“Any system worth resisting is at its core religious, but any effective means of resistance must be religious as well. “Religion” need not mean what we’re normally told it means, a limited definition focusing on beliefs and rituals. All sorts of things are religions: capitalism is a religion; fascism is a worse one, democracy a better one. Religion has to do not only with sanctuaries and scripture, but also with meaning, with how we orient ourselves to things of ultimate significance. The language that facilitates this meaning is sometimes called prayer.”

The above passage is from an essay by writer Ed Simon for McSweeny’s, titled: Praying for the Awful Grace of God. It’s a great article about the subversive power of prayer which I was delighted read. In the article, Simon also references the life of seventeenth-century prophetess, Anna Trapnell (pictured above), with whom I was not familiar but am now happy to know about.

Tags:Anna TrapnellChristianitycontemplativeEd Simonprayerresistance