Al Owski’s Reviews > The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For and Believe > Status Update

“From the very beginning, faith, hope, and love are planted deep within our nature—indeed they are our very nature (Romans 5:5, 8:14-17). The Christian life is simply a matter of becoming who we already are (1 John 3:1-2, 2 Peter 1:3-4). But we have to awaken, allow, and advance this core identity by saying a conscious yes to it and drawing upon it as a reliable and Absolute Source. Again, image must become likeness”

“In this understanding, faith, hope, and love are far more defining of the human person than the "moral virtues," the various good behaviors we learn as we grow older. This is why I cannot abandon an Orthodox or Catholic worldview. For all of their poor formulations, they still offer humanity a foundationally positive anthropology (even though many individuals never learn about it because of poor catechesis!)…”

“So how do we first see and then practice this "Original Goodness"? Paul again gives us an answer. He says, "There are only three things that last, faith, hope, and love" (1 Corinthians 13:13). In Catholic theology we called these three essential attitudes the "theological virtues," because they were a "participation in the very life of God"s given freely by God, or "infused" into us at our very conception.”

“Paul writes, "Rejoice in the Lord always" [italics added]. If you're tempted to write this off as idyllic "positive thinking," remember that Paul wrote this letter while literally in chains (1:12-13). How did he pull this off? You might call it "mind control." Many of us just call it "contemplation." ”

“The only way, then, to increase authentic spirituality is to deliberately practice actually enjoying a positive response and a grateful heart. … By following through on conscious choices, we can rewire our responses toward love, trust, and patience. Neuroscience calls this "neuroplasticity." This is how we increase our bandwidth of freedom, and it is surely the heartbeat of any authentic spirituality.”

“I encourage you not to simply take me at my word. Watch your own brain and emotions. You will quickly see there is a toxic attraction to the negative, whether it's a situation at work, a bit of incriminating gossip you overheard, or a sad development in the life of a friend. True freedom from this tendency is exceedingly rare, since we are ruled by automatic responses most of the time."

“The theology of mistrust and suspicion has manifested itself in all kinds of misguided notions: a world always in competition with itself, a mechanical and magical understanding of baptism; fiery notions of hell; systems of rewards and punishments, shaming and exclusion of all wounded individuals (variously defined in each century); beliefs in the superiority of skin color, ethnicity, or nation.”

“From Augustine's theological no, the hole only got deeper. Martin Luther portrayed humans as a "pile of manure, John Calvin instituted his now-infamous doctrine of "total depravity," and poor Jonathan Edwards famously condemned New Englanders as "sinners in the hands of an angry God." No wonder Christians are accused of having a negative anthropology!”

“Yet historically, the teaching of original sin started us off on the wrong foot—with a no instead of a yes, with a mistrust instead of a trust. We have spent centuries trying to solve the "problem" that we're told is at the heart of our humanity. But if you start with a problem, you tend to never get beyond that mindset.”

“Instead of embracing God's master plan for humanity and creation—what we Franciscans still call the "Primacy of Christ" —Christians shrunk our image of both Jesus and Christ, and our "Savior" became a mere Johnny-come-lately "answer" to the problem of sin, a problem that we had largely created ourselves. That's a very limited role for Jesus. His death instead of his life was defined as saving us!”