Chris : Any chance that you can "flesh out" what you mean when you say-- "active spiritual connection" Sounds about right, but I'm not at all sure if I really understand what you are saying. Thanks Billy ========================================= 4/16/2012 3:37:17 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
In addition to “heart and mind”, I would suggest that true religious understanding requires an active spiritual connection. The religious pedagogy helps frame the structure of approaching God and interpreting spiritual responses. Chris From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Dr. Ernie Prabhakar Sent: Monday, April 16, 2012 4:32 PM To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Subject: Beyond Religion Re: [RC] Tim Keller, Ross Douthat, and Christianity’s Decline in USA HI Billy, On Apr 16, 2012, at 3:27 PM, [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) wrote: Ernie : " I suspect you use "faith" in the latter sense..." Absolutely. What you'd expect from any Baptist, even a renegade who these days is part Buddhist, part Zoroastrian, etc, etc. Yeah, I hate to say it, but I think you've chosen the wrong word. "Religion" has too much invested in religious practice to mean what you want it to mean. "Metaphysics" is closer, if high-falutin. "Divinity" is more accurate, but archaic. "Theology" is too academic. I've actually been thinking about this in, of all things, a marriage counseling session. We don't have a good word for the rock-bottom, life-defining beliefs that religion is supposed to provide. "Beliefs" is too weak. "Conviction" a bit too sterile. "Myth" too derogatory, though arguably accurate. Words matter, at least if our goal is to communicate in a way that changes hearts and minds. I think we need some new ones... -- Ernie P. About liturgical churches, with their emphases on tradition / traditions., while I have few negative feelings, I also have little empathy. Rituals, at least speaking of ceremonial rituals, sacraments, outside of the least number possible, don't do anything for me whatsoever and seem to me to be a complete waste of time. The subject is : " actual *religious understanding* about who we are and what we should do" That's the bottom line and the top line and almost all the lines in-between. If someone wants to wear a "sacred thread" or make use of "holy water" I don't get all bent out of shape, but such practices, as I see it, are theater, not spirituality. Maybe some theater is OK in life but that manifestly is NOT what "religion" is really all about. Faith is a matter of the heart and the mind, especially the heart but only if this also means an alive and fully engaged mind. They are inseparable. Traditions have their place, and can have value, but they are strictly secondary. I cannot possibly see things any other way. This is what I assume and assume that others necessarily also assume. But, I think you are right, many people simply don't think this way at all. I'd like to persuade them of the value of my way of thinking but maybe what they all need is to become Baptists first. Something like that. This is tongue in cheek, but maybe you get what I mean. Religion as "add-on" to life, as tradition, isn't religion as "faith" at all. Billy ============================= 4/16/2012 2:59:45 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) writes: HI Billy, On Apr 13, 2012, at 9:07 PM, [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) wrote: So the question comes down to this, for anyone : Do you believe, deep down inside, that religious faith really is crucial to your life ? That, in a sense, nothing else could possibly be more important ? For if anyone answers "yes," then a foundation exists to move mountains. Maybe an awkward metaphor but hopefully the idea is clear enough. As usual, I think it is important to separate out two distinct issues. One is religious tradition, which is very useful in a whole bunch of ways, but at the end of the day, not really essential to living a good life. There are multiple incompatible but equally valuable rituals. The other is an actual *religious understanding* about who we are and what we should do. THAT is incredible vital, and changes everything. I suspect you use "faith" in the latter sense, but most people don't, which causes a whole mess of problems. -- Ernie P. = -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) > Google Group: _http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism_ (http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism) Radical Centrism website and blog: _http://RadicalCentrism.org_ (http://radicalcentrism.org/) -- 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
