harmony not hierarchy

One of the speakers for Big Tent is Rachel Held Evans; she's the woman who wrote Evolving in Monkeytown. Currently, she's experimenting with a year of "biblical womanhood."

She just wrote a post called "Seeking Harmony, Not Hierarchy" on her blog, and I encourage you to read it. She discussed the Wesleyan quadrilateral: the balance between scripture, experience, tradition, and reason. I think that this is a topic that is relevant to us since many of us have experienced an imbalance of the four in our lives.

"In fact, I’ve recently come to realize that when I’m struggling with doubts about my faith it’s because one (or more) of these elements is failing to harmonize with the others."

article on atonement

Wow. I just finished reading an article on an "alternative" view of atonement. It really was a twist on what I had been taught, but it really rung true to me.
Check it out. It is really worth your time.

thoughts on a not so personal god

I don't know how many of you read Magpie Girl's blog, but I have followed her for a few years now. She used to be a pastor in a typical evangelical church, but she has slowly moved into a more all-embracing multi-faith practice. She recently blogged about the idea of a personal god when your spirituality expands. From her blog:

This shift from a personalized, highly-involved God to something wider and less humanoid can be unsettling for a lot of people. I often get questions around the idea of: “Well, if God is not personally in charge or me or personally involved with my life, what does that mean!??!” It’s a big shift, and not everyone makes it, or even needs to make it.

agnostic christian

I have in my rss feed a blog called Existential Punk. This blog is written by a woman named Adele. She recently posted about being a Christian agnostic. I found that it might be interesting to some of us at Emerging Desert. Here is the link to that particular post if you are interested.

Here is more about her in her own words:

My name is Adele and "i am thomas, doubter. i am judas, betrayer. i am nicodemus, reluctant in the night. i am st. john of the cross, soul darkened by love. i am a christian. i am not." (i borrowed this from David Henson at the blog unorthodoxology b/c i like what he said and i resonated with this.) i am also "lost, wicked, and depraved but redeemed by the grace and beauty of God." ( i also resonated with this and borrowed it from Eugene Cho at the blog beauty and depravity.)

i am a traveler who currently resides in Sacramento, CA with my partner and love of my life, Katryna, and our dawg Mushu, a Tibetan Spaniel. i am currently going through long-term treatment for Chronic Lyme Disease, other tick borne diseases, and heavy metal toxicity.

Lectio Divina

Hey all...I thought you might like to read this great article on practicing Lectio Divina. The second half of the article addresses how to adapt the exercise for a group setting. I'm looking forward to practicing with our group tomorrow. Thanks for being open to this.

~ Carrie