I don’t know what the possibility of getting rid of the Either-Or world that exists in the Western church is; however, I know it needs to be one of the first objectives.
This black and white world that exists especially in the church has to go. The dualism of religion is nothing but destructive. The US vs. THEM does not serve the Kingdom of God or the cause of Jesus. And the simplistic two-tiered cosmos allows no room for true Christian mysticism. And finally, I find it baffling that so many outside the church get it, while those of the cloth seemingly do not.
Let me take one example. The movie, The Matrix.
Western Christianity has divided the cosmos into the created world (earth) and the divine realm (heaven). Material and non-material if you will. Ahh if it were that simple. Mystics for eternity have described a totally different cosmos; one in which multiple realms interact, dance, and weave in and out of a mysterious interconnectivity.
Jacob Boehme, the 17th century mystic spoke of many intermediary realms, a hologram if you will. And as he described it hundreds of years ago, we bob and weave in and out of these various realms and yet don’t know it. We are visited by these other realms, by spirits, demons, fallen angels, and heavenly hosts unknown and therefore indescribable. And you thought being a Christian was boring?
From time to time we all get awakend to the reality of the spirit world we live in.
Cynthia Bourgeault sums it up best for me as she said, “There is an energetic continuum running through all creation. In contrast to the more traditional theological model, which views God and creation as rigidly separate, the Wisdom model stresses the fluidity of movement among this energetic continuum and the presence of divine consciousness at every level, regardless of the outward form.” I know it’s a mouthful, and one might have to slow down and maybe even read it a second time. But, isn’t that what we’re being called to do as a lifestyle?
We’re missing so much because we live in the American lifestyle. While it affords us great comforts, it also denies us great insights and wisdom. Once again, it doesn’t have to be that way, either-or. It can be And-Also if we wake up and make that our choice.
Our time and space-bound physical world in which we exist is enclosed in a deeper, more magical, mystical, and mysterious cocoon. It is invisible to our natural senses, but our spirit-man can plug into it (can you say Matrix) if we choose to give up our control of our life. It’s a place where we are flooded by grace, love, forgivness, and peace.
Isn’t that worth giving up the life of being a control freak? “
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