salvation – Intelligent Christian Spirituality

Understanding God: Beyond Fundamentalism

Dear Friends,

On October 12 the London Free Press published my article below under the title “Broad interpretations of God are important”

It is 670 words, so when you have 2 minutes, why not give it a quick read?

Blessings and peace,

Bruce Tallman

Spiritual Director

www.brucetallman.com

Fundamentalists need a broader interpretation of God and scripture

It is important for contemporary Christians to have a broad interpretation of God, Jesus, scripture, and theology since fundamentalism can be a dangerous force in our world, denying science, evolution, vaccines, and climate change.

In this regard, it is important to understand that God is both apophatic and cataphatic. Apophatic means God is beyond human understanding, while cataphatic refers to the concrete, understandable dimension of God. The primary example is God becoming human in Jesus, so we would have some way of understanding the apophatic God.

Christians need to hold onto both these dimensions. If you lose the apophatic dimension, you can become arrogant in your certainty about God and believe you must force your narrow understanding on others. But if you lose the cataphatic dimension, God becomes completely unknowable, and you may as well stop talking about God.

A third important dimension of God is the Holy Spirit, who is incarnate in every person as love, wisdom, joy, peace, and humility. Wherever you find those spiritual qualities, whether in Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, humanists, or atheists, the divine Spirit is present, leading them to a closer relationship with God. They don’t need you to convert them, God is already doing it..

People who believe in the supremacy of scripture usually mean the supremacy of their own interpretation of scripture. So, to avoid fundamentalism, it is important to realize that scripture is interpreted in many ways.

The Bible did not fall out of the sky. It came to us through a church, and there is no historical break between present-day Catholicism and the early church. Christ gave Peter and the rest of the apostles the authority to properly interpret scripture when he said, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

Catholic bishops, the apostles’ successors, then organized early church councils that decided which books should go in the Bible and which should be excluded. The New Testament is a Catholic document.

However, Catholicism recognizes the supremacy of everyone’s conscience. You should study church teaching and Catholic interpretations of scripture before making moral decisions. However, if you cannot agree in good conscience with these sources, you are free to follow your own conscience. You are ultimately accountable to God, not to the Catholic church.

Also, many fundamentalists subscribe to a narrow fall/redemption theology which many theologians now disagree with as it ignores the first and second chapters of the Bible, where God created humans and everything as “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Instead, this theology focuses exclusively on the third chapter, the fall of humans into evil, and the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross, which conquers our fallenness.

In addition to scriptural narrowness, fall/redemption theology gives us a horrific picture of God – a God who is wrathful, violent, and demands blood and death, or his anger won’t be satisfied, a god who consigns people to eternal torture if they don’t believe in this narrow theology. A different interpretation is that we create our own hell by our bad decisions.

Fall/redemption theology also lets Christians off the hook—they don’t have to change their lives to be saved. All they must do is believe in Jesus’s redemptive sacrifice on the cross. This diminishes Jesus’s life and teachings, which are often ignored, and which accounts for the hypocrisy and failure of many Christians to follow Jesus genuinely.

A poster in my home office says, “Why and from what does Jesus save us? To form a more perfect world, Jesus saves us, by example, from living only for ourselves.” This requires interaction between God and humans; we cannot do it alone.

However, as scripture says, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17-26). God gives us faith, but we must do the work. We are saved by following Jesus’ example of loving God and others. Jesus says, “Do this, and you will inherit eternal life” (Luke 10: 25-28).

Bruce Tallman is a London an educator of adults on religion. http://www.brucetallman.com

Unveiling Mysticism: The Journey to Unitive Life and the Pursuit of Truth

Salvation does not equal ‘piety’ or ‘ethical propriety’

salvation has to do with God’s love

for our deepest metaphysical nature –

our true self/the human person

which is beyond description/comprehension –

salvation is God’s ineffable love

and our ineffable love of God

and responsibility for our future

has now passed from God to us

“Our life and death are in our own hands

salvation is the realization and integration of this”

– Don Cupitt

“All history is a struggle against good and evil”

– Gaudium Et Spes (The Pastoral Constitution

on the Church in the Modern World, Vatican II)

Christ thus exhorts us to be holy

as God is holy

and God loves everyone

so to be holy is to love everyone

as God loves everyone – good or evil –

God allows sun and rain to fall on the just and unjust

Evelyn Underhill’s Mysticism has two parts:

1. The Mystic Fact: how mysticism relates

to Henri Bergson’s Elan Vital

and to modern psychology

2. The Mystic Way: the awakening/purification/training

of the self in the ascent to the blessedness

of the Unitive Life

“A God-fearing person must follow the Truth

regardless of the consequences

even though it endangers their life –

they must trust that a good deed

will have a good result –

they know it is better to die in the way of God

than to live in the way of Satan.”

– Gandhi

THE PARADOXICAL GOOD NEWS

The deeper and wider our knowledge of God

the greater our love of God

but Christians tend to limit love to humans

and not see it in other species or in the universe itself

therefore we focus on inner love and outer darkness

another classic duality/division in our thinking

true nondual language is paradoxical

like a Zen koan – “I am different from all others

yet the same as them” – this is true in life

because life itself is paradoxical

and even though Christianity stands or falls on Christology

we couldn’t handle the paradox of Christ:

both human and God – and so we spiritualized Jesus –

we couldn’t handle the humanity of Jesus

like the docetist heretics – so we made Jesus into pure God

rather than the God/human

and we made salvation totally spiritual

so that Christianity had only a limited impact on the world

and we didn’t have to change – so far

but when we divorce theology from cosmology

we get just an idea of God

rather than the living God

and there exists a tremendous gap

between the transcendent/religious dimension

and the material/science dimension of life –

life becomes divided against itself

but contemplation opens our dualistic minds

to the paradoxical Good News

of intelligent Christian spirituality:

our fulfillment/salvation is received not achieved

but we have to work out our salvation

with fear and trembling

“for it is God who works in you

both to will and to work

for God’s good pleasure”

Philippians 2: 12-13.

MYSTICISM AND POLITICS

Mysticism is direct experience of God

but most mainline pastors are sceptical about experience

because they believe faith must have intellectual content –

and it must involve social justice –

true faith is not simply pentecostal or mystical.

Johann Metz’s theology of politics was influenced by

Catholic theologian Karl Rahner

existentialist philosopher Martin Heidegger

marxist philosopher of hope Ernst Bloch

Jurgen Habermas’s critique of modern consciousness

liberation theologian Gustavo Gutierrez

and the base communities who

practically and politically implemented

the ideas of all these thinkers.

If Metz were alive today he would include scientists and mystics

since mysticism explores consciousness

and understanding consciousness is

the next big frontier for science.

What most pastors miss or forget

is that Divine Co-creativity works

within the evolutionary process

and within us –

the Spirit works primarily through

our mind/heart/gut’s consciousness and experience

rather than as an external agent of cause-and-effect.

“The universe is the primary Sacred Reality

and we become sacred by participating in it” –

Thomas Berry

This is how we get wholeness/salvation –

salvation by participation in the universe

since the whole cosmos was designed and created

with a view to the Cosmic Christ

the noble goal/perfection/center of the universe.

This is the starting point for Johann Metz

in his theology of politics.

GOD LOVES YOUR SHADOW

Trying to find absolute rights and wrongs is a trick

we play on ourselves to feel secure and comfortable

but it is far more daring to keep your heart open

and not make anyone the ‘enemy’

not even your shadow.

Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle says the soul

is a mansion of many rooms, but there is a room

in which we should always dwell – self-knowledge –

coming to consciousness of the dark side

of one’s personality is, according to Fr. Thomas Keating

the ‘sine qua non’ – the ‘essential condition’ for

psychological/spiritual growth/humility/wholeness/holiness.

Our shadow only becomes hostile

when ignored or misunderstood –

like any human being you have to get along with –

often you have to give in/resist/show love.

Holy men and women have unconsciously written whole books

claiming it was all dictated to them by Jesus/Mary/the Holy Spirit

but John of the Cross would be sceptical about this

and Fatima/Medjugorje/end-of-the-world predictions.

Kick at the darkness/the shadow not out of illusion

not out of triumphalism, but out of grace –

kick at the darkness because it is ubiquitous

but it is not sovereign – it will not have the final word.

God’s way of being just is to show mercy/unconditional love

to those who were loved conditionally

and therefore repressed the ‘unacceptable’ parts of themselves

and so developed a shadow.

God loves all of us, even our shadows

and this formed the basis for Karl Barth’s belief

that we can at least hope for

the salvation of all souls.

God is patient with us

not wanting anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9).

TEST EVERY SPIRIT

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit

but test the spirits to see

if they are from God” – I John 4:11

There are many visionaries/prophets in the world today

but we must discern the rind from the fruit.

Meister Eckhart is no Gnostic

but he emphasized transcendent/ineffable knowing

which the 21^st century mind cannot grasp

since it believes all knowledge can be rationally analyzed

or if not, the knowledge-object does not exist.

But God transcends human rationality –

“My thoughts are not your thoughts

and My ways are not your ways –

as the heavens are higher than the earth

so My ways are higher than your ways

and My thoughts higher than your thoughts” – Isaiah 55:8-9.

Limited 21^st century rationality proclaims this god must not exist.

Eckhart was under the influence of mystical Judaism

therefore, the Hasidim (Jewish mystics), show up in his writing –

the Baal Shem Tov said “In remembering lies redemption”

and Eckhart called Christ “The Great Reminder.”

Eckhart reminds us the heart ties together God’s triple-c calling:

communion with God/

community with others/

commission – ministry for others.

Eckhart believed salvation must include social justice

but most traditional salvation theories ignored the obvious:

racism/sexism/slavery/poverty/degradation of Earth –

Protestants overlooked the decimation of indigenous Americans

and Catholics overlooked the poverty of social justice in Latin America.

Recognizing the inner beauty of each human being

is at the heart of being human –

when we judge others we deny their inner beauty/

their beauty never gets a chance to shine/

and we block evolution’s flow

to greater love and consciousness.

THE PROTESTANT PRINCIPLE AND PARADOX

Life is always the tension/balance between opposing forces:

dark energy makes up 70% of the universe, dark matter 25% –

the visible universe is only 5% of what we know!

Dark energy keeps the universe expanding

and dark matter is a vast invisible ocean

that causes clustering of galaxies

and keeps the universe together.

More tensions of life:

Paradox I: salvation is freely given

but requires effort on our part.

Paradox II: Salvation is absolute liberation and joy

but to get there you normally go thru

absolute chaos/confusion/suffering.

Peter, James, John and Paul were saints just like us

who brought their brokenness to Christ

so that God’s strength might be glorified

in the transformation of their weakness.

The New Testament word for “heart” – “kardea”

means “our innermost thoughts/feelings/judgements”

that Jesus said must be purified –

he is quite clear – we must go beyond

superficial practice of the Law

to inner purification of our heart.

The Protestant Principle of iconoclasm –

the anti-idolatry that smashes idols – purifies things.

Paul Tillich turned the Protestant Principle

on Catholicism for believing it is God

on Karl Barth for his ‘supernaturalism’

and not taking modern culture seriously

on Carl Jung for reducing religion

to a private subjective realm

on himself for absolutizing Christianity

and not dialoguing with world religions

earlier in his theology.

Spiritual growth is to get rid of the clutter

to purify your self. The hero’s journey is one of

rediscovery not discovery – you learn that you were

a daughter/son of God all along – the heir of the universe:

the universe, in all its darkness and light, is yours, forever!

TWO AGES

Michel Foucault believed the sciences of man

furthered scientism

the belief science has all the answers

which led to the “Age of Man”

in which humans are studied as

objects of scientific investigation –

B. F. Skinner’s behaviorism

treats humans as “Its”

with no subjectivity.

Science can give us concrete information

about the flow of evolution and our place in it

but not a framework for ultimate meaning –

the purview of theology and religion.

There is a different way of looking at salvation –

God saves us from ourselves

by giving us meaning.

With meaning, little else is needed

without meaning we are caught up in endless

addictive consumerism, rivalry, competition

endlessly rolling the stone up the mountain

only to watch it roll down again

as others out-compete us.

But there is positive meaning and negative meaning.

Martin Luther’s meaning in the 16^th century

created the perfect storm for anxiety:

focus on sin, the wrath of God, heaven and hell

coupled with new printing press technology

to spread the Message, rats to spread the Bubonic Plague

and the dissolution of ecclesial order

an “Age of Anxiety” blossomed

whose rotting fruit persists to this day.

Believing, as Luther did,

that we are a solid, separate self

traps us in self-centeredness

but as we work through the chakras in order

we are liberated from successive prisons:

chakras 1,2,3: egocentric food, sex, power

chakras 4,5: ethnocentric love and communication

chakras 6,7: world-centric mindfulness and spirituality.

The ‘porous’ non-separated self gives and receives:

as living beings, we are part of the close-knit family

of living organisms that evolved one from another

over billions of years, products of immensely creative

energy-exchanges of matter and spirit that makes us one with

stars, galaxies, and everything.

Pharisaism symbolizes the self-centered self –

identification with your own self-righteousness

no shadow; no need of conversion

which ironically blocks your path to God

and your compassion for others –

being in touch with shadow means

you know you need, and others need

God’s grace.

To break addiction to yourself

(the only way to liminal space/transformation)

you must change your usual patterns:

fasting not eating, silence not talking,

anonymity not fame, displacement not status,

poverty not money.

Realizing that all desires are good

and the problem is only selfish misuse of desire

many mystics gave up asceticism:

punishing their bodies, suppressing their desires.

Meister Eckhart for one

replaced asceticism with non-attachment.

Desires are good, but on the other hand

pain burns through illusions

of false pleasures

and shows us what is truly beautiful.

But what you see, the beauty of pain or pleasure

depends on how you choose to see:

positive or negative, blessing or curse.

Why is the Holy Spirit within everyone

but not everyone realizes it?

Because God does not force anything on anyone

that they didn’t desire and choose –

human freedom is respected –

and the freedom of the Holy Spirit

to overcome anxiety

and the limits of science.

WAKE UP, WAKE UP TOGETHER

Lonergan: at end of 1600s a great revolution:

constant attacks by Enlightenment

and Anglicans analyzing

existence

balancing scripture, tradition, reason

shifted Catholic method-in-theology

from questions to certainties

theological inquiry to dogmatic theology.

Outer spiritual authority says

“You are special”

Inner spiritual authority says

“Everyone is special”

another revolutionary shift

from elitism to egalitarianism.

Too much outer authority

creates Authoritarian Institutions

which create religion’s greatest enemy:

indifference:

loss of divine will-to-be-alive

loss of heart

loss of passion

atrophying into loveless/hateless

existence.

Upon meeting, Buddhists

bow and silently acknowledge

each other as a Buddha-to-be

since all carry within

seeds of awakening.

In Confucianism, filial piety

must be practiced from

the Emperor/Empoweror

Son of Heaven

down thru princes, scholars to peasants

or disaster ensues.

Brueggemann: Christian imagination

numbed, satiated, co-opted, paralyzed by fear

cannot do any serious work.

But depth psychology and existential analysis

separate anxiety, a group phenomenon

from fear, an individual phenomenon.

So, do not fear

to follow Jesus

because of what others might think.

In fact, others don’t think

of you……………….at all.

Shed fear and become

one of the twin heroes of mythology

two basic sides of human nature:

the mild and acquiescent

the wild and rebellious

the Introvert who powerfully reflects

the Extrovert who greatly accomplishes

but either way

be humble

not self-deprecating nor self-condemning

and either way

be contemplative

the secret of which is:

life in the Eternal Now

not-Emptiness

full-of-Godness.

Bonaventure: Incarnation is

the Center of Creation:

everything preceding and following

descent of the Logos

finds its meaning in Christ.

The Universal Christ is

the Eternal Now and Love Supreme

Love: Alpha and Omega of Life

Alpha: Big Bang to God-consciousness

showing Itself explicitly in Jesus the Christ

Omega: Love drawing the universe

forward thru Christ

toward

ever-greater-Unity-in-Love.

The universe’s salvation is

corporate/universal salvation

beyond any individual.

Wake up, wake up together!

ETERNAL LOVE

Our True Self is Love.

Christ’s Sermon

the Magna Carta

of Love’s Reign:

where Love rains

we are soaked

and the False Self washes away.

Early on

women preached and prophesied Love

in Church!

And Augustine marinated in

Manichean theosophy

Italian scepticism

Neo-Platonic mysticism

until he discovered Love

and conversion.

But when Patriarchs

settled the Canon

of Scripture

and blew everyone away

including Gospels of

Thomas, Magdalene and Philip

the nonviolent Reign of Love

in Jesus and Paul

subverted into Apocalypse

in Revelation –

the rain of blood

up to horses’ saddles.

Things devolved further

until Meister Eckhart

preached Love

to tormented and bewildered

Peasants.

Following the Crucified

brooks no romanticizing Love

always a hard workout

Salvation won non-violently

in fear and trembling.

Now salvation of humans

and salvation of nature

inextricably bind each other

and we know

matter flows

the reign of lava

evolving, self-transcending

into higher and higher

consciousness

until God reaches down

or emerges up

into infused contemplation

called by Ignatius of Loyola

“consolation without previous cause” –

a gift we neither cause nor deserve

of God’s all-embracing

Presence.

In Pure Land Buddhism

monks invoke Buddha

till Enlightenment:

the Realization

Pure Land is in us.

But even internal Pure Lands

flow impermanently

unlike the Rain of Love.

Eternal God:

not ever-lasting but

ever-Present

“I Am”

NOW

without time.

As Wittgenstein wrote:

“Eternal life belongs

to those who live in the

Present.”

Eternal Life is NOW

life in permanent Love of

Presence.