Process Theology and Celtic Wisdom

By Bruce G. Epperly

The Christian life is a holy adventure.

Bruce Epperly has opened up that adventure to everyone in his previous books Process Theology, Process Spirituality, and Process and Ministry. Now he connects this adventure to ancient roots in Celtic spirituality.

This book takes a meditative, experiential approach to the complex, often difficult topic of process theology and brings it to life for everyday spiritual practice, while rooting it in Celtic wisdom.

This is not the place for rigid doctrine and adherence to a set of commands. Instead, Epperly hears God's call to embrace a God who is available to us, a call to adventure, and the hope for new spiritual vistas. This spiritual journey will resonate in how we live and build community.

This is a short volume, designed for anyone to read. It is suitable for individual or group study. It aims to make both process theology and Celtic wisdom available to everyone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Energion Publications
• Release date: Dec 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9781631996399

Bruce G. Epperly

Bruce G. Epperly is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ. He has written more than 20 books in the areas of theology, spirituality, ministerial excellence, spiritual formation, and healing and wholeness. Recognized as a leader in lay and pastoral faith formation, he served as Director of Continuing Education and Professor of Practical Theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary (2003-2010). Prior to that, he was Director of the Protestant Ministry and Adjunct Professor in Theology, Spirituality, and Medicine at Georgetown University and Medical School (1982-1999), and Acting Associate Dean, Assistant to the President for On-line Programs, and Adjunct Professor in Theology, Spirituality, and Pastoral Care at Wesley Theological Seminary (2000-2003). He has also served as an interim minister in Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ congregations as well as pastor of Disciples United Community Church (Dis

Book preview

Process_Theology_and_Celtic_Wisdom_Front_Cover.jpg

PROCESS THEOLOGY AND CELTIC WISDOM:

ADVENTURES IN ECOLOGICAL SPIRITUALITY

BRUCE G. EPPERLY

Energion Publications

Gonzalez, Florida

2018

Copyright © Bruce Epperly 2018

Unless otherwise annotated, scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (NRSV), copyright © 1989 by the Division of the Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA.

Kindle Edition: 978-1-63199-640-5

Aer.io Edition: 978-1-63199-639-9

ISBN10: 1-63199-619-3

ISBN13: 978-1-63199-619-1

Energion Publications

P. O. Box 841

Gonzalez, FL 32560

energion.co

[e-mail]

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Finding Our Place of Resurrection 1

Chapter Two:

Reenchanting the World:

Celtic Wisdom for the Twenty-first Century 4

Chapter Three:

With Beauty All Around Us We Live:

The Spirit of Process Theology 10

Chapter Four: Thin Places Everywhere 16

Chapter Five: Creation Sings 19

Chapter Six: Daily Blessings 24

Chapter Seven: A Lake of Ale 29

Chapter Eight: Christ to Guide Me 35

Resources for the Theospiritual Adventurer 39

Chapter One

Finding Our Place of Resurrection

According to Celtic spirituality, every journey should begin with a prayer. The path upon which we travel is filled with challenges and possibilities and danger lurks in the shadows. We need God’s guidance and protection to find our way. Centuries ago, according to some legends, in a time of threat, St. Patrick, circled himself turning toward the sunrise as he said this prayer;

I arise today

Through the strength of heaven;

Light of the sun,

Splendor of fire,

Speed of lightning,

Swiftness of the wind,

Depth of the sea,

Stability of the earth,

Firmness of the rock.

I arise today

Through God’s strength to pilot me;

God’s might to uphold me,

God’s wisdom to guide me,

God’s eye to look before me,

God’s ear to hear me,

God’s word to speak for me,

God’s hand to guard me,

God’s way to lie before me,

God’s shield to protect me,

God’s hosts to save me

Near and far,

Alone or in a multitude.

Other Celtic Christian adventurers embarked on the high seas in little boats, known as coracles, without rudders to guide them, trusting that God’s providence would lead them to their place of resurrection, the holy ground upon which they would realize their destiny as God’s companions in sharing the Gospel. While such sojourns were not the norm for Celtic pilgrims, now more than ever we need the witness of Celtic Christianity to respond to our current spiritual, theological, congregational, political, and ecological uncertainties. We travel the high seas of spiritual and cultural adventure, uncertain of our destination and buffeted by the waves of postmodernism, religious pluralism, ecological destruction, political polarization, and institutional collapse. Our little boats of faith are in danger of capsizing if we do not locate theological, spiritual, and ethical polestars to guide our journeys.

Celtic Christian theology and spirituality is undergoing a revival as a spiritual pathway uniquely suited to guide our way toward spiritual and planetary wholeness. Celtic Christianity presents a life-transforming vision of an enchanted reality, in which God speaks to us in the waves, songs of birds, groves of trees, and cries of newborn babies. The disenchanted worldview, propagated by Western religion, economics, and politics alienated humankind from the non-human world, made earth and sea a garbage dump, and threatens the survival of the planet. Political and business leaders have jettisoned the wisdom of the prophets to achieve short term profits. Among many Christians, the doctrine of original sin turns our attention from earth to heaven, devalues the non-human world, and inspires apocalyptic scenarios in which God is the ultimate destroyer and humans have no agency in saving the planet.

The revival of Celtic spirituality has been an antidote to the destructive impact of orthodox doctrines original sin, divine wrath, predestination, and evangelism. Grounded in ancient wisdom,