Reflections on Spirituality and Religion

My last reflection was on Faith, Belief, and Spirituality drawing on the work of theologian Harvey Cox in his book, The Future of Faith.  I want to follow up on that with thoughts and reflections by theologian Diana Butler Bass from an interview on the CBC program Tapestry.   The episode is entitled, Finding god in HGTV: a spiritual revolution http://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/finding-the-sacred-in-unexpected-places-1.3765363/finding-god-in-hgtv-a-spiritual-revolution-1.3765366

Diana Butler Bass looks at Spirituality and Religion as they are manifest today and raises a number of interesting questions and comments. 

Bass first poses the question, is Religion keeping up with the longings and questions of and for the 21^st Century e.g. What are people longing for – compassion and companionship/neighbourliness.  How do we embody compassion?

The God of 100 years ago – hierarchical remote was manifest in the establishment and practice of religion.  This is a God who is a being sitting on a throne somewhere in outer space.  This is contrasted with a God who is imminent, creative, with us; a God who is compassionate.  Do our hymns and architecture need to reflect that?  Is it enough to just reflect this in our theology and sermons and teaching?  A tension between the memory i.e. an idealized view of a golden age of Religion which can be just a few decades ago in some of our lifetimes when Sunday Schools were overflowing and church services were standing room only versus the apparent yearning for something beyond the materialism and competition of Western society today.  

What is missing for the way the 21^st Century does religion?  Concepts of science e.g. the Big Bang – all matter created some 14 billion years ago – we are stardust – what has been happening since is the rearranging of the matter – is this God’s plan?  What might this be leading to us to – perhaps a future like one envisioned by the Omega Point of Teilhard de Chardin.

Is Spirituality opening the door for individualism?  A charge by those who primarily care about religious institutions, that the spiritual movement is a base about self-indulgence.   How does religion connect with what people are longing for?  Does spirituality allow you to sidestep those things that challenge you?  Short answer, yes.  But organized religion is no guarantee that doesn’t happen in a church community. 

Bass proposes that one manifestation of spirituality today can perhaps be seen in the popularity of HGTV.  People are longing for home.   Bass notes that when she refers to her little home in her back yard where she does her writing and puts a picture of it on social media.  She is inundated with requests about where they could get the plans for it.  It is a sign of the desire for a ‘Room of one’s own’ to use the phrase by Virginia Woolf who wrote about it almost a hundred years ago. 

In reflecting on this, I am left with the question of the viability and future of a spirituality that is amorphous and all-inclusive that it means everything and nothing at the same time.  Can region in its structure and practice include and incorporate the aspects of spirituality which will enable people to explore and develop a mature spirituality that will bring them closer to the God which they are seeking.

 

Faith, Belief, and Spirituality

The Gospel reading from last Sunday recounted the story in the Gospel of Mark, where Jesus feeds a multitude with just seven loaves and a few small fish. Interpreting this event invites us to reflect on the concepts of faith and belief.  We also should allow spirituality to sneak into the discussion through the back door as well. 

In his work, The Future of Faith, theologian Harvey Cox outlines three major epochs in Christian history. The first, which he calls the Age of Faith, began with Jesus and the early disciples. Cox describes this as a time when a vibrant and uplifting faith energized the Christian movement from its earliest moments.

Cox then identifies the second epoch as the Age of Belief. This period started when the first generation of Christians no longer had direct contact with Jesus or his disciples. During this time, beliefs concerning Jesus began to be defined and solidified, shaping Christian doctrine for the next fifteen hundred years.

The Third epoch is the Age of the Spirit.  This Age is more amorphous and harder to pin down being identified in many different aspects.  The Age, which is identified with the Third Person in the Trinity, is appropriately like trying to catch a breeze in your hands. 

Cox holds that faith begins with awe which is in response to an encounter with mystery such as a miracle recorded in the bible or the wonders of the natural world.  Cox states that, “awe becomes faith only as it ascribes some meaning to that mystery.”  In this way faith is very much an outcome of experience.

The Age of Belief has resulted in an agreed set of statements or Creeds which Christians are to adhere to.  As the organized structure of the Christian Church emerged, the hierarchy of the church, “distilled the various teaching manuals into lists of beliefs.”  These have been adapted and replaced in some instances due to schisms and disagreements, while in other cases such as the Creeds have basically remained unchanged. 

The differences in the approach between faith and belief was well summed up by Carl Jung in his famous statement in response to being asked if he believed in God.  He stated emphatically, "I don't need to believe in God, I know."  Jung’s response seems to me to be based on his experience of exploring the human psyche in all its complexity and depth.  In effect, his faith gave him the assurance of the existence of God.

It seems to me that it comes down to how we respond to our experience of mystery.  In this way faith and spirituality have much in common - both are based on experience.  How do we understand mysteries today?  Do we try to demythologize them and turn to belief in science and rationality for answers?  Do we awaken the awe that may be buried under the mountains of scientific facts and theories that permeate our culture?  Then there is the convoluted thinking that muddles the distinction between faith and belief.  I believe we would be in a much better place if we just ‘let the mystery be’ – to quote one of my favourite songs. 

I hope that you will be open to mystery in all its forms on your journey.  

 

A New Religion in Canada According to ChatGPT (5)

Last week, I interrupted my exploration of a new religion in Canada proposed by AI software ChatGPT.  I reflected on my experience of serving on a jury.  Today I will return to the new religion and try to sum up the essence of it and see how it matches the analysis of American theologian Harvey Cox in his book, The Future of Faith. 

The following is an excerpt of the summary of the new religion proposed by ChatGPT:

In summary, a hypothetical new religion in Canada would likely embody characteristics such as inclusivity, environmental consciousness, social justice advocacy, interfaith dialogue, personal growth, and adaptability. By reflecting the values and aspirations of Canadian society, such a religion could serve as a source of inspiration, guidance, and community for its adherents, contributing to the rich tapestry of religious diversity in the country.

Overall, worship in this new religion would be a dynamic and inclusive experience, blending ancient wisdom with contemporary sensibilities, and offering individuals opportunities for spiritual growth, community connection, and service to the greater good.

In this new religion, the concepts of sin and forgiveness would be reframed within a framework of compassion, personal responsibility, and restorative justice, emphasizing the inherent dignity and potential for growth within every individual. Through practices of self-reflection, forgiveness, and reconciliation, adherents would strive to cultivate greater harmony within themselves, their relationships, and the world around them.

The divine being worshipped in this new religion would be characterized by love, compassion, wisdom, creativity, and a deep reverence for the interconnectedness of all existence. Adherents would find solace, inspiration, and guidance in their relationship with the divine, fostering a sense of purpose, meaning, and belonging in their lives.

In The Future of Faith, Harvey Cox identifies three ages of Christianity: the Age of Faith, the Age of Belief, and the Age of the Spirit.  Summarizing briefly, the Age of Faith began with Jesus and his disciples and continued for a relatively short period including those who had direct or indirect experience of Jesus Christ.  In this period, to be a Chirstian meant, “to live in his Spirit, embrace his hope, and follow him in the work he began.”

The Age of Belief began a few decades after the birth of Christianity when the church began to become organized and develop structures and the leadership, both formal and informal, took charge of those structures.  In addition, as with most organizations, the purpose and procedures began to be formalized.  The core of this stage lasted fifteen hundred years with many of the structures and dogmas still in place today. 

The Age of the Spirit began to appear earlier than you might expect.  According to Cox, the birth pangs can be traced to the twelfth century in the Chirstian era.  Although some might identify the age of the Spirit beginning with Pentecost.  However, this age is now taking quite a firm hold of Christianity often beyond the formal structure of the Church and into a society which is increasingly secularized at least in the western world. 

Cox characterizes the Age of the Spirit first as a protest against the religious structures and forms in organized religion.  Second, to attempt to recognize and celebrate “the awe and wonder before the intricacy of nature.”  Finally, it acknowledges and celebrates the “the increasingly porous borders between different traditions, and like the early Christian movement, it looks more to the future than to the past.”  

It is possible to see that Cox’s analysis of the current age is compatible with much of the new religion proposed by ChatGPT.  It is less structured and more informal than the organized church today.  Above all, it is inclusive and accepting of different ways of identifying the Divine and experiences of that source of life.  I will leave it there for now and invite you to consider these propositions in light of your experience and perhaps desire to find different ways to make connections with that source on your journey.

I will close with a prayer of confession proposed by ChatGPT for this new religion.

Divine Presence, source of mercy and compassion, we come before you with contrite hearts, acknowledging our imperfections and shortcomings. For the times we have strayed from the path of love and integrity, and have caused harm to ourselves, others, or the Earth, we humbly seek your forgiveness. Grant us the courage to confront our failings with honesty and humility, and the wisdom to learn and grow from our mistakes. With hearts open to transformation, we ask for your grace to cleanse and renew us, restoring us to wholeness and guiding us towards reconciliation and redemption. Amen. 

The Christian Family Tree Part 2

On April 11^th, I wrote about The Christian Family Tree which has many branches and Jesus Christ as the root.  I am again attaching a copy of the diagram that does a very good job of illustrating this.  I want to credit the source, Rev. Nathan L. Bostian, 2014. 

I have been asked to write additional thoughts following up from my original post.  On reflection on want to consider where they church is going in this first part of the 21^st Century.   This may be a case of a fool rushing in where angels fear to tread.  However, I have thought of myself as something of a fool being born on April Fool's Day, so here goes.

I believe that the church, and probably all of society, is in an a between time.  The world seems to have no firm foundation. The mainline religions such as Anglicanism seem to be dying or at least if not dying then going through a reordering of how it will be the church.  Many main-line congregations in Canada are closing and parishioners are getting older and not being replaced in sufficient numbers to sustain   congregations that have existed for many years.  One of my congregations, a small rural church, celebrated its 150^th anniversary some years ago and closed a few years later.  There have been many parishes or congregations that have closed in our Diocese in recent years.  This is due to changes in Canadian culture due to many factors including population shifts from rural to urban centres, secularism, the age of enlightenment, and much more.  There has been speculation that the survival of the church, at least as we know it, is in doubt.

I do not believe that the survival of the church is in doubt.  However, the form of the church is.  I don’t believe anyone can predict with certainty what the church will look like.  There have been many books written about this by many people who are wiser than I and possibly by a few people who are not.  Harvey Cox, one who is definitely wiser than I, has delved into this.  You may remember him from his book, The Secular City, which was something of a sensation in the 1960s. His most recent book, The Future of Faith, came to mind when I was considering this question.  It was published in 2009 and I read it around that time.  Cox proposes that Christian history can be divided in three periods or perhaps ages.  The first is the Age of Faith; I might suggest calling it the Age of Experience.  This was a relatively short period which included the first century Christians beginning with Jesus and his immediate disciples.  As Cox states, “To be a Christian meant to live in the Spirit, embrace his hope, and to follow him in the work that he began” (5).

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The second period is the Age of Belief.  This age began a few generations after Christ and lasted about 1500 years (I would contend more like 1900).  This period saw the institutionalization of the church.  It can also be called the Age of Doctrine.  We are still experiencing the death, as the death-throes of this age with modernity and post-modernity takes a firm hold of the culture. Cox notes, “It was already comatose when the European Union chiselled the epitaph on its tombstone in 2005 by declining to mention the word “Christian” in its constitution” (7).

The third period proposed by Cox is the Age of the Spirit.  This is the age that we have begun to experience.  Cox identifies three characteristics of spirit or spirituality.  First, it is a form of protest against formal, organized religion.  Second it is an attempt to express the awe and wonder of creation.  Third, it recognizes the porous boundaries between the different branches of the Christian Family Tree and I might add other religions.  Cox sees this movement as looking forward rather than back to the past.

I agree with Cox that we seem to be entering an age of the Spirit.  The image that came to me when I was considering this is Holy Saturday; that time between Jesus’ death and resurrection.  We are in an in-between time when the Age of Doctrine is dying and the Age of the Spirit is being born.  Both death and birth can involve pains and uncertainty.  I think many Christians are experiencing both the death pains and the birth pains of the religions we are part of.

The challenge of the Age of the Spirit is just that―pain and uncertainty.  We can’t say that we weren’t given a heads up, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).   The Spirit is not generally embraced by organized religion.  I sometimes refer to the Third Person of God as the Rodney Dangerfield of the Trinity; it don’t get no respect.  This is because it is unpredictable; it does blow where is chooses and we cannot control it as much as we would desperately want to.  Jesus did tell us what to expect but we didn’t truly believe him, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him, “You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you” (John 14:16-17).  The church and the world still does not seem to be ready to receive it two thousand years later.

To live in uncertain times in indeed challenging and these times are very uncertain given the state of the church and the state of the world.  We live in the Shadow of Trumpism of which Donald trump is more a symptom than a cause.  I propose that Anglicans need to add to the Three Pillars of scripture, tradition and reason.  We need to add a fourth; discernment.  We need to learn how to better discern where the Spirt is leading us and to discern how we can best embrace it within our current way of being church.  This is by no means easy; but whoever told you being a Christian is easy.  Actually, Jesus did say my yoke is easy and my burden is light so I guess that, easy or not, it is a challenge that is definitely worth it.