Different: Cultures, Imagination, Reality

Regarding my previous post....I have something to add. If I win the lottery or it somehow becomes possible, I would go back to school, even at this age and get a degree! Major Theology / Minor Studio Art. I would first go to my home town, and enroll in seminary, Episcopalian Seminary because it is the only seminary I am aware of in "these parts" that allows women to become priests.

I have heard about a group of Catholic Women Priests and briefly looked at their web site, not yet in depth, basically out of respect for and, albeit, lack of knowledge about why men are considered the spiritual leaders in our faith tradition.

I have no problem in a Father figure of our Triune God, and I love or adore, and have tremendous respect for the men in my life who are or have been Priests or Pastors with education, degrees, honors etc.

However...At least in the Roman Catholic world...men don't seem to be standing up to the call, the responsibility, or, if it is truly only for men...the gift of priesthood.

Living in a big city as I do, I have been exposed to Catholic Priests from different countries. In particular, a priest from India, a priest from Korea, and most recently a priest from Nigeria.

I have a special interest in the priests from India. I asked the one I know if he was born a Catholic or if he was a convert. He said that he was born a Catholic; his Hindu family had been previously converted via missionaries to his country.

Hinduism is not really a religion...it is more a way of life - as Christiany should be. However, Hindus are not a monolithic group, any more than Christians are, or Muslims, or Jews, or Buddhists, etc.

I love reading about the various forms of yoga, and I recently bought a book "the Yoga of Discipline" which is full of Love /Jesus like teachings! The images I have seen of Hindu Gods, to me, are extremely imaginative!

To me, it seems to be reasonable that a Hindu convert to Christianity as practiced by Roman Catholics would not have a problem with Angels and Seraphim and Saints and Virgin Birth, and the transformative agent of the Body and Blood of Christ. In other words, they don't seem to have a problem with Jesus Christ, and all He encompasses in the Old and New Testament, being the essence of Love through with in all of existence, seen and unseen.

With regard to the Nigerian priests, there was an article in the paper several years ago about Christian missions from Nigeria coming to the United States, to be missionaries to us. Missionaries to us, the US people who have lost the Way, "The Way of Life" that we originally travelled afar to teach them about and to open their hearts to...the way of God who is Love.

Peace and Love
Keren