by David Anderson
There was an old saying, that people of faith should seek to understand their world with “the Bible in one hand, and the newspaper in the other.” For the last hundred years it’s been increasingly difficult to interpret the Bible, and now nobody trusts a newspaper. Maybe just as well. The idea that we could […]
by David Anderson 7 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, authority, Awareness, Belief, Mystery, Nature/Creation, Reality--trusting it, Seeing
Speaking of her early stage of faith, writer and retreat leader Paula D’Arcy shared a dream in which the kitchen table of her childhood disappeared. That table symbolized the beautiful security of her early years. It was the heart of her childhood home, where she learned her Baltimore Catechism, mastered every question, and came to […]
by David Anderson 4 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Belief, Change, Faith/Trust, Family, Lent, Letting Go, Reality--trusting it, Surrender
Every once in a while, you hear a term that perfectly describes something you’ve experienced but didn’t have a name for. That’s how I felt when someone used the phrase “spiritual bypass,” coined by psychologist John Welwood in the 80s. He defined it as a “tendency to use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or […]
by David Anderson 4 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Belief, Lent, Reality--trusting it
On July 13, 1798, William Wordsworth returned to a specific place along the banks of the Wye River that flows through England and Wales. He sits above the murmuring waters, leaning against a dark sycamore tree. Years have passed and now he sees again the orchard trees, the steep and lofty cliffs, the wreaths of […]
by David Anderson 11 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Change, Daily Practice, Fear, Happiness, Lent, Now/ the Present, Prayer/Meditation, Reality--trusting it, Seeing
Most of us were taught that, along with being omniscient and omnipresent, God is omnipotent. But it’s hard to love a God Almighty. Omnipotent isn’t in the Bible. It’s a term coined by thinkers influenced by Greek philosophy, who saw God as infinitely above us, the pinnacle of perfection. He—and the omnipotent deity definitely has […]
by David Anderson 3 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Belief, Lent, Love
The virulent conflict we experience in our world is fueled by a need on both sides to win at all costs, to be right and—even more important—to prove others wrong. We all have the “talking points” committed to memory. We can rally the facts and marshal the stats to “take down” another person. Yet even […]
by David Anderson 5 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Awareness, Character, Community, Lent, Transformation
This morning I read this: A broad group of scholars is beginning to demonstrate that religious belief and factual belief are indeed different kinds of mental creatures. First of all, they have noticed that the very language people use changes when they talk about religious beings, and the changes mean that they think about their […]
by David Anderson 8 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Awareness, Belief, Faith/Trust, Letting Go, Now/ the Present, Surrender, Transformation
Easter Monday is always like the day after Christmas. The party is over. The leftover lamb is sitting forlorn on the counter top; it was not put away last night. The children’s plastic eggs lie empty and raided on the floor. The sun comes in the window a little harsh. That great victory over death […]
by David Anderson 10 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Awareness, Blessing, Grace, Gratitude, Happiness, Letting Go, Now/ the Present, Seeing, Transformation