With this blog entry, I have reached the conclusion of my Fundamentals Framework. So in this entry, I'd like to share a few summary thoughts on what I think the core of "being a Christian" is all about and why I have chosen Christianity as my pathway to God.
(1) Christianity for me is, first and foremost, about a personal transformation - a transformation to a life that is centered in God and that is intentional about having a deepening relationship with the Sacred. The result of that personal transformation is growth in love and compassion and life that can be lived more fully.
(2) Christianity for me is also about a social transformation that should lead to experiencing the "Kingdom of God" today...that is, the way life on earth (yes on earth, not heaven) would be today if God was ruler. The result of this social transformation is a focus on justice for the poor and marginalized, an indictment of the religious and political elites and a resistence to oppressive cultural systems of unfairness and dominance.
Why have I chosen Christianity as my pathway to God? Well, for me it is what I have always known...and I am comfortable with it. It works for me in that it affirms the Sacred and experiencing the Sacred, and it shows a path of transformation along with practices and traditions that can assist with that transformation and serve as sacraments to the Sacred. For me, the way I currently see and understand Christianity makes sense to me as a path to God.
Thus far in this blog, I have tried to capture my beliefs about Christianity and, in so doing, clarify my own Christian fundamentals (for a summary see My Fundamental Beliefs - Summary). Through undertaking this endeavour, I feel more comfortable that I can avoid answering "yes" to the questions posed in Mark 8:17-18: "Do you still not perceive or understand?...Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears and fail to hear?". Hopefully, in some small way, my ramblings have also helped others avoid answering "yes" to these questions.
(1) Christianity for me is, first and foremost, about a personal transformation - a transformation to a life that is centered in God and that is intentional about having a deepening relationship with the Sacred. The result of that personal transformation is growth in love and compassion and life that can be lived more fully.
(2) Christianity for me is also about a social transformation that should lead to experiencing the "Kingdom of God" today...that is, the way life on earth (yes on earth, not heaven) would be today if God was ruler. The result of this social transformation is a focus on justice for the poor and marginalized, an indictment of the religious and political elites and a resistence to oppressive cultural systems of unfairness and dominance.
Why have I chosen Christianity as my pathway to God? Well, for me it is what I have always known...and I am comfortable with it. It works for me in that it affirms the Sacred and experiencing the Sacred, and it shows a path of transformation along with practices and traditions that can assist with that transformation and serve as sacraments to the Sacred. For me, the way I currently see and understand Christianity makes sense to me as a path to God.
Thus far in this blog, I have tried to capture my beliefs about Christianity and, in so doing, clarify my own Christian fundamentals (for a summary see My Fundamental Beliefs - Summary). Through undertaking this endeavour, I feel more comfortable that I can avoid answering "yes" to the questions posed in Mark 8:17-18: "Do you still not perceive or understand?...Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears and fail to hear?". Hopefully, in some small way, my ramblings have also helped others avoid answering "yes" to these questions.
POSTSCRIPT: NOT SURE WHERE TO START WITH THIS ONE 3 YEARS LATER. I AM MUCH LESS FOCUSED ON CHRISTIANITY THESE DAYS...SO IT IS STILL THE RELIGION I UNDERSTAND THE MOST, BUT NOT THE FRAME OF REFERENCE I RELATE TO ON A REGULAR BASIS AT ALL. I DON'T BELIEVE IN "RELATIONSHIP" WITH THE SACRED LIKE I MIGHT HAVE 3 YEARS AGO AND UNFORTUNATELY, THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION IS SO SKEWED AT THIS POINT FROM A MAINSTREAM CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE, THAT THE IDEA OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION THROUGH THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION DOESN'T SEEM LIKELY TO ME. FOR ME, LIFE IS ABOUT LIVING IT TO THE FULLEST AND LOVING THOSE AROUND YOU TO THE HIGHEST EXTENT POSSIBLE. HOPEFULLY THAT IS THE TRANSFORMATION I WILL EVENTUALLY ACHIEVE IN MY OWN LIFE.
2 comments:
I read over your statements of belief, and they are fairly similar to my own. Like you, I choose the Christian path, although I do so somewhat warily, because that is what I am the most comfortable with and it is what I grew up with. I think many of us are trying to connect with the sacred mystery in the best way we know how, and that is all that God asks of us.
Cold Mol:
BOOK ALERT!
Tonight, I saw the NEW Borg book, it's called, JESUS!
Looks extremely good!
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