Anger

I’ve had Kathleen Norris’ work recommended to me a number of times, but hadn’t picked up any of her books until this weekend. Her Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith is her struggle with the jargon of Christianity, of what she calls the “scary words.” Her process of conversion involved the reading of a lot of theology, mostly feminist theology. She’s grateful for the pioneering work that was done in this area of study in the 1980s, but she found that anger hit her hard over the countless outrages committed against women within the Judeo-Christian heritage.

I find this reaction to be extremely normal. Being a professor, I find it way too easy to live in my head, and this is one of two reasons why I have for so many years avoided, despite my warmness to the subject, studying egalitarian interpretations of the Bible and Christian theology. The other reason is, simply, that I knew that anger would descend on me, and who wants to live with that day in and day out, especially when the injustices come and hit you in the face.

Christian practice, however, demands interaction with other people of faith. There’s a certain healing process within the church when one is a functioning part of a local body that keeps one balanced. As a leader in the church, the problem can be greater because of the temptation to push for changes before others are ready for them. How does one build up the body, continue to encourage it to grow, without pushing for changes that are oh-so-important, yet potentially explosive.

I agree with Kathleen that we must balance our reading of the Bible critically with our reading of it with trust. Even if outmoded forms or grating words or unintended insults accompany God’s community, one must, as she puts it, be “willing to accept grace in whatever form it chooses to come.” And the women within the many hierarchical Christian communities still continue to realize that, despite the ways they are often treated, “Jesus had told them they were worth a great deal, and it was as Christians they embraced their human dignity.”

If one does not have a sense for the fallibilities and weaknesses of people, both unrealistic expectations and unending anger can result.