This purpose statement for the Sodality of Thea is informative of the of the nature of the Sodality as of May 29, 2012. However it is out of date as of this time March 15, 2013. I would refer those who wish to see the most updated purpose statement of the Sodality of Thea to the blog entry of the same title dated March 13, 2013.
Glenn King
The Sodality of Thea is a community, a brotherhood and sisterhood of those who believe in God the Mother and God the Father. We believe in the One who is beyond all attributes, qualities, genders, being and non being. This Holy One, known in various traditions as the Godhead, the Tao, the Great Ultimate, Heaven, En Sof, etc. From this One the Mother, the Holy Lady of Heaven, proceeds and reveals herself. From this Holy One the Father, the Lord of Heaven, proceeds and reveals himself. From the One come the Two. These Two create heaven and earth.
The Holy Lady has revealed herself through all of human history to most peoples and societies. For example She revealed herself as Isis and Cybele the Great Mother in ancient Graeco Roman society. She has revealed herself within the traditions of Western monotheism as the Virgin Mary within Christianity and in Judaism as the Shekinah. In Buddhism she is Tara; in Hinduism as Durga and Laksmi.
The Lord has of course revealed himself as the supreme deity of Abrahamic traditions of the West but also as Shiva and Krisna.
The Sodality of Thea has emerged from a multiple of religious traditions, however two of these groups of traditions have been decisive. The traditions of Judaism and Christianity form one of these. While members influenced by either of these two religions are attached to the positive values of these faiths, they reject patriarchal vision of these faiths which envisions the Divine solely in masculine form. They instead see the Divine in both male and female forms. This is called restoring the divine balance.
The Deanic / Filianic faith associated with the Aristasian community is the other tradition which has decisively effected the world view of the Sodality of Thea. This religious vision is articulated forcefully at the Chapel of Our Mother God website at http://www.mother-god.com/. The Filianic faith has many strengths. The chief among these is the belief in the gospel of the Divine Mother God who is the fullness of the Divine. She is the creatress and savior of the world, the source and divine foundation of all. The Deanists reject any idea of a male divinity. Thus in many ways Deanist thealogy is a mirror opposite of the patriarchal theologies of the West.
Theans have been influenced by many aspects of Filianic thealogy, however one aspect stands out. We believe that believers are called in diverse ways. Many will be called to give equal devotion and worship to both the Lady and Lord. We also believe, however, that some are called to give divine service and worship primarily to the Holy Lady and Queen and some to the Holy Lord and King. We also believe that these callings may change during a believer’s life time. Thus the Sodality of Thea attempts to make room within the community for all of these callings
To summarize we believe:
- In both God the Mother and God the Father and the One from whom they proceed.
- In a spiritual freedom which acknowledges that members of the community can be drawn to the worship of both God the Father and God the Mother or toward the predominant worship of either the Father or Mother. as that person is called .
- The emphasis of the Thean religion is toward the bhakti religion of devotion to the Divine and submission to Heaven’s undivided will. The statement of Jesus of Nazareth that two greatest commandments are that one should love God with all ones heart, ones soul, and ones might and that one should love ones neighbor as oneself summarizes what the church believes effectively
- Since the basic orientation of the community is centered on love, worship and obedience to Heaven then much that is central to most new religions is not central to Theanic faith. For example a fascination with magic as opposed to worship, alternative states of consciousness, channeling, and other practices that are central to many New Age and other alternative religions are not emphasized within the Sodality.
Towards Thea and other subjects 