I began suggesting people often claim they go to Church to find a basis for ethics. Public figures on television often try to show their morality by reporting, “I grew up in Church.” I then suggested these people are often speaking of learning laws that are taught at Church, laws they can take with them […]
Last week, I suggested that people who are going to church to find a basis for ethics are often disappointed when they find churches do not agree on fundamental laws. In fact, the seekers often believe some of the laws they hear are immoral. The churches seem to reflect the many different stories in a […]
Another practical reason people give for going to Church is the desire to find moral guidance. They believe religion provides a basis for ethics and send their children to learn right and wrong as they did. For most this means learning laws, such as the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, and Jesus’ call to love […]
There are two ways to understand forgiveness. The first focuses on it as a law that calls on us to repress our natural human instincts in order to do what God wants. It usually ends up either dividing people between those who obey and those who do not. Or, it promotes confession of sin over […]
If you read much about thanksgiving, you constantly come across statements, such as “Ninety-nine percent of the time, we have an opportunity to be grateful for something. We just don’t notice it. We go through our days in a daze… The gifts or blessings of life are always there but if we are not aware […]
One of the best talks I ever heard was at Muhlenburg College and was given by an Episcopalian bishop. It was entitled something like, “The Future Health of Our Society Will Be Dependent on Observing the Sabbath.” His point was that the only way to cope with the way our technological society controls us is […]
A third practical reason some people go to church in our day is to find a healthy life style. This is new. In the past, spirituality prepared for life after death and often even meant a self-denial that included self flagellation. It could destroy rather than promote physical well-being. Today spirituality has become a way […]
I immediately found myself in the middle of conflict as I began writing about the third practical reason people go to Church, the search for a healthy lifestyle. Traditionalists hammer this new spirituality with its wellness theme as promoting “what I want rather than what God wills.” They advocate returning to supposedly eternal laws that […]
I began my ministry at a time when the liturgical renewal was urging congregations to celebrate Communion every week. Coincidental with this was the house church movement in which small groups began sharing meals and and conversation. Sometimes this was done as an extension of the local parish and sometimes as a replacement. How interesting […]
Last week I used the model of family for Church. After all Jesus did speak of God as father and others as our brothers and sisters. And the early Church did live in a lifestyle we associate with the family. However, when I spoke of extending the family, I came mighty close to falling into […]
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