Dear Folks -
Several years ago I heard some late night comic on television observe, "The Christmas decorations are up. That can only mean one thing. Thanksgiving is not far behind."
It seems the Christmas decorations are up earlier and earlier in our culture - especially in the temples of our cultural religion - the shopping malls.
I love Christmas but the way it is approached in our culture causes people to buy into the notion of optimism rather than hope. Optimism and hope are very different.
The "life talk" I offered this week is called
A Muscular Hope
In the talk I try to say why it was that the Jesus movement grew to the point that early in the fourth century it was made the official religion of the Roman Empire.
The full text I used to speak from is below.
Much love,
Bill Kerley
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Read moreDear Folks -
At the beginning of this week's "life talk" in Ordinary Life I showed some prayer rugs from Turkey and Iraq. They fit with the Sufi story I opened with. You can find photos of them on the Ordinary Life web site.
The title I gave this talk is "Bound For Freedom."
The word "bound" can have at least two definitions. "Bound" can be tied up or it can mean headed determinedly in a specific direction. I used it in both senses of the word. If we are to achieve the freedom that wise and useful religious ritual and spiritual practice intends, some things must be tired up so that we can achieve freedom.
The full text I used to speak from is below.
Much love,
Bill Kerley
Click here to download audio
Click here to download .pdf copy of talk
Click here to download .pdf copy of slides
Read moreDear Ones -
This week the title of my "life talk" is
Unmasking Inconsistency
No one of us likes to have attention called to the fact that we "say one thing and do another." The harsher form of this would be to call someone a hypocrite.
Yet, this is precisely one of the functions of a spiritual teacher. Not constantly, of course, or soon that teacher would have no students.
This unmasking of inconsistency is certainly something Jesus did and it is, in the end, why he was executed. The powers that were didn't like what he said about them.
In talking about this matter when we gather Sunday I'll also be dealing with the question, "Did Jesus really perform miracles?" (At least we'll begin that discussion.) My intention is to begin with a minor "miracle" of my own. If you are late, you'll miss it.
I hope, if you are in the Houston area, to see you this week in Ordinary Life.
Bill Kerley
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Read moreDear Folks -
In my "life talks" I continue to work my way, passage by passage, through Robert Funk's version of the Jesus story. This week's reading raised for me the importance of making wise and useful decisions in the realm of our spiritual and religious work. I began by talking about the difference between a religion and a cult and then moved on to clarify the difference between spirituality and religion.
We are constantly making inevitable choices about what gives our lives meaning. I want to help raise the matter to a high level of consciousness.
The passage also contains the line "a house divided against itself cannot stand." The divisions and divisiveness that exist in our culture and our world stem from the inner fragmentation, numbness and withdrawal we are constantly tempted to fall into by our culture. I also speak to this and the need for psychological integration.
The full text I used to speak from is below. So also is an announcement from the Ordinary Life finance committee.
Much love,
Bill Kerley
Click here to download text 20111106.pdf
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