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Praxis And Ritual In Progressive Christianity


cunninglily

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Ditto... I love the direction this thread is taking; it makes me wish we could all break the bread together. bread_wine.jpg

 

Me too. :)

 

Something I've noted that many Pagans of different traditions do in their sacramental meal is make an offering, or give libation, to the Land itself. I like this, and find it very meaningful.

 

Many Christians have no problem understanding "stewardship" of the Land, or of protecting the Land for future generations, but have much difficulty seeing themselves as one flesh or Body with the Land, and all as the Lords Body. Many Christians don't actively include the Land (and I use Land rather than Earth to impart a sense of locality, ie, "your land" or the land in which you live) in the salvific process. Offering a crust of bread and a small libation of wine to the roots of trees or to the ground includes the Land/Earth in the regeneration and renewal found within Christ.

 

How does this strike the rest of you? Obviously, if you find the "flesh" unredeemable, or the Kingdom of God "somewhere" else other than here, now, this probably won't be meaningful to you.

 

Any thoughts?

 

lily

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Well, here's a thought:

 

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world (cosmos) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life..

 

Note that it doesn't merely say that God loved "humanity", but rather, cosmos; i.e. the earth and all of Creation for that matter..

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Well, here's a thought:

 

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world (cosmos) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life..

 

Note that it doesn't merely say that God loved "humanity", but rather, cosmos; i.e. the earth and all of Creation for that matter..

 

Yup :)

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  • 9 months later...
Well, here's a thought:

 

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world (cosmos) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life..

 

Note that it doesn't merely say that God loved "humanity", but rather, cosmos; i.e. the earth and all of Creation for that matter..

 

 

Yup. That was one of the first things I learned right before I started college. I couldn't believe I had never heard it before! It probably started me on the path to wanting to learn Greek. I felt robbed of not being given that information sooner!

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When I was a young Christian I had a very pronounced attraction to monasticism and was fascinated by the techniques and methods Christians from different traditions (I was raised Baptist ) employed in "practicing the Prescence of God" or in "dying to self" or in seeking intimacy with God. I experimented with Brother Lawrences' "I watch God watching me", and the Jesus Prayer of the Hesychasts; I prayed in tongues (and still do), and was always particularly drawn to what I grew up calling "The Lords Supper". 

 

Today I am deeply drawn to re-visioning the role of ritual (which is a way of actively seeking the "thin places") and other methods and techniques created and forged in the fires of sacrifice and devotion by our Ancestors in their longing for transformation and intimacy with God.

 

Do any of you feel a need for a Christian practice? and by practice I mean time consistently set aside for remembrance, or prayer, or meditation, or any number of means by which you enter sacred space and seek intimacy with God?  Do any of you combine traditional Christian methods with non-traditional ones? or practice traditional observances in non-traditional ways? 

 

I look forward to hearing from all of you...

 

lily

 

I'm so glad I dug up this thread by lily. The opening post sums up beautifully what I was trying to say recently in my Renunciation thread. "Praxis and Ritual" include the practice of renunciation, but are also inclusive of other, well, practices. B)

 

Practice and ritual can lead us to "thin places." Practice and ritual can help move our "aim" back towards the target. Practice and ritual can bring the sacred into everyday life, which has a tendency to crowd out the sacred.

 

To quote again Lily's words: "Do any of you feel a need for a Christian practice? and by practice I mean time consistently set aside for remembrance, or prayer, or meditation, or any number of means by which you enter sacred space and seek intimacy with God? Do any of you combine traditional Christian methods with non-traditional ones? or practice traditional observances in non-traditional ways?"

 

I was thinking again, about the Liturgical year and how I want to incoporate it into my life. I'm going to start with Lent.

 

Also, I want to make going to the mountains, which are so close to where I live, a weekly event, if only for an hour or two. I know for me, active listening meditation and contemplation come just like breathing when I'm there.

Edited by AletheiaRivers
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Valleys spread the earth's energies,

 

Mountains focus the earth's energies.

 

My take is this is why people built pyramids in flat places when they had to live there to grow food and hunt in ancient times. Ancient cultures inherently knew the difference because I believe the ability to sense this is built into every person. The problem is that our bodies and minds have forgotten things like this after being conditioned for millenmia by existing in " city state civilizations". Why else would ancient cultures in the Andes, in China-Tibet, and in southeast Asia have worked so hard to build terracing and irrigation systems in mountainous regions so that they could live there so long ago?

 

The ancient Hebrews even held some of their worship practices "in high places" for centuries until the practice was banished about 600b.c. by King Hezzakiah and Ezra "the law giver".

 

By the way, pyramids are a world-wide ancient structural phenomenon. Now they're being found in places like Bosnia and China besides the places we've all heard of before. There's even some belief in pyramids being covered beneath a large lake between Madison and Milwaukee Wisconsin. And in N. Nevada Pyramid Lake is an ancient shoshone sacred place and a big tourist draw.

 

I believe, AR, that the evidence points to the possibility that you possess a very old soul. Remember what I said about G-d having the best time machine ?

 

flow.... :rolleyes:

Edited by flowperson
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