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I recently attended a religious retreat where speakers were advised to call on those in the audience who wanted to ask a question or comment, in reverse order of typical political oppression. The directions were not clear as to what oppressed groups ranked first, second or third, but did indicate that anybody who appeared to be a white male should be called on last
Not that long ago I was visiting a college book store. For sale was a tee shirt with the slogan, “ I Acknowledge My White Privilege.” The tee shirt was white with black lettering. I thought perhaps the message was one of acknowledging that the wearer of this shirt was aware that not everyone could afford to buy such a shirt. This bookstore was in a well known university known for its pricey tuition and mostly white student body. As a white male, I wondered how a poor person of color might feel about seeing me in such a shirt. Would they be grateful I had invested some of my disposable income to express my acknowledgment of my privileged status? What if I got challenged as to what I did differently than white man who were clueless as to their privileged existence, besides buying the tee shirt, other than being aware of why I might be called upon last at a religious retreat workshop.
The retreat I attended was called the Friends General Conference. The Religious Society of Friends was founded in the 1600’s by a gentleman named George Fox in England. The Religious Society of Friends is a Christian denomination that is widely known today as the Quakers. Many who know little about Quakers associate Quakers with a bygone era or as being a brand of oat meal. Modern day Quakers are known, by those in the know, to be a very liberal group. They come from a Protestant tradition of being against having a third party being the prime mediator of one’s religious experience. Gatherings for worship are called Meetings. The title for the administrative head of Meetings is called a Clerk. Worship typically occurs in the plainest of buildings.
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Quakers are often liberal to the point of welcoming atheists with open arms, not to convert or to find their god, but to keep on being atheists, if that is what moves them. The Quakers typically have no set of things that a member needs to believe in to become or stay a member. It doesn’t matter who or what a Quaker is praying to, even if they are praying to nothing.
Quakers are similar to Alcoholics Anonymous. They believe in a “higher power,” that can inform how to behave if accessed with a better result than if this “higher power” was not accessed.
Quakers are also into social change and have been since their origin. Anti-war, anti – racism, women’s rights, anti-slavery, and prison reform are examples of causes actively engaged in as part of Quaker worship.
Quaker Meetings are not all the same. Some do insist that members believe in God. Some Meetings are open to those who practice Wicca witchcraft and worship a Goddess. Religion itself is often considered to be a great oppressor of people. It can tell people to behave in certain ways when they don’t want to. Atheists do less of this, except when it comes to the Ten Commandments being anywhere near a government building. Quakers do less of this, by having group support for individual religious practice, whatever that might be, as the primary mission of the Meeting.
I first started attending a Quaker Meeting when I was 12 years old. I kept that information to myself. When I was discovered, I took a good deal of mocking for associating myself with such a small group. This white male has experienced religious mockery, but nothing close to religious prosecution.
I have, however, returned to the religion of my boyhood, before the age of 12. At the age of 65 I located the Bible that my Grandmother gave me when I was nine. It was the Bible I read as an important part of being a Baptist.
I had forgotten that I had started reading that Authorized King James Version of the Bible at age nine and was expected to memorize parts of it. I figured that I had such trouble reading this Bible and understanding it because I was a kid, but had a strong suspicion that adults in my church, didn’t know much more about its teachings than I did.
I do not consider myself to be a Baptist and am holding on to the belief that my personal relationship with Jesus Christ is more important than belonging to a church.
I wanted to raise my hand at the Friends General Conference and ask if white Christian males would get called on before or after white atheists males, but I didn’t.
Writing for the goodmenproject.com website has sensitized me as to the various ways labels are applied to men, that others think are less than men. I am now facing difficulty being stereotyped like nothing before. As a later-in-life fundamentalist Christian I run the risk of being labeled a Republican, Pro-Life, pro-gun, pro-war, anti-evolution believer in superstition and feared as a person, who wants them to respond to the embarrassing question, “Do you know the Lord, to be your personal savior?”
Much of my return to Jesus Christ, comes from a strong belief that the neither the Quakers or any other group is gaining headway in stemming World problems. On every measure of doing well, the Planet is doing poorly and increasingly so.
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Does it matter which oppressor group deserves to be served last to make up for their privileged past?
I have come to believe in the Jesus Christ who foretold the, “end of the world” where the wicked will be dealt with, in a manner beyond human understanding.
The end of evil and my escaping to ever lasting life by following the “way, truth, and life” of Jesus Christ have the utmost in appeal to me.
It continues to amaze me, as to how little time I devote to pursuing ever lasting life and how much more time I spend doing this than do many other people I know. What are you doing that is more important than your getting saved? If you have read this post all the way to the end, chances are you are on the right track. I invite you to keep checking the goodmenproject.com website for more of my posts on the man, Jesus Christ, who was nailed to a post to save you from your sins.
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Photo/Pixabay
I was thinking about your experience at the FGC Gathering, and that asking others to speak first was less a reflection on white men’s privilege than an attempt to get others to speak up. It puts me in mind of a worship sharing group practice of encouraging everyone to speak and participate before anyone speaks for a second time. My own experience in groups is that men in general are inclined to jump in and speak before others, and that if I pause and let others go earlier, my own contribution becomes more thoughtful.