Wisdom

Woman of Wisdom

Originally uploaded by Fort Photo

Wisdom

When a person seems to know through insight, intuition and experience the best course of action or the possible outcomes of situations, we might say they are wiser than those who make superficial, snap or conventional judgments.

Wisdom may or may not involve scholarly, specialized or factual knowledge. The intuitive aspects of wisdom may involve revealed, infused, illuminated or ‘transcendental’ knowledge–that is, knowledge that seers and mystics from most world religions say extends beyond the conventional understanding of space and time.

The notion of wisdom is sometimes hotly debated among various religious traditions. Some Hindus, for example, might see Christians as slaves to externally imposed dogmas and rituals that lock them up in ignorance, while some Christians may see the works of the devil binding Hindus to false or incomplete beliefs which deny or ‘water down’ the belief that Christ is the unique and only human incarnation truly equal to God.

But even within a given world religion, opposing viewpoints can be found as to the nature of wisdom. Fundamentalist Christians, for instance, often have knee-jerk, hypocritical and perhaps sometimes violent reactions to the deeper aspects of Christian mysticism that they themselves haven’t experienced. In fact some Christians go as far to say that all mysticism is of the devil.

The Protestant Josh McDowell seems to lean in this direction. In The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict McDowell begins by noting in a sentence or two that there are many types of mysticism but proceeds to only discuss his perception of the errors of the “pantheistic mysticism of the East” (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999: 643-658 ). And his discussion equates the general term ‘mysticism’ as if it only applied to Eastern mysticism, most notably that of Zen Buddhism.

McDowell’s argument overlooks the plain and obvious fact that the term ‘mysticism’ applies to a wide variety of religious experiences along with the key question as to their place of origin and related ethical orientation–e.g. (a) God as ‘wholly other’ (b) God as conceptualized in pantheism or (c) an evil being hostile to God.

In fact, Catholics and other Protestants take great pains to differentiate those interior experiences which are from God and those which are not.

» Alchemy, Ancestor Cults, Anselm (St.), Ashram, Bible, Book of Job, Bowie (David), Brahman, Clairaudience, Cupid, Dhammapada, DSM-IV-TR, Ego, Hero, I Ching, Jnana yoga, Levels of Knowledge, Kabbala, Koan, Kowalska (Saint Maria Faustina Helena), Manichaeism, Mystic, Neurosis, Odin, Paranormal, Pericles, Ramakrishna (Sri), Reincarnation, Seer, Serenity Prayer, Theosophy, Theravada Buddhism, Tiresias

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Winnowing

Separate the wheat from the chaff

Originally uploaded by rogiro

Winnowing

In Old Testament farming this is the separation of the edible grain from the chaff–that is, the inedible stalks and husks (Ruth 3:2).

The grain was either raked with a “winnowing fork” or thrown into the air where the breeze would blow away the chaff but not the heavier grain.

Similar agricultural methods are still used in the 21st century in the Near East, Africa and Asia.

The image of winnowing is found several times in the Old Testament, symbolizing the dispersion of Israel during the exile. It is also used as a metaphor for the judgment of Yahweh.

In the New Testament, which for many Christians fulfills the Old Testament, the image of winnowing designates a final judgment and eternal separation of good souls that enter heaven and evil souls that descend to hell.

Along these lines, John the Baptist await the Messiah (Jesus) who holds a winnowing fork (or fan) to clean the threshing floor, gather the good wheat and throw the useless chaff into the eternal fires of hell.

His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Luke 3:17).

Catholic teaching has to some degree elaborated on this ancient view of ’salvation vs. damnation’ with the idea of purgatory.

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Xenophanes

Gold and Ivory Artemis(?)

Originally uploaded by greekgeek

Xenophanes (c. 570 BCE)

Greek thinker born in Colophon, an Ionian Greek coastal city.

Xenophanes critiqued the cosmology of Homer, Hesiod and the popular pre-Socratic take on religion and mythology.

From his surviving fragments – and from others commenting on his work – it’s clear that Xenophanes satirized the anthropomorphic nature of the Greek pagan gods, arguing that God must be unmoving and changeless.

5. But mortals suppose that the gods are born (as they themselves are), and that they wear man’s clothing and have human voice and body. [Zeller, 524, n. 2. Cf Arist. Rhet. ii. 23; 1399 b 6.]

6. But if cattle or lions had hands, so as to paint with their hands and produce works of art as men do, they would paint their gods and give them bodies in form like their own-horses like horses, cattle like cattle. [Zeller, 525, n. 2. Diog Laer. iii. 16; Cic. de nat. Deor. i. 27.]

Arthur Fairbanks, ed. and trans. “Xenophanes: Fragments and Commentary,” The First Philosophers of Greece (London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1898), p. 67.

Likewise, the early Christian writer Clement of Alexandria (2^nd – 3^rd CE) wrote in his Miscellanies 5. 109:

Xenophanes of Colophon puts it well indeed in teaching that god is one and without a body (asomatos): “There is one god, greatest among gods and men, who is not like human beings either in form (demas) or in thought (noema).”

Source » “XENOPHANES of Colophon” http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/xenophanes.html

Offering piercing criticisms of the pre-Soctratic mindset, Xenophanes nevertheless believed that we cannot be certain about anything. As such, he said that his observations were necessarily conjecture.

E. L. Hussey says that Xenophanes made the “first known attempt at philosophical theology”–i.e. thinking about faith instead of glossing over and mindlessly reproducing its cultural and historical aspects (Ted Honderich, ed., Oxford Companion to Philosophy, 1995, p. 920).

» Comparative Religion

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Evil

Evil The idea of evil has several meanings and different types of arguments try to explain its existence.

Some materialists and scientists scoff at the notion of evil as if it were an antiquated legacy from a superstitious past.

Violent criminals are usually explained away on the evening news in medico-psychiatric terms. Murderers are often reported as ‘mentally-ill’ rather than ‘possessed by the devil.’

Sometimes attempts are made to integrate these two perspectives and other times not. Meanwhile, tyrants and warmongerers are often viewed through a historical or perhaps political lens.

A basic theological distinction exists between natural evil and moral evil. Natural evil includes “acts of God” such as floods, earthquakes and avalanches. Moral evil is a conscious human choice to turn away from God’s will and participate in some action harmful to self and possibly others.

Duns Scotus classified “intrinsic evil” as acts that are inherently evil and accordingly prohibited. But intrinsically evil acts are not evil because they are prohibited.

In Christian theology evil is often seen as a necessary component of God’s plan of salvation. Here one accepts as an article of faith that God permits evil for some greater good, beyond the comprehension of mere mortals (see Isaiah 55:8-9).

One school of thought, begun by Irenaeus and popularized by John Hick, argues that evil is permitted but not caused by God.

Why, one might ask, would a good and all-powerful God permit evil?

According to the Irenian school the answer lies with the idea of ’soul making.’ A soul freely choosing to abstain from evil is of greater value than one that automatically avoids evil like a robot. The free soul apparently better glorifies God than a sinless automaton.

Although evil may ravage, test and torment good souls living on earth, the true goal of our finite, earthly life is to be made worthy of eternal heavenly life.

According to this perspective the evils of the world act as a crucible. Souls not succumbing to but resisting evil are purified and strengthened towards the good. Evil, then, is necessary. It acts as a kind of ‘hammer’ that pounds out the soul’s impurities.

St. Thomas Aquinas, in keeping with the final winnowing of the Apocalypse (Luke 3:17, Matthew 3:12), writes that

God permits some evils lest the good things should be obstructed.

Another argument, influenced by Plato’s idea of the Forms, is forwarded by St. Augustine. Augustine sees evil as a privatio boni–the absence of good. According to this view, since God is good, evil must be where God is not present. Therefore God doesn’t create evil. It’s a choice.

The theological debates get complicated here and some ask whether Augustine’s theodicy holds up for both natural and moral evil.

Different branches of Christianity hold different views about the afterlife condition of the evil soul. Some damn sinners eternally. Martin Luther, for instance, believed that some souls are predestined for hell.

Meanwhile many contemporary religious persons pray for the liberation of souls in hell. And the Catholic Purgatory is neither heaven nor hell but a difficult preparation for heaven.

Evil in Islam is similar to that of Christianity. But for Muslims it is evil to suggest that Christ is one with God (John 10:30). And the prohibitions in the Koran differ from those of the New Testament. Notably, killing is permitted in the Koran in some circumstances (see http://www.yoel.info/koranwarpassages.htm and http://www.islamreview.com/articles/jihadholywarversesinthekoran.shtml), whereas the very thought of killing is denounced in the New Testament.

Many branches of Christianity do, however, entertain the idea of a Just War.

In Hinduism a different view of evil is presented. Evil is permitted to maintain a proper balance of sacred heat or power (tapas) within the universe.

Aspects of Hinduism speak to the reality of hell for evildoers. But evil in Hinduism is mostly viewed in terms of ignorance and spiritual evolution, making punishment temporary instead of eternal.

According to this perspective, the evil soul reincarnates on earth until it is cleansed of the ignorance that influenced it to commit bad deeds.

The Hindu aspires to transcend relative ideas about good and evil through an experiential knowledge of universal truth.

Accordingly, the goal of Hinduism differs from both Christianity and Islam. For the Hindu, heaven is akin to a halfway house on the road to ultimate realization. The reincarnating soul may enjoy periodic visits to different heavens but though the round of rebirth it eventually transcends all heavens and ultimately achieves the greatest good of the Brahman.

A similar but in some ways different view of evil is presented in Taoism. It remains uncertain as to whether Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu heavens and hells are identical in character.

Mircea Eliade notes that heavens and hells are described differently among world religions. And it seems that we cannot know if these are experientially equivalent across the board.

Most global cultures at some point in history have seen evil as a cause of mental or physical illness. This view is prevalent in Shamanism. And some religious writers, such as the Catholic Michael Brown, claim to feel the presence of evil almost anywhere.

On the inferiority of evil as compared to good, W. H. Auden writes in A Certain World:

Good can imagine Evil; but Evil cannot imagine Good.

» Determinism, Free-will, Shamanism, Siva, Suffering, Trickster

On the World Wide Web:

• That Religious Studies Website: The freewill defense (St. Augustine of Hippo): Part 1

Image Credit:

• “Sauron’s eye : my church is turning evil !” originally uploaded to flickr.com by AmUnivers / Amelie » http://www.flickr.com/photos/amunivers/199008242/, Creative Commons Share Alike License

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Yahweh

May God help me!

Originally uploaded by radiant guy

Yahweh One of the names given to God in the Hebrew Torah and Christian Old Testament (OT).

Due to its unsurpassed holiness, from postexilic times pious Hebrews declined to pronounce the name in reading and only the consonants YHWH were written.

The vowels we commonly see today were later added by religious scribes.

The precise meaning of the Hebrew name Yahwey is open to debate. Some say it builds on the Hebrew word haya meaning “be, become” or “cause to be.”

In a Masoretic Text a vowel is included, bringing the word closer to donay and suggesting the meaning “Lord.”

In the story of the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:14) God reveals himself to Moses, saying his name is “I Am who I Am.” And many other names and titles are used for God throughout the OT, such as “Ancient of Days” (Daniel 7:13), “Father” (Jerimiah 3:19) “Maker” (Isaiah 17:7) and “Lord of hosts” (Amos 4:13).

» Archetypal Image, Aton, Bible, Christianity, Jesus Christ, Manichaeism

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à Kempis, Thomas

à Kempis, Thomas (1379-1471) Also known as Thomas Hemerken, à Kempis was a German who entered an Augustinian convent in 1400. 

In 1413 he was ordained. He spent the rest of his life as a religious, becoming superior of the convent.

He wrote several spiritual works but the most popular is the devotional classic Imitatio Christi (The Imitation of Christ).

This work became so influential that it rivaled the Bible in sales after Johann Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press in the mid-1400’s.

Reading The Imitation today, one cannot help but notice its medieval outlook. While clearly a milestone, times have changed. The pace of technological and psychological development during the last century has been faster than ever before in human history.

As with the Bible on which it is based, the sincere spiritual aspirant of the 21^st century might find some of the advice in The Imitation a bit outdated and inappropriate to the conditions and demands of contemporary society.

Image Credit:

• “Poblet Gate.jpg” originally uploaded to flickr.com by Alan Bell » http://www.flickr.com/photos/37935394@N00/373278878/, Creative Commons License (see details)

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Abyss

The Abyss

Originally uploaded by imagical

Abyss (Greek, abyssos, Latin abyssus). Myths about an abyss or bottomless pit are found in most cultures.

In Judaism the abyss lies deep within the earth, a place where evil spirits of the dead are banished (Job 32:22, Psalm 6:5, 143:7).

In ancient Greece the majority of the dead retire to a gloomy underworld, an abyss of “shades” where they endure punishment for worldly sins.

The ancient Greek idea of heaven is not well developed. In fact, only a few heroes pass on to the favorable Blessed Isles. After the 5th century BCE the belief that the dead reside among the stars appears. But this still radically differs from the concept of heaven as forwarded by Jesus Christ.

In Hindu lore, a popular version of the Ramayana epic portrays the heroine Sita being consumed by a great opening in the earth.

The Druidic tradition tells of evil foes falling down into bottomless caverns.

The biblical Satan is bound by an angel and cast into a bottomless pit (Rev. 20:3).

Mircea Eliade notes that myths about “binding” evil beings are quite plentiful.

New Testament (NT) accounts of an abyss refer to a hellish region from which a wild beast emerges to temporarily destroy prophets after they have completed their mission.

The Abyss in the NT is likewise described as a prison for evil spirits (Luke 8:31; Rev 9:1-2; 11; 11:7-8).

Interestingly, Victorian Fairy imagery is replete with watery underworlds inhabited by ghoulish beings, amidst which fairies are protected from harm by dwelling, often sleepily, within a sort of magical cocoon.

In the Beowulf myth, an evil water-troll is slain in her underwater lair by use of a magical sword discovered by the hero, deep under the water’s surface.

More recently, the invention of the bathysphere and the submarine opened the door for pulp fiction and numerous Hollywood “B” movies about underwater horrors.

An underwater abyss is also found in the science fiction film, The Abyss.

Sci-fi also depicts the abyss motif in outer space. In several episodes, Star Trek Voyager’s Captain Janeway stands perilously above an almost bottomless cylinder within a Borg ship.

Likewise, Star Wars‘ Luke Skywalker perches on a ledge over an abyss in the evil Emperor’s Death Star. And the more recent Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace is replete with strange subterranean beings.

In psychoanalytic terms, Freudians see the abyss as a symbol of the mother’s womb or the tumultuous forces of the instinctual id.

Jungians tend to regard the abyss as an archetypal image of the collective unconscious.

Regardless of which school one subscribes to, in the most general sense a fear of total destruction seems to coexist with a potential for victory over, and order arising from, the dark chaos of the abyss.

As Rod Serling put it in the close of the 1961 Twilight Zone episode “The Shelter” (pictured above), in which apparently normal American neighbors go beserk during an atomic bomb scare:

For civilization to survive the human race has to remain civilized.

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Adam

Adam & Eve, Walker Art Gallery Liverpool

Originally uploaded by stephoto27

Adam (Hebrew, adam = Man) In the Bible’s Old Testament book of Genesis, Adam is said to be the first human being. He was fashioned from earthly clay and brought to life with the living breath of God. 

According to Genesis his female counterpart, Eve, was created from his rib. It is noteworthy, says St. Thomas Aquinas, that Eve was not created from Adam’s head or from some other body part, such as his foot.

Being created from his rib signifies a woman’s traditional role, so Aquinas says, of fulfilling her role in marriage and offering humble service to her husband.

With Eve, Adam is said to represent the ‘first age’ of mankind, this being The Fall and Sin because the original sin of Eve (and shortly after, Adam’s sin) brings evil to the world.

Joachim of Fiore says this introduction of evil necessitated the rule of “the Law”–that is, the Ten Commandments given to Moses.

In Christian theology Jesus, the ‘second Adam,’ is portrayed as God’s perfect redeeming solution to the evil disobedience of Adam. And the Virgin Mary is often regarded as the ‘second Eve,’ the perfect counterpart to Eve’s original sin.

In Genesis 1:27, however, we find another version of the creation story in which God creates male and female in his image. No mention is given of Adam’s rib in this verse. » Evil, Hick (John), Irenaeus

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Agape

Agape In literary circles the Greek term agapē (Latin: caritas) refers to the ideal of universal love, particularly, charitable Christian love among brothers and sisters of the human family.

As C. S. Lewis suggests in The Four Loves (1960), this is distinct from matrimonial, emotional, passionate-erotic and friendly love.

For many Christians, agape also refers to the institution of the Eucharist by Jesus Christ.

The Eucharist is often connected with the Jewish Passover meal, an event signifying, among other things, fellowship.

Christians tend to stress that the Eucharistic meal is not just a celebration of fellowship. For Christians believing in the Eucharist, agape is a “love feast” that involves a genuine participation in the life, death and resurrection of Christ. The rite is said to pierce through time and space and be sanctified from heaven.

For believers, the Eucharist is not a mere symbol nor memorial; rather, the host is essentially if not visibly transformed into the body and blood of Christ.

The roots of the Eucharist are traceable to ancient Greece and Rome, where it was believed that deceased ancestors partook of food and drink offered at funeral feasts.

Somewhat like the Eucharist, this was not just a memorial feast but an active celebration of the living and the dead. » Consubstantiation, Eros, Philia, Transubstantiation,

Image Credit:

• “Painting of a feast / Early Christian catacombs / Paleochristian art.
  Fresco of female figure holding chalice in the Agape Feast. Catacomb of Saints Pietro e Marcellino (Saints Marcellinus and Peter), Via Labicana, Rome, Itally” » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Agape_feast_03.jpg

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Antioch

Mosaic Floor Panel Roman
Imperial 2nd century CE
from a villa at Daphne
near Antioch Syria

Originally uploaded by mharrsch

Antioch In the ancient world there were 16 cities and towns called Antioch by Seleucus Nicator, the founder of the Seleucid Empire.

All were named in honor of his father, Antiochus.

The largest was Antioch in Syria, which he founded in 301 BCE. A commercial and intellectual hub, its inhabitants were noted for their caustic wit and bent for coining nicknames.

The first Gentile Christian Church was formed at Antioch in Syria.

Christians appeared in droves, most likely being called “Christians” for the first time at Antioch.

At Antioch a school of thought solidified in which scripture was interpreted literally. The early city was destroyed by an earthquake in 526.

Today, Antakya is the capital of the Hatay province in Southern Turkey.

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