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Charles le Gai Eaton

Charles le Gai Eaton Biography

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“So many ruins bear witness to good intentions which went astray, good intentions unenlightened by any glimmer of wisdom. To bring religion to the people is a fine and necessary undertaking, but this is not a situation in which the proposed end can be said to justify the means. The further people have drifted from the truth, the greater is the temptation to water down the truth, glossing over its less palatable aspects and, in short, allowing a policy of compromise to become one of adulteration. In this way it is hoped that the common man – if he can be found – will be encouraged to find a small corner in his busy life for religion without having to change his ways or to grapple with disturbing thoughts. It is a forlorn hope. Standing, as it were, at the pavement’s edge with his tray of goods, the priest reduces the price until he is offering his wares for nothing: divine judgement is a myth, hell a wicked superstition, prayer less important than decent behaviour, and God himself dispensable in the last resort; and still the passers-by go their way, sorry over having to ignore such a nice man but with more important matters demanding their attention. And yet these matters with which they are most urgently concerned are, for so many of them, quicksands in which they feel themselves trapped. Had they been offered a real alternative, a rock firm-planted from the beginning of time, they might have been prepared to pay a high price.”

ReligionSocietyReforming Religion
Book:King of the Castle: Choice and Responsibility in the Modern World
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“Certain mystical philosophers have personified Destiny, and from this point of view each man's personal destiny is his archetype or "other self"--his "angel"--with whom he must be reunited if he is to rise above his fragmentary identity as a worldling and become whole, as he is (and always has been) in the mind of God.”

IfsMenMindHas BeensSelfWholeCertainViewsDestinyIdentityAngelPhilosopherPoint Of ViewMysticalRise AboveArchetypeReunited
Book:Islam and the Destiny of Man
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“Those who know in their hearts that they are not really necessary -- and are entirely replaceable-- must inevitably be tempted to misrepresent the nature of their work and build up a false notion of its importance. A further alienation from truth takes place, a further loss of contact with reality. And one thing we can be sure of is that self-deception, whether on the level of the wind and the rain or on that of spiritual reality, must always come up against the real sooner or later, and that its destruction is very painful.”

KnowsHeartRealSelfRealitySpiritualLossLevelsOne ThingWindRainDestructionImportanceNotionCome UpPainfulContactDeceptionSooner Or LaterTemptedAlienationSelf Deception
Author:Charles le Gai Eaton
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“The agnostic has a very curious notion of religion. He is convinced that a man who says 'I believe in God' should at once become perfect; if this does not happen, then the believer must be a fraud and a hypocrite. He thinks that adherence to a religion is the end of the road, whereas it is in fact only the beginning of a very long and sometimes very rough road. He looks for consistency in religious people, however aware he may be of inconsistencies in himself”

PeopleIfsThinkingMenShouldBelieveLooksMayLongDoeEndsSometimesFactsHappensI BelieveReligiousPerfectNotionI Believe InConvincedBelieverCuriousRoughBelieve In GodFraudConsistencyAgnosticHypocriteInconsistencyI Believe In GodAdherenceEnd Of The Road
Book:Islam and the Destiny of Man
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“Men who scorn the idea of submission to the divine Will and are outraged by the notion of a God who requires submission are among the first to demand total submission to the process in which we are involved and seem to attach a kind of moral imperative to willing participation in it. Any other attitude, so they say, is reactionary or escapist or anti-social. Perhaps, after all, they have found a divinity to worship; and, if they have, the only charitable comment must be: God help them!”

IfsMenFirstsKindIdeasHelpingSeemsFoundSocialProcessAttitudeMoralDivineWillingInvolvedDemandWorshipNotionDivinityCommentParticipationSubmissionScornImperativesCharitableReactionariesGod HelpOutragedAnti SocialEscapistsDivine Will
Author:Charles le Gai Eaton
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