WEBmikey

Latest Flickr


Letters from a Skeptic / Greg Boyd : 3 of 5
1.08.2008 7:24 AM \| Link	This is an interesting book that I heard about at church (they often mention recommended reading material at Gateway), so I decided to check it out since I haven't read anything theological in a long time (besides the Bible). Greg Boyd is a professor of theology who decided to start a correspondence with his elderly dad to try to answer all his questions about faith, and they ended up trading letters over three years, covering some really tough questions that everyone thinks about at one time or another. Most of the arguments are really convincing, covering things like literary criteria for the authority of the Gospels, but ranging to much deeper spiritual thoughts on free will and suffering. Every now and then the tone gets a little too preachy for my taste, but in general the arguments are extremely intelligent (and deciphering their meaning reminded me of my philosophy class!), and include many quotes from sources like CS Lewis and Pascal. My main complaint with the book is a minor one - since this is a back and forth correspondence, they chose to set the father's letters in normal type, while Greg's letters are entirely in italics. Since his letters are much longer, it's really annoying to read several full pages in all italic type! Overall, Letters from a Skeptic is a fascinating book, presenting many ideas that I hadn't considered before, and written from a refreshingly open-minded point of view. Labels: books, spirituality
A really long novel
7.01.2007 1:26 PM \| Link	I don't write very often about spirituality, since I kind of keep that on the personal side (although I did go through a list of my various phases a long time ago), but recently I've really been enjoying being spiritual in a new way. I've been going to Gateway Church now for almost a year (pretty sparsely at first, but now regularly), and even though they use many different Bible translations in the service, one time they mentioned a modern language paraphrase called The Message that I had never heard of. Even though I've read through the Bible at least a couple times in my life, I thought it would be fun to explore it again. I bought the "remix" version, which has everything portioned into daily readings, and I've made it through 60 of them so far. A few things are really interesting. First, the presentation is meant to be read like a story - there are no verse numbers, and no long footnotes with scholarly commentary. This is just about absorbing the Bible as a whole and understanding it in your own way. Second, the readings are not in the usual Bible order, but this actually makes a lot of sense - Leviticus is one of the most boring books, but when you read part of it along with part of Hebrews, the parallels are fascinating! Overall the modern language is very cool - I think it's the most understandable version of Romans I've ever read. If you're ever thinking about checking out scripture with a new twist, I would definitely recommend giving The Message a try. Labels: life, spirituality
My spirituality
3.30.2001 10:58 PM \| Link	From a fairly young age, I have always had at least part of my mind on spiritual things. I remember asking for my first Bible from my parents, going to church and eventually marrying in one, and then exploring many other avenues of spiritual fulfillment after my divorce. The most important thing I've learned is that faith is nothing until it truly becomes your own - my faith is based in my study of many other faiths, and incorporates a little of all these listed here. Labels: memories, spirituality
Episcopal
10:57 PM \| Link	Places of worship: St. David's Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas Beliefs: Worshiping in my ancestral faith feels right. Someone had once told me that Episcopalian services were just like a Catholic Mass, so I found the Episcopalian church with the best web site and decided to visit. St. David's is really nice, with a variety of priests with different styles and lots of services to choose from. I especially like the Compline service, which is held at night in a dark church with incense and chants. I've joined the bell choir here and have fun ringing during special morning services. I feel at home again in a traditional, symbolic faith, but I've been tempering that by continuing to read Taoist and Buddhist writings. Labels: memories, spirituality
Unitarian Universalist
10:56 PM \| Link	Places of worship: First Unitarian Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma & First Unitarian Universalist Church, Austin, Texas Beliefs: No one knows everything about God. After the lodge services ended, I went looking for something "intellectual" and found Unitarian Universalism. At these churches I heard some of the most thought-provoking talks I had experienced - I especially liked how they combined all the "good parts" of many different works (sometimes the Bible, sometimes the Koran or anything else) to form one philosophy (in fact, they revere Thomas Jefferson because he cut up his New Testament to include only the verses he believed). However, Unitarianism has no symbolism at all - you can't even have Christmas if you accept all religions equally. After reading that one should "worship in the way of his ancestors", I decided to go traditional again. Labels: memories, spirituality
Cherokee Sweat Lodge
10:55 PM \| Link	Places of worship: A dome of animal skins, Tulsa, Oklahoma Beliefs: Your God is the same as my God. Trey had been attending this service for several months before inviting me, and I couldn't wait to go. A full-blood Cherokee and his family held this service in their backyard - he constructed the lodge, gathered volcanic rock, heated the rocks red-hot in the ceremonial fire, and conducted the four-round, several hours long service. Each round involved intense sweating in the dark while prayers were said and sung, and was full of symbolism ranging from stories to herbs crackling on the hot rocks. These services were the most spiritual experiences I have had, and I miss them. Labels: memories, spirituality
Unity
10:54 PM \| Link	Places of worship: First Unity Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma Beliefs: God is in everything and everyone. Some of my New Age reading mentioned the Unity movement, which is basically an organized New Age church incorporating the beliefs of many different religions (including Christianity). Unity immediately felt like home - the service included meditation, the people were friendly, and the messages were about anything and everything. I went to church services and even many workshops. The only problem was it never seemed to go as deep as I wanted, so I kept my eyes open for something more intense. Labels: memories, spirituality
New Age
10:53 PM \| Link	Places of worship: My house, Tulsa, Oklahoma Beliefs: There is a God, who can be found 1,001 ways. It's a little embarrassing, but I read A Return to Love because Cheri was interested in it. The book describes a popular New Age book called A Course in Miracles, which I read and studied feverishly. It's basically psychology presented with spiritual language, but I loved it, and it was a gateway drug. Soon I was reading all kinds of spiritual self-help books. I know it's a little silly, but it was extremely valuable - I basically decided to question everything, which caused me to study everything, so I read many Taoist works and meditated regularly. It was enough to get me through the divorce and build a foundation of exploration that would make spirituality a true part of me, rather than just a layer. Labels: memories, spirituality
Methodist
10:52 PM \| Link	Places of worship: University United Methodist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma Beliefs: God can be found in ritual and symbolism. We chose UUMC because the congregation was full of students (including Liza!) and the church building was stone and cool. We really researched Methodism, and even talked with the minister personally before joining (we were concerned about infant baptism!). We were extremely active in church - we desktop published over 100 issues of the church newsletter, played in the bell choir, and even were communion stewards (which meant I got to squirt grape juice into little plastic cups). After the divorce, I stayed at UUMC for a few months, but I really needed to start exploring on my own. Labels: memories, spirituality
Non-denominational
10:51 PM \| Link	Places of worship: New Life Bible Church, Norman, Oklahoma Beliefs: Christianity is more attractive when packaged in fun music and drama. God doesn't care if you wear jeans. Cheri and I decided to try something radically different, but with the same basic beliefs. New Life Bible Church featured praise music with lyrics projected on the wall, dramas in every service, baptisms in a swimming pool, and was specifically designed to not "scare anyone". I ate it up - I became part of the band, playing drums in the Sheraton Hotel ballroom where we had services. I also wrote several dramas (including an Indiana Jones parody - I forget what spiritual meaning it had!). Unfortunately, Cheri felt it was a little too loose, so we decided to go back to tradition, but without so many weird dogmas. Labels: memories, spirituality
Southern Baptist
10:50 PM \| Link	Places of worship: Southern Hills Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma & other Baptist churches, Moore, Oklahoma Beliefs: Very fundamentalist (sorry!). Through the influence of my family and cousins, I started to explore Christianity on my own by reading my own little New Testament and going to Vacation Bible School. As I started dating Cheri, we began going to church together in Moore, and were married (no dancing at the wedding!). Ironically, we didn't go to that church very long after we were wed, since we were both feeling a little stifled by some silly views (my friend Marco was admonished for wearing shorts, and anyone who was known to be promiscuous was shunned completely). Labels: memories, spirituality
Generic Protestant
10:49 PM \| Link	Places of worship: Various Air Force base chapels Beliefs: God listens to bedtime prayers. When I was very young, my parents would take me to church at the base chapel. Obviously, the Air Force couldn't provide a service for all denominations, so they simply had Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish services. What I remember most was being baffled by the kneelers under the pews, since I had no idea what a Catholic Mass was. I remember cutting out and gluing apostles to construction paper, too, but that's about all. Labels: memories, spirituality


Blogger \| HaloScan \| Levelfield