Turning ourselves over to God is in reality returning to our original self. As the Christian faith moved across the globe toward the East and toward the West, there developed a theological division in understanding of our true nature in the 11th century. The church to the West, under the authority of the Roman papacy, took the path of emphasizing “original sin” . The church in the east, which we now know as the Orthodox Churches, knew none of this. This church considered the doctrine of original nature, known also as Imago Dei as foundational to understanding our relationship to God.
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Archive for the ‘The Purpose of Relationship’ Category
Returning Home to Ourselves
Posted in Fine Lines, The Purpose of Relationship on October 25, 2005| Leave a Comment »
How to Love God
Posted in The Other Side, The Purpose of Relationship on October 23, 2005| 3 Comments »
The religion of Christianity is based on these words of Jesus as his summation of all scripture:
.You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”
(from the Gospel of Matthew, New Revised Standard Version)
Although simple words at first glance, it takes a life time to understand and truly live these words. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote Four Degress of Love way back in the 12th Century. I have not yet found a better understanding of how to live these two commandments of Jesus Christ.
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What is a mystic?
Posted in Fine Lines, The Purpose of Relationship on October 21, 2005| Leave a Comment »
I cannot remember a time when I did not know the presence of God. In fact, it was quite a shock to me to realize that many people seem to have no awareness of the reality of God’s presence. My desire to share the experience turned me into an evangelist – I remember baptizing my little brother Dale in our backyard pool when I was 9 years old. Dale just couldn.t seem to get the whole God thing. He still doesn.t! My evangelistic efforts seem to have come to naught but at least he didn.t drown.
This joy I know .in my bones. I have come to understand is a form of mysticism. I understand this to simply mean living in the light of God’s presence. For a more complete definition see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_mysticism
Ancient Prayers from China
Posted in The Other Side, The Purpose of Relationship on October 21, 2005| Leave a Comment »
I seldom read books more than once. The Jesus Sutras: Rediscovering the Lost Scrolls of Taoist Christianity by Martin Palmer is an exception. I have read it three times in the past several months. http://www.brogilbert.org/christ-culture/5christ_tao.HTM The beauty of the progression of the Christian experience in the earliest centuries, moving from it’s roots in Palestine to the hills of China, challenges and enriches my own experience. An example of two liturgies (i.e.prayers said in group worship) from this ancient and oriental understanding of the Trinity follows.
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Silence and Intimacy
Posted in People I Meet, The Purpose of Relationship on October 19, 2005| Leave a Comment »
I was at my sixth silent retreat in four years. Three days of not speaking and only deep listening in prayer. This is the first time I have been able to keep the silence – no calls on my cell phone to the outside world. No attempts at conversation. No taking notes. I got a peek at the depths of God’s love
An older gentleman sat down across from me at luncheon. We acknowledged each others presence with a nod. Small sayings from the lecture portion of the retreat were scattered around the table. We took turns looking at each one.
He began to weep in silence as he read one contrasting the experience of self-acceptance in the light of God’s grace versus the experience of inadequacy, fear, greed and control in the spaces of life called our ego. I watched him weep and wanted to comfort him. The silence required me to only silently expand my heart to him.
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In God’s Image
Posted in People I Meet, The Purpose of Relationship on October 19, 2005| Leave a Comment »
From The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church by Vladimir Lossky “The mystery of the divine Being, which is the distinction between the one nature and the persons, is graven upon humanity, called to participate in the life of the Holy Trinity. The two poles of human being – nature and persons – find their fullness the one in unity with the other in absolute diversity; for each person is united to God according to the mode which is proper to him alone.”
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