what's good fam?
i've been meaning to drop my two cents on this issue for a lil minute.
i wonder why these church cats are going all the way over to Africa to get people merked? why do evangelicals love smashing the Mother Land? why haven't we heard any of the major cats speaking up and checking their brothers? no time i guess when you still pumping the vision like crack ...
click the link below, read the article, and if you want, hit us up with your thoughts ... church people, no sermons please.
hold ya head my people.
M
Anti-gay bigots plunge Africa into new era of hate crimes | World news | The Observer
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Showing posts with label church leaders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church leaders. Show all posts
Jan 7, 2010
Oct 30, 2009
all day
The pen is mightier than the sword they say/so I solemnly swear to take aim all day/you say my pops is like a father but you ain't no fucking brother/pack my clips to the tip to fill your hips all day/taking my kindness for weakness/wanna slap you but you sweetness so I'll be sitting in the percent wit the pigs all day/while my aura has you running I'm from the lower all day/got niggaz who smack wit toolies cuff chains and puff wit mollies my nigga I'll say again we from the lower all day/don't force my hand cousin I'm a resourceful nigga/if my shooter don't wanna shoot I'll gladly squeeze that grip all day/ask my mom to pray for him and told God to talk to 'em/shit'll get dark to 'em put a spark through em/ya head is dripping got blood up on ya Pippin's/still puffing on that pipe you fucking joke/all day/peace to Champ in that Champion hoodie/he'll vouch when I almost jigged that cat wit the screwy/church said I was screwy/spirit drifting like buoys/this is spit in ya face/muthafucka/hok-tuey
Guess who?
Niggaz mad my swagy bubbled to redickle/get off my pickle you've been left behind like the rapture/ or like you failed 5th grade math pick your chin up & get outta my path/I might resort to my bullying ways/hit you wit a flying fuck tucked as I turn buckle tussle like my name was bob backland/suplex your anatomy fucking tool/join the academy/and maybe you'll be worthy of some Shepparding action/niggaz in my faction got history of gun clapping, get ya jaws to flapping you'll be yapping to the captain/wake up missing in action/Sunday they'll be asking what happen cuz his passing got me feeling that this shit could really happen/not this time but next time I'll probably name names/M.I. shitting on pussy collars from on top of the game/who shot ya?
Apr 14, 2008
caste, creaming, and others - pt.2
Due to the fragility of the American cultural psyche it seems we have limited ability when confronted with issues of human suffering. Much of this could be connected to the church and its refusal to acknowledge its own history of oppressive behavior.
When the American church endeavors to find her voice pertaining to oppression of any kind she is confronted with the truths surrounding her conspicuous silence on issues concerning the disenfranchised in the past. This usually forces the church into a position where she is fending off questions, which attack the epicenter of her motives and intentions. All of this is indeed difficult but certainly not an excuse, which exempts her from entering in.
For example, how can the church speak out against the suicide bombings in Israel while refusing to speak against the daily terror perpetrated upon the Palestinians by the Israeli armed forces? How can we highlight the suffering in Serbia while neglecting to ever mention The Sudan, or Rwanda? How do we explain our years of silence concerning apartheid in South Africa? This is without mentioning the years of suffering in Latin America, Haiti, and Asia.
Understanding and listing our process of inoculation is one of our favorite past times. The question we have grown extremely adapted at dodging is “Why can’t we consider pain?” This problem is not relegated to a certain sector of our Christian society, meaning this is not simply a “White” problem. The African American and Latino church in the opinion of some, are actually at the forefront of silence, choosing rather to preach the godly pursuit of the American dream. They try desperately, as a diversionary tactic, to convince us that poverty is the indicator of sin in the lives of the oppressed.
Some light might be shed on “the why” as we consider our cultural inability to embrace personal pain without attempting to invert it for the purpose of an Evangelistic commodity. An extremely lucent example would be the reaction of the American Evangelical Church in the after effects of September 11. The now retired Rev. Dr. James Forbes of Riverside Church called the reactions from the Christian community towards people of Arab decent ”Pornographic Patriotism”. Others have referred to it as “Evangelical Nationalism”.
Because the American Evangelical community is in possession of an Imperial theological viewpoint, there was small belief that an attack of that magnitude could ever be perpetrated on American soil. Our belief emanated from our views that we are God’s chosen people called to evangelize the world, within God’s chosen country, which we believed to be endowed with a certain amount of Heavenly protection.
This viewpoint disallowed the opportunity to genuinely reflect on the magnitude of human suffering, which was taking place for those who lost family members, friends, colleagues, and spouses. We also were not able to sympathize with those undocumented workers who were now without the low paying jobs they attempted to support their families with.
What we were extremely adept at doing was assigning blame on a people group and their countries, moving towards them as an inspired angry mob. America went forward, believing that God had called us to “crusade” towards justice and the annihilation of those whom served “other gods”.
Using religious rhetoric as a cover for our brazen pain and outrageous racism, we sang obstinately for God to bless America at every church gathering. Knowing that are hearts were actually asking for God to curse Islamic Nations while in the process of blessing “our great and godly nation”.
Our Evangelical Nationalism was so prevalent that some actually preached from our pulpits that Bin Laden was beyond the reconciling grace of the Holy Spirit. All of our prayers concerning the innocent people in Afghanistan seemed to come across a forced and hollow while we remained eerily silent as countless numbers of Islamic peoples were imprisoned and tortured by our God-fearing government officials. We simply could not deal with our own immense pain so we defaulted to religiously finding fault with our Islamic brothers of Arabic decent.
“God whispers in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences but shouts in our pains … it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world”
C. S. Lewis – The Problem of Pain
When the American church endeavors to find her voice pertaining to oppression of any kind she is confronted with the truths surrounding her conspicuous silence on issues concerning the disenfranchised in the past. This usually forces the church into a position where she is fending off questions, which attack the epicenter of her motives and intentions. All of this is indeed difficult but certainly not an excuse, which exempts her from entering in.
For example, how can the church speak out against the suicide bombings in Israel while refusing to speak against the daily terror perpetrated upon the Palestinians by the Israeli armed forces? How can we highlight the suffering in Serbia while neglecting to ever mention The Sudan, or Rwanda? How do we explain our years of silence concerning apartheid in South Africa? This is without mentioning the years of suffering in Latin America, Haiti, and Asia.
Understanding and listing our process of inoculation is one of our favorite past times. The question we have grown extremely adapted at dodging is “Why can’t we consider pain?” This problem is not relegated to a certain sector of our Christian society, meaning this is not simply a “White” problem. The African American and Latino church in the opinion of some, are actually at the forefront of silence, choosing rather to preach the godly pursuit of the American dream. They try desperately, as a diversionary tactic, to convince us that poverty is the indicator of sin in the lives of the oppressed.
Some light might be shed on “the why” as we consider our cultural inability to embrace personal pain without attempting to invert it for the purpose of an Evangelistic commodity. An extremely lucent example would be the reaction of the American Evangelical Church in the after effects of September 11. The now retired Rev. Dr. James Forbes of Riverside Church called the reactions from the Christian community towards people of Arab decent ”Pornographic Patriotism”. Others have referred to it as “Evangelical Nationalism”.
Because the American Evangelical community is in possession of an Imperial theological viewpoint, there was small belief that an attack of that magnitude could ever be perpetrated on American soil. Our belief emanated from our views that we are God’s chosen people called to evangelize the world, within God’s chosen country, which we believed to be endowed with a certain amount of Heavenly protection.
This viewpoint disallowed the opportunity to genuinely reflect on the magnitude of human suffering, which was taking place for those who lost family members, friends, colleagues, and spouses. We also were not able to sympathize with those undocumented workers who were now without the low paying jobs they attempted to support their families with.
What we were extremely adept at doing was assigning blame on a people group and their countries, moving towards them as an inspired angry mob. America went forward, believing that God had called us to “crusade” towards justice and the annihilation of those whom served “other gods”.
Using religious rhetoric as a cover for our brazen pain and outrageous racism, we sang obstinately for God to bless America at every church gathering. Knowing that are hearts were actually asking for God to curse Islamic Nations while in the process of blessing “our great and godly nation”.
Our Evangelical Nationalism was so prevalent that some actually preached from our pulpits that Bin Laden was beyond the reconciling grace of the Holy Spirit. All of our prayers concerning the innocent people in Afghanistan seemed to come across a forced and hollow while we remained eerily silent as countless numbers of Islamic peoples were imprisoned and tortured by our God-fearing government officials. We simply could not deal with our own immense pain so we defaulted to religiously finding fault with our Islamic brothers of Arabic decent.
“God whispers in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences but shouts in our pains … it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world”
C. S. Lewis – The Problem of Pain
Mar 25, 2008
a voice from the under
The subject of finances and spiritual wellness are prevailing conversations within the African American and Latino Church community simply because most of the congregants are economically challenged in some way. Narrowing our ways of seeing God and reducing His capacity to mostly fiduciary, we desperately need to believe in a God that will supply our every financial need because our financial needs are so overwhelming.
Those within the same faith community who do not suffer from the ravages of under employment and under education seem to attribute their success to God’s favor and blessing over their lives. While it is extremely difficult to argue this thought process, it is juxtaposed to the reality of those without the same benefits but seemingly serving the same God. Therefore to equate God’s blessing with financial wellness is affirming to some and debilitating to others, if for no other reason but that it presents a hazardous question while offering no solid answers.
It is these issues as they relate to financial wellness, which present one of the largest inhibitors to our ability to hear or see the Gospel message with clarity and power. Neither position - those asking for money or those who are asked to provide it - are able to be in agreement, while most of those on the margins of life continue to suffer.
Ironically enough, as we continued to discuss the church’s inability to listen to the voices of the marginalized some within the discussion felt as if they were being pushed off to the margins. It became clear to me that all one needs in order to qualify as a marginalized individual is to simply feel that way. This became the case, as some felt extremely uncomfortable with the direction of the dialogue, seeing it more as an attempt to tear down and indict the Church instead of an objective conversation concerning the perceived blind spots of the Church.
In response to this feeling, those of the marginalized viewpoint began to become vigilant protectors of all things church, conceding nothing - even against certain personal convictions. As this took place the ability to listen to each other began to be replaced with the desire to convert one another, and true to our human blueprint we eventually began retreating from those believed to be in the camp of the opposite point of view.
It was amazing to me as I observed our inability to sit and honor the pain we were witnessing within each other. We were a group that gathered together on some level of commonality, we all at least believed in a theology from below but as we attempted the ministry of coming together our ability to listen to one another began to disintegrate under the weight of our own world-views.
When reflecting on what I saw as I watched Tim during the week I noticed that I had little to no ability to sit in the presence of his pain, no ability to enter into his pain because his pain opened way too many of my own issues. It knocked up against too many of my own “do not enter” areas, so I left him … standing there … alone. Even though he asked me to stand there with him. This is in no way an over dramatic account of the information but more an observation on how I couldn’t do what I feel I am in some ways really called to do.
Look at and understand the pain of others.
I seem to think that I’m able to observe and on some levels understand the utter dysfunctional nature of the Cross - the exceedingly grotesque nature of it all - but as I watched Tim I realized I couldn’t even listen to him. Forget about mustering enough courage to look at him and I get the feeling that most others couldn’t either … not without passing judgment in some manner. When he reached out, I turned my back, and if I could do that with him (a man I have an intense admiration for), I know that I’ve done it with those I work with and believe that I work for.
Those within the same faith community who do not suffer from the ravages of under employment and under education seem to attribute their success to God’s favor and blessing over their lives. While it is extremely difficult to argue this thought process, it is juxtaposed to the reality of those without the same benefits but seemingly serving the same God. Therefore to equate God’s blessing with financial wellness is affirming to some and debilitating to others, if for no other reason but that it presents a hazardous question while offering no solid answers.
It is these issues as they relate to financial wellness, which present one of the largest inhibitors to our ability to hear or see the Gospel message with clarity and power. Neither position - those asking for money or those who are asked to provide it - are able to be in agreement, while most of those on the margins of life continue to suffer.
Ironically enough, as we continued to discuss the church’s inability to listen to the voices of the marginalized some within the discussion felt as if they were being pushed off to the margins. It became clear to me that all one needs in order to qualify as a marginalized individual is to simply feel that way. This became the case, as some felt extremely uncomfortable with the direction of the dialogue, seeing it more as an attempt to tear down and indict the Church instead of an objective conversation concerning the perceived blind spots of the Church.
In response to this feeling, those of the marginalized viewpoint began to become vigilant protectors of all things church, conceding nothing - even against certain personal convictions. As this took place the ability to listen to each other began to be replaced with the desire to convert one another, and true to our human blueprint we eventually began retreating from those believed to be in the camp of the opposite point of view.
It was amazing to me as I observed our inability to sit and honor the pain we were witnessing within each other. We were a group that gathered together on some level of commonality, we all at least believed in a theology from below but as we attempted the ministry of coming together our ability to listen to one another began to disintegrate under the weight of our own world-views.
When reflecting on what I saw as I watched Tim during the week I noticed that I had little to no ability to sit in the presence of his pain, no ability to enter into his pain because his pain opened way too many of my own issues. It knocked up against too many of my own “do not enter” areas, so I left him … standing there … alone. Even though he asked me to stand there with him. This is in no way an over dramatic account of the information but more an observation on how I couldn’t do what I feel I am in some ways really called to do.
Look at and understand the pain of others.
I seem to think that I’m able to observe and on some levels understand the utter dysfunctional nature of the Cross - the exceedingly grotesque nature of it all - but as I watched Tim I realized I couldn’t even listen to him. Forget about mustering enough courage to look at him and I get the feeling that most others couldn’t either … not without passing judgment in some manner. When he reached out, I turned my back, and if I could do that with him (a man I have an intense admiration for), I know that I’ve done it with those I work with and believe that I work for.
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