{"id":13277,"date":"2013-01-25T22:11:10","date_gmt":"2013-01-26T03:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/?p=13277"},"modified":"2013-01-25T20:59:25","modified_gmt":"2013-01-26T01:59:25","slug":"it-means-not-having-to-think-about-any-of-this-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/slacktivist\/2013\/01\/25\/it-means-not-having-to-think-about-any-of-this-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"‘It means not having to think about any of this, ever’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I recently linked to Jamelle Bouie\u2019s post on \u201cWhat does it mean to be privileged?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

Bouie tells the story of needing to carry a TV set a few blocks to a friends\u2019 apartment, but realizing:<\/p>\n

This would be a terrible idea. Not because I would have been carrying a TV at 10 p.m. down a quiet city street \u2014 I actually feel pretty safe doing that. But because I would have been a black dude \u2014 in a hoodie, no less! \u2014 carrying a nice-looking TV down a quiet city street at 10 p.m.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He concludes the story by saying:<\/p>\n

What does it mean to be privileged? It means not having to think about any of this, ever.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s something that Christians should remember when reading this post from Rabbi Ari Saks, \u201cThe Challenge of \u2018Amen\u2019: A Young Rabbi\u2019s Reflection on Taking Part in an Interfaith Prayer Service<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stepped up to the stage with my prepared words in hand, excited about the opportunity to share some Jewish words of prayer in a public setting. Yet at the same time, I carried some of the nervous anxiety that has been stewing for over 2,000 years. See \u2014 before I approached the stage in the YMCA, most of the words offered before me were offered specifically in the name of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

They began and ended with phrases like \u201cand unto Jesus Christ\u2019s name do we pray.\u201d As such, these prayers were not simply pieces of wisdom from their respective tradition; they were communal prayers. Creating a communal interfaith prayer space meant that there wasn\u2019t a speaker and an audience; it meant that there was a preacher and a congregation. And for this young Jewish rabbi, participating in a Jesus-centered prayer space was an uncomfortable feeling.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Saks also follows up in a graceful and gracious post titled, \u201cUniting the Transcendent and Immanent: A Jewish Way of Saying \u2018Amen\u2019 in an Uncomfortable and Challenging Prayer Space<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

In that second post, Saks provides what I think is a model for interfaith or extrafaith respect. His response \u2014 the way he finds to affirm a passionate, but sectarian statement made by a Christian \u2014 is lovely. He found a way, because he was forced to find a way, to say \u201cAmen\u201d without having to endorse the sectarian expression of faith he was uncomfortably and unfairly being expected to affirm.<\/p>\n

I would guess that many Jewish readers can relate to Saks\u2019 experience in those posts.<\/p>\n

I would guess many atheists can as well.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m just guessing, because, for us Christians, it\u2019s not something we ever have to think about.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does it mean to be privileged? It means not having to think about any of this, ever.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“What does it mean to be privileged?” Jamelle Bouie asks, “It means not having to think about any of this, ever.” And the rabbi says “Amen.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-13277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-evangelicals","tag-church-state"],"yoast_head":"\n'It means not having to think about any of this, ever'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""What does it mean to be privileged?" Jamelle Bouie asks, "It means not having to think about any of this, ever." 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