Forfense: A New Word for an Old Practice

I've used the verb forefend for a long time. I've always liked it. It's an old word, meaning to ward off, avert, protect against, or prevent something from happening.

And I've recently found myself needing a noun for the experience. If I am presently engaged in the act of forefending myself against something, then surely I am engaged in forfense.

Forfense. There it is. A neologism, at least as far as I know.

I believe I've coined at least one other word: eupan, the act of doing good for the all. The intentional participation in the flourishing of everyone, everywhere. A lovely aspiration, I think.

And yet, curiously, perhaps unfortunately, I find myself increasingly engaged in the work of forfense. Not simply defending against what has happened, but actively working to prevent what might otherwise do harm.

There is something rather ironic about this. My life's work is peacebuilding, the flourishing of humanity, the cultivation of goodness in my own life and in the lives of others. And yet, sometimes, doing good for the all requires the rather less pleasant work of warding off harm.

Perhaps these two neologisms belong together.

Eupan names the good toward which I labor. Forfense names some of the work required along the way.

I would rather spend my days cultivating peace than preventing harm. But perhaps, for now, I must do both.

And so, I remain committed to eupan, even while finding myself engaged in forfense.

The 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing & Trauma Response

I had started teaching class at exactly 9:00 a.m. at the university where I was a faculty member in Oklahoma City.

One minute later, at 9:01 a.m. on April 19, 1995, we all heard it from our classroom six miles away: the explosion that was the Oklahoma City bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

I said aloud to the class, “What was that?”

We paused.

And then I continued to teach.

This was 1995, long before live, up-to-the-minute news streamed across our screens. It was not until later in the day that we learned what had happened.

In the days and weeks that followed, I was fortunate to be one of several people able to offer trauma-based responses to those who had experienced suffering.

Mind you, I was young. I did not yet have the training or perspective to offer the kind of clinical care I would hope to offer now. And yet, there I was, in Oklahoma City, responding.

A Christian church experienced major devastation that day. First Baptist Church, located across the street from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, suffered major damage in the bombing.

A few years later, I was fortunate to purchase this stained-glass lighthouse, created from the debris of the broken stained glass from within the church. I bought it myself at First Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.

I hold on to it as a reminder of the trauma of that experience, the hope of restoration, and the light that can still shine after rupture.

Life.

 The mystery of life and Mystery in life unfolds in such mysterious ways.

~ marty alan michelson, ph.d.

Some people change us

 Some people change us - reframe the entire context of how we see ourselves, the world, our role in it.

Walter Brueggemann shaped my life in profound ways.

He is now deceased.

I only met him on a few occasions - talked to him less than 45 minutes in the entire sum of my 50+ years, spread out over five, six or seven occasions.  And yet, I listened to him lecture many times and more importantly, read many, many of his publications - and then, I've been shaped too by those who have been shaped by his publications and l’œuvre d’une vie.

Brueggemann helped me understand a world that needs the critique of the Prophet - in order to extend and expand justice, equity, and peace.  Brueggemann helped me understand and work to achieve and hope to believe that the vast amount of flourishing which exists in Creation, can be distributed for the Good of/for All.  He helped me think and discern poetry and imagination, hope and critique.

Walter Brueggemann, one of the most widely respected Bible scholars of the past century, died Thursday (June 5) at his home in Michigan. He was 92.

The author of more than 100 books of theology and biblical criticism, Brueggemann was professor emeritus of Old Testament studies at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, until his retirement in 2003.

Toward eupan - and for the sake of the world's Peace & Flourishing - Brueggemann's imprint runs deep in my being - and I hope, extends through my life's work, too.

~ marty

2025 Newness

 I'm not much for New Years Resolutions, as I advocate for many (and myself) that a person can resolve to live a better life and become a better person and navigate hard things any day of the year, when they're ready.

And yet, with the New Year, I'm eager for the potential for newness.

Aware of the reality of Global Climate Change and The Greed of Corporate Capitalism and many other complexities . . . I yet hope for a better world, and will do what I can to foster that for all people, until the world is characterized by the peace and flourishing that is possible for all living beings.

~ marty alan michelson, ph.d.