[See Parts 1, 2, 3, & 4] If people destroy something irreplaceable made by mankind, they are called vandals;if they destroy something irreplaceable make by God they are called developers.Joseph Wood Krutch (quoted in David R Loy, Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis, p. 16) You may be wondering why I am banging on … Continue reading An affirming source: Inter-mission
An affirming source (4): Presence
[See Parts 1, 2, & 3] When God is “an alien will” I may feel the pressure to make amends for the mistakes of the past and to work towards an improved self in the future. When God is an alien will there is a to-do list. I do not advocate that we abrogate responsibility … Continue reading An affirming source (4): Presence
An affirming source (3): Yielding
[See Part 1 & Part 2] … yielding … When we are freed from the idea of God as “an alien will” we can fall back into an utterly relaxing Presence that is our “affirming source”. The alien will is jealous and requires attention and conformity to an arbitrary set of standards. The affirming source … Continue reading An affirming source (3): Yielding
An affirming source (2): Emancipation
[See Part 1] … yielding not to an alien will but an affirming source … The trouble with an alien will is that it is … alien, other. How can I know, respond to, and, in time, love something that is so far from and other than me? I will look outside myself, beyond this … Continue reading An affirming source (2): Emancipation
An affirming source (1): an alien will
Christians are adopted into a dependent relationship to that which Jesus called ‘Abba, Father’. Our human identity therefore becomes one in which we both acknowledge in prayer this dependence and respond to the gift that sets up not only our being but our renewed being in Christ; and in acknowledging that dependence we are empowered … Continue reading An affirming source (1): an alien will
Are we there yet?
Every day I go to my chair and I sit in the early morning light or dark. I set down my glass of water. I look into Your face. I’m pretty consistent about this. I get anxious if it is put off or I miss the appointment. Every day I struggle.I come with feelings of … Continue reading Are we there yet?
Desert
I've been through the desert on a horse with no nameIt felt good to be out of the rainIn the desert you can remember your name‘Cause there ain’t no one for to give you no painAmerica, A Horse With No Name (Todd Terje edit) Newberry Springs, CA I went to the desert. It was not … Continue reading Desert
To care and not to care
I was given a lesson the other night. I woke up after a few hours of sleep. I went to the toilet, and then lay in bed worried that I would not be able to go back to sleep, fearful of being awake in the empty dark. I don’t usually notice this feeling. I listen … Continue reading To care and not to care
The shift
I keep returning to The Blessing that was given to me a couple of years ago. I see it as is a tectonic shift in image and attitude: from a god that is demanding, jealous, that needs to be appeased, to which we have to prove ourselves; to God whose Body is this world (and … Continue reading The shift
Salvation
People think they are not good enough. Salvation is discovering you don’t have to be.