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A review by lory_enterenchanted
The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage by Richard Rohr
inspiring
reflective
3.5
Love the central theme of the book, which could be summarized thus: "In the prophetic texts, God, like the prophets themselves, evolves from anger and fear to tears to love, and on to a deepening relationship based in trust and truth, not threat and fear. Mature religion and good prophets make sure that this growth happens." (from Chapter 10) The prophets serve a process that disrupts an order which has grown dysfunctional, encouraging movement into "good trouble" and "holy disorder." Out of that disorder can arise a new, healthier order -- a three-part process reflecting the sequence of anger, sadness, love/joy/praise/gratitude.
This is a fascinating observation that can bear good fruit in many ways. But though I love Rohr's generous perspective and his friendly voice, I wish his written style were less rambly and more intellectually rigorous. There is a fair amount of tangential writing and filler in this short book, rather than sticking to and filling out the subject in a coherent way. He also tends to make sweeping statements that seem untenable, such as that never in world history has there been a weeping God before Jesus. Does he really have complete knowledge of all world mythology to ensure this is true? Somebody needs to fact-check the book better.
That said, there were a lot of quotes that I highlighted.
Just from the Introduction:
This is a fascinating observation that can bear good fruit in many ways. But though I love Rohr's generous perspective and his friendly voice, I wish his written style were less rambly and more intellectually rigorous. There is a fair amount of tangential writing and filler in this short book, rather than sticking to and filling out the subject in a coherent way. He also tends to make sweeping statements that seem untenable, such as that never in world history has there been a weeping God before Jesus. Does he really have complete knowledge of all world mythology to ensure this is true? Somebody needs to fact-check the book better.
That said, there were a lot of quotes that I highlighted.
Just from the Introduction:
Once we lose the prophetic analysis, most evil will be denied, disguised, or hidden among the rules and the rituals of religion and the law itself. This is how truth is "discerned" in a dualistic world: by winning the purity and identity contests.
Waking up is often devastatingly simple. It all comes down to overcoming your separateness and any need to protect it.
For the untransformed self, religion is the most dangerous temptation of all. Our egos, when they are vaildated by religion, are given full permission to enslave, segregate, demean, defraud, and inflate--because all bases are covered with pre-ascribed virtue and a supposed hatred of evil. This is what the prophets expose in their wholesale assault on temple worship, priestly classes, self-serving commandments, and intergenerational wealth.
When we lack self-knowledge, we will unconsciously project our disliked and unknown self onto others, condemning them for the very faults we share...René Girard wrote that the Bible is unique in all world literature in spotting this universal human avoidance of our own dark side..."the scapegoat mechanism."...The undoing of this tendency would be the task of any would-be savior for humanity and our continually fragile history.
All transformative religions are, each in their own way, trying to defeat the imperial ego and reveal the always camouflaged shadow self. Yet we need to be bathed in the assurance of infinite love before we can risk such ego deflation. The prophets gradually move us toward and through such divine assurance.
In the prophets, religion--and indeed, humankind--appears to be slowly morphine from code, creed, and cult to a kind of mutual presencing, a gradually learned "nakedness and vulnerability" that require deliberate and focused attention, receptivity, and positive awareness on both sides.