Original Blessing by Matthew Fox

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone,

 

This book, Original Blessing by Matthew Fox, has been valuable for

me, and I thought I'd pass it along. He writes first about original

blessing vs original sin, then goes on to discuss creation

spirituality, the four paths: via positiva, via negativa, via

creativa, and the via transformativa. It's hard to summarize anything

from this book because there was, for me, so much valuable

information. It includes quotes from an assortment of people, bible

verses, and beautiful prose.

Here are a few pieces from the back of the book:

 

In this ground-breaking work, Fox explains how Christianity once

celebrated beauty, compassion, justice, and provided a path of

positive knowledge and esctatic connection with all creation. Is this

Western mystical tradition still alive? Why does modern Christianity

place so much emphasis on original sin?

Fox says, " Religion has failed people in the West as often as it

has been silent about pleasure of about the cosmic creation, about the

ongoing power of the flowing energy of the Creator, about original

blessing..[The creation tradition] has been forgotten almost

entirely-it has been kept alive by artists, poets, scientists,

feminists, and political prophets, but not theologians. "

 

Just to relate some personal experience to the book...I have been

experiencing some of the path of the via

negativa...emptying,forgiveness,letting go, receptivity, sinking into

no-thing-ness. This book helped put some of my experiences into

words. I hope this is of use to someone

 

Lots Of Vital Energy,

Jessica