In the spirit of the season, the true believers in the PCUSA are trying to bring back the inquisition.
Those were good times. Burning heretics at the stake. Elevating superstition above reason.
Meanwhile, our denomination's leadership keeps its chin up and reminds us that we are in the midst of a new reformation.
“Today, in our time, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is in the midst of another reformation. God is creating a new church in and through us. Signs of it and responses to it are plentiful.” They cite new worshiping communities that are “springing up,” a more flexible Form of Government, and several committees currently at work to “further the work of congregations and presbyteries.”I think whatever reformation is coming will be bigger than we can imagine. It might be fun in the spirit of Reformation Day, to imagine what a reformed church would look like.
Here are some folks who have made some points. You might not like any of them, but they might spur your own thinking. Thinking for ourselves will be the heart of any real reformation.
- Robert Funk, Twenty-One Theses
- John Shelby Spong, Twelve Theses
- Matthew Fox, Ninety-Five Theses
- Creation Spirituality, Twelve Principles
- The Center for Progressive Christianity, Eight Points
- My own eight points
I found a series of articles I thought important by Deanna Ogle, entitled, Where the Church Lost Me. When you read those, you might see why the church needs, in the words of John Shelby Spong, to change or die.
The change may take many different forms.
For me, it is getting back to Earth.
Here is my reformation hymn by Peter Mayer.
Peter’s got it right –
ReplyDeleteDid you see in the current Christian Century the article on “Still Dying Badly” by Allen Verhey? I have kept it because it is worthy of some discussion by my Hospice colleagues here in the Eastern Panhandle; but I really question Verhey’s insistence that “spirituality” without some “religion” is not legitimate. He says, for example, “There is no religious Esperanto any more than there is a moral Esperanto, no universal language for talking about either the Mystery [god] or morality. That’s the first problem with the sort of generic spirituality adopted by hospice. . . . Or worse, spirituality can be reduced to an internal and individual search for meaning. . .” He’s calling for churches to start their own [apparently] non-government supported hospices.
My point is not a rant about hospice (I can rant about that elsewhere). My point is that Peter’s song says it all without any “religious” jargon. Verhey needs to realize there IS a religious Esperanto – developing, forming, and not institutionalized. . . . Yet.