Re: When Deeds Harmonize With Words

Hi Larry,

You: "The division of reality into the supernatural and the natural is most
likely the most harmful religious belief ever conceived of."

It is a false dichotomy, what I call a straw argument. You have defined
"supernatural" as something that does not exist, therefore there is only the
natural and the flaky fringe groups who believe in magic.

I prefer to separate the physical and the non-physical. That way we can
talk intelligently about what actually exists, since there is no argument
about what has mass and what does not.

Being unknowable is not synonymous with being supernatural.<

Certainly not. And the supernatural need not be synonymous with
non-existent. But it is.

--Kent


"diamondsouled" <rowe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1156379479.619127.110800@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hello Susan,

The division of reality into the supernatural and the natural is most
likely the most harmful religious belief ever conceived of.

It is largely because of the erroneous religious belief that humanity
has dominion over the earth and that the supernatural is sacred and the
natural profane that humanity finds itself in the position that the
very eco-system of the earth is under dire threat.

God, the Divine, exceeds all catagories, all catagories including that
of supernatural. As Abdu'l-Baha' himself states: "This much is known:
It exists and Its existence is certain and proven -- but the condition
is unknown." *

If you state that the condition of the Divine is that It is
supernatural you are disagreeing with Abdu'l-Baha. I agree, the
Condition is unknown.

Being unknowable is not synonymous with being supernatural.

Yours

Larry Rowe

*THE UNKNOWABLE ESSENCE

All the people have formed a god in the world of thought, and that form
of their own imagination they worship; when the fact is that the
imagined form is finite and the human mind is infinite. Surely the
infinite is greater than the finite, for imagination is accidental
while the mind is essential; surely the essential is greater than the
accidental.

Therefore consider: All the sects and peoples worship their own
thought; they create a god in their own minds and acknowledge him to be
the creator of all things, when that form is a superstition -- thus
people adore and worship imagination.

That Essence of the Divine Entity and the Unseen of the unseen is holy
above imagination and is beyond thought. Consciousness doth not reach
It. Within the capacity of comprehension of a produced reality that
Ancient Reality cannot be contained. It is a different world; from it
there is no information; arrival thereat is impossible; attainment
thereto is prohibited and inaccessible. This much is known: It exists
and Its existence is certain and proven -- but the condition is
unknown.

All the philosophers and the doctors knew that It is, but they were
perplexed in the comprehension of Its existence and were at last
discouraged, and in great despair they left this world. For the
comprehension of the condition and mysteries of that Reality of
realities and Mystery of mysteries there is need for another power and
another sense. That power and sense is not possessed by mankind,
therefore they have not found any information. For example: If a man
possess the power of hearing, the power of tasting, the power of
smelling and the power of feeling, but no power of seeing, he cannot
see. Hence, through the powers and senses present in man the
realization of the Unseen Reality, which is pure and holy above the
reach of doubts, is impossible. Other powers are needed and other
senses required. If those powers and senses are obtained, then
information can be had; otherwise, not.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 382)



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