The gnostic tradition of the Christian church was almost utterly crushed-out by the 400AD.
--- hyperbolicgeometry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > --- > --- > > > > http://tinyurl.com/7j6nc > and check out his website at > http://www.samharris.org > > Here's an except from the above tinyurl in which > Harris compares > Western religion and Eastern Mysticism (particularly > Buddhism).: > > With respect to spiritual practice, however, the > disparity clearly > runs the other way. While Eastern mysticism has its > fair share of > unjustified belief, it undoubtedly represents > humankind's best attempt > at fashioning a spiritual science. The methods of > introspection one > finds in Buddhism, for instance, have no genuine > equivalents in the > West. And the suggestion that they do is born of a > desperate attempt > on the part of Westerners to make all religious > traditions seem > equally wise. They simply aren't. When a Tibetan > lama talks about > "nondual awareness" (Tib. rigpa) and the Pope talks > about God or the > Holy Spirit (or anything else), they are not talking > about the same > thing; nor are they operating on the same > intellectual footing. The > lama is using some very precise terminology (albeit > terminology that > has no good English equivalent) to describe what > countless meditators > have experienced after very refined training in > methods of > introspection; while the Pope is merely reiterating > unjustified and > unjustifiable metaphysical claims that have been > passed down to > Christians in the context of a culture that has > failed--utterly--to > find compelling alternatives to mere belief. Such > alternatives have > existed for millennia, east of the Bosporus. This is > not to ignore the > Meister Eckharts of the world, but such mystics have > always been the > exception in the West. And it is important to > remember that, being > exceptions, they have been regularly persecuted for > heresy. > > --- End forwarded message --- > > > > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > --------------------~--> > Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and > poor with hope and healing > http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/UlWolB/TM > --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> > > > To subscribe, send a message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Or go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ > and click 'Join This Group!' > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > __________________________________ Yahoo! for Good - Make a difference this year. http://brand.yahoo.com/cybergivingweek2005/ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/UlWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
