Finding shelter
in our world from the vacuous and inconsequential is harder and harder to do;
the rhythm of trite leaves us exposed to a devaluing of heart, mind, and
imagination. Rapid-fire rhetoric captures the air waves and infiltrates our
capacity to think clear and true thoughts that can be lived. In contrast to
this woeful meltdown, the critical adventure remains an essential component to
chasten naïveté and to promote the virtuous life of following in the footsteps
of Christ. Engage, critique, embrace―the Infinite
One, other, and world; the power of this trinity offers
us a real, yet challenging haven of relationality; the space to dwell in
oneself as another.
Monday, October 31, 2016
Reflection for the Week - October 31
Friday, October 28, 2016
Friday Musings - October 28
Deeply engraved with complexity and mysteriously
forged by extravagance, the drama of the biblical and natural world informers
presents significant challenges for readers, taking us to the limits of our
imaginations. Pushing reality to the edges of perception raises questions and
issues that mustn’t be ignored. To take each informer seriously means being
open to learning and embracing truth wherever it is to be found.
The Theological Art of Story
In
our book, From Evolution to Eden. Making Sense of Early Genesis, we wanted to
play off the idea that stories are powerful tools that we use to interpret and
understand God and the world. We contend it is from this storytelling
perspective that the early chapters of Genesis will find a home and a place
from which they can still speak today.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Thursday Thoughts - October 27
When it comes to reflecting on reality, having to
choose between solely my perception of it or reality as it is on its own, are
both problematic. The former is insufficient, while the latter is inaccessible.
My perception is related to reality, but also distinct from it. One of the ways
that I know this is because sometimes I get it right and sometimes I get it
wrong. I either correctly or erroneously interpret reality and each can have
consequences. Surely, reality is more than merely an awareness of my valid or
inaccurate interpretations, but it is not less.
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Living Spiritual Rhythms - October 26
“God sustains everything.” I hear this kind of bold statement often. I suppose those who use it assume that it protects God’s Godness. Yet, I’m uncomfortable with it and doubt if it really accomplishes what some suggest. For one thing, when I consider that the natural world seems to have always been filled with pathogens as part of the complexity of life, I think it rather unlikely that this sustaining everything God actually exists. It seems preferable to view God’s Godness along the lines of giving nature a degree of autonomy to develop as it will, but at the same time to envision that God is not held hostage by natural causality.
Monday, October 24, 2016
Reflection for the Week - October 24
Many self-help books portray things in an optimistic one-sided fashion that leaves us with half-truths. Resilience, for example, is not merely the capacity to overcome adversity – positive – but also can be the ability to embrace a stubborn attitude in regards to changing destructive patterns in our lives – negative. Thus, we should read these books critically and be willing to look at both sides of an issue. Don’t simply opt for a ‘positive,’ when things are actually in fact much more complex.
Friday, October 21, 2016
Friday Musings - October 21
Forgiving others for the deep wounds they have
caused in our lives is something that takes time to grow into. But recall that
we are beings in time - we exist in and through past, present, and future.
Thus, we should not expect instantaneous resolutions. God is patient with us,
so let’s be patient with ourselves. Forgiving, then, may be a long process and
hopefully it will be one that we are challenged to take more seriously as each
day goes by.
Radical Spirituality
If you’re burnt out by churches, disgusted with
hypocrisy, fed up with hype, searching for integrity, struggling with your
faith, looking for God, exploring spirituality, hoping to understand something
about life and following the Crucified & Risen One, these books are for you
– Living Spiritual Rhythms - Books 1-4.
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