Jesus for the Non-Religious

February 22nd, 2008, 6 Comments »

I just listened to a pretty riveting interview on CBC’s Tapestry with John Shelby Spong, retired Episcopalian bishop and the author of over 20 books. The book he was promoting is called Jesus for the Non-Religious. From the book’s blurb:

Spong invites his readers to look at Jesus through the lens of both the Jewish scriptures and the liturgical life of the first-century synagogue. Dismissing the dispute about Jesus’ nature that consumed the church’s leadership for the first 500 years of Christian history as irrelevant, Spong proposes a new way of understanding the divinity of Christ: as the ultimate dimension of a fulfilled humanity. Traditional Christians who still cling to dated concepts of the past will not be comfortable with this book; however, skeptics of the twenty-first century will not be quite so certain that dismissing Jesus is the correct pathway to walk.

I don’t know much about him, but he certainly has some provocative and heretical ideas about Christianity and the church. He was also an extremely eloquent and thoughtful speaker. He occupies some fascinating middle ground, I think, between traditional Christians and atheists. His Wikipedia entry refers to his call for a ‘new reformation’, which (among other things) calls into question all of the miracles–from virgin birth to cosmic ascension–of Jesus’s life.

I’d recommend the piece to believers and non-believers alike–the theological thinking felt very fresh to me. But, then, I’m no Bible scholar.

On a vaguely related note, this Reddit thread has some very civil discussion about growing up religious, and when it becomes indoctrination.

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The Stations of the Cross at Ta’ Pinu

July 29th, 2007, No Comments »

From our back patio, we can see the Ta’ Pinu Basilica, a big, modern cathedral and popular pilgrimage destination.

Behind Ta’ Pinu, there’s a rarity on Gozo–a big hill without any buildings. That’s because it features the 14 Stations of the Cross along a winding path to the top. It’s a lovely (if sweaty) walk, and the view from the top is one of the best on the island.

Being in a photographic mood. I set myself a challenge to take just three photos of each of the fourteen statues, and pick the best ones for a little photo project.

The result is a mixed bag–some are decent while others are pretty lame. I think this is the best of the bunch:

8 - Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry the Cross

The other problem is that we only saw 13 stations. I gather that the first station is, in fact, inside the basilica.

You can see a little slideshow of the 13 photos I chose, as well as a set of the rejects and a few random photos I took along the way.

You can see small photos of each of the whole statues. Oddly, this isn’t on Gozo. Some folks created a series of exact replicas of the statues in Australia.

At the top of the hill, there’s a really cool amphitheatre. The top of the hill is also home to zillions of snails each autumn. I’m not sure why they prefer the slightly higher altitude, but you can see their little shells everywhere:

Snails on a Branch

They also end up on the statues, to occasional creepy effect.

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