All tagged essence
"God is love" is not nearly as thick or rich as saying, "God is three persons in one essence." My point? Our words about God matter more, not less, than our words about other realities. But God as a Trinity crucifies the human intellect! So what to do? Then, what terms did the ancient Church give us that still inform us today? Why do those words matter? What is the essence of God? I also do a bit of processing the recent death of a family member.
A now-common take: Paul corrupted the simple and loving message of Jesus. Jesus was about care of neighbor while Paul infected that ethic with religion. So Paul is the one who established traditional, and now passé, Christianity. But was Paul really different from Jesus? How was Paul true to Jesus? The answers could build or wreck Christian faith. And my invisible conversation partner suggusts we publish a pink lettered bible: Jesus’ words about inclusion, diversity, tolerance and not hurting other people’s feelings all in pink.
Whereas our society is superficial and loud, beauty comes in depths and peace. What are the benefits of enjoying beauty? Or, just what is beauty? Why do so many Christians ignore beauty? Is society right when it tells us that pretty and handsome are the same as beautiful? Why does the U.U. love beauty so much? How is beauty like God? Why would God have created the world with such beauty? Those questions are woven into my reflections here on one of the most overlooked gifts on the planet: beauty!
