Reddit mentions: The best ecumenism books

If you're looking for support, UUism is a good place for it (in general, anyway). The 4th Principle that UUs affirm is the free and responsible search for truth; everyone has the right, and perhaps the obligation, to figure things out for themselves, no matter what others say. If you're looking for the truth, let traditions inform and illuminate your looking, not bind it and constrain you to the conventional.


I have a couple of books to recommend to you that might help as well. One is The Emptying God: A Buddhist-Jewish-Christian Conversation. It literally is a look into how Christianity and Buddhism can come into dialogue with each other and benefit. You might also look into The Phoenix Affirmations to see what a more open, pluralist, and liberal Christianity might look like. It's a set of statements (and discussions) that were proposed and adopted by a meeting of Christians from all the mainline Protestant denominations. They outline a new, emergent form of Christianity that still seeks to love God, Neighbor, and Self, but does so in a way that is free and affirming rather than condemnatory. The pluralism/universalism of the First Affirmation you might find particularly interesting.

Best wishes, and I'm sorry for your loss.

You don't hear about it much in evangelical circles, but Christianity has always had a meditative/contemplative stream, which has a surprising number of parallels with Buddhist thought and practice.

I'm a huge fan of the work of Richard Rohr at the Center for Action and Contemplation.

You might also find the writings of Thomas Merton interesting - he saw a lot of parallels between the Christian monastic tradition and the Zen Buddhist one.

My yoga teacher also strongly recommends Jesus in the Lotus - I haven't read it yet, but I've been quite startled over the last year at how beneficial the yoga tradition has been to my Christian faith.

I know none of this answers your original question - these conflicts are really, really tough. Parents want the best for their children, and it's achingly hard for them when they see their kids follow a path that they've been told to be afraid of. (For what it's worth; I applaud you. I have a huge degree of respect for anyone who can integrate a daily meditative/contemplative practice into their life.)

I can't tell you what to say to your mother, but I have found that there is tremendous power in simply listening and seeing someone else's pain and fears. It's possible, though certainly not easy, to remain grounded in your own path and identity at the same time as seeing and understanding the worry that your mother is experiencing.

I think you might be confusing rambling for English not being his first language. He still tries to communicate it directly, but I've seen him go through a translator a couple of times when he can't quite convey the message. One of the main tenants of Buddhism is to be good to each other, so yeah, you will see that, but I think you're either referencing a really small sample of his teachings or oversimplifying what he's saying. I've read one of his books, Toward True Kinship of Faiths which was an entire book that talked about how different religions of the world can relate to each other and how they can learn from each other. Does it boil down to 'Hey man, be good to each other'? Yeah, a little bit. But it also talks about each religion specifically and how they can be less hostile towards each other and what messages they share.

Man, I sound like a hippy, but the point is the man is insightful and I think you're being a bit quick to judge him based on a lack of familiarity with his messages.

Given your Buddhist background, this is an interesting slim volume:

When the Flower Opens: The Extraordinary Friendship Between Abbot Shodo Habukawa and Monsignor Luigi Giussani https://www.amazon.com/dp/1727401980/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Ub8JDbM668WDK

I’ve always been fascinated by the Carthusian monastic order, and this is a terrific look at its history and place in the world of the Church:

An Infinity of Little Hours: Five Young Men and Their Trial of Faith in the Western World's Most Austere Monastic Order https://www.amazon.com/dp/158648432X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Ih8JDbKDHVVX9

IMO, Hebrews presents the strongest case for replacement theology in the NT. So, for a Christian (like myself) who wants to avoid replacement theology, what can be done?

Some scholars, like Norbert Lohfink (The Covenant Never Revoked), will just say that the NT is not consistent on the question of the Old Covenant's irrevocablility; (replacement theology in Heb 8 vs. Rom 11:29 & Matt 5:17-20). Thus, we have to pick our lens, and Hebrews is only one of the possible lenses that we can prioritize.

Others take a stronger position and claim that Hebrews itself doesn't endorse a replacement theology. An example of this would be J. Svartvik's essay “Reading the Epistle to the Hebrews Without Presupposing Supersessionism” in Christ Jesus and the Jewish People Today. Svartvik's basic contention is that "Judaism" and "Christianity" aren't being compared in the epistle (such a neat and clean division would be anachronistic). Rather, what is passing away is the "present time" while the "future" has been inaugurated. That is, "this earthly age" is becoming obsolete, rather than Judaism. Our facile equation of "Old Covenant" with "Judaism" wasn't operative for the person writing Hebrews, according to Svartvik -- it's an equation which we import into the letter.

The summaries above are completely inadequate, so if the basic idea sparks an interest, there's a lot more detail and nuance in the essays themselves.

That one is known. But I think it's by the flds or rlds?

These ones are also passed along

Anyonymous Paper
https://www.totheremnant.com/2015/11/joseph-smiths-monogamy.html?m=1 (this blog links to an anonymous paper titled Joseph Smiths Monogamy)

Denver's paper
http://denversnuffer.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Plural-Marriage.pdf

Blog gives link to a book and few other sources.
https://latterdaycommentary.com/2019/06/27/joseph-smith-and-polygamy/

Book mentioned in blog above.
Joseph Smith Revealed: A Faithful Telling: Exploring an Alternate Polygamy Narrative https://www.amazon.com/dp/1097872726/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_MncKDb5BQ0024

I'm sure there are others.

This is my favorite Book of Common Prayer

There's the the recently released and widely recommended Christian Theologies of the Sacraments, and also the Oxford Handbook of Sacramental Theology.

Check out Jesus in the Lotus: The Mystical Doorway Between Christianity and Yogic Spirituality

You can use a different book of common prayer! http://www.amazon.com/Common-Prayer-Liturgy-Ordinary-Radicals-ebook/dp/B003V4B574

In his book The Fidelity of Betrayal, Peter Rollins explores this very idea. Essentially, he argues that revolutionary movements, as they become normalized and institutionalized, often begin to betray their own radical ideals. In order to be faithful to the movement, then, one must betray it in the name of the radical values and ideals that the movement was initially founded on. Applying this idea to Christianity, we could say that what started off as a truly radical movement centered on challenging the existing power structures, redistribution of wealth, justice for the oppressed, etc. has become, over time, a defender of the unjust status quo. In order to be faithful to the radical core of Jesus' teachings, then, Christianity's modern manifestation must be betrayed.