EN CHRISTO--
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A Journal for
a New Christianity
©
Volume 1, Number 3
3rd Quarter, 2007
James L.
Foster & John Lackey, co-editors
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Publishing
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En Christo©
is published by Institutes for the Study of Christian
Spirituality (ISCS), 204 Busbee Road, Knoxville, TN 37920.
ISCS is an institute of Institutes for Christian Spirituality
(ICS) a 501-c-3 non- profit organization dedicated to the
promotion and practice of Christian spirituality through this
and a variety of kindred institutes. Subscriptions to En
Christo are free and are available by email. Print editions
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Submissions to En Christo may be made by email attachment
only and will be reviewed by its editor promptly for potential
use in the publication. Acceptance of articles submitted is
solely the responsibility of the Editors. Detailed attribution
is required for all quoted material. If non-English material is
used a competent translation in English must be provided.
Book and Article Reviews
must include title, full name of author(s), publisher name and
address, and date of publication. Reviews may be of any length,
and must include detailed attribution for any quotes included.
Original articles
should be written in English, relevant to the need or process of
change in Christianity consistent with the focus of the journal
and may be edited for length and grammar. Acceptance of
articles submitted is solely the responsibility of the Editor.
Detailed attribution is required for all quoted material. If
non-English material is used a competent translation in English
must be provided.
En Christo
is published quarterly and is
emailed free of charge to any who request it. If at any time a
subscriber wishes to be removed from the email list he or she
may unsubscribe by notifying the Publisher at the following
email address:
jimsandyfoster@yahoo.com.
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CONTENTS:
Editor’s
Introduction.....................................................................................................................
2
Dialog and Reader Responses.................................................................................................
3
Dialogue with Jean B.
Ndayizigiye, “Either God or the
Ego”............................................
4
Response to
Jean by editor, Jim
Foster........................................................................................
5
ARTICLES
The Inspiration of Scripture
by Jim
Foster................................................................................
5
Series: Some Thoughts About Global Economics From a Christian
Perspective
Article #2,
Compassionate Leadership, by John
Lackey............................................................
8
Series: Loving with the Love
of Jesus
Article #3, Love Is a Commission, by James L.
Foster........................................................
8
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Book
Reviews,
Introduction.......................................................................................................................................
10
Arraj,
James. St. John of the Cross and Dr. C. G. Jung: Christian
Mysticism in
the Light of Jungian Psychology............................................................................................
11
Lauck,
Marcia S. and Deborah Koff Chapin. At the Pool of Wonder:
Dreams and
Visions of an Awakening Humanity........................................................................................
13
Collins, Chuck and Mary Wright, The Moral Measure of the
Economy............................... 14
Adams,
Scott. God’s Debris: A Thought Experiment
..........................................................
15
Borg, Marcus
J. and John Dominic Crossan. The Last Week: The Day-by-Day
Account of Jesus’ Last Week in Jerusalem..........................................................................
16
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Editor’s Introduction:
This is the third edition of
En Christo published by the Institute for the Study of Christian
Spirituality (ISCS), 204 Busbee Road, Knoxville, TN 37920.
James L. (Jim) Foster and John Lackey, both retired pastors, are
co-editors. Jim is also the Founder and President of the
Institute. John is co-director with Bob Rundle of The
Institute for Spirituality and Global Economics. Our intent
is to create an ongoing dialogue, with any who are interested,
about the changes in Christianity that have become increasingly
obvious since we entered the new millennium as well as the
changes that still need to happen. For now we will be using
Jim’s personal email address,
jimsandyfoster@yahoo.com, to facilitate the
dialogue,
It should
also be noted that the ideas expressed by each editor and by
other contributors are their own. The editors do not censor
each other’s writings.
Submissions of articles and
reviews and reader responses may only be sent by email
attachment to
jimsandyfoster@yahoo.com. Since we do not know all of you
personally, please include “En Christo” on the subject line, as
otherwise we may delete your email without opening it. By like
token, if you wish to be removed from our “En Christo” email
list please let us know. We do not wish to hassle you with
unwanted mail.
En Christo
is a transliteration of the koine Greek for “In Christ.”
The focus of the journal is the experience of Christian
discipleship interpreted in contemporary and non-theistic
categories. The journal is ecumenical, even interfaith, in its
outlook and seeks common ground with lovers of God of a variety
of faith traditions.
Reviews of the following books
are solicited, though other books not on the list will also be
given consideration based on their relevance to the focus of
En Christo. We are seeking books that open up new vistas in
the way we typically think about Jesus. All of the books listed
are available from Amazon.com
or Alibris.com in either new or
used copies.
Books reviewed:
As En Christo is not
endowed with funds that enable it to pay for submissions (or for
editors, for that matter), there is no remuneration offered for
submissions of any kind. Expenses incurred by contributors in
the production of their submissions are solely their
responsibility, including the purchase of books reviewed.
Dialogue
is a space given to readers to converse about the issues raised
by the editors and various other contributors to En Christo.
Readers are encouraged to email their responses to the
writings of other readers and authors of various articles and
reviews. The editors will include your responses in the next
issue. The responses must be civil in tone and display serious
intent to wrestle with the presented issues if they are to be
considered for inclusion. The editors reserve the right to edit
accepted responses for length, grammar and civility.
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Reader
Responses
Don Timmerman wrote:
Thank you so much for sending the En Christo newsletter. It is
very well done. I certainly agree with much of what you wrote.
It is so refreshing to see God written as She. It is a step in
the right direction to make the Gospels more acceptable to
women. God has no sex, as you mentioned. Thanks again. Peace,
Don
Thanks, Don. It is nice to get
positive feedback. As you might imagine, given the
controversial nature of much of the content of En Christo, I get
plenty of the other kind. Jim
Dialogue
with Jean B. Ndayizigiye, Either God or the Ego
Editor’s
note: Jean B. Ndayizigiye is a native of Burundi and a survivor
of the Rwandan/Burundian genocide. He currently resides in
Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA and is working to bring peace to
that troubled land. (Ambiguity intended)
Dear
friends, when we listen to the voice of God, He directs our
effort by telling us exactly what to do, how to do it, and
when. Unfortunately our minds are too busy by the daily
activities that we sometimes forget our reason of being. Most
of the times we struggle when it comes to listen to God. It
should be easy to listen to Him because we all emanate from
Him. We need to learn to calm our minds and come to God with a
silent mind and ask for directions.
Through
suffering and happy moments, I came across many questions:
“Where do we come from? Why are we here? What do we do here on
earth? Are we real? Do we really exist? And what is real?
In the Course in Miracles one can read: “Nothing real can be
threatened, nothing unreal exists, and herein lies the peace of
God.
When we were
born, we had only the idea of God because He created us in his
image. But in growing up we pick up the idea of “ego”. An idea
we carry with us and that tells us what we are and who we are”
Each of us has a different social and environmental background;
accordingly we have developed more or less the ego concept. The
ego dominates our thinking and daily activities. Most of the
times, it has replaced the idea of God in our mind. That is
why there is no peace around us.
The ego
keeps telling us…
-
You are your
certificate, diploma, masters, and PhD.
-
You are what
you do, you are your achievement
-
You are what
you have: houses, fancy automobiles, money, planes, and many
other riches
-
You are
disconnected from each other
-
You are
disconnected from what is missing in your life and to get what
you think is missing in your life, you have to compete with
somebody else, often at the expense of the competitors
-
You are
disconnected from God
But God, the
inner voice in us, keeps telling us: “ the ego is an idea you
have picked up in the social life. It tries to take away your
attention from ME. Don’t listen to it anymore”.
-
You are not
your certificate, diploma, masters, and PhD. Your certificates,
your diploma, your masters, your PhD. are my blessings to
achieve more to make the world you live in a better place for
the generation coming after you.
-
You are not
your achievements: you are not what you do, your achievements
are part of my glory if they are directed toward and shared with
others
-
You are not
your riches. The riches you have are the means to stretch out
your hearts and hands to reach out people in need.
-
You are not
disconnected to each other because my son Jesus-Christ came to
restore the connecting links among all my sons. My Holy Spirit
maintains that link corrosion free. Don’t be afraid.
-
There is
nothing missing in your life, I am in everything. If I am in
everything, I am also in the things you think they are missing.
Just come to me.
-
You are not
disconnected from me if you accept my Son Jesus as your personal
Savior. You are then what I am doing every day. You are to Me as
the waves are to the ocean.
I am God,
your Creator.
I am
kindness; you are my shining stars on the earth.
I am beauty;
in my image I created you, as beauty as I am.
I am genius;
you have the same capability of doing what I am doing because
you are my extension.
I am source
of abundance, so be abundance to each other.
I am
receptive to all, so be receptivity to all.
I am love,
you are love, be more love and love and more love.
Be peace.
Jean
Response to Jean by Jim
Foster, Co-editor:
Whatever one may think of the
Course in Miracles, I suspect it has had a very salutary effect
on Jean. Jean has been through suffering such as most of the
rest of us cannot imagine. To have survived the Burundian
genocide and to still proclaim that God is kindness and beauty
and love and peace is a miracle indeed. Yet the annals of
religious history are replete with such accounts of triumph over
overwhelming odds. If by miracle we mean that which is
inexplicable in any rational way, then we are not lacking for
evidence of the miraculous.
Miracles have gotten a bad rap
in modern, sophisticated societies, in part because of
charlatans who have perpetrated fraud with arranged miracles of
healing and such, but I rather think that the main reason for
our disbelief is our elevation of scientific method and
discourse to almost God-like status. The truly miraculous calls
for the exercise of Godly humility, a quality we have lost in
our headlong rush for mastery and control of everything. To be
confronted with something for which no human explanation is
available is to call into question some basic assumptions upon
which we have built our sense of self and self-control.
Lives that are radically
changed by the Spirit of God certainly fall into the realm of
miracle. They are living proof that there are some things we do
not control, some things that have only a divine explanation.
Yet, that is the promise held out by religion. At their best
all religions open up for us the possibility of experiencing
that which is beyond us. At their deepest, as in their mystical
and spiritual dimensions, religions can take us where science
and rationality can never go. It is apparent that Jean has
connected to that aspect of God deep within himself which defies
our most astute explanations. Perhaps he can help deliver the
rest of us from our illusions of
omnipotence.
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The
Inspiration of Scripture
By James L.
Foster
If you
convinced that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, or
further, that God dictated it word-for-word, and if you believe
that the Bible’s attestation of its inspiration is a valid
criteria for judging the validity of its claim or, in addition,
that the Bible’s transmission and translation has been faultless
through all of the centuries since it was originally penned, and
if you are so convinced of these claims that you are closed to
hearing evidence to the contrary, then perhaps this article is
not for you and you should move on to other articles in this
issue of En Christo. However, if your primary concern is
to discover truth wherever it may lead you, or however
uncomfortable it may make you feel, then read on. But know also
that the author of this article is coming from a place of deep
commitment both to the person of Jesus Christ and to the study
of the biblical record, a serious study that has spanned the
past 55 years.
Is the
Bible the inspired Word of God? Perhaps before answering
this question one should consider the various elements of this
statement. Those who make this claim are at least implicitly
assigning to the word “God” a personal quality that at best is
questionable. Even though the biblical writers themselves
attributed various personality characteristics to “God”, it is
apparent that they, like the rest of us, struggled to describe
that which is utterly indescribable. The biblical writers of
necessity had to resort to anthropomorphic language to describe
God because that is the only language they knew. The assertion
of the unembodied voice coming from a burning bush, whether it
was real or in a vision, proclaimed God to be “I am I am.”
(Exodus 3:14) which may come closest to a description of the
Creator of any to be found. My understanding of this seemingly
bizarre identification, is that God is whatever is, is Being
itself, as opposed to a being. Any lesser description
than this tends to be merely a magnification of what it means to
be human. We have created God in our image as a person like us,
only bigger. With this kind of anthropomorphism it is only
logical to speak of God as one who speaks, who has desires like
us, who is, on occasion offended and displays human emotions
like jealousy and anger and love. How else can we speak of God?
Even our pronouns attribute to God personhood Language fails
us when we try to speak of the ineffable.
So how
does God as Being itself communicate? And how can we know that
it is Being that is communicating? There are no easy answers,
but one can be sure it is not by long conversations carried out
between two individuals face to face as one man to another. The
biblical writer characterizes God’s communication that way
because there are no other options. However, there is
communication between Being and humankind, perhaps in the form
of ecstatic visions, both aural and visual. But when this
happens, they must still be reduced somehow to words if they are
to be shared with other human beings. But the words necessarily
must fall far short of the reality.
So how
is it that we can speak of inspiration at all? If Being does
not in itself physically speak, then where do inspired words
come from? They can only come from the inner depths of the man
or woman who has somehow touched the ineffable reality we call
God. The words first arise out of Silence and, however
inadequate a representation of Being they may be, they are then
committed to some form of human communication.
Some of
these words, in all probability, have come to be included in one
or another of the sacred writings of the world. Some have
surfaced in the writings of saints, and, occasionally they may
even be heard in a Sunday morning sermon. But none do more than
approximate the truth they seek to communicate, because the
medium can never be the equal of the reality that is its
source. God cannot be contained by words.
It also
seems rather presumptuous to me that any collection of words can
be labeled “the” word of God, as though there are no others.
Let alone the fact that all our words fall lamentably short when
it comes to communicating the ineffable, it is none the less the
case that many persons throughout history have apparently had
experiences with Being that they were compelled to try to
communicate. These persons come from every age and every
religion. They include both ancient and modern seekers whose
writings are such as are recognized by others to have some
special merit, some ring of truth. As such, their writings are
often carefully preserved in order that the truths they
enunciate may serve as a guide for future generations.
Problems
arise, however, when these writings are rewritten or translated
into other languages by persons not necessarily so inspired as
the saints who originally penned them. The processes of
transmission and translation have been shown to be rife with
errors, either intentional or accidental. This is certainly
true of the biblical writings we have today and, I suspect, is
likewise true of most, if not all, other sacred texts. There
are also demonstrable errors of fact that even the original
authors included in their writings. To enumerate all the errors
to be found in the Bible would require a book length treatise.
Whence come the errors? Did the original authors misunderstand
the messages they thought they were hearing? Or, alternatively,
did Being itself get it wrong on occasion? Not likely!
Then
there is the oft quoted biblical passage, 2 Timothy 3:16, in
which the Apostle Paul categorically states, “All scripture is
inspired by God…” This is commonly applied to both the Old and
New Testaments, in spite of the fact that the New Testament and
some of the Old Testament had not yet been written or included
in a canon, official or otherwise. There were no gospels, for
example, and no Acts of the Apostles. There may have been a
collection of Jesus’ sayings, and some of the Apostle Paul’s
letters and the Letter of James, but none of these had been
formed into a canon of scripture at the time Paul wrote to
Timothy. So what were these scriptures that he claimed were
inspired? To include Paul’s letters would seem to be a
self-serving claim. It is as though I should say of this
treatise that it is to be treated as divinely inspired
scripture. I could say it, but my saying it would not make it
so. (Self-attestation is always suspect. as a witness to truth
because of the obvious conflict of interest it presents.
Whether or not a particular writing is deigned to be inspired is
for others to decide, not the author.) What was available as
scripture when Paul wrote Timothy is the Psalms, the Torah and
some of the historical and prophetic books of the Old Testament,
though at the time of Paul’s writing even these were not
combined into a widely accepted canon.
As to
the formation of the canon in the second and third centuries CE,
the process was so fraught with power politics, that it hardly
inspires confidence that they got it right. It was not a
meditative and spiritual or even a reasoned process leading to a
well-considered conclusion. It was a contentious and sometimes
violent process through which those who had the most political
power got to have the final say. Through threats of
excommunication and imprisonment and death, unscrupulous
religious leaders with highly questionable motives decided what
writings were to be included in the official canon of
Scripture. All other writings were to be destroyed. Is this
how divine inspiration works?
Add to all
of the above the widely divergent interpretations of what has
come down to us as Scripture, and one is forced to conclude that
whatever divine truth there may be in the Christian Scriptures
may be something like the proverbial needle in a haystack That
truth may only be discerned through a process of inspired
reading not unlike the original authors may have experienced in
the process of writing. Prayerful reading of a text may not be
a guarantee of divine discernment, given our tendency to be
subjective, but openness to truth wherever it may be must
certainly be one prerequisite to finding it. With that openness
we may even find it in unexpected places and from seemingly
unlikely sources. This prescription for seeking the divine
communication, even if subjective, is still better than
uncritical acceptance of self-serving claims of inspiration.
Some Thoughts About Global Economics From a Christian
Perspective--
Series
Article
#2:
Compassionate Leadership
By John Lackey
Recently World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz was charged with
conflict of interest involving his girlfriend’s generous pay
deal. The 24-member board had to decide whether Wolfowitz “will
be able to provide the leadership” to ensure that the Bank
achieves its mission of fighting poverty around the world
through loans and grants. The
185-nation World Bank provides more than $20 billion a year for
projects that include building dams and roads, upgrading
education, and fighting diseases. (Reported in the Knoxville
News-Sentinel and Associated Press releases)
Obviously, organizations like the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund are invaluable tools for eradicating
world poverty. But Wolfowitz illustrates what happens if those
who head such organizations are not so compassionate for the
world’s poor that they cannot rise above self-interests and
greed.
We are reminded of Jesus’ saying, “Truly I tell you, it will be
hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I
tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom”
(Matthew 19:23, 24). This is so, says the Christian perspective,
because we humans have a bent toward centering our lives in our
selves. We are so easily governed by our self-interests, which
easily degenerate into greed. That’s why Jesus said, “Truly I
say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will
never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:2). We humans
need conversion or transformation if we are to become truly
human. We need changed persons to head institutions like the
World Bank—men and women who have demonstrated genuine
compassion for the poor that is greater than the temptation to
act on self-interests.
On Loving
with the Love of Jesus--
Series Article No. 3
Love Is a
Commission
By James
L. Foster
“This is my
commandment, that you love one another as I have loved
you.”—Jesus
How has
Jesus loved us? The answer to this question is one we can
contemplate but never exhaust, because it is a Love measured by
eternity, a Love unnumbered by days. It is a Love given in
total freedom, unlike most human loves which are often driven by
self-interest. Self, alone, it seems, rather fears most that
Love by which it may be redeemed, by which we may be forgiven.
However, the Love of God through Jesus Christ ignores our
willfulness and becomes for us a royal rod disciplining our
selfishness. The Love of Jesus makes real to us the Love of the
Creator God, sealing us forever in his all-sufficient atoning
grace.
But Jesus Love extends even beyond its expressions of saving
grace, though to be freed from the legitimate consequences of
our sin is no small thing. It enables new life on a higher
plane. It is Christ in us, alive, unbounded, uncontrived,
transforming both others and us by his presence in us. It is a
Love that calls forth our unspoken dreams and forms within us a
hope of it own designing. It is such a Love as opens to us
eternal vistas and enables us to touch the Invisible. It is a
Love that God alone ordains.
To be conquered by the Love of Jesus is to become aware of new
possibilities for our own participation in the Life of God.
“Hereby perceive we the Love of God, because he laid down his
life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren”
(I John 3:16).
Jesus enlarges on his command to love “as I have loved you” as
follows:
“Greater
Love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends” (John 15:12). But, we may ask, what kind of love is it
that responds to another simply out of a sense of duty? If we
are simply obeying the Divine law, what virtue is there in it?
Should not Love proceed from heart-desire rather than from
legalistic obedience?
The word in question here is “commandment,”
translated from the Greek word entole’ by most modern
biblical translations. Entole’, however, may be just as
legitimately translated as “injunction,” “charge,” “commission,”
and “precept.” If, in fact, Jesus had intended to dictate a law
demanding strict adherence, he had available two other terms
which would not have been given to such ambiguity—“epitage,”
a command or mandate given by a person in authority, and the
still more concrete dia’tagma, an authoritative edict as
in Hebrews 11:23, “By faith Moses was hidden by his parents…and
they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
In as much as Jesus chose entole’, and given the nature
of agape’ Love as a chosen, gifted, way of life, it is
reasonable to assume that “charge” or “commission” better
conveys his intended meaning. “ This is my charge to you, that
you love one another..." or “I commission you to love one
another.” The latter term also carries with it a sense of
enablement in keeping with the nature of agape’.
What does it mean to be commissioned to love as Jesus has loved
us? It means that we are committed to living out the Love of
God just as surely as was Jesus. It means that we take up his
ministry of Love and that, like Him, we give our lives in Love.
To receive Jesus’ commission is to take up his work where he
left off, to continue it in the same way, with the same
empowerment and, remarkably, with the same identity. It was not
just happenstance that his followers early on were called
“Christians”—little Christs—in Antioch of Syria.
Contrary to the understanding of many fundamentalist and
evangelical Christians, we are not so much called to
relationship with Jesus as to identity with him. Whereas he was
“the light of the world” (John 9:5), we are now “the light of
the world” (Matthew 5:14). Whereas initially “all the fullness
of the Father” dwelt in Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:19), by
virtue of the love of Christ we can now be “filled with all the
fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). It is into Christ we come by
believing (John 3:16). And it is the suffering and the joy of
Christ, himself, in which we participate (I Peter 4:13).
Finally, it is his divine nature of which we partake (I Peter
1:4). In short, what Jesus is commissioning us to is a real and
mystical participation in himself, the continuation of his
living, loving presence here and now in our physical beings.
This is not a call to give up our uniqueness. We are each
unique forms of Jesus. This does not make us less, but rather
enlarges our vision of who and how great Jesus is. To the
extent that we individually and corporately “faith” into him, to
that extent we are him and his expression of himself is
enlarged.
Jesus says that “whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will
I do….” (John 14:13). For the first century Hebrew to whom this
was originally addressed, a person’s name was held to be
virtually identical with his or her identity. Thus, the only
way a person might legitimately ask anything “in Jesus name” is
by sharing in that identity. When we ask, it is Jesus asking,
because we, in our union with him, have taken on his identity.
Likewise, when he suffers, we suffer; when he loves, we love;
when he rejoices, we rejoice—and vice versa. We are in him,
little Christs, and are thereby committed to that same ministry
of agape’ Love to which he was committed in his life as Jesus of
Nazareth.
The Apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians,
stated that “we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror
the demonstrated presence of the Lord, are metamorphosed (Greek,
metamorphu, transfigured) into the same image from one
demonstration of his presence to another, even as by the Spirit
of the Lord” (3:18). God is about the business of restoring his
image in us. He is doing it through his first born, Jesus
Christ, through whose Love we are called—relentlessly called—to
be Love. This is our commission. It is by Love that we were
born to be Love, transformed, transfigured, metamorphosed into
that expression of God himself we were meant from the beginning
to be.
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Book
Reviews:
Editor’s
note: The following two books were chosen from among reviews
written some years ago for a print edition of En Christo because
each one, in its own way, points to opposite ends of the
Christian theological spectrum. Sometimes, in reading so many
books on spirituality, I feel tossed and pulled between
different approaches to living the Christian life. This has
been especially true in the preparation of the following two
reviews for publication in this issue of
En Christo.
For St; John of the Cross, the spiritual journey is one of
darkness, emptiness, suffering, death and nothingness. It is a
way of self-denial, crucifixion, and abandonment to the will of
God. Emotions, will and desires are emptied to make space for
God.
In contrast
the second book reviewed below illuminates a spirituality of
blessing, creativity, birthing, gratitude and oneness with all.
The focus is on life instead of death; creating, not denying;
fullness, not emptiness; and joy, not suffering. As I read each
book, I recognized the truth of each. In all honesty, I fear
the truth of the first, and wish that such were not a requisite
for the journey, though I know it is. I am carried away by the
second, as it helps me touch and release some deep hidden truths
I already knew but could never find a place for in my religious
life.
How does one
discover, choose, or create a spiritual path? Serious and
committed seekers have been led, I believe by God’s Spirit, on
different ways. I can almost never say, “This is
the
way, better than all others.” I can usually see the truth in
the arguments for each perspective. In reading the beatitudes
in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount I am struck by their paradoxical
nature. “Happy are those who mourn.” “The meek shall inherit
the earth.” Even St. John of the Cross eventually arrived at a
place of joy in his life. Christ is the great reconciler of
opposites. The two seemingly opposing spiritualities are each
part of one whole. Perhaps some people are called to one, while
others are called to another. More likely, they may represent
different seasons in our lives. “For everything there is a
time.” By nature, we may be more inclined to one, but for
balance, for wholeness, we must respond to each call. All
creation, blessed and fallen, weeping and rejoicing, is redeemed
and reconciled and brought together in harmony
en Christo.
Arraj,
James. St. John of the Cross and Dr. C. G. Jung: Christian
Mysticism in the Light of Jungian Psychology. (Chiloquin,
OR, Inner Growth Books, 1988), 199 pages.
This
life-giving book aspires to help lay foundations for “a renewal
of the life of prayer and a practical science of spiritual
direction.” It is written by James Arraj, who with Tyra Arraj,
is a writer, craftsperson, homesteader in the Oregon wilderness
and co-editor of Inner Growth Books. He gives us a good look
at the processes of individuation and contemplative prayer. The
material covered is often difficult and complex yet meticulously
researched and clearly articulated.
The three
major parts of this work are: Jung’s psychology and Christian
faith, the dawn of contemplation, and a psychological light on
St. John of the Cross and the life of prayer. The first two
parts attempt to resolve misgivings about the compatibility of
Jung’s psychology and Christian faith, and a long-standing
misinterpretation of St. John’s doctrine of contemplation. The
final section outlines the relationship between individuation
(as understood by Jung) and contemplation (as understood by St.
John).
Part one is
an introduction to Carl Jung and his lifelong desire to come to
grips with meaning, religion and God. Arraj writes, “A
psychology like his shakes our sense of being experts about who
we are and challenges us to a journey from ego-consciousness
into the unconscious in order to find a deeper and truer self.”
Arraj pays particular attention to the process of individuation,
“an inner movement towards psychic develop-ment, “ and “the
journey to a proper balance between the ego and the
unconscious.” Pragmatically, Jung found that it was essential
for the well being of his patients to rediscover a religious,
meaning-full perspective for living. This meant that “the ego
had to experience something beyond itself and even submit itself
to the healing powers that come from the unconscious.” And so
Jung could talk about a “psychological cure of souls.” Yet Jung
felt that he could not distinguish between the experience of God
and the experience of the unconscious, and took pains to say
that he could not presume to talk about God as God is, but only
about the image of God within humanity. Arraj does a thorough
job of examining Jung’s philosophical and cultural premises and
summarizes: “Jung’s statements on the scope of our ability to
know should be interpreted only in relationship to his natural
science of the psyche, and not extended to philosophy and
theology. Once the distinction is made between the essence of
his work and the context it developed in, the way is open to
employ it as an instrument in Christian theology.” Arraj has
synthesized two extreme positions here: confusing Jung’s
psychology as a substitute for theology and rejecting it
altogether as a threat to Christian faith.
Part two is
an introduction to the person and thought of St. John of the
Cross, born three centuries earlier than the Swiss Jung, in
Castilian Spain. Like Jung’s work, St. John’s formulations on
contemplation are to be experienced and practiced, not merely
grappled with intellectually. For instance, what St. John
called “infused contemplation” meant a real, abiding experience
of union with God in daily life. Impacted strongly by both
poverty and family love, St. John (born Juan de Yepes) entered a
Carmelite monastery at age 21. After being ordained a priest,
he was on the verge of leaving the order for one more austere
when he met St Teresa of Avila, who had already initiated a
reform among the sisters. She persuaded him to stay and help
her in this new work. It was while on an extended stay at her
convent, as both confessor and spiritual director that St. John
was kidnapped by friars who deeply opposed his reform. He was
imprisoned in Toledo, brutally treated and feared for his life
during these eight months. It was in this context, in 1577,
that he underwent his “dark night of the soul” out of which much
of his magnificent poetry was born. After escaping, he wrote
his major works: Ascent of Mt. Carmel and Dark
Night of the Soul, masterpieces of the interior life. In
these he develops his concept of “infused contemplation --a
concept central to Arraj’s concern—a phenomenon independent of
the will of the person who receives it, a divine gift. In
con-templation a person knows God “not as an object or thing
about which something is known, but simply as a whole, a
subject. God is present to him in a way analogous to the way he
is present to himself.”
It was
perhaps twenty years later that the term “acquired
contemplation” began to appear in Carmelite writing. Claiming
to be congruent with the thought of St. John, “acquired
contemplation is an act of will in “an affectionate and sincere
knowledge of God and his effects which is gained by our own
industry.” Arraj writes insightfully, “Acquired contemplation
is rowing the boat, while infused contemplation is having the
wind fill the sails and drive it along.” He counsels us to
acknowledge that “infused contemplation” is at the heart of St.
John’s teachings, and it is to the relationship between it and
individuation that he turns next.
Part three
turns to a psychological look at St. John of the Cross,
identified as an introverted, intuitive type. After his
life-threatening prison experience, St John emerged a
transformed person. Successfully and fruitfully shouldering
many responsibilities (which went against his natural
inclinations), he spoke and wrote freely about what was most
important to him. Seeing the world through new eyes, he found
that the “physical beauty of the earth had become a symbol of
the spiritual journey “ for him. Both his subsequent poetry and
his prose came to reflect the power of his mystical experiences
and his ongoing process of individuation, an ever-broadening
path of integration and joy.
Arraj’s
chapter on psychic energy and contemplation is particularly
strong. He concludes, “It would be precipitous to conclude
either contemplation represents some kind of individuation or it
is the result of the resolution of these tensions of psychic
energy. At the same time it would be a valuable undertaking if
the contemplative life could be examined from the point of view
of Jung’s psychology.” He points especially to the
transformations of psychic energy that occur on the spiritual
journey. He rightly indicates the lack of spiritual direction
available (“explicit guidance in how to progress in the life of
prayer”), indicating that the most fruitful path of development
is under the guidance of St. John, with help from Carl Jung.
James Arraj
has made a good beginning at reflecting on Christian mysticism
in the light of Jung’s work. His book is going to be important
for all of us who, like him, consider the magnum opus to
be a “renewal of the religious life of the west.” This is not
light reading. He bogs down in a few places in his attention to
detail; he exclusively uses the male pronoun in his writing.
Yet his intelligence and faithfulness shine through each
chapter. His own journey through the book reflects the words of
St. John:
I went
without discerning
And with no
other light
Except for
that which in my heart was burning.
Linda
Kusse-Wolfe, reviewer
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lauck,
Marcia S. and Deborah Koff Chapin. At the Pool of Wonder:
Dreams and Visions of an Awakening Humanity. (Santa Fe,
NM: Bear & Company, 1989), 113 8½ x 11 pages.
For those of
us who have not given up hope for humanity, this book, a
cooperative effort between author and artist, will encourage
that hope. For those who do not know whether to hope or not,
Lauck and Koff-Chapin may influence you to expect better things
than you may have experienced. If your theology is that
humankind is hell bent and is not going to get any better, then
you may well be turned off by the deep visionary experiences of
these two women.
Marcia
Lauck, member of a contemplative community in San Jose,
California, has recorded here, with little interpretation, 21
dreams that are replete with archetypal images such as the
jaguar, the Goddess, the First Mother, the Rock, and the Native
American image of the Firebird. In that last dream, the
Firebird is heard to say, “You who seek to embody the sacredness
of God’s creation in everyday life are, collectively, a womb in
which the embryo of a new civilization has taken root. The
disciplines you have observed and practiced, deeming them
necessary for the birth of a new vision of humanity, are those
which are the genetic building blocks of the firebird.”
Introducing
another of her dreams, Lauck observes “there is a sweeping
awareness that every single moment of our lives from birth to
death is part of a great ceremony, a celebration, a liturgy of
life. Our work is to waken to the wonder of it, to meet it
consciously every day.” And so she does, apparently not only in
her daylight hours, but in her nighttime visions as well. That
there is such congruence is not surprising in that our dreams
reflect, among other things, our waking thoughts. But one
suspects—hopes—that in these dreams there may also be an element
of the collective unconscious. If so, they speak a reassuring
word indeed that from the deep springs of God’s human creation,
there may yet erupt that basic goodness with which we were
created.
Aside from
the messages of life and hope that come through the dreams, they
may be seen as fascinating examples of archetypal images in
dreams, imagery interpreted in the dreams themselves. They are
thus a helpful resource for understanding similar images in our
dreams.
Deborah
Koff-Chapin’s “touch drawings” (a painting technique described
in an Afterword) are remarkably supportive of Lauck’s dreams,
even though they were done independently with no knowledge of
the dreams. Her paintings are paired with the dreams and evoke
many of the same archetypal images contained in the accompanying
dreams. Her artwork could just as well stand by itself, and
does in exhibitions and other publications.
The vision
of a new humanity this collaboration brings to us may well point
us to a new vision of Christianity, a Christianity that calls us
to live into the mystery of God’s incarnation in each one of us,
a vision as much needed today as it was when the book was
written almost 20 years ago.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chuck Collins and Mary Wright. The Moral Measure of the
Economy. (Maryknoll,
NY: Orbis Books, 2007), 222 pages, paperback.
There is a warm debate in America about whether faith has a
place in the public arena. Many argue that politics and religion
should be kept separate in public debates. Collins and Wright
take the position that when religion is restricted to the
private sphere, political issues are no longer moral issues. We
are then on the way to becoming a dehumanized nation governed by
the self-interests of the rich and powerful.
The authors of The Moral Measure of the Economy do us a
much-needed service by spelling out the traditional teaching
about what makes a political issue a moral choice. That is,
Christian faith (and the other great religious traditions)
teaches that “human life is made sacred by its transcendent
worth...thus all humans must be respected with reverence...In
our inter-actions with others, we should approach one another
with ‘a sense of awe that arises in the presence of something
holy and sacred’...The dignity and sacredness of the human
person is the yardstick against which all aspects of economic
life must be measured.” So it is that justice becomes a basic
value, and “justice is measured by how we treat the most
powerless people in the society.” The common good becomes the
goal of that society. Political issues are then moral choices
because we are each sacred, born with inherent worth and
dignity. For example, “when we assume that economic issues exist
outside of human values and judgments, we dismiss poverty with
‘It’s not the fault of the economy...too bad for them...As long
as it is not in my immediate family, it is not my problem.’”
Surely such attitudes don’t build the kind of nation we all
want!
But, say Collins and Wright, that’s what happens when we
separate religion and politics in the public arena. This
valuable reminder of the religious estimate of human worth as
the basis of moral choices is found in chapter two.
On pages 21-32, the authors offer an excellent set of ten rules
that make for economic justice for all. (drawn from the U.S.
Bishops letter on Economic Justice). Then they compare Gospel
values and Market values and find Market values wanting. Market
values do not recognize the sacred, and individuals are reduced
to “worker, owner, and consumer.” In the Market “everything
is for sale, including air, water, human body organs, sacred
burial grounds, outer space, and more.” In the Market there is
nothing sacred about Creation and the natural environment.
The authors then describe what kind of country we are becoming
under this Market system. They show how Market values and the
power of Corporations are causing the abuse of human rights in
poor countries.
On pp. 120f, they provide the Christian perspective on the issue
that is currently such a hot issue in the U.S.--immigration. In
chapter eight, the authors point us to current experiments in
the building of alternative economic institutions that embody
Gospel principles. In the last two chapters they outline
specific ways each of us can participate in creating an economy
that “minimizes human suffering and promotes human dignity.”
This book is an important, sound, and readable contribution for
all who wish to under-stand the economic system in which all of
us are participants and what to do about it.
Reviewed by John R. Lackey
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adams,
Scott. God’s Debris: A Thought Experiment. (Kansas
City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2001), 137 pages.
Scott Adams
is the creator of cartoon character Dilbert. But this is not a
work of humor, though it is a work of fiction. As Mr. Adams has
not claimed ownership of the ideas expressed in this story, but
rather attributes them to the main character, a Mr. Avatar, the
reviewer has chosen to address his remarks to Mr. Avatar. Mr.
Adams is, of course free to respond in Mr. Avatar’s behalf
should he choose to do so.
Dear Mr. Avatar
I am sending
this open letter to you by way of Mr. Scott Adams since I do not
have your email address. The fact is that I doubt if you even
have one. I am writing in response to your conversation with
him as it is recorded in a small book of his titled God’s
Debris: A Thought Experiment, published in 2004 by Andrews
McMeel Publishing of Kansas City.
I find your
concept of God as an expression of probability interesting but
improbable. It may be that that I am just looking for something
a bit more, or a lot more, comprehensive than probability.
However, I
do not buy into the theology that God is a person, either It
rather seems to me that what the human race has done is created
a God in its own image, like us only bigger. We have made of
God a Being with a capital B but none-the-less, a being.
This is fraught with all kinds of difficulties, many arising out
of our efforts to describe this Being. (1) One problem is that
no description can adequately encompass the whole of God. When
we try to describe God we inevitably engage in reductionism,
describing something less than God. (2) Whose description are
we going to buy into? Our efforts to describe God generally
bring us into conflict with each other. We are pitting God
against God as it were. (3) Our descriptions are typically, and
perhaps necessarily, anthropomorphic since those are the only
applicable words we have to describe an entity whom we have
chosen to categorize as a person.
Oddly
enough, the way of thinking about God that has been most
satisfying to me has been in terms of Being, not a Being, but
Being itself. As Being God finds expression in all of Creation,
including the microscopic and the macroscopic, every atom and
every galaxy, and in you and me. As I gather from your
discussion with Mr. Adams, you, too, believe that we are God
stuff. The irony is that perhaps the use of anthropomorphic
language to speak of God may be acceptable, but only if we mean
it quite literally and apply it to the whole of creation. As
part of the whole, a rock really does reveal God, as does a
flower and a briar. You and I also reveal God, though I admit
that in some instances our revealing of God is not particularly
flattering to God.
At one point
early on in the quasi pre-history of the Jewish nation, God is
thought to have said essentially what I have said above. God is
quoted as saying out of a burning bush that he is “I am I am.”
The only sense I can make of that is that “God is what
is”—Being.
As I
indicated in my first sentence, this is an open letter and thus
will be published in the online journal, En Christo: A
Journal for a New Christianity. Any response you wish to
make to these observations will likewise be published, unless
you indicate that it should be treated confidentially.
Thank you
for provoking me to write. Give my regards to Mr. Adams.
Jim Foster,
reviewer
Note to the
readers of the above letter: Mr. Avatar addresses many subjects
in God’s Debris – free will, genuine belief, God’s
consciousness, evolution, reincarnation, science, delusion – to
name a few. But the thread that runs through the entire story
is the equation of “probability” (that he says is omnipotent and
omnipresent) with “God.” He has given us a good many ideas with
which to wrestle, and in this lies the justification of the
sub-title, “A Thought Experiment.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Borg, Marcus
J. and John Dominic Crossan.
The Last Week: the Day-By-Day Account of Jesus’ Final Week in
Jerusalem.
(New York:
HarperSanFrancisco, ©2006), 220 pages, including notes; 1st
ed., hardcover.
It is
difficult for me to read books about the Bible, because I bring
so much of my own history and education to the experience, and
because I tend to look for direct applications of Biblical
stories to my life and times. So when I began Borg’s and
Crossan’s exegesis of Jesus’ last week, as told in Mark’s
Gospel, with a definition of domination systems, I knew I would
have to struggle to stay focused on their story.
Briefly
stated, Mark’s Gospel tells the story of a peasant who directly
confronts the domination system of his time, and suffers the
logical consequences of that system’s processes. Borg and
Crossan describe “domination system” as “shorthand for the most
common form of social system … in preindustrial agrarian
societies.” Its principal characteristics were political
oppression, economic exploitation, and religious legitimization,
and it was normal development for civilizations. (p.7-8)
Jerusalem was the center from which the Romans and the Temple
authorities controlled Palestine for their mutual benefit.
The Roman
governor traditionally came to Jerusalem during Jewish holidays,
to assert imperial supremacy and provide crowd control, if
needed. Knowing this, Mark sets Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as a
deliberate counterpoint to Pontius Pilate’s simultaneous entry
on the other side of the city. In effect, he juxtaposes the
Kingdom of God against the Roman Empire. The following day,
Jesus enters the Temple and overturns the vendors’ tables,
setting God’s justice and righteousness against the priests’
exploitation and corruption. And so we follow, day-by-day,
Mark’s story of Jesus’ week in Jerusalem.
Confronting
domination systems is one theme in Mark; the other is death and
resurrection. Following Jesus on the way means living God’s
justice in an unjust world. It means walking with him towards
death and resurrection. The underlying premise is that God’s
kingdom is here, now, and the disciples’ job is to live in it,
rather than within the constraints of the domination system.
There is a
great deal more to this book than a short review can touch on.
The Bible embodies so many strands: history, politics,
revelation, religion… and so many genres: narrative, poetry,
chronicle, parable…. They do a good job separating the strands
and clarifying the relationship of each to the others and to the
context. They interweave Mark’s story with its background and
their interpretation of events. They address the importance of
factual truth and of parable in Mark’s time, and contrast that
with our tendency to regard non-factual narratives as untrue.
There is a great deal on the significance of Jerusalem; there
are many comparisons with the other Gospel stories and with
Paul’s writings. There is considerable discussion of Mark’s
time, place, and audience.
That Jesus
cared so passionately about God’s justice and compassion for all
people that he was willing to stand up to the might of the Roman
Empire and accept the logical consequences forces me to look at
my life and ask if I have such a passion for anything.
This brings
me back to my initial statement that it’s hard to set aside my
own lenses and stick rigorously to Borg’s and Crossan’s
interpretation of Mark’s story. But, ultimately, isn’t the point
of the Gospels to make us confront our relationship to God and
to God’s world in our time?
Christianity
is an intensely personal religion, even when practiced with
elaborate ceremonies. Ultimately, the Christian has to answer
two questions: Do you accept Jesus as your personal Lord and
Savior? And: What are you going to do about it? Or, as Borg and
Crossan ask it: Do you accept Jesus as your political Lord and
Savior? (p.215)
I found
The Last Week an affirmation of my commitment to
non-violence and resistance to anything that incorporates
violence into our common life. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on
Palm Sunday is just one example of his admirable chutzpah. This
counter-procession and his subsequent teaching in the Temple
presented a way of non-violence and justice, a way opposed to
empire, a way open to all equally. That includes me. Now, once
more, I need to consider what I’m going to “do about it.” How
can I confront the present system with the Good News of God’s
justice, love, and reconciliation? The Last Week doesn’t
provide answers, but it offers an opportunity to deepen our
understanding of Jesus and his message and, consequently, choose
again to follow him in the way.
Victoria
Medaglia, Reviewer
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Book Sale:
As both a service to our readers and a means of support for
En Christo, any of the books
reviewed or listed for future review may be ordered using this
order form.
Books
Reviewed in this or previous issues:
Adams,
Scott. God’s Debris: A Thought Experiment. (Kansas
City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2001), 137 pages. Reviewed in
EC Vol. 1, #3.
Amaladoss,
Michael. The Asian Jesus. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis
Books, 2006; 180 pp, including Endnotes, Bibliography, and
Indexes. Reviewed in
EC Vol. 1,
#2.
Arraj,
James. St. John of the Cross and Dr. C. G. Jung: Christian
Mysticism in the Light of Jungian Psychology. (Chiloquin,
OR, Inner Growth Books, 1988), 199 pages. Reviewed in EC Vol. 1,
#3.
Boff,
Leonardo. Passion of Christ, Passion of the World.
English translation by Robert R. Barr. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis
Books, 1987. 141 pages, paperback. Reviewed in
EC Vol. 1, #2.
Borg, Marcus
J. and John Dominic Crossan.
The Last Week: the Day-By-Day Account of Jesus’ Final Week in
Jerusalem.
(New York:
HarperSanFrancisco, ©2006), 220 pages, hardcover. Reviewed in
EC Vol. 1, #3.
Campolo,
Anthony. The Power Delusion. Wheaton, IL: Victor
Books Division of S P Publications, Inc., 1983). EC Vol. 1,
#1.
Collins, Chuck and Mary Wright. The Moral Measure of the
Economy. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2007), 222 pages,
paperback. Reviewed in EC Vol. 1, #3.
Dorr, Donal.
Spirituality and Justice. New York: Orbis, 1985.
264 pages, paperback. Reviewed in
EC Vol. 1,
#2.
Lauck,
Marcia S. and Deborah Koff Chapin. At the Pool of Wonder:
Dreams and Visions of an Awakening Humanity. (Santa Fe,
NM: Bear & Company, 1989), 113 8½ x 11 pages. Reviewed in EC
Vol. 1, #3.
Nouwen,
Henri. The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey.
(New York: Doubleday, 1988), 228 pages. Reviewed in EC Vol. 1,
#1.
Rubenstein,
Richard E. When Jesus Became God: The Epic Fight over
Christ’s Divinity in the Last Days of Rome (New York:
Harcourt Brace & Company, 1999, 267 pages Reviewed in EC Vol. 1,
#2.
Spong, John
Shelby. A New Christianity for a New World: Why Traditional
Faith Is Dying and How a New Faith Is Being Born. (New
York: Harper San Francisco, 2000), ISBN: 0-06-067084-3
(hardcover), 255 pages, paperback. Reviewed in EC Vol. 1, #2.
Taylor,
Daniel. The Myth of Certainty: The Reflective Christian and
the Risk of Commitment (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1987),
198 pp. Reviewed in EC Vol. 1, #1.
Books slated
for review in future issues of En Christ:
Apel,
William and Paul M. Pearson. Signs of Peace: The Interfaith
Letters of
Thomas
Merton.
Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2006
Baigent,
Michael. The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest
Cover-Up in History. New York: Harper San Francisco,
2005, 2007
Borg, Marcus
J. The God We Never Knew. (New York: Harper San
Francisco, 2006)
Borg, Marcus
J. The Heart of Christianity: Recovering a Life of Faith.
(New York: Harper San Francisco, 2004)
Borg, Marcus
J. Jesus, A New Vision: Spirit, Culture, and the Life of
Discipleship. (New York: Harper San
Francisco, New York: Harper San Francisco, 1991)
Borg, Marcus
J. Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Relevance of
a Religious Revolutionary. ((New York:
Harper San Francisco, 2007)
Borg, Marcus
J. Living the Heart of Christianity: A Guide to Putting Your
Faith Into Action. (New York: Harper San
Francisco, 2006)
Borg, Marcus
J. Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical
Jesus & the Heart of Contemporary Faith. (New York: Harper
San Francisco, 1994)
Borg, Marcus
J. Reading the Bible Again for the First Time:
Taking the Bible Seriously but Not Literally.
(New York: Harper San Francisco, 2002)
Borg, Marcus
J. and N. T Wright. The Meaning of Jesus. (New York:
Harper San Francisco, 2002)
Braden,
Gregg. The God Code: The Secret of Our Past, the Promise of
Our Future. (Carlsbad, California:
Hay House, Inc., 2004)
Brown,
Deborah A., ed. Christianity in the 21st Century.
(New York: The Crossroad Publishing Co., 2000)
Brown,
Robert McAfee. Kairos: Three Prophetic Challenges to the
Church. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1990)
Delos,
Andrew C. Myths We Live By: From the Times of Jesus and
Paul. (2006)
Dorrien,
Gary. Soul in Society: The Making and Renewal of Social
Christianity. (Minneapolis: Fortress
Press, 1995)
Ehrman, Bart
D. Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture
and Faiths We Never Knew. (Oxford/New York:
Oxford University Press, 2003)
Ehrman, Bart
D. Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the
New Testament. (Oxford/New
York: Oxford University Press, 2003)
Ehrman, Bart
D. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed
the Bible and Why. (New York: Harper San
Francisco, 2005, 2007)
Evans,
Craig. Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort
the Gospels. (Intervarsity Press, 2006
Fox,
Matthew. One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing
from Global Faiths. (New York:
Tarcher/Penguin, 2000)
Funk, Robert
W. Honest to Jesus: Jesus for a New Millennium.
(New York: Harper San Francisco, 1996)
Gallagher, Vincent A.
The True
Cost of Low Prices: The Violence of Globalization. (Maryknoll,
NY: Orbis Books, 2006)
Griffith-Jones, Robin. The Four Witnesses: The Rebel, The
Rabbi, the Chronicler, and the Mystic. (New York:
Harper San Francisco, 2000)
Hamilton,
William. A Quest for the Post-Historical Jesus. (New
York: Continuum, 1994)
Harpur, Tom.
The Pagan Christ: Recovering the Lost Light.
(Toronto: Thomas Allen Publishers, 2004)
Horsley,
Richard A. Jesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God
and the New World Disorder. (Minneapolis: Fortress
Press, 2002)
Jenkins,
Philip. The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global
Christianity. (Oxford/New
York: Oxford University Press, 2002)
Krosney,
Herbert and Bart D. Ehrman. The Lost Gospel: The Quest for
the Gospel of Judas Iscariot. (Washington,
D.C.: National Geographic, 2006)
McLaren,
Brian D. The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth
that Could Change Everything. (Nashville, TN: W
Publishing Group, 2006)
Nelson-Pallmeyer, Jack. Jesus Against Christianity:
Reclaiming the Missing Jesus.
(Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2001)
Nolan,
Albert. Jesus Today: A Spirituality of Radical Freedom.
((Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books,
2006)
Pagels,
Elaine. The Gnostic Paul: Gnostic Exegesis of the
Pauline Letters. (Philadelphia, PA:
Trinity Press International, 1992, paperback)
Ranke-Heinemann,
Uta. Putting Away Childish Things: The Virgin Birth,
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Appendix:
WORLD
CITIZENSHIP CREED
As a citizen
of the world...
I BELIEVE in
the dignity of all humanity, that each person is a being of
supreme worth.
I BELIEVE in
the wholeness of the human race, undivided by economic,
cultural, racial, sexual or national differences.
I BELIEVE
in the stewardship of life and resources to the end that all may
mutually benefit from the earth's bounty and that no person may
have to go without food or shelter.
I BELIEVE in
the primacy of human relationships as a person committed and
responsible to other persons, regardless of their economic
status, race, creed or nationality.
I BELIEVE in
the global community, interdependent and mutually responsible
for our physical and social environments.
I BELIEVE
that we are One World and affirm that I am a citizen of this
world. My allegiance to it and its people, my brothers and
sisters, is primary over all other political entities.
I AM,
therefore, committed to the promotion and care of the whole of
humanity without partiality or prejudice and with such resources
as I have at my command, both within and without.
I HEREWITH
AFFIRM that I wish, as much as I possibly can, to base my
actions on my beliefs and thus contribute to a world where
justice and compassion rule and where greed and hatred are
diminished.
ХР
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