Tuesday, June 08, 2004

I sat through dance class today...it was a four hour and fifteen minute marathon. I had to watch this video of the LA festival of Cultures (I think that's the name of it?)...who cares about the name...
anyhow. My professor keeps echoing this sentiment as we journey through American Heritage dances and Tribal dances...and this was repeated by Aborigine (sp?) dancers on the video today...that the white man, the Christian, has tried to (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) take away rituals, dances, and customs which are carried in often times through dances because the "missionaries" saw the dances as evil, from Satan...these dances, that define the people as who they are from where they are and where they are from...are taken from them. Because some missionaries from westernized culture looked at them and called what they did or believed, evil. And I don't think we realize what a strong word "evil" is. Or "sin".

In theory, we get used to hearing them so often in contemporary American evangelical culture that I don't think we realize the impact of these words, and the impact they would have if they were to be spoken about what we believe (and I might venture to say then, who we are) we wouldn't even blink in response. So, knowing this, and knowing that I desire to love the world as God loves the world...and see the world as God sees it (or at least make every moment another opportunity to open the door to see and love in such a way) I don't know how to respond to this *evil* that is such a hatred of what defines people....I don't quite know right now how to respond in love when these *walls* have been cast up because of misunderstandings. And I want to know.

1 comment:

Redbaerd said...

have you read the poisonwood bible?

its an amazing extension of the same ideas you're wrestling with in your class and in your mind.

BTW -- i like your new tag above.

Sorry I missed your call this weekend!