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This has always been the case— | | | | View this email in your browser | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Review of: Science and Spiritual Practices by Rupert Sheldrake | | | | | | | | | | Essay by Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox April 18, 2019Science and Spirituality need each other. This has always been the case—from Aristotle (who concludes his classic work on Physics with positing an Unmoved Mover) to Aquinas (who fought the fundamentalists of his day about the value of bringing science, namely Aristotle, and the scientific method of his day, namely scholasticism, into the world of faith). With the torture and murder of Giordanno Bruno at the stake in the Jubilee year in Rome in 1600, and with the threats of the Inquisition against Galileo Galilei a decade or two later, there has been a painful rupture between science and religion, psyche and cosmos, in the West for over 400 years. This divorce has been devastating for the Earth and for humanity which is so divided, so violent in its investments in war and weapons and so at war with itself as well as with the Earth. But now something new is afoot. It is primed not only by the deep trouble humanity finds itself in amidst the unprecedented extinction spasm occurring around the planet due to climate change and the rest, but also there is a movement within science away from the arrogance of reductionism and anthropocentrism and probing of deeper questions and explorations into consciousness and mind expansion, intuition, creativity and happiness. Science is beginning to explore these deeper qualities of existence and move beyond self-made boundaries about the quantifiable being the only reality.On religion’s part, in some places at least, there is a movement to put spirituality or experience ahead of structure and dogma and theological righteousness and to reconnect justice—eco, gender, economic, racial, social—with the basic teaching of love and compassion. Also there is an effort to step out of its own narcissism (Pope Francis’ word) in questions like “Am I saved?” “Do I live forever?” and to integrate the search for the truth about nature as the revelatory source that it is. (Aquinas: “Revelation comes in two volumes: Nature and the Bible.”) Creation Spirituality is such a movement within religion and integral to it is a quest for scientific understanding for as Aquinas put it 750 years ago, “a mistake about creation results in a mistake about God.” Or as Hildegard of Bingen put it 100 years previously, “all science comes from God.” Fundamentalists of course are not yet on board with a yearning for scientific truth but maybe there are signs that among the present generation, some of that resistance may melt (along with the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica and the glaciers occurring all around the world).If there is a glimmer of hope around religion’s waking up to science (and Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical “Laudato Si” is a solid effort), a book like biologist Rupert Sheldrake’s new book, Science and Spiritual Practices might contribute meaningfully to religion’s wake-up. And science’s. Hopefully both will happen since time is rapidly running out for our species and for the planet as we know it and for countless other species threatened by earth’s demise. (In the interest of transparency I should confess that I am a friend of Rupert Sheldrake and have written two books with him, Natural Grace and The Physics of Angels).Sheldrake’s newest book is a giant step forward. Drawing on his last book, Science Set Free, (which I called in a review “the most important book in the last ten years”[1]) he again challenges scientists to face up to the “hard problem” in the philosophy of mind which is that of consciousness. How can consciousness be strictly “in the brain” as materialistic dogma insists? Materialists, Sheldrake points out in his introduction, “start from the assumption that everything is made of unconscious matter, including human brains.” (p. 16) Then how does consciousness emerge in brains? Even though the practice of religion is in steep decline in Europe “spiritual experiences are surprisingly common, even among those who describe themselves as non-religious.” One study asked British people, “Have you ever experienced a presence or power, whether you call it God or not, which is different from your everyday self?” In 1978 36 % said yes; in 1987, 48%; and in 2000, over 75% said yes. In America, a Gallup poll asked if people had ever had “a religious or mystical experience” and in 1962 22% said yes; in 1994, 33%; in 2009, 49%. (16f) Now some of these statistics may just belie the fact that today spirituality is more easy for people to talk about, but they also demonstrate that, even though religious affiliation is on the decline, spiritual experiences are not. Spiritual practices are happening outside “traditional religious frameworks.” A good example is yoga practices that reach millions in the West. These practices, says Sheldrake, “fill a need that atheism cannot satisfy.” (17)Beginning around the turn of the millennium science began to investigate spiritual practices and their effects on humans. The University of Wisconsin is famous for its hooking Buddhist monks up to scientific gadgets to test what goes on in the brain of a person in meditation. Literally thousands of research studies now exist and what is their general consensus? Sheldrake summarizes the findings this way: “The results generally show that religious and spiritual practices confer benefits that include better physical and mental health, less proneness to depression and greater longevity.” (20). In addition, people lacking the kind of practices he lays out in the book are “unhappier, unhealthier and more depressed. Militant atheism should come with a health warning,” he proposes. (204) Thus, Sheldrake concludes that “the old-fashioned opposition between science and religion is a false dichotomy. Open-minded scientific studies enhance our understanding of spiritual and religious practices.” (20) Two dimensions of this book on spiritual practices particularly stand out to me. First is that Sheldrake is not afraid to speak in the first person, in fact he confesses in his Preface that he has participated himself in all of the practices. It is refreshing to see the “I” word throughout this book. So few scientists seem willing to let go of the objectivity dogma to admit actual participation in life and its deepest searches. Sheldrake is not one of these people. In fact, in his chapter on Pilgrimage he tells a moving story of relating to his godson this way. Instead of giving a birthday object as a gift, he began giving a birthday experience each year, and each year he and his teen age godson would take a pilgrimage together. Great things happened.Second is that Sheldrake, while not ignoring the East (where he lived as a young scientist and began his journey out of atheism and met a mentor in the wonderful Benedictine monk Bede Griffiths), focuses his book primarily on his own tradition, namely western religious practices. Why not? He is a westerner after all and he and his wife Jill Purce (who plays an important role in the chapter on chant and song since she is an important practitioner and teacher of both) are practicing Christians in the Anglican tradition. This is especially important because so many Westerners are so mystically illiterate that they do not have a clue that the West has also developed spiritual practices over the centuries both within its monastic traditions and outside them. One might credit Sheldrake for following Carl Jung’s warning when he said Westerners should not be pirates thieving wisdom from foreign shores as if our own culture was an error outlived. And also credit Sheldrake for paying more than the usual pious lip service to the advice of the Dalai Lama who encourages Westerners not to become Buddhist but to explore more deeply one’s own spiritual traditions. Rupert does that.Sheldrake presents seven practices in seven chapters and a concluding chapter. He treats the practices both from the perspective of experience and scientific understanding by bringing in studies of the effects of each practice. The practices are laid out in the Table of Contents of the book as follows: 1. Meditation 2. Gratitude 3. Reconnecting with the more-than-human word 4. Plants 5. Rituals 6. Singing, chanting and the power of music 7. Pilgrimages and Holy Places. He also promises a follow-up book which will consider other practices. That book is now available from England or on Amazon but not yet from an America publisher. It is called Ways To Go Beyond and Why They Work.This first book, Science and Spiritual Practices, is a breakthrough. It is a promise and sign of hope in a dire time, an apocalyptic time, but a potentially revelatory time also (the word apocalypse from Greek can also be translated as “revelation” after all). Is it true that the modern age of antagonism between science and religion, psyche and cosmos, can be healed? Is it true that this is happening right now? That spiritual experience is available to believers and unbelievers alike? Read this important book and find out for yourself. I have previously endorsed this book in a brief form and I repeat that endorsement here for it summarizes some of the richness and excitement and readability of the text. “I love this book! For its clarity, its first-person stories and applications, its science and experientially based facts, its timeliness, its humor, its blunt questions and challenges put to the guardians of die-hard scientific materialism, its breadth of topics and depth of insights historical, philosophical, religious and spiritual. Few living scientists have the courage and the chops to ask the questions Rupert does, research them, and deliver answers in language all can understand. Be prepared as you read this book for an exciting and free-ranging ride, a sort of scientific pilgrimage journeying into spiritual practices and how they have benefited and can benefit humanity.”There is much despair in the air these days both among the general public and among scientific groups I have met with. If “hope is a verb with the sleeves rolled up” as eco-philosopher David Orr puts it, then part of the rolling up of our sleeves that needs doing today, part of the necessary work of our time, is inner work. We cannot accomplish all that needs to happen and all that needs to give birth to out of anger or action/reaction response alone. We also must do the inner work. Sheldrake’s book assists us to understand why the ancient practices of our ancestors were not in vain and were not foolish but have a solid meaning behind them that even science can appreciate anew. Now there is no excuse for not “rolling up our sleeves” and doing our work—both inner and outer–and blending the two.[2]~ Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox Read online here About the Author Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox holds a doctorate in spirituality from the Institut Catholique de Paris and has authored 35 books on spirituality and contemporary culture that have been translated into 71 languages. Fox has devoted 45 years to developing and teaching the tradition of Creation Spirituality and in doing so has reinvented forms of education and worship. His work is inclusive of today’s science and world spiritual traditions and has awakened millions to the much neglected earth-based mystical tradition of the West. He has helped to rediscover Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, Thomas Aquinas. Recent books include The Lotus & The Rose: Conversations on Tibetan Buddhism and Mystical Christianity with Lama Tsomo; Naming the Unnameable: 89 Wonderful and Useful Names for God…Including the God Without a Name; new paperback version of Stations of the Cosmic Christ with Bishop Marc Andrus. A Special Eckhart@Erfurt workshop in June, 2019. [1] Matthew Fox, “Rupert Sheldrake’s The Science Delusion: The Most Important Book of the Decade?” See my website, www.matthewfox.org.[2] See Matthew Fox, The Reinvention of Work (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1994). | | | | | | | | Question & Answer Q: By Lonnie How to talk to Fundamentalist Evangelicals? I grew up as one but like to ask questions and realize you are all on the right track. I along with my wife attend an Evangelical church nearly every Sunday and wonder the best ways to talk about science, global warming, the age of the earth, evolution, biblical errors and so on, of which Evangelicals seem so terrified. A: By Brian D. McLaren Dear Lonnie,Many Evangelicals are so 100% bought in to the whole package they have been given - original sin, penal substitutionary atonement, biblical inerrancy, young earth creationism, denial of climate change, unwillingness to hear the arguments for LGBTQ equality, support for Donald Trump - that if you challenge them, they'll feel attacked and respond defensively or simply start avoiding you. When people become defensive, they tend to double down on what they're defending and identify themselves even more closely with it, so any attempts to argue can actually cause people to become more resistant to different ways of thinking.I think of Jesus' words about being wise as serpents and innocent as doves, meaning that we have to be completely non-aggressive (doves) but also look for the tiniest opening (serpents) to get the seed of a new message through their defenses. Here are four suggestions:1. You can wait for someone to say something you find false, unhelpful, or offensive. Then, rather than arguing back, just say, "Wow. I see that differently." They'll likely ask why, and rather than arguing (especially in public, which almost guarantees a defensive reaction), I'd recommend you say - with pleasantness and kindness, "I'd rather not go into it now. For now I just wanted you to know that I see it differently. If you're curious sometime in the future, I'll be glad to share why in private." There's great power in a non-directive, non-aggressive statement (I see that differently), and a great gift in differing without needing to convince. 2. You can share your perspectives in a way that makes it easy for others to differ, while always remaining positive, emphasizing not just what you're against, but what you're for. You might say, "I'm pretty sure that I hold a minority opinion on this, but I find the creation story in Genesis much richer when read as a poem that conveys meaning instead of a scientific or historical account." You're not asking anyone to agree with you (I hold a minority opinion), and you're focusing not on their fault (interpreting literally) but on what you have found meaningful (reading poetically).3. You can share books or other recommendations. Most Evangelicals won’t be ready for Jack Spong or even Marcus Borg, but they might listen to Rachel Held Evans or Pete Enns or Brian Zahnd, or perhaps even some of my books. There are some tremendous podcasts out there to recommend too, geared especially for questioning Evangelicals. Pete Enns’ “The Bible for Normal People” and Tripp Fuller’s “Homebrewed Christianity” and Jen Hatmaker’s “For the Love” are among my favorites. 4. Whenever possible, tell your story. Don't say, "You're a homophobic bigot" or "You're so Islamophobic!" Instead, say, "You know, I used to see things the way you do. But then, a lifelong friend confided to me that he was gay...." Or, "I often hear the opinion of Muslims that you just expressed, but I should tell you about my friends Mustafa and Zaid. We met two years ago ..." When you share your story, you're adding data to their data bank that they can process later on their own. Soren Kierkegaard said that "the apostle" (the person who carries a message of good news) must be like a midwife. Midwives know that no mother wants to give birth in public. Similarly, people generally prefer to give birth to a new opinion in private. So we offer what we can in public, but then withdraw so that people can process and "go through labor" on their own.~ Brian D. McLaren Read and share online here About the Author Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity” – just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He is an Auburn Senior Fellow and a leader in the Convergence Network, through which he is developing an innovative training/mentoring program for pastors, church planters, and lay leaders called Convergence Leadership Project. He works closely with the Center for Progressive Renewal/Convergence, the Wild Goose Festival and the Fair Food Program‘s Faith Working Group. His most recent joint project is an illustrated children’s book (for all ages) called Cory and the Seventh Story. Other recent books include: The Great Spiritual Migration, We Make the Road by Walking, and Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road? (Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World). Brian has been active in networking and mentoring church planters and pastors since the mid 1980’s, and has assisted in the development of several new churches. He is a popular conference speaker and a frequent guest lecturer for denominational and ecumenical leadership gatherings – across the US and Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. He has written for or contributed interviews to many periodicals, including Leadership, Sojourners, Tikkun, Worship Leader, and Conversations. A frequent guest on television, radio, and news media programs, he has appeared on All Things Considered, Larry King Live, Nightline, On Being, and Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. His work has also been covered in Time, New York Times, Christianity Today, Christian Century, the Washington Post, Huffington Post, CNN.com, and many other print and online media. Brian is married to Grace, and they have four adult children and five grandchildren. His personal interests include wildlife and ecology, fly fishing and kayaking, music and songwriting, and literature. | | | | | | | | Please continue to send us your feedback… we are listening. We aim to give voice to many different perspectives that are relevant and inspiring along this spiritually progressing path. We are not here to tell you what to believe or how to act. We are here to support your journey, to share and learn together. Join Our Facebook Community Today! | | | | | | | | Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited The Substitutionary Death of Jesus on the Cross Alone Brings Salvation: Part One Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong May 30, 2007 It is hard in our generation to put into a single sentence the substance of the Third Fundamental that traditional Christians, at the beginning of the 20th century, said was essential to the Christian faith. Officially, it is referred to as “The doctrine of the substitutionary atonement through God’s grace and human faith.” Those words communicate almost nothing today. From generation to generation its meaning has been carried for Protestant Christians in the popular mantra, “Jesus died for my sins,” while in Catholic Christianity it finds expression in talk about “the sacrifice of the mass” or in references to the cleansing power of Jesus being received sacramentally. These expressions employ the language of what the church has typically called: “the doctrine of the substitutionary atonement.”Over the next three weeks in this column, I intend to examine this familiar Christian idea that I regard today as a completely bankrupt way of understanding the Christian faith. In my opinion these atonement ideas have succeeded primarily in turning God into a child-abusing heavenly parent.They have also turned Jesus into being the ultimate, perhaps even the masochistic, victim of a sadistic father God. Furthermore when literalized, these ideas have turned ordinary Christians into people burdened by the weight of guilt that at best is immobilizing and at worst serves to create a religious justification for their own abuse of others. It had been primarily responsible, I believe, for the levels of anger that have infected Christian history, finding expression in the burning of heretics, anti-Semitism, religious wars, religious persecution, the Crusades and in the rampant homophobia that embraces so much of the Christian Church today. Click here to read full essay.~ John Shelby Spong | | | | | | | | Announcements NEW! Progressing Spirit Bumper Stickers! Start conversations around your progressive faith by putting these stickers on your re-usable mugs, water bottles, and notebooks. Spread the Progressive Christian movement by adding the bumper stickers to your car. Let’s share the good news that there is an alternative to fundamental Christianity! These Bumper stickers with removable adhesive that are ideal for cars and trucks. With thick, durable vinyl that protects your stickers from scratches, water & sunlight. Only $4 each! Progressing Spirit Bumper Stickers Purchase here only $4 each! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |