I have begun work on a series of essays on the subject of fidelity. The basic thesis is that of Hebrews 11:1, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." What has mystified me is the "true believer" form of conviction that makes rigid affirmation as if it is a destination. "I believe." But faith, in my limited experience, is a point of departure. "I believe, so."
It may be that the reason that American Protestantism, and now Catholicism is so pugnacious and sterile is that there is a willingness to arrive at conviction, but not at dialogue. It seems to me that the route through the bankruptcy of our present faith climate is somehow tied up with the recovery of mystery at the heart of faith. So, I will be pursuing the mystery at the heart of seven lifegiving capacities (with which I hope to supplant the seven deadly sins.) Here is a preliminary agenda of essay titles
The Mystery of the Person
in the flesh
in nature
in conversation
The Mystery of a People
as strangers
as understanding
as pilgrims
Where Mystery is met
at table
The aim will be to reframe the way we do our faith from a problem/solution frame that is the prevailing frame used in our culture to a mystery/capacity frame, one that searches for openings onto divine life in the context of our humanity.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment