Meticulously researched and excellently documented, Stephen Mansfield’s latest book provides some necessary insight into the faith of Barack Obama. I’m not sure if the book makes a persuasive argument for an Obama presidency—this doesn’t seem to be the author’s intention—it does however, clear up Internet rumors and offer an objective look into Obama’s childhood and time at Trinity United Church of Christ.

The book is called “The Faith of Barack Obama,” but for many the big question will be, “In what exactly does Barack Obama have faith?” Is Obama a Christian? He’s certainly not Orthodox, nor even orthodox with that small “o.” Obama clearly states, “I am rooted in the Christian tradition…I believe that there are many paths to the same place and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people.” Mansfield observes, that “for Obama, Christianity is but one religious tree rooted in the common ethical soil of all human experience.”

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For all of you who have recently found this blog due to my mom ramblings, this post is going to take us back to the original idea behind my spending naptime in front of a laptop. Yes, I don’t want to clean or do laundry, but I also wanted to write about some of the things I’m wrestling with but without the time it takes me to put together a full essay. So, today will be hopefully less snarky. No promises though.

One of the reasons I named the blog after Mircea Eliade’s The Sacred and the Profane, is because I find myself constantly in a state of flux between the two. I would like my life to be more filled with the sacred but I also love Cheetos. And How I Met your Mother. What’s a girl to do?

The biggest way our family encounters the sacred is through specific actions (you can call them rituals) associated with the ancient practice of the Eastern Orthodox church. We light incense and candles, we listen to Byzantine chant, we bow and prostrate ourselves before icons–all of these things serve to transform what could be an everyday activity into something outside our selves. By engaging our senses in the act, it propels our entire bodies into a more sacred frame of mind. I love how these things help me get out of my own head and engage our daughter in the prayers and life of the church.

See exhibit A–incense is fun:

It’s been pretty easy to integrate these sorts of things into our life. I can’t imagine trying to explain the concept of God or church or prayer to a young child without these tangible helps provided by the Church.

But. There’s another one out there. Just for us ladies.

The head covering.

If you’re interested in the most turned to article about this in American Orthodoxy go here. If you think I’m crazy and spitting in the face of feminists everywhere, please feel free to leave a comment and I’ll post your opinion. That’s fair.

I still don’t know where I stand on this one so I’m open to both sides but the topic seems to keep coming up.

I read this article in Slate a couple of nights ago about how some Muslim women decide to put on and take off their head coverings, called hijabs. I know we’re not Muslim, but it was an interesting perspective because part of my hesitation has always been that once I start covering my head during the liturgy or prayers–it’s for good. And I’m young and impetuous.

So that’s one part of it. But on the other hand, I’m all about acknowledging that church isn’t just something to do on Sunday mornings to build business contacts and make sure our daughter learns morals. I believe we are worshiping a holy God and that we engage in something radically different than the secular world outside the church doors. If wearing a scarf over my head helps to enhance that differentiation for me (and someday my little girl) then perhaps I just need to get over myself.

Being Orthodox in America is an interesting experience. That may be about as generic of a statement as it gets, but yeah.

Last Sunday, I introduced my daughter to the art of Frieda Kahlo and Enrique Grau. Mind you, she’s only eight months old, but I’ve now established she’s a big fan of mid-century Cuban art. We went from image to image, I would point out something of interest–at her age it’s more like a cat than example of cubism, but we’re starting young. She made her little noises and would reach for the paintings she particularly liked. She was engaged in the experience and thankfully wasn’t so loud that she interrupted the church service in the background. Read the rest of this entry »