The synthesizing of theological materialism

Christianity began as an inward religion of ascetic and monastic denial of material desires in pursuit of the experience of the God or Father Within. Then gradually over time the natural activations of life were accommodated by the religion, reaching its epitome perhaps in the use of reason to define God, along with the ascetic experience, which allowed the church to grow among the population. This was in the conservative tradition of bringing the new (really old pagan philosophers like Aristotle) into old Christianity. The monastic ascetic life was only for the few, the virtues now defined in the religion balanced the material desires of living life with the needs of experiencing the God Within, and the Church became more socially influential. But growth was, frankly, based on the loss of the purity of following the Inward Path.

The religious philosophy of theological materialism does not have this contradiction between the inward and outward life, it does not have the antagonism between material and non-material life. The Inward God of Christ (and Buddha) is understood as the dawning religious experience of the real Outward Godhood reached through material and supermaterial evolution. The Inward God is transformed into the Outward Godhood reached at the zenith of evolution. The great historical schism between the material and spiritual, and between the scientific and religious worldviews is closed. In the Twofold Path science is openly embraced along with religion, the evolution of life toward Godhood is enhanced by such things as the science sociobiology and by genetics. A conservative ethos prevails in bringing the new into the old.

In theological materialism the Western world of material progress is supported against the great denials of the traditionalist schools mainly of the East. Their ascetic denials created a great spiritual blockade against the evolution of life to real Godhood. The Twofold Path, the Inward and Outward, are finally synthesized in theological materialism, which gives precedence to the material Outward Path of evolution to Godhood, while retaining the first knowledge of the spiritual Inward Path to the Father Within.