[April 1999 journal entry]
Among my goals for our children re a ‘non-religious’ approach to ethics and spirituality are the following.
Among my goals for our children re a ‘non-religious’ approach to ethics and spirituality are the following.
- I am realizing that to sustain one’s self spiritually outside the ‘religious’ sphere necessitates traits, experiences, and skills that our children may (or may not) have -- e.g., spontaneous and intuitive personality; familiarity and facility with history, theology, philosophy; core/radical differences with the assumptions of the ‘religious’ sphere; core/radical identification with the disadvantaged, vulnerable, ‘poor’; . . . .
- I am trying to make known to our children that ‘Jesus’ is/must be distinguished from ‘religion’ (and the interpretations of ‘Jesus’ within the ‘religious’ sphere).
- I hope to pass on to our children an example of experiencing, from outside the ‘religious’ sphere, congregations that are near enough to the outer edges of the ‘religious’ sphere to be (to a significant degree) ‘with the world face to face’. Criteria include affirmation of women’s place/status as equal with men, a capacity to recognize/encourage the spiritual integrity of non-Christian and ‘non-religious’ individuals, and being centered by a resolve to live day to day for the promotion of justice, peace, mercy (and, therefore, aligned with and attempting to be genuinely present with the disadvantaged/vulnerable).
- My primary goal is for our children to approach ‘religion’ cautiously and to participate as ‘guests’ in congregations on the outer edges of the ‘religious’ sphere.