My problem with all of this is: I refuse to accept two things, 1. that God "called" anyone and told them to completely ignore the judgment test laid out by Jesus in Matthew 25: 31-46, and 2. instead to devote their lives to telling the rest what to do - including demanding that the rest of us also ignore what Jesus said in Matthew 25. As Tim Alberta writes in his new book, this is based on worshiping America, and not just any America but the one with the idolatry of unfettered capitalism and the mega-church as the "shining city on a hill."
This was an excellent, and insight-filled piece on the concept of "getting a calling from God."
Considering the author's experience as the daughter of missionaries in Kenya, she certainly offers a mature but wide perspective on the notion. The last paragraph really resonates with me as a recovering Christian.
I did find one exception to her newsletter. She made no allowance for technology. Today via my WHATS App, I actually did receive a calling. I was at church in the coffee hour line and there were two kinds of cheesecake being served. I was really flummoxed as to which one to take when I got the "calling" to take one of each. It was loud and clear. Prior to getting the app, I would have been forced to go with my least favorite as a form of penitence for my sins.
I used the term "recovering" Christian to acknowledge that I believed everything my Sunday school teachers, Christian ed instructors told me through high school as if it were the truth hand-delivered to them by God himself. My mind was unquestioning regarding all of the unknowns that have resulted from losses of historical facts due to word of mouth transmitting of stories and history and the corruption that is inevitable when fallible humans are involved at every juncture. I'm trying to recover from thinking I know all of the answers to acknowledging I know few if any. My blog post from December 22 states where I am today -
I have a funny...well...maybe not so funny story, depending on how you look at it... about opening the Bible with eyes closed and popping a finger down on a verse for guidance.
So what rocked my Evangelical, Homeschool Mom, Missionary Wife World was the diagnosis of cancer in my youngest child. He was 4 years old. All those formula promises of how to live and how God would bless you just didn't work anymore.
Near the end of his treatment we discovered the radiation had basically melted his esophagus (throat) and fried his trachea (airway). A g-tube was placed in his belly so we could feed him and he began a series of esophageal dilations (throat stretches). With his fried airway, he wasn't getting enough oxygen, so he needed a tracheotomy. ( a hole in his neck to breathe through, which he still has today at 23 years old)
His surgery was on Memorial Day. I found myself alone in the waiting room. My husband was officiating a wedding. I was angry and anxious. I looked over and there was a Bible sitting on one of the tables. I picked it up, closed my eyes and prayed that I would find a comforting word from the Lord in the Bible. With eyes still closed, I opened it up and plopped my finger down on a verse that read "And he went out and hanged himself."
Instantly, I threw that Bible across the room. It hit the wall and landed askew on the floor. I looked around to see if anyone saw me and I looked for cameras. Then I picked it up and placed it on a table.
“(Side note: my mother literally slapped a monkey once. True story. And a good one, right? Like you want to hear that, admit it. Too bad, I have other things to say today.)”
“OK, I’m being mean, again, shame on me, again.” You’re really not being mean. You are holding up a mirror to American evangelism, and if they don’t like what they see, well...
I see a lot of people wrapping themselves in the cloak of righteousness in the name of G_d. What I don't see is those people actually practicing the teachings of the man that we call Jesus of Nazareth. Too many of those "cloaked ones" try to tell everyone that they meet that they are the only one's who know the "will of G_d". To which I call BS on them. I've been very leery of the evangelicals since I first encountered (and survived) them in the late 1960s/early 1970s in the Methodist Church. Perhaps the Quakers (Religious Society of Friends) have a better understanding of what G_d may or may not want them to do. But the old Quaker aphorism rings true: Let your life speak.
With so much content in the world, it's impossible to keep up with all of the choices available. I know of you from The Bulwark - in fact, it was Jim Swift's restack that put this in front of me - and so, I was curious about your writing, but I kept putting things off. Well, thanks time off for the holidays, I finally read your article. It's fabulous! My wife is a former missionary (born in the Philippines) whose father had a similar calling. Of course, he too didn't want to serve in church or go on mission, but then apparently god tried to severely maim or kill him with a wheat thresher and convinced him of the error of his ways. Multiple major life decisions were made based on unverifiable, cryptic messages that only he experienced, striking most often in bed on sleepless nights. In the end, to each his own, but his decisions had multiple enduring impacts on my wife's life. That they are the result of someone's delusions of grandeur is an avoidable tragedy. Now, millions of Americans are making major decisions impacting the direction of our nation and threatening its survival as we know it, driven by a similar mass-delusion. This time, it seems god wants them to follow an evil man in fighting their (self-)righteous cause. Mysterious ways indeed.
First of all, thanks again for your unique mix of humor and wisdom.
I grew up Catholic, and for a while was a monk. We had a different take on "calling." We called it "discernment," which is like Magic 8-Ball calling except YOU HAVE TO DO THE WORK AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR DECISIONS.
The ultimate cautionary tale on Magic 8 Ball Bible, as I learned it in my youth: man decides to use Bible in said fashion to know definitely what God wants him to do. First time, it falls open to “...and Judas went, and hanged himself.” Uh, no, that can’t be right; tries again and gets “Go thou and do likewise.” No, no, no, one more try; “what thou doest, do quickly,” at which point he throws the Bible away and storms out in a huff.
I was in Mali years ago where there were two groups of missionaries. One group had their act together and were more interested in accomplishing something to help the locals - education, health services, etc. than in "proclaiming the will of God." The other group was strictly oriented toward their religious doctrine. One of them talked about a family whose son was dying of meningitis and asked for help. It was obvious that they wanted treatment, but the SOB just prayed over them and then patted himself on the back for being a good Christian.
Catholics have less of a sense of being called but... I will relay this story from one of the most decent co-workers I ever had. He had been in the seminary but left. This was in the 1980s and he tells of how some seminarians entered the seminary with no real life experience. They were pious boys and found themselves not interested in girls while their peers were. They interpreted this as the gift of a vocation to the priesthood.
At some point while in the seminary they realized that they were excited by young men.... so the gift was not a vocation to the priesthood but the gift of being gay.
I suspect that many pious young men were directed to the seminary for this reason. One was an older cousin who said he would never marry. He became a priest. Though he may not have offended, he was good friends with a priest who molested a lot of teens and preteens.
My problem with all of this is: I refuse to accept two things, 1. that God "called" anyone and told them to completely ignore the judgment test laid out by Jesus in Matthew 25: 31-46, and 2. instead to devote their lives to telling the rest what to do - including demanding that the rest of us also ignore what Jesus said in Matthew 25. As Tim Alberta writes in his new book, this is based on worshiping America, and not just any America but the one with the idolatry of unfettered capitalism and the mega-church as the "shining city on a hill."
This was an excellent, and insight-filled piece on the concept of "getting a calling from God."
Considering the author's experience as the daughter of missionaries in Kenya, she certainly offers a mature but wide perspective on the notion. The last paragraph really resonates with me as a recovering Christian.
I did find one exception to her newsletter. She made no allowance for technology. Today via my WHATS App, I actually did receive a calling. I was at church in the coffee hour line and there were two kinds of cheesecake being served. I was really flummoxed as to which one to take when I got the "calling" to take one of each. It was loud and clear. Prior to getting the app, I would have been forced to go with my least favorite as a form of penitence for my sins.
Recovering Christian? I never heard of that before?
I used the term "recovering" Christian to acknowledge that I believed everything my Sunday school teachers, Christian ed instructors told me through high school as if it were the truth hand-delivered to them by God himself. My mind was unquestioning regarding all of the unknowns that have resulted from losses of historical facts due to word of mouth transmitting of stories and history and the corruption that is inevitable when fallible humans are involved at every juncture. I'm trying to recover from thinking I know all of the answers to acknowledging I know few if any. My blog post from December 22 states where I am today -
https://markvanlaeys.substack.com/p/the-christmas-story-facts-like-hens
Yes Yes and Yes!
Great read!
I have a funny...well...maybe not so funny story, depending on how you look at it... about opening the Bible with eyes closed and popping a finger down on a verse for guidance.
So what rocked my Evangelical, Homeschool Mom, Missionary Wife World was the diagnosis of cancer in my youngest child. He was 4 years old. All those formula promises of how to live and how God would bless you just didn't work anymore.
Near the end of his treatment we discovered the radiation had basically melted his esophagus (throat) and fried his trachea (airway). A g-tube was placed in his belly so we could feed him and he began a series of esophageal dilations (throat stretches). With his fried airway, he wasn't getting enough oxygen, so he needed a tracheotomy. ( a hole in his neck to breathe through, which he still has today at 23 years old)
His surgery was on Memorial Day. I found myself alone in the waiting room. My husband was officiating a wedding. I was angry and anxious. I looked over and there was a Bible sitting on one of the tables. I picked it up, closed my eyes and prayed that I would find a comforting word from the Lord in the Bible. With eyes still closed, I opened it up and plopped my finger down on a verse that read "And he went out and hanged himself."
Instantly, I threw that Bible across the room. It hit the wall and landed askew on the floor. I looked around to see if anyone saw me and I looked for cameras. Then I picked it up and placed it on a table.
So much for a comforting word....
Oh dear. I am so glad to hear he is ok. That must have been so hard.
Shit!
“(Side note: my mother literally slapped a monkey once. True story. And a good one, right? Like you want to hear that, admit it. Too bad, I have other things to say today.)”
Oh, how I love this. Thanks for the laugh.
I hope the day comes soon when it's time for tales of monkey slaps. You can't just toss out a morsel like this and expect us to just let it go!
“OK, I’m being mean, again, shame on me, again.” You’re really not being mean. You are holding up a mirror to American evangelism, and if they don’t like what they see, well...
Deep and so good. Thank you for sharing your wisdom, and also being so open with your past hurts. Powerful stuff.
I see a lot of people wrapping themselves in the cloak of righteousness in the name of G_d. What I don't see is those people actually practicing the teachings of the man that we call Jesus of Nazareth. Too many of those "cloaked ones" try to tell everyone that they meet that they are the only one's who know the "will of G_d". To which I call BS on them. I've been very leery of the evangelicals since I first encountered (and survived) them in the late 1960s/early 1970s in the Methodist Church. Perhaps the Quakers (Religious Society of Friends) have a better understanding of what G_d may or may not want them to do. But the old Quaker aphorism rings true: Let your life speak.
Do as I say ,not as I do.
Says every Priest, Minister, Imam..........
With so much content in the world, it's impossible to keep up with all of the choices available. I know of you from The Bulwark - in fact, it was Jim Swift's restack that put this in front of me - and so, I was curious about your writing, but I kept putting things off. Well, thanks time off for the holidays, I finally read your article. It's fabulous! My wife is a former missionary (born in the Philippines) whose father had a similar calling. Of course, he too didn't want to serve in church or go on mission, but then apparently god tried to severely maim or kill him with a wheat thresher and convinced him of the error of his ways. Multiple major life decisions were made based on unverifiable, cryptic messages that only he experienced, striking most often in bed on sleepless nights. In the end, to each his own, but his decisions had multiple enduring impacts on my wife's life. That they are the result of someone's delusions of grandeur is an avoidable tragedy. Now, millions of Americans are making major decisions impacting the direction of our nation and threatening its survival as we know it, driven by a similar mass-delusion. This time, it seems god wants them to follow an evil man in fighting their (self-)righteous cause. Mysterious ways indeed.
First of all, thanks again for your unique mix of humor and wisdom.
I grew up Catholic, and for a while was a monk. We had a different take on "calling." We called it "discernment," which is like Magic 8-Ball calling except YOU HAVE TO DO THE WORK AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR DECISIONS.
Thank you Holly, for speaking my mind! Well said all around.
Im glad Holly didn't speak my mind, my wife would slap me senseless!
😂 😳
Oh Lord!
I'll be sure to send your wife a note!
The ultimate cautionary tale on Magic 8 Ball Bible, as I learned it in my youth: man decides to use Bible in said fashion to know definitely what God wants him to do. First time, it falls open to “...and Judas went, and hanged himself.” Uh, no, that can’t be right; tries again and gets “Go thou and do likewise.” No, no, no, one more try; “what thou doest, do quickly,” at which point he throws the Bible away and storms out in a huff.
Side note: my mother literally slapped a monkey once. True story.
Ahhh. The 80s. Everyone back then knew you had to shock the monkey. 🐒
Many callings but one gospel in the history of one people.
I was in Mali years ago where there were two groups of missionaries. One group had their act together and were more interested in accomplishing something to help the locals - education, health services, etc. than in "proclaiming the will of God." The other group was strictly oriented toward their religious doctrine. One of them talked about a family whose son was dying of meningitis and asked for help. It was obvious that they wanted treatment, but the SOB just prayed over them and then patted himself on the back for being a good Christian.
Catholics have less of a sense of being called but... I will relay this story from one of the most decent co-workers I ever had. He had been in the seminary but left. This was in the 1980s and he tells of how some seminarians entered the seminary with no real life experience. They were pious boys and found themselves not interested in girls while their peers were. They interpreted this as the gift of a vocation to the priesthood.
At some point while in the seminary they realized that they were excited by young men.... so the gift was not a vocation to the priesthood but the gift of being gay.
I suspect that many pious young men were directed to the seminary for this reason. One was an older cousin who said he would never marry. He became a priest. Though he may not have offended, he was good friends with a priest who molested a lot of teens and preteens.