Finishing Ursula King's book "Christian Mystics," she left the reader with the question: in what direction will modern times take the masses of humanity now that they are ever more a part of a world society? In an historic overview, we can see that the polyglot of beliefs in the pagan world of the Roman Empire had been weakened - through a degeneration of the initial impulses of those beliefs, and the diluting effect of a multicultural world. Enter Christianity, initially banned by the empire for its fervent refusal to accept other gods; then punished with death, forcing the most intellectual of adherents to turn to the wilderness for contemplation (the dissolution of the Alexandria school and subsequent diaspora of the Desert Fathers.) And finally, the failure of strength of the old beliefs to hold against the Christians, whereby Christianity entered its statist form, aligned with the powers that be - which held up until the reformation in Northern Europe and the development of the modern state in the 17th through 19th centuries elsewhere.
We are now left with religions that are dwindling in importance and participation in all but the most hard-line of Islamic states. Are we now at the point in which the Roman Empire found itself around the time of Christ? Have the world religions lost their punch - their authenticity - through age and decay? And has multiculturalism worked alongside to weaken them as well? I think we would have to answer that in the affirmative. But what awaits? As King said, people in the modern materialist world are thirsting for spirit - but where will they find it? Will it be revived in monasteries as Christianity was in the medieval times and during the reformation period? Or will a more individualistic form arise, something akin to the Desert Fathers without the extreme austerities? The author believes in the latter - that more individualistic forms of reaching God will spread and give life once again to the profound aspects of the old religions. That is, that personal experiences of God will revitalize the old forms, perhaps discarding the chaff of former times to reveal the ever-true relevancy of the kernel.
I believe that she is, for the most part, right about this - that the true religions are not dead, but only need personal input - with some superficial but meaningful changes for cultural relevancy - to infuse them with life again. But I could be wrong; it could be that the traditional religions have outlived their purpose and are in permanent decay, just as those of the pagan peoples of the Roman Empire were. Their beliefs - not so much the anthropocentric myths of the Romans and Greeks, but those of the mystery (mystical experience) schools - at one time were the most profound expressions of the ancient Mediterranean world. Their legitimacy could never dissolve, as they allowed the participants direct access to the Absolute, but their relevancy did to the masses, until they were incorporated into the beliefs and practices of the emerging Christian religion. Perhaps, then, we will need a new bottle for the old wine - perhaps even a new prophet to help jump-start the new form; or perhaps, as some Christians think, a complete end to the old order in the form of an apocalypse and second coming.
The traditionalist thinker Frithjof Schuon, who I often refer to, believes in the latter - that is, that we as a world culture are spiraling down inevitably to a necessary collapse. Just as a dilapidated building must be torn down for the new one, so he sees that present society must reach a point of no return before a rebirth, or rebuilding, can occur. And it is inevitable. This is so not because the old "True" religions are outworn, but that we as social beings are outworn. We need, essentially, to discard our material beliefs before the truth of the old religions can shine for us again. It is, then, not the old religions that have become irrelevant, but rather our world culture/society.
I am perpetually unsure about this - I am no prophet. But King states a modern truism in her conclusion that is telling, which I repeat: " people are thirsting for spiritual revival in this age of materialism." We might just pass this statement by, as it has been repeated so many times before - but look at it again; if we are starving for spirit, who exactly is taking it away? Who is the purveyor of this materialistic age? Is it some cabal, some secret society of Satan, enslaving us all? Or is it ourselves? While our inner souls are crying out for spiritual contact, are we not heedlessly following the materialistic call of the modern era - with full will?
This is the nut of the question for our future - are we being manipulated by an evil elite, or are we willfully following this path, our elite only being the most successful on this path? If it is the former, I would think true (spiritual) religion will be revived; if the latter, no - only shreds and patches of incantations will remain to work as magical formulas for our health or good luck, something like what happened to the old pagan religions. In which case, we will be in need of a totally new "building" to contain the ancient pathways to God, and then only after a collapse, something necessary for the new building to arise from the old.
On that latter point, I have no doubt - if we are indeed willful participants in this "materialistic age," we will auger into collapse, for not only does man not live by bread alone, even the bread is only the material form of the spirit that gave rise to it. Without acknowledging that spirit, we would be acting in the dark, wandering in a world blind. We might stumble and survive for a bit, but sooner or later would fail, would stumble into the canyon, would fail to see the seed with which to plant our wheat. In other words, without an understanding of how the world works in depth, we would inevitably, sooner or later, walk into the cul-de-sac.
But again, I am not sure; and even if we are being led by an evil elite, will they not in time convert us to their ways? Or is that what the next revival will be about - to turn from their lead and prevent the collapse that otherwise is inevitable? In other words, are we alive enough to Spirit to break from the world's current pull, or is it too late and time for a major cleaning? FK
We are now left with religions that are dwindling in importance and participation in all but the most hard-line of Islamic states. Are we now at the point in which the Roman Empire found itself around the time of Christ? Have the world religions lost their punch - their authenticity - through age and decay? And has multiculturalism worked alongside to weaken them as well? I think we would have to answer that in the affirmative. But what awaits? As King said, people in the modern materialist world are thirsting for spirit - but where will they find it? Will it be revived in monasteries as Christianity was in the medieval times and during the reformation period? Or will a more individualistic form arise, something akin to the Desert Fathers without the extreme austerities? The author believes in the latter - that more individualistic forms of reaching God will spread and give life once again to the profound aspects of the old religions. That is, that personal experiences of God will revitalize the old forms, perhaps discarding the chaff of former times to reveal the ever-true relevancy of the kernel.
I believe that she is, for the most part, right about this - that the true religions are not dead, but only need personal input - with some superficial but meaningful changes for cultural relevancy - to infuse them with life again. But I could be wrong; it could be that the traditional religions have outlived their purpose and are in permanent decay, just as those of the pagan peoples of the Roman Empire were. Their beliefs - not so much the anthropocentric myths of the Romans and Greeks, but those of the mystery (mystical experience) schools - at one time were the most profound expressions of the ancient Mediterranean world. Their legitimacy could never dissolve, as they allowed the participants direct access to the Absolute, but their relevancy did to the masses, until they were incorporated into the beliefs and practices of the emerging Christian religion. Perhaps, then, we will need a new bottle for the old wine - perhaps even a new prophet to help jump-start the new form; or perhaps, as some Christians think, a complete end to the old order in the form of an apocalypse and second coming.
The traditionalist thinker Frithjof Schuon, who I often refer to, believes in the latter - that is, that we as a world culture are spiraling down inevitably to a necessary collapse. Just as a dilapidated building must be torn down for the new one, so he sees that present society must reach a point of no return before a rebirth, or rebuilding, can occur. And it is inevitable. This is so not because the old "True" religions are outworn, but that we as social beings are outworn. We need, essentially, to discard our material beliefs before the truth of the old religions can shine for us again. It is, then, not the old religions that have become irrelevant, but rather our world culture/society.
I am perpetually unsure about this - I am no prophet. But King states a modern truism in her conclusion that is telling, which I repeat: " people are thirsting for spiritual revival in this age of materialism." We might just pass this statement by, as it has been repeated so many times before - but look at it again; if we are starving for spirit, who exactly is taking it away? Who is the purveyor of this materialistic age? Is it some cabal, some secret society of Satan, enslaving us all? Or is it ourselves? While our inner souls are crying out for spiritual contact, are we not heedlessly following the materialistic call of the modern era - with full will?
This is the nut of the question for our future - are we being manipulated by an evil elite, or are we willfully following this path, our elite only being the most successful on this path? If it is the former, I would think true (spiritual) religion will be revived; if the latter, no - only shreds and patches of incantations will remain to work as magical formulas for our health or good luck, something like what happened to the old pagan religions. In which case, we will be in need of a totally new "building" to contain the ancient pathways to God, and then only after a collapse, something necessary for the new building to arise from the old.
On that latter point, I have no doubt - if we are indeed willful participants in this "materialistic age," we will auger into collapse, for not only does man not live by bread alone, even the bread is only the material form of the spirit that gave rise to it. Without acknowledging that spirit, we would be acting in the dark, wandering in a world blind. We might stumble and survive for a bit, but sooner or later would fail, would stumble into the canyon, would fail to see the seed with which to plant our wheat. In other words, without an understanding of how the world works in depth, we would inevitably, sooner or later, walk into the cul-de-sac.
But again, I am not sure; and even if we are being led by an evil elite, will they not in time convert us to their ways? Or is that what the next revival will be about - to turn from their lead and prevent the collapse that otherwise is inevitable? In other words, are we alive enough to Spirit to break from the world's current pull, or is it too late and time for a major cleaning? FK
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