Wait, wait! There’s another surgery in early October. One that will end a 30 year odyssey of spiking, nearly uncontrollable blood pressure. After that, God willing, this column will focus on what I call the “proximate spiritual.” That’s the spiritual that is close at hand and an expression in the world of our individual spirituality. We’ll delve up to 30% of the time on our spiritual influences. But mostly get into how we live our spiritual influences in the real... Read more
The Big Questions series Is there a detached (transcendent) spiritual? (See the videocast of this article on Youtube.) Welcome to a joint article-post and videocast of my Patheos New Generations Explore Faith article series, the Big Questions, and my Substack Our Times Today and Tomorrow series on spirituality. Spirituality, since the eleventh century, has been acknowledged as the proximate, or near at hand spirituality, mostly involving our relationships. But it also involves gaining insight from the detached (transcendent) spiritual through... Read more
The Big Questions series The Bible is a human construct. By this I mean that these were books or writings collected over a long period of time. They were eventually codified or canonized by some authoritative individuals into a collection that was considered by some to be an official representation of the religion. They may have been divinely guided. (Videocast of this article on YouTube.) They are generally inspired by people’s active faith in God. These writers may have been... Read more
The Big Questions series – the biggest question The short answer: be kind to each other like God is kind to us. Think not? He lets us live and tolerates our shortcomings. For some that’s huge. Maybe it’s huge for us all. Probably is for me. 🙂 (Videocast on YouTube.) The complicated answer The concept of love is the most significant aspect of Judaism and Christianity. It’s the lens through which we interpret the Bible. But love in the Bible... Read more
The Big Questions series (You can also watch What Is Reality? as a videocast on Youtube.) For this topic a little levity is required: “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” ― Albert Einstein quoted on Goodreads and Brainy Quotes. “Do not take life too seriously. You never get out of it alive.” ― Elbert Hubbard quoted on ourmindfullife.com “Initially, it sounds as if Philo is... Read more
What is Heaven? The Big Questions series Is there an answer that offers definitive proof and we can reach out and touch it? Not really. For those who look for this type of evidence they are likely to find very little of it. Life isn’t about things made of dirt and concrete. It’s about higher ideals such as interpersonal relations, justice, meaning, and purpose. The higher ideals are more spiritual in nature, and that’s the realm of heaven. Something amusing:... Read more
The Big Questions series View this video podcast on YouTube. An incredibly simple question with a very simple but incredibly complex answer, is, “What is a Christian.” No doubt my answer will put many people into a tizzy. Simply put, a Christian is a follower of Christ. The complexity is in the details and differences of opinion. Image of Jesus by Meranda D on Pixabay. What does it mean to be a Christian? In my opinion, Christians tend to assemble... Read more
The Big Questions series: What Is Sin? Most of what Jesus said about sin was in the context of Judaism. Jesus was a Jew and a firm believer in following the Torah, which is Jewish Law based on the first five books of the Bible. There were some disparities in what Jesus taught. Jesus taught the Jews a more lenient view of sin, and then sent his apostles to non-Jews with a message of forgiveness. Jewish views of sin –... Read more
From a recent celebration of life. I spoke as the “religious person.” It was well received. Death is often with us and when it is we should take time to celebrate what that life meant to us. Rather than platitudes, which often lack comfort, we should be there for each other and talk about what each person meant to us. (Insert something personal and humorous.) Intro Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not... Read more
The Big Questions series How should we understand sin? Jesus’ mission was to the Jews. Only later did he send his apostles to non-Jews with a message of forgiveness (the Good News). So do we look to Judaism or to a different understanding of what it meant for non-Jews? When Jesus spoke of sin he spoke of it within the context of Judaism and their 613 Laws and notions of sin. Offhand I don’t remember Jesus mentioning much about individual... Read more
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