Pauline Christianity was about salvation from the material world by a disincarnate spiritual savior. Modern Christianity today holds the opposite values and is actually has more in common with New Atheism then it cares to admit. Conservatives tout the philosophy of Ayn Rand — even Laveyan Satanism, for that matter — while professing the name Jesus. Ultimately, I think atheism is the religion for the materialists. I’ve heard all the atheist rebuttals, and honestly, they’re just preaching to the choir. I feel no reason to take the word of a materialist over one who believes in an Invisible God.

Greetings. I am the author of a book entitled Folk Metaphysics: Mystical Meanings in Traditional Folk Songs and Spirituals. My thesis is that some traditional folk ballads are tight little consciously-designed metaphysical essays, possibly composed by the Christian Hermeticists. Since you are probably more versed in that traditional than I am, you ought to be able to tell me how right (or wrong) I am. If you are in any way interested, let me know. (When I come to the exegesis of Verse 10 of the counting-song Green Grow the Rushes-o, I suddenly understand the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.)

Sincerely,
Charles Upton

Blog Addresses: http://unionwithgod.wordpress.com/
http://unionwithgod.blogfa.com/

Email Address: waited.Imam@yahoo.com

1. I am familiar with the work of M. Garver, and I do think that he is a bright spot. He has always and consistently been honest and forthcoming about his traditions, and I wholeheartedly support the work he is doing with the EGA.

2. I wanted to reiterate that I do consider myself a Gnostic; the word “Gnostic” isn’t problematic to me, it’s the word “Gnosticism.” I base this understanding largely on modern scholarship.

3. I appreciate your musings on whether the work as it stands at present could be expanded– I indubitably agree. However, at the moment, I don’t have anything more to say. Perhaps there will be future editions or sequels, and should this be the case, input from readers will of course contribute greatly to its contents.

Thanks again!

VT was of Baltic German descent. Thus familiar with Luthern German culture as well as the predominant culture of the area– that of Orthodox Russians. Orthodoxy, especially Russian, has a very different mind set than that of western Europe and the US. Without going into all of the details, let me say that, while this is not strictly speaking true, it may be thought of as something like Tibetan Buddhism. It’s been my experience that most people know more about Buddhism than about the ancient lineage of Eastern Orthodoxy. Which is the form of Christianity followed by more than 250 million modern adherents. And no, it was never the same as Roman Catholicism. The Latin churches and the Greek churches were once in communion, but the Orthodox were always independent.

VT was a student of Rudolph Steiner. Steiner is himself a fascinating character, who broke with the Theosophists because he thought their emphasis on Buddist/Hindu concepts was inappropriate for the west. In addition, he disagreed with their dismissal of Christianity. Both Helena Blavatsky (founder of Theosophy) and Steiner were first class mediums as well as terrific scholars of esoteric traditions. The problem with the received material is that the rest of us have to take their word for it. If we do, we’re back to the same problem that people have with some Christian doctrines. That because an authority says so, you’re required to believe it. In contrast to experiencing something directly and thus understanding it.

Because Tomberg converted to Roman Catholicism, he has a certain cachet among intellectual Catholics. He wanted to convert to Orthodoxy. But the priest with whom VT spoke was very uncomfortable with the tarot material. An irony, I think, since I find it possible to connect both Tarot and Kabbalah with Orthodox icons and especially with the idea of theosis– the deification, not only of humanity, but of all creation. IMHO, Tomberg wanted to convert so as to channel some of the potential of esotericsm back into Christianity. BTW, he wrote several other books and pamphlets. The Theosophical Society bookstores are good places to find them or to order them.

I found your site during a search for Hermeticism ( I was looking to verify something.) I totally agree that Hermeticism is indeed compatable with Hermetic doctrine. Which early Christians, such as Clement of Alexandria, who were well-educated in Greek philosophy, would have taken for granted. In fact, they explained Christianity to learned non-believers by means of philosophic concepts. Which IMO is why there is a kind of “Bible code” in theNT. If you’ve never heard of that, look up the name John Michell. Also Frederick Bligh Bond. For some contemporary work on Christian gematria, find the books of Kieren Barry and especially that of David Fideler. Not to mention the many Christian alchemists over the centuries. Who in effect or in fact were Hermeticists.

BTW, the Hermetic material that helped kick start the Renaissance was from the Orthodox territory of Constantinople. Where the western Dark Ages never happened. When that eastern “Roman” empire finally fell in 1453, the escaping monastics and/or academics brought the Hermetic material to Florence, Italy.