Strand One : A New Spirituality
Introduction
The point about the new spirituality which is difficult to grasp and needs time to appreciate is that it involves a changed sense of self, that is, a new sense of “who I am” and “why I am.” This new self-awareness will be a step beyond what would be considered normal by almost everybody, but if the argument is valid, it will eventually become a new normality.
Our sense of identity is changing from birth, the first major step being when the child gets its first awareness of being a person in its own right, as it learns to speak. This is manifested in the so-called “terrible two’s”, when the once obedient infant starts to say, “No”, and keeps on saying it – to everyone’s exasperation. That is its primitive way of asserting an independent self. A second universally experienced step occurs in adolescence, when we make the critical transition from the dependent child-self to independent adult-self. Adolescence is an awkward time because we have had no practice at being an adult, so we tend to form little like-minded gangs, often with a shared sense of being at war with our parents and with society in general. Transition to the new spirituality will follow a similar pattern as we grow into a new adult maturity. There will be a confusion of identity, as in adolescence, a desire to go into a new and unfamiliar world of independence is mixed up with reluctance to leave the old world of security and independence. The challenge for the spiritually hungry today is to move forward into an unfamiliar other-centred existence, while clinging to a familiar self-centredness.
That “other” is the creating power, in itself, and as manifested in other people and in nature. Its evolutionary significance is well expressed in the following quotation
God does not evolve - not because God is stagnant but because God IS, always fully in the eternal NOW. It is we who are evolving in consciousness, in our understanding of our place in the historical and physical totality of creation.
Our perception of God evolves as we evolve and as our God-human relationship evolves. This evolution took a great leap forward when humanity emerged from a state of pre-consciousness into a state of self-consciousness and it is now, I firmly believe, making another great step forward, rising to a state of super-consciousness in our own times.
Adrian Smith,
The God Shift: Our Changing Perception of the Ultimate Mystery
We are called to develop what Teilhard de Chardin called the noosphere - the "layer" of consciousness around the planet above the biosphere. It is we who take the earth from being Gaia, a self-regulating organism, to being a conscious planet. John Wheeler expressed this fact whimsically as a universe which had developed a seeing eye.
It is more than this, however. It is perfectly possible that the evolving human species - with you and I playing our part - give consciousness to the whole galaxy - though this is not certain. Could any vision be grander than that.
I have suggested that the little used terms entheism and entheist be pressed into service to identify this new form of spiritual empathy. Entheism is, like panentheism, a belief that the divine is in all things, but implies more than belief or theory. An entheist is one whose life is centred on seeking unity with this power, and who sees the purpose of his or her life as helping to understand and fulfil the great plan of evolution. Of course, those who think there is no plan will regard such an assertion as potty. So it all comes down to faith in the end, but not blind faith – anything but blind.
From an evolutionary as well as religious perspective, entheism takes on a huge significance once it appreciated that this is critical decision now facing the human species. While all other species evolve blindly, humans are uniquely able to determine their future evolution, within limits, and the future of the planet now depends on what we now decide we want to be. Entheism makes us acutely aware of out role as co-creators, which is no longer a trendy buzzword in religious circles but a lifelong calling.
This part of the website has been the most difficult to construct, partly because the ideal of oneness has been taught for centuries, but only for those rare individuals whom we label mystics. Entheism is mysticism for the average person with a sense of spiritual need. Important as understanding the ideal may be, knowing how to attain it is even more important. It must be a Way for our time, as Buddhism and early Christianity once saw themselves as the Way. What demands a new approach is that a spirituality for our time will depend upon finding a dynamic balance between individual and community.
Here are some of my writings and talks on the new spirituality. Click on the title to open the document (PDF format).
Essential Christianity
The first part of a talk given to CANA – Christians Awakening to a New Awarenesss – at the Birmingham University Chaplaincy, Dec. 5th, 2006.
Summary: What we call Christianity began as a Jewish reform movement, then morphed into a new religion with huge evolutionary significance, centred on Jesus, “the new man”, before becoming frozen in its present mythological form. Is it possible today to separate the evolutionary dynamic from the myth?
Updating Faith, Hope and Charity
Originally published in the Quaker weekly “The Friend”, September 2001.
Summary: Faith, hope and charity were once inspiring words for Christians, but blind faith, hope without certainty and a love as cold as charity are no inspiration today. We need new words to convey a deeper understanding of the insight and emotions that fired the early Christians and gave birth to a new civilization.
The Spiral of History
Part of a paper, “From Network to Community,” prepared for the Living Spirituality Network, and not yet published.
Summary: Evolution follows a spiral path, rediscovering old truths as it goes higher. The spirituality revolution of our time will find that in rejecting outworn doctrines, it will gain deeper insight into the enduring truths that have given life to religion in the past.
Called to a New Understanding
Originally an address given at the Unitarian Church, Blackpool, June 2003.
Summary: We tend to forget the part of the great commandment that Jesus taught, where he says, “Love God with all your mind.” If authentic spirituality is concerned with intelligent love of the creating power, it cannot distance itself from science, which is telling us new stories about the universe.
Cosmotheology
Originally part of a talk, “After Einstein,” given in September 2005 at the Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford University, to the Science and Religion Forum.
Summary: Cosmology is now revealing information about the origin of our universe that constitute a new creation story, and thus has something of vital importance to say to religion. If we really do have reliable knowledge about the process of creation, we must surely have new knowledge about the Creating Power.
Chemotheology (Neurotheology)
Extract: Chemotheology may be considered a branch of neurotheology, especially where it deals with neurotransmitters, but has its own independence insofar as it focuses attention on the glandular system of the body, especially the endocrine system, where most of the chemicals that influence consciousness originate, Whether viewed as a free-standing discipline or not, it takes its place within a new systematic theology that is now emerging in our scientific culture.
Spirituality With and Without God
Expansion of a talk given to Yorkshire Branch of the Scientific and Medical Network, York, June 2, 2007.
A poem.