Letters - 05 August 2022
From 'From heads to hearts' to 'Feet'
From heads to hearts
I really enjoyed Michael Saunders’ ‘Back from the Dead’ (8 July). Whenever I reflect on ‘Death of God’ theology I am, in a very roundabout way, reminded of those words of Eckhart von Hochheim: ‘I pray to God, to rid me of God’.
In so many ways this statement from the twelfth-century German mystic speaks more deeply to me, as it holds above all the longing for God and not the concepts of God that so cumbersomely cause division and discord.
The late great Zen Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh once said that if we go deep into the roots of our own tradition (and by this he meant embracing the contemplative dimension) we will find there a river that can carry us to the one ocean where all rivers converge.
For me, the tensions between theism and non-theism pale into insignificance when we can make that giant leap from our heads to our hearts.
Chris Goodchild
Green credentials
Looking at current estimates/available statistics, less than 0.5 per cent of the electorate are members of the Conservative Party. In a few weeks’ time, those fellow citizens have the important and, some might say, awesome task of electing our new prime minister.
Some Friends may be among that number or have good social or other contacts within it. In discerning whom to vote for, or helping your associates decide, please pay great attention to what each candidate is saying and consider how these relate to our testimonies.
I would venture to suggest that both candidates need to be tested hard on their green credentials. If it seems likely that progress towards net-zero and sustainability will be abandoned, reduced or only achieved at the expense of others then consider how this might impact on our longer-term ability to continue to live and witness to our other testimonies.
And, for the rest of us, let us hold the candidates, their electorate, and all lawmakers in the Light.
Helen Carter-Shaw
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