The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Watch for Matthew Fox's video meditation -- now appearing every Monday! |
Step Number One in
Awakening the Young: Cosmogenesis 07/30/2024 |
To say that the modern era is behind us is to say that a new vision is beckoning us, a new view of the universe that is reaching out to us. Call it the vision of Cosmogenesis, a cosmos that is birthing all around us and through us. A vision not of machinery but of generation and creativity going on for 13.8 billion years. |
No education, no religion, no profession, no work that ignores this eminent power of creativity can serve us well as a species in the future. No worldview that leaves out creativity therefore can appeal to the young and beckon them to be their best selves. The malaise that besets
our species today is a malaise born of ignoring the new cosmology therefore. |
“Mystic Mountain” in the Carina Nebula, with a three-light-year-tall pillar of gas and dust being pushed apart by light and winds from nearby stars and by jets of gas from infant stars buried inside the pillar. Photo by NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI) |
That is Step Number One in responding to the ennui of the young around the globe: Let anthropocentrism go—in education and religion and our professions—and allow the universe to enter. With all its splendor and “glory” and creativity and urgency. Human inventions like the Webb
Telescope are beginning to do that. As they arouse the splendor and grandeur and beauty and mystery of the universe, awe, wonder, and the sacred return. |
"Astronomers Can See The Light Of The Big Bang: James Webb's Unbelievable Mission." | Peekaboo
Kidz | How amazing that our planet exists at all. And that we do too. How amazing that it is filled with wondrous creatures striving to be themselves and care for their young—to name some: giraffes and elephants and whales and
fishes and birds that soar and |
birds that sing and forests and rainforests and cats and dogs and horses and all that are eager to hang out with humans, receive our affection, and teach us things. All this is the cosmos coming home. It bespeaks Immensity, Intensity and Intimacy—all three of which make up what a human being is and is capable of. |
Are education and religion and media capable of welcoming and lighting the fire of our Immensity, Intensity and Intimacy? If so, they are healthy. If not, they are unhealthy. |
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If
so, they have something to say to the young. If not, they have nothing to say to the young. Step Number One in exciting the young is to welcome them to the cosmos anew, to its 13.8-billion-year history that has brought us all here; to its place in a theater of two trillion galaxies and counting. To the
sacredness of the universe that has birthed us. |
See Matthew Fox, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality.
See Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth.
See Fox, Creativity: Where the Divine and the Human Meet.
See Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality.
Banner Image: A Bureau of Land Management agent introduces a toddler to the sights visible through binoculars on the high prairie. Photo by U.S. Bureau of Land Management 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 |
Are you finding yourself moved by the new cosmology and the lessons of cosmogenesis and creativity built into the universe? And the earth? And humans? Do you find this in working with the young and are you assisting young adults make space for it? |
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew
is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author,
The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story |
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Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Fox’s spirituality weds the healing and liberation found in North American Creation Spirituality and in South American Liberation Theology. Creation
Spirituality challenges readers of every religious and political persuasion to unite in a new vision through which we learn to honor the earth and the people who inhabit it as the gift of a good and just Creator.
“A watershed theological work that offers a common ground for religious seekers and activists of all stripes.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice. |
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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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Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality
Selected with an Introduction by Charles Burack
To encapsulate the life and work
of Matthew Fox would be a daunting task for any save his colleague Dr. Charles Burack, who had the full cooperation of his subject. Fox has devoted 50 years to developing and teaching the tradition of Creation Spirituality and in doing so has reinvented forms of education and worship. His more than 40 books, translated into 78 languages, are inclusive of today’s science and world spiritual traditions and have awakened millions to the much neglected earth-based mystical tradition of the West. Essential Writings begins by exploring the influences on Fox’s life and spirituality, then presents selections from all Fox’s major works in 10 sections.
“The critical insights, the creative connections, the centrality of Matthew Fox’s writings and teaching are second to none for the radical renewal of Christianity.” ~~ Richard Rohr, OFM. |
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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. "Matthew Fox has created a narrative, for every parent, grandparent, both spiritual and
scientific, that is a gift for all elders who recognize their responsibility in initiating the young ones into the grandeur of existence." Cosmologist Brian Swimme, Author of Cosmogenesis and The Universe Story "Matthew Fox has given all of us, children included, a wondrous and enchanting view of creation
and all that humanity should aspire to." - Caroline Myss, Author of Anatomy of the Spirit and A Time for Grace |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
MONTHLY: Join Matthew Fox, Mariko Middleton, and Skylar Wilson of the Order of the Sacred Earth in a free virtual meeting for connection and networking with other mystic warriors. Last Tuesday of every month, 4:00-5:00pm PT.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88665302478
Meeting ID: 886 6530 2478 Learn more at www.orderofthesacredearth.org |
Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, August 15, 4:00-5:30 pm PT.
Register HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, September 19, 4:00-5:30 pm PT.
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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