Guest Report – Barbara Brown Taylor @ DBF
Decatur Metro | September 7, 2009Jean Rowe sends in this report from Barbara Brown Taylor’s talk at the Decatur Book Festival Sunday…
A new bumper sticker: Spiritual but not disconnected; Religious but not root-bound
Barbara Brown Taylor came to the podium in her stocking feet after an introduction that included wearing many hats. Theologian. Author. Teacher. Explorer. Master Craftsman. Down-to-Earth worker. To a packed house, she addressed the idea of being “spiritual but not religious” as stated by those whom she described as “church-hurt” people. Religious conjures the ideas of institution, tradition, creed, doctrine. Spiritual encompasses all the things on the “not” list. The not list makes me think of my nephew at age 4 saying he wanted to go live with the Not Nice family after being told “that’s not nice” enough times. I remember thinking that was an honest response.
Examples of spiritual but not religious: feeling closer to God outdoors. No longer being able to make sense of religious teachings.
The talk led to the idea of religious dualism. Dark. Light. Of God. Not of God. Good. Evil. On dualistic thinking, Brown Taylor says this kind of thing causes all kinds of mischief. Both historically and personally. At the heart of that, I think, is the blanketing phrase “in the name of God.” The Crusades stick in my head a lot about decisions being based on that phrase.
Brown Taylor, although admittedly firmly couched in being religious, does not seem to have the motive of changing our minds but to consider a broader view of what spiritual practice means.
Practices bring us closer together. She encourages us to embrace the spiritual discipline of being in relationship, particularly when the relationship includes risking the friction of disagreement, choosing the labor of it rather than resenting it.
Brown Taylor posed the idea that spirituality has a lot more to do with the flesh than we think. She said our bodies make theologians of us all. It seems to me that everything we do is an opportunity to be in spiritual practice. Whether we feel close to God inside four walls with genuflection, incense and formal prayer or in the woods, the earth crunching under our boots or packing lunches for schoolchildren to take home for the weekend or helping build a house, the point is to be together, making the effort to harmoniously live together, differences included, respected. In Brown Taylor’s words, binding the human to the divine, the sacred to the daily, the spirit to the flesh. I find this hopeful and welcoming, particularly in being reminded that my own spiritual practices are always available. All I have to do is show up.
Latest from Decaturish
Examples of spiritual but not religious: feeling closer to God outdoors. No longer being able to make sense of religious teachings.
Another example… not insisting on controlling the outcomes of everything in one’s life. Realizing that as much as it stinks when hard work doesn’t pay off, maybe you wouldn’t have liked that university or that job or that internship or that paramour, and unseen forces were sparing you weeks to months of mental anguish. ^O^
I like this post very much.
“Spiritual practice” in our daily lives, that’s my religion of choice.
“Church Hurt”? The phrase made me smile. Concepts like “church hurt” and “religious but not root-bound” are fine and dandy for adults but may I suggest to those of you who have children under the age of sixteen, that you bring them to a City of Decatur church or local synagogue and allow them to experience some of the joy and fun that most of you had as a child growing up in traditional religious institutions. Come on, it wasn’t all bad! Not all my experiences at Saint Thomas More were positive but I didn’t pass that baggage onto my son. One of the greatest gifts my wife and I (and our families) have given our son is a church home. And as an adult, I was finally able to understand my own hurt feelings, give and accept forgiveness, and enjoy the benefits of church membership. My experience as a teacher for the past thirty-two years is that students involved in church or synagogue are more positive, better students, and better able to respond to the pressures of modern life. City of Decatur churches are great places for both children and adults. Try one. You might be surprised that joining a local church will enrich your life far more than a weekend festival.
Chris Billingsley
“Fear Not”
If only there was a Unitarian Universalist congregation here in the city of Decatur…
If you think about the creationist agenda–doesn’t it seem odd that “theologian” AND “theory” have the same root?
Spirituality is how one feels inside–when you feel complete. It is a cognitive blanket and, ultimately, a denial of the external–of what perception tells you. In short, it’s bunk–it’s why hippies become hippies after being raised Baptists: they cannot escape the closed-in metaphysical feeling that there is something else out there–when, chances are, there is not.
But then they became yuppies, and then they became slaves to the business model and ruined the world economy. What’s the explanation for that?!
A great excerpt from a book I just finished called “The Happiness Hypothesis. Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom.” by Jonathan Haidt
” The ancient Chinese symbol of yin and yang represents the value of the eternally shifting balance between seemingly opposite principles. Religion and science, for example, are often thought to be opponents, but as I have shown, the insights of ancient religions and modern science are both needed to reach a full understanding of human nature and conditions of human satisfaction. The ancients may have known little about biology, chemistry, and physics, but many were good psychologists. Psychology and religion can benefit by taking each other seriously, or at least by agreeing to learn from each other while overlooking the areas of irreconcilable difference.
The Eastern and Western approaches to life are also said to be opposed: the East stresses acceptance and collectivism; the West encourages striving and individualism. But as we’ve seen, both perspectives are valuable. Happiness requires changing yourself and changing your world. It requires pursuing your own goals and fitting in with others. Different people at different times in their lives will benefit from drawing more heavily on one approach or the other.
And finally, liberals (progressives) and conservatives are opponents in the most literal sense, each using the myth of pure evil to demonize the other side and unite thier own. But the most important lesson I have learned in my twenty years of research on morality is that nearly all people are morally motivated. Selfishness is a powerful force, particularly in the decision of individuals, but whenever groups of people come together to make a sustained effort to change the world, you can bet they are pursuing a vision of virtue, justice, or sacredness. Material self interest does little to explain the passions of partisans on issues such as abortion, the enviornment, or the role of religion in public life. (Self interest certainly cannot explain terrorism, but the selflessness made possible by group selection can.)
An important dictum of cultural psychology is that each culture develops expertise in some aspects of human existence, but no culture can be an expert in all aspects. The same goes for the two ends of the political spectrum. My research confirms the common perception that liberals are experts in thinking about issues of victimization, equality, autonomy, and the rights of individuals, particularly those of minorities and nonconformists. Conservatives, on the other hand, are experts in thinking about loyalty to the group, respect for authority and tradition, and sacredness. When one side overwhelms the other, the results are likely to be ugly. A society without liberals would be harsh and oppressive. A society without conservatives would lose many of the social structures and social constraints that are so valuable. A good place to look for wisdom, therefore, is in the minds of your opponents. You already know the ideas common on your side. If you can take of the blinders of the myth of pure evil, you might see some good ideas for the first time.
By drawing on wisdom that is balanced– ancient and new, Eastern and Western, even liberal and conservative– we can choose directions in life that will lead to satisfaction, happiness, and a sense of meaning. By drawing on humanity’s greatest ideas and best science, we can know our possibilities as well as our limits, and live wisely.
Wow, this has gotten me singing “Kumbaya”! A rationale for spiritual and political moderation all in one! Not to mention common sense. A lot fewer bad decisions, expenditures, and wars would occur if folks could pull themselves back from the issue, get some perspective, and use a little moderation, understanding. and common sense. Why is it that the simple things that even your grandmother could tell you were true are so hard for human beings as a species to implement?