Please accept my apologies for this late comment. Unfortunately, I have gotten behind in my readings, but am slowly catching up. I do have a "thought" about dominance hierarchy and just an idea that I would like to pitch to you. I hope that you follow my train of thought. In some ways, wasn't Jesus' pursuing "dominance hierarchy" via passive means as He and his disciples spread "the Word" throughout the world? John 14:6 "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me." The result...a "dominance hierarchy" called Christianity.
That’s not my reading. I’m not clear how the Word and sharing the Word can be construed as forming a dominance hierarchy. Some have perhaps distorted it in such a way but spreading the Word is about loving others in the way Jesus exemplified. Perhaps I need to hear what you mean in more detail
I totally agree that spreading the Word is about loving others in the way Jesus exemplified. And, I also agree that some have perhaps distorted it. Perhaps I should have led with this question: Does dominance hierarchy always act in an aggressive form or does it use a passive component? And if there is a passive component, how does it operate to achieve the end-result? Followed by: "Do you think that some view Christians (by the distorted acts of others) as practitioners of dominance hierarchy using "one-way or no-way" to reign in culture and society with the end result being a world inhabited only by Christians?" Bishop, you know I am thinking out loud even if that thought has nothing to do with my own belief or agreement with what I hear or read. Heck, I'm Episcopalian...I can't help it! LOL!
It is interesting to think about how dominance over others has negatively affected societies, cultures, and human evolution. That’s what wars are about, after all. The way of Jesus is the opposite of seeking dominance and power.
Thanks be to God for sending these truths through the ministry of Bishop Owensby. Simple and deep guidelines for living as God and Christ exhort us to. May we live in the Spirit of the Jubilee!
What truth there is in this! Even the smallest towns usually have their dominance hierarchy where voicing beliefs that counter what's best for those at the top can be dangerous --certainly to one's social standing if not one's actual life.. Finding the courage to do it anyway is rare, sadly even among Christians. It takes (at least for me) a lot of time to cultivate in ourselves more of what Thomas, MLK, and others had in abundance.
I love that you used the example of chickens and pecking order! The same behavior is true in cattle, horses, and so many other animals. Within the herd, there is a leader. The leader’s role is to help the community stay safe so the leader must stay strong and healthy. When the leader is no longer able to fulfill its role, another becomes the “cock of the walk.”
One might even see a similar behavior in plants, such as trees. For example the stronger trees grow and suck up the water and nutrients around them blocking the sunlight so other plants have difficulty growing and manufacturing the food they need to live. Yet, as Suzanne Simard writes in “Finding the Mother Tree” there is a nurturing nature, a form of communication, amongst the community of trees.
Please accept my apologies for this late comment. Unfortunately, I have gotten behind in my readings, but am slowly catching up. I do have a "thought" about dominance hierarchy and just an idea that I would like to pitch to you. I hope that you follow my train of thought. In some ways, wasn't Jesus' pursuing "dominance hierarchy" via passive means as He and his disciples spread "the Word" throughout the world? John 14:6 "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me." The result...a "dominance hierarchy" called Christianity.
That’s not my reading. I’m not clear how the Word and sharing the Word can be construed as forming a dominance hierarchy. Some have perhaps distorted it in such a way but spreading the Word is about loving others in the way Jesus exemplified. Perhaps I need to hear what you mean in more detail
I totally agree that spreading the Word is about loving others in the way Jesus exemplified. And, I also agree that some have perhaps distorted it. Perhaps I should have led with this question: Does dominance hierarchy always act in an aggressive form or does it use a passive component? And if there is a passive component, how does it operate to achieve the end-result? Followed by: "Do you think that some view Christians (by the distorted acts of others) as practitioners of dominance hierarchy using "one-way or no-way" to reign in culture and society with the end result being a world inhabited only by Christians?" Bishop, you know I am thinking out loud even if that thought has nothing to do with my own belief or agreement with what I hear or read. Heck, I'm Episcopalian...I can't help it! LOL!
It is interesting to think about how dominance over others has negatively affected societies, cultures, and human evolution. That’s what wars are about, after all. The way of Jesus is the opposite of seeking dominance and power.
I could not agree more. And it's why I've been talking recently about being resident aliens, as the non-coercive resistance to dominance structures.
Thanks be to God for sending these truths through the ministry of Bishop Owensby. Simple and deep guidelines for living as God and Christ exhort us to. May we live in the Spirit of the Jubilee!
Thanks, Robert! Blessed Eastertide!
An awesome message for such a time as this... and much appreciated... thanks Jake!
Such behaviour is sadly far to common place back then and now, but if we have faith and trust in Jesus we will be ok in the end
What truth there is in this! Even the smallest towns usually have their dominance hierarchy where voicing beliefs that counter what's best for those at the top can be dangerous --certainly to one's social standing if not one's actual life.. Finding the courage to do it anyway is rare, sadly even among Christians. It takes (at least for me) a lot of time to cultivate in ourselves more of what Thomas, MLK, and others had in abundance.
I love that you used the example of chickens and pecking order! The same behavior is true in cattle, horses, and so many other animals. Within the herd, there is a leader. The leader’s role is to help the community stay safe so the leader must stay strong and healthy. When the leader is no longer able to fulfill its role, another becomes the “cock of the walk.”
One might even see a similar behavior in plants, such as trees. For example the stronger trees grow and suck up the water and nutrients around them blocking the sunlight so other plants have difficulty growing and manufacturing the food they need to live. Yet, as Suzanne Simard writes in “Finding the Mother Tree” there is a nurturing nature, a form of communication, amongst the community of trees.
Super powerful…so spot on. Thank you for this, Jake. It’s so very good.