Excerpts from the Soft Edges Column

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GOING TO CHURCH
>
> "Why do you go to church?" a correspondent asked.
> I've wondered that myself. As regular readers have long deduced, I
> don't believe any church is perfect. Nor do I consider all the teachings of
> any church absolute, authoritative.
> To tell the truth, I probably go to church mostly out of habit. My
> father was a minister; I didn't have much choice about going as a child. As
> a teenager, I got drafted to teach Sunday school; as an adult, I got put
> onto boards and committees; in later life, the church hired me as a
> journalist...
> In other words, I've been involved with church all my life. I
> would find it hard to imagine life without some connection to it.
> But even as I write that, I realize it's not an adequate answer.
> I have friends there, of course. But I have had friends in other
> organizations too -- Scouts, Rotary, charitable organizations...
> Perhaps we're friends because we share the habit of church-going.
> Or maybe there's more -- we share a common conviction that
> religious beliefs matter, even if we don't agree on what those beliefs are,
> or should be.
>
> BIGGER THAN JUST ME
> Other social contacts seem to take for granted that the purpose of
> life is to make money, to stay healthy, to enjoy oneself, or serve others,
> to get an adrenalin rush...
> Church, when it goes well, reminds me that I am part of a larger
> scheme of things.
> That doesn't necessarily imply a supernatural being who pulls the
> strings of the universe. I don't believe that God -- by whatever name --
> deliberately causes a landslide to wipe out a village in the Philippines or
> an earthquake to crumble a city in Pakistan. Nor do I believe that God
> meddles in life so that one football team wins, or that one person's cancer
> is cured and another's isn't. I certainly don't believe in an almighty
> watchmaker who determined, eons ago, which mosquito will get slapped when it
> lands on my arm.
> But I do believe that there is some kind of purpose and meaning to
> life. If everything happens by random chance -- more precisely, if cause and
> effect unfold predictably after an unpredictable singularity -- why should I
> bother being kind, thoughtful, sensitive...?
> Isn't it all inevitable, anyway?
> How that purpose, that meaning, comes into being, doesn't matter
> to me. What matters is trying to live in harmony with it.
>
> COMPATIBLE MINISTRY
> I've been fortunate in having ministers who were secure enough in
> their own faith that they could push me to explore mine, without feeling
> threatened by where that exploration might take me.
> If I got a minister who was less open, I might have to look for
> another church. Or I might have to learn to turn my mind off while enjoying
> my friendships.
> But I think I would still have to connect to a church -- some
> church, somewhere -- to keep reminding me that I am not all there is.
> There is more.
> Even if I don't understand what it is.
> *****************************************
> Copyright © 2009 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study
> groups permitted; all other rights reserved.
> Please tell your friends about these columns - especially if you
> happen to agree with my viewpoints!
> To send comments on this column, to subscribe, or to unsubscribe,
> send an e-mail with Sharp Edges in the subject line to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
> *****************************************
>
> YOUR TURN
>
> Lee d'Anjou, who has raised her share of admirable children, offered this
> comment about last week's column: "You wrote of Joan's (and your)
> disappointment when Katherine was unimpressed with the refinished doll crib
> originally made by her great-grandfather. The problem, Jim, (which Joan
> probably realizes) was that Katherine is five years old. Judging by memories
> of the reactions of my daughters, I think she's exactly the wrong age to be
> much impressed by anything without flash. She would probably have
> appreciated the crib at two or twelve, and she almost certainly will when
> she's twenty-two."
>
> By some coincidence, both of last week's letter writers were long-time
> editorial colleagues. Perhaps everyone else was too busy dealing with
> Christmas and New Year's celebrations. At least, that's my excuse for being
> late mailing out this issue of Soft Edges.
> The other letter came from Steve Roney, somewhere in the Persian
> Gulf.
> Jim Henderschedt had written his lament about not being able to
> sing Christmas carols in local Lutheran churches until _after_ Christmas.
> "That's the Catholic tradition too," Steve wrote. "You do not sing Christmas
> songs in church until Christmas day. The upside is that Christmas lasts
> until January 6. And there are other songs for Advent.
> "As to why so many Christmas songs are written by Jews, no
> surprise. It's a great party; everyone wants to be invited to a great
> party."
>
> *****************************************
>
> ABOUT MY BOOKS
>
> Over the years, I think I have written (or ghostwritten) about 17 books.
> Several of them (mercifully) are no longer available from any source. But
> here's a listing of those that are still available. The ones marked "WLB",
> you can order from Wood Lake Books, either on-line at
> http://www.woodlakebooks.com, or call Wood Lake Books directly at
> 1-800-663-2775 in Canada, 1-800-654-5129 (Pilgrim Press) in the U.S. The
> ones marked "JT only" are now available only directly from me -- as
> collector's items, I price them all at $25 Cdn.
>
> An Everyday God: Insights from the Ordinary (1981 and 2005, WLB, $19.95)
> Two Worlds in One (1985, JT only)
> Last Chance (1989, JT only)
> Seeing the Mystery: Exploring Christian Faith through the Eyes of Artists,
> (1990, with William S. Taylor, JT only)
> Surviving Death (1993, JT only)
> Everyday Psalms (1994 and 2005, WLB, $19.95)
> Everyday Parables (1995 and 2005, WLB, $19.95)
> Letters to Stephen (1996, WLB, $17.95)
> Sin: A New Understanding of Virtue and Vice (1997, WLB, $19.95)
> Precious Days and Practical Love: Caring for an Aging Parent (1999, WLB,
> $19.95)
> John for Beginners (2001, WLB, $11.95)
> The Spirituality of Pets (2006, WLB, $39)
>
> ********************************************
>
> TECHNICAL STUFF
>
> This column comes to you using the electronic facilities of
> Woodlakebooks.com.
> If you want to comment on something, send a message directly to me,
> at either This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send me an e-mail message at the
> addresses above. Or you can subscribe electronically by sending a blank
> e-mail (no message) to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Similarly, you can
> un-subscribe at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
> You can access several years of archived columns at
> http://edges.Canadahomepage.net.
> I write a second column each Sunday called Sharp Edges, which
> tends to be somewhat more cutting about social and justice issues. To sign
> up for Sharp Edges, write to me directly, at the addresses above, or send a
> note to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
> ********************************************
>
> PROMOTION STUFF.
>
> If you know someone else who might like to receive this column regularly via
> e-mail, send a request to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Or, if you wish, forward them a
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> For a lighter look at life, faith, and the lectionary, I recommend
> my friend Ralph Milton's weekly e-newsletter Rumors. You can subscribe to it
> by sending a note to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
> For other web links worth pursuing, try
> * Charlene Fairchild's United Online site, http://united-online.ca
> * David Keating's "SeemslikeGod" page, www.seemslikegod.org;
> * Alva Wood's satiric stories about incompetent bureaucrats and prejudiced
> attitudes in a small town are not particularly religious, but they are fun;
> write This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to get onto her mailing list.
>

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