For this episode, Christopher and Riley are joined by LDPS member and contributor, Jeffrey Goddard, for a wide-ranging discussion on justice, sin & righteousness, good & evil, and atonement. In the past year Jeff read or listened to 200 books, and wrote one of his own - The Physician Christ. As a medical practitioner he tends to see the world through a scientific lens which adds critical context to the discussion of individual and social development. Our hosts make it a point to avoid strict, objective definitions of these constructed ideas, but instead try to problematize prevailing understandings so as to point the listener to a more holistic, and universally restorative Christian discipleship; one less concerned with being right about doctrine and more concerned with being in right relationship, with God and each other.
Riley and Shiloh open up a space to talk about the subject of prayer. We have all been taught the standard posture of praying with our eyes closed, head bowed, arms folded, and kneeling, all while using the proper formula by addressing Heavenly Father by name, expressing gratitude, asking for what we need, and closing in the name of Jesus Christ — all while using the proper “honorific” pronouns. But is this the only way to pray? Are there other postures and forms of praying that also connect us to God? Are we already praying in other equally valid forms without even realizing it? What would other forms of prayer even look like? Many people are surprised when they first recognize what they are already naturally doing to connect with the divine, and that others have written and expounded upon these ways of prayer for centuries. How often have our prayers become reduced to mere moments of spoken transactionalism? When was the last time that our prayers were truly transformational? When have we experienced prayer as “a sacred place, when… our own heart is the place where Jacob’s ladder touches the earth”? ...
Shiloh and Riley open up on a topic that they have both been thinking and sitting with for a while: worthiness. The scriptures talk about "worthiness" quite a bit, but how do we reconcile a truth that we are "always already being worthy" with the scriptural concept of "unworthiness"? Is "worthiness" a description of our being? Is it a description of what we do? If we can be inherently unworthy of beings, then why would Jesus Christ atone for an unworthy being? Can it be that we have infinite and absolute worth and that "worthiness" is something else entirely? There are so many layers and levels of this discussion that followers of Christ often feel and believe that they are inherently unworthy of God's love, or that they have to qualify for (and always seemingly find themselves in failing) to be worthy of God's love. In this discussion, Riley and Shiloh attempt to separate worthiness from performance (that we are not the sum of our actions), talk a bit on the concept of "purity codes," and reassert a God of infinite love, compassion, love, and mercy. We are always already worthy in God's eyes -- even when we don't feel that we are worthy of it. ...
In this episode of Latter-day Contemplation, Christopher and Riley were joined by Jana Johnson Spangler to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Franciscan friar, Richard Rohr. Father Rohr, as an ecumenical teacher, speaker, and author is largely responsible for the modern resurgence in popularity of contemplative practices. He has successfully brought together teachers from many Christian denominations into The Living School, teaching perennial truths about the universal nature of the Christ, our mutual, inborn dwelling with God the creator of all flesh, and the brotherhood of man. His message of inner and relational peace has drawn a following of millions. ...
