August 2018 - OE - lists.wedgeblade.net

Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] Releasing young Nepal girls to grow up without inhibiting Period traditions
by Jack Gilles 17 Aug '18

17 Aug '18

Wayne, I for one have always admired your commitment to raise funds for our projects. I know that we “built” the Chickale Training Centre with those funds and hosted you and the Japanese colleagues. It is still such a sign!! You can count on me for a check for $50, which I’ll mail when I get to Chicago as mail from here in Mexico can take a L O N G time! I’d like to make a couple of suggestions. Share with us the %that goes to the project and how much for overhead. Give us a number of how much caring for one girl for a year, or four years would be. If the sanitary napkin production is replicable, give us the amount and how many it can make and for how much. You are a profoundly global citizen and I for one am deeply grateful. Grace & Peace, Jack PS I also am adding the OE listserve. Not everyone of our colleagues gets both. > On Aug 17, 2018, at 01:59, Wayne Ellsworth via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: > > Dear Colleagues, > > I have enjoyed reading many of your notes, and am so thankful that this community exists. I wish more and some younger colleagues would also join in reading this refreshing mail. > > 32 years ago I was sent to Japan, and it probably close to the last ever “global assignment”. We have funded many projects over the years, and now we have not funds to spare. Then I learned about the giant Global Giving NGO, and at the same time I was awakened to the urgent need of people in Nepal to shed the ancient tradition of forcing girls to miss 1 week of school each month, and worse still, to have these young girls stay outside in crude huts, even in the wintertime. At 77 years, this was utterly shocking news. I still cannot believe it is true! I am sure that by now, you know that I am talking about young women with Periods! > > Consequently I have made a partner with ICA Nepal, and they decided to educate girls in schools of Kathmandu and in the remote mountains too. Together we sent the goal of reaching 5000 girls from now until Spring. We have a head start, so with skills, a sanitary napkin making device, and cooperation of many schools, we think we will succeed. All Nepal needs is you to join in helping fund this effort, with a small gift, say US$10 to US$25, or more. That is about one nice restaurant meal, isn’t it? > > Would you please read our proposal which we have put on-line? It is at https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/lets-talk-period/ <https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/lets-talk-period/> and it talks about a huge startup campaign starting on September 10th. Please get ready to donate on-line to end this mindless tradition in Nepal. You and I will feel really great for a very long time. > > Gratefully, > Wayne Ellsworth > > > > _______________________________________________ > Dialogue mailing list > Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

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an eclipse Earthrise
by W. J. 16 Aug '18

16 Aug '18

Until last month my writing juices have been so dried up that it's felt like I've been stumbling across the Kimberley during the Dry. Now suddenly ... the Great Deluge!So attached herewith is my early Earthrise witness on last year's Great Eclipse (I'm not waiting for my September birthday). I spent the day with the entire Fishel clan, including their twin grandsons who had a blast, and my nephew Scott with his humongous high tech telescope. Even with all that techie gear, there was something totally otherworldly--an Other World--in our earthbound experience.Blessings,Marshall

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Bob Vance
by Jack Gilles 16 Aug '18

16 Aug '18

Dear Cynthia, I am always flooded with memories of our beloved community when I hear news like Bob’s passing. What a great man and colleague he was! I think you create a special bond with the person who taught your RS-I, and Bob, along with Fred Buss, taught mine on the Westside in December of 1966. Later I got to work with him a bit in the Summer programs. The second memory is when you and he came to Litibu to do birding. We all so enjoyed your presence. On behalf of George West and myself, we send our deepest gratitude and our deepest sympathy to you for being a life partner and caretaker for our colleague Bob. May the grace of God sustain you, along with Neil and Faith. Grace and Peace, and Love, Jack and George

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Kwangyung Il
by Jim Baumbach 16 Aug '18

16 Aug '18

This morning the guest to our men's group was a professor from Lawrence University here in Appleton. He has connections with family in South Korea and is well versed in North Korean politics. I wanted to share something about our HDP in Kwangyung Il with him but felt I have hardly know anything about it. Is it still a viable HDP? Do we have any information about it? What happened to it? Appreciate any info about it. Jim Baumbach --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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8/16/18, Progressing Spirit: David Felten: Saving Christianity from Easter; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 16 Aug '18

16 Aug '18

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style="display: block;margin: 0;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 26px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;text-align: left;">Saving Christianity from Easter</h1> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><img align="left" height="154" style="border: 0px;float: left;width: 125px;height: 154px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;outline: none;text-decoration: none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;" width="125" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/117a0944-fe1…">Column by Rev. David M. Felten August 16, 2018</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">I’ll always remember the day I was kicked out of the Fountain Hills “Ministerial Association.” It was Tuesday of Holy Week and the President of the group (then an ELCA Lutheran, now an LCMC pastor), walked into our staff meeting and informed me that there “wasn’t a part for me” in the upcoming “community” Easter Sunrise service.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">I drove over to the then PCUSA Presbyterian church (now ECO) to ask the pastor there (who I wrongly assumed to be sympathetic) what was going on. His response was, “I agree with the rest of the clergy. Frankly, if I believed what you believe, I’d have no reason to get up on Easter morning.”</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Having voiced my metaphorical take on Easter the previous year, one thing was clear: these purveyors of the conventional Easter story were worried. Why? Because they know that the woo-woo supernatural conventional take on resurrection is wearing thin – and they’re desperate to keep a lid on it. In the case of both of the above pastors, their solution was to distance themselves from me and my heretical ways and then tack to the right to join more fundamentalist denominations, taking their churches with them.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">But for those who aren’t willing to join such folks in circling the wagons and going backward theologically, Bishop Spong’s reflections in <a style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…"><em>Unbelievable</em></a> offer a clear path forward into the future. One of his most concise theses challenges what many conventional Christians consider the last stand of “true” Christians: unwavering faith in Jesus’ literal and physical resurrection. In short, Spong’s alternative is both gratifying and profound in its transcendence of traditional Christianity’s fixation on the literal.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><strong>Spiritual NOT Physical</strong></p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Spong, ever the whistle-blower, begins his exposé of the Biblical accounts of resurrection with our earliest “witness,” Paul. Predating the Gospel accounts by close to 20 years, Paul’s mentions of Jesus’ “appearances” are sketchy, at best. The word Paul uses to describe the experience of those encounters, <em>opthe</em> (the Greek root of the English word “ophthalmology”), is clearly used to convey something more than a literal, physical event. Paul’s descriptions don’t describe an empty tomb OR a resuscitated body. Paul’s list of witnesses are folks who’ve had a breakthrough of <em>understanding</em> – an “aha” moment that renews their vision of life and the possibilities attendant to living into the purposes that Jesus expressed in his life and death. Like Genesis’ Joseph or Isaiah’s suffering servant, Jesus chose love instead of revenge. Whatever you’d like to say the historical Jesus’ message was about, it was not about winning. It was about absorbing the world’s hostility, draining people of their anger, and returning it to them as love.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Jesus’ life was not an expression of a judging, vengeful vision, but was about manifesting a way of life that wasn’t driven by mere survival. Jesus’ life was grounded in a commitment to freeing people to love beyond their boundaries and their fears – beyond tribe, race, ethnicity, gender. This is the kind of love that enabled him to give his life away.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">For those who “got it,” Jesus’ resurrection was shorthand for the transforming realization that Jesus had taken humanity to a new dimension – moving our life’s purpose from self-preservation to a universal interconnectedness – an awareness of the oneness of all things. Those who were “witnesses” to the resurrection had, in effect, “seen the light.”</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">It shouldn’t surprise us that the gospels then took Paul’s more spiritual concept in a totally different (and literal) direction. Exhibit A can be found in the various endings of Mark. At first, our humble original gospel had absolutely no account of Christ appearing – no physical appearance whatsoever. This “oversight” on Mark’s part so bothered early Christians that they took it upon themselves to add new endings (cf. Mark’s “longer” and “shorter” endings you’ll find in your Bible).</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Mark’s original Easter story portrays women coming to the tomb and discovering the stone moved and a young man dressed in white announcing, “He is not here!” and “Go tell the Disciples…”. But instead they run off without saying anything to anyone, “for they were afraid.” That’s the original Jesus-free gospel description of Easter – a story that hinges on the message of the white-robed messenger: return home and go about the business of making what you’ve learned from Jesus a reality in your everyday lives. The message to the original readers is akin to: “Look, <em>somebody’s</em> got to do it. All the disciples ran away and can’t be counted on.”</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">But that wasn’t good enough. As later “appearance” stories were added to the narrative, it’s as though we can see the earliest signs of the literalization of Easter happening right before our eyes.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Later, Matthew magnifies the miraculous and, as Bishop Spong suggests, “closes the loopholes” Matthew thinks Mark has left open. The young man in white becomes an angel (with a wardrobe upgrade!) and offers a much more supernatural message: “Jesus has risen from the grave! He goes before you to Galilee.” The women are faithful (not afraid) and do indeed tell the Disciples, to whom Jesus then appears. It is helpful to note that this is the first narrative of a resurrected Jesus being seen by anyone in the whole Bible – and it was written 50+ years after the events described.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">For Matthew, the resurrected Jesus is not “physical” but appears and disappears in various encounters, culminating in what’s called “the great commission.” Bishop Spong acknowledges that Jesus’ final words in Matthew are traditionally interpreted as an evangelical charge to go forth and “convert the heathen.” But, as there was no church to convert anyone to at the time, it makes much more sense to hear the great commission as Christ reminding the disciples of just what Jesus demonstrated in his life: “to go beyond your boundaries, your fears, your lines of security: learn to give yourselves away and know that you are part of who I am. We cannot now be separated!” What a difference!</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Then along comes Luke, upping the ante to TWO angels, an unmistakably physical body for Jesus (eating, drinking, walking, teaching) but still possessing the handy ability to dematerialize into thin air. These alleged physical appearances leverage the need for Luke to pen the story (absent from the other gospels) of what’s come to be called the ascension (a narrative Jack covers in another chapter).</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Then John, who is not satisfied with just one resurrection story, generates four! 1. Mary Magdalene discovers the empty tomb and goes to fetch Peter and the beloved disciple. While there’s no body, the beloved disciple “believes” (ushering in the idea that “belief without seeing” is the ultimate litmus test. 2. Mary Magdalene lingers at the tomb and has a chat with the gardener, who (surprise!) turns out to be Jesus. As if to say, “Don’t cling to the physical. That’s not what resurrection is about,” the gardener says, “Don’t hold onto me.” 3. Jesus appears to the disciples and they “believe.” Thomas is absent. 4. Cut to eight days later: Jesus again appears to the disciples – including Thomas, who now confesses his belief. Jesus then disses Thomas with, “You get it now? By the way, it will be better in the future if folks believe without having to see me, OK?”</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">What are we to make of all these disparate and conflicting stories (besides yet more evidence that followers of Jesus have seldom agreed on anything)? Namely, whatever historical events did or didn’t happen, early efforts to describe and document Jesus’ transformation from 1st century rabbi to cosmic god-man tried to recast a subjective awareness into objective fact. Perhaps the gospel writers and early champions of the faith could have made today’s interpretive challenges less complicated if they’d been familiar with the mantra of our #fakenews generation: “You’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.”</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><strong>“What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.”</strong>(i)</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">In the final analysis, the Biblical evidence of the Easter experience is clearly not about a physical body walking out of a tomb. “It is far more profound than that,” writes Spong. It is about the Divine being seen and lived out in human experience. Paul and the gospel writers do their very best in trying to describe (with 1st century imagery) what is essentially a change of worldview and purpose in people’s minds and hearts. In Bishop Spong’s words, true resurrection happens only when “we live fully, love wastefully, and become all that we are capable of being.”</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Instead, the history of Christianity is the history of apologists interpreting the resurrection stories grounded in a belief in a supernatural, interventionist, theistic God manipulating history and human lives. We have failed to communicate the deeper, poetic, and metaphorical understanding that one can only truly “see” Jesus “resurrected” when we open our eyes to the reality of the Divine in the midst of everyday life, in expressions of love and courage, compassion and barrier-breaking.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Look, Mary Magdalene (in John), the Emmaus disciples (in Luke), and the disciples out fishing (also John) don’t even recognize the “physical” Jesus. Whatever resurrection is, it’s evidently not about a recognizable resuscitated body. Awareness dawns on Mary and the disciples only when Jesus speaks words of compassion and demonstrates his agenda of inclusivity in the breaking of bread. It’s not about believing in a one-off wing-ding event that happened 2000 years ago, but an ongoing and life re-ordering process. We have badly misunderstood Easter and failed to communicate the biblical vision that is so clearly present – and so yearned for in contemporary life.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><strong>Saving Christianity from Easter</strong></p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">One might wonder if it’s realistic to think that Christians who are stuck on the literal will ever come around. Maybe, maybe not. But the chances are even less likely if we continue to be coy with people regarding the many and varied interpretations of resurrection within the New Testament itself.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Countless members of what Bishop Spong calls the Church Alumni/ae Association have left the church precisely because they have the spiritual and interpretive integrity to want more from these stories than the institutional expectation of suspended disbelief and unquestioning assent to the irrational and supernatural. These alumni/ae have read the text and see the contradictions. They have a gut feeling that there’s got to be something more, but receiving little to no intellectual satisfaction from clergy and other “authorities,” choose to set off in search of a spiritual path that transcends the felt-board simplicity of their childhoods.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">This is our challenge going forward: no less than saving Christianity from Easter (at least the Easter that has driven whole generations of thinking Christians out of the church). We always, of course, have the option to join the pastors of the Fountain Hills Ministerial Association in doubling-down on the miraculous and gloating in our über-piety. OR, we can be encouraged by Bishop Spong’s life-affirming, world-changing, vision of resurrection – a challenge to “live fully, love wastefully, and become all that we are capable of being.” It will be risky – especially for clergy. But the only way we can restore resurrection’s credibility in the minds and hearts of 21st century, thinking people is to remove the dead-weight of literalism and to resurrect our theological imaginations. Bishop Spong is calling us to go beyond our boundaries, our fears, our lines of security and give ourselves away – a call that transcends threadbare beliefs and makes resurrection real in the world, here and now.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">— Rev. David M. Felten Click <a target="_blank" style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…">here</a> to read online and to share your thoughts </p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">(i) <a target="_blank" style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…"><img align="center" height="19" style="border: 0px;width: 400px;height: 19px;margin: 0px;outline: none;text-decoration: none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;" width="400" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/4d421716-fb4…"></a> </p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><strong>About the Author</strong></p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Rev. David M. Felten is a full-time pastor at <a style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…">The Fountains</a>, a United Methodist Church in Fountain Hills, Arizona. David and fellow United Methodist Pastor, Jeff Procter-Murphy, are the creators of the DVD-based discussion series for Progressive Christians, “<a style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…">Living the Questions</a>”.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">A co-founder of the <a style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…">Arizona Foundation for Contemporary Theology</a> and also a founding member of <a style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…">No Longer Silent: Clergy for Justice</a>, David is an outspoken voice for LGBTQ rights both in the church and in the community at large. David is active in the <a style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…">Desert Southwest Conference of the United Methodist Church</a> and tries to stay connected to his roots as a musician. You’ll find him playing saxophones in a variety of settings, including appearances with the <a style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…">Fountain Hills Saxophone Quartet</a>.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">David and his wife Laura, an administrator for a large Arizona public school district, live in Phoenix with their three often adorable children.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"> </p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" class="aolmail_mcnDividerBlock" style="min-width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace: 0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; !important;"> <tbody class="aolmail_mcnDividerBlockOuter"> <tr> <td class="aolmail_mcnDividerBlockInner" style="min-width: 100%;padding: 10px 18px;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <table class="aolmail_mcnDividerContent" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="min-width: 100%;border-top: 5px solid #694F0D;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace: 0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <span></span> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" class="aolmail_mcnTextBlock" style="min-width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace: 0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <tbody class="aolmail_mcnTextBlockOuter"> <tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_mcnTextBlockInner" style="padding-top: 9px;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width: 100%;min-width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace: 0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" width="100%" class="aolmail_mcnTextContentContainer"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_mcnTextContent" style="padding-top: 0;padding-right: 18px;padding-bottom: 9px;padding-left: 18px;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;word-break: break-word;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"> <h1 style="display: block;margin: 0;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 26px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;text-align: left;">Question & Answer</h1> <h3 style="display: block;margin: 0;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 20px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;text-align: left;"> </h3> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-size:18px">Q: By Matthew</span></strong> <em>What is your take on how obsessed Progressive Christians have gotten about bashing Trump?</em></p> <h3 style="display: block;margin: 0;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 20px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;text-align: left;"> <strong><span style="font-size:18px">A: By Eric Alexander</span></strong></h3> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><img height="138" style="border: 0px;width: 125px;height: 138px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;float: left;outline: none;text-decoration: none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;" width="125" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/815c2b92-d86…"></p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">This is an excellent question Matthew. I understand the need for catharsis, and even some healthy anger to propel change. But one of the things I find very interesting about many non-American spiritual leaders such as the Dalai Llama and the Pope, is that when given the opportunities to bash Trump, they usually never do. They are sometimes asked very direct questions about Trump’s policies on wealth concentration at the top, immigration, gun control, prison reform, consumerism, fossil fuels, healthcare, racism, foreign policy, and the size of the military; and they quickly shift the focus to how to deal with the issues on a broader scale. They have a degree of separation to see that these problems are not just Trump, but rather that they are distinctly tied to American culture no matter which political party is in office. They know that Trump is a symptom and not necessarily the disease. Now, they may prefer a man like Obama versus a man like Trump, but they see that not much actually changes from administration to administration, and they also know that the path to change isn’t through anger, hate, or dejection; but rather through jointly seeking solutions and focusing on what can be done better. And like Jesus did, they spend little to no time bashing any particular leaders by name, but rather they focus on upleveling the populace, which in turn creates systemic improvement from the grass roots. In American culture we have the incredible ability to express those feelings at the polls. In my humble opinion, as a society and global kinhood, we are ready to shift beyond being pawns of self-centered parties and raise the vibe, both in our hearts and at the polls. It is time to focus on larger solutions, such as why are we all at perpetual war? Why are the uber rich sucking up most of the resources. Why is healthcare and education so costly? And why are we still so focused on fossil fuels? This is not something that is going to be solved by the dominant political parties of our day until it grips the hearts of the people who hold the power to vote. In my humble opinion, it is time for progressive Christianity to welcome the wholeness of this political spirituality. That doesn’t mean not to take action or be passionate about the issues, but it means to do the things that are effective for real change of hearts, and that which compels people to make informed decisions at the polls. Thank you again for your excellent question.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">~ Eric Alexander Click <a target="_blank" style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…">here</a> to read and share online </p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><strong>About the Author</strong></p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Eric Alexander is an author, speaker, and entrepreneur. He is a board member at <a style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…">ProgressiveChristianity.org</a>, and is the founder of <a style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…">Jesism</a>, <a style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…">Christian Evolution</a>, and the <a style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…">Progressive Christianity and Politics</a> group on Facebook. Eric holds a Master of Theology from Saint Leo University and studied negotiations at Harvard Law School, and and is author of <a style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…"><em>Teaching Kids Life IS Good</em></a>.</p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" class="aolmail_mcnDividerBlock" style="min-width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace: 0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; !important;"> <tbody class="aolmail_mcnDividerBlockOuter"> <tr> <td class="aolmail_mcnDividerBlockInner" style="min-width: 100%;padding: 10px 18px;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <table class="aolmail_mcnDividerContent" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="min-width: 100%;border-top: 5px solid #694F0D;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace: 0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <span></span> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" class="aolmail_mcnTextBlock" style="min-width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace: 0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <tbody class="aolmail_mcnTextBlockOuter"> <tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_mcnTextBlockInner" style="padding-top: 9px;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width: 100%;min-width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace: 0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" width="100%" class="aolmail_mcnTextContentContainer"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_mcnTextContent" style="padding-top: 0;padding-right: 18px;padding-bottom: 9px;padding-left: 18px;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;word-break: break-word;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"> <h1 style="text-align: center;display: block;margin: 0;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 26px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;">Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited</h1> <h3 style="text-align: center;display: block;margin: 0;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 20px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;">The Virgin in the New Testament</h3> Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December 14, 2005 <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><img align="left" height="132" style="border: 0px;width: 125px;height: 132px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;outline: none;text-decoration: none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;" width="125" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/84fbd945-363…"></p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">As the Christmas season arrives, the icon of the Virgin Mary enters the consciousness of the Christian world in a significant way. She is universally recognized with her eyes lowered, the infant Jesus in her arms, and located in a stable. Joseph normally stands guard behind the manger. Sheep and cattle fill in the humble scene. Madonna and child have provided the content for many artists over the centuries. Most of us assume that this portrait is historically true and beyond reasonable doubt and that the Virgin Mother is a force for good, the image of female purity and virtue. Unfortunately, both of those conclusions are highly debatable at best and clear distortions of reality at worst. A look at some biblical facts might be in order.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Paul, the first writer of what was destined to be called the New Testament, wrote his epistles between 50 and 64 C.E. An examination of these texts will reveal that Paul knew nothing about a tradition of a miraculous birth or of a virgin mother. He certainly never mentions either. However, an argument from silence is not very strong, so it is essential to note that Paul contradicts such a tradition when he asserts that Jesus was “born of a woman, born under the law (Gal.4: 4).” The Greek word used here for “woman” has no connotation of virgin associated with it at all. His phrase “born under the law” was another way of saying that he was Jewish. Paul does mention that Jesus has a brother named James with whom Paul does not get along very well (Gal. 1:19). James was a force in the Christian movement in Jerusalem against which Paul had to contend. James appears to have achieved this position only because of his physical kinship to Jesus. Before the 8th decade of the Common Era, this is all the Christian movement seems to have known about Jesus’ family of origin.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">In the early 70s, the first gospel called Mark made its appearance. There was no birth story in this original gospel either. Jesus rather bursts upon the scene in Mark’s narrative as a full-grown adult being baptized in the Jordan River as part of the John the Baptist movement. Revealing no knowledge of a virgin birth tradition, Mark explains the God presence they find in Jesus by saying that at his baptism, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon him from heaven and the heavenly voice of God acknowledged Jesus as “my beloved son.” That acknowledgment appears to lean on words from Isaiah 42, in which the mythological servant figure, around whom II Isaiah builds his prophetic message, is also referred to by a heavenly voice as God’s son.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Mark does introduce Jesus’ family later in his gospel, but it is not a flattering portrait. His mother, as yet unnamed, and his brothers and sisters are portrayed as thinking Jesus is “beside himself” and they go to take him away (Mk 3:21, 31-35). No father is mentioned as part of this family constellation. Jesus rejects their attempt to define him inside their structures by claiming that “whoever does the will of God” is his family (Mark 3:35).</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Later Mark fleshes out the data on the family of Jesus (see Mark 6:1-6). Here a critic of Jesus from the crowd shouts, “Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary?” Please note that Jesus, not Joseph, is the carpenter in this earliest gospel. Mark has never heard of Joseph. Note also that the designation, “the son of Mary” is the first and only time that the name of Jesus’ mother is mentioned either in Mark or in any Christian written material until the 9th decade when Matthew’s Gospel comes into being. This passage also names the four brothers of Jesus– James, Joses, Simon and Judas, who presumably are Mary’s sons. This passage also states that Jesus had sisters. The word is plural, meaning at least two, but in this patriarchal era when women were not valued, they were also not honored with names. It is clear that by this time, no story of a miraculous birth or a virgin mother had entered the Christian tradition. Therefore, the tradition of a miraculous birth to a virgin mother cannot possibly be a part of the earliest Christian proclamation called the Kerygma.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">In the middle years of the 9th decade, Matthew wrote his gospel, basically by expanding Mark’s text, which he clearly had before him, fashioning his work specifically for his more traditional Jewish audience. He is the author who introduces the virgin birth to Christianity. Some five to 10 years after Matthew, Luke writes a gospel in which he also expands Mark’s story but fashions it for his audience, which was made up of Jews dispersed throughout the empire, as well as for a number of people closely associated with the synagogues called ‘gentile proselytes.’ Luke also includes a story about Jesus having a miraculous birth. The two stories are quite different, but few people recognize that because Matthew and Luke have their birth stories blended in Christmas pageants, which are the source of most peoples’ knowledge of Jesus’ birth.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Matthew begins his gospel with a list of Jesus’ direct line of ancestry stretching from his father Joseph all the way back to David and Abraham. This is the first biblical mention of the name of Joseph and indeed the first reference to the existence of such a person. After establishing both Jesus’ Jewish and his royal roots through Joseph, Matthew tells the story of the miraculous birth of Jesus, which he bases on Isaiah (7:14). Matthew misreads that text as saying “Behold a virgin shall conceive.” Matthew appears to be unable to read Hebrew, for whenever he quotes the Hebrew Scriptures he quotes a Greek translation. If he had read it in Hebrew, he would have known that this Isaiah text does not have the word “virgin” in it. It is an account of a critical time in Jewish history in the 8th century BCE when Jerusalem was under siege by the armies of the Northern Kingdom and the Syrians. Isaiah states that the birth of a child to a woman (presumably in the royal family) would be a sign from God that Jerusalem would not be destroyed by this attack. The birth of a child some 800 years later would hardly meet that criterion. It is a strange use of a text but Matthew used the Bible strangely on more than one occasion. Most scholars today believe that that text really says “Behold a young woman is with child.” That is hardly the story of a virgin!</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Matthew goes on to give us the familiar details of a star, magi, gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. These details appear to be based on Isaiah 60, in which kings are said, “to come to the brightness of God’s rising,” bringing gifts of gold and frankincense. Traveling on camels, these kings are also said to have come from Sheba. It is the word Sheba that brought myrrh into the story, since it led expositors to recall the visit of the Queen of Sheba to pay homage to Solomon, another ‘king of the Jews.’ As her tribute she brought truckloads of spices of which myrrh was the most familiar. Matthew makes Joseph the primary star in his original birth drama. In Matthew it is Joseph who receives the annunciation from the angel in a dream, Joseph who names the child, Joseph who flees with the child to Egypt, Joseph who, when it is safe, returns to Bethlehem and responding to another threat, it is Joseph who moves the family to Nazareth. The Virgin is a minor figure in Matthew’s story. She is portrayed as a ‘fallen woman.’ Joseph debates whether or not to embrace her as his wife until God in a dream assured him of the baby’s sacred origin.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">Luke refashions the birth story centering it on Mary. In Luke’s narrative it is Mary who receives the angel’s annunciation, and who denies the possibility of being pregnant, “since I know not man.” Mary is then assured by the angel of the child’s divine source. In Luke Mary sings the Magnificat, which is patterned on the song of Hannah at the birth of Samuel. Then the mythological elements begin to appear. In Luke shepherds replace the Magi, since Bethlehem was the home of David, the shepherd king. An angel and a heavenly host replace the star. There are no gifts but the shepherds do journey, as the wise men did, and miraculously find the child. Luke has no flight to Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath but rather in obedience to the Torah, Jesus is circumcised on the 8th day, and presented in the Temple on the 40th day before taking a leisurely journey back to Nazareth. The virgin birth thus entered the Christian tradition somewhere between 82 and 93 CE in two quite distinct forms that are filled with contradictory details. Far from being history, the virgin birth is a mythological interpretation of who Jesus is.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">To complete this New Testament survey, the gospel of John (95-100 CE) contains no birth story, miraculous or otherwise. On two occasions, John refers to Jesus simply as the “Son of Joseph.” The mother of Jesus is mentioned in this gospel only twice. In the first Jesus rebukes her at a wedding feast (2:1-11) for trying to press him before his time had come. In the second John has her present at the cross in order to receive Jesus’ commendation of her to the care of the beloved disciple. No other gospel portrays her anywhere near the cross. Mel Gibson will be shocked to discover that! Perhaps he should check his sources more carefully.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">That is all there is in the New Testament about the miraculous birth of Jesus and the role of the Virgin Mary. If one takes the birth narratives out of the gospels, Mary all but disappears from the story except for negative references. That usually surprises people who do not recognize that the Virgin they think they know, the Virgin who seems to appear periodically to people in visions, is a product, not of the gospels but of later Christian history. She is the creation of a male-dominated Church, which portrays her in the way males like to fantasize about women: she is a virgin and a mother, sweet, docile and obedient. She has been a weapon used historically to help religion repress real women. To the story of the Virgin myth in history, I will return next week.</p> <p style="margin: 10px 0;padding: 0;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;">~ John Shelby Spong</p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" class="aolmail_mcnDividerBlock" style="min-width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace: 0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; !important;"> <tbody class="aolmail_mcnDividerBlockOuter"> <tr> <td class="aolmail_mcnDividerBlockInner" style="min-width: 100%;padding: 10px 18px;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <table class="aolmail_mcnDividerContent" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="min-width: 100%;border-top: 5px solid #694F0D;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace: 0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <span></span> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" class="aolmail_mcnTextBlock" style="min-width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace: 0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <tbody class="aolmail_mcnTextBlockOuter"> <tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_mcnTextBlockInner" style="padding-top: 9px;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width: 100%;min-width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace: 0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" width="100%" class="aolmail_mcnTextContentContainer"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_mcnTextContent" style="padding-top: 0;padding-right: 18px;padding-bottom: 9px;padding-left: 18px;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;word-break: break-word;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"> <h1 class="aolmail_null" style="text-align: center;display: block;margin: 0;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 26px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;">Announcements</h1> <h2 class="aolmail_null" style="text-align: center;display: block;margin: 0;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 22px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;"><strong><a target="_blank" style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…"><img height="166" style="border: 0px;width: 200px;height: 166px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;float: left;outline: none;text-decoration: none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;" width="200" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/dc154aae-9a7…"></a> The Essence of Compassion</strong></h2> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong>From the Charter for Compassion</strong></div> <h2 class="aolmail_null" style="text-align: center;display: block;margin: 0;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 22px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;"> </h2> <h2 class="aolmail_null" style="text-align: center;display: block;margin: 0;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 22px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;"> <span style="font-size:20px"><strong>Goals of the Course</strong></span></h2> <h2 class="aolmail_null" style="text-align: center;display: block;margin: 0;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 22px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;"> </h2> <h2 class="aolmail_null" style="text-align: left;display: block;margin: 0;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 22px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-size:18px">* Capture and analyze opinions, reflections and observations on <span style="color:#FFFFFF">...</span>compassionate theories and actions. * Create a personal definition of compassion that is informed by <span style="color:#FFFFFF">...</span>a variety of sources. </span></h2> <h2 class="aolmail_null" style="text-align: center;display: block;margin: 0;padding: 0;color: #202020;font-family: Helvetica;font-size: 22px;font-style: normal;font-weight: bold;line-height: 125%;letter-spacing: normal;"> <span style="font-size:18px">Online Course begins September 9, 2018 - $15 <a target="_blank" style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…"><strong>Click here for more information ...</strong></a><a target="_blank" style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;color: #2BAADF;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…"><strong> </strong></a></span></h2> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" id="aolmail_templateFooter" 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<tbody><tr> <td valign="top" style="padding-right: 0;padding-bottom: 9px;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" class="aolmail_mcnFollowContentItemContainer"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" class="aolmail_mcnFollowContentItem" style="border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace: 0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <tbody><tr> <td align="left" valign="middle" style="padding-top: 5px;padding-right: 10px;padding-bottom: 5px;padding-left: 9px;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="" style="border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace: 0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <tbody><tr> <td align="center" valign="middle" width="24" class="aolmail_mcnFollowIconContent" style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> <a target="_blank" style="mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf44…"><img style="display: block;border: 0;height: auto;outline: none;text-decoration: none;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;" height="24" width="24" src="https://cdn-images.mailchimp.com/icons/social-block-v2/color-link-48.png"></a> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" class="aolmail_mcnDividerBlock" style="min-width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;mso-table-lspace: 0pt;mso-table-rspace: 0pt;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; !important;"> <tbody 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class="aolmail_mcnTextBlockInner" style="padding-top: 9px;mso-line-height-rule: exactly;-ms-text-size-adjust: 100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></center></div> </div>

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5 Questions Addendum to On Becoming a Practical Theologian Booklet
by Dawn Collins 15 Aug '18

15 Aug '18

Hi, Beret and Team! Please find the promised addition to the "little green book" as promised. Would appreciate any reflections you all might have (and I do mean any). With a special shout out to Leah Early, who was a great sounding board at this juncture of the journey. My thought was that anyone in our community who wanted to use this for 5 sessions around the meal tablet on a weekend most likely would be able to do so. G&P, Dawn We love the Creator/Source because the Source/Creator loved us first.- 1 John 4:19 ------------------------------ 5 Questions Addendum for OBaPT (On Becoming a Practical Theologian) Pamphlet This Addendum presupposes you (the facilitator) have access to the green pamphlet, On Becoming a Practical Theologian, which was previously sent to you by mail and is also available from Global Archives in Chicago and that you can make copies of the pages for potential participants. Each of the five sections contains the following: Most probably a meal followed by team enablement assignments and a brief break is recommended before the Intro/Context/ Instructions, 5 Questions, and Closing or Sending Forth of each section. Prelude: OBaPT/A Spiritual Riff on John 14:6 Intro/Context Did you ever have the desire to really "see" and comprehend the meaning of life at any given moment? Theological glasses are possible for anyone. Put them on as you read the following selection and be sure to number the paragraphs before you begin. Take 20 or 25 minutes to read this section. 5 Questions: 1. We'll begin by saying your name and can you think of the title of a book or other work of art that significantly impacted your life? 2. Did this Section of the paper ( Para 1-5) help recall similar situations in a movie or TV program? 3. Or did it bring up a memorable event in History? Para 4-5) 4. What about in any given decade in your life? (Para 6)? 5. How would you sum up your state of awareness at present (in a phrase) (Para 7-8)? Closing This is our time to make any necessary announcements e.g. counting off by teams for set-up/clear meals, time of next meeting, etc. Let us stand and close with a ritual claiming our awareness of this time and space and its significance in our own unique place in it. (And it is compliments of the 5th City PreSchool) L: This is the Day we have!! P: This is the day we have! L: We can live this Day... P: Or throw it away! ALL: This is the Day we have!. ............................................................ OBaPT/Life Quest (Part A) Context/Introduction Let's put on our theological eyeglasses again to inform and enable us to look deeper into our spirit journey. We'll number the paragraphs and circle or underline key words and phrases. Feel free to write in the margins. 5 Questions 1. (Go around the table). What words or phrases did you circle or underline: 2.. What is the life question being dealt with in (Para's 1-5)? 3.. Where have you seen this question manifested in a particular person in History or in a fictional character? (Para's 3-5) 4.. When have you wrestled with this issue? (Para's 6-7) 5. What insights did you come away with that you would like to share? Conclusion: So we have asked the first of four questions that appear to enter into the life of those who seek the meaning of living life in the deeps and not in the shallows. Once again we conclude this session with necessary announcements for the next time we'll meet. Let's do the 5th City PreSchool ritual again as we stand and close this time together. L: This is the Day we have! P. This is the Day we have! L: We can live this Day... P. Or throw it away! ALL: This is the Day we have! ................................................ OBaPT/Life Quest (Part B) Context/Intro As we put on our theological glasses we'll probe deeper into the life quest we share with humanity close to us and those further away. Again, number the paragraphs and mark key phrases that spoke to you. Take 15 minutes or so to process (deeply). 5 Questions 1. What do you suppose might be the significance of the tangent written in paragraphs 1 - 3? 2. Have you ever put a spirit issue on the "back burner" so to speak? Describe in a few words. 3. How would you boil down any one of the questions in paragraph 4 into an original book or movie title? 4. Was there one life question you were the most familiar with? (Para 4-5) 5. Least familiar? Why? (Para 6) Well, may we ponder insights said and not said as we wrap up our conversation for now. Now is the time for any necessary announcements to prepare (the table) for our next session. And our ritual again as we stand is: L: This is the Day we have! Pl: This is the Day we have! L: We can live this Day... P: Or throw it away! All: This is the Day we have! ....................... OBaPT: Life Quest (Part C) Context/Intro As we put on our theological glasses be aware of any physical reactions you might have had as you read through the text. After you number the paragraphs and circle keywords/phrases, where might you group sets of paragraphs together and title them in the margin? Take 30 minutes to number the paragraphs and speak back to key points in the margin. 5 Questions 1. How many paragraphs were in Part C? 2. What does that tell you so far? 3. What divisions did you notice? 4. Let's take a look at sections 1-7 first, then 8-16, and finally 17-21 shall we? 5. Picture (Board image) a sheep with 4 legs representing the 4 Questions. Look at the practices mentioned in para 17. Write a sentence on how you might add a practice of a "new you" to your everyday life. Any announcements? Let's send ourselves forward with a more adult version of a ritual of dismissal. Shall we stand? L: These are the Times! All: We are the People! L: We are the People! All: These are the Times! ..................................... OBaPT/Life Quest (Part D) Context/Intro So once you've become accustomed to wearing your theological glasses, perhaps it is becoming easier to think more deeply into the realities of life. Take 30 minutes to read and intentionally number the paragraphs and scan the text using the tools we've been introduced to so far. 5 Questions 1. Were there any words or phrases from the paper that particularly caught your attention? 2. Let's have 5 people read the first 5 paragraphs in turn. What insights have we gleaned in this section about becoming a practical theologian? 3. Are there any practices you've come away with that you would like to appropriate? How many of you have kept or are keeping a journal? (Take a look at paragraphs 6-12). 4. Do you see any old habits dropping away and possible new practices emerging you'd like to add to your daily life? 5. Is there a title you can write down now and share to describe your total life journey encompassing what we've learned about becoming a practical theologian? Take a couple of moments. Have 3 or so people share. Conclusion: Ponder how you might use this booklet of 5 questions around a meal as a group spirit practice or as an individual exercise. We've done quite a bit of demythologizing during our time together including the wisdom of rituals to take charge of our journey into a world in need of servant/leaders grounded in authentic living who serve in their sphere of influence. Rhetorical question: How many of you--raise your hands--have picked up some tools for taking care of yourselves while on the Long Journey into creating new structures for a more Human world? And our ritual to send us into a life of service and passing on the baton is: L: Seek the Source that can be found in every situation! All: The Creator is near to all who hear the call! Seek and trust the Source/Creator! .

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Fw: Re: [Dialogue] from Cynthia Vance
by W. J. 15 Aug '18

15 Aug '18

Cynthia, I'm so deeply appreciative of how you cared for Bob in his last days and also for yourself. It's a profound way to live out the experience of just being ... so aware of the Mystery itself!I'm also reminded that we three go back a long way. My first memory of you was when you were Cynthia Sturge living (I think) on Claremont Avenue. Somehow I recall Bain Davis being in the mix over in Jersey.I was at UTS 2 years behind Bob during his first marriage, which I recall only vaguely. But I do remember that Bob enrolled in a weekly practicum I was leading that was a movie followed by dessert in professor John Bachmann's living room and an EI-inspired four level movie conversation. Back in the days of 16 millimeter!We were young and energized and inspired and could not have known what our lives had to offer in the Order. Take care of yourself and journey on,Marshall ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Joyce Sloan via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>To: Colleague Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>Cc: Joyce Sloan <jsloan45(a)gmail.com>Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2018, 11:40:43 AM EDTSubject: Re: [Dialogue] from Cynthia Vance Dear Cynthia,I am saddened to hear of Bob's passing. I hope the memories you shared throughout your missional marriage including those of his final days bring you comfort. Sending love and prayers.Joyce Sloan On Wed, Aug 15, 2018, 4:30 AM Cynthia Vance via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: DearFriends and Colleagues, My dearBob passed away today, Monday, August 13. On July11 I enrolled him in Hospice at Home, due to his increasing symptoms from (possibly)Lewy Body dementia and I cared for him since then. Last Sunday morning heawoke with extreme difficulties. The Hospice nurse came and felt he probably hada 'neurological event' the Saturday evening before, perhaps whilesleeping. She took him to the Venice Hospice House at 6pm thatnight. Ivisited him 90 minutes later. He was very calm but not very responsive. I sharedmy reflections as I showed him 4 photos -- his parents, his brothers Neil andDenny, our doxies Star and Matilda and finally Bob and me. I also read twopoems I had written (about the dogs!) and a love letter highlighting andthanking him for the special times we shared as a team in our community service/civilrights efforts, followed by our strategic planning consulting, and finally in ourvarious nature adventures. We had had these discussions before and had agreedthat history had given us a fine ride! – and that hopefully we made the world alittle better. He died peacefully 5hours later, 1:30 am, early Monday morning. I’mgrateful for the wonderful life and marriage we had. I could ask for nomore. Our home was one of peace, love, respect, creative planning and always inanticipation of our next birding or butterflying adventure. He was always kind to others and was aterrific partner in our life work together! Manyof you, our colleagues over the years, wrote letters to him or telephoned himin the past 10 days. He was so pleased to hear from you and I’m gratefulthat you reached out to us. You shared your appreciation of his life andbrought us great joy. Mysister, Cecily, has been with me for 2 days and as an R.N. has given meguidance during this journey. Other friends locally have compassionatelyreached out to me. Bobhas donated his brain to the University of Miami Brain Endowment Bank to bothconfirm (or not) the diagnosis and to contribute to their research. We will be spreading his ashes in ourButterfly Garden and the Gulf of Mexico where he proudly completed 990 SCUBA dives to collect hundreds ofvertebrate fossils. Grace and Peace, Cynthia facilitationfla(a)aol.com941-483-9165 _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

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Bill Salmon's new temp address
by Lynda C 13 Aug '18

13 Aug '18

Dear Colleagues, Some of you may have seen on FB that Bill Salmon recently fell from a ladder and had a severe concussion from a cracked skull. After some time in the hospital he went back to his home, but had to return to ER and recently has been admitted into a rehab program there in Salina. Still having dizziness and nausea. Daughter Jana reports that he is getting adjusted to his new living situation and carries his cell phone around with him. He would enjoy hearing from folks via cards and calls. Computer communication will be later. His address is Presbyterian Manor, 2601 East Crawford, Rm 171, Salina, KS 67401. His cell phone is 785-452-8608. Jana S. Lamb lives about 2 ½ hrs away in Macksville, KS and Julie S. Gregg is about 1 ½ hr way in Great Bend, KS. Both are beginning their teaching jobs this week. Addresses in Directory. Hold this family in your care, Lynda and John Cock

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8/09/18. Progressing Spirit: Eric Alexander: How are your Church investments doing?; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 09 Aug '18

09 Aug '18

View this email in your browser How are your Church investments doing? Column by Eric Alexander August 9, 2018 Lately I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the future of the Church. It is an institution I love, yet it is also one which I harbor frustration for because of its resistance to adapt. Now I do realize that I’m referring to the Church here as an it, as a single entity, as opposed to what it actually is, a large and diverse community of denominations, pastors, board members, lay leaders, parishioners, and infrastructure. Similar to the stock market, which is made up of individual stocks, investors, and trading floors, we often refer to psycho-social institutions like this as a single entity, “i.e., the market.” In fact, stock market investors are excellent parallels to church leaders. Much of Church leadership is like an investor who holds a bad stock, instead of selling that stock when they see the writing on the wall of its decline, they continue to hold the stock with false hope that it will suddenly turn around and gain a profit before they sell it; only to find that they have taken more and more losses on it. Many even hold the stock until it goes all the way down to zero. A collection of fear, pride, and plain mis-education doesn’t allow the investor to admit to the reality of the situation any earlier, and they end up losing it all. They would rather ride their stock down to zero than implement a new strategy to keep the portfolio viable. When it comes to the solvency of the Church there is almost a study per week that shows its membership in sharp decline. Besides some certain expressions and corner cases which I will discuss in a moment, by-and-large Churches are dying and being closed all around us at an extreme rate. While I believe that most studies and statistical conclusions need to be taken with a grain of salt, my own time in church leadership would agree with the general trend we are seeing in these studies. A recent PRRI study was shared with me by Ned Armstrong, who is a long-time subscriber of this publication. The findings illustrated the church being in steep decline among all ages, and especially the youth. It also showed a similar correlation to a decline in football watching interestingly. What we may be able to glean from this study is that our proverbial stock (the Church), is in steep decline, and it is not showing much trending or indicators that it will magically turn around without an intervention or bailout. So the question then becomes whether we can (or should) use this data to salvage something truly valuable? One of the current successful corner cases in the Church portfolio is the evangelical mega-Church. I know that so many of us are tempted to hold contempt for such churches, but they do hold some keys to survival which I want to look at openly and honestly. They also are examples of exactly what’s wrong with today’s Christian trend as well, and I want to look at that too. For some of the positive aspects, most mega-churches do a great job of quickly connecting people into relevant small groups, which from there create tight bonds of community and mission. These groups meet for meals, look out for each other’s children, go on mission trips, do local service projects, and organize community events. Of interest, one of the healthiest progressive Christian churches I know of does the same thing. During one visit Marcus Borg commented that while most churches will be closed in 20 years, that one wouldn’t, because he recognized the effect of their strong community focus and tight bonds within their very intentional member groups. Another component we see at many mega-churches is that the theology of the members is often superficially based on what they’ve been told, and not something they’ve rigorously and academically studied for themselves. The benefit of that more pedestrian style of theology is that members tend to focus on the high points of the scriptures and ask one another how it might apply in their lives today, which often provides fruitful and transformative discussion. This overall model is extremely transformational in group member’s lives. Even for myself, some of the most meaningful Church experiences I have ever had were being part of such small groups where the focus was on the message and not the historicity of the messenger. And of course, that simple theology also comes at a price, which I will get to in a moment. On the negative side of things, most mega-churches tend to suck the life out of other churches in their community. With lots of glitz and pomp, they attract many people under age 65 from many other churches in a town, which causes those other churches to lose economic viability. They pump a ton of their weekly financial intake back into professional caliber worship and arts. They pump a ton of money into youth facilities that would put many schools and daycare facilities to shame. They pump a ton of money and resource into charismatic pastors and staff who are highly trained to come across cool and relatable. And they pump a ton of money into advertising and marketing. In other words, they have found an equation to attract a lot of people -> take in a lot of money -> and re-invest it where the market is returning high growth rates. The main problem with these mega-churches though is their theology. If they were open and affirming maybe no one would be complaining? The small churches would still be upset, and it would deplete the community of much needed variety of expression and style, but like anything in a capitalistic market, hitting the sweet spot would be rewarded. But the theology is setting up a house of cards that is likely to fall later on. Their youth programs are highly focused on indoctrination around untenable messages such as a literal eternal hell and 7-day creation. Their mission trips are based around saving souls by accepting Jesus as one’s lord and savior – and all activities are ulterior motives for evangelization. And this would all be fine if the theology they taught could stand up to the scrutiny of education, logic, and science; but it will not. So these institutions are creating an army of young folks who are likely to become disillusioned if they begin to go deeper and start asking questions. With the aforementioned said, we tend to put a lot of focus on the youth when we discuss church studies and our future, but more should probably be gleaned by what the elders are doing. The trend we see from those over age 65 is quite different (notwithstanding some reading this publication of course). While there are exceptions to every rule, many over age 65 are tending to go down with the ship instead of make prudent investments. It’s not that they don’t care, but more specifically it is that they are often being led astray by poor investment advisors (i.e., their pastors). Many over age 65 are not just passive observers who don’t care about the future though. A subset of those folks are still passionately giving of their resources and legacy to keep the Church viable for future generations. But they are sometimes being led to believe that it can be turned around with mere copycat steps to the mega-church trends. These practices do not often work for growth. The main problem is again something I’m going to parallel in financial terms; it takes money to make money. These struggling churches can’t easily build a nice enough youth complex. They can’t easily hire more staff. They can’t easily remodel the sanctuary. They can’t easily assemble a professional sounding worship band. They can’t easily attract a pastor with incredible communication skills. They can’t easily attract the big givers and local celebrities. And they can’t easily become marketing machines. If they do somehow figure out how to put on such a show, they may have a chance to survive if they’ve chosen to offer the mega-church type product. But most will never get there and only drag out the inevitable by kicking the proverbial can of worms down the road. So what else can be done? Here are three general ideals that church-investors can consider about building a different kind of church that can hold its own within the portfolio by catering to the non-evangelical mega church crowd: Radical diversity of expression. While many mainstream church-goers are not ready for anything other than the liturgy they may have grown up with, there are many younger folks who don’t yet have a standard expectation baked into their paradigms – or they are yearning for something new and fresh. They are ready for impactful and relevant forms of worship, gatherings, study, teaching, social action and mission. It can still feel holy, reverent, and rooted though. In fact, when surveyed, many young people say that’s what they would like in a church experience. But it needs a shot of relevance too. It must feel right to them, which often means it won’t also feel right to the 65-year-old lifelong denominational churchgoer. Some churches seek to meet this need by holding traditional and contemporary services, but often the only difference between the two services is that the pastor removes his or her suit jacket and the organist picks up a guitar. That is not enough. For example, about a year ago some good friends of mine who happen to be conservatives caught on to a similar idea, and they began holding services in a mall. The service times are only on Saturday nights, and they give 25% of the congregation’s giving back to local community missions (most churches give 10% or less back to missions). Sometimes they even substitute the services to go out and personally serve the community during that time with their gifts and resources, so the attendees really see their giving at work. Other times during services they block out time to light candles and pray or reflect quietly for extended periods of time, just like meditation, noting that many under age 65 live unprecedentedly hectic lives in today’s society. Radical diversity of theology. It is not untenable to imagine a gathering where people of many theological beliefs gather for community and good purpose. One could view Jesus as an ontologically unique lord and savior, another could believe that Jesus was just a good man, and one could believe Jesus was just a myth. They could intentionally focus on the universal virtues of love, forgiveness, compassion, and service without getting hung up on their differences. And they could focus on the overarching moral of the Bible’s teachings and not become stifled by demanding common doctrinal creeds. This could take place in all denominations by simply throttling down the need for creeds, doctrinal unity, and rigid what-we-believe statements. Young people who weren’t raised in the church are extremely welcoming of this idea. Radical diversity of political views. This point can seem challenging to many progressive Christians. It has become a standard that evangelical churches these days align with Republican politics, while progressive or some mainline churches trend more Democrat. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Churches can utilize scripture and modern-day examples to reflect on what Jesus and other saints stood for and promoted, and members could decide which messages feel to be aligned with deep spirituality and universal morality. For example, studies show that the most successful way to win someone over isn’t through challenging their deeply held political affiliations, but rather by challenging their heart for the poor, weak, oppressed, and destitute. When the actual issues are investigated in light of the social teachings of Jesus there is often much less rationale for right-wing politics, or left-wing elitism. Peace, Eric Click here to read online and to share your thoughts About the Author Eric Alexander is an author, speaker, and entrepreneur. 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 and is author of Teaching Kids Life IS Good. Question & Answer Q: By Carl from Colorado Springs In a non-theist world is there a place for prayer? What is it? How does it look? A: By Bishop John Shelby Spong Dear Carl, Everywhere I go to lecture across the world, your question is almost always the first question to be posed. I think that is for two reasons: 1. Prayer is an all but universal human experience. 2. Prayer is the ultimate link to the deity we yearn to have protect us in this vast and sometimes apparently empty universe. When I try to describe or point to a God-experience that does not fall inside the boundaries of the traditional God definition, many of my hearers seem to feel the angst of both loneliness and potential meaninglessness. The role of God, understood as a supernatural being who dwells somewhere beyond the boundaries of this earth, who intervenes to accomplish the divine purpose and who answers our prayers, is our bulwark against that vision of nothingness. So when this understanding of God wavers, so does our understanding of prayer. That, in turn, drives us, I believe, to seek assurance or reassurance. To begin to address this concern we must, first, examine what these assumptions say about both God and prayer. The God we speak of appears to be in our employ and can, therefore, direct our destinies. That inevitably means that the theistic God is bound to disappoint us for that is finally not the way the world works. Neither God nor prayer saves our loved ones from death in Iraq. Neither God nor prayer will reverse the progress of an inevitable death-producing disease. Neither God nor prayer will change the weather or cause mental illness to decline. Neither God nor prayer will cause one's stocks to rise or guarantee a victory in the lottery. Neither God nor prayer will enable a nation to defeat its enemy. A theistic understanding of both God and prayer has been dying since the writing of Isaac Newton. It was pushed into oblivion by the work of Louis Pasteur. The theistic God to whom people tend to pray began to fade when the size of the universe was discovered in the work of Copernicus and Galileo and God's dwelling place above the sky was obliterated. It was further pushed into decline by the work of Charles Darwin who demonstrated the power of natural selection above supernatural guidance in the evolution of life on this planet. It disappeared from view for man when Sigmund Freud revealed how neurotic most God talk is and when Albert Einstein reduced all talk, including God talk, to relativity. The question we need to ask, however, is this: When a long-standing human idea of God dies, does that mean that God dies? Of course not! It only means that one of our human definitions of God has proved to be so inadequate that this definition has died. Does this mean that prayer has become meaningless? No! It only means that a particular understanding of prayer has become inoperative. Only those who cannot envision God outside the categories of theism will have problems with prayer. God is so much bigger than our image of God, and prayer is far more than asking a divine Santa Claus for a favor. We have work to do in this area but to loosen the ties of past theological thinking is clearly the first step. It would take more space than a question and answer column can provide, but let me assure you that I believe in God deeply and I pray every day. How I understand both my belief in God and the way I pray, I tried to spell out in my book: A New Christianity for a New World. I wish you well on your journey. ~ John Shelby Spong Click here to read and share online Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited Was Jesus a Feminist in a Patriarchal World? Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong on December 7, 2005 If, as I have argued, organized religion is almost universally anti-female and even misogynistic, was Jesus different? Did he stand outside that pattern? Certainly, the religion developed by his disciples has historically made major contributions to the denigration of women. One only has to look at the church debates that have resulted in the exclusion of women from significant positions of power and authority within Christianity. Underlying these debates was a definition of women as less than human, not created in God’s image or as somehow impaired or defective. At one point in our history, women were even defined as “castrated males” and the menstrual cycle was viewed as the way the female body mourned monthly for its lost organ. Given what we know today about biology, these ideas are not only illogical, but they constitute irrational nonsense. Yet they have been in the past and are still today operating in the life of a church that never seems to be concerned about its own illogical assumptions. The question I want to raise, however, is about Jesus and not the church that his followers created. Was Jesus also an unenlightened sexist? Does the sexism that has marked the Christian church reflect the attitude of the one the church claims as its founder? If Jesus can be demonstrated to be guilty of the sexism that the church has so overtly manifested, then the central Christian claim that God has been met in him is in ultimate jeopardy. How though can we discover what Jesus actually taught did? Typically, the answer traditionally given has been to search the gospels. That does not always work since we now know that the gospels were written some forty to seventy years after the earthly life of Jesus came to an end. Forty to seventy years means that before the gospels appeared his followers had already interpreted Jesus, so that we are never sure that what we read is an authentic reflection of the man Jesus or these later interpreters. Seeking to discern Jesus’ actual attitude toward women in the gospels is thus not easy. Yet, despite this limitation, scholars still believe that if the gospels are examined deeply enough, both the echoes and the imprint of that incredible person who stands behind the Christian tradition can be discovered. Sometimes truth is located in the counter-intuitive nature of his words or actions, giving us clues to the authenticity we seek. Though this process is never an exact science, it is nonetheless the method we have to use. In this column I seek to probe this biblical content, opening it to my readers, for careful weighing. The first idea that must be engaged about Jesus’ attitude toward women is the obvious but neglected fact that Jesus had female disciples. The male-dominated church of the ages has made it almost impossible for us to see these women but they are there in the gospel texts and cannot be expunged. These women disciples do not become visible until the final scenes in the life of Jesus, namely at the time of his crucifixion and resurrection. The primary reason for this is that all of Jesus’ male disciples forsook him and fled when he was arrested, so the women, the only disciples left, are allowed to come into full view. The gospel writers then say, by way of identification, that these women had followed him from his days in Galilee (see Mark 15:41, Matt 27:55 and Luke 24:29). The image we have of Jesus wandering around Galilee with a band of twelve men is simply not an accurate picture. The Bible is quite clear that for his entire public ministry, Jesus had both male and female disciples. The assertion made by John Paul II, to justify denying ordination to women in the Roman Church, that Jesus did not choose any female disciples is thus not correct. Defenders of the Pope argue that what he meant was that Jesus did not select any women from among his followers to be included in ‘the twelve.’ The problem with this suggestion is that the idea that there ever were twelve male disciples is now for several reasons suspect in the world of biblical scholarship. First, there is no agreement in the gospels as to who constituted the twelve. Matthew and Mark have one list; Luke and Acts have another. John, who has no list, introduces disciples like Nathaniel whom none of the others mention. In Chapter 21, which is regarded as an appendix to the Fourth Gospel, John actually refers to seven not twelve disciples. Second, the number twelve itself appears to be shaped by later messianic expectations. It was said of Jesus that his messianic task was to build a new Israel. Since the old Israel was made up of twelve tribes who were identified as the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob/Israel, so twelve tribes must mark the new Israel. Matthew and Luke both say that Jesus intentionally appointed the twelve so that they might “sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes” of the new Israel. This suggests that the idea of twelve male disciples chosen by Jesus was a later interpretation of Jesus read back into the Jesus of history and needs to be understood that way. However, the fact is that Jesus, in a bold counter-cultural act, appears to have had male and female disciples. Pressing this insight more deeply, the gospels clearly indicate that the leader of these female disciples was Mary Magdalene. In almost every account of the women, Magdalene’s name is listed first just as Peter’s name is always first among the male disciples. Yet despite her gospel priority, Magdalene’s reputation was trashed by institutional Christianity with the suggestion that she was a prostitute. There is absolutely no evidence for that charge in the biblical story. Not only was the early church itself blatantly anti-female but as it moved into the Mediterranean world it confronted a body-hating, flesh-loathing, neo-platonic mentality that exacerbated this trend. By the second century anxiety grew, that in the gospel story a flesh and blood woman was at Jesus’ side in his life and that this same woman was pictured as the chief mourner at his tomb in his death. Threatened by this close proximity, traditional church leaders, decided to remove Magdalene by assassinating her character and replacing her with a more acceptable female figure. That is when the mythological portrait of the pure, spotless virgin mother of Jesus began her march into ascendancy. In the gospels themselves, outside the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke, the mother of Jesus is portrayed negatively. Mark, Matthew and Luke all show her as thinking Jesus was out of his mind and seeking to take him away. John portrays Jesus as rebuking her for trying to force his hand at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. In recent years the idea, quite popular in the Middle Ages, that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus has re-emerged. I argued for this possibility in a 1991 book entitled, Born of a Woman. The popularity of Dan Brown’s 2003 book, The Da Vinci Code carried this idea into common awareness. Harvard Professor Karen King’s book on the Gospel of Mary Magdalene seeks to recover her historically as a central force in the Jesus movement. Magdalene is today escaping her ecclesiastical putdown. She was a major follower, a disciple of Jesus. Two other gospel stories merit notice as we seek to discern the attitude of Jesus toward women. One is told only by Luke (10:38-42) of Jesus’ visit to the home of Mary and Martha in Bethany. Martha is busily engaged in the kitchen preparing to serve her guest. She was doing the tasks associated with the role of women in that culture. However, her sister Mary had positioned herself at the feet of Jesus the teacher, assuming the role of a pupil, a learner, perhaps even a rabbinic student. In the process she was redefining the woman’s place in that society. Martha, irritated that her sister was not doing her share of the ‘women’s work,’ demanded that Jesus force Mary to abandon the inappropriate posture of a pupil and return to her proper place in the kitchen. Jesus refused to do so and defends Mary’s choice with the words, “Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her.” This can only be read, I believe, as a radical assault on the patriarchal value system of his day. Jesus appears to be a feminist! In the second episode, unique to the Fourth Gospel (John 4:1-30), Jesus violates the operative code of his culture, by engaging a woman in dialogue. Both she and Jesus’ disciples “marveled that he was talking with a woman (vs. 6, 27, 28).” Jesus and this woman discussed theology and liturgy, that is, who God is and how to worship. Such serious subject matter would not be discussed with a woman in that time. The prevailing cultural attitude was well described by Paul in his first Epistle to the Corinthians (14:34-36) when he wrote, “Women are to keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak but they should be subordinate, even as the law says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home.” Jesus clearly turned that cultural expectation on its ear. Sufficient biblical data suggest that Jesus was an exception to the rule that religion is almost universally negative to the legitimate aspirations of women for equality and full human dignity. The church, however, that grew from this Jesus all but universally opposed the feminist revolution that occurred in the 20th century. Yet that revolution gave women in the Christian world the right to university educations, job opportunities, the vote, and equal treatment before the law. In that same century in some churches women took on the male power structure to win the right to be pastors, priests and bishops. These victories for women were won with the aid of the secular spirit of world humanism fighting against the male forces of organized religion. I think the record of the gospels demonstrates that the sexism in the Christian church is far removed from the ideals and passions of Jesus, its feminist founder. If the church had listened to, observed and learned from the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth about women in both church and society, then the church would have led this fight rather than being dragged screaming and kicking into this new day. If, as John suggests, Jesus’ purpose is that all might have abundant life, then equality and respect for 50% of the human race becomes a compelling Christian necessity. ~ John Shelby Spong Announcements Gretta Vosper Lecture Series August 25th at University of North Georgia, Mountain Top Lectures presents the Rev. Gretta Vosper. Gretta is a highly regarded speaker and author who argues that Christian congregations should embrace everyone who is moved by Jesus’ message of love and compassion, even if they are atheists or doubters or seekers of any kind. Click here for more information/registration ...

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FW: More Jackfruit affirmations
by Lynda C 09 Aug '18

09 Aug '18

From: Chenoa Stock <chenoas(a)gmail.com> Date: Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at 8:46 PM To: Lynda Cock <lynda860(a)outlook.com> Subject: Jackfruit!! Hi Lynda! My mom recently sent me your email and the link to jackfruit! That was most definitely by favorite fruit when I lived in Kerala, India!!! It has the best flavor and texture and I was always told of its multiple benefits - this link proves it. It was always fun to watch the cooks cut it open too, as it was quite the process. In Kerala they had so many delicious preparations. I hope you get to try it at some point. I of course recommend the actual fruit, as its sweetness is the best. But the other savory options are probably good too! Enjoy if you ever come upon it! peace, Chenoa

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