Ask the Bishop:


Q: I've really been intrigued by Deepak Chopra's The Third Jesus. I noted your comment on the book jacket. I do hope you will soon devote one of your letters to your thoughts about it.

A: I have never met Deepak Chopra, but we have corresponded and I have read his books and listened to him speak on C-Span. I was pleased to endorse his last book, The Third Jesus. It is a sensitive treatment of Jesus from one outside the Christian and Western traditions and I believe helps to move religion itself out of its tribal past and into what must surely be a universal future.

It is my conviction that the rise of a destructive fundamentalism in Christianity, Islam and Judaism as well as among the religions of the East is a necessary phase through which all of us must go before we break out of our limited religious boxes to embrace a new consciousness. Those threatened by the future that they cannot yet embrace have retreated into the religious certainties of the past. That is almost always a prelude to a new breakthrough.

Chopra writes from the perspective of tomorrow and he invites us to step into his vision. I would welcome people within Christianity who want to do the same thing.

– John Shelby Spong

Putting this link in the Religious topic section because that is what this is about. The Hadron Collider is a brain child of a self proclaimed atheist, Peter Higgs. To his great dislike, the thing that he is looking for from the experiment to be started Sept. 10th, tomorrow, (The Higgs Particle)... has been referred to as 'The God Particle' . It's what holds the entire universe together.

Some think when the collider is begun tomorrow on its multi-month long journey to find the 'God Particle', it will alarmingly start black holes somewhere along the way. (Stephen Hawking for one.) But Hawking thinks they will immediately disappear. Let's hope they do!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/sciencephysicscernbritainhawking

quote:

Originally posted by Nard Kordell:
In the most complex scientific experiment ever undertaken, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will be switched on Wednesday, accelerating sub-atomic particles to nearly the speed of light before smashing them together.

They're gonna blow us all up!

Atheists.

Doug Spaulding~

A little more info on my blog (scroll down a bit passed the Chicago murders copy).Tho it was switched on in August, the actual experiment just begins tomorrow.

http://catchaway.blogspot.com/2008_06_29_archive.html

First prelim-test yesterday was successful on the Hardon Collider. A bit more info:

The Hadron can push particles up to the speed of 670 Million Miles per Hour. Or about 7 times around the world every second. At that speed, just think, a spaceship traveling at 670 Million MPH would still take 4 years to reach the nearest star.

CERN, the project name, is a French acronym for European Organization for Nuclear Research.

What was the last big invention/discovery at CERN? Tim Berners-Lee of CERN invented the World Wide Web (WWW.)

Only 4% of the universe is visible. Hadron hopes to break thru this invisible matter and make it visible. Also they hope to discover an additional 5 - 7 dimensions. And of course the God-Particle!

80,000 computers working on the info derived from the Hadron Collider will take until the year 2010 to provide pertinent information.

quote:

Originally posted by Nard Kordell:
What was the last big invention/discovery at CERN? Tim Berners-Lee of CERN invented the World Wide Web.

No, that was Al Gore (I mean President-elect Gore).

quote:

Only 4% of the universe is visible. Hadron hopes to break thru this invisible matter and make it visible. Also they hope to discover an additional 5 - 7 dimensions. And of course the God-Particle!

Looking for God, are they?

quote:

Originally posted by Doug Spaulding:
Ask the Bishop:


Q: I've really been intrigued by Deepak Chopra's The Third Jesus. I noted your comment on the book jacket. I do hope you will soon devote one of your letters to your thoughts about it.

A: I have never met Deepak Chopra, but we have corresponded and I have read his books and listened to him speak on C-Span. I was pleased to endorse his last book, The Third Jesus. It is a sensitive treatment of Jesus from one outside the Christian and Western traditions and I believe helps to move religion itself out of its tribal past and into what must surely be a universal future.

It is my conviction that the rise of a destructive fundamentalism in Christianity, Islam and Judaism as well as among the religions of the East is a necessary phase through which all of us must go before we break out of our limited religious boxes to embrace a new consciousness. Those threatened by the future that they cannot yet embrace have retreated into the religious certainties of the past. That is almost always a prelude to a new breakthrough.

Chopra writes from the perspective of tomorrow and he invites us to step into his vision. I would welcome people within Christianity who want to do the same thing.

– John Shelby Spong

per the above J.S. Spong posting:

CODSWALLOP!!

Codswallop is a good word.

I thought the world was going to end soon. Thank ye, Judge!



http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-science/20080929/Particle.Collider/

Thank ye indeed! And thank ye Bishop, for your words of wisdom.

Ask the Bishop:


Q: Why is the current Catholic Church position on transsexualism so dreadful, so lacking in compassion?

A:The Catholic Church, like most religious bodies, is in an inner struggle between the values of yesterday and the rising consciousness of a changing world. Because that church is also autocratic and allows so little dissent, it is very difficult for them ever to change their thinking until new truth is so established in the world at large that their position becomes embarrassing. It was not until December of 1991 that the Vatican announced that they now believed that Galileo was correct. This was only 50 years after human beings had launched space explorations, which were based on Galileo's insights. Similarly this is why their stated opinions on birth control, the role of women and homosexuality are, as you say, so lacking in compassion and dreadful.

On the other hand their attitudes toward capital punishment, war and the need to care for the poor are sometimes far more advanced than what one finds in Protestant fundamentalism.

No one can fully escape the culture and ideas that form a particular age. The rise in human consciousness toward such things as war, the role of women and homosexuality is never implemented at once by all. It grows, beginning with a single protest, until it becomes a heresy, then a movement and finally a reformation. It then becomes a new orthodoxy equally resistant to change.

You serve the Church well when you raise uncomfortable questions. I hope you will continue to do so.

–John Shelby Spong

Douglas isn't this more likened to what the original version should have been??


Thank ye indeed? And thank ye Bishop, for your words of wisdom? No way! Read on:

Ask the Bishop:


Q: Why is the current Catholic Church position on transsexualism so dreadful, so lacking in compassion?

A:The Catholic Church, with antagonistic radical groups infiltrating them like most other religious bodies, is thus in an inner struggle between the proper values of yesterday and the demented consciousness of a changing world of godless morality. Because of the Catholic church's faith in an unchanging God, the noisy dissent in the church over moral matters is very difficult for the dissenter to ever change the thinking of the church. When new so called truth emerged by radical extremism is established in the world at large, so that the position of the Church becomes embarrassing, will be the same day my Uncle's dairy cows sprouts wings and fly over the silo and into the sunset. Even tho this is fundamentally incorrect, it's popular to say that not until December of 1991 that the Vatican announced that they now believed that Galileo was correct. This was only 50 years after human beings had launched space explorations, which were based on Galileo's insights. Similarly this is why their stated opinions on birth control, the role of women and homosexuality are, as you say, so lacking in compassion and dreadful. It doesn't matter what scripture says about the matter, but think of the telescope, of Galileo. So what! So what that this has nothing to do with the Bible,

On the other hand their attitudes toward capital punishment, war and the need to care for the poor are sometimes far more advanced than what one finds in Protestant fundamentalism.

No one can fully escape the culture and ideas that form a particular age. The rise in human consciousness toward such things as war, the role of women and homosexuality is never implemented at once by all. It grows, beginning with a single protest, until it becomes a heresy, then a movement and finally a reformation. It then becomes a new orthodoxy equally resistant to change. Striking passages from scripture and revising the words of Christ is necessary if there is to be a fundamental change in the minds of the new truth seekers. Striking away offending passages that prevent the sinner from truly being free in regard to law, is important. There is no sin, in reality. No hell. It is important to be aware of this fundamental new truth.

You serve the Church well when you raise uncomfortable questions. Unfortunately, yours are more like stupid and fundementally skewed. I hope you wake up and do so soon!

–John Shelby Spong

quote:

Originally posted by Phil Knox:
...isn't this more likened to what the original version should have been??

No.

Well done there, Philster!
[pssst! Just in case you didn't notice, Doug thinks he's more evolved/enlightened than you (as does patrask), so bear that in mind when you respond.]

Mr Trask, we're being talked about over here in the orange crop.

Thank ye Bishop, for your words of wisdom.

Ask the Bishop:

Q: Because the Bible was written by men, isn't it rational to consider that much of the Bible, handed down thru the centuries, is a poor facsimile of the original, and that there is not much truth in it to begin with, even if we had the originals?

A: There is very little in the Bible that offends me because it was originally written by humans like you, like me, who tried their best to put down what they thought would be inspiring. I applaud their effort. Unfortunately, thru the ages, their writings have gotten watered-down to the point that what we now have is just a transparent image of commands and laws and fabled stories that have very little bearing on the reality of today. What I have proposed is that we start afresh with the realities of humankind today! Not to assume and rewrite what has gone before, but write anew the reality we have to deal with and live with each and every day. Of course, the assumption of sin is ludicrous, the assumption of a heaven, or a hell, is presumptuous. The ideal of morality flies in the face of what we see happening each and every day. The ten commandments handed down by Moses (and there is no proof Moses ever existed) is a list of things that, for the most part, scrub like a heavy caustic cloth against the free spirt of mankind. This all must change. I am a free spirit. I believe we are all free spirits; and laws that hinder that belong in the trashpile of antiquity.

--Bishop John Shelby Spong

(This Q&A version is an assimilation of reconstituted Spong verbiage, put into a special syntax-blender and thus producing a puree of the essence of what is actually being said, in order to produce a clear and accurate understanding of the Bishop's terminologies, thoughts and motives.)