A friend was paraphrasing John Spong this morning: ‘Religion always thinks it’s the end. But it’s not.’
I sense that the question this naturally follows, 'So, what is the end or purpose?', can be profoundly helpful.
I know religion gets in the way of spirituality for many. I also know that spirituality is almost impossible without religion. Religion ‘carries’ wisdom in story and exposition and in spirit from one generation to the next.
One of the great gifts of developing a habit of fruitful silence is that in contemplative practice we experience something of the end or purpose of religion wordlessly. And we ‘know’ something that in a way is ‘beyond knowing’.
And we can agree with Spong and stay wholeheartedly involved in religion too.
