The new book by James Carroll entitled "Jerusalem, Jerusalem" masterfully traces nearly four thousand years of history surrounding both the geography in the middle east known as Jerusalem as well as the spiritual geography of this place in the minds and hearts of human beings. He characterizes Jerusalem as a "fire" that burns in the heart and imagination of many (both for good and for ill). Religion can be at once the source and inspiration for great good, and also the driving force for unparalleled destructiveness in the world.
As I went to "class" today with an expert in the five generations currently alive in the United States I came to appreciate the Millennial Generation concept which lifts up the idea of being spiritual while not being "religious." I want to learn more about what this means. But if it means, as I suspect it does, being a person in pursuit of peaceful resolution to problems, compassion for others, an open and welcoming spirit toward the "other" (going far beyond mere tolerance), and a complete rejection of "judgementalism and violence" it sounds like a world I want to share in more fully. These are the creative people I want to spend my time with and from whom I want to gain greater insight. I wonder in their hands what Spiritual Communities (some of us call them churches now) in the future will look like and be?
