In the eastern world, starting with India, the thought that All is Spirit became the presuppositional thought. Every aspect of their culture flowed from this. In the western world the presuppositional thought was that All is Matter. History has panned out in favor of the western world, as the...
I suppose love is unneccesary. There have been many cultures historically that did not place a very high value on love. They were able to survive and even thrive in a material sense. But to me a life without love would not be worth living. This is the most vital 'necessity ' of God for me.
Hitler was asked by one of his corporals (I believe) if he thought that he would get away with his plans for the Jews. Hitler turned to him and said, "Does anyone remember the Armenians?" and then walked away.
Too many to list. The Nexus trilogy by Henry Miller. The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels. The Transmigration of Timothy Archer by Phillip K. Dick. Right now I'm reading To Jerusalem and Back by Saul Bellows. Soon I'll be back to Lolita, if I find the time.
A good book to pick up on this topic was Spear of Destiny by Ravencroft. Ravencroft asserts that Hitler was a devout Satanist initiated by D. Eckhardt of the Thule Society (a satanic group that had ties to the Golden Dawn). All of the Pagan and Christian adornments was mere decoration...
I think respect should be freely given initially but earned when a broader relationship is entered into. Personally, I find it very hard to respect someone who does not respect me. If there were any criteria necessary it involves a receprocal relationship.
Nietzsche believed that God died out of pity for man. He was no modern atheist. He thought that God had withdrew to such a degree that man was left all alone in the Universe. Here is the plight that we face-you see it often in the books of the Prophets. Does God save man by the scales of...
Scientific materialism blended with some kind of mystic ideology will probably be the next dominant religion. If you see scientific materialism as a religion then it seems pretty obvious as you are using a computer right now that it is The dominating force to be contended with. If you happened...
Of course we would all like to hear something new breathed into Christianity. But as for prophecy the question is: Do we reallly want to hear it? Usually we prefer what is already pleasant to what is confrontational. Another question remains here: Are we truly enlightened? Perhaps we have...
Personally, I don't feel my faith would be damaged by any new or sudden revelation about life on other planets. We are still finding out about new life on this earth-its very abundance despite our destructive tendancies do hint at many different Universal possibilities. As for our current 'UFO...
I believe that religion superior to all others which allow its adherents to supercede it. When anything becomes institutionalized, it naturally coalesces into something tyrannical given enough time. "Each man proclaims his own goodness, but a faithful man who can find?" Our ultimate religion...
I'll have to admit that there are many aspects of Zen that are appealing to me. If you eliminate the self the ego disappears, and with it the necessity to do harm. If you eliminate the necessity of time then history disappears and with it all of the grudges and misconceptions built up around...
I would say that I was quite serious and quite romantic in the most chivalrous sense. "To me it is quite clear that those are giants, and I am about to engage them in deadly combat." (Don Quixote)
Most of what I know about Paganism is from books and not personal experience. The best book on ancient Paganism I have found is A History of Pagan Europe by Jones & Pennick. I knew one Pagan in college once, but I later came to the conclusion that she was actually a born again Rastafarian. :-)
I think it is the quest for truth and the search itself that provides Illumination. Once we are sure of ourselves and our answers, we stagnate. Each religion is a point of departure. We, as the seekers, are the ones who must decide for ourselves what is of value and what should be discarded...