Relevancy22: Contemporary Process Christianity: Post-Evangelic Topics and Theology: REISSUED: Pete Enns

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I'm listing all of Pete Enn's works which can be found on his website and his YouTube video channel. As there is a lot I'm hoping this posting will help in sorting through it to find what you want or may be interested in.

As with my writings here at Relevancy22, Pete has been working through a jumble of theologies sorting out what to keep, what to throw out, or simply update by way of church teachings.

After 2000 years of church history we need to do this every now and again just as you would with your own housekeeping chores preventing mold, bacteria, infections, rats, bugs, and so on. Denominational and Sectarian theologies can become a mess after a while. Not all of it is healthy, helpful, or necessary. It becomes outdated, misunderstood, inappropriately applied nto wrong or harming circumstances, and so on.

For myself, I have been working off a Covenantal Reformed bible foundation towards what I now call Process (Christian) Theology (as vs. Process Religion, which is also cool, but not Christ-centered). To do that, I had to work through unhelpful earlier Reformed philosophies based on Greek Hellenism, Scientific Reductionism-and-Mechanism, Aristotelian forms of Catholic Scholasticism, and various forms of Western/Euro-American Analytical Thought (centered in isolating binary thought, disconnectedness, etc.)

Keeping what I could from the above list I have been actively supplementing these perspectives first by using forms of Continental Philosophy (metanarrativism, phenomenology, existentialism, Jungian archetypes, etc) and lately have been recentering all onto Whitehead's Process Philosophy to form a Christian-based Process Theology.... As an aside, having not been educated in Middle-Eastern, Asian, Oceanic, or Native Tribal Religions and Philosophies I cannot speak to those perspectives but wish to stay open to any process-based elements within them.

Hence, over the recent years I have worked through my Christian past recreate a Process-based Christian Theology of Love. Similarly, Mr. Enns has been doing the same against his own personal background. I've also noticed that Pete is recently becoming (2021??) more familiar with Process-based Christian Theology, like myself, using Whitehead as a basis.

But decades earlier Pete and I started with the basics of traditional Christianity as interpreted to us by our denominations or bible churches. That is, because of where we were at, we now can know in what directions we must go when testifying of God's love through Jesus Christ and his atoning work. So that after many years of prayer, study, research, ministry, and dialogue we each are being moved by the Spirit of God to speak up in our separate ways that the church might course-correct towards healthier forms of witness and testimony, living and ministrations.

I should also state that it is nearly impossible to make a personal change after so many years of heavy persuasion in our creedal lanes of faith. The task required a lot of epistemic humility coupled with large, large doses of curiosity importantly led by the Holy Spirit, the Giver of such gifts including the gift of spiritual discernment. If not for this latter gift of discernment, I'm afraid both Pete and myself would have gone "astray" many times along the "forking paths" promising answers and solutions as would seem good to the human soul. Thankfully, the Spirit gave to us a healthy dose of discontent measure by spiritual burden and aggravation by what we have been seeing over the years.

And because of Pete's departure from his university "day-job," he has been forced into deconstructing his faith - along with the equally difficult job of reconstructing his faith. I had to do the same as well... which for me became a very dark wilderness for a very long time until the Lord lifted me out of my "imprisonment" with a deep burden to work out my faith as publically as I could with little to no help to measure my thoughts and directions by.

I imagine Pete has gone through the same. For without a period of suffering and brokenness, new birth and new life really cannot begin. During my time "in soul prison" or "soul wilderness" I prayed not to leave my dark pit until God was ready to delivery me. I feared that if I left my pain and sorrow too soon I would be no good for the Lord's use.

And mind you, this pit was the removal of all I had known or believed. It left me questioning everything. But the most curious thing was that my faith stayed firm as did the Spirit's presence though in a strange way God had left me and placed brass doors between himself and me. I cannot explain this paradox. But it became my new beginning point from which I either stayed or eventually left.

And so, I stayed until, like the Apostle Paul, I was seasoned by the Spirit that I might begin a new, resurrected ministry unlike anything previous I had undertaken. Ditto, I imagine, with Mr. Enns when cast out from the ivory towers into the work-a-day world of lost faith conviction and scraped testimony. Thomas Jay Oord is another name I know of who has had similar experiences as well. To be a teacher is to first become a learner, then a discerner, and finally one with a great burden. Which is why the bible says not to desire its office... it is a difficult office which either binds or frees one's listeners.

In summary, I've listed all I could find from Pete Enn's websites from first to last; from old playlists to new playlists. And from last to first; from old videos to new videos. On a previous post I have also have listed Pete and Jarad's current books in print. Sincerely, I pray their work and ministry be amazingly helpful both now and in the years ahead for all who come with heavy hearts and troubled souls.

Friday, February 16, 2024

REISSUED: Pete Enns - Podcasts & Videos for Normal People

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