Revisiting Atonement

Key topics and themes included in this session:

1. Introduction

• Smell of earlier work still in the room
• Exploring interface between Gurdjieff work and Christian Holy Week
• Focus on atonement theology
• Difficulty of removing atonement theology from Christianity
• The cost paid for existence and the obligation to repay

2. The Significance of Atonement Theology

• Represents a noble sentiment
• Not a free ride or random evolution
• A conscious intelligence and will higher than our own
• A foundation for human altruism
• Attempts to eliminate atonement theology create a lackluster Christianity

3. The Problem with Atonement Theology

• Angry God demanding human sacrifice
• Still prevalent in many Christian teachings
• Used to justify retributive anger and violence
• A gentler version in mainstream traditions
• The story of Abraham and Isaac as a prototype for atonement
• The complexity of Jesus as both high priest and scapegoat
• Jesus seen as passive in atonement theology

4. Gurdjieff’s Take on Atonement: Intentional Suffering

• Conscious labor and intentional suffering
• Difference between intentional suffering and “stupid suffering”
• Intentional suffering as a choice, not imposed
• Bearing another’s unpleasant manifestations willingly
• The role of freedom and choice in intentional suffering
• Connection to the priesthood of Melchizedek

5. The Concept of Substituted Love

• Defined by Charles Williams
• Ability to carry another’s burden
• Integral to the celebration of Holy Week
• Mary Magdalene’s role in connecting the sacrifice to kenosis

6. The Practice of Intentional Suffering

• Gurdjieff’s emphasis on conscious, clear, and impartial suffering
• The transformative work of offering suffering for the larger whole
• Connection to higher worlds and the suffering at the heart of God
• The obligation to pay for one’s arising and to lighten the sorrow of the common father

7. The Broader Perspective on Intentional Suffering

• Intentional suffering as a high practice emanating from a higher world
• The idea that one person’s conscious sacrifice can relieve the burden of another
• The importance of gratitude and wonder in intentional suffering

8. The Connection Between Love, Death, and Kenosis

• Love as the perfection of kenosis
• The exchange of life for love
• The impact of self-offering on planetary conditions

9. Mary Magdalene’s Essential Role in Holy Week

• Anointing Jesus and sealing him for his death
• Her presence during the resurrection
• Anointing as a symbol of the Paschal Mystery

10. The DNA of Choice in Jesus’ Planetary Body

• The Annunciation and the choice of Mary and Joseph
• Seeding of choice in Jesus’ physical DNA
• The possibility of drawing strength from higher bodies

11. Conclusion

• Recap of the session’s key insights
• The potential of drawing cosmic strength to bear earthly suffering

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