New Reformation: "Smart with a Heart"

Rehabilitate the Intellect:

Get the Brain out of the

Broom Closet!

And I am not talking "Heart-Math" here. That increasingly popular, quasi-scientific, flavor-of-the-month might be another good subject to discuss later...

The intellect needs to be rehabilitated in New Thought Christian literature and studies. Athough some of the founding fathers and mothers of Practical Christianity cautioned against or flatly rejected intellectual pursuits in spiritual studies, we've come a long way since then. The time has come to take the brain out of the broom closet. It's time to admit that Plato, Jesus Christ, Thomas Aquinas, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin were right when they called upon people to use their minds in pursuit of spiritual truth. (After all, it is called New Thought, not New Feel.)

Just as 21st century science has come a long way since Myrtle cleaned her closet of the snake oils and impotent potions of 19th century medicine, so has biblical scholarship, systematic theology, theological ethics, pastoral studoes, and the sociology of religion come a long way in over one hundred years. We know more about the historical Jesus today than people knew in the second century, and the questions being asked by biblical scholarship do not begin with the assumption that the Bible was channeled from heaven to automatic-writing prophets and brand-name apostles. Modern Bible scholarship begins with the frank admission that people wrote the Bible. Ordinary folks, too. Real people who argued, had axes to grind, and had points of view to push. And here's where biblical studies gets exciting: They had some lovely disputes. If you knew how Matthew's school of thought (whoever he was) and Luke's school of thought (ditto whoever) felt about each other's work, well...they would have needed Jerry Springer's muscular guys in the black T-shirts to keep them apart. And when the reader realizes what's going on, it's as if somebody flips a switch and the flourescent tubes nuke the room in dazzling light. Take Paul's attitude about hell, for instance: He didn't believe in it. And Paul's attitude toward women....

Want to know more..?

Great-->sign up for a course! We need people to get smart with a heart.

What I mean by "Smart with a Heart" is to set as a priority the need to release the intellectual power of New Thought Christianity. Groups like Unity can do this in several stages. First, by rehabilitating the intellect itself in our practices and writings, then by getting serious about developing in-house theological scholarship which can bring our people into contact and collegial dialogue with religious traditions beyond what I have called the "New Thought Compound."

Unity evolved as a home-made, laity-led, build-it-as-you-go, non-denominational denomination--whew! No wonder the movement has suffered the fate of most self-taught individuals, i.e., great coverage of the areas of special interest but gaping holes in the blind spots. Last summer during the first Master of Divinity classes for Unity ministerial students, theologian Matthew Fox--who is a true "friend" to Unity in many respects--gently upbraided the class for our lack of appreciation for the treasures of Western spirituality. And clearly he was right. Dr. Fox suggested that Unity has a lot to offer to the wider Christian world but has some remedial work to do before reaching communicative parity with the other players. We have a lot to learn as a movement about how New Thought Christianity fits into the wide, deep and vast ecosystem of human religious thought. It does no good to tar the whole Christian world beyond the New Thought Compound with the brush of fundamentalism, because that epithet is as self-defeating as it is incorrect.

There is also nothing particularly revelatory or new about Matthew Fox’s observations. Feedback from ministers and laypeople continues to indicate a feeling of inadequacy in biblical studies, and it is not an exaggeration to say that most Unity people have little understanding about the history of mystical Christianity. Sometimes, when listening to Unity sermons and reading our publications, one gets the impression that two thousand years ago there was this Master Teacher named Jesus Christ, then Charles and Myrtle Fillmore and other New Thought authors came along in the 1890’s, and nothing worth mentioning happened in between. The actual storyline is far more interesting. We have plenty of Friends in High Places.

In the century-plus since it was founded as a prayer and publication society, Unity has continued to grow but has never quite captured popular attention as a spiritual movement. Its main claim to fame has been the widely read devotional publication Daily Word. Unity churches and study groups exist all around the world, but we continue to struggle with prosperity issues in our small groups, like a chain of New Thought archipelagos stretching across a global ocean of traditional religions and post-modern skepticism. However, it is fair to say that Unity exercises greater influence than its meager numbers would suggest due to the wide readership of Daily Word magazine and the century-old outreach of Silent Unity's prayer ministry. I like to think of the lighthouse cupola at the top of the Silent Unity building as the night light for the world.

Nevertheless, a great opportunity exists for expansion of the Unity movement now, in the 21st century. In the United States alone, recent studies have shown that as many as 29 million people describe their religious identity as “none,” and two-thirds of those unchurched dissenters affirm their belief in God, and more than one-third consider themselves “religious.” They are the people Bishop Spong has tagged as the “Christian Alumni Association,” and although they may have dropped out of organized religion they are far from indifferent to spirituality. We tend to attract people from the subgroup of the cultural left which Walter Ong calls Electronic Orality. These are people who display progressive characteristics like an open-ended approach to truth, an emphasis on the “now,” deep commitment to ecology and environmental concerns, and display a medley of traits to include simultaneity, spontaneity, a dialogical approach, open-endedness, a preference for variety of choice, team work, and a growing sense of globalism. They are smart, and they have a heart. These characteristics are widely distributed among people who attend Unity congregations, although not every Unity person would identify with every trait. Compare the above description to this great quote from Charles R. Fillmore, Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors and grandson of the founders:

“Unity says that true religious growth is a 'do-it-yourself' project ...One might describe Unity as a religious philosophy with an ‘open end,’ seeking to find God's truth in all of life.”

(Source: Unity World Headquarters website, http://www.unityonline.org/discover_main.htm)

It is my fond hope that we have turned a corner recently and decided to become a place where great ideas and good scholarship are cherished, where the head and the heart work together to produce a balanced person, aware of human limitations, but fully convinced that "human" is only a temporary identity for the spiritual beings housed in this incarnation. I am all for joining Bishop Jack Spong and others who are calling for a New Reformation in Christian thought. But we need to understand what the first Reformation was about, too, and how to think theologically about the challenges and opportunities facing us today in the post-modern era.

Love stands not alone. There at least are eleven other powers. Let's imagine the whole range of divine-human consciousness based on an enlightened use of the intellect: Using will to rehabilitate the intellect and put its understanding, wisdom and sense of order to work on the great questions of life. Let's eliminate negative thoughts about the intellectual side of humanity, and release the power of divine zeal for life. A much strengthened faith will result.

We need a new generation of Unity scholars, well-educated and deeply spiritual, to reach that huge plurality which sits at home every Sunday because there is no spiritual tradition which has yet addressed their needs for a faith that is smart with a heart...

Any volunteers?

Divine Order and Gliese 581C

Whether or not I needed a demonstration of the odd convergence of events life seems to keep thrusting my way, as if to defy any drift toward skepticism, another demonstration of Divine Order happened to me Monday night. Let me back up a few hours... Dr. Young Chun, My instructor at St. Paul School of Theology, where I am taking courses toward a doctorate, regaled the class that we had not yet completed his suggested assignment from the early weeks of the class. Dr. Chun's class is in the theology of prayer and spirituality, yet he has strongly urged us to write to political leaders and urge some course of action, as if to give concrete expression in the world to our spiritual pursuits. OK... Dr. Chun has a point: Jesus prayed alone, then went into the marketplace and upended the tables.

I have already made my mark as the Unity goat in the flock of Methodist, Lutheran and Episcopalian sheep--all of whom have been great grazing partners, despite what I'm sure they consider my sure and steady sink into New Age occultism. So, rather than writing about world peace, hunger, AIDS in Africa, domestic violence, and assorted forms of sin in high places--all of which I take seriously and consider worthy topics for public debate--but instead of those vital concerns, all of which are being addressed, as they should be, I decided to write about something which was NOT being addressed. I decided to shoot the moon.

Actually, shoot the stars would be more accurate. I figure, "What the heck--I'm a Trekkie. It's a matter of public record. So, let's go public."

I wrote an e-mail to most of the major contenders in the 2008 USA Presidential election. The list included Democrats Joseph Biden, Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama, and Bill Richardson; and Republicans Sam Brownback , Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain and Mitt Romney.

I advocated...well, let me share a little of it with you:

"I would like to raise an issue for discussion which no one seems to have considered: Establishing a national priority on development of faster-than-light technologies to allow humans to reach habitable planets in star systems in our immediate neighborhood...

"If this technology were possible, its discovery would be an event equivalent to the domestication of draft animals or the invention of the wheel. FTL capability would forever change our place in the Cosmos by carrying people to new worlds, and not just to second and third earths but potentially thousands of habitable planets, which could be awaiting discovery within a few hundred light years of us. To date, dozens of planets orbiting other stars have been discovered by astronomers. Although the distant globes detectable so far by turn-of-the-millennium science have all been colossal and outside the temperate zones of their respective solar systems, every frozen gas giant or oven-hot super-planet dramatically increases the likelihood of untold numbers of smaller, terrestrial worlds orbiting the right distance from their home suns among the hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

"With such vast numbers of potentially habitable worlds--where, like the New World before Columbus, great plains stretch that have never tasted a steel plow and endless forests teem with exotic flora and fauna--problems of overpopulation might evolve into the challenge of under-population. We might find ourselves in a race to reproduce enough humans to settle dozens, hundreds, or thousands of earth-type planets. Given the statistical probabilities, it is highly possible that the solution to the socio-economic problems of Earth lies in the heavens. The potential for human settlement on countless uninhabited, earth-like planets could alleviate poverty and hunger forever, while providing vast resources for anyone bold enough to venture to these new worlds.

"If God has created and sustained such a vast Cosmos and set in motion scientific principles whereby sentient life has evolved, at least on one planet we know about intimately, one could reasonably assume a mechanism must exist to contact other islands of life in this sea of stars. The economic and social advantages of such a discovery could produce a flourishing of human civilization unparalleled in history, opening the future to possibilities beyond our wildest dreams. I urge you consider, amid the enormous terrestrial problems which you will face as President, the incalculable return to be realized for humanity--literally an end to poverty and access to resources unimaginable...

"As a theologian and pastor, I understand and sympathize with those who will argue against such a speculative adventure when resources are needed to alleviate poverty, illiteracy and disease on the only earth-type planet we know exists. However, there are biblical and historical precedents for bold stepping boldly forward when the destination is less than certain. A promised land is not a guaranteed land, and it is safer to stay in the old country than sail off the edge of the earth. I believe the spirit of discovery is a gift of God, a calling to venture forth and reach the heavens and bring humanity to new heights.

"Perhaps one day one, when our children's children's children stand on a new Earth under a starry sky filled with new constellations, the words of the psalmist will come to mind, "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork..."(Ps.19:1). And perhaps they will offer silent prayer to God in thanks for the courage of those who made the new human civilization among the stars a possibility."

Signed: Rev Thomas W. Shepherd


I completed the above and e-mailed the last of these to their respective campaign headquarters around 1 AM Central Time on Tuesday, April 24. Then I went to bed, glad this late work wasn't a graded assignment.

The next day I went to work, and during an early afternoon break I discovered the following "breaking news" report:

European Astronomers Discover First Habitable Earth-Like Planet...

I thought: "Naw...that has to be a fluke, some blogging speculator. " Then I found it on CNN, CNBC, and everywhere else. Here's what NASA's official website says:

"Astronomers have discovered the most Earth-like planet outside our Solar System to date, an exoplanet with a radius only 50% larger than the Earth and possibly having liquid water on its surface...'We have estimated that the mean temperature of this super-Earth lies between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius, and water would thus be liquid,' explains Stephane Udry, from the Geneva Observatory (Switzerland) and lead-author of the paper reporting the result. 'Moreover, its radius should be only 1.5 times the Earth's radius, and models predict that the planet should be either rocky -- like our Earth -- or covered with oceans,' he adds...The host star, Gliese 581, is among the 100 closest stars to us, located only 20.5 light-years away in the constellation Libra..." (Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/display.cfm?News_ID=19695 )


Now, maybe that's a coincidence. Maybe the first discovery, in the history of the human race, of an extra-solar planet in a habitable zone with a comparable mass to the Earth just happened to be announced within hours of my sending mass e-mails to all the presidential candidates urging the development of Faster-Than-Light travel to discover planets like this...

Maybe it was sheer coincidence. Or maybe we're really supposed to boldly go there. Maybe it's our destiny to sail the stars, not as conquerors who despoiled the Aztec and Inca like Cortez and Pizarro, but as explorers and settlers, like the Polynesians who discovered the uninhabited Hawaiian islands. And maybe the lessons of European cruelty to the native people of the New World can prevent any repetition of those events among islands of life in the Cosmos. The time to have that discussion is now, before we actually discover FTL travel and hop over to Gliese 581C or any of the thousands of inhabitable worlds which by logical deduction must exist in our stellar neighborhood.

Maybe it was just a coincidence...sending those "what if" emails to candidates for president the night before the big discovery is announced. Who could prove otherwise? And it's unlikely the candidates will ever see my words, anyway.

Or maybe the messsage is strictly personal, Divine Order acting as messenger to let me know that YHWH, the sky-god of Israel, the I AM dwelling within every sentient being and empowering the Cosmos to exist, is a Trekkie, too..


Rev Tom Shepherd