Tuesday, 2 July, 2002

The lead piece is from "Amazing Grace by Kathleen Norris. In this book she takes many of the words and images of the faith and attempts to put some reality and life to them.



INQUISITION

...in one terse phrase, as "the juridical persecution of heresy by special ecclesiastical courts."

Norris goes into a brief history of inquisitions...from Tyndale -for translating the bible into English and making it available to common folk, to women accused of being witches.

But it does not end there. Inquisition is not something that people used to do. The scariest thing to me about the word is the way that it can haunt ordinary conversation, and not just talk between people of vastly differing status. A hotel manager and a maid, for example. A salaried manager and a laborer earning an hourly wage, a bishop and a seminary student seeking ordination, a tenured professor and an associate desperate for tenure. When power is so heavily weighted between two people, fear all too easily enters into the equation, and even ordinary questions can seem like a minefield.

To be continued tomorrow.



Inquisition is not simply about "getting it right." That would be enough to scare people and leave people hopeless. Inquisition is primarily about "getting it right according to those who hold some form of power" in the games of life...no matter what they may be. Norris does a good job of pointing this out. Inquisition is like magnifying "political correctness" and yet it includes "political correctness" and any other form of "code" language and ideas. As was noted on a previous day, it is quite important to talk about "straight praise" (orthodoxy) and attempt to keep people talking about what how we hold each other accountable to praising our God rather than other gods in our lives. But Inquisition demands that we limit conversation and adapt to what is being handed down from "on high" even if the ones "on high" are out of the bounds of what may be the boundlessness of God's grace. To be "out of bounds" within the the realm of God's grace is to demand the personal limits that one in power would like to see for all others. Inquisitions - even those that take place in an office or an elevator - too often serve to destroy community and conversation for the sake of control that is fueled by fear and anxiety.



Connection: It is important to know when you are being threatened by inquisitors within your day. Creative and constructive conversation can help us all see the many different sides of an issue or a concern. Some attempts at conversation are really ways of trying to control others. Listen and speak and seek the truth.



Lord God, you invite us to share in the abundance of your graceful reign. You encourage us to blossom and let our gifts shine for the welfare of all. Keep us safe within the day of our lives when we are able to be vulnerable and offer up our gifts to one another. Amen