Reconciliation then and now.Curtiss Paul DeYoung Living Faith: How Faith Inspires Social Justice Fortress Press, 2007, 186 pp, $15 In Living Faith, Curtiss DeYoung offers spiritual profiles of three figures who worked for social change in the 20th century: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Noun 1. Dietrich Bonhoeffer - German Lutheran theologian and pastor whose works concern Christianity in the modern world; an active opponent of Nazism, he was arrested and sent to Buchenwald and later executed (1906-1945) Bonhoeffer , Malcolm X Malcolm X, 1925–65, militant black leader in the United States, also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, b. Malcolm Little in Omaha, Neb. He was introduced to the Black Muslims while serving a prison term and became a Muslim minister upon his release in 1952. , and Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (oung sän s  chē), 1945–, Burmese political leader. . Describing them as
"mystic-activists" (a term he borrows from Alton B. Pollard
III, author of Mysticism and Social Change), DeYoung demonstrates how
each of them was inspired by their faith to take up the battle for the
rights of the oppressed op·press tr.v. op·pressed, op·press·ing, op·press·es 1. To keep down by severe and unjust use of force or authority: a people who were oppressed by tyranny. 2. . The figures he has chosen to examine come from three different generations, three different continents, and, most importantly Adv. 1. most importantly - above and beyond all other consideration; "above all, you must be independent" above all, most especially , three different faiths: Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Although arriving at their activism through very different traditions, Bonhoeffer, Malcolm X, and Aung San Suu Kyi have a surprisingly lot in common, DeYoung points out. All three came to their worldviews thanks to contact with the margins of society. All three eventually rooted their identities in a belief in mankind's common humanity. And all three embraced a revolutionary ethics that demanded structural changes in society, a demand for which all of them paid a high personal cost. Although born into privilege, Bonhoeffer made contact with American blacks in Harlem when he was studying at the Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary may refer to:
Malcolm X was born and raised among the oppressed. He analyzed the wisdom he found in his community, refined it and gave it voice, says DeYoung. Initially a black separatist, toward the end of his life, as he moved closer to traditional Islam, he began to redefine his cause--the liberation of African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. people--as a fight for human rights. "Malcolm X's exit from the Nation of Islam Nation of Islam: see Black Muslims. Nation of Islam or Black Muslims African American religious movement that mingles elements of Islam and black nationalism. It was founded in 1931 by Wallace D. and its ideology allowed him to think about identity in fresh ways. He exhibited a sign of healthy esteem when, through his Mecca pilgrimage, 'human' became his primary identifier," writes DeYoung. It was a move that would cost him his life. Although she was raised primarily outside of her native Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi, who was the daughter of an assassinated as·sas·si·nate tr.v. as·sas·si·nat·ed, as·sas·si·nat·ing, as·sas·si·nates 1. To murder (a prominent person) by surprise attack, as for political reasons. 2. national hero, came to identify with her people when she returned to aid her ailing mother. Joining the struggle against her country's military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a form of government wherein the political power resides with the military; it is similar but not identical to a , a state ruled directly by the military. , she now refuses to leave, accepting house An accepting house is a primarily British institution which specializes in the acceptance and guarantee of bills of exchange thereby facilitating the lending of money. They now have taken on other functions as the use of bills has declined, returning to their original wider arrest instead, because she identifies so completely with those on the margins exploited by the regime, a move that has separated her from her husband (who has since died) and her children. Like Bonhoeffer and Malcolm X, she uses the beliefs of her faith--in this case Buddhism--to call not only for political change, but a revolution of the spirit, a spiritual change of hearts and minds. By highlighting the commonality of these three mystic-activists, despite their starting points in three different faiths, DeYoung offers something rarely seen in religious studies: points of reconciliation that bring together people of seemingly vastly different faiths. At a time when religion has been used as a divisive force and not a uniting one, pointing out the similarities among these religions on the subject of social justice is in itself a revolutionary act. By analyzing these faith-inspired social activists--and dozens of others in passing, including adherents of Hinduism (Mohandas Gandhi), Judaism (Abraham Joshua Heschel Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (January 11, 1907, Warsaw, then Russian Empire – December 23, 1972) was considered by many to be one of the most significant Jewish theologians of the 20th century. ) and Native American spirituality (Winona LaDuke)--DeYoung, a pioneer in the nascent area of reconciliation studies who now teaches at Bethel University in St. Paul, provides an invaluable tool for those who have not given up hope in linking spirituality and the fight for social justice. "I invite those who seek to link the worlds of social activism and contemplative faith to build more bridges of reconciliation across the chasm of religious division. Moves toward reconciliation embodied and led by everyday faith-inspired activists and religious leaders may be our only hope for greater peace in the world," DeYoung concludes. The key, of course, is finding ways to reconcile so that no one is left behind. |
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