On the Doctrine of the Cross: Part 1

It’s long that Under the Influence has been building toward two statements: the first is “God, Savior, and Self are One.” This is an ontological distinction—it’s about being, about the fact that they all are exactly the same. The second statement ...

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The Five Pillars of Catholicism

I’ve always been attracted to intentional living, and clean ways of explaining what the game is about. As a monk, just because I’d asked a visiting buddhist for a word that’d help us live our monastic lives, I watched him count out the four noble truths and the eightfold path on his fingers. After that I’ve always been attracted to simple ways of explaining core doctrines.

As an instructor of theology at a Catholic school, I often get questions about the bottom line. Ever interested in doing the least amount of work possible, my students will ask “What’s the least you have to do to call yourself Christian, and what if I differ with it?” The first time I got that question, I could only answer its second part. The next time I addressed it, I had an answer. After a bit of preface, I hope to address the answer I feel sums up Christianity’s bottom line. ...

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Remain in Me: The Theonoias, Belief and Beliefs

While Christianity has defined different types of prayer, it lacks an account of their effect on cognition. The most they’ve done is talk about the faculties involved: Christian Vocal prayer involves the voice, Christian Meditation involves the ...

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Staying with Suspension: Christian thoughts on Wisdom, Cognition, and Enlightenment

I’ve claimed, in “On Suspension: Holding Non-Duality Together,” that suspension is the preserver of contemplation and the precondition for “humility-become-permanent” or Christian enlightenment. Christianity entirely lacks a word to describe the ...

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He ain't heavy: He's my brother

Brad Warner—who despite his name, falls short of kin to me—qualifies his answers well. In his book There is no God, and He is Always with You, he says (to paraphrase) “When asked ‘do I believe in God?’ I reply ‘that depends on what you mean by ...

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