Objections to the language in Teach Us To Pray page 101
Some people have written to me about this and other passages in Teach Us To Pray. Here is one example:
The quote that really disturbed me is in the chapter entitled "The Supermind" on page 101 starting at the beginning of the page. Especially the statement "The way in which we project this force determines whether we are Christian or pagan. If our thought is to destroy, we are pagan. If our thought is for peace, we are Christian." Also at the end of that same paragraph "Christ is the Prince of Peace and Satan is the devil of destruction." It appears that there are only two choices - Christian or pagan and pagan is the equivalent of Satan which is the devil of destruction. What happened to One Power? Not the Unity teachings which attracted me... This section sounds to me like it could have come straight from fundamentalist Christianity, which is why I thought maybe Cora wrote this with her Lutheran background. I have many friends who self identify as "pagan" and they are a lot more likely to follow Jesus' teachings than a lot of so called Christians that I know.
The passage reads:
The question is often asked if the Indian medicine man or the African witch doctor uses the same force that the Christian healer does. The answer is yes. There is but one primal life in which we all exist and which we use as we will. The way in which we project this force determines whether we are Christian or pagan. If our thought is to destroy, we are pagan. If our thought is for peace, we are Christian.
What the Fillmores are saying is that the religion of the African witch doctor is just as authentic and wholesome as the religion of the Christian if the divine idea behind the thought is for peace. In other words the Fillmores are actually affirming the Truth of the African witch doctor. I find that a refreshing view of world religion.
I see how readers would have two objections: the use of the word "pagan" and the judgment they might make about some religion. The Fillmores use many words that have come to be reinterpreted in the late 20th century, such as their common use of "queer". "Queer" has come to be a derogatory term and "pagan" has come to be term without judgement. But the Fillmores never used them as we may use them today. My point is that if we are to read a book 80 years after it is published, then we need to read with the language for what it meant at the time, not what it means to us today.
As for judgment expressed in this passage, we should remember that the Fillmores didn't live in our post-modern age, which we do, and so they never saw Truth as coming from a social or cultural context; they never considered that delclaring something as "Christian" might convey a form of religious bigotry. In fact, their willingness to place Christianity and African witch doctor in the same category was an incredibly enlighted thing to do in the early 20th centrury.
Some people have written to me about this and other passages in Teach Us To Pray. Here is one example:
The passage reads:
What the Fillmores are saying is that the religion of the African witch doctor is just as authentic and wholesome as the religion of the Christian if the divine idea behind the thought is for peace. In other words the Fillmores are actually affirming the Truth of the African witch doctor. I find that a refreshing view of world religion.
I see how readers would have two objections: the use of the word "pagan" and the judgment they might make about some religion. The Fillmores use many words that have come to be reinterpreted in the late 20th century, such as their common use of "queer". "Queer" has come to be a derogatory term and "pagan" has come to be term without judgement. But the Fillmores never used them as we may use them today. My point is that if we are to read a book 80 years after it is published, then we need to read with the language for what it meant at the time, not what it means to us today.
As for judgment expressed in this passage, we should remember that the Fillmores didn't live in our post-modern age, which we do, and so they never saw Truth as coming from a social or cultural context; they never considered that delclaring something as "Christian" might convey a form of religious bigotry. In fact, their willingness to place Christianity and African witch doctor in the same category was an incredibly enlighted thing to do in the early 20th centrury.