Arlo, I agree, 9 out of 10 times the accusation is an agenda advancing move, and more than likely this criticism is generated from a similar move to advance a particular position. I think what is being sought is a contextual connection between their inherited faith values and their intellectual values and they see RMP as offering that. The resolve between being a christian and still being able to be a critical thinker is an important one that formally had it's foundation in Platonism.
I thought John was beginning to move towards this subjectmatter. ARLO JAMES BENSINGER JR <[email protected]> wrote: >[Ron] >I dont think they were confused about what Pirsig said, I think they were >asking why some here arent so dynamic. > >[Arlo] >I don't think so, Ron. John stated, "contributors to this forum often seem >unaware of the transcendent", and yet in the overwhelming majority of posts >"Dynamic Quality" is mentioned, the term "spirationality" has been introduced, >Buddhism is often talked about, and even when direct talk of "transcendence" >is not the focus of a conversation, the undefinededness of Dynamic Quality >usually is. How does this translate into "unaware of the transcendent"? It >doesn't. What John is saying is this, "contributors to this forum often seem >unaware of that the Christian God is Quality, and as such there should be more >discussion about Christian worship and liturgy" (because, apparently, >Buddhism, the Tao, undefinedness, and pre-intellectual awareness and does not >count as 'awareness of a transcendent'). > >John also said, "The way many of us communicate about the indefinable and >ineffable is through the symbolic language of worship and liturgy", and hey, >that's great. Just like a great many Buddhist monks do the same, but it misses >Pirsig's entire thesis that Quality does not require special ritual. Its like >a motorcycle mechanic opining that we don't discuss motorcycle repair directly >because he finds Quality in welding old Honda chainguards, or a painter >complaing that we don't discuss art because she experiences high Quality >moments in painting. But Pirsig's thesis is not about the particular specifics >of a Buddhist ceremony, or how to weld a chainguard, or techniques for >painting in watercolor but a philosophy that bridges all of these and explains >the experience in the immediate moment Quality that brings Buddhist >ceremonies, or welding a chainguard, or painting a watercolor, into being. > >If you want "worship and liturgy", there are churches for that. If you want >talk about the best way to weld a chainguard, there are scores of motorcycle >repair forums and local repair shops, and if you want to talk about techniques >you found helpful in creating your watercolors, there are forums and likely >local civic centers where fellow watercolor makers would relish the talk. And >hey, there is nothing wrong with chiming in and saying "I'm a welder, and I >find that in moments of Quality the self and metal disappear and I experience >a transcendence into pre-intellectual awareness", but what does it do to >complain that all the non-welders here are "unaware of the transcendent" >because they don't talk about welding? > >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/md/archives.html 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/md/archives.html
