In addition to
Freud’s atheism, there are many others, including Nietzsche, Barthes, and
Foucault, who argue that God is a contradiction to life, for the death of the
Author, and that the strategic alignments of power interests are out to control
knowledge, relationships, and truth. While these thinkers have some salient
insights, their wayward conclusions have contributed to the cultural construction
and propagation of a cynical, pessimistic, and decentered self. Yet, in the
face of such views, the counter-cultural and always avant-garde perspective of
Christian promise and hope defies this manufactured status quo. Destroying
idols and listening to symbols is one of the keys that unlock living
spirituality and possibilities for engaging God. When this takes place we are
no longer trapped within a network of self – other power plays that exploit us,
but we are embraced by a Divine love without measure, where freedom leads to
redemption and transformation. Being loved in this manner supplies us with a re-centered
self and an identity that goes far beyond any of our own making.
Monday, August 28, 2017
Reflection for the Week - August 28
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2 comments:
I have seen in America just what Freud and others have seen: that the "church" has allied itself with the principalities and powers to protect its material interests and its desire for control. The "church" has morphed into a self-justifying protector of the wealthy and the continued subjugation of the poor. Look at the religious justification for the destruction of the poor by balancing the budget by cutting the programs that protect them, even if only to a limited degree.
Carter, Thanks. I certainly would not disagree with you or Freud and others that you say have seen what you have. They clearly had some pertinent insights into religion and the church and its grotesque failures, but their thought also had a downside.
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