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History and Religion

2026-03-25T06:36:06-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How Can We Understand Transcendent Experiences?

Last updated on: March 25, 2026 at 6:36 am By Larry Jordan

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Spirituality requires both curiosity and skepticism. I wrote about the dubious existence of souls here. In the article, I wondered why some people assume that near-death experiences (NDEs) prove that there is an afterlife. Seems like a stretch to me. There is NOT a way to know whether an NDE is the last thing we see when we die or the first thing we see when we reincarnate. I suspect it’s the former. But I can NOT know. ... Read more

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Education and Religion

2026-03-23T07:42:09-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Are We Simply Stirred into the Cosmic Soup?

Last updated on: March 23, 2026 at 7:42 am By Larry Jordan

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Eventually, I will fall asleep for the last time. It’s OK if I do NOT wake up one day. I am grateful for the 25,000-odd days (and some of them were very odd!) that I DID wake up. Do We Have Souls? I wrote about the different gods, religions, and scriptures that people have chosen to follow here. Assume that we were lucky to choose to worship the right god among 3,000 gods. Also, we chose to follow the right... Read more

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What Happens When We Die?

Last updated on: March 13, 2026 at 8:07 am By Larry Jordan

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Many people are concerned about existential questions. Maybe the metacrisis and the threats of climate change, global pandemics and nuclear wars are upsetting people. (No wonder. Me, too.) In Buddhism generally, and in Zen specifically, there is NOT much emphasis on speculative questions about the existence of God, the meaning of life or the possibility of an afterlife. Regardless, these questions increasingly arise in my circles, both religious and secular. Ryan Burge, an academic who studies religion and politics, recently... Read more

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Education and Religion

2026-03-05T06:50:31-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Guest Column: A Moment of Clarity by Kevin Curnutt

Last updated on: March 5, 2026 at 6:50 am By Larry Jordan

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There is Oneness beyond the apparent separation of good or bad, right or wrong. Today, I am reprinting an article from my good friend, Kevin Curnutt with his permission. Kevin is an author and a modern-day mystic. And he wrote a book, From Horror to Transcendence. There is Oneness Beyond the Apparent Separation of Good and Bad On a sunlit winter afternoon in Arlington, Texas, Super Bowl Sunday of 1981, young friends Trey Shelton and Kevin Curnutt rode their... Read more

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from horror to transcendence

Kevin Curnutt

non-attachment

non-duality

2026-02-28T08:35:47-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

One Person Listened. One Life was Saved.

Last updated on: February 28, 2026 at 8:35 am By Larry Jordan

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Meaningful spiritual practice is embodied. A Zen teacher told me that the biggest obstacle to Zen practice is “time travel.” So, are we here now, or are we distracted by past regrets or future fears? Recently, I wrote about attention here. And are we paying attention to the people around us, or are we distracted by self-centered navel-gazing or baseless, theoretical speculation? I realize that everyone is related, and everything is connected. Eastern philosophy advances this. The mystics... Read more

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Education and Religion

2026-02-19T08:10:27-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Pay Attention. Look for the Helpers. Be a Helper.

Last updated on: February 19, 2026 at 8:10 am By Larry Jordan

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There is NOT necessarily anything woo-woo about transcendence. Recently, I read about the 80/20 rule of communication, which suggests that we should spend 80% of our time listening and 20% of our time talking. And a Zen teacher reinforced this lesson when he challenged me to pay attention to the everyday interactions in my daily life. I recalled the famous Zen koan about the importance of attention: A student said to Master Ikkyu, “Please write for me something of great... Read more

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2026-02-14T11:49:15-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How Do We Recover Our Sense of Transcendence?

Last updated on: February 14, 2026 at 11:49 am By Larry Jordan

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Do we create our gods, or do our gods create us? In The Way, I write that most traditions recognize that there are two (not three) aspects of God. And these aspects correspond to the immanent and the transcendent. Thus, Swami Abhayananda, a Hindu sage, realized that there is a binitarian concept of God that is common to most religions. Immanent and Transcendent So, first, there is an absolute or transcendent aspect of God, beyond space and time.... Read more

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Education and Religion

2026-02-09T05:12:44-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Church Leaders Seem To Be Sleeping Through A Wake-Up Call

Last updated on: February 9, 2026 at 5:12 am By Larry Jordan

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Is it a good or bad thing if the church fails as an institution? In my last column, I challenged the myth of the resurgence of religion. Recently, Ryan Burge, whom I quoted here, posted about the predominance of Baby Boomers in churches: “I think people fundamentally misunderstand the demographic oddity of the Baby Boom generation in American religion. ‘Oh, it’s fine. When those Boomers die off, they will just be replaced by younger generations.’ No, they won’t.... Read more

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Education and Religion

2026-01-29T07:10:48-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Our Politics Shapes Our Spirituality

Last updated on: January 29, 2026 at 7:10 am By Larry Jordan

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Has church become the last stronghold of political conservatism? If so, why is that a good thing, and what does that have to do with loving our neighbors as ourselves? What are the implications for a pluralistic, secular society when (for example) anti-semitic, homophobic, Islamophobic or misogynistic views, which are rightly discouraged in the public square, are actively encouraged in conservative churches? Has church become an agent of change or an obstacle to progress? Are churchgoers cocooning in echo chambers... Read more

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Education and Religion

2026-01-29T06:27:03-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Do You Know 100 People Who Were Transformed by Spirituality?

Last updated on: January 29, 2026 at 6:27 am By Larry Jordan

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I can think of many instances when the church divided people. I can think of a few instances when the church transformed people. So what is the point? Can you explain it? Me, neither. Recently, I attended a Zoom meeting with philosopher John D. Caputo. Caputo speaks and writes about radical theology, which emphasizes social justice over supernatural doctrine. Increasingly, radical theology challenges biblical literalism, creedal boundaries, and established tradition. Many radical theologians consider the absence or irrelevance... Read more

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Education and Religion

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