Be the change by Jason Valendy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
I am spiritual but not religious.
I recently heard on Speaking of Faith and interview with Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso. Sasso articulates the distinctions between spirituality and religion in a beautiful way, and while I point you to check out the Speaking of Faith website and podcast to hear it, I will attempt to succinctly recreate her point.
The story goes that Moses went up on the mountain and received the 10 commandments. When he came down from the mountain his face had a brightness that was too bright to look at. Something happened on that mountain, something beyond Moses. Something bigger than one person. It was the literal 'mountain top' experience many people talk about in their own lives.
What Moses experienced on that mountain was a Spiritual experience. It transcended words and actions and was impossible to replicate to another. While the experience was a Spiritual one, the 10 commandments were the container of that experience. The 10 commandments (not the literal rules, but the material expression) is the way in which the raw Spiritual experience was expressed to others.
(This is in a sense what she articulated. Below are my musings on this theme.)
Moses could have easily had the Spiritual experience and came off the mountain with his face aglow and not told a soul about it. He could have cherished that moment for his whole life like Golem cherished the Ring in Lord of the Rings. But, just as Golem did, to hold on to that experience, Moses would have become focused only on that to the point of going insane or entirely self focused to death. Rather, Moses shared the experience with others by way of the container, the 10 commandments.
Could this the danger of being spiritual but not religious? We become so focused on our own spirituality, not sharing with others our lives/experiences/insights/thoughts, that we turn inward and atrophy?
The story goes that Moses went up on the mountain and received the 10 commandments. When he came down from the mountain his face had a brightness that was too bright to look at. Something happened on that mountain, something beyond Moses. Something bigger than one person. It was the literal 'mountain top' experience many people talk about in their own lives.
What Moses experienced on that mountain was a Spiritual experience. It transcended words and actions and was impossible to replicate to another. While the experience was a Spiritual one, the 10 commandments were the container of that experience. The 10 commandments (not the literal rules, but the material expression) is the way in which the raw Spiritual experience was expressed to others.
(This is in a sense what she articulated. Below are my musings on this theme.)
Moses could have easily had the Spiritual experience and came off the mountain with his face aglow and not told a soul about it. He could have cherished that moment for his whole life like Golem cherished the Ring in Lord of the Rings. But, just as Golem did, to hold on to that experience, Moses would have become focused only on that to the point of going insane or entirely self focused to death. Rather, Moses shared the experience with others by way of the container, the 10 commandments.
Could this the danger of being spiritual but not religious? We become so focused on our own spirituality, not sharing with others our lives/experiences/insights/thoughts, that we turn inward and atrophy?
Mowing the grass is my spiritual discipline
I grew up with a gas mower. Although it was self propelled, you could disengage that function and push it yourself. Regardless of how quick or slow I would walk, that mower would cut without fail.
This is not the case with 'old timey'. If you walk too quickly the blades move to fast and the grass cannot get in a position to be cut. If you move too slow the blades do not move fast enough and just bend the grass. You have to walk at controlled pace with intention.
It has become something I look forward to doing. Walking with intention and control. Hearing the blades glide making a shearing sound which functions like an "om" a Hindu might say in meditation.
Although I am sure the gas mower is faster, I also have come to discover that it also robbed me of something quite amazing. Walking with intention and control.
It is like I walk a labyrinth each time I mow the grass.
I better get going, the grass looks a little high...
Saving/Blessing theology
The book “Biblical Foundations of Spirituality” is a good read and I encourage anyone to read it, however I just ran across chapter four again and it is helpful for me to frame my own frustrations very well.
The author argues there are two overarching perspectives in the Biblical story which seem to dominate all other perspectives: “saving theology” and “blessing theology”. Both are true but often times we tend to focus in on one to the exclusion of the other.
“Saving theology” is described as seeing God as one working on behalf of Israel to save and redeem them throughout history. “It is almost as though God’s very name for them is hyphenated as the ‘God-who-brought-us-from-the-land-of-Egypt’.” The savior God comes from nowhere to intervene for those in need. God is surprising and unpredictable in this image but it can also lead to seeing God as a miracle worker or a superhero. This view recognizes humanity as radically in need of God’s saving grace, and the goal of human existence is liberation and freedom from that which oppresses.
“Blessing theology” is described as experiencing God as the source of blessing and providential care. This is the time when we see the world as hospitable and our lives are marked with success and satisfaction. God becomes the constant protector and provider of all good things. God established cosmic order and holds existence at every moment. God is creator and sustainer who does not intervene but is ever present in the midst of the world, creating and sustaining it. This view recognizes humanity as co-creator and sharing with God, and the goal of human existence is the fullness of life understood as the rightful exercise shared of power and privilege.
While I identify both are critical to a fuller understanding of God, I find myself primarily located in “Blessing theology”. This is a good thing, however, I feel guilty about this because I know there is so much suffering in the world and I am very luck to be where I am. I tend to idealize “Saving theology” and become frustrated when others (like myself) defend “Blessing theology”. I need to remember BOTH ARE CRITICAL TO GOD.
What story of God is dominate in your theology; God of saving or God of blessing? I imagine it is a rare thing to find a person who gives each story equal footing.
The author argues there are two overarching perspectives in the Biblical story which seem to dominate all other perspectives: “saving theology” and “blessing theology”. Both are true but often times we tend to focus in on one to the exclusion of the other.
“Saving theology” is described as seeing God as one working on behalf of Israel to save and redeem them throughout history. “It is almost as though God’s very name for them is hyphenated as the ‘God-who-brought-us-from-the-land-of-Egypt’.” The savior God comes from nowhere to intervene for those in need. God is surprising and unpredictable in this image but it can also lead to seeing God as a miracle worker or a superhero. This view recognizes humanity as radically in need of God’s saving grace, and the goal of human existence is liberation and freedom from that which oppresses.
“Blessing theology” is described as experiencing God as the source of blessing and providential care. This is the time when we see the world as hospitable and our lives are marked with success and satisfaction. God becomes the constant protector and provider of all good things. God established cosmic order and holds existence at every moment. God is creator and sustainer who does not intervene but is ever present in the midst of the world, creating and sustaining it. This view recognizes humanity as co-creator and sharing with God, and the goal of human existence is the fullness of life understood as the rightful exercise shared of power and privilege.
While I identify both are critical to a fuller understanding of God, I find myself primarily located in “Blessing theology”. This is a good thing, however, I feel guilty about this because I know there is so much suffering in the world and I am very luck to be where I am. I tend to idealize “Saving theology” and become frustrated when others (like myself) defend “Blessing theology”. I need to remember BOTH ARE CRITICAL TO GOD.
What story of God is dominate in your theology; God of saving or God of blessing? I imagine it is a rare thing to find a person who gives each story equal footing.