Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice

Forgiving Dr. Mengele -- Review by Peri Zhand

Tonight, while Brian spent yet another evening working on his new book, "Unconditional? The Call of Jesus to Radical Forgiveness", I watched a documentary called "Forgiving Dr. Mengele."

Eva Kor and her sister Miriam were identical ten year old Jewish twins, and because they were twins they were yanked from their mother as they stood in line to face the crematorium in Auschwitz, Poland. Their mother and every other family member perished. They were saved so that they could be used to be part of medical experiments, cruel barbaric acts of torture devised by a Nazi maniac physician named Dr. Mengele.

Prophecy and Reconciliation by Bob Ekblad

Prophecy and Reconciliation
Bob Ekblad
Nov 26, 2009

I am amazed by how the Holy Spirit is at work actualizing Jesus’ work of breaking down the “barrier of the dividing wall” (Eph 1:14) through the gift of prophesy. Prophetic words bridge divides between God and humans, the past and present, believers and unbelievers, people of diverse ethnicities, nationalities, theological traditions, political ideologies, bringing reconciliation amidst every imaginable difference. God is at work reconciling the world to himself, gathering his children into a united family in Christ. 

Advent on the Streets by Chris Hoke

Advent on the Streets

Early on a rainy Sunday morning in Seattle's U-District, over a dozen homeless youth spill into the cozy church room from the hard, wet streets on which they survive. I drive down from the Skagit Valley to this weekly Bible study they call God Talk only once a month. So almost every time I sit down in the nook of couches and we go around saying our names, the faces are mostly new to me. They're sleepy, and guarded. But beneath their hoodies and oversized coats, beanies and bandanas, there are tender eyes that peek out, hoping to hear good news. Otherwise, they can leave for a smoke, or simply fall asleep. 

As the leader for the morning, I've got a few minutes to give them reason to suspect staying awake and present is worth it. My joy is to show them (and myself, by seeing it in their eyes) that the story inside the Bible has much more to do with their bitter lives on the streets than existence inside a warm home and church.

9/11: Their Voices Cry Out -- by Ron Dart

                                  9/11:

                     Their Voices Cry Out 

    To Peter Dale Scott and ‘Deep Politics’

 

Brittle brown, red and rust leaves

had fallen, I

was on Sabbatical, children had

just left for

another day of school.

 

It was a blue sky day in Abbotsford,

not so elsewhere.

Terrorists had hijacked planes, towers

were sliced through like scissors

through thin paper, down, down

went the citadels.

Discernment: Testing My Own Voice by Brad Jersak

DISCERNMENT: TESTING MY OWN VOICE

In recent days I have been thinking about our dialogues with God and how we weigh them. I started noticing that when the prayer conversation alternates: God, then Brad, then God, then Brad, and son on, I was diligent to test what God is allegedly saying. I test to see whether the voice of God is really God or not God. I check that voice according to the three-legged stool of the Word, the Body and the Spirit, as recommended in Can You Hear Me? Tuning in to the God who Speaks.

But I neglected to test MY voice. And why should I? After all, it’s my own voice, isn’t it? Or is it? But when I began to categorize the themes that came under the umbrella of ‘my voice,’ I noticed something. On the one hand, there was the voice that agrees with and responds to God in faith. We could call that the voice of my ‘true heart,’ or the voice of the ‘new creation,’ or the ‘new me.’

On the other hand, there are these other voices that I assumed were my own as well: The voice of condemnation (beating myself up) that would then trigger the voice of self-pity (feeling sorry for myself), and the voices of shame, self-hatred, fear, worry, anger, and so on. In my head, I would hear and say, ‘I am afraid; I am angry; I don’t like myself; I’m not worthy,’ etc. Perhaps you know those voices as well.