My view of the West from the West

Some will argue with my semantics here, but there is a difference between rationalism and logic. A good secular text on this topic is \\"Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: an Inquiry into Values\\" by Robert Pirsig. Pirsig explores Greek philosophy, seeking to find an underlying precept which separates it from the western rationalistic viewpoint (especially scientific reasoning). He discovers that true logic has at it\'s core an essential and unarguable assumption of \\"Quality\\", meaning a metaphysical benchmark of sorts upon which our worldview and view of the cosmos must be based. He posits that the western rationalistic manner of scientific observation has as it\'s central flaw the unwillingness to pre-suppose this \\"Quality\\" prior to inquiry. Through his thesis one is easily able to comprehend the metaphysical viewpoint The Apostle Saint John was working within when he wrote to the Greeks about The LOGOS (WORD), which was already a metaphysical concept within their understanding of THE cosmic \\"source\\" or \\"mind\\". The presumptive belief in this cosmic mind (who we know as The Father) and the pre-spoken LOGOS within that mind (The WORD we know as The Son) are at the core of ancient Greek logic and also Orthodox Christian Mystical Dogmatic Theology. Rationalism does not pre-suppose anything, and is instead a sort of celebration of what the human mind can conceive and prove through simple observation. Pirsig (a college professor at age 19) further argued that the rationalistic scientific method was flawed because the scientific process always had at it\'s root a hypothesis which is in fact, a prejudicial presumption of what is and what isn\'t and what has value and what doesn\'t. As Pirsig pointed out, this prejudicial presumption will always lead to skewed results, for the observer is already inclined to proving their presumptions as being true. Who, he would likely ask, would work out a hypothesis in order to prove it wrong? Though the observer may claim impartiality, the very conception of the hypothesis is partial within the mind of the person who conceives it, unless there is first a presumption of \\"Quality\\" as THE fundamental value of the equation. I do not need to disparage the discovery of penicillin in order to find a fundamental flaw within the scientific formula used for such a discovery. How then has this flaw in rationalistic thinking affected the development of Christian theology in the west? First, it is no longer a mystical theology, and must thus have every single mystery of God fully rationalized in order to accept these revealed mysteries. Because of this development of what is known as \\"Augustinian Rationalism\\", the Latin Church has developed clearly heretical doctrines regarding the Holy Spirit (the filioque clause added to The Creed/Symbol of Faith), The doctrine of \\"Transubstantiation\\" (a rationalistic \\"proof\\" of the changing of the elements of the Eucharist/communion from bread and wine to the Body and Blood of Christ), the birth of The Theotokos/The Blessed Virgin Mary (\\"Immaculate Conception\\"--often erroneously thought to refer to the incarnation of Christ) and the person and works of The Blessed Virgin Mary (in the doctrine of her being a \\"co-redemptress\\" along with Christ). The effects of these heretical doctrines have done huge damage to all jurisdictions and denominations of western Christianity. Because the theology which undergirds the filioque clause was passed along by Rome as a virus of sorts in the teachings of Luther, et al, we now have most western churches either fully emasculating their liturgical and sacramental lives (baptism is simply a symbol, the elements of the Eucharist/communion do not in fact become the body and blood of Christ, The blessed virgin Mary is simply Mary...not blessed...not remembered...not given her due position among the host of saints, and NOT an intercessor for us; basically, erased from our \\"prayer chain\\" and devalued as a \\"prayer warrior\\", The Saints are \\"dead\\" and are less worthy to support us in prayer than our next-door neighbor) OR, the churches are vainly attempting to invoke The Holy Spirit outside of the liturgical and sacramental ways of The Church (charismatics speaking in tongues and healing themselves by being \\"struck by the spirit\\", Evangelicals who insist on something mystical called being \\"born again\\"--which is indeed a true mystery of Christ--yet deny anything else as being mystical in the movement of The Holy Spirit within their liturgical and sacramental life, and those who claim their \\"authority\\" as \\"Sola Scriptura\\"--only the scriptures--which ends up plunging themselves into the worst possible form of Christian Legalism, for of the millions and millions of adherents to this theological justification, each is their own authority based on their individual interpretation of holy scripture, thereby rejecting Apostolic authority and presenting themselves before God as a teacher of themselves. I am reminded of the saying, \\"He who represents himself in court has a fool for a lawyer\\". Second, the western rationalistic viewpoint of God and His Church leads the heterodox Christians of the world to be audacious and offensive enough to believe that they must evangelize the Orthodox Christian lands of The East. How often have you seen a comment by someone who testifies: \\"I was born and baptized Catholic/Orthodox but then became a Christian/born-again Christian\\", thereby denying the mystical work and presence of The Holy Trinity in their lives prior to that point. As many Orthodox theologians and elders will say when asked, \\"when were you saved?\\", the reply will be, \\"I was saved, I am being saved and I will be saved\\". To the unregenerate, rational mind this is gibberish. To the regenerate mind rooted in divine logic, this is a blessed mystery which need not be rationalized to be embraced and trusted. I hope some of this helps you process your angst regarding the Greek East and the Latin West. In Christ, Gordie