Adult Sunday School at MIUMC will focus again this year on the soul. We will tackle the subject of "Expressions of the Soul". Vince has outlined a list of subjects we will cover in the session and will publish a list of readings for us.
To create a bridge from last year's work to this year's work, we returned to Thomas Moore's Care of the Soul and will focus on Chapter 10 and Chapter 11.
The group agreed on a format and a time line and engaged in a short discussion beginning with Chapter 1o.
Thomas Moore writes on page 203
"...the soul feeds on whatever life grows in its natural environment. To the soul, the ordinary is sacred and the everyday is a primary source of religion."
The group discussed the ordinary rituals that allow us to see into our souls. Vince asked everyone to bring to class next week an expression of their soul.
Moore goes on to discuss the modern tendancy to separate religion from psychology and gave his perspective that the two are tied.
One controversial topic in the passage in this area emerged when Moore made the claim, " it (soul) needs a myth of immortality and an attitude towards death."
The group discussed if this meant that Moore did not believe that Christianity promises eternal life. Different people in the class gave different views on the "myths of immortality", ie, do we accept the images in song such as "singing praises for 10,000 years" as a literal truth or do we believe people become "angels" at death - both of which are cultural notions, not underscored by scripture.
The group discussed the section on Pyschological Modernism beginning on Page 206. The group discussed the way that Moore describes the modern approach to "soul work" as
"...there is almost no time given to reflection and where assuption is that the psyche has spare parts, an owner's manual, and well-trained mechanics called therapists. Philosophy lies at the base of every day life problems, but it takes soul to reflect on one's own life with genuine philosophical seriousness."
Next week, everyone should bring an "expression of their soul" and if you want, it can be posted as an amendment to this blog in the comments section. If I missed anything, please feel free to add.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I will miss church on Sunday, September 21 but wanted to add my expression of the soul.
I believe my soul is expressed when I struggle to explain faith to my children and to guide them in their spiritual growth. My own faith was shaken as a teen when my parents divorced. I also was a member of a church that did not allow questioning. For years, I did not seek worship or engage in faith practice but when my children were born, I felt the need to have them engage in the "rituals" of faith - but was not sure how to explain my own "questions" to them. My own struggle over this issue led me to the Methodist church. I still struggle how to explain how bad things happen to good people including recent events that have striken families close to ours.
I believe my expression of my soul is best represented by my discussions with Chandler as she tries to build her own value and belief system and asks me to be her spiritual guide. This is a job that I do not usually feel qualified for but nevertheless am working hard to do the best job I can. It might be the most important job I will ever do.
Post a Comment