The Christian Vision of the New Creation - Part 5

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

Part 4 concluded with:

 

{P.84) The story of the Flood, which almost certainly reflects the memory of the

flood in the Mesopotamian valley, was seen as a judgement on this civilisation,

while the building of the " tower of Babel " , the memory of the Babylonian

'ziggurat', was seen as typical of the ambition of such civilisations to " build

a tower up to heaven " (Genesis 11:4), that is, to dominate the world and make

the spiritual world (heaven) subject to the material world. This again exactly

reflects the present state of the world, where western science and technology,

based on a mechanistic view of the universe, seek to control the world and

subject nature to the machine. The ecological disaster which is now overtaking

the civilised world and the threat of planetary destruction are the inevitable

result of this type of civilisation.

 

A New Vision of Reality (Western Science, Eastern Mysticism and

Christian Faith)

Bede Griffiths

Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

ISBN 0-87243-180-0

Pgs. 82-84

 

Here's Part 5.

 

regards,

 

violet

 

 

 

The Christian Vision of the New Creation - Part 5

 

(P.84)In the Hebrew tradition the restoration of the world to its original unity

begins with the call of Abraham. Abraham is told to leave his " country and his

kindred and his father's house " (Genesis 12:1), in other words to leave the

Babylonian world into which he had been born, and to go to the land which will

be shown him. There are three things to be noted in the call of Abraham. The

first is that he has to follow the call of God and to venture out into the

unknown. The second is that he is called to become a great nation and to be a

blessing to all the earth. The third is that he is promised a " land " , a place in

which to dwell. These three callings represent the call of humanity to return to

its origin and to rediscover its ultimate destiny. Humanity is to be reconciled

with God by going out from its present state of civilisation and venturing into

the unknown. To bring this about it has to be formed into a new people, a

community which will bring a blessing and reconciliation to the whole world. And

finally this new people will be reconciled with the earth, with the world of

nature by being given a land in which to dwell.

 

(P.85) These three themes, the reconciliation of humanity with God, the supreme

Reality, by the venture of faith in the unknown; the reconciliation of humanity

with itself by the formation of a new people, a new humanity; and the

reconciliation of humanity with the earth, that is, with the whole world of

nature, by the promise of a land, can be traced through the whole biblical

revelation. This promise is given to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, the

founders of the people of Israel, and in each case the future of the people is

seen to be bound up with their settlement in the land. When Israel goes down

into Egypt, symbolising the subjection of the people of God to the powers of

this world, the promise is renewed to Moses, " I have heard the cry of my people

and I have come to deliver them and to restore them to the land which I have

promised them " . (Exodus 6:5) Again, when Israel is taken into captivity in

Babylon - the people of God made captive to the other great civilisation of the

ancient world - the theme is taken up by the prophets, " You shall dwell in the

land that I gave to your fathers and you shall be my people and I will be your

God " . (Ezekiel 36:28) Human liberation is always seen as reconciliation with God

and with nature in a renewed humanity.

 

A beautiful example of this is given in the famous prophecy of Isaiah where the

destiny of humanity is seen as a return to Paradise. First of all it is said

that the Spirit will be given, " the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the

Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord " .

The fall of humanity came from turning away from the Spirit and centring on the

separate self, and restoration can only come by the gift of the Spirit

reconciling humanity with God. Then it is said, " the wolf shall lie down with

the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young

lion and the fatling together and a little child shall lead them " . This is the

restoration to Paradise, a state which can only be found when we have passed

through death into the new world, as Jesus promised the thief on the cross,

" This day you shall be with me in Paradise " . (P.86) Then the whole creation will

pass from its present state of extension in time and space with all the

divisions and conflicts which mark this state, and the animal world will be

reconciled with itself and with the human world. Finally it is said, " They shall

not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the

knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea " . (Isaiah 11:1-9) This state of

Paradise comes when humanity emerges into a new state of consciousness, a state

described as the " knowledge of the Lord " , that is the higher knowledge or

'gnosis', known in India as 'jnana', the direct experience of the indwelling

Spirit of God.

 

A New Vision of Reality (Western Science, Eastern Mysticism and

Christian Faith)

Bede Griffiths

Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

ISBN 0-87243-180-0

Pgs. 84-86