Reflections of a Canadian Churchman

To my readers: I have added a new Book Review page to this site. You can visit the site by clicking on the link in the right-hand column of this page. I intend to publish about one book review per month and offer reading suggestions from time-to-time. I have moved the "currently reading," and "recently read" lists to that page, as well. As always, I welcome your comments and (as with this page and my sermons page) you are free to post them. Sincerely, The Rev. Daniel F. Graves

It seems to be all the rage these days to claim to be spiritual but not religious. In this dichotomy, spirituality is characterized as an authentic searching after a connection with God, whereas religion is characterized as a false way, followed only by spiritually dead institutional dunderheads, who unwittingly succumb through either stupidity or spiritual vacuousness to empty regimes of liturgical banality. On the other hand, spirituality is for those who are enlightened, and in their enlightenment need no mediator between themselves and whatever or whoever they define as “God” (be that the Judeo-Christian God, or a more ethereal “source of being,” or even the universe, itself.). To these post-modern spiritual elites, those who are “religious” have placed their very small God in a very small box and seek to mold him (yes, him) in their own image. Religious people are legalists who are only concerned about the rules and not about a relationship with God. Indeed, do religious peopl...