I was drawn back to Fox and Sheldrake's book yesterday when I discovered it on the list of "Recommended Reading" on Eben Alexander's website (www.ebenalexander.com). My eyebrows shot to the top of my head when I saw The Physics of Angels being touted by a neuroscientist who should know better.
I didn't like The Physics of Angels in 2009, and I like it even less now. It's a perfect example of how NOT to approach the study of mysticism.
You probably think it doesn't matter that Pseudo-Dionysius was an early 6th century Neoplatonic Christian mystic and writer who single-handedly invented Western Christianity's early doctrines of "mystical theology" -- and you'd be right if it weren't for the fact that people today are still gobbling up this fake mystic's writings, putting them on a pedestal, and treating them like gospel truth.
 |
| Statue of Archangel Michael, late 13th century, Ile-de-France, on display at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Although much has been written over the centuries in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic sources about Michael (said by many to be the first of the seven archangels and the leader of the Hosts of Heaven), the focus on angelic hierarchies in Pseudo-Dionysius's writings should set off your alarm bells. Divine Love isn't based on ladders of ascension or hierarchies of perfection. Divine Love spreads outwards, not upwards. Once you get used to the idea that there's no evil force opposing God in the universe (an evil entity variously named Satan, the Devil, Lucifer, etc.), you quickly see there's no reason for God to have an angelic army led by a sainted archangelic warrior demi-god. Photo credit JAT 2018. |
In their book, Fox and Sheldrake look at the writings of three historical Christian mystics -- Pseudo-Dionysius, Thomas of Aquinas, and Hildegard of Bingen -- to discuss who and what angels are in light of modern findings from physics.
The problem here is that Fox and Sheldrake haven't done their historical homework, so they seem to think it's okay to use the "teachings" of Pseudo-Dionysius as if they're a reliable source.
Since when is a man reliable when he pretends he's a 1st century disciple of Paul, but really he's a 6th century writer who elaborately constructs a "mystical paradigm" about Heaven, and then presents it as "divine revelation" so the side he's taking in a big theological debate will win? (His side was the side that wanted to bring Plato's "truths" into the Christian fold as "Christian truths." His side won.)
Since when is the man who first coined the word "hierarchy" a reliable source for those who want to feel God's non-hierarchical love in their everyday lives?
Pseudo-Dionysius had a lot to say about angels because he had a lot to say about why human beings should obey their bishops, commanders, and rulers. He understood that if you're using religion to control the populace (a familiar tactic in so many human cultures), it's very helpful if you can "reveal" lots of impenetrable gobbledygook about celestial spheres. Then you can wave it about and tell people that if they want to get closer to God, they should submit to the same hierarchical structure of obedience to human leaders on Earth as angels joyfully abide by in Heaven. As above, so below -- but with a tyrannical twist.
The methods of Pseudo-Dionysius were both devious and brilliant. And for centuries, his invented stories about angels have made it really difficult for regular people to trust that Heaven is a place where they'll be welcome.
In our culture, we don't take scientific concepts from the 6th century and give them special status just because they're old. Instead, we take historical scientific concepts and carefully reexamine them in light of newer findings. We acquire new data, compare it to older data, ask new questions, and ask whether the older questions were the best questions possible. We don't just take a writer's word for it because he uses lofty words and images. We should approach historical theological claims with the same rigour we apply to historical scientific claims.
Mystics of the past have changed the course of history, but this doesn't mean they were right -- or even very nice. When a person makes super-claims for himself and his side in a theological debate, we should think twice about his motives. And we should ask who was benefiting most from his "revelations": himself or God.
No one who has actually felt the loving presence of God or God's angels could treat God and God's angels the way Pseudo-Dionysius did.
That's why I think he was a fraud.
For Further Reflection:
Everybody who believes in Heaven is incredibly curious about it. We want to know what it looks like, what it feels like, what it sounds like. We want to know what happens when we get to Heaven. We want to know who we'll see and how we'll be received when we arrive. We want to know what will happen to us in the future. We want to know what angels look like and how they behave. We want to know pretty much everything. And this is perfectly normal for all human beings.
But our abundant curiosity about Heaven makes us vulnerable to spiritual and religious charlatans.
By all means, feel free to explore the personal narratives of those who've had near death experiences, or those who've had visions of Heaven and angelic beings. Many reported experiences are legitimate and life-altering, obviously so for the individuals who've found themselves coming face-to-face with God in the most unexpected ways, and sometimes equally so for the people around these individuals.
Bear in mind, though, that every single human description of Heaven and heavenly beings is only a partial picture of the Truth. The human brain can know quite a few things about Heaven, but we can't know everything because our brains have limits. Even mystics such as myself, who voluntarily connect with God's presence each and every day, have limits.
This is normal and healthy, and there's no way around these built-in limitations, so don't try. And don't listen to spiritual gurus who tell you that God has revealed to them everything you'll ever need to know about Heaven -- and MORE!!! God sometimes does speak directly to certain individuals, but when this happens, the words and images and feelings are highly specific, highly end-user-directed. In other words, the way God communicates with you isn't exactly the same way God communicates with your neighbour. And Divine communications aren't usually about Truth with a capital "T" at all -- they're almost always about relationships. So what one person sees and feels about Heaven isn't going to be exactly the same as what his/her neighbour sees and feels, with a small number of exceptions, as follows.
This is a list of things about Heaven that every human being can relate to, even though we don't have all the nitty-gritty details during our human lives:
1. Every single soul who incarnates on Planet Earth will return to the place we call Heaven when the physical body dies. No exceptions, not even for tyrants, pedophiles, and the unshriven.
2. When you return Home to Heaven, you will (as you've heard so often) be reunited with your loved ones, and they'll be crying because they're so happy to see you.
3. You'll feel wrapped in a blanket of Peace and Divine Love that's so warm and blissful it's a bit beyond words. You'll feel safe, happy, sad, proud, and confused all at the same time. But mostly you'll feel loved.
4. You'll feel grateful for all the experiences you had as a human being (even the painful ones).
5. You'll spend some time healing and learning from your experiences, and, when you're ready, you'll help others do the same.
6. You'll understand God's wisdom in ways you never thought possible, and your Heart will feel as if it's going to burst with the wonder of God's Divine Love and Forgiveness.
7. You'll probably decide you don't want to incarnate again, but if you think another incarnation might be right for you, you'll talk it over with your angelic family for many, many years, and then you'll reincarnate several centuries in the future. Physical incarnation is a difficult process for all persons-of-soul, so there are no exceptions to the "wait-and-see" guidelines for future incarnations. God only lets you incarnate if there's something you can't learn through any other angelic learning process.
That's about it.
The rest is all gravy.
No comments:
Post a Comment