Tag Archives: Spirituality

Scientists discover atheists may not exist

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Rev. Clay Nelson

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Opening words are THE ETERNAL By Stephen M Shick.

Rev. clay Nelson © 2 July 2017

It sounds like an oxymoron that in this world there are religious atheists. If you doubt it, you are looking at one. If you still doubt it, look around you. They are sprinkled liberally throughout the congregation. Now there are all kinds of atheists out there. There are the Richard Dawkins variety who narrowly define what others may believe about God and then decimates it. What I know is that many who do believe in a personal god don’t believe in the god Dawkins believes in either. Continue reading Scientists discover atheists may not exist →

Loving your political opponent – Creative Conflict

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Rev. Clay Nelson

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Rev. clay Nelson © 26 March 2017

In this Age of Trump, for many of us, loving our political opponents seems a step too far. Friends in the US report political differences in their families and life-long friendships are fracturing them, some seemingly beyond repair. This goes way beyond “unfriending” them on Facebook. Marriages are dissolving. Children and parents are estranged. Communities are divided. Political debate has always been a blood sport in the US, but this level of carnage is beyond my experience. Continue reading Loving your political opponent – Creative Conflict →

Reflections on the Sea of Faith

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Rev. Clay Nelson

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Reflections on the Sea of Faith
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Rev. Clay Nelson © 16 October 2016

I gave up having a Plan A or B or even C a long time ago. The old joke is they just make God laugh anyway. But the real reason is repeatedly in my life I have watched myself travel from point to point without benefit of an itinerary and yet get to some fascinating and unexpected places that seem unrelated on the surface, but which, in retrospect, were all connected. With the advantage of hindsight, they looked like a well-thought out plan or at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. In truth, each place led to a new place I could not have booked in advance. None were foreseen or could have been planned for.

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Being Grounded

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Rev. Clay Nelson

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Rev. Clay Nelson © 2 October 2016

Being grounded doesn’t always have the best connotation, especially if you are a teenager being restricted after misbehaviour, but in religious terms it captures the spiritual revolution that is transforming religion. Last week, in discussing the evolution of Unitarianism, I touched on this revolution when I said many of today’s Unitarians are rejecting Kant’s “religion within the bounds of reason alone” as lacking any mystical or spiritual dimension. They are embracing what has been described as “ecstatic naturalism.” They seek an experience that is beyond the capacity of words to describe, except perhaps in poetry and music. Continue reading Being Grounded →

The Spirituality Gap

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What is Spirituality? And do I want some of that?

By Rev. Clay Nelson.

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Clay Nelson © 14 June 2015

Some of you who only see me on Sunday may think I wear this collar all the time. No, it is not tattooed on me. While on occasion I wear it on a hospital visit or when participating in some public event like the gay pride parade, the only time I regularly wear it during the week is on Sunday mornings. The rest of the time you will find me more informally attired. My reason for wearing it is to remind myself of my role, like an actor putting on make-up and her costume. It is a spiritual discipline. Continue reading The Spirituality Gap →