The Abolition of the Laity by R. Paul Stevens
'...in the 2nd and 3rd centutries a definite clergy-lay distinction arose largely from three influences: (1) imitation of the secular structures of the Greek-Roman world not unlike the professional-lay distinction in the modern world; (2) the transference of the Old Testament priesthood model to the leadership of the church; (3) popular piety which elevated the Lord's Supper to a MYSTERY which required priestly administration' (p39)
VS
Priests in a People's Church by George Guiver et al
'When Christian ministers lead us in the Eucharist, they are leading us into MYSTERY...' (p29)
Friday, June 10, 2011
Friday, March 04, 2011
Paul Tillich
'ectasy of being grasped unconditionally' (1948, p81)
Faith is not technological realism, where in order to discover the really real, it is objectified into something that can be measured and expressed in human reason
NOR
is faith mystical realism, where in order to discover the really real, one has to escape the 'now' seeking 'the inner power of things beyond, essence and intuition
BUT
rather faith is historical realism, where the really real is asked for in time and space.
And when the unconditional reveals and transforms the conditional, a state of ectasy or faith occurs as it is grasped by the unconditional, as it is contemporeous to the 'here and now'.
True ectasy is united with faith, and faith transcends what seems to be real, because it is in the presence of the really, the ultimately, real (p80).
The man today who feels separated by a gulf from the theistic believer, often knows more about the 'ultimate' than the self-assured Christian who thinks that through his faith he has God in his possession, at least intellectually (p82).
Faith is not technological realism, where in order to discover the really real, it is objectified into something that can be measured and expressed in human reason
NOR
is faith mystical realism, where in order to discover the really real, one has to escape the 'now' seeking 'the inner power of things beyond, essence and intuition
BUT
rather faith is historical realism, where the really real is asked for in time and space.
And when the unconditional reveals and transforms the conditional, a state of ectasy or faith occurs as it is grasped by the unconditional, as it is contemporeous to the 'here and now'.
True ectasy is united with faith, and faith transcends what seems to be real, because it is in the presence of the really, the ultimately, real (p80).
The man today who feels separated by a gulf from the theistic believer, often knows more about the 'ultimate' than the self-assured Christian who thinks that through his faith he has God in his possession, at least intellectually (p82).
Friday, January 14, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The alchemist
It's not love to be static like the desert, nor is it love to roam the world like the wind. And it's not love to see everything from a distance, like you do (the sun). Love is the force that transforms and improves the Soul of the World...when we love, we always strive to become better than we are...
The boy turned to the hand that wrote all. As he did so, he sensed that the universe had fallen silent, and he decided not to speak. A current of love rushed from his heart and the boy began to pray. It was a prayer that he had never said before, because it was a prayer without words or pleas. His prayer didn't give thanks for his sheep having found new pastures; it didn't ask that the boy be able to sell more crystal; and it didn't beseech that the women he had met continue to await his return. In the silence, the boy understood that the desert, the wind, and the sun were also trying to understand the signs written by the hand, and were seeking to follow their paths, and to understand what had been written on a single emerald.
The boy turned to the hand that wrote all. As he did so, he sensed that the universe had fallen silent, and he decided not to speak. A current of love rushed from his heart and the boy began to pray. It was a prayer that he had never said before, because it was a prayer without words or pleas. His prayer didn't give thanks for his sheep having found new pastures; it didn't ask that the boy be able to sell more crystal; and it didn't beseech that the women he had met continue to await his return. In the silence, the boy understood that the desert, the wind, and the sun were also trying to understand the signs written by the hand, and were seeking to follow their paths, and to understand what had been written on a single emerald.
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