Monday, October 30, 2006
Hughes G, W. (2003) God in all things
From this it follows that an element of agnosticism or acknowledgment that the nature of God cannot be comprehended is in fact a mark of holiness. Complete religious certainty about God without any* shadow of doubt is a sign of atheism. The God we think we know all about cannot be the true God, because God is always greater than our powers of comprehension. 22
If the Church is to be faithful to the transcendent God, it must never be rigidly dogmatic, resting in its own certainties and abandoning the search for truth. Openness to truth, suppleness of mind, love of learning and the confidence to question are among the marks of holiness in the Church and in its individual members. 23
Isa 58:5-7 pp
1 he greatest danger to ing the human race is the world-view that sees human life in terms of a power struggle. We are convinced that in order to survive we must compete rather than co-operate. This is like a lethal virus infecting the human race. When the Church forgets the real meaning of holiness, that virus is just as likely to flourish within the Church as outside of it. 38
The teaching is unmistakably clear. Our relationship to God is manifested primarily in the way we relate to other human beings and their needs rather than in the frequency, fidelity or fervour with which we perform our formal' religious duties. But in the lives of so many clergy their primary concern is with the upkeep and development of church plant and real estate; with points of doctrine and church order; with the form of religious worship. Clergy who preach sermons expressing concern about the social/ political structures that cause hunger, homelessness and poverty are frequently denounced by those in public office for contaminating true spirituality with humanist ideas. 40
This question - 'for whose kingdom?' can be devastating in revealing to us our own narrowness and meanness, our own conceit and vanity, and our childish selfcentredness.
60
feelings 84
sheep dog 93
Returning to the shepherd and sheepdog diagram on page 93, the sheepdog must fix its attention on the shepherd and act on the commands of the shepherd. If the dog allows its concentration to move away from the shepherd, it may start pursuing individual sheep and forget the rest of the flock. As Christians, we can become so preoccupied with the 'sheep', in the form of our own particular defects, that we turn our attention away from the love and goodness of God, the 'shepherd', and become totally absorbed in ourselves. If we do this we may end up plunged into the depths of despair at our lamentable failure to live up to our Christian ideals. We may alternatively find ourselves preoccupied with different 'sheep' in the form of our own good qualities - in which case we may find ourselves glowing with our own selfrighteousness, like the Pharisee. 99
The obituary exercise in Chapter 5 can be helpful here. We looked at the qualities for which we would like to be remembered: compassion, honesty, justice, etc. In the depths of my being, would 1 like to live without love, without compassion, truth, justice, etc? If the answer is 'No', then the core of my being cannot be turned away from God. 106
Destructive thoughts = refusal to forgive and lingering guilt. 109
Karl Rahner
Any spirituality that fails to develop an appreciation of the unity of all things and of all peoples, and that leaves us without any hunger or thirst for social justice, must inevitably prove to be a false spirituality. It will not be drawing us closer to the living God who hungers and thirsts after justice, as we read in the Hebrew prophets. It is a sign of the split in our spirituality that in too many churches, people who are active in justice/peace issues feel themselves to be on the margins.
172
If 1 am finding it impossible to forgive, then 1 need to become still, and in the stillness to ask myself. 'In the depth of my heart, do 1 really want to do permanent harm to this person? Is that how I would like to be remembered - as a person who never forgave an injury? In spite of the anger I feel, can 1 find a depth in my heart at which I do not want ultimate harm to be done to this person?
Can 1 even pray for their ultimate good? Pp209
The Paralysing Power of Fear
Our fears, if not confronted, sap our emotional as well as our physical energy, imprisoning us within the narrow confines of our own concerns, diminishing us and those around us.
Fear can contribute to our divided state as Christians, for we can come to consider people of other Christian denominations, or of other faiths, to be threats to our own security in the faith we hold. Such security cannot be of God, because the security of God would make us want to break down the walls that divide us and lead us to rejoice in our differences. Fear of insecurity can blind us to the prison we build for ourselves. Dorothy Rowe, a psychologist, in her book Depression, claims that at the root of depression is an unwillingness of the victim to face some fear, of which we may not be conscious at first. On a national scale, lurking beneath our nuclear deterrence policy, is the fear of radical change in our lives. We are so enamoured of what we call our national security that for its sake we are willing to risk not only the lives of our enemies, the majority of whom will be innocent civilians, but our own lives too, and possibly all human life on the planet.
Fear of rejection… constant concern to please pp221
www.retreats.org.uk
SOME SCRIPTURE PASSAGES FOR RAYER
THESE ARE JUST A few passages to get you started. You can then find your own texts!)
On God's Love for Us
Psalms 8, 23, 91, 130, 136, 139, 145
Isaiah 43:1-7, 46:3-4, 49:14-16, 54:4-10, 55:1-11
Wisdom 11:21-12:2
Hosea 11: 1-9
Luke 1:46-55,67-79, 11:1-13, 12:22-32, 15:1-32
John 14:18-23, 15:1-15
Ephesians L3-14, 2:1-10, 3:14-21
Romans 5:1-11, 8:31-9
2 Corinthians 4:7-16, 5:16-21
On Desire
Psalms 27, 42, 43, 63
Romans 8:36-9
John 1:35-9
Mark 10:17-27
Gods Desire to Forgive US
Matthew 9:10-13 Luke 7:36-50, 15:11-32, 18:9-14, 19:1-10 John 8:1-11
On God's Healing
Mark 1:40-5, 5:1-20,25-34, 7:31-7, 10:46-52 Luke 5:12-16, 7:36-50
On Forgiving Others
Matthew 5:20-6, 5:43-8, 6:7-16, 7:1-5 Luke 6:20-45 1 Corinthians 13:4-13
On Trust
Matthew 6:24-34, 14:22-33 Mark 4:35-41 Luke 1:26-38, 12:22-32 Philippians 4:8-13 Romans 8:31-9
On Compassion
Luke 10:25-37, 15:11-24, 16:19-31 Luke 5:36-8, 23:33-43
www.geraldwhughes.com
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If the Church is to be faithful to the transcendent God, it must never be rigidly dogmatic, resting in its own certainties and abandoning the search for truth. Openness to truth, suppleness of mind, love of learning and the confidence to question are among the marks of holiness in the Church and in its individual members. 23
Isa 58:5-7 pp
1 he greatest danger to ing the human race is the world-view that sees human life in terms of a power struggle. We are convinced that in order to survive we must compete rather than co-operate. This is like a lethal virus infecting the human race. When the Church forgets the real meaning of holiness, that virus is just as likely to flourish within the Church as outside of it. 38
The teaching is unmistakably clear. Our relationship to God is manifested primarily in the way we relate to other human beings and their needs rather than in the frequency, fidelity or fervour with which we perform our formal' religious duties. But in the lives of so many clergy their primary concern is with the upkeep and development of church plant and real estate; with points of doctrine and church order; with the form of religious worship. Clergy who preach sermons expressing concern about the social/ political structures that cause hunger, homelessness and poverty are frequently denounced by those in public office for contaminating true spirituality with humanist ideas. 40
This question - 'for whose kingdom?' can be devastating in revealing to us our own narrowness and meanness, our own conceit and vanity, and our childish selfcentredness.
60
feelings 84
sheep dog 93
Returning to the shepherd and sheepdog diagram on page 93, the sheepdog must fix its attention on the shepherd and act on the commands of the shepherd. If the dog allows its concentration to move away from the shepherd, it may start pursuing individual sheep and forget the rest of the flock. As Christians, we can become so preoccupied with the 'sheep', in the form of our own particular defects, that we turn our attention away from the love and goodness of God, the 'shepherd', and become totally absorbed in ourselves. If we do this we may end up plunged into the depths of despair at our lamentable failure to live up to our Christian ideals. We may alternatively find ourselves preoccupied with different 'sheep' in the form of our own good qualities - in which case we may find ourselves glowing with our own selfrighteousness, like the Pharisee. 99
The obituary exercise in Chapter 5 can be helpful here. We looked at the qualities for which we would like to be remembered: compassion, honesty, justice, etc. In the depths of my being, would 1 like to live without love, without compassion, truth, justice, etc? If the answer is 'No', then the core of my being cannot be turned away from God. 106
Destructive thoughts = refusal to forgive and lingering guilt. 109
Karl Rahner
Any spirituality that fails to develop an appreciation of the unity of all things and of all peoples, and that leaves us without any hunger or thirst for social justice, must inevitably prove to be a false spirituality. It will not be drawing us closer to the living God who hungers and thirsts after justice, as we read in the Hebrew prophets. It is a sign of the split in our spirituality that in too many churches, people who are active in justice/peace issues feel themselves to be on the margins.
172
If 1 am finding it impossible to forgive, then 1 need to become still, and in the stillness to ask myself. 'In the depth of my heart, do 1 really want to do permanent harm to this person? Is that how I would like to be remembered - as a person who never forgave an injury? In spite of the anger I feel, can 1 find a depth in my heart at which I do not want ultimate harm to be done to this person?
Can 1 even pray for their ultimate good? Pp209
The Paralysing Power of Fear
Our fears, if not confronted, sap our emotional as well as our physical energy, imprisoning us within the narrow confines of our own concerns, diminishing us and those around us.
Fear can contribute to our divided state as Christians, for we can come to consider people of other Christian denominations, or of other faiths, to be threats to our own security in the faith we hold. Such security cannot be of God, because the security of God would make us want to break down the walls that divide us and lead us to rejoice in our differences. Fear of insecurity can blind us to the prison we build for ourselves. Dorothy Rowe, a psychologist, in her book Depression, claims that at the root of depression is an unwillingness of the victim to face some fear, of which we may not be conscious at first. On a national scale, lurking beneath our nuclear deterrence policy, is the fear of radical change in our lives. We are so enamoured of what we call our national security that for its sake we are willing to risk not only the lives of our enemies, the majority of whom will be innocent civilians, but our own lives too, and possibly all human life on the planet.
Fear of rejection… constant concern to please pp221
www.retreats.org.uk
SOME SCRIPTURE PASSAGES FOR RAYER
THESE ARE JUST A few passages to get you started. You can then find your own texts!)
On God's Love for Us
Psalms 8, 23, 91, 130, 136, 139, 145
Isaiah 43:1-7, 46:3-4, 49:14-16, 54:4-10, 55:1-11
Wisdom 11:21-12:2
Hosea 11: 1-9
Luke 1:46-55,67-79, 11:1-13, 12:22-32, 15:1-32
John 14:18-23, 15:1-15
Ephesians L3-14, 2:1-10, 3:14-21
Romans 5:1-11, 8:31-9
2 Corinthians 4:7-16, 5:16-21
On Desire
Psalms 27, 42, 43, 63
Romans 8:36-9
John 1:35-9
Mark 10:17-27
Gods Desire to Forgive US
Matthew 9:10-13 Luke 7:36-50, 15:11-32, 18:9-14, 19:1-10 John 8:1-11
On God's Healing
Mark 1:40-5, 5:1-20,25-34, 7:31-7, 10:46-52 Luke 5:12-16, 7:36-50
On Forgiving Others
Matthew 5:20-6, 5:43-8, 6:7-16, 7:1-5 Luke 6:20-45 1 Corinthians 13:4-13
On Trust
Matthew 6:24-34, 14:22-33 Mark 4:35-41 Luke 1:26-38, 12:22-32 Philippians 4:8-13 Romans 8:31-9
On Compassion
Luke 10:25-37, 15:11-24, 16:19-31 Luke 5:36-8, 23:33-43
www.geraldwhughes.com
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