When I was a kid a buddy of mine would occasionally drag me along to a Catholic church service with him, seeing how misery loves company, especially as a child. Even though I hadn’t a clue what was going on — being raised Protestant — I was always mesmerized by the outlandish garb, the thick incense, and especially the incomprehensible Latin that still kind of seemed to make sense. It all seemed so surreal, so magical.
I’m not m much of a church-goer, but I’ve never had that wondrous feeling at a Protestant service and I guess deep down I’ve always wished I had.
Perhaps if I had, I would have gone more to church.
Perhaps not.
More and more young Christians, disillusioned by the political binaries, economic uncertainties and spiritual emptiness that have come to define modern America, are finding solace in a decidedly anti-modern vision of faith. As the coronavirus and the subsequent lockdowns throw the failures of the current social order into stark relief, old forms of religiosity offer a glimpse of the transcendent beyond the present.
From The Future of Christianity Is Punk, New York Times, May 8, 2020
#alonetogetherbeingweird
Going backwards isn’t the answer.
Lol 😆. Dude that couldn’t be more modern if I soak my feet in it.
The idea that I can “choose my religion“ because of some criteria that I’m discerning that I need for spiritual outlet?
As though intellectually I’m going to choose to be mystified by all the sparkly things in strange gibberish that flow out of people’s mouth’s because I know it is under the rubric of “spirituality” or “ religion”?
That is just about the most ultra modern notion that one could ever enact.
It just goes to tell me that intellectualism has just gotten his self really stupid by thinking it self it’s so smart.
Damn. 😎
… but hey, I’m not knocking people’s desire to be moved. But I am challenging the intellectual justification for it. It just seems so ridiculous that somehow I could intellectually decide to do some thing to become more spiritual??
That is like the definition of modernity.
Whatever it takes to get you the place you need to get to to get you through the night peacefully I’m all for it… and by you I mean all.
Yeah. It just seems like the modern mind and it’s thinking wants to own everything, including its own mystical spiritual experience. It’s just kind of sad to me and I tend to react and not the best way probably .
… but, if I might humbly offer something a little bit more constructive: Look to the mystery that is oneself in such a strange world. Perhaps. Or look to the strangeness of oneself in such a Monday man and all too typical world.
Weird? not sure. Fearfully and Wonderfully made. YES. A Peculiar people? Yes.
Loved your post.
🙂
I am, a weird christian I mean
Christians are expected to have this cookie cutter personality of gentle smiles and naive, gentle thoughts, but Christians are people just like everyone else: each one unique and beautiful in their own way, with specific gifts crafted to aid them in sharing the gospel. So YES I am all for weird Christians! We can interact and connect with what society labels as “weird” people, whereas the “cookie cutter” Christians can not connect with them. We’re weird for a reason! We’re made with purpose!
“That proves you are unusual,” returned the Scarecrow; “and I am convinced that the only people worthy of consideration in this world are the unusual ones. For the common folks are like the leaves of a tree, and live and die unnoticed.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Land of Oz
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I suppose I’m weird as well. My father’s side of the family is full of preachers of the Pentecostal variety, but I was raised Catholic. Talk about awkward family functions. I know what you’re referring to, I’m not a practicing Catholic anymore, but I do still have an affection for certain traditions. The Easter Vigil, for example, always seemed so mysterious and sacred. I haven’t experienced that in a protestant church either. It’s kind of sad. I think it can be attributed to the fact that people worship in different ways, both personally and corporately, and different types of worship touch people differently. 🙂