"Blessed are the curious, for their curiosity honors reality.
Blessed are the uncertain and those with second thoughts,
for their minds are still open.
Blessed are the wonderers, for they shall find what is wonderful.
Blessed are those who question their answers,
for their horizons will expand forever.
Blessed are those who often feel foolish,
for they are wiser than those who always think themselves wise.
Blessed are those who are scolded, suspected,
and labeled as heretics by the gatekeepers,
for the prophets and mystics were treated in the same way
by the gatekeepers of their day.
Blessed are those who know their unknowing,
for they shall have the last laugh.
Blessed are the perplexed,
for they have reached the frontiers of contemplation.
Blessed are they who become cynical about their cynicism
and suspicious of their suspicion,
for they will enter the second innocence.
Blessed are the doubters, for they shall see through false gods.
Blessed are the lovers, for they shall see God everywhere." BM
I finished the book on November 11. I have enjoyed journalling through this book. Brian takes us on a journey that in a way is just reminding us that we are all on a journey already. He is just helping us move forward as is the design of nature. We were not meant to stay still but to continue and to discover beyond what we were given and handed down from our ancestors. As we grow as humans we have our own story that needs to be incorporated into the story of life. I started this journey in Simplicity, moved through Complexity and find myself somewhat lost in Perplexity and yet longing for Harmony.
Brian shares this "benediction" modelled after the Beatitudes and it was such an encouragement for me. I want to print it off and hang it on my office wall.
At the end of each chapter, Brian gave some questions that helped make this journey personal for me and that helped me to process where I was and gave me some hope that I could find some "Faith after Doubt" and it didn't have to look like what I had, but in fact was a beautiful new space where I could rest with the unknown and yet embrace the Creator that seems to still be there though the tumultuous journey.
I will pick three questions and my responses to those questions. This book became personal because I was invited to delve into my own soul as learn from not just Brian McLaren but others that he invited along on the journey.
How did you relate to Rob’s and Hannah’s stories? BM
The following quotes from Rob and Hannah I resonate with.
Rob: “It’s strange,” he said. “But to the degree I stare into the abyss and accept the inevitability that I will someday die and the possibility that humanity will eventually go extinct and our little human DNA story will be over forever, to the degree I face this without trying to suppress it, candy-coat it with some beliefs, or fix it with some dogma, something happens. I stop trying to explain away all the pain in the universe and my life. I stop having some ironclad explanation for everything, and I admit that I don’t know. I feel less and less like I’m trying to play God and have all the answers, and I feel more and more like the tiny human being I actually am.”
Hannah: “I feel like I’ve lost faith,” she said, protest sign raised high. “Faith in God, faith in humanity, faith in government, faith in markets … it’s all gone.” She made a gesture with her free hand to indicate her faith had vanished in a puff of smoke. “I’ve even lost faith that my research will make any difference, or that marching and protesting will make any difference. I’ve reached the depressing conclusion that the world runs on money, not wisdom or common sense or justice.”
"How do you respond to my conviction that, in spite of all their problems, faith communities still have a vital role to play in our world?" BM
I agree with the premise that we can't get rid of religious communities and organizations… but not for a lack of wishing we could one day. But that is just my perspective. I wish we could see all walls down, but that doesn't mean we have to stop with how we process the world. Can we still hold our beliefs and perspectives of how this planet operates and not have the borders that separate us?
"Do your best to put the ideas of dualism and non-dual or post-dual consciousness into your own words." BM
I like jigsaw puzzles. They come in all different sizes, but I have never seen a puzzle with just two pieces. The smallest children's puzzle I have seen still had four pieces. Life is a puzzle and to imagine it being less complex than a toddler's jigsaw… that doesn't make a lot of sense. Right now I am working on a 2000 piecer… and that doesn't seem as complex as life. Maybe some things in life can appear simple and dualistic, but even looking at the simple things, one can find more than one way to address them.
For example: I am thirsty. Dualism says either drink this or die. Non dualism asks "What do you want to drink… there are countless ways to quench your thirst."
Thank you Brian McLaren for taking me and so many others on this journey of understanding and hope. I don't think I ever wanted to abandon the idea of faith or the hope of what is beyond me to see and know and comprehend in this world. I just wanted it to make sense. I just wanted it to be real.
Like you, I am an Enneagram 4. I want my journey to be authentic and I want to matter for who I am as me. The biggest struggle I have is that my journey of discovery will hurt the people I love. I grieve when that happens. You have opened up the world of possibilities to me. I can continue on and discover who I am and discover a faith beyond what I was given that is real to me and still embrace the Creator that gives me air to breathe, people to love and a beautiful world to play in. I don't have to know everything, or even know anything to embrace a "Faith beyond Doubt". Faith doesn't require knowledge, it gives hope. What a beautiful thing. Thank you so much.
"The road to faith after doubt is often lonely. But beyond the loneliness, you discover a place of solidarity where everything is sacred and everything belongs, including your doubts and including you. " BM
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