Bigger than religion..

9 Feb 2012 | No Comments | posted by NNW | in Natarsha N. Wright

Tonight’s World Religion class was insightful. As I gain a deeper understanding of life as it relates to spirituality, religion, culture and self two things I have known about myself that this class sealed for me is: 1 – I am not a religious person. 2 – I’m definitely not conservative.

If we only try to find God in religion we are missing out on so much. God transcends religion. As Professor Nuako would say, “Leave your Jesus at the door.” So needless to say four weeks ago I left Jesus at the door and he has been standing there ever since.

N.

Book Review…

8 Feb 2012 | No Comments | posted by NNW | in Natarsha N. Wright

I am one month into Divinity School and it has been interesting. We just finished up God’s Long Summer by Charles Marsh in my Christian Social Ethics class. This book explored the faith of five Christians during the Civil Rights era. This book is an examination of how different interpretations of the Bible led to different reactions to the civil rights movement and is an invaluable contribution to the study of religion and history. Here is a quick synopsis of the book I grabbed from google.com:

• Fannie Lou Hamer, sharecropper turned voting rights activist who loved Jesus. Fannie Lou Hammer had endured the burdens of white racism for forty-four years as a sharecropper living in the Delta of Mississippi. After listening to an inspirational speech on civil rights delivered by James Bevel, Hamer answered the “call of Jesus” which demanded sacrifice but promised freedom and empowerment. This spiritual awakening would ultimately thrust Hamer into the national spotlight at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City.

• Sam Bowers, Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, anti-civil rights. During the mid-1960’s, Bowers was suspected of engineering at least nine murders, seventy-five bombings of black churches, and over three hundred assaults. Yet, like with Hamer, faith in God played a major role in Bower’s life. Bower’s believed that he had been called by God to eliminate the “heretics” or civil rights activists. An educated Klansman, committed Southern Baptist Sunday School teacher and defender of racial orthodoxy, Bowers militant language was filled with religious images ranging from the resurrected Christ to the image of Elijah resisting the prophets of Baal.

Douglas Hudgins, Influential Southern Baptist Pastor who refused to take a stand against white terrorism. A prominent Southern Baptist and pastor of First Baptist Church of Jackson, Hudgins instead preached that the Gospel of Jesus Christ “has nothing to do with social movements or realities beyond the church; it’s a matter of individual salvation.

Ed King, white Methodist minister who campaigned to integrate local white congregations. The results of a devastating tornado in Ed King’s hometown during his senior year of high school opened his eyes to the racial injustice endured by blacks. King’s newly found social conscious had profound religious sources. While a theology student at Boston University, King discovered a wide range of organizations exploring the intersections between faith and social justice. Committed to civil rights, King returned to Mississippi in hope of reforming the church. King sought to translate the idea of a beloved community into social reality.

Cleveland Sellers, young black college student who transdormed into a militant black nationalist. Raised in a middle-class black family in South Carolina, Cleveland Sellers faith in Christ caused him to enter the fight for racial justice. Influenced by Stokley Carmichael, Sellers eventually gave up on his commitment to nonviolence and the beloved community and embraced a form of Black Power which purged the movement of white participation. After serving time in prison, Sellers returned to his childhood faith in the Episcopal Church and once again began to dream of the beloved community.

After reviewing this book and engaging in thought provoking conversations with my classmates I had to make this situation more current and think about how people in general in today’s society interpret the Bible…well, not just the Bible, but information in general. People process information at different levels. Two people can look at the same picture and see two different things…the same thing with a book of information, i.e. the Bible. Two people can read the same information and come up with two different views.

Change…

15 Dec 2011 | No Comments | posted by NNW | in Natarsha N. Wright

Today, I received a letter. It was unlike any other letter that I have received. This letter is my acceptance letter to Howard University Divinity School for Spring 2012. One year ago I had not set out for this path. In fact, it was not even an option for me, but when you avail yourself to God’s plan for your life things change. Everything I thought I knew about my life’s dreams, goals, direction have changed in the last few years. It’s no longer about what I desire, but my prayer language has changed from what I want for me, but it is now, “Lord let thy will be done” in my life. I now realize and know that His ways are better than my ways.

I desire to learn more broadly about religion and spirituality. I’m not a religious person, but am interested in learning about culture, religion, and society. As I get older I’m more liberal in my views and not so closed minded about life. What changed? I started to get to know God for myself and traveling around the world has allowed me to take the limits off in my thinking. After being exposed to various cultures I’m learning that we limit ourselves when we contain our thinking and have become one sided on our views about life, religion, and spirituality.

I’m excited about this journey and can’t wait to see what I’ll discover.