There are many disturbing elements in the story of the “man of the city who had demons” in Luke 8:26-39.
There is a lot of fear in the story in Luke 8:26-39 of Jesus’ encounter with
a man of the city who had demons.
In a Nov 3rd-28th 2014 online course now available on demand at: http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/ecourses/course/view/181, Cynthia Bourgeault set out on the tricky task of illuminating the teachings of the obscure and much misunderstood early twentieth century mystic and teacher G.I. Gurdjieff.
Luke 8:26-39 tells the dramatic story of Jesus’ encounter with
a man of the city who had demons.
I do not remember when I first heard it, or what its source might be. But the saying has accompanied me for many years:
Perhaps the proposal at the end of “Why Are People Leaving Church? Pt. 4” seems irresponsible for someone in leadership in the church.
As I was completing this series of posts, on John Pavlovitz’s understanding of why people are leaving church, I received an email containing a statement from Lisa Kimball who writes:
I have come to believe that the greatest threat to Christianity in America in the 21st century is not atheism, pluralism, politicization, Nones, Dones, or even sex abuse scandals and hypocrisy, although they are devastating. The greatest existential threat to Christianity is superficiality…
In an open letter to the church posted May 2019 John Pavlovitz re-visits the question “Why Are People Leaving Church?”
The remaining three reasons John Pavlovitz gave in 2015 for the exodus from church are challenging and important. Below, with my comments are the three final reasons Pavlovitz believes people are leaving church (again please read his version @ https://churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-articles/244545-dear-church-heres-people-really-leaving.html)
John Pavlovitz is the author of a provocative and popular blog called, “Stuff That Needs To Be Said.”
