Posted by Rev. David on October 26, 2012
When I was at the U.S. Army Chaplain’s School at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, there was a day in class that we were responding to hypothetical counseling situations. One of the scenarios presented to us was that of a young woman who came to us for counseling after having been raped. She did not know [...]
Categories: God, liberal faith, Military Chaplaincy, politics, theology
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Tags: abortion, chaplain, conservative christian, conservative christianity, faith, fundamentalist, fundamentalist christianity, God, Jesus, justice, liberal faith, military chaplain, mourdock, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, politics, Prophetic Voice, rape, theology
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4 comments
Posted by Rev. David on April 4, 2012
We human beings have many times many different prejudices. I’m not trying to make a value statement in saying that, just naming something that I believe is an inherent aspect of human nature. We are deeply prejudiced beings. It is impossible that this not be the case. I have never met anyone who did not [...]
Categories: theology
| Tags: can humans know truth, God, knowing, liberal, liberal faith, objective reality, paterns of knowing, percpetion, preconception, prejudice, racism, reality, relationship, religion, theology, theory of knowing, truth, ultimate truth
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Posted by Rev. David on March 30, 2012
One of the aspects of a Clinical Pastoral Education Residency that was most valuable to me was spending a year with ministers from other religious traditions, being required to have deep discussions about theology, about pastoral care, and about our life experiences. It not only helped me to broaden my own horizon, but it also [...]
Categories: liberal faith, theology
| Tags: book, Christian, David Pyle, faith, God, good and evil, hope, justice, liberal, liberal christian systemic theology, liberal faith, nature of god, religion, Rev. Pyle, Spiritual Practice, systemic theology, theology, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, Universalist, UU, UU systemic theology, write a book
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Posted by Rev. David on August 1, 2011
Last week and this week, I have been attending some military chaplaincy training in San Antonio Texas, as a part of my continuing education as both a UU Minister and an Army Reserve Chaplain. The first week was a wonderful course, put on by the Rev. Dr. Chrys Parker and the Rev. Dr. Glenn Sammis [...]
Categories: God, liberal faith, Ministry, theology
| Tags: Christ, Christ substance, Christian, Christology, faith, God, Jesus, liberal faith, messiah, Military, military chaplain, Ministry, nature of Christ, nature of Jesus, theology, Unitarian, UU Military
| 5 comments
Posted by Rev. David on June 22, 2011
As I sat in the second row, center aisle of the Opening Ceremonies of the 2011 General Assembly of the UUA, next to my military chaplain colleagues, what struck me most about the service was how many times the word “Spirit” came into the ceremony/celebration/worship service. By the time I noticed the prevalence of this [...]
Categories: General Assembly, God, UU Movement
| Tags: Charlotte GA, Charlotte General Assembly, David Pyle, faith, GA 2011, General Assembly, God, holy spirit, liberal, liberal faith, Military, military chaplain, Ministry, religion, spirit, Spirit of Life, Spirit of life and love, Spirit of Love, theology, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, UU
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Posted by Rev. David on March 9, 2011
I regularly have conversations with conservatives, both political and religious conservatives. Sometimes that is through my work as an Army Chaplain, sometimes through my work as a liberal minister in a fairly conservative town, and sometimes it is through people from my past who seek me out to ask me the question… “what happened? How [...]
Categories: History, politics, Turnings
| Tags: activism, becoming a liberal, becoming a progressive, Bosnia, Christian, conservative, conservativism, faith, fear, God, History, hope, Jesus, journey, justice, liberal, liberal faith, liberal to conservative, liberalism, politics, progressivism, Prophetic Voice, relationship, religion, responsibility, transition, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, UU
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Posted by Rev. David on March 4, 2011
One of the earliest articles I wrote here at Celestial Lands is one where I seek to define, for myself, the meaning of faith (that faith is not belief, it is “sacred trust”). I sometimes think we Unitarian Universalists and others of Liberal Religion have a harder time coping with the word faith than we [...]
Categories: Defining Religious Langauge, liberal faith, Ministry, theology, UU Movement
| Tags: Evangelism, faith, faith filled, faithful, faithfulness, God, hope, lack of faith, liberal, liberal faith, liberal faith blogging, liberal faithfulness, liberalism, liberals lack faith, meaning of faith, mission, peace, Prophetic Voice, relationship, religion, religious left, theology, unitairan, Unitarian, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist, Universalism, UU, UU Principles
| 3 comments
Posted by Rev. David on July 2, 2010
I almost never just post a video, but I was inspired this moring by my friend James doing so on his blog, Monkey Mind. I have been a fan of Peter Mayer since long before his recent performance at GA, and while I love the song that James highlighted (Holy Now), and while I had [...]
Categories: General Assembly, God, theology
| Tags: faith, God, God is the River, Holy Now, Peter Mayer, Prophetic Voice, religion, theology
| 1 comment
Posted by Rev. David on January 31, 2010
I want to be very clear at the beginning of this article that it applies to the religious right, the religious center, and the religious left, and I’m going to focus on the religious left. This is something within human nature, not within specific religious traditions. If there is a difference in how this article applies [...]
Categories: Care of the Soul, theology, UU Movement
| Tags: certainity, Equality, faith, formism, fundamentalism, God, idyllic forms, justice, love, spirit, spiritual, Spiritual Practice, standing on the side of love, totality, ultimacy
| 1 comment
Posted by Rev. David on January 21, 2010
I love it when the responses to an article prompt me to another article. One of my most respected teachers, Joshin Roshi, responded to my last article on the symbolic construction of reality by reminding me not to miss the forest for the trees… to not discount the direct experience of totality amid all of [...]
Categories: Interfaith, theology
| Tags: authentic experience, awe, direct experience, direct experience of the transcending, experience of god, God, kensho, models of God, oneness, theology, totality, trancendant, transcendent, wonder
| No comments
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