Parables

As I've mentioned before, I often think about how I would explain my faith and spiritual life with my main community being Christian and my growing practice of Zen Buddhism. More and more, I see a real consistency with how Buddhism and Christianity teach us to live. So I don't feel like I'm leaving Christianity as I practice and understand the Zen Buddhist view of the world. I think one could make a theological argument if they were so inclined. But pastors today with poor theology are quite popular, especially in Evangelical communities. Maybe this felt like nitpicking before, as long as they were focused on being a good neighbor. But Trumpism has taken over the Evangelical movement as they have felt affirmed by it, after feeling the wider community was not supporting their values. We talk about throwing the baby out with the bath water and it seems like they have been eager to save the bath water while not realizing they've thrown the baby out. They have gained political power but at the cost of following the teachings of Jesus. I don't think they realize how cynical Republican leaders are at feeding them supposed victories while ridiculing their beliefs and carrying on the agenda of big business.

So I think on the whole, most Christians do not understand orthodox Christian theology and pastors don't have much time for it since it isn't a priority for the congregation. So my explanation is that Christian theology took till the third century to coalesce and even after that it takes volumes to understand all these complex explanations. The gatherings that went through the approval process, that the emperor Constantine instituted, did not produce a legitimate result that Jesus would have wanted. Therefore my theology which seems so far off the mainstream has come about more thoughtfully than the popular culture theology which is heretical to most theological analysis. And correct theology has very little to do with how we live our daily lives which is where Faith really matters. When Jesus said, "Believe in me," Karen Armstrong would say that he was inviting them to perform acts of compassion as their path in life. Thomas Sheehan calls for a radical shift from believing the right things about Jesus (orthodoxy) to doing the just and merciful things Jesus commanded (orthopraxis).

The pastor's sermon today was focused on two of the three sequential parables in the 15th chapter of Luke wherein something was lost. As a pastor's daughter, she talked about how she felt the need to "get away from God" with pressure to act a certain way from the church. She was living with some type of group with other spiritualities For a year and a half, and someone asked her what grounds her. This is apparently what put her back into the church and on a path to be coming a pastor. She said the parables are not easy and we have to be willing to be in self-reflection with a receptive heart. The Pharisees stopped growing because they had it all. To be disciples is to live the life of Christ and grow with God. So we might be able to see ourselves in these lost parables but she said the flip side is to see the sacredness of every person. The other, the exile, is seen because everyone is included; we don't choose. She did mention that the theology of many popular songs is kind of flat. She had chosen a current song that she thought expressed this very well called Reckless Love. It was a very honest moment when she said wandering isn't inherently bad but she worries about her own kids. She asked if we're ready for radical change such as sharing acts of kindness, seeking the lost just as God befriends people where they are. Can we do the same and be non-judgmental in listening to our neighbor? As I've mentioned before, I see the faith of the people in church and want to hang in there with them.