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The Challenge of Metaphysical Experiences Outside Orthodoxy and the Orthodox Response
METROPOLITAN MAXIMOS OF Awos AND PRESIDING HIERARCH OF PITTSBURGH
Time Magazine carried the following article in its June 15, 1988 issue: Will it be coffee, tea, or He? Religion was once a conviction. Now it is a taste. The author, Charles Krauthammer, reports on his hospital visit, when the nurse asked him: "What is your religious preference?" He responded: "I like Buddhism; but it happens that I am a Jew." Consecutively, the author speaks of developments regarding religion. From a conviction, religion became a preference. It is like entering a supermarket, and honor your preference.
Orthodoxy remains a good challenger, when it comes to truth. The opportunity is now given to it to present its truth. I thank His All Holiness for giving me the opportunity to address the topic of supernatural experiences outside Orthodoxy, the challenge they present for Orthodoxy, and the Orthodox response to them. The topic is rather vast. I have tried to limit it to the most well known metaphysical experiences, and especially those which have an impact upon the lives of our Christians in the U.S.A. These same experiences impact everyone else. The main body of my paper will deal with methods which seek these experiences on the basis of religious data. Thus, three of them are related to the so-called Eastern Religions, Hinduism and Buddhism. They are the method of Transcendental Meditation (TM), Yoga, and Zen. I will also touch upon Dikr, the corresponding method of the Muslims.
The next category of metaphysical experiences are American, with elements coming from abroad. They are the Relaxation Response, New Age, and Scientology. Finally, I will dabble on "life after life" experiences, the apparitions of the Mother of God at Zeitoun, Cairo, Egypt; Shentena EI-Hagar, Menufiya, Egypt; and Medjugorje, Croatia, former Yugoslavia. Finally, I will dabble with the most recent developments of the Protestant charismatic movement, namely the Toronto Blessing, or the Revival of Laughter.
Before we deal with the aforementioned metaphysical experiences and offer an evaluation from an Orthodox point of view, it is important to repeat 10 important points offered to us by His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in his Keynote Address to the Synaxis of...