Mystical Christianity: lesson 11 (assignment)

1. What positives do you see in the Magdalene myth? The image of a strong woman who is an authoritative teacher, healer and missionary is a positive aspect of the Magdalene myths perpetuated in and around traditional Christianity. It's a shame that the patriarchal hierarchy in place found it necessary to "rein her in" by insisting on her past as a redeemed prostitute, thus bringing her authority down to a manageable level. 2.  How would the Christian Church be different if Magdalene Christianity had won the day? Much bloodshed and war could have been averted – especially the Crusades and religious wars between Protestants and Catholics. Women would be equally valued as men in the Church – and not just as "virgin mothers", but in all their facets: intellectual, spiritual, sexual. Puritanical attitudes towards sexuality would be largely absent from a Magdalene Church. Also, I believe we would not live in a hyper-competitive capitalist (nor a totalitarian communist model imposed by force) society like we have today, but rather one based on cooperation. Along the same lines, I believe we would have taken better care of the environment and lived in closer harmony with Nature. 3. Who is Mary Magdalene for you in the 21st century? For me Mary Magdalene represents the feminine side of the Christ-Sophia coin (the difference between Christ and Sophia being one more of imagery and tone rather than absolute ontological distinction). The image of the "Red Queen" is very helpful and helps place Mary Magdalene in Triple Goddess imagery. J.P.A.

Mystical Christianity Lesson 7 (assignment)

1. Which manifestation of Sophia do you most identify with and why? My (re)discovery of the Goddess (i.e. the Divine Feminine, the feminine manifestation of the Absolute) has been relatively recent in my spiritual development – yet that discovery came about by way of Sophia. Initially I saw Sophia in the Virgin Mary – not Mary as a human person as much as Mary being the channel through which Sophia manifested herself in the Christian West. But this awakening opened my eyes to other manifestations of the Goddess/Sophia in other forms: the Holy Spirit (which, although masculine in Latin and neutral in Greek, is actually a feminine word in Hebrew), Mary Magdalene, Shekhinah, and even the secular "Mother Nature". I would say that I've tended to identify more with the White Goddess aspect of Sophia, mostly due to tradition – i.e. the image of the "Queen of Heaven", "Mother of Mercy", "Immaculate Virgin", etc., are widespread and easy accessible to our psyches. On the other hand, the Black Goddess is equally important, and I wish to grow in knowledge of Her – yet She is more elusive and hidden than the White Goddess. 2. What significance does the Sacred Marriage have for our 21st century Western society? Our modern Western society has become so dominated by masculine energy (not only patriarchal religion, but also technology and an overly positivist way of thinking) that we've arrived at a point where complete destruction of the environment and humanity are real possibilities. This imbalance must be corrected for the sake of own survival and welfare – and this must come about through the restoration of balance brought about through the Sacred Marriage of masculine and feminine energies.    J.P.A.

Mystical Christianity: Lesson 8 (assignment)

1. How do you view Mary of Nazareth? For me, Mary of Nazareth is a completely distinct figure from the Virgin Mary of the Church, in a similar way that the historical Jesus is a different figure from the Christ of faith.  I think that in all likelihood Mary became pregnant under normal conditions and went on to have other children.  It is also possible that a historical Mary did not even exist (as it is possible that a historical Jesus might not have existed) – but I think this point is irrelevant because her archetypal essence is what's important for us today. 2. What does it mean to call Mary "the maternal face of God"? In what ways is she  the White Virgin? For many Christians, especially Catholic and Orthodox Christians, Mary represents the only feminine image of divinity.  Even if traditional theology stresses that Mary is not to be equated with God or worshiped as a sort of fourth person of the Trinity, church iconography and popular devotion often gives a different impression.  She embodies the White Virgin as she is considered pure, maternal and heavenly ("Queen of Heaven"), devoid of sexuality, sensuality and earthiness – and thus rather distant from the Dark Goddess imagery. 3. Is it fair to maintain that the Mary of the Church is a projection of a celibate, male  priesthood created for political purposes?' I would say that the Mary of the Church is not so much a projection of the celibate male priesthood as much as she is the result of attempts to contain and restrain a power feminine archetype.  That is to say, the Church Fathers had no intention of elevating Mary to such an exalted position, but popular faith in the ancient Mother Goddess (worshiped most frequently as Isis in the Mediterranean world) could not be suppressed -- the Goddess consistently manifested herself. As the Church often did with other pagan beliefs and ancient holidays (Christmas trees [and many other Christmas symbols and imagery], Halloween, Easter eggs [and bunnies, etc.] were all Christian adaptations of pagan customs), the Church gave up trying to eradicate the Mother Goddess and instead elected to bring her under Church authority.  Therefore, by raising Mary to an exalted position – to a position as near to God as possible without actually being God – while denying her sexuality and absolute divinity, the Church was able to "regulate" this "problematic" force (or so they thought). 4. Riane Eisler states that "Religion supports and perpetuates the social    organization it reflects." What ways can you work to shift our culture away   from a dominator mentality and more to partnership with each other? We need to place less emphasis on competition. Competition is a primary force in the dominator mentality – and it is the driving force of the modern dog-eat-dog capitalist economy. Competition is viewed as stimulating development and advancement – but in truth, in the form it exists today, it creates waste and environmental destruction. We must move away from competition and towards a more cooperative model for the economy and society – one that strikes a balance between the extremes of wasteful hyper-individualistic capitalism and repressive totalitarian communism. J.P.A.

Mystical Christianity lesson 16 answers (Bob Koenig)

Questions For the Heart and Mind

1. Have you ever had memories or experiences that your rational logic could not explain? Where do you believe the experience or information originated?
   
   
   Yes. Sometimes it is things you recall from childhood that you cannot imagine you would remember.  Or you would walk past something, and , as I did, see/vision something else being right there that you had seen before, yet know it was way before your time.  My thought was maybe it was something i had seen on television? or a photo? But this memory seems more genuine than that. Is it possible because of location, it is a memory passed on from my Father?  Or was I actually in this place before. Unconscious thought in dreams could come from same specific as before birth and after death.  We remember dreams and use them to teach and warn ourselves in life.

2. How would you define the concept of resurrection?

Your soul, the light energy that is you and part of the all, can pass on from one shell/body to another.  After you die, you are either judged you can stay a spirit or come back to earth to learn what you need to become a complete soul.

3. What do you believe regarding the pre-existence of the soul? If you recall nothing before birth, what do you recall after death? But, sometimes in watching a child, they seem more knowing, or, rather, less fearful of experiences than an adult.  I've seen kids just 'know' how to be in some circumstances. How? Did they experience that before and it stayed with them?  Kids are the most fascinating ones to watch in the idea of pre-existence.

4. Are you a physical body having a spiritual experience, or a spiritual body having a physical experience? What for you is the difference?

Spiritual Body.  The physical body is a shell to be in material world. You gather info here to try and learn to take with you in your spirit life..and if not, you end up coming back to learn again.  if I was only a physical body, there would be no need for the soul, would there? Some say animals have no souls. If so, perhaps some that rely on instinct alone, no solo thought, just die and come back as same organism.

Rev. Bob

Mystical Christianity lesson 15 answers Bob Koenig

Questions For the Heart and Mind
Universal Life Church

1. Do you believe it's possible to "throw out the dirty bathwater in Christianity and still keep the baby"? How would you define the "baby" and what needs to change?

The "Baby" is the Christian Church as it stands today. Be it Catholic or Protestant, a lot of what the Churches 'preach' was initially developed from the idea that the Priests had the knowledge and the  congregation needed to seek/hear the knowledge. Back then, most could not read, only the Priests could. As it still stands today, most revere what the ministry says, and do little research of their own.  This is slowly changing. The Dirty bathwater could be the Gnostic books kept away from the Church.  The Catholic Bible does contain the Wisdom books, and I do not know completely how they view them.  Mystic Christianity is not viewed much at all by 'traditional' Churches.  I think the new reality of combining the two (Use King James Bible and, say the book, "The Gnostic Bible." Why not?)

2. Who is Jesus for you today in your life?

Jesus was a great man who wished for peace and unity amongst people. He gave us a new hope, and he had many good followers.  was he an avatar for God, or his Son, or a combination of both? I'd truly like to think his 'energy' still permeates the earth, and we can always feel it's warmth if we seek it.