“Creeds” by Peter Rollins
“I believe creeds aren't worth the paper they are written on...But I still believe in God.
I believe that if you look at my life, you'll only sometimes see what I believe.
I believe that if we have two coats, we should give one away (though I don't do it).
Today I don't believe in anything; tomorrow who knows.
I sometimes believe in God — one who existed before time, beyond gender or fathom.
Make of heaven and earth and ginger (all good things), whales, two-hundred-foot cliffs, cloud banks, shipwrecks,
And in Jesus Christ, God's only Son our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost- how?
“When I Despair…” by Mahatma Gandhi
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.”
“Benediction based on the Beatitudes” by Brian McLaren
Blessed are the curious
for their curiosity honors reality
Blessed are the uncertain and those with second thoughts
for their minds are still open.
Blessed are the wonderers
for they shall find what is wonderful
Blessed are those who question their answers
for their horizons will expand forever.
SOURCE: FAITH AFTER DOUBT
“A Taoist Priest” (a Zen Poem) - found in ‘Tao of Jeet Kune Do’ by Bruce Lee
“The empty-mindedness of chi sao applies to all activities we may perform, such as dancing. If the dancer has any idea at all of displaying his art well, he ceases to be a good dancer, for his mind stops with every movement he goes through. In all things, it is important to forget your mind and become one with the work at hand. When the mind is tied up, it feels inhibited in every move it makes and nothing will be accomplished with any sense of spontaneity. The wheel revolves when it is not too tightly attached to the axle. When it is too tight, it will never move on. As the Zen saying goes:
“Love After Love” by Derek Walcott
The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,
MR. WALCOTT’S BIOGRAPHY - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/derek-walcott
“The Mystic, the Evangelical and the Fundamentalist” - Author Unknown
There is an old anecdote in which a mystic, an evangelical pastor and a fundamentalist preacher die on the same day and awake to find themselves by the pearly gates. Upon reaching the gates they are promptly greeted by Peter, who informs them that before entering heaven they must be interviewed by Jesus concerning the state of their doctrine. The first to be called forward…
SOURCE: ‘How (Not) To Speak of God by Peter Rollins (Paraclete Press, 2006), page 21
“No More Second Hand God” by Buckminster Fuller
Here is God's purpose-
for God, to me, it seems,
is a verb
not a noun,
proper or improper;
is the articulation…
“A Brief for the Defense” by Jack Gilbert
Sorrow everywhere. Slaughter everywhere. If babies are not starving someplace, they are starving somewhere else. With flies in their nostrils. But we enjoy our lives because that's what God wants. Otherwise the mornings before summer dawn would not be made so fine. The Bengal tiger would not be fashioned so miraculously well.
“Bodhisattva Vows” by Shantideva (sixth-century sage)
May I be a guard for those who need protection
A guide for those on the path
A boat, a raft, a bridge for those who wish to cross the flood
May I be a lamp in the darkness
A resting place for the weary
“God” - a short story by Kahlil Gibran
In the ancient days, when the first quiver of speech came to my lips, I ascended the holy mountain and spoke unto God, saying, “Master, I am thy slave. Thy hidden will is my law and I shall obey thee for ever more.”
SOURCE: http://leb.net/gibran/