I have to admit, these cases make me weep.
It's bad enough when it's the wife.
It's bad enough when its the pregnant wife.
But the children?
Why?
fran
IMHO, It's the ultimate act of male domination gone awry and it is the barometer of spiritual weather in a society. Men who would rather murder their children than look "bad". Women who would rather murder their children (or stand by and watch the man do it, rather than "lose" him.
Since this case is to irrevocably tied with JMM, and therefore Christianity, reminds me of what Walter Wink (an AWESOME modern theologian) has written in an amazing series of books on "The Powers That Be" that describes the fallen social, political and economic structure of the world as the
domination system. To one degree or another, he says this system pervades nearly every human society, whether ancient or modern, dictatorship or democracy, socialist or capitalist.
He says that all share similar underlying characteristics. Power and wealth are concentrated in the hands of an elite minority so that a privileged few benefit at the expense of the many. Cooperative legal and religious institutions condone, legitimize, support and perpetuate the system.
Violence is employed to protect and maintain the status quo.
At the heart of the domination system is a set of shared values—the pursuit of power and wealth; the pursuit of prestige, status, and honor; exclusive and hierarchical social relationships; and male domination over women. He says that most people believe that the domination system is the way things are, have been, and will always be. (and many believe it's the way they should be
)
This system, by it's nature makes victims out of women and children - they are "less than" and, therefore, less "worthy". Wink says, and the Gospel says, that Jesus came to tell us that this was not the "truth" and to teach us how to change, or transform, the way we perceive and live with each other.
I think that JM truly believes Jesus’ vision of a community of people whose lives are changed dramatically to a new way of living and relating to one another. That is the teaching that drew me to her. She teaches about personal transformation and social transformation and reinforces the worldview that Jesus taught - that God is loving and compassionate and cares for our welfare. She had a vision to create a world-wide community of people who are loving and compassionate and who care for each other’s welfare. She's done alot of good works.
But this tragedy underlines the nature of the power struggle and now one of it's players has done the unthinkable. I wonder if JMM will cast CC out to avoid bad publicity or remain bound to him in the great friendship she described last week?
