An Emptyful Chair

Andrew Harnack, a Lutheran pastor, having grown up in a conservative family and church, felt the call of God to the ministry. Eventually many of his fellow ministers became uneasy with Andy's evolving approach to scripture. Instead of believing the Bible to be always literally true, Andy saw scripture as testimony to Christ and a guide to spiritual development. He became wary making the Bible an idol, especially an idol designed to compete with scientific knowledge. When Andy refused to teach the inerrancy of scripture, the national church forced him out.



Andy eventually left the church and began to explore the Buddhist tradition, especially its meditative practices. But he found that the silence of his fellow Buddhists at the monastery left him without a way to share his burdens, including the unexpected death of his son. Yet Andy did not have to bear his grief alone. Jon, a friend from seminary, reached out to him. Jon's influences included several prominent contemplative Christians, and he passed his love of mysticism to Andy, who discovered his Buddhist values deeply nestled within a robust but long-suppressed tradition of historic Christianity.



Unlike the conservative church of Andy's upbringing, the contemplative Christian tradition offered freedom, joy, and radical renewal-and Andy found himself living in the Divine Presence and committing himself to Christ in a whole new way.