the heart of christianity
My mother raised me in the Catholic church. Since we both served as musicians there, I spent a lot of time in church. Those experiences left me with some wounds, the kinds many of us have gotten when involved in hierarchical, dogmatic, sometimes intolerant and sexist organizations. But I never have had a problem with the idea of Jesus or his teachings. I have always respected the tenets of Christianity that I consider most foundational -- you know, the ones that Conservatives preach but rarely practice? -- all that dirty hippie stuff like "love your neighbor as yourself" and "judge not lest ye be judged."
I'm currently reading The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg (and yes, the unfortunate Star Trek reference in the name of a Christian scholar amuses me, too). His book discusses two valid but completely different paradigms of Christianity. We're all pretty familiar with the more unpleasant one -- it's the one that gets the most press. But the more modern, tolerant paradigm of Christianity that Borg advocates is also theologically valid. It may in fact be truer to the Christianity's original incarnation. It's the kind of Christianity my mother taught me, and the one I wish other Christians would model more often.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants a different perspective on the religious choice of most Americans. I'm getting a lot of good information, some validation, some "aha" moments about my personal foundational theology (some of the ideas I associate with my tenure as a witch had their genesis in my mother's teachings) and some hope that Christianity could be the revolutionary tradition it used to be.
I'm currently reading The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg (and yes, the unfortunate Star Trek reference in the name of a Christian scholar amuses me, too). His book discusses two valid but completely different paradigms of Christianity. We're all pretty familiar with the more unpleasant one -- it's the one that gets the most press. But the more modern, tolerant paradigm of Christianity that Borg advocates is also theologically valid. It may in fact be truer to the Christianity's original incarnation. It's the kind of Christianity my mother taught me, and the one I wish other Christians would model more often.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants a different perspective on the religious choice of most Americans. I'm getting a lot of good information, some validation, some "aha" moments about my personal foundational theology (some of the ideas I associate with my tenure as a witch had their genesis in my mother's teachings) and some hope that Christianity could be the revolutionary tradition it used to be.