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 from 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

Thursday, March 3, 2022

Center for Open & Relational Theology - News, Resources, Essays, Videos & Podcasts


ORTLine22 - Center for Open & Relational Theology (c4ort.com)






FEB/MAR 2022 NEWS



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Cobb Institute - Resources, Learning Labs, Community & Events




Cobb Institute Newsletter, Spring 2022


"What education has to impart is an intimate sense for the power of ideas, for the beauty of ideas, and for the structure of ideas, together with a particular body of knowledge which has peculiar reference to the life of the being possessing it." - Alfred North Whitehead



Our courses provide students the opportunity to learn in a way that is open, exploratory, and transformative. Each one is taught by an expert in the topic, who can communicate the concepts in a way that is accessible to any interested learner. They range in length from three-session mini-courses to ten-session in-depth treatments. - Check out our courses

Learning circles are small groups that share a common interest in a topic, text, or activity. In a mode that is informal and conversational, they are typically made up of five to fifteen people who gather together to learn from one another. A learning circle might be a book study group that only explores a single text, or an affinity group that meets for an indefinite period of time. - Check out our circles

Workshops are informative presentations by one or more instructors on a focused topic. They can be one session or several sessions, but the format is usually one in which the presenters focus primarily on sharing information rather than interacting with attendees. - Check out our workshops

Transforming Education for Ecological Civilization
At the Institute Learning Lab, we think that more important for students than learning to do research is personal growth and wisdom. We think that more important for the world than teaching everyone how to do value-free research is having millions of people studying how to create an ecological civilization without which the human future looks very bleak. We hope we can find ways to involve local educational institutions individually and collectively in serious discussion of their responsibility to students, humanity, and the entire world.


UPCOMING OFFERINGS

Feb 16th thru Mar 9th

Connecting the Insights of Transcendentalism and Process Thought
In this four-week course, Dr. Terry Goddard will facilitate a reading and discussion of four of Loren Eiseley’s essays, focusing especially on his view of process thought as it relates to nature. - FIND OUT MORE 

Mar 2nd thru Mar 23rd

Explore Reading and the Transformative Power of Poetry
This is the first in a series of three four-week courses taught by award-winning poet Christina Hutchins. Participants will carefully consider the following question: How can the process of a poem not only facilitate the widening of our existence but also enact an experience while simultaneously reflecting on it? - FIND OUT MORE

Mar 8th thru Apr 12th

Considering the Possibility of Dreams as Natural
and Healing Mystical Encounters with the Divine
In this six-session course, Dr. Sheri D. Kling will draw from the ideas of psychologist Carl Gustav Jung and mathematician-philosopher Alfred North Whitehead as well as recent brain science to guide participants through an exploration into the dreaming body-mind and religious experience. - FIND OUT MORE

 


PAST COURSES


Examining Process Theology Through the Eyes of Beauty

In this four-session course, Patricia Adams Farmer will elucidate a Whiteheadian-inspired theology of beauty with a view to deepening understanding, enriching spirituality, encouraging an ecological vision, and nurturing hope. - MORE INFORMATION


Six Sessions Exploring Whitehead, Jung, and Why We Need Them Now
In this six-session course, Dr. Sheri D. Kling will guide students through the deep resonances between the philosophy of organism of Alfred North Whitehead and analytical psychology of Carl Gustav Jung to show what these two great thinkers have in common and why we need them now more than ever. - MORE INFORMATION


Four Sessions Exploring a Variety of Ways In Which “God is Being Reborn”
In this four-week course, the Reverend Al Gephart invites participants to respond to the ways that John Philip Newell perceives concepts of God in the Christian community undergoing a seismic shift, reorientation, and rebirth. - MORE INFORMATION


Three Sessions Exploring the Impulse to Find Meaning
in Suffering and Seeking Healthy Alternatives
In this three-week mini-course Dr. Bob Mesle will examine the human impulse to find meaning in suffering, explore the ways in which people with good intentions often offer comforts which can lead to an unhealthy denial of life’s problems, and consider more healthy alternatives. - MORE INFORMATION


Six Sessions Covering the Core Concepts in Whitehead's Magnum Opus
In this six-week course Jay McDaniel will guide students through important passages in Process and Reality, and, along with way, give everyone a basic understanding of sixteen key ideas. Each week he will invite participants to turn to particular passages and offer his understanding of their meaning, followed by open discussion.MORE INFORMATION


A Six-Session Course Introducing
Alfred North Whitehead’s PROCESS AND REALITY
In these lectures John Cobb will provide an introduction to one of the most compelling and challenging philosophical texts of the Twentieth Century. Process and Reality is a notoriously difficult text, but the goal of this course is to enable students to not only skim the surface but probe its deeper dimensions in a way that's accessible to anyone.MORE INFORMATION


Healthy Future or Planetary Catastrophe? Might Process Philosophy Help?
In this course Dr. John B. Cobb, Jr. presents a series of ten lectures that critically examine our current condition and constructively propose an alternative for the future, informed primarily by the process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. Students will have the opportunity to interact with and learn from one of the world's foremost experts in process thought, and together think through some of humanity's greatest challenges. - MORE INFORMATION



LEARNING CIRCLES


A Discussion Group Contemplating the
Vision of Teilhard de Chardin
Facilitated by Dr. Ernie Tamminga, this discussion group will carefully consider the vision of the human evolutionary future as seen by the French Jesuit and paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. - FIND OUT MORE

A Discussion Group About Books That Foster An Integral Spirituality
Process & Coffee is about spiritual integration and exploration. We meet weekly to dive into books by mystics and sages. The discussion that follows helps to deepen our own spiritual lives. - To learn more or join, send an email to learninglab@cobb.institute.


A Discussion Group Considering the Connections Between
Islam and the Core Values of Process & Faith
Facilitated by Jared Morningstar, and co-sponsored by the Cobb Institute and Process & Faith, this six-session learning circle will examine the religion of Islam and its resonance with the core values of Process & Faith: Whole Persons, Whole Communities, Whole Planet, and Holistic Thinking. - FIND OUT MORE

PAST LEARNING CIRCLES


Exploring Process Philosophy From a Feminine Perspective
Women in process provides a space for women who want to explore their "becomings" and "possibilities." The group meets on the third Thursday of each month.


A Discussion Group Pursuing the Possibility of an Ecological Civilization
In this book and discussion group, we meet monthly to read, discuss, and learn together about what needs to be done and what we can do for our common home.


Four Sessions Exploring John O'Donohue's Concept of Beauty
Join a group of clergy as we explore how John O'Donohue's idea of Beauty can serving as portal to the Spirit and provide meaning in everyday life. - MORE INFORMATION


Four Sessions Exploring Whitehead's Concepts of Peace & God
Facilitated by Jay McDaniel, a group of clergy explored how Whitehead’s ideas can meet us in our own religious traditions and become fertile ground for theological reflection and pastoral ministry. - MORE INFORMATION 


Exploring the Possibilities of Psychedelics From Multiple Approaches
In this discussion group, we explore psychedelics from a variety of vantage points. We will have guest speakers on the political, philosophical, spiritual, clinical, medicinal, experiential, and sociological uses of psychedelics. Meets on the second Thursday of each month.


Four Sessions Introducing Basic Concepts
and Practices in Zen Buddhism
Dr. Jay McDaniel introduced participants to some basic concepts and practices in Buddhism as approached in a Zen way: the primary of the present moment, the problem of cloning, the value of letting go; the limitations of verbal discourse; spontaneity of the here-and-now; the wisdom of no-self, the universality of impermanence, the illusion of isolated existence; the ultimacy of inter-becoming; mindfulness, reincarnation, and in Mahayana Buddhism, the promise to be reborn again and again until all living beings can be saved. Along the way, Dr. McDaniel discussed connections between those ideas and ideas in process philosophy, thus introducing a Buddhist process philosophy.



PAST WORKSHOPS


An Introduction To Gardening From a Process-Relational Perspective
In this series of four presentations, you will learn from experts about planning, planting, composting, and harvesting your own food-producing garden. - MORE INFORMATION


Two Sessions Examining the Harmful
Impact of Modern Views of Death
and Offering Healthy Alternatives
In this two-session workshop, the Reverends Joelle Johns and Kathleen Reeves will critically examine the denial of death by medical technology, problems with the for-profit death industry, and its negative impact on the environment, and offer healthy alternatives for the environment and our psyche that are based on the insights of Buddhism and process thought. - MORE INFORMATION