How do Christian and Pantheistic views of the afterlife differ? How are they similar?
They are similar in a sense that they both believe in existence beyond the fall of the physical body.
But they have a very different idea about what happens after death. Christianity believes that after death the spirit is brought in front of the Lord for judgment (based on the life we lived): then it is determined if one is doomed to hell or the purgatory, or is granted the entrance to heaven.
Pantheism entirely rejects the notion of hell and the concept of heaven is very different that of the Christian’s: it is viewed as ultimately joining or reuniting the Divine source or to reincarnate into a new physical form (a form which is granted based on one’s accomplishments of their purpose through life).
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Samantha:
Christian's believe that body dies , but the person lives on. When Chrisitains die, their spirits, or souls, go directly onto the presence of Jesus. Whereas, the pantheists believe that the soul (atman) continues to live on" but this is an impersonal soul, not anything like their personality that makes a person unique. Their uniqueness (which is an illusion) is what dies in life.
These two share somewhat of a similar view of the afterlife as well, although both agree that the soul lives on; Pantheists place no real value on the soul.
Samantha,
I think that you have grasped very well the notion of pantheism (the aspect that we are all made of the same divine source, which make us all the same; and that our uniqueness is defined by the ego and the mind; both of which die with the human body). They certainly believe in afterlife. Only in the concept of "what afterlife is" where they differ. Also a big difference is that pantheism rejects the existence of hell, purgatory or heaven in a Christian sense. Heaven to them is reuniting with the Divine Source. Punishment is reincarnation in another physical life form to go through life again until we finally fulfill our purpose and only then we can reunite with the Divine Source.Not all pantheistic views have the same notion on reincarnation and karma, however. In some cases reincarnation or rebirth is a form of cyclic existence (birth, life, death, rebirth and so on). In other cases rebirth is based on karmic inheritance. Again in some views reincarnation can occur in five or six realm of existence while in other views a human will only reincarnate as another human, while there are some that believes that humans rarely if ever reincarnate again as human immediately after a human existence. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Neopaganism, Theosophy, Taoism (not a religion, but a philosophy) all bear common concepts of pantheism, but they have very different fundamental beliefs which makes it difficult to discuss under one umbrella. But the difference in the concept about afterlife is obvious.
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Dawn:
If reincarnation is a form of punishment, where does it all end? How do they know when they have fulfilled their purpose? What evidence do they have that this is the true afterlife? I am still unable to get this worldview to make sense in my mind. Maybe it's because I'm a Christian and reject all secular views.
Dawn,
The ultimate purpose is to return to the Divine Source. That is where it ends. That would be like going to heaven.
I described it as a "punishment" only to illustrate that in pantheism (that rejects the concept of hell as a form of punishment) reincarnation is the consequence of one's actions. Life, with both its joys and aches, is another chance to do it all over again: to learn, to grow and to fulfill one's purpose. There are guidelines in each religion, similarly as in the Bible, as to how one should act, feel and live. Pantheism is a view. You will learn more about religions by studying them directly. Hinduism, Buddhism and other religions carry pantheism views, but each have distinguished fundamental rules.
It is quite okay that it doesn't make sense in your mind and it is quite likely due to your loyalty to the Christian view. I don't necessarily understand everything, but I also don't reject things I do not understand. I say: "hmmm... I don't understand it, but just because I don't understand it, it doesn't mean it is not so. Just because someone else is certain that it is true, it still doesn't mean it is so. And whether it is true or not, it doesn't mean I have to agree with it." Learning is about gathering information in order to have the ability to form a better, more accurate image of your truth. The more information you absorb, the better you will be able to sort through facts, make connections and even better: ask better questions.
So if things don't make sense in your mind now; it's okay. Don't stop here! Seek more information and ask more questions! Or just agree to disagree and offer love, forgiveness and prayers to those who don't share your faith.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Meditation, Pantheism, Christianity
Why is meditation an important part of Eastern Pantheist traditions? What role does it serve?
According to Cosgrove meditation in the Eastern Pantheist traditions serve only to “help the person screen out sensory input in order to lower one’s perception of self and reality”. He contrasts meditation with prayer saying that the purpose of meditation is to empty the mind, while the purpose of prayer is to fill the mind with God. As indicated by Cosgrove, meditation is important in pantheism to help dissolve problems and create a sense of unity with the Universe. (Cosgrove, 2006)
There is, however, a different perspective on what meditation is, what it serves and why it is important (to pantheists or to anyone for that fact).
As said by the Meditation Society of America: “Meditation is a three step [concentration, meditation, contemplation] process that leads to a state of consciousness that brings serenity, clarity, and bliss.”
In that light, prayer is also a form of meditation where the subject of concentration is God. Using “om”, as an aid to tune out distractions and “empty” the mind, is only one of many techniques. Although meditation seems deceptively simple it takes practice and lots of discipline to gain control over the mind without the constantly intruding tantalizing, interesting thoughts.
When pantheists speak of “emptying the mind”, what they really mean is to empty out the garbage (uncontrolled, unwanted thoughts and feelings). The reason one needs to empty the mind first is to gain clarity or to be able to fill it with wanted thoughts and feelings.
The ultimate spiritual benefits of meditation has been clear hundreds of years ago, but now science has the ability to back that up with logical physiological evidence as well by the means of neuroscience: the study of the electrical brain activity and brain waves. (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2010)
“…regular meditation actually alters the way the brain is wired, and that these changes could be at the heart of claims that meditation can improve health and well-being.” (Aubrey, 2005)
“Neuroscientists have found that meditators shift their brain activity to different areas of the cortex—brain waves in the stress-prone right frontal cortex move to the calmer left frontal cortex. In other words, they were calmer and happier than before.” (Allen, 2003)
“A second study, published last year in Psychosomatic Medicine, taught a randomized group of 90 cancer patients mindful meditation (another type of practice). After seven weeks, those who had meditated reported that they were significantly less depressed, anxious, angry and confused than the control group, which hadn't practiced meditation. The meditators also had more energy and fewer heart and gastrointestinal problems than did the other group.” (Barbor, 2001)
The physical and psychological benefits of meditation are recognized and widely accepted in the West today. The spiritual benefits are still mostly misunderstood or misinterpreted.
Meditation itself will not solve humanity’s problems, as Cosgrove puts it in perspective. Pantheists do not believe that “diming” sensory inputs will make problems not real. The purpose of meditation is to put problems in a different perspective: to help differentiate between problems one can control by taking actions; and problems one needs to accept and move on. When one’s mind is full of fear, anger, worry, racing thoughts and things to do’s; it is like trying to see the key that lies in the bottom of a bowl of water while the water is being swiftly stirred. Meditation (and prayer), from a spiritual perspective, serves the purpose to temporarily “dim” such sensory inputs, to stop the stirring and allow the water in the bowl to stand still: then one is able to see the key at the bottom.
A Christian concentrates on God by saying prayers, empties all other worries from the mind and as he/she becomes one with Christ, he/she waits and listens to God’s word to guide him/her.
A pantheist concentrates on the Universal Love by saying “om” or focusing on breathing or love or grace or by counting; empties all other worries from the mind and as he/she becomes one with the Universe, he/she waits and looks for “keys” to guide him/her.
The concept itself is only different in the fundamental belief of the entity of a personal God that transcends the world. That difference itself acts as an immense distorting glass wall between the two worldviews causing misconceptions and discrimination, as it is so evidently observable in the works of Cosgrove.
References
Allen, C. (2003) The benefits of meditation. Retrieved December 1, 2010 from http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200304/the-benefits-meditation
Aubrey, A. (2005) Science explores meditation’s effects on the Brain. Retrieved December 1, 2010 from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4770779
Barbor, C. (2001) The science of meditaion. Retrieved December 1, 2010 from http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200105/the-science-meditation
Cosgrove, M. (2006) Foundation of Christian thought. Kregel Publications.
Meditation Society of America. (n.d.) What is meditation. Retrieved December 1, 2010 from http://www.meditationsociety.com/what.html
The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) (2010, March 31). Brain waves and meditation. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 1, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2010/03/100319210631.htm
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2007) Retrieved December 1, 2010 from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pantheism
According to Cosgrove meditation in the Eastern Pantheist traditions serve only to “help the person screen out sensory input in order to lower one’s perception of self and reality”. He contrasts meditation with prayer saying that the purpose of meditation is to empty the mind, while the purpose of prayer is to fill the mind with God. As indicated by Cosgrove, meditation is important in pantheism to help dissolve problems and create a sense of unity with the Universe. (Cosgrove, 2006)
There is, however, a different perspective on what meditation is, what it serves and why it is important (to pantheists or to anyone for that fact).
As said by the Meditation Society of America: “Meditation is a three step [concentration, meditation, contemplation] process that leads to a state of consciousness that brings serenity, clarity, and bliss.”
In that light, prayer is also a form of meditation where the subject of concentration is God. Using “om”, as an aid to tune out distractions and “empty” the mind, is only one of many techniques. Although meditation seems deceptively simple it takes practice and lots of discipline to gain control over the mind without the constantly intruding tantalizing, interesting thoughts.
When pantheists speak of “emptying the mind”, what they really mean is to empty out the garbage (uncontrolled, unwanted thoughts and feelings). The reason one needs to empty the mind first is to gain clarity or to be able to fill it with wanted thoughts and feelings.
The ultimate spiritual benefits of meditation has been clear hundreds of years ago, but now science has the ability to back that up with logical physiological evidence as well by the means of neuroscience: the study of the electrical brain activity and brain waves. (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2010)
“…regular meditation actually alters the way the brain is wired, and that these changes could be at the heart of claims that meditation can improve health and well-being.” (Aubrey, 2005)
“Neuroscientists have found that meditators shift their brain activity to different areas of the cortex—brain waves in the stress-prone right frontal cortex move to the calmer left frontal cortex. In other words, they were calmer and happier than before.” (Allen, 2003)
“A second study, published last year in Psychosomatic Medicine, taught a randomized group of 90 cancer patients mindful meditation (another type of practice). After seven weeks, those who had meditated reported that they were significantly less depressed, anxious, angry and confused than the control group, which hadn't practiced meditation. The meditators also had more energy and fewer heart and gastrointestinal problems than did the other group.” (Barbor, 2001)
The physical and psychological benefits of meditation are recognized and widely accepted in the West today. The spiritual benefits are still mostly misunderstood or misinterpreted.
Meditation itself will not solve humanity’s problems, as Cosgrove puts it in perspective. Pantheists do not believe that “diming” sensory inputs will make problems not real. The purpose of meditation is to put problems in a different perspective: to help differentiate between problems one can control by taking actions; and problems one needs to accept and move on. When one’s mind is full of fear, anger, worry, racing thoughts and things to do’s; it is like trying to see the key that lies in the bottom of a bowl of water while the water is being swiftly stirred. Meditation (and prayer), from a spiritual perspective, serves the purpose to temporarily “dim” such sensory inputs, to stop the stirring and allow the water in the bowl to stand still: then one is able to see the key at the bottom.
A Christian concentrates on God by saying prayers, empties all other worries from the mind and as he/she becomes one with Christ, he/she waits and listens to God’s word to guide him/her.
A pantheist concentrates on the Universal Love by saying “om” or focusing on breathing or love or grace or by counting; empties all other worries from the mind and as he/she becomes one with the Universe, he/she waits and looks for “keys” to guide him/her.
The concept itself is only different in the fundamental belief of the entity of a personal God that transcends the world. That difference itself acts as an immense distorting glass wall between the two worldviews causing misconceptions and discrimination, as it is so evidently observable in the works of Cosgrove.
References
Allen, C. (2003) The benefits of meditation. Retrieved December 1, 2010 from http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200304/the-benefits-meditation
Aubrey, A. (2005) Science explores meditation’s effects on the Brain. Retrieved December 1, 2010 from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4770779
Barbor, C. (2001) The science of meditaion. Retrieved December 1, 2010 from http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200105/the-science-meditation
Cosgrove, M. (2006) Foundation of Christian thought. Kregel Publications.
Meditation Society of America. (n.d.) What is meditation. Retrieved December 1, 2010 from http://www.meditationsociety.com/what.html
The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) (2010, March 31). Brain waves and meditation. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 1, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2010/03/100319210631.htm
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2007) Retrieved December 1, 2010 from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pantheism
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