Thin Places
Thin Places: Theological Reflections and Hesitations
Friday, May 29th, 2009Part 10 of series: Thin Places
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Today I want to wrap up this series on thin places by offering some theological reflections and hesitations. If you’re joining this series late in the game, let me say that the language of “thin place” is a Celtic metaphor that describes […]
The Church as a Thin Place: Dreams and Visions
Thursday, May 28th, 2009Part 9 of series: Thin Places
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In yesterday’s post I began reflecting in a more practical way on the church as a thin place. Today I want to continue these reflections, sharing a few of my dreams and visions for the church.
The Church as a Place of Prayer […]
The Church as a Thin Place: Some Implications
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009In my last post in this series, I suggested that, from the point of view of the New Testament, the church is to be the world’s most significant thin place. To put it more differently, in the time after the ascension of Jesus and the descent of the Holy Spirit, God has chosen to make […]
The Church as a Thin Place
Thursday, May 21st, 2009Part 7 of series: Thin Places
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In my last post in this series, I examined how Jesus impacts our understanding of thin places. If a thin place is a location where God’s presence can be experienced with unusual intensity, then Jesus himself was the ultimate thin place. Yet, […]
Thin Places and Jesus
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009In my last post in this series I suggested that the Temple in Jerusalem was the paradigmatic thin place in the Old Testament. The Temple was considered God’s house, metaphorically speaking, the chief place in which his presence dwelled. Unlike the Tabernacle, the Temple existed in one place, a place to which thousands of Jews […]
The Temple as a Thin Place
Friday, May 15th, 2009Part 5 of series: Thin Places
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After God established the Tabernacle as “sanctuary” for the Israelites so that he might “dwell in their midst” (Exod 25:8), he continued to “camp” among his people in a temporary, portable dwelling. Many generations passed, until David became the king of God’s […]
More Thin Places in Exodus
Thursday, May 14th, 2009Part 4 of series: Thin Places
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In my last post, I examined Mt. Sinai as a thin place, that is, a place where God is experienced with unusual propinquity. (Now there’s a word I haven’t used or even thought of in about thirty years. “Propinquity” means “proximity.” It […]
Mt. Sinai as a Thin Place
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009Part 2 of series: Thin Places
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If a thin place is defined as a place where God’s presence is known with particular immediacy, then there are several stunning thin places in Exodus . . . sort of. As we’ll see, they don’t exactly seem to fit the definition, […]
The First Thin Place
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009Part 2 of series: Thin Places
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First, I want to thank those of you who have given feedback on this series, either through your comments or through emails to me. Your theological and experiential input has been very helpful. As always, I am terribly grateful for the content […]
Your “Thin Places”?
Friday, May 8th, 2009First of all, I want to thank those of you who commented on yesterday’s introductory post. I appreciate your honesty and insights. I also like the respectful disagreement among commentators. You’ve give us all lots to think about. (If you missed yesterday’s comments, you can find them here.)
Before I go further in this series, I’d […]
Thin Places: An Introduction
Thursday, May 7th, 2009Part 1 of series: Thin Places
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I first heard someone use the phrase “thin place” about fifteen years ago. She had become a devotee of Celtic spirituality, from which source she had discovered the label “thin place.” She was terribly enthusiastic about the idea of “thin places,” and […]