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Contemplative tradition is shaping the emerging church
by Tom Roberts on Sep. 18, 2009
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Albuquerque, N.M. -- Franciscan Fr. Richard Rohr is the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation and Action in Albuquerque, NM. Rohr believes that the contemplative tradition, the third of what he describes as four pillars of the emergent church and his point of entry into the discussion, is precisely the sort of tradition that allows one to see "with a different set of eyes" and perhaps shift the focus a bit.
The great mystics such as Teresa of Avila or John of the Cross, he said, "in their own way are saying that the lowest level of consciousness is 'either-or, us or them.' As you advance, you become more 'us and them,' not 'us or them.' You see things non-dualistically. That's going to be the more important thing that I would like to communicate, that really another word for contemplation is non-dualistic thinking.
"That's what makes people able to be merciful and forgiving. You can't love your enemies with a low-level dualistic mind. It's impossible," Rohr said.
Read the full story here: How you get there
"Contemplation?"
"Contemplation?" Contemplation of what, precisely, Fr. Rohr?
Contemplation of EVERYTHING -
Contemplation of EVERYTHING - of God, of Life, of Persons, of Love - that IS the contemplative life - a going deeper into all of life and seeing the Holy Spirit there. And, I might add, contemplation (or nonduality - however you prefer to think of it) takes us beyond contentiousness!
If Christianity has a
If Christianity has a non-gnostic, non-monist equivalent to adviatic non-dualism (which has its roots in Hinduism and later on in the reformed Hinduism called Buddhism) I'd love to know what that is.
It is possible to read Jesus saying "The Father and I are one" by retrojecting some kind of non-dualism on to it, but I doubt there is any room for such retrojection when reading Sacred Scripture in its social and cultural context.
Rohr has simply discovered Zen. If Zen is what you want then practice it. Just don't call it Christianity.
What was the whole idea
What was the whole idea behind 'love your enemies' if not to remove the
'us' vs 'them' mentality of dualism?
Coleen, I don't know. You
Coleen, I don't know. You tell me what the phrase "love your enemies" means in a 1st century, Mediterranean, peasant (and in Jesus context) semetic culture? It may be meant to remove the us vs. them mentality of dualism. Then again, it may not. Time to find the recent scholarship on this phrase, eh?
From Dionysius the
From Dionysius the Areopagite, one of the most influential Christian mystics, ca. 500 C.E. (part of a long tradition of non-dualistic Christian thinkers): "God is uniquely all things through the transcendence of one unity and he is the cause of all without ever departing from that oneness. Everything, and every part of everything, participates in the One. The one cause of all things is not one of the many things in the world but actually precedes oneness and multiplicity and indeed defines oneness and multiplicity. That which is many in its parts is one in its entirety." (From the Divine Names, ch. 13).
Here are some paraphrased
Here are some paraphrased Merton words on duality:
October, 1968. “You have to see your will and God’s will dualistically for a long time. You have to experience duality for a long time until you see it’s not there. In this respect I am a Hindu. Ramakrishna has the solution. Don’t consider dualistic prayer on a lower level. The lower is higher. There are no levels. Any moment you can break through to the underlying unity which is God’s gift in Christ. In the end, Praise praises. Thanksgiving gives thanks. Jesus prays. Openness is all.”
(David Steindl-Rast, citing Merton in conversation, in "Thomas Merton, Monk: A Monastic Tribute", p. 89)
IAM "all of the above"
IAM "all of the above" (smile); former Roman Catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, New Thought, New Age, etc. etc. etc. Father Rohr eloquently puts into words all that I know to be true. Thank you, Tom, for this article.
Just more typical 1960s-era
Just more typical 1960s-era tripe. I wouldn't trust anything from a priest who has nude male "initiation" ceremonies out in the woods. No wonder the Catholic Church is as screwed up as it is.
It is always surprising or
It is always surprising or perhaps alarming to find how little contemporary Christians know of their ancient heritage and faith tradition. Contemplation has been a practice, or rather a gift, since the early days of the faith. To be a Christian Contemplative is not going off course; it's not dabbling in some new age movement; and it's certainly not jumping ship to another religion. It is going deeper into God, not by faith but by gift.
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