It has been a while, but I had the privilege this past Sunday at my home church: St. Stephen’s Episcopal in Lubbock, TX. The video is available here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=search&v=7196564427042468. My sermon starts around the 23:00 mark, and I talk until about 32:10. Now, if you would prefer a text version of the sermon, then just Read More …
Here is the fifth and final installment in my series on a case study of prayer beads as used (and interpreted) in multiple religious contexts. If you missed earlier installments, you can begin with the first section here. Summing Up Following this moment of consideration, let’s briefly revisit the thrust of this series. The spiritual practice Read More …
Here is the fourth installment in my series on a case study of prayer beads as used (and interpreted) in multiple religious contexts. If you missed earlier installments, you can begin with the first section here. General Discussion The foregoing history and sociology of the transmission of prayer beads from (1) one religion to another Read More …
Here is the third installment in my series on a case study of prayer beads as used (and interpreted) in multiple religious contexts. If you missed earlier installments, you can begin with the first section here. Case Study of Intra-Religious Borrowing Five years ago, I examined the process of spiritual borrowing in three emergent Read More …
Here is the second installment in my series on a case study of prayer beads as used (and interpreted) in multiple religious contexts. If you missed the first installment, you can still read it here. Borrowing Background among Religions Whenever a chronological look at a subject is desired, it is always best, though Read More …
Since I have talked previously about Transpersonal Sociology, I thought it might be interesting to give a specific example of what I mean. While I have published case studies on other practices previously, I have not published much on prayer beads. So, this post is the first of several parts of an article on that spiritual Read More …
Before we dig into my definition of mystical theology, I think it is important first to define the term mystical. While definitions abound with regard to this adjective, my primary reference point is the succinct description provided by Bernard McGinn: Thus we can say that the mystical element in Christianity is that part of its Read More …
Currently, I am teaching a university course on the mystical experience, and one of the major issues that we confront is: What does a mystical experience look like? There are many answers to this question, but I would like to offer two pictures today: one from Buddhism and one from Christianity. Let’s begin with Buddhism. Read More …
No, not that Thomas More. As a change of pace, I thought that I would offer a few comments about a recent book. In A Religion of One’s Own, Thomas Moore speaks to the needs of spirituality within our very secularized world — and also about the need of secularity in our overly ossified religious Read More …
Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster is the first book written by and for Evangelicals on the traditional Christian spiritual life. For centuries, the Christian spiritual life — known then by its historical name of Christian mysticism — was seen as suspect by Protestants in general and Evangelicals in particular. Foster cuts through that history Read More …
