Sometimes we hear, “She was more of a sister to me than my real sister.” “He was a brother to me—more than my real brother. Family language carries connotations of values, which are sometimes betrayed.
There are many ways to say it. “We are family” is one way. But for reflection and communication, a noun phrase helps. “The siblinghood of humankind” has not caught on. But language has been a problem. When “the brotherhood of man” came to be regarded as sexist, the concept itself began to be replaced by other ideas. I insist on the freedom of each person to use the language that expresses his or her discovery of this spiritual reality. The phrase that reverberates in my soul is “the reverent recognition of the Fatherhood of God and the loving materialization of the brotherhood of man.”
The link to our Parent is essential, because brotherhood is a soul thing, and without spirit, it doesn’t get off the ground.
The real way to express brotherhood is by our lives: who we are, and what we do, as well as what we say. To move beyond just hearing another video, let’s ask this question: What’s one small, sustainable action that I can take today and repeat every day to form a habit that strengthens you in the loving materialization of the brotherhood of man?
One beneficial consequence of the ugly overt racism that has recently become more widespread . . . is that it flushes out unconscious racism and makes it conscious. The habit- forming action that I choose for today is to look at my reproduction of Henry Ossawa Tanner’s painting, “The Banjo Lesson” (1893), which shows a poor, elderly black man with a young boy on his knee as he gives the boy a banjo lesson.
Farisa Khalid, “Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Banjo Lesson,” in Smarthistory, September 9, 2016, accessed January 4, 2019, https://smarthistory.org/tanner-banjo/.
love the way Jeff you include art into your posts.
the problem as I see it with pounding away saying that Christ’s message was the “brotherhood of man and fatherhood” of God. they are wrong and off base for this time in this society.
it doesn’t work and you must know this from your teaching/counselling experience.
brotherhood and fatherhood are bad analogies and references where family love and goodness in those relationships today are terrible realities.
my brother was a selfish nut case as well as my sisters disowning me completely.
my father was an intolerable psych abuser critical maniac and mom was a genius at passive aggressive behaviour which i inherited to this day.
“family” is not the correct analogy but loving relationship and communion with a spiritual perfectly loving parent/creator and the realization that I am hosting a piece of eternal diety is a safer analogy for the kIngdom. In it is safety and security love mercy and forgiveness. i always shy away from using brotherhood and fatherhod cause they can be nightmares for people.
I see that almost every day.. i spoke yesterday with a woman who was fearful in legal battle with an abusive greedy ex husband told me her abusive / resentful mother brought her up and dad was gone at 5 years old and she left home at 15 and no children , hysterectomy at 25 . And my doctor girlfriend the same with a Dutch father who is nuts and all children left him. he still is denying his sexual assaults on her sisters, and she had a mother who committed suicide when she was in her teens.
this planet need help big time and an understanding of current dimensions of dysfunctional families before using these terms as analogies for spiritual behaviour and ideals. if it is not in my/their experience do not use them to describe our relationship with God. it won’t work.
Pat, thanks for raising this important critique in this forum. It’s one of the greatest problems of our time. For many people, the family concept is so fraught with horrendous memories that there is no room in the mind and heart for this language. I instantly change my language when I’m aware of that with someone. But I don’t let that fact stop me completely in my public proclaiming–in which I usually say something to the effect that each person is free to use the language that fits his or her discovery of these spiritual realities. Most people don’t have a problem with it. And a lot of the people who do have been misled by two generations of drumbeat falsely claiming that the language is sexist to begin with. There is a lot more to say. But this is enough to communicate my awareness of the problem and the main reasons for my policy. If you notice the difference between my earlier podcasts and those most recent ones, you’ll note that I no longer lead with the challenging language or, for that matter, with any self-introduction at all.
love the way Jeff you include art into your posts.
the problem as I see it with pounding away saying that Christ’s message was the “brotherhood of man and fatherhood” of God. they are wrong and off base for this time in this society.
it doesn’t work and you must know this from your teaching/counselling experience.
brotherhood and fatherhood are bad analogies and references where family love and goodness in those relationships today are terrible realities.
my brother was a selfish nut case as well as my sisters disowning me completely.
my father was an intolerable psych abuser critical maniac and mom was a genius at passive aggressive behaviour which i inherited to this day.
“family” is not the correct analogy but loving relationship and communion with a spiritual perfectly loving parent/creator and the realization that I am hosting a piece of eternal diety is a safer analogy for the kIngdom. In it is safety and security love mercy and forgiveness. i always shy away from using brotherhood and fatherhod cause they can be nightmares for people.
I see that almost every day.. i spoke yesterday with a woman who was fearful in legal battle with an abusive greedy ex husband told me her abusive / resentful mother brought her up and dad was gone at 5 years old and she left home at 15 and no children , hysterectomy at 25 . And my doctor girlfriend the same with a Dutch father who is nuts and all children left him. he still is denying his sexual assaults on her sisters, and she had a mother who committed suicide when she was in her teens.
this planet need help big time and an understanding of current dimensions of dysfunctional families before using these terms as analogies for spiritual behaviour and ideals. if it is not in my/their experience do not use them to describe our relationship with God. it won’t work.
Pat, thanks for raising this important critique in this forum. It’s one of the greatest problems of our time. For many people, the family concept is so fraught with horrendous memories that there is no room in the mind and heart for this language. I instantly change my language when I’m aware of that with someone. But I don’t let that fact stop me completely in my public proclaiming–in which I usually say something to the effect that each person is free to use the language that fits his or her discovery of these spiritual realities. Most people don’t have a problem with it. And a lot of the people who do have been misled by two generations of drumbeat falsely claiming that the language is sexist to begin with. There is a lot more to say. But this is enough to communicate my awareness of the problem and the main reasons for my policy. If you notice the difference between my earlier podcasts and those most recent ones, you’ll note that I no longer lead with the challenging language or, for that matter, with any self-introduction at all.
Beautiful Jeff. The thing I love about family is that you get to observe the effect of your good and bad behaviour over time with an opportunity for improvement.
Regards Warren Mills.
Gulp! I sure have seen consequences . . . (smile)!
Beautiful Jeff. The thing I love about family is that you get to observe the effect of your good and bad behaviour over time with an opportunity for improvement.
Regards Warren Mills.
Gulp! I sure have seen consequences . . . (smile)!