Tethered To Christianity
Submitted by rlp on Thu, 02/28/2008 - 07:27.
I saw my father preach the other day. His hair is now white, and the skin on his face has loosened with age, but this is the same man whose face I saw above the pulpit throughout my childhood. He stood like a captain in the bow of the ship that he loves, confident that the vessel would rise and fall with his voice and break the waves of human need as it sailed to the promised land.
Click here to read the rest of this essay at The Christian Century online.
Archive of Christian Century Articles by Gordon Atkinson
rlp
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Beautiful
That was a beautifully riveting essay, RLP.
When I reached, "He still drives his ship toward the horizon, mind you, but she makes him tack to get there," I nearly started weeping. (There was a little dust in my eye, to be sure.)
Thanks.
I think I like you,
I think I like you, preacher, because you admit that, for you, faith is an act of will.
How did you first feel
How did you first feel called to ministry Gordon? I am interested to know.
I'm with you
Your story is very like my own. I'm learning that "there is no going back once you've lost your footing", that the best I can do is "feed the story to others while I myself am never quite filled".
I think I'm okay with that. I think I can be comforted by the brothers and sisters who make a place for me in their community. Still, I'm glad that there are others with me here at the edge of the light.
Without dust in my eye....
....I wept. Thank you, Gordon.
So so beautiful. Thank you
So so beautiful. Thank you so much. this is a piece I will read and re read.
Article
Spectacular.
The old man and the sea
"He still drives his ship toward the horizon, mind you, but she makes him tack to get there."
I started to tear up a little at that line. It captures what I want to have with my own wife, and what I'm confident we will.
Tethered to Christianity
"Jung would say that my father participates fully in the myth of his people. My father and other Christians would wince at that statement, but Jung understood myth in a broad sense. I would say it this way: The Christian story is my father's only story, and he lives completely in that story. People like my father move history along by living within the reality of their stories. They are immersed in the plasma of human history, swimming through it, surrounded by it, making it happen."
Very aptly written! It's obvious your love for your parents and a deep sense of appreciation for the legacy they have passed on to you.
Beautifu!
Priceless piece ... rlp!
I love the honesty about your faith ... it is refreshing to hear that.
I share your identification
with the man from Mark. In fact, my entrance essay to Luther Seminary begins with exactly that quote. I just wrote an essay where I spoke about a developmentally disabled woman in Mexico at a mission there. Whenever she spoke, I was astonished at how much she had woven herself into the story of Jesus. I realized that it is something I hope for, but like you, I warm my hands at a fire that seems distant and difficult to access at times. Sometimes, I find myself questioning whether there is even a fire and the crowd is blocking my view to a squirrel or an ember in the bed of the forest. Other times, the glow and heat are powerful enough to make me sweat. Your story is beautiful and the image of being tethered is very helpful for me to hear...as I face graduation and the search for a church that would have me as their pastor.
Peace to you, RLP!
Seth
"Beyond the desert of
"Beyond the desert of criticism, we wish to be called again."
-- Paul Ricoeur, "The Symbolism of Evil" p. 351
A wager of faith, you have made -- your wager is not senseless, and is worth everything because something is said in this story that cannot be told any other way.
Gordon: The best you've ever
Gordon:
The best you've ever written. At least the one I identify with most of all (and therefore, best written!). This is why I read your blog. Find myself similarly tethered, yet scanning the horizon to see all those other ships and wave to their "tethers". I stray to the edge, but have seen the darkness and will not step over.
My parents are somewhat similar, although Dad is always encouraging me to THINK, while Mom knows the value in FEEL.
Keep it up - I was pounding my fist on the desk as I read (in agreement) and knocked over the keyboard. That's a first for me!
Kirby
This is wonderful. It
This is wonderful. It connects so well to a conversation my husband and I had yesterday concerning our faith. We are lovers of other ships and sometimes that doesn't sit well with our families.
Also, please tell us more about your mother. I'm intrigued...
hello
hello
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