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  1. T

    Christianity: Humanism should come before theology

    I would have thought that somewhat illogical to ask Christians to place a non-Christian systematic above their own. You might as well say Christians should place Buddha above Christ? I think 'humanistic ideas' and our understanding of the person is largely founded on, and derives from...
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    Before the death of Christ

    In the Tradition this is known as the Descent of Christ into Hell, or the Harrowing of Hell (in the English tradition). We hold that Christ died on the Cross, and then descended into the realm of the dead: "(Christ) being put to death indeed in the flesh, but enlivened in the spirit, In which...
  3. T

    What does it mean to say you're a mystic?

    An awareness of the Divine, or perhaps more accurately a consciousness of the Divine ... informed by the Christian mystical tradition.
  4. T

    Hindu-Christian resources?

    Christianity and the Doctrine of Non-Dualism by the anonymous Christian 'Monk of the West' covers that pretty well, I think.
  5. T

    Do you think a mystical experience has any value?

    I would say 'yes'. But I suppose the answer hinges on the nature of the 'experience'. Denys Tanner argues (in The Darkness of God) from pseudoDionysius, The Cloud of Unknowing, Eckhart and others that their mystical experience was a transcendent, 'non-experiential' knowing — a profound...
  6. T

    Plotinus/Neo-Platonism

    Well, as a Catholic with a profound interest in the teachings of the Patristic Era, I have been told by those who know that I am a 'Christian Platonist'. This is not necessarily heterodox, as, according to the Orthodox Tradition, 'when the Fathers thought, they Platonised' ... Augustine, for...
  7. T

    God's name?

    Well there are a number of names: El, El-shaddai (Hebrew), The Ancient of Days (Hebrew origin, I think), the First cause, the Unmoved Mover (Greek Philosophy), Arche Anarchos (Patristic Tradition), Lord, Father, I am ... it depends on who you ask. Father is the best way ... Abba Depends on the...
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    Is this an accurate explanation of the Trinity?

    It doesn't work like that, you're looking for the 'letter' (cf 2 Corinthians 3:6). Read Acts 8:26-35. Scripture needs to be explained, it does not stand independent of the Tradition. Scripture is not a text book. Or rather, I would describe it as a living text, rather than an historic...
  9. T

    Is this an accurate explanation of the Trinity?

    None whatsoever. It is a Gift of Grace, the self-disclosure of God, It's not a necessity, It simply is. Yes it does. It effects us more. It claim nothing more than a moral message. It would be a philosophy, not a religion. God bless TomD
  10. T

    Is this an accurate explanation of the Trinity?

    I am saying the doctrine is very clear on the distinction between Trinity and tritheism. No I'm not. You are assuming that. I am saying God is One, and God is Three. You are saying there are three entitles who 'make' a fourth entity you call Godhead. So the fourth, a making, must necessarily...
  11. T

    Is this an accurate explanation of the Trinity?

    Hi Kastling Only if you assume 'being' according to its empirical determination. God is 'beyond being', so the term 'being', like 'person' is analogous. OK. Then 'will' is common to the Three, as is 'Divinity', but again, that does not therefore assume tritheism, nor does it assume that there...
  12. T

    Seven angels closer to God are Archangels?

    Archangel in Scripture generally infers a higher order of angel. Thus 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says "For the Lord himself shall come down from heaven with commandment, and with the voice of an archangel" which, when you think about it, is surely the wrong way round? What is an angel, even an...
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    Is this an accurate explanation of the Trinity?

    Well with the Trinity, any explanation can only ever be analogous, because the actuality of the Trinity transcends human understanding, so analogy is the best we can do. You'd need the Mind of God to understand it. But then that's not required, so nothing to fret about. See, we're already...
  14. T

    The Rise of Christianity in the West

    It really depends on which 'church' you're talking about ... but there's a very interesting current here: The 'outbreak' of pagan practice that had, it would seem, almost died out under its own steam, was a reaction against the Reformation (in the same way that the reinvention of Wicca was a...
  15. T

    Greetings, all

    Hi ... I think I've been here before ... Anyway, cradle Catholic, grew up, wandered off, stumbled into Hermeticism, the Perennial Philosophy (René Guénon, Frithjof Schuon et al) and Comparative Religion, Neoplatonist metaphysics and then Patristics. Wandered back home again. Did a BA(Divinity)...
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