The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Good & Evil and the
Spiral of Violence
in Palestine & Israel 10/14/2023 |
Rabbi Zalman Schactner used to say, “there is more good than evil in the world, but not by much.” Beginning Saturday morning, with the horrific events in Israel, the presence of evil has certainly seized the headlines and had the upper
hand. |
Personal stories of innocent people, babies, children, old ones, who were abused and terrorized by the well-planned and very poorly defended invasion of Israeli homes and towns, have dominated news stories. |
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Outrage and fear are being expressed by the government and defense department leaders of Israel. But we must be very careful. This attack has been compared to 9/11, however, since Israel is a smaller country of only 9 million people, 1500 deaths is proportionately much greater. By contrast, there were 3400 deaths in the US, a country at the time of about 285 million persons. We must learn lessons from what happened after 9/11 when outrage and irrational decision-making resulted in a war with Iraq who was in no way responsible for 9/11. That war resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, and a war in Afghanistan which cost thousands of American and Afghan lives. It went on for
20 years, and today the Taliban still rules the country. Both wars cost America trillions of dollars. |
Protesting pro-Israeli AIPAC and Israeli Treatment of the Palestinians. Chicago, Illinois, May 30, 2019. Wikimedia Commons | It would seem that making decisions based on rage and revenge is not a wise thing to do. Evil + evil does not equal resolution or peace. Gandhi warned us that “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” leaves all of us blind and toothless. |
Now there is talk of a ground invasion of Gaza, but so many Gazans have been suffering for years. Hospitals can scarcely stay open with the cutting off of electricity by Israel; one doctor said they may all be converted to morgues. “There is no safe place in Gaza right now” said one journalist who is living there. “I am genuinely afraid for my life.” |
See Matthew Fox, The
Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine, pp. 77-104. And Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society. Banner image: Retaliation was swift. “Palestinians inspect the damage following an Israeli airstrike on the El-Remal aera in Gaza City on October 9, 2023.” Israel massed tens of thousands of troops and heavy armour around the Gaza Strip after vowing a massive blow following the surprise attack of the militant Hamas. Photo by Naaman Omar apaimages. Wikimedia Commons |
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Queries for Contemplation Do you agree there are lessons to be learned vis-a-vis the Israeli tragedy from the failures of irrational decisions made by the American government after 9/11? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or
archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that
shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God |
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Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author
Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE Join Matthew Fox and other speakers in the 27th Howard Thurman Convocation and Reception, recognizing the recent designation of The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples as an historical San Francisco landmark, founded by Dr. Howard
Thurman and Dr. Alfred Fisk as the nation’s first interracial, interfaith congregation. Sunday, October 15, 2023, 3:00pm PT. Learn more HERE. Matthew Fox will be featured as the guest speaker at the Creation Spirituality Communities online course, Introduction to Creation Spirituality 6-Week Course, led by Instructor Rev. Mary Reaman. Tuesday, October 17, 4:00 PM PT. Learn more
HERE. Join Matthew Fox as he discusses “A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity” in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, October 19, 4:00-6:00 pm PT. Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox for two days of learning and practice as he speaks at the online Stanford Medicine Contemplation by Design Summit, Wednesday and Thursday, November 1-2, 2023. Wed 4:00pm-5:30pm PT – Lecture, Q&A – Grounding & Expanding, Psyche & Cosmos, Friendship with Self, Others, the Universe: Toward a “Cosmic Religion” (Einstein) and Human/Planetary Survival Thu 7:30am-8:15am – Guided Practice – Finding the Divine (the “I am”, the Christ, the Buddha Nature, the Tselem or Image of God) Within Thu 12:00pm-1:30pm – Workshop – Recovering the Sacred Masculine and the
Divine Feminine Register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Aaron Perry hosts Matthew Fox on the Y On Earth podcast, on “Hildegard von Bingen & Her “Viriditas,” sharing profound wisdom and deep insights about the essential importance of our relationship with Mother Earth, our celebration of the Divine Feminine, and our connection with Creation Spirituality, drawing upon centuries of knowledge and wisdom from indigenous and mystical traditions world-wide… particularly from the Rhineland Mystic Movement of the medieval European Renaissance, and a most extraordinary woman at its helm: Hildegard von
Bingen. |
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Inspired by this post? Share your insights on Universeodon, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox FOLLOW MATTHEW FOX: |
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