Program Description: From the four seasons of nature to the four noble truths, in major religions, the various schools of psychology, and the world around us, we see the number four as integral to life and its cycles. Alexander Shaia sees the same cyclical pattern in the four gospels, as four distinct tenets of spiritual practice, and ultimately through a deep transformative process of faith. Dr. Shaia tells us, "There is a deep truth about how we move through transformation, and that truth of transformation is in four paths that make up the one cycle of the journey. The early Church knew that cycle of transformation. So each gospel now opens not just about the life of Jesus, but the life of Jesus as a practice to one of the four great questions of life." In this fascinating new study he interprets Matthew, Mark, John, and Luke as four chapters of one unified gospel, that explores change , suffering, joy, and service. Dr. Shaia's work will bring new meaning to the gospels you've read for so many years, and new answers to the questions you face every day. (Hosted by Justine Willis Toms)
Alexander Shaia, Ph.D., holds master's degrees in counseling education and religious education, a graduate certificate in pastoral psychotherapy, and a doctorate in clinical psychology. He is founding director of the Blue Door Retreat Center in Santa Fe, and travels internationally, lecturing and conducting workshops and retreats. He is the author of Beyond the Biography of Jesus: The Journey of Quadratos Books I and II (Cold Tree Press 2006, 2008) and author with Michelle Gaugy of The Hidden Power of the Gospels: Four Questions, Four Paths, One Journey (HarperOne 2010). To learn more about the work of Alexander Shaia go to www.quadratos.com
Topics explored in this dialogue:
Why the early Church chose the four gospels they did-and none of the others
What the gospels have to say about how we face global warming
What happened to the other gospels, which were discarded
