Religion engages man in his whole being (e.g. Luke 10:27 "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbour as thyself"), vertically (towards God) and horizontally (towards the world).
Religion is essentially discernment — a discernment between God and the world, between the Aeternal and the ephemeral, between the Absolute and the contingent and, in the last resort, between the Real and the unreal.
Religion is not simply a binding, it is a union, with the Divine (or, with its object, which is considered the ultimate or absolute, according to its own determination). Everything in every religion has its foundation in these two elements: discernment and union (I will be your God, and you will be my people").
Man is intelligence and will, and religion is discernment and concentration.
A religion is an integral whole comparable to a living organism that develops according to the principles of discdernment and union. One might therefore call it a 'spiritual' organism, it is the Spirit that binds (cf Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6), and the 'societal' or 'exoteric' aspect is founded on the inner (esoteric) reality of a union both vertical and horizontal.
Religion cannot therefore be determined by the constituent elements independently of their inward unity, as if one were concerned with a mere collection of facts. This is why empirical data alone will not suffice to reveal anything about the reality of a religion, other than its historical forms. Nor can a religion be dissembled, as if one is seeking the core. This is akin to disassembling the brain in search of the mind.
The reverse is also the case — the empirical investigation of its constituent cells, taken individually and collectively, will never reveal the richness of the human mind. Why, therefore, anyone should think the mere 'facts' of a religion will reveal anything worthwhile shows how far off the mark we are. The Quest for the historical Jesus, for example, is just one example of the futility of this exercise.
The term 'heresy' points to this. It derives from the Greek verb 'to choose', and indicates an over-emphasis that distorts the organic integrity of the whole.
Religions are authentic when they comprise a sufficient idea of the Absolute and the relative, and thereby the nature of any possible reciprocal relationship. Central to this is the activity — both physical and spiritual (eg alms-giving and prayer) — that is contemplative in nature and dynamically effectual with regard to our ultimate destiny.
Heterodoxies, on the other hand, tend to adulterate either the idea of the Divine or the manner of our relation to it. Invariably they offer a worldly, profane or, if you like, "rational" and “humanist” view of religion that is tragically bankrupt, or else a pseudo-mysticism with a content of nothing but the ego and its egregores.
The idea then that religion should be removed from the primary focus of one's being, and kept concealed in the wings, as it were, flies in the face of Scripture. The exhortation of the Shema Israel is absolute, and admits no condition or relative determination.
God bless,
Thomas
Religion is essentially discernment — a discernment between God and the world, between the Aeternal and the ephemeral, between the Absolute and the contingent and, in the last resort, between the Real and the unreal.
Religion is not simply a binding, it is a union, with the Divine (or, with its object, which is considered the ultimate or absolute, according to its own determination). Everything in every religion has its foundation in these two elements: discernment and union (I will be your God, and you will be my people").
Man is intelligence and will, and religion is discernment and concentration.
A religion is an integral whole comparable to a living organism that develops according to the principles of discdernment and union. One might therefore call it a 'spiritual' organism, it is the Spirit that binds (cf Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6), and the 'societal' or 'exoteric' aspect is founded on the inner (esoteric) reality of a union both vertical and horizontal.
Religion cannot therefore be determined by the constituent elements independently of their inward unity, as if one were concerned with a mere collection of facts. This is why empirical data alone will not suffice to reveal anything about the reality of a religion, other than its historical forms. Nor can a religion be dissembled, as if one is seeking the core. This is akin to disassembling the brain in search of the mind.
The reverse is also the case — the empirical investigation of its constituent cells, taken individually and collectively, will never reveal the richness of the human mind. Why, therefore, anyone should think the mere 'facts' of a religion will reveal anything worthwhile shows how far off the mark we are. The Quest for the historical Jesus, for example, is just one example of the futility of this exercise.
The term 'heresy' points to this. It derives from the Greek verb 'to choose', and indicates an over-emphasis that distorts the organic integrity of the whole.
Religions are authentic when they comprise a sufficient idea of the Absolute and the relative, and thereby the nature of any possible reciprocal relationship. Central to this is the activity — both physical and spiritual (eg alms-giving and prayer) — that is contemplative in nature and dynamically effectual with regard to our ultimate destiny.
Heterodoxies, on the other hand, tend to adulterate either the idea of the Divine or the manner of our relation to it. Invariably they offer a worldly, profane or, if you like, "rational" and “humanist” view of religion that is tragically bankrupt, or else a pseudo-mysticism with a content of nothing but the ego and its egregores.
The idea then that religion should be removed from the primary focus of one's being, and kept concealed in the wings, as it were, flies in the face of Scripture. The exhortation of the Shema Israel is absolute, and admits no condition or relative determination.
God bless,
Thomas
. . . All life on this planet is evolutionary without Divine Intervention, just like all the Laws of the Material Plane, evolution works like a Meme, choosing the best route for survival.