Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice

Isaac the Syrian on universal salvation & the mystery of Gehenna - Sebastian Brock

Isaac the Syrian, who is also known as Isaac of Niniveh, belongs to the late seventh century, and was thus roughly a contemporary of St Mildred and the Venerable Bede. He originated from the region of Qatar, on the west side of the Gulf, which at that time was an important intellectual centre for the Church of the East. For a brief period he was bishop of Niniveh (modern Mosul, in north Iraq), but retired to live as a hermit in the mountains of western Iran, where he was connected with the monastery of Rabban Shabur, famous at that time. His extensive writings belong to the end of his life and come down to us in three ‘Parts’, the first of which was translated into Greek at the Greek Orthodox Monastery of St Sabbas, south of Jerusalem, in about AD 800; from Greek his monastic discourses reached Latin and Slavonic (where, in later Russian translations, they have proved very influential). The Second and Third Parts have only recently come to light, and are available in French translations by the late Fr. André Louf in the series Spiritualité orientale. At present only about half of the Second Part is available in English.

Isaac’s teaching lays great emphasis on the love of God, and of the need for human response to this, by way of reflecting this divine love. For Isaac, the whole aim of the Incarnation is to disclose the extent of God’s love:

The entire purpose of our Lord’s death was not to redeem us from sins, or for any other reason, but solely in order that the world might become aware of the love which God has for creation. Had all this astounding affair taken place solely for the purpose of the forgiveness of sin, it would have been sufficient to redeem us by some other means. (Chapters on Knowledge IV.28 = excerpt no. 120 in The Wisdom of St Isaac [Fairacres Publications, 1997]).

CLiCK HERE to read the full pdf Brock on St Isaac

'Mystical Landscapes' (Katharine Lochman - ed.) - Review by Ron Dart

Mystical Landscapes: From Vincent van Gogh to Emily Carr. Ed. by Katharine Lochman with Roald Nasgaard & Bogomila Welsch-Ovcharov. New York: DelMonico Books, 2016.

There has been a regrettable tendency to falsely and naively assume the right wing of the Enlightenment project (with its excessive focus on the empirical, rationalistic, scientistic and secular ideology) defines the modern ethos. Such an approach negates the ongoing interest in spirituality, religion and a contemplative way of knowing and being that have played a significant role in the romantic and humanist commitments of the Enlightenment. The sheer beauty and bounty of Mystical Landscapes: From Vincent van Gogh to Emily Carr is the way this visual and literary text amply illustrates how many of the finest artists of the 19^th and 20^th centuries expressed their spiritual longings on canvass as they drew inspiration and deeper insights from the vast landscape of Nature.

The animated and deeply committed vision of Katharine Lochnan (Senior Curator, International Exhibitions, Art Gallery of Ontario) and Stephen Jost (Michael and Sonja Koerner Director, and CEO Art Gallery of Ontario) and Guy Cogeval (President of Musee d’Orsay and Musee de L’Orangerie) must be acknowledged for their intricate and meticulous labour in drawing together such a rich tapestry of historic art that links spirituality and nature. Needless to say, there are a variety of ways of approaching mystical landscapes and the varied painting in the tome and comprehensive essays illustrate the ways both mysticism and landscape can be understood in a wide spectrum. But, there can be no doubt the underlying thesis is clearly proven: there was much more afoot and awake for those who had the senses to see in the 19^th and 20^th centuries than merely hard and empirical science. The artistic and literary mystics and romantics refused to be caged by a narrow and one dimensional approach to life and their paintings make such a countercultural stance obvious. 

The intricate and delicate interplay in this packed tome between multiple essays and classical paintings drawn, mostly, from the European and North American context make for a comprehensive read and visual tour. The fact that Evelyn Underhill is often cited as a guiding visionary of the mystical grounds Mystical Landscapes in a solid and sustained manner. The equally important fact that the paintings included in the text were housed at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) from late autumn 2016 into the early months of 2017 make this collection an unusual and rare coup of sorts for the AGO.

Jesus is First Known ... - Kenneth Tanner

Jesus is first the Word of God in the vivid experience of those who knew him in flesh and blood: walking the streets of Capernaum and the alleyways of Jerusalem, fishing at dawn on Galilee, dining in Bethany, or reading the scroll of Isaiah at the synagogue in Nazareth.

This is to say that Jesus is first known by and in the church, the people whom he called together as his disciples.

Jesus taught those who walked with him in the deserts and seaside villages to see him—this man who eats, drinks, and sleeps on the ground beside them—as one God with the God revealed in the experience of patriarchs, psalmists, and prophets, and in the deliverance of Israel from Egypt and Babylon.

And this is also to say that Jesus is first known by and in the church before the church, the people whom God called together as Israel.

Our God is a God of intimate, person-to-person encounter. The men and women who walked with Jesus to his cross, encountered him alive and enfleshed after his resurrection, and communed with him beyond his ascension *met* the living God of the yet-living Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the very human ways we meet anyone: late night conversations by candlelight, as they embraced him at the door to their homes in Cana, or felt the touch of his hand as he shared bread.

They beheld and heard and touched the Word of Life in all that he said and did to bring healing, deliverance, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

And this encounter was unapologetically natural and involved the stuff of earth: wood, oil, water, sand, spit, blood, sweat, tears, bread, and wine.

This may all seem to go without saying but it's very important to remind ourselves that we know Jesus because others encountered him in the real world and then—and only well after—wrote about those encounters. The first Christians call this collective experience "the life of the Spirit of God in the church."

Jaroslav Pelikan: Magister Ludi of Christian Castalia - with Ron Dart

Ron S. Dart (UFV) uses the imagery of Hermann Hesse's "Glass Bead Game" to reflect on the career and works of Jaroslav Pelikan (1923-2006).

"Are you 'saved'?" (uh ...) by Brad Jersak

Trinity by Scott Erickson

A constellation of questions, common to some Christian traditions, increasingly makes me cringe.

• Are you saved?
• Is he/she saved?
• When were you saved?

I know what is intended. They are identifying ‘saved’ with the moment I ‘invited Christ into my heart’ through the faith confession involved in ‘the Sinner’s Prayer.’ If that is how and when I was saved, I suppose you could say I was ‘saved’ when I was six-years-old. That’s when I personally and consciously responded to the grace of God.

So why does that give me the heebie-jeebies?

Was that when I was saved?

It caused me to pause and explore how various Christians use the term “salvation” or “saved,” and how the New Testament does so, too.

The issue arose afresh when Paul Young wrote in his new book, Lies We Believe About God:

Are you suggesting that everyone is saved? Do you believe in universal salvation?

That is exactly what I am saying.

Yet Paul also says he is not a Universalist. So then, what does he mean? He continues:

Every person who has ever been conceived was included in the death, burial, resurrection and ascension in Jesus. When Jesus was lifted up, God ‘dragged’ all human beings to Himself (John 12:32) and that Jesus is the Savior of all humankind, (I Tim 4:10). Further, every single human being is in Christ and Christ is in them, and Christ is in the Father (John 14:20). When Christ died—the Creator in whom the cosmos was created—we all died. When Christ rose, we rose (II Cor. 5).

The context of salvation involves three dimensions. First, prior to the foundation of the world we were all included. Saved in eternity (II Tim 1:9). Second, in the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus we were all included (II Cor 5:19). Third, within the context of our own experience a present tense on-going active participation to work out what God has worked in (Phil 2:12-13). Although we didn’t do anything in the accomplishment of our salvation (except to kill Jesus), our participation in the working out of this salvation is essential. Our ongoing choices matter.

So, is everyone saved? Depends what you mean.

Does salvation include everyone? It would seem so.

Is our willing response necessary? It’s essential.

On this note, I had a fantastic discussion with Paul and some other scholars about his approach (I affirm). What follows are two contributions I made to that theological soirée.

CLICK HERE to continue

Ascended, Not Absent by Brian Zahnd

Ascension Day. It’s the most obscure of all the major holy days on the Christian calendar. Coming forty days after Easter, it commemorates the Ascension of Christ. The Christian calendar is designed to tell the gospel story from Advent to Pentecost. But most Protestants think the gospel story can be told with Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter alone. It’s safe to say that Ascension Day (Thursday, May 25) will come and go unnoticed and uncelebrated by most American Christians. (It may have a bit more recognition in Europe where it remains a public holiday.) That Ascension day for most American Christians is just another Thursday in Spring is telling. It tells of a deficient gospel and reveals a central problem in our political theology.

Too often we seem to regard the Ascension of Christ as a kind of awkward explanation for the absence of Christ. Well, after his resurrection, Jesus lifted off for outer space and is now hanging out with God in heaven until he comes back.

No. The Ascension is not about the absence of Christ, but about the ascendancy of Christ. The ascension of Christ to the right hand of God is the ascendency, the rise, the elevation, the promotion of Christ to the position of all authority in heaven and on earth. The right hand of God is not a cosmological location, but a poetic way of saying that God has now given all authority to Christ. The ascension of Christ does not lead to the absence of Christ, but to his cosmic presence everywhere. This is why the risen Christ says, “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” In the Ascension Christ now “fills all things everywhere with himself.” There is now no place where Christ is not, and there is now domain over which Jesus is not Lord.

But that is not how most Christians have thought about the Ascension over the years. And this has had a detrimental effect upon our theology — especially our political theology. Let me explain.

If we end the gospel story of Jesus by saying… And then Jesus went off to heaven (which is why he’s not here), but someday he will come back and bring the kingdom of God… then we are free to run the world the way we want in what we assume is the absence of Christ. What this does is demote Jesus from being the Eternal Lord “seated at God’s right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion,” to being Lord-Elect in exile. If we imagine Jesus as being off somewhere in heaven waiting to come back someday and begin his reign, then we default to the idea that Caesar needs to rule the world in his Caesar-like way in the absence of Christ. No! The Ascension is ascendency, not absence! Jesus is Lord. Now. Not Lord-Elect, not Lord-Gonna-Be, not Lord-Someday, but King of kings and Lord of lords right now!

CLICK HERE to continue

Reviews of Mary Ford's "The Soul's Longing" & David Ford's "Wisdom for Today" - by Ron Dart

Dr. Mary S. Ford. The Soul’s Longing: An Orthodox Christian Perspective on Biblical Interpretation. Saint Tikhon’s Monastery Press, 2015

David C. Ford. Wisdom For Today From The Early Church: A Foundational Study. Saint Tikhon’s Monastery Press, 2015

I have, since the late 1970s-early 1980s, had an increasing interest in The Great Tradition of Christianity. The turn by Thomas Merton to the Patristic-Medieval contemplative way, C.S. Lewis’ Medieval-Renaissance vision, an MA on John Cassian, another MA on Origen-Anthony, translations of Gregory of Nyssa’s Life of Moses and the perennial wisdom of the Desert Mothers and Fathers all whet my appetite for more. In fact, the deeper the dives into the much deep  waters of the Classical past, the finer the pearls of lost or forgotten insight and wisdom. Werner Jaeger, Georges Florovsky and Jaroslav Pelikan taught me much on such a journey, hence I remain charmed by those who turn to those who have gone before to illuminate the trail that is often obscure in our thick cloud ethos. There can be no doubt Mary and David Ford are fine guides to the ancient pathways.          

The dominant ideology of progressive liberalism has tended, for the most, to adhere to what C.S. Lewis has called “chronological snobbery”.

Such an approach to history tends to demean and dismiss the past as, in many ways, inferior and subordinate to the newest facts, relevant statistics and information that besets and besieges the naïve and unwary. There are those who are not taken in by such a distorted way of reading history, who sense and see a substantive lack in the modern and postmodern ethos and long for something deeper and more nourishing: such is the longing of soul’s who, legitimately so, ask for cleaner and clearer waters---there still exists, happily so, life giving eternal wells in which a repository of classical wisdom still awaits those willing to lower their buckets.

It is rare indeed when husband and wife paddle in tandem to bring into being books that draw forth from the past wisdom that will satisfy the soul’s longing, but Dr. Mary S. Ford and David C. Ford have done so in The Soul’s Longing and Wisdom for Today from the Early Church. I might add that there is, within the broader culture of our time, a variety of voices that claim to address the soul’s longing and the meaning of wisdom in an age addicted to facts, information and knowledge. The sheer beauty of The Soul’s Longing and Wisdom for Today from the Early Church is the way David and Betty Ford have grounded human longing and classical wisdom within the time tried fullness of the Orthodox and Christian Tradition. Needless to say, both books are a hand in glove fit, complementary in a multitude of ways. Both books attempt, in their different ways, to answer the perennial question: what will most deeply and consistently nourish and satisfy the soul’s longing and restlessness?

The strength and pure gold of The Souls’ Longing is the way Mary Ford acutely and historically dissects the rabbit’s trail of sorts in the area of Biblical interpretation and hermeneutics. Sadly so, there has been a pointless and long journey cul de sac in the west in which Biblical Studies, century by century, has uncritically genuflected to the spirit of the age in which the Bible is studied as any other object. The quest for author, dating of texts, real sayings of Jesus or St. Paul, early texts, late texts, additions and deletions goes on world without end. Books are piled on books that, in the end, leave the soul hungry and thirsting for more. It is this one dimensional scholarly approach to the Bible that Mary Ford, rightly so, says a firm No to. But, in a countercultural No to such a convoluted protestant and post-protestant way of approaching the Bible, what does she say Yes to? Ford’s turn to the Fathers of the Church and their distinctive and layered way of reading the Bible is aptly summed up Appendix I-III: 1) Key Principles for a Patristic/Orthodox Approach to the Interpretation of Scripture, II) Hermeneutical Rules for Interpreting the Fathers and III) How to Learn to Love the Lord. The  three Appendix are a must read by those keen to know how to rightly read the Fathers-Scripture and come as a kindly corrective to postmodern Patristic dilettantes and voyeurs who cherry pick from the tree with little understanding of how to tend such an orchard and draw from its nutritious abundance.

The turn to what many see as the golden age of the church is wisely and well done by David Ford in Wisdom For Today From The Early Church. This well wrought urn is the congealed bounty of many years of teaching in this mother lode of the Christian Tradition and, indeed, it is about wisdom and depth, insight and transformation, clarity and clearing away that which hinder the soul’s longing for meaning. Each chapter touches on significant thinkers and themes that were relevant in the classical phase of Christianity but equally significant and relevant for our day. The large issues merely recycle from century to century, hence the reason to heed the wisdom of the Fathers. The lively tone of the book draws the inquisitive reader into a historic conversation that illuminates the insights of the past for our ahistorical and amnesia thick present. The past via David Ford’s read of it speaks across the centuries to our longing hearts, minds and ears and can still instruct and point the way to finer sites to see from. The wisdom of the Fathers and Mothers of the Church cannot be missed in this aerial overview that nimbly strides from ridge to ridge, peak to peak. “The Epilogue: An Unforgettable Story from the Life of St. John the Theologian” is worth many a reread just as “The Rise of Papal Presumption” brings much into needed focus. The chapters on Montanism and Tertullian echo across the canyons of time—many are the montanists and Tertullian types with us in our fragmented midst these days.

I have a few lingering questions that hover as I came to the end of these timely and, in some ways, timeless books. First, Mary Ford is right in calling the Church back to a more contemplative and applied read of the Fathers. But, many are the Roman Catholics, catholic (High Church) Anglicans and longing Protestants (Hans Boersma---Eugene Peterson) that are doing the same. There are, of course, the Renovare and Ressourcement movements as there was the Roman Catholic Nouvelle Theologie that attempted to step beyond Tridentine Catholicism to a more Classical vision (Von Balthasar, Chenu, De Lubac etc). There is no doubt the hunger exists to unite the text with the heart and mind, imagination and experience. There is, in short, at a more sophisticated level, ample room to ponder these diverse pilgrims and the place they are turning to quieten and deepen a longing for God by a more receptive and participatory approach to the Bible—an irenical dialogue could yield much fine fruit. Second, I have had an abiding interest in the life and writings of Georges Florovsky and Jaroslav Pelikan (having had a lovely correspondence with Pelikan) for many a decade, and I would have been interested to know how David might have engaged Florovsky and Pelikan’s read of The Great Tradition. And, third, as a finale of sorts, having taught for almost 30 years in a department of Political Philosophy and Religious Studies, I’d be interested to know how Mary and David Ford might apply the interpretation of the Bible and the wisdom of the Early Church to the pressing political, economic and ecological issues of the early 21^st century. These few questions are but hints and pointers to a further conversation that The Soul’s Longing and Wisdom for Today from the Early Church have, out of necessity, opened up better paths and revealed finer waymarks are yet before us to trek.

Ron Dart                                                           

The Literalist Hermeneutics of Luther's Increasing Violence - Richard Murray

 

The Devil playing the Bagpipe/ Erhard Schoen (anti-luther propaganda c. 1530)

“Peasants are no better than straw. They will not hear the word and they are without sense; therefore they must be compelled to hear the crack of the whip and the whiz of bullets and it is only what they deserve.”

“To kill a peasant is not murder; it is helping to extinguish the conflagration. Let there be no half measures! Crush them! Cut their throats! Transfix them. Leave no stone unturned! To kill a peasant is to destroy a mad dog! If they say that I am very hard and merciless, mercy be damned. Let whoever can stab, strangle, and kill them like mad dogs.”

“I, Martin Luther, have during the rebellion slain all the peasants, for it was I who ordered them to be struck dead. All their blood is upon my head. But I put it all on our Lord God: for he commanded me to speak thus.”

What caused Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant Reformation, to become so bitter and violent-minded in the later years of his life?

Luther came to believe rebellious peasants should be tortured, have their throats slit, and suffer beheading. He also believed all Jews should be brutally persecuted, exiled en masse, and that all their property should be destroyed. Luther also believed Anabaptists, who were largely peace-loving and Spirit-embracing, should nonetheless be executed along with all other heretics.

Why? This seems so shockingly un-Christlike for a man who say many admire as a paragon of faith. We do know that this violent vitriol appeared to surface more and more during his later years.

Hermann Hesse and Thomas Merton: Countercultural Affinities - Ron Dart

But the longing to get on the other side of everything already settled, this makes me, and everybody like, a road sign to the future.         

- Hermann Hesse Wandering: Farmhouse

There is another side of Kanchengunga and of every mountain---the side that has never been photographed and turned into postcards. That is the only side worth seeing.                                              

- Thomas Merton, Nov. 19, 1968              

I

It is rather surprising, given the fact that Hermann Hesse and Thomas Merton are two of the pre-eminent countercultural ikons of the latter half of the 20th century, that few are the articles, books or essays that have brought them together and pondered their obvious affinities. John Collins has, in a suggestive way, pointed to affinities between Hesse and Merton by reflecting on Merton’s readings of Hesse’s      

Journey to the East, Steppenwolf and Siddhartha, but beyond Collins’ two articles, there is nothing of substance and significance that examines the countercultural affinities between Hesse and Merton (and there are many). Hopefully, this missive will correct such a lack and omission.  

Hesse was a generation older than Merton, being born in 1877, Merton being born in 1915, but both men were acutely sensitive to the pressing issues of western culture and many of the dominant dangers that threatened to undermine and negate the deeper longings that make for a more meaningful life journey. I have, since the 1970s, read most of Merton’s books and written a few books and articles on Merton and

Hesse has been a fellow pilgrim of sorts for many a decade. I have spent some lovely time at Hesse’s home on the upper rock knoll in Montagnola in Switzerland, imbibing the landscape, air, site and scenery that so held Hesse and from which most of his writings were birthed. So, in some ways, Hesse and Merton have been mentors of sorts for me on my journey. This essay is my way of repaying them for all they have taught me and passed my way.  

Annunciation, Incarnation and Help (Angels, Jesus and Doulas for All) - Jessica Williams

JESSICA WILLIAMS is a poet and qualified birth doula (@villarosainc / @birthrootsdoula) based in Winnipeg.

She is also a graduate student in theology at St Stephen's University in New Brunswick. 

She gave this message at the Winnipeg Centre Vineyard.

"If you have deep questions or doubts, trust them until they bring you to a God you can worship."

To listen to the message: 

Jessica May 14 2017

The Powerpoint file can be viewed here: Download Annunciation Incarnation and Help

The PDF file can be viewed here: Download Annunciation Incarnation and Help 

Revelation is the Final Exam re: the Goodness of God - Richard Murray

Revelation is the "final exam" for understanding the goodness of God. If we don't already know the nature of God, we will never understand the book of Revelation. As Revelation 5 clearly shows, ONLY the divine nature and wisdom of Jesus is WORTHY and ABLE to unseal and open the mysteries of the book.

People usually advertise Revelation as revealing a God who is incredibly violent, wrathful and destructive. Yet, is this true? Is this violent image the true Lamb of God portrayed in Revelation? NO!

Revelation is chocked full of various themes of God's non-violent goodness:

1) Death and Hell will be destroyed by God's goodness (20:13-21:4).

2) Satan is overcome by our non-violent and sacrificial worship of God (12:11).

3) God's goodness makes all things new--- we receive a new name (2:17; 3:12), God creates a new Jerusalem (3:12; 21:12), we worship God with new songs (5:9; 14:3), there is a new Heaven and a new Earth, and ALL things are made brand new (21:5).

4) The words "worship" and "worshipped" appear more in the book of Revelation than in any other book of the Bible (4:8-11; 5:8-14; 7:11; 11:15-17; 14:7; 15:1-4; 19:10; 22:9). Some commentators actually believe Revelation is just one big worship service.

5) The Lamb shall be our ABSOLUTE and ONLY source of provision--- no more hunger (7:16), no more thirst (7:16), no more tears (7:17; 21:4), and even no more sun or moon, for the Lamb will be the light (21:23).

6) The theme of universal salvation is broached in Revelation 5:8-14, where "every creature in Heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that are in them, sing, 'To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!'" Certainly sounds like all creatures, great and small, are reconciled back to worshipping God here--- bar none. Hallelujah!

7) The Marriage Supper of the Lamb is described, a celebration which joyfully heralds the defeat of evil and the full orgasmic union of Christ and His bride (19:4-10, 11-21).
BOTTOM LINE: Revelation is chocked full of goodness themes. It is not a book primarily about wrath and destruction, but rather life and restoration.

SO WHAT EXACTLY IS GOING ON IN REVELATION?

Have you ever been listening to your car radio, and because of poor reception you begin to hear two different radio signals at once? I remember driving late one night on a long road trip. I couldn't find a clear channel to listen to, but I did turn the dial to a setting where I could hear BOTH a Gospel music station AND a talk radio show where alien abductions were being discussed. Sometimes the stations alternated so that I could hear each station clearly for a few moments as the signals fought back and forth for dominance, while at other times they both played over each other simultaneously so that all I could hear was a garbled mess of mixed signals.

Well, this is exactly what is going on in Revelation. We are hearing more than one signal, and both are battling for dominance in our hearts. And often, those signals produce oxymoronic messages. The definition of "oxymoron" means, "A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as, for example, in the following terms--- 'a deafening silence' and a 'mournful optimist.'"

The book of Revelation is full of oxymorons. "The wrath of the Lamb" is an oxymoron (6:16). Lambs don't have wrath. These images conceptually clash. "The wine of the wrath of God" is an oxymoron (14:10). Wine is a symbol of celebration, not wrath. The "Lake of Fire" (Revelation 19:20). How can water and fire occupy the same space? Again, theses images simply do not blend.

Let's consider some other oxymoronic imagery which pervades Revelation. Jesus is initially called the Lion of Judah in Revelation 5, but for the rest of the book is always referred to as "the Lamb"--- hardly the picture of a wrathful killer. Jesus is pictured with "a sword coming out of His mouth" in 19:15, an "image-clash" between "speaking words of truth" and "hacking enemies to death." In this same passage, Jesus is "treading" grapes in a winepress to make "the wine of the fierceness of His wrath." But again, wine is a symbol of celebration and joy, not of anger and wrath. These images clearly contradict each other, and so should give us pause when we seek to interpret them.

Violent images continually converge with non-violent images. "The wrath of the Lamb," (6:16) and "the wine of the wrath of God" (14:10) and "the winepress of the wrath of God" (9:15) and "the marriage supper of the Lamb... where ye eat the flesh of kings, captains and mighty men" (19:9) are all so contradictory. A lamb as an image of wrath? Wine, normally a symbol of joy and celebration, used as a symbol of wrath? A celebratory marriage feast where we eat the flesh of sinners? Jesus is portrayed as wearing a robe dipped in blood (19:13), but the blood is not His enemies but His own. How can a lake (Revelation 19:20), defined as a body of water, consist solely of fire? Oxymoronic images abound all through the book of Revelation.

What is going on here? Often, when oxymorons are profusely used as they are here, it is often because the author's intent is for us to totally deconstruct our presuppositions. By crashing these contradictory images into each other, the better truth then survives and arises victorious.

It is a battle of imagery where instruments of peace overcome brutal instruments of war. Swords are conceptually hammered into plough-shares. Instruments of wrath become attached to symbols of joy and celebration instead. God overcomes evil one way and one way only, with goodness. This is not theology but poetry. We need to see it as such and keep focused on the end of the matter: tears done away with, death done away with, pain done away with, Hell emptied, a new heaven and a new earth.

The book of Revelation is written in a style known as Jewish apocalyptic literature. It is heavily metaphorical, feverishly symbolic and incredibly non-linear in its exposition.

Theologians warn us NOT to read it literally for theological doctrine, but rather to read it poetically for mystically moving imagery.

Brian Zahnd - Kyrie Eleison

Kyrie Eleison
Brian Zahnd

Six months ago I walked across Spain. Five hundred miles.
Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Forty days and forty nights.
A full life with two full moons. Harvest and Hunter’s.
Heat and cold. Dust and rain. Wind and calm.
It was all there.
Beauty and blisters.
Ecstasy and exhaustion.
Pleasures and pains.
Mountains, forests, and plains.
Spaniards and Germans.
Americans and Russians.
Brazilians and Peruvians.
Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese.
They were all there.
I was all there.
Every step of the way.
A million, three hundred thousand — give or take a few.

I saw my life. The Camino was my life. My life compressed to forty days and forty nights.
A five hundred mile walk of life. A precise (or at least an approximate) reflection.

CLICK HERE to continue

Meditation, Stillness and Transformation - Brad Jersak

I had a dream last night -- a discussion with the Dalai Lama, actually. In the dream I saw the consequences of Christianity's failure to engage seriously in Judeo-Christian meditation. 

While the words "meditate" or "meditation" are scary to some, they are mentioned over 30 times in Scripture ... and never as a rationalist exercise in 'thinking hard.' What the Psalmist describes and Jesus models is a form of God-centered meditation marked by attentive, receptive prayers focused primarily on God's goodness.  Neglecting this practice, we typically skid into one of two ditches. 

In the one ditch, we see spiritually hungry people who, through religious malnutrition, opt out of the Christian faith when it refuses to attend to the needs of the contemplative soul. If Hindu or Buddhist practice (for example) offers to feed that hunger with Yoga, and if Christian meditation is negated by suspicion and fear, we shouldn't be surprised to see transfer growth from the church to the yogini's studio. 

On the other hand, and equally worrisome, setting aside Christian contemplative practice drastically narrows our vision of 'transformation.' Specifically, the transforming work of the Holy Spirit is reduced to moral transformation--improving our behavior. Yes, hopefully the life of Christ will generate a higher morality and empower a greater purity in our lives. Lord knows I need that. 

CLICK HERE to continue

The Cults of Caesar and Christ - Brian Zahnd

The original name for what would eventually became known as Christianity was “the Way.” You won’t find “Christianity” in the Bible, but you will find “the Way” seven times in the book of Acts. If you had asked a baptized follower of Jesus during the first century, “What is your religion?,” she most likely would have replied, “I belong to the Way.” This is what the Apostle Paul said in his hearing before the Roman governor Felix: “I admit that I follow the Way, which they call a cult.” (Acts 24:14)

The common life of following Jesus together was called the Way, not because it was the way to heaven (the afterlife was never the emphasis), but because they had come to believe that in his death and resurrection Jesus had inaugurated a new way of life. Because the lifestyle of the Way was such a radical departure from the way of the Roman Empire, it is no surprise that people viewed the Way with great suspicion and often maligned it as a dangerous cult.

And there is a sense in which the Way was a cult — not in the abusive or heretical way we often use the word, but in its more technical sense. Literally, a cult is a system of religious devotion directed toward a particular figure. It’s worth noting that “culture” comes from the word “cult.” Culture is derived from how and what people worship. Anthropologically speaking, religion and culture are nearly synonymous.

CLICK HERE to continue