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A Church Divided by Sin

"Hinduism, Buddhism and Sufism have attracted these seekers with a promise and an experience of meaning and fulfillment which they had not found in their own religious tradition. Many of these spiritual pilgrims, on the other hand, found in Bede Griffiths and the life of his ashram a Christianity that spoke to their hearts as well as to their minds. Bede argues that 'biblical Christianity,' as it has developed so far through a western consciousness, is no longer enough. It is in opening itself to the traditions of the East that Christianity will discover itself once again as "an interior religion, a religion of the heart and not of the head," a religion of personal experience which gives meaning and direction to human life."
"[Bruno Barnhart]: As he completed 'The Golden String' (The book appeared
in 1954), Bede Griffiths already saw the church as coextensive with the whole of
humanity. In this light, the divided Christianity of the twentieth
century stood out with stark clarity. It was natural for him to see the history
of western civilization and culture since the Renaissance and Reformation as an
almost unmitigated decline. While Bede recognized the dark shadow of historical
Christianity - corruption, violence and oppression - he found the cause of these
evils within Christendom in the sin of individuals rather than in any systemic
shortcomings. The church stands radiant and inviolate in the world, above these
personal failings. If the Gospel of Christ had so far failed to transform this
world, it is 'we' who must assume the blame. It is due simply to the infidelity
of believers that the church has been divided and that humanity has not yet been
drawn together around its center, Jesus Christ.
[Bede Griffiths]: The divisions which at present exist among Christians are but
one aspect of that deeper conflict which divides mankind and dismembers the Body
of Christ. For we must always remember that the bounds of the church are
coextensive with mankind. When the Word of God, who is that Wisdom by which and
through which and for which all things exist, assumed a human nature, he came to
unite all mankind in one Body in himself. There is no man from the beginning to
the end of the world, who does not receive grace from Christ and who is not
called to eternal life in him. He is the true light which enlightens every man
coming into the world. It is the same Spirit which from the beginning of history
has been leading all men by his grace; it is the same Word, which enlightens
them through their reason and conscience and prepares them for the revelation of
himself...
All the great errors of our civilisation from the Reformation to the Russian
revolution have arisen because of the failure of Christians to embody the truth
of Christ in their lives. If Communism presents itself now as the great enemy of
our civilization, it is because it embodies, in however distorted a manner, that
thirst for social justice which Christianity failed to satisfy. When Marx
declared that the aim of Communism was to "realise the essence of man" in the
classless society, he was proclaiming what is the real aim of Christianity
itself. For Christ is truly the Perfect Man, in whom all the potentialities of
human nature are realised, and it is by membership of his Body, that we become
part of a social organism in which all the conflicts of class and race and
religion are transcended, and man realizes his true nature as a son of God.
Such is the vision of the church which Catholicism presents to us. It
corresponds with all the deepest needs of mankind at the present day. While
remaining true to that tradition of faith and doctrine which has been handed
down from the beginning, it seeks to embrace all that is true in modern science
and ancient philosophy. It envisages mankind in the whole length and breadth of
its history as part of a divine plan, through which the destiny of man is to be
fulfilled in a new order of being transcending this world of space and time. It
faces the full tragedy of the situation in which we find ourselves, and finds
the source of conflict in human life in the free choice of the will by which man
becomes subject to sin.
To be a Christian is to accept the responsibility for sin not only in
oneself but in others also. It is to recognize that we all bear the
responsibility for one another.
[Bruno Barnhart]: In a letter from Bede's South Indian ashram of
Shantivanam to The Tablet thirty years after 'The Golden String,' we hear a very
different voice. For many years now, Bede has been confronted again and again by
the dissatisfaction and alienation of Europeans and North Americans who have
left western Christianity behind to come to India in search of spiritual wisdom.
He takes up their cause against a 'formal, dogmatic, moralistic' Christianity
which they have found to be 'a positive obstacle to their interior growth.'
Hinduism, Buddhism and Sufism have attracted these seekers with a promise and an
experience of meaning and fulfillment which they had not found in their own
religious tradition. Many of these spiritual pilgrims, on the other hand, found
in Bede Griffiths and the life of his ashram a Christianity that spoke to their
hearts as well as to their minds. Bede argues that 'biblical Christianity,' as
it has developed so far through a western consciousness, is no longer enough. It
is in opening itself to the traditions of the East that Christianity will
discover itself once again as "an interior religion, a religion of the heart and
not of the head," a religion of personal experience which gives meaning and
direction to human life.
[Bede Griffiths]: Sir: May I add further comment to the notes from an ashram
which you published in The Tablet of 24 March? We have had the same experience
here in our ashram in South India of people coming from the West in "search of
God." They are of all ages from 20 and even under to over 70, of both sexes and
from many countries. They are almost all sincere seekers of a deeper meaning in
life than the West seems to give them. They go to Hindu ashrams and Buddhist
monasteries and to any Guru who will teach them a method of Yoga or meditation
which will enable them to find the truth and the life which they are seeking.
Those who come to our ashram are nearly all Christians, mostly Catholic, though
some are Jewish and some have no particular religion. What is disconcerting is
that so many Christians, especially Catholics, seem to find their religion an
obstacle to their search for truth and reality. For most of them, Christianity
is deemed to be identified with a formal, dogmatic, moralistic religion, which
is a positive obstacle in their interior growth.
What is the reason for this? I suggest that it may be that in the past,
when western society was nominally Christian, a formal religion was normally
sufficient to give one a sense of direction in life. But now that this is no
longer so, a formal religion simply breaks down in contact with the realities of
life. What people today are seeking is an interior religion, a religion of the
heart and not of the head, which at the same time gives a sense of meaning and
direction in life. This is what Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism and other forms of
eastern doctrine give and Christianity in the way in which it is now presented
seems unable to give to many people. May this not be a sign that Christianity
today needs to come to terms with oriental religion? Is biblical Christianity,
as interpreted in the West, any longer an adequate religion for the world today?
The Bible belongs to the history of humanity as a whole and needs to be
interpreted in the light of eastern experience no less than western.
It is perhaps significant that Donald Nicholl is at present conducting a seminar
at the Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem on "The People of the Book in the light
of Asia." May it not be that the "people of the Book" - Jews, Christians and
Muslims - cannot solve the problems of the world today, unless they are willing
to learn from the religions of India and the Far East? God did not only reveal
himself to Israel, but has revealed himself in other ways to other people and we
need the witness of all people to the truth of Christianity.
The One Light - Bede Griffiths' Principal Writings
Chapter III, West, Part Two - Mystery And Drama Of The Church p.148-153
Edited and with Commentary by Bruno Barnhart
Templegate Publishers, Springfield, Illinois
ISBN 0-87243-254-8
Notes:
[16] "The Seekers," The Tablet, April 28, 1984.
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NOTE: If this page was accessed during a web search you may wish to browse the sites listed below where this topic or related issues are discussed in detail to promote global peace, religious harmony, and spiritual development of humanity:
www.adishakti.org/www.al-qiyamah.org/
www.adi-shakti.org/ — Divine Feminine (Hinduism)
www.holyspirit-shekinah.org/ — Divine Feminine (Christianity)
www.ruach-elohim.org/ — Divine Feminine (Judaism)
www.ruh-allah.org/ — Divine Feminine (Islam)
www.tao-mother.org/ — Divine Feminine (Taoism)
www.prajnaaparamita.org/ — Divine Feminine (Buddhism)
www.aykaa-mayee.org/ — Divine Feminine (Sikhism)
www.great-spirit-mother.org/ — Divine Feminine (Native Traditions)
"Now, the principle of Mother is in every, every scripture - has to be there." Shri Mataji, Radio Interview 1983 Oct 01, Santa Cruz, USA
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