Why church isn’t the same as faith
This isn’t a news flash, but I enjoy seeing issues we discuss in class echoed in the media. Andrew Sullivan posts this quote from Paul Zahl who’s discussing the work of Emil Brunner (d. 1966). A reflection by Brunner’s former student bring this distinguished scholar to life. Here’s a little bit of the quote:
There is a collective dimension to this: all the early Christians experienced the same thing. Like alien abductees, the first Christians had a shattering experience in common. This brought them together. But this experience was not an institution.” – Paul Zahl,
Grace in Practice: A Theology of Everyday Life.
Watch Zahl speak about this book:
Echoes of Schleiermacher
I receive monthly greetings from a Benedictine abbot, Abbot Philip. He’s the Abbot of Christ in the Desert in New Mexico. They were the site of a Discovery Channel show in 2006.
I wrote and asked his permission to quote his recent letter. He said yes! I explained to him that much of his letter reminded me of what we’ve been reading in Schleiermacher’s On Religion. Here’s Abbot Philip’s letter and my comments.
Anne Rice’s return
I’ve re-checked out from the library Anne rice’s Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession
for probably the third time. This time I’m actually reading the book. I am not a fan of vampires so I “missed out” on the past few decades of Anne Rice hoopla. And, of course, now we’ve got that new “teeny-bopper” vampire trilogy (or more). Here Rice recounts her return to Catholicism.
The first two chapters are precious, in the best sense of the word. It recalls a kind of religious devotion and sensibility that is not at all a part of my religious vocabulary. Yet I can appreciate the palpable reality of her childhood faith. What’s interesting to me is that this period of her life was what she called “preliterate”. While I don’t remember not being able to read, Rice has memories of a rich inner and outer life unadulterated by the text.