Wednesday, November 4, 2009
We'll discuss Epiphany next week
We'll be blogging live next Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m. We'll be discussing the Chapter titled Epiphany (pages 77-116). Or let us know what you think about the book so far. You can blog anytime you want to comment about the book. I'm hearing great comments about it as I talk to women reading the book. Let us know what you think.
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30 comments:
I'm new to this so just want to see what I have to do to post. I'm really enjoying the bookd
I was struck my the fact that she thought her friends should have held her accountable for her decision to be Jewish. They should have noticed she was skipping shul and ask her why. Is this something we should do also?
Not a bad idea, Molly.
Asking her would help her friends to know if she had a problem that they could help with. They may have found out she was in a state of turmoil but I doubt their concern would have brought her back to the Jewish faith. She was obviously on a clear path to Christianity.
I think it was interesting that she considered a divorce of sorts. Like cheating on a marriage. Interesting analogy.
Her description of Fundamentalists and Evangelicals was enlightening. I think we as Lutherans tend to lump them together. She so much wanted to explain the difference to her friends but felt they either didn't care of didn't want to hear it or it was just too much information. It's hard to put our faith in a 1 minute commercial type answer.
That's one of my favorite passages, "a fundamentalist is an evangelical who is angry about something."
I was kind of nervous about the "Evangelical" part of the name of both Lutheran churches I've been a member of. I think it was explained to me that evangelical means that we are charged with spreading the good news.
Kate and I were reading her Lutheran Handbook last night and I was a part that suggested we show our Lutheran faith by "adorning yourself, your home or your car with simple Lutheran accoutrements." I hadn't ever thought about that before.
I didn't know that Judaism is considered a religion premised on community and Christianity is a religion about God (at least those were her thoughts until she learned otherwise) It is too bad we so often mischaracterize something because we know so little about it. Christian community is very important to me.
Just a reminder -- I started late and we have two discussions going so if you refresh and go back to the blog, you'll see another discussion going on about baptism.
She comes through so much as a person who is struggling to find where she belongs. She is not fully accepted in the Jewish community, particularly by the mothers of her boyfriends, and in the New York Jewish society. At liberal colleges, such as Columbia, her strong interest in religion labels her as a Bible-thumper and a Fundamentalist. In her home community in the south her family is snubbed because they are Jewish even though they are prominent members of the community. Her sister for example was not invited to a debutant function. Lauren, however, is always true to herself and doesn't let these slights change who she is and deter her from her religious interests and inclinations.
Kim, as a teenager I wore a chain with the Lutheran symbol. Trouble was, I thought of myself as a "Lutheran" and not a "Christian"
I was raised Methodist and I don't remember wearing anything but a cross. I don't recall being clearly identified as specifically Methodist, although some differences are coming out now that I'm mentoring Kate through her Affirmation of Baptism.
Ladies, sorry to have missed this conversation - I was lost on the other post. Have to run, but hope to catch up with you next time!
She feels like a failure because she doesn't or can't stop her friend from having an affair. She feels her prayers were not persuasive enough or her arguments not good enough. Can we really stop friends if they are already convinced what they are doing is right? Should we feel guilty?
Well, I'm not sure her friend was convinced that she was, indeed, right. I think she was determined, at least.
I love reading this book, but it skips around so much to different settings and issues that I find them hard to remember. I read the Epiphany part last week and had already forgotten some important points. I think it would help if we post some questions or issues to discuss before the next blog so we are all the same page when we discuss things "live". Will the next "live" blog be in January?
I think we all would like to think we have the power of persuasion but ultimately God gave us free will and we make choices. Not always the right one. I guess we feel we have an obligation to say something when we think someone is hurting themselves or someone else but in the end, they decide what they will do.
The plan is to blog again in January. Those who are reading the book and want to can try to sit together at the WOT December Luncheon on Dec. 5 and discuss it then!
If I recall correctly, Kim asked me to moderate in January. I will be sure to post some discussion thoughts in advance of the blog night.
It's her attitude of "beating herself up" because she wasn't good enough that bothers me.
Yes Pat, it will be you moderating in January. However, I would still encourage people to talk about what struck them the most as they're reading the book. I've put post-it notes throughout the book as I read it and come across something that is meaningful to me.
I see from the "schedule" on the main blog page that there is no discussion night set for December, because of the WOT luncheon. I am planning to be there. It would be fun to sit together with other bloggers and discuss face-to-face.
Looking forward to December luncheon and discussing the book live. Signing off for tonight
I know I'm guilty of that myself Molly. In the Lutheran Handbook it says it's one of the common misconceptions that we are saved by grace through Christ, and by good works. Good works don't get us to heaven, we are saved by our through our gift of faith in Christ.
Speaking of saved by grace and not by works, I heard on the Writers Almanac on the way home tonight that today is the birthday of Luther.
Molly's concerns about inserting ones opinions in a friend's personal life are very difficult to respond to. I think back on my college days when a friend of mine questioned me a week before her marriage as to whether she should call off the wedding because she felt uneasy. The invitations were already out and our bridesmaids gowns purchased and fitted. I knew both she and her fiance' had recently dated others. But they had dated for several years and knew each other well. I wanted to say "call it off," but mainly on the premise that I felt she was "champagne" and he "beer." But I felt she knew him far better than I and my thinking in the matter wasn't based on a substantial reason. So I told her it was not my decision to make. They married and were later divorced. To this day I wonder if I should have told her my true feelings. Would I have confused her further or stopped her in a disastrous marriage.
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