3P&P for July 24, 2024
Calls for Peace, link dumping election religious rhetoric, and Happy Birthday to Hailie Selassie. Plus, poetry from one of America's favorite Oliver Wendell Holmes'.
Happy Wednesday! I’m going to have to be satisfied with only laying out quick hits this week, as reading for my Comprehensive Exams, my other writing projects, and preparing for a trip out to the area around Missoula, Montana this weekend has me rushing a bit.
Be sure to check out my ongoing series, Surpassing Truth Theory, starting with the Prelude. I’m pretty proud of my writing in that series.
On to the Points!
I’m going to keep to my policy established last week that there is significant religious communication tied to the current US Presidential Election, I’m going to do a simple link dump, to prevent this Substack from being taken over by Election news and religious angles on it. I won’t pretend that the Election isn’t incredibly important or that it doesn’t produce significant religious communication (“important” either because it influences people or because it is indicative of the country’s religious atmosphere). At the same time, it's important, in my opinion, to resist the notion that national politics are of exclusive ultimate importance. I’m going to defer to my frequent source site, Religious News Service, for most of this:
A look at new presumptive Democratic Party nominee VP Kamala Harris’ faith background, and an influential pastor in her life.
A look at the political trends among Hindu Americans, including parallels between religious nationalisms in the United States and India.
Newsflash: If you take the job leading the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, you never praise a Democrat or imply that a Republican is less than perfect. And if wisdom precludes you from being a partisan hack, you’re in the wrong place. C’mon, guys. Nobody has ever accused me of being career savvy, but even I know that one.
From ecumenical organization Churches for Peace in the Middle East:
In a new letter, over 200 global Christian bishops and executive leaders urged world powers to end complicity in the ongoing violence and atrocities committed in Gaza as a part of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. The letter calls for an immediate permanent ceasefire, work for the release of hostages and prisoners held without due process of law alike, the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid to civilians, and halting all weapons and ammunition transfers to Israel to ensure they are being used according to international law.
A quick scan of the signatories indicates that most of them are from outside of the United States; many of them from inside the United States lead parachurch organizations rather than congregations or denominations. (Some notable exceptions include the head of the Disciples of Christ denomination, which is from the Anabaptist Tradition, and, unsurprisingly, Shane Claiborne. An excerpt from the letter itself:
Nonviolent resistance to prolonged occupation has been met with unjustified violence by Israel and has been delegitimized by ill-considered condemnation from parts of the international community. This has contributed to a growing belief among many Palestinians in the West Bank that armed resistance is both legitimate and effective, even inevitable. This growing conviction is contrasted with a perceived failure and impotence of the commitment to non-violent reisistence, peacebuilding, and reconciliation that, as Christians, we share and support. On all sides of this conflict, belief in the possibility of peace and the commitment to non-violent approaches is waning. The window for constructive dialogue between combatant parties is rapidly closing. It will be replaced by more violence and a further erosion of hope and trust. As Christian leaders, we feel compelled to speak out before it is too late and broader Middle East war becomes inevitable.
Happy 132nd Birthday to Hailie Selassie. Selassie was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 until 1974 and is credited with multiple modernizing reforms as well as helping to create the entity now known as the European Union.
Hailie Selassie is the name that he took upon his coronation as Emperor of Ethiopia. He is hailed as a Messianic figure by adherents of the religion drawn from his pre-coronation name: Ras Tafari. There is much more to the substance of Rastafari than the clumsy cliche stereotypical associations with marijuana and listening to Bob Marley. Here is a decently informative rundown of Rastafari.
Now, a poem from American physician and poet Oliver Wendell Holmes (not to be confused with his more famous jurist son, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr).
“Hymn of Trust” by Oliver Wendell Holmes
O Love Divine, that stooped to share Our sharpest pang, our bitterest tear, On Thee we cast each earth-born care, We smile at pain while Thou art near! Though long the weary way we tread, And sorrow crown each lingering year, No path we shun, no darkness dread, Our hearts still whispering, Thou art near! When drooping pleasure turns to grief, And trembling faith is changed to fear, The murmuring wind, the quivering leaf, Shall softly tell us, Thou art near! On Thee we fling our burdening woe, O Love Divine, forever dear, Content to suffer while we know, Living and dying, Thou art near!
And that is Three Points & A Poem for July 24, 2024. I’ll be back with more on July 31, 2024 after a trip to Big Sky Country; and I’ll try to take some good pictures! Until then, thanks so much for reading, and thanks for all the good you bring into the world.