Re: [pf] Back on list

by Nan Hildreth

15 December 2000 22:26 UTC

At 12:17 PM 12/15/00 -0800, Kaleopono wrote:
> Should I repost the stuff I sent that
>didn't get through?  Or just forget about it?

I'm OK either way.  

I've been so engrossed with the radical religious list, www.sojo.net that I'm 
neglecting my chores.    I appreciate your clippings.  I don't read a paper.  I 
have forwarded some to Sojourners list.  Their focus is the poor and so it's 
good cross fertilization.   That "oil is going to run out" post from someone 
here that I cross-posted generated a VERY long, passionate, productive thread. 

Sojourners traffic is horrendous.  I'm the only one who doesn't call herself a 
Christian.   They've been very kind.  Their concept of "sister" is "anyone who 
doesn't like the Christian Coalition.  Wallis, their professional leadership, 
is busy uniting Christians to work against poverty.  www.calltorenewal.com    
In a speech he said it reminded him of uniting rival gangs.  

I'm learning a bit of practical theology.  Secular folks call it emotional 
intelligence.  Whatever, it's a requirement for effective activism.   For 
example, devotion to money is OK, as long as it doesn't slip into idolatry.  As 
long as it's kept in check by our ethical convictions.   It's good for me to 
gain confidence about words that Houston's ethical folks will understand. 

I'm learning a lot of politics too.  I'm surprised that I have something to 
teach them.  Several have applauded me for challenging them.  Together we're 
hammering out a vision of politics that is not primarily a hope of a 
legislative "fix".    Quinn says don't hang your hopes on new laws.  "The world 
will not be saved by old minds with new programs but new minds with no 
programs."  Wallis' Soul of Politics goes beyond Ishmael to define 
transformation. 

Now I'm reading Wallis' new book, Faith Works.  Chapter titles like "Trust Your 
Questions"  "Get to the Heart of the matter"  "Throw out old labels, its' the 
values that count". Great stuff.

Gotta run.


Nan Hildreth, Houston  713-864-7108

"A vision of politics must be articulated that clarifies the essential moral 
issues at stake in any political discussion."  "The alternative to the passive 
politics of the status quo is a prophetic politics of personal and social 
transformation.  However, the movement from one to the other will change our 
very understanding of politics."  

Jim Wallis, The Soul of Politics: A Practical and Prophetic Vision for Change, 
1994 http://www.sojo.net