Some Voices Within

Moments ago a small group leader was in the office asking permission to photocopy a handout I’d distributed at our prayer retreat last fall, hoping to give it to her group as they discussed prayer in the first chapter of Asphalt Jesus. Considering that I had just received an email from a congregation member seeking to do the same thing, I thought I’d post that handout for anyone who wants to use it. Feel free to distribute it however you like. The handout elaborates on my reference in Ch 1 to the many voices that seek to weigh in with their opinion at our inner table.

SOME VOICES WITHIN
Based on a compilation by Rev. Bruce Van Blair

There are only nine here, but you no doubt have others:

1) THE PARENT (conscience) Stern disciplinarian; you should be more compassionate and considerate of others. Jiminy Cricket – “Let your conscience be your guide” (sorry, but I believe in God)

2) THE FREE-CHILD (creative, but not very responsible or realistic)

3) THE PEER GROUP (popularity) Co-workers – friends – best friend – spouse – children – respected sibling

4) THE PRAGMATIST (security – survival – here and now) Practical, worldly-success advisor
Logic – common sense – “As far as I can see . . .” (How far is that?)
Boss – lawyer – financial planner – business associate

5) THE PESSIMIST (shadow – life negator – destroyer) Accuser – guilt producer
You’re no good – nothing works, or lasts – it isn’t worth it

6) THE HERO (idealist) Who are your heroes?

7) THE ACCUSER/SATAN (The Ventriloquist – The Liar – The Short-Cut Artist)
Satan can imitate the wording, but not the tone, of the Spirit’s “voice” – that is, patience
and affirmation and comfortes would give away the false note in what Satan is doing
Satan cannot mimic the Holy Spirit very long – cannot be calm, quiet, with your deepest
spiritual self-interest at heart, getting you in tune with God
If Satan pulls that off very well – he’s working against himself
Best not to get too stuck or too fascinated thinking about Satan
Do not “fear” Satan – fear God! The fear Satan of is the beginning of all foolishness.
Show a little disrespect

THE HOLY SPIRIT
God’s appeal is deep and clean and “good” – hard maybe, but beautiful
It is calm – reassuring – no guilt or fear that is not “situation reasonable”
“Who do you most want to please?”
Who is your audience?

9) THE TRUE SELF (identity of what you will become – “Higher Mind”) Soul – will
You are born with more than you realize (wisdom – archetypes – identity – purpose)
But you have to find it – call if forth
Education for techniques and information – Prayer/meditation for wisdom and truth

Our object is to get the True Self (higher mind – will – soul) into the chairperson’s seat – and keep it there.  You cannot control the Holy Spirit, or decide when or what the Spirit will communicate.  The Soul within will listen – and respond – with much comment from the other voices at times.  But if you put your True Self in charge, and get to know, appreciate and respect the other voices, and listen to them but not let them control or bully you, that is what you can do.  The rest is up to the Spirit.

Remember:  You cannot pray or “know God” above the level of your own self-awareness.  To know thyself and to develop spiritually is the same path.  You must spend some time alone, in reflection, on a regular basis, if you want to make friends with yourself.  And if you do that, you will also encounter the One who made you – and Who knows who you really are, and what you are here for.

“the ancient testimonies which we call scripture”

This evening a very good question came in from one of our small groups, which I’ll try to answer below.  Here’s the question:

Hi Eric,

Our group met Wednesday evening and have a question. what is the reason for how the following was phrased?

“…studying the ancient testimonies which we call scripture”

The reasoning behind this wording is that those who contributed to the Phoenix Affirmations were coming from the perspective that the scriptures are not the literal, inerrant Word of God.  Rather the scriptures are “words about the Word.”  That is, the scriptures contain words that bear testimony to people’s experience of God in the world, rather than containing God’s actual words themselves.  This does not in any way denigrate the value of the scriptures.  Rather, it increases scripture’s value, freeing its message from being locked in the ancient world so that it may confront and inspire us in ever new ways.  Let me explain:

In the middle of the last century, theologian Karl Barth once offered a helpful metaphor for the relationship between the “words of scripture” and the “Word of God.”  He said that reading the scriptures is like standing in a basement with an upper window above one’s head that looks out onto the street.  From your vantage point in the basement, you can see people walking by, but can’t see anything above the them, like the sky.  As you observe this window, you notice that suddenly people are quite excited. They are scurrying about, then congregating in one particular spot and pointing up toward the sky in the same direction.  They see something magnificent above them but you can’t make anything out.  Instead, you can only overhear their excited chatter.  Each person is describing what she or he sees in different ways, though it is clear that everyone is seeing the same thing.  They’re simply responding to the sight of something quite foreign by describing it terms that are familiar to them, using categories that reflect their particular social, historical and cultural context.

As readers of scripture, we receive the testimonies of the ancients regarding their experiences of God much like someone standing in that basement room.  While the terms the ancients used to describe their experiences may be colored (and sometimes even warped) by their social, historical, and cultural context, this does not mean their experiences aren’t real.  Our job as modern readers of scripture is to try to understand the ancient context as best we can so that we can retranslate their experiences into terms that are more familiar to us, in our particular context.  In every age, therefore, interpreters of scripture have sought to retranslate the anceint testimonies into their own world, thereby renewing the “words about the Word” in every generation.

Finally, by using the phrase “which we call scripture,” we were trying to signal that many testimonies exist regarding authentic experiences of God – ancient and modern – that never made it into the Bible.  Yet we call this particular set of testimonies “scripture” (those contained in the Old and New Testaments) because they have proven themselves to be particularly effective, generation after generation, at pointing people toward where God may be found in their own lives.

I hope this is helpful.  Keep those questions coming!

- Eric

Thoughts on Chapter 1 (Affirmation 2)

Hello, Asphalt Jesus readers!  This blog is intended to be a resource for small group participants and leaders who are making their way through Asphalt Jesus.  Here, you’ll find:

• Weekly information and/or reflections relating to each chapter that aren’t contained in the book.
• Extra ideas for discussion topics (Be sure to check out the book’s Study Guide as a primary resource for questions.)
• Posts and discussion from small group participants and leaders.
• Logistical information for leaders.

I am planning on posting at least once per week, usually by the Friday BEFORE the chapter comes up for discussion.  So check back regularly, and please know you are invited to POST QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.  I’d love this to be a place of active discussion and two-way communication.

Do note that on the Right Hand side of this blog there is a section called Categories.  Using Categories, you can isolate all material in the blog that has been tagged as engaging a particular chapter in Asphalt Jesus or Phoenix Affirmation.  Sometimes, for instance, I or someone else may post something we’ve found that pertains to an Affirmation that won’t be covered in the book for several weeks.  We’ll tag it accordingly so that when you want to find material on that Affirmation you can simply do a Category sort and find everything in one convenient place!

Now, on to Chapter 1 ….

I have thought long and hard about this particular chapter, and must confess to having some regret about how I started the book.  I think the opening story about how the walk came about works well enough and is important to include.  However, I think that I spring the topic of prayer/meditation on people a bit too quickly.  I’m afraid Chapter 1 might scare some people off who aren’t already comfortable with spiritual practices, or who think the whole book is going to be asking them to do stuff.  To be sure, I’m hoping people will do all kinds of things as a result of reading the book, but I think Chapter 1 is the most demanding in this sense.  So if you get scared, keep reading!

 

If you’re looking for something extra to ponder this week with respect to Chapter 1 (in addition to the Study Guide questions at the back of the book), here are a couple things that come to mind:

• One very brief quote that has had a major influence on my life is this one by Helen Keller:  ”Security is mostly a superstition.  It does not exist in nature.  Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.  Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”   To what extent have you found this to be true in your life?  To reservations do you have about embracing it, if any?  Where have you benefitted from risking yourself?  Where have you lost something?  What lessons did you learn?
• A poem by David Whyte comes to mind when I think back to that fraction of a second in 2004 when the vision of the walk came to me.  Perhaps it will resonate with you and your life:

Revelation Must Be Terrible – David Whyte

Revelation must be

   terrible with no time left

to say goodbye.

Imagine the moment

   staring at the still waters

with only the brief tremor

of your body to say

   you are leaving everything

and everyone you know behind.

Being far from home is hard, but you know,

   at least we are exiled together.

When you open your eyes to the world

you are on your own for

   the first time.  No one is

even interested in saving you now

and the world steps in

   to test the calm fluidity of your body

from moment to moment

as if it believed you could join

   its vibrant dance

of fire and calmness and final stillness.

As if you were meant to be exactly

   where you are, as if

like the dark branch of a desert river

you could flow on without a speck

   of guilt and everything

everywhere would still be just as it should be.

As if your place in the world mattered

  and the world could

neither speak nor hear the fullness of

its own bitter and beautify cry

   without the deep well

of your body resonating in the echo.

Knowing that it takes only

   that one, terrible

word to make the circle complete,

revelation must be terrible

   knowing you can

never hide your voice again.