30 March 2007
Anarchy, the long way 'round
My mum's been going through quite a saga. A few years back, she was living in this wonderful care-a-minium, the sort of place where elderly people can live independent lives with the safety net of a caretaker on premises who can check in on them and a resident chef who can cook for them a few times a week. She loved it. The caretaker and chef were kind, wonderful people who went beyond their mandate to ensure everyone who lived there was safe and happy. Then the christians took over.
A rumour hit the place that the chef was having a gay affair with one of the residents. This spurred on a wave of righteous indignation from a vocal minority of the residents. One upstanding fellow bullied his way into the chair of the strata council with the help of his fundamentalist cronies. From there he launched a campaign to get rid of the chef and caretaker, arguing that strata fees were too high. He eventually succeeded and ended up stripping the complex of the services that made it a good place to live. Now it's just a big stucco monstrosity filled with bitter old conservatives. Mum moved.
Unfortunately, when all of this was going on. She was trying to get back in touch with her spiritual side. She was taking this course called Alpha - a sort of back-to-basics refresher course on christianity. It was because she still had a rosy outlook on the god thing that when she moved, she thought she would be happy in a christian seniors' condominium. It didn't have the same services, but it did have an active, community feel about it.
After a while it became clear that it wasn't an ideal arrangement. The community was a group of Dutch Reformed Church members, immigrants all. They were a bit cliquey and preferred their own company, conversing in Dutch rather than English. Mum, a Londoner, didn't fit in. Also, the community activities consisted of a weekly coffee klatch with hymns and such. She stopped going to these after a while when she failed to make social inroads. She did make some acquaintances in the building among a few outsiders. Nothing close or fulfilling, though. Now she's looking to move again.
Her condo has been on the market for a few weeks now and a few prospective buyers have come to take a look. The other day, when one couple arrived to have a viewing, mum ran into another resident in the lobby. The lady pulled her aside and said that whoever bought her place should be a "good christian". Mum took it as an inference that she wasn't. Her absence at the hymn sessions had been noticed and frowned upon.
I'm relating these stories mostly because she's been upset over the whole ordeal. The actions of her neighbours aren't necessary and they only add to the other fucked up shit going on in her life that I won't comment on in this forum. I worry about her. Yesterday she marked the 20th anniversary of my father's death - the day after her 76th birthday. I'm writing this at three in the morning because I can't sleep from thinking about it. This isn't a blog about my personal life though. I'm a slave to the theme.
One thing I thought about in relation to this saga is the recurring need to control that keeps cropping up in these christian communities. In one, a small group decided to take action and weed out those who failed to submit to their twisted moral code. In another, acceptance is only awarded to those who participate in the rituals of homage and supplication. Other bloggers have discussed the pattern of dominance and submission among christians - the need to submit to authority or to be the authority submitted to. It comes as a side effect of being a serf in the kingdom of god, I suppose.
There it is, all laid out for your consideration. There tends to be a need to reinforce these authoritarian hierarchies in the christian world. It might be a side effect of the dogma and ritual. It may be that the dogma and ritual attract those who strongly desire a rigid chain of command. I'm curious though. If authoritarianism is a key element of christianity as I propose, is it possible for an anarchist to be a christian? Are there any christian anarchists?
edit: I guess I should have Googled. It was a hurried post. Even so, does a Wikipedia entry make something true?
A rumour hit the place that the chef was having a gay affair with one of the residents. This spurred on a wave of righteous indignation from a vocal minority of the residents. One upstanding fellow bullied his way into the chair of the strata council with the help of his fundamentalist cronies. From there he launched a campaign to get rid of the chef and caretaker, arguing that strata fees were too high. He eventually succeeded and ended up stripping the complex of the services that made it a good place to live. Now it's just a big stucco monstrosity filled with bitter old conservatives. Mum moved.
Unfortunately, when all of this was going on. She was trying to get back in touch with her spiritual side. She was taking this course called Alpha - a sort of back-to-basics refresher course on christianity. It was because she still had a rosy outlook on the god thing that when she moved, she thought she would be happy in a christian seniors' condominium. It didn't have the same services, but it did have an active, community feel about it.
After a while it became clear that it wasn't an ideal arrangement. The community was a group of Dutch Reformed Church members, immigrants all. They were a bit cliquey and preferred their own company, conversing in Dutch rather than English. Mum, a Londoner, didn't fit in. Also, the community activities consisted of a weekly coffee klatch with hymns and such. She stopped going to these after a while when she failed to make social inroads. She did make some acquaintances in the building among a few outsiders. Nothing close or fulfilling, though. Now she's looking to move again.
Her condo has been on the market for a few weeks now and a few prospective buyers have come to take a look. The other day, when one couple arrived to have a viewing, mum ran into another resident in the lobby. The lady pulled her aside and said that whoever bought her place should be a "good christian". Mum took it as an inference that she wasn't. Her absence at the hymn sessions had been noticed and frowned upon.
I'm relating these stories mostly because she's been upset over the whole ordeal. The actions of her neighbours aren't necessary and they only add to the other fucked up shit going on in her life that I won't comment on in this forum. I worry about her. Yesterday she marked the 20th anniversary of my father's death - the day after her 76th birthday. I'm writing this at three in the morning because I can't sleep from thinking about it. This isn't a blog about my personal life though. I'm a slave to the theme.
One thing I thought about in relation to this saga is the recurring need to control that keeps cropping up in these christian communities. In one, a small group decided to take action and weed out those who failed to submit to their twisted moral code. In another, acceptance is only awarded to those who participate in the rituals of homage and supplication. Other bloggers have discussed the pattern of dominance and submission among christians - the need to submit to authority or to be the authority submitted to. It comes as a side effect of being a serf in the kingdom of god, I suppose.
There it is, all laid out for your consideration. There tends to be a need to reinforce these authoritarian hierarchies in the christian world. It might be a side effect of the dogma and ritual. It may be that the dogma and ritual attract those who strongly desire a rigid chain of command. I'm curious though. If authoritarianism is a key element of christianity as I propose, is it possible for an anarchist to be a christian? Are there any christian anarchists?
edit: I guess I should have Googled. It was a hurried post. Even so, does a Wikipedia entry make something true?
// posted by Parge @ 4:00 AM
Comments:
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Christian anarchists. Yeah, I believe someone can be a Christian anarchist as much as I believe someone who says she's a Christian feminist or Muslim feminist.
this is the stuff i argue to kids in the hardcore scene who claim that christianity and hardcore are compatible.
the idea of taking the libertarian nature of punk rock... or, in your mom's case, just being a human with free will and a brain, and infusing it with a foreign object - another source of submission and control...
it just doesn't work.
and in the end your mom's probably a better 'christian' than these nutters are.
but then again, wasn't jesus an anarchist?
the idea of taking the libertarian nature of punk rock... or, in your mom's case, just being a human with free will and a brain, and infusing it with a foreign object - another source of submission and control...
it just doesn't work.
and in the end your mom's probably a better 'christian' than these nutters are.
but then again, wasn't jesus an anarchist?
Christianity works well in straight-edge hardcore because tit's all about control and submission. To be judgmental of others is a frame of mind that desires others to conform to a set of rules - social conservatism. The ascetic lifestyle of sobriety is a submission to that set rules. Master and slave. It's anarchy that is completely at odds with SXEHC. I can't assess more hedonistic variants of hardcore.
It's interesting to think about how hardcore has changed since the early days - back when SXE was only about self control (was it ever just that?). I wonder what effect religion has had on the change to a more conservative attitude. I mean look at Bad Brains - not Christian, but come on. Don't blow no bubbles? Even jah seems a bit of a prick.
It's interesting to think about how hardcore has changed since the early days - back when SXE was only about self control (was it ever just that?). I wonder what effect religion has had on the change to a more conservative attitude. I mean look at Bad Brains - not Christian, but come on. Don't blow no bubbles? Even jah seems a bit of a prick.
I have to proofread my comments. Tits are not all about control and submission. They're more about fun and food.
Strike that. Breastfeeding is all about submission and control. Midnight feedings and teething? Might as well swap the rattle for a riding crop.
Strike that. That was creepy.
Strike that. Breastfeeding is all about submission and control. Midnight feedings and teething? Might as well swap the rattle for a riding crop.
Strike that. That was creepy.
i think i've been tainted by living in one of the most authoritarian societies on the earth.
this is a society that will grant authority to anything with any sort of power. jesus, samsung... what's the difference?
i think i'm going to blog this. can you imagine a 7 day work week in which one of those days was an 8-hour church day? no? well you've never lived in korea.
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this is a society that will grant authority to anything with any sort of power. jesus, samsung... what's the difference?
i think i'm going to blog this. can you imagine a 7 day work week in which one of those days was an 8-hour church day? no? well you've never lived in korea.
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