[Magdalen] Right now: Paris.

[Sally Davies]

I think one of the most painful aspects of this and similar experiences -
for me at any rate - is the realisation (once again) that "there is no
we".  Unless each one of us goes out of our way to seek unity and that
means submission, "considering others above ourselves" and all the rest of
it. And can we do this? Experience suggests: not often.

It means being willing to be the kind of humble peacemaker that Jesus said
would be called a child of God, who would bear God's name and likeness. It
means being yielded to Spirit...

Unity achieves nothing important if it's just the unity of those who agree,
of pleasant and agreeable (or compliant) company, of hearing opinions that
affirm what we have already decided to believe. Such unity falls apart as
soon as there is a failure to agree on something that matters, or even on
the facts of a matter.

To the extent that it becomes difficult to see this terrorist
horror through the eyes of love and compassion - and I find that extremely
difficult - it is a reminder of how far I, personally, have strayed from
God's standard. How little I have yielded in all these years...

I am shocked and appalled. I'm disappointed, I'm despondent for the world
my young boys are inheriting. I'm sickened by double standards, saddened by
the invisibility of some people's suffering - though not by the visibility
given to others - since Kenya, Lebanon, Mali, Somalia, and the
non-combatants of Syria and Iraq would not be more cared about if France
were less cared about.

And I'm ashamed of myself that I'm already over-full with it, seeking some
shallow escape at every opportunity. That I have such a short concentration
span, like most of my fellow humans I suspect.

That it's easier for me, even though not easy, to resonate with an
outpouring of passion on Sky News or in the Pub or on Facebook, than to
think of something to say to my colleague who just lost her mother,
suddenly, shockingly, and far too young.

I'm not a moral idiot but I'm no moral example either.

I like things that are definite and there's nothing definite here. But I
have decided to do one thing: I will follow the example of John Kerry and
refer to the group-formerly-known-as-IS, as Daesh or The Daesh Death Cult.

It may be that the only way to reduce the Death Cult's power is to kill the
leaders one by one and dismantle the structure thereafter. I will not
apologise for a sense of relief when I hear of their deaths, because they
are to humanity what a cancer cell is to a normal cell. But that does not
mean their individual deaths are cause to rejoice.

Nor that "we are at war" is an any sense an adequate response. Perhaps
"we" will all have to depart this world and another, more imaginative
generation arise, for an adequate response, a better unity, to be found.

Sally D






On Monday, November 16, 2015, Molly Wolf <lupa at kos.net> wrote:

> So your audience -- that is, the Magdalen pub -- contains moral idiots
> inferior to you?  How flattering.
>
> A good homiletic rule is "preach to the people in the pew, not out the
> back door."
>
> Gnarliness does not equal superior wisdom.
>
> Molly
>
> The man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no
> other way. -- Mark Twain
>
> > On Nov 16, 2015, at 5:46 AM, Jim Guthrie <jguthrie at pipeline.com
> <javascript:;>> wrote:
> >
> > From: James Oppenheimer-Crawford
> >
> >>> We are all appalled at the Paris attacks -- as we have been right
> along by
> >>> suicidal bombers and killers. Not that the death toll in all these
> attacks
> >>> in a given year is less than the number of gun deaths in the United
> States,
> >>> but it's those Jihadi Terrorists and not the NRA Crowd.
> >
> >> WTF "we" are you talking about?  Do you refer to "we" as those living in
> >> your house?
> >
> > Well, maybe 'm wrong.Maybe not everyone is appalled by what happened in
> Paris, nor appalled by terrorism whether Jihadi or home-grown.
> >
> > Obviously, YMMV.
> >
> > Of course, I find the notion of not thinking it appalling pretty
> appalling in itself.
> >
> > Jim Guthrie
>