Author: David Ellis

Don: The concept of worshiping “in truth” depends on what we mean by “truth.” If my truth is derived from and upheld by my data, my facts, my knowledge and is different from your truth, then clearly worshiping in truth—even within a single religion or church—presents a source of potential conflict. But if by “truth”…

Don: In the story where Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well, Jesus made one of only eight or nine short, declarative statements concerning God recorded in the entire history of his ministry. That makes it intensely significant. He was generally much more given to asking questions or telling parables.* In the story, the…

Don: Worship is both a noun and a verb. As a noun, it is defined as the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity. Synonyms include reverence, veneration, adoration, glorification, and exaltation. As a verb, worship is to show reverence and adoration for a deity; to honor with religious rights. Synonyms include…

Don: God calls us to worship. The command to worship is found throughout the scriptures. Worship seems to be hardwired into us: Everybody worships something. Often, it is something we don’t know or understand very well — a mystery. Yet not knowing unsettles us, to the point of making things up to fill gaps in…

Don: We have been discussing whether, and if so how, we might share our understanding and/or experience of the mystery of God. It was suggested that we might do so through worship, and that worship is all that is left to us after we have exhausted all means of understanding God. We can help to…

Don: Mystery is to knowledge what blindness is to sight. The tension between the need to know about God and the need to live with the mystery of God lies at the interface in many of the conflicts we find in our churches today. For thousands of years, religion has been about knowing and explaining…

Jay: Is mystery important to our spirituality? Here are some passages that suggest it is, at least, important to the psyche: 1. An artist called John Newling went to insurers Lloyd’s of London in 2006 and asked them to underwrite him against ‘loss of mystery’ — in other words, to offer to pay out if…

Don: Data, information, and knowledge are about things known. Mystery is about things unknown. On the face of it, it seems preposterous to think that all mankind, born everywhere, in all ages, from all cultures, from all walks of life, all educational backgrounds, and life experiences should see God—and, even more preposterously, believe in God—in…

Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he counseled with his servants saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” The man of God [Elisha, the prophet] sent word to the king of Israel saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down…