Saved?

[LBernier at tribune.com]

Rich sez:
     
     Yes I agree with what the gnostics were so annoyed about and heck 
     those church fathers weren't a nice bunch, bt after reading a bit 
     about both sides of the issue, it dawned on me that the Gnostics 
     seemed to be a very elitist club.  

Sort of like Pynchon readers?  Perhaps, just perhaps, true salvation is not 
for everyone - if you are incapable of understanding what the underlying 
philosophies of your chosen religion are, then why should you get a ticket 
to heaven?  Faith, as in belief in the miracles, is one thing, but being a 
blind, unquestioning lemming is another altogether.  We've all seen enough 
of what that leads to in these modern, high-explosive times.
     
     Is knowledge 'knowledge' because it's something we all agree upon as 
     knowledge or can we get by with individual intuitions?  I'd say we 
     need a bit of both 

Yes, in the form of teacher/student - eventually the student should be 
allowed to venture out on their own, form their own opinions based upon 
their readings.  Unfortunately, the current structure, especially in the 
Catholic Church, is to dictate to the congregation, in a "Father Knows 
Best" kind of way, what you should or should not believe.  Would you want 
some university academic to tell you Pynchon meant X when he wrote GR, 
period, end-of-story, no alternative viewpoints allowed?
     
Jean.