Jun 26, 2022·edited Jul 13, 2022Liked by Tanja Boness
I appreciate your thoughts, and for what it’s worth, I agree the masses have made what’s happening on the world stage their religion. It’s a very angry one, to be sure. Not so much a choice on their part, but an indoctrination by others with ill intent. I pray constantly for God to intervene and put a stop to the madness.
As I Christian I often ponder on how so much of faith is a paradox. We are called to be holy and live a life of separateness from the world, while at the same time to love our neighbor and help those who need help. Christ is the way and truth and the light, no one comes to the Father but through Him, yet God does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to eternal life. Paradox. The John Donne poem you shared was beautiful and really reflected that idea of paradox.
I think part of the reason for our very existence is to wrestle with these in-between places in all of life, for that is what keeps us close to our Creator. Having all the answers would be making ourselves God. That’s part of the horror of the new (yet very old) cultural religion of today. They have ALL the answers, and any deviation is to be harshly punished, with those differing to be shunned (and I fear worse likely to come in future).
Thank you for what you do to bring grace and light to our world.
I’m not so sure. There are a few movements around I would characterise as religions or creeds, typically of the gnostic and eschatological variety. The ‘current thing’ phenomenon strikes me more as a mania (as in tulip-mania). It’s just too short-lived. We should also not forget that the phenomenon is a social media artifact with not a lot of spillover into meatspace.
Tanja, Thank you so for the song recommendation "Echo Beach." I don't know how it's possible that I missed it in 1980, but I'm glad I did because I can enjoy the newness of it now, when it probably means much more to me. I've listened to it almost every day for two months, at the risk of having it become stale, but it remains fresh. What's more, a few weeks ago I discovered the 30th anniversary version of it, which is magical in how it preserves the essence of the original yet incorporates three decades of life experience. In that the song is about longing and about separation in time, the two versions connect with each other across time very beautifully and profoundly. This song, both versions together, is a real treasure. Thank you!
I appreciate your thoughts, and for what it’s worth, I agree the masses have made what’s happening on the world stage their religion. It’s a very angry one, to be sure. Not so much a choice on their part, but an indoctrination by others with ill intent. I pray constantly for God to intervene and put a stop to the madness.
As I Christian I often ponder on how so much of faith is a paradox. We are called to be holy and live a life of separateness from the world, while at the same time to love our neighbor and help those who need help. Christ is the way and truth and the light, no one comes to the Father but through Him, yet God does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to eternal life. Paradox. The John Donne poem you shared was beautiful and really reflected that idea of paradox.
I think part of the reason for our very existence is to wrestle with these in-between places in all of life, for that is what keeps us close to our Creator. Having all the answers would be making ourselves God. That’s part of the horror of the new (yet very old) cultural religion of today. They have ALL the answers, and any deviation is to be harshly punished, with those differing to be shunned (and I fear worse likely to come in future).
Thank you for what you do to bring grace and light to our world.
I’m not so sure. There are a few movements around I would characterise as religions or creeds, typically of the gnostic and eschatological variety. The ‘current thing’ phenomenon strikes me more as a mania (as in tulip-mania). It’s just too short-lived. We should also not forget that the phenomenon is a social media artifact with not a lot of spillover into meatspace.
Tanja, Thank you so for the song recommendation "Echo Beach." I don't know how it's possible that I missed it in 1980, but I'm glad I did because I can enjoy the newness of it now, when it probably means much more to me. I've listened to it almost every day for two months, at the risk of having it become stale, but it remains fresh. What's more, a few weeks ago I discovered the 30th anniversary version of it, which is magical in how it preserves the essence of the original yet incorporates three decades of life experience. In that the song is about longing and about separation in time, the two versions connect with each other across time very beautifully and profoundly. This song, both versions together, is a real treasure. Thank you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuJurIOYiaM