Thursday, February 5, 2009

Simone Weil born in 1909


Simone Weil, anarchist, philosopher, factory worker at Renault and writer was born 100 years ago. Her story touches me profoundly and increases my wondering and pondering of the relationship between identity, truth, self-realization, and sacrifice. The trajectory of Simone Weil is most fascinating. In order to be able to speak and write with integrity about the plight of factory workers in production lines, she took a job at Renault. As a philosopher she was in search of living truthfully rather than simply looking for self-fulfillment. Her search and journey led her onto a path of spirituality and an encounter with Christ. 

Looking at Simone Weil's story leaves me intrigued about at least two things:
1. Why it is that she seems to have gone practically unnoticed und unknown in Christianity and the Church. - Well, of course Anarchists never had any real place in the church.
2. What is her message in a time where Christianity disappears, to use the words of Emmanuel Todd, and where at the same time churches hold on tight to traditional theology and institutional faith; in a time when dogmatic theology and informal spirituality confront each other.

Personally I am challenged by Simone Weil's insistence to live in truth. The truth makes you free....

You may want to check out this Simone Weil website

1 comment:

  1. You answered your own question - anarchists challenge the status quo. The church, since signing up to the state re Constantine, IS the status quo, the opposite of a revoluntionary.
    The truth will set you free, yes, but true freedom is scary to lots of us - if we are truly free, we are revealed for who we are, and we often cannot take that. THe free have no excuses, no boundaries, nowhere to hide. Avoiding the truth is often the position of comfort, and truth-seekers, like Simone, are most unwelcome because they remind us of what we'd rather pretend isn't there...

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