Pope Francis often uses the term "ideological colonialism" to describe what he sees as the wrongs being forced upon developing countries and indigenous populations by the governments of the more developed countries and those persons and organizations representing these governments. The efforts criticized are most often being introduced under the guise of development. The topics and specific efforts most offensive to the pope (and the only ones that are sufficiently offensive in so far that they merit his repeated criticism) are matters related to human sexuality, sexual ethics, reproductive health care, and gender identity.

It is my sense that ideological colonialism speaks to a much broader sphere of influence and socio-cultural conflict. It refers to any institution and the mores which underpin such an institution, being forcibly or voluntarily introduced into a novel setting, that is, a context wherein alternate structures already exist and thrive. This includes such things as: the concept of private property, hierarchical and patriarchal structures of social organization, language and the conceptualization of the real and the imagined in terms specific to an individual language. This is in no way an exhaustive list.

A January 10, 2018 article by Deborah Jian Lee in the on-line publication Religion Dispatches titled "Christians of Color Are Rejecting 'Colonial Christianity' and Reclaiming Ancestral Spiritualies" speaks so eloquently to that which up to now has been for me only a troubling and poorly formed thought.

It is the tenet of this author that Christianity as it has developed over the course of the past 1,500 years has itself become a vehicle for and an essential component of ideological colonialization. What is even more troubling is that this has occurred only after Christianity itself had been the object of cultural appropriation. It then became and continues to be one of many tools utilized by Christian Euro-American nations in order to colonize the balance of the globe--imposing even Christianity now revised back upon many of those from whom it had been previously appropriated.

The article supports this view of second millennium Christianity with the following quotes:

“...[Christianity is] a tradition founded by people of color, [a] scriptural guidance for activism, and a retethering to history…”

“…[Christianity, as it] filtered through predominantly white communities and erased a crucial detail from Christian mysticism’s history: that its forebears were men and women of color.”

 “Across the wide sweep of colonial history, the systematic demonization and erasure of local religion served as a key strategy to empire building.”

“...belief is over-emphasized in the Euro-American religious reality, where doctrine supersedes correct action or practice.”

The task at hand for persons and communities of color is one of "...decolonizing their Christian faith from white patriarchy and capitalism." The article describes how that has been done and might continue to be pursued by faith communities and also by individuals--as a more singular activity. The section titled "Dogma vs. Dream Time" is particularly insightful. I can only hope that the former bishop of the local Catholic diocese reads this article. He may then no longer feel okay with disparaging liturgical dance within the context of his homilies.

Here is a link to the cited article for your enjoyment and thoughtful consideration.

 http://religiondispatches.org/christians-of-color-are-rejecting-colonial-christianity-and-reclaiming-ancestral-spiritualities/

Old-Man-Living-Alone Homemaking Hint #1

     Faced with the prospect of and driven by the desire for pea soup for lunch, I approached the cupboard, which also holds various dinnerware despite the paucity of its name, for a bowl. As I made my move, my eye caught the image of the breakfast cereal bowl and spoon sitting in the sink. I had dutifully rinsed it out and placed it in the appropriate location so that it would get washed with lunch and possibly even supper dishes. Why reach for new and clean when reasonably clean and readily available will do? The pea soup itself (Homemade, I can proudly affirm.) was leftover from a previous meal, so why not use a leftover bowl? You know, it worked. Single occupancy households can utilize convenience in a way not permissible in larger households unless one resorts to some degree of subterfuge.

     Stay tuned. Homemaking Hint #2 may expound on a tried and true recipe for microwave flat-bread pizza. More trials need to be completed, before the truth be told.

I'm thinking of developing a new and particularly contemporary literary form. It is to be called redaction. I will use the term consistent with its secondary meaning related to censorship and not relative to its primary meaning of edited or abridged.

The idea is to intersperse a standard text with blacked out portions. These black-outs would be of varying lengths and placed randomly in the test. One may argue that this supposedly novel literary form is already in vogue as seen in so many documents released by governmental authorities. I plan to take it one or more steps further. I am proposing that the text actually makes readable sense even with the blacked out areas. Readers will also be encouraged to edit the text by adding words and phrases that they determine to be a likely versions of that which has been blacked out.

I will try to draft an example to show folks just how this might work.

Original with redactions [.................]:

"Following several [..................] weeks of bitter and unseasonably [............] cold weather, we [.................] have now enjoyed a few [...........] days of more moderate [..............] and even seasonal [...............] temperatures [............................................................................................] accompanied [.............] by the usual [......] snow flurries."

Becomes:

"Following several [death defying] weeks of bitter and unseasonably [--while living in an unclothed state--] cold weather, we [find ourselves still alive only to] have now enjoyed a few [memorable and carefree, yet hunger-filled dark nights of] days of more moderate [speech with little or no meaningful emotional expression] and even seasonal [yet only to be frequently called in question] temperatures [quite indicative of a bout of Australian flu in season, which finds itself ] accompanied [by the unusual ringing in one's ears and a craving for scrimp on the barby and] by the usual [rainbow colored] snow flurries."

The latter sort of reads like a government document. Does it not?