Faith Distorted: Confronting Superficiality and Reclaiming Depth

Rev. Richard Brendan • June 16, 2025

Richard Rohr on Jesus, Justice, and the Crisis of Shallow Spirituality

For over twenty years, I had the pleasure of hosting a weekly radio show titled JourneysFire with Richard Brendan, which featured leading visionaries and social change artists. Among the most profound conversations featured on the show was an interview with bestselling author and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation, Fr. Richard Rohr. The following is an excerpt from our conversation, in which Rohr confronts the distortion of faith, the too-often-ignored radical nature of Jesus, and the urgent need for deeper reflection in our world today. 


RB (Richard Brendan): Richard, what do you see? As a religious leader yourself, what do you see as the top issues that we need to be addressing in our country? For so long, what we call the religious right has dominated the discussion around "family values," around the abortion issue, same-sex marriage, but there are so many more issues that need to come to the forefront that has everything to do with values.


RR (Richard Rohr): Yes. It's amazing that we've been able to create, like the two you mentioned, litmus tests that have not been litmus tests for the first 1,900 years of Christianity. It's like, where did these come from as a prooftext of whether you're really a Christian or not? And as a Catholic who tries to honor the whole tradition, I want to say where did that come from? You know it's dealing with cultural issues and purity codes and the need to feel superior and right much more than any reliance upon the teachings of Jesus, who never talks about either of those issues, for example, whereas almost every other story of Jesus is talking about love and concern for the poor. So it's really amazing that people who consider themselves followers of Jesus have been able to ignore many of the major things that Jesus talked about.


RB: Talk more about what I would consider the radical nature of Jesus that we often don't hear about, but I think we are now. but just how radical was he?


RR: We have churchified Jesus and we took him out of his historical Jewish reformist context, and we pretty much made him a white, middle-class American, concerned about the same issues that we are obsessed with or preoccupied with. And once you do that, once you pull him out of his Jewish context as a reformer of his own religion, and therefore a reformer of all religion, I think you pretty much have domesticated Jesus. And the things that we are concerned about are very different from the much more radical concerns of his, which have to do with justice, with mercy, and the poor.


RB: Richard, do you see any issues overriding any others that are taking place in the world today, that you deem most important?


RR: This is what comes to my mind right now. I think our biggest problem is superficiality. We have an amazing preoccupation with silliness, with issues of no account, with the lives of movie stars. I think this superficiality is leading us to miss the heart of most issues because we just don't go deep. We settle for cliches', for one-liners, for very quick explanations for everything, and that's what allows us to not to see the evil of war, not to see the global warming issue as a moral issue, not to see the oppression of the poor as a moral issue. It's just that - we're not bad people. We;re just not very deep people.


Fr. Richard Rohr’s insights remind us that honest spirituality calls us to transcend superficiality and engage with the deeper, frequently uncomfortable realities of justice, mercy, and the human condition. His reflections urge us to reclaim a faith rooted in love and concern for the marginalized instead of one reduced to cultural litmus tests. As we navigate the complexities of modern life, can we choose depth over distraction? Will we choose transformation over mere tradition?


Rev. Richard Brendan

Learning from the Mystics: A Pure Heart

By Rev. Dr. Brenda Freije • August 18, 2026
What if Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” are not about who gets to see God someday, but an invitation to learn how to see God now? The great Christian mystics believed that the heart is more than the center of our emotions. It is an “organ of spiritual perception,” a way of seeing beneath the surface of things into the deeper reality of God’s presence. Richard Rohr says this is what mysticism is really about. Mystics are not spiritual elites who have strange or extraordinary experiences. They are people who have learned to go beneath the surface and discover the “connected core of reality.” The result is not simply a different experience of God; it is a different way of seeing everything. They begin to see grace in all things and the deep connections between all things—seeing a neighbor instead of a stranger, a human being instead of an enemy, sacred creation instead of commodities, connection instead of separation, and Divine Presence where we previously assumed God was absent. And that gives us perhaps the most important test of genuine mystical spirituality: Are we becoming more loving? The goal of contemplative practice is not extraordinary spiritual experiences. Its fruit is a growing capacity for compassion, generosity, freedom, and love—a different way of being in the world. Let's explore what Jesus might mean by a “pure heart,” what keeps us from seeing clearly, how learning from the mystics and their practices can help us awaken to a God who may be much closer than we realize, and how all of this might enable us to act in the world with greater peace, hope, and clarity.

Mother Love, Mother Loss

By Joy Dyer, MSW, LCSW • August 10, 2026
The relationship we have with our mothers is one of the most meaningful in our lives. Sometimes sweet, sometimes difficult…or worse…but always full of complexity. And researchers have determined that this most significant of relationships actually begins in the womb. It’s the template where we first learn about love, whether we were fortunate to have loving mothers, or mothers who sadly were unable to love us as we needed and deserved. This primal, intense relationship continues throughout our lives, influencing and shaping who we become and how we relate to others as we journey through on our own paths. Is it any wonder then that the death of our mothers is one of the most impactful losses that we will experience? And yet, even after her death, it’s possible to have a continuing conversation and relationship with her…with her gifts and her flaws…that allows for connection and the possibility of repair and forgiveness. This Sunday, please join us as we explore the joys, sorrows, and possibilities of the eternal bond between mother and child. Joy Dyer, MSW, LCSW, brings 37 years of clinical social work experience, including work in end-of-life care and advanced bereavement training. She specializes in grief in all its forms. Joy returns to The Garden on Thursday, September 3 for Debunking the Myths of Grief.

It's All Fun & Games

By Rev. Dr. Carolyn Scanlan-Holmes • August 4, 2026
On the Importance of Play

Joyspan

By Rev. Dr. Carolyn Scanlan-Holmes • July 29, 2026
Sometimes, joy is the last thing on the list. Bills pile up, plans fall through, the news doesn't help — and "just be joyful" can start to feel like one more thing at which we're failing. This Sunday, we're taking a closer look at joy. We're not interested in the fake-it-till-you-make-it or the just-look-on-the-bright-side kind, but something sturdier. Nehemiah 8:10 puts it simply: the joy of the Lord is our strength. It is not a mood, and it is not a performance, but a strength we can lean on. It isn't a denial of pain, sorrow, or other distress, but may offer a path through. Dr. Kerry Burnight makes a related case in her recent book Joyspan — that a good life has less to do with how long we live than with how much joy we let ourselves experience along the way. Join us Sunday as we explore Joy, and what can happen when we open ourselves to it no matter our circumstances.

The Art of Community

By Rev. Dr. Carolyn Scanlan-Holmes • July 21, 2026
How does a community fight loneliness? We'll explore our grant-funded work, what's working, and how it echoes the community-building ministry.

The Fine Print: The Bible

By Rev. Dr. Carolyn Scanlan-Holmes • July 13, 2026
As a sacred and revered text, the Bible exerts tremendous influence on our lives. Notwithstanding our constitutional separation of church and state, its impact reverberates through our politics, morality, and spirituality. Yet, while widely respected and treasured, the Bible’s influence—or rather, its interpretation by those with power and resources and the desire to make other people live by their beliefs—has been leveraged to justify slavery, vilify LGBTQ+ people, elevate men over women, and divide rather than unite. This week, we will slow down to look past those historical misuses. Instead, we’ll dig directly into the timeless truths and teachings within the Bible that offer guidance for our faith and inspiration for our daily choices.

Adventures with Moses Day 3

By Lea Ann Koekenberg • July 11, 2026
God Provides, God Protects, God Leads

The Fine Print: The U.S. Constitution

July 6, 2026
Explore the U.S. Constitution's relevance today. Join us for insights on its principles & impact on society.

The Fine Print: The Declaration of Independence

June 29, 2026
We often hear the phrase, "Make sure you read the fine print," as we navigate the complexities of daily life. Whether it's the Constitution, the Bible, or even the manual for our computers, there's a wealth of fine print that tends to be skimmed over, misinterpreted, or entirely overlooked. Yet these details often hold the key to understanding the bigger picture and guiding us through life's challenges. This week, we're excited to launch a three-week series titled "The Fine Print." Over the next few Sundays, we'll take a closer look at some of the most important documents that shape our lives and values. Week 1: We'll explore The Declaration of Independence—a powerful statement of freedom and the rights of individuals that still resonates today. Week 2: Our focus shifts to The Constitution, examining its vital principles and how they continue to influence our society. Week 3: We'll conclude with a deep dive into The Bible, uncovering the profound truths and teachings that guide our faith and actions. Each message will stand on its own, so if you happen to miss one, rest assured you can still enjoy and engage with the others — though we'd love to have you for the whole series. Join us this Sunday for The Fine Print—a journey that promises to deepen our understanding and appreciation of these foundational texts. Together, we'll discover how the details within these documents can illuminate our paths and enrich our lives. You won't want to miss it!

Blessed to Give

June 23, 2026
We have often heard the words, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." The phrase is so well-known that many people don't even realize it is found in the Bible (Acts 20:35). So, is it just a cliché, or does God truly do something in the heart of a giving person—something that blesses both them and the world in which they live? Research shows that this is no mere platitude. Our brains respond to generosity by triggering a significant positive feedback loop when we practice, receive, or even simply witness giving in action. In a 2008 study, researchers found that people who spent money on others reported a notably higher uptick in happiness than those who spent it on themselves. Interestingly, this difference had nothing to do with how much they spent, but rather the direction of their spending. Giving really does benefit everyone—the giver, the receiver, and the witness—and the effect ripples outward. And it’s not just about monetary gifts, but also gifts of kindness and service. What we do, and how we give, truly matters. Join us Sunday as we explore how God turns giving into the blessing of receiving.