While browsing the internet the other day I stumbled across a rather unconventional individual, The Admor of Malta (http://admorofmalta.org/), What struck me aside from his style of clothing was the platform that he wishes to bring to the world, The United Order of Light (http://admorofmalta.org/about-uol/). The idea is bold, intriguing and worthy of contemplation, because I think it really fills a void that is lacking in the world of religious ideas and spirituality.
“The United Order of Light is a spiritual order which devotes itself to the fundamental values of eternal life, light, love and compassion. It is an international order independent from any religion, kingdom, state, nation, government and other temporal authorities.
The principal aim of the Order is to bring humankind closer to God independently from any religion or creed. Religions have been many times, over the centuries, the culmination of inhuman wars.
The intention of the Order is elevate the human dimension directly to the Present Light of God, beyond the level of religions. The Order is not interested in the differences between the diverse faiths, but considers the similarities between the existing principal religions and their common foundation, that is, the witness of a Unique God.
The United Order of Light is a spiritual order which devotes itself to the fundamental values of eternal life, light, love and compassion. It is an international order independent from any religion, kingdom, state, nation, government and other temporal authorities.
The principal aim of the Order is to bring humankind closer to God independently from any religion or creed. Religions have been many times, over the centuries, the culmination of inhuman wars.
The intention of the Order is elevate the human dimension directly to the Present Light of God, beyond the level of religions. The Order is not interested in the differences between the diverse faiths, but considers the similarities between the existing principal religions and their common foundation, that is, the witness of a Unique God.”
I often contemplate how religion and God are treated with so much disdain in today’s world and seen as the cause of so much hatred, anger, darkness, depression, suppression and disillusionment and worst off all bloodshed. A religious believer cannot be blinded to the reality that his text, tribe, ideas and God are seen as being responsible for much evil and wickedness in the world, spreading darkness instead of light. The perception of God in today’s world is best described by the following quote by Richard Dawkins;
“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” – Richard Dawkins, The G-d delusion
If this is how God is perceived in the world then you cannot be surprised by the turn to atheism in this generation. You cannot be surprised that people do not wish to have a relationship with the God of this description.
We honestly are in a age that needs religious and spiritual renewal, a new paradigm, a new calling, a new way to transcend, unify and bring “tikkun olam”. The world as we know it has much darkness, with many false ideas and delusions. In that sense I see The New Atheists as a form of chemotherapy (see the idea developed by Rav Kook here and here) killing the cancer that is outdated, irrelevant ways of thinking and being, but like any chemotherapy kills much good along with it as well. The sooner we acknowledge the weakness and evil of what passes for religion/spirituality in our day and destroy the false edifices of our time, we can rebuild, reconnect and renew, spreading forth light, being, connecting, becoming one – a true glimpse of what it means to live in the messianic times.
Of course the danger with any new idea that claims to “redeem mankind” is the danger of falling into a lower state then from where you began. The world has seen plenty of “false messiahs” individuals with grandiose messianic aspirations who have either failed, become corrupted (the irony that those who preach to mankind of the dangers of money, sex and power often become the biggest perpetrators of the evil deeds they wish to cleanse the world of, perhaps that is the idea behind the red heifer/para adumah, those who prepare the water to purify the impure become impure themselves, a necessary risk/consequence of going to the depths to “save” others, requires you to fall to their level).
So like anything in life, we will have to wait and see but the idea has merit – the notion of a movement dedicated to the universalism, spirituality and G0d that seeks to unify mankind around “light”, “goodness”, “compassion” to end “bloodshed” and “hatred” is a step in the right direction and the right path for us to follow. Let us hope that we will not be disappointed and further disillusioned, and instead let this be a “new true light”.
