Jesus said:
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one come to the Father, except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
If he is the way, how are we to follow him? The Lord Jesus Christ is the Way, the example of life, love, and being that we are to follow. The unprejudiced mirror of the divine that has seen and experienced the unity of all things.
We have inherited the tradition of the Prophets, Sages, Evangelists, and Christ Jesus himself. We set aside the Fall/Redemption error that their are three paths to God: Purgation, Sanctification, and Illumination.
We call the Paths of the Middle Way: The Path of Awe (Via Postitiva), The Path of Silence (Via Negativa), The Path of Creation/Creativity (Via Creativa), and The Path of Transformation (Via Transformativa)
This is the Middle Way restored to us by Matthew Fox.
Our Faith begins with the truth that we are created in Original Blessing. Not Original Sin, but when God created the World, HaShem proclaim. "Ki Tov!" It is good. If you don't understand the essence of our Original Blessing, it is hard to understand our nature and the nature of the world. This is where we learn the Yirah (Fear/Awe) of God, which is the beginning of Wisdom.
The Four Paths are:
The Path of Awe
(Via Postiva)
“In the Via Positiva. In awe, wonder, and mystery of nature and all beings, each of whom is a ‘word of God,’ a ‘mirror of God that glistens and glitters,’ as Hildegard of Bingen put it. This is Path One.”
-Matthew Fox, Creation Spirituality, 18
This is the Path of Bliss and Awe, the way of Righteousness (Tzedeq), where we pray at the The Altar of Promise and Praise.
The Path of Transformation
(Via Transformativa)
“In the Via Transformativa. In the relief of suffering, in the combating of injustice, in the struggle for homeostasis, for balance in society and history, and in the celebration that happens when persons struggling for justice and trying to live in mutuality come together to praise and give thanks for the gift of being and being together. This is Path Four."
-Matthew Fox, Creation Spirituality, 18
This is the Path of Transformation and Celebration, the way of Justice (Mishpat), where we pray at The Altar of The God who Provides.
The Path of Silence
(Via Negativa)
"In the Via Negativa. In darkness and nothingness, in the silence and emptying, in the letting go and letting be, and in the pain and suffering that constitute an equally real part of our spiritual journey. This is Path Two."
-Matthew Fox, Creation Spirituality, 18
This is the Path of Silence and Letting Go, the way of Equity (Meyshar), where we pray at The Altar of Intimacy and Returning.
The Path of Creativity
(Via Creativa)
“In the Via Creativa. In our generativity we co-create with God; in our imaginative output, we trust our images enough to birth them and ride them into existence. This is Path Three."
-Matthew Fox, Creation Spirituality, 18
This is the Path of Creation and Creativity, the way of Wise Behavior (Sakal), where we pray at The Altar of the Walk of Faith.
