Models of Reality

MODELS OF REALITY

Comparing Various Religious, Metaphysical and Cosmological Worldviews

By Richard C. Lang

ZOROASTRIAN DUALISM

The Story of the Eternal Dualistic Struggle between Two Equal and Opposite Divine Powers

Good God Light Love Life

Evil God Darkness Evil Death

BIBLICAL THEISM

The Story of the Infinite Personal God who freely acts in divine sovereign self-emptying love to create finite worlds and living beings that are capable of realizing many positive values and of ultimately becoming spiritually united to the divine life

Creator God is the Infinite Personal Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, Reconciler, Indweller and Transformer.

Creation The creation of the cosmos out of nothing is a free and sovereign act of divine self-emptying love. Humans are created in the divine image but fallen into alienation from God, nature, neighbor and self. Through acts of saving grace God provides the means of redemption, reconciliation, sanctification and transfiguration so that spiritually regenerated human beings are able to participate in the divine life of eternal self-emptying love.

Historical Prophetic Ethical and Eschatological Movement from Creation to Consummation

Creation>

Fall>

Redemption>

Consummation

HINDU VEDANTA (PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY)

The Story of the Integral (Non-Dual) Hierarchical (Holistic) Relation between Divine Transcendence and Immanence

Bi-Modal Aspects of the Same Reality: Transcendence and Immanence

Transcendence: Invisible Reality, The Absolute, Essence, Consciousness

Immanence: Visible Reality, The Relative, Existence, Illusion, Energy

Four Levels of Integral Reality: Body, Soul, Mind, Spirit

Spirit: The Trans-personal Absolute

Mind: The Personal Creator

Soul: The Archetypal World

Body: The Natural World

Four Quadrants of Integral Yoga (Psychological Types)

Raja Yoga NF Intuitive Feeling Oceanic Idealist The Way of Relational Harmony	Jnana Yoga NT Intuitive Thinking Ethereal Rational The Way of Intellective Unity
Bhakti Yoga SFp Sensing Feeling Perceiving Volcanic Artisan The Way of Expressive Devotion	Karma Yoga STj Sensing Thinking Judging Territorial Guardian The Way of Good Works

Four Quadrants of Integral Reality (Ken Wilber)

Intention: Individual Interior	Behavior: Individual Exterior
Culture: Collective Exterior	Society: Collective Exterior

ESOTERIC ANIMISM

The story of the Infinite Plurality of Gods and Goddesses, of Esoteric Energies that influence the world and our lives through their hidden magical or occult powers at work within the astrological signs, synchronistic serendipities, multiple realities, and universal archetypes that constitute the individual and collective unconscious. What we call ‘reality’ is actually constituted by an infinite variety of irreducible pluralities, whether conceived as the ‘gods and goddesses’, the ‘primordial archetypes’, the ‘principalities and powers’, ‘the implicit order’ or the ‘morphic resonance fields’. The ‘spirit world’ contains an infinite number of separate or overlapping realities. (Think ‘Star-gates’ and ‘worm-holes)

Feminine Archetypes (Deities or Energies?)	Masculine Archetypes (Deities or Energies?)
The Innocent	The Orphan
The Warrior	The Caregiver
The Seeker	The Destroyer
The Creator	The Lover
The Ruler	The Shaman
The Sage	The Fool

Signs of the Zodiac:

Aries The Ram &aries; Mar. 21–Apr. 19

Taurus The Bull &taur; Apr. 20–May 20

Gemini The Twins &gemin; May 21–June 21

Cancer The Crab &canc; June 22–July 22

Leo The Lion &leo; July 23–Aug. 22

Virgo The Virgin &virgo; Aug. 23–Sept. 22

Libra The Balance &libra; Sept. 23–Oct. 23

Scorpio The Scorpion &scorp; Oct. 24–Nov. 21

Sagittarius The Archer &sagit; Nov. 22–Dec. 21

Capricorn The Goat &capri; Dec. 22–Jan. 19

Aquarius The Water Bearer &aquar; Jan. 20–Feb. 18

Pisces The Fishes &pisc; Feb. 19–Mar. 20

REDUCTIVE NATURALISM

The Story of Everything 'Reduced' to Positivistic Science and Naturalistic Materialism

Religion, Humanities, and Arts All Reduce to ‘Positivistic Science’ and ‘Naturalistic Materialism’

The Social Sciences reduced to Cognitive Sciences

The Cognitive Sciences reduced to Natural Sciences

The Natural Sciences reduced to Physical Sciences

EMERGENT NATURALISM

The Story of the Evolving, Self-Organizing Emergent Universe Giving Spontaneous Rise to Complex Forms of Creative Intelligence and Global Consciousness

1. Cosmic ‘Big Bang’	2. Nebulas	3. Galaxies	4. Stars
5. Super Novas	6. New Stars	7. Our Sun	8. Our Earth
9. Minerals	10. Vegetation	11. Insects, Animals	12. Homo Sapiens
13. Ancient Era	14. Medieval Era	15. Modern Era	16. Emergent Era

INTEGRAL EVOLUTION

The Story of the Evolution of the Cosmos and Consciousness through the Immanent Guidance of Transpersonal Spirit

1. Undifferentiated	2. Animistic	3. Totalitarian	4. Theistic
5. Enterprising	6. Ecological	7. Organic	8. Integral

PROCESS THEOLOGY

The story of ‘the process God’, who is neither ‘absolutely sovereign’ nor ‘all-knowing’ (as in classical theism), and who possesses both a 'primordial' (axiological) ethical nature and a 'consequential' (metaphysical) creative nature, exercising non-coercive influence over 'chaos' to create an open, novel and emergent cosmos in which many finite goods (along with suffering and pain) and ultimately good and worthwhile divine purposes are realized in progressive durations of time through the divine 'lure' of primarily immanent creative processes

1. God Shaping Primal Chaos

2. God Luring the Cosmos

3. Life in Creative Process

4. God Realizing New Values