"Jezebel Ophelia Healing"
from Our Book Of Common Faith, mixed media on canvas by
Stephen Mead
Used by permission ©Stephen Mead (See
footnote)
Discovery
by Dawn Steward
It took a few years before I caught up to my own analysis of
teachings from the front of the church being heavily and
uncritically spiced with the speaker's or the denomination's bias.
I came across a university course in exegesis with a translator of
Psalms as the teacher. He had studied at Dallas Theological Seminary
and had, I suppose, Baptist leanings. Those Baptists seem to hold
their ground in what I consider to be respectful treatment of the
scriptures.
After this course I took no teaching of any scripture to heart
without first studying the important words in the scripture and then
appreciating the historical setting, etc.
This course changed my view of scripture study for all time, and I
am still, twenty-seven years later, deeply thankful for what I
learned there and for the harmonious, whole-person teaching spirit
of my instructor.
Looking back, I think the long-term effect of that course showed me
there was little point in nailing things to the wall, and I began
letting go of the idea of being convinced and being able to prove
stuff.
I went through a process of simplifying—throwing out, in a sense,
one doctrine after another that did not seem to be the point. I
continued for about fifteen years in this simplified version of
faith and then I met Annie, I’ll call her.
Annie was an alcoholic and a member of AA, but before that she had
been a spiritual guru. I thought she was looking for Christ and
suffered through her long sermons about New Age spirituality,
waiting for the moment to present the Truth to her.
The moment never came. She told me she had met Christ in a
meditation while she was waiting beside a body of water. I said
nothing but looked through the New Testament for ways to prove at
least to myself that there is no way this could have been the Christ
of the Bible—and couldn't find it.
My ideas about how Christ presents himself to modern people had been
deeply coloured by the Billy Graham Crusade et al, and I was forced
to accept that there are as many ways to meet Christ as there are
souls on God's good earth. I thought I was in Annie's life to show
my Christ to her but in the end it seemed like she was in my life to
help me let go of the idea that Christ has to appear in some special
Billy Graham way, with an acceptance prayer and the whole deal.
It did cause me some pain to go through the transition involved with
having Annie as a friend but that was a short period, and when it
was over, I liked this new way of being. My own frame of reference
for faith remains in its essence unchanged from its first moment of
being. My frame of reference for other people is so changed that I
would have to say it's not a frame anymore.
I recently read that Mother Theresa made no attempt to convert those
that died in her arms or in her care. To the contrary, she gave each
soul as much peace in the frame of their own faith as she was able,
including of course those of the Hindu faith.
I read Carlo Carretto’s Letters from the Desert
during my
first years of faith and, while I loved the spirit of the writings,
I was bothered by the Little Brother feeling no need to convert his
Muslim friends. It's taken over twenty years for me to look at his
experience and feel like I kind of understand the peace in it.
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In the Study
When you sit before a spiritual teacher, the
greatest honor you can bestow on a true teacher is
to entertain a certain amount of doubt--that is,
enough doubt to at least send you to the original texts of
your faith for further study, feel free to question
even so-called "inspired" writings, and never, ever
give up your common sense. Use study helps that provide a
well-rounded perspective, rather than a single point
of view.
Avoid gullibility.
Be thoughtful.
Be wise.
Here is a helpful article on
this subject:
Choosing a Study Bible.
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Helpful Study Aids
The New Interpreter's Study Bible
and
The Jewish Study
Bible
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For additional information about Stephen Mead and his
art:
Check out:
Video Collection 1
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