"Christianity is incarnational. We are linked to Ultimate Reality by His Presence within. Christian epistemology is unique in that our way of knowing is rooted in Christ's Incarnational Presence. To any degree we depart from this understanding we substitute the means for the end - religion for God Himself - the letter of the law for the Spirit of that quickens - church buildings and organizations for fellowship of the Body - aesthetic appreciation (our own sentiments and feelings about beauty and truth for the Truth - theology (our ideas about God) for God."
Leanne Payne, The Healing Presence: Curing the Soul Through Union with Christ
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Quote for Thought
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
yo.
I've been thinking about this. If Christianity is incarnational, is it also mostly experiential? That keeps you closer to "God himself" instead of "religion," I think. You know - where/how is God in(carnated) the here and now? ...
I'm working on this on my own as well, and really wondering if we have too much more to learn from than simply our own experience. thoughts?
peace.
hmmm...wow...good thoughts s.o. I'm going to have to let that brew a little, but I definitely want to dialog about this. To get rolling, can you explain a little more what you mean by "experiential"?
Any others out there up for jumping in to the conversation please do.
okay, maybe I mean that real Christianity is to be experienced for each and every one - not merely reasoned. I think that is the distinction this author may be making ... we turn religious when we take something from experience and form (our own) reason and rule from it, and when we make that a sort of truth for others.
Our Christianity (our faith) comes from our experience of it - we all have different perspectives because of so many different experiences. It's the classic "interpretation" deal - and payne says,
"Our way of knowing is rooted in Christ's Incarnational Presence".
I think you experience one's presence - you don't reason it. You don't "understand it as truth" - you HANG OUT! :)
And from the post-modern concepts of John Caputo's On Religion - The result of a more sober reading of Nietzsche is not relativism or irrationalism but a heightened sense of the contingency and revisability of our constructions, not the jettisoning of reason but a redescription of reason, one that is a lot more reasonable than the bill of goods about an overarching, transhistorical Rationality that the Enlightenment tried to sell us. For that is a highly unreasonable Reason, a hyper-enlightened illusion that no one can live up to. No one forsaw that Nietzsche's theory of fictions would converge with the biblical critique of idols, of mistaking our own graven images for the divinity."
-- That comes from his section on "The Death of the Death of God." .... good stuff.
so, I'm thinking of how we can elevate incarnation (and it's experience) over reason. Does this make any sense?
s.o.
Once again, man I love hearing from you, and as always your comments have caused some great reflection.
My "experience" :-) of the incarnational reality of "Christ within" is that his presence is the bedrock upon which the structures of reason can be safely (and humbly) built. In my personal grappling with “objectivity” (a modern illusion in my opinion…but that’s a discussion for another time) I've continued to return to the words of Jesus himself when before Pilate in John 18:33-38 the topic of truth is discussed. The words of Christ encourage me that truth is both something I "know" & "experience". The two are not mutually exclusive but wedded in a beautiful divine unity. I will never know fully in this life, but I can know truth (and I would add am responsible for what I know) and the access to that knowing is found in the person (and relationship) of Christ.
As I look back at your post and final question, I’m not sure if I’m giving an answer or not. I don’t think there is an elevation of incarnation over reason, but rather a humble submission that without incarnation there is no reason. Make sense? What are your thoughts?
Post a Comment