SUNDAY LECTURE | Dr. Jim Bankston - Theological Foundations

ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life

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Summary of Ordinary Life for July 23, 2023

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Dear Ones -

I am trying an experiment. Though Ordinary Life is available here, on Constant Contact, and we have an outstanding website - thanks to others - and can be found on Facebook and Twitter, I have little or nothing to do with any of these - except, of course, providing content.

I have decided to join Threads and post there. Thanks to Wayne Herbert for helping me get setup. I am going to be the only one posting to this media.

It is a “work in progress” and we’ll see how it goes. I won’t overwhelm but will provide different content and updates than you will find on the other media for Ordinary Life . If you want to “follow” get the Threads app and look for “ordinarylifehtx”

This week in Ordinary Life Dr. Jim Bankston taught. I have a deep love, appreciation, and respect for Jim. He has set a tone and direction for St. Paul’s for which we are all grateful.

I took some notes on what Jim offered. He talked about the theological foundations for both God and humanity that can be found in the first eleven chapters of Genesis. He spoke about what sets these particular chapters apart from others that we have and how the faith community created the Bible and not the other way around.

H selected four stories to illustrate the themes of boundaries, transgression, consequences and grace. The stories he used were those of Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, the flood story, and the story of the Tower of Babel. He ended up applying these to our contemporary setting with a special focus on how in picking Abraham to communicate how people were to live, God was choosing migrants.

Both the video and audio will be posted some time this week. When they are, I encourage you to listen or to watch them. It will be worth the time spent.

I had asked Jim to teach because I gave the sermon in both services at St. Paul’s. The text of the sermon can be found using the links below.

That’s a brief summary of this week’s time in Ordinary Life.

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

To read or download the text of the sermon “Everyone Belongs,” click here.

In order to view the announcement slides, click here.

To listen to or download today’s talk by Rev. Dr. Jim Bankston, please use the audio player link below.

To watch the video recording of today’s talk, use the YouTube link below.

WEEKLY PODCAST | In Between.134

It’s been a while, y’all!

This week the script got flipped. Holly told some (ahem…) bad jokes and asked Bill a bunch of questions about embodiment, religion, and healing. In the Western Context of White Protestant Christianity (and I’m only speaking to my formative experience), the body is often minimized if not seen as downright evil. (Thank you, Augustine!) However, an integral lens of both psychology and spirituality attempt to bring together the mind, body, and spirit as a complete whole. The body is our vehicle for presence, experiencing the here and now, and recognizing ourselves as harmed or healed.

A disconnect from the body ties into fears and misconceptions about death and life after death. Of course, none of us really know about life after death, but I wonder if the greatest celebration of God isn’t through our very earthly, very human, very embodied selves? More to come on this topic. It was good to be back in conversation after some weeks off! Thanks for listening.

SUNDAY LECTURE | Can We Leave The Past Behind?

ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life

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Summary of Ordinary Life for July 16, 2023

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Dear Ones -

“Can We Leave the Past Behind?”

That is the title I gave to the talk I offered in Ordinary Life this week.

All religions are human constructs using the symbol system of the culture in which they are created. Religions are designed to provide security and, after their creation, are used for control. The problem is that the heart cannot worship what the mind rejects. In this talk I offer a brief history of how the funeral business came into existence in this country.

No one becomes holy through fear nor is human wholeness the result of good behavior. The goal of religion is not to prepare us for some “after life” but to equip us to live, love, be honest, and be free now. I tell of an experience that illustrates my current belief in “eternal life.”

That’s a brief summary of this week’s time in Ordinary Life.

The audio version of the talk has some significant differences from the text I spoke from. 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

In order to read or download the text of the talk, click here.

In order to view or download the presentation slides, click here.

In order to view or download the announcement slides, click here.

To listen to or download the audio recording of today’s talk, use the player below.

To watch the video recording of today’s talk, use the YouTube link below.

 
 

SUNDAY LECTURE | What Good is Prayer If There is No God "Up There"?

ORDINARY LIFE - Thoughts and Ideas to Help You Live a Happier Life

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Summary of Ordinary Life for July 9, 2023

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Dear Ones -

The talk I offered in Ordinary Life this week is divided into two large parts.

The first part is more like a graduate level seminar in the history of recent biblical and theological scholarship that set the stage for the current era of “theological deconstruction” we are in. I mention a lot of scholars, mostly German, and a lot of books. It is not necessary or expected that you read them but I do believe this information needs to be a general part of your “religious literacy” education.

The second part enters territory that begins to explore how we can practice prayer or “the presence of God” in a time when we have moved beyond theism. The title I gave the talk is -

What Good is Prayer If There is No God “Up There”?

That’s a brief summary of this week’s time in Ordinary Life.

The audio version of the talk has some significant differences from the text I spoke from. 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

In order to read or download the text version of the talk, click here.

In order to view or download the presentation slides, click here.

In order to view or download the announcement slides, click here.

To listen to or download the audio recording of today’s talk, use the audio player below.

To watch the video recording of today’s talk, use the YouTube link below