http://www.m-w.com
ekklesia: Whereas "church" is used to translate ekklesia, it is actually a transliteration of an entirely different Greek adjective (kuriakos) which meant 'of the Lord' or 'belonging to the Lord.' It probably is a shortened form of some such phrase as kuriakos doma or kuriakos oikos ('the Lord’s house'). Thus, kuriakos, as with "church," can refer to those who belong to the Lord (His people) or to the Lord’s house (a church building). [...] In a very real sense, the ekklesia is not the coming together of God’s people, it is what occurs when God’s people come together."
http://www.ntrf.org/ekklesia.html
3. The Big Bang was the start of our universe. If this is so, then everything can be seen as unique energy signatures in the time-space continuum. If this is so, then E does indeed =mc^2.
4. If E=mc^2, and if light is both particle and wave, then it follows that we are all Beings of Light, cast (or, if you will, manifested) as matter. We are starstuff, animated through the miraculous combination of amino acids, DNA, and electric and electromagnetic impulses.
5. Dualities are two halves of One Whole. Polar opposites, especially in social contexts, are illusions. The Universe is one big Whole. Everything therein are just Venn diagrams.
6. All "facts" are based on assumptions. Even our purest 'language', mathematics, is based on assumptions (dressed up and known as 'maxims', 'axioms' and the like). Every little thing we "know" to be "fact" begins as a grain of faith.
7. Reality is a shared phenomenon. Each perspective enriches reality, and vice-versa. Everything is perspectival; even E=mc^2 is dependent on more than one perspective to give it validity. Shared reality occurs when perspectives converge, connect, coincide, and/or collide.
8. Technology and thought go hand in hand. Evolution of one without the other will inevitably lead to a dark age, destructive revolution, illusion, and other forms of dissatisfaction. In tandem, they offer both danger and hope. Evolution of technology and thought simultaneously may just be the next big leap in our evolutionary chain/timeline. (Thus, Children of the New Sun are not Luddites; we embrace technology as a partner in consciousness raising/evolution.)
9. Orthodoxy is extremely discouraged. There shall be no priesthood in this Collective. All knowledge will be held in common. There will be no spiritual middlemen.
10. Enlightenment is available to all. This is the underlying belief that drives this spirituality. This Church is not concerned with dogma, but with truth. One's own truth--enlightenment--is ultimately the only truth of which one can be certain.
11. No path to one's enlightenment will be discouraged. One may fastidiously abstain, or overly indulge; yet however one comes to know and understand oneself is one's own spiritual path, let no man block it.
12. We are all engaged in dynamic equilibrium. Thus, it seems our 'goal' is to attain balance. We must be balanced within ourselves, as well as within society, as well as within the context of the natural world. Humans are still creatures of the earth--highly intelligent and resourceful, yet mammalian all the same. We are animals, despite our collective desire to deny our origins. We must re-establish this basic truth, then stabilize ourselves with both our natural and societal environments.
13. Pleasure is the yang to pain's yin. Thus, they form one whole. Our existence allows for the revelation of both pain and pleasure. This is GOD-given.
14. Understand the difference between 'getting the word out' and proselytizing. We, Children of the New Sun, will not proselytize. This spirituality concerns enlightenment, and proselytizing is not what enlightenment is about.
15. Fear=death. Without fear, there is no fear of death. In the absence of fear, there is no death.
16. Once we cannot forgo entropy any longer, once we take our last breath, we have surrendered ourselves back to the Whole. Breath is a claim to life. Once our energy reserves are sapped, we dissipate into that from which we came: the All, the Universe, the Whole. Our energy gets released back into the general Lifestream, that great river in which all energy flows.
17. Life is an immaterial good. Our consciousnesses, though physically intangible, are the only things we are/come equipped with in this world. To take a life is to use one's own power in the utter destruction of another being's lifeforce. This should be done only when necessary--for food--and with the utmost care and respect.
18. All religions, spiritualities, sects, offshoots, philosophies, etc. are parts of the Whole; therefore, all are welcome in our spirituality. Anyone may find understanding here, if one wishes to have space and time to learn to understand oneself.
19. Ultimately, life is an experience. We may as well dispense with the blinders and take it head-on. Let us wade through the Lifestream with every eye open. Let us swim as though we were embracing this living water. Let us be waterbearers to each other. Let us share water with each other and break bread together. Let us stop standing on the shoreline: jump on in. The Water's fine.
