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Spirituality, Religion And The Blessed Revolution
By Dave Andrews
Release on Sunday 31st of January 2021
3 - The Beatitudes From The Heart
Video transcript
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those that mourn, for they should be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.
And blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Suggestions for Meditation, Discussion And Action
Here is the text of the Beatitudes
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those that mourn, for they should be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.
And blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Reflect on a story in your religion that exemplifies the spirit of compassion.
- Say the Beatitudes over and over again and let them speak to your heart.
- As you say the Beatitudes stop and consider which one(s) speak to you.
- Take a Beatitude that speaks to you and make it your personal mantra.
Quote from Dave's new book: To Right Every Wrong
"In 2000, I began meditating on the Beatitudes more intentionally for some reason, and so when 9/11 occurred in 2001, I reflected on the attack and counter-attack in the light of the Beatitudes. Both the attack and the counter-attack were based on a traditional, reactive approach that demands “an eye for eye,” based on the words of Moses (Exod. 21:24). I called this “Plan A.”
Plan A treats others like they treat us. On 9/11, Osama Bin Laden ordered an attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center at the heart of the American Empire… In retaliation, George Bush ordered an attack on Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan and also on Saddam Hussein in Iraq (who did not have any weapons of mass destruction or anything to do with the 9/11attack, but had tried to kill Bush senior.) As a result, over a hundred thousand innocent civilians have been killed—and we are still counting.
The trouble with the “eye-for-an-eye” approach of Plan A is, as Gandhi said, that, in the end, it makes us “blind,” so we are unable to see the sort of things that will bring about peace, love and justice. Over against Plan A, Jesus gives us an alternative transformative response in his second commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39). I called this approach “Plan Be,” where we seek to treat others like we would like to be treated rather than treating others like they treat us. This ethic is expressed in what I refer to as the “Be-Attitudes of the Beatitudes”."
To Right Every Wrong 47-48.
Dave's Song: We believe
From: Dave Andrews And Friends Songs Of Love And Justice - We Believe
Table of content
- Spirituality and Religion
Experience and expression of compassion for the other. - The Gospel Of Jesus – “Heaven on Earth”
An experience that people can live here and now. - >> The Beatitudes From The Heart
Loving our neighbor as ourself. - The Be-Attitudes Of The Beatitudes
We need to sincerely committing ourselves to do the following... - The Blessed Be-Attitude Revolution
The radical, personal-political Be-Attitudes that are at the heart of the Blessed Be-Attitude Revolution are... - Liberating Jesus From Christianity
Jesus never intended to start a religion. - Liberating People Of All Religions
My battle is to fight that people don't have to become Christians in order to relate to Jesus. - Reciprocity As Our Responsibility
The Golden Rule is a classic example of generalized reciprocity. - People Of The Way
The Beatitudes of Jesus as a ‘Be-Attitude Revolution’ - attitudes that can help us ‘Be’ the change we want to see in the world. - Contemplation In Action
Slowing down, so we have the time between our action and reaction and then shape our response in terms of the Be-Atttitudes.
Dave Andrews new book is available: To Right Every Wrong
My latest book, To Right Every Wrong,
is a funny, sad, brutally honest retrospective, reflecting on what it has meant for me and my family to seek to live a lifetime dedicated to love and justice. The reflections in this book, subtitled The Making And Unmaking Of One Improbable Minor Prophet, come in three parts — the personal, the prophetical and the paradoxical.
The personal part explores my experience of the radical, compassionate spirituality that I share with my wife, Angie, and which has shaped our way of life as a family in community with marginalized and disadvantaged groups of people.
The prophetical part explores my embrace of the “strange”, “crazy”, “improbable” call I felt to be a prophet, which I have sought to flesh out in classic prophetic roles - as an interrogator, a protester, a practitioner and an inspirator - in contemporary prophetic contexts characterized by poverty and violence.
The paradoxical part explores my making and unmaking as a minor prophet, critically constructing and deconstructing the more confrontational aspects of the prophetic roles I have played in order to be able to practice more sensitive pastoral care.
The personal part explores my experience of the radical, compassionate spirituality that I share with my wife, Angie, and which has shaped our way of life as a family in community with marginalized and disadvantaged groups of people.
The prophetical part explores my embrace of the “strange”, “crazy”, “improbable” call I felt to be a prophet, which I have sought to flesh out in classic prophetic roles - as an interrogator, a protester, a practitioner and an inspirator - in contemporary prophetic contexts characterized by poverty and violence.
The paradoxical part explores my making and unmaking as a minor prophet, critically constructing and deconstructing the more confrontational aspects of the prophetic roles I have played in order to be able to practice more sensitive pastoral care.
Dave Andrews other books
Dave has written more the 18 books, you can find all of his books here: Dave Andrew's books.
Some of his well known books
Who is Dave Andrews?
Dave is particularly interested in radical spirituality, incarnational community and the dynamics of personal and social transformation.
Website:
Dave Andrews
Country:
Australia
Activity:
Activist, Community organiser, Spiritual teacher
Keywords:
beatitude, change, compassion, prayer, spirituality
Discover more content from Dave Andrews
Dave Andrews has 18 interviews on our website. You can watch all Dave Andrews's interviews here.
Here are some interviews available
- Spirituality and Religion - Spirituality is the experience and expression of compassion for the others.
- The Question We Need To Ask Ourselves -
- The Blessing Of The Bismillah -
Presentation
Dave, his wife Ange, and their family, have lived and worked in intentional communities with marginalised groups of people in Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal for more than forty years. He now lives in a large joint household with his wife, children, grandchildren and others in an inner city community in Brisbane, Australia.
Dave is particularly interested in radical spirituality, incarnational community and the dynamics of personal and social transformation. He is author of many books and articles, including 'Christi-Anarchy', 'Not Religion, But Love', 'Building A Better World', 'Down Under - In-Depth Community Work', 'Out And Out - Way-Out Community Work', 'Compassionate Community Work', 'People of Compassion', 'Living Community', 'A Divine Society', and the Plan Be Series - 'Plan Be', 'Hey, Be And See', 'See What I Mean?'
Dave and Ange and their friends started a residential community called Aashiana out of which grew Sahara, Sharan and Sahasee – three well-known Christian community organisations working with slum dwellers, sex workers, drug addicts, and people with HIV/AIDS in India. They are currently a part of the Waiters Union, an inner city Christian community network working with Aborigines, refugees and people with disabilities in Australia. Out of the Waiters Union has grown the Community Initiatives Resource Association, auspicing local experimental community activities, and the Community Praxis Coop, providing holistic community work training.
Dave is the coordinator for training with the Community Initiatives Resource Association, a teacher for Praxis and Christian Heritage College and an elder emeritus for Servants To Asia's Urban Poor.
Dave is involved nationally and internationally in interfaith dialogue and engagement. He has published three books of Christian-Muslim reflections - ‘Ramadan’, ‘Bismillah’ and ‘Isa’. Most recently he has published his ground-breaking, peace-making book - ‘The Jihad Of Jesus: The Sacred Nonviolent Struggle For Justice’, which has been translated into Dutch and German. Dave is sharing the message of ‘The Jihad Of Jesus’ with people in churches, mosques, seminars, workshops and festivals around Australia, New Zealand, the US, the UK, Europe and Asia. See events, reviews and interviews at www.jihadofjesus.com.