Answer for Alexandria!

This morning Alexandria, my daughter, asked me what was the meaning of the "Blog" I'm writing? What is in that phrase "Praise God Via the Spirit of the Christ!". Based partly on the awakening in me of the "Secret Message of Jesus" as being that of a Socially Responsible view of Peace and Justice my "world view" is firmed a bit. While not specifically "Praising" God?? Yes, doing the work asked of us by God in this world IS Praising God in the most efficacious way! A most current picture of that work can be seen in Haiti as this is written. It is regrettable however that that kind of compassion is not quite as quick coming in other areas of pain in the world. We seem to find a less challenging path of aid when the disaster is an "act of god" rather than a result of "mans ungodliness". The reason I always capitalize the word God is out of reverence and respect. For the opposite reason I did not capitalize the word in the previous sentence. In my belief system acts of nature are a result of the forces of nature, which make this old world function. not the acts of a vengeful god as some would propose. God is with us in all ways to learn His ways, which sometimes are a Mystery. The fact of a geologic fault line running through the Caribbean is just that, a fact. Established by God? Of course, but if we had no plate movements then we wouldn't have many of the great mountaintops we enjoy in this beautiful world. Of course why people continue to build on a fault line time after time is a wonderment and certainly can't be blamed on the God who set our world in motion. And maybe a bit of the causation can be attributed to man who via the slave trade brought a whole new race to this small island in the first place. So to me "Praise" or blaspheme is how we live our lives!

In this context I use the word God for two reasons. Make no mistake I am a Christian and will all ways be a follower of the Christ. As I have matured in life I do believe that the message Jesus brought us, taught us, lived with us is bigger than just having a religion named after him. Christ is bigger than Christianity. Especially bigger than most of the churches which carry His name. To paraphrase my brother Richard Rohr; In the abstract realm you may challenge "non-Christians" but when in the real world you meet "concrete" people of other faith traditions you are faced with logical inconsistency." I believe that if a person in this world has followed the precepts of Christ, even if they never knew Him by name, then they did know Him within the Spirit. It is my understanding that the Spirit of the living God is a whole lot more merciful than even this viewpoint but for me I will try to be all I can be as the God I love guides and graces my efforts. So for me the Spirit of Christ is the earthly tangible manifestation of God. But I choose "God" in first place of this title to encompass all His creation, not just the ones going to a building which has His name plastered on the front. This is not to dismiss the "faith of our fathers". God is, and probably will remain on this earth, a mystery. We have seen glimpses of His glory but as men in this dimension we can't seem to get the whole picture. Any logical person can see our many faults especially as we rise to the point of releasing the power of our ego. Another paraphrase of Richard would be that" the mystical and contemplative mind acknowledges and builds on the past toward the future. It doesn't kill off the bastards that came before." I kind of saw an inkling of that thought in the recent movie with Morgan Freeman as to how he portrayed the dynamics of a regime change in the South Africa of Nelson Mandela. We are human, all of us, and we might as well acknowledge our ego driven faults and build on that part of us which is built in the image of a Loving and Merciful God. So I suppose that the second half of the title should be pretty understandable in in context of the above. I hope to be Praising (the Almighty Loving Merciful) God (of all) Via (by way of) (walking with, supported by, guided by) The Spirit of the Christ (God with us)(including all His creation)(The Trinity)! I know that the concept of the Trinity has led to many disputes but at this point I would like to make one observation. In Brian's "Generous Orthodoxy" he describes(from the Eastern Orthodox family) the concept as being like a "circle dance"(perichoresis), almost like the structure of an atom. All parts of the Godhead circling about all creation. Kind of an interesting concept. Maybe when we leave this dimension we get to join the dance. Might be a good idea to take some dance lessons while we're here. Hear?

The second reason I used "God" in the title is simple but I may expound on it at a later time. In a nutshell. I believe that this country was and is blessed by God. As we have been blessed so we should also go forth and bless. Most of the colonists were one of various Christian sects and were actually fleeing persecution in their homeland. Not all were Christian but most were at least Deists. Our founding fathers established this union with a Freedom of Religion, not a Freedom From Religion. Granted that no religion is also protected as a freedom, as are the others, but the denial of our heritage is also very very wrong. In my opinion; and I thank God that I live in a country which allows me to have one. As I mentioned in one of the first posts here the term "Laus Deo" is inscribed on the top of the Washington Monument. I wonder what the likelihood of placing "Praise God" anywhere on a monument built at the center of our nations capitol would be in this day? Think about it! Pax Christi! RV