. . . continued from my examiner post . . .
Its really important to understand the source and authorship of what you deem as authoritative in your life. My examiner column refers to the witness of Christian Saints Peter and Paul. This means looking seriously at history, archeology, anthropology, sociology and of course the tradition from which the literature came. To say, 'God wrote it; end of story' is simplistic and insults the hearer/reader and also the Source of inspiration. (I'm curious; I want to know what God had in mind; says who and why?) Perhaps you've had a spiritual experience yourself- you think, 'so who are we to criticize the likes of Moses', (or Mohammed, peace be upon him) however many centuries ago that was? Did yours change your life?
It's interesting to study the meaning 'he' derived from his experience/s and the cultural context (or 'she' in the case of many female saints) and the action the experience/s inspired- whether it was a 'voice', a 'burning bush', a vision, or a ghost/spirit. What happened to St. Paul after the Damascus vision? Whether Torah, Gospel, or Buddhist accounts- Theravada, Mahayana, Land, Zen, Tibetan or whatever report inspired the story, inquiring minds want more. When you shut inquiry down, you might also shut down credibility. Inquiry speaks of thirst, a desire for connection.
Many religions are based upon these subjective, personal experiences. The processes to arrive at what are deemed holy scriptures required diligent compilation, challenging editing, difficult and controversial decisions and took place over a period of time. Take the Christian Gospels as an example. . . . 'the Gospels, and all the books of the Bible, are distinct and should not be read as if they are all saying the same thing. They are deciedly not saying the same thing-even when talking about the same subject (say, Jesus' death). Mark is different from Luke, and Matthew is different from John, as you can see by doing your own horizontal reading of their respective stories of the crucifixion. The historical a pproach to the Gospels allows each author's voice to be heard and refuses to conflate them into some kind of mega-Gospel that flattens the emphases of each one.' p70 Jesus, Interrupted by Bart Ehrman
In considering each point of view, each author, each context we arrive at the many strands of thought that go into explaining a sacred life, an incredible person, and a body of oral tradition and witness. We don't have all the answers, but more questions on this incredible (awesome) journey. In this infinite spiritual quest there are big thoughts, big ideas, wonderful inspirations and so much to learn from one another and the rich archives of the world's thoughts and testimonies to what 'holy'/'transcendent' is. Muslims have 99 names for Allah. In Hinduism there are many manifestations of Brahman. What gifts we each offer one another.
One Sunday afternoon, after lingering over a meal, dessert was served. My late mother, then well into her '80's, told a story. I noticed my younger brother frowning. He said to me in the kitchen, "I didn't remember it that way . . . but it was a long time ago and I was young . . . ' I laughed and said, 'Neither did I . . . it happened in my recollection like this . . . ' He posed a question to which I suddenly said, 'Oh yeah, yeah and . . . then . . . this . . . ' It was quite dissimilar from mom's point of view; but we weren't seeing it through the same lens at all. Comparing notes opened new understanding, and triggered old memories, nearly forgotten. We were in the same town, same subject- very different takes on what had happened.
If you share a story of a spiritual or AHA! moment experience, no one will quite perceive it the same way either -merely hearing it, and will see it through different eyes of connection - or judgment, tempered by a unique frame of reference. It's called polyvalence -or, multiple meanings.
A woman I know stated quite categorically that scripture was to be taken literally, 'just the way it is'. A theologian I trained under said, 'we should take scripture seriously, though not literally' with a 'heart of faith'. Yet another individual, a clergy person referred to a very familiar story as a 'legend' and another as 'myth'. Repetition since childhood had made it something different, very real . . . it took getting used to those more accurate terms.
We all know when a loved one says, 'It was hot enough to fry an egg on the pavement,' that he/she is not actually engaged in that activity. (My car thermometer read 100 in the garage yesterday) We appreciate the loved one through the eyes of love, a shared understanding, a mutual struggle as the sweat rolls down our foreheads . . . this is the way; it's referential and experiential. May cooler days and heads prevail in love and laughter in this, the journey of Life.
No comments:
Post a Comment