G.R.@C.E.

What is Grace? It seems right to ask this on St Anselm’s day.

Interesting talk with Mother Sarah and Nathan… who is now Fr Nathan… but ok. Anyway, we were talking about Grace at Coffee Hour yesterday. And, while I don’t remember how the topic arose, at some point it dawned on me that “saved by Grace” must mean something completely different to someone who is just looking to Get Out of Hell Free.

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A Question

Dear Readers -

On 1 May - Feast of the Ascension according to the Gregorian Calendar - I’ll be received back into the Anglican Communion from Orthodoxy. This will complete my set, as far as being presented to the Bishop. I was Presented to Paul Moore for Confirmation. I was presented to Bill Swing to renew my Baptismal Vows after having been a Pagan Gnostic for nearly 20 years. And the only other thing for which you need to be presented to the Bishop is to be received from either the Roman Church or Eastern Orthodoxy. I may be the only Episcopalian to have a matched set :-)

In a real sense my names have shown my journey, my path, my way:
When Pastor Jim Lowry baptised me at Acworth United Methodist, it was as Bill Bailey.
Paul +New York confirmed me as William Francis.
Bill +California “renewed” me as Huw (after the name change).
Fr. Victor gave me the name Raphael…

What should I say to Michael +Buffalo?

In all honesty, after 5 years of people calling me Raphael, I’ve kinda gotten used to it. People don’t usually address you by your “confirmation name” in the western liturgical tradition. I don’t think I’ve ever heard “Francis” uttered out loud by any other person other than Paul Moore. But I know that St Raphael wasn’t, exactly, a big fan of the Anglican Communion after we started to pirate his laity. And years after he ordered them not to hang out in our churches Anglicans (even ones who should have known better) were still saying “Oh, no, really it’s ok…”

But his own rootlessness reminds me of mine. I really have no physical home to claim: my father was a wandering Aramean. My home is only by the way, the Tao, and in my heart.

Raphael means “healing of God” where “healing” comes from the same root that means “salvation” and “wholeness”. In a world without roots, the healing and wholeness of God is my only home. Raphael seems to be the right name.

What say you?

Toto: I am a Taoist

I’m liking Rabbi Shapiro more and more. Here’s from his latest post:

I am simply saying that true sages like Jesus and Lao Tzu just can’t take complicated systems of religion seriously. Neither can I.

Robin of Sherwood

More BBC from the 80s…

Robin Hood: The target is too far. My aim is lost.
Herne The Hunter: Then aim again.
Robin: To what end?
Herne: There is no end. And no beginning. It is enough to aim.

Creation

Two of the various shades in my personal blogosphere are lighting up with comments on Creation. They’re not connected, nor are they necessarily in opposition.

The Friendly Atheist (among others) has been doing a series of posts on the Creation “museum” that opened in Kentucky: that $27 Million Dollars could have fed a lot of poor people.

Meanwhile, over in the UK, David notes an essay, written by one of his students, replying to this question: ‘Christian teachings about family life are not relevant in the 21st century.’ Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer and show that you have thought about different points of view. The student reports that now we have “evidence that we developed and evolutionerised [sic] from apes and monkeys”.

While these posts are totally unconnected - save by my reading them together - it raises a very interesting question in my mind.

For most of human history “morality” has been more a matter of religious taboo than human thought: the Wooji-Wooji says do/do not do this thing, most often with no reason other than “because I said so.” Current critiques of such include the idea that the Wooji-Wooji (who or whatever that is/was in a given society) was only concerned with power/patriarchy/control, various incorrect assumptions of agrarian societies, etc.

Yet I know a lot of moral people - of many different religious traditions and some with no traditions at all.

David says, “When people reject the Creator God and believe they are indistinct from, and merely exist on a continuum with, animals, they have no reason to love and respect.”

Is that so? Where does morality come from otherwise? Just wondering.

taodesk.jpg

A desktop based on some of the images used in my +Z’ev blog header image:
The Cross is from an ancient stele in China documenting the arrival of Christianity in that culture. A rubbing of that monument exists at my former parish in San Francisco The ancient Chinese script reads "Jesus Christ the Eternal Tao"