Christianity: February 2006 Archives
iTunes is currently offering a free download of Dolly Parton's Oscar-nominated song "Travelin' Thru". It's not my favorite thing she's done--pretty well-worn territory lyrically--but significant because of its context in a movie about an MTF transsexual. Oddly enough, this is one of her more overtly religious songs, drawing a connection between the traditional born-again experience and the experience of claiming one's gender identity. Maybe a little cutesy, but very much in line with Dolly's history of using the language of her Baptist upbringing to talk about progressive Christian theology.
Questions I have many, answers but a few
But we're here to learn, the spirit burns to know the greater truth
We've all been crucified and they nailed Jesus to the tree
And when I'm born again, you're gonna see a change in meGod made me for a reason and nothing is in vain
Redemption comes in many shapes with many kinds of pain
Oh sweet Jesus if you're listening, keep me ever close to you
As I'm stumblin', tumblin', wonderin', as I'm travelin' thru
Celtic Christianity often makes reference to "thin places", a concept that has its home in a particular kind of thinking about God, as Marcus Borg explains:
This way of thinking sees God, "the More," as the encompassing Spirit in which everything is....In words attributed to Paul in the Book of Acts, God is "the one in whom we live and move and have our being." God is a nonmaterial layer of reality all around us, "right here" as well as "more than right here." This way of thinking thus affirms that there are minimally two layers or dimensions of reality, the visible world of our ordinary experience and God, the sacred Spirit.
"Thin places" are places where the fog is lifted and we see things as they really are. The universe is shown. Christmastime is thought to be one of those "thin places." It's a story about God becoming human, about word becoming flesh, about the division between different layers of existence being bridged. It's a time when "joy and wonder is in the air," blah blah blah.
