Finding our way to The Way one situation at a time. I don't know how great it will be, but I expect it will be interesting, and I look forward to it going on past all reason because wonder is just that way. Are you coming or not?
Around Bass Lake 01 — Blue Ridge Parkway, Blowing Rock, North Carolina
There is the God of theology, and there is "That Which Has Always Been Called God" beyond theology.
Theology was invented by the Church of Rome over the 400 years between Jesus' execution and the closing of the Canon which ended the amount of material that could be included in the Bible. The Church of Rome decided what was in and what was out of the Bible. The Church of Rome composed the Bible, we may as well say "The Church of Rome wrote the Bible," so that what the Bible says is what the Church of Rome wanted the Bible to say, which comes down to "You are all sinners going straight to hell unless you believe what we tell you and do what we say!" The Church of Rome gave itself some leverage that way, and guaranteed its future, not that it had anything at stake in choosing the scriptures it chose to comprise the Bible.
Before Theology was invented, there was only "That Which Has Always Been Called 'God,'" which was experienced more often than believed, and everyone knew what they were talking about when they talked about That Which Has Always Been called "God." Then Theology came along with Hell in tow and it all went to hell.
My point here is that we do not need theology. We only need to experience what has always been experienced as That Which Has Always Been Called God to know that God is one with us, that we are all "of God." That no one can draw the line between where we end and God starts. God is the stuff everything is made of. It is all of God, IS God, and everyone who has ever known has known this much. We are Psyche! We are God! There are no lines separating anything that theology did not draw.
I'm retired, and still finding my way--but now, I don't have to pretend that I know what I'm doing.
I retired after 40.5 years as a minister in the Presbyterian Church USA, serving churches in Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina. I graduated from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, in Austin, Texas, and Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. My wife, Judy, and I have three daughters, five granddaughters, one great granddaughter, and a great grandson on the way, within about ten minutes from where we live--and are enjoying our retirement as much as we have ever enjoyed anything.
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3 thoughts on “October 29, 2025”
Yes! I knew I had found something like “God” when I was 10 and road my bike down to Goleta beach near Santa Barbara and had a profoundly mystical experience. I walked over a tall dune and felt like I left civilization behind when all I could see was the sea and no human constructions, only to arrive at a mystical feeling I cannot put words to. I felt “at one” with the Universe. I can only find that feeling now when I appreciate the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains near Asheville and the natural world that surrounds me.
It just occurred to me that maybe the comments by Jesus about children (Mark 10:14 – He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”)
may be referring to this awestruck sense of wonder by my child-mind that I need to reclaim.
Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy 
Yes! I knew I had found something like “God” when I was 10 and road my bike down to Goleta beach near Santa Barbara and had a profoundly mystical experience. I walked over a tall dune and felt like I left civilization behind when all I could see was the sea and no human constructions, only to arrive at a mystical feeling I cannot put words to. I felt “at one” with the Universe. I can only find that feeling now when I appreciate the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains near Asheville and the natural world that surrounds me.
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It just occurred to me that maybe the comments by Jesus about children (Mark 10:14 – He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”)
may be referring to this awestruck sense of wonder by my child-mind that I need to reclaim.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think you are onto the truth that needs to be honored and lived for the remainder of our life!
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