Philosophy, Spirituality, and Mysticism
I am in continued amazement that my life turned out so well. Why me? Why are things so good? Are they always easy? No. But overall, I am blessed. I am grateful. Beyond grateful. By any reasonable metric of global human success, I am rich. However, I’ve found myself lately calling myself a Christian, or … Read more
I was lost but now I was found. I was in darkness but now I have come into the light. I was broken and now I am saved. These are all familiar metaphors of Christian “testimony,” that age-old genre overflowing with cliches and dead metaphors whereby former nonbelievers recount how terrible their lives were until … Read more
This post is the result of a spontaneous outflow of thought on Jung and Religion, as it relates to Christian Theology. Part prayer, part meditation, part musing, I hope you, the reader, enjoy the journey as I meander through the landscape of Christian theology while wearing Jungian lenses. My aim is to poetically explore the … Read more
Was Jesus a Stoic? If by “Stoic” we mean explicitly a member of the Hellenistic School of Philosophy started by the Greek philosopher Zeno in the 3rd century BCE, then no. But Jesus was not some backwoods carpenter with no exposure to the broader world of Greco-Roman philosophy. The Bible tells us He was learned, … Read more
Did Jesus bodily rise from the dead? This is the core question of Christianity. Many Christians believe that the entire crux of Christianity depends on the truth or falsity of this claim. Such Christians believe that if we could someone travel back in time and discover that Jesus’ physical body was still in the tomb then the … Read more
The central claim of the orthodox Christian faith is that Jesus Christ was crucified and three days later was resurrected. The Christian scholar N.T. Wright argues from a careful study of Jewish and Christian sources that the early Christian apostles claimed very specifically that Jesus underwent a bodily resurrection. From a Jewish context, this is … Read more
What is Daimonic psychology? It is the study of the phenomenon of people reporting the presence of “personal guardian spirits,” a phenomenon that has been attested cross-culturally for thousands of years. In the Christian tradition, we call them “Guardian Angels.” “God Himself begins to live in me not only as my Creator but as my … Read more
The Gift of God’s Presence God’s presence in our lives is like a gift I can unwrap by merely shifting my awareness and intention in a small, quiet way. God’s presence is a gift that keeps giving itself as something to be continuously experienced. It is a gift that prolongs forever that feeling of joy … Read more
Many people suspect that the religion we call “Christianity” has diverged significantly from the actual, spiritual message of Jesus Christ. But what is the message of Jesus Christ? Although mainstream Christianity has not yet appreciated the depth of wisdom within the ancient Christian texts found at Nag Hammadi, I happen to love this message from … Read more
The term “omnipresence” has become cold and abstract, rattled off in a chain of impressive-sounding predicates, like a used car salesman hyping up a luxury model. It is usually defined as the property of being present everywhere at once. But what does “present” really mean? Present in what way? How does omnipresence work? As it … Read more