Hey, one of December's guests and I were just talking about Christian Wiman—and there he is in a recent article on, among other things, #poetry and poetic #faith in a dying world. Right now, I'm appreciating this assertion: "There is severe contradiction between our need to speak of ultimate things and the immunity of those things from speech. There is also, sometimes, #hope and rescue."
This week on The Boomerang. My interview for Foreword Reviews with historian Gary Scott Smith of Grove City College about his book on how Hillary Rodham Clinton's Methodist faith has informed her politics. Enjoy!
A new book on #US#religion, 'The Great Dechurching', has a survey of “dechurched #evangelicals”, of whom 68% said their #parents played a role in their decision to stop attending #church. The top 5 issues:
If you’re into sermons and the like, here’s my most recent message. I was speaking on Acts 17:16-34 when Paul spoke at the Areopogus in the city of Athens.
‘He is steeped in the traditions of Western #philosophy but comes from a world where the #desert reminds you constantly that you are surrounded by a vast inimical emptiness; the ancient #Christian hermits used to sit in the #Egyptian desert because from there you could place a toll-free call to #Paradise’
When you think of religion what comes into your mind?
For many of us it's probably something like, “man's pursuit of the divine,” or “a system of beliefs,” or “the crutch of humanity,” or “the worst thing that's ever happened to humanity.” Whatever our understanding or definition it's typically tinged with a bit of negativity.
How many folks do you know say something like, “I'm spiritual not religious”? In
many of my circles that saying goes like this, “Christianity is a relationship not a religion.”
Religion is apparently not a very popular thing...
Lately, I have felt called to pray on the behalf of people who feel like they could use a little spiritual support.
If you would like me to pray for you, please comment your name or nickname below.
If you wish, you can also add some context if you'd like me to pray for you for a specific reason. Otherwise, it'll be a generic prayer for prosperity, wellbeing, happiness, and spiritual guidance. I'll pray for you once a day from today until next Tuesday. 💕
I published something new this morning. I had written it this last fall in a slightly different format but I have edited it and changed it a bit. I hope you find it helpful.
There is a reason why the Greek word "pneuma" means both "breath" and "soul." This is part of my personal gnosis on the matter:
When you inhale, you're not sucking the air into your lungs: You're contracting your diaphragm and expanding your lungs to create space. The resulting decrease in pressure is what allows the air to flow into and fill the space created.
Exhalation is much the same, only in reverse: By contracting your lungs and relaxing your diaphragm, you close the empty space in your lungs, pushing the air out as it has no where else to go.
Spirituality and religion are much like inhalation: When you make space for the Divine, Spirit will flow into your life like air into your lungs, easily and effortlessly.