Rob Slater-Carr
@revrobsc.bsky.social
Married to a wonderful woman | Owned by a lazy dog | Theology | Politics | Live near York | always a Geordie | C of E | Writing at https://apilgrimspath.substack.com
How do we know what's true? New post exploring biblical authority, cultural distance, and reading Scripture faithfully when ancient texts meet modern questions. 5/5
apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/how-do-we-...
apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/how-do-we-...
How Do We Know What’s True?
Pilgrim’s Essentials #10: Scripture, Tradition, and Authority
apilgrimspath.substack.com
October 20, 2025 at 9:37 AM
How do we know what's true? New post exploring biblical authority, cultural distance, and reading Scripture faithfully when ancient texts meet modern questions. 5/5
apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/how-do-we-...
apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/how-do-we-...
The challenge: these don't always agree. Tradition says one thing, reason suggests another, experience confuses both.
That's why we need community discernment, not just individual interpretation. 4/5
That's why we need community discernment, not just individual interpretation. 4/5
October 20, 2025 at 9:37 AM
The challenge: these don't always agree. Tradition says one thing, reason suggests another, experience confuses both.
That's why we need community discernment, not just individual interpretation. 4/5
That's why we need community discernment, not just individual interpretation. 4/5
Christians have always used four sources to interpret Scripture: the Bible itself, church tradition, reason, and experience.
Not four equal authorities. But four streams flowing together into understanding. 3/5
Not four equal authorities. But four streams flowing together into understanding. 3/5
October 20, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Christians have always used four sources to interpret Scripture: the Bible itself, church tradition, reason, and experience.
Not four equal authorities. But four streams flowing together into understanding. 3/5
Not four equal authorities. But four streams flowing together into understanding. 3/5
This is the crisis point for many Christians: ancient texts meeting modern values.
Some say "Scripture says it, I believe it." Others say "that was cultural, it doesn't apply."
Both miss something crucial. 2/5
Some say "Scripture says it, I believe it." Others say "that was cultural, it doesn't apply."
Both miss something crucial. 2/5
October 20, 2025 at 9:37 AM
This is the crisis point for many Christians: ancient texts meeting modern values.
Some say "Scripture says it, I believe it." Others say "that was cultural, it doesn't apply."
Both miss something crucial. 2/5
Some say "Scripture says it, I believe it." Others say "that was cultural, it doesn't apply."
Both miss something crucial. 2/5
New post: walking through the Great Schism to understand why Christians still disagree about authority—and whether we're doomed to repeat history.
Spoiler: probably, unless we learn from it. 4/4
apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/1054-the-y...
Spoiler: probably, unless we learn from it. 4/4
apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/1054-the-y...
1054: The Year Christianity Broke In Two
Why Orthodox and Catholic Christians Still Can’t Share Communion
apilgrimspath.substack.com
October 17, 2025 at 5:39 PM
New post: walking through the Great Schism to understand why Christians still disagree about authority—and whether we're doomed to repeat history.
Spoiler: probably, unless we learn from it. 4/4
apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/1054-the-y...
Spoiler: probably, unless we learn from it. 4/4
apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/1054-the-y...
After 971 years, Catholics and Orthodox still can't share communion. Not because of lingering grudges, but because the fundamental question remains unanswered:
How does the Church decide what can change? 3/x
How does the Church decide what can change? 3/x
October 17, 2025 at 5:37 PM
After 971 years, Catholics and Orthodox still can't share communion. Not because of lingering grudges, but because the fundamental question remains unanswered:
How does the Church decide what can change? 3/x
How does the Church decide what can change? 3/x
Cardinal Humbert vs. Patriarch Cerularius.
Rome vs. Constantinople.
Papal supremacy vs. conciliar authority.
The drama of 1054 reads like prophecy for 2025 Anglicanism. 2/x
Rome vs. Constantinople.
Papal supremacy vs. conciliar authority.
The drama of 1054 reads like prophecy for 2025 Anglicanism. 2/x
October 17, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Cardinal Humbert vs. Patriarch Cerularius.
Rome vs. Constantinople.
Papal supremacy vs. conciliar authority.
The drama of 1054 reads like prophecy for 2025 Anglicanism. 2/x
Rome vs. Constantinople.
Papal supremacy vs. conciliar authority.
The drama of 1054 reads like prophecy for 2025 Anglicanism. 2/x
A midweek reflection on endings that can be beautiful. On death that doesn't feel like defeat.
Read the full Rest Stop here: apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/rest-stop-... 5/5
Read the full Rest Stop here: apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/rest-stop-... 5/5
Rest Stop: October Saints and Ordinary Holiness
Rest Stop #7
apilgrimspath.substack.com
October 8, 2025 at 1:05 PM
A midweek reflection on endings that can be beautiful. On death that doesn't feel like defeat.
Read the full Rest Stop here: apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/rest-stop-... 5/5
Read the full Rest Stop here: apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/rest-stop-... 5/5
And here's the hope: next spring, these same leaves will feed new growth. Nothing is wasted; not death, not autumn's display before winter strips it all away. 4/5
October 8, 2025 at 1:03 PM
And here's the hope: next spring, these same leaves will feed new growth. Nothing is wasted; not death, not autumn's display before winter strips it all away. 4/5
That's the kind of faith I want. Wisdom about seasons. Knowing when to hold on and when to let go. Each leaf is a small surrender, a grip released without regret. 3/5
October 8, 2025 at 1:02 PM
That's the kind of faith I want. Wisdom about seasons. Knowing when to hold on and when to let go. Each leaf is a small surrender, a grip released without regret. 3/5
These leaves spent months in green service. Now they fall and make music. They don't cling to branches or fight the end. They just let go. 2/5
October 8, 2025 at 1:01 PM
These leaves spent months in green service. Now they fall and make music. They don't cling to branches or fight the end. They just let go. 2/5
Her question haunts us: Can someone belong to Christ without joining the church? She suggests that sometimes God calls people to the margins. That the threshold, too, can be holy ground. 9/9
Read the full story: apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/simone-wei...
Read the full story: apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/simone-wei...
Simone Weil - Mystical Outsider
Fellow Pilgrim #2
apilgrimspath.substack.com
October 1, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Her question haunts us: Can someone belong to Christ without joining the church? She suggests that sometimes God calls people to the margins. That the threshold, too, can be holy ground. 9/9
Read the full story: apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/simone-wei...
Read the full story: apilgrimspath.substack.com/p/simone-wei...
She died in 1943, limiting her food to what French prisoners received. Was it suicide? Her friends said she simply couldn't eat while others starved. T.S. Eliot called her a genius, "akin to that of saints." 8/
October 1, 2025 at 2:51 PM
She died in 1943, limiting her food to what French prisoners received. Was it suicide? Her friends said she simply couldn't eat while others starved. T.S. Eliot called her a genius, "akin to that of saints." 8/
From the threshold, she saw clearly. She wrote about affliction, not just suffering, but the crushing of a whole person. She studied Hindu texts and Greek philosophy alongside the Gospels. She criticised the church from love, not malice. 7/
October 1, 2025 at 2:51 PM
From the threshold, she saw clearly. She wrote about affliction, not just suffering, but the crushing of a whole person. She studied Hindu texts and Greek philosophy alongside the Gospels. She criticised the church from love, not malice. 7/
"I have the essential need, and I think I can say the vocation, to move among men of every class and complexion," she told a priest. Baptism would separate her from those she loved. 6/
October 1, 2025 at 2:50 PM
"I have the essential need, and I think I can say the vocation, to move among men of every class and complexion," she told a priest. Baptism would separate her from those she loved. 6/
So why refuse the church? Three reasons: She had honest doubts about doctrine. She wanted solidarity with outsiders: Jews, atheists, those of other faiths. The church's history of violence horrified her. 5/
October 1, 2025 at 2:49 PM
So why refuse the church? Three reasons: She had honest doubts about doctrine. She wanted solidarity with outsiders: Jews, atheists, those of other faiths. The church's history of violence horrified her. 5/
Three moments opened her to Christ: Portuguese women singing hymns at night. Kneeling in St. Francis's chapel. Reciting George Herbert's poem "Love" during a migraine at a monastery. Each changed her. 4/
October 1, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Three moments opened her to Christ: Portuguese women singing hymns at night. Kneeling in St. Francis's chapel. Reciting George Herbert's poem "Love" during a migraine at a monastery. Each changed her. 4/