Guest Post: Connecting the Dots: Light on Light

October 25th, 2010 by zen

In the New Testament, Matthew describes how “Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.” (Matt. 17:1-2).

If I have points to make, there are several of them:

That religious motivations can be powerful drivers at the level of popular morale.
That we frequently overlook religious motivations.
That reports of apocalyptic signs and miracles are potent amplifiers of religious motives.
That when we study religions, we frequently overlook the miraculous and the apocalyptic.
That comparative religious studies give context to events that seem extraordinary and affirming within a single religious tradition.
That when we study religions, we frequently overlook its comparative aspects.

Oh – and that depth psychology (Freud, Brown, Jung, Hillman) and cultural anthropology (Bateson, Turner, Lansing) also have much to teach us.

Connecting dots is not so hard once you can see them — but how do you connect your blind spots?

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