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Primitive Christianity Revived, Again

The Win-Win

At the time of the early debates regarding the Eucharist, the all-too-commercial desire for a win-win arrangement was harnessed by having/controlling the Real Presence of Christ. The Catholic Church claimed an ordained mandate to "Transubstantiation". In particular, a "win" for priests having the ability to change bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, as well as a "win" for communicants receiving/possessing Christ - by hand rather than by heart.

Wrongly interpreting Luke 17:21 as "the Kingdom of God is(now) within you", instead of the accurate translation "the Kingdom of God is in your midst", the win-win benefit was propagated for Catholic worship. Protestantism corrected this expediency regarding Jesus' response to the self-justifying Pharisee by postulating "Consubstantiation". But, it did not take long for the Win-Win to re-appear as "(that of)God in everyone".

Now, all that is necessary to have/possess the divine/Christ is to look within oneself.

"The Presence in the midst" is seen as a religious entitlement rather than a disturbing reminder of our original poverty/sin. And, the desire to justify ourselves with a win-win arrangement is the same hypocrisy that allows us to claim both our ability to have and to use Christ in our worship of Self.

"For what is thought highly of by men is loathsome in the sight of God."(Lk. 16:15)

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Comment by Forrest Curo on 9th mo. 4, 2014 at 3:53pm: There is "self" as "the person who thinks 'blah and blah and blah'" and then there is "Self" as the One Who really is our true being, as well as The True Being...

I often like this person's perspectives:

http://theupsidedownworld.com/2014/09/04/dancing-the-way/

Comment by Laura Scattergood on 9th mo. 4, 2014 at 5:06pm: Well, Forrest, that is one way to look at it. . . In a sense I agree and I would say that I have glimpses of that true Self and that True Being in relation to that "Self". However, the ego is a tricky thing and the two easily confused. At least for those at my particular level of spiritual development. And not that I think the ego is something to be hated, destroyed. I have been watching a Spanish series, "El muerte del ego." Of course, we don't have to take this entirely literally but it has a certain threatening sound to it. It will die, I am sure of it, when my physical body dies, but I don't plan on killing it before that. I have actually decided to coddle it along and feed it. It behaves much better when I do that!

Comment by Forrest Curo on 9th mo. 4, 2014 at 8:04pm: I expect that only an ego would try to kill its ego -- and that only an ego would imagine that it had succeeded. On another hand, I'm sure (more sure than I am about what it's like after physical death) that it is possible to make peace with one's ego, but only by not taking it too seriously -- and watching it quite carefully. (Clever little thing!)

Comment by Laura Scattergood on 9th mo. 4, 2014 at 10:54pm: Forrest: Yep. Exactly.

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