It is impossible to prove or disprove
the denial or assertion of religious beliefs.
Religious belief is a choice
but religious symbols and practices
have given people meaning and strength
to cope with troubles down through the ages:
“O God our help in ages past
our hope for years to come
our shelter from the stormy blast
and our eternal home.”
This hymn provides comfort
when humans are more and more de-centered:
in the universe by Copernicus
in life by evolutionary biology
in our inner core by the subconscious.
In Newtonian physics, physical reality
followed rigid causal pathways
but in Chaos Theory, physical reality
is flexible, open to change and new
spontaneously emerging properties.
Things are out of our control and in God’s control.
Spontaneous revival happened in Hinduism:
decline in the 1800s gave birth in the 1900s
to great spiritual teachers:
Aurobindo/Gandhi/Tagore/
Yogananda who claimed unity
with Buddha/Jesus/Mohammed
and that all religions are one
since they all seek the same goal: God.
Inter-religiosity may be written off
as postmodern/New Age/goofiness
but the fact is that all of religion’s
key dimensions of
belief/behavior/belonging
are being dramatically transformed
by contact with other major world religions.
Vatican II called for recognition
that all humans are interconnected.
Interreligious dialogue creates
the Beloved Community, humanity.
Intelligent Christian Spirituality 