Give them the stone of Sophia and you'll find philosophy gone.
And, what's left?
The stone!
Goethe
The question of religion and spirituality are huge ones today. Many claim they are spiritual and not religious. Others lock themselves into idealistic boxes such as Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jew, or Pagan. Others believe themselves to be atheist. And what is the actual meaning of the term, a-theistic?
To truly be a-theistic (without theories of God) is the same as being without a philosophy. In reality, a-theism is moving beyond theories, theologies, and philosophies. This is in line with what Goethe says in the above quotation. What passes as atheism today is actually anti-theism. Talk about locking yourself in an adversarial box with those you most hate!
Wisdom (Sophia) is the ridding ourselves of our philosophical boxes. Hey, philosophy means "Lover of Sophia!" If we must have a philosophy, let us cry out an ecstatic "YES" to life.
What joins theism and philosophy? They are both idealisms. So is our modern day atheist. An atheist is a person who holds an Ism that discounts the theisms of the church. Thus, an atheist is ultimately locked in a philosophical box just as much as any doctrinaire religionist is. Let us lay all ISMs to rest so we can live-and-let-live.
This ridding ourselves of idealism is a noble cause. Think for yourself and stop attending to the Wizard on Stage (if the reference to the Wizard (of Oz) perks your interest, visit my article that speaks to that story (link).
Could we then define religion as idealism? Yes, we could. Churches are full of ideals. (The L in "ideals" puts a lock on ideas and locks out all those who disagree with the judgments of almighty YOU!) If you are of a church organization, they call these ideals "theologies". A theology is a thought system. Thought systems are philosophies. They turn us into know-it-alls.
And Goethe says, "get past all this!?"
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