Be not anxious saying, “What shall we eat?” or, “What shall we drink?” or, “With what shall we be clothed?” For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. "Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; If you had the good fortune to be blessed by Mother Liz’s homily this past Sunday (June 21…as was I), she described something called “Prosperity Gospel”. While my feeble intellect didn’t completely follow the premise behind that theology, my confusion diminished entirely when she concluded her homily with “You are loved”. Stars Go Dim is a 4 person contemporary Christian rock band formed in Tulsa, OK, in 2008. Chris Cleveland as lead singer has tremendous vocal range. He writes much of their music along with Joey Avalos (guitarist). They have charted 7 cuts on the Billboard Top 25, including “You Are Loved” which reached #1…a fact reinforced by the 7 million YouTube views. My essentially teenage Christian Education students for some reason took a particular liking to “You Are Loved” as well as Stars Go Dim. Cut: “You Are Loved” Artist: Stars Go Dim Lyrics are included in the video
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Was the United States founded as a Christian Nation or under the Principles of Religious Freedom?6/24/2026
If you remember my two recent blogs, you will recall there were 10 Christian denominations, Anglicans, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers, Methodists, Dutch, German Lutherans, Reformed, and Catholics, and a Jewish synagogue operating in the colonies at the time of the Revolution. So, if we were created as a Christian nation under which of the ten denominations would it be? I have never seen any historical evidence that the issue was ever discussed. Why? I am sure the Revolutionists knew it was impossible to create a new nation whereby the colonists would agree to fight as a Christian nation against the British monarchy. However, under blogs one and two it was noted that the principles of Christian theology were some of the driving forces if not the main driving force. If you recall, Calvinism and the Great Awakening argued that the colonists had “religious freedom” to oppose the British monarchy under Romans 13 and the Book of Galatians. Church leaders argued that the Bible gave the colonists the power and religious freedom to oppose the British. It was the principle of religious freedom that drove the War for Independence because the colonists were too busy fighting against the British to be contemplating founding a new Christian nation. The colonists desired freedom from the British and based their arguments on Christian principles. This is not to say America was therefore created as an official Christian nation. This was not on the agenda of the Revolutionists. Before examining various declarations, constitutions, or acts of Congress, one needs to examine the general religious philosophy of leaders of the American Revolution. The Founding Fathers came from general Protestant backgrounds. Some held orthodox Christian beliefs, but many were Deists or Theistic Rationalists who supported reason and morality over the traditional religious dogma and miracles. The religious beliefs of the Founders fell into four categories:
This mixture of orthodox Christianity, Deism, and Theistic rationalism among the powers of the Founding Fathers discouraged the creation of a Christian nation. The first collective action of the Founding Fathers was the creation of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Historians generally agree that the Declaration of Independence was strongly influenced by Deism and the Enlightenment-era rationalism. The document appeals to the “Laws of Nature and Nature’s God.” It further stated that men are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” The “Creator” mentioned in the document was not the Christian God of the Bible as understood by the colonists. The final paragraph of the document mentions the “protection of Divine Providence,” which was a Deist-friendly term favored by major Founding Fathers like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. Divine Providence was not a Biblical God that was involved in the daily human affairs of the colonists. The rights declared by a secular government were justified by reason and nature and not by divine right or religious Christian doctrines espoused by the colonists. The creation of the U.S. Constitution in 1787 was also influenced by Deism and Enlightenment rationalism. It is not a Christian document because it is most clearly seen that it is secular in nature and deliberately separates the church and state. A key deistic influence can be seen in Article VI that explicitly prohibits any religious requirement for holding public office. The First Amendment establishes religious freedom and bars the government from establishing a state religion. Key architects and prominent thinkers of the Constitution like James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin relied on deism to craft a system of government where freedom of religion was protected but separate from civil authorities. As a result, there is no mention of a Biblical God in the Constitution. After the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Alexander Hamilton was asked why God had not been mentioned in the Constitution. His reply was “We forgot.” The drafters of the Constitution were being driven mainly by the principles of Christian Deism, Deism, and Theistic rationalism. That is why God is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution. Although there were many differences in the ideas of orthodox Christians, Christian Deism, Deism, and Theistic Rationalism during the formation of the United States, secular pluralism was a common philosophy of all entities that advocated for the strict separation of church and state thereby guaranteeing the government does not favor any specific religion or non-religion. Secular pluralism also promotes the concepts of religious equality and inclusivity. It advocates for keeping faith and partisan politics separate, and that is why a Christian nation was never in the plans of the Founding Fathers. PERSONAL NOTE: These last three blogs have been about the coming of the American Revolution and the creation of our nation. As I have stated earlier, I have used AI, some books from my library, and old graduate school notes. However, these last three blogs are based especially on my expertise in American colonial history that I gained in graduate school. I must admit that I failed my oral exam for my doctorate at Mississippi State University on the portion for colonial history. I don’t know what happened that night in answering the questions on colonial history, only to say I crashed and burned. It meant I had to take and pass a written examination on colonial history in order to move on and write my dissertation.
I was told by my colonial professor that I had to read and master the findings on all books on his reading list—150 books!!! I thought he was joking. He was not. He said I was too young to be getting a PhD. To fast forward this story let me say I went back home with a method given to me by my major professor on how to read and master 150 books. I buried myself in a cubicle at SLU and prepared for an upcoming written exam back at MSU. It consisted of five essay questions, and I was allowed to go into the library on my honor. From 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM I filled a legal pad, the long one, to the last page. Turned it in and drove to my friend’s where I was staying. When I got there, Jimmy had a beer waiting for me with a napkin on which he had printed “ABD” which meant I had passed the exam and could start writing my dissertation. There is no way Dr. Lowery read my response to his exam questions. My anger quickly dissipated when I kept looking at the ABD napkin. I went home and wrote my dissertation and graduated in August 1972 at the age of 26. If you are wondering, yes I used some of those books to write these last blogs on colonial history.
Article 37 of the Thirty-Nine Article of Religion of the Church of England stated in 1571 the king or queen has “the chief power in this Realm of England, and other his Dominions.” The Article further stated that the monarchs have the “prerogative . . . that they should rule all estates and degrees committed to their charge by God, whether they be Ecclesiastical of Temporal.” The article of faith made the British monarchy not just a preferred form of government but one that was divinely ordained. Canons of the Church of England were carried over into the Anglican colonies and required ministers to at least four times a year to deliver sermons preaching that the king was the highest power under God. An American minister who supported the Patriot cause would thereby be in violation of his sacred oath. Consequently, during the Revolution, half of the Anglican ministers resigned their pulpits either out of conviction and support of the Revolution or fear of Patriot parishioners. Support of the Crown was strongest in places like New York where ministers could be protected by British troops. The Book of Common Prayer became an issue because prescribed prayers asked God to defend the king and give him victory over all his enemies. After the Declaration of Independence some Anglican Churches modified their prayer books with more patriotic words.
This Calvinistic principle found itself repeated in sermons using the Book of Galatians which called for the colonists to break free from the yoke of bondage. Patriotic ministers drove home this Calvinistic message with their interpretation of Romans 13 and making it a patriotic cry. Revolutionaries continued to call on the writings of Calvin by arguing that lesser magistrates (counsellors, legislators, judges and the nobility) had the duty to protect the people when higher magistrates, including the king, became abusive and tyrannical. The lesser magistrates had the obligation to organize and lead the resistance. The First Great Awakening (1730s-1740s) drove Americans toward resisting authority. One of the principal themes of the Great Awakening was that revivalist preachers undermined the authority of the educated clergy and to authorities in general. Since Anglican preachers were highly educated, the First Great Awakening weakened their influence and thus built hostility to the British authority in the colonies. There were denominational differences in clerical support toward the American Revolution. An exhaustive study of the views of every Anglican minister in the colonies found that only 27 percent supported the Revolution, and most of the supporters were in Virginia. Of the 55 Anglican clergy north of Pennsylvania, only three supported the Revolution. Nearly all important pamphlets published in support of the Loyalist position came from the authorship of an Anglican priest. On the other hand, the Reformed Protestant clergy supported the Revolution almost unanimously. As a result, the Reformed Protestant ministers were credited or blamed for the Revolution. Presbyterian and Congregationalists ministers were being blamed for the Revolution. Calvinist ministers, often referred to as “the Black Regiment” because of the austere black robes they wore, were also blamed for the Revolution. Even the British monarchy blamed the Protestants for the Revolution. King George supposedly referred to the Revolution as a “Presbyterian Revolution”. Allegiance to the Revolution was harder to assess in the pews. Anglicans were loyalists except in Virginia and New York. Probably most Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and Baptists followed their clergy in supporting the Revolution. Though small in numbers, Catholics and Jews supported the Revolution overwhelmingly. So did the Quakers and Methodists but not as vigorously. The Dutch, German Lutherans, and Reformed were divided. By not supporting the Revolution, the status of churches was affected. The Church of England (Anglican) held the status of an established church throughout the South and in parts of New York, but support of the monarchy caused their established status to be stripped. Establishment never returned to those colonies. However, the Congregational Church gained prestige because of supporting the Revolution. Being Anglican did not harm the reputation of colonists. For example, George Washington, our first American President, was a devoted member of the Church of England and later an Episcopalian. He was a member of the vestry at Truro Parish and senior warden. Being Anglican after the American Revolution did not hurt the political aspirations of Americans because three of the first five American Presidents were Anglicans. NOTE: This blog, like all others, is the result of AI research and my personal library, in addition to my ancient graduate school notes on my courses on American colonial history.
According to British statesman Edmund Burke, in his “Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies,” religion was the most powerful of four socio-cultural characteristics of the American people that made us especially jealous for liberty and resistant to British rule.
Burke argued it was the American style of religion that was the main desire for a free spirit. According to Burke, this style of religion was most common in the northern colonies. They were Protestants who were “the most adverse to all implicit submission of mind and opinion.” Alex de Tocqueville added to the argument by stating that: “Religion in America takes no direct part in the government of society, but it must be regarded as the first of their political institutions; for it does not impart a taste for freedom, it facilitates the use of free institutions.” In the decades during the founding of the colonies, churches were the principal institutions for the creation and dissemination of ideas. The leaders for the loyalist side were almost all Anglican (Episcopalian). Leaders supporting the revolution were Presbyterian, Congregationalist and Baptist ministers. Colonial newspapers were supporting the revolution, but the majority of the colonists were not subscribers. However, the newspapers disseminated their ideas through their published pamphlets. Most of the content in newspapers and pamphlets were reprints or reports of sermons. While most European nations had a single established church and suppressed most forms of dissent, colonial America was one of the most religiously diverse places in the world. Since the southern colonies were strongly supported by the Crown for economic ventures, the colonists were supporting the Crown during the coming of the American revolution. New England was generally a place of refuge for Puritans and Pilgrims and religious freedom to worship but not for Baptists, Quakers or Catholics. Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island were generally established as havens for religious minorities. The First Great Awakening (1730s-1740s) swelled the ranks of the Baptists and Methodists in the colonies. Fiery preachers filled the pews with their reality of hell and salvation. The importance of the Great Awakening is that it fostered radically democratic and more disruptive churches and more dissent in the colonies. It emphasized that ordinary people could connect directly with God rather than through institutional churches. Although the Anglican Church (Episcopalian) was formally established as the state church in every colony south of Pennsylvania, and semi-established in Metropolitan New York, it was never the dominant or the largest religious group. It tended to be concentrated in coastal and tidewater regions and very little on the frontier. By the time of the American Revolution, the largest denominations were Congregationalists (Puritans), Presbyterians, and Baptists. With the exceptions of the Anglicans the Protestant colonists had an ample history to be wary of governments. The Dutch Protestants had suffered violence at the hands of the Spanish in Holland. Tens of thousands of French Huguenots were killed in a state-sponsored pogrom in 1572. Hundreds of English Protestants were burned at the stake under “Bloody” Queen Mary. In addition, the Puritans were jailed and exiled under the Stuarts. Scottish Presbyterians were persecuted in the 1680s under James II. These Protestants were convinced that their religion was ordained by God, and the action by the king and Parliament was in opposition to God’s will, thereby making rebellion legitimate. Another factor driving the coming of the American Revolution was “ecclesiology” (church organization). With the possible exception of the Anglicans, Protestant churches in the colonies believed that their form of church organization was determined by scripture. Anglican ecclesiology is hierarchical and top-down like Catholicism in many respects. If there was no bishop to exercise discipline, Anglican ministers were virtually under control of the parish vestry, an elected office typically held by members of the local gentry. For example, George Washington was a vestryman in his Anglican church near Mount Vernon. The Puritan, or Congregational, church was governed at the local level by the congregation, similar to a New England town meeting. A Congregational minister was usually a Puritan of “learned ministry”, meaning a graduate of Harvard or Yale. His role was solely to preach and lead worship, but the governance of the church was in the hands of elected elders. Each colonial congregation governed itself with no higher colonial, state or national authority. Presbyterians resembled Congregationalists, and the Dutch Reformed Church was virtually identical in structure to the Presbyterians The Baptists on the other hand were more individualistic, more libertarian and more anarchic. If a Baptist did not approve of his church, he would leave and join another or create another. Baptists were the most anti-authoritarian movement in the colonies. Baptists were a driving force for popular democracy more than for cautious republicanism. Next week in Part II we will cover how political theology affected the coming of the American Revolution.
Patrick Henry was born on May 29, 1736, and was primarily educated at home in Hanover County, Virginia. Henry was unsuccessful as a businessman and decided to self-study law since there were no law schools in the colonies. Only the wealthy could afford to travel to London to study law formally. He studied Virginia laws and foundational legal texts on his own. Henry spent many hours observing lawyers in the Hanover County Courthouse. Apparently, he observed well the proceedings and listened to legal arguments because he was able to pass the bar examination in 1760. Historians have maintained that initially his knowledge of complex legal procedure was scant, but he had a sharp mind and a natural intellect. He had a deep understanding of human nature, a quick wit, and superior oratorical skills which permitted him to become a successful lawyer.
He supposedly concluded his speech with the line: “but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.” Although he is given credit that his rousing speech at St. John Episcopal Church led to adoption of his amendments opposing British action, scholars have debated the exact wording of “give me liberty or give me death.”  Currier & Ives depiction of Henry giving his famous speech. Created 1876. Public Domain. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001700209/
You might ask how the hell do I know where I was on that exact day. Well today, I was rummaging through my library, and I came across this extract of a book entitled The Imitation Christ by Thomas à Kempis. Still stuck inside the book was the receipt that showed I had paid $.50 for the book. It had been marked down from $2.95. I don’t recall exactly why I bought the book except that it was being advertised as a spiritual classic. At that point in my life, I felt a spiritual classic might help ease my pain. I read in the preface that the “renowned medieval manual of devotion was “to exhort and instruct the Christian how to seek spiritual perfection by constantly following Christ Crucified as his example.” The author of the preface stated that the book was “among the best loved devotional treatises of Western Christendom.” So, I took it home to read. Since I knew nothing about Kempis, I did some quick research about his book of which I only had an extract. I found that Sir Thomas More said it was one of the three books everybody ought to own. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, read a chapter a day and regularly gave away copies as gifts. John Wesley, founder of Methodism, said it was the best summary of the Christian life he had ever read.
His booklets were prepared as sermons or reflections for the novices of the monastery. In his first booklet he laid out the primary requirement for the spiritually serious: “We must imitate Christ’s life and his ways if we are to be truly enlightened and set free from the darkness of our own hearts. Let it be the most important thing we do, then, to reflect on the life of Jesus Christ.” For Kempis the highest virtue is humility. He argued that we must let go of the illusion of superiority. “If you want to learn something that will really help you, learn to see yourself as God sees you and not as you see yourself in the distorted mirror of our own self-importance.” He also wrote that “This is the greatest and most useful lesson we can learn: to know ourselves for what we truly are, to admit freely our weaknesses and failings, and to hold a humble opinion of ourselves because of them.” For Kempis, humility requires us to embrace the fact that we will face some suffering whether you want to or not. He argued that “God wants us to learn to endure troubles without comfort.” Kempis maintained that we must submit ourselves totally to God and to expect to become more humble through adversity. His fourth treatise was “The Book on the Sacrament” in which he maintained that the Eucharist can help the faithful draw nearer to Christ. Throughout all treatises he advised the novices not to indulge oneself and not to put oneself forward. What he meant was that one should put our full trust in God. Kempis’s works and his life are venerated in Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Lutheranism. His feast day is August 30. In closing, I would like to share some of Thomas à Kempis’s thoughts taken directly from the abstract of his four treatises: Whosoever thou reposest in men, out of Jesus, is all no better than lost. Thou shalt quickly be deceived, if thou look only to the outward appearance of men. If Jesus be with thee, no enemy can hurt thee. Dispose and order all things according to thy will and judgment; yet thou shalt ever find that of necessity thou must suffer somewhat, either willingly or against thy will, and so thou shalt ever find the Cross. Where is thy faith? Stand firmly and with perseverance; be patient and a man of courage; consolation will come to thee in due time. I shall end this blog with my favorite line from Thomas à Kempis: If I send thee affliction or any cross whatever, chafe not, nor let thy heart fail thee; I can quickly lift thee up again and turn every burden into joy. Twenty-five years ago, this passage warmed my heart and still does today.
The Imitation of Christ is available on Amazon.
What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loves us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” I promise this will be the last Jelly Roll cut I will offer for a while: “God Didn’t Let Me Break”. Reassuring and uplifting, the lyrics are another reminder of the closeness of God even when we don’t feel his presence. Maybe we should be listening closer to His message, however subtle and however unexpected the vehicle. The lyrics are not displayed here as they are shown on the YouTube screen. Cut: “God Didn’t Let Me Break” Artist: Jelly Roll CD/Album: Redemption
When I first heard that our adult education class at Grace was going to read Theo of Golden, I admit I was not pleased at all. My immediate thought was how a novel could teach us anything about religion. Boy, was I wrong, for the first time in ages!! The book taught me and the class a lot about religion and human kindness. I no longer think that a book about theology must be 500 pages, with copious footnotes, and an exhaustive bibliography.
Had I taken Greek at Southeastern Louisiana University and not Spanish for two years, I would have known that Theo meant “gift of God.” However, I soon discovered that Theo of the town of Golden (actually Columbus, Georgia) was going to be a “gift of God” and a gift from God. I don’t think it was a coincidence that the author chose Theo to arrive in Golden just before Easter because Theo would prove himself to be a “Divine Gift” from God. We found out that at the end of the book Theo was in Golden to turn his heart and mind to his long lost son. I have even given thought to re-titling the book: “Theo of Golden—The Return of the Prodigal Father.” I may be wrong, but Theo is about unconditional love, repentance, and forgiveness. After a second reading, I now think Theo is actually the sinner, who has strayed, made mistakes, and became lost in his highly successful life as an internationally famous artist. Theo is on a human journey of finding his true purpose, healing, and redemption. In a sense he has hit rock bottom and yearns to connect with his talented son. Oh, by the way, there is one more feature that is similar to the “Prodigal Son” parable. There is Pierce, Asher’s brother, who is self-righteous and irritated at the end of the book that Asher, who is extremely wealthy, chooses his days drawing pictures of people’s faces. We should have known that Theo was not an ordinary dude. He arrived by a private jet to Atlanta and then by a chauffeur-driven Lincoln Town Car. Shouldn’t this be the way a “gift of God” should arrive? This is his only ostentatious display, but the residents of Golden never saw it. He planned it that way because he wanted to fly away from his former life. Theo of Golden does not attempt to preach to us; it inspires us to be like Theo who is fully human with faults and sins in his past. To me Theo reminded me of Christ. Like Christ, who was with us for only a short while, Theo was only in Golden for about a year as he showed the residents how to live and treat each other with kindness and love. His treatment of Ellen, the homeless woman, was definitely Christ-like. He cared for the poor and the lame like Lamisha. The purchasing of the pencil portraits of the people of Golden and putting them in the hands of the rightful owners fostered friendship and altered the lives of the recipients and Theo. The gifts were acts of kindness. These acts of kindness were countered by Ellen’s recounting of one of the most hurtful events of her life—the loss of her child to the bureaucracy of society. Theo’s response was Christian-like, gut wrenching, and appropriate for our lives today: “The older I get, the more convinced I am that every hurt the world has ever known is somehow the fault of every person who ever lived. Maybe not directly and never entirely, but somehow, I fear, we own all of the world’s hurts together.” A recent review of Theo Golden thrashed it for being a “display of Christian-less Christianity.” Apparently, he never read the aforementioned quote of Theo. Theo later states the following: “There is another teaching about kindness. Do not let your left hand know what your right is doing. In other words, do good but try to do it without notice or hope of reward.” This Christian-like response to the journalist wanting to write about his activities in Golden was a paraphrase of Matthew 6:3-4. Theo of Golden reeked with Christian like sayings: “Bad mercy doesn’t hurt nearly like bad justice.” Then there is this one which I loved: “God gave us faces so we can see each other better.” The recounting of taking Communion in a foxhole in Vietnam was heartbreaking. For Theo the death of Tony’s friend Bobbo “was an end. A terrible end. But maybe not the end. Maybe an end with a future.” This is Theo proclaiming the hereafter. Remember it was the Easter season in Golden at this time. Oh, by the way. Allen Levi is Episcopalian. I don’t know if Allen Levi had any knowledge about the teaching of Brother Lawrence. However, I found many of the traits of Brother Lawrence in the character of Theo. The monk’s road to spirituality had been sparked by the Godliness that he found in nature. Theo saw a twisted old trunk as “a permanent scream, a memorial to some horror it might have witnessed long ago. . . in the soul of such a tree.” Theo’s year in Golden allowed him to witness “trees go through a full cycle of seasons: tiny springtime buds becoming oblong, hand sized leaves” and “cups becoming thumb-sized acorns.” After a second reading Theo 0f Golden I sensed that his ongoing relationships with the residents of Golden was a sincere dialogue with God. His letters were uncomplicated gestures of his genuine affection. His engagement with God was through his continuous conversations and letters with his new friends of Golden. Unfortunately, Asher has only the letters of Theo to cherish when finds out Theo was his father. Had there been a physical meeting between the two, I am positive Asher would have met Theo with open arms and love. In the end I ask myself did God send Theo to Golden to fulfill the mission he had set for himself in beginning a relationship he long desired with his son Asher? Theo arrived in Golden as a sincere, spiritual, and humble man. It was only after his tragic death did Golden recognize his greatness. Does this sound familiar?
It was created by the Toronto United Church Council’s Innovative Ministry Center and the TryTank Research Institute at Virginia Theological Seminary.
Before going any further, I must define what a “chatbot” is. In my layman’s terms it is a website to direct queries during research. For example, “Who won the World Series in 1965.” If you see the following on your webpage “Ask anything” followed by a microphone, you can click it and type in your inquiry or verbally make an inquiry. However, there is always the following warning: “AI can make mistakes, so-double-check responses.” I have been using AI and other research tools to prepare these blogs, including this one. AI can be used to increase administrative efficiency by drafting documents, managing schedules, and for analyzing data for strategic planning. Some dioceses are forbidding the use of AI-generated content in publications while others endorse its use for administrative tasks. Some Episcopal Churches see AI as a valuable tool for supporting overworked, smaller, or lay-led congregations. On the other hand, some churches express concern about the ethical implications, environmental impact, and the potential for AI to diminish the role of human empathy in pastoral care. There is evidence that some Christians prefer to use AI because they like hearing God speak to them!! Before I go further into AI and its use by the Episcopal Church, let me say I am extremely cautious over the uses of AI in general society. I have seen some marvelous uses for the military, especially in logistics, and the medical field. However, I became very cautious when I saw on “60 Minutes” an AI generated robot attack its operator who had run away to escape from its anger. On that same program it was reported that five AI-generated war exercises all chose the nuclear option to solve a world-wide conflict. The final shocker was that the “grandfather” of AI, Geoffrey Hinton, warned that AI could outsmart humans, potentially taking control, causing mass unemployment, and posing a 10%-20% risk of humanity’s extinction. Let’s let EpiscoBot serve as a positive tool for us. Suppose you want the upcoming scripture readings for The Seventh Sunday of Easter in Year A on May 17, 2026 immediately. This is what EpiscoBot will tell you:
Ok, let’s get back to AI and the Episcopal Church locally. Mother Liz uses AI for administrative purposes in the Church. She has used it to create job descriptions and interview questions. However, she has always ended up editing it heavily. You might remember that I have been using AI to do research on all the blogs I have written. However, there is a way you can use it daily in your Bible readings. After my Bible reading for each morning, I send the Gospel citation to AI and ask for an interpretation. I get not only an AI generated interpretation, but, more importantly, there are usually several copies of homilies from real ministers. This gives me the perspective of other ministers on the same gospel reading which is helpful. As I discover other beneficial ways in bolstering, communicating and increasing our love for God through AI, I will forward them through my blogs. In the meantime, let’s hope and pray God will protect us from creating an AI society that will destroy us.
For the life of me, I cannot remember who or what caused me to read this book. However, I have read it more than once. It is a profoundly spiritual book. I read as part of my Lenten devotion The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth am I Here For? by Rick Warren. I read this book many years ago during Lent, and I was impressed. Warren is the pastor of a mega-church in Lake Forest, California. I am normally not a fan of pastors of mega-churches, but he is different. He and his church were expelled by the Southern Baptist Convention for having female pastors on the church staff. Now, that is my kind of mega-pastor!! OK, let me go back to Brother Lawrence. Warren cites Brother Lawrence when he maintains that whatever we do in life, no matter how mundane, we do it for God. Rick praises Brother Lawrence when he maintains we should worship God through the common tasks of life. Warren urged his readers to follow Brother Lawrence’s advice to have shorter conversational prayers throughout the day. He also praised the Benedictine monks who used hourly chimes of a clock to pause and pray “the hour prayer.” Of course. Anglicans and Episcopalians have Morning Prayer, Noon Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline, which is based on monastic practices. I’ll get back to the current followers of Brother Lawrence shortly. Brother Lawrence at the age of 18 deeply committed himself to the Christian faith because he saw the power of God in the changing of the seasons, which was a mystic journey for him. I experienced this feeling briefly on a fall trip to New England. I was warned that at one particular spot on the highway through the mountains I would be mesmerized by the “Bubble Gum Valley.” There it was. A valley packed with so many trees of various colors that I thought we were looking inside a gum machine. I pulled over to the parking area designated for this scene, and I could not take my eyes off of it. Brother Lawrence was right. You could feel the power of God. Let’s get back to the good monk. Taking the religious name of “Lawrence of the Resurrection,” he spent his whole life as a friar cultivating a keen sensitivity to the presence of God in everyday life. He made the love of God the end of all his actions. Lawrence wrote that all that we do is as valuable to God as the priest. He referred to his simple way of praying as “practicing the presence of God.” Lawrence learned to commune with God continuously, not just in church or during personal devotions. The monk made constant pleas that were being in the company of God as he worked as a cook in the monastery kitchen, doing daily chores, or while he conversed with others. The following is a gentle reminder from Brother Lawrence on how to practice the presence of God: “Lift up your heart to Him, the least little thought of Him will be acceptable. You need not cry very loud; There have been many translations of Lawrence’s book. The Vatican Publishing House just published a new edition The Practice of the Presence of God, and Pope Leo XIV wrote in the introduction that “the writings of Saint Augustine and other books, this is one of the texts that have most shaped my spiritual life and have formed me in what the path can be for knowing and loving the Lord.” Having a tremendous sense of humor, Pope Leo XIV reminds us that Brother Lawrence, like Teresa of Avila, urges us to speak to the “God of the pots and pans.”
I sent a copy of Brother Lawrence’s little book to Mother Liz, and she has shared it with a parishioner. In conversing with one of my spiritual partners, I told her about Brother Lawrence. She said she was quite familiar with him, and she in the past sent copies of his little book to 4 or 5 parishioners as graduate gifts upon confirmation. Since there are at least maybe 8 or more of us with Brother Lawrence’s book, is anyone interested in shaking those pots and pans? |
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