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Friday, August 9, 2019

A Thought On Church Decline

Just a quick thought.

I was reading this morning about a shift I had not clearly seen. It is the life lived in praise, prayer, and focus upon relationship with God vs a life lived studying religion. It is a shift seen post-Enlightenment for sure, but accelerating since the 1950's.

An observer of American culture has noted the decline of the use of the word God and the assent of the word religion. Things in religion can be proven: there is and was a Jerusalem, there was a council of Nicea that made various decisons, there was a man named Augustine who moved away from the Good News of God's Love to the bad news of original sin, etc.

It appears the scientific nature of "modern" humanity has a hard time with things that can be known but not proven. I know God by experience, but I cannot scientifically prove that to you.

I wonder how we as a people can welcome back wholeheartedly the experiential and rich part of life that cannot be proven. Maybe the best parts of life are found there. I know but cannot prove I know beauty, love, sorrow, and God. What do you know but cannot prove that you hold dear to your heart?

2 comments:

  1. Marlene,
    This is an astute observation. Religion can be studied and defined, and there are countless books and courses in comparative religion. But God is an elusive concept and by nature, impossible to define in words. As you ssid, it's possible to have a direct, personal experience of God, but it's not possible to convey that experience to someone else. I thought you might find this video interesting: https://youtu.be/0rG3A3KImLE. Ken Wilbur is an important spiritual teacher and he distinguishes between spiritual intelligence and spiritual experience. I think this distinction ties into your point about religion as compared with God. Would you agree?

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  2. I've read some of his writings. I agree with some of his ideas.

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