"You will realize that doctrines are the inventions of the the human mind, as it tries to penetrate the mystery of God. You will realize that scripture itself is the work of human minds, recording the example and teaching of Jesus. Thus it is not what you believe that matters; it is how you respond with your heart and actions. It is not believing in Christ that matters, it is becoming like him." from the letters of Pelagius a British theologian. He disagreed, intensely, with Augustine's theology of Original Sin. He's come down through the history of Western Church as a heretic. I first ran across the pesky Britain, oh it must have been twenty years ago. My mention of him during a home visit with our pastor brought an immediate "he was a heretic." OK, we won't go there right now. And folks a little further from my tapdancing line would probably agree with him. If they'd ever heard of Pelagiius in the first place.
The Eastern Church wasn't quite so sure about the heresy charges and withheld judgement. He saw the world with different eyes, and what he saw he loved.
The Celtic church is widely believed to have taken its inspiration from the Gospel of John. The emphasis was on listening for God in the world around us. Listen carefully and you can hear the heartbeat of God in all that is around us. It sounds easy, yeah really easy. Until you damn near knock yourself out when you run into the brick wall. If the Spirit is in every man, woman, child, fish and flower then it not only dwells where it's least expected but where it's least wanted. Who do you think of when you find yourself thinking "you really don't mean that the Spirit can be found in ______________?"
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