I thought that I'd pull this reference to the Second Vatican Council from H.H. John Paul II, in his book 'Crossing the Threshold of Hope,' with regard to other religions. On page 80 it says:
" The catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. The Church has a high regard for their conduct and way of life, for those precepts and doctrines which, although differing on many points from that which the Church believes and propounds, often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men. However, the Church proclaims, and is bound to proclaim that Christ is 'the way and the truth and the life' [Jn 14:6], in whom men must find the fullness of religious life and in whom God has reconciled everything to Himself (Nosta Aetate 2)."
Now, at first glance, this seems right-on, given that the Pope is the 'Vicar of Christ' on Earth [ahem], and one expects the acknowledgement of universal truth to have a Catholic flavor. But notice that the value of these other world religions merely "reflect a ray of that truth that enlightens all me." Like the moon that 'reflects' the light of the sun, but which is not the origin of that light, the other world religions merely "reflect a ray," only "a ray." So this Vatican II doctrine which at first appears to embrace the universality of the One Truth that manifests in various traditions, it is actually a 'dis' of those faiths. Why then would anyone expect anything favorable on the esoteric aspects of the world religions - Kabbalistic Judaism, Islamic Sufism, or Gnostic Christianity of which the Pope wrote:
"A separate issue is the return of ancient gnostic ideas under the guise of the so-called New Age. We cannot delude ourselves that this will lead toward a renewal of religion. It is only a new way of practicing gnosticism - that attitude of the spirit that, in the name of a profound knowledge of God, results in distorting His Word and replacing it with purely human words. Gnosticism never completely abandoned the realm of Christianity. [No! Duh!] Instead it has always existed side by side with Christianity, sometimes taking the shape of a philosophical movement, but more often assuming the characteristics of a religion or para-religion in distinct, if not declared, conflict with all that is essentially Christian." Page 90 Ibid
The word 'catholic' means 'universal,' but the Roman catholic Church, insofar as it is 'Roman' and derivative of the hierarchical model and fascist ideology of the ruthless roman Empire, is Anything but universal. Roman Catholic is an oxymoron. The Vicar of Christ himself does not grasp the fundamental idea that "the Way" in primitive Christianity means 'a Way of being,' and that Way of Being is the same Way that the word 'Tao' [or Dao] means, for example, in Taoism. The Pope's tradition is, of course, behind the whole cult of Jesus which has long passed for true Christianity. It is a model that focuses on death, the blood, the vicarious sacrifice, the suffering of Jesus AND the prescribed reactions to all of this mytho-historical drama which is guilt, fear, dependence [upon a priesthood who control the life-giving Eucharist] and complete submission in humility and confession. I confess that at the age of 22, I took catechism and was Baptized in St. Philomena's Roman Catholic Church. Let me tell you...this did not sit well with my Jewish parents or family! I never was Confirmed, so I'm an apostate Jew, heretic Christian, and fortunate to have been born after the 'burning time.'
What I was after was the Experiences of the Catholic mystics - the Mystical Experiences WERE Gnosis ! Those men and women were never understood and many were condemned to death, or forced to alter the descriptions of their Experiences to fit the dogmas. The Experiences were often described better by books that were rejected from the Bible, as if the one's included are not the words of men. Gnosis is something Pope Paul surely does not grok.
-------------------- γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
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The catholic church is to Microsoft what the "new wave" religions are to Linux distros. No, more like; The Catholic Church is to Microsoft what the "new wave" pseudo-religions are to OS/2 Warp. Remember OS/2 Warp? didnt think so, they had some really great marketing. these pseudo religions, like OS/2, will be long forgotten within the next twenty years. heres a better analogy: Linux = personal-prodigious-nondescript-philosophy. I expect a massive spike in baptism statistics January 1st, 2013.
-------------------- and you know it like a poet, like....babydoll
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