On this thanksgiving day, I wish to express my gratitude to all who have participated in this weblog during its first months. Thanksgiving is an act of acknowledging something good for which others are responsible.
Values, as we are normally busy with them are material and intellectual/cultural. One way of expressing the goal of this philosophy is that we become better able to discern the gleam of divine truth, beauty, and/or goodness in these everyday activities, so that we approach ever closer to a life that is continuously in touch with these spiritual values.
For example, we choose foods with an eye to our health. When we step back a moment and reflect on the significance of having a healthy body, we realize that the body is the organ of the will and the field of sensory receptivity, informing us of our material surroundings. A healthy body better supports the mind which hosts the spirit presence of the eternal God. The body is the temple of the spirit. And this is true of our brothers and sisters around the world. We care not only about our own health but also about the health of others; and now we recall that we and they are members in the family of God. That the Creator has designed evolution so that we imperfect creatures, called to perfection, have a role in that very process. How glorious that we can participate! How glorious that there is a will of God for us!
Rick Warren joined with prominent medical experts to co-author a book titled The Daniel Plan, a book that brings together science and spirituality. I am proud of a spiritual leader who has the courage to face a personal problem, one shared by millions of others, and to lead people forward with honesty and integrated wisdom. He is clear that this is not simply about intelligent food choices plus will-power. He puts food in the context of faith, fitness, focus, and friends.
Seeing divine value potentials in a material or intellectual problem transforms experience. It’s not a quick fix, but it does empower progress. Even a good idea, by itself, lacks power. But we can hold that good idea up to God and look for that idea to be vitalized with value. Divine truth, beauty, and goodness are all implicit in the love of God. Feeling that—as most or all of you already know—brings us to a place of warmth and strength. There we are surrounded by love. We are ready to make your philosophically wise decision, integrating a scientific understanding of fact and a spiritual understanding of value. And we can continue to enjoy those insights as we carry out our decision. Philosophical living, I now realize, is not just about making wise decisions and following through. It is about shaping our experience after the decision by sustaining that integrated consciousness as we live out our wise commitments.
Again, thanks to each of you who have visited this site since its inception earlier this year. We have been gloriously been blessed by comments from many of you. During the previous months, I have set forth rather systematically a seven-stage path. My intention was to provide a resource for your own projects in living truth, beauty, and goodness, a resource that might serve future visitors, as well. That work, in essence, is now done.
The next post will start the transition to the next phase of this weblog.
Jeffrey,
I enjoyed meeting you at the Open and Relational Theologies session!
Tom
Tom, thanks for your greeting!
For those unfamiliar with Thomas Jay Oord, let me say that he is among the very top circle of religious philosophers in this world who writes about love. He is a scholar in the best sense, bringing clarity, breadth, and depth to his topics. He has been a leader in improving our understanding of love for a long time, bringing a wonderful humanity to his written communication. Meeting him in person was even more vital and rewarding.