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Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Response to Del
by George Holcombe 09 Jan '13

09 Jan '13

Yes, everything seems to be in contention. From gun control to how do we address the rapidly growing inequity between rich and poor, but the matter that will put all of this as secondary is global climate change. What is happening in Australia, the island nations, rise of seas, the Arctic melt and increasing acidity of the oceans, the violent weather, Sandy in the U.S., Cyclone season in other parts of the world and last years Tornado season, expanding desertification and loss of potable water is going to change everything very quickly. Last night at our community meeting the question of water rates came up and the resident who serves on several state and federal water regulation and study groups, jumped to his feet and announced that what we are paying for water is a 4th of what it's worth and the cost will rise rapidly in the coming year, He also pleaded for everyone to stop watering their lawns, saying that's our drinking water. I'd never seen such passion coming from this cool, reasonable mediator type before. It is more than likely that the water sold to rice farmers in South Texas will be cut off because the lakes and aquifers around Austin are at historic lows and even if there were sustained heavy rains it would not fill the lakes or recharge the aquifers. In as much as the wealthy and corporate interests have large stakes in keeping the exploitation of natural resources and pollution levels as they are, or even increasing them, what is unfolding is breaking all of the models of sustainability and, in proportion, governance and life style. It is likely that, in my thinking, that locality will become more contentious and some of the questions that will be driving things will be how can I protect what I have. Facilitators might want to consider how to implement ways to aid the wealthy and the corporate world in how to step back from exploiting consumerism and become expert in conservation and slimming down as a way to profitability. Just as a way was found to eliminate CFCs for the most part and other chemicals creating the Ozone hole, I imagine something similar may begin to occupy the powers that have ignored climate change so far, which will have an enormous effect on how business and governance is done, and will effect everyone's life style and economics, particularly if these measures do not work. Some of the climatologist feel we passed the tipping point. If this be true, what are the models for living on the other side of that? Maybe some of our young folk are already working on that. George Holcombe 14900 Yellowleaf Tr. Austin, TX 78728 Mobile 512/252-2756 geowanda(a)earthlink.net Hope appeareth, but it is not your Hope—you do not have anything to do with it. It just appeareth. It comes as a stranger, as an alien—it just appeareth! You do not even know why you hope. How in the world could you hope when there is absolutely nothing to justify any hope? ~Joseph W. Mathews

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Talk show in English from Berlin
by James Wiegel 06 Jan '13

06 Jan '13

One of the panelists is Ahmed Badawi who has been instrumental in forming the Kumi network to build a more robust approach to conflict transformation by integrating ToP methods with two other approaches to conflict transformation. I wish Kenneth Boulding could have been part of the conversation. > http://www.dw.de/program/quadriga/s-7296-9798 Jim Wiegel Jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com Every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of others, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. -- Albert Einstein Partners in Participation Upcoming public course opportunities: ToP Facilitation Methods: Feb 12-13, 2013, May 21-22, 2013, Sep 17-18, 2013 ToP Strategic Planning, Oct 9-10, 2012 The AZ Community of Practice meets the 1st Friday (1-4 pm) of the month Facilitation Mastery : Our Mastering the Technology of Participation program is available in Phoenix in 2012-3. Program begins on Nov 14-16, 2012 See short video http://partnersinparticipation.com/?page_id=55 and website for further details.

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1/03/13, Spong: The Birth of Jesus, Part VI. Rahab the Prostitute: The Second Woman in Matthew’s Genealogy
by Ellie Stock 03 Jan '13

03 Jan '13

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR The Birth of Jesus, Part VI. Rahab the Prostitute: The Second Woman in Matthew’s Genealogy The second woman mentioned in the genealogy of Matthew comes out of a story told in the book of Joshua. One can read the details in chapters two and six of that book. There are two things that are noteworthy about this woman. First, she is not a Jew, rather she is a citizen of Jericho and thus presumably a Canaanite, i.e. a Gentile. Second, she is introduced and described in a single word, “harlot,” that is, Rahab was a prostitute, she sold sex for gain. Rahab had clearly entered the folk lore of both Judaism and Christianity for there are references to her in the Hebrew Scriptures in the book of Job: 9:13 and 26:12, in the Psalms: 87:4 and 89:10 and in the book of Isaiah 30:7 and 51:9. In addition to this reference in Matthew’s genealogy, she is also referred to in the Christian Scriptures in two places, Hebrews 11:3 and James 2:35. It is difficult to establish any dependency between Matthew and these other New Testament references, so we have to assume that the story of Rahab must have been a popular one in both Judaism and in early Christianity. In this column today, I want to recount the narrative of Rahab as it appears in the book of Joshua. The context is this: Moses has died in the wilderness of Moab and has been buried by God acting alone in a mysterious and unknown grave, or that is at least the story we receive in the last chapter of Deuteronomy (34). Joshua, Moses’ number one military captain, has assumed the position of the leader of these wandering, nomadic people. As if to validate Joshua with an aura of Moses, a crossing of a body of water in Red Sea fashion has been promised to Joshua at the Jordan River. Beyond that river lay the first military prize for the invading Hebrews, the fortified and walled city of Jericho. While the people were encamped west of the Jordan preparing for that miraculous crossing, Joshua sent two men to spy on Jericho. These spies are unnamed, but they presumably managed to cross the river in daylight and enter the city, the gates of which were not closed until nightfall. They immediately went, as if by some pre-arranged plan, to the house of Rahab the prostitute. Perhaps there was some kind of prior relationship. Perhaps they sought out this house, the only local brothel, for their own entertainment. Perhaps it made strategic sense. Rahab’s house was conveniently located, built as it was into the wall that encircled the city. Certainly a brothel might have been chosen simply to serve to give the spies cover. We will never know. There is certainly the probability that this location and the service Rahab offered were well known to citizens and strangers alike. It was certainly in the “public domain.” Reality says that for a stranger to enter the city and go straight to the house of Rahab would arouse little suspicion. Whatever the reason or reasons, it was to Rahab’s house that Joshua’s spies went and there, the text says, “they lodged.” It seems that they remained there for several days. In time, their presence became known. It would certainly arouse suspicion if regular customers were rebuffed because of the presence of these strangers, and the public utterances of miffed regular customers would surely start rumors flying. In any event, their presence quickly came to the attention of the authorities in Jericho, including the king. Almost immediately they were defined as spies who had illegally entered the land. So the king, apparently knowing where they were, sent a deputation of soldiers to the house of Rahab with orders for the spies to come forth, presumably to be executed, for that was the normal fate of spies. Rahab, however, turns out to be more loyal to the spies than she is to her city, so when she gets wind of the danger, she not only hides the spies, but she lies to the king’s messengers about their continued presence. She did not deny that they had been there, since that seemed to have been a well-established fact. She admitted that they had visited, but that she had no idea where they were from or what their business was in Jericho. They have now gone, she said, telling the authorities that the two men had departed before the gates of the city had been closed when darkness fell. What might have been her motives? Perhaps she was just protecting her customers. Perhaps she had already developed a relationship with one of the spies that altered her priorities. Whatever the reason, Rahab urged the king’s representatives to pursue these spies rapidly for their departure from city, she said, had been recent and they could surely be overtaken. All the while, according to this narrative, Rahab has taken these men to the roof of her house and has hidden them under stalks of flax that were “laid in order” on her roof. The king’s men took Rahab at her word and pursued what they thought were the escaping spies to the Jordan River and across it into the surrounding countryside. When the pursuers had left the city, the gates were closed for the night. No one could now leave and the pursuers could not return until the dawn when the gates were reopened. Rahab then goes to the roof to uncover her hidden guests. She speaks to them as one who knows they are destined to conquer Jericho. She tells them that fear of the invading Hebrews had fallen upon her fellow citizens and has caused their courage to melt away. She tells them that the people have heard of the miracle at the Red Sea and of their conquest of the Amorites in the wilderness and that the citizens of Jericho feel themselves doomed. Then she extracts an oath from the two spies. As I have protected you and dealt kindly with you, she said, I am prepared to continue to serve you by helping you escape. You must first, however, give me a sign that when your people conquer Jericho, you will repay my kindness by sparing my family from death. That means, she says, not just my life but those of my father, my mother, my brothers and sisters, their spouses and children. The spies agreed. “Our lives for your life and those of your extended family” was the deal and it seemed to them a fair bargain. So it was agreed. A sign was established. Rahab was to hang a scarlet cord in the window of her house in that protective wall. This cord would be seen by all who passed by. The spies swore that all who were gathered in this house with the scarlet cord would be spared. Then Rahab made a rope and lowered each of the spies in a basket to the ground outside the wall and thus to safety. She instructed them to go to the hills through which their pursuers had already swept and hide there for three days until their pursuers had returned to the city. Their escape was successful and, after three days in the woods, they returned to Joshua with their report. The people of Jericho are faint hearted, the spies said, they know the Lord has given Jericho and its people into our hands. Rahab then disappears from the drama until the conquest of Jericho occurs in chapter six. In the meantime, the swollen, flooded waters of the Jordan have been split, in Red Sea-like fashion, and the army of the Hebrews has crossed that river bed on dry land. Then they set up siege positions outside the walls of the city of Jericho. For six days, the army would walk around those walls following the Ark of the Lord, attended by priests blowing constantly on their trumpets, which in fact were shofars or the horns of a ram. On the seventh day, the Hebrew army walked around the city walls seven times with the ram’s horns being blown constantly. When the seventh journey around the walls was complete, the trumpets blew a long and sustained blast and then the people shouted with loud shouts and, we are told, the walls around Jericho fell to the ground. Perhaps the sound vibrations from the shofars and the shouting people were more than their structures could tolerate. Perhaps the miraculous aspects of this story were enhanced with its telling as the years rolled by. This narrative, as a matter of fact, was not written until some 300 years after this event was supposed to have taken place. The important thing for our purpose is to note that this book says that Joshua and his army destroyed Jericho, putting everyone to the edge of the sword – all men, all women, all old people, all young people and all the animals in an act of genocidal fury. True to their word, however, they spared all those who gathered in the house of Rahab. Joshua gave specific orders, “Search out the harlot’s house and bring out of it the woman and all who belong to her as we promised.” The book of Joshua concludes with the story of Rahab by saying that Rahab the harlot was saved and all her household “and she dwelt in Israel until this day.” Matthew from some source declared that she married a man named Salmon. Was he one of the two spies? Once again, we will never know, but Matthew asserts that Salmon and Rahab had a baby boy whose name was Boaz and that the line from Salmon went through Boaz to Obed to Jesse to David, who became the King of the Hebrew nation, and that this line would lead directly to Jesus of Nazareth, who was of the house of David.. So this is the second woman included in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. The first was guilty of an incestuous relationship with her father-in-law, the second was a prostitute. Matthew is introducing the story of Jesus’ birth. He is establishing the Jewish roots of Jesus as well as his royal roots. He is also stating in a loud and provocative way that the line that produced Jesus of Nazareth traveled through incest and harlotry. Why would he introduce the virgin birth this way? What is his agenda? What is his purpose? The story moves on and so does Matthew’s genealogy. When this column resumes, we will introduce the third of the “shady ladies” in Matthew’s genealogy. She is a seductress. So stay tuned. ~John Shelby Spong Read the essay online here. Question & Answer Bill Echols via the Internet, writes: Question: In talking to a friend, I stated my opinion that “in future years, I believe Bishop Spong will be looked upon as one of the greatest theologians of our time.” I was wondering, do you consider yourself a theologian? Why or why not? Also, who are some of the past and current theologians you would recommend for study? Thank you for living your faith so beautifully and courageously. You have certainly been an inspiration in my life. Answer: Dear Bill, I think it is fair to say that only my mother would agree with your assessment of my place in history, so for now I am happy to have two votes. Thank you for your confidence. I consider myself a theologically and biblically-trained communicator. I study daily. I read the great theologians and the great biblical scholars constantly so that I can communicate their thoughts to other people. I certainly do not list myself among them. The mountain top theologians of the Christian tradition would surely include Paul, Origen, Augustine, Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther and John Calvin. I would also add to that list some more modern thinkers like Soren Kierkegaard, Friederick Schleiermacher, Paul Tillich, Hans Kung and Edward Schillebeeckx . Sometimes the best way to study these giants is to read those who can communicate their insights in a language that people can understand. That is where I come in and I am certainly not unusual or special. People like Marcus Borg, John Crossan, Martin Marty, James Cone, Karen Armstrong, Elaine Pagels and James Carroll are just a few of the communicating giants in our day. Than you for your letter and for your comments. ~John Shelby Spong Announcements Happy New Year to all you believers in exile! May it be a year full of light and love. Any questions or concerns, please contact us at support(a)johnshelbyspong.com or 503-236-3545. Copyright © 2013 ProgressiveChristianity.org, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have a membership at our website. Our mailing address is: ProgressiveChristianity.org 3530 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Unit 1 Portland, OR 97214 Add us to your address book .

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Year-end Reflecting
by Lynda Cock 02 Jan '13

02 Jan '13

Happy 2013 to all! As we reflect on 2012 and anticipate 2013, we give great thanks for this virtual community that helps sustain us. Especially, we have enjoyed hearing greetings from so many of you. Following our "Journey Reflection" year-end custom, here are some links you might appreciate. 2012 Reflection: http://rejourney.blogspot.com/2012/12/2012-reflections.html 2013 Anticipation: http://rejourney.blogspot.com/2013/01/your-2013-anticipations.html Top-viewed December blog posts: http://rejourney.blogspot.com/2012/12/journey-reflection-blog-review-decembe r.html We celebrate with you what was, is, and is coming to be. Lynda and John

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On Switching from 2012 to 2013
by steve har 31 Dec '12

31 Dec '12

Dec 31 End of year Accomplishments & Just How to Engage New Chalenges? 2012 Accomplishments via last lines in novels The Truth & Guards, Guards by Terry Pratchett Because nothing has to be true forever. Just for long enough, to tell you the truth. Perhaps the magic would last. Perhaps it wouldn't. But then, what does? A River Runs Through It by Norman McLean: Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. Are there any questions? –Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale 1986 ------- 2013 Ways to Engage Looking for 13 ways of engagement in 2013 via YouTube Clips Here are 4 candidate how tos - less than 6 minutes Encourage skillful means http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozRK7VXQl-k Navigate via GPS or with distinctions of worth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g8ue3dYpN0 Be a spectator or play in a self-chosen game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJEZaJKqbwk Singing in the rain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcD1AeMx5II Any others [less than 6 minutes]? Blessings -- Steve Harrington -- Steve Harrington

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Christmastide greetings 2012
by DOUGLAS DRUCKENMILLER 29 Dec '12

29 Dec '12

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Attached is a short Christmas Letter with a few highlights of our year's special events. We hope you and your family are well and we wish you a happy new year. A photo album of our year's highlights can be viewed here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151388343936882.538269.523531881… We'd love to hear from you if you haven't already sent us an update. Doug and Pat

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John Burbidge
by Tracy Longacre 29 Dec '12

29 Dec '12

Is John Burbidge on either of these lists? John, if you are -- I've responded to your e-mail several times, but I'm guessing my mails are going to your SPAM folder? Because it seems you are not getting them. Sent a message via Linked-In as well. Don't know how else to communicate! Tracy E. Longacre from Yaoundé, Cameroon just another child of God Blog: http://tlongacre.wordpress.com Run Blog: http://revruns.blogspot.com Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tlongacre/ ———-O0ooo— ———–(——)— ————)–-/—- ————(_/- —-ooo0O—- —-(——)—- —–\-–(– ——\_)-

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12/27/12, Spong: Learning about Europe’s Economy and Christianity’s Place in it
by Ellie Stock 27 Dec '12

27 Dec '12

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR Learning about Europe’s Economy and Christianity’s Place in it Throughout the past few years, and certainly as a factor in the recent American presidential race, the state of the economy has been front and center. An important aspect of this debate is our sense of increasing globalization that ties all nations into a single world economy. The Dow Jones Average has been whipsawed by the economic crises in Europe, for example, with the almost daily threats of economic collapse in Greece, Italy and Spain. Most people do not yet embrace how deeply interdependent the world has become economically and, especially, how interdependent world banking has become. The potential collapse of the economy of Spain was feared because it would bring with it the collapse of most of the major banks of the world including the United States. So, I made it my business while in Europe recently to get a first hand look at those things that now threaten us all economically in this global village that our world has become. Each nation seemed to be approaching the crisis differently. My first stop was in the United Kingdom where Conservative Prime Minister, David Cameron, has opted for an austerity approach to the threatened economy of his nation. Unrest is obvious as the price of university education in the UK has tripled, health care cutbacks have been instituted and the Value Added Tax (VAT) on all purchases has been raised significantly, thereby inflating the price of every purchase. As a result of this strategy, the economy of the UK has slipped back into a recession and unemployment is still very high. France had an election in May in the midst of this European crisis and the Socialist party came to power. True to his party’s standards, France’s new President Francois Hollande opted to address the crisis by pushing for higher taxes on the wealthy and more public money to alleviate the economic stress of the masses. In was an approach that was the exact opposite of the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, the economies of Greece, Italy and Spain have been put under pressure from the European Union to put their fiscal houses in order as a pre-requisite for receiving the monetary assistance that would make national bankruptcy no longer inevitable. Germany, whose economy is Europe’s strongest, has become as a consequence the dominant political power in the continent, accomplishing through economic means what that nation sought to accomplish through military might in World War II. Rising from the ashes of defeat, a prosperous Germany now faces the response that all dominant powers always receive. Yes, there is gratitude from those Germany is able to rescue, but there is also resentment and thus hostility flowing from those forced into frugality against their wills. Spain totters on the edge of economic disaster with a conservative right wing government. Its unemployment rate is above 25%, and constant demonstrations that recall the memories of the Spanish Civil War mark its national life. Both Greece and Italy face ongoing political upheaval. It is of great interest to this American observer to see that whatever government is in power, whether liberal or conservative, is either blamed for the economic turndown or for not having done enough to restart economic growth. The fact is that in an interdependent world, the tide of the world economy will carry all nations and the particular government in power at the time will rise or fall on that tide with little or no ability to change that nation’s circumstances dramatically. Whether we were in the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Hungary or Spain, the consensus was that the world’s economic collapse of 2008-2009 has been stopped, but that the progress out of that deep hole has been too slow to keep hope alive. The future at worst is bleak, and at best is not clear. As is always the case there will be overt political fallout for all those in power, whether liberal or conservative, until a full pattern of economic growth is established. There were several other things that also became obvious to me as we journeyed through these formative nations in Western civilization. The first is that boundaries are falling away in Europe faster than most of the people are emotionally prepared to accept or to admit. The common currency, the Euro, has brought a new sense of unity to the countries of Europe that most Europeans have not even imagined before. England still has its Pound Sterling, Sweden its Krona, Hungary its Forint, but the Euro has become a powerful sign of European oneness. The European Common Market now sets policy for all the member states on working conditions, environment, health standards and pay scales, which among other things are designed to make men and women doing the same work equal in compensation. Nation states resent this imposition on their sovereignty, but they recognize the impossibility of going on their own economically and so they bite their tongues and accept it. Grumbling is high, action is minimal. The second insight I gained on this trip was that the migration of people across Europe in search of employment is wide open. Citizens of the European Union no longer need to clear passport control to enter a member nation. Business leaders fly regularly from London to Moscow, Paris to Stockholm, Copenhagen to Rome, Zurich to Madrid in the same way that American business people criss-cross this nation by air on a daily basis. It is no longer a “foreign” trip. The populations of every European nation are today deeply integrated. One business I had the chance to visit had employees from Germany, Hungary, Austria, Serbia, Croatia, Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. They all spoke German and English as well as the language of their own country of origin. Once there is economic unity, which is not far from being present now, political unity will surely follow. There is no illustration in history that might suggest otherwise. With people crossing boundaries that once seemed invincible, political unity will surely follow and the loyalty of citizens to a United States of Europe will in another century or so be at least competitive with if not deeper and more significant than loyalty to one’s nation of origin. That is the pattern that we have followed in the United States where today for most Americans, loyalty to this nation supersedes the loyalty to the state of our origin. Rapid population mobility makes that inevitable. My third insight was that in this scenario, it does not seem to matter that nation states of the past are today breaking into even smaller ethnic states: The Czech Republic and Slovakia have replaced Czechoslovakia. Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo and Slovenia are today where Yugoslavia once stood. The Soviet Union has dissolved and in its place are now Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Uzbekistan and others who are now self-governing units. Belgium is considering a split between its Flemish and its Walloon citizens. Scotland is about to vote in a referendum on Scottish independence. None of these smaller nations alone would be viable economically, but as States in the United States of Europe they can have the best of both worlds. Local autonomy is merging with corporate and national interdependence. My fourth insight was that Europe has one other reality with which it must deal. It has a history filled with dark chapters, marked by war, torture, genocide and the experience of being both the conqueror and the conquered. There is about much of this history a deep, corporate guilt. We saw this best in Hungary, a land that has been overrun constantly in its history, first by the Mongols, then by the Turks, the Hapsburgs, the Germans and the Soviets. Its history is filled with pain, deprivation and defeat. It also knows anti-Semitism and it still recalls the Jews who once lived in their midst, but who are no more. That is also true in Germany, Austria and Spain. We saw places where synagogues once stood, but are now marked by memorial monuments. We saw Jewish cemeteries that had been destroyed and desecrated. We saw public buildings into which Jewish tombstones had been placed as a kind of trophy. We saw memorial shoes planted on the bank of the Danube Promenade in Budapest, erected to mark the place where hundreds of Jews were lined up and shot with their bodies falling into the river to be washed by its tide into the Black Sea. We also saw the dark side of Communism, a system built on the dreams of equality, but which in actuality descended into the reality of slavery. We talked with Hungarians whose parents and grandparents had been removed to the Soviet Union as “war reparations laborers” to work almost as slaves in Soviet work camps and who were never heard of again. Europeans have known dictatorships of both the right and the left. They have known oppression and murder, dislocation and tribal hatreds. They see hope in an emerging sense of European oneness. They embrace that hope gingerly, not sure whether they can trust it, but seeing no alternative. They are in the vanguard of an emerging new trans-tribal consciousness that sees humanity as one, that now understands the fact that cooperation is better than war. They are also becoming aware that all religions in their past have been more divisive that helpful, that human consciousness does not stop at any boundary whether it be nationality, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion. A new world is being born. No, it is not an easy or comfortable world, but it is now seen as an inevitable world. With that new world, a new religion will of necessity also evolve. It, like the nations of Europe, will not deny its past, but it will have to transcend the limits that marked that past, surrender most of its irrational claims to have ever captured truth in its traditional religious forms and allow itself to evolve into something it has never been before. The changes in Europe make this an exciting time to be a Christian. The evolution of consciousness will require an evolution in religion. Christianity will be and must be changed into something it has never been before. Hopefully, we Christians will merge the treasures of our past with the dreams of our future. Europe, battered and bruised by its past, is prepared, I believe, to lead the world into that future. I hope a revived and open Christianity will be willing and able to be part of that tomorrow. ~JSS Read the essay online here. Question & Answer Colin T. Bent from Tulsa, writes: Question: I noted your use of the term “Post Christian world.” What do you mean? For some time it has come to me that when Jesus used the term, “I will be with you to the end of the eon” it meant to the end of the Christian era and that is the time we are in now. Am I totally confused or muddled with my thoughts here, or am I on to something? Answer: Dear Colin, My sense is that you have blurred some important distinctions and this has created a problem for you. First of all, you seem to be assuming that the text you quote, not exactly accurately, should be literally applied. That is a misuse of scripture. None of the words that we attribute to Jesus result from either a tape recording or an eye witness report. The particular text you are quoting is from Matthew’s gospel and it reads, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” It is attributed to the Risen Christ, and is part of the first quotation in any source that was said to have been spoken by Jesus after his crucifixion. In the opening chapter of Matthew, the annunciating angel says to Joseph that the baby’s name will be called Emmanuel which means “God with us.” The words attributed to the risen Jesus in Matthew’s gospel are designed by that gospel writer to complete the circle and to demonstrate that Jesus accomplished in his adult life what the annunciation prior to his birth proclaimed that he would be. It is, therefore an attempt both to affirm and to defend the messianic claim being made for Jesus by his followers. The end of time surely did not refer to the end of the Christian age because no one knew at the time Matthew was written, that there would be anything called the Christian Age. The followers of Jesus when Matthew was written were still members of the synagogue. There is no evidence that Jesus meant to establish a new religion or that he would have or could have said or used the words that you attribute to him. What did dominate the early Christian movement was the anticipation of the end of the world, which, they believed, would be marked by the second coming or the return of Jesus. This hope seems to have declined by the time the Fourth Gospel was written and John’s version of Pentecost or the coming of the Holy Spirit begins to be substituted for the literal second coming of Jesus. Pentecost stories appear only in the book of Acts and in the Fourth Gospel, both of which appear to be works of the tenth decade. Now, with that in mind, it is clear that Jesus did not promise to be with us to the end of the Christian era. The author of those words meant the second coming of Jesus, which would in that period of history mean the end of the world. What I mean by a Post-Christian era is that we have arrived at a time in history when the Christian Church or the Christian faith no longer dominates the life of Western Europe and the United States. The erosion of this influence began with the work of Copernicus and was brought to full fervor in the Enlightenment with the work of such people as Galileo and Isaac Newton. Christianity’s influence in Europe and in the United States today is minimal and, where it is influential, it appears to be so in the most negative of ways: Witness the Church’s war on women, which includes not only its negativity to both contraception and abortion, but also its still widely voiced hostility toward those who want to have women be priests, bishops, archbishops and Popes If that were not already enough, we could also point to the church’s continued prejudice against homosexual persons and its ill-fated attempt to diminish the insights of Charles Darwin. Ours is today a secular society and hence a Post-Christian era. I hope this helps. ~John Shelby Spong Announcements Note from the editors: The following message was meant to be included in last weeks essay. Our apologies for its delay. "We send to all of our subscribers and readers our best wishes for the Christmas season and our hope for a peaceful and just world in the New Year." ~John Shelby Spong and Christine Spong Any questions or concerns, please contact us at support(a)johnshelbyspong.com or 503-236-3545. Copyright © 2012 ProgressiveChristianity.org, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have a membership at our website. Our mailing address is: ProgressiveChristianity.org 3530 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Unit 1 Portland, OR 97214 Add us to your address book . .

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Holcombes' Xmas Letter
by George Holcombe 26 Dec '12

26 Dec '12

Having a great holiday, hoping all of you are too. PDF of our letter, George Holcombe 14900 Yellowleaf Tr. Austin, TX 78728 Mobile 512/252-2756 geowanda(a)earthlink.net Hope appeareth, but it is not your Hope—you do not have anything to do with it. It just appeareth. It comes as a stranger, as an alien—it just appeareth! You do not even know why you hope. How in the world could you hope when there is absolutely nothing to justify any hope? ~Joseph W. Mathews

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Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Tony Elizondo
by jonzondo＠juno.com 24 Dec '12

24 Dec '12

Tony (my father) had an infection in the bone of his foot and had an operation last week to clean out the infection. All indications from my sister are that the surgery went well. I have not heard the recovery prognosis as yet. I will try to get a phone number to call and I will post it on this list. Thank you for the inquiry. And for all the prayers. In Beauty, Jon ____________________________________________________________ 1 Odd spice that FIGHTS diabetes Can this unusual "super spice" control your blood sugar and fight diabetes&#63 http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/50d802b1f1af42b10c00st03vuc Joann Williams called yesterday with the news that Tony is in the hospital near Houston. Perhaps Jon can get us up to date. George Holcombe 14900 Yellowleaf Tr. Austin, TX 78728 Mobile 512/252-2756 geowanda(a)earthlink.net Hope appeareth, but it is not your Hope—you do not have anything to do with it. It just appeareth. It comes as a stranger, as an alien—it just appeareth! You do not even know why you hope. How in the world could you hope when there is absolutely nothing to justify any hope? ~Joseph W. Mathews

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