"Entering the Kingdom: What the Historical Jesus Teaches Us About the Kingdom of God" ProgressiveChristianity.org of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States for Monday, 8 February 2016Scholars agree that the core of Jesus’ message was “the kingdom.” But what is the kingdom? And what is its relevance for us today?
Entering the Kingdom: What The Historical Jesus Teaches Us about The Kingdom of God
eBooklet by Robert Perry
Published by The Mustard Seed Venture
Purchase for $5.00:
*If you can’t afford the purchase price, just let us know and we will be happy to send you a copy of Entering the Kingdom free of charge.
A Radical Message
Scholars agree that the core of Jesus’ message was “the kingdom.” But what is the kingdom? And what is its relevance for us today? In this booklet, Robert Perry draws out the radical message of the kingdom, its diagnosis of the human condition and its prescription for the cure. Through commentary and practical exercises, we learn that Jesus’ message carries just as much liberating power for our lives today as it did when it first was spoken.
Written for study group use, but also suitable for individual study.
“The material presented in “Entering the Kingdom” is both compelling and refreshing. My study group found that the information helped us better understand Jesus’ teachings in context of the most recent scholarly findings and also that it opened us up to ways that we could apply his message in our daily lives. I would highly recommend these study guides to anyone wanting to deepen their understanding of Jesus’ core spiritual teachings.”[Joan, Study Group Leader]
About the Author
Robert Perry is a writer and teacher of the contemporary spiritual pathA Course in Miracles. He is the founder of The Circle of Atonement, a nonprofit teaching center devoted to A Course in Miracles. He has also had a longstanding interest in historical Jesus studies. His first book,The Elder Brother (1990), was a comparison of the Jesus of history and the Jesus of A Course in Miracles. He contributed a chapter on the Sayings Gospel Q to the academic collection, The Healing Power of Spirituality: How Faith Helps Humans Thrive, edited by J. Harold Ellens (Praegers Publishers, 2009). He has taught the practical application of the teachings of Jesus for the Mustard Seed Venture since 2004.
About The Mustard Seed Venture
Mission Statement
Seeking to deeply understand, collectively experience, and freely extend what the historical Jesus referred to as “the kingdom,” by following his teachings and by drawing inspiration from anywhere that we see the kingdom manifest.
Being in the Kingdom
We believe that entering the kingdom means living in a state in which we rely implicitly on the goodness of God, in which we are free of care and anxiety, and in which we extend love and caring to others unhindered by the usual considerations of merit. We believe that as we live more fully in the kingdom, we will encounter one another in a way that reflects the deep, compassionate love that Jesus spoke of. We seek to know each other as God knows us, which means valuing and celebrating each person’s worth as a unique, beautiful soul.
Social Network
Our social network provides a gathering place for people interested in coming to a deeper understanding and embodiment of the Kingdom of God. We are currently featuring The Mustard Seed Foundations Blog. This series of posts consists of a weekly blog entry by Robert Perry, in which he lays out, one step at a time, our understanding of Jesus and his teachings. Then in the week following a given post, members discuss the ideas put forward in that post.
To read the Foundations Blog, click here.
To join the network and participate in the Foundations Blog, click here.
The Mustard Seed Venture is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
The Mustard Seed Venture
P.O. Box 3614
Sedona, Arizona 86340, United States
mustardseedventure@gmail.com
Social Network: www.mustardseednetwork.ning.com
Website: www.mustardseedventure.org
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Question & Answer for Thursday, 4 February 2016 - "Christian Mysticism?" A New Christianity for a New World with Bishop John Shelby Spong on the News and Christian Faith of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States
HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR
Question & Answer
Joonas Vapaavuori from Helsinki, Finland, writes:
Question:
I admire your work and I am currently working on my master’s thesis on your views of Christianity and its future. I am at the moment dealing with your writings on atonement and Yom Kippur and finding them very intriguing and important for a better understanding of religion. You talk a great deal about consciousness and a probable “universal consciousness,” which might be the next step for human beings seeking God.
Lately I’ve been reading writings by the late Jesuit named Anthony De Mello and some publications of a non-religious spiritual teacher named Eckhart Tolle. If I am not totally mistaken, you find some mystical views of Christianity fruitful and I think these two fellows are bringing some mystical aspects, awareness and deeper consciousness to the modern era. So I would like to ask you if you’re familiar with their work and if you can relate to their thoughts in any way.
Answer:
Dear Joonas,
I am delighted to hear from you and to know about your work at the University of Helsinki. I had the privilege of doing some lectures at that university some years ago and recall it today with great pleasure and satisfaction.
My studies in the realm of developing consciousness would only be at what I would call the preliminary levels. I did write about mysticism in my book on the gospel of John entitled, The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic. The concept of mysticism helps me to transcend the limits of creedal theology, which has, I believe, distorted the Christian faith since the fourth century. I will be addressing these distortions in detail in my current series, entitled “Charting a New Reformation.”
I am not as familiar with the writings of Anthony De Mello as I am with Eckhart Tolle. I was introduced several years ago to De Mello’s thought by a friend in Spain whose name is Domingo Melera. Domingo was quite enthusiastic about his work. I need to read more.
Tolle, on the other hand, is a well-read author in some religious circles in America. He is what I would call a popularizer more than an original thinker. I do not denigrate that designation, indeed I consider myself to be in that same category. Tolle has, in fact, adopted the name of one of the great theologians of mysticism in Christian history, Meister Eckhart. Eckhart succeeded Thomas Aquinas in the same chair of theology in the 14th century. The thought of the two men, Aquinas and Eckhart, was so different as to create widespread dislocation in European theological thinking. Eckhart transcended all limits and threatened those who presumed they had captured eternal truth in a human form. Ultimately, Eckhart was put on trial for heresy, but he died before the trial was over so he was never convicted. If you could get hold of some of the writings of Meister Eckhart, I think you would be drinking from the fountain that Eckhart Tolle seeks to popularize.
The two people in Finland with whom I have worked closely are Hannu Saloranta, a Lutheran pastor who recently retired. He was instrumental in translating one of my books into Finnish. The other is Willi Riekkinen, the retired Lutheran bishop of Kuopio in Finland. Willi was once my student at the Vancouver (Canada) School of Theology. He is a man of deep insight and intellectual courage. Both of these unique Finns might be willing to read your master’s thesis and to assist in its final preparation.
I hope you will stay in touch.
John Shelby Spong
READ AND SHARE ONLINE HERE...
Announcements
"With last week's column the exposition of the first of the twelve theses is complete. The discussion of the next thesis will begin with the column onFebruary 11. It will be on Thesis number 2. This series still has a long way to go." ~JSS
Any questions or concerns, please contact us at support@johnshelbyspong.com or 253-507-8678.
---------------------
Weekly Recap for Tuesday, February 2, 2016 - ProgressiveChristianity.org of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States
Do religions have to change as our planet changes? This and more in our Free Weekly Recap of our most viewed and new resources from last week.
Last Week At ProgressiveChristianity.org ...
We delved into the topics of Ecologically Disintegrating Planet, Refugees, 3 Faith Traditions and Boundless Love.
Visit our website to join in on the discussion and to view our thousands of spiritual resources!
We are entirely reader supported, please support us today.
ProgressiveChristianity.org is a global portal for authors, scholars, theologians and liturgists to share their resources for the progressive spiritual journey.
The Dark Cloud Forming Over The Middle East
Being in the Kingdom
We believe that entering the kingdom means living in a state in which we rely implicitly on the goodness of God, in which we are free of care and anxiety, and in which we extend love and caring to others unhindered by the usual considerations of merit. We believe that as we live more fully in the kingdom, we will encounter one another in a way that reflects the deep, compassionate love that Jesus spoke of. We seek to know each other as God knows us, which means valuing and celebrating each person’s worth as a unique, beautiful soul.
Social Network
Our social network provides a gathering place for people interested in coming to a deeper understanding and embodiment of the Kingdom of God. We are currently featuring The Mustard Seed Foundations Blog. This series of posts consists of a weekly blog entry by Robert Perry, in which he lays out, one step at a time, our understanding of Jesus and his teachings. Then in the week following a given post, members discuss the ideas put forward in that post.
To read the Foundations Blog, click here.
To join the network and participate in the Foundations Blog, click here.
The Mustard Seed Venture is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
The Mustard Seed Venture
P.O. Box 3614
Sedona, Arizona 86340, United States
mustardseedventure@gmail.com
Social Network: www.mustardseednetwork.ning.com
Website: www.mustardseedventure.org
ShareTweetForward+1---------------------
Question & Answer for Thursday, 4 February 2016 - "Christian Mysticism?" A New Christianity for a New World with Bishop John Shelby Spong on the News and Christian Faith of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States
HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR
Question & Answer
Joonas Vapaavuori from Helsinki, Finland, writes:
Question:
I admire your work and I am currently working on my master’s thesis on your views of Christianity and its future. I am at the moment dealing with your writings on atonement and Yom Kippur and finding them very intriguing and important for a better understanding of religion. You talk a great deal about consciousness and a probable “universal consciousness,” which might be the next step for human beings seeking God.
Lately I’ve been reading writings by the late Jesuit named Anthony De Mello and some publications of a non-religious spiritual teacher named Eckhart Tolle. If I am not totally mistaken, you find some mystical views of Christianity fruitful and I think these two fellows are bringing some mystical aspects, awareness and deeper consciousness to the modern era. So I would like to ask you if you’re familiar with their work and if you can relate to their thoughts in any way.
Answer:
Dear Joonas,
I am delighted to hear from you and to know about your work at the University of Helsinki. I had the privilege of doing some lectures at that university some years ago and recall it today with great pleasure and satisfaction.
My studies in the realm of developing consciousness would only be at what I would call the preliminary levels. I did write about mysticism in my book on the gospel of John entitled, The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic. The concept of mysticism helps me to transcend the limits of creedal theology, which has, I believe, distorted the Christian faith since the fourth century. I will be addressing these distortions in detail in my current series, entitled “Charting a New Reformation.”
I am not as familiar with the writings of Anthony De Mello as I am with Eckhart Tolle. I was introduced several years ago to De Mello’s thought by a friend in Spain whose name is Domingo Melera. Domingo was quite enthusiastic about his work. I need to read more.
Tolle, on the other hand, is a well-read author in some religious circles in America. He is what I would call a popularizer more than an original thinker. I do not denigrate that designation, indeed I consider myself to be in that same category. Tolle has, in fact, adopted the name of one of the great theologians of mysticism in Christian history, Meister Eckhart. Eckhart succeeded Thomas Aquinas in the same chair of theology in the 14th century. The thought of the two men, Aquinas and Eckhart, was so different as to create widespread dislocation in European theological thinking. Eckhart transcended all limits and threatened those who presumed they had captured eternal truth in a human form. Ultimately, Eckhart was put on trial for heresy, but he died before the trial was over so he was never convicted. If you could get hold of some of the writings of Meister Eckhart, I think you would be drinking from the fountain that Eckhart Tolle seeks to popularize.
The two people in Finland with whom I have worked closely are Hannu Saloranta, a Lutheran pastor who recently retired. He was instrumental in translating one of my books into Finnish. The other is Willi Riekkinen, the retired Lutheran bishop of Kuopio in Finland. Willi was once my student at the Vancouver (Canada) School of Theology. He is a man of deep insight and intellectual courage. Both of these unique Finns might be willing to read your master’s thesis and to assist in its final preparation.
I hope you will stay in touch.
John Shelby Spong
READ AND SHARE ONLINE HERE...
Announcements
"With last week's column the exposition of the first of the twelve theses is complete. The discussion of the next thesis will begin with the column onFebruary 11. It will be on Thesis number 2. This series still has a long way to go." ~JSS
Any questions or concerns, please contact us at support@johnshelbyspong.com or 253-507-8678.
---------------------
Weekly Recap for Tuesday, February 2, 2016 - ProgressiveChristianity.org of Gig Harbor, Washington, United StatesDo religions have to change as our planet changes? This and more in our Free Weekly Recap of our most viewed and new resources from last week.
Last Week At ProgressiveChristianity.org ...
We delved into the topics of Ecologically Disintegrating Planet, Refugees, 3 Faith Traditions and Boundless Love.
Visit our website to join in on the discussion and to view our thousands of spiritual resources!
We are entirely reader supported, please support us today.
ProgressiveChristianity.org is a global portal for authors, scholars, theologians and liturgists to share their resources for the progressive spiritual journey.
The Dark Cloud Forming Over The Middle East
David Anderson
Judeo/Christian/Islamic belief will be forced to adjust to the reality of an ecologically disintegrating planet
READ ON ... Judeo/Christian/Islamic belief will be forced to adjust to the reality of an ecologically disintegrating planet with humans on it searching not for solutions restricted to their past, but built on new ideas within a thought process reaching beyond. This is not to say that all Abrahamic thought will die. Many ancient texts and beliefs will find value. However, a new world-wide cosmic realism will be taking hold. Past religious belief in all three of the religions of Abraham will be made to measure its value against a new form of thought that encompasses the nonlinearity of all matter and non-matter in the context of human/planetary consonance – and survival.
The ecological threat facing our civilization is being heightened through many of the originating beliefs of the three Abrahamic religions. This is most apparent in the Middle East. Because they were formulated in a prescientific age when challenges like the ones now facing human society today did not exist, many believers; be they Jewish, Christian or Muslim, are unable to fully comprehend this threat. The one Abrahamic faith that is having the most difficulty, although parts of extremist Judaism and Christianity too have much of the same problem, is Islam. A discussion of the Islamic incomprehension in the Middle Eastern countries follows:
There is a dark cloud forming over these countries. It can be seen by the anguish in the faces of the young men filling the streets in the crowded cities. It can also be seen in the flow of refugees north into the European countries. Unrestrained population growth encouraged by Islamic belief has left a new generation with no future. They find themselves living in a world separated from the 21st century material affluence and lifestyle of the outside world. The ancient societal family centered structure of their parents and grandparents built upon the Koran and the Sharia law embodied in it has left them ill-equipped to deal with the transformative demands of the new world in which they find themselves. Anger and immigration is their only outlet.
At the center of the problem is the Islamic (originally Hebraic) belief and custom of large family size and the encouragement—at least among those who can afford it, of polygamy. As a result, in many countries the population has exploded as at the same time agricultural land and water resources have been depleted. Syria is an example. There the break point has been reached. Many Syrians find themselves left in the wasted land of their forefathers.
Author’s Note:Syria has had a population growth rate that before the recent crisis was one of the world’s highest; at about 2.4 percent.
1950 3,495,000
2015 22,878,524
At the center of the Syrian problem is the Islamic belief and custom of large family size. As a result, the population in Syria exploded at the same time agricultural land and water resources were being depleted. The break point was reached. Many Syrians now find themselves left in the wasted land of their forefathers.
Large numbers have moved into refugee camps. Many able to do so have left the country.
Other Middle Eastern countries will soon be sinking into the same chaotic disorganization. Given religiously inspired exponential population growth in them, it will be very difficult to have any form of civil society. As this occurs, extremist groups, many financed from outside, will be attempting to dominate.
These Syrians are asking; how could those Infidels living by the “corrupted” version of the Word; Jews and Christians, have such earthly reward and we have none? Isn’t our Islam the one true religion?
A view of Islamic history as outlined below can give an answer. It is a view that remains largely unaddressed today not just by Muslims but also by Jews and Christians as they attempt to understand Islam and those who practice it. If all sides did, perhaps there would be better communication and insight into the problem. Key is an historical fact: Unlike Judaism and Christianity, Islam was not forced during the European Enlightenment in the 17th and 18th centuries to question its own doctrinal anthropomorphic weakness. During that time period Islam lay dormant, encapsulated in its own originating doctrinal mold.
Prior to that dormancy there was, however, a high point of Islamic intellectualism. It took place during the first five hundred years after the death of The Prophet. As Europe in its medieval slumber slept, the Muslim world became an intellectual center for science, philosophy, mathematics, medicine and education. Even the Greek classics were translated and studied. But the movement died out beginning in 1299 when it was overtaken by the Ottoman Empire and then left to stagnate. One fact must be understood about this early pre Ottoman intellectual period. And this is the most important. It was unlike the European Enlightenment. The validity of the Qur’an was not questioned and the Hadith and Sunna were only studied to ascertain their meaning. The Qur’an and the Hadith and the Sunna were not to be questioned. The Islamic interpretations were built upon the same seventh century conviction according to adopted Judaic discipline; that is interpretation was to be only for the purpose of reading, interpreting and explaining the Qur’an and the Hadith and the Sunna.
Now to another important fact: The intellectualism of the European Enlightenment beginning in the 16th and 17th centuries had a far different purpose and outcome. In many ways it challenged and redefined Christianity – and also Judaism. All Christian and Jewish thought was given close scrutiny and questioned intellectually. Islam in its dormancy was not part of the exercise.
It escaped this; remaining encapsulated within the Ottoman Empire. The result; Islamic countries today, and particularly those at the center in the Middle East, did not experience the disruption that brought about a questioning of ancient Abrahamic religious thought – and the opening of the medieval mind. Islam lay in silence; in a sense a “sleeping giant.”
Then, suddenly that “sleeping giant” was awakened. After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th and 20th centuries and the discovery of oil in the Middle East, Muslims were suddenly exposed to a strange new Western world of self-critical secular intellectualism.
For this reason, many Muslims in the Middle East today – and many of those who have immigrated into continental Europe – are having great difficulty meeting the challenges of a highly educated technocratic post Enlightenment European world where male and female are increasingly equally valued both in the family and in the workplace and flexibility of mind and extensive educational training of all youth – without emphasis on religious doctrine as found in Islam, is encouraged.
It should be emphasized: This is not to say that all Muslims today in the Middle East or outside of it are confined by this constrictor or will be in the future. Nor is it to say that many Islamic precepts do not have value in the Western world and should not be a part of the societal fabric of a future civilization, but the fact remains; today those in many of the Muslim Middle Eastern nations and many immigrants from there into the West find themselves far behind the modern Western civilizational curve.
The calcification of Islamic religious belief as seen today in the Middle East could spell the end of stability in many of those countries. As above for Syria, population growth rates in some have been exponential. Oil revenues will be in decline over the next fifty years. These revenues now provide the necessary foreign exchange needed to purchase commodities from the outside world.
Many presently “oil rich” Middle Eastern countries are close to having exhausted their oil and gas reserves. Others with several decades of supply in front of them will be facing global pressure against the sale of oil and gas. We must keep in mind the fact that 25/50 years from now a turning point in human planetary consciousness will occur as a result of the overheating of the planet. There will be the implementation of taxation as well as other punitive measures to reduce consumption of fossil fuels. Major world economies will be turning against all carbon based sources of energy.
As the global ecological implosion unfolds and demands for solutions in all regions of the world intensify, the Islamic mindset in the Middle East, both Shia and Sunni, will continue to be an impediment toward adjustment. Fanatically observant Muslims looking back to Islamic origins will retreat further into Islamic paradisiacal suicidal militant orthodoxy. We are already seeing this, and it will intensify. The doctrines of earlier anti-western revolutionaries such as Hassan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb and Osama bin Laden will prevail, as will those of ISIS and other such groups.
From its very beginning the idea of a utopian Islamic society coming about by way of the righteous destroying the unrighteous has been a core Islamic belief. The clash in values between the radical Islam of today that has adopted this is now spilling over outside of its Middle Eastern origins. 9/11 was the first of the highly visible signs. Islamic extremists view the post Enlightenment secular world as the enemy of Allah. Because of state access to sophisticated weaponry, including atomic, theocratic Islamic nations with that technology are posing a very serious threat to all human civilization.
As ecological factors combined with exponential population growth press on the limits of the land area, some of the Middle Eastern countries will soon be sinking into chaotic disorganization. It will be very difficult for them to maintain any form of civil society. We already see the beginning of this pattern in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen. Wherever it occurs, extremist groups will attempt to dominate the society. They will—as they are today, be funded by affluent Muslims with Middle Eastern oil money, so long as it lasts.
Fires stoked under ancient religious animosities fueled by religious reactionary fanaticism in Orthodox Judaism and Fundamentalist Christianity rooted in the same ancient violent religious imagery and doctrinaire belief as Islam; the superior righteous destroying the inferior – i.e. the Philistinian unrighteous, will add to the powder keg. These groups with their common ancient mindsets will in the name of their God be anxious to go into battle. Islam will be anxious to go into battle with “Philistinian” secular “Infidel” western Christianity and the Nation of Israel. All of those on all sides holding to the orthodoxy of their Abrahamic religious doctrines will be poised to enter the conflict.
Can the Middle Eastern Islamic boiling pot be brought to a simmer and then cooled down? Can the Jewish and Christian? If so, how long will it take? What will be the extent of the human suffering? These are some of the most pressing questions for our time. All indications are that the pot will continue to boil and that within Middle Eastern Islam there will be enormous human suffering over the next fifty years as population exceeds available oil revenues needed for commodity imports. There may even be an inter Islamic atomic battle that could take the lives of millions both within and outside of Islam. Terrorist activities in the West could be far more damaging than before.
The ancient forms of Islam prevailing in the Middle East and elsewhere at some point will be forced to face planetary reality. As it was with the opening of the Western mind during the Enlightenment period in Europe, the Muslim mind too will be forced open. Muslim clerics and intellectuals will be forced to accept planetary and cosmic reality. (We are seeing the beginnings of this in Egypt) The question at this moment is how much damage to the planet and to its citizens will be incurred before this reality takes place.
With ecological events unfolding – oceans rising, food shortages, etc. – the bellicose voices of religious extremism in all three of the Abrahamic faiths will be drowned out. The violence brought on by their action and inaction will in effect wear out their planetary welcome. The shared orthodoxy among the three will bring down upon each its own demise. As with the lessons learned in past Abrahamic religious history; from the early Roman/Israel period to the Islamic Christian war period to the Crusades to the Inquisition to the more recent horrors of the holocaust and then to 9/11, and then to Iraq and Afghanistan and Syria, and now ISIS; the radical nature of covenantal exclusivist Abrahamic religious ideology will be exposed for its planetary humanistic incompatibility. The carnage left in its wake will spur a global wakeup call leading to mass condemnation of religious fanaticism in all of its forms.
As the pain and suffering continues to unfold, even moderate Abrahamic religious voices will be drowned out by the exigency of the events. They will find that their Judeo/Christian/Islamic understanding of the Cosmos and the planet and their relationship to it, grounded on ancient biblical concepts is not adequate to form the basis for the societal changes needed to meet the challenges presented by the extreme geophysical forces in play and the abruptness of those forces as they trigger enfolding ecological planetary tipping points.
Judeo/Christian/Islamic belief will be forced to adjust to the reality of an ecologically disintegrating planet with humans on it searching not for solutions restricted to their past, but built on new ideas within a thought process reaching beyond. This is not to say that all Abrahamic thought will die. Many ancient texts and beliefs will find value. However, a new world-wide cosmic realism will be taking hold. Past religious belief in all three of the religions of Abraham will be made to measure its value against a new form of thought that encompasses the nonlinearity of all matter and non-matter in the context of human/planetary consonance – and survival.
---------------------
Christian politicians won’t say it, but the Bible is clear: let the refugees in, every last one
Judeo/Christian/Islamic belief will be forced to adjust to the reality of an ecologically disintegrating planet
READ ON ... Judeo/Christian/Islamic belief will be forced to adjust to the reality of an ecologically disintegrating planet with humans on it searching not for solutions restricted to their past, but built on new ideas within a thought process reaching beyond. This is not to say that all Abrahamic thought will die. Many ancient texts and beliefs will find value. However, a new world-wide cosmic realism will be taking hold. Past religious belief in all three of the religions of Abraham will be made to measure its value against a new form of thought that encompasses the nonlinearity of all matter and non-matter in the context of human/planetary consonance – and survival.
The ecological threat facing our civilization is being heightened through many of the originating beliefs of the three Abrahamic religions. This is most apparent in the Middle East. Because they were formulated in a prescientific age when challenges like the ones now facing human society today did not exist, many believers; be they Jewish, Christian or Muslim, are unable to fully comprehend this threat. The one Abrahamic faith that is having the most difficulty, although parts of extremist Judaism and Christianity too have much of the same problem, is Islam. A discussion of the Islamic incomprehension in the Middle Eastern countries follows:
There is a dark cloud forming over these countries. It can be seen by the anguish in the faces of the young men filling the streets in the crowded cities. It can also be seen in the flow of refugees north into the European countries. Unrestrained population growth encouraged by Islamic belief has left a new generation with no future. They find themselves living in a world separated from the 21st century material affluence and lifestyle of the outside world. The ancient societal family centered structure of their parents and grandparents built upon the Koran and the Sharia law embodied in it has left them ill-equipped to deal with the transformative demands of the new world in which they find themselves. Anger and immigration is their only outlet.
At the center of the problem is the Islamic (originally Hebraic) belief and custom of large family size and the encouragement—at least among those who can afford it, of polygamy. As a result, in many countries the population has exploded as at the same time agricultural land and water resources have been depleted. Syria is an example. There the break point has been reached. Many Syrians find themselves left in the wasted land of their forefathers.
Author’s Note:Syria has had a population growth rate that before the recent crisis was one of the world’s highest; at about 2.4 percent.
1950 3,495,000
2015 22,878,524
At the center of the Syrian problem is the Islamic belief and custom of large family size. As a result, the population in Syria exploded at the same time agricultural land and water resources were being depleted. The break point was reached. Many Syrians now find themselves left in the wasted land of their forefathers.
Large numbers have moved into refugee camps. Many able to do so have left the country.
Other Middle Eastern countries will soon be sinking into the same chaotic disorganization. Given religiously inspired exponential population growth in them, it will be very difficult to have any form of civil society. As this occurs, extremist groups, many financed from outside, will be attempting to dominate.
These Syrians are asking; how could those Infidels living by the “corrupted” version of the Word; Jews and Christians, have such earthly reward and we have none? Isn’t our Islam the one true religion?
A view of Islamic history as outlined below can give an answer. It is a view that remains largely unaddressed today not just by Muslims but also by Jews and Christians as they attempt to understand Islam and those who practice it. If all sides did, perhaps there would be better communication and insight into the problem. Key is an historical fact: Unlike Judaism and Christianity, Islam was not forced during the European Enlightenment in the 17th and 18th centuries to question its own doctrinal anthropomorphic weakness. During that time period Islam lay dormant, encapsulated in its own originating doctrinal mold.
Prior to that dormancy there was, however, a high point of Islamic intellectualism. It took place during the first five hundred years after the death of The Prophet. As Europe in its medieval slumber slept, the Muslim world became an intellectual center for science, philosophy, mathematics, medicine and education. Even the Greek classics were translated and studied. But the movement died out beginning in 1299 when it was overtaken by the Ottoman Empire and then left to stagnate. One fact must be understood about this early pre Ottoman intellectual period. And this is the most important. It was unlike the European Enlightenment. The validity of the Qur’an was not questioned and the Hadith and Sunna were only studied to ascertain their meaning. The Qur’an and the Hadith and the Sunna were not to be questioned. The Islamic interpretations were built upon the same seventh century conviction according to adopted Judaic discipline; that is interpretation was to be only for the purpose of reading, interpreting and explaining the Qur’an and the Hadith and the Sunna.
Now to another important fact: The intellectualism of the European Enlightenment beginning in the 16th and 17th centuries had a far different purpose and outcome. In many ways it challenged and redefined Christianity – and also Judaism. All Christian and Jewish thought was given close scrutiny and questioned intellectually. Islam in its dormancy was not part of the exercise.
It escaped this; remaining encapsulated within the Ottoman Empire. The result; Islamic countries today, and particularly those at the center in the Middle East, did not experience the disruption that brought about a questioning of ancient Abrahamic religious thought – and the opening of the medieval mind. Islam lay in silence; in a sense a “sleeping giant.”
Then, suddenly that “sleeping giant” was awakened. After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th and 20th centuries and the discovery of oil in the Middle East, Muslims were suddenly exposed to a strange new Western world of self-critical secular intellectualism.
For this reason, many Muslims in the Middle East today – and many of those who have immigrated into continental Europe – are having great difficulty meeting the challenges of a highly educated technocratic post Enlightenment European world where male and female are increasingly equally valued both in the family and in the workplace and flexibility of mind and extensive educational training of all youth – without emphasis on religious doctrine as found in Islam, is encouraged.
It should be emphasized: This is not to say that all Muslims today in the Middle East or outside of it are confined by this constrictor or will be in the future. Nor is it to say that many Islamic precepts do not have value in the Western world and should not be a part of the societal fabric of a future civilization, but the fact remains; today those in many of the Muslim Middle Eastern nations and many immigrants from there into the West find themselves far behind the modern Western civilizational curve.
The calcification of Islamic religious belief as seen today in the Middle East could spell the end of stability in many of those countries. As above for Syria, population growth rates in some have been exponential. Oil revenues will be in decline over the next fifty years. These revenues now provide the necessary foreign exchange needed to purchase commodities from the outside world.
Many presently “oil rich” Middle Eastern countries are close to having exhausted their oil and gas reserves. Others with several decades of supply in front of them will be facing global pressure against the sale of oil and gas. We must keep in mind the fact that 25/50 years from now a turning point in human planetary consciousness will occur as a result of the overheating of the planet. There will be the implementation of taxation as well as other punitive measures to reduce consumption of fossil fuels. Major world economies will be turning against all carbon based sources of energy.
As the global ecological implosion unfolds and demands for solutions in all regions of the world intensify, the Islamic mindset in the Middle East, both Shia and Sunni, will continue to be an impediment toward adjustment. Fanatically observant Muslims looking back to Islamic origins will retreat further into Islamic paradisiacal suicidal militant orthodoxy. We are already seeing this, and it will intensify. The doctrines of earlier anti-western revolutionaries such as Hassan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb and Osama bin Laden will prevail, as will those of ISIS and other such groups.
From its very beginning the idea of a utopian Islamic society coming about by way of the righteous destroying the unrighteous has been a core Islamic belief. The clash in values between the radical Islam of today that has adopted this is now spilling over outside of its Middle Eastern origins. 9/11 was the first of the highly visible signs. Islamic extremists view the post Enlightenment secular world as the enemy of Allah. Because of state access to sophisticated weaponry, including atomic, theocratic Islamic nations with that technology are posing a very serious threat to all human civilization.
As ecological factors combined with exponential population growth press on the limits of the land area, some of the Middle Eastern countries will soon be sinking into chaotic disorganization. It will be very difficult for them to maintain any form of civil society. We already see the beginning of this pattern in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen. Wherever it occurs, extremist groups will attempt to dominate the society. They will—as they are today, be funded by affluent Muslims with Middle Eastern oil money, so long as it lasts.
Fires stoked under ancient religious animosities fueled by religious reactionary fanaticism in Orthodox Judaism and Fundamentalist Christianity rooted in the same ancient violent religious imagery and doctrinaire belief as Islam; the superior righteous destroying the inferior – i.e. the Philistinian unrighteous, will add to the powder keg. These groups with their common ancient mindsets will in the name of their God be anxious to go into battle. Islam will be anxious to go into battle with “Philistinian” secular “Infidel” western Christianity and the Nation of Israel. All of those on all sides holding to the orthodoxy of their Abrahamic religious doctrines will be poised to enter the conflict.
Can the Middle Eastern Islamic boiling pot be brought to a simmer and then cooled down? Can the Jewish and Christian? If so, how long will it take? What will be the extent of the human suffering? These are some of the most pressing questions for our time. All indications are that the pot will continue to boil and that within Middle Eastern Islam there will be enormous human suffering over the next fifty years as population exceeds available oil revenues needed for commodity imports. There may even be an inter Islamic atomic battle that could take the lives of millions both within and outside of Islam. Terrorist activities in the West could be far more damaging than before.
The ancient forms of Islam prevailing in the Middle East and elsewhere at some point will be forced to face planetary reality. As it was with the opening of the Western mind during the Enlightenment period in Europe, the Muslim mind too will be forced open. Muslim clerics and intellectuals will be forced to accept planetary and cosmic reality. (We are seeing the beginnings of this in Egypt) The question at this moment is how much damage to the planet and to its citizens will be incurred before this reality takes place.
With ecological events unfolding – oceans rising, food shortages, etc. – the bellicose voices of religious extremism in all three of the Abrahamic faiths will be drowned out. The violence brought on by their action and inaction will in effect wear out their planetary welcome. The shared orthodoxy among the three will bring down upon each its own demise. As with the lessons learned in past Abrahamic religious history; from the early Roman/Israel period to the Islamic Christian war period to the Crusades to the Inquisition to the more recent horrors of the holocaust and then to 9/11, and then to Iraq and Afghanistan and Syria, and now ISIS; the radical nature of covenantal exclusivist Abrahamic religious ideology will be exposed for its planetary humanistic incompatibility. The carnage left in its wake will spur a global wakeup call leading to mass condemnation of religious fanaticism in all of its forms.
As the pain and suffering continues to unfold, even moderate Abrahamic religious voices will be drowned out by the exigency of the events. They will find that their Judeo/Christian/Islamic understanding of the Cosmos and the planet and their relationship to it, grounded on ancient biblical concepts is not adequate to form the basis for the societal changes needed to meet the challenges presented by the extreme geophysical forces in play and the abruptness of those forces as they trigger enfolding ecological planetary tipping points.
Judeo/Christian/Islamic belief will be forced to adjust to the reality of an ecologically disintegrating planet with humans on it searching not for solutions restricted to their past, but built on new ideas within a thought process reaching beyond. This is not to say that all Abrahamic thought will die. Many ancient texts and beliefs will find value. However, a new world-wide cosmic realism will be taking hold. Past religious belief in all three of the religions of Abraham will be made to measure its value against a new form of thought that encompasses the nonlinearity of all matter and non-matter in the context of human/planetary consonance – and survival.
---------------------
Christian politicians won’t say it, but the Bible is clear: let the refugees in, every last one
Giles Fraser
... “how many can we take?” ... Every single last one.
READ ON ... Thousands more, says David Cameron now, grudgingly conceding to popular pressure. But why not all of them? Surely that’s the biblical answer to the “how many can we take?” question. Every single last one. Let’s dig up the greenbelt, create new cities, turn our Downton Abbeys into flats and church halls into temporary dormitories, and reclaim all those empty penthouses being used as nothing more than investment vehicles. Yes, it may change the character of this country. Or maybe it won’t require anything like such drastic action – who knows? But let’s do whatever it takes to open the door of welcome. “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp! Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” And yes, when Emma Lazarus wrote these words – later inscribed on the Statue of Liberty – by “storied pomp”, she meant us Brits.
For years our politicians have piggy-backed upon Christian morality for electoral advantage. We should “feel proud that this is a Christian country”, said Cameron earlier this year (pre-election, of course), in what some might uncharitably see as a call to maintain a Muslim-free view from his Cotswold village. But there is no respectable Christian argument for fortress Europe, surrounded by a new iron curtain of razor wire to keep poor, dark-skinned people out. Indeed, the moral framework that our prime minister so frequently references – and to which he claims some sort of vague allegiance – is crystal clear about the absolute priority of our obligation to refugees. For the moral imagination of the Hebrew scriptures was determined by a battered refugee people, fleeing political oppression in north Africa, and seeking a new life for themselves safe from violence and poverty. Time and again, the books of the Hebrew scriptures remind its readers not to forget that they too were once in this situation and their ethics must be structured around practical help driven by fellow-feeling.
The Passover, first celebrated as a last-minute preparation before leaving Egypt (unleavened bread as there wasn’t time for it to rise) – and the Christian Eucharist that was built on top of it – is nothing less than a call to re-live this basic human solidarity in the face of existential fear and uncertainty. And when the author of Matthew’s gospel describes Jesus as a child refugee, fleeing his country from a despotic ruler intent on taking his life – Herod not Assad – he is deliberately sampling that basic foundational myth of the Exodus.
... “how many can we take?” ... Every single last one.
READ ON ... Thousands more, says David Cameron now, grudgingly conceding to popular pressure. But why not all of them? Surely that’s the biblical answer to the “how many can we take?” question. Every single last one. Let’s dig up the greenbelt, create new cities, turn our Downton Abbeys into flats and church halls into temporary dormitories, and reclaim all those empty penthouses being used as nothing more than investment vehicles. Yes, it may change the character of this country. Or maybe it won’t require anything like such drastic action – who knows? But let’s do whatever it takes to open the door of welcome. “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp! Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” And yes, when Emma Lazarus wrote these words – later inscribed on the Statue of Liberty – by “storied pomp”, she meant us Brits.
For years our politicians have piggy-backed upon Christian morality for electoral advantage. We should “feel proud that this is a Christian country”, said Cameron earlier this year (pre-election, of course), in what some might uncharitably see as a call to maintain a Muslim-free view from his Cotswold village. But there is no respectable Christian argument for fortress Europe, surrounded by a new iron curtain of razor wire to keep poor, dark-skinned people out. Indeed, the moral framework that our prime minister so frequently references – and to which he claims some sort of vague allegiance – is crystal clear about the absolute priority of our obligation to refugees. For the moral imagination of the Hebrew scriptures was determined by a battered refugee people, fleeing political oppression in north Africa, and seeking a new life for themselves safe from violence and poverty. Time and again, the books of the Hebrew scriptures remind its readers not to forget that they too were once in this situation and their ethics must be structured around practical help driven by fellow-feeling.
The Passover, first celebrated as a last-minute preparation before leaving Egypt (unleavened bread as there wasn’t time for it to rise) – and the Christian Eucharist that was built on top of it – is nothing less than a call to re-live this basic human solidarity in the face of existential fear and uncertainty. And when the author of Matthew’s gospel describes Jesus as a child refugee, fleeing his country from a despotic ruler intent on taking his life – Herod not Assad – he is deliberately sampling that basic foundational myth of the Exodus.
Migrants sleep outside Keleti station which remains closed to them in central Budapest. ‘There is no respectable Christian argument for fortress Europe, surrounded by a new iron curtain of razor wire to keep poor, dark-skinned people out.’ Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty ImagesIf our “Christian” politicians have any excuse, it is that the church has itself been frequently woeful in its response to the current situation. And the prize for the most outrageous church pronouncement on this issue surely goes to Péter Erdő, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Budapest, who reportedly declared that Hungarian churches were prohibited from sheltering refugees. “If we did so, we would be human traffickers,” he said. I hope the Holy Father has a quiet word with him. But little wonder that the only thing Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, can say about the refugees fleeing war in the Middle East – as he tries to corral them in camps – is that they threaten the Christian identity of Europe. The truth is entirely the opposite: it is he that threatens the Christian identity of Europe. “What is the point of salt if it has lost its saltiness?” asks Jesus. Saltless salt “is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot”. And that is what should happen to Orbán’s so-called Christianity.
Kudos, then, to Justin Welby, quoting from Leviticus. We must “break down barriers, to welcome the stranger and love them as ourselves”, he said. No, that’s not lefty hand-wringing. It’s biblical faith. And while one cannot read off the specifics of immigration policy from an ancient text, there is little argument what the underlying principles must be. And – listen up Donald Trump, who has been cluelessly invoking his love of the Bible over the last few weeks – if our politicians don’t like the basic principles, then they shouldn’t claim the Christian mantle in the first place.
First Published Here: The Guardian
---------------------
Reconciling False Divisions
Kudos, then, to Justin Welby, quoting from Leviticus. We must “break down barriers, to welcome the stranger and love them as ourselves”, he said. No, that’s not lefty hand-wringing. It’s biblical faith. And while one cannot read off the specifics of immigration policy from an ancient text, there is little argument what the underlying principles must be. And – listen up Donald Trump, who has been cluelessly invoking his love of the Bible over the last few weeks – if our politicians don’t like the basic principles, then they shouldn’t claim the Christian mantle in the first place.
First Published Here: The Guardian
---------------------
Reconciling False Divisions
John Bennison
A Series exploring the Shared Abrahamic roots of Three Faith Traditions, Part I: Jewish Roots
READ ON ...
Featured image: “The Bosom of Abraham” – medieval illustration from the Hortus deliciarum of Herrad of Landsberg (12th century). For a pdf version to print and read click HERE.
A Presbyterian politician who wants to be the leader of the free world claims to have written a great book; second only to the Bible. He has promised to “protect Christianity,” and ban all Muslims outside the United States from entering. It remains unclear if he expects all radical Jihadists to self-profess at the border; instead of, say, swearing to be as Presbyterian as he is.
Equally unclear is how Mr. Trump feels about the former U.S. marine who was recently reunited with his family on American soil, after being captured and held prisoner in Iran the last four years. Amir Hekmati had gone to visit his extended Muslim family in Tehran.
Beneath the superficial din of such political idiocy, an appreciative consideration of the shared Abrahamic roots of three great faith traditions might be helpful in finding ways to reconcile the false divisions that the most strident voices of ignorance seem to propagate.
Over a dozen years ago, in his book, Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths (2002), Bruce Feiler wrote, “The great patriarch of the Hebrew Bible is also the spiritual forefather of the New Testament and the grand holy architect of the Koran. Abraham is the shared ancestor of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He is the linchpin of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He is the centerpiece of the battle between the West and Islamic extremists.” Feiler then asked, “Who is Abraham?”
In the Hebrew scriptures there are numerous stories told about this figure; gathered from a much larger trove of ancient, oral traditions that contained hundreds more apocryphal tales. If one thought the scholarly quest for the authenticity of sayings and doings attributed to the historical Jesus was a tough slog, the legends about Abraham that spanned centuries makes it clearly apparent we are talking about a character of mythic – and not necessarily historic — dimensions.
The legends about Abraham that spanned centuries makes it clearly apparent we are talking about a character of mythic – and not necessarily historic — dimensions.
If there was one thing all such “Abrahamic” stories shared in common it was that there once emerged a mythic figure that came to represent the progenitor of these three great monotheistic faith traditions. But furthermore, each of these faith expressions would make of this composite character whatever suited them; or best described their interpretation of this character’s symbolic importance.
If there was one thing that all these “Abrahams” seemed to represent, it was the belief and understanding that this symbolic figure could fathom and then bear witness to a central, experiential reality: There was only one “god.” That is, there was one essence, one all-encompassing totality of all that is, known and unknown. And in that totality, an archetypal figure such as Abraham would seek to explore and understand the confounding “oneness” of what some would call “God.”
For the Hebrews, it would be YHWH. For Christians – in one way or another — it would be a Galilean sage; who from the beginning of what we now call the ‘common era’ came to so closely represent an expression of that same totality that they would somehow be seen as being one in the same thing. For Muslims, it would be the revelatory experience of a whole line of prophets beginning with Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and ending with Muhammad emerging towards the end of the sixth century, CE.
But any seeming differences would not end there. Within each of these faith traditions, of course, different interpretation and application would emerge in sometimes quarrelsome disputes over what constituted heresy or orthodoxy.
In my own faith tradition, for example, it’s probably a good bet that the Jesus character that I would strive to follow as “lord” of my life is not the same one to whom several contemporary Christian politicians would likely choose to bear any allegiance.
So, with so many branches to the family tree of Abraham, there would seem to be such a split down the trunk that finding any common root structure might seem an insurmountable obstacle. How to get around it?
Within the Christian faith tradition, certainly there are vastly different understandings of what it means to be Christian. Just ask a so-called progressive Christian like myself, who finds so much orthodox doctrine obsolete, arcane and unhelpful; not to mention Christian fundamentalists — whom I once considered naïve and uninformed about a deeper understanding of scripture as a scholarly pursuit – as now being downright dangerous. The fact is, the same is true in Judaism and Islam.
Yet all of Judaism, Christianity and Islam share the same Abrahamic roots. And from those roots there not only remains the capacity to expose the false divisions that are clearly propagated both within — and outside — each of those traditions; but offer, as well, the hope and possibility of a renewed, shared vision for humanity in this time of dire divisiveness. It is to be found in the shared ethical teachings and wisdom sayings in which all three traditions are rooted. As well as the demonstrated moments each traditions expresses or enacts a willingness to resist remaining fixated in one place beyond its usefulness, value or meaningfulness.
There is not only the shared ethical teachings and wisdom sayings in which all three traditions are rooted, but the demonstrated moments in which each tradition expresses or enacts a willingness to resist remaining fixated in any one place beyond its usefulness, value or meaningfulness.
When I was a boy, we’d sing songs around the campfire; making no distinction between those tunes that were completely silly and secular, and others that were overtly religious. We’d sing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, and Do Lord, Oh Do Lord, Oh do you remember me? right along with 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall and John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. And we’d sing Rock My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham.
So high, I can’t get over it, So low, I can’t get under it,
So wide, I can’t get ‘round it, Oh, rock-a-my soul.
That insurmountable obstacle — the seeming impossibility of ever arriving at that place forever sought — never occurred to me around my childhood’s campfire. Only much later would I learn that the metaphor “to be in Abraham’s Bosom” was derived from the custom of reclining on couches at table, which prevailed among the Jews during and before the time of Jesus.
At celebratory feasts, each guest would lean on one elbow, leaving the other arm free. As two or more guests lay on the same couch, the head of one could rest on the breast of another; as if lying “in the bosom of Abraham.” More so, it was considered a mark of special honor and favor for one to be allowed to lie in the bosom of the master of the feast, in the master’s home; and from whom the same invitation had been given. The customary injunction for such gracious hospitality and shared communion is just one of the common roots found in each of the three great faith traditions.
There are innumerable stories about the character of Abraham, both within and outside scripture. Many of them are unbelievable; like Abraham’s span of years, Sarah’s barrenness, or Isaac’s near sacrifice. But credibility, of course, is not the point. The entire root structure of the shared Abrahamic traditions is intended to take us deeper; so that firmly rooted, our shared lineage might give us confidence (or trust, or faith) to leave behind those false divisions that have so numerously sprung up all around us.
Of all the Abrahamic stories, these two might best illustrate this point:
Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. … So Abram went, as the Lord had told him. [Gen. 12:1-2, 4a]
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram … He brought him outside and said, ‘Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. [Gen. 15:1, 5-6]
The call of Abraham is about venturing forth from the well-worn place of settled familiarity with all its limitations, to journey to a new and yet-unknown place of promise and fulfillment. It is the archetypal journey and homecoming that comes to represent the separate pathways of three great religious faith traditions that express separate, parallel paths with a shared destination. And, despite some idle assertions of knowing the unknowable, that destination is not some heavenly home in the sweet by-and-by; but meant for the here and now (see Heaven on Earth).
Each time a pilgrim stops and pitches one’s tent for too long, it becomes a place of fixity, and an illusion of absolute certainty that soon leads to conflagration and destruction. The oft-used term used nowadays to describe this condition when the pilgrimage becomes instead a crusade is radical religious extremism.
Instead, like Abraham, we might leave behind former times and places; and resume the journey once again on fresh paths, under the canopy of a million, billion stars that have been cast before us. Doing so, we might discover ways over, under, and around false divisions; with the hope of a homecoming feast, a shared communion of sorts, in the bosom of Abraham.
Note: Part II in this Series will consider the shared Abrahamic roots and a path forward, more specifically from the perspective of the Islamic faith tradition.
© 2016 by John William Bennison, Rel.D. All rights reserved.
This article should only be used or reproduced with proper credit.
To read more commentaries by John Bennison from the perspective of a Christian progressive go to
http://wordsnways.com
---------------------
Weekly Liturgy
A Series exploring the Shared Abrahamic roots of Three Faith Traditions, Part I: Jewish Roots
READ ON ...
Featured image: “The Bosom of Abraham” – medieval illustration from the Hortus deliciarum of Herrad of Landsberg (12th century). For a pdf version to print and read click HERE.
A Presbyterian politician who wants to be the leader of the free world claims to have written a great book; second only to the Bible. He has promised to “protect Christianity,” and ban all Muslims outside the United States from entering. It remains unclear if he expects all radical Jihadists to self-profess at the border; instead of, say, swearing to be as Presbyterian as he is.
Equally unclear is how Mr. Trump feels about the former U.S. marine who was recently reunited with his family on American soil, after being captured and held prisoner in Iran the last four years. Amir Hekmati had gone to visit his extended Muslim family in Tehran.
Beneath the superficial din of such political idiocy, an appreciative consideration of the shared Abrahamic roots of three great faith traditions might be helpful in finding ways to reconcile the false divisions that the most strident voices of ignorance seem to propagate.
Over a dozen years ago, in his book, Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths (2002), Bruce Feiler wrote, “The great patriarch of the Hebrew Bible is also the spiritual forefather of the New Testament and the grand holy architect of the Koran. Abraham is the shared ancestor of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He is the linchpin of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He is the centerpiece of the battle between the West and Islamic extremists.” Feiler then asked, “Who is Abraham?”
In the Hebrew scriptures there are numerous stories told about this figure; gathered from a much larger trove of ancient, oral traditions that contained hundreds more apocryphal tales. If one thought the scholarly quest for the authenticity of sayings and doings attributed to the historical Jesus was a tough slog, the legends about Abraham that spanned centuries makes it clearly apparent we are talking about a character of mythic – and not necessarily historic — dimensions.
The legends about Abraham that spanned centuries makes it clearly apparent we are talking about a character of mythic – and not necessarily historic — dimensions.
If there was one thing all such “Abrahamic” stories shared in common it was that there once emerged a mythic figure that came to represent the progenitor of these three great monotheistic faith traditions. But furthermore, each of these faith expressions would make of this composite character whatever suited them; or best described their interpretation of this character’s symbolic importance.
If there was one thing that all these “Abrahams” seemed to represent, it was the belief and understanding that this symbolic figure could fathom and then bear witness to a central, experiential reality: There was only one “god.” That is, there was one essence, one all-encompassing totality of all that is, known and unknown. And in that totality, an archetypal figure such as Abraham would seek to explore and understand the confounding “oneness” of what some would call “God.”
For the Hebrews, it would be YHWH. For Christians – in one way or another — it would be a Galilean sage; who from the beginning of what we now call the ‘common era’ came to so closely represent an expression of that same totality that they would somehow be seen as being one in the same thing. For Muslims, it would be the revelatory experience of a whole line of prophets beginning with Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and ending with Muhammad emerging towards the end of the sixth century, CE.
But any seeming differences would not end there. Within each of these faith traditions, of course, different interpretation and application would emerge in sometimes quarrelsome disputes over what constituted heresy or orthodoxy.
In my own faith tradition, for example, it’s probably a good bet that the Jesus character that I would strive to follow as “lord” of my life is not the same one to whom several contemporary Christian politicians would likely choose to bear any allegiance.
So, with so many branches to the family tree of Abraham, there would seem to be such a split down the trunk that finding any common root structure might seem an insurmountable obstacle. How to get around it?
Within the Christian faith tradition, certainly there are vastly different understandings of what it means to be Christian. Just ask a so-called progressive Christian like myself, who finds so much orthodox doctrine obsolete, arcane and unhelpful; not to mention Christian fundamentalists — whom I once considered naïve and uninformed about a deeper understanding of scripture as a scholarly pursuit – as now being downright dangerous. The fact is, the same is true in Judaism and Islam.
Yet all of Judaism, Christianity and Islam share the same Abrahamic roots. And from those roots there not only remains the capacity to expose the false divisions that are clearly propagated both within — and outside — each of those traditions; but offer, as well, the hope and possibility of a renewed, shared vision for humanity in this time of dire divisiveness. It is to be found in the shared ethical teachings and wisdom sayings in which all three traditions are rooted. As well as the demonstrated moments each traditions expresses or enacts a willingness to resist remaining fixated in one place beyond its usefulness, value or meaningfulness.
There is not only the shared ethical teachings and wisdom sayings in which all three traditions are rooted, but the demonstrated moments in which each tradition expresses or enacts a willingness to resist remaining fixated in any one place beyond its usefulness, value or meaningfulness.
When I was a boy, we’d sing songs around the campfire; making no distinction between those tunes that were completely silly and secular, and others that were overtly religious. We’d sing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, and Do Lord, Oh Do Lord, Oh do you remember me? right along with 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall and John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. And we’d sing Rock My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham.
So high, I can’t get over it, So low, I can’t get under it,
So wide, I can’t get ‘round it, Oh, rock-a-my soul.
That insurmountable obstacle — the seeming impossibility of ever arriving at that place forever sought — never occurred to me around my childhood’s campfire. Only much later would I learn that the metaphor “to be in Abraham’s Bosom” was derived from the custom of reclining on couches at table, which prevailed among the Jews during and before the time of Jesus.
At celebratory feasts, each guest would lean on one elbow, leaving the other arm free. As two or more guests lay on the same couch, the head of one could rest on the breast of another; as if lying “in the bosom of Abraham.” More so, it was considered a mark of special honor and favor for one to be allowed to lie in the bosom of the master of the feast, in the master’s home; and from whom the same invitation had been given. The customary injunction for such gracious hospitality and shared communion is just one of the common roots found in each of the three great faith traditions.
There are innumerable stories about the character of Abraham, both within and outside scripture. Many of them are unbelievable; like Abraham’s span of years, Sarah’s barrenness, or Isaac’s near sacrifice. But credibility, of course, is not the point. The entire root structure of the shared Abrahamic traditions is intended to take us deeper; so that firmly rooted, our shared lineage might give us confidence (or trust, or faith) to leave behind those false divisions that have so numerously sprung up all around us.
Of all the Abrahamic stories, these two might best illustrate this point:
Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. … So Abram went, as the Lord had told him. [Gen. 12:1-2, 4a]
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram … He brought him outside and said, ‘Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. [Gen. 15:1, 5-6]
The call of Abraham is about venturing forth from the well-worn place of settled familiarity with all its limitations, to journey to a new and yet-unknown place of promise and fulfillment. It is the archetypal journey and homecoming that comes to represent the separate pathways of three great religious faith traditions that express separate, parallel paths with a shared destination. And, despite some idle assertions of knowing the unknowable, that destination is not some heavenly home in the sweet by-and-by; but meant for the here and now (see Heaven on Earth).
Each time a pilgrim stops and pitches one’s tent for too long, it becomes a place of fixity, and an illusion of absolute certainty that soon leads to conflagration and destruction. The oft-used term used nowadays to describe this condition when the pilgrimage becomes instead a crusade is radical religious extremism.
Instead, like Abraham, we might leave behind former times and places; and resume the journey once again on fresh paths, under the canopy of a million, billion stars that have been cast before us. Doing so, we might discover ways over, under, and around false divisions; with the hope of a homecoming feast, a shared communion of sorts, in the bosom of Abraham.
Note: Part II in this Series will consider the shared Abrahamic roots and a path forward, more specifically from the perspective of the Islamic faith tradition.
© 2016 by John William Bennison, Rel.D. All rights reserved.
This article should only be used or reproduced with proper credit.
To read more commentaries by John Bennison from the perspective of a Christian progressive go to
http://wordsnways.com
---------------------
Weekly Liturgy
Week of: January 24th, 2015
Boundless Love
We search and strive and struggle all our lives, and in the end it always comes back to love.
READ ON ...
We search and strive and struggle all our lives, and in the end it always comes back to love. Boundless love. Jesus is our touchstone, our wisdom teacher, because he knew that and lived it. But as Goethe wrote, “All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, until they take root in our personal experience.”Boundless Love
We search and strive and struggle all our lives, and in the end it always comes back to love.
READ ON ...
---------------------
Healer of disease and strife;
Boundless Love
Boundless love in all creation,
Source and pulse of human life,
Unseen hope of every nation,
Source and pulse of human life,
Unseen hope of every nation,
---------------------
Serenity by Richard HoldsworthEnter my hearing, Oh, silence
Soften my sight with love
Rid my thoughts of harshness
Open my search for good
Lighten my heart, compassion
Relieve my soul from the fight
Wash me, best intentions
In hope’s pure promising light
Protect my day, good instincts
Safe from remorse this night---------------------
A Man to Imitate by John AvesThere once was an extraordinary young man
born in Nazareth centuries before
airplanes, cars, or computers
but a man in many ways similar
to you and I.
He dreamed of a better world in the future
one where men and women
of every shade of brown, black, yellow and pink
might together care for the birds, cats, dogs and all the flowers
and especially each other.
This young man might have lived among the wealthy men in his village
he was an accomplished carpenter.
But He took great risks, reached out to the poor and the diseased
then tipped over the tables of the money changers
causing an angry roar throughout his synagogue.
Instead of trading shekels
young Jesus worked toward his vision.
He dreamed of a better world for the family of man
and He had the will and courage to speak to power.
His parents, Mary and Joseph, helped him learn a skilled trade
so that He could support himself and his family.
He was a carpenter who worked with wood.
Their son was a manly fellow
who had strong arms and legs
and walked miles every day.
Roman soldiers were on the road
but Jesus did not run and hide.
Jesus spoke his mind.
This young man was alike and unalike
many fine young people in his world.
His extraordinary perception, compassion and determination
inspired his community.
He was a spirit person and a real person
superhuman as we sometimes are in various degrees.
Jesus was about 30 years old
when the Romans decided that he posed a threat.
He was arrested and crucified like many men of his time
but Jesus’ power was unstoppable
and his message expanded for the next 2,000 years.
He was not a ghost.
His power was in his words
and his ways.
It was a power that expands
and avails itself to every man and woman.
We can follow his example.
He was human
and we are human.
Remember Him when
the weeds of evil begin to spread
by voice, pen or gun
and the time comes
to act like Jesus might wish us to act.
We too can progress out of our comfort zones
but too often it seems I do not.
(rev 6/9/2015)
Serenity by Richard HoldsworthEnter my hearing, Oh, silence
Soften my sight with love
Rid my thoughts of harshness
Open my search for good
Lighten my heart, compassion
Relieve my soul from the fight
Wash me, best intentions
In hope’s pure promising light
Protect my day, good instincts
Safe from remorse this night---------------------
A Man to Imitate by John AvesThere once was an extraordinary young manborn in Nazareth centuries before
airplanes, cars, or computers
but a man in many ways similar
to you and I.
He dreamed of a better world in the future
one where men and women
of every shade of brown, black, yellow and pink
might together care for the birds, cats, dogs and all the flowers
and especially each other.
This young man might have lived among the wealthy men in his village
he was an accomplished carpenter.
But He took great risks, reached out to the poor and the diseased
then tipped over the tables of the money changers
causing an angry roar throughout his synagogue.
Instead of trading shekels
young Jesus worked toward his vision.
He dreamed of a better world for the family of man
and He had the will and courage to speak to power.
His parents, Mary and Joseph, helped him learn a skilled trade
so that He could support himself and his family.
He was a carpenter who worked with wood.
Their son was a manly fellow
who had strong arms and legs
and walked miles every day.
Roman soldiers were on the road
but Jesus did not run and hide.
Jesus spoke his mind.
This young man was alike and unalike
many fine young people in his world.
His extraordinary perception, compassion and determination
inspired his community.
He was a spirit person and a real person
superhuman as we sometimes are in various degrees.
Jesus was about 30 years old
when the Romans decided that he posed a threat.
He was arrested and crucified like many men of his time
but Jesus’ power was unstoppable
and his message expanded for the next 2,000 years.
He was not a ghost.
His power was in his words
and his ways.
It was a power that expands
and avails itself to every man and woman.
We can follow his example.
He was human
and we are human.
Remember Him when
the weeds of evil begin to spread
by voice, pen or gun
and the time comes
to act like Jesus might wish us to act.
We too can progress out of our comfort zones
but too often it seems I do not.
(rev 6/9/2015)
---------------------
Boundless Love by David StevensonBoundless love in all creation,
Source and pulse of human life,
Unseen hope of every nation,
Healer of disease and strife;
You are rich beyond our dreaming,
Bursting forth in sacred mirth,
Light and colour gaily streaming
Through the dull affairs of earth.
Doctrines, creeds and forms of worship
Dimly focus our belief,
Falter lamely after Lordship,
Bringing groping minds relief.
For no concept can contain you,
You are greater than them all;
And the rules we make to bind you
Hold ourselves, not God, in thrall.
Love and mercy, grace and healing
In a thousand forms we find;
You have countless ways of dealing
With the quest of humankind.
World religions trace the story:
Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Jew,
Each has caught a glimpse of glory;
All have heard a word from you.
Ever growing in our learning
From the folk of other creeds,
May we humbly with discerning
Follow where the Spirit leads.
Banish fears and indecision,
Fruitful dialogue afford;
Bid us share the priceless vision
We have seen in Christ our Lord!
Tune: Abbot’s Leigh (or other 8.7.8.7.D)
© David Stevenson 2010
---------------------
Click on Amazon Smile and choose ProgressiveChristianity.org as your charity - when you shop Amazon donates .05%.
Events and Updates
Progressive Youth Ministry Conference – “Faith in an Age of Reason”
A conference that allows progressive youth ministers to gather, exchange ideas, worship, and network.
READ ON ...
Progressive Youth Ministry Conference – “Faith in an Age of Reason”WHY A PROGRESSIVE YOUTH MINISTRY CONFERENCE?
It can be difficult for a youth worker who identifies as “progressive” or “liberal” to find a tribe. Most events, conferences, camps, and curricula cater to evangelicals. But as progressive theology gains more of a foothold in the church, we need a place to gather as well — a tribe to meet with, and new ideas to stoke our imaginations.
In 2012, John Vest and Tony Jones, both veteran youth workers, began talking about a conference that would allow progressive youth ministers to gather, exchange ideas, worship, and network. In 2014, they founded PYM as an opportunity to do just that, and the immediate response was overwhelmingly positive. By 2015, in its second year, PYM had sold out the original space at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.
In February, 2016, The Jopa Group and Cathedral of Hope in Dallas are hosting the third Progressive Youth Ministry Conference. We are committed to presenting a diverse line-up of speakers, fresh ideas for the theory and practice of youth ministry, and space for you to share your voice as well.
The theme for PYM16 is “Faith in an Age of Reason.” In the plenary sessions, we will tackle issues including race, religion-and-science, and creativity, and our seminars willcover a wide variety of topics, everything from the Enneagram to the doctrine of original sin to ministry to trans* youth. We hope you will join us — register today!
Here is a bit of a sneak peak into Speakers/Seminars already confirmed.
Rabbi Evan Moffic – What Every Christian Needs to Know about the Jewishness of Jesus
Mike Baughman – Caffeinated Ministry – Coffee Shops as Marshlands of Adolescent Development
Ivy Beckwith – Living Into God’s Alternative Future: The Role of Transformative Community
John Vest – It’s Confirmation, not Conformation
Danielle Shroyer – Original Blessing: Getting beyond the doctrine of original sin
Yadi Martinez – Ministry to Trans* Youth
Tony Jones – You Need a Better Atonement
Suzanne Stabile – An Introduction to the Enneagram
Wesley Ellis – Human Beings and Human Becomings: Adolescents and Eschatology
Doug Pagitt – FLIP Your Youth Ministry
Super Early Bird Special ends September 30th, 2015 – $179
Early Bird Special – $199
Regular Ticket – $249
At-Door Ticket – $299
PYM Pre-Game: Enneagram for Youth Ministry February 16th, 2016 – $149
PROGRESSIVE YOUTH MINISTRY CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18
8:00am Registration Open
9:00 am Opening Worship, Neil Cazares-Thomas preaching
10:30 am Coffee Break
11:00 am Open Source Time
12:00 pm Lunch Break
1:30 pm Seminars
2:45 pm Coffee Break
3:00 pm Plenary Session, Evelyn Parker, “Race, the Elephant in the Room of Youth Ministry”
4:45 pm Seminars
6:00 pm Adjourn
8:00 pm Homebrewed Christianity Live Podcast
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19
9:00 am Plenary Session, Paul Wallace, “There Are Stars Beneath Us – Finding God in the Evolving Cosmos”
10:30 am Coffee Break
11:00 am Seminars
12:15 pm Lunch Break
2:00 pm Plenary Session, Catherine Keller, “The Cloud of the Impossible – God, Mystery, and Science”
3:45 pm Super Seminars
5:15 pm Adjourn
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20
9:00 am Plenary Session, Rob Bell “All Things Are Yours: A few thoughts on the awesome and unexpected truth that every explanation merely moves the mystery a layer deeper. And what that has to do with fifteen years olds”
10:00 am Open Source Time
11:00 am Closing Worship, Allyson Robinson preaching
Images
Start:
February 18, 2016
End:
February 20, 2016
Location:
Cathedral of Hope
Dallas TX
Organization:
Progressive Youth Ministry
Website:
http://pym.thejopagroup.com/register
Email:
info@jopaproductions.com
Telephone:
612-516-5672
---------------------
View all upcoming events here!
News
Job Listings
Facebook
Twitter
Website
Email
YouTube
---------------------
Our mailing address is:
ProgressiveChristianity.org
4810 Pt. Fosdick Dr. NW#80
Boundless Love by David StevensonBoundless love in all creation,
Source and pulse of human life,
Unseen hope of every nation,
Healer of disease and strife;
You are rich beyond our dreaming,
Bursting forth in sacred mirth,
Light and colour gaily streaming
Through the dull affairs of earth.
Doctrines, creeds and forms of worship
Dimly focus our belief,
Falter lamely after Lordship,
Bringing groping minds relief.
For no concept can contain you,
You are greater than them all;
And the rules we make to bind you
Hold ourselves, not God, in thrall.
Love and mercy, grace and healing
In a thousand forms we find;
You have countless ways of dealing
With the quest of humankind.
World religions trace the story:
Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Jew,
Each has caught a glimpse of glory;
All have heard a word from you.
Ever growing in our learning
From the folk of other creeds,
May we humbly with discerning
Follow where the Spirit leads.
Banish fears and indecision,
Fruitful dialogue afford;
Bid us share the priceless vision
We have seen in Christ our Lord!
Tune: Abbot’s Leigh (or other 8.7.8.7.D)
© David Stevenson 2010
---------------------
Click on Amazon Smile and choose ProgressiveChristianity.org as your charity - when you shop Amazon donates .05%.
Events and Updates
Progressive Youth Ministry Conference – “Faith in an Age of Reason”
A conference that allows progressive youth ministers to gather, exchange ideas, worship, and network.
READ ON ...
Progressive Youth Ministry Conference – “Faith in an Age of Reason”WHY A PROGRESSIVE YOUTH MINISTRY CONFERENCE?
It can be difficult for a youth worker who identifies as “progressive” or “liberal” to find a tribe. Most events, conferences, camps, and curricula cater to evangelicals. But as progressive theology gains more of a foothold in the church, we need a place to gather as well — a tribe to meet with, and new ideas to stoke our imaginations.
In 2012, John Vest and Tony Jones, both veteran youth workers, began talking about a conference that would allow progressive youth ministers to gather, exchange ideas, worship, and network. In 2014, they founded PYM as an opportunity to do just that, and the immediate response was overwhelmingly positive. By 2015, in its second year, PYM had sold out the original space at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago.
In February, 2016, The Jopa Group and Cathedral of Hope in Dallas are hosting the third Progressive Youth Ministry Conference. We are committed to presenting a diverse line-up of speakers, fresh ideas for the theory and practice of youth ministry, and space for you to share your voice as well.
The theme for PYM16 is “Faith in an Age of Reason.” In the plenary sessions, we will tackle issues including race, religion-and-science, and creativity, and our seminars willcover a wide variety of topics, everything from the Enneagram to the doctrine of original sin to ministry to trans* youth. We hope you will join us — register today!
Here is a bit of a sneak peak into Speakers/Seminars already confirmed.
Rabbi Evan Moffic – What Every Christian Needs to Know about the Jewishness of Jesus
Mike Baughman – Caffeinated Ministry – Coffee Shops as Marshlands of Adolescent Development
Ivy Beckwith – Living Into God’s Alternative Future: The Role of Transformative Community
John Vest – It’s Confirmation, not Conformation
Danielle Shroyer – Original Blessing: Getting beyond the doctrine of original sin
Yadi Martinez – Ministry to Trans* Youth
Tony Jones – You Need a Better Atonement
Suzanne Stabile – An Introduction to the Enneagram
Wesley Ellis – Human Beings and Human Becomings: Adolescents and Eschatology
Doug Pagitt – FLIP Your Youth Ministry
Super Early Bird Special ends September 30th, 2015 – $179
Early Bird Special – $199
Regular Ticket – $249
At-Door Ticket – $299
PYM Pre-Game: Enneagram for Youth Ministry February 16th, 2016 – $149
PROGRESSIVE YOUTH MINISTRY CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18
8:00am Registration Open
9:00 am Opening Worship, Neil Cazares-Thomas preaching
10:30 am Coffee Break
11:00 am Open Source Time
12:00 pm Lunch Break
1:30 pm Seminars
2:45 pm Coffee Break
3:00 pm Plenary Session, Evelyn Parker, “Race, the Elephant in the Room of Youth Ministry”
4:45 pm Seminars
6:00 pm Adjourn
8:00 pm Homebrewed Christianity Live Podcast
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19
9:00 am Plenary Session, Paul Wallace, “There Are Stars Beneath Us – Finding God in the Evolving Cosmos”
10:30 am Coffee Break
11:00 am Seminars
12:15 pm Lunch Break
2:00 pm Plenary Session, Catherine Keller, “The Cloud of the Impossible – God, Mystery, and Science”
3:45 pm Super Seminars
5:15 pm Adjourn
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20
9:00 am Plenary Session, Rob Bell “All Things Are Yours: A few thoughts on the awesome and unexpected truth that every explanation merely moves the mystery a layer deeper. And what that has to do with fifteen years olds”
10:00 am Open Source Time
11:00 am Closing Worship, Allyson Robinson preaching
Images
Start:
February 18, 2016
End:
February 20, 2016
Location:
Cathedral of Hope
Dallas TX
Organization:
Progressive Youth Ministry
Website:
http://pym.thejopagroup.com/register
Email:
info@jopaproductions.com
Telephone:
612-516-5672
---------------------
View all upcoming events here!
News
Job Listings
FacebookTwitterWebsiteEmailYouTube---------------------Our mailing address is:
ProgressiveChristianity.org
4810 Pt. Fosdick Dr. NW#80
Gig Harbor, Washington 98335, United States
---------------------
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