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The Scything Bride
30 Monday Aug 2021
Posted spirituality, wonder
in30 Monday Aug 2021
Posted spirituality, wonder
inTags
24 Tuesday Aug 2021
Posted love, spirituality
inThey say that a picture is worth a thousand words and I (re)discovered the truth of that this week. I am reading a book that is comparing two models of the God-World relationship and it caught me by surprise. I realised that all of my life I had thought in one way, and, of course, assumed that it was the only way. In fact, I thought that any other way was wrong and probably dangerous.
The discussion is about how the Creator is related to the Creation:
The first model is called the “production” model. In it, creation is made from material that is separate from the Creator, like the potter’s pot or the artist’s sketch. The picture that came to my mind was of a (slightly mad looking) scientist with a prototype universe perched on the workbench. God looks on with a mixture of pride, bemusement and concern. This is the model that I am most familiar with, without even realising that it was just one of several possible views.
The second model is called the “procreative” model where God brings forth the universe from God’s own being. (This is not the same as pantheism, where all of the universe is God. That is another possible model but one that I do not feel any connection with). In the procreative model, the universe is made from the Divine material – the potter and pot are one. In the words of the book that I am reading1 “this model does not identify the universe ‘with God’, for God is more than the universe; rather it sees the universe as being ‘of God’ or ‘in God’.”
This is completely new thinking for me and very liberating. In this view, God is invested in creation. In this view, God cannot just crush the creation and start again like the mad scientist could. And the picture that sprang to mind when I first thought about this model was of a pregnant God – the Big Bang was growing inside God’s tummy like a pregnancy. There is a much higher level of empathy than in the view that I have been used to, and I like it.
Of course, this has also changed my attitude towards all of creation – the sanctity of all living things, the wonder of the cosmos and the subatomic, the beauty of the created order. And it has changed my view of how we fit into the Creator’s handiwork.
I am not sure where else to take that picture, or if any other truths or ideas spring from it, but you are welcome to make comment about it if you would like to.
1 Reading the Bible again for the first time, Marcus J Borg
12 Thursday Aug 2021
Posted getting started, spirituality
inTags
beliefs, church, discussion groups, divine, faith, God, spirituality
Nourishing Faith
What is faith?
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing or belief not based on proof (dictionary definition).
Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark. (R. Tagore)
Faith is stretching out from the known and reaching for the unknown.
Faith is a crutch. When I am injured, a crutch is exactly what I need. When I need a shoulder to lean on, faith is what I reach for. But, faith is so much more than that … it is a way of life … a way of seeing.
Faith is the reality of all that is hoped for; faith is the proof of all that is unseen. (The Inclusive Bible, Heb 11:1)
Faith is trusting in the faithfulness of a good and loving God.
Faith incorporates reason and knowledge, and flourishes when partnered with feelings, emotions and intuition. Occasionally, faith needs imagination and fantasy to survive.
These three things remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (1Cor 13:13).
Take a moment to read these eight statements about faith and rate your level of agreement between 1-10 where 10 is strongly agree and 1 is strongly disagree.
Faith in what/who?
Do all humans express some kind of faith?
(gravity, traffic lights/rules, ropes, parachutes, human kindness/honesty/goodness, dogs off leads are friendly, etc etc)
Faith in Deity (ies) is common in humans around the world. The characteristics that we ascribe to god(s) will affect how we live out our spiritual faith.
Faith in the scripture and the words/promises contained within sacred texts also affect our faith practice. Eg. Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness (Rom 4:9) and It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise … (Rom 4:13).
Christian faith relies on scripture to formulate theology. Belief that God is Love and that Christ is the incarnation of this God of Love seems to be the basic expression of faith that all denominations share. For in Christ all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through Christ to reconcile all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of the cross (Col 1:19-20)
What does faith look/sound/feel like?
I believe the expression of Christian faith is as varied as the number of individuals that choose it. Please read Hebrews 11 to consider how some of the ancients expressed their faith, and notice the variety/diversity. I have written a similar reflection looking at the women of faith from the sacred text and a more general article on faith that you may wish to have a look at:
and
What color is your faith? What color is my faith?
Does it involve justice, mercy, generosity, care of the environment, compassion for the needy, academic rigour, study of the sacred text, sharing food/company, prayer?
Ways to nourish faith in others (and ourselves)
Listen and watch for expressions of faith. Affirm experiences/observations in others as they share their stories. Their spiritual language may be different to that which is commonly used in the Christian narrative. Be attentive to a range of conversations that may involve:
Using prayer to nourish faith:
I pray that out of God’s glorious riches, he/she may strengthen you with power through the Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all God’s people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Eph 3:16-19)