Not having attended BCUCC in a while, I was drawn last night to study Chapter 14, "Nonfiction vs. Fiction vs. Cosmic Illusion". Bra~Brah~Dum! It turned out that was what we were to read....
We right away spoke of our answers to the author's pop quiz, a series of paragraphs we were to categorize as either fiction or nonfiction:
"All the quiz was nonfiction." - Rose Bailey
"The author's message was to point out that writing isn't necessarily fiction or nonfiction." -Pastor Dan
"Only science & math approach is nonfiction." - Tom Ward
"Only science & math approach finds truths, not necessarily solutions." -Pete Bailey
"Yeah! I'm enthralled by to find out the latest science. Check out - www.sciencedaily.com/ Scientific truths are all hypotheses, as we don't know all like the Creator does." -Day Murti
(Hmm... Is there a Creator? We digressed to question the retired Cambridge University physics professor Steven Hawking recent assertion that a Creator wasn't required for the Universe to occur. Find out more at - www.huffingtonpost.com/karl-giberson-phd/hawkings-speculation-ever_b_703374.html)
Pastor Dan brought the group back to the book, noting "It is human to want facts and clarity, but the reality is that there is a lot of mystery. We create mysteries and then we try to solve them. The author of "God Laughs & Plays" is intrigued by the Christian paradox that by losing your life, you gain everlasting life."
There was a long discussion of the conflict provoked by a Gainesville Florida pastor burning Korans. Check out David Horsey's insightful cartoon - blog.seattlepi.com/davidhorsey/archives/220875.asp
NEXT WEEK: Chapter 15, "Assailed - Improvisations in the key of cosmology"
NEXT BOOK: is authored by UCC pastor John Indermark and will be passed out next Sunday.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Adult Spirituality Group Notes: 7/11/10
Today, we brought up more questions than answers relating to Chapter 4 reading, "When Compassion Becomes Dissent":
- Upon the pastor's inquiry, we sought to unveil the best bible discussions of compassion and decided that the "Love Your Neighbor as yourself" quote reflected most clearly Jesus' views on compassion.
We talk in church about how to influence society with Christ's teachings:
1. We agreed that it is hard to sort out a "truth" in anything nowadays in this multi-paradigm global culture. We debated the question of whether possible to do anything positive for good in the world nowadays given the complexity. It was so much more clear earlier....
2. Given that there is so much that can and needs to be done in the world and everything is controlled by the battle over resources, why not restart a global Marshall Plan (rebuilding plan from World War 2) currently?
3. "We have to keep going in the direction of hope, not destruction." (Rose)
4. "We need to all hug trees!" (Day)
5. "We wouldn't have all these problems if we had education."
* Read Chapter 5 (p. 77) "Ashes & Dirt" to discuss next week.
- Upon the pastor's inquiry, we sought to unveil the best bible discussions of compassion and decided that the "Love Your Neighbor as yourself" quote reflected most clearly Jesus' views on compassion.
We talk in church about how to influence society with Christ's teachings:
1. We agreed that it is hard to sort out a "truth" in anything nowadays in this multi-paradigm global culture. We debated the question of whether possible to do anything positive for good in the world nowadays given the complexity. It was so much more clear earlier....
2. Given that there is so much that can and needs to be done in the world and everything is controlled by the battle over resources, why not restart a global Marshall Plan (rebuilding plan from World War 2) currently?
3. "We have to keep going in the direction of hope, not destruction." (Rose)
4. "We need to all hug trees!" (Day)
5. "We wouldn't have all these problems if we had education."
* Read Chapter 5 (p. 77) "Ashes & Dirt" to discuss next week.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Adult Spirituality Group Notes: (6/27/10)
Today, the group discussed the chapter, "Unsaying the word of God":
--"We humans learn best when we can relate new knowledge to what we already know." (Rose) When we try to frame God through out word symbols, humans often have a tendency to become dogmatic and fundamentalist, boxed in by our own thoughts. When we approach God, we should use intuition to not limit and become bound by the thoughts we use to learn about God. For this reason, Francis (dark-haired) remarked that "The book's author, David James Duncan, takes a Dr. Seuss approach to diagnosing the contemporary American spirit."* Our group feels that BCUCC is different than the churches that Duncan is critical of. "BCUCC gives confidence in your faith because it expands your thinking, giving windows, not walls." (Rose)
* We do not feel our church is that unique in this regard. "There is hope for common vistas between viewpoints in and among churches. For example, recently a Southern Baptist was on National Public Radio mentioning that loving Earth is loving God, and that he wanted church-goers to take the Earth seriously as one of our spiritual goals." (Charles & Francis)
* "Speaking of woo-woo though. Meister Eckhart, a mystic who lived in 13th century Europe) was considered apostate (a non-believer) by the Catholic church." (Bob)
We related to the author's discussion of a soul's hunger at the end of the chapter:
"On loving God: In the period of preparation for loving God, the soul loves in emptiness. It does not know whether anything real answers its love. It may believe that it knows but to believe is not to know. Such a belief does not help. The soul knows for certain only that it is hungry. The important thing is that it announces its hunger by crying. A child does not stop crying if we suggest to it that perhaps there is no such thing as bread. It goes on crying just the same. The danger is not lest the soul should doubt whether there is bread, but lest by a lie, it should persuade itself that it is not hungry. It can only persuade itself of this by lying, for the reality of its hunger is not a belief, it is a certainty."
(by Simone Weil, p. 31)
NEXT WEEK: Read Chapter 3 "What Fundamentalists Need For Their Salvation" (p. 33 ->)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Adult Spirituality Group Notes (6/20/10)
Today, the group discussed the first chapter of God Laughs & Plays:
- Author David James Duncan is a writing professor, who lives in western Montana and home schools his children. He experiences the Grace of aloneness and God in nature, but has allergies to organized religion from a poor childhood experience in church. Thus, he hasn't been to church in 35 years! As a church going group, we decided that his vantage and perspective was initially at odds to our own. We defended the value of our church discussions and fellowship and queried, "If against organized religion, is one also against community?"
WONDER: We relished the chapter section on the spiritual benefits of wonder. Wonder is unknowing experienced as pleasure. Wonder doesn't have room for fear and anxiety. Like Grace, wonder defies rational analysis.
"As a facial expression, wonder is the letter our eyes and mouths make when the state itself descends. O: God's middle initial. O: because wonder Opens us. O(ld) becomes new. Wonder is anything taken for granted - the old neighborhood, old job, old buddy, old spouse - suddenly filled with mystery. Wonder is anything closed, suddenly opening..." (p. 9)
YOGI: This section reminded us of a few things:
1. An intuitive response is not so scripted. As listener to this response, it is more important for us to look at the unscripted comments for the place from which they come.
2. The dance of life is a balance between careful attention to high quality practiced endeavor and explorative openness to newness of perception & wonder.
GLADLY: My twin nieces are visiting Seattle right now. After church, I, my sister, nieces, and mom used "Skype" (internet video telephone) to call my dad for Father's Day. It was a wonderful example of the power of the "gladly" section. My mom, sister, and I had deeper questions about the nuances of Dad's life. Dad appreciated the contact, but I noticed truly came alive when Josephine and Thais, my 8 month old twin nieces became enthralled by how the computer screen was actually the grandpa that they had hugged and new well from earlier. The babies were pure and bright. Their glad enthusiasm was wholesome & healing for the family.
FOR NEXT WEEK (6/27/10):
Read the chapter two, "Unsaying the Word, "God", p. 17 ->.
- Author David James Duncan is a writing professor, who lives in western Montana and home schools his children. He experiences the Grace of aloneness and God in nature, but has allergies to organized religion from a poor childhood experience in church. Thus, he hasn't been to church in 35 years! As a church going group, we decided that his vantage and perspective was initially at odds to our own. We defended the value of our church discussions and fellowship and queried, "If against organized religion, is one also against community?"
WONDER: We relished the chapter section on the spiritual benefits of wonder. Wonder is unknowing experienced as pleasure. Wonder doesn't have room for fear and anxiety. Like Grace, wonder defies rational analysis.
"As a facial expression, wonder is the letter our eyes and mouths make when the state itself descends. O: God's middle initial. O: because wonder Opens us. O(ld) becomes new. Wonder is anything taken for granted - the old neighborhood, old job, old buddy, old spouse - suddenly filled with mystery. Wonder is anything closed, suddenly opening..." (p. 9)
YOGI: This section reminded us of a few things:
1. An intuitive response is not so scripted. As listener to this response, it is more important for us to look at the unscripted comments for the place from which they come.
2. The dance of life is a balance between careful attention to high quality practiced endeavor and explorative openness to newness of perception & wonder.
GLADLY: My twin nieces are visiting Seattle right now. After church, I, my sister, nieces, and mom used "Skype" (internet video telephone) to call my dad for Father's Day. It was a wonderful example of the power of the "gladly" section. My mom, sister, and I had deeper questions about the nuances of Dad's life. Dad appreciated the contact, but I noticed truly came alive when Josephine and Thais, my 8 month old twin nieces became enthralled by how the computer screen was actually the grandpa that they had hugged and new well from earlier. The babies were pure and bright. Their glad enthusiasm was wholesome & healing for the family.
FOR NEXT WEEK (6/27/10):
Read the chapter two, "Unsaying the Word, "God", p. 17 ->.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Adult Spirituality Group Notes (6/13/10)
(11 participants)
Thanks to Charles Cressey Saturday delivery, everyone has received their books, "God Laugh & Plays" by David James Duncan, and have started to read the forward and preface.
There was general agreement that the author knows the relation between metaphors and compassion, e.g.:
"Unsaying the word of God"
"To define is to limit the unfathomable mystery of God. When very one names God, you give a slant and relationship."
There were two superb quotes that elicited discussion:
1. "Evangelism as embodied by Jesus does not remotely suggest the close-minded zeal of proselytizers claiming that only their interpretation of scripture prevents eternal punishments and pays eternal rewards: it implies, on the contrary, the kind of all-embracing love evident in Mother Teresa's prayer, "May God break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in." Not just her fellow nuns, Catholics, Calcuttans, potential converts. The whole world."
The whole world, for example, seemed to fall into the heart of Mahatma Gandhi. He repeatedly acted upon what his stated belief "I am a Christian, I am a Hindu, I am a muslim, I am a Jew."
(Author's Preface, xxv)
2. We the peoples of Earth, need a new cosmology that can effectivelyl embrace both our innate thirst for deeper, often obscured and intuited meanings as well as the necessary rigors of our intellectual life. We need a cosmology that can feed our souls and our questions about the meaning of life and death, while embracing the realities of our biological and ecological selves." (Forward, xi)
For next week (6/20): Please read Chapter 1, "Wonder; Yogi; Gladly" (p. 5-16)
Thanks to Charles Cressey Saturday delivery, everyone has received their books, "God Laugh & Plays" by David James Duncan, and have started to read the forward and preface.
There was general agreement that the author knows the relation between metaphors and compassion, e.g.:
"Unsaying the word of God"
"To define is to limit the unfathomable mystery of God. When very one names God, you give a slant and relationship."
There were two superb quotes that elicited discussion:
1. "Evangelism as embodied by Jesus does not remotely suggest the close-minded zeal of proselytizers claiming that only their interpretation of scripture prevents eternal punishments and pays eternal rewards: it implies, on the contrary, the kind of all-embracing love evident in Mother Teresa's prayer, "May God break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in." Not just her fellow nuns, Catholics, Calcuttans, potential converts. The whole world."
The whole world, for example, seemed to fall into the heart of Mahatma Gandhi. He repeatedly acted upon what his stated belief "I am a Christian, I am a Hindu, I am a muslim, I am a Jew."
(Author's Preface, xxv)
2. We the peoples of Earth, need a new cosmology that can effectivelyl embrace both our innate thirst for deeper, often obscured and intuited meanings as well as the necessary rigors of our intellectual life. We need a cosmology that can feed our souls and our questions about the meaning of life and death, while embracing the realities of our biological and ecological selves." (Forward, xi)
For next week (6/20): Please read Chapter 1, "Wonder; Yogi; Gladly" (p. 5-16)
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Adult Spirituality Group Notes (6/6/10)
We discussed the last two chapters today:
1. "Who Are Those Christians?" (p. 219)
- This chapter discussed the messiness we call religion. The author described a number of Christian versions in the modern world. Choosing a church today is kind of like the blithering variety of choices offered in sex ed classes, e.g., rhythm method, condoms, or virginity 'til 33. It is necessary to enter a version of the Christian paradigm when one commits to a new church. Many new church goers are going towards religious extremism to simplify the multiple paradigm complexity of modern choices.
2. "At The Hinge Of History: Post Modernity" (p. 226)
-Modern technology embraces individuality, whereas post-modern converts re-seek community.
-On p. 229, is a interesting quote. "Modernity turned Christianity, a religion of grace, into a religion of good works and achievement. I don't mean, of course, that Thomas Jefferson himself did this. I do mean that the attempt to accommodate Christianity to modernity did. Spirituality, with its faith in the miraculous and mysterious, was lost or repressed. The end result was thin fare, a moral code without transformative power. It is religion as obligation, but lacking much in the way of motivation or motivating power."
** Our next book, "God Laughs and Prays", by David James Duncan will be delivered, probably by this Friday.
1. "Who Are Those Christians?" (p. 219)
- This chapter discussed the messiness we call religion. The author described a number of Christian versions in the modern world. Choosing a church today is kind of like the blithering variety of choices offered in sex ed classes, e.g., rhythm method, condoms, or virginity 'til 33. It is necessary to enter a version of the Christian paradigm when one commits to a new church. Many new church goers are going towards religious extremism to simplify the multiple paradigm complexity of modern choices.
2. "At The Hinge Of History: Post Modernity" (p. 226)
-Modern technology embraces individuality, whereas post-modern converts re-seek community.
-On p. 229, is a interesting quote. "Modernity turned Christianity, a religion of grace, into a religion of good works and achievement. I don't mean, of course, that Thomas Jefferson himself did this. I do mean that the attempt to accommodate Christianity to modernity did. Spirituality, with its faith in the miraculous and mysterious, was lost or repressed. The end result was thin fare, a moral code without transformative power. It is religion as obligation, but lacking much in the way of motivation or motivating power."
** Our next book, "God Laughs and Prays", by David James Duncan will be delivered, probably by this Friday.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Adult Spirituality Group Notes (5/26/10)
** We first discussed the chapter, "In a Time of War" (starting on p. 195) **
For churches to develop an activist voice on larger social issues such as war, we must kindle a debate within, similar to our Adult Spirituality Group intellectual exchange. (As Pastor Dan mentioned, the church is designed to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted.)
-For example, during the height of tensions during the Korean War, an American flag stood side by side to a Christian flag behind the pastor as he gave sermons in our church, from 1955-57.
The group discussed how we have a different situation today. Terrorism isn't from a clear enemy target that one can polarize towards to burgeon a large scale response, such as Americans could against the Nazis in Germany during World War II. Defeating a terrorist "enemy" seems to require a much more subtle nation building response nowadays. (This involves social, military, and education problems).
** We secondly discussed the chapter, "The Gay Divide" (starting on p. 201) **
In the early 600 BC Jewish church, homosexuality, circumcision, and temple cult like sexual rituals) were outlawed by higher priests to make the Jewish church distinctive from other groups. The Christian New Testament has changed the focus from simple external activities to the more subtle heart and mind, as evidenced through one's immediate relationships, which were at the roots of external activities.
In modern society, there is vastly less moral stigma around being gay, celibate, or child free. Bob Squalia sees both liberals and conservatives having different perspectives, but as one gets older one sees those identities as boxes that don't encompass one's true broader living perspective.
Chapters to discuss next week:
1. "Technology & Human Values", p. 207
2. "Holy Stories", p. 213
For churches to develop an activist voice on larger social issues such as war, we must kindle a debate within, similar to our Adult Spirituality Group intellectual exchange. (As Pastor Dan mentioned, the church is designed to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted.)
-For example, during the height of tensions during the Korean War, an American flag stood side by side to a Christian flag behind the pastor as he gave sermons in our church, from 1955-57.
The group discussed how we have a different situation today. Terrorism isn't from a clear enemy target that one can polarize towards to burgeon a large scale response, such as Americans could against the Nazis in Germany during World War II. Defeating a terrorist "enemy" seems to require a much more subtle nation building response nowadays. (This involves social, military, and education problems).
** We secondly discussed the chapter, "The Gay Divide" (starting on p. 201) **
In the early 600 BC Jewish church, homosexuality, circumcision, and temple cult like sexual rituals) were outlawed by higher priests to make the Jewish church distinctive from other groups. The Christian New Testament has changed the focus from simple external activities to the more subtle heart and mind, as evidenced through one's immediate relationships, which were at the roots of external activities.
In modern society, there is vastly less moral stigma around being gay, celibate, or child free. Bob Squalia sees both liberals and conservatives having different perspectives, but as one gets older one sees those identities as boxes that don't encompass one's true broader living perspective.
Chapters to discuss next week:
1. "Technology & Human Values", p. 207
2. "Holy Stories", p. 213
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