Here’s another very interesting emailed quote from Andrew Cohen, arguing that the future does not pre-exist.

The Very Edge of the Possible
I am endlessly compelled by the notion that higher stages or levels of development do not preexist, that is, they are not “given” but are literally created by brave individuals who actually venture into new, uncharted territory, laying down “grooves” that others follow, which eventually become actual new structures or stages. The fact that the future, even at the most subtle metaphysical levels, literally does not yet exist challenges our most fundamental spiritual/religious notions in every possible way, but if we’re ready for it, it can be the source of enormous inspiration and promise. I think potentially what’s the most thrilling for the postmodern self is the discovery that we are literally creating the future, which means we are not separate from the creative principle or God-impulse itself — God is evolving as we evolve. And this moment itself, assuming that one is leaning into it with all of one’s being, reaching for the future, is potentially the very edge of the possible.
Andrew Cohen

I would agree, but add a small rider: it depends on your point of view. For example, C.S. Lewis’s view of free-will was that, since God is outside time, “he” is aware of the outcome of all decisions, past and present. For us, however, at the point of choice, we really do have a set of alternatives and the freedom to go either way, again up to the point where necessity takes control.

I like to look at it from a different angle. Modern computers have a facility called “snap to grid”. On certain blank screens there is an invisible grid of small rectangles. This is the technology behind spreadsheets and CadCam design software. As you prepare a worksheet or a drawing, your work automatically “snaps” into the boundaries set by the hidden grid. If you want, you can reveal the grid, or even eliminate it — but if you do your work tends to become rather messy, unless you are an expert.

The analogy is this: when we act with apparent freedom, our acts automatically, and without our being aware of it, snap to a grid prepared for us. As we become more aware, though, we begin to discern the grid. A completely enlightened person can “turn off” the grid and assume spiritual freedom by becoming united with divine purpose. These are the three stages of awareness which cloud the endless debate over free-will versus determinism. The “snap” stage is when we are ignorant of any determining factors on our actions. The beginning of awareness (illumination), is when we can see the grid and accept its purpose. The third level (unitive contemplation) is when we become one with the grid itself. What most people call freedom is just a blind pursuit of a barrage of impulses and whims conditioned by past events and bodily demands. If things work out, this is freedom; if not, that’s servitude. In truth, there is no difference between them. Real freedom is probably quite rare and is predicated upon an ability to rise above internal and external impulses, which rests on the level of awareness attained by the individual.

Awareness is the contemplative’s dimension. Just as a scientist works in time, trying to verify that what happened yesterday will occur again today, the contemplative works in awareness.

This is a preliminary review of National Geographic’s new book, The Gospel of Judas, which contains a translation of the recently-discovered manuscript and three scholarly articles written for a general readership.

I have covered the discovery and recent history of the Gospel in another post, so I just want to throw out a few first impression here.

The main point the press picked up on was the way Jesus regards Judas as a friend, someone who enables him to escape from his mortal body and fulfil his mission on Earth.

From the start, I didn’t think that was a well developed point, especially since Judas apparently took 30 silver coins for his pains. Of course, that may well have been a later addition to strengthen the view that Judas was a devil incarnate. But there’s a far more interesting point.

Judas seems to belong to a Gnostic group of Christians known as Sethians. Jesus is also portrayed as one of their number. They believed that only some people contained the “divine spark” that would take them after bodily death to a higher region called the Barbelo. Those who lacked this spiritual element would perish after death.

These ideas are rehearsed in the Gospel of John, the most spiritual of the four New Testament Gospels and the one with the greatest affinity with Gnosticism. In John, there is famous, much-quoted passage:

“Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit.”

There are echoes here of a salvationist philosophy as believed by later groups like the Cathars who were known more as heirs to the Gnostics than Rome.

When Jesus tells Judas that he will destroy the “man who clothes me”, Jesus regards that as a great service, not because of atonement or bodily resurrection, but because it frees him to return to the spiritual realm of Barbelo, where “his generation” live. He and Judas don’t belong to the “human generation” who will perish.

This is a very different strand of Christianity, unknown to those who follow what was written by Rome and its apologists. The more information we discover, the more we see a darker and far more spiritual side to Christianity than is generally accepted today.

Books like Holy Blood, Holy Grail and its offshoot, The Da Vinci Code are only reflecting incompletely this new knowledge, which has still to be fully expounded and assimilated into our culture

Michael Fass, 61, the Episcopalian priest of Rosslyn Capel near Edinburgh which featured heavily in the ending to The Da Vinci Code, will leave his post in July.

Reverend Fass said he has been overwhelmed by thousands of Da Vinci fans visiting the chapel following Dan Brown’s claims that the Holy Grail is situated in one of the columns, known as the Apprentice Pillar. The priest said the fabulously ornate building has “become a Disneyland for Da Vinci Code fans.”

Before Da Vinci, Rosslyn had 9,500 tourists a year. Last year that rose to 117,000 visitors. Even more are expected this year after the chapel was used as a location in the film version of the book.

Michael Fass has been at the church for nine years. Yesterday, a friend said: “Rev Fass is a serious and committed man. He thought it was unbearable when services were interrupted by tourists. This has been a place of worship for hundreds of years. You cannot just trample over that because of a book. He raised his concerns with the trust that runs the chapel but the impression was that their interest lies in only getting more people through the door. He was swimming against the tide.”

One can’t help wondering what the size of the congregation was before the book. The Da Vinci Code has certainly made the Church and Christianity more exciting subjects than they were before.

John Buchan was an historian, a politician and writer of thrillers. His best known novel is “The Thirty-Nine Steps”, which has been filmed many times. However, his historical novels always showed him at his best.

Midwinter is among my favorite John Buchan novels. Here’s a great spiritual quotation from it:

“I am wholly content, for my calling is philosophy. I stand aside in life, and strike no blows and make no bargain, but I learn that which is hid from others.”

Midwinter, John Buchan.