Al,
>
> For those that sought more, there was (and still is, actually) an
> esoteric side to any of the major religions. In the West, this
> often expressed itself as the Hermetic and Cabalistic aspects of
> the faith. People didn't generally quit being Christians in order
> to study angels, goetic demons, or the Tree of Life. It was a layer
> on top of things.
> With the decline of mainstream religion, at least amongst the
> bohemians and intelligentsia, occultism didn't undergo a similar
> decline. In fact, it grew. The formerly "inner" aspects became
> merely occult or hidden but it was no longer always the case (and
> with some groups, not even often the case) that people had a
> separate exoteric faith.
This sounds like what Wouter Hanegraaff has said -- esoteric religion
versus secularized occultism -- but in a too-brief conversation with
Kocku von Stuckrad at AAR-SBL, he said he took a different position.
He has one or two new books out from Equinox Publishing (the publisher
of The Pomegranate, http://www.equinoxpub.com), and you might
want to check them out. (And maybe a review for The Pom?)
Chas S. Clifton
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