Living Spirituality: September 2018

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Thursday Thoughts - September 27

Traditional worldview apologetics, as practiced by several notable Christians in the twentieth century, are dead. They simply lack credibility. I’d wager there are several reasons for this, but one of them is basically that our understanding of the world today is no longer the same as it was supposed to be then. While the world remains an informer, the information (neurosciences, genetics, evolution) it now offers challenges, rather than confirms the centrality of apologetics. Let’s move in another direction. Any assumed belief in an Absolute God who is, ought to be replaced by belief in a possible God who gives.

Monday, September 24, 2018

Reflection for the Week - September 24

Holding to metaphysics with no grounding in science is like running a 100 meters race with a 99.5 meters head start – you’ll never lose. There’s a real credibility issue here that is now more than ever staring Christians in the face. Metaphysics, if it’s going to have traction, has to have a viable scientific connection to the physical world. As we point out in our book From Evolution to Eden, it is crucial that there’s some symmetry here, but also essential to accept and underline a place for dissymmetry. We’re not in the business of ‘proof,’ however a tighter more responsible liaison between the world beyond and this world is highly welcome. Let’s allow them to constrain and complement each other, recognizing that sometimes there’ll be greater harmony, while at other times a loaded tension. In short, relation and distinction has to be in the race from the outset. Collapse them or keep them entirely separate and the wager is; we tend to slip away from reality, where everyone starts and finishes in the same place.

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Thursday Thoughts - September 6

Our reading strategies for biblical text, self, other, and world should have a similarity. That is, not too objective, nor too subjective. These phenomena are not to be mere objects of analysis and study or simply personal subjects of possession and interest, but understood as related and distinct in tension. Falling into compartmentalized or collapsing approaches will lead to a short circuiting of making necessary tensional connections that will enhance and deepen our spirituality. These connections will help us to recognize that there are new possibilities and fresh discoveries that pave the way for drawing closer to God.

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Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Living Spiritual Rhythms - September 5

I have long struggled with questions of selfhood and identity. There has been so much blurring and blending edges together that viable relationality seems harder and harder to come by. Truth be told, this is my next big project after writing the book on Imagination. My provisional thoughts are moving in this direction. I wager that at least four sources have to be in dialogue for a better picture of who a self is and what makes me who I am. First, a theological point of view is crucial. Acknowledging the problematic of trust and suspicion marks out the landscape and confirms that I need help in discerning appropriate directions. Second, my own perspective is indispensable. There is no legitimate way that I can remove or entirely ignore myself, as my view plays a role concerning whether I’m trustworthy or deceived. Envisioning myself in some way or another is part of being human. Third, the responsible other’s outlook is vital. People who know me have a say so as to who I am and can present a challenge of my own pretensions, be they positive or negative. Fourth, the natural world is essential. I can often take nature for granted, but when I do so and get it wrong, I usually end up having to comply. Nature is bigger than I am. When these four relationality ties interact, I should be able to formulate a healthier notion of selfhood and identity, which begins to make sense and becomes fitting for a truer embrace of who I am.

Monday, September 3, 2018

Reflection for the Week - September 3

I’d wager there are three prevailing worldviews that tend to dominate the g-local context today. First, matter matters. This is the notion that all there is―is matter. Scientific hubris is attempting to capture what is, but in its reductionism and anti-theism is doomed to fail. Life is more important than matter. Second, money matters. Consumer strategies and corporate values teach us that all that’s real is―money. When money becomes a god in church, politics, economics, and society, everything is sacrificed on the altar of death and redemption is left in the ashes. People are more important than money. Third, power matters. Authoritarian governments cut down and shred responsibility or anything else that stands in their way. This shows that all that counts to them is―power. Explicit claims of dominance and acts of terror oppress and de-dignify humanity, and an ethical imperative is trampled by rhetoric, manipulation, bullets, and bombs. Love and justice are more important than power.