Ethics Reflection: Re-imagining

Ethics Reading Reflection – Erin Kruger April 16^th

Occupy Religion and The Occupy Handbook

Rieger and Pui-lan present a theology of the multitude grounded in the Greek ekklesia nature of church, God’s place in restoring relationships while siding with the abused and exploited, and a consideration of ecclesial practices and rituals that could structure this faith community.  Within light of the Ocuppy Movement’s focus on the ineffectiveness of a top-down economy and the oppressive powers in a hierarchical economic structure, these authors point out that the default images of God are dominant and powerful.  The classic theism originating from dominant Roman philosophical ideas of God as omnipotent, immutable, and impassable contributes to another oppressive hierarchical power system in which God is at the top.  Striving to reimagine these concepts of God through scriptures in which Jesus lives and teaches mercy, kindness, and a preference to the poor also means a reimaging of neighbor towards appreciation and respect. 

            The articles in the Occupy Handbook range in topics from Voluntary Financial Transaction Tax and Medicare to Global Capitalism through Smuggling.  Each author offering different critiques on the current economic system supporting their understanding as to how America (and the world) got here and what could perhaps change towards something more positive.  I must admit, I am still very fuzzy within Gross’s explainations of Procyclicality as to the physics of leverage, and find While and Li’s background on the difficulties of bankruptcy legislation and reform fascinating, mortgages in general I find an elusive realm.  It was Mathews article on a “Globalization from Below” that struck a chord with my worldview.  In response to a story of the reality of a merchant being cheated, Mathews explains “It’s a common story, but most merchants talk neither or cheating more of being cheated, but only of their ongoing efforts to make a living in a business whose parameters, due to ever-changing rates, an ever-changing flow of customers, and an ever- change array of phones for sale, are always difficult.”  (Kindle, 462) 

            In a world in which making a living is always difficult, the theology of the multitude attempts to give a deep sense of hope rooted in God.  Addressing these very real everyday concerns, so quickly can become life or death especially in developing countries, also must address who God is and as followers of God how to live within broken relationships, class oppression, and as events of Monday April 15^th feature – violence.  Rieger and Pui-lan’s question if the dominant images of God speak to our experiences (especially in The Occupy Movement) and the implications to how we understand both humanity and divinity.  Although ones own anthropology does impact their theology, I have become suspicious of approaching God through human experience if not also explicitly also through scripture and tradition.  My own human experience is, like so many others, very broken, and it becomes easy through that brokenness to want God on “my” side.  Grounding in study, solidarity with the community, and scripture all guide me to agreeing with many of the solutions offered in envisioning what church could mean from the bottom up.  I simply hold tightly to keeping the focus of the faith and the church on God, and allowing a firm grounding in the love of God to be what nurtures and inspires people of faith to care for every other living thing.    

I am drawn to this quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer (in Letters and Papers from Prison) "It is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith.... In so doing, we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God, taking seriously, not our own sufferings, but those of God in the world."  

Yes - let's reimagine God together.  

Yes - let's live in solidarity with one another with appreciation and mutual respect.  

Yes - it's going to be hard.  

Yes - let's challenge oppressive hierarchical systems like the economy.  

Always through and with the Triune God who lives and walks in the world as is it, guiding us towards a world as it should be.  

Wading through the mess of the economy, TOGETHER.

Ethics April 9^th

Readings from The Occupy Handbook and Making a Way out of No Way – Monica Coleman

Monica Coleman presents in the later half of her book, a well presented framework for a post-modern womanist theology as an action seeking wholeness and healing.  In comparisons with process theology, Coleman ties strongly to Cobbs (and others) use of the concept “creative transformation” to address salvation as a process or a change.  Also essential to Coleman’s format is the previous chapters work on understanding the communal aspect of life, and also of sin.  Salvation then is as well communal.  This deep creative transformation Cobb finds as the central piece of his Christology.  While Coleman respects this, she does not require it in a theology of “making a way out of no way”.  Chapter 4 goes on to highlight the crucial connecting piece of ancestors and the past within a salvation of change.  “Rememory” and being in touch with ones ancestors are ways of keeping the past alive and not repeating the mistakes of history.  These concepts help one to be grounded in tradition as a way of working towards the future.  Coleman demonstrates the concepts of destructive transformation, creative transformation, ancestral immorality, saviors, and the challenge of salvation through an analysis of two pieces of black literature.  Alongside an excellent and detailed exploration into traditional African religion, Coleman presents a moving and dynamic theology of salvation through transformative change as “making a way out of no way.” 

The combination of articles in The Occupy Handbook for this week (pg 309-396) highlighted and offered solutions to the broken economic systems of capitalism around taxation, legislation, corporate personhood, and higher education costs.  The statistics and facts around each of these aspects of the current financial system and crisis are complex and overwhelming to many, including myself.  The concepts of corporate ethics and self-regulation have proven to be idealist and detrimental.  Solutions seem to be offered in every which direction, beginning with a basic understanding that financial crises will happen in free market economies (Martin Wolf).  Constitutional amendments seem to offer hope that self-regulation did not live up to, equal percentage taxation is not a reality and seems to be a more just option, and the concept of “smart loans” by Eliot Spitzer where student loans are not a flat rate but a percentage of income offers hope to many crumbled by debt.  Yet, as as Cowen and de Rugy remind us, the claims of the OWS movement are complex and perhaps should be reframed, opening up the concepts of income inequality from the 99% versus the 1% to a more multifaceted view of society. 

Many of the solutions offered echo Monica Colemans post-modern womanist theology are echoed in the solutions of so many of these authors.  Salvation and change are incredibly difficult, but necessary and must happen communally.  There is an important place for the past, however not as something to cling to.  The Occupy Movement has done amazing and difficult work around exposing the destructiveness of the modern free market capitalist economy.  There are not easy answers, and much of the situation is intertwined within systems that both provide order and oppression.  Conversations and knowledge must be the first place the community can turn to.  The creative transformation has to begin somewhere, perhaps with the Occupy Movement.  There is hope for authentic healing and wholeness yet, if we are willing to wade through the mess together.  

Eco-ethics, the reality of the Globe and a Vision for Change

Erin Kruger

Processing readings from “Blessed are the Consumers” by Sally McFague, and four articles from “Post Carbon Reader” compiled by Heinberg and Lerch, leaves a reader with definite knowledge that there are many serious crises concerning the health of the earth and how society functions.  Heavy topics such as poverty, peak oil, and the scalability of alternative energy are subjects that are to be avoided in polite conversation, yet the hard facts of these writings show the reader that this silence is only irritating the problems even more and a change – not a slight change – but a deep change is possible and desperately needed. 

McFague argues for restraint, and presents a model within the Christian faith tradition of “kenosis”, a self emptying of oneself.  She cites the examples of lives such as Augustine, John Woolman, and Dorothy Day (to name a few) to show how a radical life change, steeped in experiences with others and intentional everyday life choices, understanding their effect on others, illustrates the power of kenosis.  Could this kind of change have a positive effect on the financial and ecological crisis?  If one believes that the little choices one makes everyday from choosing paper over plastic or walking instead of driving a car has an impact, then a shift in how and why one makes these choices significantly affects the entirety of a person.

Post Carbon Reader presents the facts around the difficult issues of global warming and energy consumption in a very accessible way.  Bill McKibben does not try to warm up a reader to the reality as he states “Global warming is happening.  It’s been happening.  It’s much worse than we think.  The climate is changing…”  and goes on to show, as many have before him, that climate change is real and linked to human behavior from the melting of the icecaps, the rise in lightning strikes and consecutive fires, a increase in severe ocean storms as a result of a combination of several of these issues all together.  Daniel Lerch explains in simple terms the concept of Peak Oil and points out that this unique product is intrinsically tied to the capitalist marketplace and the global economic system both in public and private sectors.  J. David Hughes, in his article Hydrocarbons in North America, clearly lays out the percentage of each of the major energy sources that the US consumes (hint, it’s not comparable to the general global population’s consumption).  Digging deeper, David Fridley presents his article Nine Challenges of Alternative Energy describing the complicated issues surrounding other energy sources.  The scalability and timing, mostly tied to issues of production and extraction, is one of the crucial issues and plays into many of the others that Fridley lists.  Each of these continues to show the depth of the problems that our current world is so entrenched in.  However, Fridley is still hopeful after these articles, almost echoing the argument of McFauge, “alternative energy forms are crucial for global transition away from fossil fuels, despite the myriad of challenges of their development, scaling, and integration.”  (LOC 4180, Kindle Edition, emphasis mine) 

McFauge presents a four-fold process from belief to action that highlights this transition or process.  Leaders in the church need to continue to be aware that each person is in a different place within their journey.  Walking with someone along their journey is a tremendous honor.  As I walk alongside others, I strive to remember that each one of us comes from our own contexts and have great things to share.  Consumerism and the crises of ecology and economy matter to me, however how I share that with others can either help bring another along a similar path or alienate them in a way that can take many other paths. 

To help dig deeper into these issues I am often curious and ask others, do you have any memories of special places in your life?  Who in your life took you outside?  Where are some of your favorite nature images? How does that place or image make you feel? 

I believe that we as humans are deeply relational and an interdependent part of our larger ecosystems.  The modern world has allowed humans to live in some terms isolated from our natural systems, however many of us find deep meaning in them.  This connection for me is the basis of movement from belief to action. 

Reason, Truth, and Globalization

Ethics of Hope Week #4

Readings for today – Making a Way Out of No Way, by Monica Coleman (first 2 chapters) and 3 articles from The Occupy Handbook – Economic Insecurity and Inequality Breed Political Instability – Nouriel Roubini, Globalization and the Perils of Democracy – Pankaj Mishra, and “15M”: The Indignados – Salvador Marti Puig

These readings are particularly enlightening in light of my life experience of the past two years.  Observing and participating in the Wisconsin re-call election of Governor Scott Walker, as well as the 2012 Presidential Election, and my move from rural to Wisconsin have each added to my personal understanding and experience with regards to politics and their effect on the reality of everyday human life and suffering. 

Monica Coleman self identifies as a womanist theologian, a form of liberation theology (with an important difference from a feminist theologian) as well as a postmodern process theologian, and a black woman.  She presents five other voices of womanist theologians focusing on their individual responses on salvation.  It is interesting to note that each author focuses on how salvation addresses most importantly the multidimensionality of human suffering.  Jacquelyn Grant eloquently opposes a view of atonement based on the idea of Christ as “suffering servant” pointing out how damaging it has been to the most vulnerable of society.  Discussions of the surrogacy of Black Women both imposed and voluntarily chosen is highlighted by Delores Williams, which builds into a salvation process of addressing sin – not the death of Christ on the cross.  Each of these voices and more contribute to Coleman’s presentation of process theology in chapter 2 through a postmodern lens.  Alfred North Whitehead’s philosophical contributions to postmodern though are applied to the reality of deep human struggle with issues such as evil, sin, freedom and ultimately – God.  

The Occupy Handbook articles continue to speak to the issues of inequality, especially in light of political structures and globalization.  Nouriel Roubini speaks to the effect of globalization and the complex social, economic, and financial issues and struggles of countries from China to the U.S.  He points out that in this system there are clear winners and losers.   Pankaj Mishra questions the prospect of democracy as a whole in light of so many countries struggles to balance economic desires with social stability.  Salvador Marti Puig presents a recent view of Spain’s economic crisis and the events around May 15^th, 2011 and the indignados movement.  Through this protest the organizers were able to draw attention to major issues of political parties, the amount of power of the financial markets in politics, and justice issues around unemployment and layoffs as companies moved out of the country. 

Combined, this conversation is more complex than I pretend to understand, or even entirely grasp.  I was touched however by Coleman’s discussion on the power in holding truth.  As each culture understands truth and attempts to honor it, the impact of globalization to continually bring so much of the world together brings inevitable disagreement.  Power added into these differing understandings of truth brings mistrust and often violence in reaction to fear of others and their “truths”.  Globalization and diversity do have clear economic and power based winners and losers – however the challenge of communicating and respecting one another also brings authentic community and I would argue todays vision of the Kingdom of God on our beautiful and diverse earth.  

For me as well as Coleman, God must address the suffering through salvation.  How long can we as a general society continue to not?  How long can the larger church continue to believe that all people can live together peacefully without intentional work and some kind of reparations or at least acknowledgment of the depths of the multidimensional suffering so many around the world experience today?  

Asking the Questions

Week # 3 - Ethics of Hope, in an Age of Crisis 

It is a fascinating connection to me as Jurgen Moltmann in Ethics of Hope links ethics to eschatology.  This reminds me of Wright's belief in Surprised by Hope, that one's view of hope is linked to their views on death.  Moltmann begins by laying out a discussion of eschatologies - first apocalyptic, then christological, separatistic, and finally transformative eschatology.   Following these descriptions is a passionate description of an ethic of life, especially relating to what he refers to as a modern “religion of death”.  Questions raised by Moltmann around ethical solutions are not far off from some of the issues raised in light of the recent financial field, as presented in several essays from Byrne’s The Occupy Handbook. 

Apocalyptic eschatology, as Moltmann describes, views the future as not yet decided but awaits a final struggle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil.  Christ then, can be view as the light of God against the devil at the end of history.  He raises a very important question - is a view of a struggle between two kingdoms right in light of the victory of Christ over sin death, and devil?  Moltmann leans on Karl Barth is his discussion of christological eschatology, focusing on how God has revealed himself completely and finally in Christ and furthermore has already reconciled the world through Christ.  Separatist eschatology questions if there even exists “Christian Ethics”.  Arguing that Christians do not have any better solutions to the ethical problems of society, the way of Christ becomes the model and understanding of how and why to act.  It is here that Moltmann raises a new question – “The question asked of Christian ethics is not whether is has good or better solutions for general social or political problems.  The question is preeminently whether the way and teaching of Jesus has to be taken seriously.” (LOC 666- Kindle Edition)  Following the “way of the cross” became the predominant distinguishing belief of Anabaptists.  Transformative eschatology focuses instead on how the message of Christ’s teaching and salvation together are transformative with emphasis on Revelations 21:5 “Behold I make all things new.”  This eschatology has significant practical applications, similar to separatist eschatology, in the anticipation of the kingdom of God efforts in peace and social justice work.  

            A Christian understanding of ethics is greatly tied to a view on eschatology, be it one Moltmann described above, a combination, or another.  In light of current global difference in quality of life, it is important to note that each of these frameworks values human life.  The vast suffering, inequality, and disparity across the globe today does not however foster an atmosphere always valuing human life.  “Competition in modern societies has nothing to do with satisfying the basic needs of life.” (Moltmann, LOC 1092).  As greed and fear continue to make games out of everyday community life, Moltmann points out public spirit and trust disappear along with a commitment to the common good.  This only intensifies the inequality that runs throughout the essays found in The Occupy Handbook.   As Gillian Tett explains the dangers of silos (tunnel vision) and silence, she notes this sense of competition within business which does not allow for communication and sharing of resources.  John Cassidy dares to ask questions of “responsible finance” and quotes Paul Woolley “Why on earth should finance be the biggest and most highly paid industry when it’s just a utility, like sewage or gas?... It is like a cancer that is growing to infinite size, until it takes over the entire body.” (Byrne, 59) While Reinhard and Rogoff give an background on how the financial system arrived at where it is – first with a setting in financial patterns of innovation, followed by investment, and finally a lose in value.  Second, looking at the roots of the crises with a correlation in freer capital mobility, and finally examining the repetitive symptoms of this historical pattern. 

These understandings beg a re-examination of the questions being asked.  The financial crisis is a majorly complex issue, and from my lens of faith is an ethical issue as well.  Research is crucial, as are statistics – however as Moltmann and Woolley both hint at – sometimes it’s more about questions being asked.  

What is the purpose and is the system serving its purpose?  

How does involvement in this financial system, which is a requirement for all citizens, fit or ignore the teachings of Christ? 

I believe that discussion, as Gillian Tett points out, of these complicated (often seen as boring) matters is crucial to both understanding and addressing the reality of the financial crisis.  Acknowledging and educating others and ourselves is the first step to making informed choices.  As I rest in the hope that Jesus came to earth as the incarnate Son of God, I am reminded of his words to serve one another here and now.  The greed and consequent inequality which creates a reality where others do not have their basic needs is not merely a symptom of a broken earthly kingdom that Jesus will fix when he returns, but a result of the community of believers failing in the mission of continuing the work of the kingdom on earth. 

It’s not easy.  Slogans and catch phrases are much easier - Live simply so others can simply live.  Yet, the questions must be asked, sat with, and finally responded to.   

May we all seek and work for peace.  ~ Erin