Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

Christian Spirituality

The Theology of Audrey Hepburn and Pippin the Deer

by Caroline Garnet McGraw in Christian Spirituality

Recently, I was at a medical appointment and the nurse asked me about my religious affiliation.

The question took me aback, in part because I wasn’t expecting it and in part because I didn’t know how to answer it.

How could I be honest and also fit my answer into a box on the intake form? The words stuck in my throat.

When We Don’t Fit Into Boxes

Longtime readers of my blog, A Wish Come Clear, know the broad strokes of my spiritual history.

You know that having a younger brother who thought differently gave me a firm belief in heaven as a place without barriers.

You know that I attended a cultic church in childhood, and that the experience gave me both beauty and baggage.

You know that I begged God’s forgiveness for every mistake, then discovered that God didn’t need to forgive me because God never judged me. (Unconditional love doesn’t judge!)

But what box to check for all of this?
Introducing Audrey Hepburn and Pippin
In the end, what clarified my spiritual beliefs was a series of photographs of Audrey Hepburn with a fawn named Pippin. These images left me speechless with delight.

Why Audrey?

Audrey Hepburn is my favorite actress because she is winsome and funny and entirely herself. By all accounts an introvert, she demonstrates a quiet confidence, a strength grounded in sensitivity.

Plus, seeing her as Holly Golightly in Breakfast At Tiffany’s gets me every time. Holly’s lifestyle choices – however chaotic and misguided –… [Read more…] about The Theology of Audrey Hepburn and Pippin the Deer

Turning Toward, Not Away

by Marguerite Sheehan in Christian Spirituality

One of the most powerful commandments that God issues us is to resist turning away from encounters with “the other” and instead to turn toward each other.

This past Sunday in our Time for All Ages I sat with three children. During this time in the worship service the kids and I talk with each other and with the adults in the pews, some of whom say that the Time for All Ages is the moment they remember, even more than the sermon.

On Sunday, we read a version of the ancient story of Moses and the burning bush. I love to read from the Archbishop Tutu’s interpretation of the Bible for young children because in the back of my mind I am always thinking how his experience in South Africa informs his re-telling of the Bible stories. Or maybe it is the opposite—how his reading of the Bible stories informed how faithful and courageous he and so many people were and still are in South Africa. South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission is a challenging and transforming model for confronting, not turning away from, life no matter where we are or how old or young we are.

We were reading about how Moses was startled by the bush that was burning while the leaves continued to shine green. The contrast of burning and growing frightened Moses, yet his desire to see the bush overcame his aversion. God called to Moses and gave him an even scarier thing to do which was to directly approach the Pharaoh and demand that the Pharaoh let the Hebrew people go out from slavery.

Moses… [Read more…] about Turning Toward, Not Away

Shoes on — a Hurricane Story

by Art Callaham in Christian Spirituality

I turned the knob slowly, believing that anything I could do to preserve a few more minutes of silence would be worth it. Hannah, who falls asleep more slowly, was the first to respond. “Is it time?” she said. “Yes, it’s time again. Get up little girl.”

I walked over to her brother’s bed. “Aaron, c’mon. It’s time.” He rolled over, groggy. “Grab your things and put on your shoes.”

Growing up, it seemed that there were two types of people in the world: those that wore shoes in the house and those that didn’t. Neat people left shoes by the door, fastidious about white carpets and shiney linoleum. People less concerned about cleanliness and those with wood floors left shoes on, mostly.

But there’s something more to it than that, right? “Kick your shoes off and sit a spell” is what the old folks say. Even those who had dirt floors. Shoes-off in the house is about more than cleanliness. It’s about ease. Shoes-off in the house is about more than just safety. It’s about Sabbath. It’s about cessation of work, cessation of anxiety. Shoes-off is how we want to live, at least in a metaphorical sense.

If things really got bad there would be room for four in the closet. This was still just the tornado warning. First would come the breaking glass, then the freight train, then ducking inside and shutting the door and holding on for our lives. For the moment, Erica and I sat in the hallway, kids uneasily dozing in the closet-cum-storm-shelter, everyone with their shoes on,… [Read more…] about Shoes on — a Hurricane Story

Dear Resistance

by Sheri Faye Rosendahl in Christian Spirituality

To those who feel their voice is lost in the wind, I hear you. To those who feel inherently disqualified, I believe in you. To those who choose to Love first when our world tells you that you are naïve, I stand with you.

That whisper in your ear that you are unqualified, not smart enough, brave enough, faithful enough, theologically educated enough, cool enough, charismatic enough, articulate enough, are all blatant lies. Hear me when I say, you are exactly the voice we need to hear.

Living in the pursuit of red letter Love will come with great critics. You will be cut down and criticized by many who back their attacks with a smoke-screen of logic and theology. You will be rejected and the world will hate your words as they contradict our culture of egocentric independence. You will indeed be a sheep among the wolves.

I hope you know to the depths of your soul, your efforts are not fruitless. You were not put on this earth to live a life of apathy while building a small empire of comforts that leave no imprint on this world.

You have willingly lost the life our world tells you that you are to want, and found a deeper source of life in the pursuit of bold sacrificial Love. The narrow path that follows the red letters is not easy, but the rewards are great.

Your efforts to live this life won’t appear logical. The ways of Jesus don’t align with our culture or our world. Your words will directly and indirectly challenge the Western bubble of comfort. But my friend, the value… [Read more…] about Dear Resistance

More Than a Follower

by Christy Wood in Christian Spirituality

It might just be me, having been raised in legalistic Christianity, but I struggle with the way discipleship is often portrayed. I feel like there is this heavy emphasis on what we are supposed to DO as a disciple even from mainstream pastors and teachers.
Follow * Deny Yourself * Take Up Your Cross * Be Like Jesus
These statements, or at least the thoughts behind them, ARE in the Bible. They aren’t wrong. But I think something is missing. Someone.

There has to be more to being a disciple of Jesus Christ than just action verbs focused on our behavior. Check out this “Jesus encounter” from John 1:
The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God.” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Him. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” He replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where He was staying, and they spent that day with Him. It was about four in the afternoon. John 1:35-39
According to Bible scholars, this is most likely NOT the time these men became disciples of Jesus. “Followed Jesus” simply means they followed Him.

Jesus is walking by, just going about His business. John, knowing who Jesus is, points Him out using a strange name. He calls Jesus “The Lamb of God.” The disciples are curious. Who is this man? So, they follow Him. (My imagination… [Read more…] about More Than a Follower

Understanding Backwards

by Barry Casey in Christian Spirituality

“Life must be lived forward, but can only be understood backwards.” — Soren Kierkegaard

For a good part of my life, I have seen religion as a duty which must be accomplished with dedication if not enjoyment. Since all people are sinners and sinners must seek salvation, it did not occur to me that some people might not see the point in all this religion business. “Oh, I’m not religious,” some friends would say to me, as if it were genetically transmitted or perhaps an acquired taste. They would blithely go about their lives, unencumbered by guilt, enjoying their sins, and occasionally pausing to shake their heads at my dutifulness. “Why do you bother?” they would ask curiously.

For my part, I could not understand how religion could be regarded as an accessory. It was core, at the heart, deep inside, that which guided and prompted all that was good and pure and true. One could no more shuck it off and live a decent, upright life than one could see one’s hand in a room without light. There was one way to salvation and that was through obedience to the rules, as inexplicable as they appeared sometimes. And yet I continued to meet people who claimed no religious allegiance, but seemed to me honest and good, the kind of people who would take you in during a storm or give you a lift miles out of their way. It was disconcerting. Some of them even smoked.

So I tried harder, tried to be dutiful, tried to be aligned without completely losing myself. But myself would… [Read more…] about Understanding Backwards

Post-Pentecost, Hope of Love Remains!

by Agnes Hanying in Christian Spirituality

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Acts 2:1-4
Each new day not only brings us new objects of anxiety, but also new objects of interest and “new mercies.” This Pentecost is a special one, like all other Pentecosts, like all days. At times, it seems easier to flagellate ourselves over failures to read the signs of the times (e.g., from being shocked by Brexit to again being shocked by Trump’s election) and become depressed, insular. In light of the United States’ pragmatic pullout from the Paris Agreement and other world-staged dramas, we’re somewhat refreshingly reminded, in sickness and in health, of the simple, amorphous breath that first creates the poetry of life, the same breath that gifts humanity speech and different tongues.

A force so great that it has been with us through every May 4 (I’m lame), yet invisible to the naked eye unless it’s blown into subzero air. Breath is part of what enables voice, expressions of human agency, and spiritual authority. This precious miracle of voice flows from its ventilatory enabler, which also happens to play a major part… [Read more…] about Post-Pentecost, Hope of Love Remains!

A Lesson on Divine Grief

by DeWayne R. Stallworth in Christian Spirituality

He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.” Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground. When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”
–Luke 22:39-46
The text presents Jesus as a vulnerable man. To be sure, Jesus displayed great power through many miraculous acts. He had given sight to the blind, fed the destitute, and even walked on water; however, on the eve of his engagement with the cross, Jesus kneels and prays: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but your will be done (v42).” Additionally, “In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground (v44).”

The reader then discovers that while Jesus is dealing with his own anguish, the disciples have fallen asleep due to the amount of grief they are experiencing. In essence, Jesus wanted to feel attached to human sources of… [Read more…] about A Lesson on Divine Grief

Theology and Sports

by Matthew Distefano in Christian Spirituality

Maybe I’m a masochist, at least when it comes to sports. You see, my favorite franchises are the Boston Red Sox, Tottenham Hotspur, and the San Jose Sharks. Many here in the States are aware of Boston’s history. Until recently, things became so tumultuous that it was even said they were under a curse: the curse of the Bambino. And, after “the Boston Massacre,” Bucky “Fucking” Dent, Aaron “Bleeping” Boone, and the infamous Buckner incident, I can see why. Tottenham, then, is sort of like the Red Sox of English soccer/football, but minus the recent success. And the San Jose Sharks, well, they have ripped my heart out of my chest more than any ex-girlfriend ever attempted. It’s been over a quarter-century and they still have the same number of Stanley Cup trophies that they started with. In the word of Donald Trump, “Bad!”

Yet, there is a silver lining to my self-inflicted pain. When the Boston Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, all of the horror that accompanied their 86-year drought vanished in an instant. Well, okay, not really. Nevertheless, as I can vividly recall, it was breathtaking–bigger and grander than any other sport-related event I had ever experienced, and it did help heal many of the scars of the past. When Keith Foulke fielded the two-out grounder and flipped to Doug Mientkiewicz for the final out of the Series, tears welled up in my eyes and I let out a broken scream: “Yeah baby!” Sure, I had not endured decades of agony like some of the old-timers—I… [Read more…] about Theology and Sports

What Has Made Me Who I Am Does Not Have to Be What I Become

by Ellen Perleberg in Christian Spirituality

I’m a high school senior from a small town in Central Washington. Since I was thirteen years old, I’ve known exactly what I want to do “when I grew up”: I want to become a professor of linguistics at a major research university. I want to research and write papers and teach. Because I have had this answer ready for so long, people started to ask me what I want to specialize in. I’d say that I wasn’t sure, but perhaps an indigenous language family in Central America, because I already spoke Spanish and had studied the culture and politics of the region. Then it struck me: what has made me who I am does not have to be what I become.

This was a shocking, liberating idea for me. It seemed so obvious, since I was going to college to learn new things and have new experiences, but it also seemed contrary to everything I had learned. Suddenly, this simple idea permeated every aspect of my life. It became a mantra, a lifeline: what has made me who I am does not have to be what I become.

My Spanish teacher, a woman I admire very much as a teacher, a Christian, and a friend, graduated from the high school where she now teaches, attended the local community college, and then transferred to the state university forty-five minutes away.

What has made me who I am does not have to be what I become.

My mother has spent her life fighting the bureaucracy of special education for my little sister. She stays home because my sister needs someone to be her… [Read more…] about What Has Made Me Who I Am Does Not Have to Be What I Become