Oneness of mankind

[Buddy1]

Is it correct to contemplate this: We are all ONE. From the beginning, creation was one single entity. But through our selfishness we derailed God’s dream. He still knows that we are ONE, but instead of waving a magic wand He wants US to bring about the Kingdom of God here on Earth as it is in Heaven. Just as Jesus did.

 

[Wesrock]

We are one race and one family and one body of Christ.

But parts of your post sound kind of like monism. We are also individuals.

So I suppose it depends on what you mean.

 

[Magnanimity]

Well yes, in a manner of speaking. St Gregory of Nyssa certainly approaches humanity in this unitive way—he speaks of the salvific path of the human race, rather than (as we westerners often do) thinking of the salvation of this or that particular, differentiated individual. There is something troubling about the Modernist, western tendency to believe that every man is an island. In a very deep sense, I think we are obliged to recognize this underlying unity of the race, and that each of us plays whatever small part we can to bring humanity back to God (whence we came).

 

[Buddy1]

But do you think most people will see the difference between that and Buddhaism and Hinduism? Also do you think oneness philosophy is self correction of Western-modernist thought of:man being his own island. As in the Western modernists says " our ideas are not not working, we need “Oneness” ideology to lead the way now.

 

[Magnanimity]

Yes, certainly it’s differentiated from Buddhism which, if we’re honest, has no ground for contingent beings. Buddhism is fundamentally non-theistic or perhaps atheistic. In Christianity, God is the Ground of all contingency, and it’s a very coherent view (at least that viewof St Thomas Aquinas is coherent).

Hinduism is maybe a little tougher. I’m no expert, but from what I’ve read of Vedantic Hinduism, there is a Oneness of Being that emerges from the teaching. And this at least borders on theism.

 

[Magnanimity]

Also do you think oneness philosophy is self correction of Western-modernist thought of:man being his own island.

I would say it’s a necessary correction, though not self-correcting. If it were self-correcting, we wouldn’t have had 500 years of scientism! It would have been more obvious to us westerners sooner…

As in the Western modernists says " our ideas are not not working, we need “Oneness” ideology to lead the way now.

It really depends, I think, on what is meant by “oneness.” If we’re talking the Plotinus train of thought, I’m not sure that’ll go over very well, as @Wesrock notes. However, if we simply mean more of a focus on the unitive aspects of humanity (rather than the differentiated) then yes, we do need such oneness to come as a corrective to the unbridled individualism rampant in Western culture today.

 

[Buddy1]

I agree that there needs to be more unity within the Church. But I also wonder would it be more ambiguous to people? Since we already have a problem with individuality it would almost be habit to think of oneness in our own particular way for some people think that homosexual marriages and heterosexual marriages are complementary whereas another would see homosexual marriage destroying that oneness of a heterosexual marriage. Am I making any sense here?

 

[Magnanimity]

it would almost be habit to think of oneness in our own particular way

This is an excellent point, which only goes to show that non-duality can never be achieved by the mind alone. The particular gift of the mind is differentiation itself.

ome people think that homosexual marriages and heterosexual marriages are complementary whereas another would see homosexual marriage destroying that oneness of a heterosexual marriage. Am I making any sense here?

I can’t say that I’ve thought a lot about the complementarity of same-sex and heterosexual marriages. I have been working within a paradigm that suggests that the two genders (male and female) are the compliment to one another. Same-sex is sameness. Well, I’ll just leave this one here… Minds and hearts more mature than my own have surely thought thru these specific issues you raise. I’ll leave these specific issues to them.

 

[Buddy1]

Thank you for sharing. BTW I don’t intend to promote any ideas that call for valuing same sex “marriages”

 

[Vico]

Is it correct to contemplate this: We are all ONE. From the beginning, creation was one single entity. But through our selfishness we derailed God’s dream. He still knows that we are ONE, but instead of waving a magic wand He wants US to bring about the Kingdom of God here on Earth as it is in Heaven. Just as Jesus did.

Catechism

2018 "The kingdom of God [is] righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."90 The end-time in which we live is the age of the outpouring of the Spirit. Ever since Pentecost, a decisive battle has been joined between “the flesh” and the Spirit.91

Only a pure soul can boldly say: “Thy kingdom come.” One who has heard Paul say, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies,” and has purified himself in action, thought and word will say to God: "Thy kingdom come!"92

 

[fhansen]

I think this relates to the fact that God, having made His world in a “state of journeying to perfection” as the Church teaches, has so arranged things that man participates in his own perfecting, in completing His work so to speak. In this way we become more like Him as we come to “own” it, as we come to increasingly align our wills with His perfect will, with His help. And as the kingdom is realized within ourselves, as we’re reconciled with God, animosity against and strife with neighbor decrease as love replaces it and so oneness grows in each one of us at a time regardless of whether or not anyone else cares. Either way, yes, we need to promote and encourage this unity but it’s realistic only within the context of religion, involving man’s relationship with God first of all. Hippies tried and ultimately failed miserably at it with their own humanistic social experiment.

 

[Shakuhachi]

I don’t think " selfishness" is a must. Self expression is part of God’s creativity. But when we let or personal individual self desires take priority we are in trouble. We are individualized relatively independent expressions of the same creative love.

 

[Beryllos]

Jesus prayed that we would all be one. (John 17:20-26)