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ANOTHER, OTHER?

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

I’ve just finished reading and reviewing Re-Enchantment: The New Australian Spirituality, by Melbournian David Tacey. In reference to my question below, “What is Spirituality?....discuss” it goes along way to not totally defining what it is. However, Tacey in his search from the essence of a uniquely Australian Spirituality raises some really interesting concepts [most of which I will totally miss the point of – especially seeing as thought it is now 11:54pm, - check that, 12:06 am and I started reading this yesterday morning at 7:00am]. One such concept is around the theme Ecospirituality and Environmental Awareness.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few years, you would have no doubt been exposed to the increased rhetoric around the Other. For an interesting discussion on it, check out Sparky’s thoughts over at Knox Communities. The meaning behind the Other has changed since it was first used by the likes of Levinas and Derrida, but I found within Tacey – I think – a possible additional meaning, and layer to the Other. Another Other, so to speak….

Tacey writes:

Nature is not only outside us but also within, and ultimately, what we do to nature we do also to ourselves. In killing off the spiritual essence of the Earth, we end up killing ourselves, for this essence nourishes our own biological and spiritual life….Only something truly mythic or spiritual, such as…the notion that the world is the living body of the Cosmic Christ, is large or effective enough to bridge the gap currently separating human identity from the natural world [p 168]

Do you see where I am going with this? We have been on for quite some time about our mandate to love neighbour as our selves, (there was once a man going down to Jerusalem from Jericho…)to be the one who stands fast with the Other – the one that is alone, and is alien in the land. But what if we also viewed our natural environment as an Other? What if we did see a tree, or our water resources, or our uranium as part of the body of the Cosmic Christ? Would that change the way we live?

God tried to get humanity to care for the environment [see the Jubilee Laws in Leviticus – not only is about restoration of human dignity, it is also about sustainable use of the natural resources] but we have taken the Genesis notion of “ruling over the earth” to the ‘nth’ degree, and now our world is beginning to say “ENOUGH!!” We may well be on the verge of the apocalypse as some people believe, but not because of the War in the middle-east, but because we have destroyed God’s own creation.

Am I barking up the wrong tree? I should I find an Other?

THE CHALLENGE OF WORSHIP

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

My wife and her new husband (me) were out on Sunday visiting a local Church for worship. This church is being served by a Minister whom I respect a great deal, who has encouraged, walked with and led by example – the church to re-engage with its local community, and to re-think its purpose. I had not visited this church since my first year at College – on that occasion I was the guest speaker at a Baptism service. Anyway, we were visiting this last Sunday – just dropped in.

The worship service was very engaging, relevant and meaningful – not entertainment, but rather a community in communion with each other, with God, and with their story - it was incidentally, the first time I have ever heard the work of Paul Ricœur mentioned during a communion reflection. The text for the sermon was James 3:1-12, and the message focused largely on honesty, gossip and swearing. Taming the tongue – we were encouraged and implored to be mindful of what comes out our mouths – be encouraging not cynics (one of my problems), do not swear (“swearing is the language of the uneducated” – or the only mode of successful communication in my previous vocation….) and be honest and straightforward in your dealings with each other (don’t lie, or spread gossip etc – “If don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything). It was an important message in terms of successful community. The sermon concluded, and then we moved into the final song – “I Surrender All”.

I couldn’t sing it. I struggle to sing that one at the best of times, but in light of the sermon – the words, ‘all for you my precious Jesus, I surrender all’ had a new, powerful meaning. I know, that I don’t and haven’t Surrendered all – I probably have at times in my life, but generally I know that there are still parts of my life and existence which haven’t been offered up – I still like to take the ‘me’ time – choose not to answer my phone, nor respond to some emails (sorry). If the lyrics were, “I surrender generally most things” or perhaps “on a good day I surrender upwards of 75% of myself” I could have joined in, but not Surrendering All.

How concerned should we be (if at all) about what we sing in worship? Is singing a song like that – with good intentions – lying to God, lying to each other? Which is worse? Is this a concern of others or am I taking this whole worship/honesty thing to far?

What is SPIRITUALITY?....Discuss

Thursday, August 17, 2006

I know it has been while between blogs – but I am back – probably not back for good, or back more reliably – but for the mean time, I am back in black blogging (actually I am looking quite fetching in grey today, but that is a different blog…)

This semester I am taking a couple of classes – both of which are really interesting me, enlivening me and renewing my passion for study. In particular, I have entered the realm of spirituality but engaging with the subject “Issues in Australian Spirituality”. Thus far, it is really good – an although we had a ‘red hot go’ at defining spirituality, I thought I would put it out there (hoping that someone, somewhere will read this and respond) and ask the question –

For YOU, what is spirituality?

When I had to come up with a definition, I drew a blank. Nothing. I even struggled to come up a linkage between spirituality and the Christian ‘Holy Spirit’ – and I related that back to my traditional Churches of Christ upbringing, where it was all about God the Father, God the Son, and God the one that we don’t want to mention (Don’t mention the Holy Spirit – I did once, but I think I got away with it!!) because it doesn’t fit into our rational world view, so does spirituality have something to do with spirit?

What is spirituality? I would be interested to read anyone opinion and view on this – and I am not searching for the Christian answer – even though that is my tradition – but I am seeking anyone’s view – How would we define spirituality?

Blog On.