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Tag: emerging christianity

3 Ways to Discover Strong Spiritual Connection Through Zoom

When our first online groups for Integral Christian Network started meeting in 2019, we spent a decent amount of time getting people up to speed on using a somewhat unfamiliar video conferencing technology called “Zoom.”

Obviously, that is no longer quite so necessary. Now we find the opposite problem, which has been deemed “Zoom fatigue.” To which I say, not all zoom meetings are created equal.

When we participate through technological systems of connection, what is the relationship between what we bring as active partakers and the limitations and offerings of the system itself? We might recognize that the platform is not neutral, but do we see how we also are not neutral as well? We are co-creating with technology to create new forms of connection and engagement.

Photo by Robert Lukeman on Unsplash

Deepening our Connections Online

At ICN, we gather together in groups of 5-10 for what we call “WeSpace.” These communities of practice connect those from around the world to share together in a meditative prayer practice of “Whole-Body Mystical Awakening.” As you might suppose, these are not meetings of passive, detached online “conferencing.”

Rather, we are seeking to actively engage with one another in spiritual and energetic ways that involve our whole bodies and our spiritual faculties—and a felt-sense of the interconnected space among us, not just our own separate, interior experiences in proximity to others. To do this, we must be present and engaged with one another with a fuller sort of attention, with openness and genuine care.

Sound a little scary? It can be. But don’t we all both fear and crave intimacy?

A surprising bit of feedback that we’ve received often is that it may actually be easier to be present in this way online. Coming from the safety of our own home, we are in a comfortable space. Women talk about not having to be on alert for any threats of unwanted advances or physical danger. The exit door is always just a click away—not that we want to be halfway out the door of course, but it’s some comfort to know you can always bail if things get dicey.

We are also face-to-face with one another. Or as we say it, heart-to-heart. This has a different felt sense than the circular or horizontal shoulder-to-shoulder dynamics of shared physical space in churches or otherwise.

In our groups, we engage the body in our meditative practice, bringing awareness and presence to our physical embodiment in the time and space we are sharing. We do this for many reasons, but it also serves to counter the sometimes “disembodied” presence many bring to digital spaces. This allows us to be more present to the fullness of ourselves—but also to one another in the WeSpace “field” of interconnection.

Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

Creating a Field

If you’ve ever been a part of a zoom meeting where all participants have their videos off except for the presenter/teacher, you know the opposite of what I’m talking about. We might as well be watching a YouTube video.

And yet, can you feel a difference? Even those black boxes with names or pictures reflect a presence that you not just know is there, but perhaps even feel a little. You have the awareness of some kind of collective, shared space. It isn’t the same as watching a YouTube video, is it?

What does it look like to lean into the opposite movement, to press into rather than pull away from the interconnected space together? Of course, you need the right type of group and setting—though you can do it yourself in any meeting. Just like you can be more or less present to others when you are sharing a physical space. Though there are some differences for online space.

Here are a few things we’ve found that help.

First, overcome skepticism.

One of the things we hear over and over is the surprise people express about just how much they can actually feel and sense. Many come in skeptical that they can feel as connected to one another and God in an online space. “I didn’t think this would work over zoom” is a regular refrain.

Much more is possible than you might think.

Research from the HeartMath Institute has shown that our hearts create an electromagnetic field that can be detected up to three feet away from our bodies. In our meetings, we have seen over and over again that the spiritual energetics between us are not bound by space at all—perhaps even not by time as well.

Being fully present is a challenge both online and off – and we are not always aware how our movement of attention through digital portals affects our presence.

Of course, we don’t have the research here yet, nor do I know quite how it would be measured. But repeated anecdotal evidence continues to mount in our and other group experiences.

Second, enter the space.

In our meetings, we ask people to keep their heart facing the group and have their videos on the majority of the time. To create a shared field, we must be present to one another with attention and engagement. It’s not only distracting when someone is checking their phone or looking at something else, it can literally be felt as a diminishment of their presence and therefore the energy of the collective field.

Being fully present is a challenge both online and off—and we’re not always aware how our movement of attention through digital portals affects our presence. We need to become more conscious of this effect and seek to cultivate spaces with fewer distractions and more compelling engagement. This doesn’t mean everyone must speak, but that we keep attention and give ourselves to one another energetically.

We’ve found this comes not through putting on a better show to capture attention, but engaging more than just the mind in our shared space. When we’re present with our hearts, grounded in our bodies, and centered in our guts, we find that we’re less easily taken away by the wanderings of our mind.

Third, discover WeSpace

We are not separate from one another. Many are beginning to see this in the way our systems and technologies work. Further recognition of collective values and cultural conditioning show that our inner lives and decisions are not nearly as independent as we once thought. And spiritually, the age of individualism is fading. “The next Buddha will be a Sangha” Thich Nhat Hahn has declared, meaning that community is the great spiritual teacher.

Technology is often viewed as a consumer good to serve individuals and systems. But what if we begin more and more to utilize it not just for profits and efficiency, but for enhancing our ability to craft and cultivate authentic community of depth and presence with one another?

In so doing, we just might discover the next great spiritual teacher.

Us.  

Luke Healy is the co-founder of Integral Christian Network, an endeavor to help further the loving evolution of Christianity and the world. He is passionate about pioneering innovation in forms of spiritual community, in gathering like-minded and like-hearted pilgrims on the spiritual journey, and making mystical experience of God accessible in individual and collective practice.

A Decade Later: Where is the Great Emergence Now?

In a previous blog, I introduced two key images from Phyllis Tickle’s The Great Emergence. In this blog, I engage the book critically and reflect on how its ideas are standing the test of time. Twelve years since the books’ publication, to what extent they continue to shed light in our current moment and to what extent they need adjusting? It is unfortunate that Phyllis Tickle is no longer with us to engage in dialogue. May she rest in peace with her savior. Yet, I pay homage to her legacy by engaging with it faithfully.

Reformation, Counter-Reformation And Technology

The Great Emergence claims that Christianity is undergoing a reformation. Is that really true? To answer this question we must first better understand our historical moment. That is, screen technologies have enabled not just the fast dissemination of information but an unprecedented democratization of truth. Let me explain. We live in a world where competing views of the world can co-exist without being settled by an external authoritative force. There is no-longer one source of truth legitimized by political or financial power. Instead, in a world of small screens, individuals are custom-making their reality by the minute.

This development is rather complex, one that would require multiple blogs to fully explain. Yet, the point I am trying to make is that people with diametrically opposing views can be physically side-by-side while living in different worlds. Even as the same historical events touch them, their framework of reference is so different that they might as well be living in alternative realities. That is, this is not just about seeing things differently but fundamentally experiencing them differently.

What that means is that we have no longer one historical moment but a multiplicity of parallel narratives. Hence, one can’t no longer simply state that the church is undergoing a process of Reformation. Instead, what you have are currents of reform and preservation living parallel and at times colliding against each other. In short, one can speak of both a Reformation and a Counter-Reformation happening side by side within the Christian community in our time.

The Swirling Center and Secularization

In a previous blog, I explored the book’s metaphor of a swirling center to explain what was happening in North American Christianity. The Great Emergence spoke of a center in which people were mixing different elements of the diverse segments of the faith. Yet, this metaphor is limited in that it suggests a mixing of elements internal to Christianity only. It does not account for when Christian groups are going outside the household to find inspiration.

For example, churches that now offer yoga in their premises, a recent increased interest in mindfulness among mainline churches and the incorporation of psychological knowledge and techniques into evangelical counseling ministries. It also fails to account for the integration of science and theology and current reflection on technology. These are all examples where Christian groups are interacting with outside agents in search of wisdom.

I would characterize this mixing with outside elements as part of the irresistible pull of secularism on religious communities of all faiths. When saying secularism, I do not mean anti-religious per se but instead as outside of traditional religious bounds. The term is there to describe human activities that occur external to religious frameworks. In that, and here is an important point, it does not mean anti-Christian necessarily. In other words, forces of secularization are not destroying the Christian message but forcing it to be re-framed in new terms. I will speak more about that in future blogs.

The Dismantling of Organized Religion

Can we even speak today of an emerging Christianity? This may strike as a paradoxical statement given that I have devoted the last four blogs to the this phenomenon. But the question is less about recognizing the inevitable shifts in Christianity and more about whether what is emerging is Christianity at all. Is this an emergence of new Christianity or a whole different thing altogether?

In the previous paragraph I spoke of secularism not destroying but re-shaping Christianity. Yet, could it be that it is changing it to such an extent where it can no longer be a religion or faith as originally idealized? To be honest, I don’t really know the answer to this question. Instead, what I see this as an open question to which the answer is unfolding each day. The future of Christianity will hinge upon how we answer it.

Here is where I move on to another seminal work on this topic. Namely, Diana Buttler Bass book Christianity After Religion. If Phyllis Tickle framed well the crisis, Diana Butler Bass offers glimpses of where it is going. She recognizes that the long term effects of secularization represents a wholesale shift of Christianity from religion to spirituality. How is that happening? That is what I would like to explore in the next blogs.

Emerging Christianity Goes South: Pastor Parades in Rio’s Carnaval

In the last two blogs, I described major traits of an emerging Christianity. I talked about how believers were finding ways to live out their faith outside prescribed boundaries of institution and tradition. Yet, the best way to describe this movement is by showing how it is being lived out in action. I was elated to learn how a recent developments in my native Brazil do exactly that. In this blog, I want to show how Pastor Henrique Viera’s participation in this year’s Carnaval (Fat Tuesday celebration) best illustrate this emerging Christianity. It also comes to show that this is not confined to the centers of the West in North America and Europe but is finding creative outlets in the Christian South.

Reproduction from Twitter

Carnival as an Act of Decolonial Subversion

For the English reader unfamiliar with Carnaval, let me introduce you to its origins. Imagine you are a member of the First Nations living in the Americas for centuries when European colonizers arrive. They slowly take over your land. Yet not satisfied with that, they also decide to impose their culture on you. Eventually they bring African slaves, people steeped in their own culture themselves, that now are forced into a new land through lifelong servitude.

They start teaching you their religion through imposed holidays. They introduce to you the concept of Lent, which is a 40 day (roughly six weeks) period of penitence in preparation for Easter. Supposedly Easter, is a great celebration worth waiting for. Yet, given Europeans poor ability to celebrate and master skills on guiltying, you quickly realize this was more of a ploy for social control than a true celebration.

One day, they talk about Fat Tuesday. That is, in the day before the Catholic church reminds you of your eventual death, they offer you a brief period of respite where you can indulge yourself. Understanding that Lent is an extended period of self-denial, the church recognizes the need to temporarily let you be free to do whatever you want. The native American look to the African slave and say: that’s our chance!

They flip the script on the whole religious celebration and decide to focus on that Tuesday. In that day, for a brief moment, they could be free. They decide that the short indulgence should be the focus. In the absence of of truly festive Easter, they will take the license to “sin” and do it in great style. Eventually the Tuesday becomes a 5 day event where people parade in the streets and as the poets would say, happiness reigns. The colonized flipped the script on the colonizer, appropriate a brief pause before penitence and transform it into weeklong all-out celebration. Hence, you get Carnaval.

Protestants Opt Out of This Party

Protestants are late-comers to this party. They come to Brazil in the mid-19th century and take a modest foothold. It isn’t until the 20th century that Protestantism, through Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism, would transform Brazilian religious environment. In the positive side, they came mostly free of the colonial baggage. Instead, Brazilians perceive them as an alternative to Catholicism.

Yet, North American evangelical missionaries with Puritan roots were quickly scandalized by Carnaval. The amount of skin shown was too tempting to these North American, mostly male, missionaries who quickly condemned the feast. Even as Evangelicalism indigenized, this initial rejection took hold. This is where they started the custom to disengage and skip the whole thing altogether.

By taking this approach, most churches and protestant theologians would rarely engage with the celebration and its decolonial roots. Instead, they considered it exhibit “A” evidence of a fallen world brimming with sin. In other words, it represented everything Christianity wanted you to stay away from. If anything, it only reinforced a other-wordly, personal morality-focused theology imported from North America. In rejecting the celebration altogether, evangelicals also missed the opportunity to influence it towards an alternative that could curb its sexualized excesses while still affirming its joyful components.

Preaching the Gospel in Mangueira’s Parade

The last two sections gives a brief context of the magnitude of what happened this year. When Pr. Henrique Viera paraded in the Mangueira’s parade, he consciously challenged the dominant long-lasting narrative of Carnaval being a celebration off-limits to faithful Christians. While I am emphasizing the pastor’s participation here, none of that would have happened without the inspired and prophetic theme song of Mangueira’s parade this year.

The main event of Carnaval is a yearly parade where samba schools from poor areas of the city compete for that year’s title in the Sapucai. Each school develops an original theme song, floats, costumes and a lot of samba choreographies to go with it. This year, Mangueira chose to center their parade on “the Jesus of the people.” In their own words, they wanted to show a Christ who had “a woman’s body and native American blood.”

This was not a thoughtless attempt to offend religious sensibilities through perverting Christianity’s main symbols. Instead, it was a political statement. Following along liberation theology roots, they wanted to show how Christ is present in the victimized of our age. It was an act of protest against the forces that have robbed the Brazilian nation of an equitable future. Hence, they shockingly declare that these were the same forces that killed the Nazarene 2,000 years ago.

This is why the pastor’s act was so significant. The Protestant new comer, inspired by Catholic liberation theology, participated in the Pagan feast of Carnaval in order to highlight a central aspect of the Christian message. The parade symbolizes a bridge between Catholic, Evangelical and the colonized joining in to speak out for justice. This to me is a great example of an emerging Christianity, one that is willing to stand in solidarity with the oppressed outside the gates of institutional boundaries while still proclaiming the essential truths of the gospel.

Compelling Traits of an Emerging Christianity: Part 2

In the previous blog, I outlined three traits of an emerging Christianity. In short, it is de-emphasizing heaven in order to do more on earth; it is integrating with science and finding its way back to nature; it is walking away from strict Monotheism in order to find PanEntheism. In this blog, I present three additional traits of this emerging Christian spirituality.

As expressed before, this is not a detached analysis or description of trends. Instead, it is a discovery as I find a fellow travelers who are undergoing a similar faith journey. Most certainly, these trends do not trace back to one movement or institution. Instead, it is more like a loose federation of communities doing reflection and arriving at similar conclusions.

Embracing the Unfamiliar Other

Undoubtedly, the most bitter fight within the Christian church over the last thirty years has been over LGBTQ issues. Mainline denominations have been torn apart, families come undone, congregations fractured over and lives have been lost through suicide over this issue. The conservative side has made opposition to same-sex marriage a political warring cry. Progressive congregations have also imposed their own political crusades over building ownership and bishop positions based on this issue.

We have all lost in this war and the casualties continue to mount. Yet, no one has suffered more than LGBTQ Christians who seek refuge in a household that either refuses to accept them as they are or turns them into a political commodity for righteous posturing. Regardless of these tendencies, LGBTQ are the unfamiliar other who are now at our footstep. How we respond says a lot more about true theology than all our biblical knowledge could express.

Thus, it is encouraging to see an emerging Christianity that stands with the LGBTQ community fighting prejudice and upholding their dignity in society regardless of how that fits or not into their theology. This standing with the other is not limited to this community but has extended to other marginalized groups. Whether it is fighting against sex trafficking, being a voice for refugees and undocumented immigrants, protesting with the me-too movement or declaring that black lives matter – there is an emerging Christianity who is learning to take on the burden of the oppressed.

The emerging movement is replacing national loyalties with a global citizenship that expresses solidarity with the downcast even at a cost of reputation, comfort or personal benefit. It is grounded in an understanding that us versus them is not the way of the cross. In Christ, there is only us and when one of us suffer, we all do. A passion that will only end when all God’s children are free from injustice, oppression and want.

I confess that acceptance of the LGBTQ community has been a long journey for me. Holding on to a traditional view of marriage was a strong conviction of mine based on centuries of Biblical interpretation. However, I now see that conviction as less important than upholding the humanity of LGBTQ people. Not only that, but I want to learn to love and celebrate their uniqueness as gifts from God. I may not fully understand it but believe in the call to accept them along with the call to stand in solidarity with them in their struggle for justice.

In a personal anecdote, recently I took to the streets to protest the Trump’s administration grievous travel ban that discriminated against refugees. At that point, when most of my fellow evangelical Christians either supported the ban or shrugged in indifference, it was a gay Christian friend who was willing to join me in that protest. As an immigrant, defending refugees was a personal matter, one that my friend took it as his own. Maybe I can learn from him to take his struggle for justice as my own as well.

Rejecting Violence as a Means to Power

Inspired in the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, emerging Christians are choosing the path of non-violence. As Christians question their role in supporting empire, American or otherwise, they are also learning to reject the its ways of violence. That is, it is not enough to stand with the oppressed but it is important to be mindful how to do it. Non-violent political resistance then becomes the antithesis to American militarism, one that continues to maintain a cozy relationship with the Christian church.

This theme is well represented in a network of Christian leaders that call themselves the red letter Christians. They seek to take the teachings of Jesus, oftentimes expressed in old Bibles by the use of red letters, above all other sections of Scripture. Counting with a diverse array of people such as Shane Clairbone , Tony Campollo, Rev Dr. William J Barber and Randy Woodley, they represent a new generation seeking to speak out for justice through non-violent protest.

Yet, this trend is not limited only to political movements but is gaining wide-spread acceptance not only in progress mainline congregations but also in evangelical ones. Pastors Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd, influential evangelical preachers in their own right, emphasize that non-violence is at the heart of Christian discipleship. That is, it is not simply a tool to gain political power but should inform all aspects of our lifestyle. This became clear to me recently when watching a screening of J.E.S.U.S.A documentary. This is no longer a fringe idea of radical groups but it is starting to take hold in mainstream Christianity.

I confess this is the hardest trait for me to grapple with. A total commitment to non-violence goes against our evolutionary wiring of fight and flight. It is highly admirable but also extremely difficult to follow. I also fear what that would bring to any community that followed this at wholesale level. Would they be annihilated? The deal that Constantine offer the church, bless my empire and I’ll grant you protection, continues to be alluring till this day. I want to join my emergent Christians on this one but as a father and husband, the idea of giving up self-defense is a hard concept to embrace in this emerging Christianity. With that said, while this makes me uncomfortable it is hard to deny the centrality of non-violence in the life and teachings of Jesus.

Growing Detachment from the Institutional Church

This is probably one of the most striking traits of all. Unlike past movements in Christianity that often evolved into new institutional forms, this emerging Christianity is taking ground at the edge of institutional confines. It is blossoming in the church front yard and at times even outside its gates altogether.

Some have found community by meeting in pubs, living rooms, libraries and now, most importantly, through the vast virtual spaces of social media. I can honestly say that I have found more Christian community in some Facebook groups (I guess this tells my age!) than in any congregation I have been part of. Most certainly this does not replace flesh and blood fellowship. However, it certainly enhances and at times becomes a conduit for long-lasting friendship and fruitful face-to-face encounters. I now have some relationships that could not have started prior to the advent of social media.

This emerging spirituality have exploded the parish model that limited Christian community to 90 minutes where we stared at each other’s back of heads in auditoriums. It may include opportunities for gathering with others but it also includes reading books, participating in affinity groups with neighbors, listening to podcasts and wasting precious hours arguing over irreconcilable matters through Twitter. All of this is a way to experience community, now more and more independent from the tutelage of the institutional church.

I would like to discuss this more in detail in a follow up blog where I review Phyllis Tickle monumental book, The Great Emergence that 12 years ago gave language to this phenomenon. For now, it suffice it to say that this emerging Christianity is rising from the confines of religion into the open spaces of the public square. It is not always clean, orderly and far from perfect but it is most certainly beautiful.

Compelling Traits of An Emerging Christianity: Part 1

When you start off on a journey, it often feels lonely. You wrongly assume that you are the exception and everybody else is staying behind. As most often is the case, any spiritual journey starts with a crisis, an enduring dissatisfaction and a stinging sense of loss. One also feels a stranger in their familiar environment which incidentally can lead to believe that they are alone in experiencing this internal turmoil.

Hence it is refreshing and emboldening when that sojourner meets others undergoing the same struggle. It is no surprise that a significant portion of people like me, who grew up in evangelical homes, are now, even if at differing degrees, experiencing dislocation in their faith journeys.

People will react to a crisis on a myriad ways. Some will dig their heels holding stronger to familiar convictions, others will abandon them completely. A third group will try to find their way through this crisis by traversing the tension of holding on to past convictions while also opening themselves to new pathways. This is where I find myself. Thankfully, as I can now attest, I am not alone.

In this blog, I want to cover three main traits that are converging to form an emerging Christianity which this third group is seeking. I don’t know if one can speak of a movement yet but more of coalescing of streams that are finding commonalities in these three areas. In each one of them, Christians are rejecting false binary choices to embrace living in the tension of seemingly opposite poles. By holding themselves in those tension points, they are finding room to grow, hope and transcend.

Thinking Less of Heaven to Do more on Earth

Dr. N. T. Wright is likely the most influential bible scholar of our times. He is one of the few scholars that achieved pop star status while still being highly respected in academia. His books have become a staple for many wanting to better understand the New Testament the Christian faith in general. I had the privilege to see him speak once in Pasadena, when I was a student at Fuller.

After hearing his lecture, I was struck by how emphatic he was about challenging Christians to stop focusing on the after-life. The thrust of his argument through multiple books is that the early Christians were not looking for a disembodied heaven but yearning for that reality to come down to earth. While this is not in itself a novel point, it does get to the heart of a detour historical Christianity took in the last few centuries.

Inspired by NT Wright’s writings and others, I see an emerging Christian spirituality that is progressively de-emphasizing the afterlife to become more engaged in the here and now. To me, this has been nothing short of a life-changing. While still going to church, the focus of my service now has shifted to my family and my community. Whether it is volunteering in my kid’s school or other non-profits, giving to organizations that are doing humanitarian work to spending quality time with my children, my focus has changed.

This does not mean that I no longer believe in heaven or denounce any church affiliation. It just that it is no longer the exclusive avenue and focus of my service. I stopped worrying about trying to get more people in heaven and instead started to work to make earth more like heaven. I am also finding more meaning in these activities rather than seeing them as means to a more important spiritual end.

Integrating with Science to Find Nature

I have written before about the importance of theology engaging with science. There is growing interest in this intersection as seminaries bring scientists in for dialogue. Biologos, an organization started by a Christian Physicist and director of the National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins, is at the forefront of this movement. While still small, the trend has great potential. It starts by rejecting the false option between thinking and believing and forsaking the unproductive ideological battle over the origins of life. Once these steps are in place, the interaction between faith and science can yield exponential fruits.

This is not limited to seminaries and technical schools but is also taking shape in other ways. For example, there is an increased acceptance of mental health issues within the evangelical community. This became front and center a few years ago when megachurch pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren lost his son to suicide. As Christians become open to an area that in the past was seen through an exclusively religious lens, I see them growing in understanding and accepting the blessings of scientific inquiry. It is no longer a threat to faith but part of God’s action on earth.

To me, the integration with science has translated into a greater preoccupation with nature. The emergence of eco-theology, namely a theology that seeks to connect humans to God through the natural world, is another promising trend. Theological reflection must transcend the human-divine axis to include all living beings. This goes beyond creation care to recognizing God’s action through animals, plants and whole ecosystems. A vision that limits salvation to individual guilt removal is ill-equiped to face the challenges and questions of our age. Salvation must encompass the whole cosmos.

The theological encounter with nature is also not just limited to action to protect the environment. It must address the sinful alienation brought upon a technological vision that separates rather than integrates humans into their habitats. The path toward a new Christian spirituality must walk through the green pastures of nature and eventually arrive at PanEntheism.

From Strict Monotheism to PanEntheism

PanEntheism, not to be confused with pantheism, proclaims the reality of divine presence in the material world. Unlike pantheism that saw nature itself as God, Panentheism keeps God’s transcendence while also affirming God’s immanence. Forgive my theologese, what that means is that it declares God to be beyond this universe but also present in it: A God who is both distant but also near. Confusing? Good, theological thinking thrives in the uncomfortable tension between opposing ideas.

To be clear, this is not a move away from monotheism, but bringing monotheism closer to physical reality as prescribed in the first trait above. It is about taking religion from something “out there” to the dusty mess of daily living. Some theologians, such as Moltmann, have associated that presence more specifically with biology. That is, the Spirit of God is present anywhere there is life, intelligent or not. Yet, such view is not a recent novelty but goes back in history to Francis of Assisi and to Dutch reformed theologian and politician Abraham Kuyper.

When taken seriously, panEntheism can have paradigm shifting implications to the Christian faith. In a sense, it recognizes that even before there were sacred scriptures, God was moving and speaking through the natural world. On the one hand, it magnifies further the largesse of the Creator who stands outside (and in) time. On the other hand, it should caution us in our attempts to divide the world between insiders and outsiders of God’s club. Even a tradition that is 2,000 years old is only a speck in the history of the cosmos.

In my view, this does not diminish the revelation brought forth by the Christian faith, maybe, shall I humbly say, it only fulfills it. It complements it, bringing its implications further into its conclusion:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

Colossians 1:15-17