By Gregory Community We’re social animals, we can only thrive when lovingly connected with others. We crave intimacy and to be known and involved. Many of us crave spiritual intimacy and community – a place to connect with others and God, a place to talk about our deepest held convictions, a place to be fully ourselves, spirituality included. There are broader reasons why people engage religious traditions and communities – perhaps, in the broadest sense, to provide meaning, identity, and... Read more

By Gregory   Shalom is the Hebrew word most of us translate as peace. And peace is a fine translation, except shalom means a bit more than peace – it implies a wholeness, a healing, a fullness of being that comes from living in harmony with four central things: 1) Harmony with God – being in right relationship with eternal truths and the source of these truths. 2) Harmony with others – living in justice and love with those around... Read more

By Gregory Kenosis is a Greek word that implies emptying or giving of self, a sort of fundamental humility. The term is a crucial one for many key aspects of Jewish and Christian theology. Sadly, the term is often neglected, overlooked, or worse, rejected. There are many senses to Kenosis in the spiritual life and theology – God’s kenosis in creating the universe, Jesus’ kenosis on the Cross, the kenosis that is the essence of marriage, and the kenosis of... Read more

By Gregory A central aspect of Christian, and some Jewish theology, is the notion of a Fall or primal act of disobedience to God on the part of our original ancestors that damages humanity’s relationship with the Divine and unleashes cascading effects that play out through creation eternally. Or at least that’s one interpretation – and although the dominant one – not the only interpretation. There is no argument that we live in an imperfect world and that evil exists.... Read more

By Gregory One of the most overlooked biblical commandments is to remember. Remember the Sabbath and keep it … remember that I am the Lord Your God who brought you out of the Egypt … remember to keep my commandments so you can be holy …and so on. Even God remembers – And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. (Exodus 2:24) It’s odd; the command to remember appears more often... Read more

By Gregory The past few posts have comprised a series of reflections on Divinity and the possible meanings of God. My approach has assumed that there is a God, but my thinking is such that the God I tend to affirm is not the God common in today’s popular culture. I contrast my thinking about God with the distorted image of the Divine that I call “Santa God”. I use the term “Santa God” to speak about immature notions of... Read more

By Gregory Divine Patterns The concept of God is intrinsic to many religions and represents at the least, the attempt to discern and describe a sense of the ultimate order that pervades the universe and human experience. The whole purpose of such religion, its liturgies, rituals, and institutions is to highlight, preserve, and convey this sense of cosmos and to recapture it in the face of the chaos that hovers perpetually around the fringes of our lives. The opening chapters... Read more

By Gregory The title of my post relates to the three scholars I will be quoting from, Orthodox Christian theologian, David Bentley Hart, Rabbi and Jewish scholar, Arthur Green, and Witch and Pagan scholar, Starhawk. Each of these thinkers speaks of Divinity in ways that coincide with my own experience of the Divine. A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went out to lunch with a close friend. Sitting out on the restaurant patio, I was captivated by... Read more

By Gregory I recently engaged in a lengthy, but civil and illuminating online discussion concerning how to interpret, and what to make, of God’s calling the ancient Jews to slaughter all foreigners in the Land, putting them under the ban. When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations … you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. You shall... Read more

By Gregory Too often, the cart is put before the horse – the question “do you believe in God?” is asked prior to the question “what does the term ‘God’ mean or signify?” The Ubiquitous God The concept of God(s) has been omni-present in human history. Its meaning has varied, although certain themes remain consistent. Human approaches to the Divine have included polytheistic and anthropomorphist visions, as well as monotheistic and abstract ideas. God has been likened to a person,... Read more