> I'm not sure there is a difference between Solace and Solace
> of the Body.
I am completely unconvinced that there is only one answer to this question.
Peter has quite rightly pointed out that some sects have no notion at all of this "Solace of the Body" -- and to me, the very name suggests that it is a feature of some Malkioni philosophies/theology that may be more heavily reliant on a dichotomy of Body and Essence.
It is not hard to see that some Malkioni thought must consider that existence in the Inner World is transient and imperfect, and a pathway to a better future existence in the Essence World in Solace.
But just as such Malkioni, and let's call them Hrestoli just for fun, could believe that people, creatures, and things in the Inner World are flawed images of the eternal truths of God and the Essence Realm, so then it would follow that Solace would create its own mirror reflection in this World -- so that they might conceive of Joy as being the upwards reaching of the Essence-Self into Solace, whereas Solace of the Body would be the opposite movement whereby the Essence Realm reached down into this Inner World.
Solace of the Body in the Hrestoli Idealism would then be such things as Healing, Rest of the Body, Bodily Love, Art, Poetry, and other such manifestations of God in the Beauty of the World. There would conversely be evil physical pleasures from the broken and evil parts of the World, and the comparison of these would provide the guide of rightful and wrongful actions as living people that they would call "Morals" and "Virtue".
It would also be an important part of more religious teaching, to avoid such heresies as suicide cults whose members might be fanatically driven by the notion of suicide as the fastest and most efficient means of entry into the afterlife in Solace.
The Rokari would naturally condemn any of the above notions as being deeply heretical, focussing instead on those evil physical pleasures from the broken and evil parts of the World to conclude that all bodily pleasures are inherently sinful ; and the suggestions are also fairly deeply incompatible with God Learnerism IMO.
Julian Lord
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