The Alpha and the Omega
Monday, November 10th, 2008Some years ago, I had a small tattoo of an Alpha and an Omega (Classical Greek letters) placed on my upper back. Little did I know that this had religious connotations: Revelation 1: 8 in the King James Version, when the phrase “I am the alpha and the omega” was used.
Having been raised Roman Catholic, I fell away from my church in those rebellious teenage years, feeling it had little to offer me and that perhaps there was something else. Over the years, I have had many experiences in this arena: attending Baptist and Pentecostal services (there is something particularly appealing to me about the charismatics), visiting Buddhist templates and a Sikh Gudwara, and reading about Witchcraft and Paganism. I decided to do some post-graduate work at WLU in Religion and Culture – Asian Spiritual Disciplines, The Historical Study of Jesus, Psychology and Religion, and Cults and New Religious Movements. What I learned from all of this is that, putting aside some of the NRMs which I studied, a case can be made in favour of all of the major paths of belief in the world. I don’t think there is a correct or an incorrect answer – I certainly don’t have one, and I’m comfortable with this.
Now, at the onset of my research into my thesis for my Masters of Metaphysical Science, I realize that I am stumped for a topic. Maybe I should attempt a synthesis of all of the major world religions and see what I can come up with? It would be reminiscent of the story of “Stone Soup“.
Inspirational quote of the week: “Small heroes master their enemies. Big heroes master themselves” – Rumi
