Theos-Talk Archives (September 2006 Message tt00450)

Re Joe Ratzinger
  
   Maybe Joe Ratzinger (the pope) quoted 
that stupid comment from the medeival 
Islamic writer because he wanted to divert 
attention from some of the genuinely 
advanced Islamic thinking of the same 
time-period.  The Islamic countries were 
the most advanced and only cultured 
western areas and center of the intellectual 
western world for a long period when 
Europe was plunged into the dark ages 
from the Catholic influence.  Take for 
instance the 14th century Islamic Ibn 
Khaldun and his "The Muqaddimah - 'An 
Introduction to History," (Princeton 
University Press) which is full of 
scientific and gnostic attitude and 
that of Reason over blind religious 
dogmatism.  Here's an excerpt:  
   
       "Human souls are of three kinds.  
One is by nature too weak to arrive at 
spiritual perception..... a (second) kind 
(of soul), through thinking moves in 
the direction of spiritual intellection 
and (a type of) perception that does 
not need the organs of the body, because 
of its innate preparedness for it.  The 
perceptions of this kind of soul extend 
beyond the primary (intelligibilia) to 
which primary human perception is restricted, 
and cover the ground of inward observations, 
which are all intuitive..... A (third) 
kind is by nature suited to exchange 
humanity altogether, both corporeal and 
spiritual humanity, for angelicality of 
the highest stage, so that it may actually 
become an angel in the flash of a moment, 
glimpse the highest group within their 
own stage, and listen to essential speech 
and divine address during that moment.  
(Individuals possessing this kind of soul) 
are prophets....) (p. 77)
  
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