Monday, September 04, 2006
I m m a n e n c e
At one point in the Bible, we are told that if we fail to worship God, the very rocks will cry out to worship Him for us. This is one of the times the Immanent is hinted at in the Scriptures, that Spirit is diffused throughout the entire Creation. We are told in the beginning, God said before He created man, 'It is Good', implying His goodness preceded us in the Trees, the Rocks, the Oceans. We are even told, again in Genesis, that the very Heaven we are destined for was made from Earth, so that Earth is the Mother of Heaven!
Immanece did not lack place with the Greeks. Most people are familiar with Empedocles's four elements earth, air fire and water. But the story usually ends there before it is told that earth was Hades, air was Hera, fire was Zeus, water was Nestis. So the Divine was immanent in the Greek worldview as well.
In modern times, we have lost the idea of the sacred in everyday life. Modern Christianity, at least Protestant, has abandoned the feasts of the saints. By and large, Sunday no longer belongs to the Sun, Monday to the Moon, and so on. The ladder from Heaven to Earth has been dismantled and thrown in the shed to be consumed by worms and moths.
It is left to the new Pagans to bring back this idea of Immanence for us. Many spiritual people are remembering the old ways and reviving them in modern times. The Sun and Moon once again are gaining significance, as are the Stars, the Waters in oceans, rivers, lakes and ponds. The deadness of the Cosmos, realized through lack of shared tradition and loss of collective memory is slowly being revived to manifest a Universe that is diffused with Magic.
Husbandry, the discipline where man participates in the Divine Immanence in all things is slowly coming back as well. People talk about the virtues of animals, the need to eat natural foods, the responsible consumption of Nature's goods, and the just distribution of wealth. When man once again assumes his responsibility of Husband to Mother Earth, the Immanent will become more Immanent and we will be on our way to true Peace.
This, to me, is the Hope Immanence offers us.
At one point in the Bible, we are told that if we fail to worship God, the very rocks will cry out to worship Him for us. This is one of the times the Immanent is hinted at in the Scriptures, that Spirit is diffused throughout the entire Creation. We are told in the beginning, God said before He created man, 'It is Good', implying His goodness preceded us in the Trees, the Rocks, the Oceans. We are even told, again in Genesis, that the very Heaven we are destined for was made from Earth, so that Earth is the Mother of Heaven!
Immanece did not lack place with the Greeks. Most people are familiar with Empedocles's four elements earth, air fire and water. But the story usually ends there before it is told that earth was Hades, air was Hera, fire was Zeus, water was Nestis. So the Divine was immanent in the Greek worldview as well.
In modern times, we have lost the idea of the sacred in everyday life. Modern Christianity, at least Protestant, has abandoned the feasts of the saints. By and large, Sunday no longer belongs to the Sun, Monday to the Moon, and so on. The ladder from Heaven to Earth has been dismantled and thrown in the shed to be consumed by worms and moths.
It is left to the new Pagans to bring back this idea of Immanence for us. Many spiritual people are remembering the old ways and reviving them in modern times. The Sun and Moon once again are gaining significance, as are the Stars, the Waters in oceans, rivers, lakes and ponds. The deadness of the Cosmos, realized through lack of shared tradition and loss of collective memory is slowly being revived to manifest a Universe that is diffused with Magic.
Husbandry, the discipline where man participates in the Divine Immanence in all things is slowly coming back as well. People talk about the virtues of animals, the need to eat natural foods, the responsible consumption of Nature's goods, and the just distribution of wealth. When man once again assumes his responsibility of Husband to Mother Earth, the Immanent will become more Immanent and we will be on our way to true Peace.
This, to me, is the Hope Immanence offers us.
