The Last Supper. Leonardo da Vinci, Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milano
The "Homo Religiosus",
The religious man, religion as the experience of the sacred as a subtile force.
17/07/26 : This website has been updated and made more user-friendly.
.jpg)
The Trinity (Andrei Rublev)
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
Incarnatio Dei, hominis deificatio.
The Incarnation of God leads to the deïfication of man.
God comes to man, whereby that man is divinized.
The ancient Christian religion as wisdom, 'healing', and cure.
The “Homo religiosus,” the religious person, is he or she who directly experiences the sacred as a subtle force. Western people generally no longer understand what religion, conceived in this way, once was in, and still is in, a number of cultures. Since the 18th century, the century of the “Enlightenment,” our culture has barely had any contact with the essential core of that religious world. And this website aims to provide a great deal of information about that.
Just as one can develop various scientific theories regarding the same established fact, so too can one hold many religious views. A plurality of opinions is a democratically acquired right and accommodates every view. However, ultimately, opposing views cannot possibly all be equally true. Further experimentation and logical reasoning will identify a number of views as less probable or false. Ultimately, the view that most closely approximates reality prevails. It seems to us that this is no different in religious matters. And that is what this site aims to address.
In compiling this website, extensive use was made of the philosophy courses taught by André T’Jampens, the charismatic former pastor of Ouwegem and a lecturer at the Higher Institute for Educational Sciences in Antwerp from 1957 to 2000.
Anna Netrebko
"When I come on stage, something happens, like in the quality of the performance... was like then times more, like..; I had something - I'm not religious - but I had something that... some voice which is telling me how to do, and what to do..., like appears and then disappears. It is very, very strange, but is's been always with me and especially in important roles".
.
Anna Netrebko, the world-famous Russian-Austrian prano, stated this on the occasion of the official announcement of the 2000 Polar Music Prize, which was awarded to her on February 11 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9dO3ky9sH8).
Although she states that she is not religious, she nevertheless expresses a religious experience in a remarkably clear way. In this respect, her testimony is, in a certain sense, analogous to the story of "Bapuka" (see the Texts section, text 34).
It is worth recalling that the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates also claimed to possess an inner voice that never urged him to act, but did warn him whenever danger threatened. Jesus likewise says that he continually hears the inner voice of his Father and always follows it. In a similar way, Father T'Jampens was guided by an inner voice that, regardless of the person concerned, assisted him in resolving many of life's problems as well as numerous health-related difficulties. Irrespective of a person's religious convictions, he would simply say: "There is a problem that needs to be solved." And then he would set to work.
According to Father T'Jampens, this inner voice belonged to a great saint from the early Middle Ages. The voice continually assisted him through its guidance and through Trinitarian energy—energy proceeding from the Holy Trinity: the heavenly Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Almost everyone recognizes something similar in him or her, albeit on a much more modest level: the voice of conscience.
Mens sana in corpore sano
The expression "a sound mind in a sound body" is nowadays generally understood to mean: maintain a healthy balance between one's physical and mental well-being.
Originally, however, it forms part of a quotation by the Roman poet Juvenal: "Orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano." The word orandum means "to pray." The sentence may therefore be translated as: "One ought to pray for a sound mind in a sound body." Juvenal suggests that persistent prayer leads to physical well-being. Prayer is thus presented as the cause of health. This interpretation differs considerably from the modern understanding, which emphasizes the interaction between one's physical and mental condition.
Inspired by the biblical thought expressed in Revelation 22:2, this idea may be formulated in Ancient Greek as follows: Ἔστιν ἡ σοφία κατερχομένη εἰς θεραπείαν τῶν ἐθνῶν. (Read : "Estin hē sophia katerchomenē eis therapeian tōn ethnōn.") Translated literally, this means: "It is Wisdom descending for the healing of the nations." According to Pastor T'Jampens, that was the core of the correctly understood Christian religion. Ancient Greek culture and Christianity form the basis of our Western culture.
The meaning of the expression may be explained as follows. In paranormal or religious healing, it is believed that subtle spiritual energy is transmitted to a person's aura—descending from the higher world of light—in such abundance that it exerts a healing influence upon the biological body, ultimately leading to recovery. One may think, for example, of the many miracles performed by Jesus.
People with psychic sensitivity—those who claim to be receptive to such experiences—often report that during prayer, which also brings them into contact with Jesus, they experience an influx of subtle spiritual energy. Here again, it is persistent prayer that is believed to lead to healing. In this lies the strength of a dynamic understanding of Christianity: a religion that remains open to, and places its trust in, the workings of subtle spiritual forces. Without such faith, religion is, in essence, powerless, lacking any effective or transformative influence.
Or, to express it in the words of Jesus at the healing of the woman who suffered from a hemorrhage (Luke 8:43–48): “Your faith has saved you.” It is your faith that enables this power to enter your aura. Both elements—faith and power—are required. That persevering prayer can lead to results is illustrated, among other examples, by the story of Sophie in the book Homo Religiosus, section 12.2.2, “An Anonymous Testimony,” and likewise in section 12.2.3, “A Healer’s Account.”
It was this dynamic understanding of the Christian faith to which Father T'Jampens bore witness throughout his life.
Finally, it is worth pointing to the relationship between logic and ethics. Whoever reasons correctly also reasons conscientiously. Conversely, whoever acts conscientiously also acts in accordance with sound logic. This explains the importance of logic and its relationship to religion. It also explains why the Ancient Greek formulation speaks of "Wisdom descending." Acting with logical consistency and moral integrity is itself an expression of wisdom.
All of this will gradually become clearer through a careful reading of the courses and writings of Father T'Jampens.
