Perry Kea has been a Fellow of Westar since 1987. He wrote an article last year in the Fourth R, that outlines the history of the Jesus Seminar in light of the larger historical scope of the quest for the historical Jesus. His article is entitled The Road to the Jesus Seminar. Here is an excerpt:The quest for the historical Jesus was a product of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement in eighteenth-century Europe and North America that promoted reason as the sole standard for establishing matters of truth. The ramifications were enormous. The political underpinnings of the American and French revolutions were established by Enlightenment figures (for example, Locke and Voltaire). The scientific method was born out of the Enlightenment. The privileging of reason over other modes of knowledge (such as tradition) meant that history was brought "down to earth" so to speak. The reasons why things happened in the past had to be sought within the space-time continuum of human life without appeals to divine agency. Just as the scientist could not appeal to supernatural forces to explain natural events, so the Enlightenment historian could not claim that historical events happened because "God so willed it." The Fourth RPerry Kea chairs the Philosophy and Religion Deparatment at the University of Indianapolis. Both Perry and Hal Taussig will be our speakers at the Jesus Seminar on the Road at our congregation next weekend.
This is the sequel to his earlier book, The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies. Both are sobering works. I recommend reading his latest book first. He summarizes The Party's Over in the first chapter of Powerdown and offers options for responding to this reality.
As a minister I have discovered from people who come to me with anxieties about faith, that in virtually every situation, the problem is not that they need to believe in something. The problem is that they need to cease their belief. They believe in things that are not helpful. They believe in things that are false, at times even harmful.
These are beliefs that have been given to them by religion. Not necessarily bad religion, sometimes toxic religion, but usually not. Usually, just religion in general. This is what the Bible is. This is who God is. This is who Jesus is. Many of us come to a point in our lives when these beliefs that we have been given do not seem to be working, but they seem to be so absolute. Rather than do the obvious and change our beliefs, we think we must keep believing these things even though they seem to make less and less sense and take more and more effort to explain. We think we should believe more or pray more or sin less. We think there is something wrong with us when we struggle with our inherited beliefs.
My role as a minister, oddly enough, has been one in which I find myself helping people let go of their beliefs rather than encouraging them to believe harder or to add more beliefs to their collection. This way of letting go—this way of emptying—is a spiritual path. There comes a time when we need to give up those things that we once thought were absolute.
Conversation has emerged about a book by Peter Rollins called How Not to Speak of God. I have not read the book. But I am reading Dwayne's World. He has been reading it and commenting on it. Here are his posts in order:Indeed, this can be seen as one of the central problems with the Pharisees as represented in the New Testament, for they held so closely to their interpretation of the Messiah that when the Messiah finally appeared in a form that was different to what they expected, they rejected the Messiah in order to retain the integrity of their interpretation. link
In many respects the idea of ‘heretical orthodoxy’ strikes at the heart of my intellectual project to date. I have become increasingly concerned that much of the contemporary church has taken a wrong turn by embracing the Enlightenment influenced idea that theology is that which speaks of God i.e. theology is that which makes claims about the nature and essence of God. In light of this, orthodoxy has been interpreted as ‘right belief’ and subsequently been employed as a means of identifying those who supposedly possess a correct understanding of God. In this way the orthodox individual stands in contrast to the heretic i.e. to one who holds wrong beliefs about God. In a nutshell I argue that this idea of orthodoxy is both
fundamentally flawed deeply dangerous. In opposition to this dominant view I put forward the idea that orthodoxy, if it is to remain true to the biblical narrative, must be understood as ‘believing in the right way’. This Hebraic rereading of orthodoxy is no mere reversal of the first reading (for the opposite of right belief is simply wrong belief) but rather places it on a fundamentally different level. When orthodoxy is reinterpreted in this manner it no longer needs to exist in opposition to heresy, but can actually embrace it. In heretical orthodoxy we can thus affirm the long lost mystical insight that God is received but never conceived (i.e. that we will always fall short of understanding the God we are in relationship with) and that the mark of this reception is not the manifestation of some doctrinal system that supposedly defines God, but rather is made manifest in the life of one who helps to transform the world in Christ-like love.
Like Luther, I present 95 theses or in my case, 95 faith observations drawn from my 64 years of living and practicing religion and spirituality. I trust I am not alone in recognizing these truths. For me they represent a return to our origins, a return to the spirit and the teaching of Jesus and his prophetic ancestors, and of the Christ which was a spirit that Jesus’ presence and teaching unleashed.
Christology
God's Domain according to Jesus
The canon
The language of faith
(I found the image to the right on Sea Raven's web page) This is my myth of creation. It has evolved since I wrote its first draft in 1999. I am not a poet, but I try. Mystery is the word I use for the creative force of the Universe. I would love to read your comments, affirmations, and critiques. I do not necessarily respond to comments on my blog, but I read them and appreciate them. You get the last word!
Creation: In the Right Time
In the beginning…
Is there a beginning?
Before beginnings,
Before time,
Outside of space—
In the right time,
When Mystery began to move,
A small speck,
Smaller than an electron,
Smaller than a quark,
A tiny speck existed.
This tiny particle contained all the mass and energy of existence.
All the forces of chaos and of life waited.
Mystery moved and the particle exploded and the Universe burst forth.
Time and space,
All that is…became.
In a flash of energy,
In a flash of light,
In a vibration of sound,
Ten to the billionth power of an atomic explosion is but a drop in the ocean
Compared to the energy created by Mystery.
Cascading light,
And searing heat danced around and around and out.
Spinning and twirling for millions of years—
The fireworks of Mystery,
Dancing to its symphony.
In the right time these dancers gathered
Gathered and gathering,
Collecting,
Attracting,
Repelling,
Neutrons, protons, electrons
Hydrogen and Helium forming in the right time
Balls of light and heat
Pulling and pushing mass and energy into their dance.
Stars and planets and solar systems and galaxies danced to the music of Mystery.
They found their rhythms,
Their paths and their orbits and their place.
In the right time,
Certain solar systems and certain planets
because of their size and the distance from their suns,
were found suitable for something more.
One such planet, an ordinary blue dot in the suburbs of the Milky Way gave birth.
(There may be many other planets who are also life-giving—
Maybe someday those who wonder will be rewarded—
In the right time—
But for now we know of this one.)
Mystery moved,
And this one planet,
The third from its sun,
Was covered with a thick organic soup.
Hydrogen and Oxygen combined in the right parts,
And Carbon swam with them and the basics of Life joined the dance.
As Mystery moved through the soup,
millions and millions of complex organisms were born.
They all knew a different song and they lived and they died.
Some species survived,
Some did not.
All in their time.
In the right time, the land masses formed,
The continents shifted,
Foliage appeared and new creatures were formed and moved from water to land.
Time passed and Mystery kissed the earth—
Slowly, slowly, hundreds of millions of years passed.
Life changed little by little,
Finally, huge beasts joined the dance.
The Triceratops and the Brontosaurus, Pterodactyls and
Tyrannosaurus Rex lumbered to the music of Mystery.
And these great beasts ruled the earth,
Until nature shifted, and the time came when they were no more.
Mystery moved through all the changes of creation,
Sometimes suddenly, usually slowly,
New species evolved from older species
In the right time,
The hominoids evolved from their ancestors.
They struggled and they changed and adapted to their surroundings.
Mystery moved through all these changes and blessed these creatures.
As they were ready in the right time,
They developed skills to master their surroundings.
They discovered tools, fire, and communication.
They developed abstractions like thought, reflection, wonder, puzzlement, love,
And a desire to seek Mystery.
Mystery blessed this desire and sought out those humans who were sensitive to
Mystery to tell stories about who they were,
And how they came to be, and what they might yet do.
The Summerians, the Hebrews, the Persians, the Greeks,
Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and Muslims told their stories.
Mystery was called by different names in different languages in different places—
The Great Spirit, Marduk, the Goddess, Brahman, The Holy One of
But Mystery is elusive, not allowing a name to tame it,
Allowing no human to claim it for a possession.
Mystery allows but a glimpse, a darkened mirror.
Yet Mystery blesses all who seek wisdom, who quest for the truth.
Mystery seeks out those who are sensitive to it.
Sometimes Mystery calls us through stillness—
Silent as a Spruce stretching for the sun—
Sometimes She speaks in the cries of the hungry and destitute—
Sometimes He rolls with easy laughter.
Mystery moves—as Earth changes, as the Universe changes—
As human beings change.
Mystery lures us toward life and creativity,
Inviting us to choose the dance.
Chaos and destruction are choices as well.
Yet Mystery will not be limited by our choices.
Creation continues.
Mystery shows us that there is much more than what we see.
There is much, much more to come.
In the right time.
And it is good.
My post on Sophia raised interest. Here are some resources for those interested in exploring this further. Elizabeth Johnson, a systematic theologian at Fordham, wrote She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse
If the institutional Christian church is to remain relevant, an approach such as the one illustrated in this Worship Book is essential. Like the shamans of neolithic and aboriginal tribes, post-modern spiritual leaders must become priests and priestesses of the cosmos. By entering and living the metaphors presented by the new cosmology of the 3rd Millennium C.E., those called to such a role become entrancers, enchanters, mediators of the sacred realms. (pp. 1-2)In the first 20 or so pages of her dissertation, Sea Raven provides a nice introduction to Creation Spirituality with its emphasis on
Sophia!You of the whirling wings,
circling, encompassing energy of God:
you quicken the world in your clasp.One wing soars in heaven,
one wing sweeps the earth,
and the third flies all around us.Praise to Sophia!
Let all the earth praise her!-Hildegard of Bingen
22The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,This is from Ecclesiasticus 24:1-24:34:
the first of his acts of long ago.
23Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
24When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
25Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth—
26when he had not yet made earth and fields,
or the world’s first bits of soil.
27When he established the heavens, I was there,
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,
29when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
30 then I was beside him, like a master worker;
and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always,
31rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the human race.
24Wisdom praises herself,
and tells of her glory in the midst of her people.
2In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth,
and in the presence of his hosts she tells of her glory:
3‘I came forth from the mouth of the Most High,
and covered the earth like a mist.
4I dwelt in the highest heavens,
and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.
5Alone I compassed the vault of heaven
and traversed the depths of the abyss.
6Over waves of the sea, over all the earth,
and over every people and nation I have held sway.
7Among all these I sought a resting-place;
in whose territory should I abide?
8‘Then the Creator of all things gave me a command,
and my Creator chose the place for my tent.
He said, “Make your dwelling in Jacob,
and in Israel receive your inheritance.”
9Before the ages, in the beginning, he created me,
and for all the ages I shall not cease to be.
10In the holy tent I ministered before him,
and so I was established in Zion.
11Thus in the beloved city he gave me a resting-place,
and in Jerusalem was my domain.
12I took root in an honoured people,
in the portion of the Lord, his heritage.
13‘I grew tall like a cedar in Lebanon,
and like a cypress on the heights of Hermon.
14I grew tall like a palm tree in En-gedi,
and like rose-bushes in Jericho;
like a fair olive tree in the field,
and like a plane tree beside water I grew tall.
15Like cassia and camel’s thorn I gave forth perfume,
and like choice myrrh I spread my fragrance,
like galbanum, onycha, and stacte,
and like the odour of incense in the tent.
16Like a terebinth I spread out my branches,
and my branches are glorious and graceful.
17Like the vine I bud forth delights,
and my blossoms become glorious and abundant fruit.
19‘Come to me, you who desire me,
and eat your fill of my fruits.
20For the memory of me is sweeter than honey,
and the possession of me sweeter than the honeycomb.
21Those who eat of me will hunger for more,
and those who drink of me will thirst for more.
22Whoever obeys me will not be put to shame,
and those who work with me will not sin.’
23All this is the book of the covenant of the Most High God,
the law that Moses commanded us
as an inheritance for the congregations of Jacob.
25It overflows, like the Pishon, with wisdom,
and like the Tigris at the time of the first fruits.
26It runs over, like the Euphrates, with understanding,
and like the Jordan at harvest time.
27It pours forth instruction like the Nile,
like the Gihon at the time of vintage.
28The first man did not know wisdom fully,
nor will the last one fathom her.
29For her thoughts are more abundant than the sea,
and her counsel deeper than the great abyss.
30As for me, I was like a canal from a river,
like a water channel into a garden.
31I said, ‘I will water my garden
and drench my flower-beds.’
And lo, my canal became a river,
and my river a sea.
32I will again make instruction shine forth like the dawn,
and I will make it clear from far away.
33I will again pour out teaching like prophecy,
and leave it to all future generations.
34Observe that I have not laboured for myself alone,
but for all who seek wisdom.
Who is this Wisdom Woman, this alluring figure of poetry? Is she merely a literary fiction drawn to contrast a life of wisdom with a life of folly? Is she a personification of the order and harmony in creation? Is she a personification of an attribute of God? Or, is she a divine being, a way of speaking of God in metaphorical language? In the texts about her, there are many indications, connotative rather than denotative, allusive rather than descriptive, that the Wisdom Woman is more than a cipher for the human virtue of wisdom. She is herself God. Much of what is said about her can only be said of God. She existed before the creation of the world and she participated in its formation as a major artisan ([Proverbs] 8:30). She is a tree of life and in her hand she holds life itself (Prov 3:16, 18). Through her, kings reign, princes rule, and rulers decree what is just (Prov 8:15). She pours out her spirit upon her followers and reveals her words to the ones who seek her (1:23). These are activities of God. They are divine prerogatives, activities to benefit humankind which God alone performs. (pp. 82-83)
9Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
2She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
3She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
4‘You that are simple, turn in here!’
To those without sense she says,
5‘Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
6Lay aside immaturity, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.’
Voting results are from balloting at the panels of the Once & Future Jesus Conference, October 20–23, 1999
Panel Discussion: The Future of Jesus
Thursday, 21 October 1999
Panelists: John Dominic Crossan, Sanford Lowe , Robert J. Miller , Daryl D. Schmidt, Bernard Brandon Scott, James A. Veitch
Topics:
Ballot items (for an explanation of the voting color scheme, click here):
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Topic A: The relation of the historical Jesus to the church
How is the quest for the historical Jesus related to the institutional church? Have the churches kept up with, and adapted to, the advances in historical knowledge of Christian origins?
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Topic B: Worship
Since religious rituals testify to a complex mix of each particular community's social setting and ever-changing symbols, what symbols, social indicators, and worldviews do the rituals of the churches of the future need to incorporate? What changes in traditional symbols are called for? What social styles of leadership and participation need to be evoked? How has the work of sociology, anthropology, psychology, and the arts changed our understanding of what ritual accomplishes? What kinds of new rituals and worship patterns do these contemporary understandings point to?
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Topic C: Church leadership and training
Are traditional job descriptions and seminary training adequately preparing ministers and priests for the challenges of the new millenium?
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Topic D: The church and ethical issues
What is the impact of the quest for the historical Jesus on ethical issues and the nature of religious community? Do certain understandings of gender and sexuality inherited from the ancient and medieval worlds need to be rejected?
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Topic E: The church and other religious traditions
Does the church have a responsibility to confront those who perpetuate violence against other ethnic and religious groups, often in the name of Jesus? Can the church still make exclusivistic claims in the face of the global community in which religious traditions are interacting with each other on a daily basis?
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Group I. The message of Jesus
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Group II. The role and status of Jesus
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Group III. Theology and tradition
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Group IV. The Christian faith and world religions
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