Is this what an Emergent preacher sounds like?

This is Jeff Gentry.  He is one of the pastors at The Gathering - the church I also pastor.  He is a self-identified Emergent guy.  He started the Emergent cohort in Boston, and the one on the North Shore of Boston as well.  This is just a short clip of his preaching this morning at church (3-7-2010).  What do you think?  If this is one example of how someone who self identifies as Emergent preaches, is it possible that theologically orthodox people are also Emergent?

Of course, I suppose there is also the possibility of pursuing the question "What is a heretic?" and asking if it is possible that there are some "heretics" who are really the orthodox ones correcting the ailing church.  Well, that's another topic for another time.  For now, here's a short clip in the middle of Jeff's message - hopefully not too disjointed a segment from the overall body of his message.

Tonight: Tony Jones presents on Emergent and Pentecostals

Tony, who was Mr. Emergent Village is speaking at the Society for Pentecostal Studies annual meeting tonight.  I have personally been asking the question about how Pentecostals and Emergent fit together for about 4 years, because I am caught between the worlds, and I know a number of people who are.  Yet the merging of the two worlds has not been comfortable for many of the Pentecostals who have been involved.

The reason for those difficulties go both ways:

On one hand, many Pentecostals are uncomfortable with the more theologically, and morally liberal elements of the emergent conversation.  One the other hand, Evangelicals of the Pentecostal variety (and this is another whole topic in itself sometime) are often more seriously berated by non-Pentecostal evangelicals - most notably those from a more Reformed tradition.

I do not expect the issue to be addressed, nor any of the underlining dynamics of this issue, but dialogue on finding elements from which both tribes can learn from one another is a good start.  That appears to be direction Tony is looking at presenting tonight.  With the focus that both groups have a robust pneumatology.

I am sure that most Pentecostals will not see Emergent as having a "robust pneumatology."  So, I think this is just the beginning of that dialogue.  This more academic group at the Society's conference will probably understand what Tony means by declaring that Emergent has a robust pneumatology - but that does that mean he is also saying there is a growing theological agreement in Emergent?  Hmmmmmm...

Slightly off topic from the initial posts about "What is Emergent?", but post your thoughts if you've got some.

More answers from Salem, MA defining the "emergent church"

This is a continuation of the first post on this subject.  It had three video clips from Salem, MA from three different people who were part of an Emergent Cohort meeting.  They simply gave a single sentence answer to "what is emergent?"  Here are three more clips from the same evening two nights ago on Tuesday, March 2nd 2010 at The Gathering in Salem, MA.

The clips are non-professional answers - i.e. from people who don't have a monetary investment in defining "emergent."

This first clip is Jeff.  He may have more of a personal investment than any of the rest of the others, because he is the chap who founded the Boston, and the North Shore of Boston Emergent Cohorts.  Don't let that sway you though - he doesn't make a buck from it.  Looses a few bucks I am sure.


Jesse below pastors a house church in Beverly, MA.  He and I hung out for a pint after the meeting.  See, he has got to be emergent!  He drank a pint at the Gulu-Gulu Cafe with me, and an unidentified Baptist dude.  I would have said that Jesse had the best answer until he revealed he was kidding, and started over. :-)


This last one is Paul.  He attends The Gathering as do a couple of the others in previous clips.  He is a student at Gordon Conwell.  I like his "free-thinkers" quote, but I'm not sure that my atheist friends would agree with that point, but that's for future discussions.

Some answers from Salem, MA defining the "Emergent Church"

These people are not Emergent professionals.  They have not written books defining emergent, nor do they get paid for something which gets placed under the emergent banner.  They are just regular people.  Some know the Emergent professionals - you know who I mean, Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, etc.  Some don't.  Some have gone or are going to seminary.  Some have not and will not.  They are regular people without an agenda to define the Emergent Church/Conversation or whatever they choose to call it.  Different backgrounds, different reasons for being part of the conversation.  But listen to what they have to say.  This is the first three out of six responses I taped at an Emergent Cohort meeting in Salem, MA.

Here's Ben.  I like Ben.  He's pretty cool.  I guess he looks pretty emergent too.  Check out the glasses, and yes, he's a Mac guy.


This is Carlos.  What he doesn't tell you is that he is a Sociology Professor.  We had a dialogue about the roles of gender in the church - well, he teaches this stuff at University.


This is Cindy.  Cindy rocks.  She runs Kupenda.  Please check it out by following the link.

Emerging Church: What is it?

A rather inauspicious beginning this is to a season of searching "under the pews" of world religions, but the question keeps coming my way, and it is obviously hot in many Christian circles.  So, my friends have pushed the topic forward.

I have been called emergent/emerging by some people.  In fact, professor Adonis Vidu from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary sends students of his class, which looks at the emerging movement to visit our church as an illustration of emergence.  (Please note:  I have purposely used all the cognates of "emerge" here.)

I am not sure I am one.  I really think I am just a dude trying to follow Jesus, and succeeding and failing at any given moment.  Somehow I ended up as a professional follower.  Okay, not all that professional, because I really don't get paid enough to be a real pro. :-)

The movement has obviously garnered some criticism.  So it is worth discussing whether this is warranted or not.  Check out this super radically critical study series, which you can buy - if you are into this kind of stuff.  Be sure to click on the video and watch it!

So first comes the question:  How do you define emergent?  Is it a church, or something other?

Later today and tomorrow I will be adding short video shots of some of the people from the Northshore of Boston.  They come from a variety of backgrounds and have been involved in a Northshore Emergent Cohort.  I did not want the theologians of the movement to define it, because they are invested in such a way as to define what they would like it to be.  These were people who have been a part of it as followers, those who don't really know what it is, and those who are just trying to figure out how they fit in with God and life.  They are mostly regular people, some students of theology, some pastors, not all carrying the moniker of "emergent."

But first let's banter this about.  The definition may vary according to where you may live.  The UK variation appears to be different from the US variation I am familiar with.  Nonetheless, we will start here.  What do you think Emergent is?  Is it good for Christianity?  or is it heretical and a satanic bane to healthy church life like the video on the link above appears to suggest?

Navigating the Wild World of Religious Experience

I will be taking a trip through the religious experience, and the thoughts and beliefs of the religions of the world.  Those which are closest to home, and your heart will be the primary foci.  Cultural issues will be discussed in the light of religion.  Yes, I am a Christian pastor, but I will be looking at other religions of the world along with Christianity.  I'd like to have you join me.

Tony Jones gets Pentecostal (well, gets pentecostal studies going)

Tony and I had some discussions about the topic of Pentecostalism and the Emergent Church/Dialogue a couple years ago.  I am probably late in seeing this, but now Tony is studying the topic to present a paper.

Tony was not particularly comfortable in Pentecostal settings at that time, and was open in saying so when he was with us for conference.  Follow this link and add your thoughts to the discussion at his blog if you like.  I did.  Then again I have blogged about this topic in the past, and speak as being one of those pesky Pent-emergents.

See my previous posts:


A bunch of friends respond to figuring out how to fit as pentecostal emergents in response to a post
Considering the difficulty of being Pentecostal and Emergent
Questioning what we might learn from Pentecostals reaching the poor
Identifying the struggle of Emergent/Pentecostal links being like a Orthodox/Anabaptist link
Pentecostals and Social Justice a challenge to the Emergent Church
talking with Tony about Pentecostals having a place in the Emergent Church
on Tony's visit with us

Lecturing at St. Donat's Castle in Wales

Oh yeah, I'm living like Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.  I will lecturing about Witches, Pagans, and Druids at a castle in Wales on Friday, February 12th at 6:30pm.

You might never again have the opportunity to have a real life Harry Potteresque experience like this one.  The topic in interfaith communication and relationships between widely variant belief systems - in this case Christianity and Neo-Paganism.

What better place to hold such a lecture than a Welsh Castle?!  St. Donat's Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan is owned by Atlantic College, and I am giving the lecture for students.  There is a facebook event page for this.

Come and join me for the fun.  Witches! Castles! in the UK!  Move over Ms. Rowling.  I'm doing the real thing!

If you are interested in being a part of such a dialogue, but can not make it to Wales there is a Christian/Pagan dialogue online called Circle and Cross Talk.  Circle and Cross Talk is sponsored by The Gathering.

Suggested reading on the subject "Beyond the Burning Times."

The Old Spot Pub: Hot with Theology Tonight

What do you get when you cram 15 people into the corner of a pub near the front door all discussing the potential of an apocalypse?

You get the waitress making room in the dining room for the group.

That's what happened tonight.  It was a full house of pub theologians and the topic was apocalyptic pronouncements and our opinion of them.  It was a predominantly Christian group, which is often not the case in our Pub Theology gatherings.  The topic went from religious pronouncements of apocalypse, to scientific pronouncements (Global Warming), to discussions on what makes apocalyptic declarations a necessary element of human desire, to philosophical considerations on the nature of time (always a fun one for me).

It was rowdy, it was fun, it included a brew or two, and it was church like it was meant to be.

End of the World - Pub Theology 1/2010

Tomorrow the End of the World is coming.  It is arriving at Pub Theology at the The Old Spot in Salem.

We will discuss the issue of apocalyptic annunciations. Do you believe that the world will come to a cataclysmic end? Is it soon or still millennia away? Is it based on science and global warming or apocalyptic literature and prophecy? What do you think about the 2012 date for the end of the world? What about the 2nd coming of Christ?

There is a facebook event page about it - you can find it here.

Come and join us before the world ends and there are no more Pub Theology events!

Why I believe in Hell

Do NOT expect a theological study with scripture references and philosophical justifications for a loving God creating a place of eternal torment.  That is not what this post is about.

Jesus talked about Hell, and I suppose as a follower of Jesus that ought to be enough to justify some kind of blind acceptance for a theologically difficult, and often incongruous belief as eternal judgment from the hands of a loving God.  I suppose in some way Jesus' words are enough for me, but something else has caused me to accept the belief in Hell more deeply in the last few months.

As I look to Jesus' words I find that perhaps his own justifications for the acceptance of a belief in Hell were bolstered by the same justification I have recently embraced.

Jesus appears to speak of Hell most frequently in the presence of the religious elite - the Pharisees, and Sadducees.  My favorite Bible verse on the subject is just such a context, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." (Matthew 23:15)

The kind of people to whom Jesus is speaking are my most recent self-justification for believing in Hell.  It is NOT Adolf Hitler, although he is certainly high on the list of people who have become justifiable arguments for needing a place like Hell.  Other similar evil world leaders do NOT become my justification.

Like Jesus, my justification for believing in Hell is found in religious leaders.

I live in Boston.  Every day for a couple years, it seemed that the Boston Globe carried the ongoing story of the priest abuse scandal on the front page.  I am convinced there is a Hell.

The same story continues today in Ireland with an ongoing and yet connected Irish priest abuse scandal.  I am convinced there is a Hell.

When worldwide ministries appear to be robbing widows with false promises of healing, prosperity, and miraculous divine favor when in actuality they repeatedly.  These are a few of the things which convince me there is a Hell.

I wonder if these same kind of things convinced Jesus of the existence of Hell.  It works for me.  It is not this wicked world, which convinces that there is a place called Hell.  It is the wickedness found in those who deceive honestly religious people for selfish and sick purposes who convince me there is a place of torment designed by a loving God.

Pat Robertson and the Haitian Satanic Pact Myth

Pat Robertson spoke out today about the Haitian earthquake.  Plus two points from Pat and CBN for raising money for the people who have been hit by the tragedy.  Minus I am not sure how many points for Pat Robertson saying that Haiti has been bit with this tragedy because of a 200 year old pact with the devil, which they supposedly made when slaves rose up to free themselves from French rule and cruel slavery.


The pact with the devil supposedly occurred in 1791, and followed 13 years of bloody revolution.  At the end of the revolution the Haitians actually sent French soldiers who came to enforce slavery back their commanders instead of killing them in a historically noble act.  For a fuller discussion of this supposed history follow this link to a Haitian minister's response to the supposed pact.

I have spent quite a few years busting nyths about the Neo-Pagan community here in Salem, MA and around the world.  My reason for doing so is because I believe that in order to fully express God's love to people we must be speakers of truth - not just about God, but as importantly truth about them.  If we believe lies about people, and people groups we become unwitting slanderers, and ruin our own reputation along with other people's reputations.

So, in this instance please give to help Haiti, but do not automatically be convinced of this "pact with Satan" story without fuller historical evidence.  Shame on those leaders who tell these stories without having the evidence.

To give I suggest the Salvation Army.  It is one of the biggest "bang for your buck" emergency relief providers around, and have my deepest respect.  They are usually first in - last out, often before the Red Cross.

For more see my article at The Examiner

The Face(book) of My Faith

Is my faith best measured by those who believe like I do, or those who stand outside it looking in critically?

This was the question I asked on a tweet on New Year's Day.  Once my tweet made it across the not so great divide from Twitter to Facebook it turned into a discussion.  The thrusting and parrying of terms turned into a wildly different set of values about faith over the next 46 comments.

The comments can be divided up into four basic responses:

1) Our faith is personal.  No one should be able to judge it.
2) Those on the inside - who believe like we do are the only one's who have a valid judgment point from which to gauge the validity of our spiritual strength, and the stability of our faith.
3) Outsiders (those who do not believe as we do) are a better gauge of our faith than those who think just as we do.
4) a general "neither" with some leaning toward the idea that only God is a real judge of faith.

Then there were some random asides which were bunny trails off the main point.

The group of people responding was a combination of conservative Christians, liberal Christians, a couple Neo-Pagans, and some harder to define people. 

Faith as a personal unjudgeable element was held out as the option by those who were from every position - conservative and liberal Christian, and Neo-Pagan.  Responding "neither" was similarly spread across the demographic.  Responding that insiders and/or outsiders were the better judges came only from the conservative leaning evangelicals, with those who are most missional minded responding that outsiders were the better judges. 

My question was not presented as query about the general validity of measuring a person's faith, as much as a recognition that it happens in this world today whether we like it or not.  In typical missiological (missional for the more trackable pop term) consideration (since that is my bent) I wondered about this as it relates to the betterment of the faith system I value - Christianity - yet, not as a denominational system, but a more as mystical invisible line of demarcation - i.e those who know God generally as I know God, and follow Jesus in living measurable faith.

Off the Facebook grid, someone on Twitter responded that our faith was measured by our works.  Harkening back to our Bible buddy James we know that this is a biblical concept - so it fits into my worldview, but I am still left with the question, who judges those visible works of my faith best?  those who think like I do, or those who are critically evaluating my faith works (from here on out I will create a new word "faithworks") from an outsider's perspective?

The problem with an insider's perspective of my faithworks is that since they think like I do, they are far more likely to have the same blind spots, and myopic evaluations of Christianity that I have.  Their view of my faith will be tainted by the little cultural, western, 20th century, evangelical Christian paradigm I have lived within.  If our faith system has been off course by 2º for a couple centuries we may be miles away from plumb, and not know it, because we have been told we are on the course of the straight and narrow our whole lives.  We have even been given scripture references and proof texts to validate our experience.

Now of course, the problem with the outsider's critical view is that their expectation of my faithworks may be tainted by a cultural bias against my traditions.  Sexual mores, theological misstatements by church leaders, abuse int he name of religion may all play a part in a skewed reference point, and an automatic rejection of my faith system as a completely broken and invalid system of belief.

Since I am missional and driven that way by a deep seated desire to adventure into faithworks I am less concerned with how my cronies view my faith.  This of course is dangerous.  It could get one excommunicated by golly!  But I want my faith to live in places where my "kind of faith" is typically lampooned.

Furthermore I choose (please note the word "choose") to view those who critically look at my faith as people who are typically well intentioned and in search of authenticity.  I tell myself that they have probably rejected Christianity for a good reason.  There are after all a couple reasons to do so.  Maybe a few.  Okay maybe a whole bunch.  If I truly view them as being on an authentic search then I place a mantle of nobility upon them.  In the course of the discussion it was observed that I appeared to place something that looked like the Romanticist's innocent savage moniker upon everyone who criticized Christianity.  I responded by saying that although I did not have a Rousseauan noble savage anthropology, looking for the noble in the savage appeared quite Christ-like to me.  (This will probably become a whole new post at some point soon.)

Now I know that on a person to person basis there will be Christians whose evaluation of my faith is beneficial and valuable.  I also know that there will be Christians who expect me to live up to some culturally established set of unwritten and silly rules.  Similarly these potentials will occur with those whose faith is different than my own, but this I do know:  I more frequently value the critique of my faith from those on the outside of it, more than those from the inside.

Some would say that this could lead to syncretism - that I might adapt my faith to fit their cultural and religious expectations.  To that insider's critique I say:  Do you think that we may have been off a couple of degrees for sometime now?  Maybe our friends on the outside looking in at Christianity have something valuable to say to us.

P.S.  I really liked Marshall's response, "Faith is always measured by ones self and enjoy(ed) or tested with others." I don't think Marshall would call himself a Christian.  Of course, I view my faith as being ultimately tested by God, but Marshall, your response rocks.

Salem Witches' Pub Crawl and the Pastor

Last night was Pagan Pub Crawl night in Salem, MA.  Salem has some events, which are either completely unique, or at least rare.  Now, I am sure that there are probably hundreds of Pagan Pub Crawls across the world, but I am also sure that there are few as well attended or colorful as ours.  This one is actually officially called the "Salem Witches' Pub Crawl."

Okay, I know calling this pub crawl "ours" is probably a strange sounding thing coming from a decidedly evangelical kind of pastor like myself, but I refer to it loosely as ours.  Salem is my city - so it is our pub crawl.  These are my friends and they invite me to these events whenever they occur, and are genuinely happy to see me there - so I guess it is our pub crawl.

Regular faces were there.  From our church (The Gathering) myself and The Prof. Carlos Z. were there.

It was a generally good event to be at - not a typical Christian potluck or bean supper - a little bawdy in discussion at times, kind of like working on a construction crew, but these are good people with a real concern for myself and for The Gathering.  That may sound funny to those who haven't been to The Gathering, or visited us during our times of outreach, but that's the way life in Salem is - the Salem Witches are our friends, and we think that's the way Jesus would have it.  WWJD?  He would probably go to the Salem Witches Pub Crawl if He lived in Salem.  So we just go in His place, since He is not living here in flesh and blood right now.

As a point of highlight I was spent quite some time with Raven Grimassi, and Stephanie Taylor-Grimassi.  They are both authors and quite well known in the Pagan world.

Little did I realize, but we had something in common - a previous home - Escondido, CA.  Raven and Stephanie owned a Witchcraft store in Escondido from 1998 to 2002.  I spent much of my time from Junior High to Bible College in Escondido.  It is as close to being the place I hail from as anywhere a transient Californian might come from.  Of course, by 1999 I moved away from Southern California (note: I hate the abbreviated version SoCal - that is like telling someone from San Francisco they live in Frisco - not good etiquette) to come to Salem.  Raven and Stephanie now live in Springfield, MA, and will be in Salem with some regularity.

We talked about things like the holiness of place, and whether one locale had a special spiritual significance to it, or if that holiness was something one carried around inside themselves.  Myself, Raven, Stephanie, Laura Dee, and Lori Bruno discussed this and other topics such as the Middle East struggles, and the divine imprint upon creation.  I found Raven and Stephanie to be intelligent and gracious communicators, and hope it will be the beginning of getting to know them better.

This doesn't quite sound like Carmen's Witch's Invitation - does it?

Atheist Blasphemy Challenge Looks Sophomoric

I understand the danger of corporate religious power, and the part strict dogma plays in isolating people, and ruining lives. I can almost fathom the possibility of a return to medieval patterns of dealing with perceived heretics, and blasphemers. I have been on the wrong side of the gavel in ecclesiastical edicts determined by false charges and I have seen the devastating wicked power which can occur at the hands of religious leaders.

To most people these things are a fantastic possibility - like tilting at windmills, or yelling at monsters under the bed at night - few people in the western world live under any serious ecclesiastical threat.  The few of us who have experienced it, even under its greatly diminished power compared to medieval times, understand its dark under belly.

In the Muslim world, and in the superstitious boundaries of a highly charged animist Africa people are loosing their lives.  Muslim reformers are being imprisoned and murdered.  Women and children are being tortured and thrown out on the streets as accused witches.

Enter stage left the Atheist Ireland response to the recently enacted blasphemy law in Ireland.  Their 25 blasphemies, which they posted online the day the law went into effect look like a sophomoric publicity stunt in comparison to the people whose lives are on the line in a real life situations.

The response by Irish authorities to the 25 blasphemies has been next to nil.  I will be completely surprised if this ends up amounting to anything more than a group of people shouting obscenities at one another to get attention, and finding like a group of junior high kids standing on a street corner trying out their four letter words that no one was listening to them anyway.

Many of the atheists responding to the blasphemy law have been intelligent, well spoken,  and considerate people.  I have a number of atheist friends whom I count among people I trust most in this world, but for the crude and abusive ranters I have no respect.

Step aside little kids!  Let the people who have the scars from the battle fight the war.  We are the ones who know where the battle lines are really drawn, and understand what the real dangers of religious power look like.  I think the Irish blasphemy law is really what designers say it is:  made to make prosecution nearly impossible.  It is a toothless lion.  All the four letter words in the world can only bring up an indecency charge, and that quite frankly might be worth slapping a few nasty little boys with.

Jesus as the Archetype Shaman (Part 4b): Descent by crisis or struggle

This particular series was begun under the assumption that God has spoken and is speaking into all cultures of people. Could it be that ancient (and even more recent) shaman are experiencing God dynamics? If so, is it also possible that Christ models the search, the experiences, and the utopian hopes wrapped up in the vocation of the shaman?

Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"  Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!"  Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.  The rest said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him."  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. (Mt. 27:45-50)

In the case studies of shamanic trance travels there is an oft repeated theme of crisis and shamanic travel being combined.  In some cases this crisis accompanies an initial journey which beckons a neophyte into a lifetime calling of service to others as a shaman or medicine man.  In other cases danger is part of the trance journey, and challenges the shaman even before he completes a descent into the under/other world.

Black Elk's initiation into his life as an Oglala Sioux Medicine Man outlines a 12 day struggle with sickness when he was a young man.  For those 12 days he laid sick in his parent's teepee.  In his dreams, or in trance-like state Black Elk traveled to distant places, and heard sacred things.  Upon his recovery the medicine man who was credited with healing him declared that he had a special thing to do in his life, because he was "sitting in the sacred manner."

Black Elk would go on to serve as a Holy Man for nearly 50 years.  During his time he joined a Messianic movement called the "Ghost Dancers,"  and became a Christian who served God and his tribe in a uniquely native American manner, which included dreams and trances with messianic visions.

The Altaic shamans speak of underworld journeys with dangerous bridges to be crossed on path down, and visions of shamans trapped in the underworld who could not make it because they were sinners.  Evil beasts are met on the path, and must be fought or avoided.  These stories retold in Eliade's book Shamanism underscore a oft repeating motif in shamanic underworld journey:  It is frequently met with difficulty.

Jesus' entrance to the underworld began in the greatest of human struggles: death, and not any death, but a violent, tortuous death met at the painful hands of betrayal.  His journey, which would end up victorious begins on this deadly note, and appears to have no hope for redemption.

Part 1 of the series
Part 2 of the series
Part 3 (thoughts on shamanism and glossalalia as it relates to Christians)
Part 4a of the series

Top 10 New Year's resolutions for the preacher in your life

As we come to the New Year, here are some resolutions you can apply to your local preacher. As a Christian preacher myself I am not suggesting things I would not be willing to do - well, okay maybe that's not completely true, but comedy has to play a part of a New Year's resolution list.

Here are the top 10 things every preacher should have on his or her list this year. These resolutions apply to those who are preachers by profession, and those who are preachers by daily habit. Please feel free to pass them on...(click to read the full article)

Jesus as the Archetype Shaman (Part 4a): Descent into the Underworld, entrance through a hole in the earth

Click on this image for a full map of Dante's Inferno.

"Now you are ready for your first experiential exercise in shamanism. This will be a simple journey of exploration through the Tunnel into the Lowerworld." These are the words of Michael Harner in his book The Way of the Shaman released in 1980.

Travels into the underworld were identified in Eliade's classic study of Shamanism as a regularly identifiable aspect of the practices of many shamans in many cultures. Michael Harner considers this a beginning point of learning the arts of his brand of neo-shamanism.

Eliade noted that among the Tungus the younger, newer shamans were denigrated as cowards, because many no longer took the difficult journey to the Underworld. (Shamanism: 237) Eliade's recounting of an Altaic shaman's descent in the underworld is not unlike portions of Dante's Inferno. This underworld journey is filled with challenges and tests.

In a universe which is often (but certainly not always) viewed as consisting of the three categories of the heavens, the earth, and the underworld, the shaman takes the challenge of navigating the realms unseen by others for their benefit.

This particular element of shamanism is perhaps the most dramatic illustration of Jesus as the Archetypal Shaman. His death, burial, descent into Hell, and resurrection in victory is the physical/literal accomplishment of a shamanic underworld journey. The various elements of underworld journey as they are practiced across the shamanic cultures of the world appear to be fulfilled in the journey of Jesus.

This section has taken a bit more thought, and preparation than I might have anticipated initially, and so I tread this ground carefully, but I do so with a larger vision of the capacities of Jesus than I might have presented had I simply approached this as a minor exercise in anthropological missiology.

Here begins my consideration of Jesus' descent into Hell, and the place it holds in fulfilling the needs of humanity, and myths of shamanic cultures across the world.

Descent through hole in the earth (Mt. 27:57-60)

The story of Christ's descent in the Underworld begins with his burial in the cave tomb provided by Joseph of Arimithea. Holes in the ground, hollow trees, oceans, and entrances to underground rivers have been used by shamanic trance travelers as entry points into the underworld.

Christ's burial in the cave tomb has a similar point of initiatory dynamic as entering hole in the ground, or the hollow of a tree. It mimics an entry point to the underworld. Once the stone was rolled in place, Christ was sealed to the fate of his underworld journey, which to a wondering world appeared to be a permanent unconditional journey. Through His spiritual authority this was not to be a final journey to death and afterlife, but a powerful expression of his conquest over the underworld.

Mircea Eliade's book Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy describes the ritual descent into the underworld by an Altaic Shaman. This ritual was observed by an orthodox priest who had attended and chanted at a number of these rituals in his youth. After the Shaman journeys across land, and climbs a mountain in his trace, he then is taken to a hole in the side of the mountain which leads him to the underworld - to face trials and a difficult journey before a successful return.

The journey of Christ into the underworld likewise began in an entrance upon the face of the earth. Joseph of Arimathea asked for the body of Christ to be given to him, and then with Nicodemus took the body to a new tomb, and placed the stone over the grave. This began Jesus' journey to the underworld. He began it as a dead man, and would return in archetypal shamanistic fashion three days later as master over life and death.

more to come...this is the first section of part 4 in the series on Jesus as the Archetypal Shaman. There are likely to be half a dozen sections to this part alone.

Part 1 of the series
Part 2 of the series
Part 3 (thoughts on shamanism and glossalalia as it relates to Christians)

Kenyan Witch hunts highlight seriousness of problem

The report from the Al Jazeera website on the Kenyan witch hunts highlights an ongoing problem in Africa.  This is not limited to Kenya, but appears be a problem throughout the continent.  Superstition, greed, poverty, and corrupt religious leaders appear to be stirring up community fears, and it is costing lives.


Previous posts on this subject:
Persecution of Supposed Witches on the Rise
Witch Children of Africa Cont.
The Children of Pentecostal Theology?

Auschwitz Sign Found After Being Stolen: My Thoughts

After being stolen on Friday morning the famous sign over the gate to the entrance of Auschwitz has been found in a house 100 miles away. For more on my thoughts about this go here.

Saint Elijah's Monastery Being "Healed"

Soldiers tour ruins
Originally uploaded by The U.S. Army

The monastery in Iraq has become a post for American soldiers, but they have taken upon themselves to restore this ancient "house of God." Read more here.

Another Blog?! Yep, about My One Thousand Things To Do

I have this blog, which appears to be my most visited, but of course after 314 posts over the course of a few years, this would be my most prolific blog as well. Then there is the fact that I talk about weird things like Christians as Pre-Mortem Psychopomps, or hanging out with Pagans. This is my theology, ecclesiology, missional, and maybe even catch all blog.

Then my original blog (The Why Man), which has another 200 posts (yep, exactly 200) has maybe half the visitors as this one, but was popular for the Duck Daddy Chronicles. The Why Man is my cathartic life stories blog.

Then the church has a blog, and I am one of a few contributors there. It is what it is - a church life blog.

Less used, but active as March 1st moves closer is the blog about the Patron Saint of Wales and his holyday. Saint David's Day Blog. Obviously this is a specific Welsh connection kind of blog.

Well, now I have another blog. Yep, another. It is called My 1,000 Things To Do. It is my what am I going to do with rest of my life blog. I'd love to have you poke your nose in there from time to time, and if you wanted to hit the button on the Google friend connect, or follow through NetworkedBlogs on Facebook, that's cool too.

Enculturalization and the Gospel in Our Own Land

Andrew Jones the Tall Skinny Kiwi posted today about Brother Flack, a 100 year old missionary who Tall Skinny suggests ought to be the Patron Saint of the Emerging Church. It is a great post.

The quotes from Brother Flack highlight adaptation to culture in which one is ministering, and this is what Tall Skinny identifies as an emerging church dynamic having been around for a lot longer than the Emerging Church Movement.

"Go as a learner. Be prepared to learn from the national people and from the culture of the country. Do not try to make the churches like the one in your own country. Do everything you can to develop indigenous growth. Do not be masters; be servants. Identify in every way you can with the people God puts you among." says Brother Flack.

Having aggressively attempted this style of evangelism for a couple decades now, and having been acknowledged by missionaries as doing a missions model within the United States I have discovered something a bit disconcerting.

It has become popular enough to talk about adaptation to new cultures if someone moves to a far away place to preach the Gospel. There is an expectation that there will be a season of enculturalization for the new missionary. This is accepted as a necessary adaption for the growth of the Gospel.

In our own land new cultures are developing all the time. Adaptation, and learning from these developing cultures is not nearly as acceptable to the ecclesiastical powers that be as adaptation to foreign cultures. One can get themselves into some pretty sticky situations. I agree Brother Flack ought to be the Patron Saint of the Emerging Church, but if you practice his ways - oh, Brother are you gonna take some Flack! Sorry, bad joke, but still a good point.

Love God or Get Squished?

Reading the first book of the Confessions of Augustine yesterday I was stopped to contemplation (now that's good thing - usually) by this phrase: "Or what am I to Thee that Thou demandest my love, and, if I give it not, art wroth with me, and threatenest grievous woes?"

Now first off, I must admit that I am not a fan of Augustine. This is because he was instrumental in pushing for the eventual excommunication of Pelagius, whose story reads like a classic frame job. Aside from this I am enjoying the reading. There are some fantastic declarations of praise in Augustine's Confessions.

This quote stopped me, because I considered it from the perspective of someone who struggles with the idea that an angry god might also be a capricious and cruel god. This concept that the Christian God is demanding love, and is angry to the point of destruction and killing if He does not get it certainly makes Him appear wildly capricious at best, and a cruel murdering megalomaniac at the worst.

So, these questions comes to mind:

Is God really declaring woes on those who do not love Him simply because they are suppose to love Him, and when they don't He gets really ticked?

OR is there something intrinsically insidious, and potentially dangerous in the heart of those who do not love God?

OR is this quote altogether problematic for Christian doctrine, and instrumental in establishing a bad way of viewing God?

OR is there altogether another way of looking at this?

OR, maybe you have some thoughts?

A Compelling Letter from a Pagan

The following email was sent to me by a Canadian guy named Mark who lives in London. Mark is a Pagan, and migrated to that faith after growing up with friends from a evangelical Christian background. I asked Mark if I could post this letter on my blog and share with my friends. He was happy to have it posted, but wanted to make sure that we understood that he did not have an anti-Christian bias.

In his words, he said " I think that Christianity is a beautiful religion for those who choose to follow it, and I would like to see the real followers of Christianity growth and prosper. Unfortunately, Christianity is starting (particularly in the USA) to be seen more and more like Islam; a religion that represents those people who want to retain an "ideal society" that doesn't really seem likely to ever exist again."

I believe that it is important for us to hear the voice of the objective outside observer of our faith who is responding to the the societal interactions we have with with our culture.

This letter will be significantly different from Carmen's silly, exaggerated, and religiously militaristic Witch's Invitation.

Please note: You may not agree with everything Mark says. But does that really matter? He does have something to say to you, that we do need to learn. May you hear his words of gentle, and peaceful concern for our "beautiful religion" as he calls it.

Mark - thanks for your kind, and gracious words. I am deeply appreciative for them and hope to meet you face to face in London someday soon.


Post begins here ----

Dear Pastor Phil,

Hello my name is Mark and I live in London, England. I recently read about your church in Salem, and the hassle that you've had from church groups and your own church peers, because of your contact with neo-Paganism, and I felt I had to write and say what a courageous thing it is that you're doing.

I've recently converted to Paganism (which is actually a lot less "looked down upon" in the UK since the modern neo-Pagan and witch movement basically started here) after a long, LONG search for meaning in my spiritual views.

When I grew up in small town Canada, most of my friends were born again Christians. They were all from different denominations and each one found the other denominations to be "weird" in one way or another, and certainly they didn't practice "pure Christianity" in the way that their denomination taught it. They all spent time trying to get me to join one of their prayer groups and convert, and when I didn't I found out they were holding "secret" prayer meetings together to discuss how to get me to "find Jesus," and these just ended up making me feel alienated from my friends (if all of your friends when you were 15 were holding secret strategy meetings about how to deal with you, how would you have felt?)

I hold nothing against Christianity however I didn't feel that a lot of the teachings of modern Christian churches represented my world view well. When I was 13 my best friend came out of the closet which was fine by me but, not so with my Christian friends; my girlfriend when I was 14 was a witch; many of the Christian parents of my friends were Conservatives (the Canadian equivalent of Republicans), and I didn't believe religion and politics made good friends and Conservative beliefs towards the poor didn't seem very Christian.

Anyway, after a long and eventful story I found myself living in the UK and studying comparative religion (whilst not a Christian, I have always had a desire to learn about the weird and mystical thing that people see as "belief"). It was here that I also developed a 6 year struggle with alcohol that nearly cost me everything that I had built up over the years: my home, job, reputation, friends, etc.

When I got sober, I found myself feeling more and more alone in the world (alcoholics have a tendency to surround themselves with other alcoholics so that no one will challenge their drinking habits and these people tend not to want to be friends with you once you sober up). So I committed myself to seeking out the things that I loved in life before I started drinking. That led me to a focus on nature and the splendor of the natural world. This focus led rather naturally (no pun intended) to Paganism when I discovered that it probably most closely represented my own views of the world.

Personally I shy away from saying that I'm a Witch because it is a term that implies certain beliefs in goddess/god polytheism that I am not certain that I believe in, favouring instead to worship nature in its natural glory and seeing myself as a part of a divine macrocosm of life on this planet/in this universe, but I've met many, many witches and druids, Kaballists and wizards, cunning men and women, and most, if not all, of them have been wonderfully understanding and accepting of other people and their beliefs. I think that more Christians ought to take a leaf out of your book and mine, and practice a bit more of this understanding towards pagans of all denominations (and of all other religions for that matter).

The single most off-putting thing about Christianity for me was the lack of acceptance of others (or the "acceptance with intent to convert" that makes them seem as though they aren't really your friends at all; friends shouldn't have agendas towards you). When I saw your blog and read a bit about your beliefs I felt that I should send you this e-mail and say thank you for your attempts to see that anyone's beliefs can be a beautiful and peaceful thing. I think that if there were more pastors in the world like you, the world might be a happier place. Heck, if the Christian churches that I had grown up around had been more understanding and accepting of my gay/witch friends or my early atheism when I was younger, I may have even been convinced to convert.

Please, please keep up your good work and keep being friends with the neo-pagan community. Maybe if we can start with simple friendship, we might be able to convince the world that the old Christian teaching and Wiccan Rede philosophy to "harm none" is really the best way for the world to be.

Your friend,

Mark

getting lost in the tide - West Coast Eisteddfod Poetry Competition Entry

to the sea
of grays and blues
in the sand
i leave my shoes
by water's edge
in the waves
ev'ry footstep is
washed away

and

i feel just fine
getting lost in the tide

i walk the shore
at spring tide
my missing trail
is a sign
all is well
my pains undone
just for now
under this sun

and

i feel just fine
getting lost in the tide

i could walk
for miles and miles
erase trails
of all my trials
in each footstep
paid my dues
someone else can
have my shoes

and

i feel just fine
getting lost in the tide

Visit or enter the Americymru West Coast Eisteddfod Peotry Competition Of Welsh descent? Consider joining Americymru.

Persecution of Supposed Witches on the Rise

The following stories have popped up in the last few days:

Nigerian children accused of Witches cast out of their homes, tortured, even killed by church leadership, and their own parents:

see this report from yesterday:
SOS Children's Village
and this one from 3 days ago:
CBS News

The above stories are from Nigeria alone, but this is happening in much of the "third world." Mike Davis' book Planet of Slums outlines this problem in Kinshasa, Congo as well. You should read this book. See link to it in the column to the left.

Indian Muslim widows beaten after being accused of being Witches:
video footage here

Is there hope for delivering these abused women and children from the evil created by superstition and fear-mongering? I hope so, but I am convinced that this superstition has been exported by many US churches, and expanded to unbelievable lengths by poverty, greed, and ignorance. Heaven help us.

For previous blog posts on this issue see here and here.

Balancing Precariously Between Depravity and Nobility

This is a topic I have thought and spoken about quite a bit, but have not written about. It was Matthew Ryan at the New Hampshire Streams Internship who generated the sense that I ought to do so.

I am not of a Reformed persuasion, and probably never will be. Yet, I do believe that there is a deep depravity evident in the activity of humanity, and as we simply peruse the adventures of history we find some unbelievably dark moments.

On the other hand, I also find great sources of inspiration and encouragement in history. To match the Hitlers and Dahlmers of the past, I also see Nightingales and Gandhis. Nobility pops its head to the surface in remarkable ways every generation.

To complicate matters both Christians (those who declare their allegiance to being conformed to the imago dei), and non-Christians (who may not follow an example set by religious precepts and God inspired constraints) appear to exemplify both enlightened nobility and dark depravity.

This theological anthropology is extremely valuable to me. It informs my sense of evangelical mission. It teaches me to respect, and honor all people, and yet to be aware that every person still carries the potential to create great harm. I am at once called to be trusting, and yet not too trusting in the resources of other frail and faulty human beings. It also causes me to be self reflecting in a practical manner. I am at once responsible to put the noble foot forward, and at all times must resist the subtle and intelligent designs of my darker side.

Blog Action Day (A SynchroBlog): Where Church Meets the Climate Change Discussion

This is part of a SynchroBlog which has been created for the purpose allowing blog friends to speak on one subject together, and this month we are joining the much larger Blog Action Day.
As a pastor of an evangelical congregation in Salem, MA, and one particularly noted for its rather creative and quirky outreach practices, it would not seem that our little congregation would take a center stage in the climate change discussion, but like Salem bends - things are not as it seems.

I am not particularly passionate about carbon footprint numbers. I am passionate about sustainable energy, and especially when it can be done cheaply for the Average Joe. I like people who build their own wind turbines from Home Depot parts, and those who make bio-diesel.

Yet for all this, our little church has become a periodic gathering point for the sustainable energy discussions, and workshops, and I have become a gatherer of low carbon footprint interests.

It started a year and half ago.

The Chamber of Commerce runs an event called The Salem Living Green Fair. We were asked to host the speaker series. After two years of events, our church is the place to go to hear the green people talk.

Next, I started a company called CeltiConnect. Somehow, I, a veteran pastor of small churches became involved in business and trade development with Welsh interests. My partner has a background in renewable energy, and this led to a whole new circle of friends. As a result we sponsored Paul Allen from The Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth, Wales to speak to the renewable energy interests in our area.

Now we are hosting a 350.org event on October 24th at 2pm on a stage, which we build and host every Halloween season in Salem, MA.

Jeff Barz-Snell from First Church Salem is really the brainy pastor in town when it comes to carbon footprints,and renewable energy. He was trained under Al Gore. He is doing most of the organizing of the event on the 24th, but once again The Gathering takes a central role ion the development of the day.

How we got here I am not totally sure. The fact that we are here is good. The Church (notice I capitalized the word here) needs to be in on one of the biggest discussions of this decade - if not beyond.

The Pastor stirs up a Brewhaha

I am not immune to controversy. Okay that was understated. I tend to end up with it swirling around me like an F5 tornado. Well, I have added a new controversial dynamic to life.

CeltiConnect the company I started with my friend Gareth Gwyn Jones is focused on business and trade development. My particular focus is between Wales and North America, and I have just begun a three month project with a Welsh Company which has been successful in Wales, and is breaking into the US market. They have distribution set up, but now need some sales representation and help.

Enter stage left Pastor Phil. (That's me)

Now I have always been a little revolutionary in my thinking, and never one to remain silent when leaders say stupid things, or act toward others in harmful ways. I have gone out of my way to make friends with people whom the church considers untouchables, and I have ended up in strange circumstances, and infamous situations because of it.

Well, now I am marketing Welsh Ales - that's right beer. Someone is going to raise an eyebrow to that I am sure.

This is my response: I am practicing truth. Tomos Watkin makes some of my favorite Ale on earth, and it comes from the land I love the best!

But I'm not marketing right now, I'm just telling a story on my blog.

Of course you can follow the link to Tomos Watkin's site, or look for Tomos Watkin ales at your local seller of fine ales.

Observations on the Inaccessability of Natural Revelation

Over the last 10 years the accessibility of natural revelation to my mind and heart has grown. I have spent numerous hours alone contemplating the mysteries of life and God as revealed through His creation. Some of my thoughts are archived here. Other meditations are scattered throughout my blog posts. Sometimes these illustrations of truth are discoveries from animals, others from natural wonders like the beach.

Tonight I sat in the dark outside in our smallish yard - I say smallish, because some of you are country dwellers, and our 1/4 of an acre is small to you. Some of you are city dwellers, and our 1/4 of an acre looks like a park to you. As I contemplated the fence around our property, and the house I live in I wondered why these things do not speak to me as potently as a tree, the wind, a rock, or water.

Humanity carries the seed of divinity. We are an imago dei. So it would seem that things we create must at least carry some semblance of divine value as well. If it true that those things God creates carry a value of wisdom, truth, and divine representation, then why shouldn't it also be true that the things we create would carry some inspired value of divinity as well.

My fence surrounding my yard speaks some very clear values of ownership, and protection. My house declares protection as well, and the fact that we speak of "house" and "home" as terms with significantly different values communicates a potentially deeper truth to be found in meditating upon house and home.

These values of fence and house are clear, and more accessible than that of rock and sky. Yet I do not feel the spiritual power of my fence, as feel the sometimes indefinable spiritual significance of the stars, and the ocean - whose tides rise and fall.

Looking at the parables of Jesus, and other illustrations of natural revelation throughout the Bible I see a common factor - though not perhaps a universal one. Most of the illustrations occur in stories which involve direct intimate human interaction with nature.

Jesus' parables describe the activity of planting seeds, drinking water, and harvesting crops. These describe moments when humanity and nature meet, because people involve themselves directly with an experience with natural elements. The revelatory dynamic of the natural element becomes accessible through working with it by planting, drinking, or feeling the wind rush across one's face. In some cases the interaction involves a more complex factor like bio-engineering, such as when Paul and Jesus describe the grafting of the branch onto the vine or the olive tree.

The fence speaks of protection and we know it tells that story, because we built it for that reason. The seeds growing from the ground are a less accessible illustration, because although we are involved in planting them, we are still surprised by the miracle of the growth which occurs. So we find Jesus having to define the parable for his confused disciples.

Jesus in His deep understanding of God, wisdom, and truth quickly accesses the values which nature presents, and defines their truth to us. Others in human history have discovered those values as well. Abraham experienced the prophetic voice of God while viewing the night sky. David, like most of us, appears to have accessed the truth values by working with nature. So he found illustrations of life and truth while working as a shepherd.

My house and my fence carry a value of truth which is a second generation removed from direct divine revelation. They are created by those of us who are made in the image of God, but because we become involved in the process of building and caring for it the truth values are immediately accessible. Today pastors give sermon illustrations about computers, and ipods because we are intimately familiar with those things.

The first generation of revelation often remains a little more distant from us. It is far more difficult to discover the hints of truth and life found in a tree, a stone, or the throbbing tides, but this first generation of natural revelation carries such a deep value that we often simply feel it. Something mystical and meaningful breaks upon our souls with emotion when we stand on the beach, but it does not often break into our minds with the values our with which souls are indefinably pregnant.

Perhaps it is the art of meditation, which carries us deeper, like Brother Lawrence who experienced God afresh in the wintered deciduous tree, or Saint Francis who actively contemplated and described the wonders of God in nature. Are we are in need of spending time with God in His nature before the hidden values of its glory breaks upon us with more than a inaccessible feeling, and begins to speak life changing values to our minds?

The second generation values will continue to encourage our hearts in stories from fences, houses, computers, and cell phones; but the first generation of deeper values requires from us a little more work. I think that work is worth the effort.

A SynchroBlog: Clowns to Left? Jokers to the Right? Stuck in the Middle of the Health Care Debate

I am not fan of the current bill standing before congress on health care. I am not convinced that any reform is good reform. I do not feel that stating this I stand in the way of progress. Clowns to the left of me would say that is what I am doing by not supporting the current ideas.

I do not appreciate the rude signs, yelling weirdos, and aggressive tactics of those who are protesting in town hall meetings across the US. I do not like the demonizing e-mails I receive about the current health care reform bill. But the jokers to right are still there shouting.

I do not think that all supporters of the current health care reform bill assume that I standing int he way by disagreeing with the current bill. I know for a fact that most of the protesters are well behaved tax paying citizens who want to have their voice heard, because it is their money which is being used to create this series of entitlements. They believe that they are continuing in the great tradition having their voices heard if their money was involved - taxation WITH representation.

I do not understand the demonization of John Mackey from Whole Foods who wrote an op ed in the Wall Street Journal giving his opinion on the health care reform bill. It seemed like a responsible metered consideration of the issue from someone who disagrees with the current bill, and was offering his own options to solve the problem.

For myself I wonder how we get all up in arms bout this issue, and nobody says anything about prescription drug abuse, and abuse by insurance companies, the overall lack of health in our nation...just to name three problems.

Is health care still a right if I abuse my own body? Is calling it a right being used by the industry to shackle Americans into an abusive unhealthy system?

I am not sure if the current bill offers more problems than answers, but I want the debate to continue in order to find out. Unfortunately most of the voices I am hearing now are demonizing the other side - from the highest positions on down there are clowns to the left, and jokers to the right. So here I am, stuck in the middle. Anyone else out there stuck in the middle with me?

Synchroblog on a Christian Response to Healthcare

Today is a SynchroBlog release on the subject of Healthcare from a Christian Perspective. Steve Hayes at the blog Khanya suggested this subject, and you can follow his link below to read his thoughts. The other contrubutors are listed below. I will respond later today with my post on the subject.

Phil Wyman at Square No More (that's me): Clowns to the Left. Jokers to the Right. Stuck in the Middle of the Health Care Debate
K.W. Leslie at The Evening of Kent: Christian's Responsibility to Healthcare
Ellen Haroutunain: Christian Perspectives on Health Care
Steve Hayes at Khanya: Self-evident Truths and Moral Turpitude
Kimber Caldwell at Convergence: Is Health Care a Right?
Beth Patterson at Virtual Tea House: Baby Steps Toward More Humane Humanity
Liz Dyer at Grace Rules Weblog: A Christian Perspective on Health Care Reform
Kathy Escobar at Carnival in My Head: It's Easy to be Against Health Care Reform When You Have Insurance
Susan Barnes at A Book Look: Carrying Your Own Load

Urdu Poetry and the Honor of Distant Friendship

Gul Bakhshavi works at the 7-11 behind our house. For the last 10 years I have been walking around the corner late at night. Before Elijah grew up, got married, and moved out he and I would walk there and talk late at night, and meet Gul's smiling face.

Gul has been working the graveyard shift most of the 10 years we have lived here. I would greet him with a smile, ask him about his home and family in Pakistan. We would do small talk, and then I would smile and leave with a running joke about the fact he worked the graveyard shift.

He would say "have a good night."

I would reply, "Have a good day." He would laugh because it was the beginning of a long night doing the graveyard shift. He sacrifices himself each day, and plans to work 10-12 years in the US, living frugally, saving money, and then go home with enough money to live comfortably.

Tonight I saw Gul again. I really don't remember his name, and he does not remember mine. Once he gave me a series of tapes on Islam, and shared his faith with me. He knows I pastor a church in town.

Tonight he gave me a book he wrote. It is mostly in Urdu, but has an intro in English. It is a poetic translation of 400 years history, combined with a rough poetic translation of Obama's acceptance speech.

I did not vote for Obama. I would not if the election were to happen again now. That does not matter. Gul wrote on the back/front page, "for my best friend Phil."

I am honored:

1) to be given the book.
2) to be called a friend by a Muslim man working in the US, and waiting his lonely days before he returns home.
3) to see into his heart and see the hope Obama's election brought to him.

Our Stories and Knowing God

As we look through the stories of our lives we discover lessons in our experiences. The climactic and notable elements of our lives differ from person to person. Our life stories give illustrative examples, and lessons which come from our own base of knowledge and passions. Could it be that these same stories also give us examples which tell part of a greater story - the story of God? and that these stories individually illustrate small elements of the greater knowledge and passion of God?

Heilsgeschichte, or salvation history was a popular term of theological reference (particularly in the 50's) to the story of God as it is discovered in the history within scripture, but also in what has been referred to as HIStory: a traveling narrative of human history filled with the illustrations of the character of God and the working of His redemption.

If human history is filled with illustrations of God's character, then our individual stories, which make up those small elements of the greater human story may hold snapshots of HIStory. If this is true then we all have lessons about God etched into our own life stories.

Moses' story is perhaps a good place to start this pursuit of finding a micro heilsgeschichte. The key components of his story are peppered throughout his life from borth to death.

• Moses was born at a time when the Hebrew children were being slain by Pharaoh, yet he survived by his parents cunning and miracle.
• As a young man he was raised in the house of Pharaoh though he was a Jew.
• He later tried to help his people, the Jews. He killed an Egyptian and had to flee Egypt because of this.
• He spent years herding sheep, and later married the daughter of his boss.
• God met Moses in a burning bush which was not consumed, and called him to return to Egypt and deliver his people the Jews from the slavery of Pharaoh.
• He did as asked and God performed many miracles. The children of Israel were delivered by God through the leadership of Moses, and the stories of these miracles became the centerpiece of salvation history for the Jewish people.
• He suffered with a stubborn and disobedience people for over 40 years in the wilderness, and in the end did not enter the promised land himself.

This brief outline of key components of Moses' life story illustrates the variety of things which may make up our own stories, through it certainly does not exhaust the variety. From birth to death our own stories have elements, which may tell a small piece of HIStory just as Moses' life does.

Some of the things which may be influential elements include:

how and where we are born
how we are raised
our health, our sicknesses, our injuries
our intellectual capacity and learning
our passions and pursuits
our occupations, our service and our hobbies
moments of fortune or calamity
the words we speak, whether in a moment or repeatedly
actions of great bravery or cowardice
sins and bad habits
personal interactions with God
miracles
the means of our death

There is more we could consider, but these are some beginning points to write out our own story in search of finding God in our own history.

Of course, just like reading the Bible can be difficult reading our life story can be hard as well. Just as the Bible can be twisted to say what we want it to say our life stories can be twisted by our poor perspective to teach us lessons we were never meant to learn. We are too often spiritually myopic - too close to see truth.

This is no new thought. There are people who have taught this, and you can pursue it further. Keri Wyatt Kent writes about this, and teaches to hear God in our own life stories. Variations of this may be found in Psychology, and hopefully I will remember the rather complex text of the Fuller Theological Seminary professor who wrote a book about discovering God's Will bu charting your personal history, which I read about 20 years ago.

Mental Illness and Genetics

My friend Stephen Nicholson sent me this link to Oliver James teaching about about Mental Illness and genetics. He is quite controversial, and you can see people in the audience a bit upset over his conclusions. I am 20 minutes into the 60 minute teaching, and love it so far.

Check it out here

As he quotes from Erich Fromm's The Sane Society, "We live in a crazy society, and you'd have to be mad to be well adjusted to it."

Nice stuff.

Comforted by Liturgy?

I am not typically one who migrates toward repeated liturgical prayers. By nature I migrate toward change, toward new things, toward spontaneity. Yet over the last 6 months I find myself comforted and encouraged by the morning prayers found at The Northumbrian community's website.

I can not quite define why I find this comfort in this season of life, and I am sure that most attempts to psychoanalyze this will fall short of describing why things are this way for me right now. Perhaps to know that it is is good enough.

Are you comforted by repetitive liturgy? Maybe you know why. What does it do for you?

Synching on Syncing (a Synchroblog on Syncretism)

This month there is a rather quickly put together set of posts on the subject of Syncretism. This is a subject rather close to my heart primarily due to the fact that I have been falsely accused of such activity by people who have not even graced the doors of our church. Of course, the term "graced" is not one which would really apply to them I suppose.

As my consideration of the subject this SynchroBlog I would like to make a statement about a potential future arrangement near our church, and post a question.

Our potential future neighbors at church

Now it appears that next door to our church, in the same building, and sharing the same bathrooms, and having doors facing one another that the newest tenants to our building just might be a a rather large and famous school of witchcraft. This is nothing peculiar for our city of Salem, Massachusetts. The Pagan community is not a group we are either afraid of, nor antagonistic towards. We have many witches who are our friends. That is life in Salem with the loving heart of Jesus.

Now the Question

So, what would you do if your church was saddled up next to the world's largest witchcraft school? I am not sure that this is a definite, and I am not certain I have the answer to the question myself.

Perhaps some of you my Pagan friends might have some thoughts. Perhaps some of you my Christian friends might have some concerns. Perhaps some of you are just scratching your heads and saying, "wow." What's your take? WWYD? Uhm, that's What Would You Do? :-)

The other synchrobloggers so far:


• Matt Stone Master Chef: How To Cook Up A Personal Jesus
• Susan Barnes Our Uncomfortable God
• Liz Dyer Does Interfaith Dialogue Lead To Syncretism?
• Phil Wyman Synching on Synching Synchroblog on Syncretism
• How to be a Syncretist by Ellen Haroutunian
• Steve Hayes The Man in the Moss
• KW Leslie The Syncretists I Have Dealt With