Spiritual people you respect/admire..

[MehGuy]

List spiritual people whom you have high esteem for.

Why do you like them? Do you think they should be emulated?

Maybe there will be a spiritual people you hate thread in the near future, lol.


For me, the dame I personally title "The greatest Christian in history", lol.

saint Therese of Lisieux

A once emotionally fragile little girl who later on managed to channel her emotional zest into becoming an extremely tough yet loving/sweet and often adorably naive yet incredibly genuine woman. Even as a firm atheist I have to admit that I feel an almost real spiritual presence when I read about her life.

She seemed to live a catholic fairy tale life. One that actually happened.

A source of endless psychological intrigue for me.

 

[Judahs_Lion]

Hard to imagine there's respect at all judging from the social justice warrior image. Or the laugh after an assessment of the nameless greatest Christian in history.


This would be a great thread in a Christians only section.

 

[MehGuy]

Hard to imagine there's respect at all judging from the social justice warrior image. Or the laugh after an assessment of the nameless greatest Christian in history.


This would be a great thread in a Christians only section.

I actually did edit the name in. Usually I leave it nameless on purpose, but probably not the best for a thread like this. I actually had her as my sig for a while and it was fun having people guess who it was, lol.

If you want to defend the honor of shallow social justice warriors do it in a PM.

And I would think Christians would like seeing non-Christians admire other Christians. I know others will, so leave if you find this thread a travesty, lol.

 

[gord44]

When I was a Christian it was Charles Spurgeon. He was a wizard with words.

Now I would say Alan Watts and a Romanian Jodo Shinsu priest who I sometimes correspond with.

 

[Eryk]

Father Maximilian Kolbe, a great saint in the crucible of Auschwitz.

I have read multiple biographies of Anandamayi Ma. She was one of the greatest mystics, and religious geniuses, of all time.

 

[JackRT]

Amongst those still living I regard the greatest spiritual leaders to be the Dalai Lama, Pope Francis, Bishop Desmond Tutu and ***???***

 

[keith99]

I have little use for that kind of 'spiritual' person. I'll side with Martin Luther:

“Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work. 'The kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared' (Luther).”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community

Now if one asks if there are Christians I admire then yes. Three come to mind.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer
C.S. Lewis
Bernard James Sheil

 

[Eryk]

When I was a Christian it was Charles Spurgeon. He was a wizard with words.

Now I would say Alan Watts and a Romanian Jodo Shinsu priest who I sometimes correspond with.

I read every book Watts wrote in my early twenties. He's habit-forming.

 

[smaneck]

For me, the dame I personally title "The greatest Christian in history", lol.

saint Therese of Lisieux

I was living in India when Pope John Paul II came to visit. Hindus were saying, 'why is he coming? We have Mother Teresa, we don't need him.' I suspect they would feel more gracious towards Pope Francis.

A once emotionally fragile little girl who later on managed to channel her emotional zest into becoming an extremely tough yet loving/sweet and often adorably naive yet incredibly genuine woman. Even as a firm atheist I have to admit that I feel an almost real spiritual presence when I read about her life.
She seemed to live a catholic fairy tale life.
One that actually happened.
A source of endless psychological intrigue for me.

She remained more fragile than you might imagine.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/augustweb-only/135-43.0.html

But to me that just made her more of a saint.

 

[MehGuy]

I was living in India when Pope John Paul II came to visit. Hindus were saying, 'why is he coming? We have Mother Teresa, we don't need him.' I suspect they would feel more gracious towards Pope Francis.



She remained more fragile than you might imagine.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/augustweb-only/135-43.0.html

But to me that just made her more of a saint.

I'm not talking about Mother Theresa.

Talking about a dame who died in 1897, and one whom I'll sadly never meet.

Mother Theresa died in 1997, she had her chance with me and blew it. Lol.

 

[smaneck]

Leaving aside those Baha'is consider Manifestations of God, my favorite was a woman named Tahirih. I wrote an article about her while I was still a graduate student: http://bahai-library.com/maneck_tahirih_paradigm_womanhood

 

[gord44]

You have quite a body of work in that library smaneck. Nice work!

 

[smaneck]

You have quite a body of work in that library smaneck. Nice work!

Thanks.

 

[Fizzywig]

Thomas Merton comes to mind if I must go beyond immediate family and friends. His letters are the most inspirational, at least for me. They communicate beyond words and speak of the true heart of a child. And gordRedeemed would perhaps be pleased to hear that he loved a tipple when able to duck under the surveillance of the monastic radar.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

My list is headed by CS Lewis, a great but flawed Christian. I always find his works fascinating.

I also agree with Maximillian Kolbe and Boenhoeffer.

I would add Desiderius Erasmus and Thomas More. They took on their Church and their King respectively, suffering for it, but maintaining their Loyalty throughout.

From a non-Christian aspect: Zoroaster, Guru Nanak and Lao Tsu if he existed, not that I necessary agree with their teachings though, but I think them good and wise men.
Special mention of course to Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Zeno of Citium and Diogenes in his barrel, for trying their best to live a hard philosophy and not allowing exceptions to it. They show that morality shouldn't be compromised.

 

[Fizzywig]

.......and Diogenes in his barrel......

Oh yes, who could possibly forget Diogenes in his barrel?

 

[Fizzywig]

I must be off soon for grandchildren duties. Nothing like a soiled nappy to bring you back to earth - yet there are compensations. Before I go.....

I came to admire a Japanese author, Hiroyuki Itsuki, who wrote a semi-autobiographical book, "Tariki: Embracing Despair, Discovering Peace." Here is a short extract............

The Other Power (Tariki) derives from the true and full acceptance of the reality that is within us and surrounds us. It is not a philosophy of passivity or irresponsibility, but one of radical spiritual activity, of personal, existential revolution. Its essence is the spontaneous wondrous force that gives us the will to act, to "do what man can do and then wait for heaven's will." Importantly, Other Power is a power that flows from the fundamental realization that, in the lives we live, we are already enlightened. This enlightenment does not come easily. It is born of the unwelcome understanding that, despite our protestations, we are insignificant, imperfect beings, born to a hell of suffering that defines human existence. But in this hell, we sometimes encounter small joys, friendship, the kind acts of strangers, and the miracle of love. We experience moments when we are filled with courage, when the world sparkles with hopes and dreams. There are even times when we are deeply grateful to have been born. These moments are paradise. But paradise is not another realm; it is here, in the very midst of the hell of this world. Other Power, a power that transcends theological distinctions, avails us of these moments. In the endless uncertainties of contemporary life, Other Power confers upon us a flexibility of spirit, an energy to feel joy, and the respite of peace.

Maybe it can be thought that such words are "light" and even "sentimental", yet the nature of the auto-biographical passages in the book show that such insight is not a facile optimism born of good fortune. Itsuki speaks of his time as a refugee barely able to stay alive, of the early deaths of his parents, of his recurring thoughts of suicide.

 

[Eudaimonist]

Special mention of course to Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Zeno of Citium and Diogenes in his barrel, for trying their best to live a hard philosophy and not allowing exceptions to it. They show that morality shouldn't be compromised.

Yeah, these guys and Socrates. Also Musonius Rufus, the teacher of Epictetus.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

Yeah, these guys and Socrates. Also Musonius Rufus, the teacher of Epictetus.


eudaimonia,

Mark

I thought of Socrates but although I greatly respect him, I doubt he was very spiritual. Most Socratic referencing to ideas like reincarnation and the ilk which point to such ideas are usually taken to be Platonic. It is difficult to isolate purely socratic ideas from platonic ones though, even if we contrast Plato's Socrates to Xenophon's. His daimon as referenced for instance at his trial was more of a philosophical device as well.

The Stoics in general though have a strong spiritual bent in the idea of the Logos. Diogenes possibly belongs to this same line of thought although it is far less pronounced in Cynic philosophy. They consider themselves heirs of Socrates though, so that does muddy the waters a bit.

 

[Eudaimonist]

I thought of Socrates but although I greatly respect him, I doubt he was very spiritual.

That may depend on just how you view being "spiritual".

Beloved Pan, and all ye other gods who haunt this place, give me beauty in the inward soul; and may the outward and inward man be at one. May I reckon the wise to be the wealthy, and may I have such a quantity of gold as a temperate man and he only can bear and carry.
- Socrates

That is beautiful, and is spiritual in a sense that I would regard as spiritual. (This quote might be Plato, but I'll give the benefit of the doubt here.)

His daimon as referenced for instance at his trial was more of a philosophical device as well.

Perhaps, but I don't see why his belief in his daimon isn't spiritual as well -- perhaps especially if it has philosophical meaning for him.

Philosophical =/= unspiritual

A desire for a philosophical perspective on life strikes me as very spiritual. Spiritual, to me, doesn't necessarily involve belief in gods or daimones.


eudaimonia,

Mark