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Tuesday, 12 April 2011
Magical and Supernatural
We all like a few diagrams. My whole Ph.D was summed up in one diagram. I'm not sure if this one works, but imagine a three dimensional space with High above and Low below, and two curves as boundaries. Perhaps each reader can position themselves. If difficult to see, click on the image.
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9 comments:
Hi Adrian, I need a bit more explanation of what the diagram represents first.
Trust you are well. Louise x
Well I'm just pursuing a theme of the difference between the esoteric and the supernatural (for those that believe these) and they come close to each other at each end and diverge in the middle. The esoteric is material-spiritual stages to the divine and possession of spiritual power, they say, whereas the supernatural for those that prefer that is more a doctrinal metaphysic of the material with the spiritual, God and creation. I think.
This is a very frustrating diagram Adrian I have just spent half my life trying to find myself on it. Kevin x.
... and what does high and low represent? I am not sure why homeopathy is in here - is this because people believe it is based on faith and nothing more? Am trying hard to understand the diagram so that I may make a more sensible comment. x
No, homeopathy is said to be natural and scientific, but it is a form of magic is it not? I have placed it towards the naturalistic in the low (unfussy) area but part of that esoteric line.
High Church and Low Church - Unitarians are low of course, with only occasional touches of higher with Lloyd Thomas and Ulric Vernon Herford and a bit of architecture.
What was ur PhD about?
University of Hull: Ph.D Sociology and Social Anthropology Ph.D thesis (98000 words): New Denominationalism: Tendencies Towards a New Reformation of English Christianity. Two churches participant observation; theological study; semi-structured interviews with ministers. Replaced standard church/ denominational sect continuum by conversionism to radicalism, adaptable to other bodies. 1982 1989
Well, I seem to come out as a giant U shape: quite flat as the bottom part seems to have "melted" and run over various bits (its thicker parts cover "evangelical", "charismatic" and "homeopathic"; but there seems to be a gradual drift from the hidden "fundamentalist" towards "liberal" and "mystical"), whereas the tops now reach up into "affirming" and "traditional".
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