Axial prefatory note

Axial prefatory note

YWW1

The following essay treads a well-worn path: Transcendent and universalist tendencies of Axial Age and post Axial Age thinkers. These tendencies have been described by writers from Huxley to Jaspers, and by a number of theologians.

The idea presented here goes further, saying that these trends point toward a fundamental, which is here denoted as the Universal Christological Principle. This principle of course is discerned by many Christians as personality. Yet non-Christians also may have some sense of this principle, which reveals itself -- or at least is prefigured -- by Axial thinkers who taught during what may be seen as a foundational period before the establishment of Christianity.

The UCP remains a powerful force of history and current events for Christians of every stripe, who interpret this principle in a wide variety of ways. And, importantly, non-Christians the world over have some sense of it, even if they use different terminology. For some, it shines brightly as the sun on a cloudless day; for others it is a dim orb barely detectable thru the mists. Yet this principle is something most parts of humanity know at least a bit about.

YWW2

Even atheists commonly assume this principle, tho not by such a name obviously. This is shown by their need to find some rational basis for personal morality -- an ongoing struggle from Nietzsche to Sartre to Dennett and beyond. They seek to "replace" core Christian values with "core Christian values." Unconsciously, no doubt, they are saying that there needs to be some "absolute" in the universe that underpins "core" values, tho many would deny that point.

This "absolute," I submit, is the UCP, a unifying teleolgical principle, or logos. Christians have always identified this logos as a person, tho quite evidently non-Christians do not do so. Nevertheless, this organizing principle appears to this writer to be more logical than the routine "scientific explanation" (which falls far short, as we will show later).

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See material on Quakers in Gmail. The current society reflects what is said above, as it is clear that quite a few members have distanced themselves from the Holy Spirit, using their affiliation as an ethical political and personal (female) empowerment zone.