October 2022 - Dialogue - lists.wedgeblade.net

Re: [Dialogue] A photocopy of Joseph Mathews' graduate thesis
by James Wiegel 07 Oct '22

07 Oct '22

Herman Greene is connected into that network Cobb, process philosophy, etc. I am currently enrolled in a course he is leading on living in the Anthropocene era. Jim Wiegel “…the long work of turning their lives into a celebration is not easy. Come and let us talk“. The Sunflowers. Mary Oliver > On Oct 6, 2022, at 11:26 PM, rev.bud(a)mac.com wrote: > > Might I suggest that one possible place for JWM’s thesis be the website Religion Online. If I understand R O’s current status, in has been put in the hands of Clarmont School of Theology, and possibly with John Cobb. If any of you out there are in touch with John Cobb, would you say so. I think Cobb would be interested in this attempt to resurrect JWM’s thesis. As well as being the major voice for the Whiteheadian Process theology, Cobb is in the Wesleyan tradition. I think he could be intrigued by an existentialist slant on Wesley. Cobb at 93 would be a contemporary of Matthews > > https://www.religion-online.org/ > Religion Online began with American teachers who were teaching in the ’third world’ and finding text books out of the price range of their students. Putting the thesis here would also make it available to persons world-wide who have been influenced by Matthews and his EI/ICA work. > > See also Thomas Oord: > https://www.religion-online.org/article/types-of-wesleyan-philosophy-the-ge… > > Bud Tillinghast > One who visited CFLC in Easter ’61 only to find the crew I was looking for was just off to Chicago. > >> On 7 Oct 2022, at 00:22, W. J. via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: >> >> Friends, I actually read most of chapter 1 of JWM's dissertation, which is a long haul. (OK, so I speed-read the last part!) >> So here are my thoughts and questions. >> First, does anybody know what happened to the actual boxed hard copy I saw in the Archives office? >> Second, does anybody know whether Wesley Theological Seminary has a hard copy in their JWM archive collection? >> Third, can anyone confirm, correct, or elaborate on the story I heard from Marge (I think) about how JWM refused to 'tweak' his dissertation, and thus never got his Ph.D. degree? Or tell us anything else they know about the origin and/or transmission of the manuscript? >> I would love to hear about this from LiDonna, Sarah B., Fishel, Lingo, Gilles, Walters, Gene, Beret, Aimee, or any others still alive whose memory goes back as far as CFLC and the early days of EI. And anyone else who may have heard this story from Marge. >> Fourth: My own somewhat vague memory is that JWM wrote this at Yale for H. Richard Niebuhr. Is that accurate? >> (see The Founders – ICA Social Research Center) >> Fifth, how can we date the completion/rejection/abandonment of JWM's dissertation? I would guess that it was while he was teaching at Colgate Rochester as an ABD faculty member. Is there a date on the ms. or some kind of documentation? >> Sixth, is there a copyright notice, and if so, who owns the copyright? >> Seventh, who added the running page header that says "Chapter one mathews"? >> It just doesn't strike me as being part of the original typescript. >> Now, for the icing on this cake! >> I for one would vote to do all we can to reconstruct and correct the minutae of JWM's dissertation and produce a .pdf that could be widely available. Perhaps as a freely available document on a theological dissertation website. Or perhaps we could reformat the text with added section subheads (you know, they did that to English translations of the Bible! those subheads are not in the original Greek and Hebrew!) and even add a contemporary Forward. >> Or even publish it on Amazon! >> At age 82 I always contemplate the option of Doing Nothing! So we could just do nothing more with the JWM dissertation. >> Plus, at 82 I'm aware of the mantra, 'Just do it now!' Or maybe later will be too late! >> Because, starting many years ago, it was not considered exactly missionally relevant. Even by JWM. He just moved on. And perhaps he considered all that effort to complete his Ph.D. a misfire. Or a most unfortunate fire! Or whatever. >> But I encourage us to think in terms of this (admittedly bad) analogy: imagine that Picasso doodled a face on a napkin. It's still a Picasso! >> (Please let me know if you have any of his napkins.) >> So here's what I got from reading (more or less) chapter 1. >> We may not actually care very much about how John Wesley used his classical 18th century education and intelligence to understand and describe the human condition in relation to his grasp of the nature of the physical universe and his personal relationship with Ultimate Reality. >> But Joe Mathews did. >> So if you read his dissertation, what you get is Joe's 20th century theological lens applied to understand Wesley's theological world. >> I would venture to add that, IMHO, Mathews has added a significant voice or POV to Wesley scholarship, getting inside Wesley's construction of intimate human reality by placing Wesley's words in the context of his functioning intellectual universe of Western scholarship (from Hume to Descartes to Aquinas, etc.). >> Mathews is charting Wesley's understanding of epistemology (including his perception of divine activity in human experience) and his theological anthropology. >> It's Mathews' reading of Wesley's theological formulation of his personal process of his deepening, transformative experience of 'sanctification'. >> And, of course, it sounds more like Mathews' existentialist theological lingo than Wesley's 18th century theological formulations. >> For example, "the naked givenness of the impression" just doesn't sound like it was plucked from a Wesley sermon! >> In a nutshell, Mathews is 'decoding' Wesley for twentieth century scholarly readers. (Who else reads Wesley's sermons? I ask. Raise your hands, please! I thought so.) >> Maybe that's why it didn't pass muster with HRNiebuhr! >> Anyway, enough blah-blah-blah. >> I vote for resurrecting this hidden/undiscovered gem for the few remaining authentic Wesley scholars to chew on. And/or spit up. >> Any others of us are welcome to join in the fun by charting it. >> Marshall >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Links in the message (1) >> >> The Founders – ICA Social Research Center >> On Tuesday, October 4, 2022, 09:13:01 AM EDT, James Wiegel <jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >> >> >> Has anyone looked at Slicker's master's thesis? He mentioned it as his formulation of RS-1 when we visited him in 2007 >> 23 Joe Slicker My Masters Degree was RS 1 >> >> >> 23 Joe Slicker My Masters Degree was RS 1 >> >> >> The thought has crossed my mind . . . I wonder whether Joe's approach -- Ecumenical Institute approach -- more on the ethical side, almost coming at theology as an anthropological study -- remember the quote to Msgr. Egan -- we tried to show the church it was about humanness . . . sort of put him outside "real" theology in an academic sense -- or maybe it was just having to type it over again?? >> >> Jim Wiegel >> >> The unknown is what is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybody scurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, all that. Unknown is what is. Accept that it's unknown, and it's plain sailing. John Lennon >> >> >> 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 >> 623-363-3277 >> jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com >> www.partnersinparticipation.com >> >> >> On Monday, October 3, 2022 at 10:04:14 AM MST, David Dunn via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: >> >> >> Hi Marshall, Karen and colleagues. >> >> >> I’ve done a quick comparison of the four documents in the Archive (https://icaglobalarchives.org/resources/) and the photocopy of JWM’s thesis that I have. The four documents in the Archive are the four chapters of JWM's thesis. A quick survey suggests that the only parts of the thesis missing from the Archive copy are the Title page, the comprehensive Table of Contents, the Introduction to the thesis and a few footnotes. >> >> This means that we’ll have the entire thesis with the addition of scans of the Table of Contents (2 pages), the Introduction (4 pages) and the cover. >> >> A few good copy editor souls need to compare the PDF against the photocopy to correct the numbering of a few of the footnotes and other typos that might appear—easy corrections in the PDF >> >> >> I’ve forgotten whose photocopy I copied (my copy is at least a second generation copy), but that means that there is likely at least one 2nd generation copy in someone else’s hands. >> >> In any case, we’re close to having a pristine PDF of the entire thesis. >> >> >> This was a pleasing experience of network intelligence. >> >> >> David >> >> >>>> On Oct 2, 2022, Karen Snyder wrote: >>>> In light of it being about John Wesley, it either is JWM’s doctoral thesis or something he wrote related to it. You can see what we have presently in the Archives under Periodicals here related to his doctoral thesis: https://icaglobalarchives.org/resources/. >>>> >>>> If it is different, than it should be added here as well. Are you able to scan it? If not, send it to Chicago, and we will scan it. We do scanning four days a week so it would be done immediately. Once scanned and added to the Periodicals, it is available for anyone to read it who wishes to. >>> >>> On Oct 2, 2022, Marshall Jones replied: >>> So David's precious xerox is probably copied from this original. >>> I think the typescript is also available in a digital scan on-line. >> >> >> — >> >> <DMD email sig photo small-Nov2012.jpg> >> >> "Mystery, possibility, and the power to choose" >> >> David Dunn >> 740 S Alton Way 9B >> Denver, CO 80247 >> 720-314-5991 >> dmdunn1(a)gmail.com >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Dialogue mailing list >> Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net >> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net >> >> <DMD email sig photo small-Nov2012.jpg>_______________________________________________ >> Dialogue mailing list >> Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net >> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net >

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10/06/2022, Progressing Spirit: Rev. Roger Wolsey: The Jig Is Up; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 06 Oct '22

06 Oct '22

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screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv2064117735 #yiv2064117735templateBody .yiv2064117735mcnTextContent, #yiv2064117735 #yiv2064117735templateBody .yiv2064117735mcnTextContent p{font-size:14px !important;line-height:150% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv2064117735 #yiv2064117735templateFooter .yiv2064117735mcnTextContent, #yiv2064117735 #yiv2064117735templateFooter .yiv2064117735mcnTextContent p{font-size:12px !important;line-height:150% !important;}} | | | | View this email in your browser | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The Jig Is Up | | | | | | | | | | Essay by Rev. Roger Wolsey October 6, 2022The 1960s and ’70s were a time of great social change in the United States. Racial desegregation was officially ended. The Civil and Voting Rights Acts were passed. The two major political parties switched platforms and agendas. Women’s Liberation and Gay Pride were on the rise and a sexual revolution took place, culminating in “The Summer of Love.” In concert with all of this was a profound movement of young people challenging the status quo in many ways – including pushing back against the war in Vietnam. The voting age had been lowered to 18 and many bras and draft cards were being burned. And the US Supreme Court passed the Roe v. Wade ruling. In the eyes of some, the “American way of life” was under attack. What such people meant by this is that they feared that the era of privilege and power for straight, white, wealthy, capitalist men might soon pass unless it becomes vigorously defended. In response, a cabal of far-right conservative politicians and conservative evangelical leaders conspired to bamboozle the masses into thinking that American Christianity needed a revival – and specifically, a revival to get as many Christians as possible to shift their understanding of Christianity such that it was reduced to mean embracing a specific culture that has strong stances controlling human behavior. It wasn’t about theology, it was about imposing specific values. The Moral Majority was formed in large part to trick Christians into thinking that embracing certain, so-called, “family values” is what it meant to be a Christian. Biblically speaking, they sought to get people to think that being anti-gay, anti-abortion, anti-marijuana, and pro-capitalism, pro-gun, and pro-American empire is the “shibboleth" for authentic Christianity. It was a call for Christian nationalism. Instead of being a movement of the Holy Spirit it was a mass act of blasphemy, idolatry, and apostate backsliding. An excellent article in Politico.com Magazine supports my assertions and provides details. Billy Graham warned, “It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it." Despite that warning, the Southern Baptist Convention was hijacked by fundamentalists in the early 1980s and that denomination became the largest Protestant denomination in the country. Many independent congregations also popped up in storefronts, and in time, as big box mega churches. What they frequently share in common is a wedding of the false gospel of wealth and prosperity and indoctrination into conservative “family values.” In tandem, the Republican party was rebranded - a la Ronald Reagan, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell - as being “God’s Own Party.” Tragically, to this day, many American Christians think that if you’re a Christian you must vote Republican. Simultaneous to all of this was the creation of the Institute for Religion and Democracy – a conservative think tank and political action organization. That organization, funded by far-right conservatives such as Adolph Coors, etc., seeks to undermine the remaining major Protestant denominations – which have tended to be centrist, if not liberal politically. Their mission is to cause conflict, strife, and confusion, divide and conquer, and thus render impotent the prophetic “speaking truth to power’ wings of those denominations. The Wesleyan Covenant Association is the tentacle of the IRD “Hydra” within the United Methodist Church – the denomination of which I am a member and serve as a pastor. Followers of this newsletter are likely aware that the United Methodist Church hasn’t been ”united” in quite some time, and that the denomination is experiencing a split regarding the reality of homosexuality. A new splinter denomination has formed this past spring and it is likely that 10% or more of the UM congregations in the U.S. will defect to that conservative group which doesn’t embrace LGBTQ persons. The new “Global Methodist Church” was intended to yoke the conservative (divided) Methodists in the U.S. with the majority of Methodists in Africa and South America. But reality hit. Leaders of the UM Church in Africa have balked and are indicating that they may not wish to split after all. They woke up and smelled the proverbial coffee. “African bishops claimed the Africa Initiative has ‘lost its original goal of helping The United Methodist Church in Africa’ and instead is ‘working with Wesleyan Covenant Association to destroy our United Methodist Church." And, just a few weeks later, a major study conducted by evangelical Christians in the U.S. came out indicating that 65% of American evangelicals reject original sin; 74% don’t believe the Bible should be read literally; 56% believe God accepts the worship of world religions; nearly half (48%) believe that God changes; and nearly half (43%) deny that Jesus was divine. And yet over 90% have consensus that abortion is wrong and that sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is wrong. Certain conservative leaders within the Divided Methodist Church have been claiming that they aren’t leaving because of views about homosexuality, but rather, that they’re leaving because ‘too many United Methodists hold unacceptable theological stances.’ Clearly, Conservative Evangelical Christians in the U.S. have overplayed their hand. They have discovered that their eyes were bigger than their stomachs and that they are more hat than cattle. No, what is true is that even evangelical Christians aren’t heeding to conservative notions of normative doctrine and theology. What is true is that it’s clear for all to see that the real reason that they are leaving is because of their bigotry, especially their homophobia – and sex phobia in general. “I’m reminded of the movie Footloose (1984) where young Kevin Bacon’s character challenges the strict religious values and traditions of a small town in Texas that has banned dancing. Which in turn reminds me of the joke, “Why are fundamentalists opposed to premarital sex? Because it might lead to dancing!” (Excerpt from my forthcoming book, “Discovering Fire,” p. 18, Chapter 4)What’s clear is that few people wish to be part of “churches” which seek to control, judge, and exclude people who they know Jesus loves and embraces. I’ll close with the words of the late poet Edwin Markham:“He drew a circle that shut me out- Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle and took him In!” and those of George Orwell,“They fear love because it creates a world they can’t control.” ~ Rev. Roger WolseyRead online here About the Author Rev. Roger Wolsey is a United Methodist pastor who resides in Grand Junction, CO. Roger is author of Kissing Fish: Christianity for people who don’t like Christianity and blogs for Patheos as The Holy Kiss and serves on the Board of Directors of ProgressiveChristianity.Org. Roger became “a Christian on purpose” during his college years and he experienced a call to ordained ministry two years after college. He values the Wesleyan approach to the faith and, as a certified spiritual director, he seeks to help others grow and mature. Roger enjoys yoga; playing trumpet; motorcycling; and camping with his son. He served as the Director of the Wesley Foundation campus ministry at the University of Colorado in Boulder for 14 years, and has served as pastor of churches in Minnesota, Iowa, and currently serves as the pastor of Fruita UMC in Colorado, and also serves as the "CRM" (Congregational Resource Minister/Church Consultant) for the Utah/Western Colorado District of the Mountain Sky Conference. | | | | | | | | Question & Answer Q: By Millie My faith seems to constantly be changing. I think it is mostly changing for the better. Some of my more conservative friends seem to think my faith should be more “rock solid” than that. Is it OK to have a frequently changing faith? A: By Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin Dear Millie,I'd go as far as to say not only is it OK, it is essential. I mean, if we are not pleased with how things are or who we are, we need to experience change in order to live a better life, to expand our spirituality, to find greater happiness, to help create a better world. It's just a reality of life, in order to have a better life, our current life must be transformed, be changed. It's true even down to the cellular level. You see, every 80 days or so our bodies replace 30 trillion cells, that is the equivalent of an entirely new you. Life, it would seem only truly exists within the context of change. That is certainly true of our spiritual lives. A healthy spiritual life is about constantly striving to grow into a more compassionate, more caring person who offers their unique gifts in the service of a larger whole. That is impossible without change. Change offers us the possibility of growing beyond our current limitations into the fullness of our divine potential.~ Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin Read and share online here About the Author Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) from the South. He currently serves at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. Mark also serves as the President and Co-executive Director of ProgressiveChristianity.org. He is a co-founder of The Christian Left. His blog, has been named as one of the “Top Ten Christian Blogs.” Mark received The Associated Church Press’ Award of Excellence in 2012. His Podcast The Moonshine Jesus Show is on Mondays at 4:30pm ET. Follow Mark on Facebook and Twitter @marksandlin. | | | | | | | | Please continue to send us your feedback… we are listening. We aim to give voice to many different perspectives that are relevant and inspiring along this spiritually progressing path. We are not here to tell you what to believe or how to act. We are here to support your journey, to share and learn together.Thank you for being a part of this community - join us on Facebook! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | As a non-profit ProgressiveChristianity.org/Progressing Spirit rely heavily on the good will of our donors to help us continue to bring individuals and churches the messages of progressive Christians, Weekly Newsletters, along with the many other resources we provide. For years, the majority of our fundraising came at the end of the year. Looking at various ways to create a more reasonable amount of cash flow we decided rather than having a BIG ask at the end of each year, our more frequent asks give folks a chance to contribute when their funds are more flexible. We think that's a win for everyone. We also want to highlight the opportunity to become a sustaining supporter. If you are looking for the best way to help us continue to provide progressive Christian resources, become a sustaining supporter by choosing Recurring Donation. Help keep ProgressiveChristianity.org online and going strong - click here to donate today! * Another way to support us is to leave a bequest in your Will and/or Trust designating us a beneficiary. | | | | | | | | | | | Don't miss the next Episode of PC.org's Executive Directors Mark and Caleb on: The Moonshine Jesus Show - every Monday at 4:30pm Eastern Time – watch live on Facebook,, YouTube, Twitter, Podbean | | | | | | | | | Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited The Birth of Jesus, Part IX. Was There Scandal at the Manger? Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong February 12, 2013The prologue to Matthew’s gospel, which also serves to introduce the story of Jesus’ miraculous birth, is now complete. Matthew writing as he does to the members of a traditional Jewish community, who were also the followers of Jesus, has grounded the life of Jesus deeply into Jewish history. Jesus is the son of Abraham, the heir of King David, in a line produced by those who had lived the various stages of Jewish life. The Jews were a people who had been born free in the persons of the great patriarchs, driven by famine into the land of Egypt where they descended into slavery, broke free once more in the Exodus, wandered through the wilderness reclaiming what they believed was their promised land, established a lasting monarchy, were torn by secession and civil wars, defeated in battle at the hands of the Babylonians and exiled to a foreign land where they believed the songs of Zion could never be sung again. Then, years later, they were finally allowed to return to their homeland, rebuild their ruins, including their holy city of Jerusalem, and even revive their ancient calling to be “a blessing to the nations of the world.” These were the people who produced Jesus, Matthew was saying. It was in this life of Jesus that Matthew believed was to be vested “the hope of the Jews.”In his stage-setting genealogy, however, Matthew had also begun to respond to the critics of Jesus, who at this time were identified primarily with the Orthodox party of the Jewish world. What was the content of their attack on Jesus? I think we find hints of that in various places in the New Testament to which I will turn when we have stitched together the content of this criticism. Then I believe we will discover Matthew’s motive for developing the story of Jesus’ origins in the way that he did. Most especially we will be able to understand just why Matthew included in his genealogy the references to those I have called the “shady ladies,” which suggests that the line that produced Jesus also flowed through incest, prostitution, seduction and adultery.Religion has always been in the business of control. That is why those who cannot abide by its rules face ostracism and excommunication. The religious lines of power are clear. God reveals the divine law to the religious leaders. These religious leaders then claim for themselves alone the power to interpret and to enforce those rules. This means that to disobey the rules is not just to disobey the religious leaders, but it is also to disobey the God who has chosen and empowered these leaders. A religious troublemaker is, therefore, the most direct threat to ecclesiastical power. Religious reformers and religious visionaries are thus thought of as dangerous people. They challenge the security around which the religious community is organized. That is why reformers are banished, tortured and executed, sometimes by being burned at the stake. Prior to this “final” solution, visionaries are frequently attacked personally, becoming the victims of character assassination. One of the ways this character assassination was accomplished in Jewish society in the first century was to attack the reformer or the visionary’s legitimacy. A base-born person might be prone, they assumed, to struggle against the religious rules that defined him or her as untrustworthy.That is why there is so much discussion in the gospel tradition about the “origins’ of Jesus. He was not thought of by the religious hierarchy as a legitimate religious leader. He came from Galilee! Search the scriptures; nowhere will you find a hint that a messiah would rise from Galilee. He hailed from the town of Nazareth. That was “on the wrong side of the tracks.” Nothing good could come out of Nazareth. Where did this man get his knowledge, his power? We know his family, his mother, his brothers and his sisters. Echoes of his inadequate origins are found throughout the gospel tradition. Some even suggested that he might be possessed by demons! “By the power of Beelzebub, he casts out demons,” is the way they put it.Mark, the earliest gospel to be written, makes these charges overt. In chapter three of that first gospel, in which there is no birth story, the family of Jesus is portrayed as becoming alarmed at the reputation that Jesus was accumulating. Believing him to be “beside himself,” that is, out of his mind, his mother and his brothers actually come to take him away. They are rebuked by Jesus who announces that his real family, his real mother and siblings are not his birth and blood relatives, but those who hear the word of God and do it.By the time one arrives at chapter six of Mark, these charges have finally been identified with Jesus’ questionable paternity. A member of the crowd shouts, “Is not this the carpenter?” Note that Joseph has never been mentioned. Jesus is the carpenter in the first gospel to be written. This nameless voice in the crowd then goes on with this identification process and says, “Is not this the son of Mary, the mother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon and are not his sisters here with us?” Then Mark says: “They took offense at him.”Three things must be noted here. First, to call an adult Jewish male the son of his mother was a deliberate insult. It carries with it the implication that his paternity is unknown, that his father is compromised, missing or not identified. It is a charge of being illegitimate. The second thing is that this is the only time that the mother of Jesus is identified by the name “Mary” in any Christian writing before the ninth decade. The final thing to note is that in this, the earliest record we have about the family of Jesus, no father, earthly or otherwise, is mentioned. Joseph does not enter the Christian story until we get to Matthew in the ninth decade and when he is introduced, his role is to name the child and thus to legitimize him.Another hint of Jesus’ questionable paternity is found in the Song of Mary, called “The Magnificat,” recorded only by Luke. In that song, God is said “to have regarded the low estate of his handmaiden” and to have turned her to a state of blessedness. God exalted her, who was of “low degree.” There was no status of lower degree or lower estate in first century Jewish society than an unmarried woman expecting a child.A third scriptural hint that rumors were abroad about Jesus’ questionable paternity is found in the Fourth Gospel in which, once again, the subject is the inadequate origins of Jesus that disqualify him from being able to make the messianic claim that was clearly being made for him. In this passage someone in the crowd shouts at Jesus, “We were not born of fornication.” (John 8:41). The clear presumption of this speaker is that Jesus was.So with Jesus’ origins under attack, with innuendos abroad that he was base-born, a bastard, if you will, and that this is what actually caused him to be a troublemaker, Matthew decides to come to his defense. He will argue that far from being base-born, his life was born holy. God is his father. So, borrowing a popular Mediterranean tradition, which attributed personal greatness to divine origins and to virgin births, Matthew created the narrative of Jesus’ miraculous birth. He then searched the scriptures to find a prophetic text that might point in this direction. He found a verse in Isaiah (7:14). It did not fit but, like many fundamentalists do today, Matthew edited it to make it fit. The text literally said in Hebrew, a young woman is with child. Translated into Greek, the Hebrew word for woman, “almah,” was rendered “parthenos,” in which there is a connotation of virginity, but the phrase “a virgin is with child” is a bit of an oxymoron, so Matthew altered the verse to make it read: “a virgin will conceive.” On the basis of this forced and incorrect rendition of this text, Matthew built the first story of the virgin birth of Jesus to appear in Christian history.The text in Isaiah actually grew out of a time in the 8th century BCE when the city of Jerusalem was under siege by the combined armies of Syria and the Northern Kingdom. The prophet Isaiah wanted to provide a sign to assure Judah’s King Ahaz that Jerusalem would not fall to these enemies and that the Jewish nation would go on. His reference was to the current pregnancy of a woman in the royal family, probably the daughter in law of King Ahaz. The birth of her royal child would be a sign that the nation would endure and that the House of David would not be destroyed. His re-assuring words were: “A woman is with child.” The context makes it obvious that this verse did not apply to someone who would be born 750 years later!Matthew, as a follower of Jesus, was convinced of the holiness of Jesus’ life and of the reality of his experience that God was in and with Jesus in a deep and dramatic way. So he crafted the virgin birth story to support that thesis. Matthew, however, must have known that his reasoning was weak. He was enough of a student of the Hebrew Scriptures to know that the text he had chosen would not bear the weight he had assigned to it. So, in the prologue, he covered his other bases. This life is holy. This life is of God. This life is God’s promised messiah, but if you are not persuaded by my argument from scripture, I want you to know that whatever were the circumstances surrounding his birth, God is capable of bringing holiness through any set of human compromises. Out of a line that contained incest, prostitution, seduction and adultery, this holy life of God has emerged. It is thus a powerful story.Matthew will continue to wrap the Jewish scriptures around Jesus for the rest of his birth narrative. As he does so, the history of the Jewish people and the characters out of that ancient Jewish story re-emerge to bear their witness. Those who possess Jewish eyes will be able to see them. Among these characters will be Moses, the Pharaoh, Joseph the patriarch, Rachel, Isaiah, the Queen of Sheba, Balaam, Balak, Jesse, David, Hosea, Elijah and Joshua. Matthew’s gospel in general, but the birth narrative in particular, must be read through a Jewish lens.To these other texts and biblical characters, we will turn when this series resumes.~ John Shelby Spong | | | | | | | | Announcements The Wisdom of the Body Buddhist teacher Reginald Ray describes the body as “the last unexplored wilderness.” For the desert monks of the Christian tradition, the wilderness is the place where we can have a radical and intimate encounter with the divine. Join Christine Valters Paintner on Zoom, Saturday, October 22, from 9 am – 12 pm Pacific, 12 – 3 pm Eastern, 5 – 8 pm Ireland & UK time. The e-workshop will also be recorded so that those who cannot attend live can view it at their convenience. READ ON ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

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10/4/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 04 Oct '22

04 Oct '22

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10/2/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 02 Oct '22

02 Oct '22

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Fw: Living in Earth Community in the Anthropocene
by James Wiegel 02 Oct '22

02 Oct '22

Looks like an interesting program the next 4 tuesdays. I signed up. Join me? (heads up, the fee is in Canadian dollars) Jim Wiegel Theunknown is what is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybodyscurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, allthat. Unknown is what is. Accept that it's unknown, and it's plainsailing. John Lennon 401 North Beverly Way,Tolleson, Arizona 85353 623-363-3277 jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Center from Ecozoic Studies <ecozoic.studies(a)gmail.com>To: "jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com" <jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com>Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 02:40:38 PM MSTSubject: Living in Earth Community in the Anthropocene | | | | Reminder of Class Beginning on Tuesday, October 4 | | | | LIVING IN EARTH COMMUNITY IN THE ANTHROPOCENE: ECOCENTRIC GOVERNANCE AND THE NEW ECOLOGICAL SOCIAL CONTRACT With Herman Greene | | | | | | | | Herman Greene, JD, DMin, Founder and President of the Center for Ecozoic Studies, Thomas Berry Scholar-in-Residence the Earth Law Center. | | | | A program of EarthLiteracies.org Dates: Tuesdays on Oct. 4, 11, 18, & 25, 2022 Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Pacific Location: On-line – A Zoom Link will be emailed 24 hours before the program begins. Cost: $60.00 (Please do not let cost deter you from attending. Ask us about our funding for programs.) CLICK HERE TO REGISTER Session 1: Modernity Meets the Anthropocene—The End of Nature? Our historical situation and why modernity cannot solve the problems modernity has created. The pervasive influence of humans on nature. Interpretations of the Anthropocene by scientists and various writers. Session 2: The Ecological Social Contract—From Economics and Individualism to Ecology and Communitarianism Theories of the social contract in the Enlightenment, those of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. The consumptive social contract of modernity. The nature of the world—not a collection of isolated objects, but a communion of subjects. From negative freedom to relational freedom. Forming the new ecological social contract. Session 3: Ecocentric Governance—Governance and Earth Law Governance is more than government. Governance is the overall process of shaping collective agency. Traditional societies, classical civilizations, and the modern nation-states. Competing contemporary forms—liberal democracy, social authoritarianism, and nativist populism. Political economy of consumption. Ecocentrism, Earth law, customary law, and forms and scales of ecological governance. Session 4: Living in Earth Community—A Viable Future Change in perspective from the near term to the long term. Creating a new philosophical framework for the future. Dealing with human-Earth relations. Helping people deal with increasingly difficult circumstances. Clarifying the best economic and energy options. Fostering a vision of a humane and decent future. | | | | | | Copyright © 2022 Center for Ecozoic Studies, All rights reserved. You are on this list because you signed up for our emails or otherwise indicated an interest in our work. If you have questions, please contact ecozoic.studies(a)gmail.com. Our mailing address is: Center for Ecozoic Studies2516 Winningham RdChapel Hill, NC 27516-0518 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. | | | |

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9/30/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 01 Oct '22

01 Oct '22

…Hope is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced, and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons. In this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, but...rather, an ability to work for something because it is good… Hope is not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. In short, I think that [this is] the deepest and most important form of hope, the only one that can keep us above water and urge us to good works, and the only true source of the breathtaking dimension of the human spirit…. ~Vaclav Havel

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10/1/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 01 Oct '22

01 Oct '22

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9/29/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 01 Oct '22

01 Oct '22

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