Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons
Just saw the movie Angels and Demons. Ok, I did not read the book, so I’m sure the book was better, but I liked the movie, especially the second half with its twists and turns. It raised some interesting questions about creation. I’m not sure if Dan Brown is much into metaphysics, but the movie’s premise about anti-matter certainly gives us metaphysical food for thought. The gap between science and religion raises the question, if humans can create anti-matter, does this prove the existence of God and divine creation or negate it by virtue of human ability to re-create the “big bang.” Referred to in the movie, and by some scientists, as the God particle, anti-matter refers to that “formless substance” or energy, that when in contact with a substance creates a cosmic explosion. Is this the origin of life as we know it? Is that what spiritual mystics have taught us about our origins out of the oneness? Is this the finger of God bringing forth creation out of formless energy?
Of course this is only the backdrop of Angels and Demons. If you’re wondering whether or not to see it, I say yes if you’re interested in history and religion. Dan Brown gives us something to think about. If you prefer a straight action movie, see Star Trek, an excellent film in its own right which also raises metaphysics. The truth is out there.
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Beyond Christianity
Beyond Christianity
Beyond Christianity
African Americans in a New Thought Church
Beyond Christianity draws on rich ethnographic work in a Religious Science church in Oakland, California, to illuminate the ways a group of African Americans has adapted a religion typically thought of as white to fit their needs and circumstances.
This predominantly African American congregation is an anomalous phenomenon for both Religious Science and African American religious studies. It stands at the intersection of New Thought doctrine, characterized by personal empowerment teachings,and a culturally familiar liturgical style reminiscent of Black Pentecostals and Black Spiritualists. This group challenges oversimplified concepts of the Black church experience and broadens the concept of Black religion outside the boundaries of Christianity—raising questions about what it means to be an African American congregation, and about the nature of blackness itself. Beyond Christianity adds a new dimension to the scholarship on Black religion.
Cloth: $45.00
ISBN: 9780814756935
208 pages
Click here to order on Amazon.com
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What the Bleep Do You Know About Spiritual Metaphysics?
Or New Thought Religions? Maybe what you know about spiritual metaphysics comes from the docu-film, What the Bleep Do We Know? Maybe you’re a serious student who has studied great philosophers and metaphysicians of the ages. Perhaps you have an interest in spiritual metaphysics because you’re interested in a New Thought religion. Maybe you’re already wondering what I am talking about. Let me give a little background.
Metaphysics is generally defined as a philosophical enterprise that attempts to understand the nature of reality, both the visible and invisible. What is reality at its most basic, simple level? Is it dull matter, is it dull energy, or is it dynamic energy, responsive to thought? Metaphysicians, then, are people engaged in trying to answer these questions. They may be scientists, philosophers, theologians, ministers or anything else. There are scholars, teachers, and spiritual leaders in all camps.
In the realm of spiritual metaphysics, where I reside, we understand the nature of reality to be dynamic, responsive energy. In spiritual metaphysics we understand the universe and everything in it, human, divine, animal, mineral, at its most basic component, to be made up of dynamic energy. In essence, everything is made up of the same “stuff.” We understand this stuff to be God-stuff, or God essence. Everything that is, is created out of God’s own being. That leads metaphysical religions, like New Thought and others to their primary truth claim, that “all is one.”
These religions also affirm that the dynamic and responsive nature of the universe means that everyone has the capacity to shape his or her own experiences. You’ve probably heard of this as positive thinking, name it and claim it prayer or affirmative prayer, in which individuals seem to get what they desire just by thinking about it. Well, it is this understanding of spiritual metaphysics that underlies these types of beliefs and activities.
New Thought religions are a particular branch of spiritual metaphysics that have recently enjoyed an increase in popularity. I have been practicing one of these religions, Religious Science, for about 10 years now, and I have published a book on the subject, Beyond Christianity: African-Americans in a New Thought Church (New York University Press, 2005). The book gives the history and development of Religious Science while also presenting an interesting case study of a particular church in Oakland, California.
The film, What the Bleep Do We Know, has also sparked a great interest in metaphysics. If you have not seen it, I encourage you to rent it. It presents insights from scientists, and spiritual teachers about the nature of reality and our relationship to it. While I know many physicists who are not entirely pleased with the science in the film, one cannot argue with the credentials of the scientists in the film, and it is a good starting point for a lot of people with no background in physics or metaphysics. At the very least, it will help you begin to think about your own ideas on the nature of reality.
If this subject matter is of ongoing interest to you then you might also be interested in my Advanced Studies page.
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