In my studies I am starting to think about Iain McGilchrist's work, and I have begun to work my way through his 'The Master and His Emissary', which is an exploration of the different functions of the left and right hemispheres of the brain, and the impact this has had upon our culture.
I have been reading The Matter With Things, also by McGilchrist and it's definitely a lot of food for thought. It is true that Christianity in general has been somewhat lacking in a mystical core these days.
Rene Guenon said that the spiritual elite of Christianity need to learn from the East and figure out how to apply their insights to Christianity to revive this mystical core. So yeah, Christians definitely need to read some Guenon.
Hi Carlos - Matter with Things will by my summer project, on which I'm sure I shall be writing. One of my favourite books on Christianity is Olivier Clement's Roots of Christian Mysticism which begins (I paraphrase) 'what is often neglected about Christianity is that, it is in the first place both an Eastern Religion and a Mystical Religion'!
Well, that is good to hear, but I am not clear on whether most Christians share the perennial insight that there is no real conflict between the religions, which is something they could get from Guenon. That is a very important insight, because to lack it means to descend into totalitarianism (the belief that the best outcome would be for everyone to be Christian), even if most Christians won't actually act that totalitarianism out.
I have been reading The Matter With Things, also by McGilchrist and it's definitely a lot of food for thought. It is true that Christianity in general has been somewhat lacking in a mystical core these days.
Rene Guenon said that the spiritual elite of Christianity need to learn from the East and figure out how to apply their insights to Christianity to revive this mystical core. So yeah, Christians definitely need to read some Guenon.
Hi Carlos - Matter with Things will by my summer project, on which I'm sure I shall be writing. One of my favourite books on Christianity is Olivier Clement's Roots of Christian Mysticism which begins (I paraphrase) 'what is often neglected about Christianity is that, it is in the first place both an Eastern Religion and a Mystical Religion'!
Well, that is good to hear, but I am not clear on whether most Christians share the perennial insight that there is no real conflict between the religions, which is something they could get from Guenon. That is a very important insight, because to lack it means to descend into totalitarianism (the belief that the best outcome would be for everyone to be Christian), even if most Christians won't actually act that totalitarianism out.