Currents of Faith: Open and Unfolding Reflections

I'd like to ask you to do something that may be a little different than you normally do when reading an online article or email message. If you're like me, slowing down isn't much of an option given the very long list of activities and responsibilities that we are all involved in. Nonetheless, as your eyes roll over and your mind moves through the following bolded words, I want you to stop for a few moments on each one, and simply reflect, taking note of what sorts of emotions, images, and associations occur as you do so. What are your immediate impressions? What thoughts seem to flow freely and without any conscious or intentional effort on your part? Here are just a few among the hundreds one might choose: racist, right-wing, radical, conspiracy theorist, liberal, islamo-facist, anti-semite, extremist, left-wing, terrorist, ultra-conservative, cult, evil, ultra-orthodox, fundamentalist, satanic, imperialist, heretic.

Whitehead told us more than once that it is more important that a proposition be interesting than that it be true.  He added that truth adds to interest.  I would add that interest adds to the importance of the question whether the proposition is true.

Philosopher Alfred North Whitehead told us that morality is largely a matter of the breadth of consideration of the consequences of an action. He also made clear that issues should be viewed in as wide a context as possible. Judged by these principles, we Americans are not doing well. Last year this nation was guided by the press into discussing Katrina with little attention to the role of global warming. As a result the likelihood is that the probable increase of frequency and intensity of storms is playing a small role in post-Katrina planning. An even smaller role is assigned in this context to considering how we might reduce our contribution to the increase of storms.

We're very excited to announce the creation of, and welcome you to Currents of Faith, a weblog devoted to providing open and unfolding reflections on culture, religion, and politics from diverse perspectives of faith. What exactly do we mean by 'open and unfolding reflections'? For one thing, we think that humans (along with the rest of creation!) are dynamic, evolving beings, and our ongoing experiences continually transform us. What made sense to us yesterday may not make sense today. We believe in asking questions, and in considering issues from more than one angle. We think that this is an inter-relational world, and we would all get along better if we adopted a simple ethic of genuine respect.