Open Path

Spiritual Ecology

By: Deshna Ubeda

We just sent out our latest eBulletin on Spiritual Ecology- The Environment in Progressive Christianity.  My job is to gather all the articles, books, reviews, music, and other material and lay out the eBulletin with all the photos and links.  Often, depending on the subject, I have to go asking and searching for articles or books- progressive Christianity is still relatively new and undiscovered so not a whole bunch of literature is being produced.  However, with this ebulletin, we were overwhelmed with submissions and choices.  That certainly makes my job easier!  Obviously, the environment is a hot topic right now and for good reason. 

Much of what was sent my way was the darker side of the picture with estimations, studies, and predictions of the end of a safe earth.  Those of us that are not in denial know that these are critical and scary times, that we have grossly mistreated our planet and that we are now rapidly seeing the negative affects of such selfishness.  I included a couple of those scare you into action pieces, but the articles and perspectives that really touched me and inspired me the most were the ones like: Oneness.  Just a blog that I found while looking around.  Simple yet beautiful, in which the author is filled with gratitude for the gift of nature, of life, of breath, touch, smell and thought. 

"As my eyes opened this day..and again awakened into a new morning, the thought arose in my mind: ''I am part of all of this''....and I smiled! My heart is most grateful...for every experience lived, I know Love and its living Source. I can walk, run, dance and hop,...I can breathe...I can breathe..not only that! I can smell and detect the exquisite fragrances and scents of flowers...my favorite magical children of the earth...they are children in disguises ..you know?"

Yes, we need to drastically change our ways in regards to the environment.  Yes, we are seeing the moment in history when our actions are exponentially coming to fruition and it does scare me, especially when I think about my daughter and the life that she will have.  And what about her children?

But I think it is just as important to teach our children to be in awe of nature each day, to be filled with gratitude for the beauty and gift of the earth.  To remind them to take deep breaths, to slow down and look around, to look up, to listen and feel.  How blessed are we to be able to feel the warmth of human touch, the tickle of the wind on our skin, the drops of life that fall from the sky, to lay in the sun-warmed grass, to squish our toes into moist sand, to taste the richness of the fruits whose juices dance in our mouths, and to be nourished by the rainbow colors of the vegetables that the earth gifts us!

When you wake in the morning, do you say thank you?  Do you take a moment to fill your lungs with sweet breath?  Are you filled with a sense of wonder at it all?  Yes, there is reason to fear for the future of our planet and sometimes we need fear to drive us to change, but isn't it possible that instead of fear, we can use our gratitude and appreciation of the earth as a healthy alternative to fear?  That we can teach our children to love and care for the earth because of how thankful they are rather than how afraid they are of what might happen if they don't?  And what would your day look like if you woke up each morning and said a prayer of thanks, if you noticed each sensation, each color, each breath... at least for a few minutes?

You can sign up for our free, once a month eBulletin here

Sitting on the Edge of the Fence

By: Fred Plumer

At the risk of letting this blog page become a message or discussion board, I feel compelled to respond to publicly to Adrian's comments since his questions are so well written, and so universal. I believe that the vast majority of people who quietly refer to themselves as Christians today, like Adrian, are also sitting and the fence. And as I visit congregations all over the country, I have discovered that many of them are trying to function with a fence down the middle of the sanctuary that is much like the ignored "elephant in the room."

Actually this fence that he refers to has been there for nearly two thousand years although ignored by the vast majority of Christians over the years. At one point, by the end of the second century, it was divided into two large camps-those who believed that Jesus was God or and those who believed he was an angelic human who had a godly nature. It turned into a battle between the followers of Bishop Athanasias and the very popular Greek priest and theologian, Arias. The divide was clearly defined at the cost of many lives in the Forth Century when Constantine demanded a unified Christianity. Over a period of several decades Bishops were called together to vote on who and what Jesus was. As it turned out, the defining moment occurred in Nicaea in 325 when the Athanasias followers were able to get a majority vote for what became the Nicene Creed. The Arians were defeated and the power-brokers bishops who favored the God/Jesus began to clean out the Arian followers. The were deemed heretics and the fully human Jesus disappeared into the mist of mythology.

Most Christians today are totally unaware that the vast majority of things they believe about the person-hood of Jesus of Nazareth are the result of a huge political struggle between the followers of Arias and politically savvy Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria. Probably one of the best accounts of this often ignored piece of our church history is covered in an excellent book by Richard E. Rubenstein, When Jesus Became God.   According to Rubenstein and others there were several votes taken in different parts of the empire, before and after Nicaea that were a very close. The struggle between these factions continued for decades in spite of the arrests, the deaths and the torture that the Arian followers faced before going underground.

What would have happened if the Arians had won the battle? What would Christianity look like today or would it even exist? That of course is a very interesting question. I would suggest that it would have been difficult to build a church institution without a Savior whose access was controlled by that same institution. But of course we will never know. 

The real issue is, what can Christianity be today? I believe the primary reason that our Christian churches are failing today is because they do not know what they believe, or more importantly, why they are in existence except to be a church. What is the purpose of the church today?

In my opinion scholars have done a pretty thorough job of deconstructing the myth of the one and only God/Jesus over the last half a century. The historical legs of Triune God have been systematically kicked out from under the stool, and most students of religious courses in our universities and seminaries are well aware of that. Scholars like Robert M. Price, Burton L. Mack and Tom Harpur among others have so thoroughly deconstructed the historical Jesus that they have even questioned if there really was a historical Jesus.

Harpur posits that the story of Jesus is no different than the story of Osiris and Horus of Egyptian mythology, right down to the virgin birth, the suffering servant, the god/human savior and the death and resurrection in three days. (The Pagan Christ) All of this information is available today to anyone who wants to do a little research. Certainly most serious clergy and seminarians have read some of these books.

The result is that a lot of main-line clergy and church leadership really do not know what to teach or why they are teaching it. The are uncomfortable teaching things they no longer believe in and they are even more uncomfortable talking about real change in positions with which people have become comfortable in their congregations. So they sit on the fence and muddle. The talk about social justice and teach about the historical Jesus but seldom confront the most serious flaws in their belief system. So the prayers stay the same; the rituals stay the same; the sermons are evasive and uninspiring and the people who were spiritual hungry, go away feeling even more hungry.

So what do we do with all of this. We get off the fence and look to see what is really there. Together we recreate a new and compelling Christology and a viable theology. What is there is a profound and beautiful path that can help us realize and actualize the truth of our tradition-that all living creatures are a spark of the divine and we have the capacity to incarnate that divinity through our faith, our mind and our actions. If we take the Christ path seriously and joyfully, we can incarnate the divine from within and begin to see the divine in others. We have both the power and destiny to deify the world. Now that is something that we can get excited about.

So what is this path. It is a way of being, of seeing and hearing our reality differently. It is contemplative and engaging. It is all right there in front of us, in spite of the efforts to bury it in depths of the early church's biases. But the one thing that I am certain-it does not start with a Savior but rather with a teacher. A very special teacher, I believe, who has been there.

What would be your three great reforms?

Being raised in Australia the heavenly sport of cricket has played a large part in my life. One of the most famous of our commentators is someone called Ritchie Benaud, famous as a player, even more famous behind the mic for close to half a century. He was asked once what makes a great player and he replied something like, "I would say 90% of people can identify problems, only about 10% will try and come up with solutions!". To this end, I thought I would ask the question above. Let me explain:

I was recently having a conversation with someone about the failings of organised religion and was challenged to come up with three great reforms, effective immediately, which I thought would radically help the Church. I pondered over this, and this is what I came up with. These are my three great reforms!

1) SEPARATION: The figure, teacher and meta-physical presence of Jesus, as discovered in and through the NT, should be immediately separated from the doctrine and dogma of the church developed in the name of Jesus. One can and should be a follower of Jesus without necessarily being a follower of a particular church.

2) EMPHASIS: Emphasis must be placed on the NT or 'Greek Bible' over the OT or 'Hebrew Bible'. Within the NT emphasis should be placed on the words and teachings of Jesus above all and any other apostles. Within the words and teachings of Jesus emphasis should be placed upon the Golden Rule and the Greatest Commandment above all.

3) INCLUSION: There should be an immediate rejection of any exclusivist dogma relating to salvation, whether based on a person's faith (or lack there-of), race, gender, political orientation or sexual orientation. All peoples should be, and already are, within the embrace of the loving Jesus.

So there you go, that is what I came up with. Of course there is more I could have included, but that is the point, challenged me to come up with those I found most important. Now if you want to critique my reforms, please feel free to do so, but I would really love to hear your own reforms.

If you could, how would you broadly change our faith, and make it better?   

I Wonder Why

By: Fred Plumer

I have often wondered why it is so important for some people to insist that Jesus is the “only way.” As you might imagine, as President of TCPC, I get angry email from “concerned Christians” on a regular basis.  The vast majority of them start off by being pretty polite.

“I agree with much of what is on your website but are you saying that perhaps the beliefs that a Muslim holds, or a Hindu holds, or a Buddhist holds, is just as true as the beliefs a Christian holds?”

It is not unusual for these same people to quote the familiar passage from John 14: 6 that was put into the mouth of Jesus by the writer of John: “No one comes to the Father except through me.”

I used to spend a lot of time trying to explain the historical context of that passage of John-the fact that it was probably written over 80 years (two generations) after Jesus’ death, that it is the least historical document in the Gospels, that it is a reflection of a tumultuous period when the followers of Jesus were being rejected in the synagogues and were no longer considered Jews by the families and friends. And this was just the beginning of the recrimination that tore apart religious leaders, social settings and families at the deepest level. When this is understood, many of the Christological sayings of the writer of John take on new meaning and make a lot more sense, including the unfortunate translation of John’s condemnation of the “Jews” which should have been translated as the “Jews who rejected us or did not accept Jesus as the messiah.”   Jesus was born a Jew and he died a Jew according to the three Synoptic Gospels.

But in every case, my efforts to try and explain how this passages came to be, have met with everything from strong disapproval to outright rage, including a couple of death threats from these concerned Christians.

What is it that makes it so important that Jesus be the only way, the only one, the initiator of the one true religion when there is so much evidence that makes this a very illogical conclusion? Is it our competitive human nature? Is it our need to be right in spite of all evidence to the contrary? Is it fear?

Why can’t we simply allow Jesus to be a human being, OK a very special human being,  who had a profound experience (or experiences) of the divine that changed his understanding of reality. My guess is that when people noticed this change, Jesus was asked to spend the rest of his short life trying to teach others how they might have the same experience of the Oneness with God, how to experience the Oneness with all creation, how to live in Sacred Unity.

Is he the only one who has had this experience? Of course not!  Our books and our libraries are full of others who had such an experience and they were also changed by their new awareness. You may even know one of these people today. They also had or have new eyes to see and ears to hear. Many of them become teachers like Buddha, Lao Tzu, Mohammed, along with others who are alive today.  If you read carefully and get through the hyperbole their beloved followers wrote about them years later, their experiences were very similar and much of their teachings covered many of the same themes.  It all starts with becoming aware of who we really are-part of the divine Oneness. God is not out there but within.

So if there are many, how do we pick our teacher or teachers? We find one that we can relate to based on our own culture, social situation and willingness to commit. We do that naturally whether we realize it or not. But if I am going to try and climb Mount Everest for the first time, I will find someone who has been there, listen to what they have to teach about doing it and then try my best to follow the path they have already forged. But I want to follow someone who I sincerely believe has been there. I want to focus on the teachings, not the teacher. I want to commit to the path, not worship the one who made the path.

How do I know that I have the right teacher? Buddha is recorded as saying: “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” Jesus tried to sooth his disciples concerns that they would know if they were on the right path after he was gone: “…you will know by the fruit that it bears.”  In other words we have been given the tools to assess the truth if we are willing to use them.

New Testament scholar, Robert Funk once wrote that if Christianity was going to survive, we would need to “demote Jesus…who has been isolated as the divine son of God, co-eternal with the Father” from his true persona as a wisdom teacher. Although I do not disagree with Funk’s conclusion, I do not see it as a demotion but rather as a freeing. What an incredible thing it would be if we pulled Jesus off the cross as an icon to be worshiped, and let him be free to be the teacher again.

What empowering thing it would be if we actually became disciples of another human being who had experienced the Absolute Oneness of all Creation and then said, “follow me and you too can experience what I experienced.” What would our churches be like if that really happened? Then we might have to take Jesus’ egalitarian teachings on compassion, non-judgment, forgiveness, unity, love, and the “God-within,” seriously.

Maybe that is the problem.

Fred Plumer

Meditating in each moment

By: Deshna

When I was training to become a yoga instructor, I read a book by Thich Nhat Hahn- The Miracle of Mindfulness.  It is a short, simple book on the wisdom of being mindful in each moment.  It is one of those books that has lingered in the back of my mind for years, presenting and re-presenting opportunities to grow and learn from the most mundane acts. 

For example, when you are doing the dishes, instead of rushing through them, barely noticing what you are doing as your mind goes through its rarely ceasing ramble of to-do's and what if's and what's next, one can slow down, feel the warm water, notice the sounds and quiet the mind, breathing deep full breaths and thinking "I know that I am washing the dishes...I am washing the dishes..."  It seems so simple, yet its really not! 

Try it for just one day.  Try just simply doing only what you are doing in that moment- without thinking about the past (why did I say that?) or the future (don't forget to get the milk at the store and to pick up Johns dry cleaning...)  So, when you are walking- breathe, notice and think only about each step.  Same goes for eating, cleaning or having a conversation.  Have you ever noticed how so few people really listen?  Most people are already thinking of their response or their judgement of what you are saying- before you have even finished your sentence. 

Try having a conversation with someone, in which you give them your full attention.  Where you maintain eye contact, really listen, and really hear them.  Breathe slowly and deeply while they speak.   Keep your mind open rather than analyzing what they are saying- just listen.  These are all forms of meditation and the beauty is that you don't need to carve out 30 minutes out of your busy day to do it.  You can meditate for hours this way.  As a mother, I find it very challenging to just sit with my daughter and play for hours.  There is always so much I could be doing- dishes, laundry, my work, writing, bills, phone calls, yoga.  It takes constant gentle reminding to draw my attention back to just being with her.  But the experience is so rewarding.  Nothing else matters, really, than being present in each moment. 

The Trinitarian Paradox

By: Adrian Gibb

Hello again everyone,

Often people ask me how I can be so passionate about the unique place that I believe Jesus holds in our collective history but still hold to a pluralistic mindset. I have, over the years, realized that a possible answer to this question, or at least a tantalizing opportunity to reflect on it, can be found in what I call The Trinitarian Paradox!

Like many Christians, the doctrine of the Trinity has been to me, at times, confusing and contradictory. I would say, gladly, that one can be a Christian and NOT be a Trinitarian. But for me, the Trinity is something I accept in this sense, I believe that when Jesus walked the earth he did so as a reflection of, or a revelation of, the limitless Divine. The Divine showed his/her/it's face then, so I accept that whatever the limitless Divine is, Jesus is part of that make-up. Once this acceptance is made, that Jesus and the limitless Divine are inexorably linked, then one reaches the conclusion, well at least I do, that WHENEVER the limitless Divine has revealed itself throughout the history of humankind, in whatever form and to whatever degree, then Jesus, too, was so revealed. A pluralistic outlook follows on from this for me. Each and every faith, each like the blind man reaching out and touching the famous Brahmic elephant, is interpreting and developing a faith to reflect their truth of their encounter with the Divine, yes, but also their encounter with Jesus. 

So is this a possible paradox? If you are Trinitarian then you must accept that, if the Divine has revealed itself to all people, then Jesus has been revealed too. Exclusivists would then argue that all humakind has an obligation then to be an adherent of the Christian Church. But this Church is a faith built up around the figure of Jesus. The paradox then is this, all faiths, as reflections of a Trintarian Divine, are, in a way, followers of Jesus!

This is how I can hold that Jesus was the ultimate revelation of the Divine, but that every faith's truth should be as respected and validated as the Christian Church.

What do you think? Does the Trinitarian Paradox exist?