I was talking with a good friend last night, a woman I’ve known all my life, and she said she was surprised by the lack of response to my “Dumbledore Gay?” posting. I had been surprised too, and asked her where her comment was. She said that she was reluctant to join the conversation because it feels like a blog for Christians and she is a Babylonian. Well, she certainly is, and a happy one at that. She’s actually one of my favourite Babylonians, and I certainly don’t want her, or anyone else, to feel excluded.
Perhaps it’s a bit early to be expecting a lot of feedback from anyone. – Does patience take longer to develop than the other virtues, or does it just seem longer? – And I understand that if you identify as a Babylonian you might be reluctant to jump in till you have a sense of how you’ll be received. None of us needs to court rejection, which I suppose, is another way of saying we all want to be loved, so let’s be clear, I love Babylon and Babylonians. I think God put me here, not to punish me, but because it’s a great place for me to be. He did it because he loves me, and he loves the people he put me among. And he expects all of us to get to know and love one another.
So, I hope the Babylonians will feel free to take part in the discussion. The person I’ve mentioned has taught me a lot about Babylon, and she’s one of the reasons I love the place. As we go along, I trust that what we mean by Babylon will become clearer. And I trust that our love for Babylon will get clearer too.
3 comments:
Man, I am lost re. Babylon (-ians etc!). Am I a Babylonian? I don't think I'd know one if I saw one so obviously I seem to be missing the concept?? However, I do wish for any meaningful conversation re. community - today, past, present and future. What does it all mean, how can we build it, maintain it and live peacefully? Is that what Babylon is all about??
Perhaps the concept might be summarized as follows. Prior to the fall of Jerusalem the Hebrews lived in a world of broad consensus. They had one God, one temple, one set of laws; they were only exposed to Hebrew food, dress, values, and lifestyle, and so assumed that this was the only and right way to live. In Babylon they were suddenly an insignificant minority in a pluralistic world trying to figure out how to relate to these strange Babylonians; their values, lifestyles and many gods? I think we have a similar problem today. Most of us over forty grew up in a relatively monolithic, Zion-like (Christian-ish) world. But now we're in a pluralistic world, trying to figure out how to live. Almost all of us are Babylonians to some extent. It's home now, and we love the variety and freedom. But we are sometimes confused and frightened. Ambiguity can be very threatening and stressful. So, how do we live together. As a Christian pastor I ask myself the question, "What does God expect of us?" And Babylonians of other communities also have to ask themselves what's expected.
Hi Dan,
I trust (and hope) you are saving these blogs in a place other than the blogosphere. I have in mind you work on a book of your thoughts on this topic, which I know you have considered for a long time. You have a temperate-ness to your thoughts that is not that well-expressed in what Tom Sine called long ago - the "culture wars" in Christianity. The issue is that we Christians scare people away because we are so doctrinaire and not so loving as we could be. I think you have much to add in this area of our thinking as Christians. I once read a news article about a Catholic mom who stood up at a school board meeting and proclaimed “We need to get back to solid Catholic teaching, and enough of this ‘love your neighbor’ stuff!”
So this is Jim, the writer, saying – save your work. It would need editing, but I can see the blog as a space to explore and utilize your interests.
Jim
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