Thursday, September 30, 2004
Axiomatic Religion
What a week. I've been rather unfocused in everything I've done, especially in my reading. I picked up a copy of Karen Armstrongs "History of God" but I haven't really delved into it, I've only dipped. I also picked up a few of Bishop Spong's books and ran across his treatment of "the Fundamentals." The Fundamentals are a list of items that all 'true' Christians must believe and Spong rebutted all of them (or at least, all of the ones that he mentions). One of the items was that 'true' Christians must believe in the Mosiac authorship of the pentateuch.
Moses was a prophet, but I find it unlikely that Moses, unlike all of the other prophets, would write about himself in the third person. But I don't want to talk specifically about the Fundamentals. Fundamentalism is a modern reaction to modernism, one that uses modernism methodology and thinking to refuse modernism, which makes the whole think sketchy. Somewhere along the line in the past week I realized that the Fundamentals are merely axioms, much like Euclid declared axioms that became the foundation for geometry. Living in the modern age as we do, the scientific mindset is pervasive and even effects our ideas about theology.
What I am thinking about is this idea that modern theological constructs are axiomatic by nature, and if this is an appropriate approach to God. Is it even possible to approach God outisde of the post modern mentality for those of use who have grown up in that mentality?
Is mysticism antithetical to the post-modern mentality? I've tried to explore mysticism through the occult and Christian mysticism but it hasn't led to any insights. It's possible that the mystic way just isn't my way and it doesn't depend on when I'm alive. There may be other avenues that I haven't even though of yet. I try to follow some of the prayer cycles used in the early celtic Church but I simply forget them and forget to look them up. It takes practice.
On the other hand, I may find that I just need to throw myself into this mentality, solidify my own axioms, accept them, and continue on my faith journey. This has been a foundation of my practial religious life anyway, so I might as well run with them. I'm quite comfortable with the idea of an axiomatic personal religion.
Axiom 1: God is Mystery
Axiom 2: God is Good
Other axioms may come out the more I explore this. ¶ 8:27 AM
Moses was a prophet, but I find it unlikely that Moses, unlike all of the other prophets, would write about himself in the third person. But I don't want to talk specifically about the Fundamentals. Fundamentalism is a modern reaction to modernism, one that uses modernism methodology and thinking to refuse modernism, which makes the whole think sketchy. Somewhere along the line in the past week I realized that the Fundamentals are merely axioms, much like Euclid declared axioms that became the foundation for geometry. Living in the modern age as we do, the scientific mindset is pervasive and even effects our ideas about theology.
What I am thinking about is this idea that modern theological constructs are axiomatic by nature, and if this is an appropriate approach to God. Is it even possible to approach God outisde of the post modern mentality for those of use who have grown up in that mentality?
Is mysticism antithetical to the post-modern mentality? I've tried to explore mysticism through the occult and Christian mysticism but it hasn't led to any insights. It's possible that the mystic way just isn't my way and it doesn't depend on when I'm alive. There may be other avenues that I haven't even though of yet. I try to follow some of the prayer cycles used in the early celtic Church but I simply forget them and forget to look them up. It takes practice.
On the other hand, I may find that I just need to throw myself into this mentality, solidify my own axioms, accept them, and continue on my faith journey. This has been a foundation of my practial religious life anyway, so I might as well run with them. I'm quite comfortable with the idea of an axiomatic personal religion.
Axiom 1: God is Mystery
Axiom 2: God is Good
Other axioms may come out the more I explore this. ¶ 8:27 AM
