Re: If the Pope dies...
I would encourage anyone to take advantage of hundreds and even thousands of years of human experience of God revealing Himself to mankind throughout human history. It's a lot of work to sort out the prophets who had a genuine encounter from those who just bumped their head. In college I studied Religion and Philosophy and had to sort through a lot of useless theology and philosophy. There are a lot of wacky ideas out there that frankly, just waste our time. Many of the ideas were just the "flavor of the month" stuff. They were popular for a few years and faded away like so many others.
There were a few that have stayed with me and changed my life, but most were inconsequential to my enlightenment and growth. Many people in history have had encounters with the Divine. They spent hundreds and thousands of hours studying, thinking about and seeking the same truths that we are seeking. They struggled with questions but would not relent in their search that would take its toll physically and emotionally; they were not dilettantes seeking amusement. They paid a price of deprivation that few are willing to pay these days, fasting and praying for days and weeks sometimes. Some had more success than we have had too. Is it any wonder after what they went through personally? The ones that I will pay close attention to are the ones that DIED for what they believed. It was not just armchair philosophy to THEM. It cost them something precious: their possessions, their families, their lives. Start with those who died for what they believed. Your time is valuable so invest it first in those who believed it enough to pay the ultimate price.
By not pursuing and evaluating those who claim enlightenment, it could be an excuse to ignore truths. Other ideas can be a threat to one's own elaborate design, especially if you find that the years you have put into your thinking has been invalidated by an old man from aniquity perhaps, who's only virture was that he committed himself to knowing truth and was rewarded for his efforts.
I would encourage anyone to take advantage of hundreds and even thousands of years of human experience of God revealing Himself to mankind throughout human history. It's a lot of work to sort out the prophets who had a genuine encounter from those who just bumped their head. In college I studied Religion and Philosophy and had to sort through a lot of useless theology and philosophy. There are a lot of wacky ideas out there that frankly, just waste our time. Many of the ideas were just the "flavor of the month" stuff. They were popular for a few years and faded away like so many others.
There were a few that have stayed with me and changed my life, but most were inconsequential to my enlightenment and growth. Many people in history have had encounters with the Divine. They spent hundreds and thousands of hours studying, thinking about and seeking the same truths that we are seeking. They struggled with questions but would not relent in their search that would take its toll physically and emotionally; they were not dilettantes seeking amusement. They paid a price of deprivation that few are willing to pay these days, fasting and praying for days and weeks sometimes. Some had more success than we have had too. Is it any wonder after what they went through personally? The ones that I will pay close attention to are the ones that DIED for what they believed. It was not just armchair philosophy to THEM. It cost them something precious: their possessions, their families, their lives. Start with those who died for what they believed. Your time is valuable so invest it first in those who believed it enough to pay the ultimate price.
By not pursuing and evaluating those who claim enlightenment, it could be an excuse to ignore truths. Other ideas can be a threat to one's own elaborate design, especially if you find that the years you have put into your thinking has been invalidated by an old man from aniquity perhaps, who's only virture was that he committed himself to knowing truth and was rewarded for his efforts.