tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post5233664527232617883..comments2024-03-28T09:52:15.415-04:00Comments on Common Denominator: Loving the Whole Person (7) (W)Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-66199784087451967492011-03-05T15:30:31.148-05:002011-03-05T15:30:31.148-05:00I don't what would be the best shorthand wordi...I don't what would be the best shorthand wording for what I think you're trying to capture. The problem is somebody somewhere is probably going to read their bias into whatever you say. If I think of something...;-)<br /><br />It does still seem to me there are advantages to just saying "the poor" instead of "the economically disempowered".<br /><br />1) I see your point about the then-and-now differences, but poor is still a little more to the point isn't it? Are we talking about people we want to give power or people we want to provide with adequate resources? I understand resources may mean something more than just immediate material need.<br />2) Fundamentalists may be capable of more kindness than you think and, if you're at all interested in bringing them aboard, are more likely to respond to actual words used in the Bible than what they see as made up words.<br />3)Talk about empowerment may strike people as code word for something you don't mean. <br />4) Empowerment may in fact be used in a different context in reference to people or circumstances you're not talking about.<br />5) "Disempowered" doesn't give the impression somebody's got what most people would consider a real problem. <br /><br />I don't know, maybe there's no way around using a short word followed by a long explanation.JohnMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-23866307895290872572011-03-05T09:47:39.862-05:002011-03-05T09:47:39.862-05:00John, it's not a Wesleyan word. I was trying ...John, it's not a Wesleyan word. I was trying to find some way to avoid just using the word "poor" with regard to individuals today because that plays into all the stereotypes of current politics and misses important differences between the poor today and the poor in biblical times. Do you have another suggestion?Ken Schenckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-91232809188479540392011-03-04T20:35:54.067-05:002011-03-04T20:35:54.067-05:00Ken,
I understand this is about Wesleyan traditio...Ken,<br /><br />I understand this is about Wesleyan tradition, but in case part of your purpose is to persuade those outside the tradition and looking in allow me to offer a friendly observation. Words like "disempowered" and "empowerment" may just not resonate with Christians outside certain tradtions the way they do inside those tradtions. It's not owing to a lack of compassion. There are plenty of people who are quite compassionate and generous but who just don't think in those terms. It's not the way most people talk about the problems you're talking about - even if it's the way everybody you know talks :). Depending upon your target audience and what you want to accomplish you might want to expand on what you mean (and don't mean) by certain terms. Like I indicated, friendly intentions. It's not like you don't have a point.JohnMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-42853305554511213022011-03-04T10:22:27.791-05:002011-03-04T10:22:27.791-05:00Amen! Not much I want to disagree with here!
J...Amen! Not much I want to disagree with here! <br /><br />Just don't forget, y'all, that supporting things like unionization and collective bargaining, at least in principle, are an integral part of this package.<br /><br />During Lent, I am going to be posting, among other things, some of Peter Maurin's "Easy Essays" on my blog. Maurin was the longtime colleague of Dorothy Day in the Catholic Worker movement. So stop by, read, and comment if you choose.<br /><br />Oh, and just so you know, for the Western liturgical Churches, Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, March 9 this year.FrGregACCAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00368463715994694203noreply@blogger.com