Comments on: What Happened to Mother Teresa? http://www.lookingforfaith.org/blog/2007/what-happened-to-mother-teresa Religion and spirituality from a Unitarian Universalist perspective Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:18:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Shelby Meyerhoff http://www.lookingforfaith.org/blog/2007/what-happened-to-mother-teresa#comment-3350 Shelby Meyerhoff Tue, 04 Sep 2007 22:29:06 +0000 http://www.lookingforfaith.org/blog/2007/what-happened-to-mother-teresa#comment-3350 Elizabeth, The comments I've gotten on this post, including yours, have been eye-opening. I hadn't considered some of the other possible criticisms of Mother Teresa, including her fundraising for the church and her focus on direct service rather than systemic change. Elizabeth,

The comments I’ve gotten on this post, including yours, have been eye-opening. I hadn’t considered some of the other possible criticisms of Mother Teresa, including her fundraising for the church and her focus on direct service rather than systemic change.

]]> By: Elizabeth http://www.lookingforfaith.org/blog/2007/what-happened-to-mother-teresa#comment-3316 Elizabeth Mon, 03 Sep 2007 20:05:28 +0000 http://www.lookingforfaith.org/blog/2007/what-happened-to-mother-teresa#comment-3316 Such interesting posts, Shelby. I am especially interested in questions about MT because, based on my very minimal knowledge of her, I was never that thrilled with things - maybe either a sense of making suffering people comfortable, rather than doing more to advocate for the changes in systems that contribute to that suffering, and also a sense that she wasn't being totally real. Guess it seems like I was a tad on target with that second one. Also, as for whether religious leaders should express doubts, I think that a BIG YES is my take on it. Otherwise, it gives your everyday person on the street the sense either that 1) they need to doubt less because look at the leaders who never doubt, rather than affirming the need to struggle with difficult religious questions that almost always involve doubt and 2) they have the sense that religious leaders are lying and pretending never to doubt or change, which is often the truth if religious leaders act as if they have it all together spiritually and never doubt and never change. Just my (long) two cents. Thanks for these posts :) Such interesting posts, Shelby. I am especially interested in questions about MT because, based on my very minimal knowledge of her, I was never that thrilled with things - maybe either a sense of making suffering people comfortable, rather than doing more to advocate for the changes in systems that contribute to that suffering, and also a sense that she wasn’t being totally real. Guess it seems like I was a tad on target with that second one. Also, as for whether religious leaders should express doubts, I think that a BIG YES is my take on it. Otherwise, it gives your everyday person on the street the sense either that 1) they need to doubt less because look at the leaders who never doubt, rather than affirming the need to struggle with difficult religious questions that almost always involve doubt and 2) they have the sense that religious leaders are lying and pretending never to doubt or change, which is often the truth if religious leaders act as if they have it all together spiritually and never doubt and never change. Just my (long) two cents. Thanks for these posts :)

]]> By: Shelby Meyerhoff http://www.lookingforfaith.org/blog/2007/what-happened-to-mother-teresa#comment-3204 Shelby Meyerhoff Fri, 31 Aug 2007 16:04:43 +0000 http://www.lookingforfaith.org/blog/2007/what-happened-to-mother-teresa#comment-3204 Jacqueline and Hafidha, Thank you for commenting. As I read your comments, they raised a question for me about how fundraising for one's own church or denomination should be understood: Is it on par with charity? Is it a moral obligation? How should it be balanced with fundraising or donating to causes that provide for people's direct material needs? Jacqueline, Thanks for the recommendation of God is Not Great. Hafidha, Your idea for a post about whether leaders should confess doubts about their belief systems is a great idea. One practical instance in which this comes out is when a congregational minister's beliefs change over time. If she starts out a deist in a God-believing congregation, and over time becomes a humanist, should she share these changes with the congregation, or not do so at the risk of being false? Jacqueline and Hafidha,

Thank you for commenting. As I read your comments, they raised a question for me about how fundraising for one’s own church or denomination should be understood: Is it on par with charity? Is it a moral obligation? How should it be balanced with fundraising or donating to causes that provide for people’s direct material needs?

Jacqueline, Thanks for the recommendation of God is Not Great.

Hafidha, Your idea for a post about whether leaders should confess doubts about their belief systems is a great idea. One practical instance in which this comes out is when a congregational minister’s beliefs change over time. If she starts out a deist in a God-believing congregation, and over time becomes a humanist, should she share these changes with the congregation, or not do so at the risk of being false?

]]> By: hafidha sofia http://www.lookingforfaith.org/blog/2007/what-happened-to-mother-teresa#comment-3179 hafidha sofia Thu, 30 Aug 2007 21:06:07 +0000 http://www.lookingforfaith.org/blog/2007/what-happened-to-mother-teresa#comment-3179 Penn & Teller did a program about Mother Theresa, Gandhi and a third person (can't recall right now). You can vie it on YouTube. I don't know that I can morally agree with the notion that only through suffering can you be close to God. While suffering is part of the human condition, it's one thing to accept that and another to reinforce it or perpetuate it. And she did raise 50 million dollars, most of which went to the church, not to the poor. Also, this reminds me of something - I should write a post about it. It's about whether leaders should ever confess doubts about their beliefs or in their belief systems. Penn & Teller did a program about Mother Theresa, Gandhi and a third person (can’t recall right now). You can vie it on YouTube. I don’t know that I can morally agree with the notion that only through suffering can you be close to God. While suffering is part of the human condition, it’s one thing to accept that and another to reinforce it or perpetuate it. And she did raise 50 million dollars, most of which went to the church, not to the poor.

Also, this reminds me of something - I should write a post about it. It’s about whether leaders should ever confess doubts about their beliefs or in their belief systems.

]]> By: jacqueline http://www.lookingforfaith.org/blog/2007/what-happened-to-mother-teresa#comment-3175 jacqueline Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:41:03 +0000 http://www.lookingforfaith.org/blog/2007/what-happened-to-mother-teresa#comment-3175 I know that there are other ideas about Mother Teresa not being a living saint. There is some thought that she was a bit of a tool for fund raising for the church. That isn't very Jesus like... I know in the book God is not Great there is a section devoted to her. I know it caused me to have mixed reactions about her even without reading her personal letters. I know that there are other ideas about Mother Teresa not being a living saint. There is some thought that she was a bit of a tool for fund raising for the church. That isn’t very Jesus like… I know in the book God is not Great there is a section devoted to her. I know it caused me to have mixed reactions about her even without reading her personal letters.

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