As I mentioned at the end of the most recent post in this series on searching for common ground between the spiritual values promoted by Indigenous cultures and the Christian tradition, today’s post will shift the focus away from values themselves to the mechanisms through which those tools are embodied. Specifically, today I’d like to … Continue reading Embodying Values in Story
As I’ve been reading about different Indigenous wisdom traditions from across North America, searching for areas of common ground and essential difference between them and my own Christian tradition, I’ve been particularly curious to see how the idea of vocation, which I wrote a lot about at the start of the summer, might manifest itself … Continue reading Wisdom and Generativity: Personal Vocation in Indigenous Traditions
As a general rule, Christians are considered to be a rather severe bunch, people who tend to take ourselves and world pretty seriously. While there is definitely a positive aspect to this — we do only get one chance to live this life so it’s important to make the most of it — it has … Continue reading Subverting Expectation: Humour, Tricksters, and Transformation
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (2017) has described her Anishinaabe culture as “nationhood based on a series of radiating responsibilities.”* It’s hard to imagine any Western person describing our own culture in such terms, especially today. While traditional Western society was very community-focused, to the point of an often extreme anti-individualism, and Western liberal (i.e., constitutional, rights-based) … Continue reading Responsibility
In Sunday’s post on Thanksgiving, I talked about a constellation of closely related ideas —gratitude, respect, reciprocity, and generosity — in terms of their close relationship in Indigenous belief systems and how they connect to Christian teachings. All of these ideas are grounded in understanding one’s place in the world. If the world is a … Continue reading Walk Humbly
Matthew Root 