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"Journey Reflection" Blog Posts (April 2017) most read
by John C via Dialogue 30 Apr '17

30 Apr '17

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GREETINGS FROM WASHINGTON, DC!; Fwd: TODAY People's Climate March live More . . .
by Ellie Stock via Dialogue 30 Apr '17

30 Apr '17

<div id="AOLMsgPart_1.1.2_a8a0e47c-a32d-44f7-b0c2-595197b1ddf6"><div id="aolmail_role_body" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: #010101" class="aolReplacedBody"><font id="aolmail_role_document" color="#010101" size="3" face="Arial"> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Hi Folks,</p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Greetings from Washington, DC, where shortly, we will be participating in the People' Climate March. If you are not able to join a local msrch, Democracy Now is live streaming the event--see link below.</p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">We arrived last week to participate in Ecumenical Advocacy Days, this year's theme based on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech on Vietnam that focused on the triplets of racism, militarism, and materialism. We also participated in the DC March for Science--about 120,000 in the rain, but it was a good event. Monday was Lobby Day--visiting congressional offices.</p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">While here we gave a presentation on The Doctrine of Discovery at the Oblates Residence with their Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee. Also doing PC (USA) Earth Care presentations at Potomac PC and Westminster PC, Marie Sharp's church. </p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Off to the march--hopefully connecting with Dick Alton and Sally Yost who will also be there.</p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Ellie Stock ☺</p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">elliestock(a)aol.com</p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">See below for live streaming of march...</p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000">Opportunity to watch The People's Climate March life today; a selection of informative articles, some disturbing/some encouraging; practical things we can do.</font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <table class="aolmail_MsoNormalTable" style="WIDTH: 100%; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"> <tbody> <tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 9pt; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" valign="top"> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt"><font color="#000000">TODAY Watch the People's Climate March Live</font></span></b></p> <table class="aolmail_MsoNormalTable" style="WIDTH: 100%; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; MARGIN: auto -2.25pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-table-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-table-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-table-left: left" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" align="left" border="0"> <tbody> <tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; PADDING-BOTTOM: 9pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0.25in; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; PADDING-RIGHT: 0.25in; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" valign="top"> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-outline-level: 3"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><font color="#000000">Saturday, April 29, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. ET</font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><font color="#000000">Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman and team will provide special live coverage of the People’s Climate March in Washington, D.C. </font></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; DISPLAY: none; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-hide: all"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></p> <table class="aolmail_MsoNormalTable" style="WIDTH: 100%; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"> <tbody> <tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" valign="top"> <table class="aolmail_MsoNormalTable" style="WIDTH: 100%; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; MARGIN: auto -2.25pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-table-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-table-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-table-left: left" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" align="left" border="0"> <tbody> <tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; PADDING-BOTTOM: 9pt; PADDING-TOP: 9pt; PADDING-LEFT: 0.25in; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; PADDING-RIGHT: 0.25in; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent"> <table class="aolmail_MsoNormalTable" style="WIDTH: 100%; BACKGROUND: #515050; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; mso-padding-alt: 13.5pt 13.5pt 13.5pt 13.5pt" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"> <tbody> <tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; PADDING-BOTTOM: 13.5pt; PADDING-TOP: 13.5pt; PADDING-LEFT: 13.5pt; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; PADDING-RIGHT: 13.5pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" valign="top"> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-outline-level: 3" align="center"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: white; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Watch LIVE tomorrow starting at 10 a.m. ET at</span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: #fdfcfc; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> <a title="http://democracynow.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=7c55dbbfa32e54174906…" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://democracynow.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=7c55dbbfa32e54174906…"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #6dc6dd; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">democracynow.org</span></a>. </span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: white; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Or tune in live on:</span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: #fdfcfc; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-outline-level: 3" align="center"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: white; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">FSTV (Dish Network 9415 & DirecTV Ch. 348)</span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: #fdfcfc; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> </span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: white; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Link TV (Dish Network 9410 & DirecTV Ch. 375) WHUT-TV (Ch. 32.1 & 32.2 in Washington D.C.)</span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: #fdfcfc; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> </span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: white; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Check your local Democracy Now! station for listings.</span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: #fdfcfc; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></span></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/04/27/100-clean-energy-bill-laun…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/04/27/100-clean-energy-bill-laun…" target="_blank">https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/04/27/100-clean-energy-bill-laun…</a></font></span></b></p> <h1 style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 3pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.0pt" align="center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif""><font color="#000000">100% Clean Energy Bill Launched by Senators and Movement Leaders</font></span></h1> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align="center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black">Legislation comes ahead of Peoples Climate March on April 29th</span></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">27 April 2017</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.ecowatch.com/salt-lake-city-makes-historic-commitment-to-100-per…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/salt-lake-city-makes-historic-commitment-to-100-per…" target="_blank">http://www.ecowatch.com/salt-lake-city-makes-historic-commitment-to-100-per…</a></font></b></p> <h1 style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 22pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000">Salt Lake City Makes Historic Commitment to 100% Renewables by 2032</font></span></h1> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">14 July 2016</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/3/27/14922516/trump-executiv…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="http://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/3/27/14922516/trump-executiv…" target="_blank">http://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/3/27/14922516/trump-executiv…</a></font></b></p> <h1 style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 12pt 0in 3pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif""><font color="#000000">Trump’s big new executive order to tear up Obama’s climate policies, explained</font></span></h1> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">27 March 2017</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176269/tomgram%3A_michael_klare%2C_do_afric…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176269/tomgram%3A_michael_klare%2C_do_afric…" target="_blank">http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176269/tomgram%3A_michael_klare%2C_do_afric…</a></font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align="center"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; BACKGROUND: white"><font color="#000000">Tomgram: Michael Klare, Do African Famines Presage Global Climate-Change Catastrophe?</font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">20 April 2017</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/20/dapl-developer-spills-drilling…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/20/dapl-developer-spills-drilling…" target="_blank">https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/20/dapl-developer-spills-drilling…</a></font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-line-height-alt: 12.0pt"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"><font color="#000000">DAPL Developer Spills Drilling Fluids Into Wetlands While Constructing Another Pipeline</font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 20pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><font color="#000000">The latest incident is just another ding on Energy Transfer Partners' spotty record</font></span></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">20 April 2017</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/20/trumps-buy-american-order-look…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/20/trumps-buy-american-order-look…" target="_blank">https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/20/trumps-buy-american-order-look…</a></font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-line-height-alt: 12.0pt"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"><font color="#000000">Trump's "Buy American" Order Looks Weak as DAPL Company Pushes Back</font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><font color="#000000">"As with Trump's campaign promises, the executive order is full of loopholes that are designed to protect Wall Street interests and multinational corporations—at the expense of American workers and communities."</font></span></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">20 April 2017</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b><span style="COLOR: #2a2a2a"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/06/scient…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/06/scient…" target="_blank">https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/06/scient…</a></font></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align="center"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt"><font color="#000000">Climate change is literally turning the Arctic ocean inside out</font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">6 April 2017</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt"><font color="#000000">On the release of Methane</font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39957-release-of-arctic-methane-may-be-a…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39957-release-of-arctic-methane-may-be-a…" target="_blank">http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39957-release-of-arctic-methane-may-be-a…</a></font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.greenoptimistic.com/giant-methane-release-20170401/%23.WQCERb3W…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="https://www.greenoptimistic.com/giant-methane-release-20170401/#.WQCERb3WHIV" target="_blank">https://www.greenoptimistic.com/giant-methane-release-20170401/#.WQCERb3WHIV</a></font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/40311-great-barrier-reef-reaches-termina…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/40311-great-barrier-reef-reaches-termina…" target="_blank">http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/40311-great-barrier-reef-reaches-termina…</a></font></b></p> <h2 style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 39.6pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; FONT-STYLE: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><font color="#000000">Great Barrier Reef Reaches "Terminal Stage" as CO2 Levels Rise at Record Rate</font></span></h2> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">24 April 2017</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 20pt"><font color="#000000">Also</font></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> on Great Barrier Reef - </font><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2127170-mass-bleaching-hits-great-barr…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2127170-mass-bleaching-hits-great-barr…" target="_blank">https://www.newscientist.com/article/2127170-mass-bleaching-hits-great-barr…</a></font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align="center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000">* * * * * * * * * * * * *</font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt"><font color="#000000">From a recipient - helpful reminders on some of the things we can personally do, or help convince our governing structures to do. </font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0in"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black">The fossil fuel industry receives a lot of criticism these days, and rightfully so. But in the final analysis, we are the ones who support the energy industry and it is our standard of living that will need to change. So contemplate what you can do for the cause</span></p> <p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black">Personal Actions</span></b><span style="FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black"> End our love affair with the automobile Ride more trains and buses Car pool Walk and bike more Turn off the air conditioner in the summer and dial the thermostat down in winter Become vegetarians or vegans Refill plastic bottles with tap water Discontinue using aluminum cans with and without carbonation Maximize use of reusable bags and products Recycle junk mail Forego fast junk food Go to “slow food”; Recycle maximally, especially aluminum cans Drive and accelerate more slowly Climb more stairs Plant more trees Forego use of spray cans Ride more trains and buses Repair, mend and alter as much as possible Buy solar panels Compost as much as possible Last person out of the room turn off the lights Eat and farm organic Ride more trains and buses Fly fewer planes Promote conference calls and web cams, fewer meetings Use manual tools instead of power tools Share more Use rakes rather than leaf blowers Decrease use of bottled water and refill plastic bottles with tap water Maximize reusable bags and products Push rather than power small mowers Replace lawns with vegetable gardens Stop fertilizing and mowing lawns Compost as much as possible Minimize use of disposables (Pampers, Ikea furniture); Maximize high efficiency LED and solar powered lighting; Limit endless gadgets Use motion lighting, where appropriate</span></p> <p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black">Local Government Actions</span></b><span style="FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black"> Reorganize cities, building taller residences with a smaller footprint (the end of suburbia) Institute a carbon tax Promote car pooling subsidize and expand mass transit Expand bike paths Have shareable (zip) cars Ban electric outdoor signs; Eat and farm organic Promote conference calls and web cams, fewer meetings Eliminate approximately 50% of all street lighting and office lighting in unoccupied buildings eliminate “fast junk food”; go to “slow food replace</span></p> <p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black">Federal Government Actions</span></b><span style="FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black"> Ban gasohol Rein in the militaries for defense only and outlaw war Discontinue night baseball Make electronics, house wares, furniture, etc to be as durable and long-lived as possible Recycle maximally Make appliances to be as energy efficient as possible Discontinue aluminum cans Ban electric outdoor signs Maximize solar and wind power; Change from petroleum based fertilizers to regenerative agriculture Reverse deforestation, plant more trees Restrict spray cans Promote conference calls and web cams, fewer meetings Promote zero population growth with free condoms and family planning world-wide End yearly auto model changes; Proscribe junk mail Scrap the mission to Mars</span></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align="center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt">~ Bonus ~</span></font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <h1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 3pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 12pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif""><font color="#000000">This Is What It Will Look Like [projected] <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></font><font color="#000000">When Mar-A-Lago Disappears Under Rising Seas . . . </font></span></h1> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align="center"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" width="621" height="326" id="aolmail_MA1.1493466781" src="https://mail.aol.com/webmail/getPart?uid=30306200&partId=1.2&scope=STANDARD…"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"></b></font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p></font></div> </div>

4 3

4/27/17: Wolsey: Is Jesus the Only Way?; Spong revisited: The Word Of God?
by Ellie Stock via Dialogue 27 Apr '17

27 Apr '17

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border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600" id="aolmail_templateBody"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_bodyContent" style="background-color: #ffffff;"> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><h1 style="color: #003d4a;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 34px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Is Jesus the Only Way?</h1> <h3 class="aolmail_null" style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 26px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">By Roger Wolsey</h3> <p><a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><img align="left" alt="roger_wolsey copy" class="aolmail_wp-image-49773 aolmail_alignleft" height="156" style="border: 0px;width: 115px;height: 156px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="115" src="https://johnshelbyspong.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/roger_wolsey-copy.jpg"></a>As a progressive Christian pastor and author I frequently receive critical pushback from conservative and fundamentalist Christians who adamantly declare that <em>the only</em> way to experience salvation is by giving intellectual assent to certain specific truth claims about the life of Jesus. Scratch that, they don’t generally care about his <em>life</em>, their focus is primarily upon Jesus’ <em>death and his resurrection</em>. Their message boils down to <strong>“Unless you believe that Jesus died for your sins and that he physically rose from the grave, you are a heretic, and will go to hell when you die.”</strong></p> <p>There are numerous problems with this line of thinking from a progressive Christian perspective. <strong>1.</strong> The lack of emphasis upon Jesus’ 30-33 years of <em>life</em> – his way, teachings, and example. <strong>2.</strong> Reducing the faith to a cerebral matter of what individuals accept as accurate information. <strong>3.</strong> The view that salvation is largely a matter of where we’ll go when we die. <strong>4.</strong> The idea that it is Jesus’ death on the cross that allows anyone to experience salvation. And <strong>5.</strong> The notion that hell is even a Christian concept – it isn’t.</p> <p>I addressed all of these matters in full and in depth in my book <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><em>Kissing Fish</em></a>. I’ve frankly avoided addressing these matters as a blog as they are complicated and require, and are worthy of, much back-story, nuance, and sophisticated discourse. However, it’s become clear that there’s a need for a briefer synopsis. So the following is my attempt to put this all into a nutshell.</p> <p>Here we go. Re: points 1 & 2, <strong>It’s a damn shame and tragedy that so many Christians focus on Jesus’ death and not on his life.</strong> Mel Gibson’s movie <em>The Passion of the Christ</em> is a keen example of this distortion of authentic Christianity. The idea that simply accepting X, Y, and Z about Jesus’ person, death, and resurrection is what matters – and not focusing on his <em>teachings</em> in the Sermon on the Mount, and looking at his actual <em>ways of practicing</em> his religion in <em>interacting with and relating to</em> people – is missing the forest for the trees (and only a tiny number of trees at that). It’s an epic adventure in missing the point. <strong>One can <em>believe</em> “all the right things” and not be able to love their way out of a wet paper bag. It’s <em>loving</em> that matters.</strong> (<a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">1 Corinthians 13</a>)</p> <p>Re: 3 & 4, in Hebrew, <em>salvation</em> means healing, wholeness, and well-being. To remind us, Jesus was a Jew who practiced Judaism. Yet conservative Christians disregard (don’t even seem to know) that and instead distort salvation to believing or accepting certain intellectual assertions. Jesus saved (provided salvation to) numerous people long before he was killed – it’s right there in the Gospels, <em>read</em> them for gosh sake. This reality clearly undermines the conservative premise that no-one is saved but for Jesus’ blood shed on a cross. In the Gospels, salvation is experienced when someone accepts God’s healing, grace and love and responds in ways that show it. Jesus also referred to this state of being as experiencing “abundant/eternal life” and living in “the kingdom of God.”</p> <p>Conservative and fundamentalist Christians subscribe rigidly to the <strong>substitutionary</strong> or <strong>penal theories of the atonement</strong> – that Jesus died as our proxy/substitute and took on a the violent death that each of us should receive, and/or that Jesus received the punishment that’s intended for each of us “wretched sinners.” First of all, there has never been a Church Council that has declared that any one theory of the atonement is “the one, true, right one.” Second, the theology that is associated with those theories of the atonement posits an angry, judgmental, wrathful, blood thirsty God & understands humans as incapable of anything but sin and evil. Put me on record as rejecting that pagan god – 100% percent. Yes, I’m aware that there are parts of the Bible that might suggest such a view of God. To which I’d remind us that a) God didn’t write the Bible, b) it consists of 66 books, written by many people over many years, and c) not a few of the verses within some of those books contain bad theology that reflect pagan influences of the cultures that surrounded those ancient peoples (e.g., Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman).</p> <p>Finally, there are numerous other theories of the atonement that are biblically based and have been embraced by Christians since the very birth of the faith. Most progressive Christians tend to embrace the Christus Victor or the <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb2…">Moral Influence</a>/Moral Exemplar theories of the “at-one-ment.” I prefer the latter, i.e., that Jesus is our model who shows us how to truly live a Godly life and thus experience and know salvation wholeness and abundant/eternal life here and now – and beyond. It is by loving others and receiving their love; forgiving others and receiving their forgiveness; by treating others justly and receiving their just treatment; and by being reconciled with others – that we know and experience salvation. <strong>Salvation is a Divine-human co-creation that we receive and participate in.</strong></p> <p>What prompted today’s essay was coming across the following image/meme on social media. It reads “CONTRADICT They can’t all be true. – John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="john 14 6" class="aolmail_wp-image-49848 aolmail_size-medium aolmail_alignleft" height="120" width="300" style="border: none;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;height: auto;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" src="https://johnshelbyspong.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/john-14-6-300x120.png"></p> <p>The person who posted that meme went on to add: <em>“All the religions of the world are true because they’re all basically the same.” This refrain, commonly repeated by people, reflects a fundamental ignorance of the world’s religions. The religions are not the same because their core beliefs contradict each other. Here are a few examples: -most Hindus believe in the existence of an atman (i.e. soul) that is reincarnated after death; Buddhism denies this – Islam teaches that Jesus Christ never died on a cross; Christianity teaches that if Jesus never died and rose again, the whole Christian faith is worthless (1 Corinthians 15) -Hinduism affirms (or permits) the worship of many gods; Judaism strictly prohibits this and requires that only one God be worshiped. Given the contradictions in the world religions, all of them cannot be true. The most important question then becomes which, if any of them, accurately describe the true nature of reality?”</em></p> <p>That person runs an evangelical “apologetics” platform which seeks to defend and explain “the Christian faith” to non-believers. The short description on their About page humbly states “A place to explore the ultimate questions of life from a Christian worldview.” Fair enough, it is *a* Christian worldview.</p> <p>And yet, the page’s true colors come out in the General Description “…defense of the Christian worldview.” Yep, he thinks he’s championing THE Christian perspective. Not so humble – or accurate. Okay, let’s address the points made in his post. Yes, there are some factual differences among and between the major world religions. The points chosen to highlight are tellingly ones that reflect his idealized Christo-centric priorities — what various religions teach that pertains to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Sure, Muslims don’t think Jesus was killed, and Buddhists and Hindus don’t believe in resurrection. And Hindus have many gods to worship and Jews only one. So what? Those are hardly what Jesus and his message are all about. In other words, <strong>the things that conservative Christians tend to think are the essential foundations – aren’t. Christians are called to follow the religion of Jesus – not the religion <em>about</em> him.</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="coexist" class="aolmail_wp-image-49849 aolmail_size-medium aolmail_alignleft" height="110" width="300" style="border: none;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;height: auto;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" src="https://johnshelbyspong.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/coexist--300x110.jpg"></p> <p style="text-align: left;">The graphic featured is one that is an obvious play and attack on the many variations of the symbolic COEXIST slogan featured on bumper-stickers across the land.</p> <p>Such bumper-stickers are meant to convey a sense of appreciating the diversity of world religions and a deep valuing of all of them – including the common ground among them. They’re an invitation to remind us of a higher calling to “pray well with others.”</p> <p>The meme at hand, however, seeks to convey that the members of the various religions are at odds with each other and can’t play well in the sandbox of life together. Indeed, he’s saying that they’re “contradictory and in opposition to the Truth.” And yet, many of us who live in the 21st century know full well that seemingly contradictory things can both be true – at the same time. It’s called <strong>paradox</strong> – something that conservative and fundamentalist Christianities can’t fathom due to their still operating via the mindset of the modern era.</p> <p>Light, for instance, can be understood as being a particle — or as a wave. Both perceptions are true – at the same time – even if they seem contradictory. Similarly, one can see that each of the major world religions are true, and one can understand that famous/infamous passage where Jesus is presented as saying <strong>“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”</strong> (John 14:6) as celebrating the uniqueness and distinctiveness of Jesus *and* also celebrating the universal common ground that exists among many religions.</p> <p>Progressive Christianity is the post-modern-influenced evolution of historic mainline Liberal Christianity. While not to be equated with postmodernism, it honors contemporary people’s capacities to see and honor multiple truths at the same time.</p> <p>One might say that <strong>from a progressive Christian perspective, Jesus <em>is</em> “the way, the truth, and the life,” and all who follow Jesus’ way, teachings, and example — <em>the way of unconditional love, of radical hospitality, of loving-kindness, of compassion, of mercy, of prophetic speaking truth to power, the way of forgiveness, of reconciliation, and the pursuit of restorative justice</em> – by whatever name, and even if they’ve never even heard of Jesus, are fellow brothers & sisters in Christ and his Way.</strong></p> <p>To the extent that other world religions are about instilling, fostering, and nurturing those universal values – we see Christ in them. This is also true for secular NGOs. We might also say that <strong><em>on a surface level, all of the major world religions are the same. On a deeper level, all of those religions are very different. And on a still deeper level, all of those religions are the same.</em></strong> That said, we’re rather enamored by the uniqueness of the Jesus story and we invite others to join us in sharing in that specific life-giving journey — even if we feel no dire need to convert anyone. It is this non-exclusive approach to our faith that many young adults find compelling. So <strong>progressive Christianity is evangelistic even as it’s not.</strong></p> <p>Evangelical platforms such as this one seem to be motivated by anxiety. They’re concerned about many of the people “going to hell” and they’re concerned about Christianity dying.</p> <p>Progressive Christians, instead, invite us to simply be as faithful as we can <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">and not worry about “the Church dying.</a>” We have no fear of death for we follow a savior who gave it all up for the sake of others – and who invites us to pick up our cross and follow him – and be willing to die. Indeed, if we do anything to “attract” people out of desperation on our part, it’ll be fruitless. It’s like dating someone who is insecure and anxious — not attractive.</p> <p>Let’s just boldly (and paradoxically) be who were are — and maybe even more so — yes, more so.</p> <p><em>~ Rev. Roger Wolsey</em>, Director, Wesley Foundation at University of Colorado – Boulder</p> <p>p.s., In my book <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><em>Kissing Fish</em></a>, I stated that <strong>“each of the major world religions are like wells, and if you go deep enough into any of them, you’ll hit the same aquifer and Source.</strong>” I firmly believe that. However, I’m particularly drawn to the well of Christianity. I don’t literally think that all religions are *<em>exactly</em>* the same. German, English, Korean, or Swahili are all valid, effective, languages, but they aren’t exactly the same. The same is true for the major world religions. There are differences to be sure among the religions – but to the extent that they each seek to foster increased love, compassion, justice, mercy, etc – they’re doing the same work and helping people connect with themselves, each other, and beyond.</p> <p>That said, IMO, those various religions have differing capacities and histories in doing those particular things. Christianity, at its best, is a particularly effective vehicle for helping people become more loving and just. One of the key reasons that I’m a Christian is because of its long history of prophetically speaking truth to power and seeking to challenge and change unjust social systems. Many of the Asian religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism) have tended to avoid saying that there is right and wrong or good or bad. Such a philosophy can reduce personal suffering via letting go of certain mindsets. That said, they also tend to result in moral quietude in the face of mass injustice and end up fostering increased social suffering. Case in point, the many centuries of the oppressive caste system in India.</p> <p>However, Buddhism does have a strong vein of fostering compassion and, like Thomas Merton before me, I’m a better Christian by seeking to weave in the best of Buddhism into my practices. Christians would do well to humbly concede that Christianity doesn’t have a monopoly on compassion, loving, truth, or justice – and indeed, there are many, many places where the Church as shown noted patterns of falling far short of our aspirations.</p> <p>The meme discussed here presents <strong>a polarized either/or perspective. It’s the sort of non-spiritual, non-mystical, unrealistic, and dysfunctional mindset that progressive Christianity seeks to help people place in the dustbin of history.</strong></p> <p>Read the essay online <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">here</a>.</p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><hr> <h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Question & Answer</h2> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Georgina of Leland, Lancashire, U.K. writes:</span></p> <h4 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 22px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;"> Question:</h4> <p>"How can I help other people have the experience of a living relationship with God?"</p> <h4 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 22px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Answer: By Gretta Vosper</h4> <p><a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://"><img alt="Gretta Vosper" class="aolmail_wp-image-49753 aolmail_alignleft" height="144" style="border: 0px;width: 116px;height: 144px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;float: left;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="116" src="https://johnshelbyspong.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Gretta-Vosper-copy-2…"></a>Hi Georgina,</p> <p>The most enduring challenge faced by those who want to help others have the experience of a living relationship with God is our utter refusal to come up with a succinct definition of god that everyone will agree upon. Further complicating the challenge provided by the sheer number of ideas we are left with about the god we call God, is our assumption that everyone else shares the same idea we have. I think it was Peter Jennings, in a convocation address to Carleton University, who named our penchant for assuming that even people we know nothing about believe exactly the same way that we do, “the Vanna White Syndrome”.</p> <p>I don’t usually think in terms of a relationship with God; rather, I would consider relationships to either increase the god in the world or destroy it. My beliefs about god are wrapped up in that which, by virtue of my humanity, I am compelled to create in the world. It is the goodness that is mine to bring about, the delight that is mine to share, the healing that is mine to commence, the justice that is mine to demand. When I do these things, I create god in the world. The relationship aspect of it is what is built between me and myself, another person, the planet, or a generation I will never live to meet. When what we create in relationship with one another or ourselves is sacred, by which I mean something so crucial to the dignity of our humanity that we cannot risk denigrating or losing it, then we have created god. Relationships that honour the beauty and human dignity of the other are relationships that increase god. And, goodness knows, we need more of those relationships.</p> <p>It isn’t too hard to figure out what the opposite of those relationships would be like. Any time we refuse to bring love, caring, compassion, we refuse to create god in those relationships. It may be that you cannot be compassionate with someone else because being compassionate with yourself is the priority at that moment. Honour that. But when we choose to use someone for our own purposes or put someone down because they are not like us, then, using my definition, we reduce the god in the world. Or, in secular terms, we reduce the good in the world. We can ill afford to diminish good in the world.</p> <p>Living beauty, goodness, and truth into all the relationships you possibly can would, in my opinion and experience, be the perfect way to provide a living – in a very real sense – relationship with God for another. The strength of what you create together will provide lasting benefit to you both in situations you may never realize. It is a win win situation for both of you. And the world. A win, win, win!</p> <p>I don’t use the word “god” with many people in my life anymore. I’ve mostly added the extra “o” and moved onto the use of “good”. It makes it easier to explore, especially when understandings of what constitutes good diverge. When they do, we are much less sensitive about exploring our different understandings than we are when those differences are couched in ideas about the god called God.</p> <p>I would encourage you, Georgina, to continue to place goodness – god, if you must – in your relationships but carefully consider what the consequence of demanding that your family, friends, or acquaintances think and speak and order their universes as do you. Have a vibrant conversation about what good might be, but let that enrich your relationships without the requirement of language that discomforts many people. I think that, if you do, you will not only witness the strengthening of “go(o)d” in your own world, you will witness it strengthening the lives of those around you.</p> <p>~ Gretta Vosper</p> <p>Read and Share Online <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Here</a></p> <p><strong>About the Author</strong></p> <p>The Rev. Gretta Vosper is a United Church of Canada minister who is an atheist. Her best selling books include <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><em>With or Without God: Why The Way We Live is More Important Than What We Believe</em></a>, and <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><em>Amen: What Prayer Can Mean in a World Beyond Belief</em></a>. She has also published three books of poetry and prayers.</p> <p>_________________________________________________</p> <p> </p> <h2 style="text-align: center;color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;"><strong>Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:28px"><span style="font-family:georgia,times,times new roman,serif"><strong>The Word of God? </strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="Spong" class="aolmail_wp-image-49832 aolmail_alignleft" height="107" style="border: 0px;width: 101px;height: 107px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;float: left;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="101" src="https://johnshelbyspong.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Spong-283x300.jpg"></p> <p>“This is the word of the Lord”</p> <p>That is the liturgical phrase used in Christian churches to mark the end of a reading from the Bible. It is a strange, even a misleading, phrase. Yet Sunday after Sunday it is repeated, reinforcing in the psyches of worshipers a rather outdated attitude toward Holy Scripture.</p> <p>In many of its details, the Bible is simply wrong! Epilepsy is not caused by demon possession. David did not write the Psalms. The earth is not the center of the universe. On other issues of great public concern, the Bible is no longer even regarded as moral. Its verses have been used to affirm war, slavery, segregation and apartheid. It defines women as inferior creatures and suggests that homosexual persons be put to death.</p> <p>Church people try to ignore or suppress these biblical deficiencies, but when the Scriptures are read to a listening congregation the response is increasing incredulity. Still they respond, “This is the word of the Lord.”</p> <p>Outside the church, this presumed authority of Scripture is generally ignored. Secular people live in a post-religious world where the idea that a literary work, written between 1000 B.C.E. and 135 C.E., can be “the Word of God,” is simply too far-fetched to believe. This obvious ecclesiastical power play is no longer even passively accepted as benign. One has only to chart the evil and pain that many people have endured in history because someone regarded the Bible as the “Word of God.” That claim is no longer regarded as valid.</p> <p>In a series of essays that will appear periodically over the next few months in this column I will examine some of the more frightening examples of these tragedies. My purpose will be quite specific. I will be seeking to call the Christian Church in all of its forms to look closely at what it is, overtly and covertly, teaching its people about the Bible and at the enormous gap that exists between what biblical scholars know and what the leaders of the churches actually say to their congregations. If our clergy do not really believe what they are saying, and if our liturgies affirm things that the scholars universally reject, then something is clearly amiss in contemporary Christianity that does not augur well for a Christian future.</p> <p>First, we need to state some basic biblical facts.</p> <p>The people who wrote the books in the Bible did not think they were writing “The Word of God.” That is a quite elementary but singularly important place to begin.</p> <p>In regard to the first five books of the Bible, called the Torah or the Books of Moses, scholars have known since the 19th century, that they are not the work of a single hand. They are rather a compilation of at least four strands of Jewish writing that were composed over a period of some 500 years. Those strands were first, the Yahwist document, written in the tenth century B.C.E. and sometimes called the Hebrew Iliad, which reflects the national history of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The second was the Elohist document, written in the 9th century B.C.E. and sometimes called the Hebrew Odyssey, which reflects the national history of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.</p> <p>After the fall of the Northern Kingdom to the Assyrians in 721 B.C.E., these two national stories were woven together into a single narrative. The third document was the product of one known as the Deuteronomic writer, composed in the late 7th century B.C.E., and consisting of the book of Deuteronomy and a general editing of the newly merged national Jewish story. The fourth source of the Torah was not so much a document as it was an expansive editorial commentary applied to the entire faith story by those called the Priestly Writers and written during the Babylonian Exile somewhere between 586 and 450 B.C.E. That is the process, briefly described, that produced the oldest part of the biblical story.</p> <p>One can identify the places where these versions of the story were woven rather inexactly together, producing many of the conflicting details in the Torah itself. The Sabbath day law, for example, developed during the Exile, is read back into the manna in the wilderness story to make sure that the miraculous food was not gathered on the seventh day in violation of the Sabbath. The ritualistic laws governing sacrifices were used to alter the Noah story so that during the 150 days on the ark, Noah could offer the proper sacrifices without destroying that species.</p> <p>Finally, there are three versions of the Ten Commandments in the Torah. The oldest one, from the Yahwist document, is found in Exodus 34. The version with which most of us are familiar, found in Exodus 20, comes from the Elohist document but was significantly doctored by the Priestly Writers. The third version is in Deuteronomy 5 and though close to Exodus 20 has some revealing differences. The Deuteronomic version of the 4th Commandment makes the reason for rest on the Sabbath, not that God rested from the work of creation and thus hallowed that day, but that the Jews should remember that they were once slaves and that even slaves need a day of rest. The seven-day creation story, with which the Bible now opens, was written by the Priestly Writers well after the Deuteronomic document had been completed.</p> <p>The idea that the Bible came into being in some sort of miraculous way and is either the literal dictation of God or even the “inspired message of God” is simply not supportable on its face. The Bible is a profoundly human, deeply flawed, tribal history that has created as much pain as blessing in our world.</p> <p>Moving on to the Hebrew prophets, this analysis produces a similar difficulty. The prophets tended to explain every disaster that befell the chosen people as the direct result of their laxity in obeying God’s laws or in their inability to worship God properly. God seemed to have little more to do than to organize the whole universe so as to teach the chosen people how to be faithful or to demonstrate the dreadful price that unfaithful ones would have to pay.</p> <p>When we turn to the first part of the New Testament to be written, we need to register the fact that Paul’s letters were just that, letters. They are time bound and time specific. They express irritation at and praise for the behavior of the actual recipients. They were composed in a dialogical manner in order to address real issues bothering real people in real time. When Paul wrote in anger, “I hope those who bother you will mutilate themselves,” was that the Word of God? Surely it was nothing more than the word of Paul!</p> <p>Similarly, when Paul suggested that a woman’s head must be covered in public worship, he was expressing a cultural norm not a universal principle. When Paul said, “I forbid a woman to have authority over a man” or when he suggested that those who do not worship God properly would have their sexual identities confused, does one really want to suggest that this badly dated bit of human ignorance is to be reverenced as the voice of God?</p> <p>Later the Gospel writers would violently twist out of context the writings of the prophets to prove such things as the literal accuracy of the Virgin Birth or to demonstrate that the ancient prophets supported the doctrinal and creedal development of the 4th and 5th Centuries of the Common Era. Jerry Falwell, in a published book, has suggested that the divine nature of Jesus is “proved” by the fact that he fulfilled in a very specific way, the messianic expectations of the prophets. That attitude, however, has been revealed by modern biblical scholarship to be nothing less than profound ignorance. The idea that a God, living somewhere above the sky, would drop hints into the texts of writers, some 800 years before the birth of Christ, determining exactly what Jesus would do in the 1st century, is fanciful enough. But when one adds that God would need to guard these divine hints through the centuries when these texts were copied by hand, protect them from destruction in war and guide the minds of Jewish decision makers centuries later to include these prophetic works in the Jewish Canon of Scripture, the elements of miracle and magic become heightened to incredibly superstitious levels.</p> <p>Next, one needs to understand, that contrary to the way Christian theology has interpreted the Gospels from the 2nd century on, Jesus did not miraculously live out these prophetic expectations. It was exactly the other way around. The story of Jesus was crafted some 40 – 70 years after that earthly life came to an end, to make it conform to the biblical expectations! Micah, for example, did not predict that the birth of Jesus would occur in Bethlehem. That was the way that later Christians interpreted Micah. Jesus’ birth, which probably occurred in Galilee, was shifted to Bethlehem in order to make the birth of Jesus fulfill this expectation.</p> <p>The story of Jesus’ crucifixion was, likewise, deliberately and liturgically shaped by their authors who had Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 in front of them as they wrote the passion narrative. We forget, conveniently I would suggest, that the earliest Gospel, Mark, says that when Jesus was arrested, all of the disciples “forsook him and fled.” Jesus died alone with no eyewitnesses. The Gospel writers later wrote the story of his death to “reveal the fulfillment of Scripture.”</p> <p>A great part of the crisis in faith today derives from the fact that the authority once claimed for the Bible cannot and should not be sustained in the light of modern knowledge. How important then is this traditional view of the Bible to the future of Christianity. Can this view of Scripture be abandoned without Christianity, as we have known it, not also collapsing? That question remains to be answered but it will be the present in the background of many columns written during the coming year. Stay tuned!</p> <p>~ John Shelby Spong Originally Published July 16, 2003</p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><hr> <h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Announcements</h2> <div style="text-align: center;color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><img align="center" height="161" style="border: 0px;width: 500px;height: 161px;margin: 0px;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="500" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/78e0e30e-518…"></a> <strong>May 4 - 6, 2017 </strong>people from all over the world will gather in Portland, Oregon to share knowledge and wisdom, learn from each other, celebrate, be inspired, and find the tools needed to create and enliven local movements within our communities. 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11/20/17, Spong/Vosper: The Season of Relief; Spong: Insights from Finland
by Ellie Stock via Dialogue 20 Apr '17

20 Apr '17

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target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Homepage</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">My Profile</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Essay Archive</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Message Boards</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb2…">Calendar</a></h5></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" valign="top"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600" id="aolmail_templateBody"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_bodyContent" style="background-color: #ffffff;"> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><h1 style="color: #003d4a;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 34px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">The Season of Relief</h1> <h3 class="aolmail_null" style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 26px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">By Gretta Vosper</h3> <p><a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://"><img align="left" alt="Gretta Vosper" class="aolmail_wp-image-49753 aolmail_alignleft" height="154" style="border: 0px;width: 125px;height: 154px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="125" src="https://johnshelbyspong.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Gretta-Vosper-copy-2…"></a>The calendars we give and receive as Christmas gifts – Sudoku-a-Day desk tear-offs, or expensive, hang-on-the-wall art photography – don’t pay much heed to the Christian calendar aside from noting its two largest festivals – Christmas and Easter – and helping retailers take advantage of a few minor ones – Valentine’s, St. Patrick’s, and Hallowe’en. Denominational church calendars fill in more of the blanks, but we all know that the year we follow starts on the first of January, a bleak and dreary date in the northern hemisphere and a riot of colour and beauty in the southern. I don’t know anyone who hangs up a calendar that starts the first day of Advent and marks their year in the way Christians once did long ago. Of course, I don’t know any monks. Perhaps they do.</p> <p>The Christian calendar moves the church through a series of festivals and seasons beginning with Advent at the very end of November or the beginning of December and concluding three hundred and sixty-some days later with the celebration of the Reign of Christ. And then it starts all over again. Whether the calendar was established to deepen the faith and devotion of the simple Christian or came into being as an elaborate, guided tour through the narratives and, thus, the theology of the Christian faith, there are others better equipped to discuss than I. Bishop Spong, for that matter, has explored liturgy – Christian and Hebrew – on many occasions and drawn rich conclusions regarding the story behind the story, revelations that most Christians do not know. <em>Liberating the Gospels: Reading the Bible with Jewish Eyes: Freeing Jesus from 2,000 Years of Misunderstanding</em> is an engaging exploration of the rolling back of the gospel stories over the Hebrew liturgical calendar. It is a fascinating read.</p> <p>Technically, as many of you may know, Easter is so much more than Easter Sunday. We merely enter the <em>season</em> of Easter on that day. After that, we fall victim to the stronghold commercial calendars have on the naming of the year and live as though Easter’s over and done with. Oddly, considering the potential for extended chocolate sales, the commercial world never alludes to the fact that Easter lasts for fifty days and covers seven Sundays. Indeed, until mainline denominations began to show more interest in liturgy in the mid-seventies, I don’t think many self-respecting Protestants would have been able to tell you how long Easter lasts, even if they did notice the absence of a Prayer of Confession for several weeks.</p> <p>Is the Meaning of Easter Getting a Little Fuzzy?</p> <p>I recall driving some years ago past this clever quip on the sign outside a church not far from my own. Word on the street now has it that the church, the local outlet of another mainline denomination, is within months, if not weeks, of closing. Who knew the sign would prove to be more ironic than clever? The use of one of the classic attacks on liberal Christianity by her conservative big brothers – that it isn’t doctrinally pure enough – may very possibly be what has resulted in the congregation’s own demise. As liberal Christianity moved further and further away from literal belief in the stories that framed its original doctrine, a journey that kept pace with its social embrace of reason, younger generations no longer found Sunday mornings in church services still couched in classical theology a meaningful use of their time. Church closures at the dying edge of too many missing generations are one of the more obvious results.</p> <p><strong>Seasonal Mania</strong></p> <p>I know Easter preparation and survival well and I know the challenges of leaning into liturgies with which I do not resonate and trying to infuse them with new life. Lent isn’t just about penitence and seeking forgiveness. It isn’t just about wandering through the wilderness and seeking a new way. It is the great prelude to Holy Week. To Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. It is about building the drama and coming up with new ways to make it come alive. It is about (sometimes real) donkeys and crosses and all the lead-up to rolled away stones. There’s a lot of drama building during Lent. For clergy creatives, it was as bad as Christmas, which simply means “a disaster waiting to happen.” One of my church secretaries used to get so high-strung during these periods in the Christian calendar that I stopped requiring bulletins for any of the extra services. It didn’t help. Her anxiety was most likely a manifestation of my own.</p> <p>I remember a Good Friday service that had gone on longer than expected. The organist took it upon himself to speed it up a bit, playing “O Sacred Head, Sore Wounded” at a pace faster than any Christian hymn I’ve ever heard. He literally trilled his way through it. I was devastated. The service had been perfect right down to the very last piece. He had destroyed the whole thing.</p> <p>And then there was the Maundy Thursday Tenebrae service during which the hall was reverently stripped of all decoration and the lights completely extinguished, perfectly in synch with trays of candles previously imbued with deep meaning. I’d marked the light switches carefully so that the last spotlight glared baldly down on the thirty-foot-tall steel cross suspended above the congregation. But one whole bank of lights, I realized too late, didn’t have a switch on the inside of the hall. You needed to be outside to turn that bank off. So the when it got down to the last minute, instead of the drama of a single light illuminating the cross and then, bam, utter darkness, it was the cross illuminated and then, bam, one side of the sanctuary still bathed in light. I wept all the way home.</p> <p>I spent one whole season of Lent developing an art installation that grew and changed each week. Starting with two plain purple banners, I first added black vines with twisted paper on each, then joined them across the space in between. Eventually, thorns appeared on the vines and then, the whole thing was draped in black for Good Friday. Easter morning, I had to stand outside the building as the installation was completed. I was so nervous, I thought I was going to throw up. Two brave volunteers tore the black drape from the wall to reveal golden banners covered with Sunday School crafted lilies. Nothing crashed to the floor. Everything went as planned. But I was a wreck. The next year, a permanent fabric sculpture was installed. You have no idea the relief I felt.</p> <p><strong>Maniac Analysis </strong></p> <p>What was all that about? Why the need to be ever more dramatic, ever more artistic, ever more ever more? My craziness came down to one simple reality, as much of our craziness often does. It was easier to worry about the art installation or the choreography or the music than it was to face the truth. I didn’t believe the Easter story. It was that simple. I created huge distractions so that no one, not even I, would notice that, when it came to the biblical story, the lengthy reading of the passion narrative, the Easter hymns, the rock and the empty tomb, I believed none of it.</p> <p>For my liberal and progressive colleagues, surviving Easter is a major dilemma. We’ve studied critical contemporary theology and been challenged by all the big Christian festivals to line up a poorly-known human Jesus alongside the biblical claims made about his divine alter-ego. These high holy days eat holes in clergy consciences, though many struggle as I did, oblivious to the underlying source of their anxiety. Stress levels skyrocket, diversionary tactics abound, and congregations swell and disappear with the Christmas and Easter crowds who leave delighted by the fanfare and often none the wiser.</p> <p><strong>Brought to Our Knees</strong></p> <p>Most of the time, the biblical narrative is not an issue. Much of it shares ageless wisdom about how we should live (though much of that is very wrong) and the rest lays a people’s history alongside the passage of ancient time. But Christmas and Easter are particularly difficult because at these very crucial moments in the Christian calendar, the biblical narrative lines up literally alongside doctrine many of us no longer embrace. So when Easter is all over, we sink to our knees, not in prayer, but in mental and emotional exhaustion and move, gratefully, into the longest and newest season on the Christian calendar: the Season of Relief. There, we get to relax through the many weeks between Easter and the renewed challenges of Christmas.</p> <p>The dissonance with which leaders in liberal and progressive branches of Christianity live exacts a great cost to themselves, their congregants, and Christianity in general. Held fast by expectations we believe our congregations have, we neglect the very real human narratives that underlie the biblical story of passion, death, and resurrection. In the decades of our doing so, we have driven ourselves near crazy, watched generations abandon the church and us (let’s face it, we take that personally), and compromised the very real good our faith tradition might have continued to do. We have sealed our own passion away. It’s time that tomb broke open.</p> <p><strong>An Endless Season</strong></p> <p>It took more than a few deep breaths, no small amount of naivete, and an engaged and educated congregation to get me through the shift that freed me of the stress of my high holy perfectionism and allows me to lead every Sunday, all year long, in the Season of Relief. Together with my congregation, we explored and unearthed the human drama of Easter – dream, celebration, devastation, new dream – and tell it each year, still a bit manic on the production side, but lived without any sense of dissonance or delusion.</p> <p>Turning ourselves into love for the world is too great and all-consuming a task to compromise it by perceived obligation to the images, stories, and metaphors a people, long ago, used to inspire that very same work. We are to create our own stories, our own rituals, our own narratives of passion for our own time. Only in the Season of Relief, away from suffocating expectation, do we have the perspective and the space to consider how we might better do that.</p> <p>Welcome to that season and to this exhilarating work.</p> <p>~Gretta Vosper</p> <p>Read Online <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Here</a> <strong>About the Author</strong></p> <p>The Rev. Gretta Vosper is a United Church of Canada minister who is an atheist. Her best selling books include <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><em>With or Without God: Why The Way We Live is More Important Than What We Believe</em></a>, and <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><em>Amen: What Prayer Can Mean in a World Beyond Belief</em></a>. She has also published three books of poetry and prayers.</p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><hr> <h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Question & Answer</h2> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Andrea from Atlanta, GA writes:</span></p> <h4 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 22px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Question:</h4> <p>How does the death of Jesus 2000 years ago save me? What is the substitutionary doctrine of the atonement?</p> <h4 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 22px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Answer: <span style="font-size:20px">By Cassandra Farrin</span></h4> <p><img alt="Cassandra Farrin" class="aolmail_size-full aolmail_wp-image-49713 aolmail_alignleft" height="125" style="border: 0px;width: 125px;height: 125px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;float: left;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="125" src="https://johnshelbyspong.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Cassandra-Farrin.jpg">Dear Andrea,</p> <p>Thanks for this challenging question! The standard definition of substitutionary atonement is that Jesus, as God’s son, fully human and fully divine, took the sin and corruption permeating the world upon himself and was sacrificed on the cross like a lamb on the altar. He did this as a radical act of divine intervention to rescue the world from darkness.</p> <p>If you go hunting in the Bible for the explanation I just gave, you won’t really find it there. It is an amalgamation of many different statements and stories from the sacred texts of the Christian and Jewish traditions. Actually one of the best places to read and thoroughly understand the Christian concept of substitutionary atonement, ironically, is John Bunyan’s 17th-century work <em>Pilgrim’s Progress</em>, or the children’s version, <em>Dangerous Journey</em>, as abridged by Oliver Hunkin in 1985. A man named Christian embarks on a journey to remove a terrible burden, which only leaves him after the following encounter as recounted in <em>Dangerous Journey</em>:</p> <p><span style="color:#FFFFFF">.<em>.........</em></span><em>At the foot of a hill, he passed an open tomb. Then up again, <span style="color:#FFFFFF">..........</span>upon a little knoll, he found himself beneath a wayside cross. <span style="color:#FFFFFF">..........</span>And as its shadow fell across him, so suddenly the burden, <span style="color:#FFFFFF">..........</span>slipping from his shoulders, fell from off his back. It tumbled <span style="color:#FFFFFF">..........</span>down the hill, it tumbled into the mouth of the tomb. It was <span style="color:#FFFFFF">..........</span>never seen again.</em></p> <p>The vision continues from there, but it’s important to see that this idea of atonement is not due to the work of the person but is envisioned as a gift freely given to those who seek it. All Christian had to do was set out on his journey, and once he did, the relief from his burden came almost as a surprise—an unforeseen event. Christian’s journey is not even close to finished at this point in the narrative, as he still has to make his way to the heavenly city without returning to the old life with the old burdens (sin), but it is clear that the moment of freedom was not the result of his own actions.</p> <p>When I was a teenager attending a Pentecostal church, one of our youth ministers created a vivid “choose your own adventure” game based on this and the works of C. S. Lewis to help instill the message in our young minds. Do I believe in this anymore? Well, no. I hate that it requires God to be so rigid and punishing, an old-world being that demands an old-world sacrifice in blood. Also, I think it fundamentally misunderstands corruption. Decay is a natural element of creation. Decay is an underpinning of life. We literally are born out of the destruction of what came before us, carrying with us the energy of the past lives of other entities, both living and nonliving. I think our biggest mistake (like the Apostle Paul) is in collapsing <em>moral</em> corruption with <em>physical</em> corruption. That’s a necessary assumption of atonement theology, and I can’t go along with it.</p> <p>What I do believe and <em>will</em> carry forward from this childhood belief I held, is that we can find relief from our burdens in this life. We do not have to cling to and carry our vices and our failures as <em>burdens</em> with us into every new relationship and situation. We can carry them in other ways, such as a commitment to do better next time, but we don’t have to remain shackled. And sometimes, amazingly and wonderfully, we are unshackled by free acts of love done on our behalf by others. If we can be that person for someone else, too, we should.</p> <p>~ Cassandra Farrin</p> <p>Read and Share Online <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Here</a></p> <p><strong>About the Author</strong></p> <p>Cassandra Farrin is the marketing director of the <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Westar Institute</a> and the editor of Polebridge Press. Her poetic retelling of the Nag Hammadi text On the Origin of the World is forthcoming in <em>Gender Violence, Rape Culture, and Religion</em> (Palgrave Macmillan). A US-UK Fulbright Scholar with more than ten years' experience with cross-cultural and interfaith engagement, she has an M.A. in Religious Studies from Lancaster University (England) and a B.A. in Religious Studies from Willamette University.</p> <hr> <h3 class="aolmail_null" style="text-align: center;color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 26px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;"> <strong>Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited</strong></h3> <div style="text-align: center;color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><strong><span style="font-size:24px"><span style="font-family:georgia,times,times new roman,serif">Insights from Finland</span></span></strong> </div> <div style="text-align: left;color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><img align="left" height="106" style="border: 0px;width: 100px;height: 106px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="100" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/84fbd945-363…">Finland is a beautiful country, bounded on the west by Scandinavia, the east by Russia, the north by the Arctic Circle and the south by the Baltic Sea. Its five million ethnically diverse people include Laplanders, central Europeans and Russians. The Finnish language is closely related to the language of Hungary. Historically Finland has been a pawn, passing back and forth between the ancient kingdoms of Sweden and Russia. As a relatively new independent state, it has always been a social democracy. Women now serve this EU member state as prime minister, president and chief justice. I had a chance to visit Finland this past month. It was exciting for me for two reasons. First, Finland has always projected a favorable image. It was extolled as “the only nation in the world that repaid its World War I loans,” and it won my boyish admiration when its brave army, whose soldiers fought on skis in white camouflaged uniforms designed to blend into the snow, held off the army of the Soviet Union in 1939. Second this trip to Finland offered me an opportunity to test a proposition that I had long suspected about the vitality of the Christian Church. Part of the Church’s propaganda about itself is that it seeks unity in obedience to Jesus’ high priestly prayer recorded in the 17th chapter of John’s Gospel, “that they all may be one as you, Father, and I are one.” However, my reading of Church History suggests that when the church is monolithic it spawns things like the Inquisition that sought to remove any non-conformist idea. Heretics were burned at the stake to preserve the myth of unity. When that monolithic power was broken in the Reformation the first effect was a century of religious wars as Protestants and Catholics tried to recover their dream of religious unity by imposing a single religious system, their own, on all people whether they wanted it or not. A willingness to tolerate diversity was quite impossible with each side claiming to be the “only true Church of God.” Given the wide range of human personalities, tastes, cultures and life styles, I always wondered why there could not be multiple paths by which people could walk into the mystery of God. My reading of history also suggested to me that wherever the Christian Church spoke with a single voice it became less vital, less alive and more corrupt. I had earlier had an opportunity to test this proposition in the monochromatic Roman Catholic country of Belgium. Now Finland was going to offer me the opportunity to test that premise in a monochromatic Protestant country. Observing Christianity’s decline, especially in the West, it seems to me that this decline is most pronounced in those nations where there are no competing voices. At the invitation of a Roman Catholic monastic, I went to Belgium last year to meet with his order, to lecture at the University of Ghent and to have conversations with teachers on a theological faculty where Roman Catholic priests were trained. In Belgium the Roman Catholic Church is dominant to the point of exclusivity. So powerful is its Catholic identity that religion was the principle reason that the Netherlands and Belgium became separate nations in the 19th century. Belgium could unify its Dutch speaking Catholic constituency with its French speaking Catholic constituency far more easily than the nation could combine Dutch-speaking Catholics with Dutch-speaking Protestants. What I found, however, in this religiously uniform nation was a dying church. The four churches nearest to the University of Ghent, that had once been vital and filled, were today almost empty and their congregations quite elderly. Few priests remain to serve even these small numbers. The average age of the priests and nuns in Belgium has moved above 70. The theological college, where I met with faculty who trained future priests, had not graduated a single ordinand since 1998. At that moment there was not a candidate for ordination in the entire pipeline. The theological faculty was thus, for all practical purposes, unemployed, though they continued to draw their stipends from the State. By every measure the Christian Church in Belgium was dying and the depression among its leaders was palpable. The rest of Europe revealed a similar picture in other monolithic Roman Catholic nations. Germany, on the other hand, divided generally between the Roman Catholic South and the Protestant North, has in the last century produced world-class theologians and biblical scholars such as Rudolf Bultmann, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Paul Tillich, Emil Bruner and Hans Kung. The Netherlands has tension between its Protestant and Catholic constituencies and traditionally has encouraged freethinking and debate. The Vatican keeps trying to suppress this rebellious quality expressed in such people as radical New Testament Catholic Scholar Edward Schillebeekx, who though actually a citizen of Belgium enjoys the protection of the more open Dutch Catholic Church. The United Kingdom has religious divisions that are real with Presbyterian Scotland, Anglican England and the religious tensions in Northern Ireland, where Protestants seeks to remain on the island that Catholics believe belongs to them. Yet within England, even with its established Church, there is a vibrant Roman Catholic and Free Church presence, to say nothing of growing numbers within the immigrant population, who are adherents of Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. Charles, the Prince of Wales, created an enormous public debate several years ago when he announced that as king he hoped to be “the defender of faiths not the defender of The Faith.” I think it is fair to say that Christianity is more vital in these nations where religious pluralism exists than it is in Belgium where religion is uniform and monolithic. So Finland which claims a 96 per cent identity with Lutheranism, intrigued me. Does being a monolithic Protestant country make a difference? If the same problem that I saw in Belgium is also present in Finland, would it not say something negative about religious uniformity, no matter what the dominant religion is? Finnish Lutheran leaders told me that the Lutheran Church of Finland is in a serious decline. Less than 4% of Finland’s citizens ever darken the church doors. That 4%, I was later told, included worshippers who attended weddings, funerals and baptisms, reducing the Sunday worshippers to something closer to 1%. The Lutheran Bishops were portrayed to me as managers of a declining institution. With one notable exception, their primary concern, I was told, was preserving the unity of their decreasing membership. That still observant core reflected a rather conservative fundamentalist attitude, and were greatly disturbed at the prospect that someone might actually challenge their presuppositions and think outside the box of their particular dogmatism. I discovered that merely my presence, plus the fact that I had been invited to address something called “Church Days,” an annual event of the Lutheran Church of Finland, was a source of great controversy in the religious press weeks before my arrival. I was amazed first, that I was even known and, secondly, that I was considered controversial and threatening to the religious status quo. None of my books had yet been translated into Finnish, yet before my plane had landed, the debate was real. The result was intense media coverage, including a twenty-minute interview on Finland’s version of “Good Morning America” or similar programs in England, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. When I addressed the Lutheran “Church Days” audience, it was three times the usual gathering. The Sunday morning church attendance where I preached was far larger than usual. Tension obviously creates vitality and interest. Controversy is not destructive, it is a life sign. That was my learning. The primary difference between the dying monolithic Catholicism of Belgium and the dying monolithic Protestantism of Finland was not that one was less dead than the other. On that score there was little difference. It was rather that in Protestant Finland, which was less autocratic and less punitive of deviation, it was demonstrably easier to challenge a moribund hierarchy in a Protestant setting than it is in a Catholic setting. There is in the Protestant system less ability to stifle discussion or to penalize those who want to chart a different vision. In Belgium I found a defeated theological faculty who appeared to have no options. They complained of powerlessness but did nothing. In Finland I found a feisty group of minority voices unwilling to watch their faith die without a struggle and people whose vision for a revitalized, engaged Lutheran church would not allow their silence. My conclusions thus challenge the common wisdom of church people. Dominance is not a virtue. Unity is not a desirable goal. Competitive voices for Christ are a sign of hope that give rise to visions that will challenge old stereotypes. The quest for unity is revealed as little more than an institutional power game. It is not a sign of life. Controversy is a necessary gateway into growth. Diversity is resisted only when security and not truth has become the unconscious goal of entrenched religious systems. What wonderful insights to be gained from a brief visit to beautiful Finland. ~John Shelby Spong Originally published June 11, 2003</div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><hr> <h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Announcements</h2> As we count down to <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Embrace Festival</a> think about joining your friends at ProgressiveChristianity.org for one day, two or just an evening of socializing! <div style="text-align: center;color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><img height="333" style="border: 0px;width: 500px;height: 333px;margin: 0px;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="500" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/0fe13b45-6a5…"></a></div> <p style="text-align: center;">Click here to go to Embrace Festival <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb2…">website</a>/sign up for <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">email list</a></p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" valign="top"> <table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" width="600" id="aolmail_templateFooter" style="background-color: #FDFDFD;border-top: 0;"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_footerContent"> <table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="middle" id="aolmail_social" style="background-color: #FAFAFA;border: 0;"> <div style="color: #707070;font-family: Arial;font-size: 12px;line-height: 125%;text-align: center;"></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" valign="middle" id="aolmail_utility" style="background-color: #FDFDFD;border: 1px dashed #d3d3d3;"><div style="color: #707070;font-family: Arial;font-size: 12px;line-height: 125%;text-align: center;"><div class="aolmail_vcard"><div class="aolmail_adr"><div class="aolmail_street-address"></div></div></div></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" valign="middle" id="aolmail_utility"><div style="color: #707070;font-family: Arial;font-size: 12px;line-height: 125%;text-align: left;"></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></center><center><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" id="aolmail_canspamBarWrapper" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-top:1px solid #E5E5E5;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding-top:20px; padding-bottom:20px;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></center></div> </div> <style type="text/css">#AOLMsgPart_2_614aa880-b533-4ddd-a7e7-2bc1cac79b46 td{color: black;} @media only screen and (max-width: 480px){ .aolReplacedBody table#aolmail_canspamBar td{font-size:14px !important;} .aolReplacedBody table#aolmail_canspamBar td a{display:block !important; margin-top:10px !important;} } </style>

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Re: [Dialogue] [Oe_List_...]_A_footnote_to _the_Le nt–Easter_journey
by via Dialogue 19 Apr '17

19 Apr '17

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Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] A footnote to the Lent–Easter journey
by George Holcombe via Dialogue 19 Apr '17

19 Apr '17

This has turned out to be a good Easter conversation. May I add two more things? Some of us may surely know that the word Easter actually derived from the German pagan goddess, Eostree, which also explains the bunny rabbit. Some scholars point to when Christianity spread to England as the time this celebration came into being, prior to that it was just Passover. Western Christianity, which is primarily what was shaped after Constantine made it the religion of the Roman Empire is basically what we have (with a few amendments like the reformation) and the many threads of Christianity: Easter orthodoxy, Coptic, anabaptist, gnostic forms, etc. are only remotely acknowledged and rarely known in any depth. When I went to seminary Greek was taught and a little Hebrew, but the language Jesus and his disciples spoke, Aramaic, was rarely mentioned let alone examined. It is a more complicated language, more orally understood that by the characters. Emphasis on one syllable or another can change the meaning of the word as well as the context for what is being said. Abwoon (english letters not the Aramaic characters) is the word scholars say Jesus used for God. We got the Greek translation Aba or abba meaning a male. Abwoon is gender neutral and comes in 2 parts, “Ab" was part of a reference to an earlier female goddess among other things and “woon" can be translated to mean the void from which all things come. This would have really blown out the lights in my seminary. Imagine referring to God as Mystery rather than Daddy. George Holcombe geowanda1(a)me.com "Whatever the problem, community is the answer. There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about." Margaret Wheatley > On Apr 18, 2017, at 4:09 PM, Seth Longacre via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: > > Thanks, David. I found that helpful. > > Seth Longacre > sethlongacre(a)gmail.com <mailto:sethlongacre@gmail.com> > Sent from one of my iThingies > > On Apr 18, 2017, at 13:53, Karenbueno via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: > >> Well said, David. >> >> Karen Bueno >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: David Dunn via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> >> To: OE Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> >> Sent: Tue, Apr 18, 2017 2:45 pm >> Subject: [Oe List ...] A footnote to the Lent–Easter journey >> >> A footnote to the Lent-Easter Journey >> To the extent that we grow into the Genesis affirmation that all creation is good, the Lenten-Easter journey is transformed and transforming. Jesus’s “Lenten Journey” was toward Jerusalem and a confrontation of history, politics, and spirit at the Cross. He wasn’t practicing giving up stuff or penitence for his human frailty. He was practicing discernment of his own life calling and seeking the courage to offer his life to that mission. Lent is about discovering our highest and best selves and the focus of our engagement. It’s a time of opening to what is emerging within us and a season of exploring what keeps us from wholehearted self-offering. Easter is the joyous celebration of the eye-popping inner realization that the Power of Being Itself—the God-Christ-Spirit Word that brought matter to life with energy at the moment of creation—is behind and within all opening, exploration, discovery, and becoming. Lent is the practice of discerning how Creation is transforming our lives and Easter is the celebration of Creation’s infinite grace-filled supply of uplifting and life-giving spirit within flesh. >> April 18, 2017 >> >> David >> >> >> — >> >> <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 <mailto:dmdunn1@gmail.com> >> _______________________________________________ >> OE mailing list >> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> >> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> >> _______________________________________________ >> OE mailing list >> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> >> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> > _______________________________________________ > OE mailing list > OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net

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Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Easter Reflections
by George Holcombe via Dialogue 18 Apr '17

18 Apr '17

One of my hopes was that we would continue to push to the bottom HDP in every poor village around the world and the NRM into all the religious forms. I noticed in John Cock’s Journey Reflections today reference to Jim Rigby. He’s the Presbyterian minister in our neighborhood who I referenced his Easter service in an earlier post. He and his church, St. Andrews, is an amazing example of the new forms and by the way graduated from the same seminary as Joe Slicker. Jim is both mystic and activist. I don’t know of an local issue he doesn’t protest or testify for. He lives in the public. HIs church, a sanctuary one, houses and supports an immigrant family threatened with deportation, they feed the local homeless, has an organic garden done by members, a vital eco committee that pushes those issues far and wide, pushes the LBGTQI interests and has gays on his staff. They flew a huge banner on their lawn supporting Muslims and have muslims visitors frequently. St. Andrews is the only church I know that has the leading Atheist in Austin as a member. The pews on Sunday morning are filled with activists and his sermons break through the old Western Christian myths to a universal faith in action. He holds a conversation group on Tuesdays that allows participants to tie their experience to the deeps. It is a dynamic congregation. Jim has been regularly put on trial by his denomination to be defrocked, but less regularly now. Also, he is a former rock musician, plays excellent guitar and each Sunday he and members conducts a puppet show for the kids during service explaining matters of faith they can participate in and they do. All this in a relatively small set of buildings. George Holcombe geowanda1(a)me.com "Whatever the problem, community is the answer. There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about." Margaret Wheatley > On Apr 18, 2017, at 12:12 AM, Len Hockley via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: > > Does everyone know the story of how we got preludes and postludes in our services? It goes something like: > > In the reformation the Calvinists and others decided that there would be no music in the service but that was the last straw for many and so added music before and after. > > Len > > On 4/17/2017 4:31 PM, Susan Fertig via OE wrote: >> Worship music is such an interesting part of worship. “What Child is This” was set to the music for “Greensleeves,” which was a song about a prostitute. For many years churches refused to allow organ music, considering it profane. Now organ music is standard, but drums are still controversial in some congregations. In my church, we have a very traditional Rite I Eucharist at 8 am, a blended (mostly traditional) Service at 9 am, and a contemporary Service at 11 am. The 8 am Service is small (about 100 people); the 9 am and 11 am each draw about 1,000 people on a normal Sunday. On Christmas and Easter we add a Service to accommodate the “Chreasters” who only come on those special days. >> >> I must admit that unconventional worship music was one of the powerful draws for me in the Spirit Movement—my heart leapt and danced and I was entranced. Then somewhere along the way, in mainstream worship Services, I began to feel that contemporary “Praise Music” was sort of “over the top” and emotionally manipulative, or, as a Baptist friend put it, “spirit candy.” I had to be wooed back to it over time (2 Samuel helped as I realized that David himself was “over the top” in worship and dancing). Now one of my favorite contemporary hymns is by the group Hillsong: “I Surrender <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcnfT4arZtI>” (it lifts my heart to renewed commitment every time I hear it). >> >> In terms of musical grandeur that seems inconsistent with the NT lifestyle and “more appropriate to royalty than to us,” as you put it, I don’t really have any difficulty with that—it seems only natural that we would offer the best of the artistry available to us for worship, the best of our creativity for the Creator. >> >> Susan >> >> Susan Fertig-Dykes >> (personal email account) >> >> And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought . Isaiah 58:11 >> >> >> Protect against email address harvesting: >> Use "BCC" when sending to multiple addresses; >> delete senders’ E-Mail addresses when forwarding. >> >> NOTE: I won’t be offended if you ask me to remove you from my emails. >> >> >> From: OE [mailto:oe-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net>] On Behalf Of John Epps via OE >> Sent: Monday, April 17, 2017 5:50 PM >> To: Thomas Morrison <2tjmorrison(a)gmail.com> <mailto:2tjmorrison@gmail.com>; Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> >> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Easter Reflections >> >> Easter Reflection #2: >> >> I’ve never heard anything like it. >> >> The ordinary mode of beginning the Sunday worship service at Montview Presbyterian Church is the sound of chimes after which the congregation is invited to quietly make the transition from getting there to being there. This Sunday, being Easter, the sanctuary was overflowing with people enthusiastically greeting each other with churchy cordiality and requests from the front to move closer together in the pews to accommodate more people. I was sitting quietly waiting for the chimes, hoping to be able to hear them over the din, and looking forward to a few moments of silence to absorb the beauty of the surroundings. >> >> Suddenly from the choir loft came a deafening crash of cymbals followed by a brass and organ fanfare that filled the gothic architecture with ear-splitting wonder that lasted a full 5 minutes. After the final grand chord, the congregation was speechless. The impact was powerful and profound, setting the tone for something grand about to happen. For me, if nothing else occurred during the service, the Easter wonder had happened. >> >> The piece was Grand Choeur Dialogue by Eugene Gigout; you can find it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rufxt80iVA0 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rufxt80iVA0> >> >> But that was only the first musical treat. The brass and organ and choir continued their gift of awe-producing sounds during the hymns, anthem, and offertory anthem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZtIRp3Vglw <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZtIRp3Vglw> was the anthem. >> >> By the time we left, I was done in, having experienced something of a resurrection. >> >> Since then, I’ve been wrestling with the thought that such grandeur was not at all like the lifestyle portrayed in the New Testament. Though it clearly portrays the significance of the Easter event for Christians, the music and setting seemed more appropriate to royalty than to us. Recent Public TV shows featuring Henry VIII picture a setting in which this type of music would have been right at home. Maybe the point is that awe happens in the midst of the ordinary as surprises sometime break through that are not of our doing. If, as I have contended elsewhere, surprises are where we are confronted by Mystery, that certainly happened at the Denver Montview Presbyterian Church (a former Galaxy church once co-pastored by Ken Barley) on Easter Sunday, 2017. >> >> On Mon, Apr 17, 2017 at 1:26 PM, Thomas Morrison via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: >> Hi everyone, >> >> Adding to the discussion . . . >> >> We in the USA generally define reality as having four dimensions: length, width, height and time. >> It is a choice we have made, and is nicely measureable with our existing instruments and chosen senses. >> >> Mathematically we could have five, six, whatever number of dimensions we would want to explore. >> As far as our senses go, there are others beyond the usual USA list. >> I bump into this as a psychiatric therapist from time to time. >> Again, I choose to pay attention to the experiences or not, depending on how important it is to the client (or me--grin). >> >> Tom Morrison >> >> >> On Sun, Apr 16, 2017 at 10:52 AM, Jack Gilles via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: >> Susan, >> >> Happy Easter to you as well! I was wondering how you would describe the dimension you speak of? I happen to agree with you, but I use the term Void, which is the eternal, existing along side the time/space experience. The Other World in the midst of this world. >> >> Grace & Peace, >> >> Jack >> >> On Apr 16, 2017, at 12:14, Susan Fertig via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: >> >> Isn’t your hip out of socket yet, James? All that wrestling with the Archangel… >> Surrender and rejoice, friend. The Resurrection is real, not a metaphor. >> Neither is it a 3-tiered universe; just another dimension altogether. >> >> Susan >> >> Susan Fertig-Dykes >> (personal email account) >> >> And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought . Isaiah 58:11 >> >> >> Protect against email address harvesting: >> Use "BCC" when sending to multiple addresses; >> delete senders’ E-Mail addresses when forwarding. >> >> NOTE: I won’t be offended if you ask me to remove you from my emails. >> >> >> From: OE [mailto:oe-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net>] On Behalf Of James Wiegel via OE >> Sent: Sunday, April 16, 2017 12:24 PM >> To: Mary Kurian DSouza <marykdsouza(a)gmail.com <mailto:marykdsouza@gmail.com>>; Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> >> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Easter Reflections >> >> Thank you for the reflections and the reminiscences. I must admit I am wrestling some this week and still at Easter morn. We get netflix dvds sent to us and last night, as we paused from getting ready for the potluck we are hosting, we watched the dvd we got in the mail. Martin Scorceses SILENCE, about Jesuit priests on mission in Japan in the 1600's. Lots of persecutions, apostasy as well. >> >> All this for the metaphor of death and rebirth? Hmmmm. I read over the christ lecture transcribed in Bending History as well as the bits of the gospels. Deepened the wrestling. All complicated by a 10 year old grandson who has decided to be baptized today. Have to stop here and go hide easter eggs . . . >> >> >> >> Jim Wiegel >> 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 >> Tel. 011-623-936-8671 <tel:011-623-936-8671> or 011-623-363-3277 <tel:011-623-363-3277> >> jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com <mailto:marilyn.oyler@gmail.com> >> www.partnersinparticipation.com <http://www.partnersinparticipation.com/> >> >> >> "We are no longer living in an era of change. We are living in a change of era." Francis >> >> Upcoming public course opportunities click here >> http://partnersinparticipation.com/?page_id=10 <http://partnersinparticipation.com/?page_id=10> >> For online registration go to http://www.top-training.net <http://www.top-training.net/> >> >> >> The AZ ToP® Community of Practice meets the 1st Friday, 1-4 pm, starting again on Sept 5th at ACYR, 648 N. 5th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85003 <https://www.google.com/maps/place/648+N+5th+Ave/@33.456329,-112.080545,16z/…> >> AICP Planners: 14.5 CM for all ToP® courses >> >> On Apr 15, 2017, at 19:52, Mary Kurian DSouza via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: >> >> Nancy >> What a lovely window of remembrance to look through >> >> Thank you for sharing. >> Mary >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> On 16-Apr-2017, at 6:36 AM, Nancy Trask via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: >> >> I vividly remember Easter mornings in the OKC RH with Bill & Marianna Bailey. First of all, Bill Bailey's resonating wake-up accompanied by the gong. Barb Garrison & I played the Hallelujah Chorus on the baby grand. Breakfast included a huge slab of salmon. Oh my goodness -- If life had caused you to need some patching up, the best prescription would be 4 years in the OKC RH with Bill & Marianna. Thank you for those experiences, Marianna! >> All the best, >> Nancy Trask >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Marianna Bailey via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> >> To: Frank Knutson <f.knutson(a)earthlink.net <mailto:f.knutson@earthlink.net>>, Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> >> Sent: Sat, 15 Apr 2017 19:37:37 -0400 (EDT) >> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Easter Reflections >> >> I have been reminiscing... >> Does anyone remember Easter Sunday in the Religious House? A very special day for the "wake up" ritual. >> Marianna >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> On Apr 15, 2017, at 4:00 PM, Frank Knutson via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: >> >> Thank’s John, for the reminder. >> >> “And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about” >> ~Haruki Murakami >> <VIKING copy.jpeg>❤ Frank >> On Apr 15, 2017, at 10:19 AM, John Epps via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: >> Coming to terms with the meaning >> of the Easter story for us is difficult since times and world-views have >> changed. We find it difficult even to grasp what it meant for those who first >> told it, much less for us. Yet we are compelled to try by Paul’s admonition, >> “If Christ is not raised, then our faith is in vain.” (I Cor. 15:14) >> One factor in the story must be >> recognized: this is a tale of a bodily resurrection, not a “spiritual” one. The >> risen one takes pains to force people to touch his wounds and so dispel the >> notion of an ectoplasmic appearance. Whatever the implications, they are >> physical, this worldly. The second factor is that stories of dying and rising >> gods (or superheroes) were widespread throughout the Ancient Near East and >> ancient Greece. >> So what unique implications can >> we draw from the story that are important today? Another way to ask it is >> “Where today do we experience death and resurrection?” >> Both occur at the individual, natural, >> and corporate levels. A word about each: Lately I have “died” when the classes >> I have taught for 15 years were cancelled; I was “raised” when the University >> called on me for 3 new classes. The slow and painful death of a dear aunt was >> followed by a celebration honoring her life that brought back the wonder of her >> artistry and love. These may seem trivial examples but dramatize the dynamics >> in the story: Death/Resurrection happens to us all. >> In nature, “Resurrection” has >> long been a metaphor for the return of plant life in the Spring, at least in >> the Northern hemisphere. And certainly, the emergence of leaves on barren >> trees, of green in brown fields, and flowers from “dead” plants seem quite >> miraculous. >> At the corporate level, the death >> and dying dynamic seems much more obvious that does resurrection. Many of our >> hopes and dreams died with the November election. The horrors and complexity of >> the Middle East conflicts and the appearance of global warming both represent a >> death to life as we have known it. What resurrection will look like remains to >> be seen. >> Numerous efforts taken for >> environmental protection certainly mark an awakening to the need for change, >> but are faint heralds of a resurrected life. Numerous conferences aimed at >> achieving some sort of resolution of Middle East conflicts so far remain >> fruitless. As the story goes, it’s God who does the raising, not us. And when >> it occurs, it’s far beyond our expectations. As I have said elsewhere, “Humankind has unimaginable >> capacities to screw things up; yet Mystery generates unaccountable wonders out >> of our messes.” (Theology of Surprise, >> p. 39) Our current situation brings to >> mind a sermon that we heard in the Philippines during the last days of Marcos. >> It was entitled “It feels like Friday, but Sunday is A-Coming!” >> Whether we’re enmeshed in the >> death or the resurrection part of the dynamic, both are operative. That’s what >> Easter celebrates. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OE mailing list >> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> >> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OE mailing list >> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> >> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> >> _______________________________________________ >> OE mailing list >> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> >> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> >> _______________________________________________ >> OE mailing list >> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> >> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> >> _______________________________________________ >> OE mailing list >> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> >> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OE mailing list >> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> >> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OE mailing list >> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> >> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OE mailing list >> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> >> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> > > _______________________________________________ > OE mailing list > OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net>

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Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] An Easter gift
by George Holcombe via Dialogue 17 Apr '17

17 Apr '17

In our service this Easter morning at a Presbyterian church we sang a hymn written by a Methodist (Jesus Christ is Risen Today) and a closing hymn by a Muslim (Morning Has Broken) and following the Scripture reading of John 20 this quote (below). A profound sermon, and a fuller understanding of the idea of resurrection. Thich Nhat Hang, Zen monk "I think there's a way of training ourselves in order not to become the victim of fear and grief- that is to look deeply into ourselves and to see that we are made of non-self elements. And when we look around ourselves, we can recognize ourselves in the non-self elements, like a father looking at his children can see himself in his children, can see his continuation in his children. So he is not attached to the idea that his body is the only thing that is him. He's more than his body.He is inside of his body but he is also at the same (time) outside of his body in many elements. And if we have the habit of looking like that we will not be the victim of our attachment to one form of manifestation, and we will be free. And that freedom makes happiness and peace possible. Other than meditation is there any specific practicer that can help you come to this understanding? Yes. The Buddha advised us to bear in mind that everything is impermanent, that nothing has an absolute entity that remains the same. And when we keep that insight in mind, we can see more deeply into the nature of reality, and we will not be locked in the notion that we are only this body, this life span is the only life span we have. In fact, because nothing can be by itself alone, no one can be by himself or herself alone, everyone has to inter-be with envy one else. That is why, when you look outside, around, you can see yourself. And when you look into yourself, you can see the outside. So that is a training.” George Holcombe geowanda1(a)me.com "Whatever the problem, community is the answer. There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about." Margaret Wheatley > On Apr 16, 2017, at 2:33 PM, Doris Hahn via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: > > From Doris Hahn - > > Pat Moriarty asked me to Pass this link along to you;so here it is: > > http://www.justathoughtbypat.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1913&action=edit <http://www.justathoughtbypat.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1913&action=edit> > _______________________________________________ > OE mailing list > OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net

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Easter Monday 2017
by James Wiegel via Dialogue 17 Apr '17

17 Apr '17

There is a line, in the 5th City Video, by Harold Washington while he is dedicating the shopping center. Something happens off camera -- a bus or something goes by -- causing him to stop and laugh, and he shakes his head and comments, "Nothing like being Mayor of Chicago!" Thanks for the Easter posts -- Nothing like being on these wedgeblade listserves . . . and a quote read by the lead musician yesterday: Is it any wonder people find it hard to believe in the resurrection of Jesus if we don't throw our hats in the air? Is it any wonder we find it hard to live the resurrection if we don't do it exuberantly in our worship?" -NT Wright Surprised By Hope Jim Wiegel Sent: Monday, April 17, 2017 4:35 AM Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] An Easter gift =20 Thank you for this witness, George. Among the many wisdom teachers, Jesus, = Buddha, Mohammad and many more, you are included.=C2=A0 Loving the continua= tion image of resurrection. Helps to embrace the sermons on promises of ete= rnal life. Peace, Judi White On Apr 16, 2017 6:53 PM, "George Holcombe via OE" <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>= wrote: In our service this Easter morning at a Presbyterian church we sang a hymn = written by a Methodist (Jesus Christ is Risen Today) and a closing hymn by = a Muslim (Morning Has Broken) and following the Scripture reading of John 2= 0 this quote (below). A profound sermon, and a fuller understanding of the = idea of resurrection.Thich Nhat Hang, Zen monk"I think there's a way of tra= ining ourselves in order not to become the victim of fear and grief- that i= s to look deeply into ourselves and to see that we are made of non-self ele= ments. And when we look around ourselves, we can recognize ourselves in the= non-self elements, like a father looking at his children can see himself i= n his children, can see his continuation in his children. So he is not atta= ched to the idea that his body is the only thing that is him. He's more tha= n his body.He is inside of his body but he is also at the same (time) outsi= de of his body in many elements. And if we have the habit of looking like t= hat we will not be the victim of our attachment to one form of manifestatio= n, and we will be free. And that freedom makes happiness and peace possible= .. Other than meditation is there any specific practicer that can help you c= ome to this understanding?Yes. The Buddha advised us to bear in mind that e= verything is impermanent, that nothing has an absolute entity that remains = the same. And when we keep that insight in mind, we can see more deeply int= o the nature of reality, and we will not be locked in the notion that we ar= e only this body, this life span is the only life span we have. In fact, be= cause nothing can be by itself alone, no one can be by himself or herself a= lone, everyone has to inter-be with envy one else. That is why, when you lo= ok outside, around, you can see yourself. And when you look into yourself, = you can see the outside. So that is a training.=E2=80=9D George Holcombe geowanda1(a)me.com "Whatever the problem, community is=C2=A0the answer.=C2=A0 There is no powe= r greater=C2=A0than a community discovering what it=C2=A0cares about." =C2= =A0Margaret Wheatley On Apr 16, 2017, at 2:33 PM, Doris Hahn via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wr= ote: >From Doris Hahn -=C2=A0 Pat Moriarty asked me to Pass this link along to you;so here it is: http://www.justathoughtbypat.c om/wp-admin/post.php?post=3D1913 &action=3De= dit ______________________________ _________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/ listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net ______________________________ _________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/ listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net =20 ------=_Part_1878509_1302938865.1492442344614 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <html><head></head><body><div style=3D"color:#000; background-color:#fff; f= ont-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font= -size:16px"><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070_6555"><span id=3D"yu= i_3_16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070_6554">There is a line, in the 5th City Video,= by Harold Washington while he is dedicating the shopping center.  Som= ething happens off camera -- a bus or something goes by -- causing him to s= top and laugh, and he shakes his head and comments, "Nothing like being May= or of Chicago!"</span></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070_6555= "><span><br></span></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070_6555"><= span id=3D"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070_9047">Thanks for the Easter post= s -- Nothing like being on these wedgeblade list serves!!</span></div><div>= </div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070_6592"> </div><div id= =3D"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070_6592"><div style=3D"font-family: "= Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida = Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(= 69, 69, 69);" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070_9215" dir=3D"ltr"><span= style=3D"font-size: 17pt;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070_9216">. .= . and a quote from the lead musician yesterday:  "Is it any wonder pe= ople find it hard to believe in the resurrection of Jesus if we don=E2=80= =99t throw our hats in the air? Is it any wonder we find it hard to live th= e resurrection if we don=E2=80=99t do it exuberantly in our worship?"</span= ></div><div style=3D"font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe U= I", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size= : 13px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(69, 69, 69);" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_ym19= _1_1492441944070_9217"><span style=3D"font-size: 17pt;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_ym= 19_1_1492441944070_9218"><br id=3D"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070_9219"></= span></div><div style=3D"font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Seg= oe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-= size: 13px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(69, 69, 69);" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_= ym19_1_1492441944070_9220"><span style=3D"font-size: 17pt;" id=3D"yui_3_16_= 0_ym19_1_1492441944070_9221">-NT Wright</span></div><div style=3D"font-fami= ly: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, &qu= ot;Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; c= olor: rgb(69, 69, 69);" dir=3D"ltr" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070_9= 222"><span style=3D"font-size: 17pt;" id=3D"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070= _9223">"Surprised By Hope"</span></div></div><div class=3D"signature" id=3D= "yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070_6622"><a rel=3D"nofollow" target=3D"_blank= " href=3D"http://partnersinparticipation.com/?page_id=3D123">Jim Wiegel</a>=  <br><div class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-bottom:0.0001pt;" id=3D= "yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070_6624"><span style=3D"font-family:Helvetica= Neue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;line-= height:18.3999996185303px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);" id=3D"yui_3= _16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070_6623">=E2=80=9CIf you want an adventure . . . wh= at a time to be alive!=E2=80=9D. Joanna Macy</span></div><br><span style=3D= "font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:12pt;background-color:white;" id= =3D"yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1492441944070_9327">401 North Beverly Way,Tolleson, A= rizona 85353</span><div class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-bottom:0.0001pt= ;background:white;"><span style=3D"font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial, sans-s= erif;">623-363-3277</span><span style=3D"font-size:14.5pt;font-family:'Sego= e UI', sans-serif;"></span></div><div class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-b= ottom:0.0001pt;background:white;"><span style=3D"font-size:14.5pt;font-fami= ly:Arial, sans-serif;"><a rel=3D"nofollow" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"mailto= :marilyn.oyler@gmail.com"><span style=3D"color:blue;">jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com</s= pan></a></span><span style=3D"font-size:14.5pt;font-family:'Segoe UI', sans= -serif;"></span></div><div class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-bottom:0.000= 1pt;background:white;"><span style=3D"font-size:14.5pt;font-family:Arial, s= ans-serif;"><span style=3D"font-size:12.0pt;color:blue;"><a rel=3D"nofollow= " target=3D"_blank" href=3D"http://www.partnersinparticipation.com/">www.pa= rtnersinparticipation.com</a></span></span></div><br><div><div id=3D"yui_3_= 16_0_1_1423152614990_64964" style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe U= I', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;font-size:13px;background= -color:rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1423152614990_64963"><= a rel=3D"nofollow" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"http://partnersinparticipation= ..com/?page_id=3D10">Upcoming ToP training opportunities in Arizona</a></spa= n></div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1_1423152614990_64964" style=3D"font-family:'= Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;= font-size:13px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div><div id=3D"y= ui_3_16_0_1_1423152614990_64969" style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica Neue', 'Se= goe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;font-size:13px;backg= round-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);">More info on:</div><div id=3D"yui_3_16_0_1= _1423152614990_64976" style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', He= lvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;font-size:13px;background-color= :rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br></div></div><div><a rel=3D"nofollow" target=3D"_b= lank" href=3D"http://partnersinparticipation.com/?page_id=3D48">ToP=C2=AE F= acilitation Methods</a> </div><div><a rel=3D"nofollow" target=3D"_blan= k" href=3D"http://partnersinparticipation.com/?page_id=3D50">ToP=C2=AE Stra= tegic Planning</a>: </div><div><a rel=3D"nofollow" target=3D"_blank" h= ref=3D"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DCz3mniiYCdI">Mastering the Technol= ogy of Participation</a>  </div><div><br></div><div><a rel=3D"nofollow= " target=3D"_blank" href=3D"http://www.top-training.net/">Register on line = / see the ToP National Schedule</a></div><div>AICP Planners: 14.5 CM for al= l ToP=C2=AE courses</div><div><br></div><div><a rel=3D"nofollow" target=3D"= _blank" href=3D"http://partnersinparticipation.com/?page_id=3D203">The AZ T= oP=C2=AE Community of Practice</a> meets the 1st Friday, of every month, 1-= 4 pm, at ACYR, <a rel=3D"nofollow" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"https://www.go= ogle.com/maps/place/648+N+5th+Ave/@33.456329,-112.080545,16z/data=3D!4m2!3m= 1!1s0x872b123a5312512d:0x93c9f71171108956?hl=3D">648 N. 5th Avenue, Phoenix= , AZ 85003</a></div><div><br></div></div><div class=3D"qtdSeparateBR"><br><= br></div><div class=3D"yahoo_quoted" style=3D"display: block;"> <div style= =3D"font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-seri= f; font-size: 16px;"> <div style=3D"font-family: HelveticaNeue, Helvetica N= eue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> <div d= ir=3D"ltr"> <font size=3D"2" face=3D"Arial"> <hr size=3D"1"> <b><span style= =3D"font-weight:bold;">From:</span></b> Judi White via OE <oe(a)lists.wedg= eblade.net><br> <b><span style=3D"font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> Ord= er Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; George Holcombe &l= t;geowanda1(a)me.com> <br> <b><span style=3D"font-weight: bold;">Sent:</sp= an></b> Monday, April 17, 2017 4:35 AM<br> <b><span style=3D"font-weight: b= old;">Subject:</span></b> Re: [Oe List ...] An Easter gift<br> </font> </di= v> <div class=3D"y_msg_container"><br><div id=3D"yiv0199286726"><div><div>T= hank you for this witness, George. Among the many wisdom teachers, Jesus, B= uddha, Mohammad and many more, you are included.  Loving the continuat= ion image of resurrection. Helps to embrace the sermons on promises of eter= nal life. Peace, Judi White</div><div class=3D"yiv0199286726gmail_extra"><b= r clear=3D"none"><div class=3D"yiv0199286726gmail_quote">On Apr 16, 2017 6:= 53 PM, "George Holcombe via OE" <<a rel=3D"nofollow" shape=3D"rect" ymai= lto=3D"mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"mailto:oe@= lists.wedgeblade.net">oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net</a>> wrote:<br clear=3D"no= ne"><blockquote class=3D"yiv0199286726gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8= ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"><div class=3D"yiv019928672= 6yqt8646904779" id=3D"yiv0199286726yqt35099"><div style=3D"word-wrap:break-= word;"><div style=3D"font-family:'San Francisco', -apple-system, BlinkMacSy= stemFont, sans-serif;color:rgb(29,33,41);font-size:14px;letter-spacing:-0.2= 3999999463558197px;white-space:pre-wrap;"><div class=3D"yiv0199286726m_8073= 230402283814399_1mj yiv0199286726m_8073230402283814399_1mf" style=3D"direct= ion:ltr;font-family:inherit;"><span style=3D"font-family:inherit;">In our s= ervice this Easter morning at a Presbyterian church we sang a hymn written = by a Methodist (Jesus Christ is Risen Today) and a closing hymn by a Muslim= (Morning Has Broken) and following the Scripture reading of John 20 this q= uote (below). A profound sermon, and a fuller understanding of the idea of = resurrection.</span></div></div><div style=3D"font-family:'San Francisco', = -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, sans-serif;color:rgb(29,33,41);font-size= :14px;letter-spacing:-0.23999999463558197px;white-space:pre-wrap;"><div cla= ss=3D"yiv0199286726m_8073230402283814399_1mj yiv0199286726m_807323040228381= 4399_1mf" style=3D"direction:ltr;font-family:inherit;"><span style=3D"font-= family:inherit;">Thich Nhat Hang, Zen monk</span></div></div><div style=3D"= font-family:'San Francisco', -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, sans-serif;= color:rgb(29,33,41);font-size:14px;letter-spacing:-0.23999999463558197px;wh= ite-space:pre-wrap;"><div class=3D"yiv0199286726m_8073230402283814399_1mj y= iv0199286726m_8073230402283814399_1mf" style=3D"direction:ltr;font-family:i= nherit;"><span style=3D"font-family:inherit;">"I think there's a way of tra= ining ourselves in order not to become the victim of fear and grief- that i= s to look deeply into ourselves and to see that we are made of non-self ele= ments. And when we look around ourselves, we can recognize ourselves in the= non-self elements, like a father looking at his children can see himself i= n his children, can see his continuation in his children. So he is not atta= ched to the idea that his body is the only thing that is him. He's more th= an his body.He is inside of his body but he is also at the same (time) outs= ide of his body in many elements. And if we have the habit of looking like = that we will not be the victim of our attachment to one form of manifestati= on, and we will be free. And that freedom makes happiness and peace possibl= e. Other than meditation is there any specific practicer that can help you = come to this understanding?</span></div></div><div style=3D"font-family:'Sa= n Francisco', -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, sans-serif;color:rgb(29,33= ,41);font-size:14px;letter-spacing:-0.23999999463558197px;white-space:pre-w= rap;"><div class=3D"yiv0199286726m_8073230402283814399_1mj yiv0199286726m_8= 073230402283814399_1mf" style=3D"direction:ltr;font-family:inherit;"><span = style=3D"font-family:inherit;">Yes. The Buddha advised us to bear in mind t= hat everything is impermanent, that nothing has an absolute entity that rem= ains the same. And when we keep that insight in mind, we can see more deepl= y into the nature of reality, and we will not be locked in the notion that = we are only this body, this life span is the only life span we have. In fac= t, because nothing can be by itself alone, no one can be by himself or hers= elf alone, everyone has to inter-be with envy one else. That is why, when y= ou look outside, around, you can see yourself. And when you look into yours= elf, you can see the outside. So that is a training.=E2=80=9D</span></div><= div class=3D"yiv0199286726m_8073230402283814399_1mj yiv0199286726m_80732304= 02283814399_1mf" style=3D"direction:ltr;font-family:inherit;"><span style= =3D"font-family:inherit;"><br clear=3D"none"></span></div></div><div> <div style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0);letter-spacing:normal;text-indent:0px;text-t= ransform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word;">Ge= orge Holcombe<br clear=3D"none"><a rel=3D"nofollow" shape=3D"rect" ymailto= =3D"mailto:geowanda1@me.com" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"mailto:geowanda1@me.= com">geowanda1(a)me.com</a><br clear=3D"none"><br clear=3D"none">"Whatever th= e problem, community is the answer.  There is no power greater&nb= sp;than a community discovering what it cares about."  Margaret W= heatley<br clear=3D"none"><br clear=3D"none"></div> </div> <br clear=3D"none"><div><blockquote type=3D"cite"><div>On Apr 16, 2017, at = 2:33 PM, Doris Hahn via OE <<a rel=3D"nofollow" shape=3D"rect" ymailto= =3D"mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"mailto:oe@lis= ts.wedgeblade.net">oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net</a>> wrote:</div><br clear=3D= "none" class=3D"yiv0199286726m_8073230402283814399Apple-interchange-newline= "><div><div dir=3D"ltr"><div>From Doris Hahn - </div><div><br clear=3D= "none"></div>Pat Moriarty asked me to Pass this link along to you;so here i= t is:<div><br clear=3D"none"></div><div><div class=3D"yiv0199286726MsoNorma= l" style=3D"margin:13.6pt 0in 6.8pt;line-height:normal;"><a rel=3D"nofollow= " shape=3D"rect" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"http://www.justathoughtbypat.com= /wp-admin/post.php?post=3D1913&action=3Dedit" style=3D"font-size:12.8px= ;">http://www.justathoughtbypat.c om/wp-admin/post.php?post=3D1913 &act= ion=3Dedit</a><br clear=3D"none"></div></div></div> ______________________________ _________________<br clear=3D"none">OE maili= ng list<br clear=3D"none"><a rel=3D"nofollow" shape=3D"rect" ymailto=3D"mai= lto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"mailto:OE@lists.wedg= eblade.net">OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net</a><br clear=3D"none"><a rel=3D"nofollo= w" shape=3D"rect" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"http://lists.wedgeblade.net/lis= tinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net">http://lists.wedgeblade.net/ listinfo.cgi/oe-w= edgeblade.net</a><br clear=3D"none"></div></blockquote></div><br clear=3D"n= one"></div></div><br clear=3D"none">______________________________ ________= _________<br clear=3D"none"> OE mailing list<br clear=3D"none"> <a rel=3D"nofollow" shape=3D"rect" ymailto=3D"mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.ne= t" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net">OE(a)lists.wedge= blade.net</a><br clear=3D"none"> <a rel=3D"nofollow" shape=3D"rect" target=3D"_blank" href=3D"http://lists.w= edgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net">http://lists.wedgeblade.net/ = listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net</a><br clear=3D"none"> <br clear=3D"none"></blockquote></div></div></div></div><div class=3D"yqt86= 46904779" id=3D"yqt84538">_______________________________________________<b= r clear=3D"none">OE mailing list<br clear=3D"none"><a shape=3D"rect" ymailt= o=3D"mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net" href=3D"mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net= ">OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net</a><br clear=3D"none"><a shape=3D"rect" href=3D"h= ttp://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net" target=3D"_blank= ">http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net</a><br clear= =3D"none"></div><br><br></div> </div> </div> </div></div></body></html> ------=_Part_1878509_1302938865.1492442344614--

1 0

Spong: (third article) "Easter: In Need of Reinterpretation!"; Bigger, Stronger, Wiser, Kinder
by Ellie Stock via Dialogue 13 Apr '17

13 Apr '17

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR Bigger, Stronger, Wiser, Kinder By Cassandra Farrin After a hard winter for many of us, of deep snows and lost loves, in this holy week commemorating death and resurrection, the cherries and pears and plums are blossoming and our thoughts are opening with them. What are we also becoming? In Chapter 4 of the Dhammapada, “Flowers,” the Buddha is said to have offered this teaching: A monk should dwell and act in the village, Like a bee extracting honey from the flower But leaving the flower and fragrance intact. Pay no attention to the harsh words uttered by others. Do not be concerned with what others have or have not done. Observe your own actions and inactions. Like a beautiful brightly colored flower without fragrance Is the well-spoken word without action. Like a beautiful brightly colored flower full of fragrance Is the well-spoken word and the deed that matches the word. When the Buddha says pay no attention… he does not conclude pay no attention to others but rather, pay no attention to the harsh words. Likewise, a bee extracting honey is not the same as a drill extracting oil. One action is certainly gentler than the other. When we are attentive to our words and actions, it should be an act of love. It’s the place to begin. Radical changes may be wrought on the world by beginning in this place, the blossoming of conscious words, actions, and inactions. I think we get truth backwards. Truth is not the root from which we grow but the fragrance from the bloom. In a sense, truth can be acknowledged only after an experience awakens our sense of it. The root is relationship—with others, with the world, with God. This is a difficult but important outcry at a time when we’re all wondering what it means to live in a society suddenly flooded with phrases like “post-truth” and “alt fact.” I feel the need to become grounded, and perhaps you do too, so please allow me to share a story with you that is grounding me through this painful time. Five years ago my twin sister and I adopted two children, 2 and barely 4 years old, who survived more violence in their most vulnerable years than I have in my entire life. Their birth family, Marshall Islanders who emigrated to the United States for work and lost their children due to neglect, could not have known that the kids would be placed with an abusive foster family. So the children’s suffering escalated from the bare pain of hunger to the acute pain of abuse. At the time we adopted our kids, the abuse had not yet been discovered, and we confronted each horrific revelation as it was unburied. Perhaps the greatest lesson I learned from our process of transitioning from Stranger/Other to Family was the meaning of our foster parent trainer Erma Brundidge’s mantra: “bigger, stronger, wiser, kinder.” Be the bigger person, be the stronger person, be the wiser person, be the kinder person in every situation—not just one of the four, but all four. Children who have suffered often relive their suffering because it is what they know, so when the children come into your home, you may find that they intentionally recreate the chaos that drove them through your door. Perhaps you know people like this. We often carry our childhood traumas into our adult lives. I remember lying in bed one night only a couple months into our adoption and suddenly realizing, much to my horror, that I was identifying with the abusive person who hurt my children instead of with my children themselves— Why? In the drama our new family was unwittingly playing out, the children were waiting for the monster to emerge, and we could sense the monster, too. We just didn’t know who or what it was. Let me circle back for a moment to our foster care and adoption training, because this is just so critical to understanding the rest of my family’s story. My sister and I joined that training with many other couples, of course, including several who had struggled for years to conceive. As these couples in particular shared about all the self-doubt and indignities of infertility treatment, it became clear that they were expecting a lot of their future adoptive child: this child would be the healer of their wounds. What a burden for a child! Yet also, can’t you just feel the ache of the would-be parents, too? Painfully, one couple was not accepted by the department as foster parents because their desire for a perfect, healing child was so overwhelming. How were they going to be “bigger, stronger, wiser, kinder” for a child who had suffered when their own suffering was so raw and intense they could barely see past it? Rainer Maria Rilke understood God as belonging to the world and often expressed God through the metaphor of roots and soil, as that from which could be drawn sustenance. He believed in the reciprocity of the mundane and the divine; God, too, can wither and fade like a plant without water or like a father forgotten by his son. Rather than saying, “God cannot be one who relies on me,” Rilke inverted darkness into one of relationship: Whom should I turn to if not the one whose darkness is darker than night. The only one who keeps vigil with no candle and is not afraid— Sometimes I imagine God as a foster child on that first night in a new home, wondering who is keeping “vigil with no candle” for her. She is a being capable of infinite love and grace and extraordinary action in the world, and yet in such absolute darkness she doesn’t even know who or what she is. Relationships make security—truth, understanding—possible for her, for us, for God. I sometimes also imagine God as the weave of all those relationships, and yet I think we have to appreciate that God is a living idea. I find it helpful to maintain the tension between God as a candle waiting to be lighted and as the light itself. Returning to my own family’s story, our breakthrough moment came when our daughter’s counselor encouraged us to believe that our children wanted our love and were not afraid of us. They were afraid of a monster none of us could see, and we—my sister and I—were mistaking ourselves for that monster. We felt the children’s fear; we just didn’t realize it was directed at something else. So we took responsibility for our own household and we set the tone of our family’s relationship as something other than fear. We began to demonstrate brazenly, excessively, wastefully, that here was a space for love, safety, and fun. And it worked. The terror that seemed to pursue us slowly dissipated, and home became a refuge for us all. Old patterns have a way of resurfacing under strain. Our family confronts these secret terrors whenever we lose our equilibrium, so mindfulness and connection have become critical to our survival. Yet it does work, and we are living proof of it. I hope that you can take some encouragement from this when you are feeling fearful. To speak the truth in power means to speak from one’s relationships first and foremost, by being “bigger, stronger, wiser, kinder,” and to set the tone for one’s own household and community. So let me once again ask, what are we becoming? ~ Cassandra Farrin Read Online Here About the Author Cassandra Farrin is the marketing director of the Westar Institute and the editor of Polebridge Press. Her poetic retelling of the Nag Hammadi text On the Origin of the World is forthcoming in Gender Violence, Rape Culture, and Religion (Palgrave Macmillan). A US-UK Fulbright Scholar with more than ten years’ experience with cross-cultural and interfaith engagement, she has an M.A. in Religious Studies from Lancaster University (England) and a B.A. in Religious Studies from Willamette University. Question & Answer Terry R. from the Internet, writes: Question: Hi Eric, I enjoy what you have been saying about Jesus, and I am becoming much more progressive than I used to be, but still I have a hard time understanding why someone with your beliefs still remains a Christian? If the Jesus you still “believe” in is not the Jesus that resurrected and was God incarnate, then why do you still call yourself a Christian? Answer: Answer by Eric Alexander Thanks Terry. That’s a very honest (and common) question I hear a lot. I would start by saying that I only use the word Christian casually. I call myself a lot of things depending on the context. As it relates to Jesus, I more often call myself a Jesist, which you can see more about here. But with the proper disclaimers, caveats, and addenda I don’t mind the word Christian either. Additionally, I feel a sense of responsibility to help spare the younger generations from much of the indoctrination and deconstruction that I had to go through. As someone who has become educated I want to keep a foot within Christianity and help guide it toward a more meaningful existence. If everyone who finds some degree of enlightenment bails out, then it only leaves behind the fundamentalist echo chamber, and that is a scary thought to me, both spiritually and politically. ~ Eric Alexander Read and Share Online Here About the Author Eric Alexander is an author, speaker, and activist. He is a board member at ProgressiveChristianity.org, and is the founder of Jesism, Christian Evolution, and the Progressive Christianity and Politics group on Facebook. Eric holds a Master of Theology from Saint Leo University and studied negotiations at Harvard Law School, and authored the popular children's emotional health book Teaching Kids Life IS Good. Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited Easter: In Need of Reinterpretation! The Christian Faith was born in the experience that we have come to call Easter. It was this Easter experience that invested Jesus with a sense of ultimacy. It caused his followers to regard his teaching as worthy of being preserved. It was the reason that Saint Paul could write, “if Christ has not been raised then your faith is in vain.” Clearly without Easter there would be no Christianity. That assertion hardly seems debatable. At this point I discover that I am at one with the most literal fundamentalists. What is debatable, however, is the question of what the experience of Easter really was. Here the distance between the Christianity of biblical scholarship and the Christianity of the fundamentalists opens and begins to widen. Fundamentalists are quite sure of their truth. On Easter the crucified Jesus, who was laid in the grave as a deceased man on Good Friday, was by the mighty act of God, restored to life on Easter. He had thus broken the power of death for all people. If the body of Jesus was not physically restored to life, the fundamentalists claim, then Easter is fraudulent. There can be no compromise here. Those who waver on this foundational truth of Christianity have, according to this perspective, abandoned the essential core of their faith tradition. Well, my only comment on this would be to borrow the words from an old song and say, “It ain’t necessarily so!” When one reads the New Testament in the order in which these books were written, a fascinating progression is revealed. Paul, for example, writing between the years 50 and 64 or some 20 to 34 years after the earthly life of Jesus came to an end, never describes the resurrection of Jesus as a physical body resuscitated after death. There is no hint in the Pauline corpus that one, who had died, later walked out of his grave clothes, emerged from the tomb and was seen by his disciples. What Paul does suggest is that Easter meant that God had acted to reverse the verdict that the world had pronounced on Jesus by raising Jesus from death into God. It was, therefore, out of God in a transforming kind of heavenly vision that this Jesus then appeared to certain chosen witnesses. Paul enumerates these witnesses and, in a telling detail, says that this was the same Jesus that Paul himself had seen. No one suggests that Paul ever saw a resuscitated body. The Pauline corpus later says, “If you then have been raised with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Please note that the story of the Ascension had not been written when these Pauline words were formed. Paul did not envision the Resurrection as Jesus being restored to life in this world but as Jesus being raised into God. It was not an event in time but a transcendent and transforming truth. Paul died, according to our best estimates, around the year 64 C.E. The first Gospel was not written until the early 70’s. Paul never had a chance to read the Easter story in any Gospel. The tragedy of later Christian history is that we read Paul through the lens of the Gospels. Thus we have both distorted Paul and also confused theology. When Mark, the first Gospel, was written the Risen Christ never appears. The last time Jesus is seen comes when his deceased body is taken from the cross and laid in the tomb. Mark’s account of the Resurrection presents us with the narrative of mourning women confronting an empty tomb, meeting a messenger who tells them that Jesus has been raised and asking these women to convey to the disciples that Jesus will meet them in Galilee. Mark then concludes his Gospel with a picture of these women fleeing in fear, saying nothing to anyone (16:1-8). So abrupt was this ending that people began to write new endings to what they thought was Mark’s incomplete story. Two of those endings are actually reproduced in the King James Version of the Bible as verses 9-20. But thankfully, these later creations have been removed from the text of Mark in recent Bibles and placed into footnotes. The sure fact of New Testament scholarship is that Mark’s Gospel ended without the Risen Christ ever being seen by anyone. Both Matthew, who wrote between 80-85, and Luke, who wrote between 88-92, had Mark to guide their compositions. Both changed, heightened and expanded Mark. It is fascinating to lift those changes into consciousness and to ask what was it that motivated Matthew and Luke to transform Mark’s narrative. Did they have new sources of information? Had the story grown over the years in the retelling? The first thing to note is that Matthew changes Mark’s story about the women at the tomb. First, the messenger in Mark becomes a supernatural angel in Matthew’s story. Next Matthew says the women do see Jesus in the garden. They grasp him by the feet and worship him. This is the first time in Christian history that the Resurrection is presented as physical resuscitation. It occurs in the 9th decade of the Christian era. It should be noted that it took more than 50 years to begin to interpret the Easter experience as the resuscitated body of the deceased Jesus. When Matthew presents the story of the risen Jesus to the disciples, it is on a mountaintop in Galilee where he appears out of the sky armed with heavenly power. Recall once again that when Matthew wrote this narrative the story of Jesus’ ascension had not yet entered the tradition. Luke follows Mark’s story line about the women at the tomb, stating that they do not see Jesus in the garden on Easter morning. Luke, however, has turned Mark’s messenger into two angelic beings. He has also transferred the locale of Easter to Jerusalem specifically denying Mark’s words spoken through the messenger that Jesus will meet them in Galilee. Luke has heightened dramatically the physicality of Jesus’ resuscitated body. In Luke, the resuscitated Jesus walks, talks, eats, teaches and interprets. He also appears and disappears at will. He invites the disciples to handle his flesh. He asserts that he is not a ghost. Finally in order to remove this physically resuscitated Jesus from the earth, Luke develops the story of Jesus’ Ascension. Even in the Ascension narrative, however, Luke is not consistent. In the last chapter of his Gospel the Ascension takes place on Easter Sunday afternoon. In the first chapter of Acts, which Luke also writes, the Ascension takes place 40 days after Easter. Whereas the messenger in Mark, who becomes an angel in Matthew, directs the disciples to Galilee for a meeting with the risen Christ, Luke specifically denies any Galilean resurrection tradition. He orders the disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they are endowed with power from on high. The narrative is clearly growing. In John, the Fourth Gospel (95-100), the physicality of the Resurrection is even more enhanced. In the 20th chapter of this Gospel Jesus appears first to Mary Magdalene in the garden and says to her, “Mary do not cling to me.” One cannot cling to something that is non-physical. Then John suggests that Jesus ascends immediately into heaven before appearing, presumably out of heaven, that night to the disciples, who are missing Thomas. Though Jesus appears able to enter an upper room in which the windows have been closed and the doors locked, he is once again portrayed as being quite physical. This physical quality is further enhanced a week later when Jesus makes a second appearance to the disciples, this time with Thomas present. It is in this narrative that Thomas is invited to touch the nail prints and to examine the place in his side into which the spear had been hurled. All of these appearances take place in Jerusalem. Chapter 21 of John’s Gospel portrays a Galilean appearance much later in time after the disciples have actually returned to their fishing trade. Here Jesus directs them to a great catch of fish, 153 of them to be specific. Then he eats with them. Finally he restores Peter after his three-fold denial. The Easter story appears to have grown rather dramatically over the years. Something happened after the crucifixion of Jesus that convinced the disciples that Jesus shared in the eternal life of God and was thus available to them as a living presence. This experience was so profound that the disciples, who at his arrest had fled in fear, were now reconstituted and empowered even to die for the truth of their vision. This experience had the power to force the Jewish disciples to redefine the God of the Jews so that Jesus could be seen as part of who God is. Finally this experience was so profound that it ultimately created, on the first day of the week, a new holy day that was quite different from the Sabbath, to enable Christians to mark this transforming moment with a liturgical act called “the breaking of bread.” When these biblical data are assembled and examined closely, two things become clear. First something of enormous power gripped the disciples following the crucifixion that transformed their lives. Second, it was some fifty years before that transforming experience was interpreted as the resuscitation of a three days dead Jesus to the life of the world. Our conversation about the meaning of Easter must begin where these two realities meet. ~John Shelby Spong Announcements NOW! Single Day Passes Available - click here Click here for more information/registration READ ON... Any questions or concerns, please contact us at support(a)progressivechristianity.org or 253-507-8678. 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