Just to add a small thought here -- that seems -- well, if this right -- it is stunning....

**

We are often concerned with the so-called "common teachings of the world's religions". We might cite the Golden Rule as a paradigm example -- and with good reason.

I did start my own studies on these themes with Aldous Huxley -- more or less as Rabbi Rami Shapiro suggests when he begins his review of the Perennial Philosophy with Huxley. And I've been through a bunch of subsequent stuff -- like the great 1144-page "A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom", by Whitall Perry.

About 1993, when I was beginning my quest for an internet-coordinated revolution in universal spirit, I came across the 916-page "World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts", edited by Dr. Andrew Wilson -- and published, somewhat controversially of course, by the Unification Church.

I didn't care who published it. The book itself was a brilliant innovative masterpiece -- an anthology of world religions not organized by "religion" -- but by "165 themes that religions have in common". This was great; this author dared to defy what seemed like the prevailing academic paradigm, and asserted common ground based on scripture when so many others were saying notions of common ground were a presumptuous western illusion.

I didn't have much of a computer in those days -- and it took months, and 60 floppy disks -- but we got the entire book transcribed by hand from its initial disks sent very kindly to me by Andrew Wilson.

That work has been online for years -- and appears in slightly different garb on multiple sites -- but its home is on origin.org and United Communities of Spirit --

http://origin.org/ucs/ws/ws.cfm

There's some great stuff there. Andrew Wilson's general introduction to interfaith is a wonderful basic essay everybody should read.

And my point in mentioning this here -- is that yes, I am aware of "facet-based" ways to see the common ground in world religions. This is a powerful and helpful way to see the myriad elements that have arisen in similar ways in vastly different cultures and historical moments. Yes, we can identify "hundreds of themes that religions have in common".

But today -- it seems we may be coming up against a yet more direct more essential less complex way of understanding this fundamental and universal "divine law'.

DR. ASHOK GANGADEAN AND THE VISION OF LOGOS

Dr/Professor Ashok Gangadean has specialized in the concept of Logos -- and a point he makes is fascinating.

http://sharedpurpose.net/home/index.cfm?tq=579419#logos

Logos as the One becoming words (or is it the other way around?) -- seems to implicitly contain its own inherent law.

Humans are connected to the Logos -- to God through the Logos -- to one another through the Logos -- and the Logos -- is an internal law of perfect order...

Just -- do whatever it takes to maintain the wholeness of the Logos -- in all things....

This simple concept -- no doubt worded more graciously -- may be the very simple universal law -- that "contains all other spiritual law" as implications or consequences (or "side effects") of itself....

I like that old phase -- "You can't break a natural law -- it breaks you."

Conform to the Logos -- and enter the absolute infinite communion. Step right in. The ethics is implicit. You'll meet a lot of friends there...

Maybe that's the deal.