyone. My site crashed on Friday and I lost one of my posts, “Question the Assumptions of Power“, along with all your excellent comments. So, I’m reposting it. So here it is. Please feel free to comment again. Above is the cartoon, and below is the post:

Institutional practices which people draw upon without thinking often embody assumptions which directly or indirectly legitimize existing power relations (Norman Fairclough, Language and Power)

One of my utmost concerns is power in the church: it’s uses and abuses.

It is clear from the teachings of Jesus that he upset the prevailing models of power. The gospels are just as clear that it was those very powers that finally killed him.

Generally speaking the church, like any other institution, has not surrendered its power. It has been pressed into keeping and exercising its power less directly. It has learned the art of using its power in ways that are more socially acceptable but no less in operation.

I have found that it takes a fiercely independent mind and spirit to be critical of the language and actions of institutions and discern where the assumptions of power lie and the exercise of domination occurs.

As you can imagine and maybe have experienced, this is very problematic for institutions and their power-holders!

This is why it is is just as problematic for some people to remain within, say, the institution of the church.

I published a book of my cartoons! amazon.com, amazon.ca, amazon.de.