New Delhi: Hours before he resigned as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa travelled to a Buddhist temple in the sacred city of Anuradhapura to seek divine intervention his first public outing since nationwide protests broke out. He was booed and heckled.

Shortly after the trip, Mahinda sent his letter of resignation to the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in an apparent effort to address public anger. The president, his brother, has accepted his resignation, which meansthe cabinet is dissolved and a new interim government will be sworn in under the President amid the ongoing economic crisis.

Mahindas visit to Anuradhapura caught the public eye in Sri Lanka, but this is hardly the first time his religious and spiritual beliefs have become a talking point.

Looking at the past 24 hours and the way its played out, as well as the colossally flawed decisions made today in triggering violence against peaceful protestors, I dont think theres any reasonable thought left in Mahinda Rajapaksa, said political analyst Dinidu de Alwis, who has also reported on Mahinda Rajapaksas proclivity for the occult.

He (Mahinda Rajapaksa) has crossed a line, and I think theres no coming back from this, de Alwis told ThePrint.

Also Read: Insolvent Sri Lanka should consider swapping its central bank with a currency board

Although a Sinhala Buddhist, Mahinda Rajapaksa has been influenced by Hindu traditions and practices, and makes regular visits to South Indian temples like the Venkateswara temple in Tirupati and Tirumala temple in Chittoor.

His wife, Shiranthi Rajapaksa, visited a Hindu temple in Sri Lanka just last week in search of divine intervention, amid the familys bid to retain power.

Gnana Akka, Mahindas personal shaman, was reportedly tasked with charming demonstrators at the GotaGoGama protest site at Colombos Galle Face. To carry out this onerous task, Gnana Akka charmed tonnes of bottled water that were then delivered as refreshments to the demonstrators in the hope that it would break the spell of dissent they were under. According to reports, flowers were imported from India to be used as part of the ritual to charm the bottled water.

What seems to have rankled Mahinda is that demonstrators have picked up on these rituals to make their point.

A trend has emerged in Sri Lanka in recent days of protesters performing rituals part of traditional Sinhala Buddhist funerals in Mahinda Rajapaksas honour. Many have even sent condolences to him and his son, former sports minister Namal Rajapaksa.

Social media users have also taken to performing superstitious rituals to mock the Rajapaksas, like circulating poems that bring evil to them, and posting pictures of ground chillies at midnight an act associated with the occult practice of casting a curse.

Mahinda Rajapaksas decision to step down as prime minister was preceded by days of demonstrations that culminated in the opposition moving a motion of no-confidence in the countrys parliament before it was adjourned last week. Days later, the government declared a State of Emergency Friday.

Meanwhile, protests continue to break out across the island nation despite a curfew in place. According to reports, properties owned by several members of parliament including the Rajapaksas ancestral home in Hambantota have either been vandalised or set ablaze.

Curfew was imposed in parts of the island Monday morning, following reports of violence as hundreds gathered at Temple Trees, the PMs official residence, to chant slogans in support of him and his younger brother, President Gotabaya. According to reports, pro-Rajapaksa demonstrators attacked peaceful protestors, setting fire to their tents and injuring over 150 in the process. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka has said it will institute legal action against the perpetrators of violence.

Amarakeerthi Athukorala, an MP from the Rajapaksas ruling party SLPP, and an unidentified 27-year-old male, were killed in the violence that erupted in the town of Nittambuwa Monday afternoon.

The situation remained tense in Colombo Monday night as violence continued, and mobs attempted to breach the gates of Temple Trees. Rajapaksa is believed to have left Temple Trees early on Tuesday morning.

The resignation of the prime minister is only the first step in resolving the current crisis and has come after month-long protests. Even then, there were reports of resignation several times, followed by denials, illustrating the familys attempt to somehow stay in power, and also most likely, power struggles within the Rajapaksa family, said Ambika Satkunathan, former chief of Sri Lankas Human Rights Commission.

The main demand of the protestors, which is the resignation of the President, has still not been met. Hence, we have a long way to go before the political turmoil subsides, she added.

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)

Also Read: Economic reforms arent the answer, Sri Lankan crisis needs a political fix

Original post:

Spirituality or occult? Mahindas visit to sacred city before resigning as PM raises questions - ThePrint

Behind the scenes, IndyCar Ministry continues to serve those within the IndyCar community through prayer, counseling, encouragement and much more during this special time. This May, theyve created a new initiative dubbed the Month of Ministry which will be alive and present.

Chuck Lessick, chaplain of Indycar Ministry, joined us Wednesday on Life. Style. Live! to share more about their ministry and working with IndyCar.

About IndyCar Ministry according to their website:

IndyCar Ministry began when IndyCar (formerly Indy Racing league) was founded in 1996, andwe are dedicated servants providingspiritual supportand counseling to IndyCar Series and IndyCars Road to Indy drivers, teams, officials and staff both on and off the track. We support the paddock with prayers and encouragement as well as support in time of crisis.

IndyCar Ministry is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit, non-denominational organization, and we are blessed to be supported by the donations we receive from theracing communityand our great partners. (Our financial records are available for review at any time by contacting our office. We desire to be good stewards of the blessings we are given.)

For more information, visit indycarministry.org or search IndyCar Ministry on all Social Media Channels and tune-in to YouTube ever Wednesday for a new encouraging video!

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Finding Faith with Randy Ollis: IndyCar Ministry provides spiritual support for race teams - WISH TV Indianapolis, IN

How we relate to those different from us is essential for a progressive Malaysia.

AFTER many years of reading, deep contemplation and practising my faith, I have come to the conclusion that the true path to spiritual enlightenment lies in how we relate to people who are different from us. And we need such spiritual enlightenment to create a strong brotherhood of citizenry that will help build a progressive, successful nation.

For me, there are three types of spiritual values that are the most important to cultivate. When these values are practised and entrenched in our hearts, they will help us rebuild this nation into a better and more meaningful one.

We all need each other

One of the most fundamental facts about spirituality is the clear realisation that we need others from all sorts of races, faiths and cultures to help us in our daily lives.

Think of our teachers, our doctors, our employers or our childrens employers. Think of the mechanic who fixes our cars or the person who takes care of the airconditioning units in our homes. Who are they? Are they all from our own race, our own faith and culture? Certainly not.

Shockingly, I have heard some clerics telling their flock not to frequent that laundry or barber or shop, etc, run by those of a different race or faith to prevent any pollution of their faith. For me this is not spiritual thinking, and it certainly fails in nation-building where the forging of ties in trust, dignity and compassion must cut across these divides.

The fact that we depend on others shows our vulnerability, it reminds us that we are all human, and we sometimes need help. Humility in showing weakness and vulnerability is an essence of faith in God and helps strengthen the brotherhood of citizenship in a nation.

I have written before of how the Prophet Muhammad had asked for help from a Christian king from Yemen to protect the first Muslims emigrating there and who were under threat of annihilation from the non-Muslims of Mecca.

We all share the same blood

I have also written before about how when I was bleeding internally and required a transfusion to save my life, I had joked with the doctor about whether the blood was from Muslims or non-Muslims he smiled and said that he did not know because it came in types of A, B, AB or O and what not. I, of course, did not mind, but I know many who would.

Ive also shared the story of the time I needed a heart bypass and the doctor recommended I get blood donated in preparation. Six young Chinese men, friends of my students, gave blood willingly, without any compensation.

This biological need, as opposed to the previous socioeconomic needs mentioned, is in our DNA to simply show that we are all one, that we are all one family. There are no two or three separate seeds of birth, only one.

And Ive noticed over the years how children with Down syndrome generally share the same look whether they are Malay or Indian or Chinese or even Western. I take it to understand the spiritual truth that we all came from one set of parents.

This, then, is another great spiritual truth: that our blood is one and that we can give life to each other even if we are of different faiths, races and cultures. Organ transplants are also a reminder that what is in us can belong to others different from us.

Once a non-Muslim woman who was a prisoner of war was brought before the Prophet as she said she was his milk sister. It was the tradition at that time for rich Arabs to give up their sons to a tribe that lived outside Mecca to be nursed by their women so that they would be strong and healthy as well as learn the ancient traditions. The Prophet Muhammad was given to Halimah, who had children of her own and the woman prisoner was his sister. The Prophet realised that the blood that ran through this non-Muslims veins was also his. He then gave her provisions and had her escorted to freedom.

Treat everyone with respect

To be a family that has trust in each other and compassion for all, there must be dignity in how we treat each other. We must all respect others even if they are not of our faith, colour, lifestyle and race. I have seen how some educated professors, high-ranking politicians and clergy treat those of other races and faiths with contempt, and it makes me sad.

Once the Prophet Muhammad said to his Companions: Do not insult or say bad words to your dead parents.

The Companions were shocked for in the Arab tribe parents are held in the highest regard. When they asked him what he meant by that statement, he replied: If you insult the parents of others, they in turn will insult your parents and this is how you have insulted your own parents.

The message here, to me, is to treat others as how we wish to be treated.

Buddhist teacher Ajahm Brahm taught me that the most important person in the world is the person in front of you at any time in your daily life. Whoever you deal with, you must give them your respect.

Once a person came to the Prophet Muhammad and said that his non-Muslim mother had come to him to help. The Prophet told him to help her and treat her with respect. Thus, treating others with respect is an extremely great act of spirituality, for if we treat all with respect then perhaps we can hope that God will treat us with some.

For nation-building, respecting others is a core value that must be entrenched if Malaysia is not to fail as a country.

These three values need to be taught in our houses of worship, in universities and in schools to change the political narrative from being a toxic one of mistrust and malice towards each other to one of kindness and acceptance of all. These values are not only the keys to spiritual fulfilment but also the basis on which we have to reforge relationships to realise the (almost lost) dream of Malaysia as a united, free and prosperous nation.

Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor of Architecture at the Tan Sri Omar Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Studies at UCSI University. The views expressed here are entirely the writers own.

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Spiritual values in nation-building - The Star Online

Link your spiritual WiFi with God: Do prayers help in the healing process?

Photo : iStock

We all like to have an anchor in life, a point to offload our worries, and recharge our batteries of hope and good health. And entrepreneurs and enterprising women are not any different.

"Before I go to bed, my nighttime ritual is to pray. Just a universal prayer.

Prayer, in this sense, is not a religious ritual. I use this time for quiet contemplation, praying for the well-being of everyone everywhere. I pray for a few minutes for peace and love to prevail, replacing hatred and intolerance.

Several studies have shown that prayer can positively impact health. It can provide you with a sense of calm, control, encouragement, and connection. Praying for the well-being of others, even those who have harmed you - can reduce anger and aggression.

Along with gratitude, prayer is one of the most powerful tools I know of to create a calm inner space. I feel in a world torn by rising intolerance, prayer is a powerful transformative tool.

What are your tools for inner peace? Do you pray for others?

#Wellness #MentalHealth"

The power of prayer in healing and health:

It adds that the advocates of prayers exalt the healing power of the activity in health care, while critics are sceptical about this claim and its healing potential is put down to coincidences or its placebo effect.

There is evidence to suggest that some patients and healthcare practitioners believe in the healing power of prayer. Nurses may be called upon to pray with or for patients as part of holistic care.

Prayers and spirituality need no scientific validation:

"With double-blind clinical trials, scientists tried their best to study something that may be beyond their best tools," said Brandeis sociologist Wendy Cadge, an expert on the intersection of religion and medicine in contemporary American society, "and reflects more about them and their assumptions than about whether prayer 'works.'"

Reflecting a recent shift toward delegitimising studies of intercessory prayer, recent commentators in the medical literature concluded: "We do not need science to validate our spiritual beliefs, as we would never use faith to validate our scientific data." Wendy Cadge, incidentally, is the year 2009 Suzanne Young Murray Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University - as well as the author of the book, Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine.

Disclaimer: Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purposes only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a dietician before starting any fitness programme or making any changes to your diet.

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The power of prayer in health and healing: Venture capitalist Vani Kola vouches for benefits of spirituality - Times Now

Nanette V. Hucknall has spent a lifetime studying spirituality and psychology, and is the founder of Higher Self Yoga. Photo courtesy the author's website

MONTEREY For some, talk of the higher self might be akin to a foreign language. For others, like Nanette V. Hucknall, this terminology rolls off the tongue. Not only is Hucknell, the founder and president emeritus of Higher Self Yoga, fluent in this form of communication, she has also spent a lifetime studying spirituality and psychology. Her goal is to help others on their own personal journeys, and one way shes doing it is through her new book, Higher Self Yoga: A Practical Teaching, a recent winner of the 2022 NABE Pinnacle Book Achievement Award.

The Higher Self is in everyone, Hucknall told The Edge, pointing to the spiritual part of the individual that is connected to the source, (yet distinctly separate from religion) where ones positive characteristics reside including creativity, wisdom, inspiration, and unconditional love.

[The Higher Self] knows exactly what vocation you should be in, said Hucknall, who started off in New York City as an art director before pursuing career therapy and ultimately psychotherapy. Over the course of four decades, Hucknall has had cause to use her own Higher Self to overcome problems, navigate relationships and understand her personality. This book offers practical applications for others to use in their day-to-day lives, the very desire that drove Hucknall to start Higher Self Yoga more than three decades ago.

Using yoga in its original sense not as a physical practice, but rather a spiritual one the potential for personal growth expands exponentially with spiritual development. Your heart is your conduit to the Higher Self, Hucknall said, pointing to a primary focus fueled by the wise being within. It is this alignment with ones inner wisdom that allows an individual to become the best possible version of themself.

Our Higher Self knows our purpose in life, and encompasses our potential to live a fulfilling and joyous life through personal growth and self-awareness, said Hucknall. This book, her eighth, is an approachable guide for personal discovery that taps into the readers unknown potential, unexamined desires and new possibilities that can be applied to myriad arenas spanning career to spiritual development. The use of colorful anecdotes coupled with exercises provides a step-by-step approach for anyone at any stage of their journey. In a fitting nod to the personal work involved, Hucknalls book won in the Self Help category.

I was really, really surprised to win the award, said Hucknall of the prestigious, international recognition, honoring an outstanding contribution by an author or book to the industry or society at large. Experienced editors and judges select books based on content, quality, writing, style, presentation, and cover design. And, while the publication of this book feels both timely and evergreen, it was written two years ago, said Hucknall, who discovered the Higher Self when studying psychosynthesis, which is rooted in the human inclination toward finding wholeness.

The founder of psychosynthesis, an Italian man called Roberto Assagioli (18881974), taught about the Higher Self and [encouraged practitioners] to use it in their therapy work, she said of the medical doctor, first psychoanalyst in Italy, and contemporary of Freud and Jung. In addition to her extensive writing, Hucknall offers a free, online introduction to Connecting with the Higher Self: Guided Experience. The eponymous experience is based on the writing, lessons, and exercises from earlier works and aims to develop a sincere relationship with the wise being within.

After four decades of practice, Hucknall is well-versed in moving this way. What begins with routine exercises eventually evolves into a way of being, where you start to awaken, and all you do is just link to your heart, she said. I think it would change the world if everyone was talking about this.

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Higher Self Yoga: Nanette V. Hucknall goes right to the source - theberkshireedge.com

Poet and activist Ntsiki Mazwai says African elders' and traditional healers' bodies need to come together and mend the broken communication between the generations.

This comes after Ntsiki criticised dancer and reality TV star Zodwa Wabantu for wearing ancestral beads while gyrating half-naked, saying it was disrespectful to the African culture.

There needs to be more control in these initiation schools. In other spiritual practices you go through processes and there are elders and there are Gobelas. Also in African spirituality who have spent many years doing this. So this thing where we disregard the elders is a problem because then as the youth we start making up our own rules, and when you make up your own rules that's when you are going to mess up with spirits and then we all know that messing with spirits can go horribly wrong.

A tendency that Sangoma and African spiritual teacher Gogo Dineo Ndlanzi also noticed about the youth is lack of patience.

Speaking to TshisaLIVE, at a panel discussion hosted by Castle Milk Stout on April 25 she said the most important tool to have on one's spiritual journey was patience.

When you are impatient dont even bother to start. Go find out why you are impatient, deal with that, because our youth, especially the ones born in the 1990s, are very impatient.

We dont blame them because the programme was set for everything, they were born into a programme of a sense of entitlement more than anything. So already they say, 'no this thing is taking too long, I want to see changes now'.

Ntsiki said black people need to go back to the basics of having conversations where information and knowledge were passed down from the older generations to the new.

In ancient times there was a circle between the young and the old, and that was how information was transferred .There was a full circle from the young to the old and from the old to the young. So there's been a disruption of the communication by colonialism and we need to start having conversations around how do we come back to being African.

We keep doing it in trends but until we are fully committed to going back to ourselves we are going to continue losing ourselves and we will continue not having anything and not owning anything.

Shocked by the lack of outrage after the video clip of Zodwa Wabantu that emerged on the socials she said people cant be left to their devices.

I definitely think we need traditional bodies to regulate this, I'm so ready for that. We need to lay down law and to have control. We need control in the black nation. People can't just do as they please. Another thing is that some people think they have amaDlozi but it is sometimes unhealed childhood trauma. And if they went to therapy you will find that they don't do most of the stuff that they do. So we can't allow our things to be disrespected. They have been disrespected enough.

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Ntsiki Mazwai talks about African spirituality and the need for traditional bodies to lay down the law - TimesLIVE

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CNS) -- Dr. Gianna Emanuela Molla, a pediatrician and daughter of Italian St. Gianna Beretta Molla, plans to open an international pilgrimage site and center in Springfield to help spread knowledge of and devotion to her parents and promote marriage and family life.

"I learned from my saint mom and holy dad to have deep faith and unwavering confidence in divine providence," Molla said. "The establishment of this international center is one of those times I am trusting in God to show me the way and all those who are involved in the project. I am filled with humility to start this international center so we can promote and help families grow holier together."

She said she chose the location because of Springfield Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki's faith-filled leadership and commitment to defend innocent life. She also thought the city's location -- in driving distance of St. Louis and Chicago -- was helpful.

Ultimately, she said: "It was God who chose Springfield."

Molla plans to live on the grounds once the center is open.

The St. Gianna Beretta Molla and Pietro Molla International Center for Family and Life will be located near the St. Francis of Assisi Church and the Evermode Institute, which is a new center for Catholic spiritual and intellectual formation.

"For years, Dr. Molla has been searching for a site to honor her holy parents and promote holy marriages and families, and if you want to see first-hand how divine providence can work, the story of how this all came together is the perfect example," Bishop Paprocki said in a statement.

He said he met the saint's daughter in a shared car ride to a conference at the Napa Institute in California in 2019 and after that she reached out to him with the idea of the center.

"The excitement of what is shaping up in Central Illinois is proof the Holy Spirit is guiding all of this. To think, Central Illinois will have The Evermode Institute, the St. Gianna and Pietro Molla International Center for Family and Life, our own Venerable Father Augustine Tolton in Quincy who is on his way to sainthood and Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen in Peoria. This region of America will provide so much grace to people around the world who visit," the bishop said.

The center is expected to bring thousands of pilgrims to Springfield every year from all over the world as St. Gianna is known as a saint for mothers, families, health care workers, and the pro-life cause, as she herself raised four children, was a pediatrician, and died from complications after giving birth to her daughter Gianna.

While pregnant with her fourth child in 1961, St. Gianna learned she had a tumor in her uterus. Doctors discussed having an abortion to preserve St. Gianna's life. Instead, she chose to only have the tumor removed, understanding this could save her child but lead to further, perhaps deadly complications for her.

Both the baby and St. Gianna survived the surgery. Knowing she could lose her life delivering her child, St. Gianna prayed to God and told the doctors and her family: "If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate, choose the child. I insist on it. Save the baby."

On April 21, 1962, Gianna Emanuela Molla was born. Over the next few days, her mother experienced serious complications and despite several treatments, died a week after giving birth.

As word spread of St. Gianna's action, the Catholic Church opened her cause for sainthood. She was canonized a saint by St. John Paul II in 1994.

Attending her canonization was her husband, Pietro, and children, including her daughter, Gianna, whom she saved. It was the first time a husband witnessed his wife's canonization. Today, St. Gianna is the patron saint of mothers, physicians and unborn children. Her feast day is April 28.

St. John Paul II described her as a "simple, but more than ever, significant messenger of divine love."

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St. Gianna's daughter planning to open spiritual pilgrimage center. Published May. 9 2022. Nation. - The Pilot

I was born five pounds heavy, five weeks ahead of my due date. According to my parents, I was immediately placed in an incubator like a chicken egg. I was continually losing the few pounds of weight that I had, which terrified them. It seemed I hadn't been quite ready to enter the world. Dad often held me in one hand, my hairless head resting in his roomy palm. Mom had to tape little plastic tubes to her nipples when trying to breastfeed, shrinking herself for my weak lips.

A couple of weeks after giving birth to me, Dad heard Mom scream from behind the closed bathroom door. She kept screaming. He found her sobbing, pointing at the toilet. I bet he gasped when he saw it and that his reaction made Mom cry harder. Using two big serving spoons, he fished out of the toilet a giant roundworm parasite. It was a few feet long. They put it in a quart-size zip lock bag so they could bring it to the doctor.

Did you hear about the missionary wife with the massive parasite?

The nurses and the doctor made Mom feel like a freakshow. Did you hear about the missionary wife with the massive parasite? They apologized for their unprofessional reactions, but their remorse was immediately negated as they, again, emphasized that this was the largest worm they had ever seen in real life and in textbooks. They informed her that due to its once again extremely large size, they could infer two things: it had been growing in her for at least a year and that it could not be the only one. They gave her a medication to kill its brethren that were likely multiplying at that very moment, swimming in her intestine as she sat shamefully in the sterile American office.

Mom became petrified of using the bathroom, of encountering more roundworms in their porcelain grave as the medication killed them. But she had to do what she had to do. She never saw another parasite. She found out a couple of months later from my uncle who is a doctor that the medication also dissolves the worms. Her doctor had somehow forgotten to mention that; he was likely too distracted, gawking at her ziplocked giant.

RELATED:Holy bodies, holy hungers

Maybe they grew rapidly because her suffering was spiritualized away.

When Mom was pregnant with me, she was not only eating for two she was eating for hundreds. I often think about how my embryo-self and the parasites grew in parallel inside of her. Almost like inmates, only a thin wall kept us apart as we fought for space and nutrients. Maybe the giant roundworm who made itself known had left its family to find me. I imagine it said to me in a raspy slithering voice: Hey kid, there's not room enough for the both of us. I imagine that I agreed. Chucking up deuces to my rowdy neighbors, I fought to get out ahead of schedule. I imagine that when Mom tenderly wrapped her arm around her swelling belly, whispering prayers over my kidney-bean-shaped body, the parasites thought she loved them. Maybe that's what spurred their impressive size and numbers. Maybe they grew unchecked because we were living in a country that did not sanitize the way Americans are used to. Or maybe they grew rapidly because her suffering was spiritualized away.

* * *

My parents had been concerned that they wouldn't make it back to the States in time for Mom to give birth to me. They once again packed up their lives and embarked on the 24+ hour trip from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to Portland, Oregon, USA. With my two older sisters (6 and 4 years old) and many suitcases, my family had conquered the first of many legs: a small plane had flown them to Istanbul, Turkey. But when they checked in for their next flight, the Turkish Airline's clerk looked with raised eyebrows at Mom's rotund belly which was emphasized by her petite frame. The clerk shook her head. Dad had already offered the handwritten note from the missionary doctor who had checked Mom's vitals on the couch in our living room; she had been alarmed to find Mom's blood pressure extremely high. The doctor said if my family wasn't already planning to leave in a few days, she would have called the U.S. embassy to get Mom medically evacuated.

Dad led the way in most situations that took place outside of our home, but not this time. This time Mom stepped in front of him, handing him the water bottle and Winnie the Pooh backpack she was undoubtedly holding. "I am getting on that plane." Mom's eyebrows had raised to meet the clerk's, her voice was steady and low. The clerk suggested they leave the airport and go to the hospital a couple of miles away to get an official note from a Turkish doctor approving her for travel. They only had four hours until their next flight (the 18-hour flight that would bring them back to America). There was no way.

"Let me speak to your manager," Mom countered, her voice's volume slowly rising to meet her blood pressure. The clerk shook her head again, eyes darting at the attention their conversation was starting to draw. "I am getting on that plane! Where is your manager!" Mom yelled, slamming her hand on the counter.

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

I wish more than anything I could have seen this next part with my own eyes, but I'm sure I was cheering her on; her cortisol and adrenaline spinning me in circles. She stepped up on the luggage scale with her hands on her hips, the conveyor belt was stationary at the time. She threatened to come behind the counter. Clerks from surrounding kiosks came rushing over, anxiously trying to get her to step off. Did you hear about the pregnant American lady who threatened Turkish Airlines? She refused to budge until the manager arrived. I imagine that Dad had taken a few steps back with my sisters, watching with pride and shock as Mom transcended. The manager came and made her sign six different forms to agree that they would not be liable if anything were to happen to her or the baby's health while they were flying 40,000 miles above land. Mom stepped down, signing her and my life away. My family finally got on the plane. I was born six weeks after we arrived, and Mom was healthy (aside from the roundworms).

* * *

On late Saturday mornings during my childhood, I could always find Mom in the back corner of my parents' room. Sitting in her armchair with her feet tucked under her, she wrote in her journal with a tall mug of steaming coffee beside her. I sat at her feet on the faded carpet, my back against the bed. After interrupting her "quiet time" repeatedly, I waited and watched. I watched Mom's tilted head sway softly along with her right hand as it moved back and forth, watched the floating specks in the sunlight and imagined them to be fairies dancing just for me, watched her turn filled page after filled page, watched the shadow of grapevine leaves fall through the window to twitch across my folded body and slowly encircle her chair, watched her lips barely move as she re-read what she wrote.

I know now that her many journals were filled with lists and lists of bitter beseeching prayer requests.

If I squeeze that memory tightly with my adult hands, it starts to crumble; fairies twirling in sunlight become illuminated dust. Of course, my parents sheltered my sisters and me from the hardships of growing up in Kyrgyzstan. But I know now that they also hid how her mental illnesses were exacerbated by the environment we lived in and by the pressures of evangelism. I know now that her many journals were filled with lists and lists of bitter beseeching prayer requests, her barely moving lips re-reading angry pleas.

RELATED:It's my mom's fault I stole her letters

She had to pray for God to lead us back to America because she could not lead us back herself. Dad would not lead us back unless it was God's idea first. Or at least that was the message they received from the American church. This message was reinforced when she commiserated with her friends who were also missionary wives. They prayed with heavy bowed heads for their children's safety and for each other's sanity since they didn't want to pray for themselves out loud. She told me recently that Ephesians 6:12 was the backbone of the evangelical pressures she endured (in addition to the salt of the Earth and carry your cross tropes). "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." How could she complain about earthly inconveniences like parasites and high blood pressure when there were demons to be fought and unsaved souls to reclaim?

My mother lived overseas in a state of high anxiety for 16 years, all while raising four daughters. She dreaded the unexpected health problem that could have been easily treated if only we lived in the country we were from. She worried over her isolation and otherness, surrounded either by seven-foot brick walls and children or by people she could not easily communicate with. It's one thing for her to acknowledge her privilege as a mostly-white-passing, middle-class, highly educated, American woman. It's another thing entirely for her to be told that her longing to leave was a discredit to her faith: longing to have consistent access to healthcare and education for her family, longing to live somewhere she belonged.

As I sift through the remaining sand from the crumbled memory, I see now that there actually was a bigger problem than hundreds of roundworms living inside my pregnant mother. Evangelism, a spiritual leech. Even after we permanently moved back to America, the metaphorical parasite clung on. Our home was an extension of Mom's womb, a vessel in which she carried and protected her growing children. We swam together in spiritualized gaslighting, grasping for a life that ought to be enough.

More essays on growing up evangelical:

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The parasites inside my mother were both real and spiritual - Salon

No you dont, Im just kidding.

I dont have a lot of time to blog this morning, and of course, am horribly tempted by Hillary Duffs I too struggle to make peace with being unfathomably hot (to quote someone named Kat Rosenfield) self-bragging (skip the humble) pictures of herself in Womens Health. First of all, I love that a lot of people, glancing at Womens Health thought it said White House and wondered why that auspicious institution needed to know about her personal struggle. I do that all the time. I think it is because I am a tiny bit dyslexic. And also not patient. Second of all, I cant link it because you shouldnt go looking at naked pictures of Hillary Duff, no matter how perfectly airbrushed they are, no matter how many very funny replies there are.

So anyway, Im not going to blog about that. This leaves me in a sad state because I have been reading books more than the internet. I have been plowing through various books on a variety of subjects, as I think I said last week, and have been vaguely feeling like (just to be allowed to join in a trend) it would be fun to start a substack where I laboriously fisk books that I have to read. I could say all the stuff that doesnt fit neatly into a review or a regular blog post. Wouldnt that be fun? But then it occurred to me that no one would be that interested. Still, I might, just because a lot of the books I read are pretty exasperating, and full of one-liners that need to be at the very least discussed if not actually refuted.

For example, I am slowly working through Nate Collins All But Invisible: Exploring Identity Questions At the Intersection Of Faith, Gender, and Sexuality. Here is something that strikes me as darkly funny. Its a long two paragraphs culminating in an unwitting punchline, so hold tight:

When admiration becomes passionate admiration, its not merely a sign that the intensity of my appreciation of someone has increased. Instead, it signals the additional reality that my admiration has acquired a forward-looking orientation. When I passionately admire someone, I perceive the future as potential rather than simply as that which has yet to take place. The prospect of future encounters with the personhood of the one I admire excites me.

So, heres the million-dollar question that weve been preparing to ask. Is it possible for a gay man to passionately admire another manor even another gay man, for that matterwithout sinning? I think the answer to this question has to be yes, it is certainly possible. One reason we experience passionate admiration of others is because people are hardwired for relationship. Its natural to passionately admire individuals we relate to personally when we experience some aspect of their personhood as good and virtuous. As a gay man, when I admire a same-gender friend of mine, Im not merely admiring his gender, although that is necessarily part of the experience. Im also admiring who he is as a person. If I cant do that with both passion and chastity, then yes, theres something wrong with me. [emphasis his]

Ok heres the punchline:

But I also think theres something wrong with a Christianity that cant support me in my efforts to try. [emphasis mine]

Wish I could paste in a picture of myself falling on the floor laughing out loud but no one took one. If youre missing the joke, its that you havent been reveling in Don Quixote and his wonderful side-novella in chapter XXXIII (is that 33?). The note says: Which recounts the novel of The Man Who Was Recklessly Curious. The story starts out this way:

In Florence, a rich and famous Italian city in the province called Tuscany, lived two wealthy, eminent gentlemen who were such good friends that they were known by everyone as the two friends. They were bachelors, young men who were of the same age and habits, all of which was sufficient cause for both of them to feel a mutual, reciprocal friendship.

After a bit, one of the friends, Anselmo, falls in love and marries a beautiful and virtuous woman named Camila. Camila was so happy to be married to Anselmo that she unceasingly gave her thanks to heaven, and to Lotario, through whose intervention so much contentment had come to her. But Anselmo is an absolute fool (which is the point of the story) and decides to embroil them all in misery, ruin, and pain. Not to spoil it (but I will because its been published for hundreds of years) in the end they all die. To cut to the chase, Anselmo wants his friend Lotario to seduce Camila to see how long she will hold out and how chaste she really is. It goes exactly as well and as foolishly as Collins desire to try to have passionate admiration for men without ever giving way to unchastity.

Im sorry to say it, but the church, and Christians, have always known and warned against these kinds of obvious dangers. Its why marriage between one man and one woman exists. Anselmo should have not tested his wife and his friend, but let go of his friend to work on passionate admiration for his wife. He could have been friends with his wife. That is a thing that can happen, no matter how often the Spiritual Friendship party tries to say it is a myth. It is not a myth. It is hard, but it is not a myth. Becoming friends with a woman over the course of a marriage is one of the main reasons a man should get married to a woman. But Anselmo didnt want, really, to be friends with anyone but himself. That is the deep, unacknowledged, unwise subtext to Collins two paragraphs. The person you are drawn toif that person is fundamentally like you in gender, in sex, in personality, in looks, in temperamentis too often the doorway to idolatry. Its not about him, its about how he makes you feel when you are with him. This is one of the reasons that the friendship of marriage, which, on the surface, is so contrary to both people because they are so unlike each other, is the remedy to idolatry. The unlikeness pulls you out of yourself.

Oh gosh, my blogging time is up and I havent finished my thought. I didnt get to the helper fit bit! See! I totally need a substack. Or is this the kind of blogging that anyone can endure here? If you have any opinion on the matter, let me know!

Read the original post:

The Reckless Curiosity of Spiritual Friendship | Anne Kennedy - Patheos

Julie Roys is a Christian investigative reporter located in Chicago who is known for having brought to light abuse and corruption relating to some of Americas most high profile pastors and evangelists.

Roys launched The Roys Report in 2019, shortly after investigating alleged corruption within Moody Bible Institute in 2018, for whom she was working as a national radio host at the time. The investigative series led to three of Moodys top officers exiting their positions and ultimately ended her relationship with her employer. Her personal blog, where she shared her articles, became a what she describes as a Christian media outlet, reporting the unvarnished truth about whats happening in the Christian community so the church can be reformed and restored.

In 2018, Roys journalism exposed the now-former senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel (HBC) James MacDonald for his aggressive leadership style and abuse of the churchs finances. The Roys Report has over 78 articles dedicated to MacDonald and/or HBC, many of which were written by Roys. MacDonald was firedin February 2019 by HBC elders stating that their pastors conduct was harmful to the best interests of the church.

Days after MacDonalds firing, HBCs executive leadership, which included elders, announced their resignation, admitting that they had made mistakes, specifically when it came to direction, discipline, and response time.

Since then,HBC has apologized to MacDonald after MacDonald won a legal dispute where he retained ownership and rights to Walk in the Word, the broadcast ministry MacDonald started in 1997. MacDonald received the assets of Walk in the Word books, marketing materials, and equipment, as well as sermons, podcasts, and websites.

MacDonald sued many of those who went after him, including Roys. In the summer of 2021, he unleashed a social-media tirade against the investigative reporter, calling her a gossipslut, a liar, and an apostate.

Roys was also involved in detailing many of the sexual-abuse allegations brought against world-renowned Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias by multiple women. The sexual abuse claims were found to be true after Zacharias death in May 2020.

Roys has covered high-profile scandals, including sexual abuse allegations directed at Willow Creek Church and former senior pastor Bill Hybels, abusive leadership by former Mars Hill pastor and current pastor of The Trinity Church Mark Driscoll, and Naghmeh Panahis allegations that Franklin Graham pressured her to return to her abusive husband. Roys has published allegations regarding Grace Community Churchs senior pastor John MacArthur, accusing him of covering up sexual abuse and plagiarism. The hot-button coverage is possible reason why Roys has seen an uptick in character attacks lately.

Roys founded a one-day conference called Restore hosted at Judson University, saying that it is aimed at restoring faith in God in the church.

I put together Restore Chicago because Ive witnessed firsthand the pain and the devastation left by two major church scandals in the Chicago area, Roys said in her podcast while recapping highlights from the 2019 conference and referring to the MacDonald and Hybels scandals.

This years conference is taking place on May 21, 2022, and will include Diane Langberg, Scot McKnight, Lori Anne Thompson, Wade Mullen, Lina Abujamra, and Karen Swallow Prior. The conference will cover topics including Where is God when theres abuse? Recovering from spiritual trauma, Effective victim advocacy, and Choosing hope vs. despair.

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Investigative Reporter Julie Roys Removes Herself From Her Own Conference After Accusations of 'Spiritual Abuse' - Church Leaders