Brother Robert Julian
on November 12, 2023 at 1:14 pm
CALLED TO COMMUNITY “OBSTACLES” Chapter 17 Eberhard Arnold
Br. Robert Julian
Eberhard Arnold, in his essay “Obstacles,” calls us to see in others what we see in ourselves (my words, not his). In that way, we can remove the barrier of self-love. But there are still obstacles to full community where everything is self-referential, our opinions and desires being paramount, more important than those of anyone else. He says that such people are morally sick and must be redeemed. The way to redemption is through a “true faith in God and the church.”
Eberhard says that we are the obstacles, we are the adversaries to true holiness, as opposed to the false piety where we are at the center. He contrasts “the great cause” with the “wretchedness of our own little being.” It seems to me that Arnold goes to great lengths to show how God is separate from us, and that we are powerless. In fact, he says that the root of grace is the dismantling of our own power. It’s a little odd to say that we are powerless and at the same time insist that our chief spiritual struggle is the dismantling of our power. I get his point, but the dualism he espouses makes me uneasy; I think it promotes a severe and rigid theology which doesn’t take into account the suffering and confusion of being human.
More disappointing is the tone and rather stunted hyperbole Arnold employs. He himself sounds self-righteous in his condemnations and commands. I am not surprised that he gives no hint about how one should go about letting go of self in order to be more truly a part of community. He reminds me of Nancy Reagan’s famous quip about drugs: “Just say no!”
On the other hand, I have some sympathy and even admiration for his situation. In his late 20’s, he became disaffected with the Protestant state church in Germany and eventually left It all together, believing it was complicit in the atrocities of war. He abandoned middle-class life to found the community now known as the Bruderhof in 1920. I felt I needed additional context, so I jumped way ahead to read his short essay on Solitude (p. 238). I found there a much more embracing and loving approach, cognizant of human needs and variables When we can let go of the small self, we can become more in touch with the larger Self. In the process, we drop our baggage and become lighter even as we take in more, and this allows us to be more flexible and creative. True humility is freedom and joy. And balance is the operative tool to gain true power.
An important lesson for me here is that, while it is always good practice to learn as much of anyone’s story as we can, when I react strongly to something someone has said or written, it is even more imperative to see what else they have said or written. What has their life, including their social environment, been like? Context really is important. A favorite maxim of New Testament scholar, Amy-Jill Levine, is that “text without context is a pretext.” Likewise, text without context is misleading when we are looking at things like attitude and motivation. And when we are dealing with translations, context becomes even more important. Seeking context is an integral part of compassion.
CALLED TO COMMUNITY “OBSTACLES” Chapter 17 Eberhard Arnold
Br. Robert Julian
Eberhard Arnold, in his essay “Obstacles,” calls us to see in others what we see in ourselves (my words, not his). In that way, we can remove the barrier of self-love. But there are still obstacles to full community where everything is self-referential, our opinions and desires being paramount, more important than those of anyone else. He says that such people are morally sick and must be redeemed. The way to redemption is through a “true faith in God and the church.”
Eberhard says that we are the obstacles, we are the adversaries to true holiness, as opposed to the false piety where we are at the center. He contrasts “the great cause” with the “wretchedness of our own little being.” It seems to me that Arnold goes to great lengths to show how God is separate from us, and that we are powerless. In fact, he says that the root of grace is the dismantling of our own power. It’s a little odd to say that we are powerless and at the same time insist that our chief spiritual struggle is the dismantling of our power. I get his point, but the dualism he espouses makes me uneasy; I think it promotes a severe and rigid theology which doesn’t take into account the suffering and confusion of being human.
More disappointing is the tone and rather stunted hyperbole Arnold employs. He himself sounds self-righteous in his condemnations and commands. I am not surprised that he gives no hint about how one should go about letting go of self in order to be more truly a part of community. He reminds me of Nancy Reagan’s famous quip about drugs: “Just say no!”
On the other hand, I have some sympathy and even admiration for his situation. In his late 20’s, he became disaffected with the Protestant state church in Germany and eventually left It all together, believing it was complicit in the atrocities of war. He abandoned middle-class life to found the community now known as the Bruderhof in 1920. I felt I needed additional context, so I jumped way ahead to read his short essay on Solitude (p. 238). I found there a much more embracing and loving approach, cognizant of human needs and variables When we can let go of the small self, we can become more in touch with the larger Self. In the process, we drop our baggage and become lighter even as we take in more, and this allows us to be more flexible and creative. True humility is freedom and joy. And balance is the operative tool to gain true power.
An important lesson for me here is that, while it is always good practice to learn as much of anyone’s story as we can, when I react strongly to something someone has said or written, it is even more imperative to see what else they have said or written. What has their life, including their social environment, been like? Context really is important. A favorite maxim of New Testament scholar, Amy-Jill Levine, is that “text without context is a pretext.” Likewise, text without context is misleading when we are looking at things like attitude and motivation. And when we are dealing with translations, context becomes even more important. Seeking context is an integral part of compassion.