When the intellectual history of the 20th century is written, a few achievements will tower overall. Einstein’s theory of general relativity will be one; the laws of quantum mechanics will be another. The Big Bang Theory of the origin of the universe will be a third.

I hope what I offer can produce a new understanding of how Christianity became so out of date and how we can more faithfully interpret the Bible and faithfully live in the Way of Jesus—living in hope, trust and contentment.

Is critical thinking a lost art? How can we engage thoughtfully with the world around us, engaging our minds and hearts?

By the time we have considered climate change, the environment, sexism, racism, popularism, and injustice of all sorts, there is little time left for considering our understanding of God, religion, and the whole spiritual realm.

No one doubts that we are living in a time of major transformation. With the environmental crisis, the populist crisis, rampant individualism, a consumer economy, racism, sexism, ageism, a pandemic, and whatever else, the handwriting is on the wall. We are in the midst of a critical time. What we do, or fail to do, as a human species will dictate our future. The question we all must deal with is, “How do you read the handwriting on the wall?” We need to know where we are before we can move forward.

Profound shifts in consciousness are driving the accumulated crises of the world. I believe the timeless and universal vision of this work is critical to our survival. 

For Queer folks in the Christian world, experiencing hate, bigotry, and theological oppression is nothing new. In many cases we dwell in a space that is brimming with silence from half allies while simultaneously teaming with fodder from traditional elitists.

The inaugural poem of Amanda Gorman - at 22, the youngest inaugural poet laureate in U.S. history - lifted our spirits as it dazzled our imagination.  Indeed, as her lofty words filled the air at our nation's capitol, hope was given a new face. 

For centuries the Church has battled to preserve its existence from threats to its dogma, creeds and influence. Those who dared to challenge its orthodoxy were sometimes treated with “extreme unction”. Ecclesiastical trials were often followed by burnings at the stake.

Humanity’s history is not great. It is marked by individual, clan, religious and nationalistic violence.

Thesis #18 - Future human well-being, and possibly even simple human survival, will depend on learning to substitute more nonviolent and creative manifestations of the individual and social defense mechanisms against the anxiety provoked by the religiously/culturally Dissimilar Other for the more destructive manifestations we have habitually employed.

Thesis #17 - Modern human beings, simply because we are becoming more consciously aware of the processes of socialization, group dynamics and psychological functioning, are already more likely in the first place to suspicion the fictional character of their cultural/religious narratives than those of previous generations.

Thesis #16 - Hence, culturally/religiously Dissimilar Others may be a creative source for helping us widen and enhance our own vision; or, they may be encountered, in the most literal sense, as mortal enemies.

People who do not share in the basic assumptions of our cultural/religious narrative are a big problem, since by their very existence they cast doubt on the transcending and absolute certainty of our truth (revealing to us its essentially fictional nature) and thus expose us again to the repressed anxiety our fictions function to allay in the first place.

I have been on a decades long process of dismantling white supremacy within myself. It has taken outward forms of protest and activism and inward forms of study and self-examination. It has been self-righteous at times and too docile at others; painful at times and thrilling at others; quiet at times and incredibly loud at others. But through it all, I have found love, grace, and hard truths.

What do climate change, the novel coronavirus, and the Earth’s population explosion all have in common? They comprise a Biblically-sized Armageddon calling for an equal Biblically-sized rebirth of sacred consciousness, this time from the deep feminine.

As we wrap up our financials for 2019, we’d like to express our gratitude for your support during our Year End Fundraising Campaign! We were able to reach 50% of our year end goal with a total amount of $35,500. You can still help us get closer by donating this month.

Thesis #14 - There is power in numbers for sustaining the transcending plausibility and viability of any particular dominant cultural narrative. The more you rub shoulders only with people who believe the same cultural narrative you do, the more plausible that narrative becomes.

Broadly socialized allegiance to the dominant cultural narrative is a strong force for sanctioning social conformity (this why all religions essentially equate "good citizenship" with God's Will, etc.) But even the rebel or the criminal (sinner) must assume the essential transcendent power of the dominant cultural/religious myth in order for his/her deviance to itself have any meaning.

Mystical activism begins with mystical consciousness: an intentionally awakened, the thought-free, sacred of awareness of the mystic that transforms the experience of our self, our work, and the world itself.

The Parliament of the World’s Religions is thrilled to announce the launch of the Climate Commitments Project. This web-based resource is the virtual face of the Climate Commitments Project, our effort to coordinate and strengthen interfaith and faith-based climate action campaigns.

Since the end of the Cold War, there has been a consensus among the political and media mainstream that “There Is No Alternative” to Capitalism, particularly the form of capitalism one finds in the context of globalization. “The Free Market”, it is said, will solve all our problems, and become the organizing principle the world over. The conflation of Capitalism and freedom itself has muted any debate that would suggest otherwise. At the same time, recent economic crises coupled with a growing clarity that unlimited growth is destroying the biosphere may suggest that the Capitalist era is coming to an end.

With thousands of subscribers around the globe, Progressing Spirit is the world’s leading outlet for an intelligent, inclusive, and pioneering exploration of today’s theological, spiritual, and social advancements.

  We continue the presentation we began in the last column, here offering:   Thesis #4: Normally intelligent and socialized human beings come

In my work as a mystic, I have been exploring a new kind of activism - Mystical Activism. Evolving from the experience of divine Self-realization discovered in the New Aging, it has been foretold in the archetypes, myths and prophecies of the world and must now become a lived reality if we are to survive on Earth. This blog describes the nature and place of Mystical Activism in Creation Spirituality theology and human transformation.

This is something I can not understand about humans. I see in humans the same fierceness as we have, but it comes from Fear. Don't you know Fear will be the slow death of you? Truly there is nothing to fear. Death is natural, cycles are natural, sickness is natural. These things keep the balance. Like Sun and Moon, we are interconnected in a rhythmic way. You can take from us, yes. But when you take too many of us, you are only hurting all of us, including you.

  In the last column, we began our discussion of Thesis #3. Just as a reminder, Thesis #3 states: Thesis #3: Human beings

For eons, humans have viewed God as a huge, external, and all-knowing human-like figure who rewards some, punishes others, and ignores many, and whose actions in the world often seem mysterious and inexplicable. This is the projection model of God: we humans unconsciously created the figure of God in our own image and projected this image "out there." Worse, this belief assigns the responsibility for change onto a fictional character to whom we keep praying, hoping that this "God" will someday hear us, or do what we ask, or show us why things are the way they are, or something.

Thesis #3: Human beings have the intelligence to think abstractly, and to use symbols (esp. complex language, which eventually allows a human person to think of himself/herself in the third person.) This is in essence what sets human psychology apart from animal psychology.

How does one define social justice or social injustice in a situation such as this? There seems no question that the injustice side would include the slave trade itself, the impoverishment of a free nation by greedy boycott, crippling interest rates, and the invasion of a free state by an army basically doing the will of the foreign wealthy. Beyond that, the issue is more complicated. Given the difficulties of a poor nation absorbing refugees, a problem endemic in many parts of the world, the reaction of the Bahamas seems to be a balancing act of treating others justly while also treating one’s own citizens fairly. There are no simple answers. Defining social justice is no easy matter.