(25) The Edge

"As human beings continue to evolve, so do our conceptions
of God...And it is through our very conceptions of the divine
that God's voice can speak to and through us, finding more
volume and resonance as the architecture of thought becomes
more sophisticated and inclusive."
[David Steindl-Rast, O.S.B.,"Integral Christianity: Theory and
Practice. Part 1. The Relationship of the One and the Many,"
Summary,http//in.intergralinstitute.org/talk.]

Comment: The above paragraph is from the summary of an
interview with Brother David, a world famous Benedictine monk.,
who has been long involved in the Buddhist Dialogue undertaken
by the Benedictine Order. He also has interfaced with scientific
pundits as well, working towards a new theological understanding
in light of new scientific discoveries.

Reading this specific idea about our evolving conceptions of
God, I was comforted--in that this is how I have felt for a very long
time. I have felt lonely, too, amongst the religious circles in which
I have frequented. Talking to one "authority," he sympathized with
me, implying that I was stepping ahead.

Well maybe so, but I've long felt uncomfortable with this so-called
stepping ahead. There's little doubt in my mind that the finer monk
minds are indeed stepping ahead, but perhaps they have a built-in
support system amongst their own. Maybe.

And whatever might this "stepping ahead" mean? Well it points
right back to Brother David's thought about our evolving conceptions
of God. The more trained a person might be in theology, philosophy,
and science, probably the more sophisticated conceptions they might
hold about God. That makes sense. But where does this stepping
ahead lead? To the Edge?

No doubt people in this situation vary regarding their conceptions.
I can only speak for myself. Long aware of our propensity towards
god-imagery down through the ages, historically it's possible to trace
the evolving sophistication involved. Our images of God do indeed
shift and change over time--and, eventually, some of these "leading
edge" concepts might filter into more traditional religious systems.

But in the here-and-now pioneering, those on the cusp of new god-
imagery usually have to pay the piper when it comes to relating at the
parochial level of religious systems. In the old days, some pioneers
were literally persecuted and even killed. Nowadays, it's more like
being ostracized--or worse, being ignored. Still, no matter the religious
system, the God it worships is a result of earlier pioneers. In time new
god-imagery does appear. It's all a process, I guess.

As for myself, I am much engaged in evolving god-imagery. I try very
hard to connect it with my own religious tradition. Sometimes it is quite
difficult, in that I feel I am manipulating raw data to fit a pre-conceived
hypothesis. However, I am finally beginning to break away from this
kind of position--and trying to be more impartial, more honest if you
will. I am now inclining towards simply letting the new knowledge
come into our consciousness unobstructed by archaic notions.

No doubt it will get even more lonely in the midst of this effort, still it's
a comfort to know that some Benedictine monks are sharing this Edge.