Inner Christianity (eBook)

Richard Smoley (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2002 | 1. Auflage
352 Seiten
Shambhala (Verlag)
978-0-8348-2440-9 (ISBN)

Infos

InnerChristianityis the first introduction to mystical and esoteric Christianity for the generalreader. It speaks from a nonsectarian point of view, unearthing insights fromthe whole of the Christian tradition, orthodox and heretical, famous andobscure. The esoteric tradition has traditionally searched for meanings thatwould yield a deeper inner knowledge of the divine. While traditionalChristianity draws a timeline from Adam's Fall to the Day of Judgment, theesoteric often sees time as folding in on itself, bringing every point to thehere and now. While the Church fought bitterly over dogma, the esotericborrowed freely from other traditions—Kabbalah, astrology, and alchemy—intheir search for metaphors of inner truth.

Ratherthan basing his book around exponents of esoteric doctrine, scholar RichardSmoley concentrates on the questions that are of interest to every searchingChristian. How can one attain direct spiritual experience? What does 'theFall' really tell us about coming to terms with the world we live in? Canwe find salvation in everyday life? How can we ascend, spiritually, through thevarious levels of existence? What was Christ's true message to humankind? Fromthe Gospel of Thomas to ACourse in Miracles,from the Jesus Prayer to alchemy and Tarot, from Origen to Dante to Jung,Richard Smoley sheds the light of an alternative Christianity on these issuesand more.

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An eye-opening introduction to the complex world of esoteric Christianity—perfect for the general readerThis guide to mystical and esoteric Christianity speaks from a nonsectarian point of view, unearthing insights from the whole of the Christian tradition, orthodox and heretical, famous and obscure. The esoteric tradition has traditionally searched for meanings that would yield a deeper inner knowledge of the divine. While traditional Christianity draws a timeline from Adam's Fall to the Day of Judgment, the esoteric often sees time as folding in on itself, bringing every point to the here and now. While the Church fought bitterly over dogma, the esoteric borrowed freely from other traditions—Kabbalah, astrology, and alchemy—in their search for metaphors of inner truth. Rather than basing his book around exponents of esoteric doctrine, scholar Richard Smoley concentrates on the questions that are of interest to every searching Christian. How can one attain direct spiritual experience? What does "e;the Fall"e; really tell us about coming to terms with the world we live in? Can we find salvation in everyday life? How can we ascend, spiritually, through the various levels of existence? What was Christ's true message to humankind? From the Gospel of Thomas to A Course in Miracles, from the Jesus Prayer to alchemy and Tarot, from Origen to Dante to Jung, Richard Smoley sheds the light of an alternative Christianity on these issues and more.

Textauszug

Fromthe Introduction

Ifone single theme has dominated the history of the past century, it is loss offaith. The implacable course of events has cast doubt upon progress,civilization, political and economic systems, even the essential decency ofhuman nature. Christianity has not been spared. Starting in the nineteenthcentury, science began to show that the earth had been born not six thousandyears in the past, as the Bible seemed to suggest, but billions of years ago.Even the Gospels themselves no longer seemed like Gospel truth, as historicaland critical methods revealed that much in the life of Christ was nothistorical fact but myths and legends that attached themselves to him after histime.

Thesedevelopments have drawn forth a complex array of reactions from clergy andlaity alike. Some have actively rejected this knowledge, taking refuge intraditionalism and fundamentalism. Others have tried to integrate the newperspectives into their religious life, only to be left with a vague andunsatisfying liberal faith. Still others are disaffected from religion ingeneral or simply bewildered.

Whatevercourse we choose, one thing becomes obvious: it is now next to impossible totake faith unreflectively. We no longer live in a conceptual world framed bythe comforting certainties of church doctrine and the literal truth of theBible. And yet, as disorienting and disillusioning as the process of moderninquiry has been, it has not destroyed the religious search but has invigoratedit. Rather than contenting themselves with secondhand truths, people have begunto ask how they themselves can know the presence of the divine.

Thisimpulse has fed the explosion of New Age religions, alternative spiritualities,and traditions brought over from the East that we have seen in recent decades.Many of these religions, both new and newly imported, stress enlightenment as agoal. They say that our ordinary state of consciousness is not the highest oneof which we are capable, but a low-grade, delusory state. Spiritual disciplinessuch as meditation can free us from this oblivion and restore us to our fullbirthright as human beings.

Ona parallel course, the perennial interest in Christian origins has led scholarsto reexamine many ancient texts and to unearth new ones: the Dead Sea Scrollsand the Nag Hammadi Library are the most famous examples. Some of these workssuggest that early Christians not only reached insights similar to those of theEastern religions but also had a sophisticated understanding of humanconsciousness in their own right. Many were concerned with what they called gnosis,aword that means 'knowledge' in Greek. This is knowledge of a veryspecific kind—,direct, intuitive knowing that surpasses ordinary reason andconfers spiritual liberation. Gnosis strongly resembles enlightenment asportrayed in Hinduism and Buddhism.

Althoughinterest in these ancient teachings is considerable, many people assume theteachings were lost long ago, the victims of official suppression and popularneglect. But in fact careful investigation shows that these truths have alwaysbeen kept alive in the Christian tradition and indeed have fed the life ofWestern civilization like a great underground stream that only rarely rises tothe surface. There have always been teachers and groups that have managed toreach these states of higher consciousness and have passed their knowledge onto the present.

Knowledgethat liberates consciousness is often described as esoteric.Theword 'esoteric' is somewhat forbidding, usually connoting somethingobscure, exotic, and irrelevant to daily life—,in short, something...

Produkt-Details

• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Religion / Theologie ► Christentum ► Gebete / Lieder / Meditationen
• Themenwelt: Religion / Theologie ► Christentum ► Kirchengeschichte
• Themenwelt: Religion / Theologie ► Christentum ► Moraltheologie / Sozialethik
• ISBN-10: 0-8348-2440-X / 083482440X
• ISBN-13: 978-0-8348-2440-9 / 9780834824409