Hi. The other day I was searching for a document that came out of a Lutheran-Catholic dialogue on "justification by faith." It was a terrifically important dialogue because resulted in agreement between Lutherans and Catholics on the most important point at issue when Lutherans and Catholics split 500 years ago. I found the document in a couple of different places. One is http://archive.elca.org/ecumenical/ecumenicaldialogue/romancatholic/jddj/index.html
and another is http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/pccujnt4.htm.
But while poking around on its website I found that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has produced a wonderful video aimed at explaining to Lutherans what the Roman Catholic Church is all about. It is remarkably accurate and well-done. So if you would like to help a friend learn about the Catholic faith and would like an "unbiased" source of information, you've got it. It's at http://archive.elca.org/mosaic/RomanCatholic/index.html.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Welcome to Our Blog
Hi. Welcome to our blog. We intend this to be a place where conversations can go on. Of course, all kinds of conversations are already going on at St. Paul’s. We have worship, meetings, classes, parties, meals, and many circumstances where we learn about and from each other. We also send and receive lots of e-mails and get lots of phone calls. And sometimes people come by just to talk and hang out. That’s all wonderful, and we wouldn’t want to change any of it.
This blog lets us have some of our conversations in a more public way and in a way that invites more people to participate. It lets people participate who might find it inconvenient or even impossible to come over to St. Paul’s and join in. So come on in. You’re welcome. Let’s talk about what’s important, what’s interesting, what’s fun.
Joe and Chuck
This blog lets us have some of our conversations in a more public way and in a way that invites more people to participate. It lets people participate who might find it inconvenient or even impossible to come over to St. Paul’s and join in. So come on in. You’re welcome. Let’s talk about what’s important, what’s interesting, what’s fun.
Joe and Chuck
Is “organized religion” the cause of wars, hatred, and other evils?
In his book Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis traces his journey from his early atheism to the Christian faith. One of the phenomena that influenced his thinking is the fact that all over the world, in every age, people have sought to make their behaviors consistent with some external measure of what is good, just, and true. Sometimes that means changing our actions to fit a higher standard. All to often that means seeking ways to amend or reinterpret the standard so our current actions can be justified. But Lewis reflected that in every place in every time, the need to be "right" with something transcendent is a core aspect of what it means to be human.
Lewis is not the only person to recognize this basic aspect of humanity. In fact, I have read reports of recent psychological research seeking to define and quantify this human quality.
In the context of this understanding of human nature, religious expressions of all sorts are seen to flow from the human need to be closer to and more in tune with God, however that concept is understood. Properly expressed by healthy people who are blessed with good leadership, this wonderful element of our humanity emerges in people like Mother Theresa, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King, and Saint Francis of Assisi and in movements like Habitat for Humanity and Oxfam. It shows up in good families, good friendships, and healthy churches. But like other powerful drives such as sex and the need for safety, the urge to faith can drive us in terrible directions. One sees "Christian" white supremacists and "Muslim" jihadists violating the most basic standards of human decency because they have let their urge to faith be turned in truly bizarre directions.
So to condemn "organized religion" misses the point entirely. There is a powerful drive within each human being to do what is right and to be right with God. When we allow this drive to become deformed, misdirected, and perverted we see terrible outcomes. The answer to the problem is not to ignore or suppress this aspect of our humanity – witness the result of trying to do that with our sexuality – but to understand and appreciate it in a way that allows it to blossom into the truth, holiness, and beauty that it calls us to.
Chuck
Lewis is not the only person to recognize this basic aspect of humanity. In fact, I have read reports of recent psychological research seeking to define and quantify this human quality.
In the context of this understanding of human nature, religious expressions of all sorts are seen to flow from the human need to be closer to and more in tune with God, however that concept is understood. Properly expressed by healthy people who are blessed with good leadership, this wonderful element of our humanity emerges in people like Mother Theresa, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King, and Saint Francis of Assisi and in movements like Habitat for Humanity and Oxfam. It shows up in good families, good friendships, and healthy churches. But like other powerful drives such as sex and the need for safety, the urge to faith can drive us in terrible directions. One sees "Christian" white supremacists and "Muslim" jihadists violating the most basic standards of human decency because they have let their urge to faith be turned in truly bizarre directions.
So to condemn "organized religion" misses the point entirely. There is a powerful drive within each human being to do what is right and to be right with God. When we allow this drive to become deformed, misdirected, and perverted we see terrible outcomes. The answer to the problem is not to ignore or suppress this aspect of our humanity – witness the result of trying to do that with our sexuality – but to understand and appreciate it in a way that allows it to blossom into the truth, holiness, and beauty that it calls us to.
Chuck
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)