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

Showing posts with label Emergent Christianity Defined. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emergent Christianity Defined. Show all posts

Monday, February 12, 2024

Emergent Church Leaders: Who Are Alan Jones vs Tony Jones?


Emergent Church Leaders:
Who Are Alan Jones vs Tony Jones


Amazon Books by Alan Jones - click here for list
Died January 14, 2024


Amazon Books by Tony Jones - click here for list
Official Website - The Reverend Hunter
Patheos Website - Theolblogy


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Georgetown University
The Berkley Center
for Religion, Peace & World Affairs


This individual is not a direct affiliate of the Berkley Center. They have contributed to one or more of our events, publications, or projects. Please contact the individual at their home institution.

The Very Rev. Alan W. Jones is a minster ordained in the Episcopal Church. From 1985 until his January 2009 retirement, he was dean of Grace Cathedral Episcopal Church in San Francisco, where he helped launch and moderate the Forum at Grace Cathedral, a series of conversations on the role of faith and ethics in contemporary life. Prior to that, Jones was the Stephen F. Bayne Professor of Ascetical Theology and director and founder of the Center for Christian Spirituality at General Theological Seminary. He has also served on the staff of Trinity Institute of Wall Street's Trinity Church. His publications include Reimagining Christianity: Reconnect Your Spirit without Disconnecting Your Mind (2004), Seasons of Grace: The Life-Giving Practice of Gratitude (2003, with John O'Neil), and Soul-Making: The Desert Way of Spirituality (1989). Jones earned a Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham.

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Obit of Dean Emeritus, The Very Rev. Alan William Jones
March 5, 1940 – January 14, 2024
Dear Cathedral Friends,
I am writing with sad news. Dean Emeritus, The Very Rev. Alan William Jones, died peacefully on Sunday morning in his room at a retirement community in San Francisco. His wife, Cricket, spent the morning with him and stepped out of the room to visit with a friend. When she came back to his bedside, she discovered that his spirit had just departed. Early in the afternoon, we anointed Alan with oil and prayed for him.
Alan participated in various staff gatherings and faithfully attended services at the cathedral for many years until his health declined precipitously at the end of last summer. During our visits over the last few weeks, he stopped talking and became more withdrawn.
For nearly a quarter of a century, Alan served as Dean of Grace Cathedral. He was one of the most powerful preachers of his generation and helped make the cathedral one of the global centers of Christianity. During his tenure, we constructed Chapter House, the Great Steps, and our parking garage. With Lauren Artress, Alan helped to make walking the labyrinth into a religious practice observed by millions of people. Alan inaugurated our Forum series and represented the cathedral admirably in the community.
We feel deeply grateful to Cricket for the wise and compassionate care she provided Alan, especially as his health worsened.
This week, we will be reviewing the instructions Alan left for his burial service and will notify the community when we have set a time and date.
Alan Jones was deeply steeped in Benedictine spirituality. We will never forget his generous vision for reimagining the church and for a Christianity whose primary message is that God loves everyone without exception.
Love,
Malcolm
The Very Rev. Dr. Malcolm Clemens Young
Dean of Grace Cathedral


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Alan Jones (priest)

Alan William Jones OBE (March 5, 1940 – January 14, 2024) was a British-American Episcopal priest and dean emeritus of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. A prominent lecturer in Episcopal and academic circles both nationally and internationally, he was a prolific writer of books, articles, and editorial opinions.

Early life

Born in London, England, Jones was the son of Edward Augustus and Blanche Hilda (Hunt) Jones. A naturalized U.S. citizen, Jones received both his MA and PhD from the University of Nottingham. His PhD thesis explored the Catholicism of Herbert Kelly, founder of the Society of the Sacred Mission.[1]

Ordained ministry

Jones was a faculty member of Lincoln Theological College from 1968 to 1971. He subsequently served as the Stephen F. Bayne Professor of Ascetical Theology at the General Theological Seminary in New York City from 1972 to 1982. During his tenure, he founded and was the first director of the Center for Christian Spirituality. Jones was the dean of the Episcopal Grace Cathedral in San Francisco from 1985 until January 2009.[2] He also moderated The Forum at Grace Cathedral.[3]

Personal life and death

Jones' first marriage was to Josephine Franklin Jones, the daughter of Newbery Award-winning author Madeleine L'Engle. They had two daughters and a son. They divorced in 1997. He married Virginia "Cricket" Franche Jones, an interior designer, in 1999.

Alan Jones died at a retirement community in San Francisco, on January 14, 2024. He was 83.[4]

References



* * * * * * *




Tony Jones (theologian)

Tony Jones
A balding Caucasoid man in glasses is pictured from the waist up; facing and looking to his right, his hands are on his hips, and he is wearing a brightly-colored, button-up collared shirt.
Jones in December 2012
Alma materDartmouth College
Occupations
  • Author
  • religious leader
Spouses
  • Julie McMahon
     
    (div. 2009)
  • Courtney Perry
     
    (m. 2013)

Tony Jones is a leader in the Christian emerging church movement, a theologian, and an author.

Personal life

Jones grew up near Edina, Minnesota, and graduated from Edina High School in 1990. He later graduated from Dartmouth College and attended both Fuller Theological Seminary and Princeton University, pursuing a doctorate from the latter.[1] Jones divorced his first wife, Julie McMahon, in 2009. In July 2011,[2] Jones wedded Courtney Perry in a religious marriage, but not legally by the laws of Minnesota or the United States in solidarity with non-heterosexual couples who could not wed: "It was for this reason that Courtney and I decided to forego legal marriage until such time as our GLBT friends were afforded all of the benefits that accrue with a legal marriage." Twenty-eight months later, they were scheduled to legally wed at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden on November 11, 2013.[3]

Career

While attending Fuller Theological, Jones returned to his childhood church—Colonial Church in Edina—and worked there as a youth pastor for seven years before leaving for his doctoral work at Princeton.[1] As a spokesperson with the emerging church movement, Jones was invited by a similar Jewish organization, Synagogue 3000, to speak at their 2006 meeting.[4] On October 31, 2008, Jones's leadership position of the emerging-church organization Emergent Village was eliminated.[5] Jones began attending Solomon's Porch in 2005—a church in South Minneapolis, and by April 2012, he was the group's "theologian-in-residence" and helped run workshops about connecting with congregants with 21st-century means. At the same time, Jones was an adjunct professor with Fuller.[1]

In 2006, Jones was a contributor to Christianity Today magazine.[6] Jones is the author of the non-fiction book, The New Christians (2008).[7] Religion Dispatches' Peter Laarman was pleasantly surprised by Jones' 2012 non-fiction book A Better Atonement; Laarman called Jones a celebrity in the emerging church movement, and recommended the book for "anyone who’s even considering whether 'that old-time religion' isn’t quite good enough any more."[8] Jones also turned his doctoral dissertation into a book—The Church Is Flat—about the emerging church movement.[1] In 2012, Jones also published the controversial mobile app Ordain Thyself, which offers a variety of religions in which the user can virtually ordain themselves; the app has options for CatholicismHasidic JudaismHinduism, and Klingon religions, each of which instructs the user on their new belief system and provides photo filters to apply the appropriate vestments to personal photos.[9][10] Ordain Thyself retailed for US$0.99 (equivalent to $1.26 in 2022).[11] In 2020, Associated Press Sports Editors named a Star Tribune publication—"Odyssey ahead in the BWCA", co-authored by Jones—the organization's number-one sports "project" of 2019.[12]


Tony Jones: Affliliate Asst. Prof @ Fuller Seminary

Publications

  • The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent FrontierMinneapolisFortress Press. 2008. ISBN 978-1-5064-5495-5.
  • The Church Is Flat: The Relational Ecclesiology of the Emerging Church MovementThe JoPa Group. 2011. ISBN 9780615524313.
  • A Better Atonement: Beyond the Depraved Doctrine of Original Sin (Kindle). MinneapolisThe JoPa Group. 2012.
  • With Timmons, Bob; Lavinsky, Aaron (July 12, 2019). "Odyssey ahead in the BWCA"Star TribuneOCLC 43369847Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020Tracing a North Woods border route of water and land that has transported people of every ilk for centuries, a group's canoe trip in early June through the eastern lakes of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was every bit a trip into the past. It also informed the present and was classic adventure. Over the next five weeks, we'll tell of the trip on a historic water trail, of its joys and challenges, and of a new appreciation, for a father and son, of the BWCA's diverse beauty. Join the adventure.

References

  1. Jump up to:a b c d Aamot, Gregg (August 27, 2012). "Theologian Tony Jones helps churches reach their young, restless and wired flocks"MinnPostOCLC 191956532Archived from the original on December 7, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2020Besides his work in social media, Jones is the theologian-in-residence at Solomon's Porch, an author, and the former national coordinator of Emergent Village.
  2. ^ Miller, Lisa (September 15, 2011). "Separation of church and state in marriage?"The Washington PostISSN 0190-8286OCLC 2269358Archived from the original on January 20, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  3. ^ Jones, Tony (November 11, 2013). "I'm Getting Married Again"PatheosArchived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  4. ^ "The Emerging Synagogue?". Out of Ur. Christianity Today. May 9, 2008. ISSN 0009-5753. Archived from the original on February 3, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2020Apparently Christians aren't the only ones feeling the urge to emerge.
  5. ^ O'Brien, Brandon (December 18, 2008). "Emergent's Divergence"Christianity TodayISSN 0009-5753Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2020Leaders hope decentralizing power will revitalize the movement.
  6. ^ Jones, Tony (May 25, 2006). "Is Emergent the New Christian Left 2: Tony Jones takes on Chuck Colson and 'true truth'". Out of Ur. Christianity TodayISSN 0009-5753. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2020In part 2 of his post, Tony Jones addresses emerging church critic extraordinaire Chuck Colson. Colson sees the Emergent conversation as a threat to traditional Christian understandings of the 'truth.' Jones responds by discussing the interdependence of truth and community - the essence of the Emergent Village conversation.
  7. ^ "Tony Jones Blesses Gay Marriage & Ordination". Out of Ur. Christianity Today. November 26, 2008. ISSN 0009-5753. Archived from the original on August 16, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2020The former Emergent coordinator blogs about his views on faith and sexuality.
  8. ^ Laarman, Peter (April 5, 2012). "Rejecting Blood Sacrifice Theology, Again"Religion DispatchesArchived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  9. ^ rosefrench (May 22, 2012). "Edina pastor develops new app to 'Ordain Thyself'"Star TribuneOCLC 43369847Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  10. ^ Tesh, John"Find Out What It's Like To Be Ordained With The App Ordain Thyself"Intelligence for Your Life. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2020Ever wonder what it's like to become an ordained priest, rabbi, or swami?
  11. ^ "Ordain Thyself App: Become A Religious Leader With The Swipe Of A Finger"The Huffington Post. September 11, 2012. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  12. ^ Adams, Todd (February 16, 2020). "FINAL RESULTS: 2019 APSE contest for writing/photo/video"Associated Press Sports EditorsArchived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.

External links