Progressive Christianity for Thursday, 29 January 2015 "Transformational Series, Part 1 - Personal Transformation"
You are here to make a deeper commitment that you may live a life as an aware, awake, and conscious individual. You are here to evolve and transform. And it is through that transformation, you can positively affect the world.
Personal transformation begins with going within and getting to know yourself- your thoughts, beliefs, and core patterns that all dictate your reactions and emotions. Until we go within we are not able to transform or affect our internal world which guides our outer experience. With mindfulness and observation of our inner dialogue we are able to engage in a new way of being. We have the power to create an extraordinary existence by learning how to navigate ourselves and become the architects of our own minds, emotions, and bodies rather than the victims of a ceaseless pre-programmed script.
Although radical transformation takes time and practice, stepping out of suffering and pain and opening ourselves to all that is possible in this human experience does not have to be a lifetime challenge. Transformation can actually happen in the space of one moment. It can happen in the moment when we go deep within and dig out theroots of the weed to change our core beliefs and patterns. As we begin to align our minds with the high vibration of divine love and expansion, rather than fear and contracting thoughts, we can establish new patterns of thinking that will benefit us and all those around us.
I hope you enjoy this powerful eBulletin as much as I have. It is the first in a series on Transformation, which we will look at from a variety of angles. Thank you for joining us on this journey.
~Deshna
The Need to Transform
Fred Plumer
I find it fascinating that an institution which at its very core is about transformation, does all it can to resist change. Ironically from its earliest manifestations, the Christian path has always been about transformation. The Jesus story is first and foremost about changing our perspective, our purpose and ultimately our lives. What else but transformation could the story of a poor peasant who becomes a respected rabbi, a teacher of a new way of living, mean? How else can we interpret the intent of Jesus’ actual teachings like breaking down social barriers, forgiving our enemies and loving abundantly without qualifications than with steps to an inner and social transformation? What could being spiritually born again mean other than transformation? What does the symbol of resurrection mean other than transformation?
The Bible is, in my mind, the best witness the Western World had to the evolution of human consciousness. That is a story in itself – I’m working on the book. However, what is true on the grand scale of one tradition’s journey toward wholeness is also true as a map for our personal growth. We can see the ages and stages of our own lives against the background of the biblical story. I will touch on some main points.
The Bible as Personal Transformation Guide
by Don Murray
The Bible is, in my mind, the best witness the Western World had to the evolution of human consciousness. That is a story in itself – I’m working on the book. However, what is true on the grand scale of one tradition’s journey toward wholeness is also true as a map for our personal growth. We can see the ages and stages of our own lives against the background of the biblical story. I will touch on some main points.
“So God created humankind in God’s own image . . . male and female God created them . . . and God saw everything that God had made, and indeed it was very good” (Genesis 1:27, 31).
We are all enthralled by the birth of a baby. It was not until our fifth child that I was actually there to watch a new life emerging from the womb. Birthing, which for me as a male is an enthralling experience, must be for a mother a consuming involvement of body, mind and spirit crowned by a love “that passes understanding.”
This ancient creation myth conveys an intuitive awareness that we are an embodiment of the purpose of the Universe, and that we are fundamentally good. Seeing a new-born, we know in the core of our being that this is true. We, in contemplative moments, see in this child a glorious being, the creative result of a universe that has been evolving for nearly fourteen billion years. “You are a child of the universe.”
Then comes the Garden of Eden story, and Eve eating the forbidden fruit. The ever-helpful serpent, the first biblical Sophia image, tells Eve that “your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Consciousness enters the picture. Eve is every two-year-old stamping her/his foot and saying “no.” The terrible-twos may be annoying for parents, but this is the first step toward becoming a whole and mature adult.
Consciousness has a down side. In becoming conscious we become aware that we are separated within ourselves, (they knew that they were naked); from one another, (Adam blames Eve); from the earth, (in the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread); and from God, (they are evicted from the Garden of innocence). In the very next story Cain slays Abel, and this has been the human story ever since. Healing our divisions and growing in oneness is the story of our personal gradual transformation throughout life, as well as the human story. Learning how to be human is our personal and communal goal.
If we are lucky we may get a glimpse of what our life is to be about at an early age. It happened to Abraham and Sarah on a grand scale. The promise is that they will become “a great nation.” As an individual it means that you will be a person of worth, and “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3). It is the purpose statement of the Bible, and a worthy goal for any person or group, including religions and nations.
When I was eleven or so, our minister preached a rousing sermon on arguments for the existence of God. It occurred to me that if he was so fired up about God’s existence there must be the chance that God doesn’t exist. I didn’t realize it then, but my life has been dictated by trying to make sense of it all after the death-of-God theology of the 1960’s.
To grow and become one’s own person means leaving home. As the teen years move on, home can come to feel like a prison. The Exodus is the great leaving-home experience of the Bible. It was fraught with fear and tension. There is the lure of the “Promised Land” – freedom from rules and nagging parents. But who will make the meals and do the laundry?
Rites-of-passage help us to move from one stage to the next. It was at the moment of leaving that, according to the record, the Passover was introduced. It gave the Israelites identity as a people, and has so ever since. Graduation and the all-night parties are something, but we need to work on better rituals.
Leaving home is often followed by “the Wilderness.” Hopefully, it does not take one forty years to get our act together enough to move on. However, entering whatever our vision of the promised land might be rarely happens immediately or easily. Taking on the responsibilities of adult life is a giant step in the transformation toward wholeness . Eventually the walls of Jericho come tumbling down and we enter adult life.
Now comes the time of the Kingdom. Under Saul, David and Solomon, Israel became one of the nations and flirted with significant political power. So we take our place in the world: career, perhaps marriage and family, and the many responsibilities that descend upon us.
After a time cracks may appear. The Kingdom became divided. North and South spent much time and energy fighting with one another. The tensions and divisions of life can take their toll.
The great spiritual tension of the Kingdom era was between the one God and the many. The Yahweh, male, sky god was trying to take over from the mostly female earth gods. The classic confrontation took place on Mount Carmel between Elijah and the prophets of Baal and Asherah. Elijah wins, but is terrified of Jezebel and flees. Only after he hears “the still small voice” does he go back and straighten out the political situation (1 Kings 18ff).
One of the major tensions of life is aligning our inner life with our outer life. In career, marriage or wherever, tensions may appear between your situation in life and the needs and dreams and urgings of your inner self. In our psyches the tension between the one and the many represents the tension between what we believe to be our central focus, or even an inner calling, and the multitude of joys and responsibilities that make up our lives. As Joseph Campbell says, “There is perhaps nothing worse than reaching the top of the ladder and discovering that you’re on the wrong wall.” This can lead to a mid-life crisis, another transformative step on life’s journey.
The Exile was the great mid-life crisis of the Hebrew people. “The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold”, as Lord Byron put it. With country overrun, temple destroyed, and the elite of the land carried off to Babylon, they were a people without a country and without a God. The meaning and purpose of their lives was taken from them – much like the treatment of the Natives in the Americas. (Assyria conquered Israel in c621 BCE and Babylonia destroyed Judah in two waves around 500 BCE.)
There comes the morning when you look in the mirror and realize that the face you see is aging. Youth is gone and the end, though a long way off, is in sight. If your ladder is really against the wrong wall it can be a major crisis. Reassessing one’s life becomes a necessity. Who am I? What is my life about? What do I really value? What am I in this world to do?
By mid-life you are not without resources. You have established yourself and have gained much life experience. The prophets before and during the Exile distilled the human experience into the basic values that undergird human life. “Do justice, love compassion, walk humbly”, proclaimed Micah (6:8). “You are responsible for your life” said Jeremiah (31:27-30) and Ezekiel (18:1-4).
And again Jeremiah (31:31-34); the time will come when we will follow the law written in our hearts and not be dominated by external laws.
This is a good time to pay attention to “the still small voice” that is always there, if we pay attention. It can help us sort out what is important to us and the direction our life needs to take.
This can also be a time of a great expansion in our awareness and understanding of life, world, universe, and God.
Isaiah of the Exile (40-55) brought a whole new message and understanding of God. No longer are they being blamed for their situation.They are forgiven. “Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God (40:1). And the traditional tribal God, Yahweh, one of many gods, becomes the one God of the Universe. “It is he [still male] who sits above the circle of the earth (40:22). (Isaiah introduced the theistic god-image, important at the time, to which we are now saying farewell. That, too, is another story.)
After about forty years in exile, Cyrus , a “progressive” dictator, allowed the Israelites to return to their country. Nehemiah and Ezra recount the story. They did re-establish in their homeland, but it was never the same. It was, however, a time of gathering up the spiritual and practical wisdom of the ages. Psalms gives us a summation of the spiritual wisdom and understanding of the time. Proverbs provides practical wisdom, and introduces Wisdom (Sophia), the creative feminine energy of the Universe. The Song of Songs eloquently explores the mystery and beauty, and the tribulations, of human love. Job embodies innocent suffering, and the confusion of relating to a God who seems to want to do him in without cause – we might call it the fickle finger of fate.
Armed with the wisdom of our lives and the inner drive to be and do what we are uniquely able to do, we move on. It may be a mere ripple in our lives or a time of major transformation, both within ourselves and our situation in the world.
For generations there had been a yearning among the Hebrew people for a new King David and then a Messiah who would deliver them from external powers, like the Babylonians or Romans. At a more profound level there was a yearning for a Messiah who would fulfill the destiny of Israel to be a people through whom all the world would find blessing. This is reflected in our lives by the desire to be successful in the world and be a quality person.
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in divine and human favor” (Luke 2:52). The miracle of Jesus is not that he was a superhuman, divine, figure, but that he was a mature and whole human being. To ponder upon his integrity and compassion, his acceptance of women, his confronting of the political powers in the world of his time, is to be awed beyond measure. He is a model of what it means to be fully human.
Not much wonder he was called Christ, an embodiment of the archetype of wholeness that is at work within each one of us and permeates the universe. The goal in the fulfillment of our lives, and ultimately the collective life of humanity, is to “come to …. maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ” Ephesians 4:12). And the Christ energy is at work, under various names and images, in every religion.
Jesus’ life makes it clear that following the inner integrity of our lives can come at a price. We need to follow Paul’s advice to the Philippians to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for God’s good purpose”(2:12-13). God can be understood as the creative energy of the universe that is calling you to be your unique self.
The New or Second Testament, from the gospels to Revelation, is the attempt of the Church to live out in the world what Jesus was about. They made a start but could not maintain the maturity of Jesus. It is a long journey that still has far to go. The same is true for most of us, but hopefully we are on the way. Transformation is a life-long process “until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, the busy world is hushed, the fever of life is over and our work is done” and we sink into the bosom of eternity.
The Bible ends with the book of Revelation. It is a mythic extravaganza of the human journey of transformation from the innocence of Eden to the wholeness of the New Heaven and New Earth. In horrendous scenes it pictures the great contest between the forces for life and those against life, which has been the story of humanity. In learning how to be human we are dealing with tensions of cosmic proportions. It is an Armageddon struggle, an ultimately serious contest, that is very real for us in this age. Will we carry on and grow as a human species or will our greed, our materialism, our disregard for the earth and one another bring an end to our earthly sojourn? The game is now for keeps.
Revelation is ultimately a hopeful book. After all the visions of mayhem and destruction, it ends with a magnificent vision of a new heaven and a new earth. “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations” (22:1-2).
May this , and all visions of a humanity at one within themselves, the earth, one another, and the spiritual, urge us on to be what is in us to be and give what is ours to give for a world of wholeness, justice, peace and joy. From the Garden to the New Heaven and New Earth, the journey of transformation is complete. For us, “The goal may ever shine afar, the will to win it makes us free” (William Hyde).
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Don Murray is a retired Minister of The United Church of Canada, educator, columnist and author: The Death and Resurrection of God: From Christianity to the New Story.
The ‘kingdom of God’ is the term Jesus used to express his vision of a profound transformation of human beings and human institutions—social, political, economic and religious—to fully express the character and nature of God—a God of love. To accomplish this vision, Jesus worked toward the creation of a new kind of community dedicated to values of compassion, generosity, peace, and justice. He was creating a movement for change, a people engaged in a vast conspiracy of love.
Transformation
by Kurt Struckmeyer
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.1
- Paul, the Apostle
Jesus called on people to change. Not just a little, but dramatically. Mark’s gospel reports that Jesus began his ministry with these words:
Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time is fulfilled,” he said. “Tthe kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news.”2
The ‘kingdom of God’ is the term Jesus used to express his vision of a profound transformation of human beings and human institutions—social, political, economic and religious—to fully express the character and nature of God—a God of love. To accomplish this vision, Jesus worked toward the creation of a new kind of community dedicated to values of compassion, generosity, peace, and justice. He was creating a movement for change, a people engaged in a vast conspiracy of love.
To lay the groundwork for the dawning of his vision, Jesus called on people to repent and believe in the good news. Repent and believe. It seems so simple. Traditionally, the reader would assume that Jesus wants us to feel bad about our past sins, resolve to do better, and believe that Jesus brings good news about what the future has in store for us. This reading views repentance and belief as a mostly internal experience of the heart and mind—first the emotional response of remorse and then an intellectual affirmation of whatever good news Jesus is announcing. These actions are entirely within one’s comfort zone. It is easy to repent and believe a few ideas about Jesus or his vision if this is all that is required. Paul’s letter to the Romans adds some content to the belief part: “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”3 Of course, Jesus did not necessarily agree with Paul on what to believe. In fact, the gospels they proclaimed were very different. Accordingly, Paul has led us astray when it comes to the intent of Jesus. When you view Jesus through the lens of Paul’s writings, the good news is distorted. The assumption is that we are being saved to experience an eternal life in heaven. This may be standard orthodox teaching, but it is way off the mark in regard to the message of Jesus, and misses his meaning of repentance and belief.
Something has been lost in translation—literally. First of all, Jesus and his followers spoke in Aramaic, an ancient Semitic language related to Hebrew. Paul and the gospel writers wrote in Greek. We of course read these texts in English. We are trusting modern biblical translators to correctly interpret these texts for us, but unfortunately most have an agenda, and that often involves perpetuating orthodox Christian teaching. So let us examine the words ‘repent’ and ‘believe’ in the original Greek to get a better understanding of the real meaning of Jesus’ message and see what is missing from our bibles and our theology.
Repent
To our ears, repentance usually conveys a sense of guilt and regret. It is commonly understood as a feeling of remorse, and that is precisely how the church has conventionally used the term. 4 But ‘repent’ doesn’t capture the true meaning of the Greek word metanoeite (met-an-oh-eh’-eet-eh), a form of the verb metanoeÏŒ (met-an-oh-eh’-oh), as used in the gospels. The noun metanoia (met-an’-oy-ah) is the more familiar term for many people, meaning a fundamental shift or movement (meta) of the mind (noia). It is a movement that takes us beyond the mindset of our cultural conformity—our conventional wisdom—into a new way of perceiving and thinking about the world around us. The repentance that Jesus speaks of is a transformative movement, a fundamental change of life that is deeper, more basic, and more far-reaching than our common understanding of the word ‘repentance.’ It is not about being sorry for the past. It is about thinking differently and changing the direction of our lives for the future. Metanoia essentially means to turn around, to change the form, to take on a whole new identity. It involves a change of orientation, direction, or character that is so pronounced and dramatic that the very form and purpose of a life is decisively altered and reshaped. It means to begin the journey of walking away from the old to the new.
The translation of metanoia as ‘repent’ began when the New Testament was translated from Greek into Latin sometime around 384 CE by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus (c. 347-420), better known as St. Jerome. His Latin Vulgate translation used the phrase poenitentiam agite (pay-nih-ten′-see-ahm ah-ghee′-teh), which means “Go, and do penance” (a voluntary self-punishment). This error was compounded by Martin Luther (1483-1546) when he translated the New Testament into vernacular German in 1522. Luther worked from a 1519 Greek text compiled by Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (1466-1536), known to history as Erasmus. Luther translated metanoia as büßen or büssen (boo′sen), which means to atone, to redress, to do penance.5 So from the end of the sixteenth century on, Roman Catholics and many Protestants believed that Jesus was talking about regret, sorrow, remorse, or performing acts of contrition, instead of a radical change in thinking and living. Today, one biblical scholar referred to the translation of metanoia as ‘repent’ as “an utter mistranslation,” while another called it “the worst translation in the New Testament.” So why does it still appear incorrectly in most English translations?
To Jesus, metanoia was a change so dramatic that it implied starting over again through a metaphorical second birth.
In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again.”6
Jesus’ declaration is not to be confused with what is commonly known as “born-again Christianity.” The rebirth of metanoia is not about inviting the resurrected presence of the Christ to enter our hearts while remaining firmly rooted in cultural conformity. Jesus was certainly not discussing speaking in tongues or other charismatic gifts often associated with born-again Christians. He was articulating an invitation to a new quality of life in the midst of the old. This is the essence of the life-change that has been traditionally symbolized by baptism. It is a fundamental transformation that enables us to begin the journey of a new life. It is like being reborn with a radically new perspective on the meaning of life and matters of ultimate concern.
The deep-seated change of metanoia that Jesus describes happens through a process of learning and growing. It involves learning a completely new way of thinking about life, being instructed in a new way of seeing reality. It means discarding conventional wisdom and traditional common sense for an unconventional wisdom and a transformed sense of purpose. Start by turning around and going the other way, Jesus says to us. You are a captive of your culture and, although you may not be able to see it, you are headed in the wrong direction. You are living in darkness, mired in confusion.
For instance, in America our cultural view of reality is one of climbing an economic ladder. As we climb, we tend to keep our eyes on the rung above, towards those who have more than we do. Because a few are incredibly wealthy, we tend to think of ourselves as poorer than we really are. When we turn around, as Jesus calls us to do, we look back down the ladder. Then we are able to see the vast majority of people who have far less than we do, and we begin to understand how incredibly wealthy we really are. It is a change of perspective, a shift of the mind, a whole new way of thinking. If embraced, one’s life becomes transformed; it becomes fundamentally altered.
Being born again is not about religion. It is about a way of living. It is a movement from greed to giving, from selfishness to servanthood, from social conformity to insurrection against the status quo. Jesus was talking about shifting allegiances and values away from a mainstream culture of power, domination, and violence to the kingdom values of selfless love, compassion, humility, equality, generosity, forgiveness, justice, peace, service, and inclusive community. This is what it means to be born anew. It is a movement from values that focus solely on ‘me’ to the embrace of values focused on ‘you’ and ‘us’ in a life of mutuality and service.
Believe in the good news
The verb ‘believe’ is a translation of the Greek pisteuó (pist-yoo’-oh) which can mean ‘to believe,’ but more accurately means ‘to trust’ or ‘to have faith in.’ It is based on the noun pistis (pis’-tis), which means faith, belief, trust, confidence, and faithfulness. Normally, belief has the connotation of an intellectual acceptance of a proposition—a certainty that something is true, even in the absence of empirical evidence. Faith, likewise, implies great confidence in an idea. But faith is often a visible and outward expression of what is believed to be true in one’s head. Further, faith is a trust in something to the extent that one would be willing to bet one’s life on it. To be faithful within the context of any culture is to be seized by and devoted to whatever is believed to matter most in one’s life. Belief is a psychological state, while faith is a way of living. We often speak of this visible expression as a faith walk or faith journey.
The good news that Jesus proclaimed was a radical message of hope for people at the bottom of his society—the peasants and fishermen of Galilee. Jesus called on his followers to trust that the way of life he was teaching and modeling had the capability of transforming their lives and ultimately could change the world. He invited them to transform their old ways of thinking, and to shed their culture’s conventional wisdom in order to follow him. He asked them to risk their lives for this new way of living when he said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Taking up one’s cross in the context of first-century Roman Palestine meant a willingness to sacrifice one’s life in an engagement with political and economic power and a challenge to the unjust systems of the world.
So, both metanoia and pistis involve a committed change—a revolution in one’s way of thing and perceiving, and a life dedicated to that new reality, trusting that this is the right thing to do, that this is the most important thing to do, and that this new way is worth risking everything one has, including one’s life.
On the basis of this understanding, I would paraphrase the words in Mark’s gospel as:
Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The decisive time has arrived,” he said. “The kingdom of God is at hand. Change your whole way of thinking and living, and risk everything for this radical message of hope.”
This translation describes doing something extraordinary—moving beyond one’s comfort zone to a radically different way of life. I do not believe that Jesus calls anyone to a comfortable existence. That was not his message to his first followers. Instead, Jesus calls people to a life of challenge and transformation.
The ‘way’ of Jesus begins with the transformation of individuals from a natural state of egocentric self-interest to a full embrace of self-giving love and compassion toward others. If there is anything that can be considered ‘original sin,’ it is that we are born with an inwardly-focused self-concern and selfishness. Nearly every human sin results from a preoccupation with oneself and an indifference to the needs of others. Jesus called on people to change at a fundamental level, replacing a natural self-centered focus with a self-giving love. Loving others is the only possible antidote to our inherently selfish nature. By acting compassionately, we in turn become compassionate people. Through the eyes of compassion, we perceive the world differently. We are able to see life from the bottom of society not from the top. We are able to identify with those at the margins of our culture—the unimportant, the powerless, and the expendable.
The mission of Jesus was twofold: the transformation of men and women into agents of love and the transformation of human societies into communities of compassion, equality, and justice. The purpose of the first—individual transformation—was intended to accomplish the second—social transformation. Both transformations are needed to make the God of love a reality in the world.
All too often, our perception of love is very shallow—a warm feeling of friendliness, a condescending generosity, or a gentle tolerance of the shortcomings of others. The love expressed by Jesus was an uncompromising love. It was a radical love of one’s enemies; a call to nonviolent resistance toward evil; an unending forgiveness toward those who have harmed us; an expansive generosity with those in need; an inviting inclusiveness with despised people; and a fundamental rejection of reciprocation of any kind—both good and evil. It is a love that moves us toward lives of reconciliation, forgiveness, peace, and justice in a hostile world. We must never confuse the expression of love with being nice. A nice person will never change the world. Only an ardent lover has a chance to bring about the kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed.
Following Jesus is a relentless movement toward the better world that our hearts know is possible. When Jesus announced the kingdom of God, he was putting forth a vision of a world governed by love—more peaceful, more compassionate, more equitable, and more just. Planted deep in our hearts, this dream defines our mission as followers of Jesus. We are called to transform the hearts, minds, and politics of our cities and towns, our states, our nations, and the entire global community so that children everywhere will be fed, clothed, healed, and educated.
Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Seemingly insignificant actions by countless ordinary people—united in a common vision and inspired by a sense of hope that change is possible—can shatter the normalcy of injustice, hatred, and violence that is all around us.
Our task is to engage with others in conspiracies of love that will challenge the ideologies of selfishness, greed, power, exclusion, and domination that stand in the corridors of power and block the progress of the reign of love toward a just society. French theologian Jacques Ellul (1912-1994) once said:
Christians were never meant to be normal. We’ve always been holy troublemakers, we’ve always been creators of uncertainty, agents of dimension that’s incompatible with the status quo; we do not accept the world as it is, but we insist on the world becoming the way that God wants it to be. And the Kingdom of God is different from the patterns of this world. 7
Jesus compared the conspiracy of love to a miniscule mustard seed that invades and spreads through a well-tended garden, a tiny bit of yeast that transforms a great batch of bread dough, a little pinch of salt that adds flavor to a large pot of soup, and a small lamp that reveals those things hidden in a darkened house.
Acts of compassion, charity, and justice not only help others, they also transform us into better people. As Gandhi said, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” In becoming better people, we have a chance to create a better world. If we live our lives as co-conspirators with Jesus, if we engage in his conspiracy of love in our time and place, his vision of the inbreaking reign of love will be fulfilled within us and around us one small sacred act at a time. And all we need is love.
4 The confession of sins in liturgical churches reinforces this perception of repentance as being contrite or sorry for sin. The following confession comes from the Lutheran Service Book (2006): “O Almighty God, merciful Father, I a poor, miserable sinner, confess to you all my sins and iniquities, with which I have ever offended you and justly deserved your punishment now and forever. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray you of your boundless mercy, and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of your beloved son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor sinful being.”
5 Luther had earlier used the same understanding of metanoia when he compiled his “95 Theses” (1517) for debate within the Roman Catholic Church. The very first thesis was “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Matthew 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”
6 John 3:3
7 Jacques Ellul, The Meaning of the City (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1970)
The theme for this month’s e-bulletin is transforming our lives. Probably the most famous statement of self transformation in western culture is the Yahwist narrative of Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden. The story describes what we might call a negative transformation- the pair “fell” from a state of childlike innocence and were banished from paradise. Understanding that transformation, however, can help us to reverse it. Here’s the story.
Eve, Adam, and Self Transformation
by Dr. Carl Krieg
The theme for this month’s e-bulletin is transforming our lives. Probably the most famous statement of self transformation in western culture is the Yahwist narrative of Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden. The story describes what we might call a negative transformation- the pair “fell” from a state of childlike innocence and were banished from paradise. Understanding that transformation, however, can help us to reverse it. Here’s the story.
Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
To begin with the obvious, this is a myth, and not a statement of historical fact. Eve, Adam, the tree, and the serpent, are symbolic. The writer, whom we call the Yahwist, was a faithful and intelligent analyst of the relationship between God and humankind. S/He relates this narrative in order to describe some fundamental dimensions of human life. Further, as we shall see, both the divine prohibition and the temptation of the serpent represent a dialogue that Eve is having with herself. Some cosmic force of evil, embodied in a satan now manifest as a serpent, is not the cause of human corruption. There are only three characters on stage here: woman, man, and God.
The scene opens with Eve, apparently alone in the midst of the garden, pondering her existence. Adam may have been there, but plays no role in Eve’s deliberations. She is alone. Eve is caught in the paradox of a strange prohibition: that which is forbidden is also most desirable. Consider the circumstances: the tree of which humans are not to eat is the tree of the “the knowledge of good and evil”. The phrase in Hebrew does not denote a moral awareness of good and evil, but rather a full and practical knowledge of all matters, from right to left, top to bottom, front to back, good to evil. In other words, the tree and its fruit represent total knowledge of the full range of human experience.
It is commonly assumed at this point that eating the fruit made Adam and Eve “like” God, and that God, in turn, for some unknown reason having forbidden knowledge to them, now cast them out of the garden. This interpretation, however, is not without great difficulty. In the first place, could the Yahwist actually have believed that full knowledge was or is attainable by human beings? This is doubtful. Secondly, why would God prohibit such knowledge, which is not morally bad, but simply extensive? Such a prohibition is inconsistent with the previously given divine command to have dominion over the creation, a dominion which, if exercised properly, would require the “knowledge of good and evil”.
It is impossible that anyone could know and experience everything, even in a state of innocence. The act of eating the fruit, therefore, does not symbolize that Eve attained full knowledge, but that she now acted as if she did. That’s the point. She was no wiser at all. One moment Adam and Eve are innocently open to their environment. The next, they are imposing on their environment their own artificial and self-contained world-views. It is an existential transition that symbolizes the loss of contact with the real world, and the enclosure of Eve and Adam in worlds of their own construction. Eve, alone and pondering her existence, represents a fateful transition from innocent openness to the world to the creation of a little world with Eve as ruler. Her transition is our transition, the end result is our result: we shape reality to suit our taste. We make reality fit our notion of what it should be.
In this sense, the serpent was absolutely correct: to eat of the tree will make you believe you are all-wise. But sadly, of course, we are not. Humankind’s temptation is to assume that our experience is all experience, that our little world is the real world. The temptation is inescapable; we are created tempted. The problem is that we give in to the temptation. Having given in, dire consequences follow. We lose peace with ourselves: Eve and Adam are ashamed. We lose our openness to the universe: they hide when they hear God coming. We lose our respect and love for one another: Adam puts the blame on Eve. Lastly, we lose our harmony with the earth and its creatures: Eve blames the serpent. The consequence of fitting reality to our pattern is the total disordering of human life.
The story of Eve and Adam underscores the fact that we universalize on the basis of our solitary existence. The human being, symbolically incarnate in Eve’s solitary and fateful decision, becomes encapsulated in their own little world, a process of which we are unaware.
There is no tree and God has not forbidden the pair to eat of it. What we have is the Yahwist describing a dichotomy of human existence, a pulling in two directions. On the one hand, there is the desire to be all-wise, tempted not by the devil, not by God, but just by the conditions of life itself. We are bombarded constantly by sensory experience, and we want order. We need order. We want things to fit, so much so, that we would impose order where there is no order. We create our own world.
On the other hand, we ought to know better! This is where the divine prohibition plays its role. We ought to realize that our experience is limited. We ought to realize that our mind is shaping experience to fit preconceived notions. But we don’t. We are inclined to give in to the temptation.
Surprisingly, it was Eve’s very desire for fulfillment that caused her downfall. Rightfully seeking wholeness and meaning in life, she mistakenly begins to fit everything into her little world, thereby losing touch with reality. We want to be whole, but our experience is limited and fragmented, so we try to encompass everything in our framework, and in the process become closed in upon ourselves.
Amazingly, the root cause of human corruption, therefore, is not the pride of “trying to be like God”, which would only call for further clarification. Nor is it sex, or the devil, or predestination by a whimsical god. It is, rather, our very struggle to be human which causes our inhumanity. We create the void because we seek fulfillment. It is our search for wholeness and happiness that is the cause of our undoing because the search takes a wrong turn and we begin to absolutize.
Finally, one last element to consider. Eve’s downfall was precipitated neither by the serpent nor by the fruit, for the temptation was always there. Rather, it was the fact that she was alone that facilitated her giving in to the temptation. Whether or not Adam was physically present is immaterial. The point is that he had no function in the existential deliberations of his partner. Eve, alone, ate. Then Adam. They did not correct one another. They were not critical of one another. The Fall, it would seem, was precipitated by one person being ethically absent from the other. Mythically represented in the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden is the fact that in the struggle of life, human beings cannot stand alone. Striving for wholeness, without the lovingly corrective or supportive presence of another, we fabricate a oneness that does not exist. We create a view of reality that seems good, but does not correspond to the way things actually are. The fruit is eaten. Alone one falls. The absence of human beings one to another, the loss of loving community, is the ultimate source of the misery we impose on one another as we fall into the void.
If there is any lesson to be learned from this, it is that we need continually to overcome our temptation to behave as though our interpretation of realty is reality itself. In part, we are blind. We are provincial. We do live in a box, in the dark. In our little world.
Of course, worlds can and do change, especially as we open ourselves in dialogue in community. We are capable of learning, of expanding our horizons, of challenging our own assumptions. But no matter how much progress we make in this endeavor, we never reach the end of the road. There is always more of our “world” that needs to be unraveled and transformed. That’s what makes life so exciting: we can continually grow into our higher nature. There is always more to be and to learn and to experience, and that is the essence of life.
Transformation by Touch – Reiki Healing Touch as a Spiritual Practice
Rev. Bruce Epperly Ph. D.
The body is inspired, and the spirit is embodied. That affirmation describes the heart of today’s holistic spirituality. Long before dualism infected Christianity, the Christian movement believed in the healing energy of touch. Jesus touched people and transformed cells as well as souls and social position. A woman with a flow of blood touched Jesus, and energy flowed from Jesus to her that transformed her physical and spiritual health, and liberated her from social stigma. (Mark 5:24-34) A few decades later, the apostle Paul described the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, alive, holy, and transparent to divine inspiration. (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) The Christian movement saw the flow of divine energy from God to us and from one person to another as inherent in the natural processes of cause and effect, and not an external supernatural violation of the laws of nature. The early Christians believed that we lived in wonderful world and that the body was spirit-filled and reflective of divine wisdom.
Transformation by Touch – Reiki Healing Touch as a Spiritual Practice
by Rev. Bruce Epperly Ph. D.
The body is inspired, and the spirit is embodied. That affirmation describes the heart of today’s holistic spirituality. Long before dualism infected Christianity, the Christian movement believed in the healing energy of touch. Jesus touched people and transformed cells as well as souls and social position. A woman with a flow of blood touched Jesus, and energy flowed from Jesus to her that transformed her physical and spiritual health, and liberated her from social stigma. (Mark 5:24-34) A few decades later, the apostle Paul described the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, alive, holy, and transparent to divine inspiration. (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) The Christian movement saw the flow of divine energy from God to us and from one person to another as inherent in the natural processes of cause and effect, and not an external supernatural violation of the laws of nature. The early Christians believed that we lived in wonderful world and that the body was spirit-filled and reflective of divine wisdom.
Nearly thirty years ago, during a time of personal searching, I discovered reiki healing touch. Ten years later in 1995, I became a reiki teacher/master, and later wrote what I believe to be the first full-length book on reiki and Christianity, Reiki Healing Touch and the Way of Jesus. Reiki is at the heart of my personal spiritual practice and is an important part of my pastoral ministry. In fact, I see one of my callings as the integration of reiki healing touch with other Christian spiritual practices. Wherever I have pastored and taught, I have attuned congregants, colleagues, and students to reiki. Several of my congregants at South Congregational Church on Cape Cod have learned reiki under my direction and share reiki with one another and persons in need.
Reiki is a gentle, graceful, hands-on approach to healing. A reiki practitioner simply lays her or his hands lightly on another person, opening to the energy of love – the energy of God – flowing in and through her or him to bring well-being to another. I have employed reiki to reduce pain following surgery, to support persons with cancer, to promote wellness and stress reduction, and to companion people in their dying process. I give short “spot” reiki treatments to my wife Kate and grandchildren nearly every day. Non-invasive, reiki healing touch calms the spirit, opens us to divine wisdom, and promotes healing and wholeness.
Reiki embodies progressive spirituality at its best. It embraces East and West – the founder of reiki Mikao Usui was most likely a Buddhist – and it reflects the creation and embodied spirituality of “original blessing” in our cells and souls.
Reiki is essential to my personal spiritual practice. In addition to daily walking, prayers of intercession, and quiet centering prayer, I give myself a daily reiki treatment. While resting on my bed or sofa, I lay hands on myself, focusing on the energy centers (also described as chakras), spending about ten minutes once or twice each day, soaking in the healthy energy of life. I see this energy as reflective of the energy of creation, present in the dynamic healing ministry of Jesus, and as a manifestation God’s immanent and transforming presence in all things.
Holistic spiritual practices join mind, body, spirit, and relationships. They connect with the energy of creation and the well-being of the planet. When I give myself a reiki treatment, I feel connected with God at the spiritual and cellular level. I experience the interdependence of life and grace of relationships. Like so many other reiki practitioners or persons who have received reiki treatments, reiki has helped me to learn to love God in the world of the flesh, my own and in welcome and appropriate ways the bodies of those around me.
Bruce Epperly is pastor of South Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Centerville, Massachusetts, and the author of “Reiki Healing Touch and the Way of Jesus”; “ Healing Marks: Healing and Spirituality in Mark’s Gospel”; and “Finding God in Suffering; A Journey with Job.” He may be reached at drbruceepperly@aol.com.
The New Year is as good a time as any to work on the transformation of our lives. And isn’t that what life is really all about – transformation. We all go through the usual transformations from being a child, to a teenager, a young adult, a mature middle aged person, and then to become life’s senior citizens.
Transforming our Lives
by Jim High
The New Year is as good a time as any to work on the transformation of our lives. And isn’t that what life is really all about – transformation. We all go through the usual transformations from being a child, to a teenager, a young adult, a mature middle aged person, and then to become life’s senior citizens.
But at every step we should be, could be, transforming our lives for the better in many ways. It is about growing into wisdom. It is about becoming aware of the lives and concerns and needs of others, and doing something to take care of their needs. I like to say that all of us on planet earth are in this thing we call “Life” together.
And actually now we know and understand that it is true as evolution has shown us that all life has evolved over billions of years resulting in the world we inhabit today. That means that we are not only kin to all other living animals, but also the plants, flowers and trees. This knowledge of the unity of all life puts a deeper perspective on everything we do.
Ancient civilizations knew little of the ways of the world and they conceived of a God who had created their world and operated it for their own private benefit. But today we know that evolution is the nature of Nature. Creation is on-going and we see in happening here on Earth and throughout the universe. We live in a self generating world and we are not just a part of that creation, but co-creators as well.
With our new understanding God becomes the Process of Life. No longer do we need a God in the sky or elsewhere that is separate from us, but we acknowledge that God is the very Life of the Universe active where ever life is found.
This realization will cause a true transformation in your life at any stage and cause you to change your thinking about everything. And this change in thinking, this transformation, has the power to change our world for the better in ways we can now only imagine.
Deva Premal – Gayatri Mantra
Music Video
Meditative spiritual music, which puts ancient Sanskrit mantras into atmospheric, contemporary settings Praise to the source of all things. It is due to you that we attain true happiness on the planes of earth, astral, causal. It is due to your transcendent nature that you are worthy of being worshipped and adored. Ignite us with your all pervading light. WATCH HERE...
Brick Walls - Sermon Video
Samuel Alexander
Does the church have anything left to offer? Not if we insist on staying in the 16th century, (or even the 19th century), we don’t. So what? Why should that matter? It matters because it leaves many of us without the spiritual resources we need to live and to grow into our full purpose and potential. Over these last decades, many have come to recognize this and so embarked on a self-guided spiritual journey. Don’t think I’m knocking that here; what else are people to do? My concern is that life’s journey is difficult and confusing. Going it alone is fine as far as it goes, but too often it leaves us isolated and stagnant. We do better when we have the support and encouragement of community seeking to live into their own purpose and potential. Does the church have anything to offer? The church can offer such a community, but we’ll have to understand our traditions and images in radically new ways, and refocus our work to meet the interests of today’s spiritual but not religious believers. WATCH HERE
Honoring Dr. Marcus Borg
We are sad to share that Marcus Borg passed away on January 21, 2015. He was a brave leader in the Progressive Christian movement and his work helped many people on their spiritual journey. He was an honorary advisor for Progressive Christianity.org for over 15 years, a dear friend and respected colleague. He will be greatly missed. Our loving thoughts and condolences go out to his friends, fans, and family. To honor his life and service to the movement, we created a short and simple tribute.
We are sad to share that Marcus Borg passed away on January 21, 2015. He was a brave leader in the Progressive Christian movement and his work helped many people on their spiritual journey. He was an honorary advisor for ProgressiveChristianity.org for over 15 years, a dear friend and respected colleague. He will be greatly missed. Our loving thoughts and condolences go out to his friends, fans, and family.
To honor his life and service to the movement, we created a short and simple tribute.
The Future is Calling Us to Greatness Online Conference on Science, Inspiration and Sustainability Streaming Now for Free!
With Michael Dowd and 55+ Experts
A worldwide movement is emerging at the nexus of science, inspiration, and sustainability. Beliefs are secondary. What unites us is a pool of shared values and commitments—and the vision of a just and healthy future for humanity and the larger body of life. This historic series of 30-60 minute Skype interviews showcases the work of many of today’s leaders and luminaries regarding what to expect in the decades ahead, what’s being done—what still needs to be done—and how to be in action despite enormous challenges. These 55 experts represent a veritable Who’s Who of prophetic inspiration.
The Future is Calling Us to Greatness with Michael Dowd
January 26 – February 8, 2015
A worldwide movement is emerging at the nexus of science, inspiration, and sustainability. Beliefs are secondary. What unites us is a pool of shared values and commitments—and the vision of a just and healthy future for humanity and the larger body of life. This historic series of 30-60 minute Skype interviews showcases the work of many of today’s leaders and luminaries regarding what to expect in the decades ahead, what’s being done—what still needs to be done—and how to be in action despite enormous challenges. These 55 experts represent a veritable Who’s Who of prophetic inspiration.
Michael Dowd is a bestselling evolutionary theologian and evangelist for an honorable relationship to the future. His bridge-building book, Thank God for Evolution, was endorsed by 6 Nobel Prize-winning scientists, notedskeptics, and by religious leadersacross the spectrum. His ministry has been featured in The New York Times, LA Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Newsweek, Discover, and on CNN, ABC News, and Fox News. Michael and his science-writer wife, Connie Barlow, have spoken to nearly two thousand groups across North America since 2002. Their passion is showing how a deeply meaningful and fully evidence-based view of reality can inspire people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs to live in joyful integrity and cooperate in service of a just and thriving future for all. (Michael’s two TEDx talks and other video, audio, and text publications can be accessed here / His wikipedia page, here.)
All time below are Pacific Time (PT). To find when each session airs in your timezone, please refer to the world clock
Monday, Jan 26
11:00am PT Inspiring ‘Green for All’ Justice with Nikki Silvestri
12:00pm PT The 350.org Message and Movement with Bill McKibben
1:00pm PT The Largest Social Movement in the World with Paul Hawken
2:00pm PT Integral Wisdom for Challenging Times with Ken Wilber
Tuesday, Jan 27
11:00am PT Bringing Climate Science to Evangelicals with Katharine Hayhoe
12:00pm PT Speaking Prophetically in the U.S. Senate with U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse
1:00pm PT Winning the Story Wars by Calling People to Greatness with Jonah Sachs
2:00pm PT Saving the Grandchildren of All Species with James Hansen
Wednesday, Jan 28
11:00am PT The Great Disruption and Realistic Hope with Paul Gilding
12:00pm PT Nature Means Business: A Positive Vision with Amy Larkin
1:00pm PT Peak Everything as a Blessing with Richard Heinberg
2:00pm PT The Future of God and Human Flourishing with Deepak Chopra
Thursday, Jan 29
11:00am PT Igniting a Generation of Young People with Barbara Jefferson
12:00pm PT Transition Culture, Transition Network with Rob Hopkins
1:00pm PT The Promise of Collective Intelligence with Tom Atlee
2:00pm PT Gracefully Navigating the Long Emergency with James Howard Kunstler
Friday, Jan 30
11:00am PT Giving Prophetic Voice to Climate Science with Joe Romm
12:00pm PT The Promise of Conscious Evolution with Barbara Marx Hubbard
1:00pm PT The Prophetic Political Role of Spiritual Progressives with Rabbi Michael Lerner
2:00pm PT Living Purposefully with Death in Mind with Carolyn Baker
Saturday, Jan 31
11:00am PT The Archdruid Report on the Big Picture with John Michael Greer
12:00pm PT Telling the Climate Story to Inspire Action with Susan Joy Hassol
1:00pm PT The Power of Social Change 2.0 with David Gershon
2:00pm PT How Business Can Help Green the World with Chris Henderson
Sunday, Feb 1
11:00am PT Global Wisdom and the Pro-Future Mission of en*theos with Brian Johnson
12:00pm PT The Sacred Side of Science with Nancy Ellen Abrams & Joel Primack
1:00pm PT Sacred Economics and the Rebirth of a Beautiful World with Charles Eisenstein
2:00pm PT The Art of Planetizing the Movement with Drew Dellinger
Monday, Feb 2
11:00am PT Climate: The Greatest Moral Issue in History with Kathleen Dean Moore
12:00pm PT Why Science Literacy is Essential with J. Marshall Shepherd
1:00pm PT Re-Localizing What Matters Most with Michael Brownlee
2:00pm PT Change the Story, Change the Future with David Korten
Tuesday, Feb 3
11:00am PT Integral Practice as a Blessing to Future Generations with Terry Patten
12:00pm PT Generation Waking Up with Joshua Gorman
1:00pm PT The Only Thing Future Generations Care About with Derrick Jensen
2:00pm PT Resisting Violence to Women, the Planet, the Future with Lierre Keith
Wednesday, Feb 4
11:00am PT Evidential Mysticism: The Art of Creation Spirituality with Matthew Fox
12:00pm PT The Sacred Wild Within and Without with Bill Pfeiffer
1:00pm PT Evolutionary Lessons from a Living Planet with Elisabet Sahtouris
2:00pm PT The Climate Meme Project with Joe Brewer
Thursday, Feb 5
11:00am PT Breakthrough Communities, Breakthrough Possibilities with Carl Anthony and Paloma Pavel
12:00pm PT Our Greatness is Expressed in Our Collective Conduct as a Species with Duane Elgin
1:00pm PT Evolving Wisdom in Service to a Healthy Future with Craig Hamilton
2:00pm PT Earth Honoring Faith with Larry Rasmussen
Friday, Feb 6
11:00am PT Project Drawdown with Amanda Joy Ravenhill
12:00pm PT Bidder 70, Peaceful Uprising, and Climate Justice with Tim DeChristopher
1:00pm PT The Shift Network: Promoting Personal and Planetary Transformation with Stephen Dinan
2:00pm PT Peak Prosperity, the Crash Course, and Helping Others Prepare with Chris Martenson
Saturday, Feb 7
11:00am PT How Chaos Catalyzes Emergence with Peggy Holman
12:00pm PT Emerging Faith for Emerging Challenges with Brian McLaren
1:00pm PT The ManKind Project and Gift Community with Bill Kauth
2:00pm PT Permaculture as Right Relationship to Reality with Peter Bane
Sunday, Feb 8
11:00am PT This Sacred Earth: Faith, Science, and the Future with Philip Clayton
12:00pm PT It’s Time for an Integral Islam with Amir Ahmad Nasr
1:00pm PT Global Dark Green Integrity with Bron Taylor
2:00pm PT Reality Is Lord! — Science, God, and Evil on a Rapidly Overheating Planet with Michael Dowd
Symposium Overview
Streaming Now!
We each have experienced times of trouble that threaten to overwhelm our individual lives. In such times, a vision of possibility is essential. The same holds for the punctuations in history when whole societies face troubles of an immense and uncharted variety. Truly, we have arrived at such a time. Humans, unwittingly, have become a planetary force. We are changing irreversibly the very climate of our world. Henceforth, any actions we take as individuals and societies will be done in the new light of climate change. What vision will carry us forward and inspire us to work together? What vision will charge us with a sense of heroic purpose that the future is indeed calling us to greatness?
“How can we face the large-scale challenges of our time with hearts of gratitude, passion for life, and inspiration to be in action in service to the future?” This and related questions are explored in this Virtual Conference with some of the world’s most helpful voices regarding the challenges and opportunities we can expect in the coming decades, what is currently being done and what still needs to be done, and how, as individuals and groups, we all can participate in the Great Work of co-creating a just and healthy future for humanity and the larger body of life.
A related goal of this Skype interview series is to lift up a worldwide movement that has been emerging for decades at the nexus of science, inspiration, justice, and sustainability. Beliefs are secondary. What unites tens of millions of the religious and non-religious alike is a pool of common values, priorities, and commitments for living in right relationship to reality and working together to foster a thriving future for all. We feel our moment in the arc of history, such that, “The past is rooting for us and the future is calling us to greatness.”
Exclusive Interview In our new Evolving Perspectives Section: Hemant Mehta on Similarities and Differences Between Atheists and Progressive Christians
Eric Alexander
A discussion between Eric Alexander and The Friendly Atheist, Hemant Mehta. Hemant is one of the most well-known atheist bloggers in America. Eric and Hemant discuss the progressive Christian movement; whether Hemant and other atheists believe that some creative source is even possible; and just how closely aligned progressive Christians and atheists are philosophically…and more.
Eric Alexander Interviews Hemant Mehta About Similarities and Differences Between Atheists and Progressive Christians
This week I had a chance to catch up with Hemant Mehta, who is known in the blogosphere as The Friendly Atheist, and author of the hit book I Sold My Soul On Ebay. Hemant is one of the most well-known atheist bloggers in America (The Friendly Atheist), and I have been reading his stuff for years now because of his respectful and inclusive (yes, friendly) approach to atheism. I enjoy discussions with atheists for a whole bunch of reasons, but Hemant is particularly interesting to me as an atheist who has never been a Christian to begin with – and I definitely recommend that progressive Christians follow Hemant to learn more about the dynamics of the atheist movement. In this interview we discuss the progressive Christian movement; whether Hemant and other atheists believe that some creative source is even possible; and just how closely aligned progressive Christians and atheists are philosophically…and more.
Below are 7 Questions I asked Hemant, ranging from his thoughts about the progressive Christian movement; whether Hemant and other atheists believe that some creative source is even possible; and just how closely aligned progressive Christians and atheists are philosophically. Whatever venue you find this article on, both Hemant and I hope you share your thoughts and comments to generate some good discussion about the subject. At the end is a video from Hemant discussing how religious people can support atheists, and I think most progressive Christians would agree 100%. I hope you enjoy the discussion.
Hemant, on “Friendly” Atheism…
ERIC: I’m curious, why did you choose the term “friendly” for yourself?
HEMANT: I chose the name because, at the time I created the site, I kept hearing the phrases “angry atheist” and “militant atheist” in the media. No one ever spoke about happy, smiling atheists… and yet, most of the atheists I knew were pretty joyful people. So I used “Friendly Atheist” mostly to force people to say the words together. It doesn’t mean I’m friendly and other atheists are not, nor does it suggest I’m a pushover on religious issues.
…On God and Superstition
ERIC: You were raised in the Jain religion, which if I understand it correctly is non-theistic in nature. In your mind is that also a form of atheism?
HEMANT: You’re right that it’s a non-theistic religion. But the strange thing is, if you ask Jains if they believe in God, I’m guessing most of them would say yes. They don’t really know their own theology, in my experience. I was taught to pray to God growing up. I believed in Heaven and Hell and karma. These are all part of the same supernatural family. So even if Jains admit to being non-theistic, they still hold beliefs that have no basis in evidence. That’s where I part ways with them. Don’t get me wrong: There are atheists who believe in wacky things, too. But, to me, God and supernatural beliefs are the same thing. You can’t say no to one and yes to the others.
…On Definitions and Labels
ERIC: Atheists and progressive Christians share an amorphous landscape of definitions within our umbrellas. How interested are you in promoting a specific definition of atheism versus it being what some of us in the progressive Christian world call a big tent with many variations of the term mingling together?
HEMANT: I’m not overly interested in labels or definitions. I want people to think critically about their beliefs and I think atheism is the logical conclusion if you do that. But I’m not the kind of person to get in many religious debates. If progressive Christians support LGBT rights, for example, then I want to work with them toward that goal and not get bogged down in our differences. There’s a difference between how religion affects our society, which I’m very concerned about — and why people are religious at all, which has become less of an issue for me over time.
…On Evidence and Possibilities of God
ERIC: In a discussion about God, which we can define simply as a creator, source, or first mover; would you be more likely to argue that there is no God (or that there can be no God), or merely that you want an acceptable level of proof before giving the idea any further consideration?
HEMANT: I would just say there’s no evidence for God’s existence. I want the proof and no one has it.
…On Progressive Christianity
ERIC: As you know, progressive Christians can range from those who still share some of the core belief doctrines with conservative evangelicals, all the way to those who may not subscribe to any or all of the traditional core creedal concepts (for more about modern progressive Christianity, watch this video by progressiveChristianity.org founder Fred Plumer). I’m curious, what is your personal impression of progressive Christianity?
HEMANT: I have heard of it and, as I mentioned earlier, I have two different thoughts about it. From a purely practical standpoint, I have a lot in common with progressive Christians. We usually share the same ideas about social justice. We’re tired of how the Religious Right has hijacked religion and made Christianity synonymous with right-wing politics. We support civil rights for LGBT people. We volunteer together. I support Christians who work on making the world a better place, as cheesy as that sounds.
That said, I still think it’s silly and childish that progressive Christians tend to believe in the divinity of Jesus, prayer, and miracles. I want to convince them to shed those beliefs. But that is not my priority. That may be where I diverge from many atheists. I’m willing to let this stuff slide so that we can work toward the goals we share, while some atheists can’t get past even this mild type of foolishness.
…On Whether God is Even Possible
ERIC: In your previous response you said “progressive Christians tend to believe in the divinity of Jesus, prayer, and miracles.” Now I don’t represent all progressive Christians of course, but I know many who wouldn’t say that they believe in any of those things, at least not as they’re traditionally understood. Many would even say they don’t subscribe literally to ideas like virgin birth, unique incarnation – or even resurrection. But given that we humans do not know all that there is to know about things like energy, consciousness, and mystical experiences; and given that relatively speaking we are still so unevolved mentally and scientifically; is it at least possible in your mind that there’s “something more” to all of this, whereby some form of a incomprehensible and undefinable higher reality could be possible? And if so, is it unreasonable in your opinion to explore it through something like prayer and meditation?
HEMANT: There’s never been any evidence of prayers being answered, miracles happening with no possible natural explanation, or a dead man coming back to life, but the point is this: Progressive Christians, in my experience, still call themselves Christians for a reason. If they abandon these almost-fundamental religious beliefs, I’m hard-pressed to understand why they keep the Christian label. Meditation to me is very different from believing in intercessory prayer — I know atheists who meditate, but they’re not expecting God to ever intervene on their behalf.
…On Who Can Be an Atheist?
ERIC: I don’t think most progressive Christians believe in an anthropomorphized interventionist / intercessory type of God either. There are varying reasons that non-superstitious progressive Christians keep the label, and I’ve explained my own reasons recently in an article referring to myself jokingly as a gay Christian, and another using the label of Christian A-theist. But for a final question, I would like to ask about your views on the ideas of strong and weak atheism. To a seasoned atheist like you, is there room in the label of atheism for those who may refer to themselves as deists, a-theists, non-theists, or agnostics even though they may believe in a possibility or likelihood that some sort of source or an entity beyond our comprehension might exist?
HEMANT: It’s a semantic question that I don’t personally care about — but the more philosophical atheists would make a big deal about it. As stated earlier, if you’re a Deist or even someone who says with 100% authority that God doesn’t exist, I may disagree, but odds are we’re mostly on the same page with everything else, so I’m not going to waste my energy debating.
Here’s more from Hemant on how we can help support atheist causes:
Jesus: The Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary
Dr. Marcus J. Borg
Marcus Borg stresses that how we see Jesus “affects how we see Christianity” and “shapes what we think the Christian life is all about.” He describes the Christian life as” deeply centered in God”, which leads to experiencing personal transformation into the likeness of Christ, and participating in God’s passion for the Kingdom of God. It is a way of being Christian “in which beliefs are secondary to following the “way” a “life of deep commitment and gentle certitude.”
Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary
by Marcus J. Borg
From top Jesus expert Marcus Borg, a completely updated and revised version of his vision of Jesus—as charismatic healer, sage, and prophet, a man living in the power of the spirit and dedicated to radical social change.
Fully revised and updated, this is Borg’s major book on the historial Jesus. He shows how the Gospel portraits of Jesus, historically seen, make sense. Borg takes into account all the recent developments in historical Jesus scholarship, as well as new theories on who Jesus was and how the Gospels reflect that.
The original version of this book was published well before popular fascination with the historical Jesus. Now this new version takes advantage of all the research that has gone on since the 80s. The revisions establish it as Borg’s big but popular book on Jesus.
A Review by G. Richard Wheatcroft
For almost twenty years Marcus Borg has shared his scholarship, profound spirituality and insight about the historical Jesus in five books. They are, Conflict, Holiness and Politics in the Teachings of Jesus (1984, 1998), Jesus: A New Vision (1987), Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time (1994), The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, co-authored with N.T. Wright (2000) and The Last Week, co-authored with John Dominic Crossan. (2006) He writes that although he affirms most of what he wrote in Jesus: A New Vision, his understanding of Jesus and his way of teaching “have developed over the past twenty years.” This new book is his magisterial work on Jesus.
The focus of this book is to tell the story of Jesus that is “persuasive, compelling, inviting – and challenging” so that we can see his relevance today as the person in whom we see God’s character and passion.
The author is deeply concerned about the disagreements concerning the story of Jesus among Christians today. He describes several different, dominant versions of the story. They are the dying savior, the divine human being, the apocalyptist and the teacher. Then a larger division is evident when the story of Jesus is told from two paradigms which “conflict sharply with each other, producing very different understandings of Jesus.” An “earlier” paradigm sees Jesus trough “a Christian doctrinal lens.” It also emphasizes a “literal-factual” interpretation of the Bible, sees Jesus as “linked to the afterlife,” and emphasizes believing. But the author sees an emerging paradigm in which the stories of Jesus are understood as “human historical products that are to be read as a combination of historical memory and metaphorical narrative.” This leads him to his distinction between the “pre-Easter Jesus, Jesus before his death and the post-Easter Jesus, what Jesus became after his death.” He stresses the paradigm we use to tell the story of Jesus is crucial because it determines how we see God and the Christian life.
With the emerging paradigm as the lens for seeing the story of Jesus, Borg offers chapters on the religious, political, economic and cultural forces which shaped Jesus and his experience of God. The center of the book is a chapter titled The Big Picture, The Synoptic Profile of Jesus. Jesus is seen as a Jewish mystic who was a healer and exorcist, a wisdom teacher, a prophet and a movement initiator. The mission and message of Jesus was sharing his vision of the Kingdom of God which was shaped by the character of God as compassion and the passion of God as justice. The heart of the book is the exploration of the author’s twofold affirmation that the message of the Bible is personal and political. He writes, “The Bible is personal. It is about our relationship to God as persons.” This relationship leads to the path of personal transformation from a life centered in the self to a life centered in God. The Bible is also political. He writes, “It is about God’s passion for a different kind of world – one in which people have enough, not as a result of charity but as the fruit of justice, and in which nations do not war against one another anymore.”
The climax of the book focuses on the message and activity of Jesus challenging the domination system of his day with his message of the Kingdom of God, “God’s dream, God’s passion, God’s will, God’s promise, God’s intention for the earth, …the way the world would be if God were king, and the kings and domination systems of the world were not.” It was this message and activity that led to the execution of Jesus by Rome. The author interprets the meaning of Easter as the vindication by God of the life of Jesus and the continuing experience of him by his followers.
In concluding his book, Marcus Borg stresses that how we see Jesus “affects how we see Christianity” and “shapes what we think the Christian life is all about.” He describes the Christian life as” deeply centered in God”, which leads to experiencing personal transformation into the likeness of Christ, and participating in God’s passion for the Kingdom of God. It is a way of being Christian “in which beliefs are secondary to following the “way” a “life of deep commitment and gentle certitude.” He writes that “being Christian is not complicated. At its center is Jesus, whose passion was God, the way and the kingdom.”
Although one may be familiar with the work of Marcus Borg on Jesus, if you read this book you will find yourself engaged in a conversation about Jesus which will open new perspectives and fuel your passion for “God, the way and the Kingdom.”
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