St Barbora church, Kutna Hora
These old cathedrals, chapels, and churches raise all sorts of questions. I think the tourists are genuinely open to an experience of beauty, human creativity, and knowledge of ideas, spirituality (even theology), and history (including the horror of history), but the experiences in these places are so quick and superficial that there is little time or opportunity to go deeper. The current church doesn't seem to have any creative ideas about what to do with these "relics" and the tourists that visit them.Vatican theologians and administrators seem to be primarily interested in whether people agree or disagree with them on doctrinal ideas as though everything is about "truth," and only they have the right to think. The travelers are open to more: beauty, goodness, personal growth, historical truth and genuine theological exploration and dialogue (No dialogue, no theology).
Visiting these sites today (including the Bone Church) reminded me of the 95 Theses that theologian Matthew Fox posted at the church in Wittenberg in May. Thesis 57 states the Dalai Lama's observation that the number one obstacle to interfaith communication/ecumenical dialogue is not knowing your own tradition. Check out Fox's 95 Theses at his blog: www.matthewfoxcs.blogspot.com No one can be a fundamentalist if they know their own tradition. The bone church seemed to be saying something about universal salvation. What were we 21st century pilgrims experiencing? I wish there had been an opportunity for "process time."
