By: Kally Elliott on October 26, 2023
Next Friday the Presbytery of the Cascades will vote to give one of our church properties to the Future Generations Collaborative, a coalition of non-profits representing many Native American communities. As I understand it, they will turn the church property into a village of sorts for single native American mothers and their children. It will…
By: Kristy Newport on October 25, 2023
Steven Hicks in Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault, takes his readers on a philosophical journey. The following is a conclusion the author makes about postmodernism: In postmodernism we find metaphysical antirealism, epistemological subjectivity, the placing of feeling at the root of all value issues, the consequent relativism of both knowledge and…
By: Becca Hald on October 25, 2023
My husband and I love going to the theater. Every year for our anniversary, we get season tickets. Last year, I was so excited to see Oklahoma! On the roster. I remember watching the movie of this musical growing up. I loved the fun, upbeat songs and cheerful melodies. We arrived at the theater for…
By: Kim Sanford on October 24, 2023
Black-and-white thinkingIn Oxford and immediately afterwards, our cohort had numerous conversations about over-simplified thinking. Simon Walker spoke about the overwhelming complexity of our current era and how our brains desperately grasp at over-simplifications. I found his explanations comforting. It’s not our fault that we reach for simplicity. Our brains crave it. Of course, as responsible…
By: Jonita Fair-Payton on October 24, 2023
I picked up The Great Transformation; The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time and I went straight to the back of the book looking for some insight before I began to read. The first thing that I read was Karl Polanyi (1886- 1964), I said a prayer that this book would be easier for…
By: Travis Vaughn on October 23, 2023
According to Kurtuluş Gemici, the financial crisis of the late 2000s was a “Polanyi moment – the realization that markets, when left to their own devices, are destructive to social relations and fabric.”[1] Karl Polanyi believed there was a “double movement” process related to capitalism — markets expand and then society steps in to regulate…
By: Tim Clark on October 23, 2023
In the 1987 film, The Princess Bride, the character Vizzini, repeatedly uses the word “inconceivable” when things don’t go as planned. Finally, Inigo Montoya responds: “You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means”. A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog I titled “Words Matter”, admitting that…
By: Jennifer Vernam on October 23, 2023
In three weeks, the oldest of my two children turns 18. I thought having a toddler was expensive, but I have learned that having two teenage drivers with one starting college next year is much, much more expensive. As we have been churning through all the decisions that are part of this phase of childhood…
By: Laura Fleetwood on October 22, 2023
It was May 2020, the world was in lock down, and I watched the television in horror as news broke about a police man pressing a knee to George Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 20 seconds. To have an authority figure who is supposed to protect you needlessly destroy you is a horror that…
By: Chad McSwain on October 22, 2023
“Our struggles are not only external, against laws and institution, but internal, against our own malformed habits, feelings, and values. In this sense, we all participate in dignity because we all struggle against domination.”[1] We all struggle. We struggle externally or internally, but we are struggling against something that seeks to dominate us.…
By: Daron George on October 21, 2023
Introduction: In a world of divisions and hierarchies, the quest for dignity and joy becomes a collective endeavor transcending color lines. Vincent Lloyd’s ‘Black Dignity’ is a philosophical exploration of racial justice and human dignity, revealing how affirming black dignity is intrinsic to recognizing inherent human worth. As we navigate nuanced terrains of racial activism…
By: Esther Edwards on October 20, 2023
Throughout my life I have seen those who I admire show great self-responsibility, a hard work ethic, and a motivating drive to succeed. My parents and mentors were prime examples. Furthermore, a good work ethic is something we look for when we hire staff and it is something we have tried to instill in our…
By: Michael O'Neill on October 20, 2023
Black Dignity by Vincent Lloyd is a powerful and thought-provoking book that addresses the struggle against domination in a world marked by anti-Blackness.[1] As leaders in the Christian community, we find that this work offers valuable insights and lessons for understanding and participating in the ongoing fight for justice, equality, and dignity. Lloyd’s exploration of domination…
By: Becca Hald on October 19, 2023
Two weeks before we got married, my husband and I drove to Sacramento to see his father, David. Andrew’s parents divorced when he was eight and he had not seen his dad in ten years. We went to church with David that weekend. Had we not been going to meet Andrew’s father; I likely would…
By: Jenny Steinbrenner Hale on October 19, 2023
“You may disagree on this point or that, but I invite you into the rough and tumble of ideas, guided by the call of justice.”[1] The Struggle Against Domination Author Vincent Lloyd boldly extends this invitation to readers in the preface of his book Black Dignity: The Struggle Against Domination. What follows is a multilayered…
By: Shonell Dillon on October 19, 2023
Black Dignity dig·ni·ty [ˈdiɡnədē] NOUN: the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect: similiar: stateliness, nobleness, nobility, majesty, regality a sense of pride in oneself; self-respect: similar: self-esteem, self-worth, self-respect, pride, morale The author opens with how poorly several African American heroes were treated. He noted names such as Paul Roberson and…
By: Jenny Dooley on October 19, 2023
In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, a key question that author Max Weber raised was, “How can we live under modern capitalism, which gives priority to the laws of the market over longstanding traditions, ethical values, and personal relationships?”[1] That is a very good question for us to ask ourselves today. In…
By: Caleb Lu on October 19, 2023
“Just take a look at the menu, that’s not authentic, it’s not real Chinese food”. I hear this from my friends (Chinese and oddly non-Chinese), I hear this from family, I hear my own voice echo this sentiment about certain Chinese restaurants. One such restaurant, China Town, is in the town my wife went to…
By: Russell Chun on October 19, 2023
Нерозуміння Вебера та інших трагедій (Ukrainian) – Misunderstanding Weber and other tragedies Part 1: Weber, Capitalism, and me. (Background) Part 2: MIS – Understanding Weber. Part 3: The Clarity of Clark…Looking at Ukraine Slovakia (1995). Once upon a time, a Canadian Navigator, surprised me when she said that I operated from a position of “power.” …
By: Jean de Dieu Ndahiriwe on October 19, 2023
Introduction: Lloyd’s excellent writing on Dignity brought new insights into the Struggle for human rights. I loved his video[1] on what he called the three conceptions of Dignity. I will share the three conceptions and conclude with the kind of Dignity that is needed for a stable, lasting, peaceful world. We live in an imperfect…
