A New Religion in Canada According to ChatGPT (2)

 A while ago I delved into the wonderful world of artificial intelligence in my blog with the post, AI, and the Preacher (November 7, 2023).  I have been pondering the possibilities of AI.  The thought came that it would be very interesting to explore a new religion today in Canada, what would it be like if someone was to set out to create one.  I decided that I would pose that question to my friend ChatGPT, the AI phenomenon that has taken the world by storm recently.    I asked ChatGPT a series of questions about such a new religion and would like to share the responses over the next few editions of my blog.  Beyond exploring this, I am interested to see how this new religion proposed by ChatGPT compares with the Anglican Church of Canada.

With that, here is the answer to my first query I posed to Chat GPT, “I would like a 500-word essay on the characteristics of what a new religion in Canada would look like.”  Last week I considered the first part of the response, here is the second part: 

Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation: In a country characterized by religious pluralism, a new religion would likely embrace interfaith dialogue and cooperation as essential components of its ethos. It would seek common ground with other spiritual traditions, emphasizing shared values and mutual respect while acknowledging and honoring differences. Collaborative initiatives aimed at addressing societal challenges and promoting peace could emerge from such interfaith exchanges.

 

Personal Growth and Empowerment: A new religion in Canada would likely prioritize individual spiritual growth and empowerment. Its teachings might encourage self-reflection, mindfulness practices, and the pursuit of inner peace and fulfillment. Rituals and ceremonies could be designed to facilitate personal transformation, fostering resilience, and facilitating emotional healing.

 

Adaptability and Evolution: Given Canada's dynamic and ever-changing cultural landscape, a new religion would need to be adaptable and open to evolution. It would embrace innovation while staying rooted in timeless spiritual principles, continually reinterpreting ancient wisdom in light of contemporary realities. This adaptability would enable the religion to remain relevant and responsive to the evolving needs of its adherents and society at large.

 

As with the first parts of the response, I will consider if these characteristics are reflected in the Anglican Church of Canada today.  Should the Anglican Church be more reflective of these?  Let’s look at the characteristics identified and discussed above:

Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation: The Anglican Church has made efforts in interfaith dialogue and to work cooperatively with other religions, particularly with the other Abrahamic religions - Judaism, and Islam.  It has also worked to incorporate the Indigenous tradition with its religious practices, in recent times creating the position of Indigenous Archbishop to serve as pastoral leader to Indigenous Peoples in the Anglican Church of Canada.  Here is the statement addressing this on the website of the National Church:

Canada is an increasingly pluralistic country, and more and more Canadians are living, working, and socializing side by side with people of other religious traditions. For Christians, there is a growing need not just for dialogue with people of other faiths, but for genuine relationships with them. Increased awareness of religious plurality, the potential role of religion in conflict, and the growing place of religion in public life all present urgent challenges that require greater understanding and cooperation among people of diverse faiths.

The Anglican Church of Canada pursues formal dialogue with people of other faiths together with the other member churches of the Canadian Council of Churches. We also participate in the Canadian Interfaith Conversation, which gathers representatives of different religious groups who believe that people of faith can contribute positively to the benefit of all people in Canadian society.

However, with all these efforts the Anglican Church holds that Christianity is the true religion.  While others may have some truth in their relationship with the divine, Christianity is the one true way. 

Personal Growth and Empowerment: Spiritual practices are upheld and encouraged generally within the Anglican Church.  Personally, I am engaged by Huron University College to offered Spiritual Direction to theology students.   The document Competencies for Ordination to the Priesthood by the Anglican Church includes the following criteria, “Shows evidence of personal and spiritual growth and healthy self-awareness.”  The value of spiritual practices such as meditation and Centring Prayer are recognized and encouraged.

Adaptability and Evolution: This category would be clearer if ChatGPT used “Change” instead of “Evolution”.  Evolution in the scientific meaning could be included in this category which would indicate the acceptance of science as not contradictory to the theology of the Anglican Church.  There is an old belief that Anglicans are resistant to change with the punchline to a joke being, ‘we don’t change, we’re Anglicans.  However, there has been significant change in the modern Anglican Church with the introduction of a new prayer book, The Book of Alternative Services, in 1985.   In addition, there have been new hymn books and supplementary liturgies.  Further, women are eligible for ordination to the priesthood. The blessing of same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage are permitted in many dioceses of the Anglican Church.  These changes have been met with resistance and are not embraced by some practicing Anglicans. It raises the question of what is the core of Anglicanism in Canada.  Are there aspects of what is essential for Anglicanism to still be Anglicanism?  In some cases, the change has been made in the hope that it will enable parishioners to live lives as Christians more fully on the one hand and hopefully attract worshippers to fill the empty pew on Sundays on the other.  However, this has not had a positive effect on the declining numbers of Anglicans who are active in church life.

I will continue to explore aspects of this hypothetical new religion over the next few weeks and how the church that I am part of, stacks up in comparison to this hypothetical one. 

Blessings on your journey.

 

 

Letting Go

All great spirituality is about letting go. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection show us how to win by losing. (Philip Simmons)

The idea of ‘letting go’ is one that can be, ironically, hard to grasp.  To let go should seem to be easy as it shouldn’t seem to be anything that takes a lot of effort or be something that we resist.  However, it is all that and more.  The idea of spirituality being about letting go is also counter intuitive.  Spirituality is about developing and enhancing our relationship with God―or the divine if that is more compatible with your ideology and theology.

However, when you reflect on the idea of letting go, it becomes clearer what this idea is getting at.  How much of our attitudes and beliefs and way of being in life involves holding on to those things for dear life as hard as possible for better or worse.  Our beliefs and attitudes and perhaps philosophy of life―examined or unexamined―form our way of understanding and being in the world.  If these foundational issues are questioned and challenged, we will probably not react in a positive way―unless it is to be positively infuriated. 

When I read the statement which I lead off with, I was reminded of a little educational cartoon which was in a Tarzan comic book which I read as a child long, long ago in a land far, far away.  Tarzan comic books had these little educational addendums which were supposed to educate the young readers about the real Africa that the Tarzan stories were based on.  This one talked about the monkey traps which were used to do just what the name suggested, capture monkeys.  The monkey trap was a hallowed-out gourd with a small opening.  Inside would be treats that monkeys really liked.  They would reach their paws into the opening and grasp the treats.  The opening was too small to retract their paws while they grasped the treat.  They would not be willing to let go of the reward and so they were trapped between wanting the treat and their freedom. 

Here is a picture of a monkey trap I found on line:

To me, that is a perfect metaphor for the challenge of spiritually letting go.  It seems to be human nature to hang on to beliefs and attitudes that are actually keeping us trapped in ways that do not let us live life as God intended.  These attitudes and beliefs are based on things that may have served us well at some point to survive in life.  They can and probably are based on fears which may have been valid at some point. However, they quite possibly may not be appropriate or necessary in life today.  We can react instinctively like that monkey and hold on for dear life to something that is imprisoning us.  However, if we use our God-given gift of reflection and discernment, we can take the risk and let go of the ideas and beliefs that are entrapping us. 

In no way is doing that easy.  Letting go does require faith.  It requires faith that God is with you and that the fear that if you do let go terrible things will not happen. 

Richard Rohr sums this up well:

Only when we accept our present condition can we set aside fear and discover the love and compassion that are our highest human endowments. And out of our compassion we deal justly with those about us. Not just on our good days, not just when it’s convenient, but everywhere and at all times we are free to act according to that which is highest in us. And in such action we find peace.  Richard Rohr April 4, 2019

Blessings on your journey.

Last week I began to answer the questions posed by one of readers in response to one missives Here are the questions:

Can you explain to me your grounding belief in the Trinity? I can’t explain internally the need for formal religion and rules and commitment. 

I agree that when you drill down to the bottom of all... be good treat people as you want to be treated..  try to correct wrongs when you can etc. 

Does it come down to blind faith? What drives you to continue?  Do you ever feel that your energy would better placed in just straight up social justice?

Last week I tacked the issue of my lived experience of the Trinity.  This week I will respond as best I can to the comment on the need for formal religion. 

Often people will reject the formal structure of religious organizations.  There is much to criticize and reject in the actions of religious leaders and organizations.  Things have been done and, I daresay, continue to be done which, in my view, are not what Jesus had in mind when he taught and healed and was crucified because of who he was and how he lived. 

Many people will say that they are spiritual rather than religious.  There is much to commend being spiritual.  Indeed, I work as a spiritual director and encourage people to explore and deepen their spiritual lives.  However, I believe that unless we live out our lives within the larger context of a community of faith it is very difficult to have a structure in our lived which provides the means of keeping me on the course which God has prepared for me.  Richard Rohr, one of my go to guys in these matters addresses this, “Our Western culture leans toward self-sufficiency and independence, and we often need to be reminded that we are part of a greater whole, that we are not alone in our longings and efforts for peace, justice, and healing. This is one of the great gifts of what we usually mean by “church”—a gathering of people in solidarity of purpose, praying and seeking God’s presence together.”  (Daily Meditation September 20, 2014)

Being part of a religious community does not mean that you will not take a wrong turn and go off course.  That is guaranteed to happen just as it happens to the organization.  However, being part of a community provides the opportunity to get back on course and try again.  Indeed, it is very foundation of the practice of religious worship that provides the regular opportunity to acknowledge where you have gone astray and missed the mark i.e. sinned, to repent and ask forgiveness.  We have the assurance by our doctrine that when we do this we will be forgiven.  Again, there is no guarantee that people will seek forgiveness in their heart of hearts, but the possibility is given to us through the grace of God.

Jesus Christ has promised that where two or three (or more) are gathered in his name he will be with them, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20).  Again, there is no guarantee that those gathered will make an effort to understand what Jesus is directing them to do, but that is what we are called to do.  Religious organizations are comprised of fallible, imperfect, flawed human beings.  However, Jesus, being fully human as well as fully divine, knew that very well and understood that we would make mistakes and go astray.  However, despite this he calls us to be together.

Blessings on your journey will all its mistakes and missteps