In our contemporary world, we are told that fact equals truth. But, if you will forgive me, this is a fairly recent assumption that comes to us from the Enlightenment and the development of the scientific method. For the vast majority of human history, truth was not communicated as fact.
It was communicated as metaphor.
Religion, for me, has very little to do with certainty. When I say that I believe in God I am not claiming to be certain about anything accept of the existence of great mystery. Christianity is not a prescription that will solve all of life’s problems. If you want a prescription, go to your doctor.
Forget going for a dip during a tsunami
Or hang gliding during a tornado.
Those things are trivial compared to this.
How would you react if a robust young man of about thirty years of age spoke to you “quite openly” about his on death?
You might say: “Don’t talk like that!”
All are welcome to join Reverend Mark on Tuesday’s during Lent, (February 20, 27th, March 6, 13, 20,27) at 1:30PM for a discussion series entitled: Matters of the Spirit (or M.O.T.S for short). The discussion, which will meet in the parlor, will consider scripture, poetry and some prose — either theology, or fiction. If you are interested, […]
I would argue that it is my job to address moral concerns, and that, in this, my job overlaps with the work of a politician. The difference is, that a politician addresses moral issues through policy and lawmaking. I address morality by interpreting scripture, and trying, in this way, to discern where God’s love leads us.
[The] transfiguration from human truth to ultimate truth is not the final goal of the religious practice… The spiritual story may involve a movement to solitude, but it does not end there.
