r is for reconciliation

i'm doing some research on donatism for my bib theo's interdisciplinary volume on forgiveness and reconciliation. these christian schismatics from north africa were survivors of the diocletian persecution... and they didn't want to re-admit lapsed christians into their churches. having endured imprisonment and torture, it was especially hard to summon up respect for clerics who had folded out of fear of the same. the christianity of north africa was distinct from both that of the eastern roman empire and that of the european world... and many of those distinctives cemented their resolve. for one hundred years donatism persisted as a schism, before being declared a heresy. it never actually disappeared until three hundred years later, when islam swept through the region.

i've been thinking about how difficult it is do combat the effects of inherited pain and institutionalized resentment. and how for sure you can't combat those without offering consolation. without coming alongside. like so many things that matter, reconciliation demands imagination. and in the midst of anger and hurt - even when they're inherited rather than immediate - it's hard to imagine anything else. but it helps to know that others hope for you. maybe, like anger and hurt, that hope can be contagious.

p.s. regarding my last post: no, i haven't gone off the rails permanently. i blog and journal and talk to people to prevent *just* that :)