Flashing Back

I think maybe it’s turning 50 that makes one reflect on the journey trod thus far. But whatever be the case, I’ve been thinking back on my life’s twists and turns of fate. As I’ve noted in a previous post below, from my pristine experience of Jesus and his message I was gradually co-opted into a fundamentalist mentality for a couple of years in my late teens and early twenties. I can remember the article that started me on the path to question my adopted fundamentalist foundation, it was entitled, “The World’s Most Dangerous Book” by Alan Watts, 1973.

You can read Watt’s article online here.

Alan Watts, that renegade Anglican priest who became the apostle of Zen to the west. I’ve googled that title and it’s ironic how many fundamentalist authors have used the same title to defend their conservative positions about the Bible. Watt’s article while still controversial has many themes that resonate today some 32 years later. In fact his article echoes many of the themes and issues of “emerging” blogs that I read. What really strikes home to me in this article is the distinction Watts makes regarding the religion of Jesus and the religion about Jesus.

My reaction today, to this distinction, is that following God in the way of Jesus is not seeing these two aspects as an “either-or” choice, but rather seeing them in creative tension without one over emphasizing the other. I think his criticism of the modern church as having a preoccupation with the religion about Jesus still holds merit.

While there is much that I can agree with in this article, there is also some that I do not, and some that leaves me scratching my head and wondering about.

I hope you enjoy it.