25 Kathy Khang: Raise Your Voice (Action & Contemplation Part 1)

Action or contemplation–which is better?This pitting of one against the other has been a long standing debate throughout history. Theologians have often used allegorical depictions of biblical women to illustrate this divide.  Augustine famously used the two wives of Jacob to articulate his preference. He held up Leah as the model of the fruitful activist life. But Rachael was a model of the harder to attain contemplative life. Others set the Biblical sisters Mary against Martha: Mary, who sits as a disciple at the feet of Jesus, is identified with contemplation whilst her sister Martha, who is distracted by her many tasks, represents action. Philosopher Hannah Arendt believed that prior to the Modern Age, contemplation was preferred. But with the technological boom, the Protestant Reformation and the rise of Marxism, action become dominant. Yet, there have always been streams within the contemplative tradition that seek to unite the two for healthy Christian formation.“We need both action and contemplation to have a whole spiritual journey. It doesn’t matter which comes first; action may lead you to contemplation and contemplation may lead you to action.” Fr. Richard RohrAnd so, in the next two episodes, I want to elevate two women (without pitting them against one another!) as they illustrate how action and contemplation work together for holistic Christian formation. In today’s episode, activist Kathy Khang talks about action and her latest book Raise your Voice: Why we Stay Silent and How to speak up! Kathy and I talk about why our voices matters, the costs of raising our voices, and the dangers of assimilation. Kathy Khang is a writer, speaker and yoga instructor who has worked in campus ministry for more than twenty years. She is a coauthor of More Than Serving Tea: Asian American Women on Expectations, Relationships, Leadership and Faith. and the author of a new book: Raise Your Voice, which we talk about in this episode.Stay tuned for Part 2 when we speak with Phileena Heuretz about contemplation and her new book: Mindful Silence: The heart of Christian Contemplation.Link: Visit Kathy's website and read her blog at kathykhang.comFollow her on Twitter: @mskathykhangPurchase Raise Your Voice: https://amzn.to/2Mg5u6RWatch the Shalom Chant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D8QjWqe2hUThanks to Kai Engel for the use of his song SnowfallSpecial thanks to Julie Tai at Fuller Seminary for the use of the Shalom Chant. You can view the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D8QjWqe2hU