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!”
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.
“Authority and power are not the same,” Hugh told me. “Power is seized but authority is granted. Power is wielded but authority is exercised.”
The snow had started up again, but not in earnest — these flurries were the storm’s last, half-hearted, whispered asides — the tail end of a mid-January snowfall that was heading northward into the hills. And there I stood, my intention thwarted, with nothing to do but look around.
We are all children of God.
And when this fundamental claim is at the core of our being — we begin our relationships with each other from the starting place of dignity.
During Advent, we anticipate the birth of the Christ child. During Christmas, of course, we rejoice at Christ’s birth. What, than, is Epiphany?
