tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976511371259061844.post4318961711054333547..comments2023-10-31T05:07:14.505-05:00Comments on Mennonista: Are We Too Tolerant of the Intolerant?Steve Clemenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15327631898210218027noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976511371259061844.post-54992960357129613962008-12-09T14:56:00.000-06:002008-12-09T14:56:00.000-06:00Thanks for sharing this with me. Your text deserve...Thanks for sharing this with me. Your text deserves a more studied response than I can offer, but let me share a few cursory thoughts here. I especially appreciate the way you have made the careful distinction between cultural taboos that represent oppressive practices such as FGM, and specific religions that are identified with them erroneously. Some who work in the mimetic theory of Rene Girard may question making too neat a distinction here suggesting all religions imitate ancient acts of violence that are archetypal in human experience and "cultural" in that sense. The excommunication or "death sentence" or Fr. Roy may be an example of this.<BR/><BR/>The traditional Anabaptist practice of shunning may also reflect this kind of living death in terms of exile from community. While Christian scriptures are mustered to support such exclusion, it is a practice that may have more to do with the Benedictine background of Michael Sattler than a truly new vision of following Jesus (some smart Mennonite scholar has probably already looked into this). Benedict in turn might have been inspired as much by Roman cultural practices as by the scriptures when he added different punishments (various forms of exclusion along with physical violence) for disobedient monks.<BR/><BR/>I have come to think of religion per se as requiring boundaries and punishments by its very nature. Faith becomes a matter of maintaining an identity that must exclude others in order to be a living one and in order for that community to live someone often has to die. They are the scapegoats if you will that carry with them the sins of the community.<BR/><BR/>The question of how this can and should play out in a tolerant society--one inspired as much by the Enlightenment as by Christian principles--that separates state and religion and now embraces "multiculturalism" is made even more complex by the competing interests of both parties. If Somalis practice FGM in the kitchen, should someone turn them in to Child Protective Services? When does the state have a vital interest in protecting the health and safety of religious members who reside within it borders? How can we tell if and when the state takes action it isn't simply reacting "culturally" against those members and using the "best interest of the child" as a pretext? The recent action by the State of Texas against the Mormon community may be a good example. The struggles of Koinonia in the 1950s and '60s may be another. Wish I had something a bit more profound to share, but take the above for what it may be worth to you.<BR/><BR/>BarryAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15029177393508248591noreply@blogger.com