This is from a book I'm reading, "A Spirituality of Resistance" by my professor Roger S. Gottlieb:
"In some respects, the idea of a spirituality of resistance is very old, and this book is part of a religious conversation that has been going on for thousands of years. One side of this conversation has typically stressed the need to develop the kind of spiritual virtues I described at he beginning of the chapter: listening to inner voices, renouncing attachments, being grateful for all we have, surrendering to the will of God. On the other side have been the rousing calls to serve God by feeding the poor, removing the arrogant from the seat of power--or at least extending a helping hand to your neighbor. There are those who center their energies on the search for personal peace, and those who see resistance to evil as essential to the spiritual path. There has been the "horizontal" dimension of concern for social justice and collective well-being. And there has been the "vertical" dimension of a personal relationship to God or spiritual development. The crucial, and often quite difficult, task is to join both dimensions. And, for out time, to do so in the face of global environmental catastrophe."
