Monday, October 31, 2011

The Coming Present Collapse of the Spiritual Bubble

Well, everything appears to be back to normal. With the exception of the will to blog, the absence of which may well be the new normal. It was certainly the old normal, i.e, pre-October 2005. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, continuing with Meditations on the Tarot, our Unknown Friend makes the extremely important point that "the existence of the universe is rendered possible by the act of contraction of God within himself. God made a 'place' for the world in abandoning a region inferior to himself."

This is in conformity with the Kabbalistic idea of tsimtsum, or "the withdrawal of God in order to create freedom." It adds a vital dimension to the otherwise unthinkable idea of creatio ex nihilo. In other words, it helps us to think about the nothing with which the cosmos is made. For as every pneumanaut knows, the cosmos is a very real present absence; compared to the Absolute, it is nothing. And yet, it is. But how is it? How can nothing be something?

As follows: "in order to create the world ex nihilo, God had first to bring the void into existence. He had to withdraw within in order to create a mystical space, a space without his presence -- the void. And it is in thinking this thought that we assist in the birth of freedom." [I would add that since we are in the image of the Creator, we must do something analogous to "give birth" to the Word, i.e., "withdraw" and create a space for him.]

This is why the Void is such a "pregnant mystery," so to speak. Our own subjectivity is aglow with the absent-presence of the divine Subject. The realm of the "mysterious" is not at all synonymous with "ignorance"; rather, it is a mode of knowing. More precisely, it is a mode of unKnowing, a paradoxical "unthought-known" that coincides with the Creator's absent-presence.

[Says Meister Eckhart, coincidentally, "Though it may be called a nescience, an unknowing, yet there is in it more than in all knowing and understanding without it, for this unknowing lures and attracts you from all understood things, and from your [lower] self as well" (emphasis mine); note also the subtext of what it means to be an "unKnown Friend."]

Nine out of ten authentic mystics agree that the unKnown God is "superior" to the known God. How could it not be so? It is foolish to imagine that we could ever contain the uncontainable within our borrowed being. It would be like taking out a loan from the bank in order to try to buy the bank. And we all know where that leads....

If you think the financial credit bubble was bad, just wait until the bill comes due on the vast fortune secular society has borrowed from religion. There is a huge spiritual bubble at the foundation of materialism, scientism, secularism, and leftism, and I don't want to be around when it bursts. No, check me on that. I do want to be around, since it is happening before our eyes.

But so too does this bubble exist on an individual basis. The leftist is puffed up and inflated with a host of morals and other truths he has purloined from the church. Thus, he is not so much a legitimate borrower as a cosmic criminal and thief.

One can well appreciate why classical liberalism is such a hard sell, being that freedom is an echo of the haudible nothing that makes our very existence possible.

In other words, a conservative, in order to be true to his principles, must promise nothing. He must swear to protect our God-given nothing -- our natural rights -- from the enemies who would misappropriate it, and he must always endeavor to give the people more of the nothing they deserve.

While people such as the OWS protesters cry for "social justice," this is actually the last thing they want, since justice means getting what one deserves. And that would resemble a Boschian vision of hell. Or worse, an OWS encampment.

In contrast to the conservative liberal, the illiberal leftist promises everything, but in so doing usurps our precious nothing until there's nothing left of it. The leftist gives us something for nothing, which is a terrible bargain.

The leftist state is like the bad mother who anticipates our needs before we can even feel them, so we become an enfeebled nobody instead of a robust nothing. From there it is a mere step from being a full-blown EUnuch who can't even be bothered to reproduce. Soon there won't be enough children to feed all the hungry grown-ups, at which time the Muslims will devour them.

As UF further explains, the mystical space of nothing is not only the space of freedom, but of potential. Therefore, it is not an empty nothing, but a plenum that is filled with unborn preconceptions that will become future realizations once they are properly fertilized and conceived.

Why does tiny Israel have more patents in a year than the entire Muslim world in a hundred (or thousand or whatever it is)? Because the Muslim world cannot tolerate the nothingness of freedom. Instead, its people are swaddled in an allah-too-present, "in your face" god who gives no slack. And yet, I am quite sure there are Sufi teachings compatible with the ideas we are discussing today.

Just as "the bigger the state, the smaller the citizen," the bigger the God the smaller the person. Previously we have highlighted the "smallness" of a God who is not only an anonymous peasant born in the back of beyond, but who is crucified in history as a common criminal. Can't get much smaller than that! But look what grew out of that tiny seed.

The divine withdrawal and creatio ex nihilo are also related to the idea of kenosis (the self-emptying of God) and the crucifixion. In fact, you could also say that these ideas are linked to sacrifice, in that God becomes "nothing" in order for you to become "something." It is better for you that I go away, because when I do, the Holy Spirit will come along to help refill your empty tanks.

Obama may be our president, but he will never be our meister, much as he would like to be. For our Master rules by his intrinsic authority, which can only be freely recognized in his absence.

34 comments:

julie said...

Re. the spiritual bubble bursting, I suppose all that inflated something has to be cleared out for a rich load of nothing to have a little growing room.

It would be nice to witness from a safe remove, but I'm pretty sure that when it happens, everywhere is going to resemble the front row at a Gallagher show. Don't forget to carry a poncho...

Open Trench said...

The initiates line up and each is given a white robe.

"Do not clean spots from your robe one by one. The entire robe must be purified," instructs the Master.

Two assistants carry in a white marble plaque, very heavy, with the words "Reversal of Consciousness" inscribed on it,inlaid with carnelian.

They lay the plaque upon a massive stone table at the center of the chamber.

"Let us now consider this."

Van Harvey said...

"If you think the financial credit bubble was bad, just wait until the bill comes due on the vast fortune secular society has borrowed from religion. There is a huge spiritual bubble at the foundation of materialism, scientism, secularism, and leftism, and I don't want to be around when it bursts. No, check me on that. I do want to be around, since it is happening before our eyes."

No kidding. Sooner or later I'm going to put up a post on a before & after photo of the effects of real poverty. The photo's will show a well to do middle class kid of the 1890's-1900's, with a well to do middle class kid of the 1940's-1950's, and with a well to do middle class kid of the 2010's.

Shocking.

Our DMV, of all places, has pictures on the wall of school classes ranging from 1890's to present... look at their eyes, their smiles, their posture, not to mention dress, tattoos & piercings... there you can see the progression of real poverty in one of the most financially secure areas of the planet.

And it's about to burt out all over the place.

Speaking of which, this one from last night, The three gates to Occupy Wall Street: Lust , Anger and Greed, isn't too far from the mark.

Van Harvey said...

(blink)
'burt'?

"Yeah Ernie?"

"What Burt?"

"Ernie, you called my name."

"Oh, no I didn't Burt. You wanna sing 'Rubber Duckie' with me Burt?"

"Ohhhharghhh!..."

"Oh hey Burt, it wasn't me, it was this typing guy, he made a typo. You see, he meant to type 'bust', but instead, he typed out 'burt', see that? With just one letter changed, a whole new meaning. Isn't that interesting Burt?"

"Eh... well, I suppose so Ernie, I suppose so."

"So Burt, wanna sing 'Rubber Duckie' with me? Eh Burt?"

"ahhherrglymphhh"


(I've no idea. Julies fault. Her picture of her boy dozing in the car seat... started some stuff percolating I guess.)

;-)

Van Harvey said...

"In other words, a conservative, in order to be true to his principles, must promise nothing. He must swear to protect our God-given nothing -- our natural rights -- from the enemies who would misappropriate it, and he must always endeavor to give the people more of the nothing they deserve."

Sigh. That's a candidate I've yet to see. Boy, would I ever give something to someone who promised us nothing. That would be awesome.

"While people such as the OWS protesters cry for "social justice," this is actually the last thing they want, since justice means getting what one deserves. And that would resemble a Boschian vision of hell. Or worse, an OWS encampment."

Speaking of the speaking of which, of which I was speaking of in my first comment.

"In contrast to the conservative liberal, the illiberal leftist promises everything, but in so doing usurps our precious nothing until there's nothing left of it. The leftist gives us something for nothing, which is a terrible bargain. "

'Nothing for Something!'

There's a campaign slogan I could support!

Gabe Ruth said...

So I think I've finally isolated the source of my concern with some of the things going on around here (which I have found very stimulating in general), and would appreciate some feed back on two things. This is mostly off topic, but one passage in this piece really brought it home:
"Nine out of ten authentic mystics agree that the unKnown God is "superior" to the known God."
Now the phrasing leads me to think this is mostly just fun, but please, what does this mean? If you mean simply that we cannot comprehend the Absolute with our finite minds, and so our conception of God is a stale crayon drawing of the real thing at best, all well and good. But that is a bizarre way to say it. To me it sounds more like you may be saying Christian hermeticism is "superior" to more, I don't know, mainstream ways of thinking about the Absolute. What that word superior would mean in this context is unclear to me. More pleasing to God? More conducive to the salvation of human souls? More accurate?

I recognize that I am picking out one possibly off-hand phrase and extrapolating it, likely far beyond anything that could justifiably be read into it. But this is a good opportunity to go into a question about what the purpose of all this esoteric stuff is. I have not read MotT, and remain reluctant for this reason: I cannot understand how the valuable insights described here really require the use of these symbols, which are used for other purposes by less well-meaning people. Which brings me to my first link (warning, unpleasant woodcut image having to do with the Black Mass):

http://www.gornahoor.net/?p=3299

RG did not link to this site, but I found my way there by another commenter here. I found it new and interesting, and I was looking forward to delving a little deeper, when I saw that piece. Say what you will about Vatican II, I thought this was pretty off the wall. I am not trying to pull any guilt by association crap. Based on what I've read so far, I am fairly certain that RG and the regulars here would find this objectionable. A few days ago you wrote very well about the tendency to worship power as such. I think that is where the far right goes astray, and the first link demonstrates that. Just wondering, why walk so close to that side of things? I have never felt that the non-esoteric world of faith was boring, dry, or left me longing for a fleshing out of the mysterious, but even if I did feel that way, I don't think I'd try to take that route to deeper understanding.

My second link:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/philosophicalfragments/2011/10/31/finding-jesus-again-at-seminary/

When I think of the Known God, this is Who I think of. I think the humility required to have the type of relationship with the Absolute described in that piece is placed in grave danger by pursuing this deeper knowledge. I wouldn't say this relationship is destroyed by that pursuit, but man being as he is, balance is critical and difficult to maintain, and humility must be actively pursued with as much fervor as understanding.

Glad you're feeling better and I hope you continue to improve.

Open Trench said...

Dad, why don't you accept me as I am?

--Why should I? My father didn't accept me. Why should I give you what I couldn't have?

Dad, I'm your son. Don't you want better for me?

--Sure, as long as my needs get met first. Which they aren't.

Dad, I'm hurting. I'm wounded. I need your acceptance.

--Well you won't get it. Ever. Deal with it.

Well then Dad. Why don't I just annhilate you? And the world?

--Knock yourself out, kid. Become like me; critical, hard, a real persecutor. That way at least you'll be safe and feel strong.

Gabe Ruth said...

Mr. Trench,
Thanks for your candid self-assessment before, by the way. I should have discerned your quality when you emitted your sniff about beer.

Fill away, Van.

JP said...

"For as every pneumanaut knows, the cosmos is a very real present absence; compared to the Absolute, it is nothing. And yet, it is. But how is it? How can nothing be something?"

It just has to sum to nothing, not *be* nothing, per se.

That's why if you want to create matter, you have to create matter *and* anti-matter.

The sum of everything is *always* zero.

Christina M said...

I think you answered my question about God is Nowhere. Thanks so much. I'm starting to get it. It's going to take me a while to process.

Gabe Ruth, could you explain your avatar? I like it.

JP said...

"I recognize that I am picking out one possibly off-hand phrase and extrapolating it, likely far beyond anything that could justifiably be read into it. But this is a good opportunity to go into a question about what the purpose of all this esoteric stuff is. I have not read MotT, and remain reluctant for this reason: I cannot understand how the valuable insights described here really require the use of these symbols, which are used for other purposes by less well-meaning people."

Well, the the symbols exist and apparently the actually have a *useful* purpose as opposed to cartomancy and the generation of lies.

Plus, for me, they are indicia as world as book. I've noticed that you can actually *think* with them. as a form of memetic shorthand.

julie said...

(Oh, haudible...)

Anyhoo, to Gabe:

"To me it sounds more like you may be saying Christian hermeticism is "superior" to more, I don't know, mainstream ways of thinking about the Absolute. What that word superior would mean in this context is unclear to me. More pleasing to God? More conducive to the salvation of human souls? More accurate?

But this is a good opportunity to go into a question about what the purpose of all this esoteric stuff is."

First, lest it need to be said, the black mass stuff is just hideous. I'm not sure what you mean by suggesting we walk so close to that, given that the only ritual recommended here is the sort which one would find in any mainstream religion, particularly of a traditional or Orthodox bent. If you think MOTT even begins to touch on such perversion, quite simply you are wrong.

MOTT is a series of exercises whereby the unKnown Friend looked at symbols and went on a riff about how each made him think of God, of Christ, of grace and goodness, of the folly of hubris and the necessity of humility, among a great many other wise things. It was a means by which he opened himself to Grace. In a way, it's no different from Bob's use of actual non-letter symbols to convey an otherwise inexpressible idea that tends to become saturated in the mind of the reader.

Why hermeticism? It's a fair question. Why calculus? Why quantum physics? Why delve any deeper into anything than what one can understand in a simple sur-face way? Why try to understand the Mystery of Christ when it can all be read and understood at a level basic enough for small children? Why listen to crusty old mystics who were madly in love with God?

Speaking for myself, I couldn't say; all I can do is keep chasing the Mystery.

julie said...

And thanks for that second link, by the way. Good article.

Gagdad Bob said...

Jute: Are you jeff?
Mutt: Somehards.
Jute: But you are not jeffmute?
Mutt: Noho. Only an utterer.
Jute: Whoa? Whoat is the mutter with you?
Mutt: I became a stun a stummer.
Jute: What a hauhauhauhaudibble thing, to be cause! (Finnegans Wake)

julie said...

I should have guessed it was Finnegan's, but I did finally put the "ha!" in haudible; it made ever so much more-or-less sense.

Thanks for the reference point, though. One of these days I might have to break down and read that book...

Open Trench said...

Oh, the Trench is in pain today. I feel...lost, sick, sad, gray, grieved, pained, ruined, smited, blighted, benighted, cloven, woven, stove in, collapsed, cudgeled, crushed...

angry. Is it safe to be angry?
Someone tell me its OK to protest.

I protest. Why can't I be whole? Why can't I feel full?

Its nobodys fault. I am going out tonight.

John Lien said...

Gabe. Thanks for starting a good discussion. Julie gave a great answer.
(I should just stop here.)

It is my belief that God will give you a path, custom-made for you to him, if you really are searching. I'm only part of the way through MOTT. Even though strange things are discussed the discussion is always pointing you to God through Christ. I'll holler if it deviates from that but I have a hunch it won't.

This Christian hermeticism, OC, and and the discussions here appear to be filling my spiritual needs. Everybody's different. I'm not going to say one way is superior to another.

mushroom said...

For me, to talk about the Unknown God is to say that God has to make Himself known. There are certain things that a seeker -- even an initiate may know about God. There are things that can be "deduced" about God -- I put it in quotes because "intuit" is probably truer -- but we cannot know God except He reveal Himself to us, as Hebrews says, "at sundry times and in divers manners". It also says that He has revealed Himself in the Son who is the radiating expression of God's glory and the "exact imprint of His nature".

Yet, while through Christ we can know God, we cannot know all of God. Christ is hardly a "stale crayon drawing", but He is all that humanity can contain, and even He is "unknown". Look how John ends his gospel: Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

If I were to approach the writings of the B'ob as I do Scripture (and why not?), I would point out that "superior" has an original and common meaning of "above". Consider 1 Cor. 15:27-28 -- For God has put all things in subjection under his feet. But when it says, all things are put in subjection, it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. (ESV)

Hence the Known God as revealed in Christ is ultimately subject to the Unknown.

Admittedly, I am doing good to know Jesus. Yet to get locked into thinking we "have the answer" is an invitation to fossilized Pharicism or fatal fundamentalist fanaticism.

Gabe Ruth said...

Chris M.,
Thanks, it's just something I made up for fantasy football. I didn't even mean to use it on Blogger, but it was picked up automatically and I like it too. It looks like my dog.

Mushroom,
Nice alliteration! But I think you have the likely source of hubris backwards. Phariseeism certainly leads that way, but my questioning does not deserve the label (also, consider what you are saying about MotT with the accusation). My concern is simple: that using those symbols as a resource could lead naive seekers without a solid foundation of faith astray. And they don't build foundations like they used to.
I find your words well chosen and appropriate, except your implying that I called the Word incarnate a stale crayon drawing. I was speaking of our image of God, and I'm pretty sure we're on the same page there. But think about what you're saying is superior: you are saying the esoteric understanding of God is superior to the exoteric understanding of Christ. That is: "You know the One who put things under the your friend Jesus' feet? He's the One I'm talking about, that my searching has shown me, ever so faintly or incompletely." Go for it, buddy. But He saw fit to send us a Mediary, and I think we seek to transcend Him at great peril.

Julie,
I'm all about old, godly mystics. They're my favorite kind. But as a seeker, you cannot follow every path. So when evaluating a potential path, there are a couple of options. You can look at others who have followed it. Obviously there will be some things you cannot understand from outside, but you may be able to see if there is something appealing about where they are. And there is something appealing here, I don't doubt that. You could also look at the methods, content, from the outside or at the very beginning. And I think it is important, at this phase, to ask alot of why's, to evaluate epistemology. For any orthodox Christian, whether something is pleasing to God should also be high on the list. Thankfully, you have a cultural heritage that sheds some light on how to answer that question. Now, we have a path that starts out by invoking symbols that are unfamiliar, new, or imbuing old symbols with new, exciting meanings. And our language is spoken there! But consider: I don't need to tell you that evil is real. And it has its own symbols. Evil is always an ape, and there is always a corruption of Truth in every lie. But is this not another way of acknowledging that evil can wear camouflage? Of course I don't think you, RG, or any regulars here are in any danger of adopting Satanism. I only linked there because that is another fan of MotT that I have encountered. Neither is he, but he's got other issues, and I can't help but think that esotericism has done him more harm than good.

The "why" that gives me pause is, why use these symbols? Bob invented his own. Was making up chapter headings too taxing to his creativity?

I am asking these questions in good faith. That the last two popes seem to have read the book means something to me. I'm just trying to get a better feel for what is added here. I don't think it's nothing.

John Lien said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
julie said...

Gabe,
perhaps I am misunderstanding where you're coming from, but it seems to me that you are getting hung up on the idea of "Tarot" - without ever having read the book. I do get that as it has been used in recent times, the Tarot deck has tended to serve a decidedly unChristian purpose. Prior to that, though, if I'm understanding the history correctly, it was simply a deck of cards used for playing games, not much different from a Pinochle or Poker deck.

This book has absolutely nothing to do with using cards for reading fortunes; in fact, it isn't about "reading" the cards at all. If anything, it's like someone looking at a set of stained glass windows in a cathedral and discussing what the imagery represents, no more and no less.

One does not read this book in order to learn about the occult; in fact, anyone doing so would be both sorely disappointed and likely bored out of his mind.

As to the why for those symbols, why reinvent the wheel? They are for the most part explicitly Christian symbols, again something you would understand better if you were to read it yourself. One might as well ask why the Pope is represented by an upside-down cross. Just because satanists like to make bad use of good symbols, this doesn't mean the symbols are bad. Just the satanists.

As to Christ, again I understand your concerns but I think they are misplaced. Nobody here is seeking to "transcend" Christ - to "go over his head," so to speak. The use of "superior" in the context of the sentence you mentioned earlier is not to imply "better than," nor to suggest that Christ is somehow "lesser" or "inadequate." Christ described himself as a door and a way, did he not? A door to what and a way to what, if not to something unKnowable on the "other side," so to speak. Something that is and was prior to/ outside of "the beginning" - the Absolute. The Ain Sof.

julie said...

As to the potential for harm in esotericism, certainly it is possible for people to get completely full of themselves and go off the rails - again, a topic covered in great detail in MOTT. But frankly, in my experience this is true for any type of human endeavor. Just as in the second article you linked, I've seen plenty of mainstream religious who make a big show of "knowing" Jesus, then use that knowledge as a bludgeon with which to castigate anyone who doesn't "know" Jesus in the same way. Not only do they go far astray, they often bring large numbers of people with them. Which approach poses the greater danger?

Ultimately, I can't convince you that anything said here serves the truth. The best I can recommend is that you do your own reading, and test what you find against the sharp edge of reality. Don't take Bob's word for it (or mine, or anyone else's). If you are called to esotericism or hermeticism, I suspect you will find your answers. It's certainly not for everyone, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Cond0011 said...

"As UF further explains, the mystical space of nothing is not only the space of freedom, but of potential. Therefore, it is not an empty nothing, but a plenum that is filled with unborn preconceptions that will become future realizations once they are properly fertilized and conceived. "

Ever try to get work done at a workbench/desk where its surface is filled with papers? Or Hummel Statuettes? How about if _Someone Else_ fills _your_ desk surface with junk?

You can't get much done and your irritated on top of that issue.

Your allotted 16 hours of playtime (minus the 8 for Physical/Subconscious-Database Maintenance/Repair) is alot like the surface of a workbench where your "expressionism art" is produced. Of course there are all the necessary physical/social "have-to's" that clutter up the workbench, but there should NOT be many!!! The rest of the workbench is for the "expressionism art" of your choice.

Real simple right?

What happens when someone-else dumps all sorts of stuff on your workbench for you to do and fills it up completely? (Totalitarian state, Slavery, imprisonment, etc...)

What happens if the tools you use are poor? (Poor Scientific Paradigms, Malformed Religious/Cultish views, Bad Social/Cultural norms)

What happens if the lighting in the room is very poor? (Your center is not God-focused. Issues of Narcisssism, evil, etc...)

Well... not much gets done. Very unsatisfying.

Not a happy 'Creator'.

Here is an example of a man who is tapping that ... creativity... that is in all of us:

How to be creative
http://changethis.com/manifesto/6.HowToBeCreative/pdf/6.HowToBeCreative.pdf (His thoughts on 'sex vs cash' was world changing for me. Sent this post to my godchild on her graduation day 6 or 7 years ago)

The irony of this little article is that he calls his website the 'Gaping Void'.

He is both an 'artist' and a 'traveller'. :)

Cond0011 said...

Note: The link appears to not be working, so try this link:

How to be creative:
http://changethis.com/manifesto/6.HowToBeCreative/pdf/6.HowToBeCreative.pdf

Cond0011 said...

Okay... still getting truncated.

This is the full link - be sure to EDIT out the SPACES in the address line.

http://changethis.com/manifesto/
6.HowToBeCreative/pdf/
6.HowToBeCreative.pdf

Yes... the last 2 lines look redundant, but they are not.

Do read it. It is VERY good.

Cond0011 said...

"Well, everything appears to be back to normal. With the exception of the will to blog, the absence of which may well be the new normal."

I hope you continue to bog, Bob. But if you choose not to... that is okay.

Really.

As said by Hugh MacLoed in his "How to be Creative" Essay, this blog is what you want to do (sex) not what you have to do (Cash).

Besides, you will find another outlet for your creativity elsewhere - you just don't know what it is at the moment.

...and if you DO stop posting, we can always read your other works of art that are located in your archive - its just that your 'presence' will be elsewhere in our shared time frame - thus no realtime feedback from the Maestro (which is a kind of loss for us - but please... don't feel guilty. Okay?).

Gabe Ruth said...

Thank you for the patient and considerate responses. At the moment reading a book of this depth would take more time than I can spare (on top of necessary reflection, I'm a very slow reader. I will follow the conversation though, and keep it on the list.
An interesting piece of relevance here:
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/2011/10/31/sciences-most-difficult-problem/

Rick said...

The tarot deck is simply a collection of the Archetypes in their natural habitat thirdeyegraphed on the stationery of our Unknown Friend.

mushroom said...

Gabe, it could be that thinking one knows it all and Pharisaism are a kind of chicken-and-egg issue.

I apologize for using your phrase in that way, but that's how it struck me when I read it. The loss of context is one of the restrictions of comment boxes.

We are, I'm sure, on the same page. "Superior" invokes the notion of a hierarchy. The one Mediator is the Man Christ Jesus; thus He bridges an otherwise uncrossable vertical chasm to take us "higher". It might be easier for some of us to think in terms of the Logos, and change the phrasing to say, the Unspoken God is beyond the Spoken God. I'm for whatever works.

mushroom said...

RE Cond0010's workbench -- when every problem looks like a Hummel statuette, every solution looks like a hammer.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

"Nine out of ten authentic mystics agree that the unKnown God is "superior" to the known God. How could it not be so? It is foolish to imagine that we could ever contain the uncontainable within our borrowed being."

Not only that but the one's who do think (or act as if) they got the uncontainable contained are mostly full of shit.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

And when it comes to being full of shit, who better to explain than Skully?

"Sometimes, before you do yer business (or continue it) you gotta flush. Butt all this don't matter if yer head is clogged."

Christina M said...

What Ricky said about the Tarot as it is presented in the book.

I'm afraid I have kept a cloth book cover on my book until pretty recently. I can't think of one person I know around here, except my husband, who wouldn't wig-out if they saw the title. There could be serious repercussions. In reality, it's one of the most deep and orthodox Christian books I think I have ever read.

Thanks for the explanation Gabe. It's a cute Battle Dog then. I want to say "Battle Chihuahua." I have three dogs: a G.Shepherd, a S. Husky, and a W. Corgi. It could be a Battle Corgi, too.

Cond0011 said...

@Mushroom:

" when every problem looks like a Hummel statuette, every solution looks like a hammer."

Heh.

That would make you an Iconoclast. (Icon-Smasher).

We all have an addictive mind-parasite or two, in our lives, Shroom, and we need to find ways to smash those Icons.

To be an Iconoclast is a proud and lonely profession!

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