Oklahoma
I have a tendency to turn everything into a philosophical or theological discussion. But right now, I just want to add my prayers to the millions being lifted up for the people in Oklahoma who've lost homes, lives, and loved ones in the tornado. May the Lord bring them strength, comfort, and hope. “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26) … [Read More...]
The Universe Is Like an Analogy
I love this New Scientist video and article by Douglas Hofstadter and Emmanuel Sander on the centrality of analogy to human consciousness (you can register for free to read it, although you have to subscribe to see it for longer than two weeks). Quote: Analogy is the motor driving the build-up of concepts throughout our lives. Concepts, rather than being neat boxes into which all entities can be precisely, objectively and mechanically sorted, are fluid mental structures that, through many … [Read More...]
New Church Links
A few New Church / Swedenborgian articles and videos that I enjoyed this week: 1.) An article by Joel Glenn (who happens to share my last name because he happens to be my brother) at New Church Perspective on a recent insight he had into the way he's viewed the Father and the Son. Excerpt: We think of Jesus as love because in Jesus we can, for the first time, see what love should really look like. It is a love that we can actually comprehend. We don’t just take it on faith that Jesus is … [Read More...]
“Grace Is Not Opposed to Effort, but to Earning”
I'm a bit ashamed to admit that until I heard of his passing today, I was unfamiliar with the work of philosopher and theologian Dallas Willard. Since seeing reports of his death, I've been looking into his work, and I'm excited to read more - and sad that I wasn't able to start doing so while he was still alive. A few quotes I've particularly liked from articles and interviews online: The enemy in our time is not human capacity, or over activism, but the enemy is passivity - the idea that … [Read More...]
The True Prosperity Gospel
Yesterday I preached on the Lord's parable of the minas from Luke 19, about the good servants who traded their master's money and made more, and the bad servant who hid his master's money and did not gain from it. (Sermon audio is available here.) It's fairly clear from the context that in telling the parable, the Lord was not advocating his disciples give up the life of service and instead become shrewd silver traders. But according to John Nolland in his commentary on Luke, it's not 100% clear … [Read More...]
Do People Become Angels?
As I mentioned in my previous post, Andrea Garrison’s book In the Presence of Angels is written with the assumption that people become angels. Garrison writes, “We are in essence angels in training preparing for a higher level of service.” That’s not a foreign idea in our culture – e.g., Clarence the angel from It’s a Wonderful Life was a man who died during Mark Twain’s era – but most Christian and Jewish traditions would consider this to be inaccurate, teaching instead that … [Read More...]
Book Review: In the Presence of Angels
This blog post is part of the Patheos Book Club discussion of In the Presence of Angels: Reflections on Mattie Pearl and Emanuel Swedenborg by Andrea R. Garrison In the Presence of Angels is a short, simple meditation by Andrea R. Garrison on the passing of her mother, Mattie Pearl. Garrison recounts her own spiritual journey – her innate belief in the presence of angels and spirits, the stories she heard from her mother of the spiritual connection between her grandfather and his parents, … [Read More...]
God Means It For Good
In the sermon I preached this past Sunday (available here), I mentioned a book, The Little Way of Ruthie Leming by Rod Dreher. As I mentioned, the events described in that book – as well as the effects the book has had on those who have read it – provide a beautiful (though at times heartbreaking) illustration of the way that God can bring good out of tragedy. Many people have already reviewed the book and mentioned some if its great qualities: that it manages to be both sad and … [Read More...]
The Most Important Website You Will Ever Visit
OK, the blog title may be a bit of an overstatement. Or maybe not. For the past eight years, Rev. Mark Pendleton has been developing a spiritual-growth program called "Begin a New Life," based on Swedenborgian, Biblical teachings about the path of repentance. It's finally ready for public release, and you can find it here: www.beginanewlife.info. Now, a caveat: I have not actually used this program directly. But because it is squarely based in New Church teachings on the life of repentance, I … [Read More...]
Is the New Church a Cult?
I'm not a huge fan of using the word "cult" to describe religions one considers heretical, for reasons similar to those outlined by Roger E. Olson. I'm even less of a fan of people calling the New Church a cult. I've talked to a number of people in my congregation who have been deeply hurt by people accusing them of belonging to a cult, an accusation that seems to come along with the contempt and fear that's usually associated with that word. Doug Webber has a good blog post up today … [Read More...]
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