THE PARADOX OF RELIGION

The paradox of being human is that 

we have two competing drives:

the desire to belong

to find the security of community

and the desire to stand alone

and have a personal relationship with God

we also long for freedom

but therein lies another paradox: 

true freedom is found in community

not isolation/rejection of all institutions 

including religious organizations

still another paradox: religious people 

because they set their standards high

are particularly susceptible to shadow-problems –

they think they always have to be good/virtuous

but striving for this paradoxically activates 

their dark side by repression

so their subconscious mind contains

all their unChristlike drives

even clergy could not get excited about religion

since they defined “religion” as “institution”

and “spirituality” as “experiential/personal/lively faith” –

therefore not religion but spirituality turned their crank/

brought them to the living God

however, so much holiness is lost to religious organizations

because men refuse to share the secrets of their hearts 

with one another in community –

“Men preach to one another to avoid self-disclosure 

and thus paradoxically avoid holiness”

– John Henry Newman

but other religious men are prophetic conduits of Spirit 

like Canadian folk legend Bruce Cockburn 

who take the Cross as their window on the world 

allowing them to face the apocalyptic world

all around and within them –

their awareness of the Cross allows them  

to compassionately handle shadow-problems

in the heart of the world and in their own hearts.