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Welcome to OneLife Ministries. This site is designed to lead you prayerfully into a heart experience of Divine Presence, Who is Love. While it focuses on Christian teaching, I pray persons of varied faiths will find inspiration here. Indeed, "God" can be whatever image helps us trust in the Sacred, by whatever means Grace touches us each. Please share this ministry with others, and I hope you return soon. There is a new offering daily. And to be placed on the daily OneLife email list, to request notifications of new writings or submit prayer requests, write to barukhattah@embarqmail.com .
Blessings,
Rev Dr Brian K Wilcox, MDiv, MFT, PhD
Interspiritual Pastor-Teacher, Author, Workshop Leader, Spiritual Counselor, and Chaplain.
Brian encourages support of the 4-Star Christian organization Compassion, which supports children worldwide; for more see www.compassion.com .
Opening Affirmation
Go into a brief time of silence, affirming the following: feel the truth of the affirmation:
God and I are One in Love.
Opening Prayer
Oh Almighty! Life is oblation!
We offer all fruits of duty to you.
Kindly concede!
We surrender everything to you!
Oh Almighty! May there be a Peace! Peace! Peace! Everywhere.
*The Bhagavad Gita, 4.24. www.worldprayers.org.
Sacred Scripture
5When we thought only of ourselves, the Law made us have sinful desires. It made every part of our bodies into slaves who are doomed to die. 6But the Law no longer rules over us. We are like dead people, and it cannot have any power over us. Now we can serve God in a new way by obeying his Spirit, and not in the old way by obeying the written Law.
*Romans 7.5-6 (CEV)
Sacred Teaching
A deeply religious man found a diamond by the roadside. According to the Scriptures, he could keep it only after three times of announcing it in the center of the marketplace, and no one claiming the property as belonging to him or her.
So, the man was too religious to disobey the Scriptural command and too greedy to risk losing his diamond. Thus, three times, and on consecutive nights, he went to the center of the marketplace. There, he announced in a soft voice, "I've found a diamond on the road that leads to the town. Anyone knowing who the owner is, should contact me, at once."
One man happened to be standing at his third-story window on the third night. When he attempted to find out what the announcement was, the man with the diamond replied, "I'm in no way bound to tell you. But this much I shall say: Being a religious person, I went out here at night, three consecutive nights, to announce certain words to fulfill the religious teachings of our Scripture."
To be properly wicked, you do not have to break the Law, just observe it to the letter.
*Story and quote from Anthony de Mello. Taking Flight. Story adapted.
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Sadly, the Christian faith exchanged the written legalism of the Jewish Law with another written legalism, undoing exactly what Jesus lived, preached, and taught. What is that written "Christian" legalism? A strict, literalistic adherence to the written Bible - a book, regardless of your view of divine inspiration, penned by persons like you and me.
The higher, universal principles of Scripture are bound within an adherence to the Bible as a propositional book meant to be followed in the same way for all time. This is a Holy Bible legalism.
This is a definition of a "Christian" legalism. Empirically, we cannot say biblical legalism has produced persons any more truly human and virtuous, or compassionate, than those who deny religion and faith altogether. And, empircally, we cannot say the Christian faith necessarily produces more Christlike persons than other religious faiths.
Quietly Responding
How would you define biblical legalism? What does it mean to say that a person could keep the Bible strictly and, yet, deny its essential intent and teachings?
Blessings! In Love!
Brian Kenneth Wilcox
July 4, 2009
barukhattah@embarqmail.com
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*OneLife Ministries is a ministry of Brian K. Wilcox, of SW Florida. Brian lives a vowed life and with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis. Brian is an ecumenical-interspiritual leader, open to how Christ manifests in the diversity of Christian denominations and varied religious-spiritual traditions. He is Senior Chaplain for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, Punta Gorda, FL.
*Brian welcomes responses to his writings or submission of prayer requests at barukhattah@embarqmail.com . Also, Brian is on Facebook: search Brian Kenneth Wilcox.
*Contact the above email to book Brian for Spiritual Direction, retreats, or workshops. You can order his book An Ache for Union at major book dealers.
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