Blog - Brian McLaren

5 Ways of Connecting in January 2024

January 4, 2024

Happy New Year, everyone! This will be a year of big challenges and big opportunities to grow in wisdom and courage.

Here are five opportunities you might be interested in this month:

Christ Church, St. Simon's Island: I'll be sharing on Four Stages of Faith Development at 6 pm. Details here: https://www.ccfssi.org/visit.html
Southern Lights: January 12-14 in St. Simon's Island, GA (or streaming to a computer near you): https://southernlightsconference.com/
Charlotte, NC: iCU talks, January 20 ... I'll be speaking on mental health and contemplative spirituality. Info here: https://www.icutalks.org/event-details/speaking-community-event-3
Watershed Church, Charlotte NC, January 21 ... join us on Sunday morning at 10 am. Info here: https://www.watershedcharlotte.com/main-gathering
Webinar on Life After Doom, January 23, 8 - 9:30 pm. Feeling overwhelmed by the challenges we face? On January 23, I'm offering a preview of my upcoming book ... Register here: https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/classes/life-after-doom/

by Brian McLaren

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The brave and brilliant Matthew Foxes raises some questions …

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December 9, 2023

The brave and brilliant Matthew Fox raises the following questions for the anti-gay wing of the Catholic Church. I'd say they are equally appropriate for Protestants to consider:

You can read his original post (with illustrations and links) here: https://dailymeditationswithmatthewfox.org/

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Since Jesus never once talked about homosexuality, it seems strange that you consider it a pillar of your faith. Where do you get your sureness buttressing your homophobia?

Doesn’t your certainty about gay morality closely resemble the certainty of the inquisitors in the 17th century who knew for certain that the sun moves around the earth?

How is religion’s response to the subject of homosexuality any different from religion’s response to the Copernican and Galilean scientific discoveries?

The church was proven wrong over 400 years ago, and when Pope John Paul II finally apologized in the 1970’s, he said the church had learned its lesson about listening to science. Why is the church again rejecting science when it comes to homosexuality?

Have you studied the document published in 1973 from the American Psychology Association making clear that homosexuality is part of human diversity and about 8-10% of any given human population is going to be gay?

How can you persecute 8-10% of the human population therefore?

How many among you are self-hating gays?

Doesn’t this impede spiritual leadership, since Jesus taught to “love your neighbor as yourself”?

Psychologist Erich Fromm explains that the psychology behind fascism is self-hatred. Does your support of authoritarian politicians derive from self-hatred?

Do you saddle up with billionaire types because your often bankrupted dioceses (that are bankrupt because you chose to cover up sexual abuse rather than expose it) need their money?

Why do you think your desire to limit women’s right to choose what is best for their bodies should take precedence in the presidential year of 2024 over the survival of the planet as we know it?

Have you read Pope Francis’s two encyclicals on Climate Change and the talk he gave (via a surrogate because he was ill) at the current COP gathering? Why does the future of the planet not factor as priority #1 for presidential election year 2024?

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Here is a link for the two encyclicals Matthew Fox mentioned:

Laudato Si: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html

Laudate Deum: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/20231004-laudate-deum.html

Readers may also be interested in this related encyclical:

Fratelli tutti: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html

And here is a link to reporting on Pope Francis' message to the COP gathering in Dubai.

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/find-breakthrough-pope-francis-sends-message-un-climate-summit-2023-12-02/

by Brian McLaren

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Happy Thanksgiving, 2023!

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November 23, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

This table grace has been meaningful for me for the last few years:

For this breath, for this heartbeat

For this meal with these companions

For the web of life of which we’re part

We give thanks with all our heart.

For sun and rain, for soil and season,

For ocean, mountain, forest, meadow,

For the web of life of which we’re part

We give thanks with all our heart.

For all to whom this food connects us

From field and farm to store and table

For the web of life of which we’re part

We give thanks with all our heart.

For bread and wine upon this table

For this deep mystical communion

For the web of life of which we’re part

We give thanks with all our heart.

This beautiful Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving address is also one of my favorite guides for gratitude.

https://americanindian.si.edu/environment/pdf/01_02_Thanksgiving_Address.pdf

Here is a simplified version of this beautiful address that could be of value at your dinner table today or any day. A reader can lead, and all can respond to each line with "Now our minds are one."

We bring our minds and hearts together as one, in thankfulness for the beauty and harmony of creation and in commitment to live together in beauty and harmony.

We give thanks to and for the Earth who sustains us like a mother and fills us with joy, for rock and marsh and mountain and meadow and desert, for the miracle of soil, and all the mysteries among which we walk every day.

We give thanks to and for waters ... cloud, mist, spring, stream, river, ocean ... for water is life.

We give thanks to and for all plants ... all so beautiful, all so essential to life, and many important for food and medicine for us.

We give thanks to and for trees ... these tall standing brothers and sisters provide for us in many ways, and we depend on them and enjoy being in their presence, as they inspire us to understand we are all part of one tree of life.

We give thanks to and for the fish who depend upon clean and healthy waters for life, just as we do.

We give thanks to and for our siblings the birds whose colors and songs and deep wisdom teach and inspire us every day.

We give thanks to and for all other animals, our neighbors and siblings, who teach us and help us in many ways and with whom we share the gift of life on this beautiful Earth.

We give thanks to and for the four winds, the four seasons, for thunder and rain and snow and all weather, for tides and darkness and light, for the moon and stars and the sun. They are beautiful and their majesty humbles us, and without them, we could not survive.

We give thanks to and for enlightened teachers, past and present, who teach us to live in harmony, who warn us when we are wandering from the wise path, and whose words and example are great gifts from the Creator.

We give thanks to and for our family, friends, neighbors, and all people who walk in peace and join us in a spirit of love and gratitude, and are mirrors to us of the Creator's joy, goodness, and love.

Finally, we bring our minds and hearts together as one to give deep and sincere thanks to the Creator, the Great Spirit, present in all for which we are grateful, and we send greetings and thanks for all the gifts of Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on this Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator.

by Brian McLaren

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Israel, Hamas, humanity, decency, and escape from cycles of violence

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November 17, 2023

So many have had so much to say about the catastrophe unfolding in Israel/Palestine.

Some of what I hear or read feels like it will only intensify the conditions that lead to cycles of hate, fear, and violence.

That's why it's so important to point out positive examples that point a way beyond the current agony. Nobody can say the perfect words, the one magic thing that will fix everything ... but thank God for people who speak words that reject violence, not just by "them," but also by "us."

Here are some of the voices that have felt liberating and healing to me ... even in the midst of great pain:

This, from Kari Stover: https://medium.com/@karistoever/from-fear-to-tears-the-path-to-peace-eeaa9b9f9834

This, from Valarie Kaur: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyYtgGjRBi9/

A series of statements from the rabbis of Truah: https://truah.org/about/press/

A statement from Palestinian Christian leaders: https://www.kairospalestine.ps/images/Joint_open_letter_Kairos_SA_and_Kairos_Palestine_-_final.pdf

This poem from Naomi Shahib Nye: https://poets.org/poem/gate-4

Here's a piece I wrote for St. Anthony Messenger: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit-blog/beware-the-contagion-of-war/

And perhaps this song, sung by two of my granddaughters, will speak to you as well:

by Brian McLaren

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Ordering my two most recent books for groups …

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November 16, 2023

If you are leading a group study of Faith After Doubt or Do I Stay Christian?, the best way to order multiple copies is through Porchlight. They offer significant discounts:

Faith After Doubt
https://www.porchlightbooks.com/product/faith-after-doubt-why-your-beliefs-stopped-working-and-what-to-do-about-it--brian-d-mclaren/isbn/9781250828378

Do I Stay Christian?
https://www.porchlightbooks.com/product/do-i-stay-christian-a-guide-for-the-doubters-the-disappointed-and-the-disillusioned--brian-d-mclaren/isbn/9781250262790

I'll post information about my May 2024 release, Life After Doom, when it's available.

by Brian McLaren

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