The Christian Vision of the New Creation - Part 9

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

We had concluded Part 8 with:

 

(P.90) " This is the " new creation " of which St. Paul speaks and which is

revealed more explicitly in the second Letter of Peter, where it is said,

" According to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which

righteousness dwells " . (2 Peter 3:13) (P.91) This is the ultimate goal of human

history and of the created universe. Many people today imagine some kind of

Utopia, in which humanity will be set free and enjoy peace and prosperity in

this world. But this is a pure illusion, as can be seen as each revolution which

is to usher in the new age ends in frustration and disillusionment. It is not

only that humanity has within itself so much violence and division that in its

present state it can never reach a state of equilibrium. The problem is that the

very universe to which we belong is threatened with entropy in which all stable

order and harmony will be lost. The vision of the New Testament is much more

profound. It was recognised that this whole universe has to undergo a radical

transformation, in which the present time-space will pass away and a " new heaven

and a new earth " will be revealed. It is then only that humanity will find the

state of " righteousness " for which it longs. There is no final liberation in

this world. Every serious religious tradition has recognised the need to

transcend the present condition of this world, if humanity is to attain

fulfilment. This goal was commonly expressed in mythological terms, but we

recognise today that myth is the most adequate way of expressing what cannot be

properly expressed in human language. The ultimate state of humanity and the

universe cannot be properly conceived, since it must transcend our present mode

of consciousness. Myth or symbolic language is the only way in which the

ultimate truth can be presented. Even the language of science is essentially

symbolic. Modern science in particular, is ultimately based on mathematical

symbolism which expresses one aspect of reality, that is, its quantitative

aspect, but ignores all other aspects. "

 

Here now is the final, Part 9 on the Christian Vision of the New Creation.

 

Enjoy,

 

violet

 

 

 

The Christian Vision of the New Creation - Part 9

 

(P.91) The final statement of the myth of the new creation is to be found in the

last book of the Bible, the Revelation of St. John, where it is said, " I saw a

new heaven and new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed

away, and the sea was no more " . (P.92) Thus the biblical revelation which began

with the creation of heaven and earth is brought to a climax with the coming of

new heaven and a new earth. Then it is said, " I saw the holy city, the new

Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for

her husband " . (Revelation 21:1-2) The " new Jerusalem " is a symbol of redeemed

humanity, which " comes down out of heaven " because it emerges out of a new

consciousness. Our present world is conditioned by our present mode of

consciousness; only when that consciousness passes from its present dualistic

mode conditioned by time and space will the new creation appear, which is the

eternal reality of which our world is a mirror.

 

The myth of the new creation has been given a new expression in recent times by

Teilhard de Chardin who, writing from a scientific point of view, was able to

give it a meaning for modern man. Teilhard presented an evolutionary view of

matter evolving into life and into consciousness, as matter developed ever

greater complexity and concentration. The point at which all matter and life and

consciousness finds its ultimate meaning and purpose he called the " Omega

point " . He saw the whole universe converging on this ultimate point, where it is

totally unified and centred. It is towards that supreme point of unity that the

whole creation is moving.

 

The other person in modern times who had the deepest insight into this mystery

is Sri Aurobindo, the sage of Pondicherry in India. What Teilhard de Chardin did

for Christianity, Aurobindo did for Hinduism. He developed a system of Vedanta

which incorporates the concept of evolution into the Hindu vision of the

universe. He starts from the concept of the supreme Reality as 'saccidananda',

pure being in perfect consciousness of absolute bliss. This is the one absolute

Reality. This supreme reality proceeds to " involve " itself in matter, where it

appears as unconscious being, but always behind the unconscious state of matter

is the full consciousness of the eternal Spirit, which is manifesting itself in

it. (P.93) This is similar to David Bohm's concept of the implicate order, which

is always present behind the explicate order of the world as we know it. In the

same way 'saccidananda', the plenitude of consciousness and bliss, is involved

in matter from the beginning, and as matter becomes more organised into ever

greater complexity, it evolves into life, that is, into the living cell. As life

becomes organised into increasingly complex forms in plant and animal, it

evolves into consciousness in humanity. In all this it is the 'Saccidananda',

the supreme consciousness, which is gradually manifesting its hidden power. In

Aurobindo's view we are now in the stage of evolution from mental consciousness,

that is, our present state of dualistic, rational consciousness, into

" supermental " consciousness, which corresponds with what Teilhard de Chardin

calls the " Omega point " . The Supermind is the supreme manifestation of the

ultimate Reality, which acts upon the whole creation, bringing it to fulfilment.

 

An important aspect of Sri Aurobindo's thought is that in the final state the

differences which exist here on earth are not simply dissolved but are

transcended. There is a view, which is very common in India, that when the

ultimate state is reached all differences of God and man and creation disappear.

But in Aurobindo's view, as in that of Teilhard de Chardin, the divine

consciousness penetrates the whole creation and integrates the whole in the

final state of transcendence. This is the law of evolution, that at every stage

when a lower level of being is transcended, it is integrated in the higher

level. As the atom develops it integrates the electrons and protons and other

particles which were originally floating freely. As the molecule develops it

integrates the atoms; it does not destroy them. In the same way, as the living

cell develops it integrates the atoms and molecules, and as each organism

develops it integrates all the different elements in itself. (P.94) So also as

consciousness develops the whole bodily structure is integrated with the mind

and forms a psycho-physical organism. As we go beyond our rational

consciousness, we have to learn to integrate the rational mind and the ego

consciousness into our personal being. The human person does not disintegrate as

we pass into the unifying consciousness of the transcendent, but on the contrary

becomes more fully personal. The human person is a centre of consciousness which

is capable of infinite extension and as it grows it becomes more and more

integrated with the whole complex of persons who make up humanity. We do not

cease to be persons but grow into full personal being, which is always a form of

relationship. The ultimate reality is the fullness of interpersonal being, which

is also interpersonal consciousness.

 

Teilhard de Chardin always emphasised the principle that union differentiates.

We become more ourselves as we enter more deeply into relationship with others.

In our ordinary consciousness we are all separated in time and space, but as we

go beyond the limitations of time and space we experience our oneness with

others. We do not lose ourselves, but we lose our sense of separation and

division and discover our integral oneness in the One Reality. This is

essentially a mystery of love. When two people love one another, they do not

lose their distinction of person; they become more fully personal. The whole

process of evolution, as Teilhard de Chardin saw it, is a process of

personalisation. The ultimate goal of humanity is a communion of persons in

love. This is what was revealed in St. John's Gospel, when Jesus prayed for his

disciples " that they may be one, as you, Father, are, in me and I in you, that

they may be one in us " . (John 17:21) This is the meaning of Christian doctrine

of the Trinity, that the ultimate Reality, the Godhead, or whatever name we give

to the ultimate Truth, is a communion of love. In the beginning the universe was

undifferentiated. (P.95) The original cosmos was an undifferentiated unity; the

earliest human consciousness was an undifferentiated consciousness. We emerge

through all the levels of consciousness, the physical, the vital, the emotional,

the imaginative, the rational and the transrational until we reach a fully

differentiated unity. The ultimate reality is a differentiated unity which

transcends all categories of human thought, but in which all forms of being are

integrated in a transcendent unity, which as far as it can be described in human

terms is a communion of love, that is, of inter-personal relationship, which

recalls the description of the universe in modern physics as a " complicated web

of interdependent relationships " .

 

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

Christian Faith)

Bede Griffiths

Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

ISBN 0-87243-180-0

Pgs. 91-95

 

 

,

" Violet " <violetubb wrote:

>

> Dear All,

>

> As i started to type i had a strong feeling that in the material to

hand (i.e. Part 8) there was going to be a resurrection quote come up

just in time for Easter. And sure enough it has! The synchronicity of

things always fills me with wonder. Here is the quote!:

>

> " The new consciousness is not a bodiless state; it is the

transformation of our present body consciousness, which is limited by

time and space, into a state of transformed body consciousness which

is that of resurrection. In the resurrection Jesus passed from our

present state of material being and consciousness into the final

state when matter itself, and with it the human body, passes into the

state of the divine being and consciousness, which is the destiny of

all humanity. " (Bede Griffiths)

>

> Isn't that just a tremendous quote too!

>

> We had concluded in Part 7 of " The Christian Vision of the New

Creation " with:

>

> (P.88) The reconciliation of humanity with nature and with God is

represented in a later chapter of Isaiah in terms of a marriage,

where it is said, " You shall no longer be forsaken nor shall your

land be Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight and your land

Married, for the Lord delights in you and your land shall be

married " . (Isaiah 62:4) This brings out again the sense of the

solidarity of the people and the land, of humanity with the earth to

which it belongs. But the climax of this theme of the reconciliation

of heaven and earth is found in the last chapters of Isaiah where it

is said, " Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the

former things shall not be remembered or come into mind " . (P.89) This

reveals the final destiny of humanity and creation. The heaven and

the earth which we experience through our limited mental

consciousness is only a passing phenomenon. We are destined to pass

beyond our present level of consciousness, where we see everything in

terms of dualities, of subject and object, time and space, heaven and

earth, and to enter into the unifying consciousness beyond the

dualities of the mind. Then alone will humanity find its fulfilment.

As the text goes on to say, " I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her

people a joy " . (Isaiah 65:17-18) With the coming of the new

consciousness humanity, typified by Jerusalem, the city of God,

enters into the joy, the 'ananda' of Hindu tradition, the blissful

state of pure consciousness where all the dualities of sin and evil

have been transcended and humanity is at peace with God and creation.

>

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

> Christian Faith)

> Bede Griffiths

> Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

> ISBN 0-87243-180-0

> Pgs. 88-89

>

> Here then is Part 8.

>

> Enjoy!

>

> violet

>

>

>

> The Christian Vision of the New Creation - Part 8

>

> (P.89) When we turn to the New Testament, we can see how this

concept of the relationship of the people to the land, of humanity to

this world, undergoes a profound transformation. The key text is that

of the letter to the Hebrews, where it is said, " People who speak

thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been

thinking of the land from which they had gone out, they would have

had the opportunity to return. But as it is they desire a better

country, that is, a heavenly one " . (Hebrews 11:14-16) The land of

Palestine to which Israel was so attached - and remains so to this

day - here undergoes a radical transformation. It becomes a symbol of

something much more profound. Human beings desire fulfilment in a

concrete manner and seek for fulfilment in this world by the

possession of a land, by contact with the earth. But they have to

learn that there is no fulfilment in this world of space and time.

The real object of human search is not for a dwelling in this world;

it is not for an earthly city but for the city of God, the state of

transformed humanity. This is what is meant by a " heavenly country " .

(P.90) This earth and all that is in it, and the whole cosmic order

to which it belongs, has to undergo a transformation; it has to

become a " new heaven and a new earth " . Modern physics helps us to

realise that this whole material universe is a vast " field of

energies " which is in a continuous process of transformation. Matter

is passing into life and life into consciousness, and we are waiting

for the time when our present mode of consciousness will be

transformed and we shall transcend the limits of space and time, and

enter " the new creation " .

>

> There is a remarkable anticipation of this view in the Letter to

the Romans, where St. Paul speaks of the whole creation " groaning in

travail " . For the creation, he says, " waits with eager longing for

the revealing of the sons of God " . The " revealing of the sons of God "

is of course, the passage of humanity into the new state of

consciousness. For " we ourselves " , he says " groan inwardly as we wait

for the adoption of sons, the redemption of our bodies " . (Romans 8:22-

23) Our adoption as sons is our passing from human to divine

consciousness, which is the destiny of all humanity. And this will

come through " the redemption of our bodies " . The new consciousness is

not a bodiless state; it is the transformation of our present body

consciousness, which is limited by time and space, into a state of

transformed body consciousness which is that of resurrection. In the

resurrection Jesus passed from our present state of material being

and consciousness into the final state when matter itself, and with

it the human body, passes into the state of the divine being and

consciousness, which is the destiny of all humanity.

>

> This is the " new creation " of which St. Paul speaks and which is

revealed more explicitly in the second Letter of Peter, where it is

said, " According to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth

in which righteousness dwells " . (2 Peter 3:13) (P.91) This is the

ultimate goal of human history and of the created universe. Many

people today imagine some kind of Utopia, in which humanity will be

set free and enjoy peace and prosperity in this world. But this is a

pure illusion, as can be seen as each revolution which is to usher in

the new age ends in frustration and disillusionment. It is not only

that humanity has within itself so much violence and division that in

its present state it can never reach a state of equilibrium. The

problem is that the very universe to which we belong is threatened

with entropy in which all stable order and harmony will be lost. The

vision of the New Testament is much more profound. It was recognised

that this whole universe has to undergo a radical transformation, in

which the present time-space will pass away and a " new heaven and a

new earth " will be revealed. It is then only that humanity will find

the state of " righteousness " for which it longs. There is no final

liberation in this world. Every serious religious tradition has

recognised the need to transcend the present condition of this world,

if humanity is to attain fulfilment. This goal was commonly expressed

in mythological terms, but we recognise today that myth is the most

adequate way of expressing what cannot be properly expressed in human

language. The ultimate state of humanity and the universe cannot be

properly conceived, since it must transcend our present mode of

consciousness. Myth or symbolic language is the only way in which the

ultimate truth can be presented. Even the language of science is

essentially symbolic. Modern science in particular, is ultimately

based on mathematical symbolism which expresses one aspect of

reality, that is, its quantitative aspect, but ignores all other

aspects.

>

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

> Christian Faith)

> Bede Griffiths

> Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

> ISBN 0-87243-180-0

> Pgs. 89-91

>