Encountering other religious traditions

John Muir

Saint Dulce of the Poor, first female Brazilian canonized (13 October 2019)

Fred Rogers

 

Encountering other religious traditions, sometimes embracing, sometimes changing, sometimes misunderstanding, sometimes attacking:

Recently, i read a Jewish writer upset with A Christmas Carol.  One of his gripes was Ebenezer Scrooge was an anti-semitic creation, because he was a greedy miser with an obvious Jewish name. He was neither a student of Dickens, or waspish naming practices. Dickens is famous for odd named characters. There were many people named after, even, obscure Old Testament figures. There are many Baptist, and some other churches named Ebenezer. Ebenezer in the Old Testament is a place, and a stone. Uriah Heep, Josiah Bounderby, Rev. Melchisedech Howler, Elijah Pogram, Soloman Daisy, Soloman Gills, Soloman Pross, Solomon Pell, and Zephaniah Scadde are all Dickensian. The one Jewish character that is usually the one singled out is Fagin.

I have read/heard many Evangelical/Baptists twist Catholic terminology. Scholarship is not really their thing; nuance and metaphor is not their strong point. Sometimes it is deliberate intention to evangelise by attacking straw men. 

Recently i have seen a few of Kelly Latimore's icons. A couple have really inflamed conservative Catholics. Of such people, their politics outweigh Christianity. They were incensed firstly over the Holy Family being portrayed as Meso-Americans, their Lord Trump and his policies were being attacked. The one that made them explode was Mama 2020. George Floyd and a black mother were in a pieta scene. He had enough background to realise Jesus is in everyone, so why wasn't an icon of Derek Chauvin as a prisoner was made.

Latimore's father was a Baptist preacher. Kelly studied art and religion in college. For a time, he was a member of an Episcopal monastic group, Common Friars, in Athens Ohio. Someone there asked him if he ever did an icon. And so it began. He takes commissions. He has icons in Episcopal churches in Pomeroy, and Gallipolis.

Some of his icons are of traditional subjects, painted in typical style. Some have natural background scenes, and are of twentieth century subjects. He finds complaints about the style coming from Russia, and Ukraine, and elsewhere. He has done icons of writers, singers, environmentalists, peace activists, and civil rights figures. Many of these have not been canonised, and are outside of religious groups that recognise saints. Perhaps, these are saints for Latimore; but certainly not for others.

Fred Rogers was a Presbyterian minister, and surprisingly, a Republican. Mister Rogers has upset conservatives, and some of them are upset that Latimore made an icon. Rogers went to Congress to support funding for Public Broadcasting, a bug-a-boo for Republicans. Most of all, they hate Rogers for his genuine empathy. He held the feelings of children in high regard. Rogers wanted children happy, well adjusted, and gentle.