n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 5
principles that matter. They acknowledged the kind of toolbox for dealing with
life issues that graduates can get from any school. But they showed how it is
dwarfed by the spiritual tool box provided by the Academy – “a spiritual GPS
to guide you through this life and the next.”
Looking at the teachings of the Church – and New Church education – as
the antidote for so much that ails the world, it is easy to get discouraged that
our mark and our influence still seem so small. But the Lord is leading the
establishment of His Church on earth through His love and providence. Our
task is to serve that vision with trust, faith and a commitment to do whatever
we can. These schools may be small, and some even struggling for survival, but
they are absolutely unique in the world and so are invaluable.
So why New Church education? Because it is not about making shoes. It
is about making angels.
(BMH)
organized religion
Many people view “organized religion” negatively, but still value “spirituality.”
Given the much-discussed defects of churches and their leaders, this is quite
understandable. Organized religion does indeed have its problems. And it is
relatively easy for an ideal like spirituality to keep its good reputation; it’s when
people get together and form an organization to make the ideal more of a
presence in the world that things tend to get messy.
But the fact remains that spiritual love and wisdom, the essentials of
spiritual living, seek expression in uses; and uses need organization to give
them form and effectiveness.
Spirituality needs organized religion for the same reason a person’s spirit
needs a body. Spirituality without an organized body to give it form is likely to
be as elusive and short-lived as a will-o’-the-wisp. Individual spirituality needs
to be supported, stimulated and augmented by association with others. Just as
physical training is aided by gym membership, so spiritual training is aided by
church membership.
This is why, throughout human history, people have formed religious
organizations to represent and nurture their spirituality. Thomas Merton, for
example, one of the 20th century’s greatest writers on spirituality, practiced his
spirituality (including Zen meditation) while living as a monk in a monastery
run by the Catholic Church.
The Dalai Lama is another example. He is revered as a paragon of
spirituality, but he did not leave his monastery in Tibet, the organizational
center of Hinduism in Tibet, voluntarily. And his spiritual work ever since
being driven out of Tibet has certainly been organized.
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