Spiritual Growth Network of Kentucky

A Theology of Openness

A theology of Openness
begins with several revealed truths, but radically interpreted.
Essentially it is a radical view of the theology of the Holy Spirit.
I have not called it this but written about it several times under
other headings (listed later).
In psychological terms it is a matter of heart, not of mind.
It is also based on a depth psychological understanding that
we are each blessed, gifted and good in ourselves (see writings on
Celtic Spirituality
but we are also sincere and innocent self-deceivers,
who without openness and feedback
are likely to undermine both ourselves,
our families and our places of work and worship.

A Theology of Openness also places the ultimate criterion of faith and love
in a hospitality that welcomes and embraces the otherness
of the Other, the stranger amongst us.

What we discover is that when we risk being authentic and sharing our brokenness and giftedness, we actually create community, by that very process. It is also the power of the personal story. IT is also the power of an incarnational Presence fully recognized and reverenced.

1. We are all incarnations of the Spirit. That is we are not humans trying to become spiritual, but spiritual beings trying to realize our humanness. This means that there is a deep yearning in the human heart that no creature can fill. Only the love of God and neighbor. We already ARE God's poetry, his music, his songs, trying not to sing off -key, but in harmony with all of creation.

2. We are not moved or motivated to any transforming of our basic self-centeredness, except via something, person, crisis or story that challenges us to think outside our usual comfort zones. We are too much creatures of habit, not doing the good that we could do, and instead doing the evil we pretend not to. (Paul)

3. We cannot grow beyond the identities formed by our families and our society or by our churches except by risk and vulnerability in sharing of our inner life with others. This suggests that most of what is done in churches is not transformative. Ritual or preaching seldom evokes personal risk. Faith concepts do not motivate or change anyone. Religion for many remains “notional.” For example, one can attend a hundred or a thousand Masses over a life time and never listen to another's pain, even the loneliness of the person next to one in church, while still feeling affirmed with one’s religiosity.

4. All incarnations tend to become idols. All conceptualizations will become dogma which freezes us to the past, and gives us a platform to judge others. We will tend to make objects, rather than valuing the subjectivity, the divine "Thou" of every person and every created thing.

5. Therefore, Process Theology and the monograph of Martin Buber, "I-Thou" are primary sources. It is the process itself, not the product, the journey not the end that is to be cherished. This means, in part, that human experience in personal search is the ultimate criterion. We are encouraged to discover our own paths wherever that leads.

Too many religious people say to someone hurting: "Here is the solution, take my belief about that, and you will be okay. This is the answer I have found. Just believe these things and you will be alright, (and a good Christian, Catholic, or whatever...) That is, believing people ask us to accept their beliefs as the answer to our search for our own wisdom, for our place in the universe, whether we can make sense of the mystery that surrounds us.

It is our aim to examine the priority of our experience because 1) this is the common experience of us all; 2) this is the very first step towards faith in a transcendent Being, and 3) we believe that those religious organizations that present God-concepts to potential members without helping them examine their personal spiritual journey are violating the natural process and integrity of the searching soul, at a time when the seeker may be particularly vulnerable.

6. Jesus instead of being a model of sacrificial love, with his Death and Resurrection primary, becomes rather the model of full humanness, in his acceptance of all, especially the outsider and the stranger. The humanity of Jesus comes to the fore as well as his teaching method of parables. The power in the way of the parables is that the response was left to the person. "When the student is ready the teacher will appear." –zen saying.

7. This theology accepts the richness of all Wisdom traditions. It is also non-conceptual, non-doctrinal, non-ritualistic, and without any code other than that of the Golden Rule. It is very similar to Quaker spirituality, and believes that everything else besides the Golden Rule are human trappings and add-ons. Learning to truly love others as ourselves is the epitome of the Shema, the Wisdom of Jesus and finds correlative basics in all other wisdom traditions.

Actual Practice in the SGN of Kentucky meetings.
Sundays at 5.
After some brief drumming, there is shared silence of 15-20 minutes. Then each can speak without interruption or comment re one's spiritual journey that week. This usually takes 45-60 minutes. If time is left before 6:30, we can share themes that emerged.
All other workshops and retreats.
Days of Recollection 7 per year.
Retreats 4 per year.
Other activities.
These activities begin with a period of shared silence. Any lesson, or presentation is kept short, to 15 minutes (usually using story or personal anecdote and ending with several questions for the inner life), then we return to journaling, for about 20 minutes, sharing only then in small groups of three, before returning to the large group sharing for discussion. At the end, we return to shared silence. This method encourages the inner search, values authenticity and at the same time builds community.

All sharing is held with respect and honor, with seldom advice offered unless asked. We are honoring the Presence in each by listening from the heart and loving the person in their own particularity. This means that the deep sense of reverence is often experienced by the individual as a "gentle sweetness" and loving kindness of the entire meeting. An awesome Presence is tangible. This is the only religious or worship service we have--usually, although occasionally we will on retreats have a more traditional prayer service, some singing or a Eucharist.

What is "held up and honored in each meeting" is the shared humanity of each, in all our brokenness and giftedness. Thus, we could call this a theology of story, or a radical theology of the Holy Spirit already among us, a reverential Emanuel meeting, or a revering by active listening of the Incarnation in each person. Spirit is already Present: we are simply becoming quiet and still enough to recognize its diverse voices already among us. We come from and welcome all Wisdom traditions and do not judge any of them as "better than."

I will relate this approach to the thematic practices of all Wisdom traditions later. We will soon be completing 14 years of this work together in central Kentucky.
www.lexpages.com/SGN

Paschal
5/6/03

posted by Paschal Baute @ 10:34 PM |