Ronald H. Miller
Encyclopedia
Ronald H. Miller was professor of the Religion Department at Lake Forest College
in Illinois. Miller earned a Ph.D. in Comparative Religions from Northwestern University
, and a B.S and M.A from St. Louis University. He was a co-founder and co-director of Common Ground, an active adult education group for interfaith study and dialogue founded in 1975. Miller was vice-president of the Interreligious Engagement Project 21 and Board member at Hands-of-Peace, an organization that brings Jewish and Muslim teenagers from the Middle East together for a two week program in the United States. Miller lectured at countless churches, temples, mosques and centers across the country and wrote books aimed at a popular audience that convey contemporary issues in New Testament
studies as well as in spirituality
and philosophy
.
, entitled The Hidden Gospel of Matthew: Annotated and Explained. Miller found Matthew to be written about 60 years after the death of Jesus
(or Jeshu, as he translates it). By noting the differences between Jeshu's sayings as they are recorded in the Gospel of Mark
and in Matthew, Miller attempted to decode the author's agenda and to recover the original meaning of Jeshu's sayings. Miller found the cherished Christian stories of the virgin birth, the last supper
, and the resurrection
to be largely "Christian Midrash
" — sermons preaching Matthew's theological agenda to particular Christian groups in the first century. Miller suggested that Matthew's agenda is to disseminate the idea that the Jews are responsible for rejecting Jeshu. Miller saw Jeshu as a mystic
whose nondual consciousness
has been spiritually
transformed
and whose teachings can lead to the transformation of our consciousness and lead us to live non-violently. This leads to the somewhat controversial notion that it is possible for spiritual seekers – of any faith – to achieve a type of spirituality or enlightenment
that is similar to Jeshu's.
. In interpreting these often gnomic
sayings, he finds that a consistent – if post-rational – spiritual message is contained in them. Miller distinguishes sharply between traditional dogma
tic Christians and the followers of the Jesus of the Gospel of Thomas. He calls followers of the spirituality
that he envisions Thomas Christians Miller believes that the gospel was written by a member of the followers of Thomas in the early Jesus Movement
. This, he believes, occurred even before the Jesus Movement had been separated from Judaism.
. He had not been feeling well and after his talk, went to his hotel to get some rest before his flight the next morning. Just a few hours before his scheduled departure, Miller was found in his hotel room and pronounced dead at the scene. The autopsy revealed that he died of a heart arrhythmia. His final talk was recorded and can be viewed on his website here: Paul’s Letters and Jewish-Christian Dialogue
Miller had two memorial services: one on May 11 in Deerfield, IL and another on May 22 in Vernon Hills, IL. The event on May 22 had been planned as a fundraiser and celebration of his life while he was still alive. The Gala's invitations, sent out in March, were titled "Join Us in a RONderful Celebration." Those close to Miller decided to keep this Gala event on the calendar to honor him as planned. Miller's body was cremated and his ashes spread by a particular tree near his former office at Lake Forest College, as per his wishes. A memorial "meditation space" is being built near this tree at Lake Forest College and will be unveiled in late 2011.
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest College, founded in 1857, is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. The college has 1,500 students representing 47 states and 78 countries....
in Illinois. Miller earned a Ph.D. in Comparative Religions from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, and a B.S and M.A from St. Louis University. He was a co-founder and co-director of Common Ground, an active adult education group for interfaith study and dialogue founded in 1975. Miller was vice-president of the Interreligious Engagement Project 21 and Board member at Hands-of-Peace, an organization that brings Jewish and Muslim teenagers from the Middle East together for a two week program in the United States. Miller lectured at countless churches, temples, mosques and centers across the country and wrote books aimed at a popular audience that convey contemporary issues in New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
studies as well as in spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
.
The Hidden Gospel of Matthew
In 2004, Miller retranslated and wrote an extensive commentary on the Gospel of MatthewGospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
, entitled The Hidden Gospel of Matthew: Annotated and Explained. Miller found Matthew to be written about 60 years after the death of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
(or Jeshu, as he translates it). By noting the differences between Jeshu's sayings as they are recorded in the Gospel of Mark
Gospel of Mark
The Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...
and in Matthew, Miller attempted to decode the author's agenda and to recover the original meaning of Jeshu's sayings. Miller found the cherished Christian stories of the virgin birth, the last supper
Last Supper
The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
, and the resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
to be largely "Christian Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
" — sermons preaching Matthew's theological agenda to particular Christian groups in the first century. Miller suggested that Matthew's agenda is to disseminate the idea that the Jews are responsible for rejecting Jeshu. Miller saw Jeshu as a mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
whose nondual consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
has been spiritually
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
transformed
Spiritual transformation
Spiritual transformation has a variety of overlapping meanings that carry distinct connotations:*In psychology, spiritual transformation is understood within the context of an individual's meaning system, especially in relation to concepts of the sacred or ultimate concern...
and whose teachings can lead to the transformation of our consciousness and lead us to live non-violently. This leads to the somewhat controversial notion that it is possible for spiritual seekers – of any faith – to achieve a type of spirituality or enlightenment
Enlightenment (spiritual)
Enlightenment in a secular context often means the "full comprehension of a situation", but in spiritual terms the word alludes to a spiritual revelation or deep insight into the meaning and purpose of all things, communication with or understanding of the mind of God, profound spiritual...
that is similar to Jeshu's.
The Gospel of Thomas
In his more personal book The Gospel of Thomas: A Guidebook for Spiritual Practice, Miller comments on many of the sayings of Jesus from the Gospel of ThomasGospel of Thomas
The Gospel According to Thomas, commonly shortened to the Gospel of Thomas, is a well preserved early Christian, non-canonical sayings-gospel discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945, in one of a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library...
. In interpreting these often gnomic
Gnome (rhetoric)
A gnome is a type of saying, especially an aphorism or a maxim designed to provide instruction in a compact form....
sayings, he finds that a consistent – if post-rational – spiritual message is contained in them. Miller distinguishes sharply between traditional dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
tic Christians and the followers of the Jesus of the Gospel of Thomas. He calls followers of the spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
that he envisions Thomas Christians Miller believes that the gospel was written by a member of the followers of Thomas in the early Jesus Movement
Jesus movement
The Jesus movement was a movement in Christianity beginning on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and spreading primarily through North America and Europe, before dying out by the early 1980s. It was the major Christian element within the hippie counterculture,...
. This, he believes, occurred even before the Jesus Movement had been separated from Judaism.
Death
Miller was traveling and had just given a talk at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New YorkUnion Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
. He had not been feeling well and after his talk, went to his hotel to get some rest before his flight the next morning. Just a few hours before his scheduled departure, Miller was found in his hotel room and pronounced dead at the scene. The autopsy revealed that he died of a heart arrhythmia. His final talk was recorded and can be viewed on his website here: Paul’s Letters and Jewish-Christian Dialogue
Miller had two memorial services: one on May 11 in Deerfield, IL and another on May 22 in Vernon Hills, IL. The event on May 22 had been planned as a fundraiser and celebration of his life while he was still alive. The Gala's invitations, sent out in March, were titled "Join Us in a RONderful Celebration." Those close to Miller decided to keep this Gala event on the calendar to honor him as planned. Miller's body was cremated and his ashes spread by a particular tree near his former office at Lake Forest College, as per his wishes. A memorial "meditation space" is being built near this tree at Lake Forest College and will be unveiled in late 2011.
Books
- Dialogue and Disagreement: Franz RosenzweigFranz RosenzweigFranz Rosenzweig was an influential Jewish theologian and philosopher.-Early life:Franz Rosenzweig was born in Kassel, Germany to a middle-class, minimally observant Jewish family...
's Contribution to Jewish-Christian Dialogue, 1989 - The Wisdom of the Carpenter, 2001, 2003, 2011
- The Hidden Gospel of MatthewGospel of MatthewThe Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
: Annotated and Explained, Skylight Paths Publishing, 2004 - The Gospel of ThomasGospel of ThomasThe Gospel According to Thomas, commonly shortened to the Gospel of Thomas, is a well preserved early Christian, non-canonical sayings-gospel discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945, in one of a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library...
: a Guidebook for Spiritual PracticeSpiritual practiceA spiritual practice or spiritual discipline is the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of cultivating spiritual development. A common metaphor used in the spiritual traditions of the worlds great religions is that of walking a path...
, 2004 - Healing the Jewish-Christian Rift: Growing Beyond Our Wounded History, 2005 (with Laura Bernstein)
- Sacred Writings of Paul: Selections Annotated and Explained Skylight Paths Publishing (April 2007) ISBN 1594732132 ISBN 978-1594732133
- Unpacking the Parables: The Wisdom Teachings of Jesus, 2011
- William James’ Revolution: A New Perspective on “The Varieties of Religious Experience”, 2011
Articles
- "Thomas MertonThomas MertonThomas Merton, O.C.S.O. was a 20th century Anglo-American Catholic writer and mystic. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, he was a poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion...
: Pioneer of PluralismReligious pluralismReligious pluralism is a loosely defined expression concerning acceptance of various religions, and is used in a number of related ways:* As the name of the worldview according to which one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus that at least some truths and true values...
", accepted for publication for a book entitled Thomas Merton and the Jews - "Space for Spirit", Finding a Way, edited by L. Zirker, Tuttle, 1996
- "Pilgrimage Without End", Five Spiritual Journeys, edited by L. Zirker, Iroquois House, 1981
- "The Spirituality of Franz Rosenzweig", Western Spirituality, edited by Matthew FoxMatthew Fox (priest)Matthew Fox is an American priest and theologian. Formerly a member of the Dominican order within the Roman Catholic Church, Fox is now a member of the Episcopal Church....
, Fides, 1979
Awards and honors
- Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst Fellowship for the study of philosophy and theology, 1969-1970
- Clement Stone Scholarship for study in Israel, Summer, 1972
- Great Teacher Award, Lake Forest College, 1986
- Bird Award for Intellectual Contributions to the Lake Forest College Campus Community, 1993
- Charlotte Simmons Prize for Fostering Beneficial Community Relations with Lake Forest College, 1994
- William R. Bross Professorial Chair in the Religion Department at Lake Forest College, 1995-2011