Frank, I may still be a "believer" of some sort, nevertheless I say to you, "Amen!" The first and greatest sin of humanity is (at its heart) hubris and/or pride of some sort.
I appreciate what you shared. Like you, I have experienced a flaw laden evolution beyond Evangelicalism. In my younger years I read any of your, then, out of print, father's works I could manage to get my hands on. True Spiritualality was a favorite that I read many times. Next to some of your works, I still have a copy on my shelf. Off hand, I can't quickly recall many of its points. But I do know, that he role modeled rationality, though confined to the Judeo-Christian world view, which opened my eyes. The aforementioned title, also contributed to a spiritual outlook that encouraged one to foster a thing of beauty. I'm pleased to notice that those elements are alive and well with what you offer us today. Thank you & cheers!
Frank, I am so excited by this message. I also read True Spirituality when I was younger. I can't say I was ever very impressed with it. It put a lot of emphasis on the importance of holding certain doctrines. I think your emphasis on reaching out to others is what we need. That conversation you had with the mechanic was wonderful.
I know your emphasis doesn't tend to be on intellectual things, but it's interesting that it's hard for us to talk about life without bringing certain conceptions in. You mentioned your "enlightened selfishness." Actually, I don't believe your interaction with the mechanic and your neighbors is selfish. I love this statement by Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914):
"To be logical men should not be selfish; and, in point of fact, they are not so selfish as they are thought. The willful prosecution of one's desires is a different thing from selfishness. The miser is not selfish; his money does him no good, and he cares for what shall become of it after his death. We are constantly speaking of our possessions on the Pacific, and of our destiny as a republic, where no personal interests are involved, in a way which shows that we have wider ones. We discuss with anxiety the possible exhaustion of coal in some hundreds of years, or the cooling-off of the sun in some millions, and show in the most popular of all religious tenets that we can conceive the possibility of a man's descending into hell for the salvation of his fellows ... The soldier who runs to scale a wall knows that he will probably be shot, but that is not all he cares for. He also knows that if all the regiment, with whom in feeling he identifies himself, rush forward at once, the fort will be taken."
There are apparently moments in time and history when many people have similar thoughts.
Lately I've been thinking about the 1970s movie, "Kramer vs Kramer" where a woman leaves her husband and their child to go "find herself." That movie was when I knew the feminist movement was a failure.
If feminism was bringing home the bacon and frying it up in the pan, if that's all it was---slaving for dollars and leaving the key under the flowerpot for the kids---feminism was DOA. There was no joy when you could walk away from your child because you cared more about yourself than your family---and, yes, I've heard of Sylvia Platt too, and she was no tragic hero---she was another self-centered creature whose selfishness brought what it always brings: Nothing Good.
And, of course, I *must* disclaim: I'm not against women working or advancing a career or getting an education and all that good stuff. That's not the point.
The point is that you don't get until you learn to give. And if you ignore your family you have not learned to live---and your family needs a lot more than your paycheck if there's another breadwinner, because do kids *really* have to have designer sneakers and smart phones and 10 different tablets and $600 game consoles?
Frank, I may still be a "believer" of some sort, nevertheless I say to you, "Amen!" The first and greatest sin of humanity is (at its heart) hubris and/or pride of some sort.
I appreciate what you shared. Like you, I have experienced a flaw laden evolution beyond Evangelicalism. In my younger years I read any of your, then, out of print, father's works I could manage to get my hands on. True Spiritualality was a favorite that I read many times. Next to some of your works, I still have a copy on my shelf. Off hand, I can't quickly recall many of its points. But I do know, that he role modeled rationality, though confined to the Judeo-Christian world view, which opened my eyes. The aforementioned title, also contributed to a spiritual outlook that encouraged one to foster a thing of beauty. I'm pleased to notice that those elements are alive and well with what you offer us today. Thank you & cheers!
I wondered what you meant by "a flaw laden evolution beyond Evangelicalism."
Thank you for this insight. I found it very meaningful
Frank, I am so excited by this message. I also read True Spirituality when I was younger. I can't say I was ever very impressed with it. It put a lot of emphasis on the importance of holding certain doctrines. I think your emphasis on reaching out to others is what we need. That conversation you had with the mechanic was wonderful.
I know your emphasis doesn't tend to be on intellectual things, but it's interesting that it's hard for us to talk about life without bringing certain conceptions in. You mentioned your "enlightened selfishness." Actually, I don't believe your interaction with the mechanic and your neighbors is selfish. I love this statement by Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914):
"To be logical men should not be selfish; and, in point of fact, they are not so selfish as they are thought. The willful prosecution of one's desires is a different thing from selfishness. The miser is not selfish; his money does him no good, and he cares for what shall become of it after his death. We are constantly speaking of our possessions on the Pacific, and of our destiny as a republic, where no personal interests are involved, in a way which shows that we have wider ones. We discuss with anxiety the possible exhaustion of coal in some hundreds of years, or the cooling-off of the sun in some millions, and show in the most popular of all religious tenets that we can conceive the possibility of a man's descending into hell for the salvation of his fellows ... The soldier who runs to scale a wall knows that he will probably be shot, but that is not all he cares for. He also knows that if all the regiment, with whom in feeling he identifies himself, rush forward at once, the fort will be taken."
Yes, "lust for certitude" is not "True Spirituality."
"True Spirituality" is love and compassion in the "Sacrament of the Present Moment."
Love this podcast x
Love this podcast x
There are apparently moments in time and history when many people have similar thoughts.
Lately I've been thinking about the 1970s movie, "Kramer vs Kramer" where a woman leaves her husband and their child to go "find herself." That movie was when I knew the feminist movement was a failure.
If feminism was bringing home the bacon and frying it up in the pan, if that's all it was---slaving for dollars and leaving the key under the flowerpot for the kids---feminism was DOA. There was no joy when you could walk away from your child because you cared more about yourself than your family---and, yes, I've heard of Sylvia Platt too, and she was no tragic hero---she was another self-centered creature whose selfishness brought what it always brings: Nothing Good.
And, of course, I *must* disclaim: I'm not against women working or advancing a career or getting an education and all that good stuff. That's not the point.
The point is that you don't get until you learn to give. And if you ignore your family you have not learned to live---and your family needs a lot more than your paycheck if there's another breadwinner, because do kids *really* have to have designer sneakers and smart phones and 10 different tablets and $600 game consoles?