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June 1
Marguerite Porete, Mary Dyer, Yuri Kochiyama, Reinhold Niebuhr, and William Sloane Coffin
David Barnhart
June 01, 2025
Sunrise in Ixiamas, Bolivia, 2004. Own photo.
Today in 1310, Marguerite Porete was burned at the stake for heresy for writing and distributing her book “The Mirror of Simple Souls,” in which she describes the soul’s union with God in love. (You can read the book here, though this version was published in 1927 before her authorship was determined.)
Today in 1660, Mary Dyer, a Quaker in Puritan Boston, was also martyred for her faith. It would be over a century before Americans officially recognized freedom of religion, and then only imperfectly.
Today marks the death, in 2014, of Yuri Kochiyama, a Japanese-American civil rights advocate. As a child, she was imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp during World War 2. She spent the rest of her life working for people’s freedom. She saw and advocated clearly that her work involved the liberation of all people, including Black, Puerto Rican, and Japanese Americans.
Today also marks the death, in 1971, of theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, whose work on Chrisitan political theology has influenced both liberals and conservatives. He pointed out that leadership often involves moral compromise, making Christian politics difficult. In short, Christians, in order to follow Christ, must sometimes get their hands dirty. He is also the author of “the Serenity Prayer,” which is used regularly in Alcoholics Anonymous.
Today is the birthday, in 1924, of William Sloane Coffin, a UCC pastor and activist who was influenced by Reinhold’s brother, H. Richard Niebuhr. He was a powerful voice for progressive Christians for several generations.
Reflection:
Yuri Kochiyama said:
“Remember that consciousness is power. Consciousness is education and knowledge. Consciousness is becoming aware. It is the perfect vehicle for students. Consciousness-raising is pertinent for power, and [to] be sure that power will not be abusively used, but used for building trust and goodwill domestically and internationally. Tomorrow’s world is yours to build.”
William Sloane Coffin wrote:
“Too often we picture God as some immovable rock, when in fact it is God and God alone who never rests. I only quote Scripture: “He neither slumbers nor sleeps.” It is God who says, “Behold, I create all things new.” Therefore God’s most persistent enemies must be those who are unwilling to move in new directions.”
…and:
“If you choose, you’re sometimes wrong, but if you never choose, you’re always wrong.”
In the above quote, Coffin echoes Niebuhr’s “Christian realism.” :
Reinhold Niebuhr wrote:
“Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.”
He also wrote the following which is especially important under our current fascist regime:
“The stupidity of the average man will permit the oligarch, whether economic or political, to hide his real purposes from the scrutiny of his fellows and to withdraw his activities from effective control. Since it is impossible to count on enough moral goodwill among those who possess irresponsible power to sacrifice it for the good of the whole, it must be destroyed by coercive methods and these will always run the peril of introducing new forms of injustice in place of those abolished.”
Prayer: God, fix our stupidity. Help us to see you moving in new directions, and to give us the courage to change what we can. Amen.