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God's Dream = PEACE A Global Kingdom Dream http://herescope.blogspot.com - July 23, 2008 Skip down to Shane Clayborne |
"For years, we’ve dreamed of the day when the three sectors of society: public, private and faith – specifically local churches – could be connected together for the good of a country. In God’s amazing plan> and timing, these “three legs of the stool” have come together in the nation of Rwanda to make this dream a reality." Kay Warren[1]
"And God's dream for creation is community by way of peace." – Emergent blogger[2]
What does the term "God's Dream" mean?
After our last post, which we left posted for several weeks due to its serious subject matter, we began an Internet search to see what we could locate to answer this question. We were helped in our quest by Warren Smith, whose impeccable research into the New Age movement helped us to piece together some key elements.
To be quite honest, we were surprised by the results of our search. We had assumed that "God's Dream" was a nebulous sort of phrase that meant different things in different contexts. We knew, from Warren Smith's research and writings, that "God's Dream" had a meaning to the New Age/New Spirituality leaders which was disturbingly similar to the ways in which Rick Warren, Robert Schuller, Brian McLaren and Bruce Wilkinson were using the phrase.[3] But what we didn't realize was how pervasively "God's Dream" has been used in the sense of creating a global PEACE on Earth. Several other terms connected this idea are "reconciliation" and "justice."
"God's Dream" seems to have become the new mantra for peace. It is bandied about by leaders who have very similar agendas, both within and without the church. Below is a summary of the results of our search. This represents only a small summary of the overall picture. We must hasten to point out that we did not simply pick and choose evidence to back up this premise. Rather, it is very obvious that "God's Dream" does have a meaning, and this meaning is universally shared by those who bandy the term about, and the meaning is almost always connected to the idea of restoring paradise type conditions, or building the kingdom of God on Earth, by man's efforts for the purpose of creating peace on Earth.
A few other interesting facts will come to light on this list below: 1) ground zero for "God's Dream" appears to be the continent of Africa; 2) the names of modern-day ICONS are invoked -- The Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Mikhail Gorbachev, etc. (Note: some living "saints" are part of The Elders); 3) this is intentionally a youth movement.1. Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu, the former archibishop of Cape Town and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has written several books on the topic of "God's Dream," including one for children. His book God Has A Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time has been endorsed by Nelson Mandela, The Dalai Lama, and Jimmy Carter.[4] Here are some key quotes from speeches he has given:
God has a dream for all his children. It is about a day when all people enjoy fundamental security and live free of fear. It is about a day when all people have a hospitable land in which to establish a future. ... God's dream begins the moment one adversary looks another in the eye and sees himself reflected there…. God's dream ends in healing and reconciliation. Its finest fruit is human wholeness flourishing in a moral universe.[5]
Dream. Dream. Dream. Dream that this can be a world without poverty. Dream that this can be a world without war. Dream that this is a world that will recognize that every human being matters. Dream. Dream. Dream…. And you realize that this isn't just something that is idealistic, romantic, sentimental. Just look at a Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa and Aung San Suu Kyi and Nelson Mandela, and you'll see that one of the outstanding characteristics of each one of these is how they have poured themselves out prodigally on behalf of others, of their being so utterly selfless.[6]
And you, you young people don't let us oldies with our cynicisms divert you and turn you away from the dreams that you dream. For you dream God's dream. You dream of a new kind of world. You dream that yes, it is possible for there to be no war any longer. You dream of a world where poverty will be history. You dream of a world where there will be laughter and compassion and caring and gentleness. Go on dreaming. Go on dreaming…[7]
And so God said, ‘I have a dream, I have a dream, that my, my children will come to know that they are family. I have a dream. I have a dream that they will recognize there are no outsiders in this family. That all, they all belong.’ Fantastic. Too many of us think it is, oh well, sentimental stuff. That isn’t it. Some of the most radical political stuff that we are family. All, all, held in an embrace of love that will not let us go. God gives up on no one. All. All rich, poor; tall, short; substantial, not so substantial; beautiful, not so beautiful; clever, stupid. All, all, all, men, women, children; old, young; white, black, red, yellow. All, all, all, all, all, gay, lesbian, so-called straight. All, all, all, all, all. [applause]…. God says, ‘Please, please help me realize this dream.’ And some of God’s best collaborators are the young, because you dream. You dream God’s dream.[8]
2. Sri Chinmoy
Sri Chinmoy a poet, composer and pioneer in “Integral Yoga” has often used the term “God’s Dream.” His life was devoted to a modern form of yoga and elevated states of spiritual consciousness, and he offered meditations at the United Nations for over 20 years. "God's Dream" and "Peace" were interconnected in his poetry and song. He even spoke at Tokyo University on the topic of "Peace: God's Dream -- Reality's Oneness -- Boat, Fulness-Shore."
What is Yoga? Yoga is the language of God. If we wish to speak to God, we have to learn His language. What is Yoga? Yoga is that which discloses God's secret. If we wish to know God's secret, we have to launch into the path of Yoga. What is Yoga? Yoga is the Breath of God. If we wish to see through God's Eye and feel through His Heart, if we wish to live in God's Dream and know God's Reality, if we wish to possess the Breath of God, and finally if we wish to become God Himself, Yoga will beckon us.[9]
What is God's Dream? God's Dream is His Transcendental Reality's embodied inspiration and revealed aspiration….. Meditate on God. You will see God seated inside you. Devote yourself to God. You will see God within, without, here and beyond.[10]
Peace: God's Dream-Reality's Oneness-Boat, Fulness-Shore. Peace, peace, peace.[11]
Man is the God of tomorrow;…. As God is in Heaven, even so is He on earth. He is here, there and everywhere. Each human being has a God of his own. Sisters and brothers, do not sink into the abyss of despair, even if you have, at the moment, no clear aspiration for God-realisation. Just start on your journey upward, inward and forward-upward to see God's Dream, inward to possess God's Dream, forward to become God's Dream. This Dream is the Dream of absolute Fulfilment.[12]
3. Sun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon heads up the world-wide Unification Church and has been involved in business, political, cultural, and mass-media endeavors for the past several decades. His teachings on "God's Dream" are astonishing in their similarity to the New Apostolic Reformation, and indeed Moon has hobnobbed with evangelical leaders, including paid junkets, for many decades. Moon has has claimed to be the "Second Coming of Jesus."
God's dream still remains unfulfilled. It was not fulfilled 2,000 years ago, or in the home of any religious leader or any American home, and today the Unification Church is here to pledge to fulfill that dream. We don't want to confine that fulfillment to our Church, but to expand it all over the world. Wouldn't that be the Kingdom of God on earth?[13]
God's Dream, the Restoration of Heaven: What is God's dream? It is to restore the lost heaven, the lost parents, and the lost children. Now we should restore our nation, our people, and our parents. Therefore, we should become the true children of the True Parents. We have to defeat Satan and forget about the six thousand years of sorrow and resentment, and be able to take pride in the conditions of victory and love. You must clearly know that this is the way for us to become the true sons and daughters in the presence of God, who has gone through a history of sorrow.[14]
4. Shane Claiborne
Shane Claiborne is an Emergent leader who actually worked with one of the "God's Dream" icons, Mother Teresa in India. He launched The Simple Way Community in Philadelphia and is "a prominent activist for nonviolence and the redistribution of resources to the poor." He has also endorsed a number of Emergent books, often referring to "God's Dream" in the context.
The prophets point us to what is ahead - the fulfillment of God's dream for creation. And they invite us not simply to wait but to begin enacting that dream now.[15]
A dynamic and hope-filled book to provoke the ecclesial imagination. May it help us grow closer to God's dream for the church. [16]
I don't agree with Doug on everything... and that's part of the fun. We need to learn to disagree well, and laugh and spar together as we run after God's dream.[17]
People respond well to stories, and I think people, and especially younger generations are aware that the world we've been handed is fragile and are already asking, that is God's dream for the world and is it different from what we see? Extreme poverty and conflict are hard to deny.[18]
5. Delirious?
Delirious? is a Christian rock band. Their connection to "God's Dream" is on the cutting edge of what is happening globally to create a youth movement for global peace. Rock stars, especially connected with Bono and his agenda, are the wave of the future, especially for the transformation of the continent of Africa. In fact, in Bonos's autobiography is says that he "asked Archbishop Tutu for a blessing. I knelt down -- and he gave me one."[19] In April 2008 Delirious? came out with Kingdom of Comfort, which is about a "shift happening." The following quotation explains the context:
Literature also played a big part in the writing of Kingdom of Comfort, inspiring the songs and the mission. In fact, not only did authors inspire the new album, some have also joined the band in the mission writing stories to encourage charity in conjunction with the new album. Delirious? plans to share these stories with their fans as four authors have been confirmed to participate so far: Graham Cray, Bishop of Maidstone and the chair of the working group who published The Mission Shaped Church; Brian McLaren, author of The Secret Message of Jesus; Craig Borlase, author of The Naked Christian: Taking Off Religion To Find True Relationship; and Shane Claiborne, author of The Irresistible Revolution.“We are made to live for something bigger than ourselves -- this thing we call the Kingdom of God... God's dream for the world,” writes Claiborne. “This is the realm where the last are first and the first are last, where the poor are blessed and the peacemakers are the children of God. This whole Christian thing is not just about going up to heaven after we die, but it is about bringing God’s Kingdom to earth. This is the Gospel that should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable."[20]
In addition to these names above, many other religious leaders such as Leonard Sweet, Dick Wills and Marcus Borg have used the term "God's Dream" in nearly identical contexts. It is apparent that the term comes loaded with all of the baggage of the New Spirituality.
In this context then, the previous post is not an aberration. It appears that TheCall, the New Apostolic Reformation, and the Emergent groups are going to increasingly invoke this "God's Dream" mantra for bringing forth a youth movement with the idealistic goal of creating peace on Earth -- accompanied by hyperspiritual warfare shenanigans, severe monastic lifestyles, electrifying and mesmerizing rock music, heavy-laden purpose-driven missions, the idolizing of living (and dead) global icons, and -- significantly -- no preaching about the Cross.The Truth:
"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." (Romans 12:18)
See also God's Dream?
Footnotes:
[NOTE: all emphases above added]
1. Issue 14 - 07/09/08, Saddleback Church HIV/AIDS Initiative, July HIV Caring Community Newsletter, Letter From Kay.
2. Z. Hamilton, http://thereversal.blogspot.com/2008/01/way-truth-life-part-2.html
3. See Deceived on Purpose by Warren Smith, chapters 11 & 12.
4. http://www.amazon.co.uk/God-Has-Dream-Vision-Hope/dp/product-description/0975263102
5. "Realizing God's dream for the Holy Land," Desmond Tutu, October 26, 2007.
6. Desmond Tutu, Academy of Achievement A Museum of Living History in WA DC.
7. Desmond Tutu: 'Goodness is Powerful.'
8. Archbishop Desmond Tutu Speech at American University. For more information on Desmond Tutu, see these links: HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.
9. Sri Chinmoy, "What is Yoga," From: Yoga and the Spiritual Life. Biography included at this site.
10.Sri Chinmoy, "God's Dream-Boat And Man's Life-Boat," excerpt from My Ivy League Leaves.
11. Sri, Chinmoy, "Peace: God's Dream-Reality's Oneness."
12. Sri Chinmoy, "Man and God."
13. REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON SPEAKS ON NEW MORNING OF GLORY, January 22, 1978.
14. REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON SPEAKS ON "The Grieving Father, Son and Daughter as They Try to Establish the Kingdom of Heaven."
15. Quoted at http://www.rmcumc.org/CHI/DistrictSites/MetroDistrict/MetroDistrictNewsUpdate062708.pdf
16. Book endorsement for Signs of Emergence by Kester Brewin.
17. Book endorsement for A Christianity Worth Believing by Doug Pagitt.
18. "Interview with Shane Claiborne," by Sara Barton, May - June, 2007. See also these links: Here, Here, and Here.
19. Bono: in conversation with Michka Assayas (Berkley Publishing Group), p. 278.
20. Delirious? Releases Kingdom of Comfort, April 2008, 22 Feb 2008
© 2008 by Discernment Group
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