Rediscovering The Universal Christ
An audio interview with Fr. Richard Rohr
In this interview Brie Stoner engages in conversation with Fr. Richard Rohr, covering a number of topics in a forthcoming book he’s in the process of writing. Here they explore a more “universal” understanding of Christ—Christ as an ongoing manifestation from the very beginning of existence, manifesting through women and men and all living creatures, not confined to any particular faith tradition, and an animating force that continues to manifest in the evolutionary process itself.
Christ is the first idea in the mind of God. Jesus appeared 2000 years ago to make that universal manifestation personal and concrete and accessible.
Fr. Richard considers how a personal encounter through Jesus is balanced with a more universal principle of Christ—where the Christ is not an exclusive savoir confined to the Christian faith, rather
… the Christ is a message for all of creation that is in competition with no one, but a gift for clarification of all of our religions, including Christianity itself. I think that’s what a rediscovery of the Christ offers…
As they wrap us Fr. Richard shares his renewed appreciation for the value for personal prayer.
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW HERE (~ 40 minutes):
DOWNLOAD AUDIO MP3 HERE (Chrome, Safari, IE, and other browsers right-click & save to download)
View print-friendly version7 Comments
Related Posts
The Universe as Sacred Story: Bridging Science and Spirit
Teaching undergraduate students this semester has revealed their deepest concerns about technology’s growing influence on human identity. While they grapple with immediate challenges like social media addiction and its effects…
I listened to this interview a few years ago and found it very helpful. I have been trying too find it again to recommend to a friend and the link no longer seems to work. Is there some other way that I can find it?
Thanks for letting us know about this! This interview is now fixed, and we will be fixing all these old audio interviews later today. Enjoy!
HASN’T BEEN TRIED YET! Absolutely! the christogenesis of brie and richard, ilia and teilhard is the gift of our generation and our challenge to manifest. i love the concept that we must stand up for the missing 13 billion yrs and join with their divinity for ours to be balanced and complete. the continual coming only arrives when we own that and join it with a christogenesis of the future. The Presence is the gift, your efforts are so critical and timely and bear witness to their need for continuous reinterpretation to be truly honored. blessings and gratitude
Your reply to this wonderful interview is very inspiring.
Thank you Richard Rohr and Ilia Delio for bringing Christianity in to the 21 st century. Thank you for taking us into the deeper meaning of what it is to be alive and human, and discovering the real message of Jesus Christ. Rohr and Delio with their fresh insights via mysticism, allow conventional Christianity to escape its hidebound, cultural, spiritual and theological cul de sac. Teilard De Chardin and Karl Rahner were both right. Amen!
Thank you for this. Encouraging insight and an excellent sampling of what’s to come in Fr. Richard’s book. Brie, you were a thoughtful, engaged interviewer. Good stuff.
Compelling interview! Thank you Brie and Richard. I found your comments about the manifestation of God as the Christ since the beginning of all reality heartwarming. I was also helped to better understand the personal manifestation of Jesus as the human one. It seems to me that Ilia Delio, Richard Rohr and John Haught are plumbing the depths of a deep mystery and writing to help us move forward in faith and understanding of the cosmic Christ. As I think about Teilhard’s sense of the withiness of consciousness and the withoutness of love, it seems to me that Ilia, Richard and John are helping us to discover more of this mystery, especially becoming more conscious of the manifestation of Christ. I am grateful.