Wednesday, August 18, 2004
np: painted saints - miles of twine
the general clues us in about this little tale. we'll ignore the obvious absurdity (and appropriateness) of the same bishop that refused to give pro-abortion politicians communion being behind this.
instead i'll actually speak to something personal about myself and the connection to this article. you may or may not be aware of the fact that i am quaker. traditionally, quakers don't undergo the physical sacraments (baptism, communion, etc.) out of a belief that all these things are accomplished via the spirit. i have always particularly enjoyed that because of its tendency to yet again step around any mis-conception of there needing to be some sort of middle man between me and god. i don't need a priest or minister to administer to me any sort of thing that i can accomplish mentally. god knows me. we hang at trivia night at college hill.
however, as a quaker, and as someone that believes very strongly in the idea of personal truth, i would never begrudge, condemn or judge someone for wanting to partake in these admittedly beautiful (in spirit) rituals. and to outright refuse an eight year-old girl her first communion because her body chemistry won't allow her to safely consume a product deemed necessary for whatever reason? preposterous.
the general puts a brilliant satirical spin on it (and any day when you can correctly use 'transubstantiation' in a sentence is a good one), but the whole thing leaves me feeling rather hollow and dis-enchanted. but to that girl i say: don't worry. god's got you covered. it's the degenerates who refused it to you that have something to worry about at this point.
