Contemporary theologians would do well
to free themselves from the “Hellenic complex” –
the integration of Greek categories of thought
into Christian theology – starting with Thomas Aquinas
and his merging of Aristotle into Judeo-Christian beliefs –
Popes John Paul II and Benedict thought Catholicism
should no longer be dominated by Aquinas
but they embraced no one else
they could have embraced Gustavo Gutierrez
who realized the new European theology he learned
could not deal with the structural injustices
of his South American continent
so he began interpreting the gospel in light of the poor
but “Saint Pope J.P. II” condemned this as Marxism
and so destroyed liberation theology
in spite of “Saint Pope J.P. II” liberation theology
became the key to black theology in North America –
the theology of liberation contained in the Bible –
the liberation of the Jewish slaves from Egypt –
parallels the liberation of black slaves in America –
Lincoln was Moses to the sharecroppers –
because the very essence of Jesus is freedom
Jesus became the model of liberation for blacks
understanding is the most powerful tool for “liberation”
which in Buddhism is “salvation from suffering”
so Buddhists talk about salvation by understanding
and the seed of understanding in everyone –
so similar in Christian or Buddhist terms –
is God/Jesus/Christ-Consciousness/Buddha-Mind –
Buddhist meditation involves deep insight
and creates understanding/love/salvation
love is both dependent and free at the same time –
it depends on objective values and creates new values:
joy/gratitude/self-sacrifice –
the bodhisattvas sacrificed entering into nirvana/heaven
until all sentient beings were liberated
similarly, Muslims sacrifice sex during the Great Fast/Ramadan:
“Do not lie with your wives during the day but cleave to the mosque –
(but during the night you can go into your wives and lie with them)” –
some sacrifice (but not too much) there. 😊
Intelligent Christian Spirituality 