The Pathway Beyond
Exploring the Spiritual Universe
by
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The blatantly radical teachings of Jesus were judged to be blasphemous by the priests of his day. And yet, when we study the information written about him by his disciples, we see that he totally disregarded those judgments against him and that he was definitely marching to a different drummer, as the saying goes. His total confidence in a supreme power directing his actions is a remarkable aspect of his nature.
His communication with the supreme power in the form of prayer is recorded throughout the New Testament. There is no record of him telling his disciples about seeing directly into another world—or “My Father’s realm,” as he called it—even though one might surmise that he could have given such accounts that were never written down. He did, however, make references to life in the hereafter through such statements as this one: “In my Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14:2).
It was not until the eighteenth century that anyone claimed to be in direct contact with the hereafter. Then, in the 1740s, there appeared the early writings of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). It soon afterward became known that this very unassuming and modest man frequently communed with what he described as heavenly beings in the spirit world.
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About the Book
Have you ever pondered the problem of being as “we know it”? Our knowledge is extremely limited, and what is unknown at one moment in history may become known in the next, causing the body of knowledge to be constantly changing along the path of human development.
While we are all on a brief journey that begins at birth and ends in death, this current state of being does not preclude the possibility of another state of being presently unknown. The Pathway Beyond addresses the issues surrounding this question, bringing together the scientific and the spiritual.
The study of philosophy and religion has been part of human activity for thousands of years. Even so, our society seems not to have reaped the full benefit of the positive values set forth by our philosophers and spiritual leaders. Instead, the growth of science in solving immediate practical problems has consumed our interest. Now, however, scientists are developing an interest in topics that have traditionally been solely within the boundaries of philosophy and religion, such as human consciousness. The subject of ontology, or the science of being, seems to be expanding its influence within human thought.
Aimed at laypeople as well as academics, The Pathway Beyond explores ideas from Eastern and Western spiritual leaders to illustrate the connections between science and religion.
About the Author
JEROME STANLEY was born in Illinois in 1941. He studied music at Washington University at St. Louis, Miami University in Ohio, and the College- Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. He is an emeritus professor at Miami University and lives with his wife in Oxford, Ohio.