“God will not entertain the poor in heaven. You will not go there. I will also stand at the entrance to stop you from going there. We have misunderstood the gospel."
Well, somebody's misunderstood the gospel, that's for sure.
The dogmatic formulations of Nicaea, in adopting terms not drawn directly from scripture and in rejecting many of the principal certitudes of centuries of orthodox theology, were radical innovations; in fact, they were disruptions of the tradition as much as they were developments
Controversial statement for a left-winger like me to make:
When people say that #science explains the 'how' and #religion tries to answer the 'why' they are ignoring the fact that science does not, and never will, explain the only 'how' that matters:
How did anything come into #existence in the first place?
Any entity, system or law that we discover cannot be the answer, as it will always require another explanation.
I'm still #writing independent scholarship on #theology and pop culture, and also lots of #fiction. Presently working out my own take on "dark heroic fantasy".
Christian thought, from the outset, denies that (in themselves) suffering, death, and evil have any ultimate value or spiritual tual meaning at all. It claims that they are cosmic contingencies, ontological shadows, intrinsically devoid of substance or purpose, however much God may-under the conditions of a fallen order-make them the occasions for accomplishing his good ends.
I wrote a new blog post in which I try to understand and over-simplify Sergei Bulgakov’s theory of Sophiology as it relates to the doctrine of the Trinity and creation.
Are the gods Idle or active? Do they exist at all? How much can we ever know about them? Find out for yourself in this hot new dialogue from Cicero! Conclusions will not be reached and the question will be left open! #polytheism#pagan#philosophy#rome#god#theology
So, throughout most of history in the "Christian World", vows were a pretty big deal. And more to the point, in the German folk tales I am studying, vows are absolutely sacred and breaking them will be a grave danger to the state of your immortal soul. Even if the vow was made under duress (and there are some very gruesome examples of duress) or while missing vital information (the fiancée who was believed dead is alive after all! Too bad about those monastic vows!), once you have made a vow, you are expected to adhere to it - no matter what.
However, what I don't get is how all of this is compatible with the New Testament, where Jesus states pretty clearly that you should make no vows at all (Matthew 5:33-37):
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
So, how were those vows justified by Christian theology?
Seems the local church has been infiltrated by some kind of heretics. The communion table is outside the chancel arch, in the nave?! Anabaptists, Cathars, Satanists, Thelemites?
(I am here to support my wife and ex who are both in the choir.)
I can understand the pious bromide of folks who say that God wants everyone to be saved, BUT God respects human free will too much to save us. I understand it, reject it, and judge it as unfaithful to the God of the Gospel. #Theology
Monism and monotheism are not synonymous, though they can and often do overlap.
Monotheism, as most of us know, is the belief in One God. Monotheistic religions may feature other spiritual beings, either created by or separate from the One God, but there are no other Deities.
Monism, on the other hand, is the belief that there is no distinction between the Divine and everything else; all is One. There is no you or me, us or them: We're all part of the same system.
Now, I'm sure you can see how easily monotheism and monism can complement each other. But what about polytheism? Are monism and polytheism incompatible?
Nope! And here's why:
A common example to understand monism is to imagine your body. Take a look at or think about your hand. Now take a look at or think about your foot. Your hand is not your foot, and your foot is not your hand; both body parts serve very different functions and have different appearances. If you were to magically swap your hand with your foot, going about your day would suddenly be a lot more difficult.
Now, let's expand on this idea. Where does your hand end and "you" begin or where do "you" end and your hand begins? There isn't a distinction! Your hand is a part of you! You and your hand are made of the same cells and atoms. But are you your hand? No! You are the sum of all your parts: Your hands, feet, limbs, trunk, organs, blood, hair, brain, thoughts, personality, etc. All these parts combine to make "you." And even if you had to remove some of these parts, you're still "you."
In Monism, we (people, animals, plants, spirits, Gods, etc.) are like the different parts of One Body. The Gods are like the major organs and large body parts, like the head/brain, heart, and liver. Spirits are like the lesser organs and smaller body parts, like our fingers and toes. And we, humans, are like the little cells in the body.
We're all created from the same Source and Substance, and together we are Whole. The only distinction between us and the Divine are the forms and functions that we take on. And those forms and functions can change over time.
In the reconstruction of the Orphic Mysteries, I refer to the One Body as Phanes (and sometimes Zeus.) But within Phanes are countless other Gods: Zeus is the Head, the Intellect that guides the system, Aphrodite (or Eros) is the Heart and Reproductive Organs, the universal Love that permeates reality and drives creatures to continue creating, Hermes is the Throat and Vocal Chords, interpreting and communicating the Word, and so on. Also within Phanes is humanity and all of reality. My relationship to Phanes is congruent to one of my cell's relationship to my entire physical, mental, and spiritual being.
TL;DR:
Monotheism = One God
Polytheism = Multiple Gods
Monism = One Whole
Polytheistic Monism = One Substance, One "Body" Made of Many Gods and other beings who possess different forms and fulfill different functions.
The Gods are ends in themselves, no promise either of earthly success or eternal life is necessary to make them worthy of respect. There is no hierarchy in the universe, no being fundamentally "deserves" or "doesn't deserve" worship, because moral categories are socially emergent. Ultimately the category of "God" is a social relation between two beings.
In the City of God, Augustine goes on and on about how only the god who made the world and promises eternal life is "worthy" of worship and it's like, why? The only people who should be worshipping Jesus are people who have an edifying relationship either with him as a god, with one of his saints or with his church. Eternal life and his identification with the logos or the demiurge or whatever don't enter into it.
Reading David Bentley Hart’s “Tradition and Apocalypse” right now, and man; there’s some stuff here (inarticulate adjective to compensate DBH’s notoriously punctilious writing voice).