Creation Spirituality: Wise like a Fox

(Blessed Mary in Prayer)

Just because most people sin (can’t pin it all on Adam and Eve) doesn’t necessarily mean that they are sinners through and through.  It might just mean that they have fallen out of sync with their original natures, which God had deemed to be “very good.”

Thus speaketh Matthew Fox, an Episcopalian priest and

world-renowned theologian. 

Fox wasn’t always an Episcopalian; in fact, he spent more than two decades as a Roman Catholic priest.  In 1993, Cardinal Ratzinger (now the Pope) ordered the expulsion of Matthew Fox from the Dominican order for “disobedience.”  One of the keynotes of this “disobedience” was Fox’s belief in Original Blessing rather than in Original Sin.  According to Wikipedia, other “disobedient” keynotes included Fox’s recognition of the feminine aspects of spirituality, Fox’s inclusion of Native American teachings, Fox’s four paths (Via Positiva, Via Negativa, Via Creativa, and Via Transformativa) as opposed to the church’s classical three paths (purgation, illumination, and union), and Fox’s refusal to condemn homosexuality.

Fox went on to famously develop a theological system called Creation Spirituality.  In addition to the concept

of Original Blessing, Creation Spirituality embraces “green” theology (“emphasizing a holy relationship between Man and nature”) and “deep ecumenism” (“connections across many spiritual practices”). According to wholeheartedretreat.com, these are some of Creation Spirituality’s main principles:  The Universe, and all within it, is fundamentally a blessing; God is as much Mother as Father, as much Child as Parent... beyond all words and images; In our lives, it is through the work of spiritual practice that we find our deep and true selves; There are many wells of faith and knowledge drawing from one underground river of Divine wisdom; Ecological justice is essential for the sustainability of life on earth; The basic work of God is compassion and we, who are all original blessings and sons and daughters of the Divine, are called to compassion.

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Fox_(priest)

http://www.wholeheartedretreat.com/

http://theoblogical.org/dlature/itseminary/creaspir/whatis1.html

Copyright November 13, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved