Tidbits and Tastes
After a night-long bout of insomnia, I surfed around a bit and ended up at a couple of blogs that I have enjoyed because they make me think.
The first was Find and Ye Shall Seek. Random thoughts on several posts:
As to the question of whether it is wrong for a non-Catholic to take Communion at a Catholic service – well, it’s up to the Catholics to show they mean to be exclusionary. Unless it is made clear that they don’t want anyone but Catholics, then they are not really serious about it. If the officiant refuses; then it becomes more than a suggestion.
My church, I am happy to say, practices open Communion – and our Pastor makes a point of saying “This is open to any who would partake” or something similar. That’s it. If you want it; then come and get it. I get immense pleasure out of watching my not-quite-two-year-old sons dunk their Communion wafer in the wine (sometimes up to the wrist).
For a while, I simply sat it out. I don’t particularly view the Nicean Creed as Unquestionable Truth and it felt a bit like a lie to partake in one of the most sacred rituals of faith if I wasn’t going all in, so to speak. My reconiciliation came when I decided that Communion – at its most basic – is simply a statement of community (hence the similarity in words). My participation doesn’t symbolize a slavish devotion to doctrine. Rather, I see it as a ritual that connects me to generations of believers who were not afraid to test the metal of their faith. It ties me to those who look for the best understanding of the Divine – where ever that may lead.
Of course, it isn’t always much of an experience for me. Sometimes it is just motion. But when I don’t go to church, I miss it because I miss the community. Sometimes it draws me back to my spiritual center. It is the punctuation at the end of a particularly enlightening service.
I’m sure a lot of what I get from it is what I put into it.
Literalism always bothered me. There are obvious mistakes in the Bible because it speaks of the universe from the view of antiquity. A rainbow is not really God’s bow, but the refraction of light through water droplets. Duh! How can that be taken literally today? Even more so, how can it be insisted that the entire work is “perfected” and then ignore such problems?
God gave us a brain, I think he expects us to use it. Just as I saved myself some lumps from avoiding the mistakes my brothers made, I think I can avoid some spiritual lumps by avoiding the mistakes related in the Bible – if I can discern them properly.
The only absolute is there is no absolute. There is no spoon.
From Hallowed Secularism:
God, I think, cares little for the size of government or how much we pay in taxes. He’s more interested in what we do to one another.
Okay, I’m jealous. I love Spain. Almost enough to learn Spanish. And Rabbi Waskow? Oy.
In our haste to throw out religion – or rather, in our slow growth away from the strictures of restrictive religions – we have forgotten how to build larger communities. The loss of “role models” is a much about a loss of connectedness, I think, as it is about a growth in acceptable roles.
I am, indeed, not sure of Barack Obama’s commitment to the separation of church and state – if for no other reason than it nullifies a political issue and that is seen (by some) as the greater good. I, obviously, disagree. It is never a “greater good” to allow our institutions of faith to become overly concerned with secular power.
Several years ago, I argued that the “wall of separation” should have a window – one where a public figure could look out on his or her faith and seek moral direction. However, the ultimate decision on action would need to be based on more than a stance of religious faith. George Bush may have felt that God wanted him to invade Iraq, but he really should have found hard evidence of perfidy to do it. The disaster that has ensued should illustrate the danger to government nicely.
If you want to see how it destroys faith; then read up a bit about what drove Martin Luther to write his theses.
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