Theos-Talk Archives (March 2006 Message tt01064)

Perry:

I believe the Bible to be both historical and prophetic, although I 
do not believe it to be infallible as so many of the Christians do.  
I believe it to be a supernatural book and classic literature, yet 
one must weed through the great deal of genocidal violence 
propagated throughout the Old Testament, for example.  Also, there 
are vast cultural restrictions on the female gender in the New 
Testament, wherein women are not allowed to speak in church and must 
have their heads veiled in public.

According to my own personal intuition, I generally view the Adam 
and Eve story to be a combination of truth and metaphor.  In other 
words, it's my guess that accounts of the true origin of our species 
has been altered.  However, I do not believe that we evolved from 
apes as the evolutionists do.  That seems as preposterous to me as a 
literal interpretation of the Bible's creation account.  Rather, I 
speculate that our species descends from greater celestial beings.

--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "plcoles1" <plcoles1@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Vince,
> My experience has been that generally most fundamentalists take 
the bible to be either 
> literal historical fact or prophecy of future events.
> Therefore the Garden of Eden and the `Tree of the Knowledge of 
Good and evil' are taken 
> very much as literal places and events,eg. Adam and Eve eating the 
fruit from the tree of 
> Knowledge and then casting them both out of the Garden and 
blocking them from access 
> to the `Tree of life'etc.
> 
> The so called secret or hidden meaning is more seeing these events 
and people as 
> symbols or metaphors for deep or hidden spiritual truths.
> As Jesus is claimed to have said `let he who has ears hear and he 
who has eyes see' that 
> seems to suggest that certain truths are not immediately apparent 
on the surface, or by 
> reading things from the `dead letter'.
> 
> In the `Bowen notes HPB is quoted as saying in part "The Secret 
Doctrine is only quite a 
> small fragment of Esoteric Doctrine known to the higher members of 
the Occult 
> Brotherhoods."
> http://www.theosophical.ca/SecDoctrineStudy.htm
> 
> In the `Theosophical Glossary' HPB describes the Secret Doctrine 
as :
> "The general name given to the esoteric teachings of antiquity"
> 
> My understanding is that they are secret because they can only be 
known or realized 
> through our own inner process and cant be transmitted or received 
vicariously through 
> any external means.
> 
> Perry
> 
> 
> --- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, Vincent Blazina <vblaz2004@> 
wrote:
> >
> > Perry:
> >    
> >   Thanks for the welcome.  The Jehovah's Witnesses that you 
refer also seem to have 
> some narrow biblical interpretations, much like Christian 
fundamentalists.  I'm curious 
> about what some of the similarities and differences are between 
the Bible and the Secret 
> Doctrine.  Why is the Secret Doctrine considered to be secret?  
Does this simply mean that 
> it is occult (meaning hidden) in nature?  My own biblical 
interpretations go very deep for 
> me, and are anything but dry, although I view Christian 
fundamentalists as often shallow 
> in their own biblical interpretations much of the time.
> >    
> >   Vince
> > 
> > plcoles1 <plcoles1@> wrote:
> >   Hello Vince, 
> > Welcome to theos-talk!
> > My background was in the Jehovah's Witnesses and so as a result 
had what amounted to 
> at 
> > least 5 1/2 hours a week of meetings to attend, and NO 
questioning what you were 
> being 
> > told.
> > 
> > The thing I've found with studying theosophy for someone who has 
studied the Bible is 
> > that theosophy and in particular the Secret Doctrine opens up 
many interesting and 
> > profound interpretations of passages in the Bible.
> > 
> > An interesting article written by H.P Blavatsky is `The Esoteric 
character of the Gospels'
> > http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/hpb-sio/sio-eso2.htm
> > It's a good place to start as the Secret Doctrine can be a 
little bit daunting to begin with.
> > 
> > After only hearing what was to me very empty and dry 
interpretations of the Bible, 
> > theosophy can help you to begin to get some kind of 
understanding as to the deeper 
> > meaning in the bible as well as what other great thinkers, sages 
and philosophers from 
> > various traditions have taught on these subjects which may help 
you have some context 
> > and reference point for your own experiences.
> > Very Best Wishes on your Spiritual journey and once again 
Welcome to the theos-talk!
> > 
> > Regards
> > 
> > Perry
> > 
> > --- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "vblaz20042004" wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi there, I'm Vince and I am new to the group. I have recently 
been 
> > > attending the Theosophical Society of Wheaton, Illinois for 
the past 
> > > month, and have been enjoying the various teachings and 
discussions 
> > > at that facility.
> > > 
> > > My life has been rich with metaphysical experiences, but the 
> > > Christian Fundamentalist churches that I had previously 
attended for 
> > > twenty years got very judgmental towards me when I might 
venture to 
> > > reference them. I also began finding many inconsistencies with 
the 
> > > way that many Christians were representing the Bible, and my 
> > > questions about Christianity were often deemed dangerous to 
people's 
> > > religious faith.
> > > 
> > > I am looking for a place in the Theosophical Society wherein I 
may 
> > > potentially freely discuss metaphysical issues as they 
directly 
> > > pertain to my life, with people who are more open to such 
> > > discussions. I am very well read with the Bible, although my 
> > > interpretations of it are more metaphysical versus orthodox.
> > > 
> > > I look forward to constuctive discussion with the people here, 
and 
> > > would like to learn more about the Theosophical Society and 
it's 
> > > perspectives, insofar as many of them are brand new to me.
> > > 
> > > Thank you,
> > > 
> > > Vince
> > >
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>