Sunday, August 26, 2007

AAAAAAAAH!

Oh, I love being done with something. I love scratching an item off my to-do list. I love, love, love it.

So if there are those curious about my p.o.v. on the veil thing, feel free to inquire (or just wait and read the article in Leaven). I have now read more articles on those verses than any person ever should, and my own more or less idiosyncratic interpretation to throw into the mix. I don't think it's the last word on the subject or anything, and I have no clue whether Paul would recognize it as his intent. But I wasn't trying to mindread the dead guy, so that doesn't bug me too much.

So on to The Next Thing. Just one more thing to go until The Big Thing. Yup, The Dissertation. Wow, the day rapidly approaches when I shall find myself at the computer, coffee at hand, Word and Endnote open, and a blank screen will confront me with the state of my unreadiness to begin.

I'm hoping someday soon that we will have some pics of our new abode, especially Clare's room with the super-cool blue and yellow flags courtesy of Priscilla, to post as well as some views of the neighborhood and the Close (where Clare and I will be hanging out a lot--it is lovely!)

But for now, my first fun city anecdote: yesterday I went to the local grocery, Gristedes, to get the supplies for making Ben and Jerry's Mint Chocolate Cookie ice cream so that we could celebrate Brent's birthday properly. As I was walking back home, there was a guy outside a shop handing out free condoms. "Condoms?" he asked me. No thank you, I said--very nonchalantly given the fact that I was actually quite startled--and smiled at him because, you know, I am despite myself a Southern woman and we smile at everyone. He smiled back and gave me a quick up-and-down glance that left me thinking, now why did I think he was gay...just because this is Chelsea...

7 comments:

priscilla said...

you said my name ... you said my name ... la la la la la

Carolyn said...

I'm looking forward to your article. Will you be posting it here? Those verses continue to frustrate (challenge?) me, so I am very interested in your take on them.

JTB said...

Hi Carolyn--no, I won't be posting it here but if you're really interested I could send you the draft if you promise never to quote me on it. :)

R-Liz said...

JTB-- I'd also be curious to read the article. Actually, I'd love to know more about how you approach lots of this kind of stuff in the epistles. What's your general POV/filter you send all this stuff through? You mentioned in your comments about veils, "...if we can't recognize the exclusion of a part of humanity from the imago Dei as wrong...then I don't know what theology or Christianity is really about." I thought that was right on. I'd love to hear more about all this in general.

Thanks,
Ruthie

JTB said...

Hmmm...I guess the best way to say it would be just that I read critically. What we face as Christians is the necessity of discernment: we have to seek the right way to understand our traditions and our scripture. When we find something in scripture that does not cohere with basic, core Christian beliefs (such as "all human beings are made in the image of God") then we face a particularly acute problem. I grew up hearing that such problems don't exist, or if they do, then it's a problem with my assumptions and I need to conform my ideas to whatever scripture says--even if it's saying something apparently unreasonable. I can no longer operate this way. It's not simply that I can no longer accept that being a good Christian means turning off my brain (something which good Christian women should probably never be born with in the first place, right? just makes for a lot o' trouble) but that I see things in scripture that go beyond merely "unreasonable" or "incomprehensible" and are better characterized as unethical or wrong--again, let me emphasize, based on core Christian beliefs (not simply "how I like things" as some would characterize). Of course, whether or not this is a "faithful" way to read the Bible depends on my discernment of what core Christian beliefs should serve as the critical criteria...and of course, this is a matter of both personal and communal faithfulness.

I swear, even though this is totally my best shot at (extemporaneously) describing how I now read and interpret what I consider to be the best theological resource we've got, I have little fluttery jitters in my tummy because I hear the echoes of all those Bible classes of years before...who am I to cut and paste, who am I to judge God's words, this is the slippery slope, if it's not all true (in the same way) then none of it's true (in any way). No matter how strongly, intellectually, I disagree with all of this, I have this visceral emotional reaction that says, Oh God I'm going to hell for this.

But the truth is, we all read this way, and the principle that we should NOT think and NOT judge is itself the critical principle--the chosen core Christian belief against which the truth of scripture is being measured.

JTB said...

check this out as well (h/t to Joe at Brooklyn and Beyond)

TKP said...

I love you so much! I can't wait to read the article. You can totally do the Next Big Thing. With the help of lots of coffee.

What, you didn't take the condoms? Come on!