I see Christianity as one large ever-shifting, ever-changing projection of consciousness over time. (That doesn't mean it is any less real than the Christianity perceived by others as one large historical FACT imprinted upon us from without.)
This Christianity projected over time continues shifting with changes in human consciousness. Paul's Christianity is different from Eckhart's Christianity which differs from Panikkar's Cosmotheandric Christianity, and so on.
Just as the psychologist is not concerned with the inkblot but with what the person sees in it, so is the theopoetist not concerned with the Christian framework, but what each person and groups of persons project out of their own consciousness when viewing it.
Persons view their own projections as reality and worship what is already deep within.
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I am reminded of a book I read some years back by Bishop John Shelby Spong titled "Why Christianity Must Change or Die." Spong wrote, "it was the emergence of self-consciousness that demanded the creation of theistic religion ... if Christianity depends on a theistic definition of God, then we must face the fact that we are watching this noble religious system enter the rigor mortis of its own death throes." Spong also opines, "We are learning that meaning is not external to life but must be discovered in our own depths and imposed on life by an act of our own will."
ReplyDeleteI'm still thinking on this ...
Thanks Phil. I had forgotten about that book (which you recommended to me way back when). I'll take another look.
ReplyDeleteGeorge and others,
ReplyDeleteFor folks interested in these ideas, you might also be interested in a website I manage: http://theopoetics.net. It is a place for the discussion and thinking of lots of ideas similar to the ones you have offered here.
-Callid
Thank you, Callid.
ReplyDelete