Tag: slavery

Faith & Writing [SSL 319]

Today, includes PJP on Quaker John Woolman and what it means to come to consensus through non violence which should be at the heart of the democratic process and our human relationships.

I’m reading some bits from Politics of the Brokenhearted: On Holding Tensions of Democracy written by a hero of mine Parker J. Palmer.

He’s been a guest on Spark My Muse before and someone I’ve learned from and shared about for years. He even very kindly “highly recommended” and endorsed my first published book The Wild Land Within (2021) and he was the keynote speaker at the Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin University in 2018.

It’s the same place I hope to share about the Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers in 2026 when my book comes out. Will you nominate me to speak there?
NOMINATION LINK

ALSO Here is Helpful Info to fill out the form can be found here: https://sparkmymuse.substack.com/publish/post/148454851

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End of 2023—SSL 290: There is no future without this main thing

Closing out 2023, I’m thinking about how we make a better future and I’m featuring insights on forgiveness from Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1931-2021) and the African concept of ubuntu that can make the future possible.

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Once you listen, please continue to the companion page for the rest: https://sparkmymuse.substack.com/publish/post/140035932

(Please remember you can be an ongoing Patron supporter by going here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/95176730)

Did you miss the Summit?

I spoke December 10th at 1pm PST!

This fantastic 4-Day Event was… free. Unbelievable!
If you hurry you may get to watch the replays for free.
Just click the Summit image to link to the registration page and find out more.

15 fantastic teachers! Very insightful and enjoyable.

The logo of the Benedictine Order Initia Nova

The Wild Land Within makes a great gift 🎁 ❤️
Just click the book or google search the title to get one or a few.

• You can find out about my publisher Broadleaf Books here

⭐️What is a Patron? Here are the DETAILS:

Patron supporters chip-in a bit each month to help me offset my expenses and continue creating episodes. Supporting this way ($5 +) entitles you to many perks and goodies that unlock once you begin.

Want to come along side me with support regularly?
This kind of help makes a big difference. It is with great appreciation that I create for my patrons as my “inner circle”.

• OF COURSE Patron supporters ALSO get ALL ACCESS to the Substack (paid) extras! Start here: https://www.patreon.com/

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The Curious Life of Benjamin Lay – The Quaker Comet [SSL 287]

Today a true tale. One of intrigue, outrage, and progress that’s been lost to history.

This goes back more than 340 + years. Let me tell you how the tiny but mighty Quaker, Benjamin Lay, with his moral compass intact in a time of rampant suffering through international kidnapping, human trafficking, illegal bondage, and forced labor, used outrageous acts of protest and gave momentum to the abolitionist movement long before the British colonies of America declared independence.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:46 — 28.5MB) | Embed

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At the companion page you can let me know if you’ve ever heard of Benjamin Lay, and you can see images of him and learn more: https://sparkmymuse.substack.com/publish/post/139434421

(and you can be a Patron support by going here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/94127260)

Tomorrow starts the big event
yes! I HAVE FREE SEATS FOR YOU because YOU ARE INVITED!

I’m exciting to be speaking December 10th at 1pm!

This fantastic 4-Day Event is free, and you can watch it at your own pace, but you must grab a spot. Click the Summit image to link to the registration page.

As soon as you register, you get a bonus bundle with gifts from many of the speakers.

The logo of the Benedictine Order Initia Nova

The Wild Land Within makes a great gift 🎁 ❤️
Just click the book or google search the title to get one or a few.

• You can find out about my publisher Broadleaf Books  here

⭐️What is a Patron? Here are the DETAILS:

Patron supporters chip-in a bit each month to help me offset my expenses and continue creating episodes. Supporting this way ($5 +) entitles you to many perks and goodies that unlock once you begin.

Want to come along side me with support regularly?
This kind of help makes a big difference. It is with great appreciation that I create for my patrons as my “inner circle”.

• OF COURSE Patron supporters DO get ALL ACCESS to the Substack (paid) extras! Start here: https://www.patreon.com/

• Listeners like you make this work possible.

Here’s how to help out:

1. Share the program with another person today.

2. Leave a Rating/ Write a Review on iTunes for the podcast.

]

Eps 101: How Racism Came to America, Guest Dr Kendi

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 Today my guest is award-winning author and historian Dr Ibram Kendi. He is the 2016 winner of the National Book Award for non fiction and the youngest winner ever in that category. At the time of this interview, he was teaching at the University of Florida, and weeks later became Professor of History and International Relations and the Founding Director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University. 


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The Religion of Liberation

(Dura Europos - Fresco from 2nd C Synagogue Jews cross the Red Sea pursued by Pharaoh.)
(Dura Europos – Fresco from 2nd C Synagogue Jews cross the Red Sea pursued by Pharaoh.)

 

The Jewish people have a big event, a central story, that encapsulates what the Jewish (and Judeo-Christian) faith is about:

Crossing a sea: Crossing from slavery to LIBERATION

“Let my people go!”

This is the cry of (the Jewish) God, the Living God, through Moses; and it’s really the cry of freedom in every human heart.

So what do we want to be liberated from?

Oppression.

Yes, of course.

…and oppression takes many forms.

But, we tend to also want liberation from authority…and that’s not what God has in mind. That misses the mark and produces precarious results.

In fact, the best liberation we can have is one that happens internally.

Our heart is liberated from sin and death and then we receive peace and life.

This is no marginal quality of our faith tradition. Liberation is found not in fleeing something (or someone) but in returning.

A homecoming. A reception by the Father for the children he loves.
Liberation must always be about fleeing to someone (the One).

…and that someone isn’t just another warden in a different prison, but One who wants our peace to be fully realized.

It’s about community identity and belonging.
Each brings freedom and saves us from ourselves.

 

Sometimes we suppose liberation means freedom to act autonomously and unilaterally for our own interests.
True liberation is the antithesis of that.

When I consider, in this very moment, what I hope to be liberated from in my own life, it seems to concern being free from believing lies. Lies about myself, others, and any sorts of ignoble things that imprison my future in a jailhouse of smallness.

A confined place that is missing the grandeur of what it means to be a sentient being enjoying the majesty of creation that a benevolent incomprehendable Being has fashioned.