Supplication for the Beggars and the History of Protestant Reformation in England (historigraphy)

In this article, I quote from Simon Fish's Supplication for the Beggars.  Then I discuss at great lengths to place the quote within the context of the history of Europe from the 4^th Century to the 16^th Century CE, only to form my analysis of Fish's Supplication and finally conclude with the Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards, emphasizing its importance with quotes from the Scripture on forgiveness and Christian charity – agapé.

My apologies to all copyright holders that I have quoted.  All the links in the text reference your words. Also my apologies to the Anglicans who might be offended by any irreverence showed in my description of Church of England history.

Any mistakes and omissions are entirely my own.  SHK 2016-10-31

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“Most lamentably complains their woeful misery unto your Highness your poor daily bedemen¹ the wretched hideous monsters (on whom scarcely for horror any ye dare look) the foul unhappy sort of lepers, and other sore people, needy, impotent, blind, lame, and sick that live only by alms, how that their number is daily so sore increased that all the alms of all the well-disposed people of this your realm is not half enough for to sustain them, but that for very contrient² they die for hunger.” – Simon Fish, Supplication for the Beggars

1: bedemen: plural of bedeman – originally beadsman – a resident of an almshouse in Tudor England. In Scotland, it refers to a privileged or licensed beggar who receives public alms.

Originally, the word referred to a pensioner or almsman who prays for the welfare of his benefactor, when hired to do so, counting the beads on a
rosary. In Medieval English, bede means prayer and is derived from the Old English word biddan. Thus, beadsman means a man of prayer.

In England, the word “bedesman” was long associated with “servant”.

Almshouses are sometimes former bede houses like the Lyddinton Bede House, which was converted to shelter poor bedesmen after 1600 CE in post-Reformation England until 1930. Originally alms are money or services donated to support the poor and indigent out of the tradition of Christian charity. While some almshouses are secular, most of them are European Christian institutions. Establish since the 10^th Century in Britain, they provide a place for poor, old and distressed people to live. During the Middle Ages, most hospitals in Europe functioned as almshouses.

2: contrient interdependence: A condition of social situations in which
the actions that benefit some individuals harm others. It tends to
promote competition. [From Latin con- together + terere to rub or
grind + -ent present participle ending + English interdependence]From: contrient interdependence in A Dictionary of Psychology »

In Fish's England and much of Europe was in an economic crisis by 1529, due to taxation of the poor by the Church. Almshouses were created to deal with the problem. Best known for aiding in the distribution of the Tyndale New Testament, he wrote the anti-clerical pamphlet Supplication for the Beggars, which inspired the English Reformation and the Protestant Reformation proper.

After the Roman Catholic Church condemned the pamphlet as heretical in 1530, Fish was arrested in London on charges of heresy but died of the bubonic plague before his trial. At this time in the Church's history, it was a popular pastime for clerics to burn heretics at the stake after horrific tortures throughout Europe.

In Europe, circa 1517, as a monk Martin Luther objected to church corruption (the selling of indulgences to absolve sin) which led to the Reformation.

As a learned young man, Luther aspired to become a monk, though his father Hans Luther,a rich businessman, wanted him to become a lawyer so much that he withdrew him from the proto-Reformation school run by the Brethren of the Common Life in Magdeburg. Founded circa 1380 by a Dutch
Catholic mystic Geert De Groote., the Confraternity of the Common Life is based on his relations with the German Gottesfreunde (Friends of God), a medieval lay group within the Catholic Church, and the writings of the Flemish mystic Ruysbroek (John of Ruusbroe)c.

In 14th Century Germany, the disruptive reign of the Avignon Papacy had led to the struggle for political power between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Papacy. This culminated in Queen of Naples and Countess of Provence Joanna 1 selling the city of Avignon in 1348 CE to Pope Clement VI for 80,000 florins, uniting Comtat Avignon with the Comtat Venaissin, forming a unified papal enclave whilst retaining their separate political identities.

Almost 50 years earlier, the French lawyer Pierre Dubois, a pupil of St. Thomas Aquinas at University of Paris was the propagandist who wrote in 1300 the anonymous trestise “Summaria, brevis et compendiosa doctrina felicis expeditionis et abbreviationis guerrarum et litium regni Francorum”, a work on the means to shorten conflicts and wars of France.

Sympathetic to French King Philip the Fair, he wrote the anti-clerical and thus secularizing propaganda against Pope Boniface VIII in 1302, “Supplication du peuple de France au roy contre le pape Boniface le Ville”, which virulently indicted the temporal power of the pope. His propaganda continued onwards, long after Boniface's death in 1303.

Importantly, in 1305 Dubois wrote his treatise on the necessary conditions of a successful crusade, De recuperatione terrae sanctae.  It would first begin with a state of peace among Christian nations of the West established and enforced by a church council, which the Catholics view as the aim to subdue the papacy, making it easy for the King of France to take advantage of papal influence.

With reform of the monastic (e.g. Dominicans) and importantly the military orders (e.g. Teutonic Knights) and the reduction of their revenues would allow his king to rule over the Papal States and administer them while forcing the Holy See's vassal countries of Tuscany, Sicily, England and Aragon to pay homage to the French king.  In return the king would grant the pope the revenues of the Papal States.

Dubois also advocated the education of young men and women in oriental languages (Arabic, Greek, Slavic, Turkish) and the natural sciences with a view to the government of Eastern peoples.

Meanwhile, despite disputes with the King of Bohemia, the rise of the Cumans in Hungary which led to the excommunication of the Hungarian King
Ladislaus and his growing unpopularity by the Magyar people under his rule, and the fears of hereditary monarchy by the Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire that culminated in the election of Count Adolf of Nassau-Wellburg as Holy Roman Emperor in 1292, King Albert I of Germany was finally elected King of the Romans (Holy Roman Emperor) in 1298. Due to his humility and keen sense of justice, he protected the serfs and especially the
Jews, who would be expelled from France in 1306 by King Philip.

Due to Dubois' influence, King Philip attempted to control the French clergy and came into conflict with Pope Boniface but French aims to become a world power didn't stop there. Over two centuries later, in 1536 CE, French
King Francis 1 would make the strategic and sometimes tactical alliance with Suleiman the Magnificent, the Turkish sultan of the Ottoman Empire, thanks in part to the Turkish conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmet II and unification of the Middle East between 1516 and 1517 by Selim 1, Suleiman's father. But that's another tale.

In response to the decadence that occurred in reaction to suppression of the French clergy in performing their rites, Ruysbroek's mystical writings were one of many mystical treatises written to encourage Christian charity and love for one's fellow man, which also include the Theologia Germanica, a treatise of German mysticism associated with the Gottesfreunde (Friends of God).

Christian mysticism at this time was inspiring the common people to realize that God and man shall become united by following the path of perfection e.g. the life of Christ.

Martin Luther admired Theologia Germanica so much he published first a partial and later a full edition of it in mid- to late-1510s CE to support his thesis that the German language is as equally suited to express theological ideas as the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin languages.

In fact, this treatise became so popular among the Radical Reformation and later, of Lutheran and Pietism traditions that the Catholic Church banned its reading in 1612 until the second half of the 20th Century. Yet Theologica Germanica was well read by Catholic mystics.

Meanwhile, back in England, the English Reformation begins when King Henry the 8^th wanted to divorce his wife Catherine because Mary was the only child born of her, and the adoption of primogeniture in European royal circles (a consequence of the feudal system in which the ancient Roman custom was adopted from Catholicism and made the law in England) meant
that a legitimate male heir was required to inherit his entire estate (England and Scotland).

With Catherine in her forties, Henry sought a second wife which led to conflict with the Roman Catholic Church when he asked statesman Cardinal
Wolsey to appeal to Pope Clement VII for an annulment, having sought Anne Boleyn as his new wife, a lady-in-waiting to his soon-to-be former wife Catherine of Aragon.

Adverse to angering Catherine's nephew, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, the Pope refused.

Intrigue on the part of Charles led to his deception of Cardinal Wolsey and King Henry prior to Clement's election as pope. Later, Clement confirmed Wolsey's legateship for life and also gave him the Bishopric of Durham om 1523. Upon becoming bishop, Wolsey resigned the See of Bath and Wells.

As bishop Wolsey showed no personal ambition to become pope. Indeed, he was “more joyous thereof than if it had fortuned upon my person”, which showed his humility.

Now Charles distrusted Henry, so Wolsey opted for alliance with France when the defeat and capture of Francis at Pavia in 1525 made the Holy
Roman Empire a danger to all Europe.

In the Treaty of Madrid Francis lost Flanders and the Artois to Charles.  Allowed to return to France in exchange for his sons, Francis and Henry, once free, he claimed duress led to his agreement with the King of the Romans, thus making it void since his sons were taken hostage which implied that Charles didn't trust him.

Meanwhile, Henry reluctantly made a new treaty with France with Wolsey's aid.  Yet it was making him unpopular in Henry's court due to the jealousy of the nobility because the people of England were hostile towards the taxes exacted to pay for such political power.

Even so, Wolsey had changed the taxation system in England, working with
the treasurer of the Chamber, John Heron to create the “Subsidy.”  By accurate valuations of the taxpayer's wealth, one shilling per pound of income was now exacted.

Given that 20 shillings make a pound, taxation for the Subsidy was 5%. The old taxation system only meant the poor ended up paying as much taxes as the rich. When the new taxation system was implemented, the poorer members of society paid much less.

Wolsey also reinvented the equity court in which the the judge decided the verdict based on the principle of fairness. Both the Star Chamber and the Court of Chauncery concentrated on simple, inexpensive cases and impartial justice. In the Court of Requests for the poor, no fees were required. No longer were powerful people invincible e.g. the Earl of Northumberland was sent to Fleet Prison in 1516 and Lord Abergavenny was accused of illegal retaining.

It is at this point that King Henry's desire to divorce Catherine and marry Anne Boleyn led to Wolsey's fall. While he didn't wish the king to marry Anne, he saw Catherine's political influence as Charles' aunt led her to dislike Wolsey's French policy.

His reasoning was that if the religious tribunal decided that the king's marriage to her was invalid, the pope would confirm it.

Once Catherine learned of the King's plan, she prepared to defend her rights as queen. Since she could count on Pope Clement and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to sympathize with her, Henry sent Wolsey to convince Francis to pressure the pope by delivering the pope from Charles who had sacked Rome, hoping for Clement's gratefulness would convince him to grant Henry the divorce.

On Wolsey's return to England, he learned that he was no longer favored by the King due to his failure to secure a divorce. Instead, he had learned Bishop Knight of Bath and Wells had been sent to Rome in 1527 to get Catherine of Aragon's marriage annulled and to make trade pacts, which never came to fruition, mainly due to the fact that the English were never considered a part of the Continent of Europe by the Central European kingdoms.

For ambassador to the Papacy and European kingdoms. Wolsey preferred Jerome de Ghinucci, Bishop of Worcester, since he had a better command of Italian than Knight, who complained that he was old and going blind.

Yet the King still considered Wolsey useful, and the cardinal realized Anne Boleyn to be a political rival.

Despite the pope sending Cardinal Campeggio to try the case in England with Wolsey, the English cardinal realized that the matter was outside of his hands. Because of the serious nature of annulment, Campeggio delayed holding the trial until June 1529 when the court sat at Blackfriars.

Due to the delay of the trial, Anne Boleyn blamed Wolsey and decided to bring about his fall. When the trial failed, this made her scheme possible.

Soon Wolsey had fallen into disgrace and by November 1529 he had surrendered the great seal of England and all his vast possessions.  After suffering at Esher, in February of the following year, he received a pardon and had the possessions of his archbishopric restored except York House, which now belonged to the king.

Allowed to retire to York, he spend the last six months of his life performing his duties as bishop. Henry decided not to patronize his two colleges at Ipswitch and Oxford, and only Christ's College at Oxford survived to this day.

In November 1530 he was arrested on charges of high treason.

Meanwhile Thomas Cromwell became King Henry the 8^th's confidant with him handling the break with Rome and creating the laws and administrative procedures that changed post-Reformation England for better or for worse.

Rather than the Pope of Rome taking over ecclesiastical duties over Britain, King Henry the 8^th became the head of the Church of England, which broke away from Papal authority of the Roman Catholic Church.

In the English Reformation, Fish's Supplication was propaganda against corruption in the English clergy, despite the fact that Wolsey's taxation system was much fairer than the previous 15^th and 10^th taxation which was introduced in the late 14^th Century and led to the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, due to their unpopularity.

Lollardy must be considered as the political and religious movement that existed from the time of John Wycliffe to the English Reformation as inspiration for the Supplication and the Revolt of 1381 since Western Christianity was certainly in need of reform due to the worldly aspirations of the Avignon Papacy and the corruption within the Church due to the role of the clergy and parishioners in the legitimacy of royalty.

However, it is not like serfdom was abolished then because Fish was agitating for reformation almost 150 years later.  Yet serfdom was a miserable existence because a feudal lord could work serfs unto death without pay.

But feudalism was dying out due to education of the middle and upper class of British society.

It is amazing what a little education can do to expand the horizons of a people, especially the British people.

Historically, the poor of England and Scotland in the 16^th Century had probably had experienced more than a few generations of privation due to contrient interdependence and disease, and were considered servants worthy of Christian charity.

Protest against social equality in Medieval England came to the fore in 1395 with the Twelve Conclusions of the Lollards, which was a critique of the English Church in which the Lollards pressed their argument that the Church needed reform.

First, the state of the Church was worldly, due to the Church of Rome's bad
example e.g. the Avignon Papacy warring with the Holy Roman Empire and amassing Papal States to become a power unto itself.

British royalty at the time couldn't help but be involved in this corruption because all the royal houses since Norman times were related to most of Western Europe's royalty through marriage, including the various Norman and later French royalty (the House of Valois and Francis), western German royalty and Hapsburg royalty (Albert and Charles V), and Spanish royalty (Catherine of Aragon). They made treaties with each other to amass more land and collect subsidies from the taxpayers to fund their war-chest.

It was up to the British nobility to organize the peasants to pay the Subsidy to the English government.

Second, the priesthood was criticized because the Bible printed by Wycliffe indicated that ordination of priests and bishops do not have any scriptural precedent. IMHO this point would the Church's clergy because the religious law that justifies ordination of clergy is a man-made law, not a law that Jesus laid down.

Third, clerical celibacy was a farce in medieval times because clerical celibacy encouraged sodomy among the clergy.  On this point, I would state that the Orthodox view was against clerical celibacy with only monks and the Patriarch being celibate. This preserves celibacy because then the clergy would show a better example regarding marriage.

Fourth, the doctrine of transubstantiation leads to idolatry in the worship of communion wafers which represents the flesh of the Christ while the spoiled grape juice (table wine) represents his blood.

This would also lead clergy and parishioners alike being tempted for drink, which goes against the temperance established by the Apostles after the Christ's Ascension (Acts 2) e.g. not drinking in the third hour of the morning but instead allowing the Holy Spirit to pour out through all baptized men and women, so that “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams... And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Fifth, exorcisms and hallowings are a kind of witchcraft carried out by the clergy and thus incompatible with Christian theology.

Sixthly, it is inappropriate in the higher offices in the Church to also hold positions of great temporal power e.g. the rich Italian banking families that followed the Avignon Papacy from Italy (the Medici and the like).

Seventhly, the uncharitableness of saying prayers for specific individual dead since it by implication excludes all the other blessed dead not being prayed for. Also the practice of prayer requests for the dead by donating money to the Church is bribery that leads to corruption.

Eighthly, the practice of pilgrimages and veneration of relics are ineffectual for spiritual merit and thus idolatry in their worship of man-made objects. IMHO is it any wonder that the lower classes still practiced their folk Christianity in private, at least until the oppression of Puritans by the Anglican church led to an exodus of Puritans to America.

Ninthly, the practice of confession for absolution of sins is blasphemous since only God has the power to forgive sins. If priests did have that power, it is cruel and uncharitable of them to withhold that forgiveness from anyone in the world, even if they refused to confess.

To rephrase a quote of Alexander Pope, to commit sin is human, to forgive divine. 

Just as the Lord forgave the Jews and the Romans on the hill called Skull (Luke 23:34), so did he preach forgiveness in prayer (Matthew 6:1-15) as a good example for everyone alike to follow.

When healing the paralytic, the Christ not only forgave his sins because “the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins.” (Matthew 9:6). Like the Christ, the clergy ought to forgive especially those parishioners who do not confess of their sins out of charity.

Likewise, Peter asked Jesus, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?" And he answered, "I do not tell you ‘till seven times,’ but till seventy times seven.” Thus, even if your brother sins against you, forgive him always. It matters not if thy brother is related by blood or not. If you are forgiven your spiritual debt then forgive the debt that other people owe you. By being of a forgiving nature, you will realize that nobody owes you a debt at all. (Matthew 18, Mark 2, Luke 5)

Forgiveness ought be on our minds as Christians, for the Lord said “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it shall be yours. And whenever you stand up to pray, forgive, if you have anything against any one, that so your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses". (Mark 10:24-25)

When your heart is full of charity for the Lord like the woman who wet his feet with her tears and poured perfume on them, he shall forgive you too. It matters not if it is five sins or fifty, save the sin of forgetting God. (Luke 7:49)

Jesus also said “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who has offended us; and bring us not into temptation.” (Luke 11:4). By this he meant that when we ask God to forgive our sins, we also forgive everyone lest we be tempted to sin again.

It is clear what Jesus meant when he said, "Be
on you guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and seven times a day turns to you saying ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him." (Luke 17:3-4)

Other instances of the Christ preaching forgiveness include Luke 23:34, and through Peter resisting Simon the Magi attempted to buy the power of healing (Acts 8:22) who said “Repent then this of your wickedness, and beseech the Lord to forgive you this purpose of your heart.”

For the gift of healing through the power of the Holy Ghost cannot be bought or sold. A good Christian does not let the love of money tempt him when shares the blessings of the Holy Ghost.

In the letters of Paul too flow the Holy Ghost as the Comforter that forgives the offender in 2 Corinthians 2:1-10. Given that the Corinthians doubted about the resurrection, Paul asked them to forgive if he was any burden to them (2 Corinthians 12:13).

In Colossians 3, Paul advised the Colossians on how to be good Christians, stating that “as God’s chosen people, consecrated and beloved, clothe yourselves with tenderness of heart, kindness, humility, gentleness, good temper; bearing with one another and forgiving each other, if any one has a grievance against another. Just as Christ the Lord forgave you, so must you forgive. Over them all bind on love, which is the girdle of completeness. Let the peace of Christ, to which also you were called in one body, rule in your hearts, and show yourselves thankful.” (Colossians 3:12-15)

Finally, John says “if we confess our sins, faithful is he and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all wrongdoing” for “we have a partnership with one another” as Christians, for his sacrifice at the cross has cleansed us from every sin. (1 John 1)

It is because the practice of forgiveness is the habit of good Christians that I quote Scripture to emphasize the importance of forgiveness as a Christian.

Tenthly, Christians should refrain from warfare, especially wars justified by religion, such as crusades. They are blasphemous since the Christ taught men to love and forgive their enemies. 

It is not a weakness of character to preach love and forgive enemies.

On this matter, Thomas Paine, one of America's founding fathers wrote:

He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/thomas_paine_105874

Justice will still demand that their evil acts be punished by law when their acts break the law. As Christians we have no need of hatred towards enemies.

How can a Christian say that what he does is good if he libels his enemy and generalizes against them, misquoting their scripture, using it to shame them, thinking that by doing so they are true Christians? When Jesus purportedly preaches violence, he said “that's enough”, implying that as Christians we follow the Ten Commandments faithfully, knowing that we as the truly righteous are peace loving and forgiving.

It matters not if that enemy is your brother, your sister, your neighbour, a terrorist, a madman, the poor, the diseased. Truly, in the depths of my heart I believe this.

Should my actions betray my hypocrisy, I repent of it to God. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

This URL explains how the Avignon papacy cane to be: an unpopular pope led to the election of Pope Clement. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Schism

Matthew Fox's 95 Theses

http://matthewfoxcs.blogspot.com/2005/05/chapter-v-95-theses-or-articles-of.html

Like Luther, I present 95 theses or in my case, 95 faith observations drawn from my 64 years of living and practicing religion and spirituality. I trust I am not alone in recognizing these truths. For me they represent a return to our origins, a return to the spirit and the teaching of Jesus and his prophetic ancestors, and of the Christ which was a spirit that Jesus’ presence and teaching unleashed.

Wie Luther stelle ich 95 Thesen vor, oder in meinem Falle 95 Glaubensbeobachtungen, die aus den 64 Jahren meines Leben und meiner religiösen und spirituellen Praxis stammen. Ich bin sicher, daß ich mit der Erkenntnis dieser Wahrheiten nicht allein dastehe. Für mich stellen sie eine Rückkehr zu unseren Ursprüngen dar, eine Rückkehr zum Geist und der Lehre Jesu und seiner prophetischen Vorfahren, und zu dem Christus, dessen Geist durch die Gegenwart und Lehre Jesu entfaltet wurde.

1.

God is both Mother and Father.

Gott ist Mutter und Vater.

2.

At this time in history, God is more Mother than Father because the feminine is most missing and it is important to bring gender balance back.

In unserer Zeit ist Gott mehr Mutter als Vater, denn das Weibliche fehlt am meisten, und es ist wesentlich, das Gleichgewicht der Geschlechter wieder herzustellen.

3.

God is always new, always young and always “in the beginning.”

Gott ist immer neu, immer jung und immer „im Anfang“.

4.

God the Punitive Father is not a God worth honoring but a false god and an idol that serves empire-builders. The notion of a punitive, all-male God, is contrary to the full nature of the Godhead who is as much female and motherly as it is masculine and fatherly.

Gott als strafender Vater ist keine anbetungswürdige Gottheit, sondern ein Götze, der den Imperialisten dient. Die Vorstellung eines strafenden, männlichen Gottes widerspricht dem umfassenden Wesen der Gottheit, die ebenso weiblich und mütterlich wie männlich und väterlich ist.

5.

“All the names we give to God come from an understanding of ourselves.” (Eckhart) Thus people who worship a punitive father are themselves punitive.

"Alle N amen, die wir Gott geben, stammen aus unserem Selbstverständnis." (Meister Eckhart*) Deshalb sind diejenigen, die Gott als strafend bezeichnen, selbst strafend.

6.

Theism (the idea that God is ‘out there’ or above and beyond the universe) is false. All things are in God and God is in all things (panentheism).

Der Theismus (die Vorstellung, daß Gott irgendwo `da draußen´ ist oder oberhalb oder außerhalb des Universums) ist falsch. Alle Dinge sind in Gott, und Gott ist in allen Dingen (Panentheismus).

7.

Everyone is born a mystic and a lover who experiences the unity of things and all are called to keep this mystic or lover of life alive.

Jede und jeder ist als MystikerIn geboren und als LiebendeR, der oder die die Einheit aller Dinge erlebt und berufen ist, dieses Mystische und diese Lebensliebe lebendig zu erhalten.

8.

All are called to be prophets which is to interfere with injustice.

Alle Menschen sind berufen Prophetinnen und Propheten zu sein, was bedeutet, sich in Ungerechtigkeit einzumischen.

9.

Wisdom is Love of Life (See the Book of Wisdom: “This is wisdom: to love life” and Christ in John’s Gospel: “I have come that you may have life and have it in abundance.”)

Weisheit ist die Liebe zum Leben (siehe das Buch der Weisheit: „Weisheit heißt: das Leben zu lieben.“ und Christus im Johannes-Evangelium: „Ich bin gekommen, damit ihr das Leben habt, Leben in Fülle.“)

10.

God loves all of creation and science can help us more deeply penetrate and appreciate the mysteries and wisdom of God in creation. Science is no enemy of true religion.

Gott liebt die ganze Schöpfung, und die Wissenschaft kann uns helfen, tiefer in die Mysterien und die Weisheit Gottes in der Schöpfung einzudringen. Wissenschaft ist kein Feind echter Religion.

11.

Religion is not necessary but spirituality is.

Religion ist nicht notwendig, wohl aber Spiritualität.

12.

“Jesus does not call us to a new religion but to life.” (Bonhoeffer) Spirituality is living life at a depth of newness and gratitude, courage and creativity, trust and letting go, compassion and justice.

"Jesus ruft uns nicht zu einer neuen Religion, sondern zum Leben" (nach Bonhoeffer*). Spiritualität heißt, das Leben in tiefer Neuheit und Dankbarkeit zu leben, in Mut und Kreativität, Vertrauen und Gelassenheit, Mitgefühl und Gerechtigkeit.

13.

Spirituality and religion are not the same thing any more than education and learning, law and justice, or commerce and stewardship are the same thing.

Spiritualität und Religion sind ebensowenig das gleiche, wie Bildung und Wissen, Gerechtigkeit und Gesetz oder Treuhänderschaft und Kommerz.

14.

Christians must distinguish between God (masculine and history, liberation and salvation) and Godhead (feminine and mystery, being and non-action).

Christen müssen unterscheiden zwischen Gott (männlich und Geschichte, Befreiung und Erlösung) und Gottheit (weiblich und Mysterium, Sein und Nicht-Handeln).

15.

Christians must distinguish between Jesus (an historical figure) and Christ (the experience of God-in-all-things).

Christen müssen unterscheiden zwischen Jesus (einer historischen Gestalt) und Christus (der Erfahrung von Gott-in-allen-Dingen).

16.

Christians must distinguish between Jesus and Paul.

Christen müssen zwischen Jesus und Paulus unterscheiden.

17.

Jesus, not unlike many spiritual teachers, taught us that we are sons and daughters of God and are to act accordingly by becoming instruments of divine compassion.

Ähnlich anderen spirituellen Lehrern lehrte Jesus uns, daß wir Söhne und Töchter Gottes sind und uns deshalb als Werkzeuge des göttlichen Mitgefühls zu verhalten haben.

18.

Ecojustice is a necessity for planetary survival and human ethics and without it we are crucifying the Christ all over again in the form of destruction of forests, waters, species, air and soil.

Ökologische Gerechtigkeit ist für das Überleben des Planeten und eine menschliche Ethik notwendig. Ohne eine solche kreuzigen wir den Christus immer wieder in Form der Zerstörung von Wäldern, Wasser, Spezies, Luft und Boden.

19.

Sustainability is another word for justice, for what is just is sustainable and what is unjust is not.

Nachhaltigkeit ist ein anderes Wort für Gerechtigkeit, denn was gerecht ist, ist auch nachhaltig, und was ungerecht ist, nicht.

20.

A preferential option for the poor, as found in the base community movement, is far closer to the teaching and spirit of Jesus than is a preferential option for the rich and powerful as found in, for example, Opus Dei.

Eine Option für die Armen, wie beispielsweise in der Bewegung der Basisgemeinden, ist der Lehre und dem Geist Jesu viel näher als die Option für die Reichen und Mächtigen, wie beispielsweise im Opus Dei.

21.

Economic Justice requires the work of creativity to birth a system of economics that is global, respectful of the health and wealth of the earth systems and that works for all.

Ökonomische Gerechtigkeit braucht das Wirken der Kreativität, um ein Wirtschaftssystem hervorzubringen, das global ist, das Achtung hat vor der Gesundheit und dem Reichtum der planetaren Systeme und das für alle Menschen funktioniert.

22.

Celebration and worship are key to human community and survival and such reminders of joy deserve new forms that speak in the language of the twenty-first century.

Feier und Kult sind Schlüssel zur menschlichen Gemeinschaft und zum Überleben. Derartige Anstösse zur Freude verdienen neue Formen, welche die Sprache des 21.Jahrhunderts sprechen.

23.

Sexuality is a sacred act and a spiritual experience, a theophany (revelation of the Divine), a mystical experience. It is holy and deserves to be honored as such.

Sexualität ist eine heilige Handlung und eine spirituelle Erfahrung, eine Theophanie (Offenbarung des Göttlichen), eine mystische Erfahrung. Sie ist heilig und verdient es, als solche geehrt zu werden.

24.

Creativity is both humanity’s greatest gift and its most powerful weapon for evil and so it ought to be both encouraged and steered to humanity’s most God-like activity which all religions agree is: Compassion.

Kreativität ist sowohl die größte Gabe der Menschheit wie auch ihre mächtigste Waffe für das Böse. Deshalb müssen wir zum Mitgefühl ermutigt und gelenkt werden, das – wie alle Religion übereinstimmend sagen – die gottesähnlichste Handlung der Menschheit ist.

25.

There is a priesthood of all workers (all who are doing good work are midwives of grace and therefore priests) and this priesthood ought to be honored as sacred and workers should be instructed in spirituality in order to carry on their ministry effectively.

Es gibt eine Priesterschaft aller Arbeitenden (die gute Werke tun und Hebammen der Gnade sind und darum PriesterInnen), und diese Priesterschaft sollte als heilig geehrt werden, und die Arbeitenden sollten in Spiritualität unterrichtet werden, um ihr Amt wirksam ausüben zu können.

26.

Empire-building is incompatible with Jesus’ life and teaching and with Paul’s life and teaching and with the teaching of holy religions.

Imperialismus ist nicht verträglich mit dem Leben und der Lehre Jesu und dem Leben und der Lehre des Paulus und mit der Lehre der heiligen Religionen.

27.

Ideology is not theology and ideology endangers the faith because it replaces thinking with obedience, and distracts from the responsibility of theology to adapt the wisdom of the past to today’s needs. Instead of theology it demands loyalty oaths to the past.

Ideologie ist keine Theologie, sondern gefährdet den Glauben, weil sie das Denken durch Gehorchen ersetzt und von der Verantwortung der Theologie ablenkt, die Weisheit der Vergangenheit an die heutigen Bedürfnisse anzupassen. Statt Theologie verlangt sie Loyalitäts-Eide auf die Vergangenheit.

28

Loyalty is not a sufficient criterion for ecclesial office—intelligence and proven conscience is.

Loyalität ist kein ausreichendes Kriterium für ein Kirchenamt – wohl aber Intelligenz und ein unter Beweis gestelltes Gewissen.

29.

No matter how much the television media fawn over the pope and papacy because it makes good theater, the pope is not the church but has a ministry within the church. Papalolotry is a contemporary form of idolatry and must be resisted by all believers.

Ganz gleich wieviel die Fernsehanstalten den Papst und das Pontifikat hofieren, weil das eine gute Show macht, ist doch der Papst nicht die Kirche, sondern hat nur ein Amt innerhalb der Kirche. Pontifikalismus ist eine zeitgenössische Art des Götzendienstes, dem alle Gläubigen widerstehen müssen.

30.

Creating a church of Sycophants is not a holy thing. Sycophants (Webster’s dictionary defines them as “servile self-seeking flatterers”) are not spiritual people for their only virtue is obedience. A Society of Sycophants — sycophant clergy, sycophant seminarians, sycophant bishops, sycophant cardinals, sycophant religious orders of Opus Dei, Legioneers of Christ and Communion and Liberation, and the sycophant press--do not represent in any way the teachings or the person of the historical Jesus who chose to stand up to power rather than amassing it.

Eine Kirche von Sycophanten zu schaffen ist nichts Heiliges. Sycophanten (laut Lexikon „unterwürfige, sich selbst suchende Schmeichler“) sind keine spirituellen Menschen, denn ihre einzige Tugend ist der Gehorsam. Eine Gesellschaft der Sycophanten – sycophantischer Klerus, sycophantische Seminaristen, sycophantische Bischöfe, sycophantische Kardinäle, sycophantische religiöse Orden wie Opus Dei, die Legionäre Christi oder `Gemeinschaft und Befreiung´, sowie eine sycophantische Presse – vertreten in keiner Weise die Lehren oder die Person des historischen Jesus, der sich gegen die Macht aufgelehnt hat statt sie anzuhäufen.

31.

Vows of pontifical secrecy are a certain way to corruption and cover-up in the church as in any human organization.

Pontifikale Verschwiegenheitseide sind in der Kirche ein ebenso sicherer Weg zur Korruption und Vertuschung wie in allen anderen menschlichen Organisationen.

32.

Original sin is an ultimate expression of a punitive father God and is not a Biblical teaching. But original blessing (goodness and grace) is biblical.

Die Ursünde ist äußerster Ausdruck eines strafenden Vatergottes und keine biblische Lehre. Der ursprüngliche Segen (Güte und Gnade) aber ist biblisch.

33.

The term “original wound” better describes the separation humans experience on leaving the womb and entering the world, a world that is often unjust and unwelcoming than does the term “original sin.”

Der Ausdruck „ursprüngliche Wunde“ beschreibt besser als „Ursünde“ die Trennung, die die Menschen beim Verlassen des Mutterleibes erleben und beim Betreten einer Welt, die oft ungerecht und abweisend ist.

34.

Fascism and the compulsion to control is not the path of peace or compassion and those who practice fascism are not fitting models for sainthood. The seizing of the apparatus of canonization to canonize fascists is a stain on the church.

Faschismus und Kontrollzwang sind kein Weg zu Frieden oder Mitgefühl. Und diejenigen, die Faschismus praktizieren, sind keine passenden Vorbilder der Heiligkeit. Der Mißbrauch des Kanonisierungs-Apparates zur Kanonisierung von Faschisten ist ein Schandfleck auf der Kirche.

35.

The Spirit of Jesus and other prophets calls people to simple life styles in order that “the people may live.”

Der Geist Jesu und anderer Propheten beruft die Menschen zu einem einfachen Lebensstil, damit „die Menschen leben mögen“.

36.

Dancing, whose root meaning in many indigenous cultures is the same as breath or spirit, is a very ancient and appropriate form in which to pray.

Tanzen hat in vielen ursprünglichen Kulturen die gleiche Bedeutungswurzel wie Atmen oder Geist und ist eine sehr alte und angemessene Form des Betens.

37.

To honor the ancestors and celebrate the communion of saints does not mean putting heroes on pedestals but rather honoring them by living out lives of
imagination, courage and compassion in our own time, culture and historical moment as they did in theirs.

Die Vorfahren zu achten und die Gemeinschaft der Heiligen zu feiern, bedeutet nicht, Helden auf ein Podest zu heben, sondern sie dadurch zu ehren, daß wir in unserer eigenen Zeit, Kultur und Geschichte phantasievoll, mutig und mitfühlend leben, wie sie es in ihrer taten.

38.

A diversity of interpretation of the Jesus event and the Christ experience is altogether expected and welcomed as it was in the earliest days of the church.

Wie in der Frühzeit der Kirche ist eine Deutungsvielfalt für die Ereignisse um Jesus und die Christus-Erfahrung erwartungsgemäß und erwünscht.

39.

Therefore unity of church does not mean conformity. There is unity in diversity. Coerced unity is not unity.

Einheit der Kirche bedeutet deshalb nicht Konformität. Es gibt eine Einheit in der Vielfalt. Erzwungene Einheit ist keine Einheit.

40.

The Holy Spirit is perfectly capable of working through participatory democracy in church structures and hierarchical modes of being can indeed interfere with the work of the Spirit.

Der Heilige Geist ist durchaus in der Lage in partizipatorisch demokratischen Kirchenstrukturen zu wirken; und hierarchische Modelle können das Wirken des Geistes auch behindern.

41.

The body is an awe-filled sacred Temple of God and this does not mean it is untouchable but rather that all its dimensions, well named by the seven charkas, are as holy as the others.

Der Körper ist ein ehrfurchtsvoller Tempel Gottes. Und das bedeutet nicht, daß er unberührbar sei, sondern daß alle seine Dimensionen – benannt als die sieben Chakren – gleichermaßen heilig sind.

42.

Thus our connection with the earth (first chakra) is holy; and our sexuality (second chakra) is holy; and our moral outrage (third chakra) is holy; and our love that stands up to fear (fourth chakra) is holy; and our prophetic voice that speaks out is holy (fifth chakra); and our intuition and intelligence (sixth chakra) are holy; and our gifts we extend to the community of light beings and ancestors (seventh chakra) are holy.

Deshalb ist unsere Verbindung mit der Erde heilig (erstes Chakra); und unsere Sexualität ist heilig (zweites Chakra); und unsere moralische Empörung ist heilig (drittes Chakra); und unsere Liebe, die sich gegen die Angst stellt, ist heilig (viertes Chakra); und unsere prophetisch sich äußernde Stimme ist heilig (fünftes Chakra); und unsere Intuition und Intelligenz sind heilig (sechstes Chakra); und unsere Gaben, mit denen wir an der Gemeinschaft der Lichtwesen und Vorfahren teilhaben, sind heilig (siebentes Chakra).

43.

The prejudice of rationalism and left-brain located in the head must be balanced by attention to the lower charkas as equal places for wisdom and truth and Spirit to act.

Das Vorurteil des Rationalismus und der nur im Kopf angesiedelten linken Hirnhälfte muß ein Gleichgewicht finden mit einer Aufmerksamkeit auf die unteren Chakren, die ebenso
Weisheit und Wahrheit und handelnden Geist verkörpern.

44.

The central chakra, compassion, is the test of the health of all the others which are meant to serve it for “by their fruits you will know them” (Jesus).

Das zentrale Chakra, das Mitgefühl, ist der Prüfstein für die Gesundheit aller anderen, die ihm dienen sollen, denn „an ihren Früchten werdet ihr sie erkennen“ (Jesus).

45.

“Joy is the human’s noblest act.” (Aquinas) Is our culture and its professions, education and religion, promoting joy?

"Freude ist das edelste Werk des Menschen." (Thomas von Aquin) Fördern unsere Kultur und ihre Berufe, die Bildung und Religion wirklich Freude?

46.

The human psyche is made for the cosmos and will not be satisfied until the two are re-united and awe, the beginning of wisdom, results from this reunion.

Die menschliche Seele ist für den Kosmos geschaffen und wird nicht zufrieden sein, solange diese beiden nicht vereint sind und Ehrfurcht, der Beginn der Weisheit, aus dieser Verbindung entsteht.

47.

The four paths named in the creation spiritual tradition more fully name the mystical/prophetic spiritual journey of Jesus and the Jewish tradition than do the three paths of purgation, illumination and union which do not derive from the Jewish and Biblical tradition.

Die vier von der Schöpfungstradition benannten Pfade repräsentieren die mystisch-prophetische geistige Reise Jesu und der jüdischen Überlieferung besser als die drei Pfade der Läuterung, Erleuchtung und Vereinigung, die nicht aus der jüdischen und biblischen Tradition stammen.

48.

Thus it can be said that God is experienced in experiences of ecstasy, joy, wonder and delight (via positiva).

Deshalb kann man sagen, daß Gott in einer Erfahrung der Ekstase, der Freude, des Staunens und der Begeisterung erlebt wird (via positiva).

49.

God is experienced in darkness, chaos, nothingness, suffering, silence and in learning to let go and let be (via negativa).

Gott wird erlebt in Dunkelheit, Chaos, Nichtigkeit, Leiden, Stille und im Erlernen des Geschehen- und Seinlassens (via negativa).

50.

God is experienced in acts of creativity and co-creation (via creativa).

Gott wird erfahren in Taten der Kreativität und der Mitschöpfung (via creativa).

51.

All people are born creative. It is spirituality’s task to encourage holy imagination for all are born in the “image and likeness” of the Creative One and “the fierce power of imagination is a gift from God.” (Kaballah)

Alle Menschen werden kreativ geboren. Es ist eine Aufgabe der Spiritualität die heilige Phantasie zu ermuntern, denn alle sind "im Ebenbilde" des Schöpferischen geboren und "die
wilde Kraft der Vorstellung ist eine Gabe Gottes" (Kabbala).

52.

If you can talk you can sing; if you can walk you can dance; if you can talk you are an artist. (African proverb and Native American saying)

Wenn du sprechen kannst, kannst du auch singen: wenn du gehen kannst, kannst du auch tanzen; wenn du sprechen kannst, bist du ein Künstler. (Afrikanisches und indianisches Sprichwort)

53.

God is experienced in our struggle for justice, healing, compassion and celebration (via transformativa).

Gott wird erlebt in unserem Kampf für Gerechtigkeit, Heilung, Mitgefühl und Feier (via transformativa).

54.

The Holy Spirit works through all cultures and all spiritual traditions and blows “where it wills” and is not the exclusive domain of any one tradition and
never has been.

Der Heilige Geist wirkt durch alle Kulturen und alle spirituellen Überlieferungen und "weht wo er will" und ist und war niemals einer Tradition exklusiv vorbehalten.

55.

God speaks today as in the past through all religions and all cultures and all faith traditions none of which is perfect and an exclusive avenue to truth but all of which can learn from each other.

Gott spricht heute wie in der Vergangenheit durch alle Religionen und alle Kulturen und alle Glaubensüberlieferungen, die alle nicht vollkommene oder alleinige Wege zur Wahrheitsind, sondern alle voneinander lernen können.

56.

Therefore Interfaith or Deep Ecumenism are a necessary part of spiritual praxis and awareness in our time.

Deshalb ist eine glaubensübergreifende oder Tiefenökumene notwendiger Teil einer zeitgemäßen spirituellen Praxis und Bewußtheit.

57.

Since the “number one obstacle to interfaith is a bad relationship with one’s own faith,” (the Dalai Lama) it is important that Christians know their own
mystical and prophetic tradition, one that is larger than a religion of empire and its punitive father images of God.

Da "das Haupthindernis für eine Glaubensbegegnung eine schlechte Beziehung zum eigenen Glauben ist" (der Dalai Lama), ist es für Christen wichtig, ihre eigene mystische und
prophetische Tradition kennenzulernen, die umfassender ist als eine Religion des Imperiums und ihr strafend väterliches Gottesbild.

58.

The cosmos is God’s holy Temple and our holy home.

Der Kosmos ist Gottes heiliger Tempel und unsere heilige Heimat.

59.

Fourteen billion years of evolution and unfolding of the universe bespeak the intimate sacredness of all that is.

Milliarden Jahre Evolution und Entfaltung des Universums weisen auf die innerste Heiligkeit allen Seins hin.

60.

All that is is holy and all that is is related for all being in our universe began as one being just before the fireball erupted.

Alles, was ist, ist heilig, und alles, was ist, steht zueinander in Beziehung, denn alles Sein in diesem Universum begann als ein Sein, bevor der Urknall geschah.

61.

Interconnectivity is not only a law of physics and of nature but also forms the basis of community and of compassion. Compassion is the working out of our shared interconnectivity both as to our shared joy and our shared suffering and struggle for justice.

Wechselseitige Verbundenheit ist nicht nur ein physikalisches und Naturgesetz, sondern stellt auch die Grundlage unserer Gesellschaft und des Mitgefühls dar. Mitgefühl ist die Umsetzung unserer gegenseitigen Verbundenheit sowohl in bezug auf unsere gemeinsame Freude wie auch in bezug auf unser gemeinsames Leid und unseren Kampf um Gerechtigkeit.

62.

The universe does not suffer from a shortage of grace and no religious institution is to see its task as rationing grace. Grace is abundant in God’s universe.

Das Universum leidet nicht an einem Mangel an Gnade und keine religiöse Institution darf ihre Aufgabe in der Rationierung von Gnade sehen. In Gottes Welt gibt es genügend Gnade.

63.

Creation, Incarnation and Resurrection are continuously happening on a cosmic as well as a personal scale. So too are Life, Death and Resurrection (regeneration and reincarnation) happening on a cosmic scale as well as a personal one.

Schöpfung, Inkarnation und Auferstehung geschehen auf kosmischer wie auf persönlicher Ebene ständig. Und das gilt auch für Leben, Tod und Auferstehung (Regeneration und Reinkarnation), die in kosmischem wie persönlichem Maßstab geschehen.

64.

Biophilia or Love of Life is everyone’s daily task.

Biophilie oder Liebe zum Leben ist unser aller tägliche Aufgabe.

65.

Necrophilia or love of death is to be opposed in self and society in all its forms.

Der Nekrophilie oder Todesliebe muß in uns selbst und in der Gesellschaft in allen Formen widerstanden werden.

66.

Evil can happen through every people, every nation, every tribe, and every individual human and so vigilance and self-criticism and institutional criticism are always called for.

Das Böse kann durch jede Nation, jedes Volk, jeden Stamm und jedes Individuum geschehen. Deshalb sind Wachsamkeit, Selbstkritik und institutionelle Kritik jederzeit gefragt.

67.

Not all who call themselves “Christian” deserve that name just as “not all who say ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven” (Jesus).

Nicht alle, die sich als „Christen“ bezeichnen, verdienen diesen Namen auch, wie auch nicht alle, „die `Herr, Herr´ sagen, ins Himmelreich eingehen werden“ (Jesus).

68.

Pedophilia is a terrible wrong but its cover-up by hierarchy is even more despicable.

Pädophilie ist ein furchtbares Vergehen, aber ihre Vertuschung durch die Hierarchie ist noch abscheulicher.

69.

Loyalty and obedience are never a greater virtue than conscience and justice.

Loyalität und Gehorsam sind niemals größere Tugenden als Gewissen und Gerechtigkeit.

70.

Jesus said nothing about condoms, birth control or homosexuality.

Jesus hat nie etwas über Kondome, Geburtenkontrolle oder Homosexualität gesagt.

71.

A church that is more preoccupied with sexual wrongs than with wrongs of injustice is itself sick.

Eine Kirche, die sich mehr mit sexuellem Fehlverhalten als mit Ungerechtigkeit beschäftigt, ist selbst krank.

72.

Since homosexuality is found among 464 species and in 8 percent of any given human population, it is altogether natural for those who are born that way and is a gift from God and nature to the greater community.

Da Homosexualität sich bei 464 Spezies und bei 8 % jeder menschlichen Population findet, handelt es sich bei denen, die so geboren sind, um eine völlig natürliche Sache, um eine
Gabe Gottes und der Natur für die größere Gemeinschaft.

73.

Homophobia in any form is a serious sin against love of neighbor, a sin of ignorance of the richness and diversity of God’s creation as well as a sin of exclusion.

Homophobie ist in jeder Form eine ernste Sünde gegen die Nächstenliebe, eine Sünde gegen den Reichtum und die Vielfalt in Gottes Schöpfung wie auch eine Sünde der Ausgrenzung.

74.

Racism, Sexism and militarism are also serious sins.

Rassismus, Sexismus und Militarismus sind ebenfalls ernsthafte Sünden.

75.

Poverty for the many and luxury for the few is not right or sustainable.

Armut für die vielen und Luxus für wenige ist weder rechtens noch nachhaltig.

76.

Consumerism is today’s version of gluttony and needs to be confronted by creating an economic system that works for all peoples and all earth’s creatures.

Konsumismus ist die zeitgenössische Variante der Genußsucht und muß dadurch nicht Frage gestellt werden, daß ein Wirtschaftssystem aufgebaut wird, das allen Völkern und allen
Wesen der Erde dient.

77.

Seminaries as we know them, with their excessive emphasis on left-brain work, often kill and corrupt the mystical soul of the young instead of encouraging the mysticism and prophetic consciousness that is there. They should be replaced by wisdom schools.

Die Universitäten, wie wir sie heute kennen, mit ihrer extremen Betonung der linken Hirnhälfte, töten und korrumpieren die mystische Seele der Jugend statt das vorhandene mystische und prophetische Bewußtsein zu ermutigen. Sie sollten durch Weisheitsschulen ersetzt werden.

78.

Inner work is required of us all. Therefore spiritual practices of meditation should be available to all and this helps in calming the reptilian brain. Silence or contemplation and learning to be still can and ought to be taught to all children and adults.

Innere Arbeit ist von uns allen gefordert. Deshalb sollten allen Menschen spirituelle Praktiken und Meditationen zugänglich sein und dabei helfen, das Reptiliengehirn zu beruhigen. Alle Kinder und Erwachsenen sollten Stille oder Kontemplation und Stillwerden lernen.

79.

Outer work needs to flow from our inner work just as action flows from non-action and true action from being.

Die äußere Arbeit muß von unserer inneren Arbeit ausfließen, so wie Handlung aus dem Nicht-Handeln entsteht und wahres Handeln aus dem Sein.

80.

A wise test of right action is this: What is the effect of this action on people seven generations from today?

Eine weise Prüfung für rechtes Handeln ist: Wie ist die Wirkung dieser Handlung auf die Menschen der siebten Generation nach uns?

81.

Another test of right action is this: Is what I am doing, is what we are doing, beautiful or not?

Ein anderer Test für rechtes Handeln ist: Ist meine Handlung, ist unsere Handlung schön?

82.

Eros, the passion for living, is a virtue that combats acedia or the lack of energy to begin new things and is also expressed as depression, cynicism or sloth (also known as “couchpotatoitis”).

Eros, die Leidenschaft für das Leben, ist eine Tugend, die der Trägheit entgegenwirkt oder dem Energiemangel, Neues zu beginnen, der sich auch als Depression, Zynismus und Faulheit ausdrückt.

83.

The Dark Night of the Soul descends on us all and the proper response is not addiction such as shopping, alcohol, drugs, TV, sex or religion but rather to be with the darkness and learn from it.

Die dunkle Nacht der Seele befällt uns alle; und die angemessene Antwort darauf besteht nicht in einem Suchtverhalten wie Einkaufen, Alkohol, Drogen, TV, Sex oder Religion, sondern darin, mit der Dunkelheit zu gehen und daraus zu lernen.

84.

he Dark Night of the Soul is a learning place of great depth. Stillness is required.

Die dunkle Nacht der Seele ist ein Ort sehr tiefen Lernens. Dazu bedarf es der Stille.

85.

Not only is there a Dark Night of the Soul but also a Dark Night of Society and a Dark Night of our Species.

Es gibt nicht nur eine dunkle Nacht der Seele, sondern auch eine dunkle Nacht der Gesellschaft und eine dunkle Nacht unserer Spezies, der Menschheit.

86.

Chaos is a friend and a teacher and an integral part or prelude to new birth. Therefore it is not to be feared or compulsively controlled.

Chaos ist ein Freund und Lehrer und ein notwendiger Teil oder ein Vorspiel jeder Neugeburt. Deshalb braucht man es nicht zu fürchten oder zwanghaft zu kontrollieren.

87.

Authentic science can and must be one of humanity’s sources of wisdom for it is a source of sacred awe, of childlike wonder, and of truth.

Echte Wissenschaft kann und muß eine der Weisheitsquellen der Menschheit sein, denn sie ist eine Quelle heiliger Ehrfurcht, kindlichen Staunens und der Wahrheit.

88.

When science teaches that matter is “frozen light” (physicist David Bohm) it is freeing human thought from scapegoating flesh as something evil and instead reassuring us that all things are light. This same teaching is found in the Christian Gospels (Christ is the light in all things) and in Buddhist teaching (the Buddha nature is in all things). Therefore, flesh does not sin; it is our choices that are sometimes off center.

Wenn die Wissenschaft lehrt, daß Materie „gefrorenes Licht“ sei (Physiker David Bohm), dann befreit sie damit die Menschheit davon, das Fleisch zum Sündenbock des Bösen zu machen und versichert uns statt dessen, daß alle Dinge Licht sind. Die gleiche Lehre findet sich in den Evangelien (Christus ist das Licht in allen Dingen) und in den buddhistischen Lehren (die Buddha-Natur ist in allen Dingen). Deshalb ist das Fleisch nicht sündig; unsere Entscheidungen sind es, die manchmal an der Sache vorbeigehen.

89.

The proper objects of the human heart are truth and justice (Aquinas) and all people have a right to these through healthy education and healthy government.

Die angemessenen Ziele des menschlichen Herzens sind Wahrheit und Gerechtigkeit (Thomas von Aquin), und alle Menschen haben ein Recht, mit Hilfe von gesunder Bildung und gesunder Regierung dahin zu gelangen.

90.

"God” is only one name for the Divine One and there are an infinite number of names for God and Godhead and still God “has no name and will never be given a name.” (Eckhart)

"Gott" ist nur ein Name des Göttlichen. Es gibt unzählige Namen für Gott und die Gottheit, und doch „hat Gott keinen Namen und wird niemals benannt werden“ (Meister Eckhart)

91.

Three highways into the heart are silence and love and grief.

Drei Wege ins Herz sind die Stille, die Liebe und die Trauer.

92.

The grief in the human heart needs to be attended to by rituals and practices that, when practiced, will lessen anger and allow creativity to flow anew.

Wir müssen uns mit Hilfe von Ritualen und Übungen um die Trauer im menschlichen Herzen kümmern, die die Wut mindern und die Kreativität wieder in Fluß bringen.

93.

Two highways out of the heart are creativity and acts of justice and compassion.

Zwei Wege aus unserem Herzen sind die Kreativität und Taten der Gerechtigkeit und des Mitgefühls.

94.

Since angels learn exclusively by intuition, when we develop our powers of intuition we can expect to meet angels along the way.

Da Engel ausschließlich durch Intuition lernen, können wir bei der Entwicklung unserer intuitiven Kräfte damit rechnen, Engeln zu begegnen.

95.

True intelligence includes feeling, sensitivity, beauty, the gift of nourishment and humor which is a gift of the Spirit, paradox, being its sister.

Echte Intelligenz umfaßt Gefühle, Sensibilität, Schönheit, die Gabe der Zuwendung und des Humors, der eine Geisteskraft ist, mit der Paradoxie als Schwester.

---

20121208: The only thing I object to about Matthew Fox is his slander of Pope Benedict, insinuating the Catholic Church has gone over to radical right activism to the point of neo-Nazi fascism.

If the Church were truly fascist, then why hasn't Matthew Fox been assassinated? Even if there were a cabal of Catholic militants, with Fox's visibility, sudden death would lead to conspiracy theories regarding the Church.

When I hear violent rhetoric coming from an ex-priest, I can rationalize it as free speech.

However, if a Catholic was quoted as calling for the same extremism as so-called anti-abortion militants mete on abortion doctors to be directed at Fox, then that's religious hypocrisy at its worst.

The only reason why I quoted Fox's 95 Theses is to show how open-minded some of the Christian congregations are in Europe. They lend truth to my suspicion that Protestant sects that cannot abide by meditation, as well as a few agnostics and atheists of similar ilk, are narrow-minded and backwards.

One good example of this was when I read that in some north Californian and Oregon communities, Tai Chi movements practiced by a person who knows the martial art was deemed to be witchcraft by ignorant Christians in her local community.

This also reminds me of a Wiccan's experience in the Canadian Maritimes, who was harassed by teenagers whose parents belonged to an Evangelistic sect.

Such arch-conservatism was fine 150 or more years ago, but today it makes me ask "What in the world makes Christians follow dogmas and doctrines which close their minds out of fear of perceived Satanism?"

If a person's ability to practice critical thinking is compromised by such dogma and/or doctrine, then I agree with people who call followers of a religious sect, or even of a fad or trend, "sheep".

Though I agree with the wise man who warned the early Christians of sheep in wolves' clothing, especially when they might be a religious leader.

Of course, Matthew Fox is an academic who used to be a religious leader, and I'm sure his critics would say he's strayed from the "fold" i.e. Catholicism. However, he's most likely one of the good guys.

These theses are proof of that, because if a moderate Christian church leader formed a sect based on these theses, then I'd surely want to join it, provided millennialism is excluded from that church's dogmas and isn't included in any of its doctrines.

So far, though, nothing like what I've read in the Theses of Matthew Fox has appeared locally.

Personally though, I'm inspired to start a study group on Fox's 95 Theses.