> I fear that we are drifting in context somewhat. My position is
> that Hrestol's message has for the most part been understood in
> traditional Malkioni modes of thought (ie so-called materialism).
In exegesis the Sacred Texts would certainly deliver an easily understood message of materialism (including morals), while the literal meaning of the works would be the province of theological philology, and subtle re-interpretation in translation from the original Brithini of the canon, but convey easily understandable information. The allegorical, and mystical levels of exegesis might not be so easily understood, IMHO.As an aside, the Malkioni canon might also hold a potentially animist level of exegetic interpretation. Reviled as heretical, of course ...
> That was the path he was brought up with, the path his followers
> thought in and that is the context by which his message has been
> transmitted down through the ages within the Malkioni church.
And subtly warped and changed from one generation to the next through a normal process of linguistic and cultural evolution, although Brithini would prevent RW speeds for such changes, admittedly.
> If Hrestol had been a mystic along the lines of the Perfecti today,
> I would have thought that somewhere along the line, a follower
> (like Duke Yadmov) would have written down the methods by which he
> achieved his status.
But the mystical interpretation of the Sacred Texts need not be written down once more, for it is already present in the canon itself ! Plus, Joy of the Heart is not an ordinary technique, and it can't be written down, I think, although it can be taught to those who can learn.
> Now most Malkioni may quibble about what Hrestol taught (cf the
> dispute on whether one may rise through the castes), but their
> differences are not large compared to the Perfecti who are
> teaching something that is completely radical in Malkionism.
>
> >> Given that [the Perfecti] claims are used to justify cultic
> >> practices that are demonstrably non-Malkioni in origin, orthodox
> >> Malkioni have little difficulty in dismissing them as deluded
> >> idiots.
Sorry. I inferred (and it looks like Nick did, too) that you meant that the Perfecti WERE deluded idiots. I gather that you mean that the Hrestoli, Rokari, and Sedalpists, in general, consider the Perfecti to be such. Fine.
> >> IMO the RW parallel would be to say that the gospels are completely
> >> wrong and that Jesus said something different
>
> >But many people *have* indeed believed just such over the centuries.
>
> Yes. But they are still wrong from a mainstream christian PoV
Which mainstream christian POV? There is no static christian POV in History, AFAIK. The evolution of the currents of thought which make up christianity *depends* I believe on Jesus having said something different from what we were previously led to believe.
> (or a Higher Criticism PoV for that matter).
>From the POV of a PORTION of Higher Criticism, certainly. Definitely not ALL of
Higher Criticism, though. Umberto Eco, for one, has gone far enough in
demonstrating that there is no such "wrong" or "right" in the Humanities.
(Another argument against my proposals re: "light" and "dark" side illuminations
BTW. They're looking wronger and wronger ... ;-) ) (Hrestol, himself was
*Right* and the Brithini *Wrong*, on the other hand ...)
> >Religious messages are NOT, in fact, universally heeded as you have
> >suggested, even among "orthodox" Malkioni, whoever they are.
>
> I never said they were. My intent is to show that there are
> broad streams of thought and that particular points in a
> stream should be understood within the stream rather than
> indulge in speculation about whether it belonged to another
> stream.
The Invisible God is not presumably a mere stream of thought ? The Divinity isn't tied down to a single culture in Malkioni thinking, surely, and so what I suggested originally re: the Presence of the Divinity (called Joy of the Heart), and which filled Hrestol being a form of illumination is hardly alien to Malkioni theology IMO.
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