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What religions and paths do you mix?
- Thread starter Breathe
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GabrielWithoutWings
Well-Known Member
He was probably referring to the Thelema bit.
I agree Vinyaka. There is no need to mix. There is no point in getting lost in surface similarities since there will also be surface differences. Going deep through a path that suits a temperament best, the root is found the same.
Orias
Left Hand Path
Your Thelemic roots speak otherwise, as Gabriel said.
I would like to a hear how you figure Christianity and Thelema blend together...
gnosisofthomas
Gnostic Deacon
I don't consider Thelema to be LHP, but I guess it depends on your interpretations of what the LHP is. I consider myself a Christian Gnostic, the other religious philosophies I listed simply influence my world view to greater or lesser extents. Interestingly enough, if it hadn't been for Thelema, I probably wouldn't be going to a Christian Gnostic church right now!
It's important to recognize that the Christianity that Aleister Crowley criticized has nothing to do with Gnosticism... in fact, the Christian Gnostics would (and did) criticize the mainstream brand of Christianity as well. Christian Gnosticism has very little in common with orthodox Christianity. Crowley hated the rigid rules, the guilt, and the hypcrisy present in Christianity, and embraced the Liberty offered through Gnosis.
Knowledge and Conversation of one's Holy Guardian Angel (in the Manichaean Gnosis, this would be refered to as the Twin Angel), discovering and living out your True Will, the Law of Life, Liberty, Love, and Light -- these are all compatible with, and important aspects of the Christian Gnosis. Crowley may not have been very Christian-friendly, but the fact that many of the early Christian Gnostics and later Christian mystics are listed in his Collect of the Saints is very telling. He may not have counted Jesus Christ as a saint, but he counted several Gnostics who considered themselves very much to be Christians.
It's important to recognize that the Christianity that Aleister Crowley criticized has nothing to do with Gnosticism... in fact, the Christian Gnostics would (and did) criticize the mainstream brand of Christianity as well. Christian Gnosticism has very little in common with orthodox Christianity. Crowley hated the rigid rules, the guilt, and the hypcrisy present in Christianity, and embraced the Liberty offered through Gnosis.
Knowledge and Conversation of one's Holy Guardian Angel (in the Manichaean Gnosis, this would be refered to as the Twin Angel), discovering and living out your True Will, the Law of Life, Liberty, Love, and Light -- these are all compatible with, and important aspects of the Christian Gnosis. Crowley may not have been very Christian-friendly, but the fact that many of the early Christian Gnostics and later Christian mystics are listed in his Collect of the Saints is very telling. He may not have counted Jesus Christ as a saint, but he counted several Gnostics who considered themselves very much to be Christians.
gnosisofthomas
Gnostic Deacon
Orias
Left Hand Path
I see.
I would like to add though that Crowley's depiction of Gnosticism was far from Christianity.
And his Collect of Saints was brought into existence by his interpretation of their power and possessive ability over the Magic they held within them.
Its One thing to congregate with differing groups and appreciate their views, its another to appreciate another groups views and attempt to take it on as your own.
Crowley was LHP, very LHP.
gnosisofthomas
Gnostic Deacon
So can you define LHP for me please? Because I completely disagree with that, but I want to be sure of what it means to you, versus what it means to me..
I definitely agree that Crowley's Gnosticism was different from Christian Gnosticism. (In fact, some Christian Gnostics don't believe he even had a right to call what he was doing Gnosticism -- I disagree with them because Gnosticism wasn't limited solely to Christianity, but that's just my understanding of it.) Ultimately though, the Gnosis isn't confined to one particular religious path, whether it's Thelemic or Christian... the outer trappings and techniques are irrelevant when you consider that the goal is the same.
My church, the Ecclesia Gnostica, recognizes that same magical power that existed in those saints -- they carried the Light of the Gnosis forward to future generations. Of course, my church doesn't officially agree with the EGC or Thelema, so any comparisons I make are my own opinion. Basically, I appreciate the Liber al vel Legis, and Crowley's other writings, and despite the fact that I might not always agree with him, Thelemic Philosophy has had an impact on me and my magical practices. Whether or not that makes me a Thelemite, I guess, is a personal matter.
gnosisofthomas
Gnostic Deacon
Honestly, I don't believe that a RHP and a LHP exist -- we don't exist in black and white. But if I had to separate the two, I'd say that the RHP is concerned with the Higher Self and the reality that it is part of the Divine, and the ultimate connectedness of all humanity in one Source. The LHP is more self-centered, cares little for others, is ego driven, considers the self to be a god all on its own.
gnosisofthomas
Gnostic Deacon
I was just thinking while on my break at work that I should point out I said I'm a Christian Gnostic, not a Gnostic Christian -- there is an important semantic difference between the two.
GabrielWithoutWings
Well-Known Member
His list of saints is impressive but odd. He has Muhammad on there but leaves Jesus off for some reason. :sarcastic
I was just thinking while on my break at work that I should point out I said I'm a Christian Gnostic, not a Gnostic Christian -- there is an important semantic difference between the two.
For fun, would you distinguish the two?
Orias
Left Hand Path
This statement is a common One made by those who have a bias towards the RHP.
Nor is it understood by anyone who isn't LHP.
More people died in the name of Jesus, the association of violence is highly biased though of course.
Gjallarhorn
N'yog-Sothep
I managed to blend Esoteric Buddhism with Norse mythology, added in a bit of Rudolph Steiner's ideas, and a bit of hyperdimensional physics.
Somehow it seems to work.
Somehow it seems to work.
MochaRadha
Member
well i believe in aspects of hinduism,wiicca,i see jesus as a deity,i like certain religious passages from different books
My preceptor made a ready made syncretic path for me.
He mixed the strongest elements of Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, modernised them by leaving out mythical thinking, ritualism and superstitions and combined them with a rational but mystical outlook on life.
He mixed the strongest elements of Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, modernised them by leaving out mythical thinking, ritualism and superstitions and combined them with a rational but mystical outlook on life.