Posted by Rachel on: 11.30.2007 /
“The big choice for us today is the one between hope and cynicism…Wherever change has come, it’s because some people believed in that possibility before it came to be.”
- Jim Wallis, on Speaking of Faith
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Comment by: benjamin ady
1 11/30/07 12:38 PM | Comment Link |Must we choose between? I’m thinking more like a nice balanced mixture–perhaps 65/35 or something =)
Comment by: Rachel
2 11/30/07 3:18 PM | Comment Link |Benjamin, perhaps we could have 65% hope, balanced by 35% realism. I think that realism can be good, but I can’t see much good in cynicism. Another thing Wallis said in the interview is that cynicism often becomes an excuse for inaction. I’ve definitely seen a lot of that in my liberal friends and it came as a real surprise to me.
When I started becoming part of the liberal/progressive tribe, I was pretty excited. I figured that all these people who talked a good game about peace and justice were actually doing things about it and I was ready to join the team. But I quickly learned that many liberals like to talk bitterly about injustice and war and George W Bush and they love to put bumper stickers on their cars, but they don’t actually do much of anything about it. In fact, my old conservative crowd (including the Bush-lovers at my former Baptist mega-church) were doing way more acts of kindness and volunteering in the community than my new liberal buddies.
I think that cynicism has become quite fashionable among progressive types. And I think it’s really just another form of the “beliefism” that Jim always talks about. To be a good liberal all you have to do is believe that poverty and injustice are bad and then you can live a life just as materialistic and insular as everybody else.
Comment by: Benjamin
3 11/30/07 7:22 PM | Comment Link |oh dear. Now I’m feeling guilty. I think I’ll just go engage in some self abuse.
(yikes, that sort of sounds different from what I meant. oh well)
Comment by: Rachel
4 12/1/07 9:17 AM | Comment Link |No, don’t feel guilty! Benjamin, you are so NOT materialistic and insular. That is so the opposite of you!
BTW, we should probably let people in on the inside joke about the self-abuse…One of the speakers at OTM Live was Sadell Bradley and she has authored a book called “Breaking the Cycle of Self-Abuse.” So whenever Benjamin (who is waaaay too tough on himself) would berate himself for something, I would say, “Stop the cycle of self-abuse!” To which Benjamin would always respond, “That is not possible.”
I thought of replying in my most joyful-victorious-Christian-voice, “But with God, aaaaaall things are possible!” But somehow I think that would not have been appreciated. :-)
Comment by: Benjamin Ady
5 12/1/07 2:47 PM | Comment Link |You crack me up. thankyou. for that, and for not actually saying that =)
I mean it would be nice if with god all things were possible. but they’re not, are they?
anyone, christians are always taking that verse (and lots of others) way out of context. Paul was saying it in the context of being rich/being poor, and saying that with god’s help, he can pull off either.