The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
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Destroying Institutions:
Warnings from History 05/23/2024 |
The Catholic Church is just one of many institutions that are diminishing before our eyes and being tempted to entertain simplistic ways out of their dilemma. |
It is
very important in a time like ours, when so many institutions are failing us in so many ways, to criticize them in order to renew them. New ways of doing education and law, jurisprudence and business, economics and agriculture, the media and religion, are demanded in order that |
Nearly 1 in 3 US adults identify their religion as “none,” according to a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Associated Press |
deeper values might come alive and flow through them. That is why I wrote my book, The Reinvention of Work, thirty years ago. Criticizing our institutions is necessary, but it is another thing altogether to deliberately destroy our institutions and pull the rug out from
underneath them. That is what fascists do, for it creates chaos that invites autocrats who believe “only I can fix it” into the vacuum that is created. |
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| Historian Timothy Snyder warns us of that danger in his iconic book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century, where he says we must defend institutions... We tend to assume that institutions will automatically maintain themselves against even the
most direct attacks but that is not so. He says, Today, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitarianism of the twentieth century. Americans today are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism in the |
twentieth century. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. What characterized fascism was that it rejected reason in the name of will, denying objective truth in favor of a glorious myth articulated by leaders who claimed to give voice to the
people. Is it myths that are capturing many American voters these days because it is easier to believe in a myth than to face truth and its demands on us? |
What can we do about preserving our institutions in times like ours? Snyder urges us to “help” our institutions because they “help us to preserve decency.” Do not speak of ‘our institutions’ unless you make them yours by |
Drawing from lessons learned in the 20th century, here are five ways to resist tyranny in the modern age. Adapted from Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny. Signature Views |
acting on their
behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. They fall one after the other unless each is defended from the beginning. He proposes that one choose an institution you care about—a court, a newspaper, a law, a labor union—and take its side.* |
*Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, NY: Tim Duggan Books, 2017), pp. 22, 13 12,
22.
See Matthew Fox, The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood for Our Time.
And Fox, Creativity: Where the Divine and the Human Meet.
And Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming
Evil in Soul and Society.
Banner Image: St. Peter’s Square, The Vatican, Rome, is dominated by the 25.5-meter obelisk at the center of a circus that was started by Caligula, completed by Nero, and used for chariot races and the public executions of Christians. The circus now lies beneath the square and basilica. Photo by Tim Rawle on Flickr |
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Responses are welcomed. To add
your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialog, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Queries for Contemplation |
Do you find yourself “taking the side” of an institution you care about? Do you agree that institutions “help us to preserve decency” and yet also need criticism and reinvention?
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The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood For Our Time
Thomas Aquinas said, “To live well is to work well,” and in this bold call for the revitalization of daily work, Fox shares his vision of a world
where our personal and professional lives are celebrated in harmony–a world where the self is not sacrificed for a job but is sanctified by authentic “soul work.”
“Fox approaches the level of poetry in describing the reciprocity that must be present between one’s inner and outer work…[A]n important road map to social change.” ~~ National Catholic Reporter |
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Creativity: Where the Divine and Human Meet
Because creativity is the key to both our genius and beauty as a species but also to our capacity for evil, we need to teach creativity and to teach ways of steering this God-like power in
directions that promote love of life (biophilia) and not love of death (necrophilia). Pushing well beyond the bounds of conventional Christian doctrine, Fox’s focus on creativity attempts nothing less than to shape a new ethic.
“Matt Fox is a pilgrim who seeks a path into the church of tomorrow. Countless numbers will be happy to follow his lead.” –Bishop John Shelby Spong, author, Rescuing
the Bible from Fundamentalism, Living in Sin |
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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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In the Beginning There Was Joy: A Cosmic Celebration for Kids of All Ages
The first book in the Father Fox’s Fantastical Fables series tells the story of the big bang and how humans fit into the awesome, fantastical,
cosmic picture! With artwork curated from illustrators around the world, this book expresses the joy and wonder of all peoples and cultures, planting seeds of respect, cooperation and hope to work together for the healing of our planet. "This delicious book for children of all ages celebrates joy as the essential truth of
reality." - Andrew Harvey, Author of The Hope and Radical Regeneration "I absolutely LOVED reading this beautiful, creative, stirring story—a charming, whimsical, powerful, parable." -
Robert Holden, Author of Happiness NOW! and Higher Purpose |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
Join Matthew Fox in a new, live, 7-week video course hosted by the Shift Network, Cultivating Compassion in Spirituality: What Meister Eckhart & Other World Mystics Can Teach Us About Navigating Collective Turmoil. Tuesdays, May 7 – June 25, 5:00pm - 6:30pm PT. Register HERE. |
Join keynote speakers Matthew Fox and Brian Swimme at the 2024 Creation Spirituality Communities Gathering on “Reimagining Our Story, Hope for Humanity,” live at Cape Cod, MA and by livestream. Friday, May 31 – Sunday, June 2. Learn more and register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Matthew Fox speaks on "Preserving Things in the Good" at the Unity of Walnut Creek Earth Day worship service held on April 21, 2024. |
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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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