I am reading The Universal Christ, by Richard Rohr. This is the first of his books I've read. It's an interesting read. He makes an idiosyncratic distinction between Christ (2nd person of the Trinity who was begotten before time began and participated in our creation) and Jesus (Christ made Man who came to earth and lived among us for a time as flesh and blood). Whatever his orthodoxy, he has some wonderful spiritual insights.
I've also just started a Scott Turow novel called The Last Trial. It promises to be a legal thriller, a potboiler. I don't know if I'm doing him an injustice by classifying his novels as beach reads (or, if you're a traveler, airplane reads). His plots have good twists without being too much of a roller-coaster ride, and he does a reasonably good job making characters come to life. I really liked his novels when I was younger, but for some reason, I feel I've grown away from them. I keep reading his new offerings every few years to see if I've changed my mind again. It's like being in a relationship that is not going anywhere but I keep trying to make it work. I'm not far enough yet into this book to know whether I'm going to like it.
Btw, I've mentioned before that I own a Barnes and Noble Nook e-reader. It died some months ago. Supposedly, all the content I've purchased for it over the years is out in the Cloud somewhere, but I'd need a new tablet to resume reading that way. For now, I've resumed going to the library and reading books for free. It works out ok, but it's a little distressing to me that our library, which supposedly is held up in this suburban area as a sort of suburban-library ideal, has fewer books now than it did 20 or 30 years ago. There seem to be quite a few books I've checked out over the years which are no longer there now (yes, I am, on occasion, a re-reader of books). It's rare when a book I want to read is waiting on the shelf. Either I have to be put on a wait list or, just as frequently, I have to request it via interlibrary loan. Those methods work, eventually, but I don't get the instant gratification of downloading a book to a tablet and starting in on it right away.
Our book club selection next time is The Sacred Bridge, by Anne Hillerman. She is the daughter of Tony Hillerman, who wrote a lot of mysteries which took place on the Navajo reservation in AZ, featuring the cops Joe Leaphorn and Jimmy Chee. Anne continued the series, and has added some characters. I haven't read any of hers yet, so looking forward to this one.
ReplyDeleteI just finished A Life in the Light, by Mary Pipher. I really liked it. Mary Pipher also wrote Reviving Ophelia, and The Shelter of Each Other a few years back. A Life in the Light is a series of short essays about her childhood and young adulthood.
As far as spiritual reading, I am reading This is Living, by Bettina Schuller ( no relation to former tv evangelist Robert Schuller, she grew up in Germany.) It is based on the spirituality of The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence, a Carmelite monk who lived in the 17th century. The book is based on prayers of stillness and presence, finding God in the present moment, and teaches breath prayers.
Book club just finished Rural Rebellion, by Ross Benes. The subtitle was How Nebraska became a Republican stronghold. No surprises there, it always was a Republican stronghold. But a way different kind of Republicans now. The author grew up Catholic in the small town of Brainard NE, which is about 30 miles from here, and happens to be in the Lincoln Diocese. Apparently the homilies got pretty political there. I have to say I have never heard a homily here telling people who to vote for, or that voting for a particular candidate was a mortal sin. But the book club discussion tapped into some strong anger from some people who apparently were alienated from the church by overtly political preaching. In the discussions of synodality they really need to pay attention to that, because I'm sure that is not an isolated instance.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, due to federal laws related to the tax exempt status of churches, priests, ministers etc cannot legally endorse political candidates. That law was largely ignored during the trump years, especially in the evangelical Protestant world. At some point trump promised to get rid of that law by executive order or something but I don’t think he got around to it. It wasn’t being enforced. From what I have read, some Catholic priests and bishops did an end run around it by saying that voting for any pro- choice politician was a mortal sin, without mentioning names.
Delete"But the book club discussion tapped into some strong anger from some people who apparently were alienated from the church by overtly political preaching."
DeleteRight. It's a difficult topic. FWIW, my view is: as soon as the preacher starts "going political", (s)he's likely to alienate half (at least) the congregation, no matter how carefully (s)he couches and qualifies the remarks. I've definitely rolled my eyes when I've heard preachers try to be politically relevant - I think, more times than not, they miss the mark. But that could simply be that I'm as ideologically conditioned as anyone else, and what was said just didn't happen to "ring the bell" for me.
Also: most political issues are too complex to cover fairly and objectively in a brief verbal presentation. Most of the world isn't black and white, and on most issues, both sides have their Christian defenders. ("Forgiving student loans is an act of mercy" / "Forgiving student forces the less-well-off to subsidize the better-off")
All that said, sometimes the issue is so important and urgent, and so salient to Christian discipleship, that the preacher is shirking his/her duty by not addressing it. In the wake of the Charlottesville murder, I preached that racism is wrong and bad. One guy got up and stalked out. I may well have pissed off a bunch of other people who weren't so demonstrative about their displeasure but grumped or seethed in silence. So be it.
Yah, around here, anybody murdered by racists had it coming because they're bleeding heart libtards who don't realize that affluent white Christians are sick of catering to shiftless, violent brown people.
DeleteI don't support student debt forgiveness, but I have to laugh when the farmers at the local parish complain that nobody forgave their combine loans. Maybe not, but we've been paying price supports on their dairy operations and crop insurance on their beans and corn for decades.
We like our Amazon Fires. K. had one of the Barnes and Noble e readers, but had to give up on it. I prefer to read print books, but use the Fire for various subscriptions, and the Divine Office site, which is free.
ReplyDeleteI was introduced to Richard Rohr about 20 years ago, as I’ve mentioned before. Glad that you are reading his latest, Jim. When it first came out it actually made the top ten NYT bestseller list for a few weeks - almost unheard of for a spiritual writer. His books and talks opened my eyes to a different vision and understanding of Christianity, and were one of the main things that influenced me to stay christian, at least technically, and continue the struggle. I heard him speak here a couple of times, but there were a lot of people in the audience so no chance to connect. So when I saw ( years ago) that he was teaching a week long summer class at my undergrad alma mater, Loyola Marymount in LA, I signed up for it and flew out there. It was as I had hoped - a chance to really connect. There were about 35 in the class, most of whom worked for the church in some way. There was ample opportunity for genuine conversation and discussion, just like in a normal classroom. Going to LA for that class as of the best things I ever did for my personal spiritual journey. It gave me hope that I wasn’t a totally hopeless case! I have several of his books. And cassettes of his retreats and talks, which I used to listen to while doing my daily two mile walks. I still have one functioning cassette player, but now my husband walks with me so I haven’t listened in a while. There has been a lot of evolution and development in his thinking since I first read him. But you might want to be careful as there are temple police out there who might report you for reading a book by a “ heretic”.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, also have Brother Lawrence in my library, but it’s been years since I read it. The book you mentioned about Brother Lawrence might be interesting.
Anne, thanks. I know you know much more about Rohr than I do, but what I've gleaned from what he's mentioned in this book is that he comes at his subject from his background as a spiritual director; and it seems he also has been immersed in the study of comparative religions. As those are two subject areas which I don't know a lot about (especially world religions), it's challenging, in a sort of refreshing, bracing sort of way, to follow his arguments for the topics in this book - which, from what I've read so far, I'd classify as some combination of Christology and the Incarnation.
DeleteI don't know if he's ever been investigated or formally in trouble with the church, but I can see that he'd be on the orthodoxy police's watch list. (People in the field of comparative religions seem to be perpetually on that list). One of the best aspects of this era of Pope Francis - and I think this is not fully appreciated by most people - is that the orthodoxy police, at least in the Holy See, have been told to stand down. It seems to me that theologians are freer to propose new and 'dangerous' propositions and have them discussed and debated without fear of being shut down by the religious authorities. At least, I hope that's true. I'm certainly not a theologian nor a member of their guild, but I sense a spirit of freedom: freedom of inquiry, and freedom from fear.
"Heretic": I was told by the Church Ladies in RCIA not to read Commonweal. They went into a long thing about imprimaturs and nihil obstats.
DeleteFor August:
ReplyDeleteTwo novels by John Barth, which I enjoyed despite the author's somewhat overwrought preoccupation with the meaning of existence.
Mary Wesley's first novel, "Jumping the Queue," published when she was 71. A fairly bleak exploration of a widow over 50 who is unpacking previously compartmentalized truths about her marriage. Very bleak.
Edith Wharton's society drama, "Twilight Sleep." Interesting parallels between 1920s self-help movements with those of today.
To start September:
Ken Kalfus's "2 a.m. in Little America," a dystopian novel, is racked up on the Kindle.
Re library collections: Libraries are running out of space for books bc patrons want a host of other services and materials, such as meeting rooms, computers, movies, and copy centers. Many libraries are also given large donations by individuals or groups that stipulate that, in exchange for funds, the library has to store their junk. (Local historical societies are notorious for doing this.) So books get culled more frequently . Automated systems make it very easy to identify books that aren't popular so they can be culled. What you read a few years ago is much less likely to be on the shelf in today's library than in a library of 50 years ago.
"despite the author's somewhat overwrought preoccupation with the meaning of existence."
DeleteI wonder if that's intentional on his part, or if it just sort of comes through his writing because it's something that's burning inside him.
Even my 1,200 word homilies, such as they are, can go in different directions than I expected when I sit down to write them. When an unexpected or unintended train of thought gets started, it can feel imperative to pursue it. It takes a little bit of discipline to try to pull the train back onto the original track. I don't know if actual writers deal with the same thing.
I can't tell if Barth is satirizing his protagonists. His tone is ambiguous. Interesting, but not sure I'm totally in his groove.
DeleteI don't know anything about Barth's writing process. Most professional writers I have met, especially poets, seem to enjoy mystifying it. I always tune out when they start talking about it.
In my (failed) experience, writing is 25 percent joyful inspiration and 75 percent keeping your butt in the chair for several hours a day and doggedly following your outline even though you've lost interest in the entire production.
It requires concentration and enough self-involvement to think that people want to hear/read so bad that they'll help you pay your bills. Two reasons why I never became a writer.
Heavy stuff, Jean. Right now I’m into pure fluff, escapism for my non- spiritual reading. Can’t handle anything depressing right now but I’m having trouble finding decent fluff authors.
ReplyDeleteDon't know about "fluff," but if you want humor, there's always PG Wodehouse. Or those Lucia and Mapp stories by EF Benson. Muriel Spark isn't for all tastes, but she's enjoyably wicked at times: "Loitering With Intent," "Aiding and Abetting" or "The Finishing School."
DeleteP.S., Isn't most reading spiritual? I'd argue that reading about Bertie Wooster provides a pretty valuable commentary on certain ridiculous aspects of the human condition ... :-) Reading theologians never did much for me. They're all way too sure they've got it figured out.
DeletePlus, since his heart attack scared the hell out of him, Raber is always happy to tell me why I am on the Road to Perdition according to any number of religious thinkers.
I don’t read theologians. I read spiritual writers. I will look up some of your suggestions.
DeleteRe: Wodehouse: I keep a Jeeves and Wooster short-story omnibus by my bedside. It's my go-to book at bedtime if (as I mentioned above) I'm waiting for the library to come through with my next book. Extremely enjoyable. Even when they were written, they were old-fashioned. Somehow, a dim-witted, pampered white male is rendered empathetic.
DeleteI like aunts Dahlia and Augusta.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLibrary news from Michigan's West Side Calvinist nut jobs.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bridgemi.com/talent-education/romance-author-nora-roberts-helps-save-mi-library-defunded-over-lgbtq-books
Looks like Patmos can operate for another year or so on donations, but guessing that will be its last gasp. Book burnings are passe when you can intimidate the librarians enough so that they don't buy certain books in the first place or just defund the library completely.
"Fahrenheit 451" needs an update to reflect the new tactics.
Repubs in Virginia want to impose parental consent laws on Barnes and Noble for the same book. The WaPo reports this morning that a judge dismissed the move.:
DeleteA Virginia judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by two Republicans that sought to limit how bookstores and public school libraries could distribute two books to minors, closing — at least temporarily — an unusual commercial strategy in the campaign to protect students from literature conservatives say is not age-appropriate.
The two books at the heart of the suit are Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer,” a memoir about identifying as nonbinary, and Sarah J. Maas’s “A Court of Mist and Fury,” a fantasy novel that depicts a dark fairy romance. Both have drawn objections for their sexual material. The suit, filed in Virginia Beach Circuit Court by Del. Tim Anderson (R-Virginia Beach) and congressional candidate Tommy Altman, aimed to prevent the Virginia Beach school system and locations of the private bookseller Barnes & Noble from selling the books to children without first obtaining parental consent.
Jean, I meant to comment yesterday about that library in Michigan. Good that outside funding (including Nora Roberts!) gave that library enough funds to stay open another year or two. But I suppose it's a band-aid. If the local community doesn't support it, not sure how long it will continue to exist.
DeleteOn the other hand, if libraries are to be supported by local communities, then how responsive must they be to the local community's values? To be sure, there are some values which are Constitutionally protected from the tyranny of the local majority. Not sure the selection of books carried by the local public library fits any of those Constitutional exceptions, though.
I feel sorry for the employees.
One of our local suburban public libraries is stirring controversy with its plans to host "a drag-themed bingo event for teens". The librarian's response to those who oppose it: "They can choose not to come."
Deletehttps://www.dailyherald.com/news/20220830/they-can-choose-not-to-come-downers-grove-library-responds-to-criticism-of-drag-themed-bingo-event?utm_source=morning%20alert&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article%20column&utm_campaign=Morning%20Alert%208%2F31%2F2022
Yah, "community standards." The religious nuts love playing that card, usually emphasizing "standards" (i.e., theirs) and ignoring "community" (i.e., people not them).
DeleteMost libraries have clearly marked sections for children, teens, and adults. It's up to parents to ensure their kids stay in their preferred areas, not the library staff. But the same people freaking out about books about gender identity that is behind the checkout desk (I remember when our library at home kept Tropical of Cancer behind the desk) are often the same ones yammering about parents rights and the nanny state.
Drag queens in the library? I guess after I saw Dolly Parton sparkled up and reading stories to kids in a huge wig and spike heels, I have to wonder what's the difference. Btw, Dolly's father was unable to read, and she has a huge worldwide literacy program. https://imaginationlibrary.com
For me it boils down to tolerance and parents doing their own policing. For most kids, the dangers do not lurk in the library. They occur over at some other kid's house whose parents don't lock up their guns, and who give them carte blanche on the tv and internet.
Betty and I have been reading Baroness Catherine de Hueck Doherty materials thanks to Anne pointing out her relationship to Merton.
ReplyDeleteBetty has just finishing reading a biography of her. I am reading a book of the correspondence between the Baroness and Merton.
Merton was teaching at Saint Bonaventure when he heard a lecture by the Baroness. She was a well-established speaker and had established Friendship House in Harlem which has many parallels with the Catholic Worker movement. She and Dorothy Day were friends.
Merton was so impressed by Friendship House after visiting it that he thought about moving there. At the same time after being rejected by the Franciscans, probably because he had father a child out of wedlock, Merton was regularly visiting the Trappist monasteries
.
There are similar themes in their writings Three quotes from their letters follow:
The Holy Fool is one ideal in Russian spirituality; Merton captures the spirit in this passage
ReplyDeleteMertonBut it certainly is a wonderful thing to wake up suddenly in the solitude of the woods and look up at the sky and see the utter nonsense of everything, including all the solemn stuff given out by professional asses about the spiritual life and simply to burst out laughing and laugh and laugh with the sky and the trees because God is not in words, and not in systems, and not in liturgical movements, and not in “contemplation” with a big C., or in asceticism or in anything like that, not even in the apostolate. Certainly not in books. I can go on writing them, for all that, but one might as well make paper airplanes out of the whole lot. (September 18, 1958)
On hermitages (Poustinya):
Catherine One thing that I want to tell you about is that I have returned to the ways of my people. When confronted with the tragic sight of man ignoring God. In my childhood, my father used to tell me when I meet evil in a new form “that such are dealt with through fasting and prayer – and go into the desert. “He never used the word “retiring” but always going forward. “Desert” in Russian is “Poustinya” (March 17, 1961)
Withdraw from society
Merton There is no doubt that we are all involve in a social structure that is rotting from within. The fact that so many people are able to identify that futile and transient structure with Christian civilization, or even, worst still, the body of Christ, is enough to cause anyone agony…. As Christians we are not really “with” any of the big social movements in one direction or another, left or right. We no longer have the support of a really Christian society. When we lean on the society that is built on what used to be Christian, it gives way and we fall with it…. yet we cannot commit ourselves to the even more transient secularism that claims to possess the key to the future. It is a very salutary solitude and one in which I for one think more and more that I will have to stop preaching or only preach by silence. (July 22, 1961)
"God is not in words, ... certainly not in books. I can go on writing them, for all that, but one might as well make paper airplanes out of the whole lot."
DeleteI sort of agree with him. The first truly "religious experience" I had was looking at the lunar surface all alone in the university observatory when I was 21. The astronomy prof gave us sign up hours when we could go in and have observatory time. No way I could put that or a few other ecstasied like that into words. It would be a sin to try.
But do you think Merton is being somewhat disingenuous here? He wrote a lot of stuff ...
Merton continues in his letter that it is time to write an outline for his conference for his novices, and that after he had written it he would end up talking about something completely different.
DeleteMerton was a busy person as a monk, and then a master of novices, and then his correspondence. He jotted down his thoughts all the time. A little like Andrew "never an unpublished thought" Greeley.
Early on in keeping his journals he decided that they were not just a matter between himself and God, but that he was writing for publication. Of course, his journals were embargoed, and they were a chore to edit; Cunningham my professor at ND did one of the several volumes.
During his life he turned many of his journals into books; however, Naomi Burton, his editor, has said that Merton's "finished manuscripts" always needed considerable reworking which she sent back to him. So essentially writing was simply a habit for Merton, a way of living.
That I think is completely different from setting out to write an article or a book. One of my graduate mentors wrote a book of advice for faculty members on how to write. His recommendation based on his research was that you should not set aside big chunks of time but rather use small chunks of time, do a lot of sketching, begin to write before your ready, pause writing before you are finished a section so that you will begin automatically the next time, and do a lot of rewriting.
I suspect without knowing it Merton practiced a lot of what my professor recommended just by the nature of his monastic existence.
As a comp instructor for many years working with students in a variety of disciplines and forced to read a lot if comp textbooks, I'd say that advice about how to write tends to suit the person writing the advice. It may be helpful or even damaging to someone else.
DeleteJack, love the quotes. The first Merton quote is something I have tried to describe to this small group for a long time, but I lack Merton’s eloquence. Most of Merton is pretty intellectual but somehow his words still reach ordinary people. Perhaps because he’s a spiritual writer, not a theologian. Spiritual writers get much closer to the essence, not bound by the theological narrowness. The church types who mock the “I feel closest to God in nature” (and silence) types sadly just don’t get it.
DeleteOff topic, but truly unbelievable. I wonder who decided these women should be “ removed” and investigated? Did someone in the Vatican call the cops or did the macho cops take action on their own? It always amazes me how a few women can be so threatening to the male establishment.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ncronline.org/news/people/womens-ordination-advocates-detained-outside-vatican-meeting
It's unclear if this was a "no fly zone" for demonstrations. We're pretty used to demonstrations being pretty much anywhere in the US. But maybe that's not the case in Italy? Anyway it seems like an overreaction, especially given that it was non-violent, and the cops hauled them off and confiscated their stuff.
DeleteI think the parasols are what set the police off...Italy is not an "open carry" state.
DeleteMy guess is that this is the response these women wanted. Would be what I was aiming for. Being hauled off by the Vatican's goon squad just for holding some signs is going to be good for reams and reams of bad PR for Rome.
DeleteJean, you are probably right. Seven women, dressed in red, with parasols- as unthreatening as one can imagine - hauled off by the cops. Great free publicity for them and the men look like fools. Which they are.
DeleteThink of this in terms of Vatican security. Having all the cardinal electors in one place at one time for such an extended period of time is like the President's State of the Union address. You can be sure that all police in the area were on a high state of alert for anything unusual.
DeleteParasols might look benign to us. However, when I went through security at the county courthouse when reporting for jury duty my walking stick was carefully examined. The officer asked whether I was required to use a walking stick. I said my doctor had suggested it. Thereafter, I carried a prescription from my doctor for a walking stick in case I ever encounter similar security situations.
I am sure the women wanted to be noticed, and very likely chose their timing and location to get maximum press and police attention.
Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter news editor, discusses the meeting and the role of women in Commonweal this morning; he interviews Cardinals McElroy and Czerny, the most likely to be supportive of women:
Deletehttps://www.commonwealmagazine.org/there-will-be-surprises
His wife was the prime organizer of the women ordination protest at the Vatican
https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/womens-ordination-advocates-detained-outside-vatican-meeting
Given that the umbrella was used as an assassination device by the Soviets and a supernatural transportation device by Mary Poppins, perhaps suspicion is understandable.
DeleteOk. Maybe someone did worry about the parasols being a threat., I doubt that thought even crossed the minds of the seven when they planned their mini demonstration.
DeleteStanley, I have to admit, I'm charmed by the image of MI-5 blasting the Poppins woman out of the sky as a potential terrorist threat. Come to think of it, had they done that early on in the recent-ish sequel, it might have saved me 90 or so minutes of my life that I'll never get back.
DeleteJim, One of the best aspects of this era of Pope Francis - and I think this is not fully appreciated by most people - is that the orthodoxy police, at least in the Holy See, have been told to stand down
ReplyDeleteI’ve noticed that. Very refreshing after the many silencings imposed by JPII and Ratzinger.
Richard Rohr tells some of his personal story when he gives talks and retreats., His parents were midwestern farmers and devout German American Catholics. One comment he made in a talk about his background has stuck with me. It was something like this “I grew up at the top of the heap of American privilege. My parents were not rich, but I knew as a child that I had it as good as it gets - I was white, male, American and Catholic.”
Rohr was attracted by the depiction of Francis of Assisi in a novel he read when he was a teenager, and so he chose to become a Franciscan. He was an early 70s hippie priest, but he also founded a charismatic community in Ohio. He left it after several years to found the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque. He wanted to focus more on social justice, feeling that too many activists lose their way because they lose their spiritual moorings. He wanted to introduce social justice activists to contemplative prayer and practices to ground their activism. In one of his talks he mentioned that while charismatic prayer can be a good place to start, it is not a good place to end the spiritual journey.
He was reported to his bishops in Albuquerque and I think also in Chicago. He mentioned in a talk that he would sometimes look out at the congregation during a homily and see a number of hostile faces on people sitting with notepads and pens, writing down his unorthodox words. His bishops told him, after reading the complaints. that he could continue because they actually are orthodox Catholic teaching. He gives many retreats and talks, to men and women religious, to lay Catholics, and to ecumenical groups, but I don’t think he has often been spiritual director to individuals.
He went to Gesthemene Abbey every year for his personal retreat. Eventually they asked him to give them an 8 day retreat. He can be an entertaining speaker, and there is actually a YouTube video of a talk he gave in which he describes some of the embarrassing aspects of what happened in that retreat. When they asked how they could compensate him, he asked if he could stay in Merton’s hermitage for a month on his own. That hermitage retreat was a real turning point for him. He returned there for a month every year after the first solitary retreat. He has been treated for two cancers in the last 20 years – melanoma and prostate cancer. These experiences have also influenced his later work. And although he didn’t set out to be a celebrity priest, he also doesn’t hide his enjoyment in being recognized as a spiritual leader by people like Oprah.
Rohr stresses the Franciscan emphasis on incarnational spirituality. He also deemphasizes the teaching that Jesus died to redeem us of our sins. I admit to feeling affirmed when I learned that he rejects atonement theology, and also affirmed by many other ideas he expresses. Before encountering Rohr, I had felt very alone in my understandings.. He is far less concerned about orthodoxy than he is about orthopraxy. I think I will have to put a new battery in my very old Walkman and listen again to some of the cassettes I have of his talks.
An article in The New Yorker after The Universal Christ hit the best seller list.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/on-religion/richard-rohr-reorders-the-universe
An article in Wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Rohr
Anne, many thanks for that info. A lot of what you describe here comes through in the book I'm reading.
DeleteI think he can be a boundary-pusher, but I also sense that a lot of what he writes (at least in this book) comes from the "angle" from which he approaches the questions he's seeking to address. The chapter I'm reading now discusses the place of Mary and the feminine in the constellation of our faith. He sees her as sort of a Jungian archetype, perhaps related to the traditional folk-spirituality of Mother Earth; he views the earth, and all of creation, as the First Incarnation (Jesus being the Second), because God made everything, seemingly pouring himself into us and everything as he made us out of nothing, and saw that it was good. It's an interesting lens, and a bit out of the ordinary. As you note, I don't think it's the kind of thing that should get him thrown into theology jail.
I don't know much about Merton. I tried to tackle "The Seven Story Mountain" once, a long time ago, but didn't make it through. I sort of came along after his heyday, so he never really made an imprint on me.
The book by Bettina Schuller which I mentioned above quotes Rohr a lot. He has some good insights, but some of his ideas seem a bit far out. I believe that the second Person of the Trinity and Jesus Christ are one and the same; he took on his human nature when he came as the baby in Bethlehem. Of course maybe that is the far out belief. But I can't square them being separate persons. (Actually Schuller's book didn't say anything about that).
DeleteBut having said that, I am glad that people aren't getting smacked down for speaking their thoughts, even if they seem far out.
DeleteRight. Rohr doesn't claim they're separate persons, either. He uses the term "Christ" to refer to him whom the author of John's Gospel named the Word, as in "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." I.e. the second Person of the Trinity, who was incarnated as Jesus of Nazareth. But I can see how a reader might get a little confused and think Rohr was writing about two separate beings.
DeleteI actually think Rohr would be better-served by referring to the Universal Christ as the Word, rather than as Christ. To me, "Christ" is the Anointed One, and hearkens to the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. But Rohr might have had some rhetorical reason for preferring not to refer to the second Person of the Trinity as the Word.
Katherine, Rohr doesn’t think conventionally. As Jim noted, he comes at things from a different angle. That is why he so strongly appealed to me after I became acquainted with his work. That is why I say that he kept me christian, or at least in the struggle to stay christian. For years I had struggled with many fundamental christian teachings- the Trinity, atonement theology, etc, and a few specifically Catholic teachings. I had felt for a while that the Incarnation is the most foundational doctrine, not the resurrection. But whenever I tried to talk about these things in a parish environment, everyone looked at me cross-eyed. There was nobody to talk to and it was very lonely - until I joined the CP group. It was the people in the CP group who introduced me to Rohr, Anthony DeMello, Thomas Keating and other less conventional spiritual writers who did “ speak” to me through their work. It really helped. I think that it might be tough to read The Universal Christ as an introduction to Rohr. I’ve read many of his books, and listened to many of his talks and retreats. I have been able to follow the development of his thoughts over 20 years. And they have developed. I would recommend Falling Upward for first time Rohr readers, actually. I haven’t yet finished The Universal Christ. I have it as a kindle book now, so will try to get to it soon. I have only skimmed the first chapter. I read mostly on my iPad these days, but buy books if I feel a need to mark them up! ;)
ReplyDeleteOne of Greeley's many books is "Religion as Poetry" in which he argues that religious works more like poetry than prose. It's about ritual, images, etc. I agree so I am more interested in spirituality, the study of how religion is lived, than about theology.
ReplyDeleteThings like the Cosmic Christ, and Jesus as Word are more theology than spirituality. I don't see them as being of much use in living Christian life, though they occasionally might be interesting ways of thinking about things. I prefer things like the literary study of Scripture and how liturgy has been done.
So is that the accepted distinction between spirituality and theology? How religion is lived v official dogma? Just asking bc I don't know. It seems to be imp to people here.
DeleteWell, just speaking for myself, theology tends to push me away from God, while spirituality brings me closer. A theology like that of RR removes an obstacle in the relationship because it isn’t very dogmatic. I guess because it’s a theology that I share, at least as much as I accept any theology. . Rohr offers his spin on theology, but most of his work is focused on how we are to live, not what we believe or are supposed to believe.
DeleteWikipedia, fwiw, offers five types of sbnr's: I guess I've known all these types of people in the Unitarians Universalist world, where they squabble endlessly among themselves.
DeleteI'd consider myself an "immigrant" who just cannot get with the RCC program and is moving toward "drifted dissenter," though there's nothing I am really dissenting against except the Catholic tendency in my area to focus on sin and correctness of liturgical worship rather than living like Jesus.
Types of sbnr's:
"Dissenters" are the people who, for the most part, make a conscious effort to veer away from institutional religion. "Protesting dissenters" refers to those SBNRs who have been 'turned off' religious affiliation because of adverse personal experiences with it. "Drifted Dissenters" refers to those SBNRs who, for a multitude of reasons, fell out of touch with organized religion and chose never to go back.
"Conscientious objector dissenters" refers to those SBNRs who are overtly skeptical of religious institutions and are of the view that religion is neither a useful nor necessary part of an individual's spirituality.
"Casuals" are the people who see religious and/or spiritual practices as primarily functional. Spirituality is not an organizing principle in their lives. Rather they believe it should be used on an as-needed basis for bettering their health, relieving stress, and for emotional support. The spirituality of "Casuals" is thus best understood as a "therapeutic" spirituality that centers on the individual's personal wellbeing.
"Explorers" are the people who seem to have what Mercadante refers to as a "spiritual wanderlust". These SBNRs find their constant search for novel spiritual practices to be a byproduct of their "unsatisfied curiosity", their desire for journey and change, as well as feelings of disappointment. Explorers are best understood as "spiritual tourists" who take comfort in the destination-less journey of their spirituality and have no intentions of ultimately committing to a spiritual home.
"Seekers" are those people who are
looking for a spiritual home but contemplate recovering earlier religious identities. These SBNRs embrace the "spiritual but not religious" label and are eager to find a completely new religious identity or alternative spiritual group that they can ultimately commit to.
"Immigrants" are those people who have found themselves in a novel spiritual realm and are trying to adjust themselves to this newfound identity and its community.
"Immigrants" can be best understood as those SBNRs who are "trying on" a radically new spiritual environment but have yet to feel completely settled there. It is important to note that for these SBNRs, although they are hoping to become fully integrated in their newfound spiritual identities, the process of acclimation is difficult and often disconcerting.
Interesting breakdown of SBNRs, Jean. Not sure where I fit precisely.
ReplyDeleteI am wary of labels and generalities.
DeleteIn the creed-less Unitarian Universalist there was a sense among all the conflicting and competing ideas that you would only know the truth by winning an argument.
In the intervening decades, the few "religious experiences" I have had have underscored my sense that faith is not something you can come at through argumentation. And it's not really anything that "translates" from one person to another. We all latch onto God with our limited perceptions and abilities, so my experiences would not be like yours, etc.
I suppose what I've looked for among the Anglicans and the Catholics is some insight into those experiences. But it's just more arguing.
That is one reason I have never officially joined the ECUSA. I vowed when I left the RCC that I would never officially join any other denomination. That's why I'm SBNR.
DeleteDo Quakers argue too? Their meetings are supposed to be grounded in silence!
Yes, Quakers argue, according to a friend who was in it for awhile. Somebody will stand up in Meeting at the urging of the Spirit to make a statement. Outside of Meeting, there is a lot of arguing over whether that statement was necessary or justified.
DeleteIs it possible for people not to argue? Maybe not.
Jim, I never finished Seven Story Mountain either. I still have it so I might try again someday. I prefer his books of reflections and meditation such as New Seeds of Contemplation. I have a mini- sized copy of Thoughts in Solitude that is torn and worn from being carried around in my purse for years. Small, short chapters of reflections that are useful for brief waiting periods of time.
ReplyDeleteI read Seven Story Mountain while in high school, shortly after reading Seeds of Contemplation. It was a library book. So, I don’t have a copy, although I have his journals from the years shortly before he entered the Trappist and the years immediately after. However, I plan to get a copy because of my interest in the Baroness and Friendship House.
ReplyDeleteMerton first met the Baroness at a lecture by her when he was teaching at Bonaventure. He was dissatisfied with that life and had begun the application process for entering the Franciscans. A priest asked him to withdraw because he had fathered a child out of wedlock. He had begun visiting the Trappist’s. He was so impressed by the Baroness that he visited Friendship House in Harlem and was considering relocating there.
So, his vocational decision was basically the Trappist or the lay apostolate at Friendship House in Harlem. It is interesting how that might have turned out giving her writing and lecturing talents. Think of Merton and the Baroness writing together and lecturing around the country! That might have changed Catholicism in the US more than Merton’s writing from the monastery. Would people have listened to two lay apostles facing the racial problem as much as they listened to Merton running away to a monastery with a far more subdued message on racial issues.
I am currently reading their correspondence, and checking this against Merton’s journals, then I will read Seven Story Mountain for its account of the decision making.
FEC United has a hit list of library books it circulates for members and budding fascists. There's probably one for yr state.
ReplyDeletehttps://fecunited.com/state/michigan/inappropriate-library-books/
In Michigan, teachers are aware of this and similar lists, and as legislators ponder "don't say racist and gay" laws, they appear to be self-censoring, according to state news sources.