tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435679274201464716.post3990323931693050762..comments2023-07-06T03:33:33.896-04:00Comments on Learning and Leading: I'm Just a GirlEarlham School of Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04413577729231632189noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435679274201464716.post-82475048496821277842013-04-05T11:23:46.911-04:002013-04-05T11:23:46.911-04:00I like this ending, Stephanie!
OK- earlier this m...I like this ending, Stephanie!<br /><br />OK- earlier this morning I posted a long reply back to Josie. Looks like I forgot to select the "publish" button below. :-( <br /><br />May try again later.<br /><br />~angelinaAngelinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00673304230112627768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435679274201464716.post-20699477502989478772013-04-01T19:52:49.264-04:002013-04-01T19:52:49.264-04:00That's a fantastic response, Stephanie!That's a fantastic response, Stephanie!Micah Baleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06849915973708989620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435679274201464716.post-5013995839953015582013-03-29T12:34:10.677-04:002013-03-29T12:34:10.677-04:00I have been finding it very interesting and useful...I have been finding it very interesting and useful to read Peter Rollins' work, and am encouraging students and others to take part in the April 8-9 lectures and discussions of it at ESR. But I am also disappointed in the sexism of some of the examples in his most recent book, The Idolatry of God: Breaking Our Addiction to Certainty and Satisfaction, which are cited in Jodi Jones' post. I have been thinking more about that infuriating story which he used to illustrate "creatio ex nihilo", and decided to give it a new ending.<br /><br />". . . The woman, realizing that Joe was even a greater weasel than she had been aware, thought quickly and said to her husband, 'No, you weren't available. Joe didn't give me your $400; you'll have to get that from him later.' "<br /><br />Reason:<br />Joe made a contract with the woman (by his slimy offer), so he then owed her the $400 in payment for revealing her body to him. Thus the money ceased to be the repayment of the debt Joe owed the husband. Joe still owed $400 to the husband, because the money he brought over now belongs to the wife, since Joe used it for a different purpose (satisfaction of his prurient desire to see her unclothed) rather than for repayment of the debt. If he took a detour on the way to the house and bought a fancy $400 ski jacket, the money would no longer available to repay his debt to the husband, but in this case right there in the house Joe obligated the money elsewhere.<br /><br />Commentary:<br />This ending puts the power back in the woman's hands. She ceases to be a victim of Joe (and perhaps also of her husband, by whom she was inadvertently made vulnerable to Joe by his keeping his loan to Joe a secret from her.) She has also "made something from nothing" (Rollins' point of the story) by quickly turning Joe's deception of her into a further cost to him. She holds Joe accountable for the fact that he made two different deals with two different people.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10141845008372046292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435679274201464716.post-9738901253973277132013-03-26T20:49:09.452-04:002013-03-26T20:49:09.452-04:00"In the US, women have earned the right to di..."In the US, women have earned the right to die on the battlefield...."<br /><br />This is something to be lauded?<br /><br />http://spurgeonwarquotes.wordpress.com/MikeSnowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12462825086786614647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435679274201464716.post-964115226599905782013-03-24T19:57:06.112-04:002013-03-24T19:57:06.112-04:00One word--blech! One word--blech! Pat Popehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00816630368283863195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435679274201464716.post-4639407007265786392013-03-24T19:41:24.941-04:002013-03-24T19:41:24.941-04:00Here is the story which Jodi cites from pages 10-1...Here is the story which Jodi cites from pages 10-11 of Peter Rollins' The Idolatry of God: Breaking Our Addiction to Certainty and Satisfaction:<br /><br />"There was once a young woman who, late one evening, was taking a shower when the doorbell rang. Knowing that her husband was dozing in the upstairs bedroom she quickly wrapped herself in a towel and ran to the door. When she opened it she was greeted by her next-door neighbor Joe.<br /><br />Upon seeing her wearing nothing but a towel Joe pulled four hundred dollars from his back pocket, looked her in the eye, and said, 'I have always been attracted to you. What do you say to the following indecent proposal? If I were to offer you this four hundred dollars right now, would you drop the towel for me?'<br /><br />After a moment's reflection, she reluctantly agreed, dropped the towel, and let him look at her naked body. True to his worrd, Joe gave her the money and left.<br /><br />Picking up the towel she hd the money and then went up to the bedroom. As she entered the room, her husband woke up and asked, "Did the doorbell ring a few minutes ago?"<br /><br />'Oh, yes,' replied the woman. 'It was just Joe from next door.'<br /><br />'Great! Did he give you the four hundred dollars he owes me?'<br /><br />Here we witness a type of "creatio ex nihilo at work, for the neighbor Joe has nothing to offer except the illusion of something (four hundred dollars that is not his), but this illusion generates the desired effect -- the woman exposing her body. Nothing was made to look like something and created a result.<br /><br />So how can this idea of nothing creating something help us understand the dissatisfaction that seems so much a part of human life?"<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10141845008372046292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435679274201464716.post-63388663290832604022013-03-21T10:25:13.528-04:002013-03-21T10:25:13.528-04:00As I don't have a copy of this book, is there ...As I don't have a copy of this book, is there a way to post an excerpt of what you take issue with? I'd like to read it for myself and within context. I'd also be interested in a follow-up to this piece once you've had a chance to have a discussion with Rollins. Pat Popehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00816630368283863195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435679274201464716.post-16388491222748718982013-03-21T09:38:44.456-04:002013-03-21T09:38:44.456-04:00There are certainly other times when Rollins menti...There are certainly other times when Rollins mentions women. See also between pg 29 and pg 40 where Rollins brings up examples of women from the Bridges of Madison County and pg 35-37 and 1 Kings 3:16-28 on pg 38-39. Rollins description of Francesca in the Bridges of Madison County seems sympathetic and despite having moral failings along the way, in the end, Francesca makes the moral decision. The story of the two mothers and the baby before King Solomon contains two women one who seems more worthy than the other, but Rollins can hardly be blamed for this particular story.<br /><br />Throughout The Idolatry of God, Rollins makes a point to try to reach beyond his own culturally limited, male perspective by doing things like making a point of using inclusive language and including female as well as male examples. If his greatest failing in this book is one lousy joke about a man deceiving a woman and being revealed as a cad, then it seems that feminism really is having an impact on society.<br /><br />Rollins is clearly making an effort to reach out to women even if he's failing at being fair to women. Moreover, what Rollins needs from us for him to have a chance to grow is not shunning and shutting down the conversation. Instead, let us offer critique that responds to his work as a whole both calling him to account where he is lacking and crediting him where he succeeds.<br /><br />Perhaps Ms. Jones would find Insurrection more to her liking where Rollins points toward believers who choose "a life of faith that transcends mere dogmatic affirmations and...involves an ongoing transformation by love, in love, toward love" (42). Further, "we learn that God is present in the very act of love itself...we discover the divine in our very act of loving the world. God is loved through the work of love itself (Matthew 18:20, 1 John 4:20). It is in love that we find new meaning, joy, and fulfillment" (118).<br /><br />In Insurrection Rollins also calls us to move beyond the foolishness of Batman, that is, to change systems (Bruce Wayne could invest in his community) and not merely fight against symptoms (beating up criminals). This is would be serious change.<br /><br />Perhaps a good place to end is to point out that Rollins believes that all of us should be called to account for every one of our actions. For him it's not that we don't live up to our values, but that our actions show that we have beliefs and desires that we do not like to admit. Calling Rollins out on where he falls short will take away his "gap between perception and reality" just as Rollins calls each of us to do for ourselves. Teach him by staying in conversation.Josiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04543511338743322807noreply@blogger.com