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  12. <title>Life Streams &#8211; Narrative and Grace&#8230;</title>
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  32. <title>Nonduality Revisited</title>
  33. <link>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2019/12/12/nonduality-revisited/</link>
  34. <comments>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2019/12/12/nonduality-revisited/#comments</comments>
  36. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Wayne Ferguson]]></dc:creator>
  37. <pubDate>Fri, 13 Dec 2019 01:43:37 +0000</pubDate>
  38. <category><![CDATA[Nonduality]]></category>
  39. <category><![CDATA[closer to truth]]></category>
  40. <category><![CDATA[consciousness]]></category>
  41. <category><![CDATA[Gino Yu]]></category>
  42. <category><![CDATA[Jeffery Martin]]></category>
  43. <category><![CDATA[lawrence kuhn]]></category>
  44. <category><![CDATA[nonduality]]></category>
  45. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/?p=3246</guid>
  46.  
  47. <description><![CDATA[The latest Closer To Truth newsletter featured interviews with Gino Yu and Jeffery Martin exploring the topic of Non-Duality.  While their effort to present this topic is laudable, it seemed to me that Robert Lawrence Kuhn and Gino Yu talk &#8230; <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2019/12/12/nonduality-revisited/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  48. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The latest <a href="https://www.closertotruth.com/series/what-non-duality" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><em>Closer To Truth</em></strong></a> newsletter featured interviews with Gino Yu and Jeffery Martin exploring the topic of <a href="https://www.closertotruth.com/series/what-non-duality" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Non-Duality</em></a>.  While their effort to present this topic is laudable, it seemed to me that Robert Lawrence Kuhn and Gino Yu talk past one another for the most part, while Jeffery Martin treats the subject with the assumed objectivity of a anthropologist (informative on one level, but not a good introduction for  those who want to understand nonduality from the inside).  As such&#8211; for those interested in exploring this topic further &#8211;I wanted to share my own discussion of <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/nonduality/"><em>nonduality</em></a> and <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/nonduality/"><em>nondual modes of discourse</em></a>.  And I would also like to  recommend the following teachers:</p>
  49. <p>* Eckhart Tolle<br />
  50. * Anthony de Mello<br />
  51. * <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q3VacEvh8M" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Douglas Harding</a><br />
  52. * Ramana Maharshi<br />
  53. * Nisargadatta Maharaj<br />
  54. * <a href="https://www.holybooks.com/the-book-on-the-taboo-against-knowing-who-you-are/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alan Watts</a></p>
  55. <p>Of course, there are many, many other teachers of nonduality&#8211;to learn about some others, check out <a href="http://urbangurucafe.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>The Urban Guru Cafe </em></a>or <em><a href="https://batgap.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Buddha at the Gas Pump</a>.   </em>Perhaps my all-time favorite YouTube video on the topic is, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUtH0DDJorM&amp;t=4s" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Who Are You&#8230;..Really?</em></a>.</p>
  56. <p>And apropos of consciousness&#8211; which is also discussed by our friends at <a href="https://www.closertotruth.com/series/what-non-duality" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><em>Closer To Truth</em></strong></a> <em>&#8212;</em>I recommend the &#8220;graphic reproduction&#8221; of Peter Russell&#8217;s extraordinary talk on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO_dGwu2gbg&amp;t=4s" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>The Primacy of Consciousness</em></a> (also on YouTube).  See also the following article on consciousness:</p>
  57. <p>* <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/05/08/a-thought-experiment/">A Thought Experiment</a><br />
  58. * <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2015/05/23/two-arguments-against-physicalism/">Two Arguments Against Physicalism</a><br />
  59. * <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2016/05/07/the-cause-in-appearances-vs-the-cause-of-appearances/">The Cause IN Appearances Vs. The Cause OF Appearances</a></p>
  60. <p><strong><a href="https://www.closertotruth.com/series/what-non-duality"><img data-attachment-id="3247" data-permalink="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2019/12/12/nonduality-revisited/closer-to-truth-what-is-nonduality/" data-orig-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/closer-to-truth-what-is-nonduality.jpg" data-orig-size="1048,280" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="closer to truth &#8211; what is nonduality" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/closer-to-truth-what-is-nonduality.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/closer-to-truth-what-is-nonduality.jpg?w=640" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-3247" src="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/closer-to-truth-what-is-nonduality.jpg?w=640&#038;h=171" alt="" width="640" height="171" srcset="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/closer-to-truth-what-is-nonduality.jpg?w=640 640w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/closer-to-truth-what-is-nonduality.jpg?w=150 150w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/closer-to-truth-what-is-nonduality.jpg?w=300 300w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/closer-to-truth-what-is-nonduality.jpg?w=768 768w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/closer-to-truth-what-is-nonduality.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/closer-to-truth-what-is-nonduality.jpg 1048w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></a></strong></p>
  61. ]]></content:encoded>
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  69. <media:title type="html">amemoforyou</media:title>
  70. </media:content>
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  73. </item>
  74. <item>
  75. <title>In Defense of Hell (Part III)</title>
  76. <link>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/12/27/in-defense-of-hell-part-iii/</link>
  77. <comments>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/12/27/in-defense-of-hell-part-iii/#respond</comments>
  79. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Wayne Ferguson]]></dc:creator>
  80. <pubDate>Thu, 27 Dec 2018 15:25:01 +0000</pubDate>
  81. <category><![CDATA[Christian Vision]]></category>
  82. <category><![CDATA[c.s. lewis]]></category>
  83. <category><![CDATA[conditional immortality]]></category>
  84. <category><![CDATA[David Bentley Hart]]></category>
  85. <category><![CDATA[eternal conscious torment]]></category>
  86. <category><![CDATA[hell]]></category>
  87. <category><![CDATA[universal reconciliation]]></category>
  88. <category><![CDATA[valentin tomberg]]></category>
  89. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/?p=3174</guid>
  90.  
  91. <description><![CDATA[I. Some Practical Concerns II.Some Logical and Moral Considerations III.  Charting a Better Way Forward Once the practical, logical, and moral implications of the conventional teaching about hell are grasp– firmly and in both hands, so to speak –those who would &#8230; <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/12/27/in-defense-of-hell-part-iii/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  92. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><span style="color:#3366ff;"><a style="color:#3366ff;" href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/06/in-defense-of-hell-part-i/" rel="bookmark">I. Some Practical Concerns</a></span><br />
  93. </strong><span style="color:#3366ff;"><strong><a style="color:#3366ff;" href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/09/in-defense-of-hell-part-ii/" rel="bookmark">II.Some Logical and Moral Considerations</a></strong></span></p>
  94. <p><strong>III.  Charting a Better Way Forward</strong></p>
  95. <p>Once the <em>practical, logical, and moral </em>implications of the conventional teaching about hell are grasp– <em>firmly and in both hands</em>, so to speak –those who would like to chart a better way forward should consider the following resources:</p>
  96. <ul>
  97. <li style="list-style-type:none;">
  98. <ul>
  99. <li style="list-style-type:none;">
  100. <ul>
  101. <li style="list-style-type:none;">
  102. <ul>
  103. <li><strong><a href="https://barnardsvilleumc.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/ebook-lewis-c-s-the-great-divorce.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>The Great Divorce</em></a>, by C.S. Lewis. </strong>  Lewis does not deny eternal conscious torment, but seems to leave the door open to a more nuanced view.  In any event, this is a must read for every Christian and for every critic of the conventional teaching, Christian and non-Christian alike.<br />
  104. .</li>
  105. <li><strong>Relevant selections from Letters VIII and IV of <a href="https://teenytinytarot.wordpress.com/about/xtra/mott-on-the-problem-of-evil-the-doctrine-of-hell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Meditations on the Tarot</em></a>, by Valentin Tomberg. </strong> Tomberg’s treatment of the subject is, without exception, the best that I have come across.  Readers are strongly advised to ignore any aspects of this book that they may find off-putting, focusing rather on the many jewels which they are guaranteed to find therein.<br />
  106. .</li>
  107. <li><strong>A brilliant essay by Ananda Coomaraswami:  <a href="https://jeshua21.wordpress.com/skeptics-corner/who-is-satan-and-where-is-hell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Who is Satan and Where is Hell</em></a>. </strong> This essay is written from a very universal point of view–both metaphysically and psychologically.  It is probably not for everyone, but is well worth the effort if for those who are willing and able to digest it.<br />
  108. .</li>
  109. <li><strong>A recent and very relevant lecture by David Bentley Hart:  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sgz2fFiFAo" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Is Everyone Saved? Universalism and the Nature of Persons&#8230;</em></a> </strong>Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Columbia, South Carolina, November 16th, 2018.  <strong>See also his talk, <em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dOsKzh7Kyw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Is Hell Forever? Universalism and Creation…</a></em></strong><strong><br />
  110. </strong></li>
  111. </ul>
  112. </li>
  113. </ul>
  114. </li>
  115. </ul>
  116. </li>
  117. </ul>
  118. <p>Keeping in mind each of these approaches, together with the factors outlined above (and in the essay, <a href="https://jeshua21.wordpress.com/skeptics-corner/is-the-doctrine-of-hell-defensible/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i>Is the Doctrine of Hell Defensible?</i></a>), it is my considered opinion that we, as Christians, probably should continue to utilize the traditional imagery of hellfire– in a very general way –while emphasizing whenever possible its symbolic rather than its literal truth and making it clear, in any event, that 1) God doesn’t send anyone to hell (they choose to go there) and that, 2) God does not reject anyone who truly repents (<em>whosoever  will may come and drink of the water of life freely &#8212;</em> the prodigal son is <strong><em>always</em></strong> free to return home).</p>
  119. <p>At the same time– admitting how little we really know or understand about these matters –let us also acknowledge <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_conditionalism" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i>Conditional Immortality </i></a>and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_reconciliation" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i>Universal Reconciliation</i></a>, respectively, as legitimate alternatives which should at least be considered alongside the doctrine of <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_views_on_Hell#Eternal_torment_view" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eternal Conscious Torment</a>.  </i>This will leave room for us to disagree in good conscience, while at the same time preserving the possible benefits of growing up with some exposure to the imagery of hell–which, at the very least, offers a vivid reminder of the tragic suffering and ultimate despair that tends to permeate the lives and relationships of those who neglect the grace of God and persist in self-absorbed, self-destructive patterns of thought and behavior.</p>
  120. <p>Above all, let us take care that Children, especially, do not become terrified of God– so consumed by fear that they fail to appreciate the message of his love –and that, as teenagers (growing into young adults), they do not feel coerced to deny their basic intuition as to that which is just and reasonable in deference to dogmatic group-think.</p>
  121. <p>It will be enough if they are exposed to the general idea of God’s justice and judgment– as well as his mercy and love –while, at the same time, being exposed to the range of beliefs about hell held by their friends and neighbors (many of whom may continue to defend the doctrine of eternal conscious torment).  In any event, no one should feel compelled live in denial of their natural repugnance at this doctrine in its most extreme forms (as, for example, in the aforementioned article: <a href="http://numerocinqmagazine.com/2015/04/12/a-good-time-was-had-by-some-on-assigning-relishing-the-eternal-punishment-of-others-patrick-j-keane/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>A Good Time Was Had by Some</em></a>; or as presented in the rhetoric of Westboro Baptist Church, <em>et al </em>).  And no one should be discouraged from trusting that, in the end– however much we may rightly (and necessarily) suffer along the way —<em>all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well…</em></p>
  122. <p style="padding-left:30px;"><em>With the drawing of this Love</em><br />
  123. <em>and the voice of this Calling</em><br />
  124. <em>We shall not cease from exploration</em><br />
  125. <em>And the end of all our exploring</em><br />
  126. <em>Will be to arrive where we started</em><br />
  127. <em>And know the place for the first time.</em><br />
  128. <em>Through the unknown, remembered gate</em><br />
  129. <em>When the last of earth left to discover</em><br />
  130. <em>Is that which was the beginning;</em><br />
  131. <em>At the source of the longest river</em><br />
  132. <em>The voice of the hidden waterfall</em><br />
  133. <em>And the children in the apple-tree</em><br />
  134. <em>Not known, because not looked for</em><br />
  135. <em>But heard, half-heard, in the stillness</em><br />
  136. <em>Between two waves of the sea.</em><br />
  137. <em>Quick now, here, now, always—</em><br />
  138. <em>A condition of complete simplicity</em><br />
  139. <em>(Costing not less than everything)</em><br />
  140. <em>And all shall be well and</em><br />
  141. <em>All manner of thing shall be well</em><br />
  142. <em>When the tongues of flame are in-folded</em><br />
  143. <em>Into the crowned knot of fire</em><br />
  144. <em>And the fire and the rose are one.</em><br />
  145. <em>~ T.S. Eliot</em></p>
  146. <p>–&gt; <a href="https://jeshua21.wordpress.com/skeptics-corner/is-the-doctrine-of-hell-defensible/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Is the Doctrine of Hell Defensible?</em></a></p>
  147. <p><a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pearl-t-s-eliot.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="1966" data-permalink="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2016/03/21/salvation-history-or-the-phenomenology-of-spirit/pearl-t-s-eliot/" data-orig-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pearl-t-s-eliot.jpg" data-orig-size="500,375" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="pearl t.s.eliot" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pearl-t-s-eliot.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pearl-t-s-eliot.jpg?w=500" class="aligncenter wp-image-1966 size-full" src="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pearl-t-s-eliot.jpg?w=640" alt=""   srcset="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pearl-t-s-eliot.jpg 500w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pearl-t-s-eliot.jpg?w=150&amp;h=113 150w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/pearl-t-s-eliot.jpg?w=300&amp;h=225 300w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></a></p>
  148. ]]></content:encoded>
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  156. <media:title type="html">amemoforyou</media:title>
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  158.  
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  160. </item>
  161. <item>
  162. <title>Dostoevsky Vs. Spinoza</title>
  163. <link>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/18/dostoevsky-vs-spinoza/</link>
  164. <comments>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/18/dostoevsky-vs-spinoza/#comments</comments>
  166. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Wayne Ferguson]]></dc:creator>
  167. <pubDate>Mon, 18 Jun 2018 23:24:44 +0000</pubDate>
  168. <category><![CDATA[philosophy]]></category>
  169. <category><![CDATA[despair]]></category>
  170. <category><![CDATA[determinism]]></category>
  171. <category><![CDATA[dostoevsky]]></category>
  172. <category><![CDATA[freedom]]></category>
  173. <category><![CDATA[laws of nature]]></category>
  174. <category><![CDATA[logic]]></category>
  175. <category><![CDATA[mathematics]]></category>
  176. <category><![CDATA[notes from the underground]]></category>
  177. <category><![CDATA[resignation]]></category>
  178. <category><![CDATA[spinoza]]></category>
  179. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/?p=3152</guid>
  180.  
  181. <description><![CDATA[Editor&#8217;s Note: In the early 1990&#8217;s, I was studying Spinoza and had begun reading Dostoevsky, too, along the way.  These two texts went together very nicely, or so it seemed to me at the time&#8230;  And it still seems that &#8230; <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/18/dostoevsky-vs-spinoza/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  182. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s Note: </strong>In the early 1990&#8217;s, I was studying Spinoza and had begun reading Dostoevsky, too, along the way.  These two texts went together very nicely, or so it seemed to me at the time&#8230;  And it still seems that way to me, today! <img src="https://s0.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/wpcom-smileys/twemoji/2/72x72/1f642.png" alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>
  183. <p><strong><a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dostoevsky-underground-man.jpg"><img data-attachment-id="3155" data-permalink="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/18/dostoevsky-vs-spinoza/dostoevsky-underground-man/" data-orig-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dostoevsky-underground-man.jpg" data-orig-size="335,500" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="dostoevsky underground man" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dostoevsky-underground-man.jpg?w=201" data-large-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dostoevsky-underground-man.jpg?w=335" class="alignleft wp-image-3155 " src="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dostoevsky-underground-man.jpg?w=200&#038;h=299" alt="" width="200" height="299" srcset="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dostoevsky-underground-man.jpg?w=200 200w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dostoevsky-underground-man.jpg?w=101 101w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/dostoevsky-underground-man.jpg 335w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></a>Quoting Dostoevsky:</strong>  &#8220;I will continue calmly concerning persons with strong nerves who do not understand a certain refinement of enjoyment. Though in certain circumstances these gentlemen bellow their loudest like bulls, though this, let us suppose, does them the greatest credit, yet, as I have said already, confronted with the impossible they subside at once. The impossible means the stone wall! What stone wall? Why, of course, the laws of nature, the deductions of natural science, mathematics. As soon as they prove to you, for instance, that you are descended from a monkey, then it is no use scowling, accept it for a fact. When they prove to you that in reality one drop of your own fat must be dearer to you than a hundred thousand of your fellow creatures, and that this conclusion is the final solution of all so-called virtues and duties and all such prejudices and fancies, then you have just to accept it, there is no help for it, for twice two is a law of mathematics. Just try refuting it. ‘Upon my word, they will shout at you, it is no use protesting: it is a case of twice two makes four! Nature does not ask your permission, she has nothing to do with your wishes, and whether you like her laws or dislike them, you are bound to accept her as she is, and consequently all her conclusions. A wall, you see, is a wall &#8230; and so on, and so on.’ Merciful Heavens! but what do I care for the laws of nature and arithmetic, when, for some reason I dislike those laws and the fact that twice two makes four? Of course I cannot break through the wall by battering my head against it if I really have not the strength to knock it down, but I am not going to be reconciled to it simply because it is a stone wall and I have not the strength. As though such a stone wall really were a consolation, and really did contain some word of conciliation, simply because it is as true as twice two makes four. Oh, absurdity of absurdities! How much better it is to understand it all, to recognise it all, all the impossibilities and the stone wall; not to be reconciled to one of those impossibilities and stone walls if it disgusts you to be reconciled to it; by the way of the most inevitable, logical combinations to reach the most revolting conclusions on the everlasting theme, that even for the stone wall you are yourself somehow to blame, though again it is as clear as day you are not to blame in the least, and therefore grinding your teeth in silent impotence to sink into luxurious inertia, brooding on the fact that there is no one even for you to feel vindictive against, that you have not, and perhaps never will have, an object for your spite, that it is a sleight of hand, a bit of juggling, a card-sharper’s trick, that it is simply a mess, no knowing what and no knowing who, but in spite of all these uncertainties and jugglings, still there is an ache in you, and the more you do not know, the worse the ache&#8221; (Dostoevsky, &#8220;Notes from the Underground&#8221;).</p>
  184. <p><strong><a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/spinoza.jpg"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="3156" data-permalink="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/18/dostoevsky-vs-spinoza/spinoza/" data-orig-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/spinoza.jpg" data-orig-size="241,300" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="spinoza" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/spinoza.jpg?w=241" data-large-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/spinoza.jpg?w=241" class="alignright wp-image-3156 " src="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/spinoza.jpg?w=200&#038;h=249" alt="" width="200" height="249" srcset="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/spinoza.jpg?w=200&amp;h=249 200w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/spinoza.jpg?w=121&amp;h=150 121w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/spinoza.jpg 241w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></a>Quoting Spinoza:</strong>  &#8220;But human power is very limited and is infinitely surpassed by the power of external causes, and so we do not have absolute power to adapt to our purposes things external to us. However, we shall patiently bear whatever happens to us that is contrary to what is required by consideration of our own advantage, if we are conscious that we have done our duty and that our power was not extensive enough for us to have avoided the said things, and that we are a part of the whole of Nature whose order we follow. If we clearly and distinctly understand this, that part of us which is defined by the understanding, that is, the better part of us, will be fully resigned and will endeavor to persevere in that resignation. For insofar as we understand, we can desire nothing but that which must be, nor, in an absolute sense, can we find contentment in anything but truth. And so insofar as we rightly understand these matters, the endeavor of the better part of us is in harmony with the order of the whole of Nature&#8221; (Proof 32, Appendix to Part IV, Samuel Shirley Translation, Page 200).</p>
  185. <p><strong>&#8211;&gt; </strong><a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2014/06/19/kant-and-spinoza-together-at-last/" rel="bookmark"><em><strong>Kant and Spinoza, together at last…</strong></em></a></p>
  186. <p>&nbsp;</p>
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  195. <media:title type="html">amemoforyou</media:title>
  196. </media:content>
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  201. </item>
  202. <item>
  203. <title>In Defense of Hell (Part II)</title>
  204. <link>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/09/in-defense-of-hell-part-ii/</link>
  205. <comments>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/09/in-defense-of-hell-part-ii/#respond</comments>
  207. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Wayne Ferguson]]></dc:creator>
  208. <pubDate>Sat, 09 Jun 2018 16:06:10 +0000</pubDate>
  209. <category><![CDATA[Christian Vision]]></category>
  210. <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
  211. <category><![CDATA[hell]]></category>
  212. <category><![CDATA[justice]]></category>
  213. <category><![CDATA[logic]]></category>
  214. <category><![CDATA[morality]]></category>
  215. <category><![CDATA[omnibenevolence]]></category>
  216. <category><![CDATA[omnicience]]></category>
  217. <category><![CDATA[omnipotence]]></category>
  218. <category><![CDATA[rationality]]></category>
  219. <category><![CDATA[reason]]></category>
  220. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/?p=3133</guid>
  221.  
  222. <description><![CDATA[II.  Some Logical and Moral Considerations It is my considered opinion that if the concept of hell must be retained  as one component of an integral Christian tradition (which I am inclined to think it must), it should be presented &#8230; <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/09/in-defense-of-hell-part-ii/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  223. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="entry-title"><strong> II.  Some Logical and Moral Considerations</strong></p>
  224. <blockquote><p>It is my considered opinion that if the concept of hell must be retained  as one component of an integral Christian tradition (which I am inclined to think it must), it should be presented in a more nuanced fashion so as to maximize its potential benefits while minimizing its potential harm . . .<br />
  225. <em>(see <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/06/in-defense-of-hell-part-i/">Part I:  Some Practical Concerns</a>).</em></p></blockquote>
  226. <p>But before discussing the future of this teaching&#8211; the way forward, as it were, in the 21st century &#8211;a quick overview of the problems posed by the conventional understanding of hell is in order.  Please give careful consideration to the logical and moral implications of the apparently contradictory teachings that we commonly hear in church:</p>
  227. <ul>
  228. <li><strong>God is all powerful, but he is unable to create a free human being that is not free to rebel against his creator…</strong> (fair enough–the prodigal son leaves his father’s house, but he is always free to return to his father’s open arms, is he not?).<br />
  229. .</li>
  230. <li><strong>God is all good and all powerful, but he is also just and his justice requires that those who rebel be punished… </strong>(well, maybe—but is not the prodigal son’s experience away from his father’s house sufficient punishment?  And why punish people endlessly for sins committed during their relatively brief sojourn on planet earth—especially when we are said to be suffering throughout our lives from the effects of original sin inherited from our first parents!?).<br />
  231. .</li>
  232. <li><strong>God is all knowing, all good, and all powerful, but he prefers a creation which entails the suffering of the damned to one that does not…</strong> (i.e. he prefers <em>option two</em> to <em>option one</em> in <a href="https://jeshua21.wordpress.com/skeptics-corner/is-the-doctrine-of-hell-defensible/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the analogy of &#8220;having children&#8221;, discussed here</a>; and since he need not have created in the first place, he obviously prefers the second option to the option of “not having children” at all).<br />
  233. .</li>
  234. <li><strong>God is all knowing, all good, and all powerful, but if something about this scheme of things seems grossly unjust, we would do well to ignore our misgivings… </strong>(lest we, too, incur the wrath of almighty God—to say nothing of the ire of those Christian apologists who we are attempting to engage).</li>
  235. </ul>
  236. <p><strong><a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major08.jpg"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="3144" data-permalink="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/09/in-defense-of-hell-part-ii/major08/" data-orig-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major08.jpg" data-orig-size="320,620" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="major08" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major08.jpg?w=155" data-large-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major08.jpg?w=320" class=" wp-image-3144 alignleft" src="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major08.jpg?w=70&#038;h=135" alt="" width="70" height="135" srcset="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major08.jpg?w=77 77w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major08.jpg?w=70 70w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major08.jpg?w=140 140w" sizes="(max-width: 70px) 100vw, 70px" /></a></strong>In short, it is defies any ordinary sense of reason and justice to insist that it has pleased God&#8211; who is said to be all powerful, all knowing, and all loving &#8211;to create from the beginning in such a way that the eternal conscious suffering of a significant percentage of human and celestial creatures is unavoidable (insisting, simultaneously, that creation was optional–that he need not have created at all).</p>
  237. <p><strong><a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major15.jpg"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="3145" data-permalink="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/09/in-defense-of-hell-part-ii/major15/" data-orig-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major15.jpg" data-orig-size="320,620" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="major15" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major15.jpg?w=155" data-large-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major15.jpg?w=320" class="alignright wp-image-3145 " src="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major15.jpg?w=134&#038;h=259" alt="" width="134" height="259" srcset="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major15.jpg?w=155 155w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major15.jpg?w=134 134w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major15.jpg?w=268 268w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/major15.jpg?w=77 77w" sizes="(max-width: 134px) 100vw, 134px" /></a></strong>Appeals to human freedom fall flat at this point—especially when we consider the weight of original sin and the necessity of God’s grace for our salvation.  Who brings us into existence in the first place?  Who decides that we must unavoidably suffer from the sin of our first parents?  And since our salvation depends upon the grace of God, who is it that decides who will receive sufficient grace to be saved and who will not?  It is usually explained, on the basis of Romans 1:20, that all of us receive enough light to be justly condemned, but we seem to read in Romans 9 that not all receive enough grace to be saved. Does this scheme of things really seem plausible?</p>
  238. <p>Make no mistake, I think the concepts of sin and separation in conjunction with those of Divine judgement and saving grace– rightly understood –express very profound truths about the human condition.  But superficially understood– in light of a very literal reading of Genesis and Revelation, for example –such teachings are both logically contradictory and morally hazardous.  For more in this vein, see:  <em><a href="https://jeshua21.wordpress.com/skeptics-corner/is-the-doctrine-of-hell-defensible/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Is the Doctrine of Hell Defensible</a></em>.</p>
  239. <p style="padding-left:30px;"><strong><a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/06/in-defense-of-hell-part-i/" rel="bookmark">I. Some Practical Concerns</a><br />
  240. </strong><strong>II.Some Logical and Moral Considerations<br />
  241. </strong><strong><a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/12/27/in-defense-of-hell-part-iii/">III. Charting a Better Way Forward</a></strong></p>
  242. <p><strong>–&gt;  <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/christian-visions/a-few-final-words-about-hell/">Click here to read ahead:  <em>Draft of Parts I, II, and III, combined…</em></a></strong></p>
  243. <p><a href="https://jeshua21.wordpress.com/skeptics-corner/is-the-doctrine-of-hell-defensible/" target="_blank" rel="https://jeshua21.wordpress.com/skeptics-corner/is-the-doctrine-of-hell-defensible/ noopener"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="3141" data-permalink="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/09/in-defense-of-hell-part-ii/heart-on-fire-fading-white-border/" data-orig-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/heart-on-fire-fading-white-border.jpg" data-orig-size="460,368" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="heart on fire &#8211; fading white border" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/heart-on-fire-fading-white-border.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/heart-on-fire-fading-white-border.jpg?w=460" class="aligncenter wp-image-3141 size-full" title="Is the Doctrine of Hell Defensible?" src="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/heart-on-fire-fading-white-border.jpg?w=640" alt=""   srcset="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/heart-on-fire-fading-white-border.jpg 460w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/heart-on-fire-fading-white-border.jpg?w=150&amp;h=120 150w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/heart-on-fire-fading-white-border.jpg?w=300&amp;h=240 300w" sizes="(max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px" /></a></p>
  244. ]]></content:encoded>
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  252. <media:title type="html">amemoforyou</media:title>
  253. </media:content>
  254.  
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  260. <media:title type="html">Is the Doctrine of Hell Defensible?</media:title>
  261. </media:content>
  262. </item>
  263. <item>
  264. <title>In Defense of Hell (Part I)</title>
  265. <link>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/06/in-defense-of-hell-part-i/</link>
  266. <comments>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/06/in-defense-of-hell-part-i/#respond</comments>
  268. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Wayne Ferguson]]></dc:creator>
  269. <pubDate>Thu, 07 Jun 2018 00:41:39 +0000</pubDate>
  270. <category><![CDATA[Christian Vision]]></category>
  271. <category><![CDATA[cave allegory]]></category>
  272. <category><![CDATA[eternal conscious torment]]></category>
  273. <category><![CDATA[hell]]></category>
  274. <category><![CDATA[myth of er]]></category>
  275. <category><![CDATA[plato]]></category>
  276. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/?p=3026</guid>
  277.  
  278. <description><![CDATA[I.  Some Practical Concerns My preoccupation with the topic of hell has been little embarrassing, really.  Against my better judgment, at times, I have&#8211; over the last few years &#8211;continued to drive home the point that there is something very &#8230; <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/06/in-defense-of-hell-part-i/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  279. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>I.  Some Practical Concerns</strong></p>
  280. <p>My preoccupation with the topic of hell has been little embarrassing, really.  Against my better judgment, at times, I have&#8211; over the last few years &#8211;continued to drive home the point that there is something very wrong-headed about our conventional teachings in this regard.  And yet I understand perfectly well the potential downside to abandoning this doctrine&#8211;a doctrine which even Plato had recourse to, 400 years before the Christian era:</p>
  281. <p><iframe class="youtube-player" width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p7QIBUKFo3U?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe></p>
  282. <p>Indeed, Plato&#8211; whose <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7QIBUKFo3U" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i>Myth of Er</i></a> in Book X of <i>The Republic</i> helped to introduce and reinforce this idea in the West &#8211;insisted that there is something about human existence (something about our sensible and appetitive nature) that requires that we be in some way <i>compelled </i>to turn away from illusion, towards the truth.  See, for example, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69F7GhASOdM" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><i>the cave allegory</i></a> in Book VII of <i>The Republic</i>:</p>
  283. <p><iframe class="youtube-player" width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/69F7GhASOdM?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe></p>
  284. <p>Apropos of such <em>compulsion</em>, it is undeniable that the doctrine of hell does get our attention and makes us willing, at least for awhile, to consider our existence from a different point of view&#8211;especially when we are exposed to the doctrine (from our youth up) in a tight-knit religious community in which the eternal conscious torment of unbelievers is taken for granted.  Indeed, how many of us would have ever read our bibles&#8211; would have ever become inspired by <a href="https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/IX/IX_9.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>the God ideal</em></a> &#8211;if we had not first experienced <i>the fear of God</i> which exposure to this doctrine instilled within us?  Some perhaps, but not nearly so many&#8211;or so I imagine&#8230;</p>
  285. <p>Nevertheless, as I reflect on the way in which it was taught to me (in fundamentalist and evangelical churches in Appalachia), it seems likely that this doctrine has done at least as much harm as it has good&#8211;providing, as it does, a good rationale for both religious fanaticism and anti-religious ridicule.  Moreover, in this day and age, it seems to me that the doctrine (taught in this way) clearly generates more skepticism&#8211; if not out right unbelief &#8211;than it does <em>repentance unto salvation</em>.  See, for example, this essay:  <a href="http://numerocinqmagazine.com/2015/04/12/a-good-time-was-had-by-some-on-assigning-relishing-the-eternal-punishment-of-others-patrick-j-keane/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>A Good Time Was Had by Some</em></a>.  Or consider these signs, complements of the Wesboro Baptist church:</p>
  286. <p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="3090" data-permalink="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/06/in-defense-of-hell-part-i/fred_phelps-signs/" data-orig-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/fred_phelps-signs.jpg" data-orig-size="446,321" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="fred_phelps-signs" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/fred_phelps-signs.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/fred_phelps-signs.jpg?w=446" class="aligncenter wp-image-3090 size-medium" src="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/fred_phelps-signs.jpg?w=300&#038;h=216" alt="" width="300" height="216" srcset="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/fred_phelps-signs.jpg?w=300 300w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/fred_phelps-signs.jpg?w=150 150w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/fred_phelps-signs.jpg 446w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>As such, it is my considered opinion that if the concept of hell must be retained as one component of an integral Christian tradition (which I am inclined to think it must), it should be presented in a more nuanced fashion so as to maximize its potential benefits while minimizing its potential harm.</p>
  287. <p><strong>To be continued&#8211;Parts II and III to follow:<br />
  288. </strong></p>
  289. <p style="padding-left:30px;"><strong><a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/09/in-defense-of-hell-part-ii/">II. Some Logical and Moral Considerations</a></strong><br />
  290. <strong><a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/12/27/in-defense-of-hell-part-iii/">III. Charting a Better Way Forward</a></strong></p>
  291. <p><strong>&#8211;&gt;  <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/christian-visions/a-few-final-words-about-hell/">Click here to read Parts I, II, and III,combined&#8230;</a></strong></p>
  292. ]]></content:encoded>
  294. <wfw:commentRss>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2018/06/06/in-defense-of-hell-part-i/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  295. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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  300. <media:title type="html">amemoforyou</media:title>
  301. </media:content>
  302.  
  303. <media:content url="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/fred_phelps-signs.jpg?w=300" medium="image" />
  304. </item>
  305. <item>
  306. <title>The Soul&#8217;s Choice</title>
  307. <link>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/05/16/the-souls-choice/</link>
  308. <comments>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/05/16/the-souls-choice/#comments</comments>
  310. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Wayne Ferguson]]></dc:creator>
  311. <pubDate>Tue, 16 May 2017 21:39:16 +0000</pubDate>
  312. <category><![CDATA[Christian Vision]]></category>
  313. <category><![CDATA[Nonduality]]></category>
  314. <category><![CDATA[The Perennial Philosophy]]></category>
  315. <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
  316. <category><![CDATA[apologetics]]></category>
  317. <category><![CDATA[empirical mind]]></category>
  318. <category><![CDATA[horizontal]]></category>
  319. <category><![CDATA[meditations on the tarot]]></category>
  320. <category><![CDATA[nonduality]]></category>
  321. <category><![CDATA[realization]]></category>
  322. <category><![CDATA[self-knowledge]]></category>
  323. <category><![CDATA[separtion]]></category>
  324. <category><![CDATA[transcendental awareness]]></category>
  325. <category><![CDATA[union]]></category>
  326. <category><![CDATA[vertical]]></category>
  327. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/?p=2988</guid>
  328.  
  329. <description><![CDATA[[Editor&#8217;s Note:  This material was revised in November 2018 and integrated into a PDF booklet, Christian Meditations on the Tarot: The Soul&#8217;s Choice] The choice is ours&#8230;Towards a Contemplative Model of Christian Faith &#38; Spiritual Formation&#8230; We are of two &#8230; <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/05/16/the-souls-choice/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  330. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>[Editor&#8217;s Note:  </strong>This material was revised in November 2018 and integrated into a PDF booklet, <em><a href="https://teenytinytarot.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/CMOTT-The-Souls-Choice-8.1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christian Meditations on the Tarot: The Soul&#8217;s Choice</a></em><strong>]</strong></p>
  331. <p style="text-align:center;"><strong><em>The choice is ours&#8230;</em></strong><a href="https://teenytinytarot.wordpress.com/the-souls-choice/the-lover/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-1034 " src="https://teenytinytarot.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/6-2-the-lover.jpg?w=152&#038;h=261" alt="" width="152" height="261" /></a><em><strong>Towards a Contemplative Model of<br />
  332. Christian Faith &amp; Spiritual Formation&#8230;</strong></em></p>
  333. <ul>
  334. <li>We are of two minds:<strong>  </strong>1) The <em><strong>Empirical/Dualistic Mind</strong></em>, on the one hand, and 2) <em><strong>Transcendental/Nondual Awareness</strong></em>, on the other.</li>
  335. </ul>
  336. <ul>
  337. <li>Within the confines of the empirical/dualistic mind, a conventional, egoic identity develops through which we experience life in alienation from God <strong>(SEPARATION/SIN/DEATH)</strong>.</li>
  338. </ul>
  339. <ul>
  340. <li>Transcending the confines of our conventional, egoic identity, however, we “put on Christ” and are reconciled to God in transcendental/nondual awareness <strong>(UNION/LOVE/LIFE)</strong>.</li>
  341. </ul>
  342. <p>While the empirical/dualistic/egoic mind rules our lives, we live in alienation from the true meaning and purpose of our existence. This is traditionally associated with “the fall of man” which is attributed to our first parents (cf. Romans 5:12; I Corinthians 15:22).  The mind of fallen humanity is referred to in the Christian scriptures as “the carnal mind” or “the mind of the flesh” (cf. Romans 8:5-7).</p>
  343. <p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter  wp-image-3705" src="https://teenytinytarot.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/souls-choice-prodigal-journey.jpg?w=302&#038;h=184" alt="" width="302" height="184" /></p>
  344. <p>By virtue of this empirically oriented, egocentric mind, we represent the world “horizontally”— slicing and dicing it into spatiotemporal pieces that appear to relate to one another causally/deterministically. This seems to give us (as “separate selves”) some measure of knowledge and control over our environment— so far, so good —but approaching the world <em>exclusively</em> in this way (SEPARATION), we live our lives in bondage to sin (and in fear of death) as we endeavor to <em>evade</em> our inevitable destruction (or somehow <em>anesthetize</em> ourselves to it) rather than facing it lucidly and soberly.  As such, we live in ignorance of our <em>truth and being in Christ</em> (UNION/atOnement), the experiential knowledge of which constitutes the true meaning and purpose of our existence <em>and which, alone, can liberate us from the bondage of sin and death</em> <em>as we, by grace, discover what it means to be reconciled to God, to one another, and to the rest of creation</em> (cf. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+5%3A16-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">II Corinthians 5:16-19</a>).</p>
  345. <p>In other words, having “eaten of the tree of [dualistic] knowledge”, we can indeed understand (to some extent) the “horizontal” (empirical) relationships that come to bear on our lives in time and space (“<a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2016/05/07/the-cause-in-appearances-vs-the-cause-of-appearances/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the cause IN appearances</a>“, as Kant puts it), but so doing, we tend to become more and more oblivious to “<a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2016/05/07/the-cause-in-appearances-vs-the-cause-of-appearances/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the cause OF appearances</a>” which can only be apprehended “vertically” (i.e. <em>spiritually</em>—cf. I Corinthians 2:14).  Moreover, our transcendental/nondual “ground” (<em>the mind of Christ&#8211;</em>aka <em>the Divine intelligence or Logos) is not (in principle) accessible to </em>our empirically oriented, dualistic understanding<em>. </em>Nevertheless, from another point of view, these two conceptually distinct aspects of life— the “horizontal” (empirical) and the “vertical” (transcendental) —together constitute an integral whole that is, <em>Christ-like</em>, both human and Divine. By recognizing and honoring both aspects of our lives, we can trace our natural history and genealogy empirically (“that which is born of the flesh is flesh”) while at the same time realizing our intimate relationship to God transcendentally (“that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit”).  But living in ignorance of the vertical aspect of our lives— as we said above —our world seems out of joint, our lives absurd, and all our efforts ultimately in vain.  The <em>good news</em>, however, is that the kingdom of heaven is <em>within us, among us</em>—<em>at hand</em>:</p>
  346. <blockquote><p>“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20).</p>
  347. <p>“Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21).</p>
  348. <p>“His disciples said to him: On what day will the kingdom come? It will not come while people watch for it; they will not say: Look, here it is, or: Look, there it is; but the kingdom of the father is spread out over the earth, and men do not see it” (<a href="https://jeshua21.wordpress.com/interfaith-accents/gnostic-accents/the-gospel-of-thomas-selected-verses/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gospel of Thomas</a> 113).</p></blockquote>
  349. <p style="text-align:center;"><strong><em>Whosoever will may come and drink of the water of life freely…<br />
  350. Be still and know…</em></strong></p>
  351. <p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-3709" src="https://teenytinytarot.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/souls-choice-gospel2.jpg?w=302&#038;h=185" alt="" width="302" height="185" /></p>
  352. <hr />
  353. <h1 class="entry-title" style="text-align:center;">Conclusion . . .</h1>
  354. <div class="entry-content">
  355. <p>As such—<a href="https://teenytinytarot.wordpress.com/2014/06/30/dear-unknown-friend/"><em> Dear</em> <em>Unknown Friends </em></a>—<strong><em>in the stillness of Divine presence</em></strong><em>, </em>as we continue to meditate on this arrangement of images, <strong><em>let us</em> <em>take up our cross</em></strong> <em>(Le Pendu)</em>; <strong><em>let us open our hearts to the abundant life of the Spirit</em></strong> (<em>The Aces</em> <em>of</em> <em>Chalices</em> and <em>Batons</em>); <strong><em>let us become like little children</em> </strong><em>(Le Soleil)</em>; <strong><em>and let us</em> <em>enter into the kingdom </em></strong><strong><em>NOW</em></strong> (<em>Le Monde</em>).</p>
  356. <blockquote><p>“The Now is no mere nodal point between the past and the future. It is the seat and region of the Divine Presence itself…. The Now contains all that is needed for the absolute satisfaction of our deepest cravings…. In the Now we are at home at last” (<a href="https://jeshua21.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/now-is-the-accepted-time/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thomas Kelly, “A Testament of Devotion”</a>).</p></blockquote>
  357. <p><strong><em>&#8211;&gt; <a href="https://jeshua21.wordpress.com/additional-essays/the-divine-presence-that-i-am/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The  Divine Presence &#8220;I AM&#8221;</a></em></strong></p>
  358. <p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://teenytinytarot.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/holy-cross-mandela1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-3788 " src="https://teenytinytarot.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/holy-cross-mandela1.jpg?w=252&#038;h=432" alt="" width="252" height="432" /></a></p>
  359. </div>
  360. <div class="mtm _5pcm">
  361. <div class="mtm _5pco">
  362. <p style="text-align:center;"><strong><br />
  363. [Editor&#8217;s</strong> <strong>Note:  </strong><a href="https://teenytinytarot.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/CMOTT-The-Souls-Choice-8.1.pdf"><em>Click here</em></a> for a &#8220;key&#8221; to the arrangement  of images, below&#8230;<strong>]</strong></p>
  364. <p><a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-poster-plus-facebook-4-1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="2989" data-permalink="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/05/16/the-souls-choice/2017-poster-plus-facebook-4-1/" data-orig-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-poster-plus-facebook-4-1.jpg" data-orig-size="2000,1600" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}" data-image-title="2017 Poster Plus &#8211; facebook 4.1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-poster-plus-facebook-4-1.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-poster-plus-facebook-4-1.jpg?w=640" class="aligncenter wp-image-2989 size-large" title="" src="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-poster-plus-facebook-4-1.jpg?w=640&#038;h=512" alt="" width="640" height="512" srcset="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-poster-plus-facebook-4-1.jpg?w=640 640w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-poster-plus-facebook-4-1.jpg?w=1280 1280w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-poster-plus-facebook-4-1.jpg?w=150 150w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-poster-plus-facebook-4-1.jpg?w=300 300w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-poster-plus-facebook-4-1.jpg?w=768 768w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-poster-plus-facebook-4-1.jpg?w=1024 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></a></p>
  365. <h6><strong>[Note:</strong> It goes without saying that this material has been inspired in large part by my study of <em>our anonymous author’s </em><em><a href="https://teenytinytarot.wordpress.com/2014/06/28/hello-world/">Meditations on the Tarot</a>.  </em>I am also indebted to <a href="http://tarothermeneutics.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Paul Nagy</a> for his feedback on the arrangement of images.<strong>]</strong></h6>
  366. </div>
  367. </div>
  368. ]]></content:encoded>
  370. <wfw:commentRss>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/05/16/the-souls-choice/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  371. <slash:comments>9</slash:comments>
  375. <media:content url="https://0.gravatar.com/avatar/c04f044617e50a3d19d0f9852ac45df135915b06a777ace76e678f224517240a?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=G" medium="image">
  376. <media:title type="html">amemoforyou</media:title>
  377. </media:content>
  378.  
  379. <media:content url="https://teenytinytarot.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/6-2-the-lover.jpg?w=175" medium="image" />
  380.  
  381. <media:content url="https://teenytinytarot.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/souls-choice-prodigal-journey.jpg?w=300" medium="image" />
  382.  
  383. <media:content url="https://teenytinytarot.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/souls-choice-gospel2.jpg?w=640" medium="image" />
  384.  
  385. <media:content url="https://teenytinytarot.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/holy-cross-mandela1.jpg?w=175" medium="image" />
  386.  
  387. <media:content url="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2017-poster-plus-facebook-4-1.jpg?w=640" medium="image" />
  388. </item>
  389. <item>
  390. <title>A Thought Experiment</title>
  391. <link>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/05/08/a-thought-experiment/</link>
  392. <comments>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/05/08/a-thought-experiment/#respond</comments>
  394. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Wayne Ferguson]]></dc:creator>
  395. <pubDate>Mon, 08 May 2017 13:28:17 +0000</pubDate>
  396. <category><![CDATA[Nonduality]]></category>
  397. <category><![CDATA[philosophy]]></category>
  398. <category><![CDATA[douglas harding]]></category>
  399. <category><![CDATA[philosophy of mind]]></category>
  400. <category><![CDATA[physicalism]]></category>
  401. <category><![CDATA[the headless way]]></category>
  402. <category><![CDATA[the secret beyond matter]]></category>
  403. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/?p=2984</guid>
  404.  
  405. <description><![CDATA[Note: This experiment was originally published as A Spiritual Exercise on Yeshua21.Com. A Thought Experiment:  Imagine, if you will, your brain setting on the table in front of you, complete with the necessary blood supply, temperature control, and appropriate &#8220;wiring&#8221; &#8230; <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/05/08/a-thought-experiment/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  406. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Note: </strong>This experiment was originally published as <a href="https://jeshua21.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/a-spiritual-exercise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>A Spiritual Exercise</em></a> on Yeshua21.Com.</p>
  407. <p><strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occipital_lobe"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1795" src="https://jeshua21.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/occipital-lobe.jpg?w=300&#038;h=278" alt="The Occipital Lobe" width="300" height="278" /></a>A Thought Experiment:</strong>  Imagine, if you will, your brain setting on the table in front of you, complete with the necessary blood supply, temperature control, and appropriate &#8220;wiring&#8221; running to your eyeballs (and connected in all respects to the various nervous systems of your body).  Now, ask yourself:  <em>Where is the scene I am contemplating taking place? </em></p>
  408. <ul>
  409. <li>Is it taking place wherever you happen to be at the moment&#8211;in front of your computer, perhaps, somewhere on planet earth!?</li>
  410. </ul>
  411. <ul>
  412. <li>Or is it being represented in the <a title="Wikipedia article on the Occipital Lobe" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occipital_lobe" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>occipital lobe</em></a> of your brain (that very brain which you see spread out on the table in front of you)?</li>
  413. </ul>
  414. <p><a href="http://www.headless.org/videos/richard_flash_video_test.htm"><img loading="lazy" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1796" src="https://jeshua21.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/160map.jpg?w=270&#038;h=300" alt="Douglas Harding Map" width="270" height="300" /></a>If the answer is &#8220;in your brain&#8221; &#8212; <em>where, really, is your brain?  </em>And what is the ontological status of the <em>external</em> <em>reality</em> being represented <em>before your very eyes?</em></p>
  415. <p>But if the answer is, &#8220;out here&#8211;obviously&#8221; &#8212; <em>who, really, are you?</em> And how are you observing this spatiotemporal world?</p>
  416. <p>To explore this question further, click on the image, to the left, or simply ask yourself, <a title="Who are you really?" href="http://www.headless.org/videos/richard_flash_video_test.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Who Am I </em></a>?</p>
  417. <p><strong>Editor&#8217;s Note: </strong> This exercise was inspired, in part, by the video, <a title="The secret beyond matter : &quot;The External World&quot; Inside Our Brain" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrmQLfyB_OY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The secret beyond matter: &#8220;The External World&#8221; Inside Our Brain</a> (first 20 minutes).  To explore this idea further, from a scientific and philosophical perspective, see  <a title="The Primacy of Consciousness - Peter Russell" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d4ugppcRUE" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>The Primacy of Consciousness</em></a>, by Peter Russell.   For more direct pointing, from a non-religious, non-sectarian point of view, consider <a title="The Headless Way: A Method of Self-Enquiry Pioneered by Douglass Harding" href="http://headless.org"><em>The Headless Way </em></a>(a method of self-enquiry pioneered by <a title="YouTube Video: The man with no head" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q3VacEvh8M" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Douglas Harding</a>).  And, if it interests you, you probably should take a peek at  <a title="C.S. Lewis' preface to Douglas Harding's book, &quot;The Hierarchy of Heaven and Earth&quot;" href="http://scientificintegrity.blogspot.com/2008/05/empty-universe.html">C.S. Lewis&#8217; preface to Douglas Harding&#8217;s <em>magnum opus</em></a>, <em>The Hierarchy of Heaven and Earth:  A New Diagram of Man in the Universe </em>(London, 1952)<em>.  </em></p>
  418. <p><strong>See also:</strong>  &#8211;&gt; <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2015/05/23/two-arguments-against-physicalism/"><em>Two Arguments Against Physicalism</em></a></p>
  419. ]]></content:encoded>
  421. <wfw:commentRss>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/05/08/a-thought-experiment/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  422. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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  427. <media:title type="html">amemoforyou</media:title>
  428. </media:content>
  429.  
  430. <media:content url="http://jeshua21.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/occipital-lobe.jpg?w=300" medium="image">
  431. <media:title type="html">The Occipital Lobe</media:title>
  432. </media:content>
  433.  
  434. <media:content url="http://jeshua21.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/160map.jpg?w=270" medium="image">
  435. <media:title type="html">Douglas Harding Map</media:title>
  436. </media:content>
  437. </item>
  438. <item>
  439. <title>Quaker Universalist Voice</title>
  440. <link>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/04/03/quaker-universalist-voice/</link>
  441. <comments>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/04/03/quaker-universalist-voice/#respond</comments>
  443. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Wayne Ferguson]]></dc:creator>
  444. <pubDate>Mon, 03 Apr 2017 17:58:06 +0000</pubDate>
  445. <category><![CDATA[Christian Vision]]></category>
  446. <category><![CDATA[Current Events]]></category>
  447. <category><![CDATA[awareness]]></category>
  448. <category><![CDATA[inspired inaction]]></category>
  449. <category><![CDATA[interfaith action]]></category>
  450. <category><![CDATA[presence]]></category>
  451. <category><![CDATA[Quaker Universalists]]></category>
  452. <category><![CDATA[quakers]]></category>
  453. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/?p=2976</guid>
  454.  
  455. <description><![CDATA[Many thanks to The Quaker Universalist Voice for featuring one of my essays, Everyone is Needed!, in the Conversations section of their website.  Life Streams readers are encouraged to scoot on over there and check out all they have to offer! &#8230; <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/04/03/quaker-universalist-voice/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  456. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Many thanks to <a href="https://universalistfriends.org/" target="_blank"><em>The Quaker Universalist Voice</em></a> for featuring one of my essays, <a href="https://universalistfriends.org/weblog/everyone-is-needed" target="_blank"><em>Everyone is Needed!</em></a>, in the <a href="https://universalistfriends.org/weblog/everyone-is-needed" target="_blank"><em>Conversations</em></a> section of their website.  <em>Life Streams</em> readers are encouraged to scoot on over there and check out all they have to offer! <img src="https://s0.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/wpcom-smileys/twemoji/2/72x72/1f642.png" alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /><br />
  457. <a href="https://universalistfriends.org/weblog/everyone-is-needed" target="_blank"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="2981" data-permalink="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/04/03/quaker-universalist-voice/quaker-universalist-conversations/" data-orig-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/quaker-universalist-conversations.jpg" data-orig-size="1067,554" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="quaker universalist conversations" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/quaker-universalist-conversations.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/quaker-universalist-conversations.jpg?w=640" class="aligncenter wp-image-2981 size-large" title="Quaker Universalist Conversations: &quot;Everyone is Needed!&quot;" src="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/quaker-universalist-conversations.jpg?w=640&#038;h=332" alt="" width="640" height="332" srcset="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/quaker-universalist-conversations.jpg?w=640 640w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/quaker-universalist-conversations.jpg?w=150 150w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/quaker-universalist-conversations.jpg?w=300 300w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/quaker-universalist-conversations.jpg?w=768 768w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/quaker-universalist-conversations.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/quaker-universalist-conversations.jpg 1067w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></a></p>
  458. ]]></content:encoded>
  460. <wfw:commentRss>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/04/03/quaker-universalist-voice/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  461. <slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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  466. <media:title type="html">amemoforyou</media:title>
  467. </media:content>
  468.  
  469. <media:content url="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/quaker-universalist-conversations.jpg?w=640" medium="image">
  470. <media:title type="html">Quaker Universalist Conversations: &#034;Everyone is Needed!&#034;</media:title>
  471. </media:content>
  472. </item>
  473. <item>
  474. <title>The  Ten Thousand Things</title>
  475. <link>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/02/19/the-ten-thousand-things/</link>
  476. <comments>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/02/19/the-ten-thousand-things/#comments</comments>
  478. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Wayne Ferguson]]></dc:creator>
  479. <pubDate>Mon, 20 Feb 2017 02:11:07 +0000</pubDate>
  480. <category><![CDATA[Nonduality]]></category>
  481. <category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
  482. <category><![CDATA[awakening]]></category>
  483. <category><![CDATA[book review]]></category>
  484. <category><![CDATA[nonduality]]></category>
  485. <category><![CDATA[Robert K. Hall]]></category>
  486. <category><![CDATA[Robert Saltzman]]></category>
  487. <category><![CDATA[The Ten Thousand Things]]></category>
  488. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/?p=2904</guid>
  489.  
  490. <description><![CDATA[[Editor&#8217;s Note:  The material below is taken from the current listing of Robert Saltzman&#8216;s new book, The Ten Thousand Things, on Amazon.Com.] Quoting Robert K. Hall: When I imagine speaking to a person who for the first time opens the pages &#8230; <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/02/19/the-ten-thousand-things/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  491. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>[Editor&#8217;s Note:  </strong>The material below is taken from the current listing of <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2015/05/23/ask-dr-robert/" target="_blank">Robert Saltzman</a>&#8216;s new book, <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ten-Thousand-Things-Robert-Saltzman/dp/1908664592/" target="_blank">The Ten Thousand Things</a>,</em> on Amazon.Com.<strong>]</strong></p>
  492. <p>Quoting Robert K. Hall:</p>
  493. <blockquote><p>When I imagine speaking to a person who for the first time opens the pages of this book, I think of telling that person something like this: “You are about to read an authentic and incredibly lucid account of what it is like to live in this world as an awakened being while simultaneously functioning as a personality with all of the usual habits and peculiarities of an individual self.” Robert’s way of describing his understanding of the human existence from the point of view of an awakened personality is a revelation. His book is a fresh look at the questions that occur to anyone who thinks deeply about these matters, questions about free will, self-determination, destiny, choice, and who are we anyway.</p>
  494. <p>I believe this is a “breakthrough book.” Robert’s style of writing about such ephemeral and difficult subjects as awareness and consciousness is honest, concise, and accurate. His ability to describe his experiences of living in a reality quite different from conventional ways of thinking is brilliantly unusual. On first encountering Robert Saltzman’s work, I am reminded of the same feelings of discovery, delight and excitement that I remember from meeting Alan Watts’ “The Wisdom of Insecurity”, Krishnamurti’s “Freedom from the Known,” and Chögyam Trungpa’s “Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism.”</p>
  495. <p>His clarity of mind shines brightly through every sentence in this book. His skill at making clear the most difficult ramifications and subtleties of awakened consciousness is so free of conventional cluttered thinking, so free of habitual phrases, so free of the taint of religious dogma and the conventional ways of speaking of such difficult matters, that this book stands out for me as an entirely fresh and illuminated exposition of awakened consciousness: an awakened understanding of what it is to be human.</p>
  496. <p>~ Robert K. Hall</p></blockquote>
  497. <div>
  498. <div>
  499. <div data-shortcode="caption" id="attachment_2929" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ten-Thousand-Things-Robert-Saltzman/dp/1908664592/" target="_blank"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2929" loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="2929" data-permalink="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/02/19/the-ten-thousand-things/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-front-cover/" data-orig-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-front-cover.jpg" data-orig-size="500,500" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-front-cover" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-front-cover.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-front-cover.jpg?w=500" class=" size-full wp-image-2929 aligncenter" src="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-front-cover.jpg?w=640" alt="the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-front-cover"   srcset="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-front-cover.jpg 500w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-front-cover.jpg?w=150&amp;h=150 150w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-front-cover.jpg?w=300&amp;h=300 300w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-2929" class="wp-caption-text">Front Cover</p></div>
  500. <div data-shortcode="caption" id="attachment_2930" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ten-Thousand-Things-Robert-Saltzman/dp/1908664592/" target="_blank"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2930" loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="2930" data-permalink="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/02/19/the-ten-thousand-things/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-back-cover/" data-orig-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-back-cover.jpg" data-orig-size="500,500" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-back-cover" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-back-cover.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-back-cover.jpg?w=500" class=" size-full wp-image-2930 aligncenter" src="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-back-cover.jpg?w=640" alt="the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-back-cover"   srcset="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-back-cover.jpg 500w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-back-cover.jpg?w=150&amp;h=150 150w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-back-cover.jpg?w=300&amp;h=300 300w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-2930" class="wp-caption-text">Back Cover</p></div>
  501. </div>
  502. <div id="iframeContent">
  503. <div id="a-page">
  504. <div id="dp" class="book en_US">
  505. <div id="dp-container" class="a-container">
  506. <div id="descriptionAndDetails" class="a-section a-spacing-extra-large">
  507. <div id="productDescription_feature_div" class="feature">
  508. <div id="productDescription_feature_div" class="a-row feature">
  509. <div id="productDescription" class="a-section a-spacing-small prodDescWidth">
  510. <div class="a-expander-collapsed-height a-row a-expander-container a-expander-partial-collapse-container">
  511. <div class="a-expander-content a-expander-partial-collapse-content">
  512. <blockquote>
  513. <h3><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ten-Thousand-Things-Robert-Saltzman/dp/1908664592/" target="_blank">About the Author</a></h3>
  514. <p>In the midst of his career as an artist and photographer, Robert Saltzman experienced a sudden and profound awakening—a deep vision into the actual nature of “myself.” That abrupt change in point of view, along with a subsequent long illness and slow recovery, changed the course of his life. He left the art world, obtained a doctorate in Depth Psychology, and began his practice of psychotherapy, a work he describes as &#8220;days in a small room, face to face with pain and suffering.&#8221; As an adjunct to his therapy practice, Robert established a website, www-dr-robert.com that featured his replies to questions about psychology, consciousness, and ordinary problems of living such as relationships, personality disorders, sexuality, mental illness, death and dying, etc. That site became the most popular ask the psychologist webpage on the internet, and has welcomed over four million visitors. In 2012, Robert moved his question and answer work to a Facebook page where it continues to this day. The Ten Thousand Things is a book of words and images about awakening, consciousness, philosophy, and spirituality. Forty chapters&#8211;each beginning with a photograph&#8211;based upon Robert’s replies to questions posed to him on Facebook.</p></blockquote>
  515. <p><strong>&#8211;&gt;</strong>  See also:<strong> </strong> <strong><em><a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2015/05/23/ask-dr-robert/">Ask Dr. Robert . . .</a></em></strong></p>
  516. </div>
  517. </div>
  518. </div>
  519. </div>
  520. </div>
  521. </div>
  522. </div>
  523. </div>
  524. </div>
  525. </div>
  526. </div>
  527. ]]></content:encoded>
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  530. <slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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  535. <media:title type="html">amemoforyou</media:title>
  536. </media:content>
  537.  
  538. <media:content url="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-front-cover.jpg" medium="image">
  539. <media:title type="html">the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-front-cover</media:title>
  540. </media:content>
  541.  
  542. <media:content url="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-back-cover.jpg" medium="image">
  543. <media:title type="html">the-ten-thousand-things-robert-saltzman-back-cover</media:title>
  544. </media:content>
  545. </item>
  546. <item>
  547. <title>The Real Challenge for Christian Apologists</title>
  548. <link>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/01/21/the-real-challenge-for-christian-apologists/</link>
  549. <comments>https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/01/21/the-real-challenge-for-christian-apologists/#respond</comments>
  551. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Wayne Ferguson]]></dc:creator>
  552. <pubDate>Sat, 21 Jan 2017 20:53:23 +0000</pubDate>
  553. <category><![CDATA[Christian Vision]]></category>
  554. <category><![CDATA[The Perennial Philosophy]]></category>
  555. <category><![CDATA[eternal conscious torment]]></category>
  556. <category><![CDATA[hell]]></category>
  557. <category><![CDATA[inerrancy]]></category>
  558. <category><![CDATA[perennial philosophy]]></category>
  559. <category><![CDATA[problem of evil]]></category>
  560. <category><![CDATA[richard rohr]]></category>
  561. <category><![CDATA[traditionalism]]></category>
  562. <guid isPermaLink="false">http://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/?p=2871</guid>
  563.  
  564. <description><![CDATA[The real challenge for Christian Apologetics is, first of all, to get beyond the problem of evil (the lynchpin of which is to be found in the doctrine of eternal conscious torment&#8211;especially as it is thought to apply to those &#8230; <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/01/21/the-real-challenge-for-christian-apologists/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
  565. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The real challenge for Christian Apologetics is, first of all, to get beyond <em>the problem of evil</em> (the lynchpin of which is to be found in the doctrine of eternal conscious torment&#8211;especially as it is thought to apply to those who have never heard the Christian gospel); and second, to get beyond the problem of <em>the authority of scripture</em> (the lynchpin of which is to be found in the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy&#8211;especially in the absence of a single, authoritative interpretation or hermeneutic).</p>
  566. <p><a href="https://cac.org/perennial-wisdom-2017-01-15/" target="_blank"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="2880" data-permalink="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/2017/01/21/the-real-challenge-for-christian-apologists/fr-richard-rohr-2/" data-orig-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/fr-richard-rohr1.jpg" data-orig-size="300,205" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}" data-image-title="fr-richard-rohr" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/fr-richard-rohr1.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/fr-richard-rohr1.jpg?w=300" class="alignright wp-image-2880" src="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/fr-richard-rohr1.jpg?w=237&#038;h=162" alt="fr-richard-rohr" width="237" height="162" srcset="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/fr-richard-rohr1.jpg?w=237&amp;h=162 237w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/fr-richard-rohr1.jpg?w=150&amp;h=103 150w, https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/fr-richard-rohr1.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 237px) 100vw, 237px" /></a>To my knowledge (and based on my own experience) the only way to begin to move beyond these two problems is by exploring the idea of <em>the perennial philosophy</em>.  Fr. Richard Rohr offers a brief outline of this approach to the world&#8217;s <em>wisdom traditions</em> in the <a href="https://cac.org/perennial-wisdom-2017-01-15/" target="_blank">linked post</a>, below.  A more complete understanding can be gleaned from the writings of <a href="https://jwayneferguson.wordpress.com/the-perennial-philosophy/">Aldous Huxley</a>, <a href="https://archive.org/details/pdfy-lBasIMfuA724PVLO" target="_blank">Frithjof Schuon</a>, and <a href="https://archive.org/stream/pdfy-hcIZqEGR-onOUAK6/Huston%20Smith%20-%20Forgotten%20Truth~%20The%20Common%20Vision%20of%20the%20Worlds%20Religions-o_djvu.txt" target="_blank">Huston Smith</a> (see also this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvknUgy3u3c" target="_blank">YouTube lecture</a> by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvknUgy3u3c" target="_blank">James Cutsinger</a>).</p>
  567. <p>What is lost if one takes this approach seriously?   All that is lost is the extreme, dogmatic <em>exclusivity</em> that is so often attributed to Christianity by those who name the name of Christ (since, from the standpoint of <em>the perennial philosophy</em>, Christianity is one <em>on-ramp</em> among many to <a href="https://jeshua21.wordpress.com/interfaith-accents/the-universality-of-christ/"><em>the</em> <em>universal</em> <em>Way of truth and life</em></a>).</p>
  568. <p>What is gained?  1) An understanding of&#8211; and compassion for &#8211;people of other faiths, and 2) a ready answer to those who question the truth of Christianity based, A) on the palpable injustice and absurdity involved (by any ordinary human standards) in the idea that those who were born under the curse of Adam&#8217;s sin and who have never heard the Christian gospel could or should suffer eternal conscious torment for not believing in Christ;  and B) on the incoherence and demonstrable falsity of the teaching of Biblical inerrancy (to anyone who is not fully invested in maintaining the illusion of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor%27s_New_Clothes" target="_blank"><em>the emperor&#8217;s new clothes</em></a>).</p>
  569. <p>We need not disparage the Bible (since it contains an infallible message for those who have ears to hear); nor need we be particularly interested in the study other faiths (since the Christian tradition, rightly understood, offers all we need); but we must reject the fear and ignorance that undergirds the aforementioned doctrines (and which cannot fail to manifest, sooner or later, as fanaticism and intolerance toward those who think or believe otherwise).   The idea of the perennial philosophy offers a good point of departure for those who are ready to exchange fear and fanaticism for a living faith in the living Word of God.</p>
  570. <p>&#8211;&gt;  <em><a href="https://cac.org/perennial-wisdom-2017-01-15/" target="_blank">Perennial Wisdom: Fr. Richard Rohr</a></em></p>
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