Marsha Lynn
April 8th, 2012, 08:30 PM
I received as a gift the book Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality Presented in Four Paths, Twenty-Six Themes, and Two Questions (http://www.amazon.com/Original-Blessing-Spirituality-Presented-Twenty-Six/dp/1585420670/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333935391&sr=8-1) by Matthew Fox, originally published in 1983. The title comes from an emphasis on original good rather than original sin. (Not a denial of original sin as some have painted the author's views, but a plea for less emphasis on sin and more on blessing.) I am finding it quite thought-provoking.
No, that's not quite right.
Thought provoking means I read it and think, "Hmm... that's interesting."
I'm finding the book well beyond thought-provoking. This is a book that is being worked into the heart of the lessons God has been teaching me. I read it and think, "Yes, that is exactly what I need for the next step of my journey in this area!"
Some of it goes over my head. I find some of it to be laying out battle lines for a war I'm not fighting. (For example, no Christianity I have been taught has precluded concern for creation. Although I see merit in the view the author presents, I don't need a modification of my current views in order to care deeply about the world around me.) Some of it requires prerequisite experiences I haven't had. (For example, there is some Meditation 501 stuff in there and I have yet to get serious about Meditation 101.) But there is much within the pages that echoes and adds to the lessons God has already been teaching me.
I have read through two of the four paths -- the Via Positiva and Via Negativa -- and am starting the third -- the Via Creativa. I am anticipating what is to come. (The fourth path is the Via Transformativa.)
Have any of you encountered this book? If so, what do you think of it? The Catholic church has deemed the author's theology far enough from orthodoxy to relieve him of his position as a priest. (He is now Episcopalian.)
Like I said, I'm not comprehending all of what he's saying on this first time through, but the part I do understand and that echoes what I am encountering from other sources, including the Bible, has been valuable to me.
Any opinions? Interest in discussing it?
Marsha
No, that's not quite right.
Thought provoking means I read it and think, "Hmm... that's interesting."
I'm finding the book well beyond thought-provoking. This is a book that is being worked into the heart of the lessons God has been teaching me. I read it and think, "Yes, that is exactly what I need for the next step of my journey in this area!"
Some of it goes over my head. I find some of it to be laying out battle lines for a war I'm not fighting. (For example, no Christianity I have been taught has precluded concern for creation. Although I see merit in the view the author presents, I don't need a modification of my current views in order to care deeply about the world around me.) Some of it requires prerequisite experiences I haven't had. (For example, there is some Meditation 501 stuff in there and I have yet to get serious about Meditation 101.) But there is much within the pages that echoes and adds to the lessons God has already been teaching me.
I have read through two of the four paths -- the Via Positiva and Via Negativa -- and am starting the third -- the Via Creativa. I am anticipating what is to come. (The fourth path is the Via Transformativa.)
Have any of you encountered this book? If so, what do you think of it? The Catholic church has deemed the author's theology far enough from orthodoxy to relieve him of his position as a priest. (He is now Episcopalian.)
Like I said, I'm not comprehending all of what he's saying on this first time through, but the part I do understand and that echoes what I am encountering from other sources, including the Bible, has been valuable to me.
Any opinions? Interest in discussing it?
Marsha