I was thinking yesterday as I was watching the artists work in some of the villages in the Moroccan Atlas Mountains of how an important role they play in every society. It is not just our enjoyment of their crafts, but they are not only the dreamers, the thinkers but the questioners.I'm not an artist . . . but I admire them. Of course the easiest medium for asking the hard questions are the writers of poetry, novels and lyrics. But the painters ask the hard questions visually. They are the heroes of the society. I just heard (tangentially as I was reading the Hobbit between my many trips to the bathroom . . . the artisan's food did me in) on Algazeera about a poet in some country being arrested for what he said. I didn't know where because they didn't run the story again.
The only problems is that the artisans rarely find the answers. Many have died by their own hands in hopelessness. But at least they feel, they observe and they ask and that is so important.
It is too bad that much of Christian thinking has been to replace true-truth, and the search of with questions as your shepherds, to dogma as a substitute for truth, a dogma that is poured on your in a passive way, without searching. When Christians talk about truth, they are usually meaning dogma.
We need to revitalize the questions and the honest search for truth, but with the hope of answers and not ending in hopelessness as many artists have. But I do enjoy being with them, sitting at their feet and letting them disturb my peace . . . in a good way.
3 comments:
http://www.slate.com/articles
/life/faithbased/2012/11/d_michael_quinn_and_mormon_
excommunication_
the_complicated_life_of_a_
mormon.single.html
Sorry, for the long link, but you may find this account interesting, jmj. Fundamentalism of whatever stripe needs to protect itself.
JB, I don't know how you found that article or heard of the story but it was right on target of what I was trying to say.
I've told people (Christians) that I could certainly see myself working overseas with a humanitarian group but no a Christian missionary group ever again because the secular groups are far safer.
They look at me puzzled. But the truth is, if you work with secular people and they try to manipulate your, control information and etc. you can call them on it. They may not listen (narcissists rarely do) but it becomes you against them.
When religious groups (including Evangelicals) try to control information or control you, and you buck the system, suddenly it is much, much bigger than just between two opinions. They always slip on the "doing God's work" veneer and start to demonize you. You know, the God who created the universe is deeply saddened by you (meaning me) because you said hurtful things about our organization.
I would much rather go man against man, opinion against opinion, rather than me against humans who think they are speaking for the creator of the universe. You can't win, ever, in that discussion.
"Nothing's worse than a monster who thinks he's right with God."
-- Captain Mal Reynolds, Free Trader Serenity
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