A unique spiritual discussion group
In the evening of March 9, a group of 11 intellectually curious individuals, seven men and four women of varied educational and social backgrounds, aged 40 to almost 70, met in a small room of Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club to discuss ideas and questions about Christianity and other spiritual topics in an open and free manner.
After nearly three hours of animated exchange, the group agreed to meet again and start what could be the only spiritual discussion group of its kind in the country.
The usual Bible and other religious study groups have one “authority figure,” a pastor or preacher who tells members the supposedly “correct” interpretation of the Bible. His interpretation is the only one accepted, no matter how ridiculous, baseless or illogical it is.There is really no free discussion of ideas. Members are led like ignorant children to believe only one “official” interpretation. There is no room for disagreement or dissent. Anyone who disagrees is no longer welcome and becomes an outcast.
Dissatisfied
From time to time, I meet highly intelligent individuals who quietly express their personal dissatisfaction with the traditional teachings of the Catholic Church, which they cannot intellectually accept or understand.
Some of my former schoolmates were dissatisfied with their Bible study groups, and eventually got fed up with the discussion leader who could not stand being questioned and who discouraged free expression of contrary opinions.
I also recently met a widely read advertising and marketing consultant who questioned some of the most cherished beliefs of the church but did not know what to substitute for them.
Another person I met could not accept intellectually the concept of hell but was afraid that, if hell existed, he might be condemned to spend the after-life in it. Therefore he just accepted it until proven otherwise.
All of them felt frustrated and said they could not discuss these ideas within their own families and close circles of friends. So they chose to keep these doubts and questions to themselves.
Different
So, one day, I told these people: “Why don’t we form a small discussion group on religious and spiritual matters? But it will be different from any other existing today.
“No authority figure will tell us what or what not to believe. We shall express and share our ideas and opinions and not try to convince each other. We will not allow debates to prove that one is right and the other wrong. We will respect differences in opinion, especially those contrary to our own. No attempt will be made to convert others to our own belief system or religious views.
“In addition, there will be no leader or follower. We are all equals, all on the same boat, all seekers of the light. Each will be as a torch light to the other. This way, everybody grows in consciousness and awareness and no one is intellectually superior to the other.”
These characteristics are what make this spiritual study group unique, the only one of its kind in the country.
I described to them a very effective, orderly and highly democratic way of group discussion handed down to us by our elders and by ancient tribal traditions of various cultures.
Perhaps a major example in history would be the Areopagus in the ancient city of Athens. The Christian Bible describes this in the Acts of the Apostles. When St. Paul started preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in various cities, he was often rebuked, ridiculed, even jailed and tortured for spreading a foreign religion.
Place for free speech
But in Athens, he was welcomed precisely because he talked to them about something they had never heard before. They brought him to the Areopagus where people discussed freely anything new under the sun without any form of censorship.
And they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.”
And the Bible tells us that Athenians and foreigners living there loved nothing more than to tell and hear new things all day (Acts, 17:19-21).
This openness to new ideas, no matter how strange or contrary to our views, is probably why democracy was born in Greece. Freedom of belief and expression could not have survived under an authoritarian atmosphere.
The group, tentatively called the Areopagus Spiritual Discussion Group, will meet again next month. Possible topics for discussion are reincarnation and karma; who Jesus really was; individual concept of God; life after death; pagan origins of Christian teachings; the Nag Hammadi Gnostic Gospels; The Dead Sea Scrolls, etc. There is a strong interest in discussing the ideas of Ken Wilber, Teilhard de Chardin and other thinkers.
Membership in the group is strictly by invitation.
Note: For inquiries on books; paranormal services and seminars on Inner Mind Development; ESP and Intuition Development; and Soulmates, Karma and Reincarnation conducted by this writer, call 8107245, 8926806; fax 8159890; or e-mail jtlicauco@tri-isys.com
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=58487
After nearly three hours of animated exchange, the group agreed to meet again and start what could be the only spiritual discussion group of its kind in the country.
The usual Bible and other religious study groups have one “authority figure,” a pastor or preacher who tells members the supposedly “correct” interpretation of the Bible. His interpretation is the only one accepted, no matter how ridiculous, baseless or illogical it is.There is really no free discussion of ideas. Members are led like ignorant children to believe only one “official” interpretation. There is no room for disagreement or dissent. Anyone who disagrees is no longer welcome and becomes an outcast.
Dissatisfied
From time to time, I meet highly intelligent individuals who quietly express their personal dissatisfaction with the traditional teachings of the Catholic Church, which they cannot intellectually accept or understand.
Some of my former schoolmates were dissatisfied with their Bible study groups, and eventually got fed up with the discussion leader who could not stand being questioned and who discouraged free expression of contrary opinions.
I also recently met a widely read advertising and marketing consultant who questioned some of the most cherished beliefs of the church but did not know what to substitute for them.
Another person I met could not accept intellectually the concept of hell but was afraid that, if hell existed, he might be condemned to spend the after-life in it. Therefore he just accepted it until proven otherwise.
All of them felt frustrated and said they could not discuss these ideas within their own families and close circles of friends. So they chose to keep these doubts and questions to themselves.
Different
So, one day, I told these people: “Why don’t we form a small discussion group on religious and spiritual matters? But it will be different from any other existing today.
“No authority figure will tell us what or what not to believe. We shall express and share our ideas and opinions and not try to convince each other. We will not allow debates to prove that one is right and the other wrong. We will respect differences in opinion, especially those contrary to our own. No attempt will be made to convert others to our own belief system or religious views.
“In addition, there will be no leader or follower. We are all equals, all on the same boat, all seekers of the light. Each will be as a torch light to the other. This way, everybody grows in consciousness and awareness and no one is intellectually superior to the other.”
These characteristics are what make this spiritual study group unique, the only one of its kind in the country.
I described to them a very effective, orderly and highly democratic way of group discussion handed down to us by our elders and by ancient tribal traditions of various cultures.
Perhaps a major example in history would be the Areopagus in the ancient city of Athens. The Christian Bible describes this in the Acts of the Apostles. When St. Paul started preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in various cities, he was often rebuked, ridiculed, even jailed and tortured for spreading a foreign religion.
Place for free speech
But in Athens, he was welcomed precisely because he talked to them about something they had never heard before. They brought him to the Areopagus where people discussed freely anything new under the sun without any form of censorship.
And they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.”
And the Bible tells us that Athenians and foreigners living there loved nothing more than to tell and hear new things all day (Acts, 17:19-21).
This openness to new ideas, no matter how strange or contrary to our views, is probably why democracy was born in Greece. Freedom of belief and expression could not have survived under an authoritarian atmosphere.
The group, tentatively called the Areopagus Spiritual Discussion Group, will meet again next month. Possible topics for discussion are reincarnation and karma; who Jesus really was; individual concept of God; life after death; pagan origins of Christian teachings; the Nag Hammadi Gnostic Gospels; The Dead Sea Scrolls, etc. There is a strong interest in discussing the ideas of Ken Wilber, Teilhard de Chardin and other thinkers.
Membership in the group is strictly by invitation.
Note: For inquiries on books; paranormal services and seminars on Inner Mind Development; ESP and Intuition Development; and Soulmates, Karma and Reincarnation conducted by this writer, call 8107245, 8926806; fax 8159890; or e-mail jtlicauco@tri-isys.com
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=58487
posted by Misteryo Philippines Network (MPN) at 2:33 AM
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