A letter from TS Eliot was published earlier this week in The Paris Review, and by golly, it’s just too good not to reproduce in full here [ht @FredOSphere]. The context is Eliot’s personality-revealing essay “Thoughts after Lambeth,” which is worth its own post in the future for no other reason than the poet’s prophetic thoughts on youth groups circa 1930. I kid you not. Either way, Eliot is actually arguing for teaching youth chastity, humility, austerity, and discipline. These may sound like “law” to us, but for Eliot, these are the virtues that help human beings cope best with life under the curse…
What is Faith?: A Look at the Religiosity of Football Fans
This one was written by the inimitable Duo Dickinson, who also guested on this past Friday’s episode of The Mockingcast.
What is faith?
For those who are very proud of the absence of faith in anything other than facts, faith is a desirable implication of combined data points: if you are having a picnic you have faith in the “Partly Cloudy” forecast on Weather.Com but are not-so-faithful to the verity of The Farmer’s Almanac.
For those who are faithful in the absence of data points faith tends to be what is hoped to be true because you want whatever that unknown is to happen:…
Everyone Is Still Awkward and the Gospel Is Still Strong: The 40th Anniversary of Women’s Ordination in the Episcopal Church
Last week marked the 40th anniversary of ordaining women to the Episcopal priesthood. While we have come so far, we have quite a way to go. No, I do not mean we need more women bishops. And no, I am not talking about how few women we see leading major churches. The church still has to adjust to women leading it, and women themselves are only at the beginning of navigating what it means to lead the church.
I laugh, heartily, when people suggest to me that the Episcopal Church is accepting and welcoming of women’s ordination. Instead I would say…
Flipping Rest into Work, Grace into Law
This post comes to us from Samuel Son.
Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. – Mark 3:1-2 (New Living Translation)
No story gets me more steamed than this one of the Pharisees salivating because Jesus is about to heal a man on the Sabbath; it gives them the ammunition to finally “nail” Jesus with a Sabbath infraction, a serious charge. Jesus knows they are springing…
PZ’s Podcast: 1,2,3 Red Light
EPISODE 220
I’m getting more and more convinced that we’re doing our peers a disservice by not talking about Satan. Satan is alive and well; and, as the New Testament says, he is prowling around like a lion seeking someone to devour.
This cast touches on assisted suicide — doffing my hat to the new upcoming issue of The Mockingbird, which concerns mental health. “Please… Don’t Do It” (The Band). Under any circumstances. If you don’t believe me, read Kipling’s short story “Uncovenanted Mercies” (1932).
But I’m not just gunning for assisted suicide. I’m warning you about The Burning Man. People who cultivate…
Tennis Gods and Failing Bodies
This one comes to us from Lindsey Hepler.
When I was eighteen years old, during that awkward summer between graduating from high school and starting college, I took a trip to London with my parents. By a stroke of luck and happenstance, my two sisters were away on their own adventures, so I got to be the only child for a week. It was a fantastic trip—complete with a 24 hour jaunt to Paris, a meal so memorable, I still think about it, and two days at Wimbeldon—for the men’s and women’s finals, no less. My parents are avid tennis players,…
Surviving November
Even though it’s not even September, the weary need their rest. As we enter a particularly vicious (and ridiculous) election cycle, we bring out from the archives our “Surviving November” series from four years back. Based on Jonathan Haidt’s work, The Righteous Mind, DZ delves into the sociology of political strife, and what hope we might be able to gather in spite of it.
I. Political Divides, Intuitive Dogs, and Rational Tails
Maybe the non-stop and increasingly ludicrous “opposition ads” have started to make you dread turning on the TV. Maybe you can’t read your (predominantly pop culture-focused!) Twitterfeed without getting depressed about…
The Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter
In honor of the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, here is another essay from our new anthology of movie essays, Mockingbird at the Movies, available in print here and on Kindle here.
Before anyone calls bluff on a Harry Potter essay found in a book about movies, let us first consider a fact about the Harry Potter movie franchise. As of July 2015, total movie sales for the eight Harry Potter films had almost surpassed total Harry Potter book sales, a ridiculous feat when you consider how much money that is (over $7 billion). And when you consider…
Another Tribute to the Rev. Robert Capon
Here is another fantastic reflection from Cody Gainous.
I can’t remember where I first read the name Robert Farrar Capon — whether it was Mockingbird that led me to Capon or Capon that led me Mockingbird, I’m not sure. Classic chicken/egg scenario. But I can remember where I was when I heard that he had passed away. We are approaching the third anniversary of his death this September. That day, I was sitting on the couch in my tiny apartment, incidentally reading Between Noon and Three. When I put down the book and picked up my computer, the news came: Robert…
An Invitation to Israel in March!
Dear Mockingbird friends,
I wanted to personally invite you to join Calvary-St. George’s (NYC) on a pilgrimage to Israel this coming spring. The pilgrimage will be led by myself, The Rev. Jim Munroe and The Rev. Ben DeHart and will take place right at the beginning of Lent (March 18-30, 2017), the perfect prelude to both Easter and the 10th Anniversary Mbird Conference in NYC–which Calvary St George’s is very excited to be hosting once again.
Most pilgrimages look at Israel as either a religious exhibit to be examined from a distance or a venue for a ten-day study on various interpretations of the Eschaton in light of modern politics. Our trip will be different. First, it is affordable. Second, we will be hosted by actual Palestinian Christians and experience life from the people’s perspective. Third, our every move will be grounded in the immensely encouraging historical reality that grace has come down to each of us. Fourth, Jim Munroe not only knows the territory intimately, he’ll make you laugh while guiding you through it. We’ll have a great time in other words.
We would love to have you join us. For more information, or to reserve your spot, go here: http://www.calvarystgeorges.org/pilgrimage. Do not delay, though, as we only have room for only about twenty pilgrims.
Pax,
The Rev. Jacob Smith
Church of the Deconstruction
This piece was featured in Issue 7 of The Mockingbird: The Church Issue. Issue 8 is well underway!
In a recent visit to Mexico, Pope Francis spoke to a congregation of Mexican bishops and clergy. His words were harsh, to say the least. Instead of decrying the social and political upheaval of the country, or its history of human trafficking and drug violence, the pontiff pointed the finger at his subordinates, warning them of their seduction by religious power:
Do not allow yourselves to be corrupted by trivial materialism or by the seductive illusion of underhanded agreements; do not place your faith…
Optimizing the Sabbath (One Pillow at a Time)
The following originally appeared as a guest post to Amy Julia Becker’s blog over at Christianity Today. Some readers may notice a few, er, congruencies with past Mbird posts:
A couple of years ago, The New York Times ran a remarkably astute editorial about the state of American sleep. Apparently the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently declared insomnia to be a full-blown public health epidemic. The “Sleep Industry”—a $32 billion/year endeavor—has responded. They’ve introduced a spate of new soporific technology, from pills and teas and chocolates to bracelets and mattresses. (The number one selling paid app on iTunes this…
