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	<title>Faith Beyond Belief</title>
	
	<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief</link>
	<description>Spiritual Development for the Rational Seeker</description>
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		<title>What does God Really Look Like?  – Time for A New Vision</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/04/what-does-god-really-look-like-time-for-a-new-vision/</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/04/what-does-god-really-look-like-time-for-a-new-vision/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:03:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Margaret Placentra Johnston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Spiritual Maturity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[atheists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[faith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[progressive religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religious belief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spiritual development]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/?p=409</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Love as a symbol for the Ultimate Mystery requires faith that a connecting fabric stretches over all the universe, and trust that the inherent nature of that fabric is good...Contemplating Love as the Ultimate Reality forces us to stretch beyond the limits of our human reasoning skills, and admit to possibilities we will never be able to fully grasp. ]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>My Defining Moment Led to this Patheos Blog – and My Book.</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/04/my-defining-moment-led-to-this-patheos-blog-and-my-book/</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/04/my-defining-moment-led-to-this-patheos-blog-and-my-book/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Apr 2013 21:10:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Margaret Placentra Johnston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[faith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[M Scott Peck]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spiritual development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spiritual stages]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/?p=398</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The fearsome, yet somehow oddly thrilling words jumped right off the page, crept stealthily past the obviously snoozing hogwash detector in my brain, and spoke directly to my heart: “Stage IV men and women will enter into religion in order to approach mystery…”  I grasped the book a bit more tightly, reread the words, then threw it down. A prickly sensation worked its way up my spine.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/04/my-defining-moment-led-to-this-patheos-blog-and-my-book/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why I am a Freelance Spiritual Seeker</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/04/why-i-am-a-freelance-spiritual-seeker/</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/04/why-i-am-a-freelance-spiritual-seeker/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Apr 2013 03:12:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Margaret Placentra Johnston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bigger story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[progressive religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religious belief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seeker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/?p=395</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The bigger picture story is that humans seem to share a universal need to connect with something larger than themselves. It seems each individual religion was created by one group of people as their way to explain the universal human need for connection. ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/04/why-i-am-a-freelance-spiritual-seeker/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>IS there an afterlife?</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/04/is-there-an-afterlife/</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/04/is-there-an-afterlife/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Apr 2013 02:32:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Margaret Placentra Johnston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Spiritual Courage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spiritual Maturity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spiritual Strength]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[atheists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[belief in God]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bigger story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[faith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spiritual maturity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/?p=385</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The more we learn about the belief systems of other cultures, the more we learn to recognize that each was created by humans to address a universal human need to connect with something greater – to transcend the self.  …and in some cases to provide answers about the meaning of life. ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/04/is-there-an-afterlife/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What Does Spiritual Progress Really Mean?</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/03/what-does-spiritual-progress-really-mean/</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/03/what-does-spiritual-progress-really-mean/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 02 Mar 2013 19:10:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Margaret Placentra Johnston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Spiritual Maturity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[inclusiveness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[progressive religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spiritual development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spiritual maturity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unitive worldview]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/?p=376</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[...attempts to govern our society based on biblical authority represent a regressive or immature form of spirituality. ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/03/what-does-spiritual-progress-really-mean/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Transcending the Self – through Kite Flying?</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/02/transcending-the-self-through-kite-flying/</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/02/transcending-the-self-through-kite-flying/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Feb 2013 12:15:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Margaret Placentra Johnston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Spiritual Maturity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[connection with the universe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flow acitivites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kite flying]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ray Bethell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[self-transcendence]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/?p=367</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If more people were connected at times to parts of the universe beyond their separate selves...they would care more about who is left out when certain religions claim superiority, and would care less about which religion was right.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/02/transcending-the-self-through-kite-flying/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Planned Parenthood Urges a More Spiritually Mature Conversation</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/02/planned-parenthood-urges-a-more-spiritually-mature-conversation/</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/02/planned-parenthood-urges-a-more-spiritually-mature-conversation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:08:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Margaret Placentra Johnston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[compassion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[empathy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reason]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spiritual development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/?p=362</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For some reason people seem to be able to apply more sophisticated reasoning to less crucial issues - "Do I have a good boss or a bad boss?" But when it comes to our most compelling social, political and theological issues, these same people insist there are only two possibilities--yes or no--limiting their reasoning to the same simple binary logic computers use.[1]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/02/planned-parenthood-urges-a-more-spiritually-mature-conversation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Were the New Atheists Right?</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/02/were-the-new-atheists-right/</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/02/were-the-new-atheists-right/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 Feb 2013 16:01:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Margaret Placentra Johnston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Spiritual Courage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spiritual Maturity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bigger story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[faith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gloabl communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Atheists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religious belief]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/?p=359</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Global communications are contributing to our realization of the universal truths brought to us in the holy books, and the religious stories told by other religions. Those of us willing to take the bird’s eye view global communications are granting us should noticing that all religions are localized expressions of a universal human need to form a story that gives meaning to life. It is evident that we now need...a bigger story.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/02/were-the-new-atheists-right/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Problem of Knowing God</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/01/the-problem-of-knowing-god/</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/01/the-problem-of-knowing-god/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jan 2013 16:02:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Margaret Placentra Johnston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Spiritual Courage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[belief in God]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bigger story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[certainty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religious belief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spiritual maturity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/?p=356</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So the problem with assuming we know exactly who God is, and what “he” “wants,” is that it limits our understanding to that which our churches teach – and that God almost certainly excludes some of what is considered to be his own creation. When you think about it, this cannot really be. If we are to allow ourselves to fully explore the truth in an open and honest fashion, we must realize that God (or god) is something way beyond anything our limited human brains can understand. Admitting that we may not have the capacity to understand something so all-encompassing shows a much greater degree of humility, and brings us closer to the Truth.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/01/the-problem-of-knowing-god/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What? “Teach” Spirituality in Schools?</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/01/what-teach-spirituality-in-schools/</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/01/what-teach-spirituality-in-schools/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 19 Jan 2013 16:22:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Margaret Placentra Johnston</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Spiritual Courage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bigger story]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[community]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[school curriculum]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spiritual reality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spiritual truth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spirituality]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/?p=350</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The need to address spiritual truth—that spirituality IS about way more than any given organized religion—and that we owe it to our children to encourage them to develop a broader, more authentic spirituality than what our holy books teach—is part of an ever-growing need in our society to embrace a “bigger” story. We need a story that encompasses both organized religion and open spirituality, one that can meld the rich rites and rituals of a given religious tradition with an open minded—and open hearted—welcoming of input from other sources of spiritual wisdom.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithbeyondbelief/2013/01/what-teach-spirituality-in-schools/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>13</slash:comments>
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