So I have noticed that there are two ways that people refer to God’s name ….
Are these the same? I feel order matters and they are not. But would be very interested in more intellectual views!
To be honest, I cannot recall. I am not big on gathering with other people for anything. So …
The real question is what do I like to do in my city?
Drink coffee, listen to music, and read a book. I like the cafe experience. And this city has lots of places to drink coffee.
To be honest, I would like to be forgotten. Is that a super power?
Why? Not sure.
What are your favorite brands and why?
Is Jesus a brand?
The closest brand that I am associated with is Anglicanism. I cannot technically be an Anglican – that is, I cannot be on an electoral roll (very long story for another day).
My association with the brand is via the Book of Common Prayer. Not the newer versions. The 1662 version that is still the benchmark. I use it for my daily prayer and sometimes for the occasional offices.
Why? It has been part of my life for so long. And I am too old to change.
I am also an iSheep!
List the people you admire and look to for advice…
So I am hoping not to repeat myself. Yes, Jesus. But also (in no particular order):
Do you vote in political elections?
In Australia, where I happen to live, everyone over 18 must vote. Either you vote (and, yes, they check your name off from a list) or you get a fine.
So I vote without any passion for the political system.
Hear me out!! What if all the reforming movements (within Christianity around the world) have themselves fallen into the worst heresy of all? Christendom needs reforming. But Christendom is not Christ.
Not faith, not works, not right doctrine “save”. Only Jesus!!!! And Jesus is not an idea, not a book, nor a doctrine. Jesus is a person. A person who seeks an encounter with me, not an experience. No institution can give me that encounter since it is fundamental personal and individual. Jesus calls me. Jesus calls you. It is Jesus and the individual! Anything outside of that is heresy. Anything apart from the person of Jesus is not relevant.
So let me ask a question (for a friend): can a heretic be saved? Or, using Kierkegaard’s questions, what is better: a heretic with passion or christendom without passion?
A couple additions to the blog:
Precepts, duties of life according to the BCP summarised by Bishop John Cosin.
Life in the Desert, Chapter 6 of the Life of St Mary of Egypt – a snapshot of early monasticism.
What gives you direction in life?
Not a what but a who: Jesus. The encounter with the eternal in the temporal and the infinite in the finite.
