Reading Woolman in January

A flock of hardy readers from RantWoman's Meeting are embarking on a trek through John Woolman's journal. Early indications are that it will be in many respects easier going than Barclay; RantWoman is versatile and still expects stylistic quibbles and stumbling.

We are starting slow, with chapter 1. We are reading from more than one edition. Several Friends proffered other volumes of commentary and biography. RantWoman is shamelessly going to take advantage of the eyeballs and erudition of Friends who have capacity to read much more.

RantWoman has heard the story of the 6-year-old John Woolman killing a mother robin with a stone and then climbing up and killing the chicks so they would not suffer, but RantWoman was enraged anew reading the journal herself. Okay, so Martin Luther King destroyed one of his sister's dolls too and both Woolman and King grew up to be MUCH more civilized than those childish outrages. RantWoman especially wants to note the merits of regular and searching attention to spiritual questions for both Woolman and King. RantWoman notes this with trembling because she has of late been reflecting on a couple cases where this sort of childish outrage did not get nipped in the bud but instead escalated over others' lives into hideous crimes of violence.

RantWoman remarked and others agreed during the book group that Woolman makes reference repeatedly tovanities, moments of youthful indiscretion, falling into bad company, and other circumlocutions: RantWoman and at least some others are moral cesspools of morbid curiosity and might perhaps have really enjoyed knowing exactly WHICH indiscretions he fell into. RantWoman also would have enjoyed a bit more show your work as far as the content of Woolman's Biblical study and his various spiritual openings. RantWoman, though, appreciates the perceptiveness of her fellow readers. One simply called out the question, what does it mean to live under the Cross? Others began what is likely to be much discussion of indenturement, slavery, and laboring with Friends.

RantWoman finds Woolman a very vivid stylistic contrast to Barclay. Barclay strung citation after specific Biblical citation into highly structured logical arguments. Woolman sort of waves his pen in the direction of the meme he has in mind. Oh Holy Jesus: RantWoman initially found the thought of trying to thumb through all 35 chapters of Ezekial extremely daunting, but the second set of pages she flipped opened exactly to Chapter 8, about the behavior of elders in teh temple. Oh Holy Jesus, as if RantWoman NEEDS more fuel on her fire to elder her some elders.

If RantWoman were good at staying centered she would simply close with the following link.
http://sillypoorgospel.blogspot.com/2012/01/hero-of-faith-dolores-huerta.html




Knowing when to quit would not be the RantWoman Quaker seriously still in progress we all know and love.



http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2012/01/postcards-from-india.html

By way of further commentary the postcard RantWoman received of the Birla Mandar, RantWoman is intrigued by the practice in India of naming temples after the patron who funded its construction. RantWoman is also intrigued by a temple to the goddess of wealth and of Mahatma Ghandi agreeing to appear at its dedication on condition that it be open to people of every caste. Finally, RantWoman was intrigued by this wonderful poem about monkey people running amok when people do not attend to what is right. RantWoman finds it interesting to reflect on monkey people before the theory of evolution. Plus the music is just gorgeous and this is RantWoman. RantWoman may need a couple rounds of the Hanuman Chalisa just to clear out her head enough to live under.....

The Hanuman Chalisa, chanted to keep away evil spirits
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqHiyRxykZw