Session #6 of Questioning Christianity

Session #6 of Questioning Christianity is on the 18th August (next Tuesday) at Brookfield, 7:30-9:30pm –

“I don’t believe there’s ‘a God’ anymore” – Faith Journeys Beyond Theism
 
Many Christians, including eminent church leaders and prominent theological thinkers, have come to a position in their personal faith journeys that discards theism, i.e. the notion there exists an entity or being called God. One such well-articulated position, known as ‘panentheism’, is described cogently by, for example Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong:
and theologian Marcus Borg:
This a-theistic position in fact shares a lot in common with the views of prominent ‘atheists’, such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hichens in that neither believe in a theistic ‘God’ or ‘gods’. Furthermore, both perspectives choose to find meaning in the ground of being (more explicitly ‘nature’ in the case of Dawkins) for the purposes of constructing a personal, subjective understanding of existence. (Spong and Borg, alternatively, choose to label this ground of being as ‘God’).
Perhaps it is time for Christianity to leave behind the simplistic illusion of God as a personified being – or accept that this is merely an optional step among many within one’s personal faith journey – and begin a truly constructive discussion with other ‘atheists’ about how we experience meaning and being, and choose to live our lives accordingly?
Furthermore, perhaps it is paradoxical and ridiculous to attempt to discuss the objective reality of God, in the same way we consider the objective, scientific, material reality of the mass of an apple or the charge on an electron? Instead maybe we are attempting to navigate territory that has nothing to do with objective reality at all, but instead speaking to the nature of being as experienced by conscious beings, and how we as those those beings choose (via an act of faith, where matters of objective proof are irrelevant) to construct subjective meaning?
Got a point of view on this you’d like to share, or want to hear what others think? Come join us next Tuesday evening at:
7:30-9:30pm, 18th August
The Brookfield Centre
139 Kenmore Road
Kenmore Hills 4069
Enquiries: Leighton Brough

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