Contents
Preface to the Second Edition 16
Science’s and Religion’s Ways of Knowing 27
A Scientific/Religious Comprehensive World View 29
1 Religion’s Way of Knowing 36
The Revelational Way of Knowing 37
Claim 1: External Consistency 39
Claim 1: Internal Consistency 43
Consistency versus Truthfulness 45
The Erosion of Truthfulness 47
Claim 2: Attaining Completeness and Finality 48
Claim 3: Necessity for Salvation, Enlightenment 55
Claim 4: Reasons for Believing in Divine Authorship 56
Shortcomings of Divine Authorship 59
Separating Truth and Lies, Wisdom and Nonsense 62
The Origin of the Scientific Way of Knowing 66
The First Element: Observation and Experiment 70
The Second Element: Hypothesis 72
Inductive Logic and Deductive Logic 74
Shortcomings of the Scientific Way of Knowing 83
Science and Divine Authorship 86
Science and Consistency and Truthfulness 88
Science and Completeness and Finality 89
Science and Salvation, Enlightenment, Liberation 90
3 Science’s Domain Of Knowing 94
Basis of the Physical Universe 96
Independent, Uncontingent, Unconditional, Uncaused 111
4 Religion’s Domain Of Knowing 118
Monotheism and Religious Monism 120
Being, the Great Chain of Being, Absolute Being 133
Experience of Uncreated Light 143
The Many Meanings of Union 158
Participatory Union and Illusory Union 161
Transcending the Triad of Knower, Knowing, Known 166
Mysticism: Proper, Improper and Counterfeit 174
Traditional Measures of Mystical Truth 179
The Scientific Way of Knowing as the Standard 181
Religion Without Dogma or a God Who Is a Person 183
The Data: Agreement and Objectivity 187
Hypothesis, Law, and Theory 191
Looking Back, Looking Ahead 197
The Tale of the Scientific Alchemists and Religious Newtonians 198
Dualism: The Fall from Eden 210
Dependent Dualism and the Problem of Evil 214
The Problem of the Origin of Evil 216
The System of “Good” and “Bad” 220
Inseparable Interactive Invocation, an Inseparable Dualism 223
Inseparable Dualism and the Problem of Suffering and Pain 228
Landmarks: Ancient and Contemporary 234
Relative Personal Identity 237
Absolute Personal Identity 238
Identity as Body, Heart or Mind 240
Hierarchy of Body, Heart, Mind and Awareness 243
A Unitary Psychophysical Language? 244
Awareness as Absolute Personal Identity 247
Consequences of Awareness as Absolute Personal Identity 249
No Absolute Personal Identity 251
Two Views of Absolute Personal Identity 253
A Living, Conscious Absolute 257
Monism and Gods who are Persons 258
The Power of the Personal Aspect 263
Actual and Operational Monotheism 265
Confusion of Actual and Operational Monotheism 268
Unrecognized Experience of the Personal Aspect? 270
Advantages of Monism and Operational Monotheism 273
Component Entities and Relative Existence 279
Looking Back, Looking Ahead—II 294
Common Goals and the Afterlife 300
Afterlife and Personal Identity 304
Entirely and Partially Transcendent Goals 311
Desire for Unchanging Reality 312
Following a Spiritual Teacher 322
The Bottom-up Approach to Morals 327
The Value of Religious Practices 329
Concerning Theoretical Explanations 332
Renunciation and Monastic Withdrawal 336
Passionlessness And Thoughtlessness 339
Detachment from the Ego, Detachment from World 340
The Negative and Affirmative Ways 341
The Rightful Use of Things 344
The Two Ways Compared; Transcendence and Immanence 346
Right Actions, Right Effort 352
Attitudes Toward Things and Events 353
Physical Actions and Efforts 356
Emotion Actions and Efforts 363
Intellectual Actions and Efforts 366
Benefits of Centering and Merging 378
Right Concentration: Self-Referential Awareness 379
The Result of Union: Annihilation or Return 387
15 Towards An Exact Science 390
Physical Effects of Gnosis 391
Holism and Measuring Inner States 397