Dear Johanna,
>By saying that (paraphrased) we should not make one religion better than
>another, is only one world view. You of course may have that view.
>Others, such as me, however should be allowed to have their own view.
Therefore I must
>protest, because I KNOW that a life with Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY to
>GOD and I make NO EXCUSES about it.
>He said: "I am THE WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE, NOBODY comes to the
>FATHER BUT BY ME". I didn't say these words, but He did. If you are
>offended by that, complain to HIM.
I don't think the equal valuing of anyone's beliefs is a world view but
more a philosophical or ethical stance. However, the thing with religion
is that everyone thinks theirs is the only right one, the only way to god.
The Greeks thought this, the Romans, the Vikings, the Wickans, the Muslims
certainly do, as do the Jews. In fact, the three peoples of the book are
probably the most monopolistic of god of any religion I have ever studied
or been involved in. In attempting to unravel spiritual aspects of
midwifery practice I asked the question how midwives experienced
spiritualality in midwifery. I did not ask for a debate on beliefs, but
rather the phenomena of spiritual connection and what this meant to their
practice.
>Being midwives has in reality NOTHING to do with how we view GOD or
>religion. We should still be able to let everybody make their own
>choices in life, being there for the women and their families.
As a spiritual person (I'm coming to own this now that I have actually
dumped religion) of no particular belief, I find I cannot separate my
spiritual life from any part of the rest of my life (similar to many
Christian, Buddist and Hindu friends I have), but, like others, don't talk
it or explore it. Therefor much remains unexplored in my art. I think it
is an important aspect of our lives as midwives, and our exploration of our
own spiritual meanings, which imbue and are inbued by our philosophical
stance of being with women, require articulation for a fuller and more
whole understanding of our art.
>This will be the first AND the last time I'll write about this, for I do
>believe that the midwifery page is not the right place to discuss
>anything else but midwifery.
I don't know who decided that some things weren't suitable for discussion
on this list, or that it was ONLY about midwifery. Many useful discussions
have occured on this list that had less relevance to midwifery than the
spiritual aspects of our interactions with families and their life
transitions.
I know that people have made lots of wild claims about religion and wars
and oppression, and many of these ring true, though I believe religion
tends to be somewhat of a scapegoat for nationalistic and imperialistic (or
even capitalistic) imperatives, but religion was never the sole reason for
any of these. They always occur within a context. One thing I do know,
though, is that people often invoke religious beliefs to stifle debate, but
again, this is not religion itself, but the insecurity and closedness of
the individual. And it ends up being impossible anyway.
So talk on, all of you. You are all allowed to have your view and express
it loudly (if only you do it with respect and tolerance). I think there
must be a research project in this somewhere, too. To find out midwives'
experience of spiritual connectedness may help our understanding of what it
is to be with women.
And that's the second-last word I will have on this subject (maybe, well
almost, well only if I can't keep quiet).
Cheers, Trish
--
This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics.
Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
