outWORD by Matte Downey

In English usage, freedom is defined as the power or right to act, speak, and think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Most often, at least in our Western context, we use the word freedom to refer to self-determination, meaning we are free to be who we want to be, to do what we want to do, to say what we want to say. This way of thinking about freedom has some problems. First, it assumes that we have relatively few limitations as human beings when, in fact, we all have limited choices and options in life. Not everyone has the capacity to be an astronaut or an Olympic swimmer or an opera singer or the Prime Minister. I could do none of those things well. I also cannot be a cat or a bird, much as I would like to be able to jump six times my height or fly by moving my arms. Viewing freedom as pure self-determination gives us an inflated sense of our own agency. It also sidesteps the fact that we do not function in isolation; our choices and actions have implications for ot...

Image from wikimedia commons This past Sunday I continued my series on "Names of God" by exploring the ideas associated with the phrase, "I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt." First, a bit of back story: The family of Jacob came to Egypt to escape a famine which was happening in the land. Joseph, Jacob's son, was already in Egypt working as a high-ranking official who was managing the food stores during the famine. The famine ended, time passed, and the descendants of Jacob became numerous. The officials who had known Joseph and treated his family with kindness were now dead and the new rulers saw the many descendants of Jacob (Israel) as a threat, as outsiders who would surely take over the land. They began to treat the Israelites as second-class citizens and eventually forced them into slavery. This subjugation lasted over 400 years or 17 generations. God then called Moses to deliver his people out of slavery, and through a dramatic pro...

I remember having a regular day off last year. It was a nice break to spend 24 hours not thinking about the demands of school, and I felt it was imperative for my overall well-being. This past school year, however, that practice of taking a day off fell by the wayside. Taking on the additional responsibilities of a teaching assistant and facing looming deadlines for numerous large projects, I did what needed to be done, and I did it whenever I needed to do it. This meant that I worked 7 days a week on reading, writing, taking notes, teaching, grading, applying for programs and submitting proposals, as well as attending class. I did take 2 nights a week to participate in gatherings with my faith community, but often rushed home afterwards to complete any assignment I was in the middle of. On occasion I would also go to a movie with Dean, but there was no guarantee of a weekly date. Since it was only a temporary situation, I had no problem embracing the intensity of those 7 months or so....