Spirit is an ever-flowing current bubbling directly into the hearts of all who seek her. The human soul innately seeks this current; this thirst is common to all people.

The current facilitates inner stillness, compassion, and a desire for celebration and justice -- and so fosters just action. Spiritual awareness is not a thing divorced from action or life or fellowship; its most genuine expression is in the lives and actions of those who exemplify the current's influence.

Spiritual expression must also harmonize with rational inquiry. To be affected by the ideas of Gnosticism, one does not have to "convert" from one belief to another, or suspend one's doubt or disbelief.

The sacred teachings of many religions are depictions of the same Spiritual current -- couched, necessarily, in the words, concepts, and cultures of those who attempt to describe That which transcends simple description. To the extent that it is deemed worthwhile, material is presented here to demonstrate the influence of Gnostic current in the teachings of Christianity, Judaism, and other philosophies, worldviews, and schools of thought.

There was once a time when the teachings of Christianity or Judaism were fresh and young, as if they had just been drawn from the spiritual well. Their authority came not from tradition, but from raw transformative potential. The goal of the religious Renewal movement is to recapture that freshness by expressing the timeless truths of spiritual traditions in contemporary terms, concepts, and ideology. Renewal is grounded in tradition, respectful of ancestral cultures and scriptures, yet is also honest to rational inquiry, and free to grow as Spirit directs.

"Wherever two or three are gathered in rhythm with my experience of the living cosmos --
then the "I am" is among, around, and inside them."
Matthew 18:20, rendered after the fashion of Neil Douglas-Klotz, to illustrate meanings implicit in the original Aramaic

Last Updated August 5, 2002
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