Just before tbV and i left Americaland last year August, i started reading 'The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the age of Colorblindness' by Michelle Alexander, a tough but brilliant read focusing on the system of mass incarceration of black people in Americaland. Then we had to leave and i had to give the book back having only read two or three chapters. But now we're back in Americaland and i saw it lying [...]
A further extract from the same chapter as the last one i shared, this one looks at the history that is taught and the need for young black men and women to have stories and heroes they can relate to: One writer makes the point that in an effort to destroy completely the structures that had been built up in the African Society and to impose their imperialism with an unnerving totality the colonialists were [...]
In my quest to continue learning South African history from voices other than those i grew up with i was encouraged to read, 'I Write What I Like' by Steve Biko. Not so much a story as a collection of letters and speeches, this book is really helpful as it contains real time words, thoughts and ideas from one of South Africa's great leaders written during the height of apartheid. The Catholic Herald had this [...]
This is a much longer extract from the book 'Blood Brothers' by Elias Chacour, which i do encourage everyone to read. Both as a glimpse into the Israel/Palestine history and situation, but also as a much deeper journey of faith and wrestling with ideas of God and kingdom. This passage it helps to have read the rest of the book to understand the full story of, but a brief background is that Abu Mouhib is [...]
This short extract from 'Blood Brothers: The Dramatic Story of a Palestinian Christian Working for Peace in Israel' really jumped out at me and i think speaks for itself: It was during our final spring days at Saint Sulpice that my kindly mentor, Father Longère, touched a deeply resonant note, like a voice out of eternity. I had come to value his wisdom, his remarkable way of challenging us, spurring us to deeper thought on [...]
i just finished reading this incredible book that was recommended to me by my good friend, Steve Graybill, who has travelled to Israel on multiple occasions and i feel has a fairly good idea of what goes on over there. i was challenged on my blog a few months ago about not knowing what was going on with the whole Israeli/Palestinian conflict and it was totally true. It's one of those things, as when i was [...]
This is the last part i want to share from this book, but once again suggest that you grab a copy and read it in its entirety, especially if you are a white South African trying to get a fuller education of this country's history. This is a letter that Frank Chikane wrote on the 26th June 1986 that is addressed to the Institute For Contextual Theology but would have done well to land in [...]
i love love love this piece on Christians not being saved to relax and enjoy the Kingdom of God while living in the midst of chaos in the world: = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = To be a Christian... We need to be alive to the reality that Jesus could not have established the church without dying on the cross and being raised again. [...]
My wife, tbV, has a thing about having a thing about buying me presents, maintaining that i am the hardest person to buy for [mostly cos if i want or need something i often just go and buy it myself]. But for my birthday this year she got it spot on - two books about South Africa by South Africans. The first one i read was Better to be Black by Antjie Krog which i [...]
So i recently finished reading the book Jesus Feminist by one of my favourite writery people, Sarah Bessey and thought i should share some of the highlight/challenging/interesting moments for me: In chapter three, titled 'Tangled-Up Roots', Sarah starts the chapter with this great George Carlin quote: Scratch any cynic and you will find a disappointed idealist And then, speaking from a time when she was employed full-time and realising that women's ministry was largely aimed [...]