RE: [TruthTalk] God in our unconscious

[ShieldsFamily]

So well put, Bill. You have a gift for that. I think your “theological instinct” is what I mean by direct revelation from the Holy Spirit. He gives you this thought/idea/concept and then elaborates upon it. Then you realize that it was stated, in one way or another, in scripture all along—you just never saw it quite that way before. And you are also right—words fail to express the fullness of the meaning.   One thing I like about Scott Peck is his absolute transparency about his own spiritual quest. For him, Buddhism was one step along the path to real Truth. He says if he hadn’t learned the concept of “paradox” from Buddhism, he could never have ultimately embraced Christianity, which is full of paradox.  I enjoy watching spiritual growth—at whatever point it is. Peck has not yet “arrived”, just like the rest of us. We Believers are all on our own spiritual paths towards Jesus, helping each other as we go along, cheering one another on, gently helping each other up when we stumble. (If we are walking in love.) I really like Peck’s explanation of the Stages of Faith. Izzy   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Wm. Taylor Sent: Friday, March 26, 2004 11:45 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] God in our unconscious   Izzy,   Have you ever treaded glass so as to stay away from stickers? I did not really know what to do with Peck. As I said, I am not all that familiar with him. I wasn't aware of what Judy shared, for instance. However, I have been misunderstood enough times to know that I should extend to others, whether it be Peck or pelicans, the opportunity to plea. Nuance is necessary if we are going to actually have a living language. Without nuance words become redundant and reductive; they lose there punch. Context is so important, too. I just can't stress enough (nor with you do I feel the need to) that words mean things imbedded in context. They're loose and perverted when flopped and hopped from bed to bed. Sherrie used the word "contextualized" to make a very valid point. I appreciated her for that. And so I did not want to fall out of bed, nor did I feel happy snuggling up to what he said. Thank you for giving me something more through which to begin to understand him. I appreciate that.   Theological instinct is kind of like what happens when you begin to know things about God that are not explicitly stated in Scripture. Yet they are as true as if they were. An example of this is in the Greek word perichoresis. The word itself means something like "about the dance" or "concerning the dance." The early church borrowed this word to speak to the interaction between the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit. The Bible never actually or explicitly describes that interaction in terms of a dance, but the church saw the give and take, the lead and follow, the love and appropriateness of the closeness of the Father - Son relationship, and likened it to the beauty of dance. That's pretty cool I think. Perichoresis can also mean something like "about the choir." Think of the beauty and the harmony of voices coming together make a distinct sound; then think of the equally beautiful sound of distinct voices emerging to take the lead from time to time. They saw this in that Triune relationship. I think that's helpful; I think that's saying something as true as if it were Written. I think that's pretty cool. That's theological instinct -- knowing more than we can say.   Thanks,     Bill ----- Original Message ----- From: ShieldsFamily To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, March 26, 2004 9:44 AM Subject: RE: [TruthTalk] God in our unconscious   Bill, In later books Peck makes it clear that when he wrote “The Road Less Traveled” he was just about to come to know the Lord.  He wasn’t quite there yet, but very close. (Amazing how much wisdom he wrote at that point, before knowing Christ personally). I was just wondering if Peck’s “unconscious” is the same as your “spiritual instinct”. Izzy   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Wm. Taylor Sent: Friday, March 26, 2004 8:50 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] God in our unconscious   "Then he goes on to explain that this is what we term the presence of the Holy Spirit."   Izzy, I am not familiar enough with Peck to have much more than an elementary appreciation for what he is saying. If he goes on to nuance his words and attach them to a biblical-language type indwelling of the Holy Spirit, I would be able to say, Oh I get it. Right on. As they appear in this short quote, if I were being brutally honest and forthcoming, I would have to say that his words move me closer to a feeling of pantheism than I am happy going. Again, though, before I should want to conclude that this is indeed what he is doing or saying, I would want to know how he nuances this language with Scripture. Is that okay?   Bill   ----- Original Message ----- From: ShieldsFamily To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, March 26, 2004 6:53 AM Subject: [TruthTalk] God in our unconscious   Bill,   The picture you drew about God’s beauty brought tears to my eyes—so true! What do you think of M. Scott Peck’s words in “The Road Less Traveled”?---   “If you want to know the closest place to look for grace, it is within yourself. If you desire wisdom greater than your own, you can find it inside you. What this suggests is that the interface between God and man is at least in part the interface between our unconscious and our conscious. To put it plainly, our unconscious is God. God within us. We were part of God all the time. God has been with us all along is now, and always will be. “  Then he goes on to explain that this is what we term the presence of the Holy Spirit.   Izzy     Think with me for a moment about instinct, things that we know but cannot explain. How does a baby know to suck upon her mother's breast? How do we know to close our eyes when something is hurled at us? How do we know when we've seenthe beauty of a sunset or a rose or a bably calf running in the springtime with its head down and its tail straight up behind it, that God is wonderful, that God is beautiful, that God is good, that God is love? How do we know that a thought is placed in our mind by God and did not originate from within us? These instinctive-type disclosers are relational, I believe, because we are created in the image of a relational God, a Triune God who is One by way of relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.   When I think about defining "relationship" with the Lord, I want to leave room in my explanation for these theological instincts, awarenesses of God in the presence of which I can only marvel. I also want tobe humble enough to remember that I know more than I can say. Relationship is fellowship with the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. It is participation in the Truth, the Creator of reality -- Existence himself.