The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic
Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily
Meditations with Matthew Fox
|
Beyond Empire, Patriarchy & Theocracy: Women March in Iran & US |
In a recent DM we heard from David Korten* that “our forebears made a choice for the dominator relations of Empire” which included patriarchal sexism among other shadow
elements. |
On the streets of Iran today women (and many men) are protesting the “morality police” who arrested and then apparently murdered 22 year old Mahsa Amini for the crime of not wearing her
hajib appropriately. | Protests continue across Iran against the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody for a loose hijab. Iran’s President has warned protesters they will be dealt with
“decisively.” Channel 4 News |
We see many women burning their hijabs and/or cutting their hair in public rituals defying the government and its theocratic leadership. More than 35 people have been killed, hundreds more
injured or arrested and access to the internet and cellular service severely curtailed. The government is threatening to bring the military into the streets to ward off still more protests. One popular chant among those
protesting is: “Women, Life, Freedom!” |
"This is why young voters are mobilized.” MSNBC‘s Jason Johnson interviews experts on Arizona’s near-total abortion ban. | Meanwhile, back in America, there are parallel goings-on with many states passing laws that politicians have the right to tell women what to do with their bodies—how 10 year old children, if raped, must |
bring the rapists’ fetus to term; how neither incest nor rape are a reason for aborting a fetus; and that some god-given pronouncement (not found anywhere in the Bible by the way) allows politicians to tell pregnant women what they can and cannot do with their bodies. These pronouncements echo loudly the “dominator relations of Empire” and the “self-destruction” and sexism that comes with it per the analysis of Korten. It also rings of a strong theocratic bias that is rushing into American culture especially by way of the now supremely compromised Supreme Court. Chief John Roberts recently expressed surprise that fewer and fewer Americans give his court any credence. |
Yet his court denuded the voter rights act; opened the door to billions of secret and dark dollars to fuel elections; has three members chosen by right-wing ideologues appointed by the mastermind of the January 6th insurrection; features a sitting judge whose wife urged the overthrow of a legitimate
election; | MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell interviews Clarence Thomas biographer Jane Mayer on judicial conflicts of interest created by Ginni Thomas’ texts before the 1/6/21 insurrection. The
January 6 committee interviews Mrs. Thomas this week. MSNBC |
and overthrew a 49-year-old law that protected women’s rights to choose what to do with their bodies, invoking two witch-burning judges of the 17th century in doing so. All of these six judges were chosen
by a theocratic Opus Dei operative within the Federalist Society. Regarding these parallel scenes in Iran and America, theocracies included, let us not forget the upcoming November election. A recent poll found 90% of Americans feel
rape and incest victims should be able to get abortions.** It seems that theocracy has trumped democracy in America. |
| To view today's video, please click the image. You will be taken to today's post on the Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox website, where you can see the meditation in a larger version and also view and post your Comments. In the sharing that follows, a kind of community is developing around the DM.
If you can't reach Matthew's video on the website, try his Vimeo channel HERE. |
Queries for Contemplation Do you see parallels between the compulsion to control women in Iranian society and the compulsion to control women in the Roberts-Thomas-Leonardo Supreme court? Where do you think this compulsion comes from? What can we do about it? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved The Pope’s War offers a provocative look at three decades of corruption in the Catholic Church, focusing on Josef Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI. The final section in the book focuses on birthing a truly catholic christianity. Matthew Fox
presents insights from his 12-year, up-close-and-personal battle with Ratzinger, tracing the historical roots of degradation in the Church and offering a new way to understand why Benedict XVI is now mired in crisis as Pope. Fox then outlines his vision for a new Catholicism-one that is not Vatican-based but truly universal, celebrating critical thinking, diversity, and justice. “This book should be read by everybody, not only for its ferocious courage, but also for its vision for what needs to be saved from the destructive forces that threaten authentic Christianity.” ~ Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope. | |
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new
theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better
vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the new Physics | |
See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE
Matthew Fox, Caroline Myss, and Andrew Harvey offer a 3-part series of solo online lectures on “The Power of Truth, Wisdom, Choice Part 2” through
the Sophia Institute in Charleston, SC. Wednesdays, September 21, 28, October 5, 3:00pm-4:30pm PT. Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox for the monthly online Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, discussing Original Blessing. Thursday, October 20, 4:00pm-6:00pm PT. Register
HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox for the monthly Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, discussing Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality. Thursday, November 17,
4:00pm-6:00pm PT. Register HERE. Creation Spirituality in Conversation |
| Join
scholars Matthew Fox and Thomas G. Hermans-Webster for Progressive Christianity's monthly “Things that Matter” discussion on eco-spirituality: “The Intersection of Faith and Climate Justice.” |
Please share this post! Just click the buttons below.
OR share your insights on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox
|
|
|
|
