Tag Archives: church history
Jesus and the Empire
Christianity and Empire Jesus and the Empire Monday, October 18, 2021 On his podcast “Another Name for Every Thing,” Fr. Richard discussed with co-hosts Paul Swanson and Brie Stoner what he sees as the “trajectory” of the Jesus movement and how Jesus lived a simple life of non-cooperation with the empire of his day. Paul:… Continue Reading Jesus and the Empire
Jesus as Central Reference Point
Christianity and Empire Jesus as Central Reference Point Sunday, October 17, 2021 The first of the Center for Action and Contemplation’s Eight Core Principles is that “The teaching of Jesus is our central reference point.” Affirming Jesus as central provides Fr. Richard and all of us with a confidence that comes from the Gospel. Richard… Continue Reading Jesus as Central Reference Point
Universal Good News
Hell, No! Universal Good News Tuesday, September 14, 2021 In the first five centuries of Christianity, many of the church fathers affirmed universal salvation. It seems we were much more hopeful at the beginning that the Gospel really was universally good news! A mystical experience led Carlton Pearson, a former evangelical megachurch pastor, to complete… Continue Reading Universal Good News
A Faith Created by Courageous Movements
Spirituality and Social Movements A Faith Created by Courageous Movements Monday, November 30, 2020 In his book We Make the Road by Walking, my friend and colleague Brian McLaren describes some of the Spirit-led movements that shaped Judaism from the time of Moses, and sustained Christianity. We must remember that such movements are not simply… Continue Reading A Faith Created by Courageous Movements
A Spirit-Led Christianity
Spirituality and Social Movements A Spirit-Led Christianity Sunday, November 29, 2020 First Sunday of Advent The God who became flesh in Jesus is the hidden God of whom the prophets speak to us. Jesus shows himself to be such precisely in the measure that he is present via those who are the absent, anonymous people… Continue Reading A Spirit-Led Christianity
An Agreed-upon Delusion
What Do We Do with Evil? An Agreed-upon Delusion Tuesday, October 13, 2020 The world (or “system” as we use the word now) is a hiding place for unconsciousness or “deadness” in the words of Paul. Both Thomas Aquinas and C. S. Lewis taught that the triumph of evil depends entirely on disguise. [1] [2]… Continue Reading An Agreed-upon Delusion
A Church on the Margins
Mystics and the Margins A Church on the Margins Monday, September 28, 2020 We’ve tended to soften Jesus’ conflict with the system, or the established powers, but Jesus’ ministry took place on the margins! In the year 313 A.D., with the Edict of Milan, the Church dramatically changed sides and Christians officially became the Church… Continue Reading A Church on the Margins
The Need for Mysticism
The Rhineland Mystics The Need for Mysticism Sunday, August 2, 2020 We live in a time of both crisis and opportunity. While there are many reasons to be anxious, I still have hope. Westerners, including Christians, are rediscovering the value of nonduality: a way of thinking, acting, reconciling, boundary-crossing, and bridge-building based on inner experience… Continue Reading The Need for Mysticism
All Spiritual Knowing Must Be Balanced by Not-Knowing
Knowing and Not Knowing All Spiritual Knowing Must Be Balanced by Not-Knowing Monday, January 27, 2020 It is amazing how religion has turned the biblical idea of faith around 180 degrees—into a need and even a right to certain knowing, complete predictability, and perfect assurance about whom and what God likes or doesn’t like. Why… Continue Reading All Spiritual Knowing Must Be Balanced by Not-Knowing
The Prayer of Quiet
Action and Contemplation: Part Three The Prayer of Quiet Tuesday, January 21, 2020 The Desert Fathers and Mothers withdrew from cities to the desert to live freely, apart from the economic, cultural, and political structure of the Roman Empire. At first, the empire persecuted the church, but in 313 CE, Constantine gave Christianity a privileged status, not out of enlightenment or goodwill but in service of uniformity and… Continue Reading The Prayer of Quiet