Hello Ernie:
This might be a strange question. I enjoyed the Wiki description of
Transformational Christianity and it has me thinking. I have a 20 year
career as a family therapist, community builder, program director and
teacher but I am increasingly seeing myself in a pastoral role ie. my
community. I haven't been able to operationalize that very well but I know
intuitively that I am heading in that direction - wherever that direction
is.
My hope would be to help others find meaning and stability, especially those
that are unchurched or ungoverned so to speak. I'd like to do it in an
informal way, perhaps as a community mentor and not as part of a formal
church. Have you ever thought about something like this?
I see the world as in an Axial period and I'd like to do my part to help
people navigate the changes. I have found my psychotherapy role to be too
medical/mechanistic/deficit-based to do that.
regards,
kevin
Hi Kevin,
On Oct 30, 2011, at 5:10 AM, Kevin Kervick wrote:
This is how I talk about my own beliefs:
Deism means that there is something powerful and grand in the universe
that is bigger than us. It is larger than our ego's projection.
Experiencing the Deity, how ever one does that (for me it is often being
in the state of awe) diminishes our own tendencies toward narcissism and
our controlling instincts. It helps us see order in things and brings
peace. Deism motivates us to do good things in the world out of respect
for that amazing order. It also humbles us.
Deism also means that we strive to be rational in how we explain the world
but we are also open to all other ways of knowing, such as emotional
experience, intuition, or social intelligence. Deism also means that we
claim no superior knowledge and seek to learn continuously from others.
We do not criticize other faith traditions but we do point our where we
believe we have reasonable interpretations that may be inconsistent with
those other beliefs. Most importantly we approach life with realistic
optimism and hope because we appreciate the wonder of the universe.
Thank you for the conversation.
For the record, I consider this very close to my ideal of "deism as a
neutral meeting point" for various faiths. Well said.
-- Ernie P.
Transformational Christian
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Transformationalism
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Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community
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Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community
<[email protected]>
Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism
Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
