NINE LETTERS TO LUKE
Visionary Fiction - A Story
First Letter to Luke
Dear Luke,
Has it really been twenty years since we last saw each other?
As I told you on the telephone yesterday, when we talked about your desire to visit me, please do not expect to find the same man that you remember from 20 years ago. Though we shared a common life back in the 70s and early part of the 80s, I have long since left that life behind.
Luke, you mentioned that you are still very committed to the Christian life and that you feel a new call from God to a public ministry. I told you that I no longer attend church and I no longer consider myself a Christian in the way this term is generally understood. This is the reason I did not share in the excitement and enthusiasm for your renewed Christian work.
I am walking a different path now, Luke, and we will both find little in common to chat about if we should meet again – that is, unless you care to listen to my story.
You said that you read my book, Faces of Joseph, and did not understand it. What part did you not understand? Was it the part where I write about my departure from traditional Christianity? I know that you do understand why I left the Pentecostal church, because you were there. So I am guessing that it has to be the part in my book where I tell the story of the emergence of a new pathway in my journey.
Since you are still committed to traditional Christian ministry, I should have anticipated that you would not understand my present journey. If you are at all familiar with the people called the Gnostics, this may help you to better understand my story. To put it plainly, Luke, who I am now, places me in the age-old tradition of the early Gnostic Christians. Even though the Roman church instituted a program to eradiate the Gnostic tradition from the face of the earth, through many ruthless and bloody purges, the 1650 or so years of Roman opposition has not been able to kill the spirit of the Gnostic. Contemporary Christian Conservatives, in my opinion, are another face and continuation of Roman Catholic dogmatic attacks against open and free spiritual pursuits.
Basically, the Gnostics are lovers of truth, and no amount of threat and bloodshed can diminish the spirit of this love. In looking over my life it is very easy to see that I have always been more committed to the quest for truth than the specific dogma and practices of a particular organized church. You know that about me, Luke; the curiosity that I exhibited back in early 1980 is what eventually pushed me out of the Pentecostal church. This same questioning spirit eventually pulled me away from all organized religion.
As much as you say you admired me and that I had an influence upon your ministerial work, apparently you are not remembering my struggles with Pentecostal doctrines. My struggles with our doctrines went beyond the Pentecostal Church. I was questioning the whole foundation of our Christian experience. It required a long process, but eventually I came face to face with my questions.
Continue Reading - Go to Second Letter to Luke
Has it really been twenty years since we last saw each other?
As I told you on the telephone yesterday, when we talked about your desire to visit me, please do not expect to find the same man that you remember from 20 years ago. Though we shared a common life back in the 70s and early part of the 80s, I have long since left that life behind.
Luke, you mentioned that you are still very committed to the Christian life and that you feel a new call from God to a public ministry. I told you that I no longer attend church and I no longer consider myself a Christian in the way this term is generally understood. This is the reason I did not share in the excitement and enthusiasm for your renewed Christian work.
I am walking a different path now, Luke, and we will both find little in common to chat about if we should meet again – that is, unless you care to listen to my story.
You said that you read my book, Faces of Joseph, and did not understand it. What part did you not understand? Was it the part where I write about my departure from traditional Christianity? I know that you do understand why I left the Pentecostal church, because you were there. So I am guessing that it has to be the part in my book where I tell the story of the emergence of a new pathway in my journey.
Since you are still committed to traditional Christian ministry, I should have anticipated that you would not understand my present journey. If you are at all familiar with the people called the Gnostics, this may help you to better understand my story. To put it plainly, Luke, who I am now, places me in the age-old tradition of the early Gnostic Christians. Even though the Roman church instituted a program to eradiate the Gnostic tradition from the face of the earth, through many ruthless and bloody purges, the 1650 or so years of Roman opposition has not been able to kill the spirit of the Gnostic. Contemporary Christian Conservatives, in my opinion, are another face and continuation of Roman Catholic dogmatic attacks against open and free spiritual pursuits.
Basically, the Gnostics are lovers of truth, and no amount of threat and bloodshed can diminish the spirit of this love. In looking over my life it is very easy to see that I have always been more committed to the quest for truth than the specific dogma and practices of a particular organized church. You know that about me, Luke; the curiosity that I exhibited back in early 1980 is what eventually pushed me out of the Pentecostal church. This same questioning spirit eventually pulled me away from all organized religion.
As much as you say you admired me and that I had an influence upon your ministerial work, apparently you are not remembering my struggles with Pentecostal doctrines. My struggles with our doctrines went beyond the Pentecostal Church. I was questioning the whole foundation of our Christian experience. It required a long process, but eventually I came face to face with my questions.
Continue Reading - Go to Second Letter to Luke