Hello, blogosphere! This is my first post. I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm an old religious guy. Well, actually, I'm not that old. I mean, I still have all of my hair (no comb over!) and most of my teeth. I don't have a big floppy gut, and, if you put a gun to my head, I suppose I could still manage to knock off at least ten regulation push-ups. BUT: I don't own an i-pad, I can't figure out how to upload stuff on my computer, I'm definitely not into hip-hop, and I don't have a single tattoo or piercing. Also, I can tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing on the day John Kennedy was assassinated. That last fact makes me a genuine, card-carrying Baby Boomer.
AND I'm religious. You see, I had those groovy Great Depression/World War II vintage parents. They sent me off to church and Sunday school. I learned my catechism and made my confirmation. I managed to stumble through a weird and circuitous journey of early adulthood, and finally found myself behind the pulpit of Faith Lutheran Church of Philadelphia where I have been telling stories, handing out bread and wine, and sprinkling water on the heads of unsuspecting infants for the last thirteen years.
'Know what? It's actually pretty cool.
But then, I am a religious guy.
So what about you? Are you religious or spiritual or both? I guess I should explain what I mean when I use those terms. Then maybe we can have a conversation.
I suspect that the vast majority of everybody, at one time or another, has asked themselves, "Just what the FREAK is all this about..??!! Am I nothing more than a collection of cells and nerve impulses? What happens when I die? Do I have a consciousness separate from my physical body? What is a soul and do I have one? What or who is God? Does God exist? Am I part of God? Am I part of anything? What is my purpose in life? Do I even have a purpose?"
Now, I'm not a betting man, but if I were I'd be willing to wager that anyone who asks themselves the above questions has a good chance of being considered spiritual. Of course, anyone who DOESN'T ask these questions is probably either A) a religious zombie who thinks he knows all the answers, or B) too friggin' lazy to give a rip about all of this. In either case, I'd suggest to such a one that he read another blog. This one ain't for you.
I think it's interesting (and maybe you don't, but hey! I'm religious, remember?) that the ancient Greeks and the ancient Hebrews each had words for "spirit" which also meant "wind" or "breath." Our spirit was that essence which, like the wind, could be felt but not seen and experienced but not captured in the hand. It was also the thing which gave life. The spirit blew the seeds across the field to provide food. In the book of Genesis, so the story goes, God formed Man out of dirt and "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. (Gen. 2:7)" That's what made the man a living thing.
I suspect all of us want to connect with that breath at some time. We have a longing to feel part of the source of life. Anyone who ponders eternal or ultimate mysteries is a spiritual person. We feel the mystery, but we don't see it and can't describe it. It's like the wind.
Religion, is our attempt to connect with that eternal part of all matter and all living things. If we were to stand on a windy beach and fly a kite (Remember, I'm an old religious guy--we used to do stuff like that when I was a kid. Today kids probably have virtual kites on their smart phones or something!), we could have some connection to the wind. The kite isn't the wind itself, but it lets us relate to it. It gives us a visible symbol which we not only experience, but can share the experience with others. It's our point of reference.
That's what religion, at it's best, should be. Our mythic stories, rituals, and seasons are all a means to connect us to the sacred and mysterious. Also, they are strings which not only connect us to the wind, but let others share in the experience. They build a community. Ideally, this is a community of love, fellowship, and compassion.
At it's worst, however, our religion becomes an end in itself. We yank the kite out of the sky, put it in a shrine, insist our kite design is superior to anybody else's, and rob it of the life-giving lift we invented it for in the first place. I think this happens, unfortunately, so frequently that many of us just turn away from the subject entirely. Who would want to commit to something which seems so lifeless and excludes so many people? It's easier to forget the kite altogether, walk in the wind, and just be "spiritual."
But it might be lonely and confusing that way, too.
On this blog I'm going to try to make sense out of the Christian faith as I experience it. Whether you're religious--any religion will do--or spiritual or nothing at all, perhaps you'll find my thoughts interesting. And, perhaps, you'll share a few of your own.
God bless you, and thanks for taking the time to read this!
AND I'm religious. You see, I had those groovy Great Depression/World War II vintage parents. They sent me off to church and Sunday school. I learned my catechism and made my confirmation. I managed to stumble through a weird and circuitous journey of early adulthood, and finally found myself behind the pulpit of Faith Lutheran Church of Philadelphia where I have been telling stories, handing out bread and wine, and sprinkling water on the heads of unsuspecting infants for the last thirteen years.
'Know what? It's actually pretty cool.
But then, I am a religious guy.
So what about you? Are you religious or spiritual or both? I guess I should explain what I mean when I use those terms. Then maybe we can have a conversation.
I suspect that the vast majority of everybody, at one time or another, has asked themselves, "Just what the FREAK is all this about..??!! Am I nothing more than a collection of cells and nerve impulses? What happens when I die? Do I have a consciousness separate from my physical body? What is a soul and do I have one? What or who is God? Does God exist? Am I part of God? Am I part of anything? What is my purpose in life? Do I even have a purpose?"
Now, I'm not a betting man, but if I were I'd be willing to wager that anyone who asks themselves the above questions has a good chance of being considered spiritual. Of course, anyone who DOESN'T ask these questions is probably either A) a religious zombie who thinks he knows all the answers, or B) too friggin' lazy to give a rip about all of this. In either case, I'd suggest to such a one that he read another blog. This one ain't for you.
I think it's interesting (and maybe you don't, but hey! I'm religious, remember?) that the ancient Greeks and the ancient Hebrews each had words for "spirit" which also meant "wind" or "breath." Our spirit was that essence which, like the wind, could be felt but not seen and experienced but not captured in the hand. It was also the thing which gave life. The spirit blew the seeds across the field to provide food. In the book of Genesis, so the story goes, God formed Man out of dirt and "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. (Gen. 2:7)" That's what made the man a living thing.
I suspect all of us want to connect with that breath at some time. We have a longing to feel part of the source of life. Anyone who ponders eternal or ultimate mysteries is a spiritual person. We feel the mystery, but we don't see it and can't describe it. It's like the wind.
Religion, is our attempt to connect with that eternal part of all matter and all living things. If we were to stand on a windy beach and fly a kite (Remember, I'm an old religious guy--we used to do stuff like that when I was a kid. Today kids probably have virtual kites on their smart phones or something!), we could have some connection to the wind. The kite isn't the wind itself, but it lets us relate to it. It gives us a visible symbol which we not only experience, but can share the experience with others. It's our point of reference.
That's what religion, at it's best, should be. Our mythic stories, rituals, and seasons are all a means to connect us to the sacred and mysterious. Also, they are strings which not only connect us to the wind, but let others share in the experience. They build a community. Ideally, this is a community of love, fellowship, and compassion.
At it's worst, however, our religion becomes an end in itself. We yank the kite out of the sky, put it in a shrine, insist our kite design is superior to anybody else's, and rob it of the life-giving lift we invented it for in the first place. I think this happens, unfortunately, so frequently that many of us just turn away from the subject entirely. Who would want to commit to something which seems so lifeless and excludes so many people? It's easier to forget the kite altogether, walk in the wind, and just be "spiritual."
But it might be lonely and confusing that way, too.
On this blog I'm going to try to make sense out of the Christian faith as I experience it. Whether you're religious--any religion will do--or spiritual or nothing at all, perhaps you'll find my thoughts interesting. And, perhaps, you'll share a few of your own.
God bless you, and thanks for taking the time to read this!
Interesting as always, Pastor Owen. Having been raised in an identical home, I've also been on a spiritual journey that has led me to question whether I am religious, spiritual or something of a mix. There are those who would claim that if one is religious, then one does not have a 'personal relationship with Jesus' and is merely going through the motions. So, to them if I were to claim to be 'religious' that would be blasphemy. However, the truth is I am religious; I do hold certain well-defined beliefs when it comes to spiritual matters. But I am also spiritual, I take my beliefs from the Scripture and I base my faith on the teachings found therein. Christianity, however, is more than mere adherence to doctrine; it is about a relationship with the living God and the process of sanctification through the work of the Holy Spirit. Those who are just religious don't get relationship; those who are just spiritual are subject to their feelings.
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