The Last Word

"I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.

If anyone has no love for the Lord, 
let him be accursed."

- 1 Corinthians 16:21-22 (ESV)

I must have read the Bible hundreds of times during my 20 or so years as a Christian.

I've even led Bible studies on the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians. It used to be one of my favorites - it's the letter of the Apostle Paul where you'll find the beautiful poetic words about "Love," that so many couples choose as a reading at their wedding:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, 
but have not love,
I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers,
and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith,
so as to remove mountains,
but have not love,
I am nothing.

If I give away all I have,
and if I deliver up my body to be burned,
but have not love,
I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind;
love does not envy or boast;
it is not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing,
but rejoices with the truth.

Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.

Love never ends.

As for prophecies,
they will pass away;
as for tongues,
they will cease;
as for knowledge,
it will pass away.

For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
but when the perfect comes,
the partial will pass away.

When I was a child,
I spoke like a child,
I thought like a child,
I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man,
I gave up childish ways.
For now we see in a mirror dimly,
but then face to face.
Now I know in part;
then I shall know fully,
even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three;
but the greatest of these is love."

- 1 Corinthians 13 (ESV)

THE PROBLEM WITH BELIEF

Today, a friend pointed out 1 Corinthians 16:22 and I saw what I consider to be the last or defining word on Christianity.

"If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed."

Twelve words that express what is wrong with all religions.

Coming at the end of one of the letters of St. Paul, that many claim defines the role of the Church - this verse clearly states (in Paul's own hand yet!!) one of the principles he wants the church to understand, and being at the end of the letter, it is one that they'll most likely remember! And so it goes......

THE "IN" AND THE "OUT"

Within every system founded on agreed beliefs there is a sense of community that must be preserved from outsiders. Therefore, in an attempt to remain true to its beliefs the community draws a clear dividing line between those who are "in", and those who are "out."

The Bible and other scriptures are full of well-chosen, and diligently recorded words that are often used by the community to control people - sometimes positively through the emotions, as in 1 Corinthians 13 - "The Love Chapter," then through their minds, with contrived manipulation of logic - i.e. "The Bible is inspired, therefore it must be true, therefore when it says that people who don't love the Lord (whatever that means) are to be accursed, it means that only the ones who love God are saved!!"

So you end up with people in crazy wigs holding up signs at football games, or yelling Bible verses through a megaphone on street corners, trying to persuade people that if they don't freely choose to love God then the all-loving and merciful God will freely choose to let them burn forever!!! NICE.

Now I am free of this pretzel logic; this double-bind that tells you that you have to love or else!!!

Love never comes out of fear - love only ever comes out of love. Love is contagious, but it's not spread with threats or condemnation.


What happened to the Apostle Paul between Chapters 13 and 16?


Did he not read his own words?


Another problem with a verse like 1 Corinthians 16:22 is that it proposes a totally illogical premise. If someone "does not love the Lord they're accursed" - what if someone just PRETENDS to love the Lord? How does one bring another to love the Lord if it has already been decided that they're accursed? Are God's curses conditional? Apparently, according to this verse, his love appears to be that way.

As we're talking about belief - here's what I've come to believe about the Bible, and any scripture like it that contains verses that curse people in the name of God or Truth. The truly accursed ones are those who believe verses like these and who live their lives in a state of self-righteousness, predicting the cruel fates of those that don't agree with them.

Some scripture is true for its own sake and does not need a religion to interpret it. Here's a good example:

"Love is patient and kind;  

love does not envy or boast;
it is not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way;" 

 

The Perfection of Practice

"If you wish to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death you have endured since time without beginning and to attain without fail unsurpassed enlightenment in this lifetime, you must perceive the mystic truth that is originally inherent in all living beings."

- Nichiren Daishonin,

from "Attaining Buddhahood In This Lifetime," The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Vol. I

"This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

- Jesus,The Gospel according to St. John, Chapter 3:19-21

THE FAITH WITHIN

Is it really possible for one to free oneself, or to actually practice the truth? Whenever I hear promises or prophetic utterances like these by any ancient teacher, prophet, or founder of any religious affiliation, I, at first, feel full of hope and catch a glimmer of the possibility - I begin to have faith. But then as I try to pursue the practice that promises to enable me to "perceive", or "come to the light" (enlightenment) of the truth - the truth seems to move further away. It is a cat and mouse game that only results in a further sense of spiritual confusion and isolation from the "enlightenment" that promises peace and fulfillment.

What I am seeing, again and again, in all practices and belief systems is that the goal is really not somewhere out there - it is right here, within the very desire that drives me to seek for it.

In western spiritual terms; this already present condition of self-realization, or enlightenment, is referred to as "grace," - unmerited favor. In Biblical context it is given through faith - which is the gift. Thus the gift of faith produces grace which results in salvation, or fulfillment. In Buddhism it is the realization of the Buddhanature that is already present within all of us. In Christianity, it is the mind, or spirit of Christ, or the image of God, that dwells within us, no matter how tarnished or dark.

THE SAVIOR IN THE STONE

It is interesting how many Buddhists and Christians place so much emphasis on the personalities of the Buddha and Christ, yet what Buddha stressed, particularly in the teachings of the latter years of his life; The Lotus Sutra, in particular, is that he did not gain enlightenment. He perceived within himself the already existing nature of enlightenment and then dropped all clinging to everything that prevented the manifestation of it. Likewise, Jesus, according to the book of Hebrews (Chap. 5, Verse 9) "He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation." A good analogy that illustrates this process is that of a sculptor who does not create a form from a block of stone, but merely removes everything that prevents the form from being seen. The form is already in the stone - it just needs to be released.

TRUE ENTRUSTING

All forms of salvation - whether they relate to restoration of a fallen nature, or the realization of compassionate wisdom, or freedom from suffering - are not achieved through some effort in achieving a condition that can be added to our existence, but rather a dropping of all elements of our consciousness that prevent us from knowing that we are already "saved." There is the clue to the ultimate mystery - we look for salvation or enlightenment because we are already aware of it; else how would we recognize it when we see it? So, rather than grasping at attainment - seek to let go and trust the universe, or God to unfold itself/himself to you.

*Picture: The great Buddha statue in Nha Trang, Vietnam

The Reality Equation

FILTERING THE FACTS

The mind, or more specifically, thought, is a barrier to perceiving true reality. Everything that we see, hear, or read is filtered through a process of interpretation. It is almost impossible to view things without some kind of judgmental perspective. We evaluate everything through the lens of memory or experiences. We rarely, if at all, see anything totally new for what it is. We always see things in relationship to other things. Logically there IS an absolute TRUTH - but how can we ever be sure that we've seen it or know it?

When I read a spiritual book - I'm always reading it in interpretive mode - if the words are not mine they may not mean what I want them to mean - they mean what the author intended. When it comes to ancient scripture - if I'm reading it in any language other than the native language of the author, I'm reading an interpretation - not just a translation. For to translate is to communicate meaning through the choice of words used. Language is not always precise across its various usage. It is hard to tell a metaphor from a literal truth if you have no reference to the cultural and historical context. If we look deeply at this we can see that words themselves are metaphors and have no separate, or discrete existence from what they describe or express. Words communicate impressions that we interpret through the mind. Everything that we experience is processed this way. The mind receives the signal - which it then interprets as reality.

THE ALGEBRA OF UNDERSTANDING

It seems that the method for algebraic problem solving is useful in helping to understand how our thinking works.

We have an equation with an unknown value. If we use the values that we do know then we can find the relative value of that which is unknown. We cannot know the unknown value directly - we can only know it through the relative values of the known.

It is the same with reality.

Going further with this analogy we can see that if something exists that has no relative existence to our present understanding, then that thing is unknowable and remains as value "x" - undetermined. Such is the awareness of God to the human mind. Logically it can be argued that something outside of our experience can exist - i.e. a thing can not bring itself into existence - something outside of it causes it. Therefore, if the universe has a beginning, then what created or caused the universe to come into being, must exist outside of it, and therefore it is likely we cannot perceive it directly.

An Atheist then, can only argue that the God that he/she believes does not exist is of the nature of a God that can be perceived. If they can see that it is possible that there are realities that exist outside their experience - they have to acknowledge that among them could be the Cause (and it could be God!!)

INFINITE LIGHT AND LIFE OF BEING

I could never be an Atheist that denies the existence of God. But I could be very easily persuaded that the personal God of the Old Testament - the one that is described as having feelings like regret, anger, and jealousy is a metaphor for helping an ancient, uneducated nomadic people deal with the difficulties of life.

The God that I am beginning to understand is not a person - but LIFE itself - the very essence behind everything. That which is IN all things that causes them to live. It is benevolent spirit in that it is an endless supply of life giving energy to everything that exists. It is not judgmental, in that there is no meaning behind its effects, it causes and the effects just happen. No judgment - no mercy - just being.

Blessed Is The Spot

May 29th - The Ascension of Baha'u'llah

"Blessed is the spot,

and the house,

and the place,

and the city,

and the heart,

and the mountain,

and the refuge,

and the cave,

and the valley,

and the land,

and the sea,

and the island,

and the meadow

where mention of God hath been made

and His praise glorified.

- Baha'u'llah

One of my favorite spots in Chicago is the Baha'i House of Worship - also known as the "Baha'i Temple" - in Wilmette, on the North Shore. I feel more at peace with myself and the universe whenever I go there.

The Baha'i House of Worship is not only a beautiful work of architecture and a symbol of religious unity. It is also the place where I began my journey as a spiritual seeker.

THE PROMISE OF UNITY

What drew me to the Baha'i Faith initially, eventually drove me away from it later.  

Let me explain.......

The core teachings of the Baha'is, as expounded by the founders; Baha'u'llah, and his son and heir; Abdu'l-Baha, are beautiful and all-embracing. Especially considering that they came out of a rather rigid, fundamentalist middle-eastern culture during the 1800's.

• The independent search after truth, unfettered by superstition or tradition;

• The oneness of the entire human race, the pivotal principle and fundamental doctrine of the Faith;

 

• The basic unity of all religions; 

• The condemnation of all forms of prejudice, whether religious, racial, class or national; 

• The harmony which must exist between religion and science; 

• The equality of men and women, the two wings on which the bird of human kind is able to soar;

• The introduction of compulsory education; 

• The adoption of a universal auxiliary language; 

• The abolition of the extremes of wealth and poverty; 

• The institution of a world tribunal for the adjudication of disputes between nations;

 

• The exaltation of work, performed in the spirit of service, to the rank  of worship; 

• The glorification of justice as the ruling principle in human society, 

• Religion as a bulwark for the protection of all peoples and nations; 

• The establishment of a permanent and universal peace as the supreme goal of all  mankind.

It could be argued that many of the principles of the Baha'i Faith that were introduced to western society at the turn of the 20th century were at least partially influential in bringing about some very broad changes.  Women's suffrage and the institution of the United Nations Organization could be worthy examples.

I saw the promise of religious freedom in the Baha'i teachings. I saw a place where seeking and searching was encouraged and that the drawing together of all religions was an ideal.

However, after a few years of attending "Members Only" meetings and gatherings and hearing over and over the emphasis on mass teaching together with the announcement of endless global plans to bring in masses of new converts; referred to as "Entry by Troops," I realized that the American Evangelical influence on this gentle middle-eastern spirituality had become too great. Baha'i was no longer the unification of all religions with the hope of elimination of religious conflict,  but the ultimate "replacement" for every other religion.

The core value that promoted independent search for truth - ultimately meant that although searching was encouraged; it only was fruitful if you came to the same conclusion about the truth as the majority of other Baha'is!!! Thus my need to investigate "independently" ultimately meant that to be true to this core belief, I had to break ties with the Baha'i organization.

SEPARATING THE WHEAT AND CHAFF

Just recently I've discovered that there is a large "exiled" community of Baha'is that are of a similar mind as mine. Some call themselves "Unenrolled Baha'is" - others have kept the core beliefs in Baha'u'llah and Abdu'l-Baha as teachers of this age, but have identified themselves with other faith communities.

I must admit that I am drawn to the teachings and principles of the Baha'i Faith - they offer a good balance between reality and spirituality, while offering a freedom to practice religion in a variety of forms, according to personality and background - see my previous post on i-Religion.

Last weekend, my experience of feeling at peace as I walked the grounds and sat in the sanctuary of the Baha'i House of Worship, gave me a deep awareness of the Baha'i Faith as my lodestone; the place I come to be reassured during moments of doubt and uncertainty. This has happened to me many times over many years. As my doubts grow and I offer them to my understanding of God for resolution - I somehow find myself drawn back to the Baha'i House of Worship.

THE TOUCH OF THE BUTTERFLY AND THE GAZE OF A DEER

A few years ago, I found myself at the Baha'i House of Worship during a weekday. I had come from a meeting in Chicago and happened to be fairly near and stopped to take a break. I sat in the gardens alone and "talked" with God about my life and where I was going. 

As I sat I felt a very gentle flutter and touch on my shoulder and jumped slightly as I saw a beautiful Butterfly sitting on my right shoulder. It sat there for a few moments and then flew off toward the building - as my eyes followed its line of flight I saw the words inscribed on one of the alcoves of the temple.

"Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent."

Another time as I walked the grounds late at night, after being drawn there yet again, I came face to face with a young fawn - it didn't run and didn't look afraid - it just stared at me for a moment and then walked away. My mind turned to a scripture reference:

Psalm 42

As the deer pants for streams of water, 

       so my soul pants for you, O God.

 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. 

       When can I go and meet with God?

 My tears have been my food 

       day and night, 

       while men say to me all day long, 

       "Where is your God?"

 These things I remember 

       as I pour out my soul: 

       how I used to go with the multitude, 

       leading the procession to the house of God, 

       with shouts of joy and thanksgiving 

       among the festive throng.

 Why are you downcast, O my soul? 

       Why so disturbed within me? 

       Put your hope in God, 

       for I will yet praise him, 

       my Savior and my God. 

       My soul is downcast within me; 

       therefore I will remember you 

       from the land of the Jordan, 

       the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

 Deep calls to deep 

       in the roar of your waterfalls; 

       all your waves and breakers 

       have swept over me.

 By day the LORD directs his love, 

       at night his song is with me— 

       a prayer to the God of my life.

A SPIRITUAL LODESTONE

Are these experiences at the Baha'i House of Worship coincidences? Am I being superstitious?

All I can say is that there is something special about the Baha'i House of Worship and the Baha'i Faith.

My wife, Becke, says that the Baha'i Faith is my lodestone. Perhaps she's right and perhaps I am, and have always been, an intentional "Unenrolled Baha'i" 

P.S. 

Here's a link to another blog that shares another perspective on the Universal faith of Baha'u'llah:

The Limits of Universalism
Bahais Online - Friday, 29 May 2009 © Bahais Online

i-Religion - spirituality as a playlist

CLARK STRAND 

"i-Religion" - Fifty million Americans are now religiously unaffiliated, and the trend is growing fast. Last week a new study revealed that 30-40% of young people don't go to church -ever. And yet most say they're not atheists. What's happening to religion in America, and what does it mean for our spiritual future? Clark Strand thinks the answer to both questions is i-Religion. "People today download spiritual beliefs and practices just like songs onto an iPod, assembling an individualized play list, rather than just passively accepting the whole-CD approach of organized religion. Today, you can practice yoga without becoming a Hindu, and you don't have to be a Jew or Christian to believe in God. We're on the brink of a global spiritual revolution, assembling the best of everything to guide us on the path ahead." Strand is a former Zen Buddhist monk and the founder of a weekly inter-religious Bible study group. His new book is "How to Believe in God: Whether You Believe in Religion or Not." - www. WholeEarthGod.com

From: www.xzonearchives.com

STROLLING DOWN THE "STRAND"

I hadn't realized it until recently, but Clark Strand and I have intersected many times in my search for spiritual "truth." I had read Clark's columns in Tricycle Magazine many times and found them informative and helpful in weeding through all the various "schools of practice" and "teachings" that clutter the spiritual pathway. I wouldn't say that I specifically sought out Clark's writings, but I almost always found them to be among those that I was drawn to regularly.

I had first read about Soka Gakkai International and Nichiren Buddhism in one of Clark's column, and I'd ultimately found SGI to be a little "cult-like," I did find out a lot about other Buddhist practices and teachings that proved to be very helpful in my search and, in hindsight, beneficial to my spiritual growth.

Several years ago, Clark wrote an article about Shin Buddhism, and the practice of Nembutsu (Remembering the Buddha), which I found fascinating - especially in how he related it, and integrated it with the Jesus Prayer of Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

LOADING UP THE PLATE

I've heard the term "Salad Bar Spirituality" before, and in fact, I'd criticized it here as a "litany of relativism." As if we were picking and choosing Truth (with a capital "T") like a choice of dressings or toppings. However, after hearing Clark make the case for something that is already happening, throughout the world, as a grass-roots movement, with no common origin, I am changing my evaluation.

Clark's concept of "I-religion" is not about picking and choosing Truth. It is about availing ourselves of the capabilities and freedoms that our technologies and ideologies provide for us in our democratic and pluralistic society. Truth is one, but we are unique individuals with free will. Therefore, it is quite natural to assume that God or Truth can be experienced in many, many ways.

There is a famous Sufi saying: "The Ways of God are as many as the breaths of Human beings."

I have heard many people express the sentiment that they are "spiritual, but not religious" - and when pressed they will admit that God and spirituality play a significant role in their lives, while the membership in a single formal institutionalized religion does not. There are people everywhere who practice a meditation (formal sitting, or just an informal period of quiet) without being Zen Buddhists, or pray to God (formally through written prayers, or more spontaneously at moments throughout the day) without being admitted Christians of any particular denomination. These people are practicing "i-Religion;" creating a "playlist" of their favorite spiritual practices from a variety of religious sources, in just the same way as they might pick selective tracks of a variety of different artist's CD's to build a favorite playlist.

THE CRITICS WILL RISE

The criticism of this practice will come from many angles; not just the fundamentalist ones. For example:

There will be accusations that this approach leads to a shallow understanding, or knowledge of deep doctrinal truths.

• This criticism is based on the view that people are shallow, and I don't think that's always the case. I'd count myself as someone who practices this approach and, although I know that I've been tempted to do so, I have tried never to compromise the truth for my own convenience. 

• The other problem with this criticism is that it denies the real possibility and probability that God will guide the seeker (as promised in ALL religions.) Jesus reportedly said: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matt. 7:7-8)  Also, it was the act of seeking of that reportedly led to Muhammad's encounter with Gabriel that resulted in the revelation of the Qur'an, and that same attitude of seeking led to Buddha's enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.

In fact, if one were to review the revelatory history of most religions, I think you'll find that the attitude and actions of a sincere seeker brought about various encounters with the Divine that changed the world. Seeking might well be the "best practice" of the spiritual minded.

THE FRUIT FOR RECONCILIATION

I agree with Clark Strand. The concept of "i-Religion" could be the next global religious revolution. As humanity has evolved, through technology, from narrow physical groupings of slow-moving ethnic tribes to global virtual communities that communicate across time and space in milliseconds, isn't it appropriate that we should share our understandings of God and Truth, as freely as we share our menus and cultures? This may be the first "fruit" of religious reconciliation.

It may be God's little joke that the underlying background concept (of i-Religion) comes from a company with a familiar piece of fruit as it's logo!!!! 

The Overwhelming Power of Doubt

Uh-Oh, I've been here before....

I've just realized something and I'm not sure what it is;

I've either lost my religion and found my faith or, I've lost my mind and found myself.

Who knew I was dreaming?

I didn't realize I was asleep until I started to wake up.

THE CRUMBLING FOUNDATION

The Bible says that you should build your faith on rock and not on sand. However, what happens when the rock that you thought you built upon suddenly turns to sand?

Organizations and institutions have failed us in almost every area. The foundational institutions and pillars of society that we have trusted have fallen; they have become the prey of their own lesser natures.

This is no more true than in the institutions of religion. 

"I'm giving up religion for Lent," I had jokingly remarked, after hearing about the rather extravagant home that the Archdiocese of Cincinnati recently acquired for the adjunct Archbishop of Cincinnati. They spent close to half a million dollars on a large house for a single man who lives under a vow of celibacy. I don't begrudge the man having a nice home - but given that his predecessor had lived for many years in a small three room apartment at a local campus, and that the Archdiocese simultaneously announced that it was having to close churches and cut ministry budgets because of the current economic conditions - it seemed like a very irresponsible decision. 

It was the last straw that tipped an already increasingly unbalanced scale. 

THE UNFAITHFUL BRIDE

I have lost my faith in the church as the medium for God in this world. The church, rather than being the haven and shelter of the downtrodden, is assuming not only the role of protector of God's elite and favored, but also the judge and jury of the world - rather than the means for its moral transformation. 

How could this happen to me when I was SO ENTHUSIASTIC and appeared to be so committed to the Catholic church a mere few months ago?

I wish there were an easy explanation - but there isn't.

I can only confess that I am a religious junkie - I find momentary joy in belonging to an institution that I believe promises hope and fulfillment - and after the novelty wears off and I begin to see that those who I thought were authority figures, turn into, at best case, blind guides, or, in worst case, raging hypocrites. Then I have to face the facts.

I deceived myself into believing that I could trust the Church and all its teachings - I REALLY WANTED to believe that I could give up doubting and seeking - because the church had covered all the bases. The Catechism had all the answers - Jesus was the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and the church that he began would keep me on the straight and narrow.

ORGANIZATIONAL PROBLEMS

The problem as always, with organizations that try to "preserve" the "original" teachings - is that the preservation becomes more important than the original intended meaning. Thus the preservation becomes a form of organized protection that seeks to "purify" itself at the expense of the truth. "Loving your enemies" becomes "convert or condemn them." "Count it all joy" becomes "wallow in your sorrows", and God's love goes from being a gift of grace to all, to the reward of only those who "deserve" it, and the promise of heaven on earth becomes the threat of eternal hell.

Another problem with religion is recorded history - the more I research the history of the church - the more I find evidence of it being an empire's instrument of domination, instead of a message of a movement of hope and freedom  for the dominated.

History also clearly reveals that the doctrines and dogmas of the Church, which are called the foundations of faith - are in fact "democratically" decided "opinions." It is a historical fact that there was no universally accepted view of the nature of Jesus (i.e. 100% human, 100% God, or both) until the 4th century (over 300 years after the earthly presence of Jesus) - it apparently was not that important before the Church got "ORGANIZED."  

Another problem with religion is reality - the observed way of the universe does not conform to the testimony of the "infallible" sources. When you have to make a choice between blind faith and visible reality - I have to go with visible reality; "walking by faith and not by sight," is bad advice when you can see quite clearly!! I've really TRIED to accept the Bible as inspired - but I can't see it that way anymore. Apart from certain sections, it just doesn't make sense!

OUT VERSUS IN

President Lyndon Johnson, when referring to a disagreeable alliance,  is reported as having said that he preferred to have this person "in the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in."!  Although I wouldn't perhaps use that crude reference - I have found that it is sometimes only possible to have valid criticisms when you can see things clearly from "inside the tent." This is why I've felt led to join so many religious groups - I cannot claim to fully understand them while I remain as an outside observer. Unfortunately, this usually means that I have to leave - as history has shown that odds are not good for the survival of the reformers!!

AUTHORITY RULES

I have a problem with authority being in the hands of those who abuse it. I'm not alone in this view, as many of my heroes - Jesus, Gandhi, Buddha, and others - all called a spade a spade when it came to the abuse and misuse of power.

So, I'm finished with suppressing my intelligence, and I can no longer practice behavioral hoop jumping of any form - no matter what religion or cult.

There is no path to God - either God is everywhere or He's nowhere. If God is omnipresent I don't have to go anywhere to find Him. I also don't have to believe that He's in the Eucharist any more or less than I believe that He's in my inmost being. If He's omniscient then I'm praying to myself because He's closer than any friend. If He knows my heart then He knows when I'm sorry and when I'm not - confession is for my benefit, and nothing else. If He tells us to love our enemies and to forgive them unconditionally - then I would be calling Him a hypocrite if I believed that He is not able to do the same.

Calling God  a Person seems to be an affront to the nature of God. It reduces God to something that we can control. I think that's another reason I keep turning in false hope to religions - I believe that through them I can control God - I can control REALITY... which is absurd!!

The book of Hebrews says that we must believe that God exists in order to find him - that's ridiculous - God's existence does not depend on our belief - that's only true of Santa Claus!!

We do not have to look for God - He's already here - we're the ones that believe we are lost. 

 

Of course, I could be wrong.......... but I'm afraid I doubt it.

(NOTE: image: "Crowd #43 - 1998" by Misha Gordin)

The Observations of a Catholic Viking

BEING CATHOLIC....

Is not about being a certain "Kind" of Christian.

Is not about being associated with a particular building identified as a "Church".

Is not about being "saved" - or "chosen."

Is not a matter of personal preference, based on how I "feel" about their teachings.

Is not about being closed-minded or conservative politically.

Is not about condemning or judging people who are not "Catholic".


Is not about accepting things "just on faith" without reason.

Is not about only eating fish on Fridays.

Is not about putting ashes on the forehead once a year.

Is not about having unquestioned belief.

Is not about "worshiping" Mary, icons or statues.

Is not about feeling guilty all the time.

Is not about being a member of an infallible or perfect institution.

Is not about "earning" favor with God.

Is not about doing horrible things and then confessing them to a Priest to avoid consequences.

...there are many, many more things that fall into the "Not" category.

Of course, there are probably many Catholics who do not agree with me on all these things - because, as individuals, we all make our own choices in behavior, and in how we choose to apply our understanding. But, I speak personally about what being Catholic means, and doesn't mean to me.

I've met many people who believe that they were BORN Catholic - as if it were an ethnic heritage or, as the more negatively sarcastic might add, a birth defect!!

I've met others who were baptized and confirmed as Catholics but have never darkened the doors of a church since - yet they call themselves "Catholic."

IT'S NOT WHERE I'M FROM, IT'S WHO I AM

It's a pet peeve of mine that some people confuse their heritage with their religion, or their heritage with nationality. Thus you have third generation immigrants who have never visited their historical homeland once - calling themselves Italian, German, Dutch, English or Irish!!! With that logic, being from ancient European stock, I could probably get away with calling myself a Saxon or Viking!!!!

I've always liked Thor's fashion sense!!!


BEING CATHOLIC....IS

• Identifying with the heritage of the early church....

- the one that was founded by Jesus in the first century, that existed for over a thousand years as "One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church" - then was divided, primarily politically, into the East and West and became two branches of the same church - The Eastern Orthodox (Catholic) and Roman Catholic (Orthodox) Church, still founded on the teachings of the Apostles and Fathers of the Church. Then because the Roman Catholics began "behaving badly" around the 16th century - a strong-willed Roman Catholic monk (Luther) took them to task and sought reformation, and instead, "threw the baby out with the bath water" and broke away to form his own "church." Now there are over 30,000 "denominations" of the supposedly "One Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church!!" - all with different "interpretations" of the bible and claiming to be the "true" church.

• Being Catholic is about becoming a citizen of a new kind of kingdom - forsaking the broken human nature and taking on the process of revealing a new divine nature.
  

I'm no longer a Viking!....I'm an "in process" resident alien in the kingdom of God.

• It's about becoming Catholic BECAUSE I'm being saved - not becoming saved because I'm Catholic.

The Church is a means of "working out salvation" or expressing gratitude to God and mankind in community with others, because of what God has ALREADY done - it is not an obligation to God or a means of gaining salvation as a "fully subscribed" member.

It's a community of healing - where people come to practice their spiritual gifts and apply unique personal talents and abilities for the benefit of all. Not an institution of perfect people - but a perfect institution as an instrument for the forgiving and transformation of imperfect people.

• Being Catholic is about understanding that Truth is not always agreeable, or to our liking, but by following those that went before us on the path (Saints and Martyrs), we can be inspired to live for higher purposes and truly aware of how significant an individual life can be.
  

The Church is not just a physical location - it is the time-based presence of the Kingdom of eternity beyond all time, that has a membership of all who have gone before - "God is of the living, not the dead." Eternal life is not what happens after we die - it's going on NOW and forever.

• Being Catholic is to understand that God is not in a spiritual compartment of our lives, but permeates ALL of life.

Honest science does not disprove the existence of God - it expands our appreciation of the beauty and order of His creation. Evolution is not contrary to creation - it is proof of the ongoing presence of God in continuing to create - and it should increase our appreciation for the value of all things.

• Being Catholic for me is more than a choice of beliefs - it's a privilege and a gift.

I have searched high and low for the Truth and I have been down many paths that appeared to be bright at first, but turned into dark and narrow alleys with no end in sight. As I've researched the Ancient Christian faith - the version closest to the original - I can see that despite the appearance of many seemingly dark and narrow alleys there is brilliant sunlight at the end - and it can be seen from here when I adjust my perspective and take off the prejudicial glasses.

Being Catholic is not what I wanted to become - but it's what I need to become.

After all, being a hammer-wielding Viking is not all that it's cracked up to be!!!!

Losing and Finding

"Poor human reason, when it trusts in itself, substitutes the strangest absurdities for the highest divine concepts."

- St. John Chrysostom

In shallow loss there can be deep finding....

Somewhere deep in my DNA there must be a gene that causes me to constantly lose or misplace things. By nature I'm untidy but generally well-organized; as a rule, I know where things are by category.

However, once in a while, at a totally inappropriate time, I'll find that I've misplaced something and become outrageously unglued at my inability to locate it.

It's during times like this that I'm about to discover deeper truths about myself.

Last night I lost one of my favorite pens - not particularly expensive or rare - but one of those comfortable pens that are easy to use and that write well. My failed attempt to find it drove me into a totally unrealistic and overblown funk that shocked me, quite frankly, and made me very self-aware, as if I were looking down from a detached higher level of existence.

I saw in myself, vividly, the deep desire to control reality according to my convenience. Pens and other possessions are not supposed to be where you leave them but where you want them to be - calling out the hypocrisy of my own words when I've said things like: "Truth is not what we want, it's what is.....," and "Truth is not a choice, it's just the way things are....," and all other variations on that theme. Pens, like other things, including truth, do not obey my rules about where they're SUPPOSED to be.

THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH

If anyone out there has been following this blog for more than a few posts - they'll observe that I've gone through significant bouts of doubt - culminating in what I called the abandoning of belief. In short, you could say that I misplaced or lost my faith in Christianity. I became disillusioned with the Eastern Orthodox faith that I had so joyfully embraced. I joked with friends that I was seeking a divorce from the "Bride of Christ!"

Well, recently, I've come to regret those words and find myself, like the Lost Son of the famous parable, standing at a distance, seeking to "come home." ...... Well.....almost.

The home that I'm returning to, however, is not at the same address.

I can't believe that I'm saying this - but I've begun attending Catholic Mass regularly and feeling at home!!!

OVERCOMING "ROMAPHOBIA"

Being a former Protestant, and always having understood Christianity from a Protestant viewpoint - I was very drawn to Orthodoxy as the natural progression as I became disenchanted with the "Do it yourself - make it up as you go along" approach of Evangelical Protestantism. I could not consider Roman Catholicism because of what I'd heard.....

What about the corrupt priesthood?
What about the infallibility of the Pope?
What about the dogmatic nature of the Roman Catholic hierarchy?

etc. etc.

Then, recently, I had a long discussion with a very enthusiastic, newly confirmed, young Catholic, who gave me a lot of good reasons for trying to look beyond my preconceived notions about the Roman, or Western, Catholic Church.

I also began reading books like "Why I Am A Catholic" by Garry Wills and came across this great observation by G.K. Chesterton:

"When Christ at a symbolic moment was establishing His great society, He chose for its comer-stone neither the brilliant Paul nor the mystic John, but a shuffler, a snob a coward–in a word, a man. And upon this rock He has built His Church, and the gates of Hell have not prevailed against it. All the empires and the kingdoms have failed, because of this inherent and continual weakness, that they were founded by strong men and upon strong men. But this one thing, the historic Christian Church, was founded on a weak man, and for that reason it is indestructible. For no chain is stronger than its weakest link."

- G.K. Chesterton, Heretics, p. 67

So, I'm trying to overcome my long-term affliction of "Romaphobia" and look at the Roman Catholic Church with new eyes - as if I'm finding it for the first time.


LESS THAN PERFECT - MORE THAN HUMAN

As a movement focused on the re-formation and divination of humanity, built on the backs of imperfect humans, it is only natural that the Church has had tragedies and triumphs, because it is a progressing, healing, earth-bound kingdom. Just as the history of the Nation of Israel told in the Old Covenant is full of both good and bad characters, miracles and disasters, joy and suffering, facts and fables, truth and lies - why should we be surprised that the continuation, or fulfillment, of that kingdom would also be full of the same, as it journeys back to "wholeness" - which is another word for "holiness"?

The constant truth of the gospel (the "Good News") is that we are being saved as we are now, not as we should, or will be, so that together we can become much more than just human.

So try to hang on - it's going to be a bumpy ride - I just hope I don't misplace my ticket!!!!!