Current debates over “traditional religion” sometimes track partially with ecumenical dialogue between Mennonites and Catholics. The following blog by University of Dayton theology professor Jana Bennett may therefore be of interest to Bridgefolk.
I’ve been reading a lot lately around the blogosphere from people who find themselves at odds with “traditional Christianity,” by which seems to be meant “the version of Christianity I grew up with.” One of the most interesting is here at Rachel Held Evans’ blog: Kim Van Brunt describes leaving traditional worship services, in part because she felt the traditions themselves – the bulletins and Wednesday night prayer services and so on – were stilting her family’s ability to hear and live the gospel. Many of the commenters complained that she seemed to be advocating a church of one, an individual’s paradisaical version of Christ’s body – so before readers here jump to that conclusion, let me just say that in her own response to the comments, she now belongs to what would probably be called a “house church” – an informal gathering of people meeting to support and witness to each other.
There are others feeling compressed by “tradition”. One of the big ones, of course, is the viral video “Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus” which was followed up with numerous posts about being spiritual but not religious. In another vein, there have been Catholics thinking through the contraception debates in relation to feeling like the “hierarchy”. In still another vein, members of the “emergent church” who feel that “traditional” forms of Christianity are increasingly irrelevant. Continue reading ““Spirituality versus Religion: Or maybe it’s not new….” commentary by Jana Bennett”
The American Benedictine Academy has chosen as the theme of its 2012 annual meeting, “Seek Peace and Pursue It: Monasticism in the Midst of Global Upheaval.” The conference will be held at St. Scholastic Monastery in Duluth MN. Bridgefolk board member Weldon Nisly will be one of the featured speakers. (Those planning to attend the Bridgefolk conference in Minnesota in late July should note that the ABA conference is the following weekend, approximately three hours away.)
A keynote address by Br. Jeffrey Gros, FSC, to the 2011 National Workshop on Christian Unity last May has recently come to our attention. In it he called attention to the use of footwashing at a historic service of repentance and reconciliation, in which representatives of the Lutheran World Federation confessed 16th-century persecution of Anabaptists as a sin. This “icon” should serve as a model for planning similar commemorations as Christians around the world mark the 500-year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017, he said.