tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4213316015209503694.post5887601760158182782..comments2024-01-22T01:52:37.473-06:00Comments on RENEGADE TRADS: The Other SecularismA Sinnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05083094677310915678noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4213316015209503694.post-76649914010351730762010-05-18T17:02:41.141-05:002010-05-18T17:02:41.141-05:00In East Asia, the same criticism by Confucian on B...In East Asia, the same criticism by Confucian on Buddhists were applied to Catholics. Like Buddhist monks, Catholic clergy were celibate. In the eyes of the Confucian, this was equivocated to the rejection of the family. Furthermore, they abhorred the concept of the Christian God for He was placed above their "heavenly" emperor, and thus a threat to the social order.ZuluFannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4213316015209503694.post-49373793190140781852010-05-18T14:59:53.234-05:002010-05-18T14:59:53.234-05:00Both Jesus and deutero-Paul exhibited ambivalence ...Both Jesus and deutero-Paul exhibited ambivalence and even outright tension with Roman-Hellenistic family models.<br /><br />Remember that neither Greek nor Latin have words that directly correspond with family. The Latin <i>familia</i> refers to the hierarchy of power within a family, while the word <i>domus</i> refers to the complex lattice-work of obligations and relations between the family, freedpersons, and slaves within the domestic economy. The Greek <i>oikia</i> is an almost-synonym for <i>domus</i>.<br /><br />Luke 16:1-8a demonstrates an ambivalence about relationships within the <i>oikia</i>. Did the dishonest steward actually swindle his subordinates, or did he act "shrewdly" because he fulfilled the expectations of his master? What are the implications of this household interaction? The author of Luke does not provide a satisfactory answer. Certainly, Luke 16 does not depict a "family values" situation but rather a question of situational morality and even, gasp!, perhaps some level of "moral relativism" as the word is popularly understood.<br /><br />Also consider the contrast between 1st Peter 2:9 and the "universal priesthood" versus the male/female distinctions inherent in 1st Peter 3. The author of 1st Peter contrasts the universal dignity of all people versus the "subordination" of women in the Hellenistic <i>oikia</i>. <br /><br />Nether of these examples reflect the nuclear family "family values" fantasy of Christian lobbies. The moral decisions and outcomes in the Hellenistic family often challenge and contradict our expectations.sortacatholicnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4213316015209503694.post-30561226938072431542010-05-18T13:02:40.009-05:002010-05-18T13:02:40.009-05:00And I'm sure Christianity did undermine the pa...And I'm sure Christianity did undermine the patriarchal clan-based social order in East Asia.<br /><br />Yet why we've remained so hostile to Confucianism and so insistent upon not compromising with that social order...even though we so blatantly co-opted the language of the Hellenistic world and accepted assimilation to its established social order and civic values...is something of a double standard.<br /><br />Certainly, it makes no sense to try to force Greek philosophical categories on the Asians when the message we're trying to spread is that of Jesus of Nazareth, Aramaic speaking Jew.A Sinnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05083094677310915678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4213316015209503694.post-85445568830160406442010-05-17T23:14:06.657-05:002010-05-17T23:14:06.657-05:00You should read 16th-19th century Chinese/Korean N...You should read 16th-19th century Chinese/Korean Neo-Confucian anti-Catholic discourses. They accuse Catholics (like Buddhists) of being anti-family.ZuluFannoreply@blogger.com