“We are all of us together carried in the one world-womb; yet each of us is our own little microcosm in which the Incarnation is wrought independently with degrees of intensity and shades that are incommunicable.”
—Teilhard de Chardin
This advent season we are considering our own conception, our own carrying within, the capacity to bear our own divine offering, to bring into this world our unique and particular incarnation of divine life in this time.
Read MoreWe are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly but does not take place within myself? And what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace if I am not also full of grace? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his Son if I also do not give birth to him in my time and my culture? This, then, is the fullness of time. When the Son of God is begotten in us.
—Meister Eckhart
As I have pointed out in this series, the church as we know it is changing. It is being deconstructed, often by people who never use that word, but they know there is something wrong with the church as we know it. Of course, there is also something right with the church, too. The challenge is to leave the wrong and keep the right!
Read MoreFor the Christianity of the future, we need and will continue to need to deconstruct old beliefs that have become toxic and no longer serve us. We will also need to reconstruct our religion in healthier ways. Here are four foundational beliefs we can build on that are more loving and in harmony with the life, teachings, and presence of Jesus
Read MoreJesus saying he was never a Christian may sound shocking, but it’s true. Jesus was a Hebrew mystical reformer. His religion was Judaism, not Christianity. His followers were not called Christians until much later (Acts 11:26). What today we call “Christianity” did not exist for the first three hundred years after Pentecost. It took a hundred years to separate from Judaism, another hundred to become an institution, and another hundred to define its central doctrines. And today, an increasing number of Jesus’ followers would say Christianity looks less and less like him. I can, in certain contexts, no longer just say, “I’m a Christian” because, as I have shared in this series, conventional Christianity departs so much from being Christ-like. I often say, ”I’m a follower of Jesus.”
Read MoreI believe integral Christianity is more and more a path for a growing number of those who want to remain followers of Jesus in the modern world. Once you enter a stable integral stage of spiritual growth and development, you can access the qualities of that stage. This includes a belief system geared to Jesus’ life and teaching. It produces greater selflessness, integration, and social responsibility. Also, new consciousness, deeper spiritual knowing, and more comprehensive and profound ways of connecting to God and others — virtually any time you want!
Growing up in this way will also change the way you think about things. It can be difficult to let go of beliefs that have been so important to us in the past. But the past in not the direction we’re going! This article and the next two will explore some beliefs that I have let go of, traded in, and find as my new foundational Christian beliefs.
Read MoreI understand the antagonism directed at oppressive, harmful belief systems because I have had my share of that resentment. We may not even be able to become more compassionate without first becoming more angry — angry enough to deconstruct all or parts of previous belief systems that no longer appear truthful or loving to us. That’s the serious message of this cartoon.
After deconstruction is reconstruction, moving to more expansive and compassionate beliefs.
Read MoreIn this series on beliefs, let’s take our cue from this image of Jesus. Not only should we not try to beat up someone with the Bible, but we should also not do that with our progressive, integral beliefs about the Bible!
Read MorePart One: Deconstructing Our Faith Like Jesus Did His
The term “deconstruction” is becoming more common these days as a word that represents the process of dismantling toxic religious beliefs and practices. But it’s not a new spiritual act….
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