[Krimel] Believing in metaphors has too often been just an excuse for hedonism or for ignoring those who are not in the know.
[Arlo] "Believing in metaphors"? This is precisely what exoteric dogma is. Or do you mean that people need the iron first of exoteric dogma to stay in line? [Krimel] I think fundamentalists are right fear efforts to demythologize. [Arlo] Fundamentalism is a form of demythology. Unless you mean they fear efforts to mythologize. They should. It assaults their power. [Krimel] What many people seek from religion is certainty. [Arlo] Sure. Ignorance is the perfect form of certainty, isn't it? No doubt that in many areas of life (not just "religion"), many seek the path of least effort. [Krimel] By this I mean certain knowledge that everything will be ok and that no matter what someone is in control. [Arlo] Opiation. Yes. [Krimel] But holy roller services offer ecstasy and mystical union with the divine in many other forms including dancing, passing out into trance states, laughing hysterically, (becoming drunk in the Spirit) and speaking in tongues. [Arlo] The difference is that for the holy roller, Christianity is the one path to such an experience. They have not yet risen to see that it is one of many such systems of metaphorical pointers "man" has created. [Krimel] I suspect in some ways believing in the myth gives rise to direct participation in the myth. [Arlo] Excise the word "the" and it still is accurate. "I suspect in some ways believing in myth gives rise to direct participation in myth." One does not need to believe that a particular Cezanne is The One True Painting to see it as a pointer and have one's self opened to the Dynamic through experiencing it. [Krimel] No offense intended here but that is a fairly long list of bullshit. [Arlo] Seen exoterically, sure, they are, and this list of bullshit would include Christianity. But from the vantage of metaphor, those professing multiple paths through representational meaning (across broad and diverse approaches) are better (just as seeing "Art" rather than seeing "one painting" is better.) [Krimel] I donot see where any of those practices is likely to produce anymore in the way of "enlightenment" than a literal belief in the Bible. [Arlo] Do you think a literal belief in the bible is any more likely to produce enlightenment than a literal belief in leprechauns or pixie fairies? Seen this way, everything is just as good as everything else in promoting the liklihood of "enlightenment". [Krimel] Certainly I would complain about such practices but I don't see anything close to that going on. [Arlo] Institutions that sell themselves as the "one and only real institution" short change their customers, in the same way someone selling the view of "one true painting" shorts their customers from a deeper experience with art. Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
