Two things are compelling me to do the work that is behind the current

series of presentations in Ordinary Life. First was the "righteous

divisiveness" that came forcefully to the front after 9/11. It had, of course,

been a powerful force before then but gained global prominence at that

time. Second, was the claim of the growing "evangelical right" that what

they were teaching was not only "the truth" but also had been so since the

beginning of the Christian movement. Consequently, we have been

looking, week by week, at the development of the Christian movement from

the time after the death of Jesus until the time Christianity became the

official religion of the Roman Empire. This week we look at three groups of

early Christians and what each of these groups believed. What I want is for

us to have a better understanding of Christian history and also that we not

fall victim to Secondhand Learning but that we learn to shine light into the

dark places within us and in doing so become what Jesus called "the light

of the world.

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