It appears that the recent podcast of an interview with a priest dicussing Carl Jung and cosmic spirituality met with some criticism on the part of listeners. The author misquoted Jung, who said, when asked if he believed if God exists, "I don't believe, I know."
Furthermore, the interviewee is a little far out, even should he have some interesting ideas. This does not make him a threat to any but the insecure. Can one refer to scripture and the gospel in the context of human experience and the human condition, without being labeled a fundamentalist? Can one say, "I have a personal relationship with Jesus (or God, or however you may wish to put it) and still stay in the conversation?
The church is not meant to be a prop that takes the place of genuine faith, but nurtures faith and encourages it. How may one find a genuine expression of faith that may stimulate the intellect and still remain faithful to core gospel values?
There are sructures in the church that run counter to the above, as we know. The issue then, is one of authenticity, to borrow a phrase from the existentialists. An authentic expression of faith is first an honest confrontation with one's conscience, one's self, and others, and the Other with whom we have to do, whether we will it or no.
Can the church tolerate honesty on this level? As Hamlet says in the play by Shakespeare, "By indirection, find direction out." So while confusion exists, a reactionary fundamentalist conservatism does little to create understanding and conversion to God, something we are called to as a lifetime vocation.
I am throwing out these ideas as a stimulus for discussion. If no-one is on the same page, no problem. But ANY church that could take seriously the idea that one can commit a mortal sin by missing church on Sunday, for example has serious problems. Cultic problems. Is it any wonder that a genuine dialogue about matters of faith is so difficult, when one may risk damnation for trifles, and speak one's mind only when one is already one foot out the door? Can we be real, please?
I don't know where nay of this might go, except that if you love the Lord, you want to see His mission acompished both in your life and in the world. To believe that the church perfectly expresses this mission is to betray theGospel. To say the church has nothing to say altogether is to betray the truth. Somewhere, in the maelstrom of opinion and wrangling over heresies is the still small voice of God. Are we willing to listen?
Robert in Hurley