ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life
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Summary of Ordinary Life for May 21, 2023
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Dear Ones -
Next week in Ordinary Life I want to respond to questions/comments you might have about recent Ordinary Life presentations or anything else that is on your mind. You can do that, if you wish, by clicking here. Roddy Young is going to dialogue with me next week. Should be loads of “the unexpected.” Also, I’ll be preaching at both services next Sunday at St. Paul’s.
This week we called the time -
A Journey of Radical Amazement
As far as I can see into the future, I will focus my teaching on three things: an evolving understand and involvement with “God,” with “the Self,” while walking a path illuminated by the life and teachings of Jesus. Along the way we may hit speed bumps or take detours.
This is what happened to me this week when someone sent me information about the death of Timothy Keller asking if I had ever heard of this remarkable person. I had not but endeavored to find out. I discovered that Keller was a gracious, charming, highly educated person who had started and grown a church in Manhattan that had a weekly attendance of over six thousand. He also wrote a score of books. I bought a couple of them and began reading. Keller is a very conservative (women in his church cannot serve in positions of leadership) and has a huge following. My ongoing concern about the growth of “Christian Nationalism” and how Keller and his ilk fuel this movement led me to thinking about “black holes.”
Holly Hudley, who gets her Ph.D. this Friday, knows so much more about this than I do so I asked her to bring her insights to bear and she did - in her usual wonderful way. The phrase “radical amazement” comes from Abraham Heschel. We are called by Jesus to a journey where we are not in control.
That’s a brief summary of this week’s time in Ordinary Life.
You can find the text of the talk, the presentation slides and the audio version of the talk using the links below.
Our podcast, “In Between,” can be accessed through the Ordinary Life web site.
If you would like to know how to make a contribution to Ordinary Life, click here for video instructions.
Be well and much love,
Bill Kerley
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