Weekly Recap for Tuesday, May 24, 2016 from ProgressiveChristianity.org in Gig Harbor, Washington, United States "Where does the belief in hell come from? This and more in our Free Weekly Recap of our most viewed and new resources from last week."
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Spiritual Awakenings, Enlightenment and the Kitchen Sink
Steve Robertson
Spiritual awareness often begins at the point where our inner thoughts reflectively seek meaning in the external world of our drama. This search empowers the transformation of unconscious perception into awakened vision.Spiritual awareness often begins at the point where our inner thoughts reflectively seek meaning in the external world of our drama. This search empowers the transformation of unconscious perception into awakened vision. Such clarity creates the understanding that we are always, consciously or unconsciously, choosing and co-creating our existence.
Most people tend to live their lives as though sleepwalking through a fog bank. They grope for direction and meaning while frequently and painfully stubbing their toes on the potholes of life’s dramas. Life appears to happen randomly, and from these beliefs, it is easy to see ourselves as the victim of circumstance. As a result, one tends to live their life in a state of reaction rather than response. Life from this perspective can, at times, seem like a constant barrage of painful experiences, each of which seemingly validates that we are not in control of our own destiny. It becomes easy to imagine unforeseen forces that plot against the joy we most want.
Life from this challenging perspective tends to run its course until the day enough pain and negativity stacks up and, like the last straw that breaks the proverbial camel’s back, the sleepwalker wakes up and declares “Enough… That is it… NO, I’m not taking this anymore. I’m done with this.” Any number of infinite life lessons around the subjects of romance, parents, siblings, children, money, career, health, home, responsibility, recovery, you name it, can trigger the opportunity for an awakening and spiritual breakthrough.
In truth, the declaration of “NO” begins our first baby step in getting clear about what we do not want to create so that we become clearer about what we DO want to create. This moment of truth prompts a courageous stand from which one resolves to face what may be their greatest fear. Regardless of what instigates the declaration, it appears that this courageous stand opens a momentary space of grace from which the proverbial sleepwalker’s head now pops up out of the fogbank of emotional pain and suffering.
With the head now above the fogbank, and looking beyond, the sleepwalker can now see with clearer vision. They sense, with great excitement, new possibilities. Pain and suffering has been replaced by peace and insight. To the ego, (our fearfully-attached part of consciousness), such moments of awakening signal that suffering will soon be released and that with this, a wise new vision will soon take place. Attentive to its job, the ego quickly shifts into high gear in order to neutralize such an awareness, for its life literally depends on it. The neutralizing is accomplished through redirecting attention back at the original unresolved fear that eventually prompted the awakening. Once consciousness is turned, the tactic is to replay the fearful experience over and over again until attachment and suffering reoccurs. Does this sound familiar?
Not to blame, the ego is doing its job of self-preservation, for it knows once full awareness or enlightenment is achieved, it ceases to exist. So, prepared for such moments, the ego has strategically projected our deepest fears (not being loved or finding love, failing, not being successful, etc.) into the future. The ego, which has harvested all of our prior fearful thoughts, words and actions, has placed them there. These future fears are at the command of ego and they await its order to release, collide with and obliterate our newly-awakened insight. Our collected fears sit waiting, a metaphorical kitchen sink that is clogged with our drama.
At the time of our new awareness, choice has sparked a new sense of peace and joyful perception. With this, the ego now calls for the release of our fears, and like a mighty slingshot, the drama-filled kitchen sink is now launched back toward us at warp speed. Quickly, the fearful and attached part of the mind reacts and redirects our attention. We were once at peace, in the moment, and our head above the drama (fog bank); however, now our attention is turned to a concern, and an object is moving at us from a distance. As it draws nearer we sense its high rate of speed and a pending danger. As it gets ever closer it appears to be on a collision course with our head, which now rests just safely above the fog bank. As it draws even closer, we finally recognize that it is a kitchen sink, and we prepare for impact.
As the kitchen sink approaches closer and closer, so also does our survival center alarm: “Danger: Kitchen sink coming toward head at warp speed. Prepare to duck.” As it reaches the point of impact, we instinctively duck. Instantly, we notice we are alive and that our head, which once rested peacefully above the fog bank, is now back (body and all) in the same drama and suffering of the past.
Again, our life slips back into a familiar and unpleasant groove, and our life situation reaches another prompting point of change. Our lessons learned have reduced our suffering, and we are more quick to declare, “No, I’m really, really done with this situation, this time.” Again, instantaneously, we find our head has popped out of the fog bank of emotional pain and suffering. The view is as we remembered: peaceful, full of hope and possibilities.
Our mind becomes momentarily distracted by the memory of the kitchen sink, its possible return and the experience of dropping back into the fog bank.
We begin to recall that at the fearful moment the kitchen sink almost hit us that we had ducked. We also vividly remember that at the moment we ducked we dropped back down into the fog bank and returned to suffering. Inwardly, we courageously commit that we will not duck if the sink comes again.
As the thought of this conviction passes, the sink in fact does reappear and rapidly approaches on course with our head. Just before impact and true to our commitment, we do not duck; instead, we blink. In a nanosecond, we again find ourselves back in the fog bank of our drama and suffering.
The groove of our drama now seems deeper and more painful, yet our awareness is now peaked and accompanied by a resolve to end the suffering as quickly as possible. We will no longer allow our drama to chain the freedom that lifts our perspective. As our life situation boils again to another point of clarity we again proclaim, “No, I’m really, really, really done with this… this time.”
Again, as if by a miracle, we find our head above turmoil and glimpse an even greater beauty and peace than we had prior seen or experienced. As we bathe in the experience of this moment, we again become mindful of our once-projected fears, now coming back on us in a collision course with our present time awareness. As the kitchen sink materializes, once more it draws ever nearer and in a reflective pause, we recall in clarity that the act of ducking and blinking (avoiding the confrontation of our fear) immediately returned us back to the fog bank of drama and suffering.
With lessons learned we now draw from an even deeper courage and conviction. We vow to ourselves that we will not duck or blink in the face of fear, even if it means losing our life. We confirm in a valiant surrender that if the kitchen sink were to strike us and literally take our head off, we will not even flinch. As quickly as this thought passes, the sink appears out of nowhere and is clearly on a direct course of impact with our head. Firmly we hold to our faith and resolve, and just at the moment of pending impact, we watch as the sink just vaporizes. We now understand that our fears were only but an illusion.
Instantly, we now discover that our entire body has popped out of the fog bank. With our greatest fear now faced, our breakthrough realized and an even greater vision of possibilities on the horizon, we more fully own our courage and triumphantly declare: “I take full responsibility for my co-creativity and from this moment forward I WILL choose to create from what I lovingly want to experience.”
Ultimately, it is our courage to face our greatest fears and choose another way, is what empowers us to claim our hero within, and with this journey ever forward toward breakthrough realizations that reveal the kingdom of enlightenment within. Onward, courageous heroes.
Originally Published Here: Huffington Post
READ ON ...
Made On Earth – How the gospel writers created the Christ
Spiritual awareness often begins at the point where our inner thoughts reflectively seek meaning in the external world of our drama. This search empowers the transformation of unconscious perception into awakened vision.Spiritual awareness often begins at the point where our inner thoughts reflectively seek meaning in the external world of our drama. This search empowers the transformation of unconscious perception into awakened vision. Such clarity creates the understanding that we are always, consciously or unconsciously, choosing and co-creating our existence.
Most people tend to live their lives as though sleepwalking through a fog bank. They grope for direction and meaning while frequently and painfully stubbing their toes on the potholes of life’s dramas. Life appears to happen randomly, and from these beliefs, it is easy to see ourselves as the victim of circumstance. As a result, one tends to live their life in a state of reaction rather than response. Life from this perspective can, at times, seem like a constant barrage of painful experiences, each of which seemingly validates that we are not in control of our own destiny. It becomes easy to imagine unforeseen forces that plot against the joy we most want.
Life from this challenging perspective tends to run its course until the day enough pain and negativity stacks up and, like the last straw that breaks the proverbial camel’s back, the sleepwalker wakes up and declares “Enough… That is it… NO, I’m not taking this anymore. I’m done with this.” Any number of infinite life lessons around the subjects of romance, parents, siblings, children, money, career, health, home, responsibility, recovery, you name it, can trigger the opportunity for an awakening and spiritual breakthrough.
In truth, the declaration of “NO” begins our first baby step in getting clear about what we do not want to create so that we become clearer about what we DO want to create. This moment of truth prompts a courageous stand from which one resolves to face what may be their greatest fear. Regardless of what instigates the declaration, it appears that this courageous stand opens a momentary space of grace from which the proverbial sleepwalker’s head now pops up out of the fogbank of emotional pain and suffering.
With the head now above the fogbank, and looking beyond, the sleepwalker can now see with clearer vision. They sense, with great excitement, new possibilities. Pain and suffering has been replaced by peace and insight. To the ego, (our fearfully-attached part of consciousness), such moments of awakening signal that suffering will soon be released and that with this, a wise new vision will soon take place. Attentive to its job, the ego quickly shifts into high gear in order to neutralize such an awareness, for its life literally depends on it. The neutralizing is accomplished through redirecting attention back at the original unresolved fear that eventually prompted the awakening. Once consciousness is turned, the tactic is to replay the fearful experience over and over again until attachment and suffering reoccurs. Does this sound familiar?
Not to blame, the ego is doing its job of self-preservation, for it knows once full awareness or enlightenment is achieved, it ceases to exist. So, prepared for such moments, the ego has strategically projected our deepest fears (not being loved or finding love, failing, not being successful, etc.) into the future. The ego, which has harvested all of our prior fearful thoughts, words and actions, has placed them there. These future fears are at the command of ego and they await its order to release, collide with and obliterate our newly-awakened insight. Our collected fears sit waiting, a metaphorical kitchen sink that is clogged with our drama.
At the time of our new awareness, choice has sparked a new sense of peace and joyful perception. With this, the ego now calls for the release of our fears, and like a mighty slingshot, the drama-filled kitchen sink is now launched back toward us at warp speed. Quickly, the fearful and attached part of the mind reacts and redirects our attention. We were once at peace, in the moment, and our head above the drama (fog bank); however, now our attention is turned to a concern, and an object is moving at us from a distance. As it draws nearer we sense its high rate of speed and a pending danger. As it gets ever closer it appears to be on a collision course with our head, which now rests just safely above the fog bank. As it draws even closer, we finally recognize that it is a kitchen sink, and we prepare for impact.
As the kitchen sink approaches closer and closer, so also does our survival center alarm: “Danger: Kitchen sink coming toward head at warp speed. Prepare to duck.” As it reaches the point of impact, we instinctively duck. Instantly, we notice we are alive and that our head, which once rested peacefully above the fog bank, is now back (body and all) in the same drama and suffering of the past.
Again, our life slips back into a familiar and unpleasant groove, and our life situation reaches another prompting point of change. Our lessons learned have reduced our suffering, and we are more quick to declare, “No, I’m really, really done with this situation, this time.” Again, instantaneously, we find our head has popped out of the fog bank of emotional pain and suffering. The view is as we remembered: peaceful, full of hope and possibilities.
Our mind becomes momentarily distracted by the memory of the kitchen sink, its possible return and the experience of dropping back into the fog bank.
We begin to recall that at the fearful moment the kitchen sink almost hit us that we had ducked. We also vividly remember that at the moment we ducked we dropped back down into the fog bank and returned to suffering. Inwardly, we courageously commit that we will not duck if the sink comes again.
As the thought of this conviction passes, the sink in fact does reappear and rapidly approaches on course with our head. Just before impact and true to our commitment, we do not duck; instead, we blink. In a nanosecond, we again find ourselves back in the fog bank of our drama and suffering.
The groove of our drama now seems deeper and more painful, yet our awareness is now peaked and accompanied by a resolve to end the suffering as quickly as possible. We will no longer allow our drama to chain the freedom that lifts our perspective. As our life situation boils again to another point of clarity we again proclaim, “No, I’m really, really, really done with this… this time.”
Again, as if by a miracle, we find our head above turmoil and glimpse an even greater beauty and peace than we had prior seen or experienced. As we bathe in the experience of this moment, we again become mindful of our once-projected fears, now coming back on us in a collision course with our present time awareness. As the kitchen sink materializes, once more it draws ever nearer and in a reflective pause, we recall in clarity that the act of ducking and blinking (avoiding the confrontation of our fear) immediately returned us back to the fog bank of drama and suffering.
With lessons learned we now draw from an even deeper courage and conviction. We vow to ourselves that we will not duck or blink in the face of fear, even if it means losing our life. We confirm in a valiant surrender that if the kitchen sink were to strike us and literally take our head off, we will not even flinch. As quickly as this thought passes, the sink appears out of nowhere and is clearly on a direct course of impact with our head. Firmly we hold to our faith and resolve, and just at the moment of pending impact, we watch as the sink just vaporizes. We now understand that our fears were only but an illusion.
Instantly, we now discover that our entire body has popped out of the fog bank. With our greatest fear now faced, our breakthrough realized and an even greater vision of possibilities on the horizon, we more fully own our courage and triumphantly declare: “I take full responsibility for my co-creativity and from this moment forward I WILL choose to create from what I lovingly want to experience.”
Ultimately, it is our courage to face our greatest fears and choose another way, is what empowers us to claim our hero within, and with this journey ever forward toward breakthrough realizations that reveal the kingdom of enlightenment within. Onward, courageous heroes.
Originally Published Here: Huffington Post
READ ON ...
Made On Earth – How the gospel writers created the Christ
Lorraine Parkinson
Why have millions of Christians across two millennia been convinced that Jesus of Nazareth is the divinely anointed Christ? The answer is that ‘evidence’ for it is reinforced with everySunday reading of the gospels.Why have millions of Christians across two millennia been convinced that Jesus of Nazareth is the divinely anointed Christ? The answer is that ‘evidence’ for it is reinforced with every Sunday reading of the gospels. Each canonical gospel claims to tell the story of Jesus the Messiah, or Christ. Even if startling differences between the gospels are acknowledged, this has not destroyed belief that they are divinely inspired. In this book Lorraine Parkinson sets out compelling reasons why the gospels may be found to have been ‘made on earth’. She builds a strong argument that each gospel was written to make a distinct case for Jesus as the Christ. She presents detailed evidence that the Christ of the gospels is the creation of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John, plus later editors. The sub-text of this book contends that by including teachings of Jesus alongside claims for him as Christ, gospel writers bequeathed to Christianity two contradictory gospels – the gospel of Jesus and the gospel about Jesus.
Why have millions of Christians across two millennia been convinced that Jesus of Nazareth is the divinely anointed Christ? The answer is that ‘evidence’ for it is reinforced with everySunday reading of the gospels.Why have millions of Christians across two millennia been convinced that Jesus of Nazareth is the divinely anointed Christ? The answer is that ‘evidence’ for it is reinforced with every Sunday reading of the gospels. Each canonical gospel claims to tell the story of Jesus the Messiah, or Christ. Even if startling differences between the gospels are acknowledged, this has not destroyed belief that they are divinely inspired. In this book Lorraine Parkinson sets out compelling reasons why the gospels may be found to have been ‘made on earth’. She builds a strong argument that each gospel was written to make a distinct case for Jesus as the Christ. She presents detailed evidence that the Christ of the gospels is the creation of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John, plus later editors. The sub-text of this book contends that by including teachings of Jesus alongside claims for him as Christ, gospel writers bequeathed to Christianity two contradictory gospels – the gospel of Jesus and the gospel about Jesus.
“There is both detailed and courageous biblical scholarship in Made on Earth. Parkinson is not afraid to challenge the tradition in open and honest ways. What any scholar worth their salt should always do, but especially those in theological colleges who should be free to ‘teach’ rather than to ‘store up’! It is no longer good enough to ‘fiddle’ the orthodoxy tune from the pulpit while the minds of thinking people move on, vacating nearly every pew in the country. For that ‘poke’ Parkinson deserves our heartfelt thanks and gratitude. I know I will be referring regularly to Made on Earth.”~Rev Rex A E Hunt, Founding Director, The Centre for Progressive Religious Thought, Canberra.
“At last! A book that helps its readers to see and understand how the Way of Jesus with its emphasis on this world, was wrong-footed into fixation on “the Christ” and the next world. There is no bigger challenge to Christianity today than to rid itself of this fixation and from creedal adherence to the worldview that shaped it. In this book Lorraine Parkinson provides us with the perfect follow-up to her previous work, The World According to Jesus: his blueprint for the best possible world. The Gospel writers clearly decided another blueprint was more important than what Jesus taught and was ready to die for.”~Michael Morwood, resident theologian, Kirkridge Retreat Center, Bangor, Pennsylvania, USA. Author of In Memory of Jesus.
About the Author:
Lorraine Parkinson is an ordained minister, teacher and writer, whose doctoral research was conducted at the École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem. She leads seminars on progressive biblical thinking around Australia and in New Zealand. Her emphasis in seminars and in writing is on Jesus and his teaching about the kingdom of God on earth: the best possible world. Lorraine and her husband Dr John Bodycomb live in Melbourne, Australia.
Made on Earth is published by Spectrum Publications and retails for $34.95. You can purchase it directly from the publisher HERE!
Spectrum Publications – Australian owned and managed for over 30 years.
ISBN 978-0-86786-254-6 RRP $34.95
For interviews with Dr Lorraine Parkinson or review copies please contact: Peter Rohr – Spectrum Publications: P: 1300 540 736 / E: peter@spectrumpublications.com.au
purchase for $29.95
The Lost Sheep: More Questions Than Answers
Matthew Distefano
I’ve done it again folks. I’ve forced myself to sit through another one of my former pastor’s sermons. But I had to, as I caught wind that for this entire month, the topic du jour is going to be “hell”—as eternal conscious torment of course!I need serious help! You see, I’ve done it again folks. I’ve forced myself to sit through another one of my former pastor’s sermons. But I had to, as I caught wind that for this entire month, the topic du jour is going to be “hell”—as eternal conscious torment of course! God wouldn’t have it any other way (and the Bible clearly states!). So I had to give at least one of the sermons a listen. And I think I will stick to just one, as this one was harder to follow than a Dennis Miller analogy (which, if you don’t know, is a terribly difficult task indeed).
The pastor starts out by recounting a very moving story about how his five year old was abducted and, for a time, lost. As the father of a five year old girl myself, it was very heartbreaking to listen to him, holding back the tears, and detailing the event. That being said, once he moved into the meat of the sermon, my empathy quickly gave way to confusion. Let me explain.
Here’s how it went: after the pastor finished his introductory story, he quickly tied that into the parable of the lost sheep, and then into what people in this world are “truly” saved from, namely, eternal torment, separation from God for time-everlasting. Consider me perplexed! I must pause and, of this analogy, ask: if the lost sheep is the daughter from the story and Jesus is no doubt the searching pastor, then who is God the Father, the abductor? I’m really failing to see any other possibility, and because this pastor affirms a substitutionary atonement theory (saying the Lord laid the sins of humankind upon Jesus), perhaps this analogy is right on point and fits the pastor’s theology like a glove.
(Deep breath)
Moving on . . .
Now, the next portion of the talk actually gets quite hilarious. After flippantly saying how it doesn’t make logical sense not to believe in eternal hell—don’t even get me started on this nonsense!—the pastor adds another barnburner of an analogy. Are you ready for this one?
Here is the gist of it: if there is north/south, and west/east, then there must be heaven/hell (hell as eternal torment). Oh? How so?
I suppose, if you believe heaven is “up there” and hell is “down there,” then perhaps a north/south analogy would be a decent one. That is to say, we would be dealing with like things, locales or directions in this instance. When discussing any notion of heaven and hell though, north and south analogies don’t seem to work, as heaven and hell are not simply different and opposite locales, or something remotely similar even, but are so weighted, that they carry with them ethical, theological, philosophical, Christological, soteriological, eschatological, anthropological, and psychological ramifications. So this subject simply cannot be properly analogized by opposite directions. And even if we wanted to, in this model, it seems to be a glaring non-sequitur to suggest that because the opposite direction of north is south, then the opposite of everlasting life in heaven is everlasting life in spiritual and/or physical torment. That is to say, we would be making an illogical jump from one thing to the other, and thus our analogy falls apart. Why is the opposite of everlasting life in heaven not simply death? It seems that would be a closer and more fitting comparison to make. North is to south as life is to death. It’s still not perfect because just as sin and death entered into the world through Adam and spread to all people, so too will grace and life enter through Christ and spread to all people. (Romans 5:12–19) So, in this way, life can destroy death, whereas north cannot do likewise to south.
The other problem I have with the worldview this pastor holds is that it’s a highly dualistic (so perhaps childish?) way of thinking about things!
Here’s what I mean by this.
First concede and say that we indeed use our dualistic mind to traverse the world around us. For example, in order to make it safely to my friend’s house for our Thursday night chats, I need to make the correct combination of left and right turns, and in order for my child to understand tall she needs to conceptualize short. But when we start getting dualistic about our ultimate destinations, things start making very little sense to me.
First, how does this even work? If God is One and holds the uni-verse together, how can one be eternally separated from God in the way most Christians contend? We are talking about God as that which holds all of creation together, aren’t we? And not God as a deity like Zeus or Odin even. So how does the true God, in order for people to live in perpetual torment, separate God’s self from them? What, then, holds this space together if not the One God? Could this not be considered, then, polytheism, as hell would either have to hold itself together, and thus be in and of itself a god, or be held together by yet another god. I suppose that God himself could hold hell together but aren’t we then at a different definition for hell, since it is no longer eternal separation from God?
Second, where does this belief in hell as eternal separation come from? Certainly not Judaism!
The psalmist, in Psalm 139:7–12, writes:
Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say, ‘surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.
It seems that for the psalmist there is no “eternal separation from God.” Not even Sheol, or, the “abode of the dead,” could separate a person from God. Now, Sheol could be thought of as a place where people do in fact receive punishment, but to suggest one can either remove himself or be removed by God from God’s presence, doesn’t seem to be an option according to this passage. And if we take a look at when Jesus talks about “hell,” or Gehenna, we would be hard pressed to make the case that he even hints at the fact that all those who are there are metaphysically removed from God’s presence, yet still continue to exist. But this seems to be what this pastor, as well as countless other Christians, believes about hell.
Now, the last thing that I’ll say is the pastor did in fact mention how this “justification by contract,” if you will, is in fact “good news.” Frankly, I’m not sure how the news that Jesus saves us from a place God designed—or, didn’t design since it exists apart from him?—can be called euangelion, or “good news/gospel.” That doesn’t actually sound like gospel. I’m sorry, but the better news is that Jesus Christ saved us, not that we have to enter into an economy of exchange model of soteriology so that we don’t go to a place of metaphysical separation from an “omnipresent” God.
Think about the absurdity of that!
Anyway, that was about the gist of the talk. It of course concluded with a call to go out and preach the Gospel (that people are going to hell unless they do something). Sorry, but again, that’s not quite Christocentric for my liking. I say we go preach the Gospel that Jesus Christ saved us and that we are free from ourselves and our death-dealing power systems.
Have peace!
Shalom and salaam
Matthew J. Distefano is a regular contributor for The Raven Foundation. He is an outspoken advocate for global peace and non-violence. Matthew is married with one daughter and enjoys the great outdoors. Click Here to see his newest book All Set Free: How God is Revealed in Jesus and Why That is Really Good News
I’ve done it again folks. I’ve forced myself to sit through another one of my former pastor’s sermons. But I had to, as I caught wind that for this entire month, the topic du jour is going to be “hell”—as eternal conscious torment of course!I need serious help! You see, I’ve done it again folks. I’ve forced myself to sit through another one of my former pastor’s sermons. But I had to, as I caught wind that for this entire month, the topic du jour is going to be “hell”—as eternal conscious torment of course! God wouldn’t have it any other way (and the Bible clearly states!). So I had to give at least one of the sermons a listen. And I think I will stick to just one, as this one was harder to follow than a Dennis Miller analogy (which, if you don’t know, is a terribly difficult task indeed).
The pastor starts out by recounting a very moving story about how his five year old was abducted and, for a time, lost. As the father of a five year old girl myself, it was very heartbreaking to listen to him, holding back the tears, and detailing the event. That being said, once he moved into the meat of the sermon, my empathy quickly gave way to confusion. Let me explain.
Here’s how it went: after the pastor finished his introductory story, he quickly tied that into the parable of the lost sheep, and then into what people in this world are “truly” saved from, namely, eternal torment, separation from God for time-everlasting. Consider me perplexed! I must pause and, of this analogy, ask: if the lost sheep is the daughter from the story and Jesus is no doubt the searching pastor, then who is God the Father, the abductor? I’m really failing to see any other possibility, and because this pastor affirms a substitutionary atonement theory (saying the Lord laid the sins of humankind upon Jesus), perhaps this analogy is right on point and fits the pastor’s theology like a glove.
(Deep breath)
Moving on . . .
Now, the next portion of the talk actually gets quite hilarious. After flippantly saying how it doesn’t make logical sense not to believe in eternal hell—don’t even get me started on this nonsense!—the pastor adds another barnburner of an analogy. Are you ready for this one?
Here is the gist of it: if there is north/south, and west/east, then there must be heaven/hell (hell as eternal torment). Oh? How so?
I suppose, if you believe heaven is “up there” and hell is “down there,” then perhaps a north/south analogy would be a decent one. That is to say, we would be dealing with like things, locales or directions in this instance. When discussing any notion of heaven and hell though, north and south analogies don’t seem to work, as heaven and hell are not simply different and opposite locales, or something remotely similar even, but are so weighted, that they carry with them ethical, theological, philosophical, Christological, soteriological, eschatological, anthropological, and psychological ramifications. So this subject simply cannot be properly analogized by opposite directions. And even if we wanted to, in this model, it seems to be a glaring non-sequitur to suggest that because the opposite direction of north is south, then the opposite of everlasting life in heaven is everlasting life in spiritual and/or physical torment. That is to say, we would be making an illogical jump from one thing to the other, and thus our analogy falls apart. Why is the opposite of everlasting life in heaven not simply death? It seems that would be a closer and more fitting comparison to make. North is to south as life is to death. It’s still not perfect because just as sin and death entered into the world through Adam and spread to all people, so too will grace and life enter through Christ and spread to all people. (Romans 5:12–19) So, in this way, life can destroy death, whereas north cannot do likewise to south.
The other problem I have with the worldview this pastor holds is that it’s a highly dualistic (so perhaps childish?) way of thinking about things!
Here’s what I mean by this.
First concede and say that we indeed use our dualistic mind to traverse the world around us. For example, in order to make it safely to my friend’s house for our Thursday night chats, I need to make the correct combination of left and right turns, and in order for my child to understand tall she needs to conceptualize short. But when we start getting dualistic about our ultimate destinations, things start making very little sense to me.
First, how does this even work? If God is One and holds the uni-verse together, how can one be eternally separated from God in the way most Christians contend? We are talking about God as that which holds all of creation together, aren’t we? And not God as a deity like Zeus or Odin even. So how does the true God, in order for people to live in perpetual torment, separate God’s self from them? What, then, holds this space together if not the One God? Could this not be considered, then, polytheism, as hell would either have to hold itself together, and thus be in and of itself a god, or be held together by yet another god. I suppose that God himself could hold hell together but aren’t we then at a different definition for hell, since it is no longer eternal separation from God?
Second, where does this belief in hell as eternal separation come from? Certainly not Judaism!
The psalmist, in Psalm 139:7–12, writes:
Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say, ‘surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.
It seems that for the psalmist there is no “eternal separation from God.” Not even Sheol, or, the “abode of the dead,” could separate a person from God. Now, Sheol could be thought of as a place where people do in fact receive punishment, but to suggest one can either remove himself or be removed by God from God’s presence, doesn’t seem to be an option according to this passage. And if we take a look at when Jesus talks about “hell,” or Gehenna, we would be hard pressed to make the case that he even hints at the fact that all those who are there are metaphysically removed from God’s presence, yet still continue to exist. But this seems to be what this pastor, as well as countless other Christians, believes about hell.
Now, the last thing that I’ll say is the pastor did in fact mention how this “justification by contract,” if you will, is in fact “good news.” Frankly, I’m not sure how the news that Jesus saves us from a place God designed—or, didn’t design since it exists apart from him?—can be called euangelion, or “good news/gospel.” That doesn’t actually sound like gospel. I’m sorry, but the better news is that Jesus Christ saved us, not that we have to enter into an economy of exchange model of soteriology so that we don’t go to a place of metaphysical separation from an “omnipresent” God.
Think about the absurdity of that!
Anyway, that was about the gist of the talk. It of course concluded with a call to go out and preach the Gospel (that people are going to hell unless they do something). Sorry, but again, that’s not quite Christocentric for my liking. I say we go preach the Gospel that Jesus Christ saved us and that we are free from ourselves and our death-dealing power systems.
Have peace!
Shalom and salaam
Matthew J. Distefano is a regular contributor for The Raven Foundation. He is an outspoken advocate for global peace and non-violence. Matthew is married with one daughter and enjoys the great outdoors. Click Here to see his newest book All Set Free: How God is Revealed in Jesus and Why That is Really Good News
Liturgy Selection
Life-long Learning
In this season of graduations, we celebrate the learning that continues on past school — the life-long habits of inquiry, openness to new ideas, discernment. Every question leads to yet another question. Doubts are welcome, for as Annie Lamott says, “The opposite of faith is not doubt, it’s certainty.” Or Paul Tillich: “Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.” So we keep doubting, and asking, and learning. “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves,” said Rilke. “Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
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In this season of graduations, we celebrate the learning that continues on past school — the life-long habits of inquiry, openness to new ideas, discernment. Every question leads to yet another question. Doubts are welcome, for as Annie Lamott says, “The opposite of faith is not doubt, it’s certainty.” Or Paul Tillich: “Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.” So we keep doubting, and asking, and learning. “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves,” said Rilke. “Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
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Study group prayer by Claralice Wolf
O God
We have said, “Your word is a lamp for our feet, a light for our path.”
Sometimes it seems more like a flickering candle.
We ask for your presence tonight with us here in this place.
We ask for wisdom as we discuss difficult issues.
We ask for the bright light of your truth to shine in our hearts and minds, that our worship of You may include our intellects as well as our love. Amen.[Claralice Wolf, Bluffton, Ohio]
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“Welcome doubt!” by David Stevenson
1. Welcome doubt! Refine our thinking,
Urge us further into light;
Lead us to a greater dawning
From the shadows of our night.
2. Welcome knowledge! Food for wisdom,
Leaving prejudice behind;
Pledge of science, fruit of reason,
Seeking love with all our mind.
3. Welcome truth! But little caring
Whence it come, cost what it will;
Though it challenge deep conviction,
Truth shall be our focus still.
4. Welcome faith! Our thought transcending,
Touching mystery divine;
Joy of trusting, source of action,
Fervent hope’s courageous sign.
5. Welcome grace! Without deserving,
Unexpected, pride at bay;
Spirit’s riches shower upon us
As we give our lives away.© David Stevenson 2011, 8.7.8.7. (Trochaic), Suggested tune: Drake’s Broughton , Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
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Coping With Change by Nancy Detweiler
Coping With Change
Nancy Detweiler, M.Ed., M.Div.
http://www.pathwaytoascension.com/
Note: The metaphysical interpretations of names and places in this sermon are taken from Charles Fillmore’s Metaphysical Bible Dictionary. This book may be purchased at:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0871590670?ie=UTF8&tag=ascension-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489 I highly recommend it to ministers and serious Bible students. It can greatly enhance both your understanding of Scripture and your sermons.
“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. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan.” Genesis 12:1-5a
Change always occurs on multiple levels. On the physical plane level, Abram’s divine guidance has requested that he leave all that is familiar and travel to a strange country. It is at this level that we tend to experience the most fear and disruption. Abram is seventy-five years old, wealthy, and well established in the land of his ancestors. His family is gathered around him. He feels no need to make a change in order to better his physical plane life. But, resting within the bosom of his comfortable surroundings is no longer within divine order. It is time for a change … so that divine order can unfold. Abram’s soul did not incarnate simply to be happy and comforable. His is a much grander destiny.
Abram is faced with a challenge. He can listen and obey – or – he can ignore his intuitive guidance. To make the journey will be disruptive to life as he has known it. Traveling is extremely dangerous because bands of robbers hide in the rocky cliffs, water is scarce, and the desert heat can be merciless. He will moving into the unknown. On the other hand, if he ignores his intuitive guidance, he will fail to complete his role within the divine plan. In Abram’s case, the result of ignoring his guidance could have altered the path of the three world religions that consider him Father: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
On the inner level, Abram is challenged to make a shift in consciousness. According to Fillmore’s Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, “Abram” represents “faith in God and the knowledge that he can intuitively communicate with the Source of all being.”
In the story, Abram departs from Haran. “Haran” signifies “an exalted state of consciousness that strengthens and grants the determination to move toward an even greater level of spiritual enlightenment.” We attain spiritual enlightenment by integrating into our daily lifestyles this exalted consciousness of Truth.
Abram takes with him Sarai, his wife. “Sarai” symbolizes “our soul struggling for its rightful place in our consciousness.” That Abram takes Sarai with him reveals that Abram has attained awareness of his soul and the recognition that his essence is divine. However, Abram also takes with him his nephew, Lot. “Lot” represents that part of our consciousness that is still in darkness, that part of ourselves that is egocentric.”
Abram travels to Canaan. “Canaan” indicates “our subconscious and the world in which we live.” Any time we make an inner change while living on the physical plane, we must learn how to transform our egocentric self and to be more closely aligned with our divine essence, or soul. The goal of all spiritual growth is that we learn to integrate, into our daily lifestyles, our faith in God and our willingness to follow divine guidance. Spiritual enlightenment is not complete until our physical plane lives are transformed and lived from the level of soul-consciousness. At that point, the land of Canaan becomes the Promised Land.
So what has God asked of Abram? What does God ask of you and me? God asks that we allow change to unfold within our lives, not only in our physical plane environment, but–more importantly–within our conscious awareness.
We are living at a time unlike any that has occurred on our planet during the history of humankind. Planet Earth entered recently a new century and embarked on the 2160 years period called the New Aquarian Age. In addition, this solar system’s Sun completed a 26,000 year cycle and our galaxy is completing a 230,000,000 year orbit. Momentous change is occurring on every level of our personal … planetary … solar system … and galaxy’s existence!
As change occurs, it often feels more like turmoil, as evidenced in the climatic disasters and the increase in angry, violent behavior. Relationships are more difficult because we are all compelled to change. We no longer know ourselves, much less someone else. We can feel confused, agitated, and disoriented. All of our traditional societal structures are undergoing tremendous change. It is no wonder that we, as individuals, feel uprooted and tossed about. The unexpected is becoming the norm. All of us are being asked to leave the familiar and move out into the unknown. A new world is being created. You and I are being re-created.
Abram, signifying our faith in divine guidance, sets the example for us. He has established himself well in Haran, a place of exalted consciousness. Daily meditating and listening to our I AM PRESENCE (God within us) will give us the strength and determination to move forward on our spiritual path and to allow divine order to unfold in our lives.
As we pass through life’s changes, we–like Abram–take Sarai and Lot with us. Sarai, “our soul,” and Lot, “our ego self,” struggle for dominance. The goal is to live life united with Sarai–our soul. Later in the biblical story, Lot leaves Abram; Sarai remains with him. Abram learns to live within the God consciousness of his soul; his egocentric self no longer plays a role. By integrating soul consciousness into his daily lifestyle, Abram transforms his life in Canaan (or the physical plane) into the glorious life of living in the Promised Land of his Enlightened Consciousness. Geo-graphically, Canaan and the Promised Land are the same. The difference is in Abram’s heightened level of conscious awareness.
We, too, can experience the Promised Land–the “kingdom of God within”–while living in Canaan–or on planet Earth. In order to do so, coping with change is an essential ingredient.
There are at least four major stages in coping with change. The first step is to accept its inevitable presence in our lives … to be grateful for the fact that life is ever-evolving. The challenges, which change introduces into our lives, can be frightening and sometimes overwhelming. By becoming well-established in Haran–in “God consciousness”–we can learn to look through the dark unknown to the ever-present Light leading us through the wilderness. God did not promise Abram a trouble-free trip. However, God did promise to make him a blessing to many–after he took the journey. The challenges presented by change proclaim: It is time to grow … time to stretch our understanding of Truth … time to try our wings at a greater height. Accepting and being grateful for the opportunities granted by change frees us to enjoy the journey, even when it is painful.
The second step in coping with change will be our strong tendency to resist. Change can result in feelings of loss and bewilderment. We may ask, “Now where do I fit in? … What do I believe? … What do I do?” We feel vulnerable. We want to cling to the familiar, even when we intuitively know it is time to let go. Even as our being cries out for more meaning in life, more personal satisfaction in our work, more fulfilling relationships, we tend to respond to the possibility of change by resisting. At least our pain is familiar. It is easy to get stuck in our resistance. As a result, we may miss out on marvelous opportunities to experience the joy of allowing divine order to unfold in our lives. God’s will for each of us is Good beyond our wildest dreams.
The third step in coping with change is our commitment to accepting and learning from the challenges presented to us. Whatever the challenges, there are lessons to be learned; there are experiences to be cherished for the soul growth they stimulate; and there is a resulting enhanced knowledge of ourselves and of God’s activity in our lives. Even in the most difficult of challenges, we have moments of heavenly insight … moments of feeling God’s loving presence in our lives … and moments of knowing that God is truly in charge. As God promised Abram, “I will show you the way … I will do the real work (i.e. make of you a great nation) … I will bless you … I will make your name great … through your commitment to my call, all families of the earth will be blessed.”
As we make the commitment to allow divine order to direct our lives, we move into the fourth step of coping with change–the awakening to new joys in life! As we increasingly awaken to the joy of allowing divine order–with all its potential changes–to unfold in our lives, we transform Canaan (our earth plane existence) into the Promised Land. We come to know God as the Love that enfolds us at all times … God as the Light that shows us the Way … God as the Shield that protects us from all harm … God as the Power to do all things. That the kingdom of God dwells within us become gut-level knowledge. There is no greater joy!
We, as Light Workers, incarnated on this planet in order to assist humanity through this time of upheaval and tremendous change. The ways by which we strive to cope with change in our own lives can serve as examples for others. We, like Abram, are to leave Haran–the exalted state of consciousness to be found in meditation–and travel into Canaan–the physical plane daily experiences. We are to act as grounding rods for Spirit; we are to integrate Spirit into all that we think, feel, and do. As a result of fulfilling this commitment, God will bless us and countless others.
We will be messengers of Light … Love … and Peace for our starving, desperate world!
Unity’s Prayer of Protection
The Light of God surrounds me/us
The Love of God enfolds me/us
The Power of God protects me/us
The Presence of God watches over me/us.
Wherever I/we are … God is!
And all is well!
Amen.
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Events and Updates
Common Dreams Conference 2016
“Progressive Spirituality: New Directions”
September 16 - 19th, South Brisbane, Australia
The conference will allow you to explore future expressions of faith and spirituality as well as eco-theology, inter-faith dialogue, and indigenous spirituality. Key speakers: Dr Diana Butler Bass, Fred C. Plumer, Dr Val Webb, Michael Morwood and others.
Common Dreams Conference 2016 – “Progressive Spirituality: New Directions”
“For the last five decades, western religion has been undergoing a profound shift away from once familiar, institutionally organized forms of faith and theology towards experiential understandings and personal appropriations of the sacred made manifest in the lives of everyday people. A distinctive language has grown up around this shift – the word “religion” typically signifies religious organizations (like denominations and churches) and he word “spiritual” typically refers to encounters with God (if one is a theist), the ineffable, awe, or wonder (such as experiencing he Divine on a hike or in a sunset). Increasingly religions and spirituality have often been pitched at odds.” – Diana Butler Bass
The 4th Common Dreams Conference will bring together a large number of people with an interest in progressive religion and it follows on from successful earlier conferences in Sydney (2007), Melbourne (2010) and Canberra (2013). The theme of the conference – Progressive Spirituality: New Directions – will allow participants to explore future expressions of faith and spirituality as well as eco-theology, inter-faith dialogue, and indigenous spirituality. A series of lectures, keynote addresses and electives by a distinguished panel of International and Australian speakers will examine Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Aboriginal expressions of spirituality.
Prominent among the speakers is the well-known American writer and researcher on progressive subjects, Dr Diana Butler Bass, Professor Pamela Eisenbaum (also from USA) and the outstanding Australian theologian and writer Dr Val Webb who will give major public addresses on the evenings of the conference. These addresses will be delivered as memorials to Marcus Borg, Nigel Leaves and Ian Mavor who have all passed away since the2013 conference; each of these significant figures was a good friend and supporter of Common Dreams.
Keynote presentations will be delivered by Michael Morwood (Aus), Fred Plumer(USA), Jana Norman (Aus), Saara Sabbagh (Aus), Graeme Mundine (Aus), andDiana Butler Bass. A panel of three speakers, Lorraine Parkinson (Aus), Margaret Mayman (NZ/Aus), and Pam Eisenbaum will give reflections on spirituality with this session to be structured so as to give the audience opportunities to interact with the speakers. The electives will expand on the themes introduced in the plenary sessions through workshops, interactive discussions, and lectures; each elective will be repeated so that you won’t have to agonise over which one to select if you find there are two topics of equal interest.
For the first time, a special program for emerging generations aimed at GenYs and Millennials will be held concurrently with the main program on the Saturday afternoon of the conference. It will be led by two of Australia’s most dynamic young clergy, Matt Cutler and Lucas Taylor, together with Cassandra Farrin and Deshna Ubeda who are prominent in efforts aimed at the same demographic in USA.
A pre-conference seminar, Introduction to Progressive Religion and Common Dreams, will be offered on the Friday afternoon. This will be particularly suited to those who are at an early stage of their progressive journey or to those who have not attended earlier conferences and wish to learn more about Common Dreams.
Each morning will begin with an optional period of Reflections in the Somerville House Chapel led by Jana Norman.
A new feature has been introduced by having an Artist in Residence (Alexandra Sangster) who with others will give, at appropriate points during the conference, commentary on proceedings as poetry, drama, and song.
Click on these links for full details of the Program, Speakers and Presentation Extracts.
Images
Start:
September 16, 2016
End:
September 19, 2016
Location:
Somerville House
South Brisbane Australia Queensland
Organization:
Common Dreams
Website:
http://www.commondreams.org.au/
Email:
http://www.commondreams.org.au/index.php/contact-us
Telephone:
613 9571 4575
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View all upcoming events here!
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