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Cheesecake and reconstructionism
Jun. 19th, 2004 01:41 pmSometimes when I think about things like Why, I think of how I would explain them to my children.
So, why is it that I take a fairly reconstructionist approach to religion?
And the thought came to me of cheesecake. Perhaps because I make it so often for the feast following a ritual.
Say you want to get to know someone, be on good terms with them, and you don't know much about them but you do know that they like cheesecake. (You know that their friends in the past had made them plain cheesecake and they enjoyed it.) You'd make them a cheesecake.
And maybe as you got to know them a little better, you'd put some strawberries on top, or mix in some crumbled brownies, or even make a chocolate cheesecake instead--additions or changes that go with cheesecake.
What you wouldn't do is mix in some brussels sprouts, or top it with barbecue sauce. Because, as good as brussels sprouts or barbecue sauce might be in other contexts, they are not cheesecake-compatible foods.
It's a matter of doing what you perceive will be enjoyed and well-received.
I am, actually, a semi-reconstructionist. Mostly this has to do with differences of theology rather than of practice (and with the incomplete nature of known info), but I also think that a better word for what many recons do might be "revivalist," because that word would indicate more strongly that we are bringing an old faith back to life and trying to put it in a modern context and give it meaning there, rather than trying to recreate the context in which it originally existed.
So, why is it that I take a fairly reconstructionist approach to religion?
And the thought came to me of cheesecake. Perhaps because I make it so often for the feast following a ritual.
Say you want to get to know someone, be on good terms with them, and you don't know much about them but you do know that they like cheesecake. (You know that their friends in the past had made them plain cheesecake and they enjoyed it.) You'd make them a cheesecake.
And maybe as you got to know them a little better, you'd put some strawberries on top, or mix in some crumbled brownies, or even make a chocolate cheesecake instead--additions or changes that go with cheesecake.
What you wouldn't do is mix in some brussels sprouts, or top it with barbecue sauce. Because, as good as brussels sprouts or barbecue sauce might be in other contexts, they are not cheesecake-compatible foods.
It's a matter of doing what you perceive will be enjoyed and well-received.
I am, actually, a semi-reconstructionist. Mostly this has to do with differences of theology rather than of practice (and with the incomplete nature of known info), but I also think that a better word for what many recons do might be "revivalist," because that word would indicate more strongly that we are bringing an old faith back to life and trying to put it in a modern context and give it meaning there, rather than trying to recreate the context in which it originally existed.
