Oops
So, this friend of mine was in San
Francisco this Lent, and elected to attend the Lenten program at Grace
Cathedral. Now, Grace is not exactly the center of Christian Orthodoxy, so this
was pretty brave of
him.
...A bit more transpired, but the upshot was that these people, some, if not most, who were life-long Episcopalians, had no idea that things like prayer and fasting belong to the long history of Christian orthodoxy, and to Jewish orthodoxy before that. In fact, the practices predate Zen, as Zen, or the Japanese form of Buddhism dates only back to the 5th century.
Of course, as we've discovered during our study, even the conservative members of our own orthodox parish, are not necessarily familiar with these practices and the long history they have. I suspect, and actually have suspected, that this lack of knowledge about historical Christianity, and failure to pass along the traditions, have created a religiously illiterate generation. This illiteracy then leads to a situation where people can be led astray because they understand something to be missing from their spiritual lives, but never realized that it has been available all along. We've had two years of Lenten programs now which rely on pop Christian authors who, themselves, are just beginning to discover the very principles which governed Christianity through most of its first two millennia. They go on to construct their own views and beliefs, seemingly unaware of the vast treasure of past teaching on these matters from Church Fathers and others. Often time, when down in the details, these new beliefs are either simply wrong or both wrong and dangerous.
...Then they become merely conservative, holding on to those things they remember from growing up.... Worse, is someone who has discovered, for instance, that Zen has these disciplines focused on enlightenment, and off these Christians go to pursue non-Christian religions.
...A bit more transpired, but the upshot was that these people, some, if not most, who were life-long Episcopalians, had no idea that things like prayer and fasting belong to the long history of Christian orthodoxy, and to Jewish orthodoxy before that. In fact, the practices predate Zen, as Zen, or the Japanese form of Buddhism dates only back to the 5th century.
Of course, as we've discovered during our study, even the conservative members of our own orthodox parish, are not necessarily familiar with these practices and the long history they have. I suspect, and actually have suspected, that this lack of knowledge about historical Christianity, and failure to pass along the traditions, have created a religiously illiterate generation. This illiteracy then leads to a situation where people can be led astray because they understand something to be missing from their spiritual lives, but never realized that it has been available all along. We've had two years of Lenten programs now which rely on pop Christian authors who, themselves, are just beginning to discover the very principles which governed Christianity through most of its first two millennia. They go on to construct their own views and beliefs, seemingly unaware of the vast treasure of past teaching on these matters from Church Fathers and others. Often time, when down in the details, these new beliefs are either simply wrong or both wrong and dangerous.
...Then they become merely conservative, holding on to those things they remember from growing up.... Worse, is someone who has discovered, for instance, that Zen has these disciplines focused on enlightenment, and off these Christians go to pursue non-Christian religions.
So, this friend of mine was in San Francisco this
Lent, and elected to attend the Lenten program at Grace Cathedral. Now, Grace
is not exactly the center of Christian Orthodoxy, so this was pretty brave of
him. When he was there, however, he discovered something very
interesting.
He was seated at a table enjoying dinner, and being asked about his parish. When probed on the subject of the Lenten program at St. Michael's, he stated that we were studying spiritual disciplines (I'll get into that later). Someone asked him what those were, and he indicated things such as prayer and fasting. The response? "Oh, you're studying Zen"
His response, as I understand it, was akin to "huh?", which would pretty much be my reaction. A bit more transpired, but the upshot was that these people, some, if not most, who were life-long Episcopalians, had no idea that things like prayer and fasting belong to the long history of Christian orthodoxy, and to Jewish orthodoxy before that. In fact, the practices predate Zen, as Zen, or the Japanese form of Buddhism dates only back to the 5th century.
Of course, as we've discovered during our study, even the conservative members of our own orthodox parish, are not necessarily familiar with these practices and the long history they have. I suspect, and actually have suspected, that this lack of knowledge about historical Christianity, and failure to pass along the traditions, have created a religiously illiterate generation. This illiteracy then leads to a situation where people can be led astray because they understand something to be missing from their spiritual lives, but never realized that it has been available all along. We've had two years of Lenten programs now which rely on pop Christian authors who, themselves, are just beginning to discover the very principles which governed Christianity through most of its first two millennia. They go on to construct their own views and beliefs, seemingly unaware of the vast treasure of past teaching on these matters from Church Fathers and others. Often time, when down in the details, these new beliefs are either simply wrong or both wrong and dangerous.
The path is, I think, the orthodox become uneducated, and lose sight of traditions. Then they become merely conservative, holding on to those things they remember from growing up. Then, when they are interested in deepening their spirituality, they are available for whatever comes along that feels right. Maybe it is some modern evangelical with their own ideas. Worse, is someone who has discovered, for instance, that Zen has these disciplines focused on enlightenment, and off these Christians go to pursue non-Christian religions. We are left with folks like those at Grace. Well meaning, but effectively non-Christian.
He was seated at a table enjoying dinner, and being asked about his parish. When probed on the subject of the Lenten program at St. Michael's, he stated that we were studying spiritual disciplines (I'll get into that later). Someone asked him what those were, and he indicated things such as prayer and fasting. The response? "Oh, you're studying Zen"
His response, as I understand it, was akin to "huh?", which would pretty much be my reaction. A bit more transpired, but the upshot was that these people, some, if not most, who were life-long Episcopalians, had no idea that things like prayer and fasting belong to the long history of Christian orthodoxy, and to Jewish orthodoxy before that. In fact, the practices predate Zen, as Zen, or the Japanese form of Buddhism dates only back to the 5th century.
Of course, as we've discovered during our study, even the conservative members of our own orthodox parish, are not necessarily familiar with these practices and the long history they have. I suspect, and actually have suspected, that this lack of knowledge about historical Christianity, and failure to pass along the traditions, have created a religiously illiterate generation. This illiteracy then leads to a situation where people can be led astray because they understand something to be missing from their spiritual lives, but never realized that it has been available all along. We've had two years of Lenten programs now which rely on pop Christian authors who, themselves, are just beginning to discover the very principles which governed Christianity through most of its first two millennia. They go on to construct their own views and beliefs, seemingly unaware of the vast treasure of past teaching on these matters from Church Fathers and others. Often time, when down in the details, these new beliefs are either simply wrong or both wrong and dangerous.
The path is, I think, the orthodox become uneducated, and lose sight of traditions. Then they become merely conservative, holding on to those things they remember from growing up. Then, when they are interested in deepening their spirituality, they are available for whatever comes along that feels right. Maybe it is some modern evangelical with their own ideas. Worse, is someone who has discovered, for instance, that Zen has these disciplines focused on enlightenment, and off these Christians go to pursue non-Christian religions. We are left with folks like those at Grace. Well meaning, but effectively non-Christian.
Posted: Tue - February 22, 2005 at 02:09 PM
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Published On: Dec 28, 2006 09:23 AM
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Published On: Dec 28, 2006 09:23 AM