I'm a master's student in theology. AMA.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

How closely does the Fallen World (as described in the Bible) resemble Samsara (as described in Buddhism)? Just in Genesis 3, we have men being chained to the earth, which absorbs their life force and spits it back out at them; women being chained to childbirth, by which they continue the existence of the human race only at the expense of their own well being; and both their descendants being cursed to bruise the head of the serpent which bites at their heels, which is almost an image of the ouroboros.

Of course, if you go back far enough, you have a world created, not out of nothing, but out of watery chaos, which could even imply previous cosmic incarnations.

Sorry if this isn't the sort of post you wanted in this thread, I've just been thinking about this a lot recently.

It's fine!

A purely Biblical Christianity would have a lot of these kinds of inchoate and chaotic narrative rough edges that connect with other religions in all sorts of interesting ways, yeah--which is part of why I find it more interesting to study the Hebrew Bible academically than the New Testament, because the Hebrew Bible was compiled over a much longer period of time and has a greater multiplicity of perspectives. But the Christianity we have now is also a Christianity of traditions and theologians, who have sanded down some of those narrative rough edges by being what one of my professors calls "consistency-building readers" and have found--I might even say discovered, although I'm not sure that's the right word to use for philosophical theology--principles like creation ex nihilo, the absolute primacy and supremacy of God, and so on. Then again Christianity never loses its narrative focus (a focus which is a lot less essential in many other religions, including Buddhism actually) and it shouldn't be "demythologized" too much; I'd say a good rule of thumb is that demythologization that lessens the fundamental principle of God's majesty and grandeur, by presupposing against the miraculous or whatever, is best avoided.

The Fall as creating a samsara-like condition is a really interesting idea; my only objection to it would be that most forms of Buddhism don't posit an original pre-samsaric state.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Thanks for answering my questions, Nathan. I mainly asked because there are a million things I'd like to study, but fear of student loans and wasted (career) time prevent me from getting my hypothetical sextuple masters, so I was wondering what the life situation of people who did this sort of thing was.

[they don't love you like i love you]

Why do people bother replying to Greatest I am?

[Greatest I am]

Why do people bother replying to Greatest I am?

They seek the truth and are fed up with liars.

Regards
DL

[Mopsus]

The Fall as creating a samsara-like condition is a really interesting idea; my only objection to it would be that most forms of Buddhism don't posit an original pre-samsaric state.

IIRC, both Hinduism and Jainism posit an evolutionary model of the cosmos, with some epochs more enlightened than others. Is there no similar concept in Buddhism? Or am I misunderstanding things.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Why do people bother replying to Greatest I am?

Unfortunately, people have a need to feel superior to other. Comparing oneself to Greatest I am is an easy and fairly harmless method of doing so, but rather pointless.  It's rather like a mineral proving itself harder than talc.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

The Fall as creating a samsara-like condition is a really interesting idea; my only objection to it would be that most forms of Buddhism don't posit an original pre-samsaric state.

IIRC, both Hinduism and Jainism posit an evolutionary model of the cosmos, with some epochs more enlightened than others. Is there no similar concept in Buddhism? Or am I misunderstanding things.

There's a similar (but, again, cyclical) concept in Buddhism, yeah. The key point is that every more enlightened epoch emerges as a proto-dialectical resolution of the conditions of less enlightened ones.

[Lexii, harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy]

Why do people bother replying to Greatest I am?

It's funny to see his stupid arguments, it's like watching a dumber (but less conspiratard) version of a flat earther's video, I'm not even trying to get into a debate with him

[Technocracy Timmy]

What exactly is the Holy Spirit, and why does it seem to be so underrated when compared to the Father and the Son?

Christianity does not believe in equality.

They do not even offer it to the three god heads they worship as one.

Pretzel brains  are the only ones who can understand the Trinity Concept. If you are one, seek help. Your vies of equality are at stake.

Regards
DL

P.S. Your answer follows.
Gnostic Jesus was questioned as to what sees the vision?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/maps/primary/mary.html

The Saviour answered and said, 'He does not see through the soul nor through the spirit, but the mind which [is] between the two - that is [what] sees the vision...'

For where the mind is, there is the treasure.

Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Also, another version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VsN3IG1HtQ






 

You are WRONG SIR!


Christians believe in FULL EQUALITY FOR ALL. Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”


The fight for equality will always be strong and GOD WILL WATCH FROM THE HEAVENS as he gazes upon the very fiber of humanity in all of its meek glory in hopes that WE SEEK SUCH EQUALITY FOR ALL in the name of JESUS CHRIST


The three gods heads is BLASPHAMY


The one true GOD IS THROUGH OUT LORD IN HEAVEN who sent his one and only son to DIE FOR OUR SINS


JUDGEMENT DAY SHALL BE UPON US SOON. ALL SINNERS MUST REPENT


GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS

[DC Al Fine]

Why did you choose a Wesleyanish institution if you were a high church Episcopalian when applying?

Because I wanted to stay within New England and the Episcopal-oriented divinity schools in New England are/were all hot messes except for Yale, where I didn't finish my application to in time.

Could you elaborate on what you mean by 'hot mess'? Do you mean like organizationally, or in terms of even more theologically liberal than what you described BU as, or something else entirely?

Sorry to keep coming back to this, but its kind of interesting that you are going to an institution so far outside of your tradition, especially liturgically.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The Fall as creating a samsara-like condition is a really interesting idea; my only objection to it would be that most forms of Buddhism don't posit an original pre-samsaric state.

IIRC, both Hinduism and Jainism posit an evolutionary model of the cosmos, with some epochs more enlightened than others. Is there no similar concept in Buddhism? Or am I misunderstanding things.

There's a similar (but, again, cyclical) concept in Buddhism, yeah. The key point is that every more enlightened epoch emerges as a proto-dialectical resolution of the conditions of less enlightened ones.

Are you familiar with Giambattista Vico and his efforts to reconcile linear history and cyclical history?

If so, what's your opinion of Vico?

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

Why did you choose a Wesleyanish institution if you were a high church Episcopalian when applying?

Because I wanted to stay within New England and the Episcopal-oriented divinity schools in New England are/were all hot messes except for Yale, where I didn't finish my application to in time.

Could you elaborate on what you mean by 'hot mess'? Do you mean like organizationally, or in terms of even more theologically liberal than what you described BU as, or something else entirely?

Sorry to keep coming back to this, but its kind of interesting that you are going to an institution so far outside of your tradition, especially liturgically.

Both. BU was represented to me as theologically moderate; it isn't exactly, but at least it still requires Bible and Church history classes and has a specific class on postmodern theology rather than every theology class being a postmodern theology class. The problems with EDS, the main specifically Episcopalian school of theology in the Boston area, where I did briefly consider going, go far beyond that and go into severe mismanagement and money problems, such that the place is now effectively defunct.

The other main reason is that figures I respected (and still respect!) a lot within my Episcopalian milieu recommended BU to me.

The Fall as creating a samsara-like condition is a really interesting idea; my only objection to it would be that most forms of Buddhism don't posit an original pre-samsaric state.

IIRC, both Hinduism and Jainism posit an evolutionary model of the cosmos, with some epochs more enlightened than others. Is there no similar concept in Buddhism? Or am I misunderstanding things.

There's a similar (but, again, cyclical) concept in Buddhism, yeah. The key point is that every more enlightened epoch emerges as a proto-dialectical resolution of the conditions of less enlightened ones.

Are you familiar with Giambattista Vico and his efforts to reconcile linear history and cyclical history?

If so, what's your opinion of Vico?

I'm not as familiar with Vico as I'd like to be, no.

[Mopsus]

Is it still common for theology students to learn Latin/Greek?

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

Is it still common for theology students to learn Latin/Greek?

Not nearly as much so as it used to be, unfortunately, unless they're doing specifically Biblical or Patristic theology. The best foreign languages for modern theology are Italian and German. I have a smattering of Greek from earlier in my life but no Latin. I'd dearly like to improve my Greek and get some command of Latin and Hebrew but I don't know when I'll have time for that.

[The Mikado]

An expert in any field will probably have a "unless you have read THIS book, I'm probably wasting my time talking to you" moment regarding something they've read that's formative to their thought process. What's yours?

(I don't mean to phrase that in a rude way, I mean that there's something you've read or learned that leads to a fundamental experience gap vs ordinary people)

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

An expert in any field will probably have a "unless you have read THIS book, I'm probably wasting my time talking to you" moment regarding something they've read that's formative to their thought process. What's yours?

(I don't mean to phrase that in a rude way, I mean that there's something you've read or learned that leads to a fundamental experience gap vs ordinary people)

Not entire books, but probably the "Chance" chapter from Gravity and Grace, or else "The Hound of Heaven".

[they don't love you like i love you]

What do you think of complementarianism?

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

What do you think of complementarianism?

It's not a question I'm especially interested in any more, partly because I haven't discerned a vocation to either the priesthood or marriage and partly because thinking too hard about gender issues dredges up really bad personal vibes. If I were still super-interested in it then I doubt I would be converting to Catholicism. I definitely don't like the way a lot of conservative Christian commentators use the concept as a way of consecrating whatever gender roles happened to be prevalent when they or their parents were kids.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Although you still don't know what you intend to do for a career after you graduate, what jobs would you say are most optimal for or popular among theology grads?  Are they generally best for people on the ordination path or work in academia, or are there other jobs for which such a degree might be appropriate (i.e. philanthropy, humanitarian work, etc.)?

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

Although you still don't know what you intend to do for a career after you graduate, what jobs would you say are most optimal for or popular among theology grads?  Are they generally best for people on the ordination path or work in academia, or are there other jobs for which such a degree might be appropriate (i.e. philanthropy, humanitarian work, etc.)?

All of the above. Other than ordained ministry or chaplaincy, the nonprofit sector in general is probably the most common future career goal for theology students at BU. I think it's probably different elsewhere; it probably has to do with our emphasis on social and political theology.

[Blue3]

The big one:

How would you explain the Trinity, both in a simple but accurate metaphor to someone new to Christianity, as well as in a deeper theological sense, that also fits together well with Jesus as the Incarnation of the Son?




(For example, in the theological sense, I've heard from a theology class before that the theory is the Son results from God's/Father's perfect self-knowledge, and that the Holy Spirit results from the perfect love between Father and Son... and the Father always had perfect self-knowledge and love, so the Trinity has always existed, co-equal and naturally self-sustaining.

And that the implications are, since both love and self-knowledge create perfect co-equal persons, that in a way self-knowledge when it is perfect automatically brings us to love and love when it is perfect automatically brings us to self-knowledge, and the path to God is through true love and true self-knowledge. As well as implications that, since the Son is from self-knowledge, and Jesus is the Incarnation of the Son, you could say that the Son and the Jesus Incarnation results from God/Father "seeing himself" and "knowing himself" in a particular human. And the implication that the Holy Spirit results from God/Father beginning to "see himself" and "know himself" in other people due to the Son and their love for each, and that love now extending to them too... and this incorporating of us into that divine union/love/self-knowledge-in-creation is "heaven" "kingdom of God" and Jesus' promise of "eternal life" [as well as the meaning of Jesus' talk in the Gospel of John about how he dwells in the Father, the Father in him, asking people to dwell in him, so he can dwell in them and therefore God in them and them in God, and in the epistles of how God is love])

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

The big one:

How would you explain the Trinity, both in a simple but accurate metaphor to someone new to Christianity, as well as in a deeper theological sense, that also fits together well with Jesus as the Incarnation of the Son?




(For example, in the theological sense, I've heard from a theology class before that the theory is the Son results from God's/Father's perfect self-knowledge, and that the Holy Spirit results from the perfect love between Father and Son... and the Father always had perfect self-knowledge and love, so the Trinity has always existed, co-equal and naturally self-sustaining.

And that the implications are, since both love and self-knowledge create perfect co-equal persons, that in a way self-knowledge when it is perfect automatically brings us to love and love when it is perfect automatically brings us to self-knowledge, and the path to God is through true love and true self-knowledge. As well as implications that, since the Son is from self-knowledge, and Jesus is the Incarnation of the Son, you could say that the Son and the Jesus Incarnation results from God/Father "seeing himself" and "knowing himself" in a particular human. And the implication that the Holy Spirit results from God/Father beginning to "see himself" and "know himself" in other people due to the Son and their love for each, and that love now extending to them too... and this incorporating of us into that divine union/love/self-knowledge-in-creation is "heaven" "kingdom of God" and Jesus' promise of "eternal life" [as well as the meaning of Jesus' talk in the Gospel of John about how he dwells in the Father, the Father in him, asking people to dwell in him, so he can dwell in them and therefore God in them and them in God, and in the epistles of how God is love])

I can't really improve on that explanation in a theological sense--that's my understanding of the Trinity as well.

The metaphor that I like best is probably Lewis's metaphor of three books that have been stacked on top of one another from eternity, such that the position of the topmost books is ontologically dependent on the bottom book even though there was never a time when they weren't on top of it.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I had a discussion with my mom about the Trinity last week and my attempt at explaining it was rather... vivid in nature.  I mentioned a hypothetical landscape painting: the sky representing the Father; the grasslands, trees, and bodies of water representing the Son, and the Holy Spirit not immediately visible to the viewer's eye yet very much present in the painting as it contains the oxygen (which provides life), matter (all that is), and most importantly the physical laws which dictate the composition of the painting and the relationship between each section, with the viewer's eyes immediately drawn to the horizon ("the Father"), following the land and vegetation ("the Son").

(Obviously the last part becomes slightly problematic if we assume that the Son leads us to the Father and not the other way around.  I sort of came up with it on the spot, but being an artist myself I thought it was a decent allegory.)

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I may be more Universalist than Unitarian as a UU, but that doesn't mean that I reject the Unitarian branch entirely. More like I'm agnostic when it comes to the Unitarian/Trinitarian question. I don't see where it makes any practical difference in how we should conduct ourselves or in the validity of Jesus' ministry.

[Gustaf]

I've moderated a nr of posts by Greatest I am in this thread. This is just a note that people ought not troll other peoples' sincere threads with random ranting.