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6 years ago  ::  Nov 06, 2007 - 1:46PM #1
whaledone
Posts: 115
I have been slowly reading the Secret Doctrine(SD).  It requires that pace at first but after about 50 pages I began to understand the basic premise.  So far it makes sense in a speculative form but like most other metaphysical theories it lacks any way to prove itself.  I do not think the SD is trying to be scientific as it says as much early on. 

My disappointment is the idea that the divine(s) are non-personal to a great extent.  I think the strong suit of any religion is the idea some entity greater than thou is waiting to help you if you do the right things and ask with the belief IT will help you.  On the other hand, traditional entities are usually so personalized as to become exclusive to a particular group of people.

My question is, has the reader studied Theosophy and if so, can a personal "God" be drawn from it.  I am very early and may be able to answer my own question eventually.  Thanks
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6 years ago  ::  Nov 12, 2007 - 5:45PM #2
DotNotInOz
Posts: 5,616
It's been almost thirty years since I studied Theosophy to any extent; however, I recall it as having more of a concept of God as an indwelling animating force in each living thing rather than as a person-being that someone could relate to in the sense of those Christians who believe themselves to have a "personal relationship with Jesus."

While God is perceived to be a spirit, it's much more along the lines of energy rather than a person-like entity that fulfills a parental role to humankind.

If you're not already familiar with Quest Books, the publishing arm of the Theosophical Society, you might scan their listings for titles on the nature of God.
click here--->
http://www.questbooks.net/index.cfm

And, as The Theosophical Society still exists, an inquiry directly to them would quite likely produce some suggested titles to answer your question about how they perceive God. This link will take you to their page of information links about the group and their doctrines.
click here --->
http://www.theosophical.org/about/index.php
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6 years ago  ::  Nov 13, 2007 - 3:10PM #3
drawkcab
Posts: 314
Dotnotinoz,
Do these theosopics, or whatever, read the Bible? They need too if they want to understand spiritual things. for one thing they would find that there is a spiritual body as well as a natural one. However, they more than likely just stand in a different corner than preachers do. Preachers aren't what they should be either. It should be noted that they also work in theory. But what is a theory? Let me help you out here. "A theory is a subject based on the ingnorance of the topic under discussion." Wouldn't that discribe it pretty close? Now, in reality this simply says, "We really don't know the first thing about what we are talking about, BUT, We assume this to be right. You know, isn't it a good thing that courts still rely on eye witnesses? I'd hate to try defending myself against someone's theory.
drawkcab
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6 years ago  ::  Nov 14, 2007 - 3:23PM #4
whaledone
Posts: 115
From what I gather so far,  Theosophy states that most all religions have certain aspects that are contained in the most ancient religions.  As an model you could say all religions evolved from one basic ancient religion and then sort of took their own path from there.  Theosophy figures that the oldest religion is the truest.  If it does anything else, it attempts to lead us back to the arcane past.  Again I have read just a dot's worth of the SD.  However, it often states an example from an ancient text and then explains what it means.  Then it goes on to show it's parallel in other religions.  Theosophy is not necessarily adverse to any religion, it just considers modern religious knowledge and approches as only part of the whole.  There are seven stanzas to any cycle of existence.  Christianity is just focusing on one stanza.  It is not wrong in its pure sense, just limited. 

the SD is hard to understand so I may be off base but that is what I have gathered so far.
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6 years ago  ::  Nov 17, 2007 - 11:12AM #5
DotNotInOz
Posts: 5,616

drawkcab wrote:

Dotnotinoz,
Do these theosopics, or whatever, read the Bible? They need too if they want to understand spiritual things. for one thing they would find that there is a spiritual body as well as a natural one.



To be precise, the term would be "theosophists," for what that's worth.

Frankly, it's my personal opinion that one of the least useful books for understanding spirituality that I ever encountered was the Christian Bible. But then, a discussion of that is a subject for another segment of Beliefnet altogether.

As far as I recall, theosophists are not big on Bible reading. Perhaps, Whaledone can comment on this issue, as it's been over twenty years since I read much theosophy.

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6 years ago  ::  Nov 19, 2007 - 12:38PM #6
whaledone
Posts: 115
The Theosphist approaches the Bible as he would any other sacred text.  It is valuable in as much as it gives parallels to the most ancient religion.   The part of the Bible know as wisdom literature is used often in applied Theosophy.  Also, Jesus is considered a master teacher.  According to Theosophy,  I would assume  Paulian Christianity  has simply become too narrowly defined.  However, even in the New Testament, concepts like the Third Heaven are mentioned.  Theosophy does not dismiss any text just because it belongs to a particular tradition. 

I guess that a good statement would be, Theosophists use texts mostly as comparative lit.  considering all sources as potentially valuable
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