Flawed Glass

  I don’t know if this is ethical or even legal, but I’m going to share a blog, complete and unedited, and properly documented, from one of my spiritual inspirational gurus. In that blog, Franciscan priest and contemplative, Father Richard Rohr reinforces a major theme of my book [1] . The theme is that much of what Western Christianity teaches today reflects a much later understanding than is assumed. Specifically, most of what is taught and preached today is closer to Reformation theologians of the 15 th and 16 th centuries (John Calvin, Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, et. al.) than to the Judeo/Christian Scriptures or the earliest Christian writers (generally called the ‘Patristic’ writers.) There are significant differences. Some specific expressions of Western Christianity today reflect an even narrower approach, reinforcing Reformation theology (primarily Calvinism) as a reaction against Enlightenment thinking that emerged in the late 16 th century and flourished in t...

  I understand that truth and evidence are no longer a consistent standard in today’s partisan divide; nevertheless, I refuse to intentionally or consciously use lies, half-truths, inuendo, or implication in sharing my convictions and sincere values. It’s tempting to make assumptions and forego vetting claims from social media and cable news; but I have a couple of dependable friends who call me out when I grow careless. All that being said, here is my honest take on events leading up to and erupting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our political process is now based upon narrowly focused obsession rather than overall good. There are basically honest people who base the entire scope of their socio/political and moral foundation on one or two issues while ignoring or even vilifying dozens of other issues that impact people’s lives. Sadly, some of them are so focused on their one or two issues that they are willing to adapt an ends-justifies-the-means ethic: “our side has to win, whateve...

  The longer I study the Judeo/Christian Scriptures the more I become aware how selective American Christians have become, choosing to emphasize some biblical content while ignoring and even denying the validity of other content. I also am discouraged by the way so many Christians more closely align with political agendas than with the teachings and ethics of Jesus of Nazareth, who they claim to follow. … an expert in the law, asked (Jesus) a question to test him.  36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”  37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ [Deuteronomy 6:5]   38 This is the greatest and first commandment.  39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ [Leviticus 19:18]   40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:34-40) [1] Two observations: first, “And a second is like it…” seems clear:...

  I am conversant at an introductory level with several religious sects, and with the Judeo/Christian Scriptures that guide my faith and the faith of millions of other Christians—including those whose perspective on Scripture contradicts my own. But my discoveries, almost daily, of new elements within those sacred writings confirm that I am no expert. I still have much to learn and unlearn in my journey of faith. I write as one beggar sharing with other beggars where I have found bread, and I leave open the possibility that “I may be wrong.” I have read parts of the sacred writings of several religious systems, and I find good values and ethics in all of them; indeed, there are values that appear to be universal, e.g., righteousness : an orientation of the heart that yearns for the presence of honesty, gentleness, truth, and compassion within the human community, justice : the actualization of those qualities within the community, and shalom (peace): the harmony and unity t...

Few things are more rigid than the way one understands Holy Scripture. Liberal, conservative, evangelical, fundamentalist, or atheist: all have one thing in common, viz., an unbending understanding of scripture. Each is different from the other; and all are equally unyielding. So, what happens when two or more people (or two or more churches or book clubs, or eight deer hunters sitting around a camp fire after a few beers) approach a topic with differing—even contradictory—understandings of life and faith, and both ground their understandings in scripture? Or, what happens when two or more people (or two or more… well, see above) read the same scripture and come up with differing—even contradictory—understandings of “what the Bible clearly says?” Martin Luther comes to mind. Reading through the epistle to the Romans he encountered what, to him, seemed obvious truth; but which contradicted what the church had instructed him to believe. But there it was in black and white. I had a ...

                 A recent article suggests the term, “post truth”, as a description of today’s culture. Its point is not that truth no longer exists, but that it has grown irrelevant. There is a general apathy about truth. It has succumbed to a constant wash of opinion. By the 19 th century the Enlightenment had authenticated scientific inquiry. Some authorities in the church saw science as a threat to their power, which they sustained in large measure by keeping the common people illiterate and pliable. Free thinking might lead to questions of their authority, so a vigorous science-versus-the-Bible dogma emerged. Part of the backlash against enlightenment thinking was manifest in the Second Great Awakening, a neo-Calvinist/neo-Puritan movement. Unlike the First Great Awakening's focus on predestination, the Second Great Awakening was a quasi-enlightenment movement that emphasized free will and individual responsibility for sal...