General – Page 303 – Feminism and Religion

Arrogant or Confident? by Deanne Quarrie

For a woman to know of her own sacredness, to know how powerful she is, to know that she can achieve her wildest dreams brings the greatest joy imaginable.

I grew up as an “Army Brat.” The biggest impact that had on my life was of having to change schools often. As an introvert I don’t integrate easily into new surroundings or with new people. It was not horribly difficult when I attended schools in the military dependent school system but when it was time for me to enter high school, my parents decided that my brother and I needed to be exposed to “normal” life. What that meant was we were suddenly thrown into small community schools where students seldom experienced the welcoming of strangers.

Teenagers are cruel – well, not just teenagers – children are cruel. For the most part they are not “other” concerned. Their focus is on “self” and while a new student in class might be a curiosity to them, in actuality a new student, if smart or attractive, is instantly a threat. They are perceived of as competition. I know this because it happened over and over to me as the new kid in town in three out of four of my high school years. Continue reading “Arrogant or Confident? by Deanne Quarrie”

Blessings for the New Year on Feminism and Religion by Marie Cartier

I remember being in Korea for the 2009 International Women’s World Congress with Hye Sook Hwang and Inhui Lee and many (many) others and realizing then in ways I had not before, how crucial feminist scholarly friendships are to not just my work –but my sanity. The way we see things and the way we talk about things makes sense in a way that many times the rest of the world does not make sense. I re-member, to use Mary Daly’s phrasing, Hye Sook’s Magu scholarship that awakened in me and many others the Goddess magic of Korea. I re-member Inhui’s work with the female shamans of Korea and their rituals to honor and memorialize with honor the “comfort” women—Korean women used as sexual slaves by the Japanese during World War II. I went to that conference on the urging of Hye Sook and came home from that conference with new lifelong friends—among them Inhui. At that time none of us were doctors—now we all are. Continue reading “Blessings for the New Year on Feminism and Religion by Marie Cartier”

Mystery by Janine Canan

Janine Canan

You are the living Goddess
and I bow to You.
All the crickets chant OM
and the moon glows.

Time lies down
in the corpse pose.
And the night births
hundreds of thousands of galaxies. Continue reading “Mystery by Janine Canan”

The Kitten Who Came For The Holidays by Carol P. Christ

This holiday season I have something warm and fuzzy to be thankful for—Goldilocks, the kitten who came for the holidays.

As I was preparing for Thanksgiving, I opened my front door to the sound of really loud really pitiful crying. A tiny grey kitten with a large golden spot on nape of her neck was howling in the middle of the street just a few feet from my door. Living as I do in a town where there are many homeless cats and kittens, I do not usually respond to such cries. My dogs maintain “cat patrol” in my back garden and quickly chase strays away.

However, the cries of this little kitten were so insistent that I picked her up. She was smaller than my hand. My neighbor who was sweeping his porch offered to take her in. A few hours later he returned her. She was still mewing loudly, and, he said, she had not stopped crying all day long. I found a syringe and fed her some milk. Soon the crying stopped and she began purring in my lap. Continue reading “The Kitten Who Came For The Holidays by Carol P. Christ”

Random Questions? by Kelly Brown Douglas

The notion of the bad body allows for bad things to be done to any body and anything human or non-human that has become body identified.

Where did it all begin? How has it happened that we have nurtured such an ethos of disrespect for the earth and all that is therein? How has it happened that we have fostered an ethic of indifference for that which is different? How has it happened that we have cultivated an environment hostile to the well-being of our very selves? Where did this cycle of violence against the sacredness of all that is begin?

These are the questions that have troubled my mind and soul over these last few days as we have once again been reminded of the unimaginable and painful price we pay for not asking the hard questions of ourselves and trying to discover the seeds of our inhumanity. As I have tried to answer these questions one word has continually come to the forefront of my mind: “wholeness.” As a womanist, informed by Alice Walker’s definition of a womanist as one who strives for wholeness, I have increasingly recognized that perhaps it all begins with a betrayal of the wholeness of creation itself. Most of us are influenced by a Western view of the world that sees things in either/or paradigms. The way in which we engage the world and ourselves is shaped by a dualistic consciousness. Thus, distinctiveness becomes “other,” paradoxes become opposition. Such a dualistic worldview undermines the unity of all being. It defies the complex harmony of the universe. And, it most especially disrupts our appreciation for our own bodies and the bodies of others. Disdain and cavalier regard for the body and the earth becomes virtually inevitable. Continue reading “Random Questions? by Kelly Brown Douglas”

Imix: Primal Mother and Dawn of a New Age by Michele Stopera Freyhauf

Michele Freyhauf If you are reading this, then we survived another apocalypse. People are fixated on end-times; especially predictions, prophecies, etc. Specials on Nostradamus, the Book of Revelation, TV Evangelists looking for end signs plague television shows, movies, and writings. Countdown clocks and reminders to repent are all around us.

Original image found at http://www.dwayneedwardrourke.com/Pages/TIMEWAVE0728/page21/page21.html

What is unnerving is how we obsess about the end of the world instead of living in the world we have right now.

I would like to share a Mayan poem that I came across. It is called “Imix”- a Mayan Oracle Interpretation translated by Ariel Spilsbury and Michael Bruner and I am drawn to it due to the imagery and symbolism:

I Am Imix, Primal Mother.

Still, dark womb of the patterned potential of becoming, sacred, interstellar genesis, I Am.

Nourishing, fertile abyss, I birth you.

Benevolent, my mighty cauldron of primal waters, enveloping the living seed. Eternal is my embrace. Continue reading “Imix: Primal Mother and Dawn of a New Age by Michele Stopera Freyhauf”

Solstice Comes But Once A Year, Now It’s Here! by Carol P. Christ

Actually it comes twice, once in midsummer, the longest day of the year, and once in midwinter, the longest night. Winter Solstice is also known as the first day of winter.

For those of us attuned to the cycles of Mother Earth, Winter Solstice is a time to celebrate the dark and the transformations that come in the dark. Many of the customs associated with Christmas and Hannukah, including candles, Yule logs, and trees decorated with lights were originally associated with Winter Solstice. The extra pounds put on during winter feasting were insulation against the cold winter nights.

Those who fear that many of the customs of the Christmas season might be pagan are right. As we learn again to honor our place within the cycles of birth, death, and regeneration, we can return these customs to their roots in the circle of life.

Continue reading “Solstice Comes But Once A Year, Now It’s Here! by Carol P. Christ”

SPECIAL AAR SERIES Part I: Re-envisioning the Academy as ‘Open Source’ Community by Kate Ott with introduction and response by Mary Hunt

Introduction:

This is one of four papers presented in Chicago at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, November 17, 2012, in a session entitled “Feminism, Religion and Social Media: Expanding Borders in the Twenty-First Century,” organized by Gina Messina-Dysert and chaired by Rosemary Radford Ruether with Mary E. Hunt as the respondent. What follows is the general response followed by, after each of the contributions, Hunt’s appreciative analysis. Two of the papers will be posted here on Feminism and Religion and two will be posted on the Feminism in Religion Forum.

General Remarks by Mary Hunt:

The stated purpose of the panel is to discuss “how digital projects are remapping the feminist theological terrain and creating opportunities for a wide range of voices to participate in ongoing and new conversations related to feminist issues in religion.” These writers have done that and more. Continue reading “SPECIAL AAR SERIES Part I: Re-envisioning the Academy as ‘Open Source’ Community by Kate Ott with introduction and response by Mary Hunt”

Cancel Christmas? By Elise M. Edwards

Despite the time and energy it takes to participate in the religious and social rituals associated with Christmas, the result is that I am spiritually grounded, emotionally provoked, mentally rested, and physically fed. Advent, Christmas, New Year’s, and the last week of the year are times when I reconnect to what is important to me, and the holiday rituals help me do this.

The “holiday season” is upon us, and I’m still busy and exhausted, as I’m sure many of you are. Although my life isn’t as stressful as it was in October, I am still juggling multiple commitments while trying to make significant progress on my dissertation. This past weekend, I spent some time with other dissertation writers in the same predicament, and quite a few of them were thinking of cancelling Christmas in their households in response.

My immediate reaction to canceling Christmas (or another alternative they mentioned, micro-Christmas) was to inwardly scream “THAT’S RIDICULOUS!!!!” To be honest, I’m not sure my facial expression didn’t make my reaction plain. But since I value my relationships with these people and I genuinely respect their insights, I decided to keep my reaction to myself and to give the matter more thought. I realized later on that all of the “cancel Christmas” advocates were women. So I began to consider what the implications of cancelling Christmas would be for women. Continue reading “Cancel Christmas? By Elise M. Edwards”

We’ll Have a Green Christmas… Together! by Tallessyn Grenfell-Lee

Many of us journey through Advent in a culture whose businesses frantically try to capitalize on the hope, peace, joy, and love promised by the season. Although many agree that consumerism contradicts the fundamental teachings of Jesus, I am not here to disparage every last Christmas tradition until we’ve pared our so-called celebrations down to nothing. Yet many of us wish our festivities could better reflect the heart of Jesus’ teachings and ministry. It’s harder to feel quite so celebratory once we understand the ways in which our choices affect our kindred – both human and otherkind, near and far.

Maybe the point is not to have some kind of pure, ideal Christmas. If we can acknowledge the imperfect world we live in yet at the same time lift up our communal journey toward greater healing and justice, we will feel the laughter and songs of the whole Earth intertwine with our own joys at Christmastime. When gifts to our loved ones also help others around the world, the warmth we feel at their own excitement grows deeper and more powerful when we can also sense the joy of our unknown kindred somewhere else. Our appreciation of festive decorations feels more authentic when we know our choices are helping reduce the impacts of climate change, or providing habitats for God’s little sparrows. Our traditions can bring us closer to one another, and help us feel the presence of our family – all of them – throughout the journey toward Christmas. Continue reading “We’ll Have a Green Christmas… Together! by Tallessyn Grenfell-Lee”