07.20.08
Posted in articles at 8:04 pm by MPJ
Earlier this week I saw an article in World Wide Religious News (http://wwrn.org/article.php?idd=29090) that said in France they are denying citizenship to a particular Moroccan woman because she wears a burqa. “The Moroccan woman, Faiza M, was told that her practice of “radical” Islam was not compatible with French values. ” the article said.
I am still trying to figure out a response to this - not that anyone asked me! But….well, there must be plenty of French citizens doing things that are not compatible with French values….and they are not denied citizenship. What are French values anyway? Plenty of people in France choose not to drink wine. Isn’t that a French value? It certainly has seemed to be anytime I have ever been there!
On a more serious note, isn’t the French motto: “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité? I can see Read the rest of this entry »
Permalink
07.14.08
Posted in articles at 7:44 pm by MPJ
You heard in the news last week about the college kid who stole a Eucharistic Host after receiving communion in a Catholic Church? (The article appears here http://www.wftv.com/news/16798008/detail.html and http://www.wftv.com/news/16806050/detail.html.)
And the Catholic Church was of course in an uproar about this. And then this blogger, PZ Myers Read the rest of this entry »
Permalink
07.13.08
Posted in articles at 9:10 pm by MPJ
I just finished reading “Called to Question” by Siser Joan Chittister, a true Mystic if ever there was one. Since she is a nun, she of course started out as a traditional believer. The whole book expounds on a personal journal she wrote during a phase when she was questioning her faith. There are no particular entries that describe a Rational stage of faith but the period of questioning would be typical of that stage.
Much of the book speaks of Joan’s wrestling with the line between the traditional religious Read the rest of this entry »
Permalink
07.08.08
Posted in articles at 2:41 pm by MPJ
Are We Really All One?
More and more these days we hear instances of people saying they have come to realize that We All Are One. Some of these people have just latched onto the concept in an artificial sense after hearing about it elsewhere. Others reportedly have actually experienced Read the rest of this entry »
Permalink
07.05.08
Posted in articles at 9:45 pm by MPJ
My younger son Tony is taking an online English course through his university this summer. He says the prof has the class “in a very cumbersome world of belief and spirtual readings now.” (Tony’s words. I hope the prof isn’t reading this!) But he was sure I would be interested in one of the assigned readings so he sent me the link.
The piece is by a certain Read the rest of this entry »
Permalink
07.01.08
Posted in articles at 7:58 pm by MPJ
Amazon.com really has me pegged! You know how when you buy one book from them a message always pops up saying “people who bought that book also bought this other one!” Well, now they have taken to sending me an E-mail every so often saying they are sure I would be interested in such and such a book, based upon what I have bought in the past. Usually I try to ignore their suggestions. I give them more than enough business as it is!
But just before I left for Read the rest of this entry »
Permalink
06.30.08
Posted in articles at 3:48 pm by MPJ
No, I have not given up on my blog. I had the chance to travel to Alaska for six weeks to visit my husband. He has been called up to Active Duty in the Army and is spending the better part of a year in Fairbanks. I was lucky enough to get time off from my regular job for an extended visit. We toured around for a while but when he had to get back to work, I spent my days at the local library putting in Read the rest of this entry »
Permalink
05.26.08
Posted in stage at 7:46 pm by MPJ
This is a stage many people never reach at any age. While there are no statistics on what percentage of people ever reach the Mystical level, we can assume it would be somewhat rare before middle age. Most likely it is more typical of older people who have had time to let all their life experiences “gel” into a form of wisdom that gives them this perspective.
Here it is very important that we establish a clear distinction between this Mystic level of faith and what popular culture may refer to as “mysticism.” Mysticism is Read the rest of this entry »
Permalink
Posted in stage at 7:45 pm by MPJ
Various authors differ as to when the Rational stage tends to arise. Apparently in some cases it arises late in adolescence but often can be delayed until mid-adulthood or even permanently.
The Rational Stage is more or less equivalent to Peck’s Stage III which he named the Skeptic, Individual Stage. He called them Skeptic because they demand scientific Read the rest of this entry »
Permalink
« Previous entries
