We arrive in this world knowing surprisingly little. Many creatures are born with a basic set of knowledge that helps them survive, but that’s not true for people. Humans lack instincts for even the most basic needs and are profoundly helpless for a prolonged period of time after birth. We have to learn what to […]
Continue readingWhat Is Truth?
On the day after his arrest, Jesus was interrogated by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Palestine. Jesus had been accused of declaring himself a king, and Pilate was amused. Here stood a poor Jewish man from a rural district in an outback of the Empire, someone without an education, wealth, or even a following, […]
Continue readingSeeing Oneness
“Who sees all beings in his own Self, and his own Self in all beings, loses all fear.” – Isa Upanishad Ninety-six percent of our body consists of four elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen. The other four percent is a smorgasbord of the periodic table, from sulfur to chlorine to zinc. Even though we […]
Continue readingThe Voice That Isn’t Yours
One of the best Christmas gifts I received as a kid was a crystal radio kit. In 1958, when I was seven, this was an exciting piece of high technology. A rectangle of hardboard held three small screws connected by wires. After wrapping a small coil, making a few couplings with bent paper clips, and […]
Continue readingAiming At Nothing And Hitting It
When I became a minister, my role as a pastoral counselor had special significance for me. I regarded counseling as a professionally recognized practice. Everything else about being a pastor—the ceremonies, the praying, the studying of religious books, the time spent with women who were home all day—seemed to be seen as more akin to […]
Continue readingA Time For Silence
“It’s all beyond me—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.” – Job 40: 4 Sometimes nothing can be said. Not everything can be put into words. Language often trivializes what we’re trying to express, because our lexicon is completely inadequate to the occasion. To say the universe is vast […]
Continue readingThe Spirit Road- Knowing We’re Known
There aren’t many things I know for certain. I know I’ll be tired after three days with my grandchildren. I know I enjoy margaritas. I know I like to fish with my buddy in Canada. But knowing all that isn’t really knowing very much. If you ask me questions on a larger scale, like do […]
Continue readingA God Of Love
The Aztecs probably hold the record for most human sacrifices performed in a calendar year. They believed in a God who fed on human blood, and their priests tore beating hearts out of chests to offer up as food. Going to war was a form of farming, harvesting captives, then herding the divine victuals home […]
Continue readingFinding God- 2
There are all kinds of ways to hide. Some people stay out of sight; others hide in plain sight. Some people conceal themselves behind anger and bravado, others behind helplessness. Some people hide by lying to others and other people hide by lying to themselves. Some use the truth to lie. In their hands, truthfulness […]
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