Today, I was thinking about the spiritual journey a number of us went on in a study group during my last two years as a minister at St. John's Uniting Church, Neutral Bay (Sydney). The journey can only be followed by looking back.

There was no strategic plan to cover all the books listed below, there was no predetermined destination, no outcomes or key performance indicators. Rather it was a journey of exploration, leading from one book to another, like island hopping as we ventured further and further out to sea away from our port of origin. 

Along the way not only did we read books, we met Brian McLaren in person in North Sydney, watched Pete Rollins on Vimeo, had a Skype session with Samir Selmanovic from New York and we often saw Reza Aslan interviewed on ABC (Australia). We were enriched by the journey and very challenged by it.

It made me realise that just there is always more to learn about the people who inhabit this planet, the need for a just an equitable world in which to live, an ability to include one's 'enemies' as well as one's 'neighbours', to learn from all people, to really question the way we do 'our religion', to make meaning for today, to live in the present moment, to live without fear, that there is always more to learn about that whom we call God and lots more. One major thing it taught me is that there is a depth of faith to discover beyond the religious harbours we seek to find safety in. 

I have included the books, authors and some web links below.

Everything must change: Jesus, Global crisis and a revolution of hope’ by Brian McLaren http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/books/brians-books/

‘The secret message of Jesus’ by Brian McLaren http://www.brianmclaren.net/

‘The fidelity of betrayal: towards a church beyond belief’ by Peter Rollins http://peterrollins.net/

‘It’s really all about God’ by Samir Selmanovic http://www.samirselmanovic.com/

‘No god but God’ by Reza Aslan http://www.rezaaslan.com/nogodbutgod.html

Fundamentalism, Poverty and Education

In our study group we're just finishing off reading 'No god but God' by Reza Aslan www.rezaaslan.com and have been thinking about the relationship between fundamentalism, poverty and education.
One way fundamentalism seems to thrive is amongst people who have been impoverished by non-democratic government and denied access to basic secular education, while at the same time receiving an overdose of narrow religious dogma. Reza Aslan says that the more we try to forcefully stamp out fundamentalism, the more it will grow and if we ignore it, it will take over. So what alternatives do we have?
I'm wondering whether lifting poverty levels and increasing education availability would help to diminish the supply of people fundamentalist groups seek to recruit? How can we, as nations looking in on situations where human rights and democratic
government are denied, assist in raising poverty levels and access to education?

Violence and Religion

I spent most of the day making notes for our study group on Reza Aslan's book 'No god but God: the origins, evolution and future of Islam'. This week we are reading chapter seven which is entitled 'In the footsteps of the martyrs'. The chapter is a summary of Shi'ism from its origins in bloody and tragic circumstances to the revolution in Iran and the war between between Iran and Iraq during which tens of thousands of children were killed as martyrs, thus the title of the chapter 'In the footsteps of the martyrs'.

In December, North Sydney Council is holding an Interfaith Forum on raising awareness of issues of violence in the home. In preparation a few of us had a discussion during the week and we talked about how biblical texts can be used to trap women within the cycle of violence. One such text being: 'take up your cross and follow me'. Some women have applied this text to themselves or have it applied to them by male church leaders in such a  way that they regard having to live with a violent partner as being the cross they must bear as a good Christian and their lot for life.

When we men (male religious leaders) allow this to happen it is like we are allowing Christ to be crucified twice (to speak in theological terms) or in non theological terms that we men are not taking responsibility to let other men know in the strongest terms possible that violence against women and children in any form is wrong and totally unacceptable.

Violence and religion has had a long history and much human violence is attributed to God. Shall we continue to go along with the status quo, the acceptance of the relationship between violence and religion or shall we in all religions reject violence as attributable to God and dare to question our own interpretations of our sacred texts?

Jihad - just war not holy war

According to Reza Aslan the doctrine of jihad differentiated between rules for warfare pre-Islam and under Islam, the difference being that there were categories of people one was not allowed to kill women and children, monks, Rabbis, the elderly and any other non-combatants and there were rules on torture, treatment of dead bodies, rape, property, prisoners etc which have become incorporated into modern international laws of war.

A just war was in response to injustice, a response to the aggression of others and never instigated by a follower of Muhammad.