Tag Archives: imagination
Prophets as Poets
Prophetic Imagination Prophets as Poets Wednesday, March 24, 2021 One of the great scholars of the Jewish scriptures was Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972). In his in-depth study of the Hebrew prophets, he included this description of the prophets which is really rather surprising. We often think of prophets as scolds, rather judgmental and cranky,… Continue Reading Prophets as Poets
A Positive Vision
Prophetic Imagination A Positive Vision Tuesday, March 23, 2021 The starting point for the prophets’ imagination is an amazing, positive experience of God. Their divine encounter fills their heart not with cynicism, not with sarcasm, not with negativity, not with opposition, but with an ecstasy that has to be shared. That one experience of the… Continue Reading A Positive Vision
The Path of the Fall
Prophetic Imagination The Path of the Fall Monday, March 22, 2021 In spirituality, there are basically two paths, what I’ve called the path of the fall and the path of the return. The path of return has been the message of the priestly class. True priests talk of religion, communion, love, transcendence, connecting this world… Continue Reading The Path of the Fall
On the Edge of the Inside
Prophetic Imagination On the Edge of the Inside Sunday, March 21, 2021 In the fall of 2020, I began sending out occasional letters that I called “Letters from Outside the Camp,” a reference to the many usages of “outside the camp” in the Hebrew Bible. It is a prophetic position “on the edge of the… Continue Reading On the Edge of the Inside
Learning How to See: Weekly Summary
Learning How to See Saturday, March 6, 2021 Summary and Practice Sunday, February 28—Friday, March 5, 2021 Sunday One of the keys to wisdom is that we must recognize our own biases, our own addictive preoccupations, and those things to which, for some reason, we refuse to pay attention. Monday People can’t see what they… Continue Reading Learning How to See: Weekly Summary
Jesus and Bias
Learning How to See Jesus and Bias Wednesday, March 3, 2021 Learning how to see our biases is a psychological exercise, but one with immediate theological and social implications. It demands self-knowledge and the crucial need to recognize (1) when we are in denial about our own shadow and capacity for illusion; (2) our capacity… Continue Reading Jesus and Bias
Faithful and Free Women
Mystics and the Margins Faithful and Free Women Thursday, October 1, 2020 We have a lot to learn from communities like the beguines, or later, the Quakers and Mennonites. These movements are made up of little groups, often on the margins of society, sharing the Word of God and their lives together. We might recognize… Continue Reading Faithful and Free Women
Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part One: Weekly Summary
Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part One Saturday, August 15, 2020 Summary: Sunday, August 9—August 14, 2020 To grow toward love, union, salvation, or enlightenment, we must be moved from Order to Disorder, and then ultimately to Reorder. (Sunday) Law, tradition, and boundaries—what I call Order—seem to be necessary in any spiritual system both to reveal and… Continue Reading Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part One: Weekly Summary
Being Peaceful Change: Weekly Summary
Being Peaceful Change Saturday, August 1, 2020 Summary: Sunday, July 26—Friday, July 31, 2020 Gandhi’s spirit of non-violence sprang from an inner realization of spiritual unity in himself. —Thomas Merton (Sunday) Authentic spirituality is always first about you—about allowing your own heart and mind to be changed. (Monday) Nonviolence is the greatest and most active… Continue Reading Being Peaceful Change: Weekly Summary
Church: Old and New: Weekly Summary
Church: Old and New Summary: Sunday, October 27—Friday, November 1, 2019 With each rebirth, Christianity becomes more inclusive and universal, as it was always meant to be. (Sunday) I believe that what some refer to as the “emerging church” is a movement of the Holy Spirit. (Monday) [Christ’s] time seems to stretch to eternity and… Continue Reading Church: Old and New: Weekly Summary