Is Christianity against knowledge? (Yes and No!)

Many have wandered whether religion and Christianity in particular is against knowledge. Not because of it being related to the “dark” Middle Ages (a story which has been discredited a long time ago by Harmonia Philosophica; read the relevant article “Middle Ages – An enlightened era“) but because of the famous story of God forbidding Adam to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

This story, along with the hostility of the church against enlightenment (something which is completely justified; read the relevant article “Enlightenment was darkness” in Harmonia Philosophica), has made many people wander whether the church has any dogmatic stance against knowledge per se.

The short answer: Yes. But only because it values knowledge!

Let me explain my self. Knowledge is something which for millennia was held in very high esteem. And for that reason it was kept away from the majority of the people who were not worthy of it. This was not only a church thing. Think of Pythagoras for example. His students had vows not to reveal anything they learnt to the non-worthy on the penalty of death. Think of the alchemists, who encoded everything they wrote so that they don’t fall into the wrong (not worthy) hands of the people outside their closed cast.

Harmonia Philosophica in general is a testament to that belief. Its articles are written in such a way that they draw people away and which seem to convey nothing more than a vague hint to what they were meant to convey.

The Fathers of the Church have explained that eloquently: God doesn’t forbid Adam from eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil for no reason. He does so because Man is not yet mature enough to handle this knowledge. If we had the patience we would be allowed to eat from the tree; we are part of God Himself anyway aren’t we?

So the church doesn’t want to forbid knowledge in general. But it wants to impose respect to knowledge as such. Knowledge is not something you read in Wikipedia (Read the articles in Harmonia Philosophica by the way against Wikipedia). Knowledge is something which you should earn with sweat and huge effort. As Buddhism says, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears”.

And we are certainly not ready.

Education and knowledge without ethics generate monsters. Remember, Mengele the “Angel of Death” had two PhDs. (Read the relevant articles “The source of ethics” and “Against the fallacy of education as a source of ethics“).

Don’t worry.

You will soon eat from the tree of knowledge.

For now you just have to compromise.

Come on.

Eat a banana.

And some day, if you are a good boy, Pythagoras will speak to you…

Only to tell you not to speak.

Christ coming again. Now. Tomorrow. Every day. Literally.

Christ came to Earth 2,000 years ago. He said he would come again.

Some wait for that to happen. Others laugh at a promise that they see it will not be fulfilled.

But could it be that this is already happening?

Christ was a pariah. A homeless personA dirty personWithout clothesWithout food. Without property. And he has warned us that every time we see such a person and pass him by, we pass by Him. Imagine you lived at the time of Christ. Would you listen to a homeless person? Or would you pass by him with no second thought? The past has not passed. We live it every moment.

Pass by the homeless person. Without looking. Christ came to Earth 2,000 years ago. And he will not come again…

Or maybe…?

[written on 7/2014]

The Benedict Option…

Modern society is growing more and more atheistic. Let’s not fool ourselves: People who are (honestly and essentially) religious are becoming a minority. Religion is having less and less impact on modern society, which believes that being “progressive” is more important than upholding the values which helped western civilization rise.

The only option left seems to be the “Benedict Option”: Leave society, enclose yourself in small groups which uphold the true religious values which are the foundations of our civilization and cherish these values for as long as it takes until society needs them again. (as Benedict did when the Roman Empire fell from the barbarians and the darkness came: he held up his Christian values alone with some people who followed him, until these values were needed again and became the yeast of the civilization which came after the barbarians)

In times of darkness, holding the flame alive is the only possible option…

Trust this darkness.

Embrace it.

It is the best advertisement for Light.

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Change which happens. Not made to happen… [Προσδοκώ…]

Many people like to believe that they are the masters of their destiny. But this is hardly the case.

We are all puppets in the hands of fate.

In one split moment our lives can be ruined or glorified just because something “happened”.

Christ tells us that even if we look at another woman we are a sinner. Many people see this as Christ being too strict. But He is not. He simply reminds us of our powerlessness over what happens. That is why as a Christian I expect (Gr. προσδοκώ) but not try to build an everlasting life (Gr. ζωήν του μέλλοντος αιώνος).

Fate as ancient Greeks described it IS NOT a power to which you must abide, but a reality which you must understand. We are thrown into the cosmos. Conscious beings, able to affect everything. Only if you understand that you cannot affect them.

Try to swim against the current and you will drown.

Save your strength and swim only when necessary and you will live.

Perception. Acceptance. Consciousness.

The epitomy of Being…

Christianity – The “easy” or the hard way?

 

“I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” ― C.S. Lewis

Even though most people believe that other choose Christianism so as to feel better, this is not the case. Christianism is quite strict with many things and does not make you feel better just because you are a Christian! It needs effort and time to achieve that. Believing in nothing (atheism) and that the purpose of life is to eat a good meal (Dawkins) is the best way to instantly feel better!

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