The Idol Called "God"
Our recent discussions have certainly added many voices to an interesting and critical issue: what is the future of the Order? Related to this, of course, is what is the future of religion itself, and in particular the Abrahamic faiths? We have a capacity in the Order to look at the three Abrahamic faiths as manifestations of a single stream of sacred tradition, and in certain ways we have been doing that with some ease.
Recently I have been reading Tom Cheetham's new book, After Prophecy, and have benefited from a similar discussion in his writing. His question is, what happens after the conclusion of the prophetic traditions themselves? What becomes of prophecy? His answers are interesting and his exploration is through the work of a very important 20th century scholar, Henry Corbin. In this text Cheetham also references Thomas Merton's comment that we may be being brought to the point where we need to create a "new language of prayer" which Merton feels transcends all our traditions but comes out of the "immediacy of love." Corbin called this new language Harmonia Abrahamica. And Cheetham says about this new language, for example:
An idolatrous version of the personal God of the monotheistic tradition can stand in the way of our entry into the plenitude of life in which we are immersed. For too may people, "God" has bcome reduced to the image of an infinite ego. The word "God" is so compromised, so covered over with our images and projections, our confused hopes and self-centered desires, that we are blinded to the immensities in which we breathe. The new language of prayer that Merton was searching for beyond all the traditions can perhaps be found by letting go even of the idea of God (p. 31).
This is an astounding statement, and one that perhaps impinges on our discussion even about the use of the word "Christianity." Could the same be said of that word? If we began to use a "higher language" here, what would it be?
Recently I have been reading Tom Cheetham's new book, After Prophecy, and have benefited from a similar discussion in his writing. His question is, what happens after the conclusion of the prophetic traditions themselves? What becomes of prophecy? His answers are interesting and his exploration is through the work of a very important 20th century scholar, Henry Corbin. In this text Cheetham also references Thomas Merton's comment that we may be being brought to the point where we need to create a "new language of prayer" which Merton feels transcends all our traditions but comes out of the "immediacy of love." Corbin called this new language Harmonia Abrahamica. And Cheetham says about this new language, for example:
An idolatrous version of the personal God of the monotheistic tradition can stand in the way of our entry into the plenitude of life in which we are immersed. For too may people, "God" has bcome reduced to the image of an infinite ego. The word "God" is so compromised, so covered over with our images and projections, our confused hopes and self-centered desires, that we are blinded to the immensities in which we breathe. The new language of prayer that Merton was searching for beyond all the traditions can perhaps be found by letting go even of the idea of God (p. 31).
This is an astounding statement, and one that perhaps impinges on our discussion even about the use of the word "Christianity." Could the same be said of that word? If we began to use a "higher language" here, what would it be?
posted by Lynn Bauman at 6:43 AM
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