Another excellent book I've finished recently is Frank Schaeffer's Patience With God. As a former fundamentalist, Schaeffer brings a unique perspective to questions about religion, the Bible, and the church and has some important insights to offer. I'll be sharing a few that I found particularly helpful in coming posts.
Here's an opening excerpt:
"[F]or people who think that Christianity was strict, literalistic and fundamentalist...the writings of some of the most important early Christian figures are a startling wake-up call. For instance, one fourth-century ascetic--Evagrius Ponticus--was a revered spiritual leader. He led by example rather than by official standing because he was not a bishop...[In his writings,] he made this anti-fundamentalist statement: 'Do not define the Deity: for it is only of things which are made or are composite that there can be definitions'" (xvii).
This point is an especially important one when we consider the tendency in many churches to define or fully grasp God or the divine through air-tight systems of dogma, fundamentalism, or rules and regulations. While there's a place for some norms to guide us, if we lose sight of the larger truth that the sacred is necessarily something that transcends us and can never fully be understood, we risk domesticating God and turning our worship toward gods of our own making - usually fashioned in our own image and a reflection of our own fears and narrow-mindedness. We all do this, of course, but the good news is that we can always come back to the authentic presence of God in our lives when we learn to let go a little of our need to fully control.
Peace,
Padre Chuck
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Resisting Anger
One final thought from Pastor Chellew-Hodge's book:
"Instead of regarding our attackers as enemies to be defeated, those of us with a bulletproof faith see an attack as an opportunity to improve ourselves and grow stronger and more resilient. Remember, when we have issues with other people's stuff, it's really our stuff. Our enemies, then, are there to remind us of our stuff and to help us transform ourselves into better, more loving, more faithful people" (88).
Personally I find this insight very important as I too have had and continue to have moments of anger and/or frustration from time to time over ways in which religious authorities continue to oppress members of the LGBT community. However, as Pastor Chellew-Hodge notes, getting angry or resentful usually only makes things worse. Instead, the challenge and the opportunity, it seems to me, is something akin to the Serenity Prayer - learning to accept what can't be changed for now, working on changing what can be, and maintaining active awareness so as to be able to distinguish and discern how God is calling each of us to act.
Peace,
Padre Chuck
"Instead of regarding our attackers as enemies to be defeated, those of us with a bulletproof faith see an attack as an opportunity to improve ourselves and grow stronger and more resilient. Remember, when we have issues with other people's stuff, it's really our stuff. Our enemies, then, are there to remind us of our stuff and to help us transform ourselves into better, more loving, more faithful people" (88).
Personally I find this insight very important as I too have had and continue to have moments of anger and/or frustration from time to time over ways in which religious authorities continue to oppress members of the LGBT community. However, as Pastor Chellew-Hodge notes, getting angry or resentful usually only makes things worse. Instead, the challenge and the opportunity, it seems to me, is something akin to the Serenity Prayer - learning to accept what can't be changed for now, working on changing what can be, and maintaining active awareness so as to be able to distinguish and discern how God is calling each of us to act.
Peace,
Padre Chuck
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Living in the Questions
Pastor Chellew-Hodge makes another great point in her book about the importance of learning to live with ambiguity and a lack of total certainty in life and with our faith. As she puts it,
"It's been said that the opposite of faith is not doubt but certainty. Those who have certainty have no need for faith. Their questions are all answered, and they know they're right. Those of us who love to live in the questions, however, need faith, lots and lots of it, to make it through each new question and to continue to exist in the old ones" (35).
I think this statement applies to many contexts in life - for instance, in the church(es)' approaches to welcoming LGBT in their midst. I believe that the more we as both individuals and communities are comfortable "living in the questions" rather than seeking absolute certainty the more we'll be prepared to accept the Spirit's ongoing invitation to think beyond the limits we tend to impose on God's love and, in doing so, encounter grace in new and unexpected ways.
Peace,
Padre Chuck
"It's been said that the opposite of faith is not doubt but certainty. Those who have certainty have no need for faith. Their questions are all answered, and they know they're right. Those of us who love to live in the questions, however, need faith, lots and lots of it, to make it through each new question and to continue to exist in the old ones" (35).
I think this statement applies to many contexts in life - for instance, in the church(es)' approaches to welcoming LGBT in their midst. I believe that the more we as both individuals and communities are comfortable "living in the questions" rather than seeking absolute certainty the more we'll be prepared to accept the Spirit's ongoing invitation to think beyond the limits we tend to impose on God's love and, in doing so, encounter grace in new and unexpected ways.
Peace,
Padre Chuck
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
