“In the ancient days, when the first quiver of speech came to my lips, I ascended the holy mountain and spoke unto God, saying, ‘Master, I am thy slave. Thy hidden will is my law and I shall obey thee for ever more.’But God made no answer, and like a mighty tempest passed away.And after a thousand years I ascended the holy mountain and again spoke unto God, saying, ‘Creator, I am thy creation. Out of clay hast thou fashioned me and to thee I owe mine all.’
And God made no answer, but like a thousand swift wings passed away.
And after a thousand years I climbed the holy mountain and spoke unto God again, saying, ‘Father, I am thy son. In pity and love thou hast given me birth, and through love and worship I shall inherit thy kingdom.’
And God made no answer, and like the mist that veils the distant hills he passed away.
And after a thousand years I climbed the sacred mountain and again spoke unto God, saying, ‘My God, my aim and my fulfillment; I am thy yesterday and thou art my tomorrow. I am thy root in the earth and thou art my flower in the sky, and together we grow before the face of the sun.’
Then God leaned over me, and in my ears whispered words of sweetness, and even as the sea that enfoldeth a brook that runneth down to her, he enfolded me.
And when I descended to the valleys and the plains God was there also.
-“God” by Khalil Gibran
Man, as a slave, is tied to his master and his laws. Man surrenders because he fears the punishment of his disobedience; because he has tasted solitude and error, and by following orders he will commit no mistake and he will not be alone. He lowers his head, and begs for a master to grant him no hell. This is called in Catholicism “Attrition” or “Imperfect Contrition” where the sinner repents for fear of the sanction, and not for love of God. The Trent Council in Canon v, Sess. XIV declares: “If any man assert that attrition . . . is not a true and a profitable sorrow; that it does not prepare the soul for grace, but that it makes a man a hypocrite, yea, even a greater sinner, let him be anathema”¹ In this state, life is an unavoidable burden which subjugates man and leaves no place for piety.
What follows is man as a creature, whose life is a gift, a grace, the divine breath infused in all living flesh. Yet man cannot recognize his own soul, confusing it with life, with some inkling of joy as a creature, as an animal, but not in the glory of his recognition as the imago dei, the image of God, and therefore grace is not fully received. In the Platonic school of thought, there is an idea called Scala Naturae, or “Great chain of being”, where man is imbued with the Logos. He’s beyond a creature, an animal, plant or stone. Although in this state, just as a creation, he can’t recognize this and so he understands himself only as his lower self allows him to. 
And next man, as a son, sees himself as a lesser, mortal god, who deserves a place in Heaven through devotion and love. But the duality remains. The son knows about his Father, yet, he still is divided from Him, wrapped in the veil of maya, wailing in this valley of tears, expecting the kingdom of no suffering to come to the Earth. But, is He actually apart from man, waiting for an event to have an actual existence in the heart of His son? The sufi poet Ibn ‘Arabi said about this:
“You presume others to be other than Allah. There is nothing
other than He, but you do not know this. While you are
looking at Him you do not recognize Him. When the secret
opens to you, you will know that you are none other than He”
Man, as one with God, finally reaches Wahdat al-Wajud, or Unity of Being. Man becomes just a manifestation of God, not an entity that is separated by a intermediary reality. As was exposed by Meister Eckhart in his fourth sermon: “The eye with which I see God is the same with which God sees me. My eye and God’s eye is one eye, and one sight, and one knowledge, and one love.” This is the highest realization of man, and even when man goes through the world, the certainty of Oneness acompanies him wherever he goes.
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¹New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia . http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02065a.htm
It is currently common for biblical scholars to study the “historical Jesus”.1,2 This interest is paralleled, and to a small extent influential on general interest in the topic among the public. In Christians, some of this takes the form of interest in details of Jesus’ “personality”, or even his physical appearance, as religious accessories.3,4,5
This focus on what Huxley calls the “selfness” or “I” of Jesus is irrelevant to the purpose of religion. That is, if the goal of metaphysical study is to know what is True (and what is true is eternal, 
occur at times of the year that are of spiritual and ritual significance to many other traditions, particularly those that predate Christianity. Apparently it follows from this that if pre-Christian Europe held festivals during the winter solstice and the advent of spring, then Christian holidays are held at those times because of older traditions, not because they reflect the true timeline of the savior’s life.¹’² This in turn suggests that the origins of Christianity are mundane rather than divine.
A miracle occurs when the supernatural order directly intervenes in the natural order. Through a modern abuse of language, the latter term has come to connote rationality, and the former irrationality. However, there is nothing irrational in the nature of a miracle. It is logical that the possibility of direct contact between the natural and supernatural orders must be realized, given that they are only separate in appearance. If the natural order was truly divorced from the supernatural, and therefore there was no possibility of a miracle, then it would have no existence whatsoever, because it would have no principle or root. If the inverse is true, then miracles are a necessity by the very fact that they are possible. The bolt of lightning, with its suddenness and blinding whiteness reflects the principle of the miracle in the natural order proper.
