Spirituality and Social Transformation @ Stanford

This course syllabus (Spirituality, Nonviolence and Social Transformation) from Standford University poses some great questions with which we should wrestle:

 

Course Description: A life of engagement in social transformation is often built on a foundation of spiritual and religious commitments. Using case studies of several nonviolent social change agents--Rosa Parks in the civil rights movement, Cesar Chavez in the labor movement and Women in Black in the peace movement, we will examine the theory and principles of nonviolence as well as the religious and spiritual underpinnings of their commitments. The class, offered by the Deans for Religious Life, will address social change, spirituality and religious traditions through films and texts. The class will consider the religious and spiritual underpinnings of nonviolence, the streams that fed major nonviolent activists and the philosophers and theologians who influenced them. Additionally, we will address how social change happens, how to stay buoyant over time while engaged in social transformation, and how some communities and organizations are living out nonviolent social transformation. There will be a service-learning component included, with placements in organizations engaged in social transformation.

 

A Large Sampling of the Study Questions:
• Define “violence” and “nonviolence”
• What is the relationship among “threat power,” “exchange power” and “integrative power?”
• Does “good” or “useful” power exist?

 

• What in Rosa Parks’ life enabled her to begin the modern civil rights movement?
• What inspired her not to give up her seat on December 1, 1955?
• How grounded was Rosa Parks’ nonviolence in her religious life? In her work for the NAACP?

 

• In what ways did religious faith sustain the civil rights movement?
• How was Christianity interpreted by different communities?
• What is the role of art (music and film) in social transformation? (Note your own reactions as you watch “Mighty Times”.)

 

• How did Martin Luther King, Jr. become a leader? Did his training prepare him for it?
• What was King’s understanding of nonviolence? Was it a tactic or a way of life? How did it differ from Gandhi’s nonviolence?

 

• Prepare a question for the next class guest, Rev. James M. Lawson Jr. Rev. James M. Lawson Jr., together with his friend Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was instrumental in bringing nonviolence to the civil rights movement. He taught nonviolence to activists in Nashville and was President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for 14 years.
• How can you develop the habit of courageous action?
• How is the civil disobedience manifested in the civil rights movement different from that manifested in Le Chambon, France, during the Second World War? (If you have not seen the Le Chambon film in class, it is available in the Media Center of Green Library under the title, “Weapons of the Spirit.” Look for the abridged ADL “classroom version,” 38 minutes long. The call number is ZVC 3375.)

 

• What are the opportunities and pitfalls in mixing religion and politics?
• Critique Nagler’s thermodynamic model of community.
• What is the relationship between individual nonviolence conversions and political nonviolence?

 

• How do Eastern traditions’ (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism) approach to nonviolence compare to Western traditions’ (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)?
• Can nonviolence be meaningfully translated into politics in all religious traditions?
• What is the role of symbols and stories in religiously based nonviolence?

 

 How was the use or misuse of power evident in the challenges Cesar Chavez faced?
• How was Cesar Chavez and “la causa” an example of religion in the public square? What influence did Catholic Social Teaching have on the effectiveness of “la causa”?
• How is the film “Fight in the Fields” a convincing portrayal of spirituality and social transformation?

 

• What role did rhetorical discourse play in Cesar Chavez’ effectiveness as the organizer and leader of “la causa”?
• How did images and rituals form the moral ethos of the farmworkers’ union?
• What enabled Cesar Chavez to model such a stark contrast to the American way of life, the “American dream,” where seizing opportunity and accumulating wealth is considered a worthy goal?
• Please prepare a question for our guest, Dolores C. Huerta, about her political and spiritual commitments.

• How, practically, can the cycle of revenge killing be broken? How, then, can there be reconciliation with those who have killed one’s own people?
• Are children the most or the least effective advocates for peace? Why?
• Please prepare a question for our guest, Byron Bland, about the process of conflict resolution.

 

• What in Dorothy Day’s life enabled her to begin the Catholic Worker movement?
• To what extent can education be a force for social transformation?
• Who are your spiritual teachers and why?

Lent, the City and Philippians

by Brian Walsh
From the book of Revelation, back to Genesis, into the Torah, through the monarchy and then on to Isaiah with his prophecies of judgement, exile and return, the Wine Before Breakfast community has spent the last number of months meditating on a biblical vision of the city. We’ve posted a number of the sermons from those services here at Empire Remixed.

And it is an ambivalent vision of the city. We began with the cataclysmic Fall of Babylon and moved in our second week to the hope of a New Jerusalem. And its been back and forth all year.

One day you’re waiting for the sky to fall,
the next you’re dazzled by the beauty of it all

Apocalyptic dread and the beauty of hope. A biblical theology of the city finds itself between these two poles.

Embrace one without the other and you either have a naïve urban optimism or a crushing despair about all urban life.

But optimism and despair aren’t in the Christian vocabulary. Rather, our imaginations are shaped by prophetic critique and hope that faces head on the penchant for cities to be sites of exclusion, violence and oppression, while never leaving the city to its own fate. No, grace makes beauty out of ugly things. And so prophetic hope engenders an imagination and a praxis of justice, hospitality and restoration.

That’s where we have come to in our reflections on a theology of the city.

And now it is time to pause.

We have certainly not arrived, but it is time to pause nonetheless.

And that is what Lent is about.

A pause.
A cessation.
A stopping for a while.
To reflect.
To pray.
To fast.
To meditate.

St. Paul writes to the Philippians:

Finally my beloved, whatever is true,
whatever is honourable,
whatever is just,
whatever is pure,
whatever is pleasing,
whatever is commendable,
if there is any excellence
and if anything worthy of praise,
think about these things. (4.8-9)

So we are going to take Paul’s word on this and take time to think on such things.

And at Wine Before Breakfast we’re going to do so throughout Lent by taking precisely this letter to the Philippians as our site of meditation.

But here’s the thing. This isn’t an invitation to simply put out of mind all that troubles us, all that is disturbing, all that is broken and ugly.

That isn’t meditation worthy of followers of Jesus.

St. Paul isn’t counseling that we avert our gaze from the sinfulness of our world, our city, our community and our own lives.

Indeed, he writes these words precisely from a site of great suffering and injustice.

You see, the apostle is in prison when he writes this letter, likely at the very heart of the empire, in Rome.

There we are back to the city again.

And while this letter is nothing if not profoundly confident in the power of the resurrection, the apostle’s eyes are never too far from the cross.

And while the letter abounds in calls to rejoice and to live lives full of joy, that joy is always in the face of suffering and potential death.

Imprisoned in one city, the apostle writes to a Christian community in another city. He writes in confident hope and in the face of serious trials and struggles in the community.

In the face of the power and prestige of Roman citizenship, he tells them that they have another citizenship that is far more important.

In the face of the authority and imperial hierarchy of the empire and its emperor, he speaks of one who was a victim of that empire and yet will be exalted above every name, so that at his name every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he, not Caesar, is Lord.

In fact, he will write that anything that we give priority to in our lives is nothing but bullshit (exact translation!) in contrast to the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord.

Bullshit. That’s a pretty good word for sin.

And so, with Paul, we are invited during Lent to reflect on our bullshit, but not out of some twisted narcissistic preoccupation with how terrible we are. No, we face the bullshit, in the light of who Jesus is, rejoicing in grace, longing for lives of righteousness.

And in the end, that will bring us right back to the city and our call to bear witness to its healing.

So my sisters and brothers, I invite you to enter into Lent with Philippians as your companion.

With holy intention, enter into Lent to meditate on your sin, your Redeemer, and your calling in the Kingdom of God.

And maybe you would like to join us at Wine Before Breakfast and take Paul’s letter to the Philippians as your text for the next 40 days. Read this letter. Read it daily. Read it slowly. Read it prayerfully.

Let’s keep Lent together.

Outcomes: Spiritual Struggles and Secular Coping in Children

CINCINNATI, Health News —A new study by UC researchers shows that urban adolescents with asthma may experience worse outcomes when not using spiritual coping and often use complementary and alternative medicine, or integrative medicine, like prayer or relaxation, to manage symptoms.

These findings, being presented at the National Conference in Pediatric Psychology in San Antonio April14-16, could help physicians and other providers gain insight into additional ways to help pediatric populations self-manage chronic illnesses.

The study, led by Sian Cotton, PhD, assistant professor in the department of family and community medicine, looked at urban adolescents dealing with asthma and uncovered the ways that they were both coping with their illness as well as ways coping methods affected their mental and physical health outcomes.

One set of analyses examined ways these adolescents used complementary and alternative medicine strategies for symptom management; the other set of analyses looked at spiritual struggles in adolescents with asthma to see whether they contributed to health-related quality of life. 

"Few studies have examined the role of spiritual struggles in children, and none have examined the relationship between spiritual struggles, secular coping and their outcomes; we wanted to see if spiritual struggles contribute uniquely to a patient’s quality of life, beyond demographic variables,” says Cotton.

"Similarly, prior studies have shown that 50 to 80 percent of adolescents with asthma have used complementary and alternative medicine and feel that these actions are successful in treating symptoms. We wanted to understand more about which sorts of patients might benefit from being approached on this subject by a physician.”

The analyses involved 151 adolescents with asthma between the ages of 11 and 19 at a children’s hospital in the Midwest who were given questionnaires assessing spiritual coping, secular coping, complementary alternative medicine use and other psychosocial, clinical and demographic variables.

In the spiritual struggles analyses, outcome variables included anxiety and depressive symptoms as well as quality of life. Researchers then determined the association between spiritual struggles and health outcomes after accounting for age, gender, ethnicity and asthma severity.

Those who were male African-Americans, experiencing more spiritual struggles and using more negative secular coping methods, had poorer quality of life.

In addition, researchers found that non-African-Americans, adolescents who struggled spiritually and adolescents with more severe disease had increased anxiety symptoms. Also, non-African-Americans and females had increased depressive symptoms.

"As hypothesized, religious or spiritual coping and secular coping predicted similar amounts of variance in these outcomes, similar to previous findings in adult populations, suggesting that spiritual coping is an important element to consider when caring for adolescents with asthma,” Cotton says.

"These issues may be particularly relevant among urban African-American adolescents for whom religion and spirituality is especially important. Future studies should examine the effectiveness of interventions or screening efforts to address spiritual struggles in these populations.”

In the second analysis, the same group of adolescents completed a survey looking at 10 forms of complementary and alternative medicine methods used for symptom management, including prayer, guided imagery, relaxation, meditation, yoga, massage, herbs, vitamins and rubs as well as dietary changes.

Eight-five percent of participants were African-American and 52 percent had persistent asthma. 

"We asked how often they used these methods, if they would consider using any of these methods for symptom management, if they told their doctor or provider about the use of these methods and if they thought it helped their symptoms,” Cotton says.

Response frequencies for all four questions were examined for each method. Researchers then examined characteristics associated with alternative medicine use, consideration of use, disclosure and perceived efficacy for the two most commonly used modalities.

"Seventy-one percent of participants reported using complementary or alternative medicine, most commonly relaxation, at 64 percent, and prayer, at 61 percent, for symptom management in the last month,” Cotton says. "Adolescents would most often consider using relaxation (85 percent) and prayer (80 percent) in the future for symptom management.”

Participants were most likely to tell their provider about their use of yoga and dietary changes and least likely to discuss their use of prayer and guided imagery. Relaxation and prayer were perceived to be most efficacious, while imagery and massage were perceived to be least helpful. 

In addition, adolescents with more frequent asthma symptoms used prayer more often than those with less frequent symptoms. African-Americans were more likely to report using prayer and consider using prayer in the future for symptom management compared with non-African-Americans. 

(Green Cityscape - Paul Brent)

Also, older adolescents perceived relaxation to be more efficacious for symptom management. 

"These findings show that this group of chronically ill adolescents is using complementary methods and finding them helpful,” says Cotton. "Providers should consider discussing the use of complementary or alternative medicine with their patients with asthma to help improve outcomes.

"These analyses point to findings that will help physicians care not only for patients with asthma but also for those with other chronic illnesses to ensure the best outcomes physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, producing a better quality of life.”

This study was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Religion, Spirituality, Economic Restructuring and Urban Change - A Critical Dialogue

Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, New York City, NY (24-28 February 2012)

Conveners: Chris Baker (University of Chester, UK), Justin Beaumont (University of Grongingen, NL)

AAG Sponsorship – GORABS (Geographies of Religion and Belief Systems Speciality Group)

This session addresses a series of overlapping agendas that have emerged with growing force and significance in the early 21st century.

First, the global re-emergence of religion as a political and cultural force within the public domain has gained considerable attention across the social sciences and the humanities. Even within the ‘secular West’ the significance of religion as a tool of government social policy has increased, while patterns of immigration and the religious practices they bring to European cities problematize a straightforward ‘religion in decline’ thesis. Meanwhile, the growing re-enchantment of the West, as evidenced in the rise of spiritual practices and interest in non-material goods (such as wellbeing and happiness) has led to a vigorous debate about the emergence of a postsecular public space. Jurgen Habermas for example suggests the West has reached a point where ‘a postsecular understanding of society as a whole in which the vigorous continuation of religion in a continually secularising environment must be reckoned with’ (2005: 26). Charles Taylor amplifies Habermas’s ideas to the effect that the current secular age is characterized by the notion of choice. Although the main social and cultural frameworks in the West have moved from a Christian to a secular one, nevertheless religious belief persists and mutates but now within the context of multiplicity.

Second, the global recession affects everyone but clearly some parts of the world are adversely affected more than others. The escalating cost of essential commodities, the devastating impacts of climate change, competition for land and resources, and growing social and economic inequalities is placing huge strain on existing infrastructures of support, be they families, communities, the voluntary sector, local governments or nation states. Attention has therefore turned to alternative sources of resilience and values and the search is now on for sustainable, more just and more holistic forms of political economy within an age of austerity that creates the conditions for both human and non-human flourishing. The search for new partnerships based on more ethical forms of political economy and society clearly involve an increased role for religious individuals, institutions and communities to bend the public and urban agenda in this direction via practices and discourses that are both traditional but also groundbreaking.

Finally, when one reflects on these two drivers of public discourse (i.e. the postsecular and the age of austerity) then one observes that it is in urban spaces that the mutating relationships between the religious and the secular, the sacred and the profane, the public and the private and the growing inequalities between rich and poor are most starkly evidenced. There have also been, clearly, a number of spatial restructurings undergone by towns and cities since the early 1990s as the global economy shifts towards the production of knowledge, information, innovation and virtual forms of capital transfer and investment. Several of these religious, political and economic changes have been analysed in a number of recent publications (see Molendijk, Beaumont and Jedan 2010; Beaumont and Baker 2011; Atherton, Graham and Steedman 2010) in which the following features take a prominent role:

· The complexities of secularism as well as religion;

· The contested nature of religious space within secular jurisdictions (e.g. planning and urban management);

· New spaces of belonging, becoming and participation by religious groups within urban contexts;

· The new sacrality of the postmodern city;

· New practices of social care and justice by religious and spiritual groups;

· Theological critiques and visions for a better (or good or “just”) city;

· Crossovers (or rapprochements) between religious and secular discourses and practices on ideas of the common good, happiness and wellbeing and human/non-human flourishing.

Within this session we would therefore welcome papers from a range of interdisciplinary and critical perspectives on the following topics:

· Religion and political economy

· The role and form of religious buildings within urban space;

· Spiritual capital, moral freighting and neighbourliness;

· Resilience and addiction;

· Urban justice and social welfare;

· Symbolic representations of the sacred;

· Religious Identity and experiences of belonging;

· Counter-hegemonic spaces and alternative structures;

· Everyday religion in the mundane.

If you would like to participate in a session, please send a 200 word abstract (listing name, affiliation and contact details) as well as your PINs to both chris.baker@chester.ac.uk and j.r.beaumont@rug.nl by 15 September, 2011. You should consult the AAG website (www.aag.org) for online registration and abstract submission instructions.

References

Beaumont, J. and C. Baker (eds) (2011) Postsecular Cities: space, theory and practice, London and New York: Continuum.

Atherton, J. Graham, E. and I. Steedman (eds) (2010) The Practices of Happiness: political economy, religion and wellbeing, Abingdon: Routledge.

Habermas, J. (2005) ‘Equal treatment of cultures and the limits of postmodern liberalism’, Journal of Political Philosophy, 13(1): 1-28.

Molendijk, A., Beaumont, J. and C. Jedan (eds) (2010) Exploring the Postsecular: the religious, the political and the urban, Leiden: Brill.

Taylor, C. (2007) A Secular Age, Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press.

city of surpassing beauty

someday there will be

 no more tears

just distant memories

of this age of fears

someday there will be

a river of elegant grace

in a city of surpassing beauty

lined with trees of healing that embrace

a hope fulfilled

in a Kingdom Come

a faith steadfast

tested with the flame of wisdom

a love embraced

with graceful, dancing rhythm

someday there will be

a people gathered from ages past

by a joy-filled Saviour

in His image they are cast

until that day comes to pass

we see our city through darkly glass

and toil away in redemptions’ grasp

Serving a City - One Fire Hydrant at a Time

[The following article comes from RedPoint Magazine - Empowering Vineyard Youth Leaders.  Definitely check out RedPoint, it has lots of great stuff!]

For some time now, the idea of “believing for a city together” has been beating in my heart. I now believe that entire cities can be transformed for Christ if the body of Christ actually acts as one. In Goodyear, Arizona we have seen God unite churches in miraculous ways. I have planned events and outreaches throughout the year with a group of youth pastors from various churches around our city.  We had as many as fourteen churches participating in worship and prayer in one night. All the youth leaders currently meet once per month to encourage each other and to plan events as one body. A while ago we came up with the name “ONE” that we use for every event. ONE stands for “one” body of Christ serving “one” Kingdom as “one.”

An event we just recently put on featured a fire hydrant. We decided as one body to do an outreach to our city. We approached the city of Goodyear asking how we could help them and they gave us two projects that would help them save money: painting fire hydrants and clearing land by a water plant.

On March 12, over 150 youth from over 6 churches came together to complete the requests of the city. After being greeted by the mayor of Goodyear, we grabbed our brushes, cardboard drop sheets, and cans upon cans of safety yellow paint. For the next 3 hours, we painted fire hydrants bright yellow in an entire Goodyear neighborhood. With paint in their hair and on their clothes, our youth raved about how much fun they had serving. It was such a blessing to watch the youth take ownership of their city, and the community embrace them while they did it. This was an awesome youth event and the city was blessed by it.

Now, I have to be completely honest with you. While I love to serve and believe serving and labor are good life lessons for youth groups, I wasn’t really into the project up front. I tend to lean toward outreaches that directly feed the poor, pray for the sick, or share the gospel. So when we first decided to paint fire hydrants, I was a bit skeptical. However, this single project has expanded the kingdom in ways that I was not at first able to see.

1) Helping the city opened doors for ministry to government officials.
Painting fire hydrants was all worth it when I heard a city official say, “I guess the church isn’t as needy as we thought. You guys are safe and so open to give. I would have no problem referring people to you.” This project opened doors to show the city God’s heart of love. Not only did we show the city the heart of the body of Christ, we also had chances to pray with officials, including the mayor. The public officials offered up recognition and thanks on a public level at a city council meeting, where the mayor spoke about the importance of church roles in community. We are still, to this day, discovering the true impact of our labor for our city.


2) We sowed into our community.
This single event saved the city approximately $5,000. That money is now freed up for budgeting. The money saved can be used to help programs that are struggling due to budget cuts in today’s economy. To me, this was a huge plus to see the Church rise up in prayer and action to see change in our community.


3) It taught the youth to take ownership in their city.
The mayor said it best when she commented, “This kind of outreach speaks volumes for the church as it is teaching young people to take pride in their city.” She went on to discuss the impact of ownership in a city cutting down vandalism and crime. Again, to me, it is a blessing when the city can associate the church with “good” and cutting down crime.


4) Finally, we had a chance to unite the body of Christ.
With over 150 students from multiple churches coming together for their city, nothing is impossible. I believe that whenever the church prays and moves in unity, it tugs the heart of God. God is passionate about his children praising him together in unity. I am convinced that the single act of laying down our agendas and painting a fire hydrant brought breakthrough for the spread of God’s Kingdom in our city. It was more than the work itself. It was doing a prophetic act of love toward our city. I have seen the impact of the event through divine appointments with city leaders, community pride, and open hearts for unity. The “capital C” Church, the body of Christ, is coming together to see a move of God. That is always reason enough to do something.

I would encourage all youth pastors to move toward unity in the body. It starts small and God expands it. Only 2 years ago there were about 5 churches that would meet for lunch on a regular basis in the west valley. Now we have as many as 10-12 churches represented. We have to be willing to put aside differences and unite on what we all agree on, the glory of Jesus Christ. Call churches you know and invite their pastors or youth leaders to lunch and share your heart for YOUR city. I think you will be surprised by the response you will receive.

The Worldview of Work (Tim Keller Part 3)

[This is part 3 of Tim Keller's article from CT magazine from 2006]

There is another important component to being a Christian counterculture for the common good. Christians should be a people who integrate their faith with their work.

Culture is a set of shared practices, attitudes, values, and beliefs, which are rooted in common understandings of the "big questions"—where life comes from, what life means, who we are, and what is important enough to spend our time doing it in the years allotted to us. No one can live or do their work without some answers to such questions, and every set of answers shapes culture.

Most fields of work today are dominated by a very different set of answers from those of Christianity. But when many Christians enter a vocational field, they either seal off their faith and work like everyone else around them, or they spout Bible verses to their coworkers. We do not know very well how to persuade people of Christianity's answers by showing them the faith-based, worldview roots of everyone's work. We do not know how to equip our people to think out the implications of the gospel for art, business, government, journalism, entertainment, and scholarship. Developing humane, creative, and excellent business environments out of our understanding of the gospel can be part of this work. The embodiment of joy, hope, and truth in the arts is also part of this work. If Christians live in major cultural centers in great numbers, doing their work in an excellent but distinctive manner, that alone will produce a different kind of culture than the one in which we live now.

Jewish society sought spiritual power, while Greek society valued wisdom (1 Cor. 1:22-25). Each culture was dominated by a hope that Paul's preaching revealed to be an idol. Yet only in Christ, the true "wisdom of God" for Greeks and the true "power of God" for Jews, could their cultural storylines find a happy ending. The church envisioned in this article attracts people to Christianity by showing how Christ resolves our society's cultural problems and fulfills its cultural hopes. "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength."

Excerpted from: Christianity Today, May 2006, Vol. 50, No. 5, Page 36 | Posted on June 15, 2006