The New Age - Part 8

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

Firstly, as we conclude with Part 8 of 'The New Age', i would like to say what a

wonderful, spiritually in-depth book Bede Griffiths has written. He is no doubt

an outstanding world scholar with a keen spiritual insight. i know we have all

been enriched by his writing, for which we have to be grateful.

 

 

In part 7 we concluded with:

 

(p.294) " In this way we can envision the emergence of a new world culture as the

present materialist and mechanistic system breaks down under the continued

crisis of economic, social and political conflict. One of the characteristics of

this new culture would be its feminine aspects. For three thousand years the

world has been dominated by patriarchal cultures which overcame the ancient

matriarchal cultures of the earlier ages. We have now reached the limit of this

masculine culture with its aggressive, competitive, rational, analytic

character. We are moving now into an age where the feminine principle will be

valued, the 'yin' in contrast to the 'yang'. In the Chinese understanding 'yang'

is the masculine principle, 'yin' is the feminine and as the 'yang' reaches its

limit it begins to move back again to the 'yin'. We have now reached the limit

of the 'yang', the masculine culture, and we are moving inevitably back to the

feminine. The feminine will sooner or later begin to take its proper place with

its characteristics of intuition, empathy and co-operation, and with its

holistic approach. This will necessarily affect not only the economic, social

and political orders but also spirituality and religion. The Christian religion

has developed an entirely masculine concept of God. We always speak of God as

Father, and of the incarnation of the Son. Even the Holy Spirit, which is neuter

in Greek but masculine in Latin, we have conceived normally in masculine terms.

In the Old Testament, however, the Spirit, the 'ruach', is feminine and in the

Syrian church this same word was used of the Holy Spirit when they spoke of " our

Mother, the Holy Spirit " . That is found in the second and third centuries but it

does not seem to have survived after that. The masculine character of the

Godhead has always prevailed since then. (p.295) There was however a feminine

aspect in God in the Old Testament and to some extent in the New, and in the

Christian tradition we have particularly Julian of Norwich, who speaks of Jesus

as our Mother. St Anselm of Canterbury does the same. So apart from a few

exceptions the masculine character of God has strongly prevailed in the West. By

contrast, in India God is conceived both as Father and Mother. Obviously

theologically God may be conceived as both Father and Mother. Being neither

masculine nor feminine he can be represented as either Father or Mother, or

both, in masculine and feminine terms. In the Tantric tradition, which derives

from the ancient matriarchal culture, the mother aspect of God is dominant. In

that tradition the whole universe is seen to derive from the Mother and all

worship is offered to the Mother. That is precisely the opposite of the

Judaeo-Christian tradition. We may expect therefore a corresponding development

in Christian theology recognising the feminine aspect of God and the place of

women in the ministry of the church. There is of course no question of a return

to a matriarchal society. It is a matter of the recovery of feminine values and

the reconciliation of the masculine and the feminine. "

 

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

Chapter 13, p.294-295

 

Here now is the conclusion, part 8 - and also the conclusion to Bede Griffiths

amazing book.

 

Enjoy,

 

violet

 

 

 

The New Age - Part 8

 

(p.295) It should be added that in Catholicism the feminine aspect is entirely

centred on the Virgin Mary. It is the only way a Catholic, or indeed a

Christian, can find a feminine figure in relation to God. So devotion to the

feminine archetype centres on the Virgin Mary, but we should recognise that

there is a feminine aspect of God himself and that the Virgin Mother is a

manifestation of this. This means, in other words, that devotion to the Mother

has its origin in God.

 

It is possible that the transition from a mechanistic to an organic society will

come about gradually, without too much conflict. But it is more likely that

there will be a general catastrophe as the economic, social and political

structures of the present civilisation break down. We must remember, and this is

important, that the conflicts of the present world do not derive merely from

human failings and miscalculations. (p.296) There has been a reversal of human

values, a spiritual breakdown, which has brought into play forces beyond the

material and the human. The present crisis has been prepared by the whole system

of science and philosophy, affecting religion and leading to atheism. This is a

systematic development where the previous spiritual values have been broken down

and the materialistic system discussed earlier has prevailed. This has released

forces beyond the material and the human. If a nuclear war takes place it will

not be because anyone desires it but because people are being driven by forces

of the unconscious which they cannot control. As St Paul says, " We are not

contending with flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the

powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness " . [1] When the truth

of the transcendent order of reality is rejected we do not remain neutral. We

become exposed to the hostile forces of the subtle world of which we have been

speaking, forces which work in the unconscious and bring destruction upon

humankind. Western Europe rejected the perennial philosophy at the Renaissance

and has been led step by step to the materialistic philosophy which rejects

fundamental human values and exposes humankind to the contrary forces at work in

the universe. The only way of recovery is to rediscover the perennial

philosophy, the traditional wisdom, which is found in all ancient religions and

especially in the great religions of the world. But those religions have in turn

become fossilised and have each to be renewed, not only in themselves but also

in relation to one another, so that a cosmic, universal religion can emerge, in

which the essential values of Christian religion will be preserved in living

relationship with the other religious traditions of the world. This is a task

for the coming centuries as the present world order breaks down and a new world

order emerges from the ashes of the old.

 

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

Christian Faith) Chapter 13, p.295-296

Bede Griffiths

Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

ISBN 0-87243-180-0

 

Notes:

 

[1] Ephesians 6:12