Comment on Thoughts on Spiritual Practices by Bill

I enjoyed the podcast and particularly your encouragement to combine the historic traditonal practices/disciplines with creative ones (like the magnifying glass). I’ve been pondering your suggestion that the Reformation (and perhaps the Enlightenment?) has led to an emphasis on disciplines/practices which seem rooted in rationality (Bible study comes to mind) and a corresponding deemphasis on those rooted in contempation of (or presence to) mystery (such as meditation). Those weren’t your words of course, but that’s how I’ve been thinking of it. I’m wondering if seeking certainty (and propositional truths) about the divine is inherently futile and maybe even counterproductive (in the sense that it may increase the apparent distance between a person and God rather than lessen it). I’m wondering if quieting oneself in the presence of the divine mystery and divine love is better. For me at least.

In any event, I enjoyed the show and hope this is a subject to which you will return.

peace