tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5461044.post5789810742731570858..comments2023-10-24T11:03:41.388-05:00Comments on ladypoverty: The law of rulersJ.R. Boydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09076895859826581960noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5461044.post-90638803595517779302010-09-28T22:08:37.588-05:002010-09-28T22:08:37.588-05:00I second Charles's comment and am also a fan o...I second Charles's comment and am also a fan of Wendell Berry.<br /><br />Also, I'll re-state the obvious and say that the message of Jesus is absolutely incompatible with capitalism.Ben Therehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09552547709669462400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5461044.post-85944627933830497662010-09-28T13:36:08.793-05:002010-09-28T13:36:08.793-05:001999-2000 I experimented with Christianity by goin...1999-2000 I experimented with Christianity by going to a local Presby church and getting to know the associate pastor. The whole religion thing never stuck but I did learn one good spiritual thing from that time: the idea the people have a _____-shaped hole in their conscious existential landscape, and they seek to fill that hole with something. Of course the Xtians say "with God" is the proper fit for that particular space on the jigsaw puzzle, but to be honest even the most regular churchgoer isn't really operating at such an existentially aware or questioning level. <br /><br />Mostly, they just want good cover for their **real** chosen jigsaw piece: materialism/consumerism. And lots of modern Xtian churches are eager to fill that need, to never question materialism as a spiritual thing worthy of your or God's attention. The New Testament has so many modern interpretations and so many assisting "Readers" that tell you what ol' Jesus was saying... the ways in which it's reinterpreted to make capitalism glossy and materialism honorable and Godlike... well, unsurprising probably to any deep skeptic but still it was informative for me.<br /><br />Folks who dismiss Xtians entirely would be wise to read some Wendell Berry, especially his book about farming -- The Unsettling of America. What Are People For? is another good one. <br /><br />I'm just not with them on that "God-shaped hole" gig. I think the hole has a flexible shape and can be filled with any activity that gives one a feeling of existential bliss or belonging.<br /><br />Too many Americans fill that hole with materialism, consumerism, greed, acquisitiveness, envy, me-first-ism, and then look for a religious or sociopolitical thing to give them cover for that hole-filling.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com