Monthly Archives: June 2022

Engage: What Do We Do with Evil? #5

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Steve Harper

Read: “The Hidden Places of Deadness” In the chapter entitled, “The World, the Flesh, and the Devil” Rohr introduced the threefold paradigm that describes how evil exists and acts. In this chapter he uses the paradigm again, this time to … Continue reading →

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Along the Way: Full-Spectrum Reality

Posted on June 23, 2022 by Steve Harper

If you have followed my writing here on Oboedire and elsewhere, you know that I have found the song “Deep and Wide” to be one of the best ones for understanding the spiritual life. Many of us learned the song … Continue reading →

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Engage: What Do We Do with Evil? #4

Posted on June 20, 2022 by Steve Harper

Read: “We Are All Profiting from and Complicit in Evil” I want to begin this week’s post by saying that I enjoyed being with fifteen of you in the Zoom meeting last Friday. I am glad we have made these … Continue reading →

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Along the Way: Oppression in Operation

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Steve Harper

I occasionally write that my Sociology major in college has served me well over the years, providing insight into my second major, Religion. At the time I graduated, I had no idea how both would interact to enrich my faith … Continue reading →

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Christ: Christ is In All #2

Posted on June 16, 2022 by Steve Harper

“The Ultimate Integration” The phrase “the hidden Christ in all religions” is sometimes used to describe Christ’s presence in religions other than Christianity. But Paul’s words do not speak of hiddenness, but rather about revelation. We see the essence of … Continue reading →

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New UMC: We Believe!

Posted on June 15, 2022 by Steve Harper

As the new UMC emerges, I look forward to being part of a denomination that conjoins belief and practice, faith and form, message and method to “serve the present age” in a mission that makes disciples of Jesus Christ for … Continue reading →

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Along the Way: What About the Bible?

Posted on June 13, 2022 by Steve Harper

A review of Church history reveals that when critical issues emerge in the Church, alongside the particular topic is the larger matter of the inspiration and authority of Scripture. [1] Some groups claim they are “biblical” and allege others are … Continue reading →

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Engage: What Do We Do with Evil? #3

Posted on June 13, 2022 by Steve Harper

Read: “Paul’s Spiritual Genius” Much of the spiritual life is paradox. A major one is that we find life through death (John 12:24). Necessary suffering and disorder clean the lens of our vision, enabling us to see clearly. For Paul, … Continue reading →

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Christ: Christ is in All #1

Posted on June 7, 2022 by Steve Harper

“All Means All” Christ is in everyone and everything—no exceptions, from the smallest particle to the farthest star. John put it this way, “Everything came into being through the Word” (John 1:3). Nothing and no one excluded. We do not … Continue reading →

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Engage: What Do We Do with Evil? #2

Posted on June 6, 2022 by Steve Harper

Read: “The World, the Flesh, and the Devil” This short chapter is packed with insight. Taking the threefold paradigm of historic moral theology, Rohr sets the trajectory for what he develops in the rest of the book. When the world, … Continue reading →

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Along the Way: Oneness & Oneing

Posted on June 5, 2022 by Steve Harper

The Day of Pentecost is often called the birthday of the Church, and there is a sense in which that is true. More on that below. But a look at the text itself (Acts 2:1-21) shows that it was the … Continue reading →

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