wonderful thoughts from the Pope, intellectually coherent and practically relevant and doable IMO
Weekly lessons in theology and public life • Since 2011
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Lesson 4: Woke Christianity and the Jews
Read MORE: Lesson 4: Woke Christianity and the JewsLet’s see where we are so far. My goal is to provide some insight since woke is increasingly being used by politicians as a derogatory label for their opponents. It’s hard to nail down the term’s core meaning because they…
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Lesson 3: Woke Christianity and Racism
Read MORE: Lesson 3: Woke Christianity and RacismIf religion is by nature “woke,” the spiritual wakes us up to what is hidden and sometimes upsetting about ourselves and our institutions. This applies even to the church. We can begin examining how this works with racism from which…
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Lesson 2: Religion is Woke
Read MORE: Lesson 2: Religion is WokeAll the great world religions could be said to be “woke” in the sense that awareness is a basic teaching. They all claim to discern reality. That might be described as facing the truth, providing a healthy way of life,…
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Lesson 1: What is Woke?
Read MORE: Lesson 1: What is Woke?Many of my friends at some time in the past year have asked, “Exactly what is ‘woke’ anyway?” It’s usually in response to politicians using the term in a derogatory way, in mockery as if something “woke” is silly or…
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Lesson 12: Two Surprises
Read MORE: Lesson 12: Two SurprisesI had two surprises doing this series. The first was I did not anticipate how comprehensive compassion was going to be. I started out simply seeking a broader Christian approach than nonviolence for resolving our society’s conflicts. Compassion expressed empathy…
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Lesson 11: Karen Armstrong – Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life
Read MORE: Lesson 11: Karen Armstrong – Twelve Steps to a Compassionate LifeI decided a good way to bring this series together was to reread Karen Armstrong’s Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life. Many regard it as the classic treatment of compassion in our time. My guess is many, if not most…
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Lesson10: Compassion in the Atonement
Read MORE: Lesson10: Compassion in the AtonementThe most difficult theological task is explaining the atonement. There have been many theories, but none are completely satisfying in our day. I was surprised how frequently I turned to compassion in the past few months when trying to understand…
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Lesson 9: Compassion as Willingness to Suffer
Read MORE: Lesson 9: Compassion as Willingness to SufferRight from the beginning, I regarded compassion as more than being emotional about something. I thought it could be a guiding light in overcoming our divisions because it involves empathy that considers what the other person or group thinks. It…
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Lesson 8: Compassion as Guiding Light in Change
Read MORE: Lesson 8: Compassion as Guiding Light in ChangeI have been considering how compassion might be a guiding light for overcoming the deep divisions in our church and society. Underlying this quest is the conviction that we are in one of the major periods of change in human…
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Lesson 6: Compassion for the Economically Oppressed
Read MORE: Lesson 6: Compassion for the Economically OppressedIt was time to start applying the study to our situation, so I tried to imagine what would move Jesus to compassion in our time. After the obvious needs of the sick, injured, and grieving, those neglected and hurt by…
Recent Comments
I absolutely love these ideas, especially paying attention to beauty and reducing your needs.
Fritz a wonderful lesson – and esp. reading has a flow I found encompassing. If only …….. yes we can…