I just loved John Dehlin’s latest interview with Shawn McCraney. I’ve followed both of their work with great interest for years. They bring up the age-old grace vs. works issue, which always compels me to speak, because I don’t ever hear my point of view quite verbalized. I’m interested in the thoughts of this very thoughtful crowd. SHORT VERSION: If all we do is get in the boat, Christ will row us to the other side. But if we’re anxious to meet God face to face, there is an extra oar in the boat with our name on it.
Blog Archives
Being Grateful for Adversity
My House Burned Down. I Saw The Moon. (Buddhist Poem.) Last week I asked about perspectives on suffering and how they translate into culture. This week I want to talk specifically about what can be learned from hard times. Abraham Lincoln said, “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” This sums up nicely the roll I think adversity plays in our lives. When everything around us seems to change, we are left to notice what is unchanging. Loosing everything only shows us what can’t be lost. ...
Perspectives on Suffering
Why Does Suffering Exist, and How Does our Understanding of Suffering Translate into Our Culture? The desire to avoid suffering is probably one of the most common of the common denominators that connect all of humanity. Most religions, philosophies, and healing practices offer theories that identify the causes and ways out of suffering. Even within one tradition, there can be a grab-bag of explanations that sometimes contradict each other. The truth is surely a complex mix, and we use what is most helpful at the time.
Obedience or Natural Law?
There is an interesting character on Youtube who calls herself “The Non-Muslim Hijabi”. She wears a head scarf even though she’s not Muslim. I felt a kinship with her, since I’m a Non-Mormon Word of Wisdom follower, and generally live all the other commandments. (The lifestyle teachings, not the ordinances.) In one of her videos, the Non-Muslim Hijabi said something like, ‘Don’t just do something because the Koran says so. Find out the reasons for yourself and do it because you feel the benefits.’ One Muslim woman responded, ‘What is wrong with doing it only to show your obedience...
Mormons Celebrating Diversity
Hello Mormon Matters community! I was invited to contribute a blogpost now and then, and hope I’ll be able to throw some meaningful questions into the hopper. I write under the name Ecumenigal because of my eclectic background and multi-faith points of view. I’m sort of a religious mutt. I’m Mormon by heritage, birth, and culture, an atheist by upbringing, and now a sort of New Age Jesus Hindu with a great appreciation for Mormon theology as encompassing much of eastern and western thought. In future posts, I hope to talk more about my vedic appreciation of Mormonism. For...
Subscribe to Podcast
How to Support
