love this. also I listened to this while driving and found it especially amusing that the AI narrator decided to pronounce "st Catherine" as *street Catherine"
I can feel Kierkegaard's ghost looming over this post softly asking why he wasn't mentioned lol. Great article though! I've been thinking about tears a bit this week and mourning more generally; I suspect a lot of our own psychological problems are rooted in an inability to fully mourn the things we have lost or missed out on.
(A friend of mine has been reading Alice Miller and sending me quotes.)
The actual reason I've been googling about her though is because one of the excerpts my friend sent me, from "The Drama of the Gifted Child", is a very challenging idea of hers where she says the following: “As adults we don’t need unconditional love, not even from our therapists. This is a childhood need, one that can never be fulfilled later in life, and we are playing with illusions if we have never mourned this lost opportunity. […] If a therapist promises unconditional love, we must protect ourselves from him, from his hypocrisy and lack of awareness.”
Of course as a Christian the idea that we don't need unconditional love is antithetical to the way I view the world; I've been trying to see if anyone has written up a response to this notion of hers from a Christian framework but haven't been able to find any so far.
The quote from Fr. Jacques Philippe really hit me. I use to beat myself up so much because of my sins. I thought, "You've been a Christian for X many years, you should be beyond this, you are much better than this, etc." This reasoning is a symptom of self-trust rather than trust in God's mercy and love.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. 1 Cor 15:10a
Great Austin! Thankful to you for writing this. I greatly benefitted.
I noticed you spoke of “young restless and reformed” being the precursors to “young, rooted and apostolic”. I find that hilarious as that describes me but I’ve not heard someone point that out. Did you come up with that yourself or is there a whole conversation about this going on that I’ve not heard or read about?
I made up the “young, rooted, and apostolic” but others before me have made a connection between the surge of young people into the reformed space in the early 2000s and now the surge of young people into the apostolic churches.
Though I guess “rooted” describes often what we long for or claim to be but really I along with many in my camp that I have spoken with can feel like the least rooted. Like we don’t have a home.
Your final footnote (to the theology police) is so profoundly that of Eastern Orthodoxy that I continue to wonder: what's kept you from going in that direction?
Good question! And yes, that footnote is very much in line with EO theology. The biggest hurdle for me with EO is exclusivism. Put simply, I just can’t imagine being able to say the anathemas that are often cited on triumph of Orthodoxy Sunday. And that, I think, is indicative of some broader differences I have with EO in terms of theological method and how I think about God’s work in the world. But, mainly, it comes down to exclusivism.
If by exclusivism you mean that God's mercy and grace don't exist outside the Orthodox Church, I don't think that the Church has ever held to that. It does unapologetically hold that it is and has been the guardian of the Apostolic deposit; that grace outside of it finds its origin there; that while it cannot say where grace is not, it can reliably say where it is. Perhaps it is the affirmation of Cyprian of Alexandria that is a bridge too far for you: "You cannot have God as your father without the Church as your Mother."
love this. also I listened to this while driving and found it especially amusing that the AI narrator decided to pronounce "st Catherine" as *street Catherine"
hahaha that's good inspiration for me to record readings of these to avoid things like that!
Austin… this is potent stuff. What clear and needed distinction.
I’m glad you think so! It’s been fruitful for me to reflect on the differences here.
Wonderful, important article
Thanks, Tommy!
I can feel Kierkegaard's ghost looming over this post softly asking why he wasn't mentioned lol. Great article though! I've been thinking about tears a bit this week and mourning more generally; I suspect a lot of our own psychological problems are rooted in an inability to fully mourn the things we have lost or missed out on.
(A friend of mine has been reading Alice Miller and sending me quotes.)
Kierkegaard definitely would’ve been fitting here. I haven’t read any Alice Miller, but that sounds like a promising thesis!
Came across this article while doing some googling on Alice Miller that elucidates the connection between her thought and mourning: https://thebibleisinmyblood.wordpress.com/tag/alice-miller/
The actual reason I've been googling about her though is because one of the excerpts my friend sent me, from "The Drama of the Gifted Child", is a very challenging idea of hers where she says the following: “As adults we don’t need unconditional love, not even from our therapists. This is a childhood need, one that can never be fulfilled later in life, and we are playing with illusions if we have never mourned this lost opportunity. […] If a therapist promises unconditional love, we must protect ourselves from him, from his hypocrisy and lack of awareness.”
Of course as a Christian the idea that we don't need unconditional love is antithetical to the way I view the world; I've been trying to see if anyone has written up a response to this notion of hers from a Christian framework but haven't been able to find any so far.
The quote from Fr. Jacques Philippe really hit me. I use to beat myself up so much because of my sins. I thought, "You've been a Christian for X many years, you should be beyond this, you are much better than this, etc." This reasoning is a symptom of self-trust rather than trust in God's mercy and love.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. 1 Cor 15:10a
Great Austin! Thankful to you for writing this. I greatly benefitted.
I noticed you spoke of “young restless and reformed” being the precursors to “young, rooted and apostolic”. I find that hilarious as that describes me but I’ve not heard someone point that out. Did you come up with that yourself or is there a whole conversation about this going on that I’ve not heard or read about?
I made up the “young, rooted, and apostolic” but others before me have made a connection between the surge of young people into the reformed space in the early 2000s and now the surge of young people into the apostolic churches.
I think it was a really apt way to put it. Good job there. You better trademark that ;)
Though I guess “rooted” describes often what we long for or claim to be but really I along with many in my camp that I have spoken with can feel like the least rooted. Like we don’t have a home.
Your final footnote (to the theology police) is so profoundly that of Eastern Orthodoxy that I continue to wonder: what's kept you from going in that direction?
Good question! And yes, that footnote is very much in line with EO theology. The biggest hurdle for me with EO is exclusivism. Put simply, I just can’t imagine being able to say the anathemas that are often cited on triumph of Orthodoxy Sunday. And that, I think, is indicative of some broader differences I have with EO in terms of theological method and how I think about God’s work in the world. But, mainly, it comes down to exclusivism.
If by exclusivism you mean that God's mercy and grace don't exist outside the Orthodox Church, I don't think that the Church has ever held to that. It does unapologetically hold that it is and has been the guardian of the Apostolic deposit; that grace outside of it finds its origin there; that while it cannot say where grace is not, it can reliably say where it is. Perhaps it is the affirmation of Cyprian of Alexandria that is a bridge too far for you: "You cannot have God as your father without the Church as your Mother."