In English, “meta” anything is an effort to understand the thought and process of the thing itself. If I use the term “meta-blogging,” you would recognize that as a reference to blogging about blogging itself.
So obviously meta-religion is religious discourse about religion. More specifically, it’s about the formation of religion as a human response. Regular readers probably recognize how I’ve split my religion writing here between my personal faith and my thoughts about religion itself. That’s the business of recognizing mysticism as an approach to religion, not a religion itself. It touches on the use of the term “quantum” because that term introduces the effort to reduce things to their essence.
Having a place to stand where you can reason about such things is not native to Western Civilization. It’s not entirely foreign, but if you step outside Western thought, you recognize how confining it can be. Westerners almost have to compartmentalize to do it because Western thought fundamentally rejects the notion that there is more than one realm of existence. Aristotle had no trouble with multiple levels within one realm, but the fundamental assumption is a unitary reality and that reality itself was within reach of the human mind. Most other civilizations have been quite ready to entertain multiple realities and things far outside human awareness, so a familiarity with these other approaches makes it much easier.
The other limiting factor of Western thought is the arrogant assumption that it is the default standard for all humanity in all times and places. This is unique to the West, as every other civilization has made room for contextual exigencies. In other words, the West is the only civilization that takes itself so seriously, and Americans in particular have absorbed this.
In my embrace of the Hebrew approach as part of the Ancient Near East broadly, it’s much easier to discuss religion with the attitude of serving the customer. The person serving is admittedly constrained by very real limitations, but willing to show anyone other options that might exist. So on the one hand I do promote my own religion, but at the same time, I make room for all sorts of other religions. In particular, I try to offer a saner approach to shaping your own religion by helping you think about the process.
This business of serving the customer is fundamental. It’s the foundation for organization itself. When I write about the ANE feudal family structure, it includes a powerful element of openness for the participant. People talk about the restrictions of the Mosaic Decalogue and forget how very wide open it was to application. Yet, it left an awful lot of wiggle room because it wasn’t about rules but commitment. This is what happens when you deny the existence of objectivity; no lock-in is possible as an external control. It’s personal or it simply doesn’t exist.
Thus, I endeavor to treat all my readers and everyone I encounter on that open basis. I’m not looking for violations of artificial boundaries. It’s not a question of what’s right and wrong universally, but what I can tolerate with my own limitations. I recognize all boundaries as personal. I can infer something about God’s boundaries through revelation, but I can’t possibly presume they match mine. I’m striving to match His with the sure knowledge I must fail.
This is why I don’t debate. I reject the notion that there is any objective truth against which we compare notes. All I can do is tell you what I’ve experienced in my encounter with God. I’m glad to explain it as best I can for you, but by no means would I seek to vanquish your differing thoughts, because I can’t presume to play God for you. Obviously, at some point our differences make it impossible to confer together, but short of that, I’ll entertain your differing notions in pursuit of your affection.
It’s not a need for affirmation and acceptance; I don’t need that kind of support. God takes care of that for both of us. What we need is faithfulness to Him in sharing whatever we can. I assume you are family until you make it obviously not so. I don’t value results but the connection between us.
