This is an all-too brief response to my friend Tripp's post over at Conjectural Navel Gazing. He poses a few questions, to which I of course have catechetical like answers. Bear with us.
'If one believes in angels but not in "the Church", is that a religious belief (the angels bit) or a spiritual insight?' Well, one could be an orthodox Jew or a Muslim, but let that pass. For most of the people I meet who 'believe in angels,' and I meet a lot of people in my line of work, it's neither a 'religious belief' nor a 'spiritual insight,' but a trace of sentimental whimsy. I doubt most have any idea what an 'angel' might be. (Here's a hint: they're terrifying, and if one appears to you, he's there to ruin your life as you know it).
'If one sits silently with one's eyes closed, feet placed comfortably on the ground or legs folded underneath, and meditates on breathing in and out seeking peacefulness, is this a spiritual practice or a religious one?' Neither, but it does sound like a good way for an insomniac to fall asleep.
'What spiritual practices can one participate in that are *not* an invention of some human being somewhere?' It's terrible to have to deal with all those humans and their inventions. (Invenio, etc.) I know folks like to imagine there is a pure, unmediated form of 'encounter' with the 'divine,' but since I like being a human among humans, I'll take the stuff they invent with all their 'ethically ambiguous histories.'
'What spiritual practices can one participate in that are *not* an invention of some human being somewhere?' It's terrible to have to deal with all those humans and their inventions. (Invenio, etc.) I know folks like to imagine there is a pure, unmediated form of 'encounter' with the 'divine,' but since I like being a human among humans, I'll take the stuff they invent with all their 'ethically ambiguous histories.'
After all, humans were never meant to be angels; humans were meant to sit in judgment on angels.
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