Front PageFaith, Meaning & Purpose
Spiritual Poverty of the Modern World
Submitted by bill on Fri, 09/19/2008 - 14:01. existentialism Faith, Meaning & Purpose reason spirit spiritualityTo discover one's own spiritual poverty is to achieve a positive conquest by the spirit. —William Barrett1
The Problem with God
Submitted by bill on Fri, 06/27/2008 - 21:33. atheism Faith, Meaning & Purpose god meaning theism theologyPerhaps the greatest barrier to sociable and fertile discussion between religious and non-religious folk is the question of God.1 God is THE defining barrier between Theists and Atheists—for example. And almost as potent: defining God or gods separates adherents of one religion from another. That is: Theology is perhaps the most divisive undertaking in human history—next to war, anyway. Kinda seems backward, doesn't it?
Cross as a Symbol of Spiritual Transformation
Submitted by bill on Thu, 06/12/2008 - 08:28. Christianity cross Faith, Meaning & Purpose sacred spiritualityThe Cross is a very ancient symbol that represents the spiritual nature of humankind. It is so ancient that it predates written language. This ancient symbol is one of the four earliest and most significant of spiritual symbols, including the Point, the Circle, and Square. To understand Cross, we will first look at the other symbols.
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God is Sought Where Answers End and Mystery Begins
Submitted by bill on Thu, 04/17/2008 - 13:36. belly of the fish Faith, Meaning & Purpose god mystery philosophy religion scienceIs God immanent or transcendent? Are we made in God's image, or do we create God in our own? These are common and ancient questions. But I'm asking another one these days—one that seems to better suit my quest. And that question is this: where is God to be found?
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I've Changed. Moved On. It's done, and There's No Going Back
Submitted by bill on Sat, 04/05/2008 - 22:11. debate discernment faith Faith, Meaning & Purpose religion spirituality truthI've moved on. Changed. It came on slowly, almost imperceptibly, but my eventual recognition was rather swift, once I understood what was happening. Only a matter of days, it was. Now I can hardly see the path I trod to get to here from there. But I do remember that it as very long, bewildering and painful. And still there is much more of the road to travel.
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The Changing Landscape of American Religion: The Growth of the Unaffiliated
Submitted by bill on Fri, 02/29/2008 - 20:18. Culture & Society Faith, Meaning & Purpose religion unaffilated unchurchedAmerican religious affiliation is in flux according to a new report from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. One finding that we're familiar with here, is that the “unaffiliated” category is growing. The report compares the change in religious affiliations of respondents between their childhood and adulthood, finding that the unaffiliated group has grown from 7% as children to 16% as adults. This unaffiliated category now makes up 16% of American adults, compared with 18% Mainline Protestant, 26% Evangelical, and about 24% Catholic.
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Faith Quotes: The Danger of Blind Faith
Submitted by bill on Wed, 02/06/2008 - 20:17. blind faith charisma faith Faith, Meaning & Purpose sharon salzbergWhen faith means complying with someone else's dictates, one either has blind faith or is considered by the authorities to have no faith at all.1
Sharon Salzberg preceded this conclusion with the following anecdote.
Life Happens, Real Living is in its Experience
Submitted by bill on Mon, 02/04/2008 - 15:57. abundant living death Faith, Meaning & Purpose lifeWe buried Don today. How sad it was—how tragic. But death is part of life. Endings bring beginnings. And funerals reunite friends and family. Such is life in the real world.
Sometimes it's the more important experiences of life that we rue—that we avoid. Yet these are the markers of the human journey. Without these milestones we would not recognize our passage through the experience of it all. Real life is in the living—even when that living includes the poignancy of a friend's death and the loss of a loved one.
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From Faith Comes Living; and from Living Comes Faith
Submitted by bill on Sun, 01/13/2008 - 21:12. faith Faith, Meaning & Purpose meaning purpose in lifeBy faith the quest is taken;
in motion life comes alive;
from living the meaning is found;
by meaning faith does survive;
to render another go-round.
Civilization Depends Upon Trust
Submitted by bill on Sat, 01/05/2008 - 14:58. Culture & Society faith Faith, Meaning & Purpose society and culture the commons trust truthTruth is necessary for civilization on any scale. Truth allows, and nurtures Trust. And it is upon Trust that societies all depend. Societies have various schemes for determining Truth and fostering Trust. Some are good and lasting, while others are false and stand only with great expense of effort.
