Quotes & Sayings


We, and creation itself, actualize the possibilities of the God who sustains the world, towards becoming in the world in a fuller, more deeper way. - R.E. Slater

There is urgency in coming to see the world as a web of interrelated processes of which we are integral parts, so that all of our choices and actions have [consequential effects upon] the world around us. - Process Metaphysician Alfred North Whitehead

Kurt Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem says (i) all closed systems are unprovable within themselves and, that (ii) all open systems are rightly understood as incomplete. - R.E. Slater

The most true thing about you is what God has said to you in Christ, "You are My Beloved." - Tripp Fuller

The God among us is the God who refuses to be God without us, so great is God's Love. - Tripp Fuller

According to some Christian outlooks we were made for another world. Perhaps, rather, we were made for this world to recreate, reclaim, redeem, and renew unto God's future aspiration by the power of His Spirit. - R.E. Slater

Our eschatological ethos is to love. To stand with those who are oppressed. To stand against those who are oppressing. It is that simple. Love is our only calling and Christian Hope. - R.E. Slater

Secularization theory has been massively falsified. We don't live in an age of secularity. We live in an age of explosive, pervasive religiosity... an age of religious pluralism. - Peter L. Berger

Exploring the edge of life and faith in a post-everything world. - Todd Littleton

I don't need another reason to believe, your love is all around for me to see. – Anon

Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all. - Khalil Gibran, Prayer XXIII

Be careful what you pretend to be. You become what you pretend to be. - Kurt Vonnegut

Religious beliefs, far from being primary, are often shaped and adjusted by our social goals. - Jim Forest

We become who we are by what we believe and can justify. - R.E. Slater

People, even more than things, need to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. – Anon

Certainly, God's love has made fools of us all. - R.E. Slater

An apocalyptic Christian faith doesn't wait for Jesus to come, but for Jesus to become in our midst. - R.E. Slater

Christian belief in God begins with the cross and resurrection of Jesus, not with rational apologetics. - Eberhard Jüngel, Jürgen Moltmann

Our knowledge of God is through the 'I-Thou' encounter, not in finding God at the end of a syllogism or argument. There is a grave danger in any Christian treatment of God as an object. The God of Jesus Christ and Scripture is irreducibly subject and never made as an object, a force, a power, or a principle that can be manipulated. - Emil Brunner

“Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” means "I will be that who I have yet to become." - God (Ex 3.14) or, conversely, “I AM who I AM Becoming.”

Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. - Thomas Merton

The church is God's world-changing social experiment of bringing unlikes and differents to the Eucharist/Communion table to share life with one another as a new kind of family. When this happens, we show to the world what love, justice, peace, reconciliation, and life together is designed by God to be. The church is God's show-and-tell for the world to see how God wants us to live as a blended, global, polypluralistic family united with one will, by one Lord, and baptized by one Spirit. – Anon

The cross that is planted at the heart of the history of the world cannot be uprooted. - Jacques Ellul

The Unity in whose loving presence the universe unfolds is inside each person as a call to welcome the stranger, protect animals and the earth, respect the dignity of each person, think new thoughts, and help bring about ecological civilizations. - John Cobb & Farhan A. Shah

If you board the wrong train it is of no use running along the corridors of the train in the other direction. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God's justice is restorative rather than punitive; His discipline is merciful rather than punishing; His power is made perfect in weakness; and His grace is sufficient for all. – Anon

Our little [biblical] systems have their day; they have their day and cease to be. They are but broken lights of Thee, and Thou, O God art more than they. - Alfred Lord Tennyson

We can’t control God; God is uncontrollable. God can’t control us; God’s love is uncontrolling! - Thomas Jay Oord

Life in perspective but always in process... as we are relational beings in process to one another, so life events are in process in relation to each event... as God is to Self, is to world, is to us... like Father, like sons and daughters, like events... life in process yet always in perspective. - R.E. Slater

To promote societal transition to sustainable ways of living and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework which includes respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity, universal human rights, respect for diversity, economic justice, democracy, and a culture of peace. - The Earth Charter Mission Statement

Christian humanism is the belief that human freedom, individual conscience, and unencumbered rational inquiry are compatible with the practice of Christianity or even intrinsic in its doctrine. It represents a philosophical union of Christian faith and classical humanist principles. - Scott Postma

It is never wise to have a self-appointed religious institution determine a nation's moral code. The opportunities for moral compromise and failure are high; the moral codes and creeds assuredly racist, discriminatory, or subjectively and religiously defined; and the pronouncement of inhumanitarian political objectives quite predictable. - R.E. Slater

God's love must both center and define the Christian faith and all religious or human faiths seeking human and ecological balance in worlds of subtraction, harm, tragedy, and evil. - R.E. Slater

In Whitehead’s process ontology, we can think of the experiential ground of reality as an eternal pulse whereby what is objectively public in one moment becomes subjectively prehended in the next, and whereby the subject that emerges from its feelings then perishes into public expression as an object (or “superject”) aiming for novelty. There is a rhythm of Being between object and subject, not an ontological division. This rhythm powers the creative growth of the universe from one occasion of experience to the next. This is the Whiteheadian mantra: “The many become one and are increased by one.” - Matthew Segall

Without Love there is no Truth. And True Truth is always Loving. There is no dichotomy between these terms but only seamless integration. This is the premier centering focus of a Processual Theology of Love. - R.E. Slater

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Note: Generally I do not respond to commentary. I may read the comments but wish to reserve my time to write (or write off the comments I read). Instead, I'd like to see our community help one another and in the helping encourage and exhort each of us towards Christian love in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. - re slater

Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Jesus, Quantum Cosmology, the Church, and a few Verses




I'm doing a quick series on standard quantum cosmology as science understands it today. Though to the novice reader these series of articles may seem complicated, to the trained undergraduate in quantum physics they are all quite simple and simply stated.

In order for me to discuss a process-based metaphysical cosmology related to open and relational process theology, including process philosophy itself (ala Alfred North Whitehead and John Cobb), the physics of astronomy and cosmology must be considered (along with evolution or, what I like to call "quantum evolution," which I spoke to in the early years of this website through hundreds of articles but not recently except in general descriptive terms of processual (quantum) evolution, psychology, sociology, and ecology.)

The next two cosmology areas to be covered before I return to examining process theology via John Cobb's encapsulation of process philosophy and theology will be articles related to quantum gravity, our holographic universe and what process relational philosophy means for cosmic time and consciousness. More simply, without a relational creation (sic, universe), time and consciousness are not present; but with it, they are present as secondary affects/effects, more generally described in perhaps cosmic holographic terms rather than as psycho-illusionary terms by psychology, neurology, etc.




Lastly, by the additiin of these more recent article series I'd like to also update Relevancy22's exploration of space and time by covering local- and mega-clustering quantum cosmic bubbles (as different from, but likely, in working conjunction with, dark matter and dark energy). In this way, as readers and contemporary thinkers, we can better approach the subject areas of the bible, God, and generally, theology, with a more nuanced view than typically found in the traditional work-a-day pseudoscience view of the church.

Moreover, there is no reason to jettison one's faith unless one's faith has been built upon sand, and not rock. I find Greek Platonism and Aristotelianism quite unhelpful in grasping the earlier Hebraic faith grounded more in relationality, narrative, and organic thinking than in the ethreal metaphysical "substance" of organic things; or as expressed in "mind v matter, reductionary, mechanical thinking" of the Greeks up to today's modernistic thinking.

In comparison, process philosophy takes the past 2000 years (or more actually 4000 years in my mind) and moves the Semitic outlook forwards into today's contemporary organic worlds of processual societal structures, fluid quantum thinking, and the tech-cyberworlds to come.

Thus and thus, I write of a new kind of Christianity embracing a "post-evangelical, socially progressive, and non-literal bible." One which keeps to the ancient categories of literary nuances and genres, their cultural world views and ancient histories, etc... but not the wooden kind of thinking present in today's classically interpretive  evangelicalism when reading a bible skewed towards inorganic Hellenistic thought and enlightenment+modernistic modelism).

Reading Scripture requires a more organic philosophical foundation embraceing a more processually-rooted relational, and open-ended, contemporary eschatology pregnant with native possibilities and opportunities. A processual theology which can ably drive progressive church ministries, community outreach, and polyplural global missions.

Too, I much prefer to write to non-Christians; to non-dogmatic, open-minded, post-evangelic and progressively-minded Christians; to those seeking truer forms of transformative spirituality; and even agnostics and atheists than I do Bible-belt Christians who live inside of closed fictitious worlds filled with formulistic enlightenment thinking, and defensive dogmatic platforms. These earnest folk have not been given the tools to see God outside the theological boxes of their own construction. If they stumble into here we will welcome them. But my experience has been largely dismissal, silence, and hardened hearts to the biblical truths spoke here in non-traditional ways outside the church's conservative platforms.

I should also mention to those who approach God and faith in their own forms of atheism - as I had in years past when I wrote of these things - that atheism is far harder to prove than theism is to disprove. In fact, it is nearly an impossible task to prove atheism. The articles I've produced in the past have shown this argument in some detail. However, they most likely need updating, so if a reader or two are willing to review those 20 or so articles and add their own thoughts please link me to your text that I might review with you your proofs and qualify your thoughts before posting them here.

Finally, unless uncertainty and doubt are embraced, a growing Christian faith will surely lose its "saltiness" and become tasteless and bland. A strong faith, like science, must always test itself and be willing to be examined if it is to stay realistic and conversant with society. This doesn't dismiss the surety of one's faith laid down upon Jesus, but speaks to interpreting our faith so that the ancient teachings of Scripture are driven by God's love and not by our religious urges to make of God an image in our own likeness.

And unless new "wineskins" are brought forth to put the new wine of the Gospel in (sic, Jesus), the old wineskins will rip and tear apart losing all. This means to me that the faith I was raised in deserves to be kept (but its best parts that is) while the rest must be let go and replaced.

Relevancy22 is not creating a new wheel, it is dispensing with the old wooden wheels for the newer electromagnetic Torus wheels (or whatever). Wheels that will work better with today's 21st Century global religions and societies.

Peace,

R.E. Slater
April 5, 2022


Matt 5.13-20 NASB

13“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how [d]can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.

14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a [e]hill cannot be hidden; 15nor do people light a lamp and put it under a [f]basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

17“Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 18For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not [g]the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished! 19Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches [h]others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever [i]keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20“For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.


Matt 9.17 NASB

14Then the disciples of John *came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

15And Jesus said to them, “The [j]attendants of the groom cannot mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

16But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for [k]the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results.

17Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”


Addendum

I should mention that these old world maxims are given an escalational spin upwards when rereading them not as maxims but in terms of the person of Jesus and what his gospel of atonement and redemption means in relation to the Old Testament system of Law-keeping. Thus, Law v Grace as thematic types interplaying off each other from Genesis through Revelation.

Moreover, the true Abrahamic faith of the Hebrews was always grounded in faith and never law. Jewish Law then can be liken to the church's systems of confessional creeds, dogmas and rites today.

That is, we are fleshly, symbolic beings who will always need ways of encapsulating our faith and beliefs. The trick is to not let the latter usurp the former... for when it does, faith becomes mere religion and institutionalized beliefs cut off from its living, growing, suffering, dying faith to self and worldly needs.

The goal is love in all things.

Not religious rites of asceticism, monasticism, stoicism, hedonism, legalism, etc.

Love goes with what's there and uses selfless sacrificial serving people to be the hands, feet, mouths, and heart of God.

Jesus is God's love.

Jesus is God.

God is love.

Keep it simple.

Jesus was the true salt of God who returned God's lost love back to its covenanted forms found in Abraham. 

Jesus was the cloth patch that pulled away from the religious ritualism of his day which had lost God's love in its works-righteousness schemes and austere religious rites.

Jesus was (and is) the new wine of the gospel spilt in his blood on the cross which binds up the wounds of the harmed and suffering. Who replaces the good wine of mankind with the better wines of God.

Nay, these observations of Jesus were not simply culturally observed maxims. It was Jesus' way of saying, "Look, I'm here, the New Covenant of God walks in the flesh with man this day. 'See Me. Hear Me. Touch Me. I AM the God you seek. REJOICE!'"

R.E. Slater
April 5, 2022


Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) - Heaven on their Minds
(Carl Anderson) ENG Sub - A. Lloyd Webber
Dec 29, 2016




"Christ, I know you can't hear me"
Comparison (Jesus Christ Superstar)
posted: Apr 28, 2016







youtube soundtrack



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